the sentence pronounced upon all those who have adored the beast, &c. whatever may be their death, and whenever it may happen. Then St. John adds,

V. 12. " Here is the patience of the saints, who keep the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Here is the motive, on which is founded the patience of the true servants of God, namely, in bearing with all trials, hardships and persecutions in this life, with the view of avoiding the eternal torments, and purchasing the eternal rewards, of the other world.

The preceding dreadful judgment of God on the votaries of Antichrist, wherever they be, seems to be also foretold explicitly by the prophet Jeremy, as follows:

:

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Chap. xxv. 15. Thus saith the Lord of Hosts, the God of Israel take the cup of wine of this fury at my hand: and thou shalt make all the nations to drink thereof, unto which I shall send thee." Expressions similar to what we saw above in St. John.

V. 30. "And thou shalt prophesy unto them all these words, and thou shalt say to them: the Lord shall roar from on high, and shall utter his voice from his holy habitation: roaring he shall roar upon the place of his beauty: the shout as it were of them that tread the grapes, shall be given out against all the inhabitants of the earth.

V. 31. "The noise is come to the ends of the earth: for the Lord entereth into judgment with the nations: he entereth into judgment with all flesh, the wicked I have delivered up to the sword, saith the Lord.

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V. 32. Thus saith the Lord of Hosts: behold evil shall go forth from nation to nation: and a great whirl-wind shall go forth from the ends of the earth.

V. 33. " And the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even to the other end thereof: they shall not be lamented, and they shall not be gathered up, nor buried: they shall lie as dung upon the face of the earth." Here is the tremendous roaring noise, v. 30, 31, before taken notice of from Joel, of Christ coming down from heaven to destroy Antichrist and his people. The Lord entereth into judgment with all flesh, and delivers the wicked up to the sword, v. 31, and the slain of the Lord shall be at that day from one end of the earth even to the other end thereof, v. 33. Hence it appears, that not only Antichrist's armies, assembled in the valley of Josaphat, shall be slain by the sword, but all his principal idolatrous abettors shall be cut off in the same

manner in every part of the earth. Moreover we are here told, they shall not be lamented, and they shall not be gathered up, nor buried: they shall lie as dung upon the face of the earth. The same we also learn from the prophet Isaiah: "And they (the people) shall go out," says he, "and see the carcasses of the men that have transgressed against me: their worm shall not die, and their fire shall not be quenched; and they shall be a loathsome sight to all flesh," lxvi. 24. It may seem strange that the inhabitants of Jerusalem should not be annoyed with the stench of such a heap of dead bodies lying so near them in the vale of Josaphat; but the infection is prevented by the birds devouring the flesh, as St. John told us, and leaving the bodies mere skeletons.

By the destruction of Antichrist, his armies, officers, and chief associates, we now see his kingdom dissolved, his power totally extinguished, and consequently the Roman empire finally put an end to. The prophet Daniel had foretold that Christ, or the stone that was cut out of the mountain without hands, should break down the statue, the legs and feet of which represented the Roman empire. This was executed in part by the fall of pagan Rome with its dominion, and by the establishment of Christianity upon its ruins. But this prophecy seems to receive a further, adequate, and final completion in the extermination of Antichrist, the last and greatest of the Roman emperors, in the destruction of Constantinople, his imperial city, and in the total suppression of the Antichristian power. From such a complete victory over its enemies rises then the completest triumph of the Christian religion. Such appears to be the import of that prophecy, in which Daniel speaks thus to Nabuchodonosor : "Thus thou sawest, till a stone was cut out of a mountain without hands: and it struck the statue upon the feet thereof that were of iron and of clay, and broke them in pieces: then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of a summer's threshing floor, and they were carried away with the wind: and there was no place found for them but the stone that struck the statue became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth," ii. 34, 35.

Here then we may congratulate ourselves for having seen at last an end put to the innumerable evils and miseries, which Antichrist brought upon mankind, and which St. John denominates the second wo, chap. xi. 14. "The second wo,' says he, "is past: and behold the third wo will come quickly." The above dismal scene being over, the respite will not

be of very long duration; for behold, the third woe, or day of judgment, will come quickly, is not far off.

tre.

But now the servants of God seemed at last to be rescued from their intolerable slavery, and were much rejoiced at the prospect of a happy peace. They saw their persecutors had all perished under the hand of the Almighty, they saw idolatry crushed, and that religion had regained its liberty. This bright gleam of happiness must however suffer some obscurity yet for a little while, before it shines forth in all its lusAn unforeseen storm arises, which alarms them, especially those that inhabit Judea and Jerusalem. Satan, foiled in his prior designs before he could bring them to perfection, retires at seeing the divine vengeance coming to break on the head of Antichrist, and resolves to try another effort, if not effectual for recovering his power, at least to annoy and distress those he hates, the Christians. He therefore sets forward to raise up new enemies. This we learn from St. John, who says.

Chap. xx. 7. "And when the thousand years shall be finished, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go forth, and seduce the nations which are over the four quarters of the earth, Gog, and Magog, and shall gather them together to battle, the number of whom is as the sand of the sea." We have already seen how Satan stirred up the nations which are over the four quarters of the earth, and what desolation and havoc they made. He now instigates another great prince, named Gog, to rise with his people, who are called Magog, and with other nations, and to proceed against the people of God. The omission here of the usual conjunctive particle and before the name of Gog, may be one among other indications, that this is a different army from that of the nations just before mentioned, and will come at a different time. But of this prince and his army and their march, we have a more explicit account in the prophet Ezechiel, who gives it thus: Chap. xxxviii. 1. “ And the word of the Lord came to me, saying:

V. 2. "Son of man, set thyself against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Mosoch and Thubal: and prophecy of him,

V. 3. "And say unto him: Thus saith the Lord God. Behold I come against thee, O Gog, the chief prince of Mosoch and Thubal.

V. 4. "And I will turn thee about, and I will put a bit in thy jaws and I will bring thee forth, and all thy army, hor

a half, Antichrist will begin his war and persecution ín spring.

Though we have already seen a pretty ample account of the fate of Antichrist, we seem however to be presented with another beautiful picture of it, illustrated even with some new scenes, by the prophet Isaiah. Thus speaks he:

Chap. xiv. 3. " And it shall come to pass in that day, that when God shall give thee rest from thy labour, and from thy vexation, and from the hard bondage, wherewith thou didst serve before.

V. 4. "Thou shalt take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and shalt say: How is the oppressor come to nothing, the tribute hath ceased?

V. 5. 66

The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, the rod of the rulers,

V. 6. "That struck the people in wrath with an incurable wound, that brought nations under their fury, that persecuted in a cruel manner.

V. 7. "The whole earth is quiet and still, it is glad and hath rejoiced."

Though this prophecy may in some measure relate to the king of ancient Babylon, yet it seems to be principally spoken of Antichrist, king of the last Babylon, and to be finally completed in him. It is usual with prophets to join in the same description two objects that have a relation one to the other. Here then the Almighty tells his people that, when they shall be freed from their labour, vexation, and hard bondage under Antichrist, v. 3, they shall address heaven in a hymn of praise and thanksgiving, saying: How is the oppressor (Antichrist) come to nothing? The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, the rod of the rulers that struck the people in wrath with an incurable wound, that brought nations under in fury, that persecuted in a cruel manner and now the whole earth is quiet and still, it is glad and hath rejoiced, v. 4, 5, 6, 7.

V. 9. "Hell below," continues the prophet, 66 was in an uproar to meet thee at thy coming, it stirred up the giants for thee. All the princes of the earth are risen up from their thrones, all the princes of nations.

V. 10. 66 All shall answer and say to thee: Thou also art wounded as well as we, thou art become like unto us.

V. 11. " Thy pride is brought down to hell, thy carcass is fallen down under thee shail the moth be strewed, and worms shall be thy covering." Here we see the reception

Antichrist meets with at his arrival in the infernal regions. All hell is in an uproar, the princes, the giants or famous warriors whom he had slain, rise up and advance to meet him, addressing him with derision: Oh! Thou art also wounded then as well as we, thou art at last dealt with as thou deat with us: Thy pride is brought down to hell, &c.

V. 12. 66

How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, who didst rise in the morning? how art thou fallen to the earth, that didst wound the nations?

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V. 13. And thou saidst in thy heart: I will ascend to heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, I will sit in the mountain of the covenant, in the sides of the north. V. 14. I will ascend above the height of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.

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V. 15. "But yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, into the depth of the pit." The princes in hell continue to insult Antichrist, saying: How art thou fallen, thou that shone in majesty and brightness like Lucifer, the morning star? They remind him of his former pride, arrogance, superlative insolence, his proclaiming himself God, &c., all which they paint in lively colours: After which with a contemptuous triumph they tell him: But yet thou shalt be brought down to hell into the depth of the pit.

V. 16. " They that shall see thee, shall turn towards thee, and behold thee: is this the man that troubled the earth, that shook kingdoms.

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V. 17. That made the world a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof, that opened not the prison to the prisoners? All the kings of the nations have all of them slept in glory, every one in his own house.

V. 18.

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V. 19. "But thou wert cast out of thy grave as an unprofitable branch defiled, and wrapped up among them that are slain by the sword, and are gone down to the bottom of the pit as a rotten carcass."

CHAPTER XII.

THE CONTINUATION OF THE HISTORY OF THE SIXTH AGE.

NOTWITHSTANDING the vengeance of God has thus manifested itself in the total extermination of Antichrist and his