composed of them. Great empires are indicated by the prophets under the figure of beasts, on account of the devastation and havoc they make, like wild beasts, in the world, to raise up their dominion.

This observation premised, St. John says: "and the beast which I saw, was like to a leopard;" the body of the beast was like unto a leopard, that is, the centre and capital part of the Roman empire under Antichrist will be the Grecian empire denoted by the leopard. After the division of the ancient Roman state, the eastern part chiefly consisted of the territory of the ancient empire of Macedon or Greece. The Turkish emperor, Antichrist, will one day be in possession of it; and from it will arise the Antichristian kingdom. Rome was destroyed with the western empire: Constantinople then became the capital of the remaining part of the Roman empire ; it will be also Antichrist's capital city and it is now the centre and seat of the Turkish, or formerly Grecian monar chy; and from this centre, conquest will be carried into those countries that formed the western part of the ancient Roman empire, and over the whole world. Thus, then, the Antichristian empire is founded on the empire of ancient Greece, at present the Constantinopolitan empire. Hence, it appears why the body of the beast is like to a leopard.

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St. John's description of the beast may receive a further elucidation from the prophecy of Daniel concerning the Roman empire, which was also represented to him under the figure of a beast, the fourth of those which he saw in a vision. After this I beheld," says he, " in the vision of the night, and lo a fourth beast, terrible and wonderful, and exceeding strong; it had great iron teeth, eating and breaking in pieces, and treading down the rest with its feet," vii. 7. Which an angel explained to the prophet thus: "The fourth beast will be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be greater than all the kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down and break it in pieces." Ibid. v. 23. plain, that what Daniel here says of the Roman empire, has never yet been completely fulfilled. For, though the power of ancient Rome extended into Europe, Asia, and Africa, yet there remained vast countries unsubdued in each of those parts, besides America, which was not then known: consequently, the Roman power did not reach over the whole earth, as Daniel here specifies it should. Then, though Rome sometimes treated the conquered people with severity and haughtiness, yet it cannot be said that she devoured the whole

It is

Daniel's pro

earth, and trod it down, and broke it in pieces. phecy having therefore been but partially accomplished in the ancient empire of Rome, it remains to be completed in that Roman empire, of which Antichrist will be the head, and which will extend over the whole earth. And now it will appear that the texts of the two prophets help to explain one another. The beast, says St. John, had a mouth as the mouth of a lion, a proper animal to devour, as Daniel terms it. The beast, again, according to St. John, had feet as the feet of a bear, an animal that treads down its prey with its feet, as Daniel speaks Lastly, the beast, according to St. John, was like to a leopard, which with its teeth of a lion and claws of a bear, may break in pieces, as Daniel says of it, or tear in pieces whatever it seizes. Such will be the violence and tyranny of Antichrist's dominion when he becomes universal monarch.

of it.

But we must here further observe, that not only the ultimate accomplishment of what belongs to the Roman empire will have its place at the time of Antichrist, but the same must be applied to the ancient empire of Greece, now represented by the Constantinopolitan or Ottoman empire, which we have shown to be the foundation and centre of the Antichristian kingdom. For, Daniel speaking of the empire of Greece, says: It shall rule over all the world," ii. 39; to which also alludes what he applies to it in another place:" Power was given to it," vii. 6. But it is well known, that Alexander the Great, who reared up the Grecian empire, never ruled over the whole world. The extent of his dominion fell far short of it. This prophecy remains therefore to be finally completed in Antichrist, who will be the last head of both Roman and Grecian empires.

To return to our text: St. John said, " And the dragon gave him (the beast) his own strength, (here the Greek adds, and his throne,) and great powers," v. 2. The dragon, or Satan, prince of the infernal kingdom, gives his own strength to the beast or the Antichristian empire; that is, to its emperor, the Antichristian prince, and his agents; the dragon or Satan gives him, I say, his own strength, or his armies of hellish fiends to fight and act for him; in the same manner as the northern powers (Apoc. xvii. 13.) gave their strength to the beast, that is, their armies to the Romans for their assistance.

And this is conformable to what was said under the fourth

seal: "And hell followed him." Apoc. vi. 8. The dragon furthermore gives to the Antichristian emperor his throne, by constituting him his visible substitute, representative, and dele

gate to rule and command as he pleases. In fine, the dragon gives him great power, or a surprising faculty of working counterfeit miracles and imposing upon mankind by art and deceit; his coming (Antichrist's) being, as St. Paul tells us, according to the working of Satan, in all power, and signs, and lying wonders. 2 Thess. ii. 9.—St. John proceeds,

V. 3. "And I saw one of his heads as if it were slain to death; and his death's wound was healed. And all the earth was in admiration after the beast.”

This head of the beast is the Antichristian monarch, as fully appears by the description that follows in this chapter: and here St. John sees him as it were slain to death, that is, wounded mortally, or at least so in appearance. Such, then, is the issue of the above-mentioned battle. This accident undoubtedly spreads consternation throughout his army, and raises exultation and courage in his enemies. But these dispositions are soon reversed in consequence of what is added, "and his death's wound was healed," his deadly wound is cured by Satan, who constantly attends him.* “And all the earth was in admiration after the beast:" the whole world is astonished at seeing or hearing the account of this extraordinary cure, which exceeded all human power and art; and thereupon a great part of mankind embrace the party of the beast or of the Antichristian king. The denomination of beast was before appropriated to his empire, and he was one of its heads; but now he himself is styled the beast, because he is the sole and last head by which the beast lives and becomes a single animal, the other six heads of former emperors being dead. He may be also said to come up out of the sea, as was said of the beast in ver. 1, because we suppose him to be born in Crim Tartary upon the Black Sea, and to succeed

* If with St. Jerom, Theodoret, and others, we understand Antichrist to be the shepherd and idol spoken of in the following passage of the prophet Zachary Behold I will raise up, says the Lord, a shepherd in the land, who shall not visit what is forsaken, nor seek what is scattered, nor heal what is broken, nor nourish that which stands: and he shall eat the flesh of the fat ones, and break their hoofs. O shepherd and idol, that forsakes the Hock! the sword upon his arm and upon his right eye: his arm shall quite wither away, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened." Zach. xi. 16, 17. This passage, we apprehend, may point out to us how and in what manner the Antichristian king is wounded, viz. the sword upon his arm and upon his right eye; and St. John tells us," he had the wound by the sword." Apoc. xiii. 14. Perhaps he receives a stroke upon the head, which reaches down to the right eye, and opens the skull. And though he is cured by the operation of the devil, yet, as diabolical operations usually are, the care may remain imperfect; as seems to be indicated by what is added: arm shall quite wither away, and his right eye shall be utterly darkened." How different are the works of the finger of God; not done by halves, but complete and perfect,

his

to the Ottoman empire of Constantinople, which city also stands on the sea.

The people were seized with astonishment, as just abovementioned, ver. 4. "And they adored the dragon, which gave power to the beast: and they adored the beast, saying: who is like to the beast? and who shall be able to fight with him ?" They suppose the cure of the deadly wound to have been performed by the dragon, or Satan; and they immediately worship the dragon, for his having shown such a visible protection to this monarch, and vested him with power, authority, and dominion, beyond any monarch that ever existed. Upon these considerations they also proclaim this prince superior to every other creature, invincible, a God, and adore him, saying: "who is like to the beast? and who shall be able to fight with him?" This abominable idolatrous worship may the more easily take place, as we have already observed that idolatry will probably have been revived in the world somewhat before this time by the working of Satan, from the moment of his having been let loose.

Before we proceed further, let us observe from what we have already related out of the 13th chapter of the Apocalypse, that the Roman empire, which had been long ago destroyed, is here revived anew under the Antichristian monarch, who is here styled the head of the beast. And this is agreeable to the prediction of chap. 17. v. 8, of the Apocalypse, (see page 103 :) "The beast, which thou sawest, was, and is not, and shall come up out of the bottomless pit, and go into destruction: And the inhabitants of the earth (whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world) shall wonder, seeing the beast, that was, and is not ;" here the Greek text adds, and yet is, which makes the sense more complete the Roman empire in its last period, that is, the Antichristian empire, is here said to rise from the bottomless pit or abyss of hell, because Satan, who lately came from thence, is the soul and actuater of that empire, as he was of the same Roman empire in its first period: and we have just now seen, that effectually the dragon or Satan gave him, the Antichristian emperor, his own strength, and his throne, and great power. Besides, by Satan this Roman and Antichristian empire is also made the empire of idolatry, as it had been under the ancient Roman emperors; for, we saw above, that they adored the dragon, who gave power to the beast; and they adored the beast. This extraordinary re-appearance of that powerful and idolatrous empire, so long ago lost, and its

signal elevation by the power and management of the devil, seem to form a subject of great astonishment to the world, and the chief inducement to idolatry; for it is here said, the inhabitants of the earth (whose names are not written in the book of life) shall wonder, seeing the beast, that was, and is not, and yet is; and again and all the earth was in admiration after the beast. Above, v. 3. But here the servants of God ought to admire the divine bounty and providence, and may receive comfort, from what is here added, that the beast or idolatrous Antichristian empire will soon go into destruction— we now likewise see appear in the course of the Apocalyptical history that remarkable personage, the Antichristian emperor, who is the seventh and last head of the idolatrous Roman empire, conformably to what we were admonished to expect, in chap. 17. v. 10, five (of the heads) are fallen, one is, and the other is not yet come: and when he is come, he must remain a short time. See page 103. Happy indeed for

mankind that he must remain but a short time.

To return to the issue of the battle fought in the neighbourhood of Jerusalem, between the Antichristian emperor's army and that of his enemies, we saw him, as it were mortally wounded, then cured by Satan, and soon re-appearing at the head of his troops, upon which follows almost a general defection of the people, and of his enemies, who came over to his party. In consequence of this, we suppose that the small remainder of the adverse army flies before him, and he enters Jerusalem.

And now we are arrived, as we conceive, at the period when this ambitious and impious hero declares himself for mally Antichrist, that is, enemy to Christ. Enraged, on one side, at his having been wounded and thrown into the jaws of death, perhaps by Christian troops; enraged again by the defection of the Jews from him, who before had owned him for their Messiah, but whom he finds now become Christians, and renouncing all connexion with him, looking upon him as the most audacious and basest of impostors: on the other hand, elated by his extraordinary cure, and seeing himself guarded and supported by the whole power of the devil, and multitudes all around him acknowledging the same, he swells with the spirit of pride and arrogance, with which he is inspired by Satan, who has entered into him. He thinks himself all-powerful. In these satanic dispositions he resolves to acknowledge no superior, in heaven or on earth; and in that view he proceeds to a temple in Jerusalem, some Christian