god should not receive due worship, as to build a temple, which she dedicated to all the deities, calling it on that account, Pantheon, "the temple of all the gods." "This city," said St. Leo, "not knowing the Author of her elevation, while she ruled over almost all the nations of the earth, submitted to serve all their gods: and she imagined herself to be the more religious, as she rejected no kind of idolatrous worship."Insomuch, that whatever superstitions had place in other countries, they were all carefully transplanted to Rome."Hom. I. Nat. in Ap. Petri et Pauli. În fine, such was the filthiness of her fornication, such the excess of her prostitution to idolatry, that she even deified her impious emperors, raised statutes to them to which incense was offered, and built temples to their memories.

Such was ancient Rome, the great Harlot, with whom the kings of the earth committed fornication; and they who inhabited the earth, were made drunk with the wine of her whoredom, v. 2. She was not only intoxicated herself with all the delusions of idolatry, but she offered her golden cup all round to others. The unparalleled degree of power and grandeur to which she was elevated, raised her to such a height of admiration in the eyes of all nations, that they viewed her with the utmost deference and respect, and readily embraced whatever superstition she herself followed or recommended. She had moreover the disposal of kingdoms, governments, riches, and dignities: what wonder then, if with such charms she debauched the kings and people of the earth?

This same woman is farther said to carry on her forehead the following inscription: a mystery: Babylon the great, the mother of the fornications, and the abominations of the earth, v. 5. Here is a mystery, or an enigma to be unravelled, viz. Babylon the great, the mother of the fornications, and the abominations of the earth. The reader, we apprehend, is already prepared in great measure for the solving of this enigma. Babylon the great, is the great imperial city of pagan Rome. And she is the woman, as we have just above shown, who is the mother of the fornications and abominations of the earth. This is the explanation of the proposed mystery. But to make it more clear, that by Babylon the great is here meant idolatrous Rome, we appeal to the angel's words: The woman which thou sawest, is the great city, which hath kingdoms over the kings of the earth, v. 18.; which, as we have before observed, plainly points out the great ancient city of

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Rome, that domineered over the greatest part of the kingdoms of the then known world. The woman therefore is the image of that city, and in the inscription on her forehead she is styled Babylon the great: consequently Babylon the great, is here the same with the city of Rome. In the primitive ages this figurative name of Babylon was frequently given to heathen Rome by the Christians, on account of the resemblance of the characters of those two cities, for their idolatry, and for their oppressing, the one the Jews, the other the Christians. St. Peter dates his first letter from Babylon, 1 Pet. v. 13, that is, from Rome, as St. Jerom and Eusebius tell us. "The appellation of Babylon," said Tertullian, "is used by St. John for the city of Rome, because she resembles ancient Babylon, in the extent of her walls, in her haughtiness on account of her dominion, and in persecuting the saints." Lib. Adv. Jud. Rome is a second Babylon," says also St. Austin, “and a daughter of the ancient Babylon," De Civit, lib. 22. c. 18. Babylon the great is therefore sufficiently distinguished: but her character is completed, and she appears in plain colours, in what follows: "And I saw," says St. John, "the woman drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus," v. 6. This inhuman woman, this impious Jezabel, this cruel persecutrix, has drenched herself with so much Christian blood, which she has spilt, that she appears to be drunk with it. Who is this but idolatrous persecuting Rome? Innumerable were the martyrs she put to death, throughout the vast extent of her dominions, and even in her own bosom, the city itself. Innumerable likewise were the other saints or holy confessors, who, though not slain, were by her condemned to lose some of their limbs, and had an eye bored out, their tongues plucked away, or the sinews of a leg or a thigh cut, &c. or in fine, were put to tortures that tore away their flesh and drained their blood. We have seen the account of ten dreadful persecutions, which swept away an infinite multitude of Christians; and all these persecutions were the work of the Roman emperors, and their substitutes in the provinces. It is then apparent who the woman is, that was seen drunk with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus.

After the description of the woman, we are then favoured with an account of the beast that carries her, v. 7. The woman being the image of the city of Rome, the beast on which she sits, naturally represents the Roman empire. And as the woman was styled the mother of fornication or idolatry; conse

quently Rome was the seat and centre of idolatry; and in like manner by the beast the Roman empire is represented as the empire of idolatry. The colour of the beast is scarlet, v. 3, an emblem of its sanguinary disposition: and it is said to be full of names of blasphemy, or marked over with the names of the heathenish Roman gods, the greatest indignity that can be offered to the majesty of the Supreme Being. Then the angel, who promised to St. John to discover to him, v. 7. the mystery both of the woman and the beast, tells him :

V. 8. “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 on the earth (whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundations of the world) shall wonder, seeing the beast, that was, and is not."*

Behold a very mysterious explication of a mystery. But to unfold it: here is expressed the state of the beast, as it passes through different periods of time. The beast or the Roman idolatrous empire was, that is, existed for a term of time: then is not, or exists no more as the empire of idolatry, but is changed into a Christian empire; which happened when Constantine the Great became emperor, suppressed the power of idolatry, expelled Satan, and established Christianity. But it is added, "and the beast shall come up out of the bottomless pit, and go into destruction:" the Roman idolatrous empire will rise up again under Antichrist from the bottomless pit or hell, because Satan will be loosed before the end of the world, and will revive idolatry chiefly by means of that wicked man, Antichrist, who will become master of the ancient Roman dominions. And the inhabitants on the earth-shall wonder, seeing the beast, that was, and is not, and yet is; all the world will be struck with amazement, at seeing the idolatrous Roman empire re-appear, which had been so long ago destroyed. But the reign of Antichrist will soon go into destruction, as it will last no more than three years and a half. This last period of the beast will be more fully explained in its due place. -The angel proceeds in his explication:

V. 9. "And here is the understanding, that hath wisdom.† The seven heads, are seven mountains, upon which the woman sitteth, and they are seven kings.

V. 10. "Five are fallen, one is, and the other is not yet come: and when he is come, he must remain a short time." Let the understanding, that is endowed with wisdom here

In the Greek text is addded, " And yet is."

+ In the Greek, "here the understanding that hath wisdom."

take notice: the seven heads, which are upon the beast, are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth; we have already observed that ancient Rome stood upon seven mountains. But besides, they, the seven heads, are seven kings, or seven Roman emperors who are particularly distinguished as the chiet supporters of idolatry, and the most virulent persecutors of the Christian religion. These are, as we have already remarked, Nero, Domitian, Severus, Decius, Valerian, Dioclesian, and Antichrist. Five are fallen: we saw, before, the successive periods of the beast with regard to its existence; here we have the succession of its heads. Five of them are fallen or gone; namely, Nero, Domitian, Severus, Decius, and Valerian, by whom the idolatrous empire was supported for a time; one is, the sixth or last of that period, viz. Dioclesian, with whom the reign of idolatry falls: and so it happened, by the accession of Constantine to the imperial throne. Here then is interrupted the succession of the heathen and persecuting emperors for a long space of time; for the other is not yet come, the seventh Roman emperor, Antichrist, who will come only in the latter days; and when he is come, he must remain a short time, three years and a half, as we shall see in the sequel. No notice is here taken of Julian the apostate, who broke indeed the series of the Christian emperors, and attempted to re-establish idolatry, but was taken off after a short reign of less than two years-The angel continues;

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V. 11. And the beast, which was, and is not, the same also is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into destruction."

Here is a new state of the beast, which begins at the fall of the sixth head, or Dioclesian, with whom the beast itself or the power of idolatry also fell. On this account the former simple appellation of the beast, is now changed into the beast, which was, and is not, as being now no more what it was, having lost all power, and that power being transferred into the hands of Christian emperors. In this situation the beast is said to be an eighth king, that is, the Roman idolatrous people, though left without a heathen prince at their head by the death of Dioclesian and succession of Constantine, are nevertheless to be reputed equivalent to an eighth pagan emperor, because they retain still their former attachment to paganism and their hatred to Christianity. And thus they are of the seven, as being alike in their dispositions to the seven abovementioned heathen emperors. But they go into destruction: this idolatrous people will soon disappear, as we shall see,

either by being destroyed, or by their conversion to the Christian religion.

After the account of the beast and its seven heads, the angel proceeds to explain to St. John the meaning of the ten horns of the beast.

V. 12. "And the ten horns which thou sawest, are ten kings, which have not yet received kingdom, but shall receive power as kings, one hour after the beast."

V. 13. "These have one design: and their strength and power they shall deliver to the beast."

The ten horns denote then ten kings or ten powers, namely, the Goths, Huns, Alans, Vandals, Saxons, Burgundians, Franks, Heruli, Suevi, and Quadi, the chief of the barbarous nations that invaded the western Roman empire in the fifth century. These have not yet received kingdom or dominion, viz. at the beginning of this period of the Christian emperors, or of the beast that was and is not; but they will receive power as kings one hour with the beast, that is, they will be commanded by their own chiefs, and will engage by treaty to serve for one hour or a while as auxiliaries to the beast, that is, to the pagan Roman armies. Thus the Prophet continues to describe the succession of the changes that were to happen in the Roman empire. The above mentioned nations come all with one design of relinquishing their own barren northern countries, and settling themselves in the rich provinces of the Roman empire. But before they accomplish this design, their strength and power they shall deliver to the beast: they effectually served as auxiliaries to the Roman armies, according to agreement, and helped to defend the empire against its enemies; as we have seen in the history above given. In this quality they served under the emperors Constantius, Valens, Theodosius, Honorius, &c.

V. 14. "These shall fight with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: because he is the Lord of lords, and King of kings; and they that are with him, are called, and elect, and faithful."

All those different people, signified by the ten horns, were either pagans or heretics. Being therefore bitter enemies to the Catholic Christians, they in their irruptions wreaked their malice and rancour upon them: they plundered their towns and country, and destroyed them with fire and sword. (See the history above given.) And thus these barbarous people fought against the Lamb, or Christ, but the Lamb will over* In the Greek, "with the beast," and so read St. Iræneus and others.