how entirely this character agrees with that of the little born, and how much better it agrees with the head of the Roman than with the head of the Greek church, the particular application of it to the bishop of Rome may well be juftified, especially fince St. Paul himself hath applied it in the fame manner.`

St. Paul hath drawn the man of fin, the fon of perdition, ( 2 Thef. II.) an exact copy and resemblance of the little horn and the blafphemous king in Daniel : and this man of fin must neceffarily be a Chriftian, and not a Heathen or infidel power, because he is reprefented as God fitting in the temple of God. He is described too as the head of the apoftafy or the falling away from the faith; and this apoftafy is afterwards (1 Tim. IV. 1.) defined by St. Paul to confift in worshipping of demons, angels and deceased faints: and no man furely can have any reafon to doubt, who is the head and leader of this apoftafy, the patron and authorizer of this worship. The apostle had communicated to the Theffalonians what it was that hindered his appearing. (ver. 5, 6.) Remember ye not that when I was yet with you, I told you thefe things? And now je know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. What this was the apostle hath no

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where

where exprefly informed us; but if tradition may be depended upon in any cafe, it may certainly in this. For it is the conftant and concurrent tradition of the fathers, that what withholdeth is the Roman empire: and therefore the primitive Chriftians in the public offices of the church prayed for its peace and welfare, as knowing that when the Roman empire fhould be broken into pieces, the empire of the man of fin would be raifed on its ruins. They made no queftion, they were fully perfuaded, that the fucceffor to the Roman emperor in Rome would be the man of fin: and who hath fucceeded to the Roman emperor in Rome, let the world judge and determin.

St. John too hath copied after Daniel, and (Chap. XIII.) exhibits the Roman empire under the fame emblem of a beast with ten horns. It is evident that he defigned the fame as Daniel's fourth or laft beaft, because he reprefents him as a compofition of the three former, with the body of a leopard, the feet of a bear, and the mouth of a lion. He defcribes him too with the qualities and properties of the little born, speaking the fame blafphemies, acting the fame cruelties and having plainly feen what power was intended by the one, we have the lefs reafon to hefitate about the other. But to dif

tinguish him yet more, the number of his name is defined to be fix hundred and fixty fix. It was an ancient practice to denote names by numbers; and this number must be refolvable into fome Greek or Hebrew name, to which all the characters here given may agree. It is an early tradition derived from (2) Irenæus, who lived not long after St. John's time, and was a disciple of a difciple of this apostle, that the number 666 includes the Greek name Lateinos

or the Latin empire.. Or if you prefer a Hebrew name, as St. John hath fometimes made use of Hebrew names, it is no lefs remarkable that this number comprehends alfo the Hebrew name Romiith or the Roman empire. For more clearness and furenefs ftill, a woman is fhown (Chap. XVII.) riding upon this fame beaft, and her name is Babylon the great; but Babylon was destroyed long before, and by Babylon, all agree, was meant Rome. The feven heads of the beaft are likewife explained to be seven mountains on which the woman fitteth, which all the world know to be the fituation of Rome. The woman herself is also declared to be that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth; and that can be none other than

(2) Iren. Lib. 5. Cap. 30. p. 449. Edit. Grabe.

Rome.

(3) See

Rome. Indeed the papifts themselves allow (for they cannot but allow) all this to be faid of Rome, but then they argue and maintain it to be faid of Heathen Rome. But that cannot be; because it agrees not with feveral circumstances of the prophecy, and particularly with the woman's fitting upon the beaft with ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, which muft needs typify the Roman empire after it was divided into ten kingdoms, but the Roman empire was not divided into ten kingdoms till fome years after it became Chrif tian. St. John with the eyes of prophecy faw this beaft rife up out of the fea, and the angel in his expofition faith that he fall afcend out of the bottomlefs pit; but Heathen Rome had rifen and florifhed many years before this time. This beaft cannot reprefent Heathen Rome because he is fucceffor to Heathen Rome, to the great red dragon in his power, and his feat, and great authority. This beaft was to continue and profper forty two prophetic months, that is 1260 years; but Heathen Rome did not continue 400 years after this time. The woman is feprefented as the mother of idolatry, with her golden cup intoxicating the inhabiters of the earth; but Heathen Rome ruled more with a rod of iron, and was rather an importer of

foreign gods and fuperftitions than an exporter to other nations. St. John wondered with great admiration, when he saw the woman drunken with the blood of the faints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus; but wherefore fhould he, who had feen and fuffered the perfecutions under Nero, wonder fo much that Heathens fhould perfecute Chriftians; but that Christians fhould delight in fhedding the blood of Chriftians, was indeed of all wonders the greatest. The woman rideth upon the beaft under bisz Seventh head or laft form of government; but the fixth head, which was the imperial form of government, is faid to be fubfifting in St. John's time, and the fixth was not deftroyed, and the Seventh or laft form did not take place, till after Rome was become Chriftian. The ten kings with one mind give their power and firength unto the beaft, and afterwards hate the whore and make her defolate, and burn her with fire; but never did any ten kings unanimously and voluntarily fubmit to Heathen Rome, and afterwards burn her with fire. Rome according to the prophecies is to be utterly burnt with fire, and to be made a defolation for ever and ever: but Rome hath never yet undergone this fate, and confequently Heathen Rome cannot be the fubject of these prophecies. In short from

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these