leader of the Saracens, and could indeed be no other than, as he strongly expresses it, "ipsissimus Draco "et Satanas*." But his followers, Daubuz, Bishop Newton, &c. &c. have incautiously fallen into this

error.

2. The preceding observation will be confirmed by another; namely, that the darkness which overspread the East in the time of Mahomet, was not occasioned by him; he made use of it for his purposes, but it had long been collecting, during preceding heresies and corruptions, such as I suppose to be prefigured under the four first Trumpets, and which are assigned, by all historians, as the means of his success. This will be shewn in the sequel of these annotations. But under this Trumpet, the clouds of darkness and the locusts ascend together.

s. The darkness, and locusts, of the fifth Trumpet invade the whole Christian world; for the Sun and the air which they invade, extend every-where; no third or fourth part is mentioned, as under other Trumpets. But the Mahometan arms and superstition ravaged only a part. The nations of Europe, (except Spain for a season, and some islands in the Mediterranean,) were in general free from them. In their grand attempt on Europe, they were repulsed early by Charles Martel.

4. But the regions which escaped the sword and destructive doctrines of Mahomet, are said (in order to accommodate them to this interpretation) to have contained the sealed; how improperly, will soon be acknowledged, when it is considered, that the parts which thus escaped, will be found to be principally

Clavis, pars ii. Syn. iv.

those

those many kingdoms of the western world, which at that very time, on account of their ignorance and superstition, were submitting themselves to the papal yoke. The sealed are to be found in all Christian countries, mingled with the unsealed; and the invasion which could hurt the one, and not the other, may easily be understood to be that of an universally extended heresy, but not that of a partial invasion by arms*. The good Christian who continued stedfast in the primitive faith, did not submit to the Gnostical teachers, and thus remained unhurt. But how could he escape unhurt from the sword and plunder and domination of the Mahometans?

5. A period is assigned for the continuance of this woe; five months, or 150 years. The progressive conquests of the Saracene Mahometans continued more than double the length of this period; have been renewed by other nations professing the same creed; and the Mahometans have at this day possession of the greater part of their acquired dominions, after a lapse of nearly 1200 years!

6. To accommodate the Saracens to the symbols of this Trumpet, the commentators have been obliged to apply the prophetic characters sometimes in a borrowed, sometimes in a literal sense, which I suppose to be unwarranted. They ought all to be applied in the same sense.

7. Under the next Trumpet, we shall attempt to shew, that another prophecy belongs more appro

Especially if a whole region be invaded; for, in the invasion of a particular city, the sealed might escape, as we are told they did, at the siege of Jerusalem under Titus, retiring timely to Pella, upon the warning given them by their Lord. Euseb. Eccl. Hist. lib. iii. c. 5.

priately

priately to the Mahometans. The application of the fifth Trumpet to them is of modern date :-Contenta in hâc visione omnes penè de hæreticis intelligunt *.

8. The important period of 150 years, during which the infant Church was darkened and disfigured by the Gnostic heresies, and on that account exposed to scandal, and misrepresentation, and additional persecution, seems of magnitude to require the notice of Divine prophecy. Though but sparingly mentioned in history, because the records of it, which have survived the Diocletian destruction of manuscripts, are few; yet, its real consequence is not diminished by such accidental circumstance. The great and leading facts are fully established, and no doubt can be entertained of their extensive and powerful influence on the progress of Christianity. But this is its place in the Apocalyptic Visions, (and I hope clearly ascertained,) or it has none.

* Gagnæus apud Polum.

PART III.

SECTION V.

The sounding of the sixth Trumpet and beginning of the second Woe.

13 Kalóny ἐσάλπισε, καὶ ἤκεσα φωνὴν μίαν ἐκ τῶν τεσσάρων κεράτων το θυσιαςηρία το χρυσᾶ τὸ ἐνώπιον

CHAP. ix. VER. 13-to the end.

13 And the sixth angel

sounded; and I heard one voice from the four horns of the golden altar, which is 14 before God, Saying to

13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar, which is before 14 God, Saying to the

14 το Θεό, Λέγεσαν τῷ ἔκλῳ ἀγέλῳ, ὁ ἔχων τὴν σάλπιγα Αῶσον τὰς τέσσαρας ἀγέλες της

δεδεμένος ἐπὶ τῷ πολαμῷ τῷ μεγάλῳ 15 Εὐφράτη. Καὶ ἐλύθησαν οἱ τέσ σαρες ἄγγελοι οἱ ἡ τοιμασμένοι εἰς τὴν ὥραν, καὶ ἡμέραν, καὶ μῆνα, καὶ ἐνιαυΐον, ἵνα ἀποκλείνωσι τὸ τρίτον τῶν ἀνθρώ 16 πων. Καὶ ὁ ἀριθ μὲς τῶν ςρατευμάτ των τε ἱππικό, δύο μυριάδες μυριάδων καὶ ἤκεσα τὸν ἀριθ‐ 17 μὲν αὐτῶν. Καὶ ὕτως εἶδον τὲς ἵπε πως ἐν τῇ ὁράσει, καὶ τὲς καθημένες ἐπ ̓ αὐτῶν, ἔχονίας θώ ρακας πυξίνες, καὶ ὑακινθίνης, καὶ θειώ δεις καὶ αἱ κεφαλαί τῶν ἵππων ὡς κατ φαλαί λεόνων, κ εκ τῶν ςομάτων αὐτ τῶν ἐκπορεύεται τοῦρ καὶ καπνὸς καὶ θεῖον, 18 Απὸ τῶν τριῶν πληγῶν τέτων άπεκτάνθησαν τὸ

τρίτον τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἐκ τῶ πυρὸς, καὶ ἐκ τῶ καπνό, και τῇ θείᾳ τῇ ἐκπογενομένη ἐκ τῶν σου

the sixth angel who
had the trumpet,
« Loose the four an-
"gels, who are bound-

en at the great river
15 Euphrates.” And
the four angels were
loosed, who were pre-
pared for the hour,
and day, and month,
and year, for to slay
the third part of the
16 men. And the num-
ber of the troops of
cavalry was two my-
riads of myriads: and
I heard the number of

17 them. And thus I saw
the horses in the vi-
sion, and those who
sate on them having
breast-plates of the
colour of fire, of hya-
cinth, of brimstone.
And the heads of the
horses like heads of
lions; and out of their
mouths issueth fire,

and smoke, and brim

18 stone. By these three

sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great 15 river Euphrates. And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the third 16 part of men. And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand and I heard the number of them. 17 And thus I saw the

horses in the vision,
and them that sat on
them, having breast-
plates of fire, and of
jacinct, and brim-
stone: and the heads
of the horses were as
the heads of lions; and
out of their mouths
issued fire and smoak,
18 and brimstone. By
these three was the
third part of
killed, by the fire, and
by the smoak, and by
the brimstone, which
out of their
19 mouths. For their
in
power is
their
mouth, and in their
tails for their tails

plagues were slain the
third part of the men,
by the fire, and the
smoke, and the brim-
issued
issuing from

stone

19 their mouths. For the

power of the horses
is in their mouth, and
in their tails; for, their
tails are like serpents,

:

men

were like unto ser.

Ver. 13, &c.] Upon the sound of the sixth Trumpet, a voice, proceeding from the four horns of the altar, and addressed to the angel, commands that he should loose the four angels, then bounden at the

great river Euphrates," who were appointed for this