it is a remarkable circumstance, that not merely names or titles of nobility in general should be abolished or slain by the earthquake of the French revolution, but that precisely seven such names or titles should be then abolished: 1. Prince. 2. Duke. 3. Marquis. 4. Count. 5. Viscount, 6. Bishop. 7. Baron. All these names were slain in the course of the earthquake, which overthrew the only remaining tenth part of the Roman city, or the monarchy of France: for the first shock of the earthquake took place in the year 1789; and the last, on the memorable 10th of August 1792. Thus are we alike directed by chronological and circumstantial evidence to apply this prediction to the French revolution. It was to be fulfilled after the Ottoman power had ceased to be victorious: it was to be fulfilled in one of the ten original horns of the beast it was to be fulfilled in the downfall of the monarchy symbolized by that tenth horn, and in the abolition of precisely seven names or titles of nobility. No event, except the French revolution, answers to all these particulars: and ît does exactly answer to them all consequently we have as much certainty, as can be attained in these matters, that the French revolution is here foretold by St. John *.

2

When

I have explained this prophecy much better in the present edition, than I did in the first and I readily acknowledge my obligation to Mr. Bicheno for what is here said relative to the phrase names of men. To his remarks on this phrase, I have

1 Sömnu 2 Duke 3 margin 4 Seunt

added

When the earthquake had overthrown the tenth part of the city and had slain the seven thousand

names

added the observation that precisely seven such names were slain in the earthquake of the French revolution. It is almost superfluous to observe, that archbishops and bishops are in effect the same title. The name of king was abolished by the fall of the tenth part of the city, or the French monarchy itself: and in the same earthquake were slain the seven orders of nobi, lity, temporal and spiritual. Bishops were afterwards restored by the republican rulers, but not in their former capacity of ecclesiastical peers (Bicheno's Signs of the Times. Part i. p. 38-42. Ibid. Part ii. p. 95, 96, 97.). Mr. Bicheno cites the following curious passage from a discourse of Dr. J. Mather, who wrote in the year 1710. "We are assured, that, “when the sixth trumpet, called also the second woe, has done "its work, the seventh trumpet, called the third woe, will come quickly. Now there is reason to hope that the second woe is past, that is, that the Turk shall be no more such a plague "to the apostate Christian world, as for ages past he has been. "At the time when the second woe passeth away there is to be "a great earthquake. In that earthquake one of the doms over which Antichrist has reigned, will fall. "at this day a great earthquake among the nations. kingdom of France be that tenth part of the city which shall fall! May we hear of a mighty revolution there; we shall "then know that the kingdom of Christ is at hand." (Signs of the Times, Part ii, p. 85.). The speculations of Jurieu, whose work was published in England in the year 1687, are equally curious. It is a truth, which must be held as cer"tain (being one of the keys of the Revelation), that the city,' the great city, signifies, in this book, not Rome alone, but "Rome in conjunction with its empire-This being supposed "and proved that the city is the whole Babylonish and Anti"christian empire, it must be remembered that this empire of "Antichrist is made up of ten kingdoms and of ten kings, who

.

ten king

There is
May the

« must

names of men,

r

"the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven." The seven thousand names of men are plainly slain in the tenth part of the city alone: but by the remnant Į understand, not the remaining inhabitants of that tenth part, but a certain remnant scattered through

"must give their power to the beast. A tenth part of the city fell: that is, one of these ten kingdoms which make up the great city, the Babylonish empire, shall forsake it. Now what "is this tenth part of the city which shall fall? In my opinion we cannot doubt that it is France-And in the earthquake

st were slain seven thousand, in the Greek it is, seven thousand” names of men. I confess that this seems somewhat mysterious-I am inclined to say, that these words, names of men, "must be taken in their natural signification, and do intimate "that the total reformation of France shall not be made with "bloodshed: nothing shall be destroyed but names, such as "the names of Monks, of Carmelites, of Augustines, of Domi"nicuns, of Jacobines, Franciscans, Capucines, Jesuits, Minimes, “and an infinite company of others, whose number it is not "easy to define, and which the Holy Ghost denotes by the "number seven which is the number of perfection, to signify "that the order of Monks and Nuns shall perish for ever" (Cited by Bicheno. Signs of the Times. Part i. p. 39, 40.).—Dr. Goodwin, who wrote 150 years since, had formed a very just conception of what was meant by slaying names of men. "By the earthquake here is meant a great concussion or shaking of states, political or ecclesiastical-The effects of this earth"quake, and fall of this tenth part of the city, is killing seven "thousand of the names of me -Now by men of name, in Scrip"ture, is meant men of title, office, and dignity-As in the case "of Corah's conspiracy, so here a civil punishment falls upon "these-For having killed these witnesses, themselves are to “be killed (haply) by being bereft of their names and titles, "which are to be rooted out for ever, and condemned to per"petual forgetfulness." Cited by Bicheno. Ibid. p. 41.

66

-

the

the other parts of the great city, and evidently from the circumstance of their giving glory to God) different in principle from their neighbours whom the judgments of heaven serve only to provoke to blasphemy This remnant cannot bé very numerous; because, if it were, nearly the whole of the great city would be converted: whereas, from the subsequent account of its final déstruction †, we are unavoidably led to conclude, that as a body it perseveres in its abominations even to the very end. Hence I infer, that the remnant here spoken of must mean men of protestant principles; who, however terrified with the atheistical revolution and justly dreading the contagion of such a pest, nevertheless glorified God, because, agreeably to the sagacious conjecture of Sir Isaac Newton that Infidelity would be a mean of subVerting Popery, they viewed it as a tremendous instrument of retribution for the gross corruptions of the Romish Church. Among the remnant we may probably include many in our own country: for this kingdom, though it has now happily come out from the communion of the mystic harlot and therefore spiritually is no longer a part of the great city, formerly constituted one of its ten streets, and, geographically speaking, that is estimating the great city as the western Roman empire, is still within its limits. The passage, in which the remnant are said to give glory to God, I take to

See Rev. xvi. 8, 9, 10, 11, 21.

+ Rev. xviii.

be

be nearly parallel to that, in which heaven or the church, and the holy apostles and prophets, are called upon to rejoice at the fall of this same mystic Babylon*.

4

V." And the seventh angel sounded; and there

were great voices in heaven, saying, The king"doms of this world are become the kingdoms "of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. And the four and

twenty elders, which sat before God on their "scats, fell upon their faces, and worshipped "God, saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God

Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken to thee thy great power, "and hast reigned. And the nations were angry, "and thy wrath is come, and the time of the "dead, for judgment to take place, and to give "reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and to them that fear thy name, small

and great, and to destroy them which destroy "the earth. And the temple of God was opened "in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the "ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, "and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, "and great hail."

1. The earthquake had now overthrown the tenth part of the city: the second woe therefore was

*Rev. xviii. 20.

† For ἂν βασιλεια: Griesbach r ad ἡ βασιλεία, which does not alter the sense; for it will not bear to be translated a kingdom, as Mr. Buit translates it, applying it to protestant England.

past;