Full text of "Twelve sermons on the prophecies concerning the Christian Church, and, in particular, concerning the Church of Papal Rome : preached in Lincoln's-Inn-Chapel, at the lecture of the Right Reverend William Warburton .."

C T O (

L I B R ^ 11 Y

tiK I UK

Theological Seminary,

PRINCETON, N. J.

TWELVE SERMONS

ON THE

PROPHECIES

Concerning the CHRISTIAN CHURCH;

AND, IN PARTICULAR,

Concerning the Church of PAPAL ROME;
PREACHED IN LINCOLN'S-INN^CHAPEL,

AT THE LECTURE or

The Right Reverend WILLIAM WARBURTON
Lord Bifhop of Gloucester.

By S A M U E L H A L L I F A X, D. D.

Chaplain in Ordina;-y to His Majesty.

L O N P O N,

PRINTED BYW. ?OWYER AND J. NICHOLS:

FOR T. CAPELL, IN THE STilAKDt

MDCCLXXVI,

a JSRgl^AM a.«cyi ^MAI J JIW

PViOMh

I '':f HT

aHT^ ^s

"^tt^ >U ^'^^

To THE RIGHT HONOURABLE

WILLIAM, LORD MANSFIELD,

LORD CHIEF JUSTICE OF ENGLAND,
AND,

to the right honourable

Sir JOHNEARDLEY WILMOT, Knt.

late lord chief justice of the

common pleas, ,
TRUSTEES FOR this lecture,

THE FOLLOWING SERMONS

ARE MOST HUMBLY INSCRIBED

BY THE AUTHOR,

S. HALLIFAX.

CAMBRIDGE,
MARCH 13, I776*

^ T* t/" '^ T* W A ^

[ vli ]

CONTENTS.

SERMON I.

The Truth of Revealed Religion, in <re-
neral, and of the Chriftian, in particular,
proved from Prophecy.

Rev. iii. 22.

He that hath an ear^ let Mm hear what the
Spirit faith unto the Churches . page /.

SERMON It

The Authority of the Book of DaaieL

Dane e l xii, 10,

N^ne of the wicked Jha II underjiandi but the

ivffe fmll under/land, p. 32.

24 SER'

vili CONTENTS.

SERMON III.

Prophecies of Daniel concerning the Four
Empires.

Dan I E L ii. 4^.

And In the days ofthefe Kings f jail the God

of heaven Jet up a Kingdom^ which Jloall

;* ,^ never be deflroyed*,.., _. p. 66.

SERMON IV. ^

Prophecies of Daniel concerning Antio-
chus Epiphanes and Antichrift^

Daniel. xiu» 8, 9.

^en /aid I, O my Lor cly What pall be the
End of thefc things ? And he /aid. Go
thy way, Daniel; for the words are
^^^'^yiofed up and fialedy till the time of the

p. 99.

8 E R-

'^'^"■£«/.

; df-^d.

^a T M *^j . r^ ^ ^:.--

CONTENDS. It

^SERMON V.

•:nan r^ ^^^^^

Prophecy of St. Paul concerning the Mad

of Sin.

2 Th ess. ii. 3.

Z^/ ;/<? ;;;^;/ deceive you by any means: jor
i'hat Day pall not come, except there
come a falUng-away firjl^ and that Man
of Sin be revealed, the Son of Perdi^
iion. p. 133.

fv S E R M O N VI.

I^t6phecy bf St. IPdul concerning the Apo-
frafy of the Latter Times.

^ , ^iTlMOTHYlV. I, ^

•^-Nom-the Spirit fpeaketh exprefsly, that in
'shx "^e^, Latter Times fame fpall depart from
, ^.,p t^s Faith ; giving heed tofeducingfpirits,
_c7 r^nd Do^ri?2cs of Devils. p. 166.

6 S E R.

CONTENTS.

r"^ S E R M O N VII, :,-,^

The Authority of the Apocalypfe, aiicj
the Time when it was written.

Rev, i, 3.

Blejfed is he that readeth, and they that hear,
the words of this prophecy y and keep thofe
things which are written therein ; for
the time is at hand. p, 193.

The Order and Gonnexion of the Vififens
1?::: 4 ^^^^f the Apocalypfe. ^

Rev. i. 19.
Write the\ things which thou hajl feen, and
the things which Are^ and the thi/igs.
which Shall Be Hereafter. p. 226.'

SERMON IX-

Vifion of the Apocalypfe concerning the
4'^;\^ ^\^byloni(h Woman. §k^

The JVoman, which thou, fawejl^ is that

Great

CONTENTS.

Great City which reigneih over the kings
of the earth. p. 261.

,r, ■'»■ ' '-.-'-■ —V /■- ' ■• " •'■■"' •■,"■ ' "'■ ■

iiiiw- -J^Wvj^** v^*-W \^ ■

S E R M O N X.

General Defign of the remaining Vifions
^^<N* <^^ of the Apocalypfe. ^\^\ji uca

Ihefe fayings are faithful and true':, and
the Lord God of the holy prophets fent
his AngeU to floew unto his fervants the
things which muft portly be done. p. 29Q.

'Wi- ....S-E RM O N.XI/^^^^*^'^

Hiftorical View oif" the Corruptions of
Popery.

Acts xxvi. 22.

^r!3 g'{iin3;:>nOv3" c)iqr^{Ui3uqA'^ii3 iO UOulV

paying none other things than tBfe, which
the Propheis-^did fay Jhould come. p. 328.

' iv^- \ J^d\ ^.^:W «Wi?i.K^c5 E R*

r^A,

1?^X\XJ

xii CONTENTS.

SERMON XIL

The Reformation vindicated from the ob-
jedions of the Romanifts. Concluiion.

Rev. xviii. 4.

Come out of her ^ my people ; that ye be not
partakers of her fins ^ and nbat ye receive
not of ker plagues. p. 363.

SER.

[ » ]

S E R M O N i.

The Truth of Revealed Religion, in
general, and of the Chriftian, in
particular, proved from Prophecy.

Rev. iii. 22,;

He thdt hath an ear^ let him hear what the
Spirit faith unto the Churches^

A Revelation, which claims to serm.
jfJL come from God, befides the in- ^»
ternal arguments of its divinityj arifing '

from its Doftrines, ought alfo to be ac-
companied with the external proofs of
Miracles and Prophecies. Of thefe
we are to conceive, not as intended for the
benefit and conviction of the fame per-
B " fons

2 The Truth of Revealed Religion^ Sec,

SERM. fons and times, but as providently accom-
^' modated to the wants of different ages,

" and given in fuccefiion. On the firll:

publication of a new religion, there is an
evident necefiity in the nature of the
thing, not only that the Doftrines be fuch
as, for their reafonablenefs and importance,
are worthy of God to communicate, but
alfo, that the immediate publifliers of this
religion be enabled to atteft the reality of
their miffion by Miracles. Neither
doftrines alone, nor miracles alone, are a
fufficient teftimony, that the revelation
containing them is divine. The fy^ng
wonders % fabricated In Pagan and even
in Chriftian times, to fupport the labour-
ing interefts of vice and fuperllition, are
an ample proof that the moft fpecious
miracles, of themfelves, are no fecurlty
from fraud and error. Again, we cannot
with certainty infer that doftrines, con-
fefledly worthy of God to reveal, did In-
deed, In an extraordinary way, defcend

from

proved from Prophecy- 3

from him; becaiife we know not, with serM.
exadnefs, the precife Hmits of the human ^'
underftanding, or what truths there may "

be, however remote from vulgar appre-
henlion, which by a well-dire£led appli-
cation of its own powers it is capable of
difcovering. But when a perfon, affum-
ing to be an infpired meflenger, deli-
vers with authority a fyftem of religi-^
ous belief and pradlice, which is plainly
calculated to promote the glory of God
and the prefent and future good of man-
kind ; and, in confirmation of fo fublims
a character, is able to arreft and fufpend
the laws of nature by the produdlon of
that efFedt we call a Miracle ; in fuch a
cafe, we may fafely repofe on the vera-
city and goodnefs of God, that the won-
derful works of one fo circumflanced are
neither the artful machinations of wicked
men, nor the more dangerous delufions
of wicked fpirits ; but were purpofely
wrought in order to bear witnefs to his
words, and to afford a fenfible demonflra-
B a tion.

4 ^he Truth of Revealed Religion, &c.

SERM. tioD, that he is indeed a teacher come
i» from God\ for no man could do thofe
miracles which he does, except God were
ivith him ^.

The fame reafons, which fhew the ne-
ceflity of Miracles on the firft promulga-
tion of a new religion, ferve alfo to fhew
that, when once this end is anfwered, the
power of them (hould be withdrawn.
Extraordinary appearances of this kind
are never indulged in vain ; and w4ien-
ever they have been allowed, it hath al-
ways been with a frugal hand, and a par-
fimonious liberality. They are fitted by
their novelty, as well as by the authority
implied in the performers of them, to
roufe the attention of mankind for a time :
but this attention would be weakened, in
proportion as the novelty diminiflied ;
when grown to be familiar, and viewed
without furprize, thty would be no more
regarded than the (landing monuments of
divine power, exhibited every day in the
works of creation and providence ; be-»

^ John iii. 2.

fide^

proved from Prophecy. 5

fides that fo frequent a violation of the serm<
courfe of nature, as is iuppofed in the ^•
conltant difplay of them, would be incon-
fiflent with an eftablifhed order and go-
vernment of the world.

Nor would any inconvenience be felt
by the ceafing of this celeftial gift, if, im-
mediately or foon after its fubdu6lion,
what was mentioned above as the fecond
external proof of Revelation were now
introduced, the word of Prophecy. This,
which in the age of Miracles was not want-
ed, and might therefore well be fpared,
is, on the difcontinuance of that fuper-
natural endowment, an adequate com-
penfation for its lofs. Miracles, after
being once wrought, partake fo far of the
nature of other paft fafls, as only to be
verified on the authority of human tefti-
mony ; an authority which, by length of
time, is liable to become more and more
imperfedl, and fubjed: to continual weak-
nefs and decay. But the argument from
Prophecy preferves its force through a
B 3 courfe

6 ^he T'ruth of Revealed Religion^ &c,

SERM. courfc of ages, unimpaired; and like the

light which gilds the approaches of the
morning, fhines with encreafing luftre
the further we advance from the time of
its difcovery. The reafon is, Prophecies
are not, as Miracles, unrelated to and
independent of one another ; but are
to be confidered as conftituting a Whole
or Syftem, whofe parts are mutually con-
iiefted, and all refer to one confident de-
fign, determined beforehand even to the
minuteft circumftance in the counfels of
providence, and uniformly purfued through
a feries of fucceeding generations, and
opened with proportionably greater de-
grees of perfpicuity, as the time for its
full completion draweth near. Hence it
follows, that the fcheme of prophecy is
not confined to one age, begun and end-
ed, as it were, at once j but diflributed
through a long tradt of time, and fulfilled
gradually, and after certain intervals : by
which Jpringing and germinant accompUfi*

ment^

proved from Prophecy. 7

menty as Lord Bacon calls it% every fingle SERm,
prediclion, when forted with the event,
becomes in its turn a new confirmation
of the faith ; and the latter ages of the
world have as frefli and forcible means of
convidlion as the former. Thus thefe
two pillars of Revelation, though diftindl
in themfelves, and either of them alone
fufficient, are made, when difpofed by the
plaflic hand of the Almighty Architeft, to
contribute to the fupport and ornament
of each other; and the traditional and
ftill weakening authority of Miracles is
upheld by the more fure^ and growing
evidence of Prophecy. Each proof, in
its way, is peculiarly adapted to the times
and perfons, for whofe benefit it was in-
tended ; and both together form a com-
plete and conclufive argument for the truth
of that difpenfation which contains them.

To apply what has now been faid
on revealed religion, in general, to the

« Advancement of Learning, book ii.
^% Pet. i. 19.

B 4 Jewifli

S The Truth of Revealed Religion^ &c.

S E R M. Jewifli and Chriftian religions, in parti-
^' cular.

L The Jewish Law, though It had in-
deed a relative perfeftion, namely that of
attaining its end, which was, to preferve
alive among a people, purpofely feparated
from the reft of the nations, the doftrine
of One living and true God ; carried
along with it the moft unequivocal marks,
interwoven into its conftitution, that it
was never intended by its divine author
to be a general law for mankind, nor to
be of perpetual obligation even to the
Jews. The better to fecure this fepara-
tion during the time it was to laft, a form
of government was inftituted, fingular in
Its nature, and without example among
the varying polities of the world, a Theo-
cracy ; in which God himfelf con-
defcended to be the Magiftrate of this
favoured people, and exercifed all thofe
afts of fovereignty, which were proper to
convince them they were the real and im-
mediate fubjefts of his kingdom. From

hence

proved from Prophecy. ,9

lience it appears, that the interpofition of serm,
jthe Supreme Behig, which was vifible for i-
fo long a period, in the conduft of the '

civil and religious concerns of the Jews,
was but a necellary confequence of the
peculiar form of their polity ; or, in other
words, that it was of the effence of a go-
vernment, like that we are now con*
templating, that it fhould be adminiftered
by Miracles and Prophecies. Miracles
were abfolutely requilite, to execute the
temporal rewards and punifliments, an-
nexed to the Law : and Prophecy, by de-
claring beforehand the fucceffes and cala-
mities that were to happen to the Jewifti
ftate, were a never-failing fource of truft
and confidence, as well to them who
heard the predi6tions delivered as to thofe
who faw them fulfilled, that all the great
affairs of this repubhc were under the
direftion of an unerring guide, who de^
clareth the end from the beginnings and from
ancient times the things that are not yet done^

lo The T'ruth of Revealed Religion, &:c,

s E R M. fiyif^gi My counjel JJmll Jland^ and I 'vuill do
all my pleafure ^

But Prophecy, in the manner it was
imparted to this nation, ferved another
and yet fublimer ufe. The religion of
Mofes, we have fa id, was to iafl: but for a
time, and to prepare the way for a more
perfect inftitution, to be delivered by
Jefus, which ftould be the completion,
or, if you will, the extenfion of that
which preceded. There being then this
dependency between the two religions, it
is reafonable to fuppofe that, previous to
fuch an important change of the oeco-
nomy, fome intimations fhould be given
of its approach. And yet to have done
this in a way, that would have led the
Jews to look with irreverence on a
fyftem, under which not only themfelves
but their pofterity were to live, would
have been little agreeable to our notions
of the divine wifdom. A method there-
fore was to be invented, which, whilfl it
« If. xlvi. lo.

kept

proved fnim Prophecy. ii

kept the people fincerely acklifted to the serm.
Law, (hould difpoi'e them, when the time !•
was come, for the reception of a better
covenant^ that Ihould be ejlablijijed upon
better promifes^. Now the fpirit of Pro-
phecy, together with the Language in
which that prophecy was conveyed, fully
accomplifhed both thefe purpofes. By a
contrivance, only to be fuggefted by di-
vine prefcience, the fame expreffions,
which, in their primary and Hteral mean-
ing, were ufed to denote the fortunes and
deliverances of the Jews, for the prefent
confolatiop of that people, were fo or-
dered, as, in a fecondary and figurative
fenfe, to adumbrate the fufferings and
vidlories of the Meffiah, for the future
inftri?6lion of the church of Chrift. Had
no expedient of this fort been employed,
we fliould have wanted one proof of
the connedion between the Mofaic and
Chriflian rehgions : on the other hand,
):iad the nature of the Meffiah's kingdom

^ Heb. viii, 6.

been

1 2 The Truth of Revealed Religion^ &c.

SERM. been plainly defcribed, the defign of the
I- national reparation would have been
defeated. But when fpiritual bleffings
were promifed, under the veil of tem-
poral, and in terms f^imiliar to the carnal
expeftations of the Jews ; a proper de-
gree of refpecl for the old fyftem was
preferved, at the fame time that matters
were gradually ripening for the introduc-
tion of the new ; and the Jhadow of good
things^ held forth obfcurely in the Law,
prepared them to look forward to that
happier day, when the very 'unage ^ itfelf
ihould be prefented, in full fplendor, and
diftindly defined, in the Goipel.

From the delineation here given of the
religious oeconomy of the Jews, it ap-
pears that their civil regimen, on account of
the lingular mode of providence by which
it was conduced, had the force of a con-
tinued Miracle: and their Law, on accoimt
of its fpiritual meaning, partook of the

8 Heb. X, ic

nature

proved from Prophecy. 13

nature of Prophecy. Nor does this op- serm.
poie what was faid before concerning i-
thcie two fundamental proofs of Reve- '

lation, that they ihould be raifed in fuc-
ceflion : for we are here to obferve that
the Miracles, recorded in the Jewifli hif-
tory, are of two forts ^ ; the one were
wrought to evince the truth and divine
original of the Mofaic religion ; the other
were incorporated into its frame and
ftrufture, to fupport it after its eftablifh-
ment, and by w^ay of diftributing the re-
wards and punilhments, which confti-
tuted the fanftion of the Law : the intent
of the former w^as fatisfied, when once
the authority of the new religion was
confirmed ; the latter were eflentially con-
nected with the extraordinary adminiftra-
tion, and ceafed together with it, on the

^ See A free and candid Examination of the principles
of the Bijhop of Londoris Sermons^ etc. London, 1756.
Chap. V. where this diftindion, and the ufes to be
ferved by it, are explained at large, with a penetra-
tion and acutenefs peculiar to the Examiner.

return

t4 5^^ Truth of Revealed Religion^ &c.

6ERM» return of the Jews from their captivity.
!• So did not Prophecy ; which w^as car-

' ried on, in one unbroken chain, to the

end of this republic ; nor ever intermitted
of its operation, till it had precilely mark-
ed out, what indeed was its principal objeft
toafcertain, the advent of that lUuftrious
Perfon, whom it uniformly defcribes un-
der every difpenfation, though in a manner
adapted to the genius of each, as the def-
tined reftorer of the human race to that
immortality which had been forfeited by
the fall, and fore-ordained to become the
author of eternal fa hat ion /^ all that obey
hhn '\ whether Jews or Gentiles. Nor
can any adequate caufe be affigned for
what we know to have been an undoubt-
ed fa£l, the univerfal expe^ation of fomc
great prophet ; which prevailed through-
out the Eaft, at the very period, when
Jefus appeared in Judjca ; unlefs fuch an
expeftation be afcribed to the authority of
prophecy, and efpecially to the prophe-

> Hcb, V. 9.

des

proved from Prophecy. i^

cies to be found in the book of Daniel k; serm,
in which the coming of the Meffiah is !•
foretold to happen, not only in general, "

within the times of the fourth, or Roman,
kingdom; but more particularly, within
a given term of years after the reftoration
of the city of Jerufalem, then defolated
by the Babylonifli captivity, and before
the deftrudion of the Jewifli temple and
government. There is not the lead co-
lour for afferting, that the numerous pre*
didtions of this fort, delivered at different
times and by different men, were written
after the event ; nor can it be pretended
they were, all of them, fulfilled in t<he
hiftory of any other perfon but that of
Jefus. What remains then but that we
admit, what the whole tenor of fcripture
authorizes us to conclude, that they were
defignedly given to ereft the minds of
thoughtful men towards a future and

^ Dan. ii. 44, 45. vii. 23. Ix. 24 — 27. See Bp,
Char.dler'^s Defence of Chriftlanity, ch. i. and li,
where this matter is confidered at large,

1 6 ne Truth of Revealed Religion, &lc,

SERM. more enduring fyflem, at the time their
^' own was going to decay, and to comfort
them with the hopes of better days to
come ? .

IL The Christian Religion, being
neith^ temporary in its nature, nor ap-
propriated to the ufes of one people, but
calculated for perpetual duration and the
general benefit of mankind, has not ex-
perienced thofe frequent interventions of
an extraordinary providence, nor that va-
riety of fucceffive prophecies, which were
vouchfafed to the Jews. The power of
miracles, granted at firft as the credential
of the new revelation, lafted no longer
than the time of its firm eftablifliment ;
and the prophetic fpirit was wholly con-
fined to the perfons of Chrift and his
Apoftles, particularly St. Paul and St.
John. Nor will fuch a difplay of divine
goodnefs, in fupport of this its laft and
beft difpenfation, be thought too penuri-
ous ; if we refle£t that an ampje provifion
was made for producing, both in the pri-

2 ITAtivQ

proved from Prophecy, 17

mitive and prefent times, the fullefl: de- serm,
monftration of Its truth. If the proof !•
from Miracles be properly addrefied to
thofe only, who faw the wonders per-
formed ; and to others, who are removed
from the fcene of afllon, becomes lefs
and lefs fatisfaftory ; the argument from
Prophecy remains unhurt amidfl all the
ravages of time, and every increafe of its
age is but a new addition to its ftrength.
As the predidions in the New Teftament
have fome of them had their completion,
and others will remain to be fultilled,
to the final confummation of all things;
there is room for a continual acceffion
of evidence, in favour of the divine ori-
ginal of Chriftlanity, to the laft period
of the world : till at length, as we are
taught by our infpired oracles to exped,
the conviction, arifing from its accumu-
lated force, will grow to fuch a height,
that no obftacle, whether of vice or error,
fhall be able to fland before it ; the ^v/7,
which hllndeth the minds of them that be-
C lleve

1 8 ne Truth of Revealed Religion, &c.

SERM. lievc 7iot^ and intercepts their right ap-
!• prehenfion of the ways and works of God,
fhall be completely done aw.iy ^ ; and,
Jews and Gentiles being now converted
to the fime fiith, the kingdoms of this
world fhal! become the kingdoms of our
Lord and of his Cirif^ and he fall reign
for ever and ever "".

Add to this, that the temporal deliver-
ances, promifed to the Ifraelites under
the Law, were all of them typical of the
fpirirua! bkffings to be conferred by the
Gofpel; tliough the knowledge of fuch
bieflings could not be openly declared,
without anticipating the time, allotted
to that preparatory fyftem. When thefe
predidions, in their direct and obvious
acceptation, were made good, in the civil
occurrences of the Jews ; they became fo
many pledges and ajfurances^ that they
would hereafter be accompliflied, in their
more fublime and fecret meaning : and

y 2 Cor. Iv. 4. and iii. 14. ,.

"' Rev. ii. 15.

when

proved fr am Prophecy, 19

when again this remote and myftlcal fenfe serm,
\vas verified in the pcrfon and rehgion !•
of Jefus; fuch a double completion was a '
flriking argument that, under the old
covenant as well as the new, the hopes of
eternal life were founded on a Redeemer^
coming or come ; the efficacy of whofe
merits was to extend to all the defeendants
of Adam, whether born before or after
his manifeftation ; and who, in allufion
to this retrofpe£live virtue of his dcc)th,
is called the Lamb Jlai?i from the founda-
tion of the world ".

III. I have detained you thus long on the
general fubjeft of Miracles ^nd Prophecies,
and in explaining the manner, in which
thefe were applied, in proof of the two
difpenfations of Judaifm and Chriftianity;
in order to introduce, with greater ad-
vantage, what I have now to offer con-
cerning the Prophecies, which relate to
the Chrifian church. Thefe, whether ob-
fcurely delivered by the legal prophets,
n Rev. xlii. 8,

C 2 or

20 The I'ruth of Revealed Religion^ &c.

SERM. or more clearly revealed by the evange-
^' Ileal, have been conveniently diftributed
under two heads : they either relate to
the perfonal charadier of Chr'ifl^ or to the
fortunes of his religion. Of the former fort
are the predi£lions in the Old and New
Teftament, in which are foretold the
birth and life, tlie fufferings and death,
the refurredion and afcenfion of the Mef*
fiah : with other circumftances, beyond
the fagacity of human forefight to con-
jefture, or human power to bring to pafs ;
which yet, in the hiftory of Jefus, have
been punctually fulfilled. The prophe-
cies of the latter clafs are thofe, which
demand our efpecial confideration in the
prefent Ledure.

Of thefe there are two, which, as con-
taining in brief the different fates of both
the religions above defcribed, deferve
to be particularly noticed. The firft is
that which concerns the deflruBion of the
City and I'emple of Jerufalem: and its
importance may be thus conceived. From

the

proved from Prophecy. ^l

the flighteft attention to the order of the serm,
divine oeconomy it appears, that the Law ^*
and the Gofpel, though nearly related "
and dependent fyftems, were never de-
figned to exift together ; and that the
abolition of the Mofiiic religion was of
neceffity to precede the perfed eftablifh-
ment of the Chriflian. Now it was an
exprefs command in the Hebrew ritual,
that the ceremonies and facrifices, there
prefcribcd, fhould only be performed in
one determined place ; and that place,
after the times of Solomon, it is agreed,
was the Temple at Jerufalem. So long
therefore as the Temple fubfifted, Ju-
daifm was permitted to remain in force :
when that was deftroyed, the local wor-
fhip, and the religious inftitution founded
on it, were deftroyed alfo. But a revo-
lution fo lingular as this, and which,
whenever it happened, was to be followed
by nothing lefs than the total fubverfion
of the Jewifli polity, it is natural to expeft,
would not be fuffered to efcape the folemn
C 3 notice

2^ 'The Truth of Revealed Religion, &c.

SERM. notice of prophecy; and accordingly we
I. find it announced, firft, indefinitely and

■~ at large, by Daniel °, and then again, and

with greater nciinutenefs, by Jeius?. The
proofs of the accomplifhment of this pre-
diftion are almoft as ren^arkable as the
prediftion itfelf, and are furnifhed by a
-writer, whofe tedimony in this cafe is
above fufpicion. Jofephus, a Jew and a
Prieil, who was himfelf a fharer in the
calamities of his countrymen, has de-
fcribedj in detail, the feveral particulars
that attended the fiege of the city and
temple, as it was efFeded by the Roman
armies, under the conducl of Titus, His
hiftory and our Lord's prophecy, com-
pared together, mutually explain and il-
luftrate each other ; and produce in well-
njifpofed minds fuch a perfuafion concernr
ing the general truth of the Gofpel, as
cannot be refifled. The ancient Chrifti-

° Dan. jx. 26, 27.

P Matth. XXIV, Mark xiii. Luke xvll. 20— -37.
and cji. x\i.

I ans

proved from Prophecy. 23

ans were wont to contemplate the mat- serm.
ter in this view, and to infifl: on io fignal ^*
an inftance of the divine fore-knowledge
ofjefus as an irrefragable argument that
He was the Chrill. And when, in after-
times, an Apoftate Emperor attempted,
at an immenfe expence, to rebuild the
Temple, on purpofe to falfify the pro-
phecies, which had foretold its final de*
folation ; the honour of God's decrees
was openly vindicated with all the tokens
of incenfed omnipotence ; and balls of
fire, burfting out from the foundation,
repelled the blafted workmen from daring
to reftore its ruins "i.

Another prophecy, intimately connected
with the foregoing, and of equal im-
portance in the hiftory of the Chriftian
Church, is that which refpeils the con-
verjion of the Heathen iiations to the faith
of Chrtfl. When the revelation of Jefus

*' See the Difcourfe entitled Julian, where the
reality of this Miracle is fatisfaflorily proved, by
X\\t very learned Founder of this Lc£lure.

C 4 was

24 ^he Truth of Revealed Religion^ &c.

s ERfvT. was firft propofed to mankind, not content
^* with being limply admitted by its fol-

' lowers as true, it required flill further

that they fliould embrace it as the on/y
true one ; the confequence of which was,
it could no otherwife be eftablhhed, but
on the ruin or abohtion of every other
religion. The various and contradiftory
dodrines of Pagan theology it formally
condemned of falihood ; and though it
owned the truth and divinity of Ju-
daifm, and even profefTcd to be built on
it, as its foundation, yet it contended
that the law of Mofes w^is now to be
abrogated, and that, having gained its end
in preferving the memory of One God till
the coming of the Meffiah, it was no
longer binding on thofe to whom it was
addrefled. Such pretenfions were not like-
ly to conciliate the affeftions either of
Jews or Gentiles : the former, with the
utmoft abhorrence of every other inflitu-
tion, and fatally perfuaded of the abfolute
perfedlion of their own, thought no per-

fons

proved from Prophecy

fons worthy of the proteftion of heaven serm,
but themfelves: and the latter, accuftom- i.
ed to an intercommunity of worfhip, and
(I rangers to the idea of an univerfal reli-
gion, were averfe to allow the claims of
one, which refuled to be received but on
the deftruftion of tlie refl:. With this
unpromifing profpe6l, the blefled Jefus,
now about to withdraw from his difciples,
gave them his laft command to go into
all the worlds and preach the gofpel to
every creature ^ : at the fame time, left
they fliould be difcou raged from the at-
tempt, he exprefsly told them, that, in
fpite of every obftacle, their endeavours
(hould be followed with fuccefs, and the
work of the Lord (hould profper in their
hands. The event was every way con-
formable to the prediction. In opposition
to the obftinacy of fuperftition, the pride
of philofophy, and the violence of civil
power, the religion of Chrift gradually
made its way, and in the compafs of three

' Mark xvi. 15.

hundred
3

26 The Truth of Revealed Religion, &cc.

SERM. hundred years became the religion of the
'• world. Much, no doubt, ftill remains to
be done, ere this great defign of provi-
dence be brought to its perfedion : but
the fame fpirit of prophecy, which once
declared that, before the generation of men
then living fhould pafs away^ the gofpel
Jljould b^ preached for a witnefs to all na-
tions % hath alfo predifted, that the days
will come, when its dominion (hall be
ftridly Universal; when darknefs ihd\\
no more cover the earth, nor grofs darknefs
the people ^ ; and the confummation^ fpoken
of by Daniel, and the times of the Gentiles^
as that word is interpreted by Chrift,
fhall at length be h3,ppily fulfil led "",

The two prophecies, which have here
been offered to your confideration, are
among the moft illuftrious of thofe, which
relate to the Chriftian Church -, and hav-
ing both received their completion, they

« Matth. xxlv. 14, 34.

*• If. Ix. 2.

" Dan. ix. 27. Luke xxi. 24.

beconae

proved from Prophecv. i 27

become direft and politive proofs of the serm,
divinity of our religion. To have dif- i-
CLifled them with the care and accu racy they
deferve, would have exceeded the limits
of my intended plan ; and would now^ for
a reafon that need not be mentione(jl, have
been unneceflary ^, Yet even this ilight
and perfunclory examination may have its
ufe, in preparing you for what is next
to Iblicit your patient hearing, through
the following Leftures, the prophecies
in the Old and New Tertament, which
defcrlbe the Apojlafy of Papal Rome. It
is doubtlefs to be lamented by thofe who
are engaged in this argument, that the
governing principle, by which it is to
be fupported, and which was formerly
held as the common fymbol of Proteftan-
tifm, namely — That the Pope or Church
of Rome is the Antichrlft, whofe cha-
radler and fortunes are foretold in thofe
predidlions — fhould have fallen into dif-

^ See the Sixth of Bp. Hurd's Sermons on the

Prophecies.

reDUte :

28 ^he Truth of Revealed Religion^ &c.

SERM. repute: and particularly, that a man, fo

fupremely Ikllled in the nature of moral
evidence as the great Lord Chancellor
Clarendon, fhould have regarded it, as
{omt Judgement on thofe who have pre-
tended to make the difcovery, (which, he
aflerts, may as reafonably be applied to
any other per/on whom they do not love)
that, being many of them in other argu^
ments men of parts and clear ratiocination^
they no fooner entered and exercifed them-
f elves in this^ than they immediatly became
per p lex t and ohfcure^ that their neareji friends
could not underflajid them "". Thus this
great man ; crudely and inconfiderately,
indeed; but according to the fentiments
and language of his time. The prefent
age, it may be hoped, among its other
attainments in religious knowledge, is
deftined to reftore the credit of an opinion,
which in the lixteenth century was

» See his MIfcellaneous Works, in one Yolume,
Folio ; and the laft of the EJ/aySy Againjl the multi-
fhing Coniroverjiei^ &c. p. 259.

thought

proved from Prophecy. 29

thought alone fufficient to juftify the fe- serm.
paration from the Church of Rome, and i*
may flill, we thhik, be (hewn to have a
real foundation in Scripture. To promote
fo defirable an end, to vindicate the truth
and purity of Reformed Religion, is the
fimple purpofe of this Proteftant Lefture.
The philolopher, who has habituated
himfelf to feoff at all revelation, may
laugh at our miftaken pains to prefervc
the integrity of the Chriftian ; or even
deride the attempt, as no better than the
dotage of a difordered underftanding : the
man of the world, immerfed in the in-
dulgencies of fenfe, or eager in the purfuits
of ambition, may be little difpofed to at-
tend to an argument, that might detain
him too long from his wonted gratifica-
tions : and the papift, accuftomed to re-
pofe under the venerable fhade of autho-
rity, may have his reafons for reprefenting
us, as influenced by prudential motives
and a political averfion, when we would
fix the brand of Antichrift on the Roman

Pontiff.

30 The Truth of Revealed Religion^ Sec,

SERM. Pontiff. In the mean while, the fober
and difpaflionate enquirer ; he that hath
an ear^ purged from the feculence of vice,-
and cleanfed from the impurities of fu-
perflition ; fuch a one will not be hafty
in leflening the merits of an inftitution,
which, if founded on truth, muft be al-
lowed to concern us, in the higheft degree,
both as Chriftians and Proteftants ; at lead
will not affedt to treat it with contempt
and ridicule, till he hath arrived at the
Inoft deliberate conviftion of its futility.
For though to interpret prophecies before
they are fulfilledj be an attempt that is
often dangerous, and always prefumptu-
ous ; to illuftrate thofe, whofe meaning
is now explained by the event ; to admire
and adore the hand, which is not more
confpicuous in the prediftion than the
completion ; is furely, if any, an endea-
vour that may conduce to the mod ef-
fential interefls of revealed religion. It is
to this point only, that our future fpe-
culations are to be direded ; and now we

are

proved from Prophecy. '^i

are entering on fo auguf^ a theme, I can- serm,
not better befpeak your attention than in i.

thofe awful words, fo emphatically re- "

peated, in the Gofpels and in the book of
the Revelation, by him, who is the Alpha
and Omega^ the beginning and end y of pro-
phecy. He that hath an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit faith unto the Churches ^,

y Rev. xxii. 13.

2 Rev. ch. ii. 7, 11, 27, 29. Ch. ill. 6, 13, 22.
Ch. xiii. 9.

SER.

[ 3^

SERMON IL

The Authority of the Book of
Daniel.

Daniel xii. lo.

None of the wicked pall under/} and; but the
wife Jljall under/land.

8ERM. t I iHE predidlions, which refpeft the
^^' Jl ftate of the Chriftian Church, un-

der the ufurpation of a certain tyrannical
power, commonly known by the name
of Antichrifl, and which, as we fay, are
to be interpreted of Papal Rome, are con-
tained in the book of Daniel, in two
Epiftles of St. Paul, and in the Revelation
of St. John. Of thefe the firft in order

^he Authority of the Book of Daniel. 33

of time, and of principal confideration serm.
in the prefent Lefture, is Daniel. His ^^»
prophecies make up the ckie, which
was afterwards evolved, diftindly and at
length, by the writers who fucceeded him.
It was in confequence of what had been
foretold by him concerning the 70 weeks,
or 490 years, allotted for the conti-
nuance of the Jewifh city and fandluary^
after each had been reftored on the re-
turn of that people from captivity a, that
the coming of the Meffiah, tov/ards the
end of that period, was geinerally ex-
peflied among the nations of the Eafti
To the fame predi6iion, as of allowed
authority, and with a particular caution
that he who reads fliould underfland it,
our Lord refers, in his own denunciation
of the then impending ruin of the Temple
of Jerufalem ; who alfo takes efpecial
care to diftinguifh him by the title of
Prophet''. St. Paul's defcription of the

■ * Dan. ix. 24 — 27.

** Matth* xxiv. 15.

D Apo-

34 "The Authority of the Book of Daniel.

SERM. Apoftacy of the latter times is at once pre-
II* faced and confirmed by what the Spirit
had exprejsly fpoken before, by the mouth
of Daniel "". In the Apocalypfe of St.
John, the fame events, and perfons, and
times are treated of, the fame fymbols
and images, the fame ftyle and colouring
are adopted, as had been ufed by the legal
prophet : as might naturally be expedted
in the works of two perfons, both in-
fpired by the fame Spirit, both reprefented
in Scripture as peculiarly dear to God *^,
and both employed in revealing, for the
convidion of future ages, a regular chain
of events, from the beginning of the
Jewifli captivity to that awful period,
when all the purpofes of God to man fhall
be finally completed at the day of judge-
ment. The religion of Chrifl: being thus
evidently founded on what had been de-
clared by Daniel concerning the Meffiah,

*= I Tim. iv. I.

^ Dan. ix. 23. and x, 11. John xiii. 23, xix. 26.
XX. 2. xxi. 7. 20. 24.

The Authority of the Book of Daniel. 35

it was not without reafon affirmed by serm,
the great Sir Iliiac Newton, that to rejedi ^^•
bis Prophecies is to rejc^ the Chrijiian Re-
ligion^. He who owns the authority of
one can have no icruples about admit-
ting the truth of the other; and the ad-
verfaries of Daniel and of Chriftianity,
from Porphyry down to Collins, have
always been the fame.

Before we enter on the confideration of
the predidions of the Jewifii prophet, it
may be proper, for the fake of thofe, who
may think fuch a previous enquiry to be
but neceflary, to obferve to you what
hath been urged by learned men,, pro-
fefledly engaged on this fubjefl:, in proof
of the Authenticity of the Book itfef

I. And the firft thing, that takes our
attention in this remarkable compofition
is, that one part of it is Prophetical^ and
the other is HiJioricaL The fix firft chap-
ters are chiefly of the Hiftoric clafs ; the

^ Sir I. Newton's Obfervatlons on the Prophecies,
Part i. ch, iii.

D 2 fecond

36 The Authority of the Book (j/* Daniel.

SERM. fecond only containing a prophecy of
i^- what JJjotdd be in the latter days^ : the fix

*~ laft chapters are all Prophetical, and,

being written in the firft perfbn, were
probably the work of Daniel himfelf.
With regard to that part which is Hif-
torical, I do not know, that a defender of
Prophecy is more concerned to prove the
authority of this than of any other book
of Scripture : indeed not fo much ; as it is
eafy to conceive, in the prefent inftance,
that the Hiftory may have been adulter-
ated, and yet the Prophecies been preferved
fincere. In other cafes, Hiftories are ge-
nerally the compilement of one writer,
comprehending a feries of paft tranfac-
tions, delivered in chronological order,
and ufually carrying their own evidence
either of truth or faliliood along with
them : but the book in queftion, on the
face of it, is of a very different com-
plexion ; the Hiftorical part, which is
comprifed in the former half, being none

^ Dan. ii. 28.

ne Authority of the Book of Daniel. 37

of it put together by Daniel, and almoft serm.
all of it completed after his death. It is ^^•
a known thing, that feveral narrations, '

of the Hiftoric fort, have been afcribed to
this prophet, which, it is now agreed,
were nothing better than forgeries of
fome later Jews : fuch were the Song of
the three Children, the ftories of Bel and
of Sufannah, all formerly inferted into
the third chapter, in the Greek language,
although never admitted into the Hebrew
copies. Not that any advantage can fair-
ly be made of this conceffion, as if that
part of the book, which was all along
received into the Jewifli canon, were fa-
bulous : on the contrary, it hath been
proved, and to the fatisfadion of fair en-
quirers, to abound with all the marks
of genuine antiquity. The reputation for
wifdom, which Daniel is reported to have
acquired at Babylon, is confirmed by the
teftimony of Ezekiel, his fellow captive
there s ; and the liune author, on another

s Ezek. xxvlii. 3.

D 3 occa-

38 The Author liy of the Book of Daniel*

SERM. occafion, ranks him with Noah and Job,
^^* as eminent examples of piety '\ His own
deliverance from the lions, and that of
his countrymen from the fiery furnace',
are mentioned, among other inftances
taken from Scripture, by the writer of
the firfl: book of the Maccabees ^ ; above
two centuries after the age of Daniel, and
ahnoft as many before the coming of
Chrift, What can be more natural than
the account, given in the firfl: and fol-
lowing chapters, of the education and for^
tunes of this extraordinary perfon ? that
he was brought up, with other captive
youths, in the court of the king of Ba-
bylon ; that, becaufe an excellent fpirh
was found in him ^ he was raifed to the
honour of being the firfl of the three
Minifters of the Empire ""; and after-
wards, through the malice of his adver-

** Ezek. xlv. 14. 10.

* Dan. ch. vi. and cli, lii.
^ I Mace. ii. 59, 60.

* Dan. V. II, 12.

"» Dan. V. 29. yi. 2

> o-

farjes,

The Authority of the Book i?/" Daniel. 39

faries, envious that a ftranger fhould be serm.
preferred before them, was expofed to the ^^*
moft imminent danger, from which no-
thing but the arm of heaven, vifibly
ftretched out in defence of its chofen
fervant, could have refcued him ". What
can better defcribe the ufual workings of
inftant terror and inveterate habits, than
the conduct of the idolatrous princes of
Babylon and Media ; who are reprefented
as acknowleging the fuperiority of the
God of the Jews, and as it were in hafte
to engage his protedlion, when imprefled
with the recent fenfe of his power and
providence ; and then again, on the re-
moval of their firft alarm, returning with
equal fpeed to their wonted fuperftitions^?
Or what more agreeable to the relations
of other hiftorians concerning the uncon-
troulable genius of Afiatic defpotifm,
than the defcription of the Law of the
Medes and Perfans ; that, when once if-
fued by the king, it was regarded by his
° Ch. y1. ° Ch. lii. and vi.

D 4 fubjefts.

40 The Authority of the Book o/* Daniel,

SERM. fubjefls, and even by himfelf, as refiftlefs
^?? as the courfe of nature, and like that in-
capable of change and alteration ^P In a
word, the ftile and turn of the whole per-
formance accord to exaftly with the fituar
tion of the fuppofed author ; his cha-
ra6lers are fo well preferved ; the cuftoms
alluded to, whether of Jews or Pagans,
correfpond fo juftly with the times ; and
each mcident is fo peculiarly accommo-
dated to the occafion that brought it
forth ; as, all together, to amount to a
very high degree of prefumptive evidence,
in favour of the authenticity of this facred
compofition.

If there be any circumftance, in which
|:he veracity of the writer feems to labour,
it is that which refpeds the names of the
Kings, whom he affirms to have reigned
in Babylon and Perfia. But out of four
pientioned by him, in the firft and the
laft, Nebuchadnezzar and Cyrus % it is cou-

P Dan. vi. 8. 12. 15,
* Ch, i. I. 21. vi, 28,

felled,

^he Authority of the Book ^^Z" Daniel. 4X

feflt^d, there is no miftake. The fecond, serm,
BelJ}jaz%ar\ is indeed denominated other- ^^*
wife by the Greek Hiftorians ; who yet
are obferyed to differ from one another
.as much as they do from Daniel ; Hero-
dotus caUing hini by one name, Megaf-
thenes by another, Berofus by a third,
Tofephus by a fourth. It was a common
pradice in the Eaft, as we learn from
facred and profane hiftory, for the more
celebrated of their perfonages to be dif-
tinguidied by a multitude of appellations:
even to Daniel and his three companions
new names are faid to have been affigned
by the chief of the eunuchs, who be-
longed to Nebuchadnezzar % The pro-
phet, who refided in the courts of Baby-
lon and Perfia, could not be ignorant of
the names of any of his royal mafters;
nor would the author, had he lived fo late
^s is pretended, have hazarded his credit

' Dan. V. I, 30. vii. i,

« Ch. i. 7. iv. 8. V. 12,

42 The Authority of the Book of Daniel.

SERM. by inferting the name of a king, which
^^- was known to no hiftorian but himfelf.

But the greateft difficulty of all is in
the third king, faid here to be Darius the
Mede^. It is certain, no prince of this
name or nation, between the times of
Nebuchadnezzar and Cyrus, is to be found
in the feries of the Babylonian and Perfian
dynafties, whether fetched from the canon
of Ptolemy, or the fragments of Berofus;
and, on the firft view, it appears no eafy
matter to account for fuch an omifiion,
fo as to fave the honour of the infpired
penman. Among the many expedients,
invented with this defign, there is one
which hath been followed by the ableft
of our chronologers, and feems every way
qualified for the purpofe, which is this ;
that the Darius of Daniel, and the Cya-
xares of Xenophon, are one and the fame
perfon. This prince, the fecond of his
name, was uncle, and afterwards father-
in-law, to Cyrus the king of Perfia \ and

' Vc 31. vi. 28. ix. I.

fon

ne Authority of the Book of Daniel. 43

fon to Aftyages, vvhotn he fucceeded In serm;
the throne of Media. The better to af- ^^'
certain his identity with Darius, it is
fuppofed, that after the city of Babylon
was taken by Cyrus, and with all the
circumftances foretold, with fuch afto-
nlfhing particularity, by Ifaiah and Jere-
miah ", the nominal fovereignty of that
kingdom, by permiflion of the conqueror,
was vefted in Cyaxares, for the remainder
of his life ; and that it was not till the
event of his death, which happened two
years afterwards^ that the whole command
devolved entirely on Cyrus. This hy-
pothefis, which is probable in itfelf, is not
incompatible with the received chrono-
logy, and confents, in perfeft concord,
with the book of Daniel : where we read,
that Darius the Median was about three-
fcore and two years old^ when he took the
kingdom of Babylon ^, on the death of
Behhazzar; and where officious pains are

" If. ch. xiii. xiv. xlvi. xlvii. Jer. ch. I. li.
y" Dan. y. 31.

ufed

44 ^he Authority of the Book ^Daniel.

SERM. ufed to mark the dates of the prophetical
^^» vifions, fome of them as feen in the fiijl
year of Darius, and others in the thWd
year of Cyrus king of Perfia''. As to
the filence of the Greek writers, who
make Cyrus the immediate fucceflbr to
Aftyages in the kingdom of Media, with-
out the intervention of any fuch perfon ei-
ther as Darius or Cyaxares \ the Perfians,
from whom the Greeks had their relation,
would naturally be difpofed to afcribe the
whole merit of fo important a conqueft
to their countryman ; and, it being on all
hands agreed that the liege of Babylon
was chiefly effefted by him, during the
abfence of Cyaxares, the fame of the
Median prince might eafily be loft in the
reputation of his royal nephew. How-
ever, Jofephus, forfaking in this inftance
his oracle Berofus, whom in other refpefls
he is prone to follow, expreffly aflerts,
not only that Babylon was deftroyed by
the forces of Cyrus and Darius in con-

^ Dan. ix, I. xi. i. x. i,

junftion^

The Authority of the Book of Daniel. 45

junftion, but alfo, that this Darius was serm,
the Ion of Aftyages, and that the Greeks ^^'
called him by another name: and what
this other name^ given by the Greeks to
the fon and fucceffor of Aftyages was,'
we learn from Xenophon, who tells us,
it was Cyaxares. Nor is it any legitimate
objeilion to fuch evidence, that the book,
in which Cyaxares is mentioned by this
polite and learned Athenian, is, on the
confeffion of the exadeft judges of com-
pofition, a ficlion, and not a true hiftory.
For granting this, and that it was the
defign of the author, who was no lefs a
Philofophcr than a' Soldier, not fo much
to defcribe the life of Cyrus, as to make
ufe of fuch a pretext to convey, with
greater addrefs, his own moral - and po-
litical inftruftions ; ftill we contend that
in a ftory, then fo recent, and of a prince,
in whofe family he afterwards ferved, the
ground-plot of the whole, and the names
and aflions of the leading charafters,
would yet be real. One fo judicious as

Xeno-

46 The Authority of the Book of Danie^L.

SERM. Xenophon, it can hardly be fuppoled,
i^- would negleft fo obvious a rule of de-
corum : and a great confirmation, that he
did adlually advert to it, is, that his ac-
count is fupported by the teftimony of
Scripture, and leads to a commodious w^ay
of removing the apparent inconfiftency
between the author of the book of Daniel
and the profane hiftorians.

II. Having advanced thus far in our
defence of the flicred writer, confidered as
an Hijiorian^ let us now proceed to exa-
mine into his pretenfions, confidered as a
Prophet', and try, if we cannot difcover
as many notes of genuinenefs, when he
takes upon him to foretell future events,
as when he profeffes to relate thofe which
were paft. The firft, who called in quef-
tion his prophetical abilities, was Por-
phyry ; a Philofopher of the third cen-
tury, and famous for his writings againft
the Chriftian religion ; all of which, by
the ill-judged zeal of the Emperor Con-
ftantine, were ordered to be fupprefled.

ne Authority of the Book of Daniel. 47

He maintained, that the book of Daniel serm.
could not be compofed by the perfon of ^^*
that name, who flourilhed in the reigns
of Nebuchadnezzar and Cyrus, between
five and fix hundred years before Chrift ;
but was the work of one, who lived al-
moft four centuries later, about the age
of Antiochus Epiphanes ; becaufe, as low
as that period, the predi£lions there re-
corded have in them all the clearnefs
and precifion of hiftory ; but beyond it,
are wrapped up in obfcure and general
expreflions, on purpofe, as (hould feem,
that they might be adapted to any events,
to which a willing expofitor might be de-
firous of applying them. This opinion,
which, at the firft view, appears to be not
altogether defl:itute of probability, was
effeclually difproved in a learned com-
mentary, ftill extant, by the celebrated
Jerom ; who very fagacioufly obferves,
that fuch a method of impugning pro-
phecy, from its having been punctually
fulfilled, inftead of affording room to doubt

48 The Authority of the Book of Daniel.

SERM. or deny its authenticity, is the ftrongeft
!!• teftimony of its truths The next, who
laboured in the fame fruitlefs caufe with
Porphyry, was the noted author of the
Scheme of Literal Prophecy conjidered ^ i
he too, in imitation of his predeceiTor,
has colle£i:ed whatever he could find, to
derogate from the merit of Daniel's book,
and with much feeming complacency has
afferted, that it was compofed in the days
of the Maccabees. But here again, the
mifchief apprehended from a work, de-*
fignedly calculated to difhonour the reli-
gion of Chrift, was happily the occafioii
of exciting two ftrenuous champions % of
the fame name and profeflion, to engage

y Cujus impugnatio tellimonium veritatis efl. Tan-
ta enim didtomm fides fuit, ut proplieta incredulis
hominibus non videatur futura dixifle, fed narralTc
prseterita. Hieron. Pra^f. inDanielem, v« iii. p. 1072.
Ed. Benedia.

^ Collins.

» Bp. Chandler : See his Defenee and Vindication
of his Defence of Chriftianity. And Sam. Chandler :
See his Vindication of the Antiquity and Authority
of Daniel's Prophecies.

The Authority of the Book of DaniEL* 49

in its defence: by whom the fraud and serm.
fophiftry, which deform the whole of this ^^"
difingenuous performance, were unanfwer-
ably confuted and expofed ; and on its
ruins was erefted a firm and folid Vindi-
cation of the Jewifh prophet ; unaffiilable
by all the attacks of fucceeding Infidels ;
and a lafting monument, to perpetuate
their own glory and the difgrace of their
opponent.

But it becomes us to be more particular
in our enquiries into the arguments, by
which the genuinenefs and antiquity of
the prophecies of Daniel may be proved.
Not that it is to be expefted, that we be
able to produce an unbroken chain of
writers, from whofe atteflation it may
appear, that the prophecies in queftion,
previous to their accomplifhment, and
foon after their publication, were generally
divulged among the Jews ; as if nothing
lefs than this were fufficient to fhew they
were of divine original. Evidence of
this fort, where it can be had, is doubt-
E lefs

50 The Authority of the Book g/* Daniel.

SE R M. lefs of all the moft defireable ; but is hard-
!!• ly indulged to us on any matters, that
are the fubjefts of human cognizance; and
there are peculiar reafons, why to crea-
tures, in a ftate of moral probation, it
(liould not be indulged, on the fubjeft of
Religion. The truth and authenticity of
any ancient writing will then be efta-
bliflied on fufficient grounds, if it be fup-
ported on evidence, which, though not
the ftrongeft poffible that may be con-
ceived, is yet, as far as it goes, real evi-
dence ; if it be not confronted by oppolite
authorities on the other fide ; and if at a
time, when no teftimony of any kind is
to be found for it, at the fame time there
be none, that can be brought again/1 it.
And fuch evidence we certainly have for
the book of Daniel.

Allowing then that for the firfl 200
years after the age, in v^^hich the prophet
is fuppofed to have lived, there are not
extant any records of contemporary hif-
torians, from which the exiflence either

The Authority oftheBookofDAiiiEL. 51

of Daniel or his predidions may be pro- serm<
ved ^ ; and it being allowed on the other ^^•
hand, that neither are there any, from "
which the contrary can be fhewn: there
are, who think an authentic document is
ftill remaining, that the book was in
high eftimation, at leaft 300 years before
Chrift, froiTi a fingular circumftance re-
corded by Jofephus concerning Alexan-
der ; that when that prince was at Je-
rufalem, the prophecies of Daniel, re-
fpefting himfelf and his conquefts over
the Perfians, were pointed out to him by -
Jaddus the high-prieft. This account,
it ought not to be diffembled has by
fome been rejefted as fabulous, as incon-
fiftent with chronology, and as depending
folely on the credit of one hiftorian, and
him, a Jew. But it ought alfo to be re-
membered, there are others, who have

** " There muft liave been external evidence con-
^* cernlng the book of Daniel, more than is come
*' down to us." Bp. Butler, Analog}^ Part ii. ch. vl.

E 2 not

52 The Authority of the Book of Daniel.

SERM. not fcrupled, after a long and accurate
^^' examination, to affert its veracity. Let it
fuffice to mention two, and thofe equal
to a multitude of inferior writers ; the
illuftrious author of the Connedlion of the
Hijlory of the Old and New Tefament^ and
the learned Prelate alluded to above : the
former of whom has defended the chro-
nological part of this curious incident *^,
and the latter has vindicated the hiftori-
cal ^ fo as fully to evince there is nothing
incredible or improbable in the whole.

At the beginning of the Jewifh trou-
bles under Antiochus Epiphanes, and
near 200 years before the Chriftian sera,
lived Mattathias, father of the Macca-
bees : of him we read that, being at
the point of death, he encouraged his
(bns to truft in God, from the many

« Prldeaux, part i. book vii.

<» Bp. Chandler in the Vindication of his Defence
of Chriftianity, chap. ii. § i. See alfo Sam. Chand-
ler's Vindication, &c. of Daniel's prophecies, p. 76—
82. And Bp. Newton's DiiTertations on the Pro-
phecies, V. ii. p. 16 — 27.

exam-

The Authority of the Booh o/Dai^iel. 5^

examples in Scripture of deliverance af- serm.
forded to good men, of whom Daniel is ^^•
exprefsly named as one ; and, in exa£t
conformity to what had been foretold
by that prophet, declared to them his
own affiance in the divine promifes, that
the boafted glory of their perfecutor
fhould come to nothing ^ In the fame
book, where this ftory is recorded, the
author, among other inflances of fury
committed by Antlochus, relates, that he
Jet up the abom'mation of deflation upon
the altar ^ ; an expreflion fo peculiar to
Daniel, as to be particularly noticed by
our Lord s, and a convincing argument
of the general belief of the prophecies at
this period.

From the age of Antlochus to that
of Chrlft, there is not the fmalleft in-
terval, in which a book of this fort
could polTibly be forged. The Scriptures

* 1 Mace. li. 49 — 70. Dan, vlii. 25. comp. with
2 Mace. ii. 62, 63.

' I Mace. i. 54. Dan. Ix. 27. xi. 31. xli. ii.
f ^Utth. xxiv. 15.

E 3 of

54 ^f^^ Authority of the Book of Daniel.

SERM. of the Old Teftament were now in the
^^' hands of feveral, who regarded them as
their deareft treafure, and fled with them
to places of fecurity, when it was death
not to dehver them up ^. The calamities
fufFered by the Jews from their heathen
adverfaries were no fooner over, than they
fplit into feCls and parties among them-
felves; and as formerly the Jews and
Samaritans, from their mutual diflenfions
in matters of religion, were checks on
each other, fo as to preferve the purity
of the Law ; fo now the difputes between
the Pharifees and Sadducees ferved equally
to prevent any interpolation in the wri-
tings of the Prophets : to which muft be
added, that about this time, the reading
of the Prophets, as well as of the Law,
was iiitroduced into the fynagogues, on
every fabbath day; which alone would
contribute to render the corruption of ei-
ther (till more difficult, and lefs praftica-
ble, than it was before.

^ I Mace. 1. 565 57, 58.

The

The Authority of the Book of Daniel. 55

The Chriftian epoch afFords the fuUeft serm
evidence, that the book of Daniel was ^^*
then reputed an eflential part of cano-
nical Scripture : as appears from the
phrafes of the Kingdom of God and of
Heaven^ and the names of Meffiah and Soji
of Man^ all confeffedly taken from this
author, and none of them firft ufed bv
our Saviour; although, in compliance
with the language of his time, adopted by
him, as fitly applicable to himfelf, and
iignihcative of that fpiritual kingdom,
which he came to eftablifh K Nor ought
we here to forget, what has been men-
tioned once already, and what to Chriftians
is decifive on this point ; that the autho-
rity of Daniel is folemnly acknowledged
by our Lord, and by two of his Apoftles ;
who all either cite or refer to his words,
as the fayings of one of thofe holy men
of old^ wht> fpake as they were moved by
the Holy GhoJlK

* See Mr. Mede*s Works, b. i. p. 103. Land, 1672,
^ 2 Pet/i. 21.

E 4 It

56 The Authority of the Book of Daniel.

SERM. It would be needlefs to puriue the
^^* hiftory of the reception of this prophecy
any lower; but from an unwillingnefs to
omit the teftimony of Jofephus, who pub-
lifhed his Antiquities towards the end of
the firft century after Chrift, and with
■whom this dedu6lion fliall be clofed.
Nothing can be more honourable than the
charafter afcribed to Daniel by this cele-
brated hifiorian : he repeatedly mentions
him as one of the greateft of prophets,
who had converfe wnth God, and was emi-
nent for his knowledoe of futurity ^ ; and
he exprefl'es not fo much his own fenfe
i\s that of his nation, at that time and
before it, when he aflerts that his writings
made one of the twenty-two facred books,^

y.at fxcv'xi nr'j) 0£.'^ «yKJpi,ua.. j^nt. 'Jud^ 1. X. c. xi. § 2,
ufKP? xa/aAsXoiTTfv, avixyrrOOffiiiTOci cap, rif/iv £Ti xai

whicl:^

SERM.
II.

Tke Authority of the Book of Daniel. 57

which completed the colleflion of the
Jewifh Scriptures "".

To fuch evidence nothing can be op-
pofed, unlefs it (hould appear from the
internal ftrudlurc of the Prophecies them-
lelves, that they were written after the
event. And is not the very clear nefs^ with
which thefe prophecies are delivered, fome
may (liy, and as Porphyry is known to
have objeded fifteen hundred years ago,
a ftrong prefumption, that this was in-
deed the cafe ? Does not the author of the
book of Daniel appear to be too minutely

•" EiVt z3-«^' rp-iv — "lliQ [Moi/x -crpQi T0T5 «xo(ri |3i€x»a,*
— xai Tara'v TSivli fxiv In rx MwuVeo;;'— aVo ^l tuc

Mm(Tr,v ■G;po(prirou ra, year* aJr«j -crpot^^ivlx (raui'yp*vj'ai»
iv rpio-i xai ^ii^a. piCx/o*?* ocl J'e AoiTrai TwWapfj ufxvs;
*j; Tcv ©£oj/ zsrepii^aciv, Contra Jpion. 1. i. § 8.
Jolcplms does not here relate the names of the Pro-
phets; but his number of thirteen cannot be com-
pleted, unlefs Daniel be reckoned one. And in
another place he exprefsly includes the book of Daniel
amongft the facred writings. UTra^xo-uTU} re jSt^x/cv
avayvcovoM ra Aavi»}X8' Evpn<rei J^t tsto iv tomt Upo7(
f^^olfx^oiar^, jin^, Juif, 1. X. C, X. § 4.

informed

58 The Authority of the Book of Daniel,

'SERM, informed of the tranfa£tions, fuppofedjo
^^' have happened after his death, to- {uflain
the charader of a true prophet? With
what exadlnefs are the four Empires, with
the rife, fuccellion, and difcriminations
of each, defcribed ? The revolutions of the
Perfian and Macedonian governments are
yet more diftindly related : the expedition
of Xerxes into Greece ; the rapid conqueft
of that country and of Perfia by Alex-
ander; his fudden death, and the ex-
tinftion of his family; the divifion of his
conqueus into four kingdoms ; and the
fortunes of two of them, Egypt and Syria,
from the death of Alexander to the cruel-
ties exercifed on the Jews by Antiochus;
are delineated with an accuracy, not to
be found in the writings of any one pro-
feffed hiflorian of thofe times. Here in-
deed the knowlege of the prophet is at
an end ; and all that is foretold of a more
remote period is purpofely involved in
terms of darknefs and ambiguity. But
fi'om the real plainnefs of one part of his

prcdidions^

The Authority of the Book of Daniel, 59

prediftions, and the affeded obfcurity of serm,
the other, the confequence to be drawn ^^'
is obvious ; that what is related in the —"""^
former cafe was nothing more than a nar-
ration of events already pad, under the
pretended name of prophecies; and in the
latter, the author was no wifer than other
men, nor had any thing to truft to, but
the dim and uncertain guidance of con-
jefture.

This objedion is of importance enough
to be particularly confidered ; and the an-
fwer to it will form a proper conclufiou
to all that has been ftid on the prefent
fubjecl.

I. Firfl then, with regard to the un-
ufual ckarnefs, which, it is urged, is dif-
cernible in thefe prediftions, we obferve,
there are many examples of events fore-
told by other prophets, which are at-
tended with as great and even greater
perfpicuity^ than any of thofe before us.
The charafter of Nebuchadnezzar, by

Habak-

6o The Authoniy of the Book of Daniel.

SERM. Habakkuk", is as ftronglj marked, as that
^^* of Antiochus Epiphanes, here. Nor is
the deftruftion of Jerufalem by the Chal-
dasans, or of Babylon by the Medes, re-
corded by Ifalah and Jeremiah ° with fewer
circumftances of diftinclion, than the fall
of the Perfian and Grecian Empires by
Daniel. If the perfon and vidories of
Alexander, by whom the form^er of thofe
kingdoms was overturned, are here de-
fcribed by notes and cbaraders, which
can be accommodated to none but him ;
is not the fame precifion to be met with
in what is related of the founder of that
kingdom by Ifaiah, who mentions him
by name, above loo years before his birth,
as the dellined deliverer of the people of
God from captivity ? Thus faith the Lord^
Thy redeemer^ I am the Lord^ that maketh
all things ; that faith of Cyrus, He is my
ffjepherd^ and fiall perform all my pleafure ;
even f^yi^ig to J en f ale m^ Thou fait b^

» Ch. ii.

^ Ii", XIV, xxi. XXX ix. Jcr. xxv. 11.

hnik^

The AiithorUy of the Book of Daniel. 6i

built^ and to the T'emple^ Thy foundation fh all s e r m.
be laid. For Jacob my ferv ant's fake ^ and ii«
Ifrael mine ele5i^ I have even called thee by '

thy name ; / have furnamed thee^ though thou
haft not known me^. If it be mentioned
by Jofephus, as matter of praife to Daniel,
that he not only foretold things to come,
but alfo fixed the time^ when thofe things
were to happen ^ ; is not the fame pundu-
ality obfervable in other prophecies ; in
thofe, for inftance, concerning the fojourn-
ing of the feed of Abraham in a ftrange
land \ the abode of the Ifraelites in the
wildernefs% and the continuance of the
captivity of Judah^? In thefe predictions,
as in others that have been already ful-
filled, the divine purpofe is diftindly ex-

P If. xliv. 24. 28. xlv. 4.

w/)t^£v, «V oy Tx\)Tx xi:o^Y,<ri\(M» Ant, 'Jud, 1. X. c. xi,

§7- ...

' Gen. XV. 13. A£ls vli. 6.

* Num. xiv. 33, 34.

* Jer. XXV. II, 12. xxix. 10.

plained,

62 T'he Authority of the Book of Daniel.

plained, and we difcover with cafe the
times and feafons, intended by the pro-
phetical expreflions : but whatever be faid
of their perfpicuity now, it would have
puzzled the fagacity even of Porphyry to
have difcerned the nieaning of fo much
as one, before that meaning had been
opened and unfolded in its completion.

2. But it is not fo much from the clear-
nefs of the prophecies of Daniel, as from
their being clear only to a certain pointy
that the infidel is led to conclude they
were compofed after the event. When
Virgil exhibits to ^neas the fates and
fortunes of his defcendants ; when he re-
prefents him as raifed to an eminence,
from whence he might furvey at leifure
the future glories of his race pafling before
him in proceffion, and clofes the long
line of heroes with the melancholy ap-
pearance of the young Marcellus ; we
needed not the know^lege of his poetical
charader to have informed us, that the
whole of this fcenical apparatus was
2 a fidiou ;

The Authority of the Book o/* Daniel, 63

afi6lion; as the very diftindnefs of the serm,
profpeft as far as the Auguftan age, ^^'
and its not pretending to look for-
ward into any events beyond it, would
have convinced us of the pious fraud, had
fuch a fraud been intended. The cafe of
the Prophet and of the Poet feems to be
much the fame ; the views of both are
limited within a certain range ; nor are
we furniflied with any marks, which may
inftrud us to diftinguifli between Poetical
and Prophetical infpiration.

Specious as fuch a way of declaiming
may appear to fome, to others,who are bet-
ter acquainted with the Scriptural, that is,
the true, idea of Prophecy, the fallacy will
be obvious. For on fuppoiition that Pr^-
phecy came not by the will of men^ but holy men
of God fpah'^y as they were influenced by
the divine Spirit; it follows, that neither
the gift, nor the mode or meafure, in which
it is imparted, do at all depend on the
prophet himfelf, but are entirely regu-
lated by the appointment of Him, who

" 2 Pet. i. 21.

commu-

64 ^he Authorlly of the Book j/" DanieL,

SERM. communicates the fliculty at firft, and re-
II* ftrains and guides it in its future operations.

' Other prophets, as well as Daniel, were

fent on particular errands, and for par-
ticular purpofes; fome with clearer, others
with more obfcure commiffions ; the
predi£lions of fbme relating to events
near at hand, of others extending to
a more diftant period : nor can it juftly
be objeded to any one of thefe minifters
of heaven, that their miffion extended
not to events, which were beyond the
natural powers of man to forefee, and
which his hifpirer thought not proper
to reveal to him by fupernatural illumi-
nation.

3. Hitherto we have argued on the
principles affumed by our objeftors ; as
if the prophecies of Daniel were confined
within a narrow compafs, and went not
lower than the death of Antiochus. It
remains that we obfcrve, in the laft place,
that this conceffion hath been wholly
gratuitous ; and that the prophecies in

queflion

^he Authority of the Book of Daniel. 65

queftion do indeed relate to remoter serm
times; many of which have aftually re-
ceived their completion, and are equally
clear and perfpicuous with thofe, which
concern the Perlian and Macedonian Em-
pires. If the reality of fuch prediftlons
can indeed be proved, it muft be allowed
to annihilate at once the whole force
of the prefent objedion : and to demon-
ftrate this, {hall be the bufinefs of the
two following Leflures.

SER«

[ 66 ]

SERMON III.

Prophecies of Daniel cpncerning
the Four Empires.

Daniel ii. 44.

j^nd in the days of thefe Kings pall the God
of heaven fet up a Ki?tgdotn, which fnill
never he dejlroyed,

SERM. rTj'^HE difpenfatiODS of God to man,
^^^* JL though various in then- khids, and
different in their adminifiration, have all
been direfted to one regular and con-
fident purpofe ; the refloration of the loft
pofterity of Adam to that immortal life
and happinefs, which was forfeited by the
tranfgreffion of their common parent.

Prophecies of Daniel, &c. Sj

To announce fo gracious a defign, and to serm.
give teftimony to the charader and liiif- ^^^*
lion of the Adorable Perfon, entrufled
with its execution, was the declared ufe
and intent of Prophecy ; which, com-
mencing from the fall, and reaching,
through a protrafted courfe of ages, to
the general confummatlon of all thin^^-s,
was calculated to furnifh to fucceeding
generations a fuitable, and, in proportion
as it was fecn to be accomplifhed, an in-
creajing^ evidence, that the' end and objeft
of u'lll that God had fpoken by the inouth of
his holy Prophets^ fnce the world began \
was ultimately one, even jcfus^ which
delivered us from the wrath to come ^.

But as the advantages, to be derived
from fuch a prophetic fyftem, could have
been but ill fecured, had the information,
it was meant to communicate, been im-
parted to all nations without diftinclion ;
the fame goodnefs, which fuggeftjd the

* A£ls iii. 21.
"^ I Their. L lo.

F 2 end,

68 Prophecies of Daniel

SERM. end, direfted alfo the means, and con-
^^^' trived that the notices, which God was
pleafed to reveal of his future deahngs
with the cliildren of men, fhould be con-
fined to one people ; who were feleded
from the reft, that they might be the
depofitaries of the facred oracles, and that
in their records the golden chain of Pro-
phecy, let down from heaven to earth,
might be preferved entire. Hence it is,
that all the prediftions in the Old Tefta-
ment are found, mediately or immediately,
to concern the fortunes of the Jews ;
and that the ftate and condition of Gentile
nations are no otherwife included within
the difcoverles of the divine prefcience,
than as they happened to be connedled
with this favoured family : fometimes
employed by the Supreme Ruler as inftru-
ments of vengeance, to inflift on a re-
bellious people the terrible denunciations
of his juftice ; at other times ufed as mi-
nifters of grace, to convey to them, and

conccrnmg the Four Empires. 69

to mankind, the faving influences of his serm.
mercv. ^^^*

How auguft and magnificent is this idea ' '

of the Ahnighty's government ! Who,
when he firfl feparated the fons of Adam^
and divided to the nations their hiheritance ^
did To adjufl the clafhing interefts of con-
tending powers to each other, that all
fhould eventually confpire to promote his
own eternal purpofes, with refpe£l to his
chofen people, and to the religion of his
Son. When we contemplate, in the faith-
ful page of hiftory, the multiform and
Ihifting appearances of human things ;
when the kingdoms of the world and the
glory of them ^ are pafling in review be-
fore us, and we fee Empires rife and fall
at thofe very points of time, which the
great Parent of the Unlverfe, by a fixed
and unalterable deftiny, had pre-efla-
bllfhed ; when we perceive the mighty
power of the Babylonians give place to

' Deut. xxxll. 8. ,

"^ Matth. iv. 8.

F -1 that

7©' Prophecies of Daniel

g ERM. that of the Medes and Perfians, the Medes
^^^* and Perfians in their turn fubdued by the
Greeks, and thefe again overcome by the
fuperior valour of the Romans : we are
abadied and mortified by fuch a furvey
of the perifiiing monuments of earthly
pride, we feel the force of fuch awaken-
ing proofs of the fovereign dominion of
God, and acknowledge, with pious awe,
that T'be Moji High ruleth in the kingdom
of men^ and giveth it to whomfoever He
will''. But when, affifled by the lights
which revelation furniflies, we difcern
thefe feveral Empires, under the controul
of an Almighty will, carrying on the
fecret defigns of God with refpe£l to his
Church and People, and forming as it
were a Prophetical Chronology to mark the
period, in which the kingdom of Chrift,
foi which the world had been ripening
for four thoufand years, fliould begin and
end ; when with the eye of faith we
behold Nebuchadnezzar and Cyrus, Alex-

" Dan. iv. 32.

ander

concerning the Four Empires. yi

ander and the Romans, infenfibly mini- serm,
ftering to thcfe fublime intentions of pro- ^^i-
vidence, and ignorantly concurring to ad-
vance the triumphs of the crofs : our
thoughts are relieved and enlarged, amidlT:
the amplitude of luch conceptions j in-
ferior confiderations pafs away; and no
affeftion remains to the over-whelmed and
enraptured mind but that of holy joy and
gratitude, in return for fuch exuberant
goodnefs, which hath thus amply pro-
vided for the prefent and future happinefs
of its creature, Man.

Of the truth and jufllce of thefe re-
flexions, what we have now to offer con-
cerning two predI£lions of the prophet
Daniel, contained in the fecond and
feventh chapters of his book, and both
relating to the fame fubje^ft, will afford a
confirmation and an example.

The prophecies I mean are thofe, in
which Four Great SucceJ/ive Fmpires are
enigmatically delineated ; firft, to Nebu-
chadnezzar, under the form of a Metallic
F 4 Image \

72 Prophecies of Daniel

6ERM. Image'; and then again, and with fome
^^^' additions, to Daniel, in a vifion of Wild

" Beajis, Not, as has been remarked by the

incomparable Jofeph Mede, that thefe
Empires were therefore feleded by the
divine Spirit, becaufe they were greater,
either in duration or power, than every
other kingdom before or after them ; but
becaufe each had a pecuHar reference to
the Jewi(h ftate, and in their hiftory
might be formed a Calendar of Times y
which would lead, in a direft and regular
progreffion, from the beginning of the
captivity of Judah, to that happy but
diftant period, when all the kingdoms of
this world fhall become the kingdoms of our
Lord and of his Chrijl °.

But before we attempt to illullrate the
completion of thefe prophecies, it may be
of ufe to lay before you a ihort account
of what is generally contained, and fup-
pofed to be principally intended, In the
prophecies themfelves,

• Rev, xi, i^. See Mede's Works, p. 712. 742,

The

concerning the Four Empires, y^

The end and delign of both prediftions serm,
is the fame; to exhibit the fortunes of ^^i-
Four Gentile Kingdoms, by whofe rife
and fucceffion the time, appointed for the
eftablifhment of the reign of Jefus, might
be afcertained : by which Four King-
doms, according to the common, and
till of late the uncontrovertcd, opinion
both of Jews and Chriftians, are to be un-
derftood, in order, the Babylonian, the
Perfian, the Grecian, and the Roman.
Of the laft of thefe it is foretold, that it
fhould be divided into Ten ; and that,
from among thofe Ten, a Power ihould
arife, diverfe from all the reft p ; which
^o^AA fpeak great words againfl the moft
High, and make war with the Saints and
prevail againf them, and they fliould be
given into his hands % for a long feafon.
And this power, io doomed to fpring
from the ruins of Imperial Rome, is the
fame, which Proteftants contend is elfe-

P Dan. vli. 24.
*i Dan. vii, 21. 25.

where

7 4 Prophecies of Daniel

,SERM. where denominated by the name of the
^^^' Man of Sin, and is indicative of that

" Spiritual Tyranny, exercifed by the Roman

Church, in its Apoftate or Papal ftate.
But befides the defcription of Four King-
doms, all raifed and fupported by human
policy and ftrength ; there is a Fifth,
mentioned in the conclufion of both the
prophecies, to htfet up^ before the feries
of the former empires fhould be quite run
out, or during the continuance of the laft
of them, by the God of Heaven '^ : which,
unlike to every one of the preceding,
fhould never be defiroyed^ but, after breaking
in pieces and co?ifutning all the ethers^ and
among thefe the perfecuting power fpoken
of above, fl^ould ft and for ever\ This
charafler, which, it is obvious, cannot be
accommodated to any of the fhort-lived
dominions of this world, is thought to
denote the Univerfal Empire of the Mef-
fiah ; which certainly began to be erefted

^ Dan. ii. 44.
^ Ibid.

under

concerning the Four Empires. y^

under the fou^'th, or Roman, government; ser m,
and of which, in other places of Scripture ^^^'
as well as this, it is declared, that it fhall
continue, till time fliall be no more.

That this explanation of the prophe-
cies, thus unfolded, is not arbitrarily af-
fumed, but capable of being fupported by
fober reafoning and true hiflory, I fiiall
now, and w^ith all the brevity that is
poffible on fuch a fubjedl, endeavour to
ftievv.

1. And that by the ^r/? of the Four
Kingdoms is meant the Babylonian^ is
plain from the authority of Daniel him-
felf: who, interpreting the meaning of
the Image with its Golden Head to x\e-.
buchadnezzar, then on the throne of
Babylon, addrelTes that monarch in theie
words. Thou, King, art this Head of
Gold \

2. As little doubt can there be, that
the fecond kingdom is the Perjian, or, as it
is fometimes called, the Medo-Ptrfan: not

* Dan. ii. 37, 38.

only

III.

76 Prophecies ^Daniel

SERM. only becaufe it is faid of Belfhazzar, the
laft king of Babylon, that his kingdom
was divided, and given to the Medes a?id
Perjians''; but alfo, becaufe in another
part of this book, where the fecond and
third Empires are again reprefentcd under
the emblems of a Ram and a He-Goat,
the Ram with two Plorns is declared to
fignify the kings of Media and Perjta ^ in
conjun£lion. Profane writers are wont
to feparate thefe '^ : nor can it be denied,
that the Median kingdom, as they under-
ftood it, who made it rife from the de-
ftruftion of the old Affyrian empire, was
altogether diftinft from the Perfian, and
began many years before the age of Daniel.
But in Scripture, no notice is taken of

" Dan. V. 28.
^ Dan. viii. 20.

"^ Aflyrii, principes omnium gentium, potiti funt ;
deinde Medi ; poftca Perfae ; deinde Macedones, &:c.
Yell. Paterc. i. 6.

Medus adeniit
AlTyrio ; Medoquc tulit moderamina Perfes.
Claud, de Laud, Stilichonis. ver. 163, 164.

this

concerjihig the Four Kmpires. ' 77

this Intermediate fovereignty of the Medes, s e r m.
till their warring againfl: Babylon: and it ^^^'
is certain that, after the taking of that
city, it continued only during the fhort
adminiftration of Darius ; of whom it is
related, that he governed according to the
laws of the Medes and Perjians y, and con-
fequently was King of both ; but whofe
reign lafted not above one or two years
at moft ; and upon his death, the powers
of both nations were united under Cyrus.
Hence it appears, that the Median Em-
pire at Babylon, which fo foon expired,
is not particularly adverted to, in the
times of this prophetic Calendar; and
therefore it was not that, but the Perfian,
or Medo-Perfian, that was intended here.
3. After the Perfian kingdom, by the
confeffion of all hiftorians, comes the
Macedonian or Grecian ; begun in the
perfon of Alexander, and continued, as
we maintain, in that of his Succeffors,
till its final extinftion by the Romans.

y Dan. vi. 8. 12. ic.

This

yt ' Prophecies of Daniel

SERM. This however has by others been dif-
^^^- puted ; and there are who aflert, that
the Grecian kingdom not only began with
Alexander, as all are agreed, but ended
with him too 5 and that the princes, who
came after him, particularly the families
of Seleucus and Ptolemy, who reigned in
Syria and Egypt, ought to be regarded as
forming a new and feparate government
of their own. Nor is it of little moment
to the right underftanding of the pro-
phecies before us, that an opinion, feem-
ingly fo unimportant, fhould be ferioully
confuted. For mark the confequence :
if the kingdoms of Alexander and his
Succeffors both t02:ethcr be confidered as
one 'y then, becaufe this is clearly the third
in the prophetical Quaternion, the next
in order, or the fourth, muft needs be the
Roman : if Alexander's kingdom alone
be the third ; that of his Succeffors will
Gonflitute the fourth, and the Roman will
be entirely excluded.

I Now

concerning the Four Empires. T9

Now to the latter aflertion, or that serm
which holds that the Empire of the ^^^'
Greeks is not one kingdom, but two, may
be oppofed the following objections ;
which, it is prefumed, to every attentive
hearer will appear infuperable.

Firft then, let it be obferved, what is
furely of fome weight in the prefent
queftion, that the idea, of Alexander and
his fucceflbrs conftituting two kingdoms,
was utterly unknown to the Pagan writers
of antiquity. Thefe all, invariably, fpeak
of the Macedonian Empire, whether in
the hands of Alexander alone, or parted,
after his death, into four fhares, among
his principal commanders, as one : juft as
the Roman empire was confidered by
them as one, which was begun by Romu-
lus, and enlarged by future conquerors,
defcended from that vidlorious people "".

^ Dionyfius Halic. exprefsly reprefcnta the Ma-
cedonian Empire, from its beginning to its extinflioH'
by the Romans, as one, *H ^£ Max£c?o^j>c»i $vvoc<7uoCf

Secondly,

8o Prophecies of Daniel

s E R M, Secondly, If the kingdoms, poffeficd by
i^i* the four princes who fucceeded to Alex-
ander, be efteerned as different from and
independent of his ; no good reafon can be
afligned, why they (liould not alfo be
efteerned as different from and indepen-
dent of one ci^iother : inllead therefore of
compofing, all together, one kingdom, by
way of diftindion from that of Alexander,
as is pretended ; they ought, in this way
of conceiving of them, to be reckoned as
compofing four.

VTrip^olXiTo roii Trpo avrvi;' X>^c>vov o£ b-Jc ccvrr, zFoKxiu
»i^9u(rfi/, olX\»y (XSTO, TYiv *AA£^avJ*ps TfAfurr/^, tTTi t9
ytrpov rip^aro (pEpia^oci* ^laCTracGfTcro- yxp eiq zroXX^i
-nye^ouoc; fu0u? aVo tccv ^lOiSo^^uv^ v.oa fxsr Unvag oc^^i

a\jTn $i' iauTrjs lyli/sro, xat TiXvjTcacra, vtto 'Pwfxaiwv
T^(ptxMn» Antiq. Rom. lib. I. Imperium verb Mace-
donicum, fia£lis Perfarum opibus, in principio, im-
perii amplitudine omnia quotquot ante fuerant fu-
peravit: fed ne ipfum quidem diu floruit, at poll
Alexandri obitum in pejus coepit mere. Statim
enim in multos principes a fuccelToribus diflraflum,
et poll illos adfecandam ufque tertiamve aetatem pro-
greflum, ipfum per fe debilitatum ell, tandemque a.
Romanis deletum.

Thirdly,

concerning the Four Empires. 8i

Thirdly, In both the prophecies we serm,
are here contemphitiug, the Four King- ^^^•
doms are uniformly reprefented by as
many feparate fymbols. Thefe, in the
vifion of Nebuchadnezzar, are four Metals,
which occupy four different parts of a
great Image ; in that feen by Daniel, they
are four JVild Beajls : or, in other words,
to every one of the four empires is ap-
propriated ; in the former vifion, one
Metal, and one part of the Image , and
in the latter vifion, one Wild Beaft. Now
the Beaft, whicli {lands for the third or
Grecian empire, is a Leopard^ having four
JVings ajid four Heads a : the double pair
of IFings may be allowed to denote the
rapidity, with which the conquefts of
Alexander, the founder of that kingdom,
were completed : but Heads, in the lan-
guage of prophecy, fignify Kings or Co-
ver n7ne?2ts ; and four Heads muft mean
four Kings or four Governments, into
which number the Macedonian Empire
* Dan. vii. 6.

G was

82 Prophecies of Daniel

SERM. was aftually divided, after the death of
^^^* its firft monarch. But the Leopard, or
third Beaft, is made up neither of the
Heads alone, nor of the Body alone, but
of both jointly : that is, the very in-
tegrity of the fymbol requires not only the
kingdom of Alexander, but that of his
Succeffors alfo, to be taken in, to con-
ftitute one Beaft; which is a decifive
proof, that in the Prophecies they were
fuppofed to conftitute but one Kingdom.
This argum.ent is ftrengthened by what
we read In the 8th chapter of Daniel;
where the angel, explaining to the pro-
phet the vifion of the Ram and the He-
Goat, interprets the latter part of it thus.
The rough Goat is the king of Grecia ;
and the Gr-eat Horn, that is betwixt his
eyes, is the First King, or Alexander.
Now that being broken, or the Fir ft King
being dead ; whereas four Horns flood up
for it^ four Kingdoms f, mil f and up out of
the nation^ but not in His power ^ ; or not

\ ^ Dan. viii. 2i, 22.

concernhig the Four Empires, S-*

fo powerful, as when the whole com- serm.
mand was united under one governour. ^^^*
Here again it is plain, that Alexander
and his Succeflbrs are both adumbrated
by Horns belonging to the fame Bead, or
Goat ; and therefore in this vifion, as in
the foregoing, they are confidered as
Kings that ruled over the fame Kingdom.
Laftly, the Hiftory of the governments
of Alexander's fuccelTors in general, and
of the Seleucidas and LagidaD in parti-
cular, is utterly irreconciieable with the
defcription of the Fourth Kingdom, in
the book of Daniel. Of that kingdom
it is faid, tha^ it (hould at firft be ftronger
than the preceding three ; that afterw^ards
it fhould be fplit into ten parts ; and that
from among thefe an Eleventh State or
Polity (hould arife, whofe duration (hould
be for many days, even to a period not
yet^ arrived, the coming of the Son of Man
i?i the clouds of heaven "". None of the(e
marks, in any tolerable way of explaining
^ Dan. vll. 13,

G 2 them,

84 Prophecies of Daniel

SERM. them, can be made to fuit the kingdom
^^^' of the Greeks, either before or after its
partition: which, from the demife of its
founder at leaft, grew gradually weaker,
and in lefs than an hundred years loft
great part of what originally belonged to
it ; which was indeed divided into four
kingdoms, and afterwards into two, but
never into ten ; and far from having any
portion ftill fubfifting, was entirely de-
ftroyed many centuries ago, and is now
as completely come to an end, as if it had
never been.

4. From thefe confiderations we may at
length be permitted to conclude, that the
third ov Greek kingdom, from its rife un-
der Alexander, to the time when all that
remained of its dominions was loft, by
the total defeat of Perfeus king of Mace-
don, was one ; and confequently, that the
next, which followed it in the prophetical
Quaternion, was the Roman. And with
the Roman the characters, afcribed to the
fourth kingdom in the Prophecies, exadlly

agree.
3

concerning the Four Empires, 85

agree. In its firil or flourifhlng ftate, it serm,
was, as it is there reprefented to be, ftrong ^^^'
as irofi ; breakitig in pieces ^ what was left
of the Grecian empire, and by that means
pofleHing itfelf of great part of the Per-
fian, together with fome ihare of the Ba-
bylonian. Its fecond or enfeebled ftate
(which began to be difcernible towards
the middle of the fourth century after
Chrifl) is emblematized, fi-rft by the feet
of the Image, which wtxt part of iron and
part of clay ^ ; and then again, more parti-
cularly, by the properties of the fourth
Beaji. But here it is neceflary to obferve,
that by the body of that Beaft, no portion
of the Greek Empire feated at Confianti-
nople, that is, none of the countries to
the Eaji of Italy, are to be underftood, in
the Intention of this prophecy ; thefe
being already employed in making up the
body of the third Beaji ; which is fup-
pofed to be ftill alive, though its power

^ Dan. li. 40. ^

^ Dan. ii. 41.

G 3 t>e

86 Prcphecies of Daniel

s E R M. be taken away : but under that denomina-
i^i' tion is Included fo much only of the Ro-
man territories, as had not been compre-
hended in any former reckoning; that is,
the countries on this fide of Greece, or
what is called the Latin or Weftern Em-
pire f. Now the fteps, by which this divi-
lionof the Roman kingdom went to decay,
may be diftinftly traced. Its firft advance
to ruin may be iaid to have been, when it
was over-run by the northern nations : its
fall was accelerated^ when Rome was taken
by Alaric the Goth ; and it was only not
completed, when that Imperial city was
conquered a fecond time by the arms of
Genferic the Vandal. A natural efFedl of
the irruption of fuch barbarians was, that
its provinces were difmembered and torn
in pieces by degrees ; and various Gothic
and coexifling governments were erefted,
which were at laft increafed to the juft
number of /^;/. The names of tliefe ten

*" Sir If. Newton's Obfervatlons on Daniel, Cli. iv.

p. 28-32.

kingdoms

concer?iJng the. Four Rmpires. 87

kingdoms have been enumerated by wri- serm,
ters of the mofl: refpe£table authority; i^^-
and the few variations in their accounts
may be readily explained from the con-
fufion and uncertainty of the times, of
which they wrote s. It is enough for us,
and an illufLrious verification of the pro-
phecies of holy Scripture, that fuch a par-
tition was noticed long before by Daniel;
and that, among other particularities men-
tioned by that prophet, as incident to
the fourth Beaft, this, of 'Ten Horns fpringf
ing all together from its head, was re-
corded as one ; and that thefe Horiis were
exprefsly interpreted to mean Ten Kings "^

or Kingdoms ^,

This expofition of the Ten Horns^ co-
eval with one another, will facilitate our
fearch into the meaning of another dif-
tindlive mark of the fame Beafi, which is

s See the Diflertations on the Propliccies, by Bp.
Newton. Vol. i. p. 460 — 464
I' Dan. vii, 24.

G 4 fignified

88 Prophecies ef Daniel

SERM. fignified by the Little Hor?i, They, who
^^^' contend that the fourth Beaft is the Gre-
cian kingdom of the Seleiicidae and La-
gidce, fix on Antiochus Epiphanes for this
Little Horn -, and would have all that is
related in this part of the predidion to
prefigure the cruelties exercifed by that
perfecutor on the Jews. But whatever be
faid of other prophecies in the book of
Daniel, there are internal proofs that in
ihis^ which contains the vifion of the four
Beafls, the perfon of Antiochus was not
in the leaft concerned, or fo much as in
the mind of the infpired penman. This
Horn is defcribed, as growing up after
and among the Ten Horns, that were on
the head of the laft Beaft ' ; thefe Ten
Horns, we have feen, are the Ten King-
doms of the Latin or VVeftern empire ;
among thefe therefore we are direfted, by
the fpirit of prophecy itfelf, to look for
the Little Horn. But Antiochus Epi-
phanes was king of Syria; and inftead of

* Dan. vil. 8. 24.

pofle fling

concerning the Four Empires, 89

pofleffing any part of the Weftern empire serm,
of Rome, died above 500 years before the ^^^•
divifion of that emph'e took place : to '

Ibppofe therefore he is adumbrated here
by the Little Horn, would be incompatible
with hiftoric truth. Another and ftrongcr
argument is this. Of the power denoted
by the Little Horn it is affirmed, that he
(hall mtih war with the faints and prevail
againji them^ until the Ancient of Days fjall
come^ and judgement be given io the faints
of the mofi High^ vohofe kingdom is an ever-*
Icifiing kingdom^ and all dominions fo all ferve
and obey him ^, Thefe words, we (liall fee
hereafter, are to be underftood of the
kingdom of the Meffiah : but the wars of
Antiochus with the Jews could lafl no
longer than his life, which was ended at
leaft 160 years before the kingdom of the
Meffiah was begun : he could not there-
fore perfecute the faints, until the time
came that the faints pojfefjed the kingdom ',

^ Dan. vii. 21, 22. 27.
^ Dan. vii, 22.

or.

90 Prophecies of Daniel

SERM. or, as it is otherwife expreffed, until the
^^i' ■ coming of the Son of man in the clouds of

' "" heaven ""^ : he could not therefore in this
prophecy be fignified by the Little Horn.

But if the Little Horn be not meant of
AntiochusEpiphanes, of whom or of what
is it meant ? And w^ere the queftion to be
decided by authority, the anfwer would
be eafy ; that by this Horn is intended
the kingdom of Antichriil. So the Fa-
thers, from the earlieft times, were wont
to interpret it : to which interpretation
they were led, not only from a careful
examination of this prophecy, but from
what they had collefted befides from a
paflase in St. Paul's Epiftles, that Anti-
chrift fliould not be revealed, till the So-
vereignty of Imperial Rome wTre removed.
Gn this account it was that Jerom, who
lived when the Empire was drawing to its
conclufion, as foon as he heard that the
city of Rome was burnt by Alaric, imme-
diately expefted the manifeflation of Anti-

^ Dan. vii. 13, 14.

chrift.

c oncer fling the Four Empires. 91

chrift, as then at hand. He who hindered^ s e r M".
fays he, is taken out of the way \ and we ^^^'
conjider not^ that Antichrijl is approaching ".
And in commenting on the 7th chapter
of Daniel, he fpeaks of it as the received
opinion of all the Church Hiftorians, that
this tyrannical, or, as he calls it, this
Satanic^ power was certainly to appear,
whenever the Roman kingdom fhould be
diflblved. Therefore^ fiys the fame learned
Father, let us affirm^ what all eccle/iajlical
writers have delivered ; that in the conjum^
mat ion of the worlds when the Roman Em*
pi re is to be deftroyed^ there fljall be Ten
Kings ^ who floall fjare the Roman world
between them ; and that an Eleventh Jljall
arife, a Little King, in ivhotn Satan

floall wholly inhabit bodily °.

But

" Qui tenebat, de medio fit; et non intelligimus
Antichriftnm appropinquare. Ad Gcrontiam, de
Monogamia.

° Ergo dicamus, quod omnes fcriptores ecclefiaftlci
tradiderunt, in confummatione mundi, quando reg-
num deftruendum eft Romanorum, decern futures
reges, qui orbcm Romanum inter fe dividant ; et

undecimmn

9 2 Prophecies of Daniel

SERM. But we are not neceffitated to have re-
in* courfe to authority alone, to determine
the queflion afked above ; the prophecy
itfelf, attentively confidered, may convince
us, to whom the charafter of the Little
Horn does of right belong. We have (ttn
already, that this Horn was not to arife,
till after the Roman Empire had been
broken into many independent fovereign-
ties : and it is an undoubted fa£l, notori-
ous in hiftory, that no fooner had that
government, by means of the fierce and
free nations of the north, experienced this
fatal change, than the Roman Church,
taking advantage of fuch diftraftions, be-
gan to rear its head, and grow up to the
full fize and ftature of the man of Jin^ fo
graphically depided in other parts of the
facred writings. Of the fame Horn it is
faid, that he fhall be diverfe from the reft ;
that he (hall have a mouth fpeaking great

undecimum furrefturum effe Regem Parvulum, in
quo totus Satanas habitaturus litcorporaliter. Com.
in Dan. cap. vii.

things^

concerning the Four Empires, 93

thifigSy even great "words againjl the mojl serm,
High', and that he ihall make war with ^"•
the faints^ and wear them out^ and prevail """■"""""
againji thein ; but that at length, when the
deftined period of his reign (hall be com-
pleted, the judgement pall Jit ^ and theyjhall
take away his dominion^ to confume it and to
deftroy it for ever^. In which words the
features and lineaments of Papal Rome are
fo exactly defcribed, as now^ that is, after
their meaning has been opened by the
event, to be difcernible by a common rea-
der. For to what power, in the European
or Weftern world, may we not aflc in our
turn, can fuch difcriminative notes be
applied, but to that Apoftate Church ;
which, under the pretended title of God's
Vicegerent upon earth, exerts and main-
tains an empire over men's minds, not lefs
rigorous and opprcffive than that, formerly
exercifed by ancient Rome over their per-
fons ? which, rejedling with fcorn the
ufual homage of earthly princes, proudly

P Dan, vii. 23. 20. 25. 21. 25. 26.

arrogates

III.

5^4 Prophecies of Daniel

fiERM. arrogates to Itfelf divine names and ho-
nours : which, not content with debafing
the ofFice of the only mediator between God
and man "^ by the introduction of unallow-
ed, and therefore, forbidden, interceflbrs
ofitsown, has authorized, by its princi-
ples as well as praftices, the moft infernal
butcheries of his true difciples: and, in a
word, in open violation both of the Law
and the Gofpel, hath filled up the mea-
fures of its fpiritual tyranny, by polluting
the pure and peaceable dodrines of Jefus
with the accumulated ftains of Idolatry
and Perfecution.

The explanation here given might be
confirmed, by comparing the prophecy of
Daniel wath what is revealed in the Apo-
calypfe, concerning a fimilar ufurpation in
the Chriffian Church ; from whence it
would immediately appear, that the Little
Horn of the legal prophet, and the Anti-
chrijl of the evangelical, are fignificative
of the fame perfon or power. But fuch a

^ I Tim. ii. 5.

comparifoii

concerning the Four Empires. 95

comparifon will be Inftituted with greater serm,
advantage in another place : in the mean ^*^»
while, from the evidence of Daniel alone
thus much may be collefted, that Pro-
teftants have fomething more to urge than
furmife and conje£lure, when they main-
tain that the corruptions of the Church of
Rome are foretold in the infpired writings ;
and that, with whatever levity or con-
tempt fuch an opinion may be treated by
the diflblute'and the gay, there is enough
of probability in it to excite the attention
of ferious men, at leaft to encourage them
to liften to what is hereafter to be ad-
vanced, in the profecution of fo mo-
mentous a fubjeft.

5. I flay not now to prove, that the
everlajllng kingdom \ mentioned in the clofe
of both the prediclions of Daniel, and or-
dained to be fet up, before the fucceffion
of Gentile governments fliould expire % is
the kingdom of the Mefliah. If what has

"■ Dan. il. 44. vii. 27.

been

* Dan. ii. 44.

g6 Prophecfes of Daniel

SERM. been offered to {hew, that tht fourth of
i^^- thofe governments is the Roman, be ad-
mitted ; the confequence is unavoidable,
that the y7//y6, or, as it is denominated, the
Kingdom of Heaven \ cai:i be no other than
the fplritual empire ereded by Jefus. In-
deed the defcription itfelf, together with
the extreme futihty, I had almoft faid the
abfurdity, of the contrary opinion, fuper-
fedes the neceifity of formal arguments
to juftify fuch an interpretation. One cir-
cumftance ought not to be pafled by un-
noticed; namely, the menaces of certain
vengeance to be hereafter inflided on the
enemies of the true religion, intimated
by the deftru£lion of the body of the
fourth Bead: "; and fubfequent to that, the ;
promife of the univerfal eftablifhment of
the reign ofChrift; when the Stone^ cut
out of the ?7iountain without hands ^ fhall
fir Ike and break to pieces the hnage on its
feety and become a great Mountain and fill

^ Dan. ii. 44.
" Dan, vii. 1 1.

the

concerning the Pour Empires. 97

the whole earth''. This part of the pro- serm,
pheeies is yet unfulfilled ; nor is it for us ^^^*
to afcertaia the manner, in which fb im-
portant a revolution in the religious world
will be eftedled : the ufe intended by
the obfervation here, is from the fym-
ptoms of decline, which are now dif-
cernible in the fyftem of Papal power,
to point out to you the prefijmption that
arifes in favour of the truth of the pro-
phetical denunciations ; and from the
concuffions which have already fliook the
tottering throne of fuperflition, to learn
to expeft, in God's good time, its full
and final demolition.

To end therefore as we begun ; the
■two prediftions we have now confidered^
and whofe completion may be feen, in
|)art, in the hiftories of the nations all
around us, afford a memorable inftance
of what was before remarked, that the
ftate and condition of the Empires of this
world have all been regulated with a

^ Dan. ii. 45. 3$.

H view

98 Prophecies of Daniel, &c.

SERM. view to one great event, ever prefent in
i^i« the intentions of providence, the Reve-

'^ lation of Jcfus Chriil:. Thefe all arifing

according to a pre-detennined plan, and
each at the period, which the fovereign
arbiter has appointed,' are made, both by
their duration and decline, to lubferve the
interefts of that Eternal Kingdom, whofe
fortunes conftitute the main objecl of Scrip-
tural prophecy, and which is never to be
fucceeded or deftroyed by anv other : till
the time (hall come, fo m.agnlficently de-
Icribed in our facred oracles, when Chrift
{hall have put down all rule and all au-
thority and power ; and death, the lajl
enemy, being now fubdued, the mediato-
rial oecouomy of God fhall be finifhed ;
and then Jl)all the Son deliver up the King-
Join, and be [ubjeB to the Father^ who put
all things under him ; and God (Imll he all
in alh^

J" I Cor. XV. S4. 26. 28.

SER-

[ 99 ]

SERMON IV.

Prophecies of Daniel concerning
Antiochus Epiphanes and And-
chrift.

Daniel xii. 8, 9*

T'hen faid /, my Lord ^ What JImll be the

Knd of thefe things f And he faid. Go

thy vjay^ Daniel; for the words are

clofedup andfealed^ till the time of the End.

BESIDES the Prophecies, in the serm.
book of Daniel, concerning the four "^^^
Empires, in which the Church of God
was fucceffively to fojourn, fromi the time
of the Jewifli captivity to that of the
final eftablifhment of the reign of Jefus ;
H a there

100 Prophecies o/" Daniel concerning

SERM. there are others, in which the hiftory of
^^'^ the fecond and third of thofe kingdoms is

* " refumed ; and which, fo far as they are

connefted with the fubje£l of this Ledure,
it (hall be our prefent bufinefs to explain.
I. In the 2d and 7th chapters, the
Perlian aiKl Grecian Monarchies were
delineated, firft by the parts of Silver and
Brafs in the Metallic Image, and then by
a Bear and a Leopard in the vifion of
Wild Beads. In the 8th and i ith chap-
ters they are again defcribed ; firfl: em-
blematically, and in general, by a Ram
and a He-Goat'; and afterwards more
clearly, and in the way of narrative, by
an heavenly meffenger, purpolely com-
miffioned to difclofe to Daniel, the be-
loved prophet of God, the things noted in
the Scripture of truth ^.

That by the Ram with two Horns, in
the former of thefe prophecies, is meant
the kingdom founded by Cyrus, and com-
pofed of the united powers of Media

^ Dan. X. 21.

and

Antiochiis Eplphmies and Antlchr'ijl. loi

and Perfia: and that by the Goat with serm.
the notable Horri between his eves^ with ^^'
which the Ram was imitten and con-
quered, and which itfelf was afterwards
broken, and followed hy four other Horns
that came up in its place ; is fignified the
kingdom of the Greeks erefted by Alex-
ander, by whom the Perfian empire was
routed and fubdued, and whofe domi-
nions after his death were (hared among
yiwrofhis principal captains, and parted
into fo many diftinft governments : is
put beyond the poffibihty of doubt, from
the interpretation of this myfterious vi-
fion, made to Daniel by an Angel ^ The
fame events are recited, and with greater
variety of circumftance, in the latter of
thefe predidions : in which the expe-
dition of Xerxes into Greece, the coii-
queft of that country by Alexander, its
fubfequent diyifion into four parts, and of
thofe four the fates and fortunes of two,
Egypt and Syria (called, from their fitua-

l Dan. viii. 3. 5. 7, 8, 20, 21, 22.

H 3 tion

I02 Prophecies of Daniel concerning

§ERM. tion with refpedl to Judaea, the kingdoms
^v. of xht South and North)^ in a regular feries

* ' from the death of Alexander to the reign

of Antiochus Epiphanes, are minutely
defcribed ^ Of this laft monarch, ia^
famous for his perfecutions of the Jews,
the life and adions are recorded at large :
his obtaining the government of Syria
by flatteries, his expeditions into Egypt,
his defigns upon that country and upon
Ptolemy Philometor its young King, and
his being obliged to defift from further
hoftilities againft it and him, by the in-
terpofition of the Romans ; are all ex-
prefsly mentioned, or plainly alluded to,
in this facred prophecy. But befides the
wars of Antiochus with the Egyptians,
the oppreffions and cruelties exercifed by
the fame perfon towards the Jewifli na-
tion ; his depofing and banifhing of Qnias,
their High Prieft ; his rage and fury,
twice repeated, againft the city and in-
habitants of Jerufalem, after his return

•» Chap« xi. 2—21.

from

Antiochus Epiphanes and Ant'ichnJ}, 103

from two unfuccefsful attempts on the serm,
kingdom of the South; together with his i^'»
profaning of the Temple, and cauling the
worfliip of God in that holy place to
ceafe ; thefe and other particulars are re-
lated with an exadlnefs and truth, not
to be found in any known Hifliorian of
thofe times ^ And thus far, in the ex-
poiition of both the Prophecies under con-
iideration, all Interpreters, that is, all of
name and credit, are univerfally agreed.

II. After the account given in the 8th
chapter of the fourfold partition of the
kingdom of Alexander, prefigured, as above,
by four Horns on the head of the GodX ;
it is immediately added, that out oi one
of thofe four a hittle Horn fliould arife,,
whofe -marks and properties are enume-
r-ated through the remaining part of this
prediction ^. Now that the Little Horn
in /^/j chapter cannot poffibly be the

c Chap. xl. 21 — 31. See Pridcaux's Conns£^ion,
6cc. Part II. Books the 2d and 3d, paj[im.
^ Dan. viil. 9 — 13. 23 — 27.

H 4 fame

I04 Prophecies of Daniel concerning

SERM. fame with that before defcribed in chapter
^^' the j/5'i;^;7//5, IS exceeding plain; not only
becaufe the difcriminative notes of each
ajre totally unhke, but becaufe they arc
evidently fpoken of as appertaining to dif-
ferent kingdoms; the one, as coming up
from among the ten Horns of the fourth
Beaft, which^ we have feen, reprefented
the Roman Empire \ and the other, as
arifiiig out of one of the four Horns of
the He-Goat, which, we are told in fo
many words, exhibited the Grecian Em-
pire. There is another diftindion be-
tween the Little Horns in thofe tvi^q
places, which, for its importance, will
require to be particularly attended to, la
the vifion of the Beads, it has been
proved, by that expreflion was fingly de-
noted the kingdom of Antichrift, and
that the perfon of Antiochus Epiphines
was not in the leaft concerned : but in
the vifion before us, though we may per-
haps find reafon to admit that, in a re-
mote and fecondary fenfe, the kingdom

^ntlochus Epiphanes and Antlchrljl. 105

jof Antichrift is to be underftood, yet, serm,
iji the obvious and primary meaniug of ^'^•
thofe words, we fhall, if I miftake not, ' ' ^
have equal reaion to conclude, that the
power predicted by that appellation muft
of neceffity be reftrained to AntiochuS
Epiphanes, and to him only.

And firft, the tlme^ in which this Little
Horn was to arljey and during which it
was to continue^ accords exactly to that
of Antiochus, and to no other. It was
tofpring from one of the four families,
that were to govern the divided power
of the Greeks^; and fo Antiochus Epi-
phanes certainly did ; and in the latter-
end of their kingdom^ when the tranfgrejjors
were come io tljc full^. The latter end
of the Greek kingdom was, when Ma-
cedonia, from wdience that empire began^
with the reft of Greece, was fubjefted
to the Romans : and at this period, the
tranfgreflTors were indeed come to the
full ; the legal fanftuary being profaned,

* Dau. viii. 9. ' Vcr. 23,

and

1 06 Vrophccies of Daniel covxenilng

seRM. and the ftatue of Jupiter Olymplus, de-
IV. noted here by the tranfgrejfion of defola-

**"" ilon s, being Tet up by this very Antiochus

in the temple at Jeruialem, within lefs
than three months after Perfeus king of
Macedon had been defeated by Emilius
the Conful. The cont'muance of the Little.
Horn is exprefied, not, as in other plaices
of the book of Daniel, by a definite,
number of Times or Days^ by which;
words, in the language of prophecy,
would have been fignified fo many years;
but by two thoujlmd three hundred Eve.--
NiNGS AND Mornings''; this fingqlar
phrafe being undoubtedly chofen to in-
form us, that in this computation ■comrt
vion or natural days were intended. Two.
thoufand three hundred natural days are
Six Years and fomething more ; fo long
therefore the calamity of the Jews was
to laft, from the beginning to the end ofi
it: now though we^ niay not be abJ<^;
precifely to fay, from what part of the

s Dan. viii. 13. !* Vcr. 13, 14... *

hiftory

AnliQchus Epiphanes and Anikhrijl. 107

hiftory of Antiochus the date of thefe S£rm<
years is to commence^ yet from the autho- ^^*
rity of the firil book of Maccabees we
know, that the fanduary, was cleanfed,
and the perfecution of that monarch was
Jini/JjecU about the loth or nth year of
his reign •.

Again, the atiions^ afcribed to the Little
Horn, are fuch as may with eafe be
adapted to the perfon of the fame An-
tiochus. The cruelty and fubtlety of his
dilpofition arewell exprefled, by his being
called a King of fierce countenance and un^
derjianding dark fentences ^: his mean and
obfcure original, by the phrafes of the
Little Horn^ and by his becoming mighty
but not by his own power ^ : and his ex-
tended conquefts in Egypt and Perfia and
Judaea, by his waxing exceeding great to^
"Wards the South, and towards the Eajl^
and towards the pleajant land '". His op-
preffion of the Jewi(h ftate in general,

* I Mace. i. 10. iv. 52.

^ Dan. viii. 23. I Ver. 24. ^ Vcr. 9.

and

xc8 Prophecies of Daniel concerning

€ERM. and of the Priefts and Levites in par-
i^« ticular, are reprefented, in the ufual fub-

* limity of eailern metaphors, by his wax^

ing great even, to the hoji of heaven^ and
fampyng upon the Stars'": his abolishing
of the Temple worfliip, by taking away
the daily facrifce, and cajling down the
truth to the ground'' : and laft of all, his
fudden and miferable extinction, not by
the force of arms, but by a diforder di-
vinely inflifted, and which ^iffefted not
more his body than his mind, is pointed
out in the words, that he fhould be broken
without hand ^, The feveral circumftances
here mentioned agree fo well with this
noted perfecutor of the people of God,
and can fo ill be accommodated to any
other perfon or power, that I cannot help
being perfuaded, notwithftanding a great
authority on \ht other fide % that the

'* Dan. viii. lo, ° Ver. 1 1, 12. p Ver. 25.

*i Sir Ifaac Newton : See his Obfervations on the
jProphecies of Daniel, chap. ix. The faiii^ interpreta-
tion is adopted by Bp. Newton, in his DiiTertations
on the Prophecies, vol. ii. p. 30 — 61.

gene*

Antlochus Epipharus and Antlchrijl. 109

generality both of Jewiih and Chriftlan serm,
commentators were not quite fo injudi- ^^*
cious as has been aflerted, when they
maintained, that in the prophecy of the
eighth chapter of Daniel concerning the
Little Horn, Antiochus Epiphanes is the
very charafter defcribed.

If now we turn to the eleventh chapter,
and compare with the account here given
what is further fubjoined concerning the
fame Antiochus, from verfes 31 ft to 56th,
as thofe verfes are illuftrated by the
comment of the learned Grotius ; where
the feveral degrees of impiety, fuccef-
fively praftifed by this abandoned tyrant,
together with the exploits of Mattathias,
the father of the Maccabees, and of his
fons, by whom the worfhip of God was
at length reftored, are exhibited in detail >
and with which, as I conceive, the pro-
phecy concerning the Kings of the South
and North, or of the 3d or Grecian Em-
pire, ends : no further proof will be
wanting, that in both predidlions the

fame

no Prophecies of Daniel concerning

SERM. fame perfon and events were prefent to
^V' the prophet's eye; and that the difference
between the two relations is no more
than this ; that the chara6ler of Antio-
chus Epiphanes in one is fimply nar-
rated by an Angel, and in the other it is
unfolded in the way of vifion, by the
emblem of the Little Horn ^

Still it is not to be denied, that the
language^ in which the properties of the
' Little Horn, thus interpreted of An-
tiochus Epiphanes, are recited, feems to
have been purpofely fo contrived, as to
admit of another and higher meaning
than the . literal. And from a view of
this higher meaning, I fuppofe, it was,
that Jeroni and the ancient Fathers, at the
fame time that they expounded the Little

^ It fhould here be remarked, that Sir Ifaac, and
after himBifhop, Newton, interpret ver. 31 — 36 of
Chap. xi. of the Romans, and of the ftate of the primi-
tive Chriflians after the defl:ru6lion of Jerufalem ; and
not, as Giotius explains them, of Antiochus Epi-
phanes. SecObfervations on the Prophecies of Daniel,
chap. ix. xii. And Diliertatlons on the Prophecies,
vol, ii. p. 132—147.

Horn

Aniiochus Epiphancs and Anttchr'ijl, iic

Horn in \.\\c eighth chapter of Antlochus, serm,
were wont to conlider that oppreflbr hun- ^^*
felt as typical of another and more dan-
gerous power, diftinguifhed by the nanae
of Antichrift. Nor will fuch an idea
to thofe, who are acquainted with the
dependency between the Jevvifh and
Chriftian religions, and in confequence
of that with the doftrine of Types and
Double Senfes, appear abfurd or new ;
provided there be enough in the con-
texture of the prophecy itfelf to evince,
that fuch double meaning was intend-
ed. The fame divine Spirit, which by
the prophet Joel had defcribed, in one
and the fame prediilion, tht- near event
of an army of locufls, and th^ fiihfiqiient
invafion of a foreign enemy ^; which had
■inftrufl:ed Ifaiari, at the lame time' that
he gave to Ahaz a fign oi fpeedy deliver-
ance from his two adverfaries, the kings
•of Samaria and Damafcus, to convey -to
th.e hotife of David the notice of a more

^ Joel, Chap. 1. and ii. -' • .- •

• ' ' di/iarn

112 Prophecies of Daniel concernirig

SERM. dijlant as well as more important deliver-
^^'- ance, to be effeded by Chrift ' ; and which
laftly is feen to operate in fo confpi-
cuous a manner in the predidion of
Jefus, where he comprehends, in the fame
defcription and under the fame ideas, his
firft and fecond coming to Judgment, at
' the deftruftion of Jerufalem and at the
end of the world " -, might alfo be the
occafion that Daniel, when bufied in fore-
telling the perfecution then impending ou
the yewJJh Church, fhould do it, though
unknown to himfelf, in terms, w^hich
were ultimately applicable to a yet greater
perfecution that was to defolate the
Church of Chr'ifi. Such a converfion of
the fubjeds, far from being difhonourable
or mjurious to the Scriptural idea of pro*
phecy, has by thoughtful men been
efteemed as one proof of its divinity ^ :

and
* If. vli.

" Matth. xxlv. Mark xiii. Luke xxi.

^ He, who would fee the Propriety and Reafon-^

ablenefs of Types and Secondary Prophecies de-

uionftrated at large, ought by all means to confult

' I the

Ahtiochtis Eplphanes and Antlchrijl, Uj

and when, with this double fenfe upon serm.
Our minds, we contemplate the predldion ^^*
of Daniel anew, it is impoffible not to
feel the moft lively impreffions of that
AntichriHian Tyranny, which from fmall
beginnings hath waxed greats even to the
hojl of heaven '', and hath Jlood up agawjl
the Prince of Princes y, the Meffiah him-
felf, and cafl down the truth to the ground^ ;
and which, from other prophecies as well
as this, we are taught to hope, fliall finally ,
be broken without hand""^ by an extraor-
dmary exertion of divine power. In this
mode of interpretation, the Little Horn,
wherever it is ufed, fuftains one uniform
and confiftent charader, that of a Per'-
fecutor of the fervarits of the true God : iii

the fecond Volume of the Dlv. Leg, Book VI. Se£l,
6. See allb The Argummt of the D. L. fairly
flaUd^ p. 125 — 143. The fame opimon is wejl fup-
ported and explained by Blfliop LoAVth, in his ele-
gant PreleSiioris on the Hebrew Poetry, See Prale^,
xL xxxi.

"^ Dan. viil. 10. > Vcr. 2 c. ' Ver. 12.

Ver. 25.

25'

th^

M4 Prophecies ^Daniel concermng

SERM. the vifion of the four Beafts, it is em*
^^* ployed fingly to prefigure the fpiritual
dominion of Papal Rome : in this of the
Ram and He-Goat, befides expreffing the
fame notion in a fecondary fenfe, we are
to conceive of it as primarily intended to
denote the oppreffions inflidted on the
Jevvifli church and nation by Antiochus
Epiphanes, king of Syria.

III. But however we may determine
concerning the meaning of the vifion in
the eighth chapter, and its double rela-
tion to Antiochus and Antichrift ; what
yet remains to be confidered, from the
Angelical narrative continued in the
eleventh chapter, will, when attentively
examined, it is hoped, be liable to no
uncertainty and doubt. For now the
heavenly meffenger, having brought down
his hiftory of the perfecution under An-
tiochus to the time of the end\ that is, the
end of the third or Grecian kingdom, which
after this comes no more into account

^ Dan. xi. 35«

among

Antiochus Uptphanes afid Antlchrifl4 1 1 J

among the Prophetic Tetrarchies ; in the serm*
36th and following verfes, enters on the ^^��
defcription of the fourth or Ronman Empire, ^

which by the confeffion of their own
writers began foon after their conquefi: of
Macedon, and whofe fortunes from this
period are recorded here. 'Then^ that is^
towards the end of the reign of Antio-
chus, a King Jljall do according to his wilk
and Jhall exalt and magnify himfelf above
every God^, By a King we are to under-
ftand, as in other places of Daniel, a
State or Kingdom, under whatever form
it may happen to be adminiftered; and
tht particular Kingdom meant muft needs
be that, which followed next in order to
the Greeks, or, in other words, the Roman.
By exalting and magnifying himfelf above^
every God may poffibly be fignified the
unparalleled fuccefs, which attended the
Roman arms, or the amazing extent of
dominion, to which the Roman nation
arrived, from the firfl reduction of Ma-

• Dan. xi. 36.

I 2 cedonia

IVi

ii6 Prophecies of Daniel concerning

SERM. cedonia to the times of Auguftus : to
conquer a nation^ in the phrafeology of
Scripture, being the fame as to conquer
the Godsy who, in the fyftem of Pagan
Theology, were fuppofed to protefl: that
nation ; and the Romans having befides
a cuflom of their own, of evoking the
Deities from the cities which they be-
fieged, and inviting them to transfer their
patronage from their old retainers to
themfelves.

In the fubfequent words, we have the
character of the fame kingdom, from the
reign of Auguftus to the abolifliing of
Gentilifm in tlie days of Conflantine ;
during which interval, the Redeemer of
mankind, called here the God ofGods^ ap-
peared upon earth, and was not only
himfelf crucified under Pilate, the Roman
governour, but his faithful difciples alfo
for a long courfe of years were barba-
roufly perfecuted, till the appointed period
of their fufferings was completed. This
is exprefled thus : a?id aga'mjl the God of

Gods

Ariitochus Epiphanes and Jlntlchri/l, 117

Gods he f jail /peak marvellous things \ and seRxM,
Jhall pro/per till the indignation be accom- ^^'
pliJJjed ; for that^ that is determined^ Jljall
bt done ; or, as the latter words may be
rendered, for the determined time fid all be
fulfilled K

The next verfe contains an account of
the Empire, after it had become Chriftlan,
and of the corruptions which iniinuated
themfelves but too foon into the new
religion. For, not content with forfaking
the Gods of their Fathers^ the Idol-Deities,
fuch as Jupiter and Mars, whom their
anceftors had worfhiped ; a principle of
miftaken piety, chiefly foftered by the
intemperate zeal of the Emperor Con-
ftantine, led them, under the fond pre-
tence of exalting, to debafe the purity
of Chriftian Morals : an extraordinary
fanQity was annexed to the obfervance
of CeUbacy ; the laws of ancient Rome,
enafted for the encouragement of Mar-
riage, were repealed : connubial love, the

^ Dan. xl. 36.
I ^ virtuous

J 1 8 Prophecies of Daniel concerning

SERM. virtuous fource of all the charities which
IV. knit map to rnan, was defamed as impure ;

* and in the end, through the policy of

the Roman Pontiff, now cpenly afpiring
to Ecclcfiaftical Sovereignty, the firft law
of nature, which God himlelf commands
io fome^ leaves free to all^ was iiTipioufly
jnterdided both the Monks and Clergy,
'Then he Jloall not regard the Gods of his
Fathers: Neither Jhall he regard the
PESIRE OF WoryiEN ; no^ nor any God%

hut he Jhall magnify himfelf above all %

But

* Dan. xi. 37. Houbigantj in his note on this
verfe, ridicules the interpretation of Grotius, qui in-
telligit, Antiochum non curaturum feminas amabiles 5
atque in hanc rem allegat caedes, ut hominum^ ita
ct mulierum, ab Antiocho Jevolblymas fa£las. On
which Houb;gant obfervesj and pertinently enpugh^
perinde quali non pofTet Antiochns, mulieres inter-
ficiens, unam aliquam aut vero plures refervare, qua-
rum forma ipfi placeret :■ — Pra^terea con flat, impudi-
ciffimum fuiffe Antiochum Epiphanem. In the mean
time, the expofition of this learned Father himfelf
will hardly efcape cenlure ; who, to accommodate
the words of Daniel to the fame Antiochus, take§
away, without any authority, the particle mc ; and
^ranflates the palTage thus, non curahii Deos . . . propter
amor m feminar urn : deo§ fc. patrum fuorum, quia per

mulieres

Antlochm Eplphanes and Antkhrljl. 1 19

But there are other and more lament- serm.
able inftances of Apoftafy yet behind. ^^•
For having thus contumelioufly violated ""^"^^
the natural rights of humanity by unjuft
reftriclions upon Marriage, the next ftep,
which we are informed this kingdom
fhould take, in its proclivity from bad to
worfe, fhould be to contaminate the re-
ligious homage, appropriated to the one
Mediator between God and man, by ido-
latrous addreffes to fubordinate and un-
authorized Interceflbrs of its own ; af-
cribing to them divine names and titles,
invoking them as Champions and Towers
of Defenfe againft their enemies, and
decorating their (hrines and images with
the mod: fplendid and coftly ornaments.
So it is, that the fpirit of prophecy de-
fcribes this dreadful defedion from the

mulieres alienigenas, quas deperlbit, avertetur a cultu
Deoxum fuorum patriorum ad alios Deos. If fuch a
licence of altering the facred text be allowed, it will
be eafy to derive whatever fenfe we pleafe from any
paflage of Scripture.

I 4 Faith,

1 20 Prophecies of Daniel concerntng

? F R M. Faith. For together with God in his feat^
i^* or temple, he pall honour Mahuzzims

" (that is, Saints and Angels, whom he (hall

apply to for aid and affiftance) ; even to^
gether with that God, whpm his Fa^
1 HERS KNEW NOT, f Jail he honour them ;
with gold and witkjiher and with precious
Jlones and with p leaf ant things ^ The God
whom his Fathers knew not^ in this vcrfe,
and the Foreign or Strange God, in the
following one s,' as Mr. Mede with his:
ufual fagacity has remarked ^, is Chrift :
to the Jews, who worfliiped the true
Jchov^ih, every foreign or flrange God
mull: be a falfe one ; but to the Gentiles^
whofe adoration was wholly paid to Idols,
a foreign God mud of necelfity be the
true. And it is of this true God, or
Chriftj that we muft underfland what i§
further mentioned in the 39th verfe 5
where we are told, that notwithftanding
the extraordinary veneration with which

*■ Dan. xi. 38. s Ver. 39.

Mede's Works, p. 667 — 674. 903, 904,

the

Antlochus Eptphanes and Aniichriji. 121

the Roman people (hould affeft to ap- serm,
proach him, they fhould yet defile the ^^*
honour due unto his name, by dedicating ""'

Temples in common to him and to their
own fallb Mediators; whom, in the pro-
grei's of their fu perdition, they ihould
appoint as the Tutelary and Local Divi-
nities of particular regions and provinces, i
and (hould caufe them to rule over many^
and even dtftribute the earth among them
for a reward.

The remaining part of the prediftion is
taken up with relating the punlfhment,
which fhould befall this Apoftate Church,
at the cnd'\ or declpnfion, of the Roman
Empire ; with other circumftances, not
yet fufficiently ilhiminated by the event,
and which therefore it will be our wii-
dom not raflily to prefume to interpret.
In conclufion is added, as the proper point,
to which all the diicoveries of the divine
will were intended to direft us, and as the
pmplction of God's moral difpenfations

* Dan. xi. 40.

122 Prophecies of Dauiel concerning

SERM. to mankind, an account of the general
IV. Refurreftion, and laft Judgment : when,

' the enemies of the truth being now fub-

dued, all who Jleep in the diijl of the earth
(hall awake \fome to everlafling Ife^ and
fome to fjame and everlafling contempt ;
and they that he wife fhall foine as the
hrightnefs of the firmament^ and they that
turn many to right eoufnefs^ as thejlarsfor
ever and ever ^. And with this admoni-
tion,

^ Dan. xii. 2, 3. The expreffions here ufed arc
much too lublime to have their meaning reftrained to
a temporal deliverance and a temporal affliftion only ;
and the evident aUufion there is to them by our Lord,
[Matt. xiii. 43. Then Jhall the righteous Jhine forth as
the furiy tn the kingdom of their Father : and John v.
28, 29. J^ll that are in the grave Jhall hear his voice
and come forth ; they that have done goody unto the
refurre^ion of life ; and they that have done evily unto
the refurre6fion of damnation^ is a ftrong intimation
that they ought to be interpreted of the final diftri-
bution of rewards and puniihments at the laft day,
Houbigant, as was to be expected, explains them, in
his note on the place, of the times of the Machabees :
lUi multiy qui dormient in terra pulveris, funt Judaeo-
rum magna multitudo, qui, faevi'entibus Antiochi
pr^fedis^ diffugerunt in locos Judxae & Arabian de-
fer tos

Antiochin Epiphams and Antlchriji. 12^

tion, thus awfully inforced, Daniel is serm,

commanded to Jhut up the wordsj and iv,

fed

fertos et arenofos, & condiderunt fe in fpeliincis :— .
intelligendi etiam funt multi de illis fceleratis homi-
nibus, qui ab religione defecerant, contulerantque fefo
ad cultum Graecorum, qiios Machabaei, ficubi re-
periebant, morte ple6^ebant; "ut ipii etiam cogerentur
fugere in fpeluncas, quia non jam eis praelidio efTe
poterant Perfas, debellati a Machabasis. Tangi utrof-
que in vocabulo inult't liquet ex eo, quod, confefto
bello, alii fie recreantur, ut in gloria verfentur ;
alii contra, ut in ignominia. His arguments are two,
I. vocabulum ipfum multi ^ quod de hominum magno
numero ufurpatur, non de omnibus ; nam omnes,
non tantum multt^ refurre£luri funt. 2. haec verba,
dor mire in terra piilveris^ nufquam repcriuntur, ut lig-
nificent flatum mortuorum. But to tliefe it is anfwered

1, the word many may here be put for all, juft as
it is in the Epiftle to the Romans (v. 15. 19.) ; where
St. Paul, fpeaking of the efFe£ls of Adam's tranf-
greflion, oblerves, that through the offunce and the
djfobedience of oney Many, i. e. all, are dead, and Many^
i. e. all, are made Jinners; and again, that by the obe-
dience of one, Many, or, all, Jhall be made righteous,

2. the phrafe of fleeping in the dufl is certainly-
found to lignify the ftate of the dead, in two paf-
fages of the book of Job [vii. 21. and xx. ii.], and
may therefore have the fame fenfe here. And 3.
although it be true that men in afflidlion arc fomc-
^imes reprefented as fitting or dwelling in the dufl, it

cannot

124 Prophecies of DAniEi. coneerning

SER M. feal the book^ even to the time of the end^ ;
ly? and the Angelical narration oi that which
h noted In the Scripture of truth "^ is clofed.

IV. The prophecies of Daniel, ex-
plainecj i^ this and a proceeding Le^^ure,
furnifh matter for various reflexions ; of
which the following are none of the leafl:
confidepble,

Firft then it appears, that the Gbjeftion^
originally ftarted by Porphyry, and rer
yived by Collins, againft the authenticity

cannot with any propriety be affirmed of perfons
reftored from mifery to profperity, that they awake to,
everlqfiing life. Indeed this learned man himfelf,
when zeal for the interelh of his communion
docs jiot draw him afide, can ufe a different lan-
guage : thus in another place, he fpeaks of the pre-
diftions concerning the Meffiah as, many of them,
requiring a long fer^es of ages for theif completion,
and among thofc, which have not yet received their
accompliflnnent, he exprefsly includes fome pf the
prophecies of Daniel. See his addrefs to the reader
of the Prophets, prefixed to the 4t]i vol. of his
valuable edition gf the Hebrevy 3ible, p. xlix, L
1;, lii.

* Dan. xii. 4.

^•- Pan. X. 2?.

I of

Antlochus Epiphanes and Antkhrj/f. 125

of the book of Daniel, on account of tl:ke seriv?.
clearnefs of its predidion-s as far as the ^^^
times of Antiochus Epiphanes, and their
obfcurity beyond that period, is both ir-
rational and falfe. For beiides that it
becomes not us to determine^ how far,
or with what degrees, whether of light
or (hade, the author of prophecy ought
to communicate the knowledge of futu-
rity ; the fail itfelf, alleged in the ob-
jedlion, is untrue : the feveral occurrences
concerning the Roman Empire, all of
which refer to times below the age of
Antiochus, being foretold as plainly as
thofe which relate to the Perfian or Ma-
cedonian Kingdoms, fo far as the pro-
phetical intimations are already accom-
plifhed : and for the refl, they have no
greater ambiguity than aj:iy other pre-
diction, yet unfulfilled ; of which the
completion alone will afford the beft and
jufteft interpretation.

Secondly, the opinion of Grotius, and
of the Cath©lic writers, who would ex-
plain

J 26 Prophecies of Daniel concerning

SERM. plain the whole' deventh chapter of Da-
^v. niel of the hiftory of AntFochus Epi-

' phanes, and will allow no part of it to

have the mod diflant refpe£t to the affairs
of the Romans, is without foundation.
For not only the circumftances of An-
tiochus' life are utterly irreconcileable with
fuch an opinion, of whom it can never
with any colour of veriiimilitude be af-
firmed, that he dijregarded either the Gods
of his Fathers or the dejire of Women ",
who is known to have compelled even
the Jews to worfliip the Grecian Idols,
and who was infamous for his impure
and libidinous difpolition ; the feries of
events themfelves enumerated here, which
reaches from the reign of Cyrus quite
down to the confummation of all things,
at the day of Judgement, forbids us to
admit of fo vaft a chafm as is interpofed
between the times of Antiochus and the
end of the world ; without the fmalleft
notice taken of that great people, which

*» Dan. xi. 37,

figures

Anikchus Epipha?2es and Antichriji. 12 j

figures in fo diftinguifhed a manner among serm.
the nations of mankind, with which the ^^'
interefts of God's church and family
were and are fo intimately connefted,
and under whofe government both Jews
and Chrillians have experienced fo many
furprizing viciffitudes of profperous and
adverfe fortune. A chain of prophecy, fo
broken and disjointed as this, is incom-
patible with all our ideas of continuity
and integrity, which are in equity ta be
prefumed in a divine revelation ; and, in
the inftance before us, is not more re-
pugnant to fober criticifm than it is con-
trary to hiftoric truth.

Thirdly, from what was formerly ob-
ferved of the reafon, why the four Em-
pires, whofe revolutions are recorded in
the book of Daniel, were particularly
feleiled to conftitute the fubjeft of facred
prophecy, we may difcern whence it was,
that the life and adions of Antiochus
Epiphanes were thought worthy to be
fo minutely recorded. He it was, who

w^as

JV.

128 Prophecks of Daniel concerning

SERM. was fore-ordained to be the inftrument
of chaftifement to the people of Godj
during the latter times of the Grecian
Monarchy ; under whom the Jews were
to be reduced to the very crifis of their
fate^ and on the point of being either ut-
terly exterminated, or compelled to feme
other Gods^ wood and f one'' i^ indirect vio-
lation of their law. When therefore this^
calamity arrived, when this haughty tyrant
a£lually appeared, to defile their altar, and
defecrate their fanduary, and, mad with
rage and difappointment, fhould even dare
to meditate the extindlion of their name
and nation ; what elfe could have been
efFe£lual to preferve them from defpair,
or excite them to a vigorous application
to the means of defence and fafety, than
the feafonable reflexion that the fame pro-
phet, who had forewarned them of this
diftrefs, had been careful alfo to announce
their deliverance from it ; that notwith-
{tanding all the tokens of anger and dif-

® Deut. xxviii, 36.

pleafure,

Antlochus Epiphanes and Antichr'iJ},' 129

pleafure, which were viiible on every serm,
fide, God had not for got ten to be gracious^', ^^'
that the vifion of the Evening and Morning
would flill be found to be true "^ ; and
that yet a Httle while, and their Almighty
avenger was at hand, and would not
tarry ? There is another reafon, why the
deftiny of Antiochus (hould be here in-
fifted on : he, we have feen, was intended
to be a figure of him, who has lorded it,
now fo long, over the flock of Chrifl,
under the denomination of the Pope or
Church of Rome : whenever therefore
the prophecy fliould appear to be com-
l| pleted in the type, this would create an
afliirance that it would hereafter be ve-
rified in the antitype; however obfcure,
and even dark, at the time the prophecy
was given, that antitype might be, as
well to the apprehenfions of the Jews,
as to thofe of the prophet himfelf. Thus
the angel, having revealed to Daniel,

p Pf. Ixxvii. 9.
'^ Dan, viii. 26.

K in

130 Prophecies of Daniel concerning

SER M. ill the cleareft and plaineft manner, what'
IV. was foon to happen in the near event,
{hews him from far, and as it were in
confufion, what was afterwards to take
place in the remote one : juft as a painter,
having expreffed in the livelieft and
brighteft colours the principal and leading
' parts of his defign, throws into fhade,
or touches in a faint and languid way,
the fubjeds which feem to him but dif-
tantly related to it.

Laftlj, the expofition of the prophecies

of Daniel, which hath now been made,

and by the only certain method, that of

comparing and forting them with fuc-

ceeding events, will greatly facilitate our

fearch into thofe, which yet remain to be

unfolded in the writings of St. Paul and

St. John. When Daniel firft publifhed

his own vifions, he plainly confeffed he

did not comprehend their meaning: his

imk was to he Jhiit up and fealed^ till the

time of the end \ and before they fhould

be at all, or at leaft fully, underftood.,

many

Aniiochus Eplphanes and Antkhrifl. 131

many were to run to andfro^ and hiowledge s e r m.
was to be encreafed\ Accordingly in ^^ '
thefe latter ages of the world it has hap-
pened, that much of the obfcurity, com-
plained of in what is here foretold, has
been adually removed by the comple-
tion : and what to Daniel was reprefented
as a book that was sealed, by St. John,
in allufion, and, as (hould feem, by way
of oppolition, to that expreffion, is called
the Revelation, which God hath fiewed
unto his ferv ants of things that miift Jhortly
come to pafs \ Such therefore of the
vifions of the legal prophet, as have been
already fulfilled, may be ufed as a di-
reftion to inftrudl us in the meaning of,
what we are next to attempt to illuftrate,
the evangelical predi6lions. And now,
under the aufpices of fuch a guide, we
may hope to advance fecurely in our
proje£led work ; and to have the pleafure

' Dan. xii. 4.
• Rev. i. I.

K 2 of

132 Prophecies of Daniel, &c.

SERM. of thofe, who, after long travelling in a

^Y' dreary night, perceive at laft the dark-

' ' nefs to dimipi(h, and the reddening ftreaks

of the morning betokening to them that

the day is at hand.

SER.

t 133 ]

SERMON V.

Prophecy of St. Paul concerning
the Man of Sin,

2 Thess, ii. 3.

Let no man deceive you by any means : for
That Day Jloall not come^ except there
come a falling away firjl, and that Man
of Sin be revealed, the Son of Perdition,

WHEN It is objefted to the Serm«
Chriftlan Religion, that, inftead ^*
of promoting piety and virtue, peace and
happinefs, among mankind, it has been
abufed to the purpofes of enthufiafm and
fuperftition, and made the inftrument of
tyranny and perfecution to a confiderable
K 3 part

134 Prophecy of St. Favl

SERM. part of thofe who have embraced It; wc
'^' think we oppofe a fatlsfaftory anfwer,

' when we reply, That the defign of the

gofpel is not yet completed ; that we are
now but in the midft of a fcheme, of
whofe end no probable conjeftures can
be formed from the unpromifing appear-
ances accompanying its beginning ; that
nothing has come to p'Jtfs, refpe£l:ing either
the paft or prefent condition of Chriftianity,
which was not foretold ; and that what-
ever has happened has been of fuch a
nature, as no Impoftor could have fore-
feen, and no Enthufiaft would have be-
lieved : that therefore the Faft and the
Prophecy compared together, far from af-
fordu}g matter of juft objeftion to our
holy religion, do indeed confpire to fur-
nifh a very confiderable argument for its
truth; and are admirably calculated to
a<dmiiiifl:er repofe and comfort to the
mind, amidfl the calamities and troubles
of this difbrdered ftate, by teaching us to
look foi-ward, with futh and patience^

concerning the Man of Shu 135

to the fcene that lies beyond it ; expeding, s e r m.
with humble confidence, the arrival of that ^^
bleffed time, fo magnificently proclaimed "

in our facred oracles, when every thing
that defileth Ihall be entirely done away ;
when the gofpel, which has fo long been
•made to mmljier unto fin ^ fliall at length
bring forth its proper fruit unto holinefs " ;
and the earth fioall be full of the knowledge
•of the Lor.d^, as the waters cover the fea^'\

Now of all the prediftions relating to
the Chriftian Church, whether regarding
its.prefent humiliation or future triumphs,
there is none which more deniands our
iittention,. or bears about it lefs equivocal
marks of divinity, than that recorded by
St. Paul in his fecond epiftle to the Thef-
falonians ; though perhaps there be none,
that has been more obfcured by the
cloudy imaginations of Interpreters.

I* This has been owing, in great mea-
Cyr^, to a common error, that the Day of

* Gal. ii. 17. .

^ Rom. vl. 22.
^ jr. xi. 9.

K 4 ChrlJ},

136 Prophecy of St. Paul

SERM. Chrifty of which mention is made in the
^* beginning of the chapter from whence
the text is taken, is to be underftood of
his Firjl Comings at the deftruftion of
Jerufalem ; and confequently, that the
Man of Sin^ whofe charadler is fo minutely
defcribed in the following verfes, muft
needs have been revealed^ before that me-
morable event was accomplifhed ; where-
as, as (hall now be fliewn, the whole
tenor of the Apoflle's reafoning leads us
to conclude, that he is fpeaking here of
the Second Coming of Chrift, to judge the
world ; and therefore the myjlery of Ini^
quity "", which, we are told, was to be
laid open, previous to that folemn time^
may well be fuppofed to refer to a remote,
and then far diftant, period ; although
it be granted that, in other places of the
Apoftolic writings, the Coming and the
Day ofChrif^xQ fometimes ufed to denote
nothing more than the final demolition o-f
the Jewifh polity.

^ 2 ThefT. il, 7.

Firft

concerning the Man of Sin, 137

Firft then we are to obferve, that the s e r m.
Epiftle, of which the text is a part, was ^*
principally intended by way of explana-
tion or fupplement to what had been
written by St. Paul in a former Letter,
addreffed to the Chriftians of Theflalonica.
In that firft Epiftle he had laboured to
difl'uade his new converts from hidulging
an immoderate grief, on account of their
departed friends, from the fure and certain
hope of a refurreftion to eternal life, of
which God had given affu ranee to them
and to all men by the refurredtion of
Chrift. / would not have you to be ig^-
norant^ Brethreny co?icernmg them which
are ajleep ; that ye for row not^ even as others
which have no hope : for if we believe that
Jefus died and rofe again, even fo them
alfo^ which Jleep in Jefus^ will God bring
with him y. This ftate of confummation
and blifs, he informs them, was to com-
mence at the Coming of the Lord ^ ; when

y I Their, iv. 13, 14.
» Ver. 15. -

the

t^9 Prophecy of St. Paul

s E R M. the dead in Chrifl Jhall rife firf ^ ; and then
V. (as if he himfelf were to be in the num-

' her) We, which are alive and remain^

fhall be caught up together with them in
the clouds ; and Jo pall we ever be with the
LiordK It lliould feem that this laft ex-
preffion, in which the Apoftle, by an
ufual figure^ fpeaks of himfelf as one of
thofe who were to fiirvive the general
wreck of nature; added to another re-
mark he had made, that whenever the
Day of the Lord fhoiild come, it would
be filently and fuddenly, as a thief in the
night ^ ; had been the innocent caufe of
the Theflalonians' miftake, as if he had
infinuated that the end of the world was
then approaching. And to correft this
growing error, among other ufeful pre-
cautions, it was, that the provident Apo-
ftle thought proper to fend them ^fecond
Epiftle : in which he befeeches them, by
that Coming of our Lord^^ of which he

a I ThefT. iv. 1 6. ^ Ver. 17.

« I ThefT. V. 2.
* 2 ThefT, ii. i.

had

concerning the Man of Sin. 139

had warned them in his JirJ}, that they s e R m.
be not foon JJoaken in mind^ or troubled^ ^*
neither byffirit nor by word nor i^ Le t t er, "^
as if any thing, which he had prophefied
or fpoken or written, could rightly be
expounded to fuch a fenfe, as that t^e
Day ofChriJi were at hand^^ The Letter
here mentioned alludes to that already
fent to the church of the Theffalonians ;
in which he had treated largely of the
refurteftion of the dead, and the final
judgment. The Day of C^r/j/? therefore,
in this latter Epiftle, muft-bQ interpreted
according to the fenfe it hears la .the
former; f6r it is plaln^ that in.both the
Apoftle is fpeaking of thej&;?;<?'day. But
in the former Epiftle, wc . have feen, .by
that phrafe can only be meant the Second
or laft Coming of Chrift, to judge the
world: therefore in the : latter Epiftle
alfo, by the fame words the fame awful
period muft be underftood.; and not, as
has been pretended, his Firf Coming, at

.^^. Their. Hi 2.

th.e

140 Prophecy of St. Paul

SERM. the ruin of the Jewifli Temple; which
V. the Theflalonians might have learnt, from
the predidlion of our Lord himfelf, was
to arrive, before xh2X generation Jloould pafs
away ^ and which was even then at hand,
and was aftually effeded, within few
years after the writing of this Epiftle.

And here, to note it by the way, may
be remarked the fallacy of that opinion,
fo ftrenuoufly aflerted by the excellent
Grotius, that what is now called the
fecond Epiftle to the Theflalonians was
written before the firft : an opinion, of
which it is hard to fay, whether it be
more contrary to the uiiiverfal tradition
of the Chriftian Churches, or to the in-
ternal evidence arifing from the com-
pofition ; and which nothing, I am per-
fuaded, but a fondnefs for a favourite
projefl: could have induced that able com-
inentator to have advanced.

II. It having thus been proved, that
there is no neceflity, from the expreflions,

^ Matth. xxiv. 34.

the

concerning the Man of Sin. 14^

the Day and the Coming ofChrlJi, to con- serm,
fine the revelation of the Man of Sin to ^*
the times preceding the judgments of
God upon the Jews ; let us now conlider
the charadler itfelf, defcribed by the Apo-
flle ; which muft be owned to be ex-
traordinary in all its parts, and of which
the world before had feen neither ex-
ample nor refemblance. And firft we are
told, that the manifeftation of this Son
of Perdition fhould be attended with a
remarkable y^///;;^ away^^ or a great Apo-
ftafy ; the beginnings of which were dif-
cernible, when St. Paul wrote his fecond
Epiftle to the Theflalonians. What the
nature of the Apoftafy here mentioned
is, does not immediately appear: it may
be a civil defection, or it may be a re-
ligious one ; a refufal of the obedience
owing to our earthly governours, or,
which is its ufual fignification in the New
Teftament, a revolt from the allegiance
due to our heavenly Mafter, which is

8 2 Their, ii. 3.

elfe.

I4Z Prophecy of St. Paul

SERM. elfewhere denominated a deparling from
V- the faith ^. In order to determine which

' " of the two fenfes was intended in this
place, it will be of ufe to contemplate
the features of this iingular perfonage,
which we find delineated, with great ex-
aftnefs, in the following words : who
eppofeth and exalt eth himfef above all that
is called God, or that is worjhiped ; fo that
he^ as God^ futeth in the Temple of God^
fbewifig himfelf that he is Godt^-^whofe
coming is after the working of Satan ; with
all power and figns and lying wonders ;
and with all deceivablenefs of unrlghteouf
nefs^ in thefn that perijh '\ The power, of
which fiich things are predicated, feems,
at firft fight, to be altogether different,
both in nature and kind, from that of
any temporal kingdom we are acquainted
with, whether of ancient or modern times.
Magifl:rates, it may be faid, are in fcrip-
ture called Go Jj^; and the Roman Em-

** I Tim. iv. I.

i 2 Their, ii. 4. 9, 10,

^ Pf. Ixxxii. 6. John. x. 35*

4 perors,

concerning the Man of Sin. J43

perors, in particular, were fond of afFeft-
ing divine honours, and after their deaths
were, fome of them, afcribed among the
deities of Pagan Rome : fo that by op*
pojing and exalting himfelf above all, or
every one, that is called a God, or that is
wor/hipedf may only be meant, that the
Man of Sin fhould exercife a fupcreminent
jurifdiftion over the kings and princes of
this world. Allowing this, it muft ftill
be acknowleged, that when it is added
beiides of this monfter of iniquity, that
he (hould affume to himfelf a fovereignty,
never before aflerted, or fo much as
thought of, by any earthly monarch,
however abfolute in other inftances ;
(hould afpire to rule as God^ in the Temple^
or Church, of God ; and, in confequence
of his ufurped occupancy of that holy
place, fhould prefume \.ofd^w himfelf that
he is God; arrogating more than human
honours, and claiming to partake of the
incommunicable attributes of the Supreme
Being, by diabolical pretences to lying

wonders^

144 Prophecy of St, Paul

SERM. wonders^ calculated to impofe only on
V- thofe, who believe not the truths but have

' pleafure in unrlghteoiijnefi ^ : thefe things

are utterly incompatible with all our no-
tions of Secular dominion, and muft be
conceived as the undoubted marks of an
Ecclejiajiic tyranny. Hence it follows
that, the power in queftion being thus
clearly of the religious kind, the Apoftafy^
which introduced and is itfelf fupported
by that power, muft be of the religious
kind alfo ; in other words, it muft denote
a defedion from the faith or true reli-
gion, and not an unlawful oppofition to
civil government.

One of the ableft and acuteft interpreters
of Scripture, whofe writings are allowed
by all to have been greatly fubfervient
to the caufe of revealed religion, has taken
much unprofitable pains to prove, that
the Man of Sin was the Emperor Caligula,
who commanded his ftatue to be placed
in the Temple of Jerufalem : but, I'eniible

^ 2 ThefT. ii. 12."

tliat

concernmg the Man of Sin. 145

i:hat Caligula, among the other extrava- serm,
gances of his life, never once ventured ^'
to authorize his impieties by miracles, he
imagines, to fave the credit of his hy-
pothefis, that the Apoftle had two perfons
in his view ; Caius Ceefar; diftinguifhed
here by the man of Jin and the fan of per ^
d'ttion^^ and Simon Magus, entitled the
ivlcked one^ whom the Lord fhould defroy
*with the fpirit of his ntouth ". This opi-
niottj like many others maintained by the
fame perfon in his commentaries on the
Prophets, labours in every part with dif-
ficulties that are infuperable. For fitfl:^
the fuppofition that two perfons are con-
cerned is wholly gratuitous, and without
the flendereft fupport from Scripture, wherej
the account is plainly confined to one
eharadcr, and to one only. Secondly, it is
i^ot true, that Caligula did aftualiy fit in
the Temple of God^ f sewing himfef that he
was God ; the command of that Emperor
to place his (tatue there being never put
'^ 2 Theff. ii. 3. " Ver. 8.

L ia

146 Prophecy of St. V av l

SERM. in execution. Thirdly, there are demon-
^' ftrative proofs that the Epiftle before us

' was not written till after St. Paul had

been at Thellalonica ; which journey by
the beft chronologers is fixed about the
tenth year of the reign of Claudius : now
Claudius fucceeded to the empire on the
event of Caligula's death; that is, at
lead ten years before the Apoftle had
vifited the Macedonian Capital : confe-
quently, to accommodate the prophecy
of the Man of Sin to the hiftory of Cali-
gula, will be to accommodate it to the
hiftory of one, who was dead at the time
the prophecy was given. Laftly, by the

t Temple in this place cannot be under-

ftood the Temple at Jerufalem, unlefs in
a figurative and improper fenfe ; in v/hich
way it is common enough for the writers
of the New Teftament to defcribe the
affairs of the Chriftian Church by al-
lufions taken from Jewifh fymbols. Thus
the city of Jerufalem, which was the ap-
pointed place of worfliip for the fervants

concerning the Man of Sin. 147

of the true God, is fometimes made a serm,
type of Heaven^ or the ^erufalem which is ^'
above''; and, In purfuance of the Icime
metaphor, the Church of Chrift upon
earth is reprefented under the image of
an Houfe or Edifice, erefled on the foun-
dation of the Apojiles and Prophets^
yefus Chrijl himfef being the chief corner^
fone^ in whom all the buildings ful^
framed together^ groweth unto an holy
Temple in the Lord^. According to this
interpretation, when it is foretold of the
Man of Sin, that he i}[\o\x\A ft in the Temple
of God^ the meaning mull: be, that he
Ihould erecl his empire within the church
of Chrift: from whence this further cha-
raflieriftic mark is deducible, that the
power, prefigured by that appellation, was
to be, not merely a Spiritual, but, more
particularly ftill, a Chrijlian^ power.

If the prophecy of the Man of Siii
cannot rightly be applied to Caligula, it

° Gal.lv. 26. Heb. xJi, 22,
? Ephef. ii. 20, 21.

L 2

can

148 Prophecy of St, Paul

SERM. can with lefs appearance of probability
be adapted to any other of the Pagan
Emperors ; who, though many of them
afpired to divine names and titles, yet
none could, in any fenfe, be faid to fity
or rule, in the temple of God'; and whofe
oppofition to the church of Chrift con-
fifted not in the delufive arts of pretended
miracles, but in an open and cruel per-
fecution of his true difciples.

They who would explain this predidion
of the early Hereticks, that infefted the
primitive Church ; or of the rebellious
Jews, who revolted from the Roman
Government; or of the Jewifh Converts,
who apoftatized from the Chriftian Faith;
are utterly at a lofs to reconcile the fe-
veral parts of the defcription with', the
hiftorical fafts recorded of the perfons,
or people, to whom the prophecy is re-
ferred. The impious doftrines of Simon
Magus and of the Gnoftics could with
no propriety be called a Myfery then to
be revealed ; the witchcrafts of that fbr-
2 cerer

concerning the Man of Sin* 149

cerer having been fufficlently expofed, serm.
when St. Paul himfelf was yet a per- ^*
fecutor*!; and the peftilent herefies of his
followers partaking rather of the nature
of an avowed hoftility, which had been
immediately and vigoroufly repelled by the
faithful preachers of the word. The op-
pofition made by the Jews to the Roman
Empire could not be intended by the
falling away^ mentioned here ; that ex-
preflion, as we have feen, being ufed to
denote a religious, not a civil, defection.
And with as little reafon can it be thought
to belong to the Jewifh converts, who,
after embracing the gofpel, reverted back
to Judaifm ; becaufe the numbers of thele
were never coniiderable enough to be
ftiled by way of eminence The Apojiafy^
nor were they ever united under one head
or leader, to whom the names of the Man
of Sin and the Son of Perdition could de-
fervedly be applied. Not to iufift, that
the opinions hitherto adduced arc, all of

^ A£^s viij. 9 — 25.

h 3 them,

1 50 Prophecy of St. Paul

SERM. them, ' founded on the common miftakc,
^' ah-eady confuted, that by the day ofChrtJi
"" is to be underftood the deflrudion of

Jerufalem.

To proceed with our explication of
the facred text: St. Paul, after enu-
merating the properties of that anti-
chriftian power, which was hereafter to
arife, acquaints the Theflalonians, that the
myjlery of iniquity had begun to work even
then ' ; the corruptions in faith and prac-
tice, already generated in the Chriftian
church, being in fadi: the embryo of that
yet unformed and unfinifhed chara£ter,
which ere long w^ould be produced into
the world, and advance to the juft maturity
of the Man of Sin. Indeed, as the Apoftle
obferves, his birth might reafonabJy have
been expedled at that very period, were
it not for a certain kit or obftacle, that
for the prefent retarded his coming, and
the knowledge of which, he intimates, had
been communicated to them before, in

r Z Theff. ii. 7.

his

conccrnmg the Man of Sin. 15 1

his converfations in perfon. Remember ye serm.
«(?/, that when / was yet with youy I told ^*
you thefe things ? And now ye know^ what. '

■withholdeth^ that he might be revealed in his
iifne. For the myftery of iniquity doth aU
ready work: only He, who now ktteth,
will letty until he be taken out of the way:
and then fialj that wicked be revealed \
From this account it appears, that the
lett or hindrance, alluded to by St. Paul,
was fomething from without, which had
then fo great influence and authority, that
the tyrannical power here predided would
be unable to make head, till, one way
or other, it (hould be removed. The
Apoftle feems to ufe an uncommon de-
gree of caution, in forbearing to mention
what it was; as if he had fears or fcruples
about committing it to writing. And
granting the impediment to be, what the
ancient Fathers univcrfally conceived it,
the exigence of the Roman Empire, he
had grounds for his fears ; as it might
feena a fort of treafon againft the majefty

» s> ThciT. il. 5, 6, 7, 8,

L 4 ' of

152 Prophecy of St, Paul

SERM. of Rome, even to fuppofe that her Im-
V* perial Sovereignty fhould ever come to a^

' end, or be difpoffeffed by a power yet

more oppreffive and rigorous than her
own. And it is worthy to be remarked,
that the learned Apologift Tertullian,,
who flouriflied towards the end of the
fecond century, is at pains to vindicate
the Ghriftians from the charge of being
ill-afFe£led to the ftate, and gives it as
one reafon, among others, why in their
public Liturgies they couftantly prayed
for the fafety of the Caefarean Empire,
from the perfuafion then generally held,
and profefledly founded on the authority
of this text, that Antichrift could not be
revealed, fo long as that Empire ihould
continue, and that the greateft calamity,
which- ever threatened the world, wac;
only delayed by its prefervation \

* Ed' et alia major ncccfliUs nobis orandi pro
Imperatoribiis, etiain pro omni liatu Imperii, — qni
vim maximam, uiiiverfo orbi immincntem,— K.ouiarj
imperii commjaiu fcimus rcrardari. Apol, c. 3^
See iXio c. 30. And ad Scan. c. 2.

They

CQftverning the Man of Sin* 153

They, who have fearched Into the thnes ser m.
fubfequent to thofe of the Apoftles, or to
the demoHtion of the Jewifh government,
in hopes of finduig either a,n individual
perfon, or an order and fuccefiion of per-
fons, in whom the prophecy of St. Paul
might appear to be completed, have, feme
of them, imagined, that the man of fin
was Mahomet, the author of the religion
ftill fubfifting and called by his name,
fie, we know, was a confeffed Impoftor^
and took advantage of the corruptions
then introduced into Ghriflianity, to ob-
trude his revelations on mankind ; his
do6lrines, as immoral and fenfual as his
life, fully juftify his being filled t/je wicked
one and the fon of perdition-, and, what i?
more than all, he found means to eftablifn
his religion foon after the declcnfion of
the Roman Empire. But however exadly
the Man of Sin and Mahomet may feerr>
in fome inftances to agree, there are other
particulars, ftill more efTential, in which
the two characters are totally incompati-
ble

i^^ Prophecy of St. Paul

SERM. blc with each other. The iniquity of
^' the Man of Sin was operating in the times

- ' of Su Paul : but Mahometanifm was a
hafty fcheme, fuddenly formed and exe-
cuted by an entcrprifing adventurer, for
the purpofes of worldly dominion ; nor
can any footfteps of it be traced back-
ward to the Apoftolic age, or many cen-
turies after it. Of the man of fin it is
recorded, that his coming fliould be after
the working of Satan^ with fgns and lying
wonders^ and with (ill deceivablenefs of un^
righteoufnefs : but the authority of Ma-
homet was not fupported, nor attempted
to be fupported, by miracles, but by the
fword. The man of fin was to be a
Chriftian power ; but Mahomet, though
he acknowledged the truth of the Na-
zarite's commiffion, was utterly averfe to
the Chriftian name ; and his do£lrincs
are as irreconcileable with thole of Jefus,
as light with darknefs. Laftly, from the
predidions of Daniel already explained
it has been feen, that Antichrift or the

concerning the Man cf Sln» 155

Man of Sin was to be a Roman power; serm.
and from what is yet to be explained of
the Apocalypfe of St. John it will be
further feen, that his place of refidence
was to be the city of Rome : now thefe
are circuniflances, which by no fubtlety
of interpretation can be made to quadrate
with the perfon of Mahomet, and exclude
him from any the mod diftant concern iu
the prophecy under examination.

It is fcarce worth while to mention
the fophifm of the Catholics, who by
the Apoflafy here defcribed affedl to un-
derftand the feparation of the Proteftants
from the church of Rome: becaufe, with
whatever art this calumny may have been
m'ged by the writers of that communion,
in hopes of faftening on the Reformers
the imputation of Schifm, by way of re-
taliation for charging them with the
guilt of Idolatry ; it is fo entirely deflltute
of truth, that one can hardly conceive
it is feriouily believed even by themfelves :
and till it can be proved, that it ever wasf

the

1 56 Prophecy of St, Paul

SERM. the wont of the Reformed Churches to
V- vindicate their feceilion by Miracles, or
fliewn under what common Mafter, favc
Chrlft, they profefs to be united, it will
not be thought, with fober men, to de-
ferve the honour of a confutation,

III. Hitherto we have done no more,
than fimply point out, who the Man of
Sin is not : it will now be expedled, that
we indicate by certain marks, who hs
feally is ; meaning by that expreffion, not
any fngle perfoji (for with this idea both
tht work affigned, and the time required
to compleat it, are wholly inconfiftent),
but ^fuccejjion cf men, pofleffing the fame
flation and charader, and a£luated by the
fame fpirit of antichriftian policy an4
fraud: juft as, in other places of Scripture,
a King reprefents a fuccefiion of Kings
over the fame nation, a Beaft is ufed for
a whole Empire, and the Falfe Prophet
in the book of the Revelations, by the con-
feffion of the Bifliop of Meaux himfelf,
for a corrupt communion and fq-?

ciet^,

cojicernlng the Man of Sin. x^y

clety"*. Now it is moft undeniable, that serm.
in the ages following that of the Apoftles, '^*
a power did aftually arife, and within the *"
bofom of the Chriftian Church, fo like
to that which is here predifted, that, if
it be not the fame, it has at leaft the ef-
fential notes of it ; nor is any circum-
flance wanting to an entire refemblance,
but the cataflrophe or deftrudlion to
which the power is doomed ; an event,
which is yet future, and wrapt up in the
venerable gloom in which all unfulfilled
prophecies without exception are involved.
You will doubtlefs apprehend, that the
power here alluded to can be no other
?han that now exercifed by Him, who
"fills the chair of St. Peter under the de*
nomination of the Pope or Biflhop of
Rome. The rudiments of fpiritual ty-
ranny, by which this grand deceiver of
the Chriftian world was hereafter to be-

" See L'Apocalypfe, avec iin Explication, par J.
B. Boffuct, Eveque de Meaux; and particularly the
Notes on Gh. xiii, ver. 1 1 — 18.

come

1^8 Prophecy of St. Paul

SERM. come confpicuons, were laid, even in the
V' Apoftolic times ; as appeared but too

' plainly in thofe dreadful figns of i\pofl:afy,

fo juftly reprehended by St. Paul and St.
John ; the worfhiping of angels ^'j ob-
ferving the Jewifh diflinftions of days
and meats s adulterating the word of God
with the principles of Gentile philofophy y,
allegorizing the doftrine of the refur-
redion ^', and denying that Chrift wa^
come in the flefh \ Thefe errors were
not likely to dimini(h, w^ien, the extra*
ordinary afiiftances, afforded to the rifing
church, being now withdrawn, the facred
oracles were committed to the cuftody
and interpretation of fallible men, difpofed
enough of themfelves to extravagate into
the baleful exceffes of fanaticifm and fu-
perftition. Accordingly it is a lament-
able truth, that no fooner had the per-

^ ColofT. II. 1 8.

"" CololT. ii. 1 6. Gal» iv. lO.

y Coloff. li. 8.

"^ 2 Tim. ii. i8.

* I John iv. 3.

fecutionj

concerning the Man of Sin, 159

fecutions ceafed, and the Empire become serm.
Chriftian under the patronage of Con- ^*
ftantuie, than a fruitful crop of herefies
and rank opinions fuddenly fprang up,
that choked the heavenly plant which the
Father had planted, and were equally
prejudicial to the interefts of Faith and
Virtue. Thefe were chiefly {eei\ in the
enthufiaftic veneration paid to the me-
' mories and tombs of dead faints and mar-'
I tyrs ; in pilgrimages to Paleftine and the
i holy city; voluntary poverty, and mace-
; rations of the body by faftings and foil-
I tude (whence the origin of the Monaftic
i Difcipline); the celibacy of priefts, and the
general idea of the fuperior purity of a
(ingle life. The maUgnity of fuch evils
from within was not a little encreafed by
the crafty politics of the Roman Pontiff
from without : whofe natural pre-emi-
nence of ftation, as preliding in the Me-
tropolis of the Weftern world, furnifhed
him with an eafy pretext to arbitrate in
the many dilputcs, principally fomented

1 60 Prophecy of St. Paul

SERM. by himfelf, among other members of the
V. Epiicopal order ; an advantage, which he
" failed not dihgently to improve, and which
contributed not a little to exalt him to
that fummit of facerdotal ambition, to
which he afterwards attained, as fupreme
lawgiver in the Church of Chrift. Such
in general was the wretched ftate of
things, when the Caellirean Government,
by means of the Gothic depredations, was
brought to its end: and the Imperial
power, or that which Letted^ being thus
taken out of the way ^, the Papal advanced
itfelf in its (lead; and perfeftly corref*
ponded to the charader of the Man of Sky
delineated in the facred writings. The
iifurped dominion, exercifed by this
haughty Prelate over the fiates and princes
of his communion, his infolent and illegal
claims to depofe and murder Kings, and
conftraining the greateft monarchs to re-
ceive their crowns from his hands, are.
denoted by oppofmg and exalting^ himfelf

I ^ aThcir. ii. 7, ,

above

concerning the Man of Sin. i6i

ahonye all that is called God^ or that is wor^ ser m,
Jhiped^: his impious pretences to infaU ^'
libility, and to exercife the prerogative,
belonging to God alone, of forgiving and
retaining fins, are reprefented by ft-
ting as God in the Temple of God, and
/hewing himfelf that he is God^i and,
laftly, his diabolical artifices to delude a
credulous and abandoned world, by the
pious frauds of juggling impoftors, ard
prefigured by coming after the working cf
Sat^n, with power andfigns and lying won-
ders, and with all deceivablenefi of un-
righteoufnefs in them that perifh %

Thus accurately are the origin and pro-
grefs of this amazing fyftem of fpiritual
domination foretold ; a fyftem begun in
the corruption of all that is good and
valuable, whether refpeding piety or vir-
tue, and propagated and fuftained by the
wicked arts of idolatry and oppreffion.
Nothing remains to finifli the defcription,

^ 2 Their, ii. 4.

«* Vcr. 4. « Ver. 9, lO.

M but

1 62 Prophecy of St. Paul

SERM. but what is added by St. Paul, namely,
^' the vengeance of offended heaven on
' this enemy of all righteoufnefs ^ \ whom

the Lord pall confume with the fpirit of
his mouthy and deflroy with the brightnefs
of his coming ^. This has been in part
efFefted already, by the fuccefsful oppo-
fition to the doftrines and pra£lices of
Papal Rome, at the times of the Refor-
mation : nor need we doubt but, in God's
good time, his gracious promifes fhall
have their full completion ; when every
adverfary of the truth (hall be finally fub-
dued, and the Church of Chrift, no longer
militant but triumphant upon earth, fhall
once again fhine forth in its native purity
and fplendor.

IV. By way of conclufion we may ob-
ferve, that from the memorable predi£lion,
whofe interpretation has been attempted
here, may be derived a clear and decifive
proof of the reality of the prophetic fpirit

*" A£ls xili. 10.
5 2 Their, ii. 8.

with

concerning the Man of Sin. 163

\vith which the Apoftles were infpif^d, serm,
and, in confequence of that, of the truth ^'
of the Chriftian rehgion. At the time
this prophecy was written by St. Paul,
there was not, and had not been, the
llendereft veftige of a power refembhng
that foretold, in any part of the known
world; and, judging from appearances
only, there was not the leaft likelihood
that any fuch fhould arife ; much lefs that
it fhould originate in a Church fo averfe
to worldly grandeur, as that of Chriit^
Yet that a power of this fort now exiftSj
and has long exifted, in the Roman Hie-
rarchy, is a matter of fa£l:, that is not to
be difputed ; nor can any words convey
a jufter idea of its nature, than thofe de-
livered by the Apoftle, fo many ages
before its arrival. Thefe are things,
which cannot be accounted for on any
principles of human fagacity or contri-
vance \ and can only be explained on the
fuppofition, that the holy men, to whom
it was given thus to develope the fecrets
M 2 of

1 64 Prophecy of St. Paul

SERM. of futurity, and bring forward its hidden
myfteries into day, were inftin£t with
fupernatural communications from the
divine Spirit, ^ndfpake as they were moved
by the Holy Ghojl \

If the prophets of the New Teftament
were really infpired, it follows, that the
Chriftian religion is true. For though
prophecies unfulfilled may perhaps by
fome be confidered as doubtful authorities ;
yet fuch as have already had their ac-
complifhment, and can be undeniably
proved to have been recorded before the
event, and are plainly beyond the reach
of human forefight or conje£lure to have
invented ; thefe furely muft be allowed
by every candid and ingenuous mind to
adminifter one of the ftrongeft arguments,
that can well be defired, that the religion,
in proof of which thofe prophecies were
afforded, is from God ; lince Infinite
Wifdom itfelf cannot be conceived to

!» 2 Pet. i. 21.
c have

concerning the Man of Sin. 165

have contrived a more effe£lual way to serm.
authenticate its own declarations ; and ^*
hifinite Goodnefs cannot fuffer its rational "~

creatures to be thrown into circumftances,
where impofture fhould be permitted to
wear fuch evident marks of truth, and
where error could neithe/ be prevented
nor cured.

M 5 S E R.

f 166 ]

SERMON VI.

Prophecy of St. Paul concerning the
Apoftafy of the Latter Times.

I Tl MOTHY iv. I,

Now the Spirit fpeaketh exprefsly, that in
the Latter "Times Jome Jhall depart from
the Faith ; giviftg heed to f educing fpirits^
and Do&rines of Devils.

THE declared end of the Jewifli
Law being to perpetuate the know-
ledge of the true God, till the tinmes of
the Meffiah, in the midft of a world fa-
tally over-run with fuperftition and po-
lytheifm ; and the appointed means, by
which that end was to be efFeded^ being

the

Prophecy of St. Paul, &c. 167

the (eparation of one people from the serm,
reft ; it became necefiary, in order to ^^*
fecure the beneficial purpofes of fuch a
feleftlon, that thofe, who were the ob-
jects of it, (hould be guarded by the fe-
verity of penal laws from the contagion
of Idolatry. Yet, whether it were from
the inveterate prejudices then generally
entertained concerning local and tutelary
deities, or from the fondnefs contrafted
in the houfe of bondage for Egyptian
manners, or, what was perhaps a more
alluring motive than either of the two,
the voluptuous and immoral rites of Hea-
thenifm ; fo it was, that, from the very
firft inftitution of their Law to the time
of their puniftiment by a feventy-years
captivity, this people were for ever re-
volting from the God of their fathers, and
polluting the fanclity of their own re-
ligion by the unholy mixture of Pagan
impurities.

But we fhall conceive a very wrong

idea of Jewiih Idolatry, if we fuppofe

M ^ that

1 68 Prophecy of St. Paul concerning

S£RM. that it confifted in a total rejeclion of the
^'J- true Jehovah, as if they denied his being,

" or doubted of his power : for it appears,

as well from the feries of their hiftory,
as from the rebukes and exhortations of
their prophets, that they flill looked up
to Him as the Creator of the Univerfe,
and on all occafions, whether of diilrefs
or vidory, were ready to own his fove-
reign right of dominion. But the per-
verfity, objefted to this unhappy people,
%vas this ; that they did not confiqe their
religious homage to the God of Ifrael,
but contaminated the fcrvice, due to him
alone, with foreign worfhip, adopted from
their Gentile neighbours : either adoring
other gods bcfdes him, as the Hofl of
Heaven, or the fouls of dead men, which
was the peculiar Impiety of their two
kings, Ahab and A4c^naiTeh ' ; or offering
prayers and praifes. to their own God,
through the medium of hnages ; as in the
inftance of the golden calves, at Dan and
I Kings xvi. qi. 32. 33. 1 Kings xxi. 5, 6.

Beth-el,

VI.

the Apojlajy of the Latter Times. 169

Beth-el, politically erefted, to prevent the serm,
re-union of the kingdom of Ifrael with
that of Judah, by Jeroboa?n the Jon of
Nel?at^ whe made Ifrael tofn ^,

Chriftians, as well as Jews, are under
the moll folemn obligations, and have
the authority of an exprefs command, to
acknowledge, as firft and principally, One
God, the Father, of whom are all things^
and to whom our pious fervices are to be
direfted ; fo alfo One Lord, Jefus Chrifl,
by whom are all things, and through whom
we have accefs with cQnfidence to the divine
Majefty ^ And as, during the times of
the Mofaic difpenfation, none but the
-High Prieft could enter into the Holy of
Holies, there to ofter incenfe, and make
atonement for the fins of the people, with
the hlood of others ; fo Jefus, the High
Prieft of Chriftians, is the only one, who
has entered Into the Holy place, not made

^ I Kings xii. 28, 29. xvi. 26. See D. L.
Book V. Sea. 2.

^ I Cor. viii. 6. Ephef, il. 18. iii. 12,

with

176 Prophecy of St. Paul concerning

SERM. With hands^ with power to appear in the
"^'i* frefence of God ^ there to offer the fpirltual

' * incenfe, which is the prayers of the Saints "",

after having, with his own bloody obtained
eternal redemption for us "". Yet, whether
through an affeftation of humility^ and a
ifear of approaching too nigh to God ; or
through a miftaken apprehenfion that they
Were not compleat "^ in Clirifl:, but had
need of other patrons and helpers befides
him ; there have been Chriftians, who
have made to themfelves gods many and
lords many p ; not holding the head^ from
which all the body hath effedual nouriJJo-
ment fuppHed 1 ; and transferring the ho-
nour, appropriated to Chrift alone, to An-
gels and to Saints ; whom they have
-vainly addrelTed as the givers of fpiritual
grace and comfort, and whofe power they
have invoked in all the forms and lan-
guage of devotion*

"> Rev. V. 8.

" Heb. ix. ir, 12. 24, 25.

^ ColofT. ii. 18. 10.

P I Cor. viii. 5. *> ColofT. il. 19.

But.

the Apojlafy of the Latter Times. 171

But here again we (hall do well to ob- serm,
ferve, that as the Ifraelites, even in their ^^'
moft corrupt ftate, never wholly with-
drew their allegiance from the true God,
but only w^orfhiped Him together with
the falfe J^ods of the nations round about
them, or under the reprefentation of
Calves and Images; fo Chriftians, who
are charged with thus detracting from
the merits of Chrift, are not fuppofed to
have incurred fo great a guilt, by a total
renunciation of his religion ; but by fet-
ting up other IntercefTors befides, and in
conjundion with, Him : in dire6l repug-
nance to that precept of fcripture, which
teaches, that as there is but one God, fo
there is alfo but one Mediator between God
and man "■ ; whofe incommunicable prero-
gative it is, to receive and prefent the
requefts and thankfgivings of pious perfons
to His Father and Our Father, and who
is able to fave to the uttermoji them that

f I Tim. ii. 5.

come

172 Prophecy of St. Paul concerning

s E R M. come unto God by Him, feeing He ever Uveth
VI, to make intercejfionfor us\

' Hence it follows, that as the perfeclion

of Jevvifh Worfhip confifted in having
none other Gods but one, and the effence
of Jewifh Idolatry in acknowledging a
plurality; fo the perfedlion of Chriftiau
Worfhip confifts in having none other
Mediator but Chrift, and the effence of
what may fitly be called Chriflian Ido-
latry in owning other Mediators betides
him. And as the Jews were guilty of
violating the law of Mofes, not only when
they prayed to a multitude of gods, but
alfo when they prayed to the true God
under any fenfible likenefs or fymbol ; fo
Chriftians offend againft the law of Chrift,
not only when they have recourfe to other
Mediators, but alfo when they offer their
fupplication? to Him, by an image or vi-
fible reprefentation.

This account of the nature of Jewifl^
ai)d Chriflian VVorfiiip and Idolatry will

^ Keb. vil. 25.

open

VI.

the Apojiafy of the hatter Times. 175

open the way to the elucidation of what serm.
is now to engage our attention, the
prophecy, recorded in the text ; in which
St. Paul, predifting, as in a former
Epiftle, that great defeftion of the
Chriftian world, which was to happen in
the latter times^ foretells that it (hould be
accompanied, as with other fuperftitious
obfervances, fuch as forbidding to marry^
and cominanding to ahjlain from meats
(both which had begun to infinuate them-
felves even in the Apoftollc age), fo chiefly
with the revival of the ancient and ex-
ploded worftiip of Demons ; exprefled here
by giving heed to feducing fpirits and doc*
trines of Devils^, But befides this cha-
radleriftic mark, by which fo folemn a
revolt fhould be difcriminated from all
others, two other notes of diftinilion are
alfo fubjoined ; one, that it (hould be that
very departing from the faiths of which
the Church had been already forewarned
by an exprefs revelation from the divine

* I Tim, iv. I. 3.

Spirit ;

174 Prophecy of St, Paul concerning

SERM. Spirit ; the other, that its arrival was not
VI* to be expefted till the latter times.

In enlarging on each of thefe particu-
lars, and in the order they have now been
mentioned, we (hall be furniflied, as we
go along, with the mofl undoubted proofs
of the completion of this prophecy in the
Apoftafy of Papal Rome ^ from whence
will appear the truth and juftice of that
accufation, fo frequently infifted on by
Proteftants, when they impugn the efta-
blifhed worfliip of that communion, as
Idolatrous and Antichriftian*

I. Firft then let it be remarked, that it
was a confelTed principle of Pagan The-
ology, that the Sovereign of the Univerfe
was of too fuhlime a nature to humble'
himfelf to behold what was going forward
in fo obfcure and fordid a corner as this^
earth; as well as too pure to be imme-
diately approached by a creature, degraded
to fo low a rank in the fcale of beings as
Man. The care and government of the
world, it was believed, was delegated to*

the

the ^pojldjy of the hatter Times. 175

the vicegerency of inferior agents, better serm*
known by the name of Demons; a fort ^^*
of demi-gods, or fubaltern divinities, by ^
whofe miniftry the whole intercourfe be*
tween gods and men, fuch as the recipro-
cation of prayers and benefits, petitions
and fuppHes, was managed and carried on.
It were eafy to fupport the pofition here
advanced by a tedious heap of quotations,
from the writings of the Platonifts (which
to bring together would be but to abufe
your patience ") : it is of more importance
to obferve, that the Demons, into whofe
original w-e are now enquiring, were of
two kinds ; one, of a higher order, who
had never been imprifoned or hnkt with
a human body, fuch as Angels are con-
ceived by us ; the other, of an inferior
clafs, the fouls of departed heroes, who,
during their abode on earth, had been the
Founders and Benefadors of human fo-
ciety, and were now exalted to heaven,

" See the very learned Treatife of Mr. Mede, of
the Jpojlafy of the Latter Times \ particularly ch. 3 — 7.
S'.>e ahb D. L, B. HI. Sea. 4.

3 and

176 Prophecy of St. Paul concerning

SER M. and canonized after the manner of Romifh
'V'l* Saints. Of thefe Demons it was that the
Athenians, who of all the Greeks were
moft addided to the cuftom of adopting
foreign gods, imagined St. Paul to fpeak,
when he preached to them JefuSi and his
refurredlion "^ from the dead : and to the
fame idol-deities there is an allufion in
the firft Epiftle to the Corinthians -, where
it is faid, that the things which the Gentiles
facrificed^ they Jacrijiced to "Demons^ not to
God ; and that Chriftians could not par^
take^ at one and the fame time, of the table
and cup of the Lord^ and of the table and
cup of Demons \ When therefore we find
the great Apoftle of the Gentiles, whofe
extenfive learning muft have introduced
him to the moft intimate acquaintance
with the religious rites of Paganifm, ex-
prefsly declaring, that the Apoftafy of
the latter times fhould be principally dif-
tinguifhed by giving heed to dodlrines con^"

-^ Aas xvli. 18. Sec D. L. B. II. Sea. 6.
" I Cor. X. 20, 21.

cerning

the Apojlafy of the Latter Tmeu 177

cernifjg Demons (for fo the words had bet- serm.
ter have been tranflated), of whofe office "^i*
we have ittn it was, to mediate and in-
tercede between the gods and mortals ;
and then compare with this predidlion the
avowed principles of the Church of Rome,
according to which Angels and Saints are
both invoked under the fame charafter
of mediators and interceflTors, ijotthout^ and
therefore againji, the authority, expreffed or
impliedj of God's word ; Ilo entire a con-
formity in the thing annihilates any tri-
fling difference in the name, and from the
perfeft likenefs in the copy we are forbid.
to hefitate in pronouncing about the
Original.

But it is not only in the obje^s of wot-
fhip, that this fimilitude between the De-
monology of the Gentries and that of
modern Rome is dtifcernible, but alfo in
the mode in which ibch worfhip is per*
formed. The Pagan adoration of Demons
was externally paid to material Images
and Columns, animated, as was fuppofed,
N by

178 Prophecy of St. Paul concerning

SERM. by an intelligence, communicated by the
^^' god in whofe honour they were eredted,

' and there confined, as within a facred in-

clofure, from whence there was no efcape.
And the fame refped was {hewn to the
Remains and Sepulchres of Demons, as to
their Statues and Pillars. Now who fees
not, that to thefe ceremonies, the cuftoms
prefcribed and praftifed among the vota-
ries of Papal Rome, fuch as the proftra-
tions made to Images, to the Crofs, and
iat the elevation of the Hoft, together
Vvith the fuperftltious regard to the
Relics and Tombs of Martyrs, exadly
correfpond ? In vain the advocates of
that corrupted church endeavour to elude
the crime of Idolatry, fo juftly charged
upon them on account of fuch obfer-
vances, by pleading here, that thefe out-
ward memorials are only honoured with
a relative worfhip ; that it is not the fub-
ilance or matter, of which they are com-
pofed, but the perfons, of whom they bear
the impreffion; or fugged tliQ remem-
brance,

VI.

the Apojiafy of the hatter Times. 179

brance, to which their reverential regards serm,
are really paid : bccaufe, with whatever
plaufibility, or even truths this argument
may be urged, as to the wifer and more
informed part of that communion, the
vulgar worfliipers, we affirm, will never
make, or will never retain, any fuch dif-
tin£tion ; the adoration, which is diredled
by them to a fenfible objefl;, will termi-
nate in that objed, and look no farther ;
and the fign or fymbol, which was em-
ployed at firft as the mea?is of devotion,
will foon be refted and confided in, as
an end. The Jews w^ere forbidden, in the
moft folemn manner, to make any fimi-
litude of God, under any form: and if
the Angel, who appeared to St. John,
rejected the homage of that Apoftle offered
to himfelf, when prefent, and in perfon,
in terms of abhorrence ; — See thou do it
not ; / am thy fellow -ferv ant ; worfoip
Gody ; — the fame homage, paid to his re-
prefentation, when abfent, it may be pre-
' Rev* xxii. 8, 9,

N ^ fum^d^

VI,

1 80 Prophecy of Si, Paul concerning

SERM. fumed, would have been ftill more d if-
pleafing. No command, or even permif-
fion, concerning the praying to Images,
whether meant as memorials of Chrift or
of his Saints, is fo much as pretended to
be found in fcripture: and in the follow-
ing words of Mofes, which, though ori-
ginally fpoken with refpeft to the Supreme
Being, are not without their force, when
applied to any other objed of worfliip,
mray be difcovercd no flight tokens of a
divine prohibition : Take good heed unto
yourfelvesy for ye faw no ftmlhiide, on the
day that the Lord fpake to you in Horei,
out of the midji of the fire ; lefi ye corrupt
yourfelves, and make the fimilitude of any
figure ; lefi ye forget the covenant of the
Lord your God^ an-d make you a graven
image ^ or the likenefs of any thing which the
Lord thy God hath forbidden thee : for the
Lord thy God is a confufning fire^ even a
jealous God^,

^ Dcut. iv, 15, 1^. J3, 24i

Whether

the ^'^poJJnfy of the Latter Times. i8x

Whether the conformity between Pa- serm.
gan and Popifli Worfliip, which has been ^^•
here infided on, were owing to direft
imitation^ or arofe from the natural work-
ings of fuperftition, which in fimilar
fituations produces fimilar efFefts, has been
matter of difpute*. They, who contend
that the religion of Chriftian Rome is
immediately derived from that of the
heathen city, have, it muft be allowed,
alleged a variety of inftances, in wdiieh
the rites and ceremonies are the fame in
both : but it muft alfo be acknowledged,
that from this circumftance alone no de^
cifive proof can be drawn, that one was
formed on the plan, and modelled after
the pattern, of the other ; becaufe there
are feveral examples of conformity to be
found among nations, between whom,
we are fure, there i>ever was the fmalleft
intercourfe or comrnunication, where

* See the Letter from Rome, by Dr. Middletpn ;
and the Remarks on that Letter by Bp. Warburton,
D. L. Book IV. Sea 6. at the end.

N 3 there-

iSz Prophecy of St. Paul concerning

SERM. therefore there cannot be the fhadow of
^^' a rcafon to aflert, that their common

"~ cuftoms were traduflive from each other.

Many of the gods of the ancient Gauls
and Suevi, and thofe of the later Greeks
and Romans, have been remarked to dif-
fer only in name ; whence fame writers,
mifled by this refemblance, have pofitively
declared for their identity : yet more
learned and accurate inveftigators of an-
tiquity have fully expofed the fallacy of
this opinion ; which had never any other
fupport than on the attributes, afcribed
to the divinities of thofe feveral coun-
tries; which attributes, on account of
the rife of the gods thcmfelves from
humanity, were, and could not but be,
the fame ^. A like correfpondency has
been obferved by a fine critic between the
manners of the fabulous Greeks, as de-
lineated in the well-known poems of
Homer, and thofe of the Feudal Barons,
as reprefented in the works of the Gothic

^ See D. L. Book IV. Seft. 5.

roman^

the Apojiajy of the Latter Times. 1 83

romance! s'^: yet he, who (hould fay that serm.
the latter of thefe were copied from the ^^*
former, would undoubtedly fall into a
grofs miftake ; fince the agreement be-
tween them may fo naturally be ac-
counted for, from the fimilarity of the
political ftates of Greece and Europe, at
the two periods defcribed, which gave an
unity of characler to both, though at the
fame time both were equally originals.
But, not to dwell any longer on a con-
troverfy, which after all is not of the
moft important kind ; let it be remem-
bered, that which ever way this difpute be
determined, the fa^ itfelf, of the aflual
revival of the Gentile Demonology in the
Church of Chrift, (lands clear of any ob-
jeftions that may be brought againft either
hypothefis : and the fa6l is all, that a
believer, or an interpreter, of prophecy
need be concerned for.

II. The fccond mark, by which the
dcfe«?fion of Chriftians is defcribcd in the

c See the Letters oq Chivalry and Romance;
Leitcv is\

N 4. text^,

1S4 Prophecy of St. Paul concerning

SERM. text, is this; that it was to be the fame
yu departing from the fait h^ of which the Spirit
" had exprefsly fpoken before ; where by ex-
frefsly can only be meanf, that it had
been .mentioned in exprefs words. Now
it is certain that St. Paul was himfelf
enabled, by a fupernatural revelation, to
foretell the falling away, of which h^
forewarns his fon Timothy here, when
he wrote his fecond Epiftle to the Thef-
falonians ^ : and there are who think, it
is that Epiftle, to which he alludes in
this place. But a better opinion is, that
the predicSlion meant is that contained in
the eleventh chapter of the book of
Daniel, and explained in a former Ledlure ;
where the corruptions of the Chriflian
Church, which were hereafter to be oc-
cafioned by the Roman Hierarchy, are
made to confift in the fame unnatural
union of the worfliip of Demons, or tu-
telary gods, with that of Chrift, accom-
panied too with the fame prohibition of

* Z ThefT. ii. 3,

mar«

the Apojlafy of the Latter Times. 185

marriage, as is recorded in this Epiftle ' ; s e r m.
^o that the fubftance <is well as fubjeft vi,
of both defcrlptions being alike, it is moft '

probable, that the difcoveries of the Jewifti
prophet were thofe referred to by the
Phriftian Apoftle.

III. This conjecture will be confirmed
by adverting to the period^ within which
the Apoftafy foretold was to take place ;
.which, it is faid^ fhould be in the latter
times. By the latter times are fignified,
in the ordinary acceptation of the phrafe,
the times fubfequent to the eftablifli-
ment of Chriftianity, as tht former times
are thofe which preceded that great ser^.
But there is another divifion of time,
made ufeof in fcripture, which is founded
pn the fucceflion of the Four Empires,
whofe fortunes are related at large by
Daniel ; during the lajl of which, the
kingdom of Chrift was to be erefted,
^nd x.oJland for everK With reference to
this divifion, the laji times^ when Ipokeji

' Dan. xi. 36 — 40,

f Dan. ii, 44,

1 86 Prophecy of Si. Paul concerning

SERM. of in general, are the times of the laft,
^^' that is, the Roman, kingdom ; and the

' latter timeSy in particular, are the latter

times of the fame kingdom. Now Daniel,
we have feen, in the prophecy in qiieftion,
exprefsly limits the appearance of An-
tichrift, denoted by the Little Horn, to the
precife period, when the fourth or Roman
Empire lliould be difmembered, and bro-
ken into ten parts; among which ten
this new power was gradually to fpring
up, and make war with the faints^ and pre -^
vail aga'mji them^ until his dominion were
finally taken away ^, By the latter times
therefore, according to this notation, are
to be underftood the times of the reign of
Antichrift, or the hittle Horn : and, St.
Paul having a retrofpeft, in other parts
of the prediftion, to what had been before
revealed, concerning the fame events, to
Daniel ; it is of thefe times we muft fup-
pole him to fpeak, when he fays the fpirit
had fpoken exprefsly that in them men

8 Dan. vii. 8. 2i. 26.

fliOuld

the Apojiajy of the Latter Ttmes. 187

fhould depart, or apollatize, from the serm.
Chriftian faith. VK

IV. To colled then the feveral fcattered '
obfervations oa this prophecy into one
view. The Apoftafy, here defcribed, is
not only exprefled, in general, by the
phrafes, departing from thefa'ith^ and giving
heed to [educing fpir its ^ or erroneous doc-
trines ; but thofe dodlrines themfelves are
particularly fpecified, of which the chief
and principal is declared to be the Worfhip
of Demons, which is Idolatry. It is this,
that conftitutes the effence of that ama-
zing corruption, which as a cloud was
to overfpread the face of the Chriftian
Church, and by which it is ftigmatized
and diftinguiflied from the blafphemies
and heretical opinions of every other age,
before and after it. But befides the kind
and quality of the dodrines taught, we
are direiled, for further certainty, to an
ancient prediflion of the Old Teflamenf,
in which the ftme religious defection is
recorded, and in the mod direfl and po-

fitive

1 88 Prophecy of St, Paul concerning

SERM. fitive terms, by the Holy Spirit: and, that
VI. no proof might be wanting, the Time,
in which this revolt was to happen and
be fuccefsful, is defined by a form of
fpeech, whofe meaning had been aheady
fettled and afcertained by the authority
of DanieL Let any one now, after fe-
rioufly refle£ling on thefe prophetic cha~
rafters, be pleafed but to fet over againft
them the correfponding fads, as realized
in the hiftory of the now-exifting ty-
ranny of Papal Rome ; in which Demon-
Wor(hip, or the invocation of falfe Media-
tors, and the fuperftitious ufe of Images
in the folemnities of divine adoration, are
authoritatively enjoined and pra£lifed : let
him add too, that thefe corruptions, to-
gether with others of an inferior fort, were
adually introduced at the very time,
when the Weftern Empire, with its Im-
perial Head, was dcftroyed, and the Ro-
man Pontiff erefted himfelf on its ruins ;
and that this circumftance alfo had been
cxprefsly noticed, long before, by one of

the

VI.

the Apojlafy of the hatter Times. 189

the moft renowned of the Jewifh Pro- serm.
phets: and without taking in, what yet
is neceflary to give the argument its full
force, the concurring evidence arlfing from
other prophecies, the wonderful appear-
ances of completion to be found in this,
muft, I think, be allowed to be of great
and confiderable weight ; of much too
great, to be carelefsly treated as nothing,
or to be refolved at once into one of thofe
numerous coincidencies, which time and
chance are ever producing in the ceafelefs
revolution of human things.

But as in the moft forlorn and helpless
ftate of natural religion, God never lefi
hlmfelf without witnefs ^, but afforded fuf-
ficient proofs, by which the difcerning
few might be abundantly convinced of
his power and goodnefs ; fo in the worfl
and moft calamitous condition of his re-
vealed will, the fame Almighty Being,
always watchful for the happinefs of his
rational creatures, has never fufFered vice

!l A^s xiv. 17.

and

VI.

ipo Prophecy of St. Paul concerning

S£RM. and error fo far to prevail, but that there
have yet been fome burning and Jhin'ing
lights % which have prevented the dark-
nefs from becoming total, or the glorious
lamp of the gofpel from being quite ex«
tinguifhed. And as in the days of Ahab,
Elijah, when complaining of the Apoftafy
of the Ifraelites, and ready to fuppofe
that he oiily remained of the prophets of
Godi and that they fought his life to take
it away, received for anfwer, that there
were then left feven thoufand men^ un-
tainted with the general idolatry, and
ijoho had never bowed the knee to Baal^%
even fo in thefe latter times^ there has
always been a remnant ', who have fled-
faftly adhered to the true principles of the
Chriftian religion, and whom no temp-
tations, whether of prolperity or perfe-
cution, have been able to feduce from
their promifed allegiance to Chrift. This is

* John V. 35.
^ Kings xix. 10. 14. 18,

* Rom, xi. 2 — 6*

not

the Apojlafy of the Latter Times. 191

notobfcurely intimated in the text, when serm,
it is faid that some fliould depart from ^^*
the faith ; where though fome^ according
to its ufual fignification in Scripture, un-
doubtedly means the greater part, yet it
alfo implies an exception, with regard to
a few, who fliould ftill retain their in-
tegrity, notvvithftanding the prevailing
errors. Amongft this fome it is our lot,
through the goodnefs of an over-ruling
providence, to be caft; and in the midft
of all that Antichriftian Idolatry, with
which other countries are overwhelmed,
to be feleiled, like another chofen people,
to live in a land, where the gofpel of
Chrift is profeffed in its native purity.
It becomes us to manifeft the fenfe we
have of fo invaluable a bleffing, by walking
worthy of the high callings wherewith we
are called "^^ and by transferring the Refor-
mation, thus happily effeded in our Re-
ligion, to our lives ; that building tip our-

^ Eplief. iv. T. Philipp. iii. 14.

fehes
4

192 Prophecy of St, Vxxjt, ScC.

s E R M. fehes in our mojl holy Faith ", and adorning
VI- the doctrine of God our Saviour'' by a holy
converfation, we may never be fuffered
to fall from our own Jledfajinefs^ but grow
in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord
Jefus ChriflK

" Jude 20.

• Titus ii. 10.

i a Pet. iii. i7> 18,

SER.

[ 193 3

SERMON VII.

The Authority of the Apocalypfe,
and the Time when it was
written.

Rev. i. 3. ^

Blejfed is he that readethy and they that hear^
the words of this prophecy y and keep thofe
things which are written therein ; fo?'
the time is at hand,

THE prediaions concerning the rife s^^-^^*
VII
and fall of Antlchrift, fo far as [_

thefe are to he found in the book of
Daniel and the Epiftles of St. Paul, hav^-
ing been already coniidered in the pre-
ceding Lcclures; it now remains that,
O accord-

194 ^^f Authority of the Apocalypfe^

SERM. according to our propofed plan, we pro-
"^^^^ ceed to others yet more important, which
are recorded, for the confolation of the
faithful, in the Revelation of St. John.

On the moft curfory view of this pro-
phecy it is obvious, that, as well on ac-
count of its matter and method, as of the
iymbolical charafter that pervades the
whole, it is of a xnuch more myflerious
and dark complexion than any other,
.either of the Old or New Teftament. In-
deed fo myflerious and fo dark, that, as
modern fceptics would have us believe,
we can never hope to fee any clear and
confiftent fyftem deduced from it : for a
proof of which we are referred to the
various, fchemes of interpretation, invented
by Chriftians of oppofite communions,
all of whom have been fond to^ find their
own caufe and fortunes foretold in it;
wJiofe difcordant opinions are therefore"
by the wifer few to be regarded as nothing
better^ than the whimfies of a warm or
dift^mpered imagination ; vifionary . and
-:.:.*., . illufive.

and the Time when it was "Written.- J^S

illufive, like the figures feen \w th$ cloii^s^ s E r m.
which appear under different forrris, aC- ^■^^•
cording to the fancy and difpofition of the
beholder.

But to reprefs the libertlnifm of fuch
fcorners, or yet to expofe the indifcre-
tions of former interpreters, is none of
our concern. Our bufinefs, with refpecf
to this extraordinary book, is of a more
interefting kind ^ to lay before you the
evidences of its authority, to point out
the way in which the obfcurity, peculiar
to it, may be removed, to unfold its
general fcope and defign, and laftly to
examine whether, and how far, the event
has correfponded to the whole, or any
part, of the prediction. And to foher and
ferious inquirers, to thofe who to a cool-
nefs and feverlty of judgment, capable of
penetrating the reafons of this fingular
fpecies of compofition, have added, what
is a yet more elfential qualification in a
reader of God*s word, a fincere and teacha-
ble and humble mind, fuch a mode of
O 2 invefti*

1.96 The Authority of the Apocalypfe^

SERM. inveftigation may, it is hoped, adminifter
^^^* fome degree of fatisfaftion. For thefe

' are the perions to whom, it muft be fup-

pofed, the promifed blejji?ig in the text
-is principally addrefied ; whofe charaders
are emphatically defcribcd by our Lor-d,
when, rapt in the contemplation of the
counfels of providence in ottering the
gofpel to the poor, he thus expreffes his
own acknowledgment of the wifdom as
well as goodnefs of fuch a procedure : /
ihaJik thee^ O Father, Lor J of heaven and
earthy becaufe thou haf hid thefe things
from the "usfe and prudent^ a/id haft revealed
them mito babes. Even fo^ Father ! for fo
it feemed good in thy fght ^,

I. FirH: then, as it will be in vain to
bufy ourfelves about the manner of in-
terpreting this prophetical book, unlefs
we be previoufly convinced that it is the
j^enuine production of him, whofe name
Jj: bears,; it will be neccffary, before we
^,pj;(i)^ejd to any other inquiry, to bring

-^di tor. 1 M uli. xi. 25, 26.

..rJ together

{

and the Time when h wjj written. 197

to2:ether tlie ars^uments which have been serm.
advanced, and which feem to be conclu- "^^^^
five, in favour of its authenticity.

I. Now here it is a remarkable cir-
cumftance, and what perhaps diftinguifhes
the Apocalypfe from every other portion
of the New Teftament, that it was uni-
verfcilly received, as the work of John
the EvangehU:, by thofe who lived neareft
tlie times of its publication, without a
fingte perfon appearing to queftion its
authority. The date of this book, which,
as we fhall fee hereafter, does not com-
mence till near the end of the firft century
after Chrift, fufficiently accounts for the
iilence of the earlieft of the Fathers con-
cerning it. Two of the mod lUuftrious,
among thofe who firft mention it, are
Juftin the Martyr, converted to the futh
within thirty years after it was written,
and Iren^us, the conftant hearer of Poly-
carp, who was himfelf a difci43le of St.
John. Both agree in pofitively afcribing
the Apocalypfe to this Apoftle ; and the
O 3 * latter

1 93 'The -Authority of the Apocalypfe^

SERM. latter in particular was curious to fearch
^"^'^- into all the. approved copies, in order to

" latisfy himfelf concerning a dubious paf-

fage, the true reading of which, he relates,

was alfo confirmed to him by thofe, wh^

knew the author face to face. Other teifli-

nlonies may be added from Clemens of

Alexandria, the Latin Father Tertullian,

and the famous Origen ; all living within

120 years from the death of the Evan-

gclirt, and by whom, though fituated in

different and diftant regions, the book was

uniformly numbered among the Apo-

ftolic writings, without the fmailefl: doubt

and hefitation.

Nor let it be urged, as of weight to
enervate the evidence of thefe venerable
men, that fome, or perhaps all, were
known to adopt opinions on other points,
•allowed to be falfe or frivolous ''. For

^ Sec a thing called Diflionnaire Philofopliique
Fortatlf, Art. Apocalypfc ; where this objection is let
off with all the falfe colourings that the moft difin-
gcnuous of writers could lay, upon it.

2 however

end the ^hne. when it was written, 1 99

however this objedlion may afFedt fuch of seRM,
their aflertions as relate to matters of fpe- vii.
culation, where the fiacerity of thofe who
embrace them is indeed no proof of their
truth ; it can have no influence in weaken-
ing their atteftations to a matter of fadt,
concerning which they had every oppor-
tunity of informuig themfelves, and which
they concur to affirm, with all the marks
of artleffnefs and fimpJicity.

2. Such was the ftate of credit in
which the ApocaJypfe was generally held,
during the two firfl ages of the Chriftian
Church ; when at the beginning of the
third, or towards the end of the pre-
ceding century, its canonical authority
began to be doubted, and on the follow-
ing occafion. An opinion was propa-
gated at Rome, by one Proculus, a Mon-
tanift, and founded, as fhould feem, on
what had formerly been taught by the
heretic Cerinthus, concerning the reign
of Chrift with the faints on earth ; the
^vhole period of which, as that impoftor
O 4 had

aoo The Authority of the Apocalypfe^

SERM. had laboured to inculcate, was to be em-
V\ii. ployed in nuptial entertainments and car-
nal indulgences. Many other notions
.were efpoufed by the fame Cerinthus^,
utterly repugnant to the doftrines of the
Apocalypfe; ai]d even his ideas of the
Millennium, it might eafily have been
A^ivn, were not thofe of this facred book.
H'O'vever as Proculus, to fuppol-t hiis
favourite delufion, had availed himfelf cJf
'tlie prophecies^ recorded there ; Caius, a
•Prefbyter of Rome, as the moll: effedlual
metbiod of filericing his adverfary at oncd,
took upon him to controvert the genuine^
nefs of the book itfelf '3 the writer filf
wdiich, he maintained, v^as no other than
Cerinthus, who was certainly contemf-
porary with St. John, and who had art-
fully afilimed the name of that Apoftle,
by way of fecuring the reputation of his
work.

' See t'le Credibiliry of the Gofpel Hiflory, ^
the laborious Dr. larduer : Part II. Vol. III. p. 31
-in35. :and A'bl. JV. p.'687— 699.

' /..:. -x. This

^?id the'fime"whtn it zvus writ fen. 201

--^3. This imprutlence of Caius was not serm.
fingle ill its kind, but was followed by vii.
another, which happened, on much the '

laQ:ie occalion, in the Eart. Nepos, an
Egyptian Bi(hop towards the middle of
the third century, had revived the licen-
tious errors of Cerinthus, which had been
lately patronized at Rome, and publifhed
■ia treatife, entitled a Confutation of the Ah
kgorijis^ in which he had ridiculed the
interpretations of thofe, who were for ex-
plaining the Millennium in a figurative
fenfe. As, fbme how or other, this tfea-
tlfe of Nepos came into vogue, Dionyfius,
'Bifhop of Alexandria, undertook to give
it a formrfl ahfwer, in two books Con-
ceming the Promifes; in which, not con-
tent with refuting what Nepos' had af-
ferted in defence of the Chiliads, he went
^ far as to fhake the credit of the Apo-
calypfe, on which all the reafoning, fuch
as it was, of the Millenarians was built.
But here we are to note, for the honour
of the Alexandrian Prelate, tliat he had

fomc-

202 ^he Authority of the Apocalypfe^

SERM* fomething more both of fenfe and mo-
Vfl» 4efty than the Roman Preibyter : for he

* ventures not to deny that the book was

written by a perfon infpircd, or that fuch
perfon was called John; but he contends,
it was not John, the fon of Zebedee and
brother of James, the writer of the Gof»
pel and of the three Epiftles, but another
of the fa,me age and name, who hved g,t
Ephefus in the lefler Afia.

As the arguments of Dionyfius are in
fubftance not unUke to what later writers
have adduced, in proof of the fame opir
nipn ; it will not be inexpedient to lay
them briefly before you, and then to
fubjoin fp much of what has been offered
in reply to them, as feems to be folid aiid
fatisfa£lory/. •. . .

He tells us then, firfl: of all, that there
is a ftriklng difference between the Gofpd

* The arguments here mentioned are preferved in
a fragment of Eufebius, (Hiflor. Ecdef. Lib. VII,
c. 24, 25) and are tranllated into Englifl-J, in thp ^th
Vol. of the 2d Part of Lardner's Credibility, he, in
the' Hiftory of Dionyfius of Alexandria,

and iht Time: wJotn it ^was 'written. 203

and Epiftles, univerfally afcrlbcd to John seum.
the fon of Zebedee, and the Apocalypfe, ^'^^*
which alone creates a fufpicion that all
the ]three were not compofed by the fame
perfon ; the author of the former having
never once in any of thofe writings in-
ferted his name ; but the author of the
latter not only prefixing his name to the
beginning of his book, but repeating it
in other places more than once. This
fufpicion is ftrengthencd from obferving
tb^t the John, who is fo careful to record
his name in the Revelation, has not anv
one of thofe charaderiftic marks, which
diftinguifh the perfon of the Evangelift;
fuch as being the difciple "whom Jefus loveJ^
who leaned on his.breaji at /upper , and one
of them who Jaw and heard the Lord\ all
jLvhich circumftances are related, or re-
jfepred to, both in the Gofpcl and the
Epifiles. Again, between thefe Ja^l there
is a manifeft conformity, in the fentiment,
and in the exprefl^on ; which plainly
(hews that both proceeded from the fan-xe

author ;

S£04 ^ ^be Authority of theApocalypfi^

SERM. author; but the Revelation is altogether
VH. different from them, and bears not the
lead affinity or refemblance to either.
Nor is there the moft diftant allufioh in
th'C Revelation to the Gofpel or Epiftlec;
nor in thefe to the Revelation ; which
in works of the fame' perfon was to be
€xpe£led. And lallly, there ^re many ihi
j^ccnracles and idiotifrhs of language in
the Apocalypfe ; none of which are to
"be found in the acknowledged prodadtibhs
of John^ the brother of James.\ '^^^^'^'^^^^^^
■• Bii't the anfwer to thcfe obje6Hons 'is
eafy. The argument drawn from the
name of the author being' often inferted
^in the Revelation, and always omitted iii
the Gofpel and Epilll'es, is overthrown,
by remarking' that other Evangelifts be-
lidss St. John ha:\^e negleded to add their
' names to the Gofpels which they pub«

liflied ; and as to the Epiftles, they^ to
whom they were addrcfied, could not be
ignorant from whence they came. With
r^fpecl:; -to the Apocalypft: the cafe was
. .'"'•" different:

and the Slme- 'when k was wrltle}?, 205

clliSjrent : this is neither a Gofpel, nor serm,
yf^, wholly, ail occafional Epifilc, but a ^^^•
ipecies of writing didinft from both, or,
in other words> a Prophecy : here there-
fore, after the example of the old Pro-
phets, and efpecially of Daniel, whofe
manner he profefledly imitates, it became
him to prefix and to repeat his name ; in
order to give credence to his prediclions,
and that pofterity might know to whom
they were indebted for fo wonderful a
difcovery of the fortunes of the church
of Chrift.

This remark will help to fiiew the
futility of what Dionyfius further urges,
that none of the incidents of the Evan-
gelift's life are told In the Revelation:
for, befides that fuch an enumeration wvls
now unnecefliary from the mention already
made by the writer of his name, he has
actually faid enough to point out, with-
out any uncertainty, who he was, by
directing part of his book to the feveu
churches of the proconfular Afia, over

which

206 The Authority of the Apocaiypfe^

SERM. which St. John is known to have pre-
vn« fided ; and by defcribing himfelf as hav-
ving been banifhed to Patmos, for the
fake of his religion ; a calamity, which,
by the confent of all the ecclefiaftical hif-
torians, confefledly happened to our Evan-
gelift. As to the diverfity of phrafe and
fentiment, in the Revelation and the other
writings of St. John, it has been fatif-
faftorily proved that this difference is
not near fo great as Dionyfius would re-
prefent it ; no greater than what may
fairly be accounted for from the difference
of fubjefl:; and particular inftances have
been alleged, in which there is a re-
markable coincidence both of ideas and
words, which are peculiar to this Apor
file, and no where ufed, by any other
writer of the New Te (lament. ? .

That the Revebtibn does not allude to:
the Gofpel or Epiftles^ nor thefe again;
to. the Revelation, can. be of littJa mo-
ment,^, when we refleil, that though it
be .not unufual for one who writes to: the

fame

and th ^hne when it was wr-itten. 207

fame perfons more than once, to take serm,
notice of former letters addreffed to them^ ^^^'
yet in other treatifes, direded to different
perfons, on different occafions, and at
diftant times, fuch alluiions are not only-
rare, but would alfo in mod cafes be un-
intelligible. And laftly, with regard to
the inaccuracies of language, vvhicb, it is
faid, abound in the Apocalypfe, it may
be queftioned whether thcfe are fo numer-
ous as has been pretended ; nor Ihould it
be forgotten that fome of the ableft in-
terpreters have vindicated, as faultlefs, and
even as beauties of compofition, what by
Others, lefs judicious or lefs informed,
have been condemned as barbarous and
ungrammatical folecifms.

4. Still we ought not to omit to men-
tion, that the fame of two fuch perfons
as Caius and Dionyfius contributed but
too much, among the Greek Fathers
more efpecially, to leflen the eilimation
of this prophecy ; and that in fome cata-
logues of the books of Scripture that

wer«

VIL

208 ne Authority of the Apocalypfe^

SE R M. were publifhed in the fourth and fifth cen-
turies, particularly the catalogue of the
council of Laodicea, the Revelation is not
found. But here it may be of ufe to
recoUeft, that the opinions of thofe, who
lived at fo late a period, can never fuper-
fede the teflimony of others, who flou-
rifhed near the very times when the Apo-
calyptical vifions were firft committed
to wTiting. Nor will the omiffion of
this book in certain lifts of canonical
Scripture occafion any difficulty, when
you are told that the exprefs defign of
thofe lifts was to enumerate fuch parts of
the facred code as were proper to be read
in public, for the edification of Chriftian
aflemblies; for which the general ob-
fcurity of the Apocalypfe, and the fmall
concern it feemed to have with the ftate
of the church in thofe days, rendered it
unfit. It were eafy alfo to reckon up a
number of perfons, of unfufpeded in-
tegrity, who, during this period,' fet tHeir
feal to the Revelation, as the legitimate

prod ud ion

dnd the Time when it was written. %0()

produflion of St. John: but, not to mul- serm.
tiply names, the declaration of Sulpiclus ^^^*
Severus, an hiftorian of credit at the be-
ginning of the fifth century, (hall ferve
inftead of all the reft 5 to whom the ar-
guments for the truth and divinity of this
important portion of Scripture were fo
convincing, that he hefitates not to tax
thofe who did not retain it as guilty of
the double offence of folly and impiety ""^
5. As we defcend lower down to the
fixth and following centuries, a different
face of things prefents itfelf: only one
writer among the Latins, and a very few
among the Greeks, are recorded, as hav-
ing any remaining doubts either of the
writer or the authority of the Apocalypfe ;
and after the tenth century, the whole

" Iiiterjc£lo deinde tempore, Domltlanus, Vef-
pafiani filius, perfecutus eft Chriftianos : quo tempore
Johanncm Apoftolum atque Evangeliftam in Path-
mum infulam relegavit ; ubi ille, arcanis iibi myfteriis
revelatis, librum facrae ApOcalypfeos, qui quidem a
.plerifque ?.Mt/?uIte aut impie non recipitur, confcrip-
tum edidit. Hift. Sacr. 1. ii. cap. 31.

P contro-

210 The Authority of the Apocalypfe^

seRm. controverfy was dropt. What is more
^^^' extraordinary ftill, the book itfelf, whe-
ther on account of the darknefs of its
fubjeft, or of the wild and fa^iciful at-
tempts that had been made to explain it,
gradually funk into oblivion: and in this
ftate it was likely to have continued, had
not th^ revival of letters at the Refor-
mation, together with the accompli(hment
of fome of the prediftions concerning
Antichrift, which that event had deve-
loped, brought this prophecy again into
view, and occafioned a more accurate ftudy
of it by divines both of the Proteftant
and Papal parties. Yet even in thefe
latter times, there are not wanting fome,
and thofe among the moft rcfpe£lable of
either communion, who have recalled the
ancient fcruples about its authenticity. It
will be enough to fpecify two, Erafmus,
and Martin Luther. But the former of
thefe profefles in the ftrongeft terms his
belief that the book was written by one

divinely

and the Time when it was wrlfteMi 2 1 1

divinely aflifted '" : and the latter, though, s e R M*
with the ufual bluntnefs of his temper, "^^^•
he at firft rejeded the Apocalypfe entirely, "

as neither apoftolical nor prophetical, yet
afterwards grew more fober and moderate
on this head ; and all his uncertainty, like
that of Erafmus, was confined to the
perfon of the author ''.

^^ De Apocalypfi diu dubitatum eft, non dico ab "
haeretlcis, fed ab orthodoxls viris; qui fcriptum ta-
men ut a Spiritu San£lo profe£lum ampleftebantur,
de Scriptoris nomine incerti. Erafmi Opera, Tom«
ix. p. 867. Edit. Cleric.

Dubitamus de auflorelibri Job, et librorum Regum ;
nee ob id vacillat illorum au^loritas* Dubitamus de
auftore Evangelii fecundum Marcum ; nihilo lecius
eft illius facrofan£la apud omnes au£loritas. — De
Apocalypfi jam decies refpondi. Commembro — diver-
foriim lententias, fed ingenue fateor me fiibmittere
fenfum meum judicio Ecclefiae j cujus auftoritas nifi
me moveret, plane confirmarem illud opus non efie
Joannis Evangelifta;. Ibid. p. 1170.

* In libro Apocalypfeos patior quemque uti ju-
dicio fuo, nee mese fententiae quenquam adftridum
,volo : tantum dicam quod fentio ; non una eft ratio
qua; me coegir, ut neque Ajxjftolicum rieque pro-
jpllcticum iibrum effe crederem.

Vide Prolegomena Weftenii in N. T. p. l8i»

P 2 Oa

211 The j^uthority of the Apocalypfe,

«ERM. On the whole, if the nniverfiil and un-
^^^* controverted admiflion of any book, foon
after its delivery, and its fuhfequent re-
ception by the Chriftian church, when
doubts and difficulties had now been
raifed concerning it, are of any ufe in
fixing its authority ; we have all this and
more to induce us to retain the Apoca-
lypfe, not only as a genuine portion of
holy writ, but alfo as the peculiar corn-
pofition of that Apoflle and Evangelifl-,
w^hofe name it bears. It has been no un-
common cafe for men, warmly addidled
to a fet of notions, to venture to fet afide
the moft unqueftionable parts of Scripture,
which could not be made to quadrate
with their preconceived opinions. Who
knows not that the fame Luther, who
decided fo ra(hly of the Revelation, and
other Antinomians aft^r him, difcarded
the Epiftle of St. James, becaufe they
could not reconcile his doftrlne of Juji'i'
f cation by Faith with what was taught

on
I

end the ^ime zvhen it zvas writ /en. 213

on that important fubjeft by St. Paul? The serm,
like obfervation may be made with refpe£l ^^^*
to the Epiftle to the Hebrews, the Gofpel
of St. Matthew, and even the Gofpel of
St. John. In the mean while, the ad-
vocates of the Church of Rome may do
well to remember, that whatever ob-
jeftions on this matter may be darted by
Chridians of other perfuafions, they at
lealT: have no caufe to triumph ; fince it
is an article of faith with them that the
Revelation of St, John conftitutes an ef-
fential part of the facred canon ; and the
only difpute between them and us is con-
cerning the defign and objeft of this mo-
mentous prophecy.

II. As a proper conclufion of this <]if-
courfe, I w^ill here add a few rcfledions
on the Time in which the Apocalypfe
was written. This queftion is of no fmall
confequence to the right underftanding
of the book itfelf. If, as Grotius and Sir
liiiac Newton maintain, it was compofed
in the times of Claudius or Nero, that

P3 is,

214 ^h^ Authority of the Apodalypfe^

SERM. is, before xht deftrudion of Jerufalem by
VII. the Romans ; it is natural to expect that
**" " fuch a memorable conyerfion of human
afFairs, as that event brought along with
it, would not be unnoticed in this pre-
didlion : on the contrary, if, as the truer
opinion feems to be, its date be deter-
inined to the reign of Domitian, that is,
after the Jewifh wars w^ere over, then
the conclufion is, that the explanation
of the prophetic vifions muft be fetched
from the hiftory of later ages y.

Now if the moft ancient tradition of the
Chriftian Church be of any ufe in fettling
a matter of this fort, the controverfy
may be decided very fpeedily. The ear-
lieft of thofe, who mention the Time of
writing the Revelation, is Irenaeus ; and
iie declares, in the moft precife and
peremptory terms, that it was '' feen no

7 See Lardner's Credibility, Vol. XIII. p. 354—
;7 7. Wolfii Curae Philological, Tom. V. 373 —
384. "Vitringa in Apoc. (cap. i. ver. 2.) p. 6 — 9,
Daubvjz on the R^ev. p. 80, 8i,

" long

and the Turn when It was written. 2 1 5

*« long time agoe, and almoft in his own age, serm,
*' at theend ofthereignofDomitian." One '^^^•
cannot llifpedl this venerable Father of a
defigned falfhood, in a caufe where he
was under no temptation to prevaricate,
and in a fa£l where it is morally inipof-
fible he fhould be deceived ; as, v.rhatever
computation we follow, the event of its
publication cannot be removed to any
great diftance from his own time, and
he muft have had frequent opportunities
of know^ing the truth from the contem-
poraries of St. John himfelf. With the
teftimony of Irenaeus that of Eufebius,
both in his Chronicle and Hiflory, of
Jerom, of Sulpicius Severus, and many
others, agrees. The only perfon, who
differs from them, is Epiphanius ; a wri-
ter at the expiration of the fourth cen-
tury, who is far from exact on other oc-
cafions in reporting the fentiments of
thofe that lived before him, and particu-
larly inaccurate in diftinguifhing dates
and times. Yet what will not the love'

P4 pf

21 6 The Authority of the jpocalypfe^,

SERM. of fyflem effefl:? It is on his fingle af-
'^n. fertion, unfupported by the fmalled de-

' gree of proof, and oppofed by the united

evidence of ev^ry author of reputation in
that period, that Grotius chufes to rely,
in fixing the Apocalyptic epoch to th6
reign of Claudius.

But Grotius, as if himfelf not fatisfied
with the b^re word of Epiphanius, en^
deavours to confirm it with reafqning of
his own ; and with this view quotes a
paflage from Scripture, in which we are
told, that Claudius commanded all Jews to
depart from Rome ^. Under the appella-
tion of Jews, he thinks that Chriftians
alfo were comprehended ; and the exam-
ple of the Emperor at Rome would un--
douhedly^ fb Grotius ftys, be followed by
many governours of the Provinces. But
all hiftory is unanimous in affirming, that
the firft Roman Emperor, who perfecuted
the Chriftians, was Nero. Claudius, his
predeceffor, did indeed, as we learn from
» Afts xyiifi. 2«

the

and ttefhicr %vlfen it was ioi'lftcn. iif

the Ads of the Apoftles, by his Imperial serm.
Edift order the Jews to leave the city of ^^'^*
Rome ; and perhaps the Chriflians too
tfjight be removed together with them :
but from the fame Ads it appears, that
fe the Provinces both Jews and Chriftlans
tvere permitted to live without any mo-
kftation. Thus Paul and Silas are faid
to hav"e dwelt quietly at Corinth, and to
have attended the Jewifli Synagogue
there ^: and the fame tranquillity is ob-
ferved to reign among the Church at
Ephefus ^ Nor is there the flighted vef-
tige in the monuments of antiquity froni
whence it can be traced, that fo much
as a (ingle Chriftian, who lived cut of
RomOj was baniflied by Claudius, and
much lefs baniflied for the fake of his
religion.

But the opinion of the early date of
the Apocalypfe has found a more iiluf-
trious patron than eveii the learned Gro-

^ Ai^s xviii, 1.4.
> Afts xix. I. 8. 10,

tius :

21 8 The Authority of the Apocalypfe^

SERM. tius. The incomparable Sir Ifaac New-
^^^* ton "" has been at the pains of compofing
a laboured argument to prove, that the
banifliment of St. John into Patmos, and
confequently his writing of the Revela-
tion, happened in the time of Nero. And
it is but treating this great author with
the reverence that is due to him, not to
difmifs his hypothefis without fome con-
fideration.

Firft then Sir Ifaac obferves, that al-
though " Eufebius, in his Chronicle and
" Ecclefiaftical Hiftory, follows Irenasus,
*' yet afterwards in his Evangelical De-
" monftrations he joins the banifhment
*' of John into Patmos, as does alfo Ter-
*' tullian, with the deaths of Peter and
" Paul." But here this excellent man
forgot, that the Evangelical Demonftra-
tions of Eufebius were compofed before
his Ecclefiailical Hiftory, as is evident
from that Hiftory itfelf. Nor does it ap-

e Obfervations on the Prophecies of Daniel and
the Apocalypfe, Part II. Ch, i. p. 235—246.

pear.

end the Time when it was written.. 21^

pear, from confuUing the places referred serm,
to, that either Eufebius or Tertullian iiir ^^^'
tended to fix the exaft time of the fuf-
fering and deaths of thefe three perfons ;
or that their feveral calamities overtook
»them during the hfe of one and the fame
Emperor. Peter and Paul might fufFer
rpartyrdom at the end of the reign of
Nero, and St. John be baniflied at the
end of that of Domitian, in perfect con-
fiftency with all that is related by thofe
two Fathers.

Sir Ifaac goes on — ^' The fame Eufebius
** mentions a ftory from Clemens Alexan-
*' drinus concerning a youth, whom John,
^' after his return from banifliment, com-
** mitted to the care of a bifhop of a certain
^' city; with Qther particulars which could
^' not be tranfafted but in many years, and
** require that John (hould have returned
*' from Patmos rather at the death of
** Nero than at that of Domitian." But
here again, in the original account of this
matter, if indeed the flory be any; thing

220 The Authority of the Apocalypfe^

SERM. more than a moral apologue, the Apoftlc
^^^' is faid to have been at the time far ad-

* vanced in age; and fuppofing him only

to have lived two or three years after he
came from Patmos, there will be room
enough for all the events of Clemens' nar-
ration to have their full completion.

I pafs over what this refpeftable writer
adduces from fuch hiftorians as Pfeudo-.
Prochorus, and the inventer of the fable
that John was put by Nero into a veffel
of hot oil and came out unhurt; and alfo
from Arethas, a commentator of the fixth
century ; the two former as deferving of
no credit, and the latter as coming too
late to be admitted a competent judge of
this queftion : and I proceed to what he
alleges next concerning *' the tradition of
«* the churches of Syria, preferved in the
«< title of the Syriac verfion of the Apo-
" calypfe ; which title fets forth, that the
^^ Revelation was made to John in Pat-
^» mos, where he was baniftied by Nero
« the Caefar." Now to this it may be

replied.

and the Time when it was written. 221

replied, firft, that the age of the Syriac ver- s e r m.
fion is very uncertain ; iecondly, that in that ^^^
veriion there are many errors, with refpeft ^

to the titles of the books of the New Tefta-
nient ; and thirdly, that the tradition of tlie
churches of Syria can be of no ufe, becaufe
they did not generally acknowledge the
Apocalypfe for canonical fcripture.

Thq laft argument of this celebrated
perfon, and on which, as peculiarly
his own, he lays the greateft ftrefs, is
this : " The Apocalypfe is alluded to ia
** the Epiftles of Peter and in that to the
** Hebrews; and therefore muft hav«
" been written before them." And al-
lowing thefe allufions to be real, and
to have been intended, there can be no
doubt, not only that the reafoning of tliis
great man would be conclufive, but alio
that a new proof would arife for the au-
thority of the Revelation ; as other Apo^
files muft then be acknowledged to have
referred to it in their writings. But the
phrafes, feledled from the Epiftle to the

Hebrews

i222 The Authority of the Apocalypfiy

SERM. Hebrews and the fiifl: of St. Peter, are^
vii« by the confeffioii of Sir Ifaac himfelf, at

"" the bed obfcure ; feme not at all corre-

fponduig in fenfe to thofc of the Revela-
tion, others plainly taken from the pro-
phecies of the Old Teftament, from
whence the Apocalyptical expreffions are
alfo borrowed. With regard to the fecond
Epiftle of Peter in particular, which, it
is faid, feems to be throughout a con-
tinued commentary on the Apocalypfe ;
I cannot but be of opinion, that, if any
allufions to this work had been defigned,
both the author and his book would have
been mentioned with the fame clearnefs
that is ufed in the cafe of St. Paul, whofe
name St. Peter formally quotes, and whofe
writings he ferioufly recommends, at \ht
end of this very Epiftle.

Laftly, it remains to be obferved, that be-
fides the external arguments from tradi-
tion, there are alfo internal proofs in the
Revelation itfelf, that it could not make
its firfl appearance during the reigns of

Claudius

vri,

and the Time when it was written. 2 23

Claudius or Nero, but at a later period, serm.

At the time of writing the Apocalypfe,

Churches had not only been eftabliflied

in the moft confiderable places of the lefler

Afia, but feveral of them had undergone

a variety of changes and revolutions,

which do not arife but after a long tradl:

of time. The Church of Ephefus had

degenerated from \itx Jirji love^\ that of

Laodicea had become lukewarm^ and knew

not that Ihe was miferable and poor and

naked ^. Now St. Paul is fuppofed to have

'written his Epiftle to the Ephefians about

the ninth year of the reign of Nero ; and

in that Epiflle, fo far from reproaching

them for the want of love or charity, he

commends both their charity and their

faith ^ : nor are there any marks of the

Laodiceans, of whom the fame Apoftle

fpeaks in his Letter to the Coloffians s,

having relaxed into that ftate of indifFer*

** Rev. ii. 4.

c Rev. iii. 16, 17*

^ Ephef. i. 15.

« CololT. iv. 13. 15, 16.

encc,

2Z^ Tie 4^thgnly of the Apccalypje^

SERM. ence, complained of in the Apocalypft*
^i^' Again, from the Epiftles direded to the

**'"' Afiatic Churches it is evident,, that th^

Chrifti^ns had been harrafled with long
and grievous troubles : the tribulation and
poverty of the Church of Smyrn,a ^ is ^j
recorded ; and honourable mention is mad/3
of Antipas, a faithful Martyr, who was
put to death at Pergamos '\ Thefe things
could, none of them, have place in thfC
times of Claudius or Nero ; the former
of whom never molefted the Chriftians at
all, and the cruelty of the latter was
confined to the metropolis of the Empire.
The next perfccutor, after Nero, was
Domitian; and his barbarities, we ar^
certain, were indifcriminately exercifed at
Rome and in the Provinces : by his order
therefore it muft have been, that St. John
was banifhed to Patmos, for the word of
Gad and for the tejiimony of J efui Chrifi^ %

** Rev. ii. 9.
* Rev. ii. 13.
^ Rev. i. 9.

where

and the Time when it was written. 2:^5

where he was illuminated with the divine SERM*

Spirit, and favoured with thofe heavenly vii.

virions, the defign and meaning of which """""-*'
to attempt to unfold, (hall be the bufiaefs
of the three following Leftures.

S£R<

[ 226 ]

SERM.
VIII.

SERMON VIIL

The Order and Connexion of the
Vifions of the Apocalypfe.

Re V. i. 19.

Write the things which thou haji feen^ and
the things which Are, and the things
which Shall Be Hereafter.

IN order to attain right conceptions of
the conftitution of Nature, as laid be-
fore us in the volume of Creation, we
are not to affume hypothefes and notions
of our own, and from them, as from efta-
blifhed principles, to account for the
feveral pha^nomena that occur ; but we
Tire to begin with the efFeds themfelves.

The Order and Connexion^ &c. 227

atid from thefe, diligently collected in a serm,
variety of well-choien experiment?, to viii.
inveftigate the caufes which produce them. "^

By fuch a method, directed and improved
by the helps of a fublime geometry, we
may reafonably hope to arrive at cer-
tainty in our phyfical enquiries, and on
I the bafis of fad and demonftration may
I ered a fyftem of the world, that fhall
^! be true, and w^orthy of its author. Where-
as, by purfuing a contrary path, our con-
jedures at the beft will be precarious and
doubtful ; nor can we ever be fure that
1 the moft ingenious theories we can frame
I are any thing more than a well-invented
and confident fable.

With the fame caution we are to pro*
ceed in examining the conftitution of
Grace, as unfolded to our view in the
volume of Redemption. Here alfo we
are not to excogitate conceits and fancies
^four own, and then diftort the expref-
'I'lions of holy writ, to favour our mif^
''I Ihapen imaginations ; but we are firft to
iT ^ Q 2 advert

nz8 ?|^%# ^# ^^^ the

5E,RM. advert to what God has aftually made
"^^^^» known of himfelf in the declarations'of
his Word ; and from this, carefully in-
'iterpreted by the rules of found criticifm
and logical dedudlion, to elicit the ge-
..iiuine doftrines of revelation. By fuch
'' an '-''exertion of our intelledlual powers,
affifted and enlightened by the aids which
^uman literature is capable of furnifliing,
"We may advance with eafe and fafety in
our knowledge of the divine difpenfations,
"and on tlie rock of fcripture may build
a fyftem of Religion, that (hall approve
itfelf to our moft enlarged underftandings,
and be equally fecured from the injuries
and infults of enthufiafts and unbelievers.
"'■' On the other hand, previouflyto deter-
mine from our own reafon what it is fit
?fifbt a- being of infinite Avifdom to do, and
- from that pretended fitnefs to infer that
he has : really, done it, is a mode pf pro-
jtK cedure that is little fuited to the. imbe-
gjr:;cillity of pur meji talc faculties, and ftill
•73'|eftj d^^jcylated^ t^^ ^^MuS^ ^8 ^V^.^^^>%^^^^

Vijtons of the Apocalypfe. 229

comprehenfion of the will or works of serm.
heaven. viii.

If this fober and modeft fpirit be ne-
cefl'ary, when we are engaged in the ftudy
of the infpired writings in general, it is
yet more neceflary to be cultivated, when
employed in the contemplation of the
prophetic writings in particular. The
misfortune, or rather f^iult, of moft per-
fons here has been, not fo much to ex-
plore, from an attentive perufal of thefc
myfterious oracles, what the mind of the
prophet muft be, as to colled, in con-
fequence of certain data laid down before-
hand, what may confirm and juftify
their own conceits. To this caufe it
is to be attributed, that every new in-
terpreter has ufually provided hlmfelf
with a new hypothelis ; which, being
founded, like thofe of his predeceflbrs, on
no better fupport than the art and addrefs
of the contriver, has in its turn been
quickly fuperfeded or overthrown by the
abilities of more expert, though per-
Q 5 haps

230 ^^^^ Order and Connexion of the

SERM. haps equally prelumptuous, adventurers.
VIII. Whereas the only way, which prudence
and good judgement recommend to be
obferved on this fubject, is to diveft our-
lelves of all prejudices and pre-conceptions
whatfoever; to find, if we can, from in-
ternal marks, what is the purpofe and
fcheme and method of the predi£lion^
we would examine, and on thefe, now at
length difcovered, to fix the root and
bottom of our interpretation. By this
means, our explanations, be they what
they may, not being built on principles
arbitrarily taken up at pleafure, but de-
rived from the nature and conftitution
of the work explained, will have in them
all the foundnefs and ftability of fcience ;
from which no fubfequent expofitor will
have a right to depart, unlefs he can
fhew, from intrinfic evidence, either that
the principles affumed are falfe, or not
fairly deducible from the conilrudion of
the prophecies*

VIII,

l^yiom of the Apocalypje. 231

To' apply thefe refleilions to tfe cafe serm.
of the Apocalypfe, to the confideration
of which the courfe of this Left u re hath
carried us. Who has not heard of th^
various and oppofite contrivances that
have been formed, to unravel the intri-
t:acies of this faered book? ahuoft all of
which, however finely imagined or (kil-
jfully executed, have neverthelefs by men
of true difcernment been rejefted, as no-
thing more than amufing and entertain-
ing fictions. And the reafon is plain:
almoft all the authors of thefe different
opinions have gone on one common er-
ror ; bringing along with them an inter-r
. pretation already prepared, and on that
fuppofed interpretation attempting to afr-
certain the meaning of the feveral parts ;
Linftead of being at the pains of learning,
xifrom obfervation and enquiry, in what
irnethod, and by what kind of argumen-
:tatioa, that meaning muft, if ever, be fatif-
1. faftprily difclofed. It was not thus t;hat
the illuftrious Jofeph Mede proceeded.

^3^ 7he Order and Connexion of iht

§er:m. when he attempted to penetrate the veil
v^iJ- that till his time had enveloped this ve-
nerable predidlion. He faw the extrava-
gance and folly of former qritics ; and
that it was neceflary in the firft place,
renouncing all conjectures and hypothefes,
to confult the Revelation itfelf, and to
try if from that he could not trace fufr
ficlent tokens, purpofely inferted by the
holy Spirit, by which the feries and con-
nexion of the Apocalyptic vilion^ might
be found* He would admit of no ob-
jeflions to this fcheme, but fuch as arofe
from the frame and ftrudure of the pro-
phecy, and not from any pre-fuppofed
w-ay of expounding it : he would let no-
thing pafs for demonftration, but what
was undeniably proved to be fuch from
iindoubted notes, included in the worda
and letter of the compofition : he had the
lequifite patience as well as fagacity ^
and by a fteady adherence to this fevere
and rigorous plan, he obtained, after
paany difficulties and delays, the knpw-:,

ledge

V Vljioni of the Apocalypfe. ^33

ledge he was hi fearch of, and cf- serm.
fe.ftually fecured his own inventions ^^^^*
againft the difgrace of being difproved or
weakened by the labours of future com-
mentators.

J propofe, in what follows of this dif-
courfe, to lay before you, as fuccindly
and yet as clearly as I can, the manner
of opening the book of the Revelation,
as it is explained at large by this great
author in what he calls his Apocalyptic
}Cey ^ ; and to point out, in a regular pro-
greffion, the Iteps, by which, as is pro-
bable, he was led to this important dis-
covery.

I. Firft then It appears, from the moft
fuperficial view of the Apocalypfe, that
it is made up of Two component parts ;
one of which contains the Epiilles to the
Seven Churches of Afia, and is comprized
within the three firft chapters ; the other
foretells, as we fay, the fortunes of
Chriftianity, through the fcveral periods

\ See Mr. Mede's Works, B, III. p. ^19—432.

^34 Tk^ Order and Connexion of the

of its primitive, degenerate, and reformed
ftates, to its perfe6i: confummation in
glory, from chapter the fourth to the
end. The former of thefe, being wholly
relative to the condition of the Chriftiaii
Church at the time of the viiion, or, as
the text exprefles it, defcribing the things
WHICH ARE, falls not within our prefent
fubjeft : only it may be of ufe to remark
in paffing, that there are, who, not fatif-
fied with the literal acceptation of thefe
Epiftles, have fuppofed them alfo to have
a myjlical meaning, and as well the names'
of the feven Churches, as the Churches
themfelves, to be typical of fo many
epochas, fucceflive one to the other, ih
like manner as the Seals and Trumpets,
afterwards defcribed in this book. It
would be eafy to (hew, from the moft
convincing arguments, that this opinion,
which was firft only hinted, in the way
of query, by Mr. Mede "', and was after-
wards purfued at large by the ingenious

^ Sec his V/orks^ p. 905.

Henry

Vlfons of the Apocalypfe^ 235

Henry More ", is deftltate of all folid
foundation: and I mention it to (hew, viii,
that it is one inftance in which the fcheme
of this learned man has been pufbed too
far by fome of his zealous admirers, who,
as is ufual with men of warm imagina-
tions, have here indulged to their own
fancies, without any proper fupport frora
Scripture,

II. Leaving then all that relates to the
Afiatic churches, as foreign to the bud-
nefs of this Lecture ; I go on to obferve
hi the next place, that the Second Divi-
fion of the Apocalypfe, which is wholly
prophetical, or, in the words of the text,
defcriptive of the things which shall
BE HEREAFTER, may itfclf be reiolved

" See his Theological Works, tranilated into
Latin ; among which is what he calls Expolitio Pro-
phetica Septem Epillolarum ad Septem Ecclefias Afia-
ticas, p. 781 — 824. For a confutation of this Ex-
pofition, the reader iiiay confalt the very lenn.ecj
Commentary on the hook of the Revelation by Mr.
Paubuz ; note D. on Ch. i. ii. note B. on Ch- i.
J9. note C. on Ch. ii. lo. Or the Dililriiaiions or;
the Prophecies by Cp. Newton, vol. iii. p. 26, 27.

nito

236 ^^^ Order and Connexion of the

6ERM. into two feparate Tomes or Volumes;
VIII. Qne of which may be called the Pro-

' phecy of the Sealed Book, and extends

from the 4th chapter to very near the
conclufion of the loth; and the other
may be called the Prophecy of the Lit-
tle or Open Book, and reaches from
the 8th verfe of the loth chapter to the
end. That thefe are two complete and
entire prophecies, may be proved from
this circumftance ; that the beginnings
of both, as alfo that of the Vifion of the
Seven Churches, are fet out by a peculiar
phrafe, never elfewhere repeated, of a
voice from heaven as it were of a trumpet
talking with St. John ° : the holy Spirit
plainly intending by this token to dif-
tinguifh thefe vifions from all the others,
which are nothing more than members
or conftituent parts of the Three Prin-
cipal onesj that form the body of thq
hook.

* Compare Rev. 1, xo. with iv. i. ^nd x. ?.

Ill I. Having

Vll

Vifons of the Apocalypje. 337

III. I. Having thus determined the be- serm.
ginnings and endhigs of thefe two lead-
ing prophecies of the Revelation, let us
now fee, what are the Contents of each.
And here it is evident, that the prophecy
of the Sealed Book confifts of it'^tw dif-
tinft periods, expreffed by feven Seals,
opened at feven different times, to every
one of which is afcribed a character of its
own. The charafler of the firft Seal is
Vidory p; that of the fecond is Slaughter 'J;
that of the third is a Balance ' ; of the
fourth is Death ' ; of the fifth is an Altar,
having under it the fouls of them that were
flaln for the word of God^; and of tlae
fixth is a great Earthquake \ After the
defcription of the fixth Seal fhould re-
gularly follow that of the feventh; but
between thefe two is interwoven, epifo-
dically as it were, a vifion of a hundred
and forty four thoufand out of all the tribes
of Ifraelf who were to ht fealed in their

P Rev. vi. I — 3. *! Ver. 4, ' Ver. 5, 6.

*Vcr. 7, 8, ;Vcr. 9— 12. «Ver. 12— 17^

fore-

^3^ TZ't^ Order and Connexion of the

^'E'RVi* foreheads^ or prcferved from amidft the
^^^^* ruins, now ready to take place under the
Lift, or feventh, Seal '^ This feventh
Seal is of much longer duration han any
of the reft ; and is diftributed into feven
parts, marked by the founding of feven
Trumpets *. At the founding of the firft
Trumpet, Hail is caft upon the Earth ^ ;
at the founding of the fecond, a burning
Mountain is caft into the Sea ^ ; at the
founding of the third, a Star falls upon
the Rivers*; the fourth Trumpet is at-
tended with an Eclipfe of the Sun, Moon,
and Stars ^ j the fifth is followed by
Locufts coming out of the bottomlefs
pit ' ; the fixth by four Horfemen loofed
from Euphrates ^ ; and at the feventh,
or laft, Trumpet, the kingdoms of this world
become the hijigdoms of our Lord and of
his Chri/i^, at which time the myjiery of

vv Rev, Ch. vii, * Ch. viii. 2*

y Ch* viii. 7. z Ch. viii. 8, 9. ^ Ver. 10, 11.
*> Ver. 12, 13. c Ch. ix. i^ — 12.

^ Ch. ix. 13 — 2X» * Clx, xi. 15,

Cod

Vifom of the Apocalypfe. ii^^

Go J will ie Jini/bedy as he hath declared serm

to his fervants the prophets K This is, in ^^^^*

fliort, a detail of the particulars, which

conftitute the prophecy of the Seals, the

liidden meaning of which we are not now

concerned to enquire into : only it will

be of ufe to have it remembered here,

that the feries of this prophecy, and the

feries of the things predided in it, is one

and the fame; that is, the things fore*

told are to follow one another in the

fame train as the Seals and Trumpets do ;

or, in other words, the events defcribed,

whatever thofe events may be, are, not

concurrent, but fucceflive.

2. We now proceed to examine the

contents of the fecond great prophefy of

the Revelation, namely that of the Little

or Open Book s^ confidering it, at prefent,

as an entire work of itfelf, without any

dependance on the Book of the Seals,

And here a very different face of things

appears, from what was difcernible on a

^ Ch. X. 7, « Ver. 8— II.

I view

^4^ ^^^ Order and Connexion of the

SFRM. view of the former volume: a number
^^^^' of vifions, reprefented under various and
*"~~^ (hifting fymbols, is recorded, without any
certain and determinate order, like that
of the Seven Seals and Seven Trumpets ;
and which of them are antecedent or
confequent, and which, if any, are col-
lateral to the other, in point of time, is
by no means evident at firft fight. Here
therefore our chief care muft be to dif-
cover, from innate characters, whether
any, and which, of the vifions are of fuch
a texture as, although difperfed (as was
not poflible to be avoided) in different
parts of the prophecy, are yet really to
be confidered as coincident, or, in the
language of Mr, Mede, fynchronical: and
when once the vifions of this fort have
been previoufly afcertained, it will then
be no difficult matter, from the circum-
ftances and progreflSon of the hiftory, to
tifiign the order of the reft, according as
they are feen to precede or follow thofe,

whofe

Fifons of the Apdcalypfc. ' - tJ[X

Whofe times and places have been already ser m.
fettled. vin.

Now in this Little or Open Book there
are Four Vifions, which, it plainly ap-
pears, mud all be tranfadled in eciudl
times ; and on examination it will ap-
pear, that thefe equal times miift alfo be
the fame. The Vifiohs alluded to are,
The Treading or Profaning of the Outer
Court of the Temple and of the Holy
City by the Gentiles, for forty-two
Months ^ ; the Beaft with Seven Heads
and Ten Horns, which hath power given
it for the fame number of Months'; the
Prophefying of Two WitnefTes in Sack-
cloth, for a thoufand two hundred and
fixty Days^; and the continuance of the
Woman in the Wildernefs, during the
fame number of Days ^, or, as it is elfe-
where exprelfed, during a T^ime and Tim^s
and haf a T'lme'^. All thefe feveral in-

^ Rev. Ch. xi. I, 2.

» Ch. xiii. I — ^,

*^Ch. xi. 3—19.

i Ch. xii. i~6.

'^.Ch. xii. 14.

R terval:

242 ^he Order and Connexion of the

s E R M. tervals are equal to each other ; for a Tirne
VII ^* and Times and half a Time, that is, as
the phrafe is explained, three Years and
a half", make forty- two Months; and
forty-two Months make 1260 Days, fup-
pofing the Year to confift of 360 days.
But as the equality of times does not
neceffarily infer their famenefs^ or does
not hinder but that fome of the times
may be prior or pofterior to the other ;
this point may be demonftrated thus.
The times of Profaning the Outer Court
and City, and of the Prophefying of the
Witnefles, are not only equal, but coin-
cident, as is clear from the Revelation
itfelf, and is confeffed by all ^ : now thp
time of the Witnefles is coincident with

" Rev. xii. 6. 14.

• Qi, xi. 2 J 3, compared with ver. 18, 19 ; where
the fame Gentiles, or Nations^ who profane the Outer
Court of the Temple, ver. 2, are defcribed as atigry,
when the two JVilneJjh have finij})ed their izjlimonyy
at the end of the fixth Trumpet, or fecond woe, ver.
7. 14, as being then expelled from their poirelhom
of the Temple.

2 that

P'ijions of the Apocdhpfe-*. 243

that of the Ten-horned Beaft ; and the s E r m.
time of the Ten-Horned Beaft is coin- ^^^^'
cident with that of the Woman's abode
in the Wildernefs ; as fliall immediately
be proved : but times, coincident with
any thirdj are coincident with one ano-
ther : therefore all the four times, of
Profaning the Outer Court, of the Two
Witneffes, of the Ten-Horned Beaft, and
of the Woman in the Wildernefs, are
alfo coincident ; that is> the four Vifions
are all fynchronical, or contemporize
throughout. That the times of the Wit-
nefles and of the Ten-Horned Beaft, and
thofe of the Ten-Horned Beaft and of the
Woman in the Wildernefs, are the fame^
may be fhewn thus. Equal times, which
begin and end together, muft of neceflity
be the fame times : the times of the
Witneftes and of the Ten-Horned Beaft
tnd together, namely, at the end of the
fixth Trumpet p ; therefore, being equal

p When the Witneffes finlfli their teftimony,
tlie Beaft makes war againfl them and kills them.

R 2 times,

244 5"/6^ Order and Connexion of the

SERM. times, they muft begin together. Again,
vin. the times of the Ten-Horned Beaft and
of the Woman in the wildernefs begin
together, namely, after the vidory of
Michael over the red Dragon ^ ; therefore,
as before, being equal thnes, they muft
end together alfo.

Having cleared our way thus far, wc
may advance a flep farther, and fee whe-
ther there be not other vifions in the
prophecy of the Little Book, which

xi. 7. But they revive again, ver. 11, and aicend up
to heaven in a cloud, ver. 12 ; and in the fa?ne hour
an earthquake dellroys the tenth part of the City,
ver. 2. 13. On the arrival of this event, the fecond
woe, or the fixth Trumpet, is reprefented as pajf^
ver. 14; the fevcnth Trumpet founds; and the king-
doms of this world, now no longer fubje£l to the
dominion of the Beaft, become the kingdoms of our
Lord and of his Chrift, ver. 15.

^ The Dragon being caft out of heaven by Michael,
^:ii. 7, 8, 9, the Woman flies into the Wildernefs,
ver. 6» 14 ; where the Dragon makes war with the
-remnant of her {^td, ver. 17, and gives his power
and his feat and great authority to the Beaft having
feven heads and tea horns, that rifeth out of the
fea, xiii. i, 2,

ought

Vljions of the Apocalypfe. 245

ought to be included in the fame general serm.
Synchronifm with the four mentioned ^^^^*
above. Befides the Beaft with Ten Horns,
which is faid to emerge out of the Sea,
another with Two Horns is defcribed, as
at the fame time coming out of the
Earth ' ; which gives life to the Ten-
Horned Beaft, who is called its Image ^',
and is afterwards apprehended, and de-
ftroyed, together with it, both being cajl
alive into a lake burning with hrimjlone ^ :
thefe two Beafts therefore, being infe-
parable one from the other, in their rife
and in their extinflion, muft of courfe be
confidered as contemporaries. Again of
the Ten-Horned Beaft we are told, that
its employment is to carry a Woman
arrayed in purple^ whofe name is Myjtery
and Babylon the Great " : confequently this
fame Beaft, and the Babylonifti Woman

' Rev, xiii. 1 1.

• Ch. xiii. 15. xiv. 9. II. xv. 2. xvi. 2,

' Ch. xix. 20. compared with xiii. 13, 14, 15, 16.

" Ch. xvii. 3, 4, 5. 7.

R 3 who

24-6 7he Order and Connexion of the

s B R-M. who rides it, muft be contemporaries al"fe^
vHi. Laftly, collateral with the Babylonllh

"""'' ^ Woman, is a Virgin-company of a hun-^
dred and forty- four thoufand, whofe office
it is to denounce the future ruin of Ba^
bylon, and who are commended for pre-
ferving their fidelity to the Lamb at ^
time when the other ii,ihabitants of thei
world had deferted to the fervice of the
Beaft '^. As therefore the Virgin-com^^
pany of one hundred and forty-four, thou-
fand fynchronifes with the Babylonifh
Woman, the Babylonifh Woman with the
T,en« Horned Beaft, #nd the Ten- Horned
Beaft with the Beaft with Xwo Horns.;
?J1 four muft fynchronize with one ano-
ther. But we have feen, that the Ten-
Horned Beaft is alfo fynchronical with
the Profaning of the Outer Court of the
Tlemple, with the prophefying of the
Two Witneffes, and with the abode of
the Wonian in the Wildernefs, Froo^

^ Rev. xiv. 1.4. 8. xvii, 2. 14* xviil. 3.

whence

FlJio?2S of the Apocalypfe. 247

whence we come at this conclufion, that serm,
every one of the Seven Vifions, that have ^^i^*
been here related, are fynchronical^ or '

muft all be comprehended within the
flime period of 42 Months, or 1260
Days.

And now, having eftablifhed the fyn-
chronifm of thefe Seven Vifions, the
places of thofe that remain will be deter-
mined very fpeedily. Of thefe there are
TWO, namely, the Inner Court of the
Temple, which St. John is ordered to
meafure % and the Battle of Michael and
the Dragon concerning the Woman ready
to be delivered y, which, it appears from
the narration, are the immediate antece*
dents of two of the Seven contemporary
vifions ; — the Inner Court, for inftance,
immediately precedes, in fituation and
ftruclure, the Outer, or ends where that
begins ; and the Battle of Michael and
the Dragon concerning the Woman im-

* Rev. xi. I, 2.

^ Ch, xii. 3, 4. 7, 8. 13, 14.

R 4 mediately

248 7he Order and Connexion of the

SEUM, mediately precedes the flight and abode
v^ii? of that Woman in the wildernefs ^ ; — and

' therefore mud be contemporary them-

felves. Again there are other two, which
the fequel of the ftory flievvs to be plainly
Jubfeque?it to the Seven Vifions, before
defcribed ; nor only fubfequent to them,
but coincident with eaqh other. Thefe
are the effufion of the feven Vials % and
the now impending falls of the Beaft and
cf Babylon ^ For it is aflerted in fo
many words, that the defign of the fevers
Vials was by fo m.any fucceffive plagues
to punifh the worfliipers of the Beaft ^ ;
and at the pouring out of the feventh, or
laft. Vial, Babylon is deftroyed ^.

After the overthrow of the Beaft an4
Babylon, the Dragon himfelf, who at the
beginning of this Book was fald to lye in
wait for the Woman about to be delivered,

2^ Rev. xii. 4, 5, 6. 13, 14.
^ Ch. XV, b Ch. xvi,

c Ch. XV. I, 2, 3. xvi. 2, 10^
<* Ch, xvi. 1/9 19,

an4

Vijions of the Apocalypfe, 249

and, to have occafioned her flight into the serm.
deferts is fhut up in confinement for a ^^^^*
thoufand years ^, during which interval
the Saints live and reign with Chrifte;
and, coincident with this event, the New
Jerufalem, in w^hofe light the nations
that are faved are to walk, comes down
from heaven^. The Millenary ftate being
expired, the Dragon, or Satan, is loofed
froiTi his prifon ; and, having exercifed his
fury againji the Saint $ and the beloved City
for a feafon, he is at length call into utter
perdition, by being thrown into the lake
of fire and brimflone, where the Beajl and
the falfe Prophet are '. All the enemies of
God and the Lamb being thus removed,
nothing remains to finifh the hillory
of the Chriftian Church, but an account
of the General Refurredion and Judg-
ment of mankind, and the end of the

c Rev. xii. 4, *" Cli. xx. i, 2, 3,

e Ch. XX. 4. ^ Ch, xxi. 2. lO. ^4.

^ Ch, XX. 7. 9, IQ,

World:

250" 216^ Order and Conne'xidfi' of the

s^R'M. World k: and with this awful cataftrophe,
^m* announced with the greateft" fublimity of
figures and majefty of defcription, the
Prophecy of the Little Book concludes.

IV. But we are not yet arrived at the
full view of Mr. Mede's difcoveries : for
not content' with inveftigating the true
order and feries of thefe Two Prophecies of
the Revelation, confidered apart, he pro-
ceeded, in the fame fpirit of caution, to
examine' them together: nor was it long'
before his penetrating genius difcerned,
that the latter predidion was indeed a
regular repetition of v/hat had been al-
ready delivered in the former, though in
a different way; that both began from
one common term, and, running over the
liime period of time, met again at one
common ending ; and confequently that
each was commenfurate with, and fo of
admirable ufe to explain and illuftrate,
the other. To this thought he feems to
have been led from the words of the

•'Rev. %x, 11, T2. xxii. 3, 4, 5.

Angeh

Fijions of the Apocalyffe. 251-

Angel, on delivering the Little or Open serm.
Book to St. John, TChou mujl prophefy ^^^'•
A'GAIN before many peoples and nations and
tongues and kings ^ : and by following this
hint, and fetting the prophecies as it were
fide bv fide, he was enabled to trace the
mutual habitudes and relations between
the two, in the fame way of fynchronifm,
which he had applied with fo much fuc-
cefs to the latter, taken alone.

In confidering the Two Prophecies of
the Revelation with this view, it is ob-
vious there is one vifion, which is ihcfa^ne
in both ; namely, the company of one
hundred and forty-four thoufand, who are
defcribed as followers of the Lamb. In
the Sealed Book, this vifion is Inferted
immediately after the fixth Seal"^; and
therefore mufi: belong to, and begin 'vinth^
the feal next in order, or the feventh, con-
fifting of i^'^tn Trumpets'": in the Open

* Rev. X. IT.

^ Ch. vil. Compare vl. 12. vili. i,

P Ch. viii. 1, 2,

Book,

252 The Order and Connexion of the

SERM. Book, it is one of the feven contemporary
vjii. vifions, which make a part of that pro-

'^' phecy °. Now by the help of this mid-

dle term we are able to prove, that the
Seven contemporary Vifions, in the Open
Book, and the Six firft Trumpets of the
feventh Seal, in the Sealed Book, muft of
neceffity be fynchronical. For firft, the
beginning of thofe Seven Vifions, and the
beginning of the Six Trumpets, is the
fame : for all the i^wtn contemporary
vifions muft needs begin together; and one
of thefe vifions is the company of one
hundred and forty-four thoufand; and the
beginning of that vifion, we have juft now
feen, coincides with the beginning of the
feventh Seal, which Seal is divided into
feven fucceflUve Trumpets p. Secondly,
the end of thofe Seven Vifions, and the end
of the Six Trumpets, is the fame : for one
of thofe vifions i^ the Prophefying of the
Two Witnelles ^ ; and that the time of

° Ch. xiv.

p Compare vii. i, 2. with vili. I, 2, -.

^ Ch, xi.

their

Vijlom of the ApocaJypfe. '^53

their prophefying and the time of the serm.
Sixth Trumpet end together, is plain from ^^^^'
the exprefs words of the Revelation ;
where after the death and refurredion of
thofe witneffcs it is fubjoined, that the
fecond IVoe^ that is, the Sixth Trumpet,
(the three laft Trumpets being called IVoe-^
■ "Trumpets) is pajl^ and the third Woe^ or
the feventh Trumpet, cometh quickly.
Here then we may take occafion to ad-
mire the divine art and contrivance of this
myfterious compofition: for no reafon can
be affigned, why the viiion of one hundred
and forty-four thoufand was fufFered to dif-
turb the courfe of the Sealed prophecy
at all, by being inferted between the fixth
and feventh Seals 'j or why the account,
of the ending of the fixth Trumpet and
beginning of the feventh ', which fliould

' Rev. xi. 7. 12. 14, 15.

' The llxth feal ends with ch. vi. the feventh feal,
with its {QS<:LVi trumpets, begins ch, viii. Between
thefe two is interpofed the vifion of one hundred and
forty-four thoufand, ch. vii,

^ Rev, xi. 14, 15.

regularly

254 The Order and Connexion of the

SERM. regularly have been given at the conclu*
^^^^* fion of the former prophecy, was yet re-

' ferved for the latter, to which it feems not

properly to belong ; unlefs the Holy Spirit,
intending to point out the connexion of
the Two Predidions, defignedly difpofed
the two correfponding vifions, of the com-^
pany of one hundred and forty- four thou-
fand " and of the prophefying of the Wit-*
neffes '% in fuch a way, that they might
ferve as hinges, by which the Open Book
fliould be hung, as it were, on the book
of the Seals. For it is obfervable, that
the founding of the feventh Trumpet,
which (hould have made the clofe of the
Sealed Book, w^here the Trumpets are all
contained, is only intimated there, by in-
forming us, that whenever that founding
Jhould be, the myjlery of God would be
fnijljed"^. But in the Open Book it is
related in form ; and related too in that
very place, where in the order of the nar-

^ Rev. vii and xiv.

^ Ch, xi, 3 — 14< * Chap. x. 7.

ratioa

Vifions of the Apocalypfe. 255

ration we fhould naturally expeft to find s e r m.
it; namely, after a fuccind hiftory of ^^^^'
events, from the beginning of Apocalyp-
tical time down to the period collateral
with that where the prophefy of the
Sealed Book was feen to end y.

This cardinal fynchronifm being fettled,
the coincidence of the remaining parts of
the Two Prophecies may be eafily (hewn.
For from hence it follows, that the vifions
of the Inner Court and of the vidory of
Michael over the Dragon, which im-
mediately precede the feven contempo-
rary vifions in the Open Bool: ^, and the
Six Firft Seals, which immediately pre-
cede the Seventh, or, what is the fame
thing, the Six firft Trumpets of the
Seventh, in the Sealed Book % muft like-
wife coincide. Again, the effufion of the
Seven Vials, by which are reprefented io
many degrees of the fall of the Beaft, in

y Rev. xi. 15-^19.

« Ch. 3d. I. and xii. 3. 7, 8, 9. 13, 14,

• Ch, vi,

the

256 The Order and Connexion of the

SERM. the latter prophecy^, muft coincide with
vin. x\\t Sixth Trumpet, with which the power
of that Beaft comes to an end, in the
former ^ Laftly, the founding of the
Seventh Trumpet, in one predidlion **,
muft correfpond with the Millennium
and the new Jerufalem, in the other "=;
thefe two fets of vifions being the im-
mediate fubfequents to other correfponding
fets ; and both being related as coming
before the General Refurredtion \ which
conftitutes the end of the book of the
Revelation, and of the World.

V. After fo long a detail of the con-
ftituent parts of the Apocalypfe, and of
the fubdlvifions and contents of each; I
have only time to make two or three
Ihort refleftions.

I. Firft then it has been feen, that

notvv'ithfianding the apparent diforder and

^ Rev. XV, xvi.

*= Ch. xi. 14. See the Note f", p. 243.

^ Ch. X. 7. and xi. 15.

^ Ch; XX. I — 4. and ch. xxi.

* Ch. XX. II — 15. and ch. xxii.

confufic7ii

Fljions of the /iMcalfpfei 257

cdnfufion of ^his book, there are yet fuf- serm,
ficient marks, not difficult to be dircerned viik
by thofe who ftudy it with a pure mind, "" "
by which the feries and connexion of the
vifions may be known* without and even
againft the fuppofal of any pre-determined
interpretation. It has been further feen,
that many of thefe vifions bear about
them internal characters of contempora-
neity ; but that, as in a Hiltory, where
various particulars are to be defcribed,
which really happened at one and the
fiime time, it is yet impoflible to relate
them all together, but fome mud un-
avoidably be written down before the
other; fo in this Prophecy, where various
vifions are to be recorded, which clearly
refpeft one and the fame period, they
are neverthelefs tranfcribed in the book
itfelfj as if they were to be fulfilled
in progreflion. Hence we have this
conclufion, that all fuch interpretations,
as are founded on the notion that the
events foretold are to fucceed one another
S in

25S ^he Order and Connexion of the

SERM. in the fame order as the viiions, muft be
^i^^» totally erroneous and falfe.

* 2. Secondly, As that part of the Reve-

lation, which contauis the future fortunes
of the Church of Chrift, confifts of two
diftin£l and feparate prophecies^ conneded
together by a peculiar artifice, that of
Synchronifm; whatever principle is af-
fumed in order to explain thefe prophe-
cies, it muft bear the expofition quite
through, and folve all the feeming con-
tradidtions purpofely thrown in to obfcure
them, as the true key of a riddle always
does; otherwife the principle itfelf^ and
the interpretation built upon it, will be
fallacious and unfafe. Particular fymbols
and pafl'ages may be expounded by partial
commentators with great plaufibility, and
even femblance of truth ; but nothing
fhort of an univerfal principle will clear
up the whole of this prophetical enigma,
or produce a full convidlion in which the
mind of a fagacious enquirer may ac-
quiefce,

3* Thirdly,

Vijtons of the Apocalypfe. 259

3. Thirdly, if among the feveral Apo- serm.
calyptic vifions here dehileated we fhould viii,
haply be able to find the meaning of any

one\ we may, by the help of that one,
together with the right application of the
fynchronifms already demonftrated, in-
veftigate the hidden fenfe of the reft. For
all the villous, that have been proved to
contemporize with that, w^hofe meaning
we have now difcovered, mufl of necef-
lity be interpreted of contemporaneous
events; the vifions, preceding that one
vifion, mufl: be referred to preceding
events ; and the vifions, fubfequent to ir,
muft relate to other events that are to
follow it.

4. Laflly, it remains to obferve, that
one fuch vifion is aftually explained to us
by the Angel himfelf, who communicated
the Revelation to St. John : and that is,
the vifion of the Babylonifli Woman,
riding on the Bead with /even heads : by
\\'\\\c\\ feven heads^ we are told, are meant
[even mountains^ and by the JVoman is re-

S 2 prefented

56o The Order and Connexion, &c.

s E R M. frefented that great City which, in the times
VIII. of the Apoftle, reigned over the kings of

' the earth s* Here then let us fix the

ground and principle of our future dif-
quifitions ; and having the word of God,
like another pillar of fire, for our guide,
let us try to explore our way through the
obfcure and dreary places of this great
wildernefs : not doubting but the Father
of lights, from whom cometh every good
and perfect gift^, will teach us by his
Spirit to difcern and embrace the truth ;
that we may underjland a proverb, and the
interpretation, the words of the wife and
their dark fay ings k

% Rev. xvii. 3. 9. 18.

** James i. 17, _ -

* PrOY. i. 6.

SER-

[ 26l J

SERMON IX.

Vifion of the Apocalypfe concerning
the Babyloniih Woman.

Rev. xvii. i8.

J he Woman ^ which thou fawejly is that
Great City which reigneth over the kings
of the earth,

YO U may have feen an optical ex- s e r m,
perlment, of the followhig kind. ^^*
A painted board is produced, befmeared
with colours, thrown together, as it were,
at random, and in w^hich are difcernible
no obvious marks of figure or defign.
When the fpedator has furveyed, for
fome time, and not without difguft, thi?
S 3 unmean-

262 Vijlon of the Apocalypfe concerning

SERM. unmeaning mixture of difcordant tints;
^x. a cylindrical mirror is placed on the

"""" " board, in a certain pofition; whell behold,
the difperfed and diflocated parts inftan-
taneeufly arraege themf^lves into an en-
tire and perfeft whole, and an elegant
form is reflcfted from the burniflied fteel^
corapofed with niceft fymmetry and art,
and fet off wnth all the gr^ee and har-
mony of colouring.

The book of the Revelation to an un-
fkilful or carelefs reader appears to lie in
a fiate like that of the painted board ;
from which it feems impoffible to extra6t
any regular or connefted fyftem. But
by applying to this myfterious volume, in
the manner already explained, the con-
trivance, diftinguifhed by the name of
Synchronifm, an efteft is experienced fimi-
lar to that from the polifhed mirror : the
diforder, which was thought to predo-
minate throughout, immediately vaniflies;
the feveral disjointed vifions are judicioufly
^ifpofcd, fo as to conftitute an unity of

fubje<5t;
6

the Babylonijh Wonnxn, 263

fubjefl: I and this fubjcft is profecuted, serm.
from end to end, according to a conftant ^^*
and pre-eftablifiied plan, which is never ^

more curious and artificial, than when
lead fufpefted by an ignorant or inat-
tentive reader.

But the difcovery of the true fcheme
and method, purfued in the Apocalypfe,
would have been of little ufe, had not
the fame divine Spirit, who imparted
thefe wonders to St. John, been pleafed
yet further to furnifli him, and us,
with a fure and unerring clue, by which
we might be conduced, as through the
windings of a labyrinth, to the right
interpretation of this extraordinary com-
pofition. Such a clue we find in the
chapter, of which the text is a part : for
thus the Angel, after having exhibited
to the aftoniihed Apoflle the vifion of a
Woman^ whofe name^ written on her fore-
head^ was Myjiery^ Babylon the Great, the
Mother of Harlots^ and riding upon a Beajl
S ^ vvul>

2j54 ViJtQn of the Apocalypfe concerning

SERM. v^ixX^ Jcven heads and ten horns ^y unfolds
^^'' to hiin the meaning of this amazing

"~ (\ghc\ The SEVEN Heads are seven

Mountains on which the Woman Jitteth ;
and the Woman, which thou fawejl, is
that Great City which reigneth over
the kings of the earthy. Let us pre fume
then, but with religious awe, to develope
the kvut concealed under this fublime
oracle, and draw out its fecrets mto open
day : nor need we fear the attempt will
be cenfared as profane, when we proceed
under the aufpices of an heavenly guide,
who has condefcended to perform him-
ielf the office of Hierophant, and to give
us, in part at leaft, his own explanation
of "this venerable Myftery.

L Now that by the City here repre-
fcnted, after the manner of the ancient
prophets, under the fymbol of a Woman,
and diftinguiflied by the appellation of
Babylon, is to be underftoodRoME, is put

^ P.cv. xvii. I. 3. 5o
* Ch, xvii. 9. 180

bp-yond

ihe Babyhwjh JFoman. 26 r

beyond all manner of doubt, not only from s e r m,
what is faid of the fituation of this city, ^^•
that it was built on /even hills ™, but from ^

what is mentioned befides, that, at the time
when St. John lived, it reigned, or had
fupreme dominion, over the kings of the
earth \ For thefe two circumftances,
taken together, are fuch appropriate and
difcriminative charafters of the Metro-
polis of the Roman Empire, that they
confefledly belong to it, and cannot both
be fhewn to belong to any other. Hence
Papifts, as well as Proteftants, have been
among the foremoft to acknowledge, that
this is indeed the place foretold.

II. Taking it then for granted, as we
fafely may, that the Babylon here de-
fcribed is no other than Rome ; an im-
portant queftion arifes, to what particular
period of the exiftence of this city the
prophecy before us refers? Now there
i;re but two opinions, which can poffibly
have claim tp our attention, in the folu-

•" Ver. 9, ^ Ver, 18.

tlon

^66 Vifon of the Apocalypfe concerning

6ERM. tion of this difficulty. One is of thofe,
^^* who contend that Pagan or Idolatrous

^'^^ * Rome, fuch as obtained many ages ago,
during the government of the perfecuting
Emperors, is folely intended here : of
•which fentiment are the Papifts almoft
univerfally, and fome few among the Pro-
teflants. The other is of thofe, who,
though they do not exclude Rome Hea-
then from all concern in the Apocalypfe,
yet maintain that its principal objedl is
fp predict the innovations, gradually in-
troduced into the religion of Jefus, by
Rome Chriftian and degenerate, fuch ag
it is feen at prefent under the government
of the perfecuting Popes. This is the
fentiment generally entertained by Pro-
teftants : and it will be our bufinefs, in
the fequel, to point out to you the rea-
fons, v/hich they are able to produce, in
vindication of their perfuafion.

Now it is certainly a drong prefimiption,
that the antitype pf Babylon is not Hea-
then Rome, that none of the Chriftians,

who

the BabylomJJj Woman, 267

who lived and fufFered under the oppref- serm.
fions of the Heathen Emperors, and who, ^^•
one would think, would have been the
quickeft at difcerning the refemblance, if
there was any, between the prediftion and
its accomplifhment, feem to have had the
flighteft fufpicions, that themfelves and
their own fortunes were at all particu-
larly interefted in the fayings of this
book : on the contrary, it is an hiftorical
fa£l, that they did not look for the ty-
rannical power, whofe perfon and conduft
are fo minutely delineated by St. Paul and
St. John, till the Roman Empire fliould
come to its diflblution, and for this caufe
were frequent in their prayers to heaven,
that fuch dillplution might be delayed.
This, I fay, is a violent prefumption,
againft the validity of the former opinion
related above, and in favour of the latter.
However, as it may be replied, that the
ancient Fathers might perhaps be aware
of the true meaning of the prophecies,
and yet, from motives of prudence, might

chufe

268 Fifion of the Apocalypfe concerning

SERM. chnfe to appear referved.on a fubjeft fo
IX. delicate as that of the ruin of Eternal

" ^ Rome : or even admitting they were ig-
norant of this matter, that a very natural
account may be given of fuch their ig-
norancej their minds being too much
engaged in the contemplation of their
own misfortunes, to advert with accuracy
to fo obfcure a part of fcripture as the
Apocalypfe : nor is there any better
ground for averting that the Antichriftian
fovereignty, whofe feat is allowed to be
Rome, did not receive its completion in
the peifccuting Roman Emperors, becaufe
the Chriftians of thofe days did not fee
and own that completion ; than there is
for affirming that Jefus was not the ex-
pefted Meffiah, becaufe the Jews, before
%vhofe eyes he was evidently fet forth and
cructfed°^ did not acknowledge him as
fuch P : for thefe reafons, I am not willing
to lay greater ftrefs on this obfervation

° Gal.iii. I.

p Preface fur L' Apocalyple, par BolTuet, Eveque

tic M-CaUX, § 21, 2 2,

than

the Babyloni/fj Woman. 269

than it will bear; and am content to con- serm,
lider it as producing only a high degree ^x.
of probability, that Babylon and Pagan "

Rome are not the fame.

But now, if encouragedj, not impeded.;
by this prehminary remark, we proceed
to infped, with care, the prophecy it-
felf ; we fhall, if I miftake not, be no
longer at a lofs for arguments, to convert
this high degree of probability mlo proof.

I. And the firll thing which takes our
notice is the name of Babylon ^, by which
the holy Spirit hath diftinguiflied the my-
ftical Woman mentioned in the text.
This city was undoubtedly feledted, be-
caufe known in the Jewifli ftory as the
author and fupporter of Idolatry in the
Heathen world, and ther'efore the fitteft
to typify the place, from whence the
fame corruption fhould originate in the
Chriftian. But from this expreflion alone,
it is granted, we cannot infer, that the ob-
ject in view is Chriftian Rome.

< Rev. xvii. 5.

Another

270 Vifion of the Apocalypfe concernifjg

s E R M. Another name of the Woman, yet more
IX. infamous than the firft, is that oi Whore^
* with whom the kings of the earth have
committed Fornication '. It is hardly ne-
ceflary to remind you here, that the words
ivhoredom, fornicatian^ and the like, are
the ufual language of the old prophets, to
denote the fpecific fin of idolatry : and
though they be fometimes applied to Geri-^
tile cities, which had never entered into
covenant with the one Creator of heaven
and earth, their proper force confifts in
this, that the perfons or nation, of whom
they are predicated, had once engaged
themfelves, as it were by a marriage-con-
traft, to the fervice of the true God, and
had afterwards revolted to foreign deities ^
But neither will this appellation perhaps,
though lefs equivocal than the former,
be thought by all perfons to be decifive,
that the prophet's rebuke is levelled againft

r Rev, xvii. I, 2. 5.

* See the xxxift Prele£tion on tlie facred Poetry of
tlie Hebrews by the learned Bifhop of Oxford.

a cor-

the BabyloJiiJJj JVoJiian. 2yt

a corrupted Church, rather than a Pagan serm^
city. i^*

What follows, it is prcfumed, will "" '
not be liable to any ambiguity. For,
not content with branding the Woman
%vith the title of Whore, the Angel in-
forms St. John, that the turpitude im-
plied in fuch a charafter would be aggra-
vated yet further by her endeavouring to
promote the fame fcandalous commerce
in others ; fo that, over and above the
guilt of being a Harlot herfelf, fhe would
defer ve to be called the Mother of Har-
lots and ahominations of the e'arth ^ This
part of the defcription can with no pro-
priety be accommodated to Rome, before
it had embraced the faith of Chrift ; be-
caufe, however addifted to the worfhip of
idols that city may itfelf have been, du-
ring its unconverted ftate, it cannot judly
be charged with labouring to fpread the
fame infedtion among others. The very
abfurdities of Pagan theology rendered all

* Rev. xvii. 5,

attempts

272 Vifwn of the Apocalypfe conterning

SERM. attempts of this fort impradicable: for a?
IX. every nation had a fet of rites and cere-
' monies of its own, without the leaft in-
terference with thofe of any other, the
confequence was, an unHmited toleration
among the different fyftems of Heathen-
ifm; each allowing the truth of the others
pretenfions, and none affuming a right to
ered itfelf on the ruin of the reft. \h the
mean time it will not be denied, that
Papal or Chriflian Rome is feduloufiy bent
on nothing more, than on extending its
religion with the fame zeal the ancient
Romans did their arms, and by the fame
methods too, even thofe of violence and
perfecution towards all oppofers. This
genius and difpofition. is emphatically
marked in the phrafe, Mother of Harlots
and Abominatiom of the earth. The
term of Adulterefs^ v/hich, it is pretended,
would here have been ufed, had Chriftian
Rome been really fignified, would have
been inadequate to the occaiion ; nor
would have expreffed, with fufficient pre-

cifioKj

the BabylonijJj Woman* 2'7^

cifion, the idea of that particular fpecies serm*
of impurity^ here meant to be conveyed ; ^^'
which is not fo much that of a Hbidlnous
Wife, who violates her plighted faith to
her own hufband, as of a Woman, whofe
bufinefs and profeflion it is to foliciC
others to afts of uncleannefs; who keeps
as it were a public brothel, open to all
comers, where ihe fits, with the attire
and look of an Harlot, ftretching out her
golden ctipy full of abominations and fit hi*
nefs of her fornication "^y and praftifing her
meretricious arts, to feditce the unwary
pallenger to his deftrudion.

2. The argument here advanced is
ftrengthened not a little by what is after-
wards remarked concerning the fame Wo-
man, that (he was drunken with the blood
of the faints^ and with the blood of the mar-
tyrs of Jefus ; on beholding which, the
Apoftle WONDERED with great admira-
tion '^ Now it could have been no mat-
ter of wonder to St. John, who faw and

^ Rev. xvil* 4. * Vcr» 6.

T felt

2 74 Vifion of the Apocalypje concerning

SERM. felt the barbarities exercifed by the Em-
IX* perors Nero and Domitian, that Babylon
^ fhould appear to him in the vifion as

Pagan Rome did to his bodily eyes. Nor
can it now be matter of wonder to us,
that the firft difciples of Chrift, who con-
demned the publick religion, eftabhflied
at Rome, of impiety, nor would confent
to throw fo much as a grain of incenfe
on any of its altars, Ihould for fuch in-
flexible obftinacy, as it was called, ex-
perience the edge of the fevereft fufFerings.
But that Chriftian Rome, a city profef-
fing fubjedion to the gofpel of Jefus,
which is averfe to all the modes of com-
pulfion and force, and wills only to gain
admittance by the lenient arts of reafon
and perfuafion; that fuch a city fhould
fo far forget or miftake the tendency of
its own religious principles, as to become
^ drunken, with blood, with Chriftian blood,
ivith the blood of the Saints and Martyrs
of Jefus ; this argues fuch accumulated
and prodigious guilt, as accounts for

the

the Babylonjfj JVomatu 275

the admiration of the Apoflle, and may serm.
well excite the aXlonlfhmenc of man- ^^''
kind. ""

3. But the charadler of the Woman in
the text will be ftill better elucidated,
by attending to what is faid of the fame
perfon, in another part of the pro-
phecy. In the 1 2th chapter we have
a dcfcrlption of the Chriflian Church,
in its purity; reprefented, as here, in
a female form, but decorated with or-
naments of a very fuperior kind : for
fhe is clothed with thefun""^ encircled with
the glorious light of the gofpel of Chrifl-,
who is called the fun of rlghteoufnefs r
having the moon under her feet, trampling
on the rudiments of this world, jewifh
feftivals and Gentile fuperftltions ; and
upon her head a crown of twelve far s^ ad-
hering ftedfaflly to the dodrine of the
twelve Apoftles. In this her primitive
and heavenly ftate, whilfl her pious labours

* Rev. xii, I. ' Malachi iv. 2.

, T 2 are

2176 Vifion-of the Apocalypje concerning

SERM. are direfled to advance the kingdom of
' Chrift, fhe has to ftruggle with dangers
on every fide, and is compafled about
ivlth enemies, who are ever on the watch
to deftroy her : which circwmftances are
typified by her travailing in birth and being
pained to be delivered ^^y and by the red
Dragon, or the perfecuting Roman Em-
f\vtyfa7idiftg before her^ to devour her child
as foon as born \ However, through the
controul of an over-ruHng providence, the
deligns of thefe her firfl adverfaries are
at length defeated ; her pains, or the
cruelties of the Pagan Emperors, are hap-
pily ended by her becoming the mother
of a man-child^ ^ Or by the gaining of a
church from among the Gentiles: which
child, or Gentile Church, being caught ttp
unto God and to his throne^ or being fafely
lodged under the prote6lion of the Roman
Empire, now become Chriftian, (he herfelf,
like another Ifrael, makes her efcape into

z Rev. xii. 2, * Ver. 3, 4.

k Vcr. 5. 13.

the

the Babylowjfi JFcvian. 277

the Wlldernefs\ there to fojourn, for a serm-

limited number of years, and to be af- *

failed with new troubles : with which
account her hiftory, in this chapter, ends.
In the chapter of the text, we meet with
the fame Woman again ; and, to prevent
all fcruples concerning her identity, in
the fame place^ where the conclufion of
the above narration had left her, namely,
in tho Wildernefs ^ \

— But oh ! how fall'n ! how chang'cl
From her, who in the happy realms of light,
Cloth'd with tranfcendent brightnefs, did outfhinc
Myriads, tho' bright ' !

For here we find her no longer clad, as
when firft feen in heaven ^ with the na-
tive glories of the celeftial luminaries ;
but, ixiftead of them, arrayed in purple and
fcarlet colour ^ and deched with gold and
preciousjlones and pearls s, or glittering with
the tinfel of worldly grandeur ; and in

c Rev. xii. 6. 14. ^ Ver. xvii. 3,

^ Milton, P. L. Bock I. ver. 84, cVc.
^ Ver. xii, i, ^ Rev. xvii. 4.

T 3 this

IX.

278 Vifion of the Apocalypje concerning

SERM. this condition, like another Babylon, ex-
erting the mod illegal ails both of civil
and ecclefiaftic tyranny, and even glutting
herfelf with the blood of thofe, who
dare to reclame agalnft her enormous
ulurpations. Nothing can more ftrongly
prove, that the Woman, in this lad chap-
ter, is the emblem of an apoflate or cor-
rupted Church, than the evidence which
arifes from the comparifon of tbefe two
vifions : the fame perfon, it is obvious, is
the fubjedl of both: in one fhe is de-
fcribed, as pure and undefiled, fuch as
befitted a religion, coming down from the
Father of lights ^ ; in the other, fhe ap-
pears in a depraved and degenerate ftate,
fuch as was to be expe£led in a Church,
which had left her firf love '\ and had con-
taminated herfelf with the double crimes
of Idolatry and Perfecution,

4. If now we turn from the character
of the Woman to that of the Beaft, on

^ James i. i;. * Rev. il. 4,

which

the BabylonlJJj Woman^ 279

which (he is faid to rlde^^ the fame con- ser m.
clufion will meet us, though by a dif- ^^*
ferent way. The Woman herfelf having '
been already proved to be Rome, the
Beafl, that carries her, can be no other
than the Roman kingdom. Indeed the
properties attributed to this Beaft, com-
pared with thofe of the fourth Beajl in
the book of Daniel ^ (by which fourth
Beaft, we have feen, is fignified thie Roman
government), are enough to fliew, that the
fame government muft alfo be denoted
here. One of thefe properties, you may
remember, is the having of ten horns ^ ;
which ten horns, we are told, are to
be underftood as fignifying fo many kings'",
and as a further explanation, it is added
by St. John, that thefe kings had received
no kingdom as yet % or, at the time of the

^ Rev. xvli. 3. 7.
* Dan. ch. vli.
" Dan. vii. 7. 20,
" Ver. 24.
^ Rev. xvii. 12.

T 4 vifion,

iZp^ P^i/ioji of the ApQcalypfe concerning

SERM. vifion, were not in exlftence. Now it is
ix. notorious that the Latin or Weftern Eni'^
pire was not difmembered, or broken into
feparate fovereignties, that is, the Bead was
not poflefled of its ten Horns, and con-
fequently the Woman could not ride it in
that ftate, till fome confiderable time after
Rome had become Chriftian : whence^
ariies this concliiiion, impoffible to be
evaded by any fophiftic interpretation
whatfoever, that neither the Beaft nor
th>e Woman, in thi^ part of the prophecy,
can have any relation to Pagan Rome.

5. Laftly (for I am unwilling to prefs
you with all the arguments that might
be brought on this fruitful tlieme) the
fame pcrfecuting power, which is rcpre-
icntcd here under the figure of a Beaft
with ten horns, is pourtrayed, elfewher^,
under the image of another Beaft, con-
temporary with the firft, wdiich had /<ie;a
horns like a Lamhy andfpake as a Dragon^,

P Rev„ xiii, ii.

By,

tbe Babylo?ii/fj Womaii. 281

i3y the Lamb is uniformly meai)t, s^rm,,
throughout the whole book of the Reve- ix,
lation, the perfon of Chrift ^ : and thi$ """"^""'^
fecond Beaft being othervvife charafiterized
under the title of a jSz^^^r^^Z?^/'', we leariji
that his lan^b-like form was in appear-
ance only, and that he was in reality one
of thofe teachers defcribed by our Lord,
who come in Jldeefs dothhig^ hut inwardly
i^re ravening wolves \ The putting on of
the femblance of a La?nb is an intima-
tion th-at he would a£l in virtue of a pre-
tended authority derived from Chrift ; at
the fame time his fpeaking as a Dragon
leaves us in no doubt, that in heart and
temper he would be a very Pagan. Hence
therefore we have another proof, that the
power in queftion, which by the acknow-
iedgment of our adverfaries is a Roman

'^ Rev. V, 6. 8. 12, 13. vi* i. 16. vil. lO. 14,
17* xiij. Bj xif/. 4. xvii. 14. xix. 7.9. xxi, 9.
27. xxii, I. 3.

' Rey. xyi. 13. xlx. 20. xx. lO.

' Matth. vii.' 15.

power.

282 Vifion of the Apocalypfe concerning

GERM, power, muft of neceflity be fuch a one,

^^* as in name and profeffion fliould own

the faith of Chrift, yet in fad (hould dif-

honour his religion by perfecuting the beft

and fincereft of his followers.

III. On the whole, we may now have
leave to aflert, from internal marks to be
found in the text itfelf, that the Baby-
lonlfh Woman, whofe features are here
defcrlbed, can only be underftood of Papal
or Chriftian Rome ; fuch as it exlfts at
prefent, corrupted in dodrine and man-
ners, and polluted with Ipiritual whore-
dom, or Idolatry. This interpretation,
however, you are not to be told, has
not been without its opponents, of both
communions, who have laboured to over-
throw it : and it will be no improper
clofe of this difcourfe to mention two ex-
pofitions, contrary to that adopted here,
and which, more for the eminence of their
authors than for any folidity in them-
felves, may defervc to be noticed ; I mean

thofe

the' Babylomjh Woman. 283

thofe of the learned Grotius, and the cele- s e r m,
brated Bifliop of Meaux. ^x.

I. The former of thefe illuftrlous per-
fons, proceeding on the common error,
that the main 'obje£l of this prophecy is
Heathen Rome, thinks he difcerns, un-
der the attributes of the Beaft with feven
heads, evident marks of the Roman go-
vernment, as it fubfifted in the times of
Domitian ^ This opinion, we muft ob-
ferve, is altogether founded on another,
whofe falfehood has been already demon-
llrated, that the Apocalypfe was written
during the reign of Claudius : for on fup-
pofition that the vifions here recorded were
not fcen by St. John till the end of the
reign of Domitian, the book, inftead of
being, as it afllimes to be, a predidlion of
things that Jloould he hereafter ", will be
nothing more than an hiftory of fads,
either paft, or pafiing before the Apoftle's
€ye5. Thare is another objedlion to the

* Annbtationes ad Apoc, cap. xiii,
J^Hev. i. 19. iv, I,

hypothefis

2 §4 Vifon of the Apcalypfe concerning

SEEM, hypothefis of Grotius : the perfecution of
•^^* Domitian was neither fcvere enough, nor
long enough, to find a place in this pro-
phecy: if the teftimonies of Tertolhan ^
and Laftantius ^ may \>q, x:redited, the
worft infli<5lions of this Emperor feem
pot to have extended beyond banifliment;
apd, whatever they were, they certainly
did not continue j^r/jy-Zif^? months Yy the
time pr^fcribed for the reign of the Beaft ;
even allowing to this learned man, that
theft months are to be underftood in their
IJteral acceptation only.

iZ. The latt^er of the two expofitors,
fpoken of above, was too fagacio\as not
to perceive the faults, infeparable from

^ Tentavcrat et Domitianus, portio Neronis de
■Ci'iiffelitate, fed qua- et homo facile coeptum repreffit,
.reftitrutis etiam q\ios r^legaverat. Apol. Cap. v.

^ Quam diutiilime tutufquc regnavit (Domitiatius),
'donee impias' manus adverfus Dominum tenderet,
Poftquam v6ro ad perfequcndum juftum populum in-
,ftin6l-Ur Dajmpnum incitatus eft, tunc traditus in manus
jnimicorum luit poenas. Dc Mort. Pei fee. cap. iii.

^ Rev. xiii. 4, 5.

the

IX,

the Babylonijh JFoman. ' ^85

the fyftcm of Gfotius ; and was there- serm.
fore compelled to vmdicate the honour of
his Church in another, and, to do him
juftice, a much more plaufible way. He
maintains, that the taking of Rome by
Alaric the Goth, and, in confequence of
that, the fall of Idolatry, is the one great
fubjecl of the Revelation : and that in
order to realize the charader of the Beaft,
we muft have recourfe to the reign of
Diocletian, towards the conclufion of the
third century ; when the Roman Empire
made its laft and cruelleft effort to ex-
tirpate the religion of Chrift ^. And fo
far muft be granted, that no perfecution,
during the Pagan times, was carried 011
with greater feverity, or has a better claim,
on account of its continuance as weH
as barbarity, to be rememberedj than this.
But, as we have had occafion to obferve
on this argument before, it is not a fpe-
cious refemblance that may be found be-

2 Explication du Chapitre xiii de UApocalypfe,
par BolTuct,

6 tweeii

286 Vijion of the Apocalypfe concerning

SERM. tween one or two fymbols and a few bifr
^x- torical fads, which will fatisfy a judicious

■' reader of this book ; but the difcovery

of fome general and leading principle,
that pervades, and is able to remove the
difficulties of, the whole. Now to this
the explication of the Catholic Bifliop is
plainly unequal. To give two inftances,
out of many. The ruin of the Beaft is
announced in thefe magnificent terms ;
Babylon the Great is fallen^ is fallen^ and is
become the habitation of devils^ and the hold
of every foul fpirit^ and a cage of every un-
clean and hateful bird^. The expreffions
are taken from the Jewifli prophets, in
which the. overthrow of the old Babylon
is foretold ; and, if words can convey any
meaning, they can only be meant of fuch
a deftruftion as is extreme and without
remedy. And yet the Bifhpp of Meaux
can fuppofe, that the force of this em-
blem is fufficiently exhaufted in the fhock,
which the city of Pagan Rome received

* Rev. xviii..^.

from

tht Babylonijh PFoman. 287

from the ravages of the Goths ; though s e r m,
it be certain that city fupported itfelf, and ^^*
in tolerable vigour, after that event, under "
feveral fucceffive Emperors. Again, at the
founding of the feventh Trumpet we are
told, the myjiery of God will be finljljed^
and the kingdoms of this world will become
the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Chrifl ^ ;
which prediction, according to the opinion
of the fame Prelate, was accompliflied, in
the converfion of the nations to Chrifti-
anity, and the downfall of Heathenifm, at
the facking of Rome by Alaric : though
here alfo it be notorious, that Idolatry
fublifted, in its full ftrength, in many
countries then in alliance with Rome;
and within no long time after, the im-
poftor Mahomet arofe, and difFufed his
errors far and wide, in avowed oppofition
to the gofpel of Chrift. Such interpre-
tations rebel againft common fenfe no
lefs than againft the evidence of authentic
hlftory ; and are indeed proofs of nothing

^ Rev. X. 7. xi. 15.

but

4t88 Vjjion of the Apocalypfe concerning

SERM. i)ut the weaknefs of the caufe they are
^^* brought to ferve.

3. Laftly, Admitting the explanation of
the vifion in the 17th chapter, which has
here been given, to be true, we are hence
furniflied with a certain method, by which
the obfcurities of the remaining vifions,
fuch I mean as have been already ful-
filled, may be commodioufly cleared.
Thus, granting that the Babylonifli Wo*
man is rightly conceived to denote the
€ity of Papal Rorne ; then the vifions^
which fynchronize with this, muft all
be interpreted of fuch events, as are found
in hiftory to correfpond with the times
of Rome Chriftianj and the contem-
porary vifions, antecedent to thefci, muft
all be illuftrated from the hiftory of the
^ges preceding, or falling in with the em-
pire of Rome Pagan, Much has been dond
in this way by many commentators on thd
Apocalypfe, who have appeared fince the
times of the Reformation ; but by none^
with greater gaution and fuceefs, than by

the

the BhbylonlJJj Woman. 289

the incomparable Jofeph Made. And serm,
though even in him, fuch are the Ihiilrs ix.
prelcribed to the moft comprehenfive hu- '
man underftandings ! there may perhaps
have been difcovered by later critics fom^
few (light fpecks of natural infirmity, yet
in the general principle on which he fets
out, and the flrid rules of demonftration
by which he all along proceeds, he is fo
entirely without a flaw, that all who,
under the notion of corre£ling, have pre-
fumed to differ from him here — I except
not Sir Ifaac Newton himfelf — feem more
or lefs to have deviated from the truth,
as they have more or lefs departed from
his plan ; and all that they have effeded
hath been only this, the doing of an un-
uefigned honour to his difcoveries.

SER.

[ 29° ]

S E R M O N X.

General Defign of the remaining
Vifions of the Apocalypfe.

Rev. xxii. 6.

7Jdefe fayings are faithful and true ; and
the Lord God of the holy prophets fent
his Angela to Jloew unto his fervants the
things which mujl Jhortly be done.

$ERM. rTTIHERE are two ways, which wc
^* JL may legitimately purfue in our

refearches after natural knowledge : one
is, from the qualities, which are found
really to exift in bodies, to inveftigate
the caufes which produce them; from
particular caufes to afcend to general, till
our enquiries arrive at the moft general

dnd

General Dejign^ ^c. 291

and terminate in firft principles: the other serm.
is, to begin with thefe firft principles ^'
themfelves, and, defcending from them
by a regular feries of proofs, to explain
the obvious appearances of thfngs. Of
thefe methods it is evident that the for-
mer, which is founded on fad and ob-
fervation, is to be firft employed; and
when by this kind of difquifition we
have gained a fufficient number of truths,
we may then, and not till then, fecurely
have recourfe to the latter. Thus Sir
Ifaac Newton, having demonftrated, firft
of all, that the power of gravity was
diffufed through every particle of matter
on which experiments could be made,
that it afted, according to an invariable
law, on all bodies on and near the fur-
face of the earth, that it extended to the
moon, to the other planets, and to the
fdn ftfelf 3 proceeded afterwards, in a re-
verfe order, to illuftrate, from the fup-
pofition of this principle, the vifible fy-
ftem of the world, and to ihew that, al-
U 2 lowing

292 General Dejtgn of the rema/mng

SERM. lowing fuch a force as gravity, the feveral
^' phaenomena of nature could not be other-
wife than they are.

In like manner there are two ways,
which w^e may fafely follow in the pro-
fecution of religious knowledge : one is,
from internal charafters, difcernible in
any given portion of God's written word,
to try if haply we can find the general
fcheme and purpofe of the writer: the
other is, from that fcheme and purpofe,
fo difcovered, to fix the ilgnification of
particular parts. It was thus, that Mr.
Mede conduced himfelf in his endeavours
to elucidate that obfcurefl of the pro-
phetical volumes, the Revelation of St.
John : having firft, from the frame and
texture of the work, eftabliflied, ana-
lytically, the connexion and coincidence
of the Apocalyptic vifions, he afterwards
perceived, that the meaning of one had
been communicated by an heavenly mef-
fenger to the Apoftle, and was by him
inferted in his book: encouraged by this

hint,

rifion^ of the ApocaJypfe. 293

hint, he next adventured on the fy nthetic serm.
mode of reafonhig, and fetting out from
that one vifion, {o interpreted, he at-
tempted, and was enabled, to evolve the
lenfe, which lay concealed under the reft.
It fhall" the bufiiiefs of the prefent
Leclure to lay before you a fuccinft ac-
count of the feveral progreflive fleps, by
which the celebrated writer now men-
tioned advanced, in order to remove the
obfcurity of the remaining parts of this
prophecy, the order and arrangement of
which he had previoufly fettled. Such a
view of the whole of Mr. Mede's inven-
tions, with regard to this important por-
tion of holy writ, w^ill complete what is
yet to be faid on the fubjeft of the
Apocalypfe ; and will prepare you for
hearing without furprize, what many
even among believers have fomc.imes
fcrupled to admit, that the Revelation of
St. John is indeed the moft methodical
book of Scripture.

U 3 The

294 General Dejign of the remamng

SERM. The vifion, alluded to above, is that
^' of the Babylonifli Woman ; by which we
have learnt, and from no lefs authority
than that of an Angel, is prefigured
the city of Chriftian Rome, now fallen
from her primitive ftate of gofpel pu-
rity, and defiled with the fouleft ftains
of fuperftition and idolatry. Every vifion
therefore in the book, as has been al-
ready remarked, which may be clearly
proved to contemporize with this of
the Babylonifh Woman, muft of rie-
ceffity be explained from the hiftory of
fads contemporary with Papal Rome.
By this fimple propofition it is, that all
our future fpeculations muft be regulated.
Here then let us take our ftand; and
having gained the advantage of this ri-
fing 2;rouhd, let us try if from hence, as
from ah eminence, we may not be able
to furvey the yet unknown region of the
Apocalypfe: not without firft imploring
the aid of that divine Spirir, of whofc

office

Vjjions of the Apocalypfe. 295

office it is to guide us Into all truth «*, that s erm.
he would open the eyes of our under-
ftandings, that we may behold wondrous
things out of his law \

1. It may be of ufe to remind you,
that the Second great Prediftion of the
Revelation, which we have called the
Prophecy of the Little or Open Book,
contains, beiides the vifion of the Woman
of Babylon, fix other vifions, coincident
with it, in refpe£l of time ; namely, thofe
of the Bead with feven heads and ten
horns, the Beaft with two horns like a
Lamb, the profaning of the Outer Court
of the Temple by the Gentiles ; the pro-
phefying of two Witneffes in fackcloth,
the Virgin company of a hundred and
forty-four thoufand, and the flight and
^bode of the Woman in the wildernefs ^
Of thefe the firft, or that of the ten-

^ John xvl. 13,

* Pf. cxix. 18.

[ See page 241 — 247,

U 4 horned

1^^ General Dejtgn of the remaining

SEH^M* borned Beafl^, it has been intimated to
x^ you in a former Ledlure^ is plainly de-

"•'--—- fcriptive of the Roman Kingdom : this
is evident, as well from the known ufe
of the general term Beajl in th^ language
of prophecy, which invariably denotes an
idolatrous ftate or government, as from
the particular properties afcribed to this
Beafl here ; which are fo exadly fmiilar
to thofe attributed to the fourth Bead in
th^^; feventh chapter of Daniels as to
evince beyond a doubt, that in both pro-
phets one and the fame power was, inr
tended. As little difpute need there be
concerning the meaning of the fecond
Bead, having two horns like a Lamb, but
/peaking as a Dragon K ■ The Lamb, we
have feen ^, is the; conflant fyrobol of
Chri^l;. and this B^eaft being alfo deno-

-nrix 0: ...

s Rev. xiu. I — lO. xviu 9 — 15.
^ See page 279.
' See page 84—87.
^ Rev. xiii. 1 1.
^ See page 281,

n^iinated

Vifions of the Apocalypje. 297

minated a falfe prophet "^^ and his afts serm^
being all of them calculated to promote ^•
the interefts of a falfe religion (fuch as
caufing an image to be made to the firft
Bead, working miracles to feduce men to
the worfliip of him, and even killing thofe
who refufe to conform to his arbitrary
decrees n) • we are led to confider the power
ifi qneftion as partaking more of an ec-
clefiaftical than civil nature, and corre-
fponding in kind to that which we know
to be aftually exercifed by the Roman
Pontiff. Thus it appears that the vifions
of the Babylonifh Woman and of the two
Beafts" were defigned to exhibit, in fuc-
ceffion, the fevcral parts and members
of that kingdom of Apoftafy, whofe rife
and progrefs and decline arc here fore-
told. Babylon, the mother of harlots,
is the City of Rome, confidered as the
feat or metropolis of Antichrift ; the Ten-
jiorned Beaft is the Roman Empire, after

"^ Rev. xvi. 13. xix. 20. xx. 10.
^- Rev. xiii. 13, ij., 15.

?' it

298^ General Dejign of the remaining

SERM. it was divided into ten feparate fovereign-

X. ties, all fubordinate to the capital city ;

'"^^ and the Two-horned Beaft is the prefiding

King^ or Magiftrate of this degenerate

fociety, invefted with the habit of a fe^

cular tyrant, in virtue of his temporal

acquifition of the patrimony of St. Peter,

but effentially diftinguifhed from every

other earthly monarch, on account of his

claims to fpiritual doniinion, and his

ufurped authority over tho niinds no lefs

than the bodies of his deluded fubje£ts.

Before we can explain the vifiou. next

in order, the profaning of the Outer

Court of the Temple by the Gentiles \

we muft premife, that throughout the

Revelation the fates of the Chriftian

Church are recorded in words and phrafes

peculiar to the religion of the Jews, and

particularly fuch as were appropriated tQ

the ritual of the Temple-fervice at Je-

rufalem. Thus the Jews, or fynagogue

of the Ifraelites, who in the times of the

" Rev. xi. ^.

Mofaic

Vifions of the Apocalypfe, 199

Mofaic difpenfation were the only peo- SERMt
pie that retained the knowledge of One x.
God, are employed in this prophecy to ^' '

perfonate the congregation of faithful
followers of Chrift, or thofe who are
Ghriftians indeed ^ ; as the Gentiles, on
the other hand, who in the days of Mofes
and the Law had univerfally relapfed into
idolatry, fuftain here the charafter of apo-
ftates, or thofe who have polluted the
worfhip of the one Mediator between God
and man w^ith imaginary interceflbrs of
their own. When therefore St. John
w^as prefented with a fight of the Out-
ward, that is, the greater, Court of the
Jewifli Temple, which he was com-
manded not to meajure^ as he had the
Inner or lefs Court, becaufe it \v2i% given
unto the Gentiles^ who were to profane it
iox forty and two months \ we are autho-
rized from the received application of
thefe fymbols to interpret them as de-
scribing the condition of the vifible Church

p Rev. ii. g.
4 Ot

300 General Dejtgn of the remaining

SERM. of Chrift, now given for a certain time
^' to be pofleffed by Gentiles^ or made up,
as to the larger part, of fuch as were
Chriftians only in name, unworthy of
regard in the divine eftimation, and for
this reafon forbidden to be comprehended
within the facred inclofure, marked out
by the reed"^ or meafure of St. John.

The vifions hitherto adduced have all
been objedlive to the corrupt or idola-
trous ftate of Chriftianity ; the three,
which are yet behind, were granted with
a contrary defign, to depidl the circum-
ftanccs of the chofen few, who (hould
retain their integrity amidft the general
depravity of their brethren.

And the firft that demands our atten-
tion is the Prophefying of Two Wit-
neffes in fackcloth for 1260 days ^ By
thefe we are to underftand the fincere
difciples of Chrift, who adhere unfhakcn
to the pure word of God, and conftaiitly
withftand the reigning fuperftitions, du^*

1 Rev. xi. I. f Rev. xi. 3.

ring

Vijions of the Apocalypfe, 301

ring the whole period in which they are serm,
fufFered to prevail. They are Hvo in x.
number, in allufion to the feveral pairs ""

of the fervants of God in the Old Tefla-
ment, to whom they are compared ; for,
like Mofes and Aaron in Egypt and in
the wildernefs, they Jhute t.je earth with
plagues^ and fend fire out of their month
to devour their enemies \ ov denounce the
anger of God agalnft the oppofers of the
true religion ; like Elijah and Elifhah,
who protefted againft the idolatry of
Baal, they have power tofhut heaven^ that
it rain not in the days of their prophecy \
or to withhold the bleflings of providence
from fuch as refill: their teftimony ; and
like Zorobabel and Jofhua in the Baby-
lon i(h captivity, they are the two olive-
trees^ and the two candle/licks fianding be-
fore the God of the earth ", or the great
teachers and luminaries of the Church.

* Rev. xi. 5, 6. Exod. vii, viii, ix, x. Numb,
xvi. 35. ^ Rev. xi. 6. i Kings xvii. i,

• Rev. xi. 4. Zech. iv. 2, 3.

And

SERM. And they prophefy, or preach, in fack-^
X* cloth', becaufe their office is to lament

" the defertion of their fellow Chriftians,

and to exhort them to repentance ; and
becaufe they themfelves, when about to
JiniJIj their tejiimony^ are to be perfecuted
and overcome of the Beaji, the Roman
power already defcribed^ and to be Jlai?i
by it ^^5 till at length almighty truth (hall
prevail, and genuine Chriftianity (hall
revive and be exalted, or, as it is ex-
prefled in the metaphorical language of this
book, their dead bodies (hall be raifed, and
they (hall afcend up to heaven, in the (ight
of their enemies, in a cloud"".

The fame perfons, who are here called
WitnefTes, are adumbrated anew in the
vifion of a hundred and forty-four thou-
sand, feleded out of the twelve tribes
of the children of Ifrael"" ; the tribes of
Ifrael denoting, as in other places of the
Revelation, the fociety of real Chriftians :

■ Rev.xi. 7. ^ Ver. 8. ii, la-

.' Rev. xly. I. vil. 3? 4. . -

for

Vijions of the Apocalypfe. 3O3

for thefe are charailerlzed as virgins, serm.
that is, untainted with idolatry, which, ^•
in a figurative fenfe, is fornication ; as rc^
deejned from among men^ not carried away
with the general degeneracy; and foU
lowers of the Lamb wherefoever he goeth ^,
perfevering ftedfaftly in the dodrine of
Chrift, whilft the reft of the Chriftian
world are enllaved to the worfhip of
the Beaft.

Laftly, the forlorn condition of the
Church, during the dominion of the Man
of Sin, which had been defcribed in the
two foregoing vifions, is again exprefled
by the flight and abode of the Woman
iu the Wildernefs ^ The Woman, in this
vifion, reprefents the Church of Chrift in
its purity ^ ; and as the Ifraelites, after
they had been delivered from the bon-
dage of the houfe of Egypt, were carried
into the Wildernefs, and there miracu-

^ Rev. xiv. 4.

* Rev. xii. I, 2. 5,' 6. 13, 14,

I See page 275, 276.

loufly

3^4 General Dejign of the remaining

SERM. loufly fupported; fo the Chriftian Ifrael,
after (he had efcaped the rage of her firft
enemy, the Dragon, or the perfecutmg
Pagan Emperors, was permitted to make
her efcape into a fimilar place of refuge;
where Ihe is to be nourjjhed for a time and
times and half a time^^x.\\^ti% for three
years and a half, or forty-two months, or
1260 days, the period limited by pro-
vidence for the prevalence of her ad-
verfaries.

Having thus difcovered the general
fignification of the Seven Contemporary
Vifions of the prophecy of the Open
Book; the fecret purpofe of the two that
immediately precede, namely the Inner
Court of the Temple, which St. John is
ordered to meafure% and the battle of
Michael and the Dragon concerning the
Woman ready to be delivered \ w^ili be
eafily afcertained. The Inner Court of
the Jewlfh Temple, as oppofed to the

^ Rev. xii. 6. 14. ^ Rev. xl. i.

f.^Hev. xii- 3, 4, 5. 7, 85 9. See page 247-

Outer,

Vlfms of the Apocalypfe. 305

Outer, was appropriated to the Priefts skrm.
and Levites ; and Chriftians under the ^*
nev/ covenant being faid to be Priejis to
God^^ this Inner Court, meafurcd by the
reed or rule of the Apoftle, muft mean
the primitive Church, yet unadulterated
by human ordinances, and in all refpe(5ts
conformable to the divine word. Not
that, even in thefe times of fimplicity,
the Chriftians were totally exempt from
troubles ; as is fhadovved out in the other
fynchronical vifion, in which Michael^
the tutelar Angel of the Jews ^', and now
the protector of the Chriftians, contends
with and fubdues the Dragon, or Hea-
then Emperors of Rome ; after which,
the Woman, or Chriftian Church, is
deHvered of a man-childj or gains a civil
eftabliihment among the Gentiles under
the protefkion of Conftantine '\

Befides the Two Vlfions, which are
the immediate antecedents of the Seven

g Pet. ii. 5. 9, Rev. i. 6. v. 10. xx. 6.
^ Dam. X. 21. xU. i. '- Seepages 1.276,277.

X before-*

3c6 General Dejtgn of the remaining

SERM. befcrementioned, there are other Two,
^' which are the immediate lubfequents of
the fame ; the cfFuiioii of the vials, and
the falls of the Beaft and of Babylon K
It is plain from the text itfelf, that by
the pourmg out of the Vials in general is
fignified the ruin of the antichriftian
Beaft; and that the feven Vials in par-
ticular are fo many fucceffive degrees of
that ruin. But as this part of the Open
Book, as well as that which follows, is
not yet fufticiently cleared by the com-
pletion, 1 forbear all conjectures concern-
ing it. Our buiinefs, in the examina-
tion of this obfcure volume, is, not to
prophefy, but to interpret ; not to fore-
tell things before they are fulfilled, but,
after they are fulfilled, to illuftrate the
predidion from the event. From what
we now difcern of tlie defign and pur-
j)ofe of the Apocalypfe, we fee enough
to direft our pradice, and confirm our

^- Rev, xvi. See page 248.

"faith:

V'ljhns of the ApocaJypfe. 307

faith: for the reft, we prefume not to serm.
intrude into the fecret things which belong x.
unto the Lord our God ^5 or to penetrate ^

the myfleries of the divine counfels,
which he himfelf has thought fit to en-
velop, for the prefent, in thick clouds
and darhiefs ^.

11. But the Revelation of St. John in- 1

eludes, together with the Open Book,
another volume, containing the prophecy
of the Sealed Book " ; both tomes being
fynchronical to one another '^, and, as
we (hall now fee, no otherwife differ-
ing, than that the one is chiefly con-
cerned in delineating the affairs of the
Cliriftian Church, and the other in'
defcribing the revolutions of the Roman
En^pire.

With refpedi to this latter predl-flion, it
has l;)een obferved to you once before <',
that its contents are not related, like

» Deut, xxix. 29. "" Pi', xcvii. 2.

" Seepages 236. — 250. 256. "" See page 239.

--^^ X 2 " thole

3o8 General Defign of the remalmng

SERM. thofe of the open book, in different fets
"^' of contemporaneous vifions, but follow
one another in an exaft and regular fuc-
ceiTion; and confequently, that the events
foretold are to come to pafs in the fame
train as the feveral parts Of the prophecy
are recorded in the book itfelf. By ex*
amining therefore, and in the order they
lie, the conftituent portions of this vo-
lume, and comparing them, as we go
along, with thofe vifions of the little
tome, to which they correfpond ; we
lliall obtain a general view of the vary-
ing fortunes of the Church and Empire,
from the firft foundation of Chriftianity
, to the prefent times.

The Sealed prophecy is divided into
feven periods, denoted by fevcn Seals.
Now it has been proved, that the Six
fn-ft Seals, in this Book, and the Two
Vifions of the Inner Court and of the
vidlory of Michael over the Dragon, in
the Open Book, are comprehended in

one

Fljions of the Apocalypje. 309

one and the fame lynchronifm •». But the s e r m.
Two Vifions in the Open book, it hath ^•
been alfo ihewn % are both to be inter- ^

preted of the Chriftian Church, whiKl
free from idolatrous rites, and ftiugghng
with the perfecutions of the Pagan Em-
perors : whence it follows, that, in order
to elucidate the Six firft Seals in the
Sealed book, we are of neceffity confined
to fuch fads in hiftory, as are to be
found in the three firft centuries of the
Chriftian aera, or concur with the times
of Rome Pagan.

Now it is certain, from undoubted
monuments of antiquity, that within the
period here afligned there was a feries
of events that befell the Roman Em-
pire, which anfwers with great pro-
priety to the charafters attributed to
thefe Six Seals. What can better defcribe
the genius of the Chriftian religion,
triumphing over the idol-divinities of
Heathenifm, and fpreading itfelf, through

^ See page 255,

» In the prefent Lcflure : Sec pages 304, 305.

X 3 tho

3IO General Dejtgn of the remaining

SERM. the miniftry of the Apoftles, to the re-
^' moteft corners of the world, than the
reprefentation of the perfon and dignity
of Chrift, which is given in the firft
Seal? who is pourtrayed with a how^ and
riding on a white horfe^ the ufual enfigns
of war and vidory, and a crown was
given unto him^ and he went forth con^
quering and to conquer ^ What can more
fitly denote the wars between the Jews
and Romans, in the reigns of Trajan and
Adrian, and the misfortunes which over-
took thefe two inveterate enemies of the
crofs of Chrift, than the fymbols of the
fecond Seal, which is diftinguifhed by
llaughter and the taking of peace from the
earth ^ ? Or what more jftriftly correfpond
to the want and famine that prevailed
through the Roman provinces under the
family of the Antonines, and to the me-
thods by which this great evil was mi-
tigated, if not removed, by the care of
Septimius Severus, eminent in ftory for

'^ Rev. vi. I5 2. • Ver. 3, 4.

the

Vijions of the jipocalypfe. 311

the equitable adminiftratioii of his go- serm,
vernment; than the figure of the perfoii ^•
in the third Seal, who is feea riding on
a black horfe, the known colour for dif-
trefs, and holding in his hands a Balance^
with which to weigh out to his fubjecls,
in fcanty but juft proportion, the necef-
faries of life " ? The next affiiflion, that
befell the Empire, was the united miferies
of war and ficknefs, in the times of
Decius, Gallus, and Valerian : and thefe
are fignified in the fourth Seal, where
Death is perfonified, riding on a pale
horfe, and preceded by his four harbin-
gers, or, as they are called by Ezekiel %
the four fore judgments of God, the fword
and the famine and the no fame beajl a?id
the pejlilence -\ To this calamity was fub-
fequent a new and barbarous perfecution,
which befell the Chriftians by the order
of Diocletian ; of which, as might be
expeded, we are forewarned in the fifth

" Rev. vi, 5, 6. ^' E'4ck,. xiv. 2^.

'■ Rev. vi. 7, 8.

X 4 Seal,

jiz General Dejign of the remaining

SERM. Seal, whofe diftinguifhing note is an
Altar ^ having under it the fouls of them
that were fain for the word of God\
Within no long time after this trouble,
the Roman government itfelf underwent
a change, yet more extraordinary than any
before related ; the nature of which is
with wonderful exadnefs declared, in the
fixth Seal, by the fymbol o( a great earth-
quake z, the conftant figure, both in the
Old Teftament and the New, to denote
the ruin of kingdoms, and revolutions
of ftates ; and therefore the fitteft to re-
prefent the commotions that happened
in the Empire in the days of Conftan-
tine the Great, by whom Paganifm was
finally aboliflied, and the Chriftian re-
ligion erefted in its place.

From the account here given it ap-
pears, that the Six firft Seals of this pro-
phecy were intended to mark fo many
notable events of the Roman Empire,
in its Pagan or unconverted ftate ; ac-

y Rev. vi. 9, xo, ij. l Ver. 12 — i^yi

cording

Vlfwm of the Apocalypfe. 313

cording as thefe were permitted to promote s e r m«
en^retard the interefts of the Chrifl'faa ^*
religion, then juft beginning to illuminate *"

a benighted world. In the mean while,
a way was prepared, through the care
of providence, for the gradual publica-
tion of the gofpel ; which, after being
long nurtured in the fchool of perfecu-
tion, was enabled by the fuperior power
of its truth to conciliate and convert its
oppofers, and at length, under the au-
fpices of Conftantine, to eftablifli itfelf,
in profperity and purity, throughout the
provinces of the Roman Empire,

But the days of reftored tranquillity
were foon obfcured by new clouds of
forrow. For the Church, fecurc of a
flable fettlement in the Empire, now
become Chriftian, and having no longer
to contend with enemies from without,
began, according to the ufual tendency
of human affairs when deftitute of a di-
vine direftion, to teerr; with diforders
from within. And although in thefe

times

314 General Dejign of the remaining

SERM. times of degeneracy there were never
^' wanting a few upright Chriftians, who
like living embers kept the dying a(hes
from being quite extinguifhed (as is in-
timated in the vifion, interpofed between
the fixth and feventh Seals, of the Virgin-
company of a hundred and forty-four
thoufand ^) ; yet the greater part, but too
vifibly, departed foon and wide from the
original terms of the gofpel-covenant,
and deflefled from the ftrait way that
leadeth unto life into the oblique paths
of idolatry and fuperftition. This mifer-
able ftate is foretold in a variety of ap-
pofite and affefting emblems in the Seven
Contemporary Vifions, fo often mention-
ed, of the Open Book : and the fame
unhappy appearance of things, together
w^ith the calamities which at the fame
period of time were fuffered to defolate
the Roman government both in the Eaft
and Weft, is again deUneated in that part

» Rev. ch. vii.

Fijions of tht Apocalypfe. 31^

of the Sealed Book we are now to con- serm.
lider, the Seventh, or laft, Seal. ^•

That Seventh Seal, we muft here re-
peat, is diftributed into ieven portions,
each noted by the founding of a Trumpet ^; '
and fix of thofe Trumpets contemporize
with the Seven Synchronical Vifions,
before enumerated, of the Open Book"":
but the Seven Vifions, as has been al-
ready proved, are all to be explained of
events falling within the times of Papal
or Antichriftian Rome ^ and therefore
the Six Trumpets muft alfo be interpreted
of events coincident with the fame times.

Now here again, by examining with at-
tention thofe parts of the Roman hiftory,
which immediately followed the great
revolution in religion, mentioned above ;
we fhall find a fuflScient variety of well-
attefted fa6ls, that correfpond to the pro-
phetical defcriptions, comprehended in
the remaining part of this fealed volume.

• See page 238, ^ See page 252, 253.

4 The

3 1 6 General Dejign of the remaining

SERM. The chief and memorable afflidion, with
X. which the Romans were vifited after the

' reign of Conftantine, was the irruption

of the Goths and Vandals and other bar-
barians into the Latin or Weftern
Empire : and the moft ftriking circum*
fiances, with which this amazing de-
lolation was accompanied, from the be-
ginning to the end of it, are recorded
in the Four firfl: Trumpets of the Seventh
Seal. The founding of the Firft Trum-
pet is followed widi Hail and Fire
caft upon the Earth ^: which has been
explained of the fir't incurfion of the
Northern nations, v ho fell at once like
a hail-florm on the mod fertile qf the
Roman territories, fpreading ruin and de-
ftruftion as they came, towards the end
of the fourth century, after the death of
Theodofius the Great. At the founding
,of the Second Trumpet a burning Moun-*
tain is caft into the Sea ' : preluding, as
is fuppofed, to the befieging and burning
r^ Rev. viii. 6, 7. * Ver. 8, 9.

Flfions of the Apocalypfe. - 317

of Rome by Alaric, general of the Goths, s e r m,
When the Third Trumpet founds, a Star ^*
falls upon the Rivers ^ : and this type
was verified, when Genferic, the Vandal,
invaded the Roman provinces, and the
great body of the Empire was fhared
into ten feparate kingdoms, according to
the exprefs predictions of Daniel and St.
John. In the Fourth Trumpet the hif-
tory of the Latin Empire is carried on
to its extinftion : this is prefigured by
an EcUpfe of the Sun^ Moon^ and Stars ^
darkening the Roman firmament 2; and
was then fulfilled, when all remaining
authority at Rome was fubverted, and
the Imperial City, no longer the Queen
of Nations and Miftrefs of the World,
was reduced to an inferior dukedom, and
fubjefted to the new Exarchate, erefted
at Ravenna.

By thefe fteps the Latin or C^farean
government, or that which letted^ was

{ Rev, viii, xo, ii* s Ver. 12.

tahn

21 8 General Dejign of the remamng

SERM. talzen out of the way^ -, and what is of
more importance to remark, by the fame
degrees as the Imperial power thus funk
to its depreffion, the Papal found means
to rife to the oppofite point of exaltation.
But our prefent employment is not fo
jnuch to advert to the methods by which
the Roman Pontiff advanced to domi-
iiion, as to purfue the fequel of calami-
ties, which, after the fall of the Wefterri
Empire, defolated the Eaftern, or that of
^he Greeks. And for a defcription oi
thefe, we muft have recourfe to the-fol-
layving Trumpets, diftinguiflied, on ac-
count of the duration and kind of thofe
.calamities, by the name of Woes K

The mofi: remarkable event, fubfequent
to the demolition of the Weflern go-
vernment, was the fudden rife of the
Arabians or Saracens ^ who, feduced by the
great impoftor Mahomet, over-ran and
iiarraffed the Roman territories in the Eaft.
And to thefe ravagers the charaders of

> 2 Their, ii. 7. ' Rev. viii. 13.

th€

Vljions of the Apocalypfe: 319

the Fifth Trumpet, or fir ft Woe •", have serm<
been (hewn to aiifwer. The flihe pro- ^*
phet himfelf is typified by a Star fallen
from heaven ^ : the key of the bottomlefs pit^
where Satan and his evil angels are
bound "^, is given to him ; which pit
being opened by this grand deceiver, a
fmoke^ or falfe religion, ifliies from it ;
and out oftht fmoke Locufts come upon the
earth \ This fpecies of animals is em-
pjoyed in the Old Teftament to fignify
the people, who invaded the Ifraelites
from the Eaft°3 and is therefore fitly
ufed in this place for the Saracens, who
attacked the Romans in the fame quarter
of the globe. They have power to tor»
ment mankind for a certain feafon, but
not to kill themp; which was literally
the cafe with the Arabian conquefts here
foretold : and their victories are afcribed

^ Rev. ix, I — 13. ^ Rev. Ix, i.

"^ Rev. XX. I, 2, 3, ^ Rev. ix. 2, 3.

! J^<Jges yii. 12. ^ Rev. ix. 5.

220 General Dejign of the remaining

SERM. to their (kill in fighting % which was
notorioufly the manner in which the re-
ligion of Mahomet was propagated through
the world.

To the Saracen Empire fucceeded the
Tetrarchies or four Sultanies of the
Turks ; by whom the Grecian or Eafterii
government was totally deftroyed. Thefe
are emblematized in the Sixth Trum*
pet, or fecond Woe, by four Horfemen
loafed from Euphrates ' ; which river was
the eaftern boundary both of the land
of promife, and of the Roman domi*
iiions, and from whence the Turks or
Ottomans, paffing over into Europe, were
made the inftruments of divine ven-
geance to punifli the Chriftians for their
idolatry. I have had occafion to mention
in another place ', that the Sixth Trum-
pet in this fealed volume coincides with
the Seven Vials in the open book, by the
pouring out of which the tyranny of the
Bjeaft is to be brought to its end : and as

« Rev. ix. 7, 8, 9. I Ver. 13—21.

!.S?e page 255, 256. ^

\ that

ViJlOns cf the Apocalypfe. 321

that Beaft ftill exifts, though with evi- serm,
dent marks of a decline, we muft wait, ^'
for the further clearing of this part of the
Revelation, till Time, the great expounder
of prophecy, fhall help us to a difcovery.
Thus much however we may perceive
at prefent of the general defign both of
this, and of the next or Seventh Trumpet,
that they were intended to inform us, the
day will furely come, when the yet re-
maining power of the Beaft fhall be totally
diflblved, and, all the enemies of the true
religion being removed, the kingdoms of
this world pall become the kingdoms of
Chri/l, and Hejhall reign for ever and ever ^^

III. And now to look back, and re*
capitulate, in few words, the fubftance of
what has been faid concerning the Apo-
calyptic vifions. We may obferve, that
the Revelation of St. John was intended to
exhibit, in one uninterrupted ftrain of
fymbols, a view of the conftitution and
\ Rev. X. 7. xi. 14, 15.

Y fates

322 General Tfejign of the remamng

SERM' fates of the Chriftian Church, through
X. its feveral periods of propagation, cor-

" ruption, and amendment, from its begin-

ning to its confummatlon in glory* la
the firft of thefe three periods it is re-
prefented in its primeval ftate of purity,
rejedling all communion with the unholy
rites of Paganifm, and big with the defigu
of converting the world to itfelf ; the
enemies that oppofed it being the Roman
Heathen Emperors. In the fecond period,
now free from external troubles and with
the civil powers on its fide, it labours
with internal maladies; debafing the fim-
plicity of its worfhip wuth the invoca-
tion of Saints and Images, and perfe-
euting the pious few who dare to reclame
ap-ainft fuch innovations; whilft In the
mean time the Roman Empire itfelf ex-
periences the anger of offended heaven,
firft from the irruptions of the barbarous
nations in the Weft, and then from the
conquefts of the Saracens and of the

Turks

njtons of the Apocalypfe. 32^

Turks in the Eaft. In the third or hift s e r m<j
period, which is yet future, it is foretold, ^'•
that the adverfaries of the Church of "
Chrift fhall be completely fubdued 3 all
the ends of the "World pall remember them*
felves and be turned to the Lord"^; the
Saints fhall rife and reign with Chrift ;
then Cometh the end^^, even the general
refurredion and judgement of mankind 5
with which cataftrophe this majeftic
fcenery is clofed.

To the whole fcheme of interpretation
here given it may be objefted, that the
fymbols throughout the Revelation are fa
vague and indeterminate, as not to admit
of any precife or certain meaning; that
in fadl the moft oppo(ite fignifications have
been affixed to them by different expoli-
tors ; and confequently, we can have no
reafonable affurance that the particular
one, which we have efpoufed, has at all
a "better claim to be received than any of

° Pf. xxii. 27. ^ I Cor. xv. 24.

Y % thofei

324 General Defgn of the remalnmg

SERM. thofe which have been rejeded. But
^* the fmalleft degree of refieftion on the
" method here purfucd, of opening the

prophecy before us, will convince you
that the objeftlon, in the prefent cafe, is of
no force. The firft thing required in
expounding the Apocalypfe was to fettle
with exadnefs the order and connexion
of the conftituent parts; and that not by
the help of an arbitrary hypothecs, taken
up at pleafure, but from principles, ex-
ifting in the work itfelf: the next ftcp
was to diftribute the feveral vifions, agree-
ably to this arrangement, into different
fets, diftingulfhed by the name of Syn- '
chronifms. Now the very nature of thefc
Synchronifms requires, that, in looking
out for f<i6ls to anfwer them, our fearch
be rcftrained to particular periods of time,
beyond and out of which we are not at
liberty to recede. The fadts adduced,
which happened within thofe periods, iire
proved to be genuine from the evidence

Vijions of the Apocalypfe. 325

of unfufpedled hiftory : the fymbols cor-
refpond to the fa6ls \ and the fafts, iti
their turn, lUuftrate the fymbols : all
which circumftances laid together leave
no room to doubt of the foundnefs and
legitimacy of the interpretation derived
from them, and exclude the poffibility
of thofe precarious and groundlefs folu-
tions, which have difgraced the fyftems
of former commentators.

The following words, which in their
original application were ufed by the very
learned Founder of the prefent Ledure,
in fupport of his own explanation of the
book of Job, are fo ftridly true of
the interpretation, here adopted, of the
book of the Revelation, that I cannot
better illuftrate the fuperior excellence of
that interpretation, than by fubjoining
them as the beft conclufion to thefe re-
marks. «« The oppofers of Mr. Mede
" would have done their duty better, and
«^ have given the learned and impartial
¥3 " public

3z6 General Defign of the remaining

5ERM. *^ public more fatisfadioii, if, inftead of
^' *^ labouring to evade two or three iiide-
'' pendent arguments, they had, in any
*^ reafonable manner, accounted, How his
^' interpretation, which they affe£t to re-
*' prefent as vifionary and groundlcfs,
^' fhould be able to lay open and unfold
*^ the whole conduit of the Revelation
*' upon one entire, perfefl:, elegant, and no-
*^ ble plan, which does more than vulgar
^^ honour to the writer who compofed
^« it : and th:u it fhould, at the fame
** time, be as ufeful in defining the Parts,
^' as in developing the VVhole ; fo that
'^ particular texts, which, for want of
^^ fjfficient light, had hitherto been an
^' eaiy prey to critics from every quarter,
<* are now no longer affefted by the com-
^^ mon opprobrium affixed to this book,
^^ of its being a nofe of^vax^ made to fuit
"-' every religious fyftem. All this the
'' hypothefis (as it is called) here adopted
f* has been able to perform, in a book

^{ become,

V'ijions of the ApooaJypfe. ■ 927

^^ become, through time and negligence, serm,
*< fo defperately perplexed, that com- ^*
*^ mentators have chofen, as the eafier
*' talk, rather to find their own notions
<* in it than to feek out thofe, of the
<< author x."

- D. L. Book VI. Sea. ii. at the end.

Y 4 5 E R-

V i

[ 328 ]

■» II II »^i»»«— — — I ■mi Ml III I ^—^M— — ^M— ^— — — ^11-1^— ^.ap,

SERMON XI.

Hiftorical View of the Corruptions
of Popery. i.^Vv^w:.

—~- . , - ^ ' ' iJIW- !' ■ '-

Acts xxvi. 32.

Saying none other things than thofe^ which
the Prophets — did fay JJoould come.

TH E prophecies of Daniel, St. Paul,
and St. John, though fingly of
great weight, receive additional force, if
brought near and illuftrated by each others
Having already examined them feparately
and apart, let us now confider them to«
gether, and colled the evidence that
arifes, when they are taken in one view,
and form an entire anc} pcrfip£l whole.

From

Hi/lorical Fiew, &c. 329

From the moft curfory furvey of the serm,
three predidllons it is evident, that the ^^'
fame fcheme and conftitution of things,
the fame perfons, events, and times, the
origin, continuance, and defl:rudlion,of the
fame tyrannical power (which power by
Daniel is noted by the appellation of the
Little Horn, by St, Paul is denominated
the Man of Sin, and by St. John is brand-
ed with the titles of the Bea/l arid the
Falfe Prophet) are diftinctly foretold in
all. If Daniel defcribes the kingdom, in
which the Little Horn was to arife, by
fuch emblems as can belong to none but
the Roman * ; the fame emblems, to pre-
figure the kingdom of the Beaft and the
Falfe Prophet, are alfo employed by St.
John^; from whom we further learn,
that his appropriated place of refidence is
the city of Rome ^ If Daniel reftrains
the ^ fovereignty of this Roman power to

Dan. ii. 40 — 44.. vil. 7, 8. 19, 10^ 23, 24. xi. 36.
Rev. xili. I, 2. 11, 12.

f Rev. xvii. 9. j8.

the

^^o Hiflon'cal View of

8ERM. the European or Weftern part of the Em-
^^' pire, after it was divided into ten (hares ^ ;
the fame reftri£lion is intimated in one of
the Epiftles of St. Paul % and is more ex-
plicitly declared by the beloved difciple
in the Apocalypfe K If Daniel reprefents
the nature of this ufurped dominion as
different from every other s ; St^ Paul
and St. John inftrudt us, that thi^ diver-
iity confifts in its being a fpiritual, not
a civil, dominion^; which is therefore
to be fought for, not in Heathen, but in
Chriftian Rome. If the inflances, in
which this fpiritual dominion is exerted,
according to Daniel, be chiefly thefe, af-
piring to fupreme and uncontroulable au-
thority over the inhabitants of the earth,
affefting divine titles and honours, en-
joining the worfhip of Demons and de-
parted Saints, prohibiting marriage, work-
ing falfe miracles, and perfecuting and

•^ Dan. vii. 7. ao. 24. "" 2 TlicfT. ii. 6, 7, 8,

^ Rev. xvii. 12. & Dan. vii. 23, 24.

^ 2 Tlicff. ii. 4. Rev. xiii. u.

killing

the Corruptions of Popery. 331

killing thofe who oppofe its claims^; serm»
the fame particulars are related, and with ^^'
new additions and explications, in the
writings of St. Paul ^ and St, John ^ If
the duration of this ecclefiaftical polity be
limited by Daniel to a time and times and
the dividifig of time"^ ; the fame duration
is exprefl'ed, and in a variety of phrafeSj^
by St. John ; by whom the reign of the
Beaft is fixed to a iifne and times and half
a time-, or to three years and a half, oi^
forty-two months^ or twelve hundred and
fixty days'". And laflly, if the demolition
of this extraordinary polity be denounced
by the prophet of the Old Teftament ° ;
the fame interefling event is promifed by
the two Apoftles of the new ^. Such a
number of coincidencies, all lb ftrange

^ Dan. vii. 8. 20, 21. 25. xl. 36, 37, 38, 39.

^ 2 ThefT. ii. 3 — Ti. i Tim. iv. i — 6.

^ Rev. xiii. 6, 7. 12 — 17. xvii. 6.

^ Dan. vii. 25.

" Rev. xi, 2, 3. xii. 6. 14. xiii. ^.

^ Dan. ii. 44. vii. 26.

I 2 Their, ii. 8. Rev. xviii. 2. 10,

and

33? Hiflorlcal Vkw of

SERM. and unufual in their kinds, to be found in
^^* the compofitions of three perfons, living

^ in different and one in a very remote pe-

riod, cannot fairly be afcribed to any
other caufe, than to the impulfe of the
Jelf-Jame Spirit \ who taught them all
things % which it was necefiary fnould be
communicated for the admonition of the
Church of Chrift, upon whom the ends of
the world fhould cotne '.
• But allowing the prediftions thus uni-
formly to agree, a queftion naturally arifes,
what proofs are we able to bring, that
all, or any of them, have, in fome rea-
fonable fenfe, been fulfilled? This queftion
hath been anfwered imperfectly already,
whilil: we were furveying the contents of
each prediction by itfelf : it will now be
expedient to difcufs the matter at large,
and to point out to you the fa£ts, from
' whence we are led to conclude, that all
the prophecies under confideration, as to

^ I Cor, xii. 1 1. ^-> -^i J^jirV'^iV^ 26.

' I Cor. X. II. ;;r:7.

the

the Corruptions of Popery, j^^

the greater part, have, at this very time, s e r m-
received their completion, ^^*

Now of the charafters, recorded in *

Scripture as the undoubted marks of
Antichrift, many at kaft have been
ihewn to belong, exclufively, to the ty-
ranny now exifting in Papal Rome.
For, firft of all, this power is certainly
a Roman one; fecondly, it is confined
to the limits of the Latin or Weft-
ern Empire ; thirdly, it arofe among the
ten kingdoms, into which that Empire
was parted by the northern barbarians;
fourthly, its throne or feat is in the city"
of Rome ; fifthly, it is a Chriftian power;
and, fixthly, it is difcriminated from all
others, by being of the Ipiritual or eccle-
fiaftic kind ^ Thefe are circumftances fo
plainly realized in that part of Chriften-
dom which is fubjeft to the Roman pon-

^' Set the ■ eleventh of Bifhop Kurd's Sermons on
the Prophecies ; Where the prophetic chara6ters of
An 'chrift, above defcribed, are fhewn, and in a very-
fa -^.ory way, to be fairly applicable to the
C:,:;: :h of Rome.

tiff.

3j4 Hi/lorical View of

SERM. tlfF, that it is not poffible, by any art of
fubtlety of our adverfaries, they can be
evaded or denied.

But the grand and decifive argument to
demonftrate, that the Apoftafy of Papal
Rome is indeed foretold in the facred ora-
cles, is derived from the correfpondence
between the feveral acls of power af-
cribed to Antichrift in the prophecies^
and thofe claimed and exercifed by the
ruling head of the Roman Communion.
Thefe therefore it will be our care to
draw out at length, and, without adhering
to the ftri£l order of time, to fpecify the
corruptions, in do^rine and worihip?
avowedly introduced by Popery into the
fyftem of Chriftianity, by which the fim-
pleft and pureft of all religions has been
difhonoured, and the falutary purpofes,
in great meafure, obftruded, for which
it was granted by an all-gracious provi-
dence to mankind.

I. In the primitive Church, the parity

of Bifliops was admitted without excep-

4 tion,

the Corruption of Popery. n^^

tlon, and no one had any pre-emuience serm.
over the reft, but what arofe from the ^i*
dignity of the See to which he was '
elefted. On this account the Bifliops of
Rome, which had fo long been the feat of
government and the Metropohs of the
Weftern world, were entitled to fome de-
gree of refpe£l over and above what was
due to prelates of inferior dlftri£ts; and
the fame honour was paid to the Bifliops
of Antioch and Alexandria, as rulers of
the earlleft of the Chriftian churches, and
afterwards to the Bifhops of Conftanti-
nople, when the Imperial refidence was
transferred to that city. But the dif-
tinition of rank and precedence, thus
tacitly allowed to thefe four prelates, was
not thought to imply a diftindion of
power and authority : They, with others
of their brethren, were equally bound by
the laws and edi6ls of the Emperors ; all
were alike fuppofed to have received their
funftion from the appointment of Chrift
alone, and not from any conceffions of the

fucceifcr

XI.

3j6 Hljlorlcal View of

SERM. fucceffor of St. Peter; and when, fo early
as the third century, the Roman pontiff
prefumed to domineer above his fellows,
the attempt was treated by Cyprian, Bi-
fhop of Carthage, with the utmoft fcorn
and indignation.

It fortuned, towards the clofe of the
following century ", that a law was pro-
pofed by Valentin ian, and accepted by the
unwary prelates in terms of approbation,
that all difputes, which might happen to
arife among the members of the Epifco-
pal order, (hould be referved for the hear-
ing of the Bifhop of Rome : the reafon
affigned was, that religious differences
might not be carried before profane or
fecular judges ; and probably, the law it-
felf was merely temporary, at leaft was
never defigned to extend beyond the fub-*
urbicarian provinces, the only ones with-
in the jurifdidion of the Romifh See.

^ About the year 372. See Mofheim's Eccle-
fiaftical Hiftory, tranilated into Englifl-i by Archibald
Maclaine, D. D. vol. I. p. 287. note «.

From

the Corruptions of Popery. ^^H

PvoTCi this circumftance we may date .the serm.
origin of that fpiritual defpQtifm, which xi.
the Popes found means to eroS, and to *— ~"~^
vvhich all Europe was induced to con-
form with an unlimited obedience. It is
curious to trace the fteps, by which {o
w^onderful an influence over the minds of
men was efFefted.

After the pafRng of the above law, it
became no unufual thing for fubordinate
prelates, when invaded in their rights, to
have recourfe for affiftance to the Roman
pontiff; who, far froni difpleafed at fuch
sin application, and always deciding for
thofe who fled to him for protection, took
iin,eafy occafion from thence to increafe
his ow^n authority. The declining ftate.
of the Emperors in the Weft, added to
their abfence from the Imperial cit}% w^as ^
a new opportunity offered to the Popes to
govern there without controiil : and the
quarrels, fo famous in hiftory, between
the bifhops of Rome and Conftantinople^
the one aiming at fupremacy, the other
Z more

338 Hijloncal View of

SERM. more modeftly labouring to prefcrve his
'^^' independence, and which did not end but
~ with the total feparation of the Latin and

Greek Churches, are an ample proof that
the fame endeavours to gain an afcendance
were not wanting in the Eaft. But the
acceffions of power, hitherto acquired,
were much too fcanty to fatisfy the grow-
ing ambition of thefe ghoftly rulers. Not
content with the advantages, fo fraudu-
lently obtained, over their brethren of
the hierarchy, they afferted next that, as
vifible heads of the churchy their autho-*
rity was Jfuperior to that of ail fynods and
councils, whether provincial or general %
none of which, it was pretended, could
legally be convened, but by their per-
miffion ; and whofe determinations were
of no validity, unlefs inforced and ratified
by their fentenee. It was an eafy ftep
after this to proceed to whatever higher
degrees of arrogance they pleafed ; to
. aflame the difpofal of ecclefiaftical offices
«and honours of every kind; to demand

the Corruptions of Popery. 339

an exemption, for themfelves, and for all s e r m,
the orders of the clergy, from fecular ^^'
juftice ; to promote appeals to their own
courts ; to exalt their own decifions, and
thofe of the canons, above the injundions
of Scripture ; and, in a word, to afl: In
all refpedls as divinely-appointed Mo-
harcbs of the Church of Chrift. Nothing
remained to render the fyftem of tyranny
complete, but to exert the fame tranfcen-
dent prerogative over princes and fover-
eigns, as they already exercifed over the
bifhops and clergy ; from the ceremony-
permitted to them of crowning to infer
the right of making kings, of abfolving
fubjefls from their allegiance, of trying,
condemning and dethroning refradlory
monarchsj and transferring their fceptrcs
to new mafters more fubfervient to their
will : Nor was it long before the ill-judged
munificence of the Emperors, on whom
till now they had been dependent, enabled
them to reach this fublimeft pinnacle of
Z 2 prieftly

!:46 Hijioncal View of

SERM. prieftly pride, and, in confequence of it
^^- power derived to them from Jefus Chrift,
to degrade to the lowell aels of humilia-^
tion, to excomnnunicate, and to depofe
their benefactors. The execution of this
laft impiety, which had often been me-
ditated before, was kept for the times of
the profligate Hlldebrand, better Known
by the name of Gregory VII; whofe po-
litical difcerhment and intrepid temper,
unchecked by any reftrahits from moral
principles, qualified him in an eminent
manner to advance the Papal fupfeiiiaCy
to its greateft height. And to this new
fpecies of opprefllon, wdiich was hereaftel-
to have place in the Chriflian Church,
the prophets are thought to prelude *
Vvhen they hold out to us x^ntichrift, as
having a mouth /peaking great things^ a?jd
a took more Jlont than his fellcws^ and think-
ing to chafige times and laws ^ ; as oppojing
and magnifying himfef above all that h

^ Dan. vii. ao. 2jj.

£al/fd

the Ccrrtiptions of Popery. 341

called God or that is worjhiped ' \ and as serm.
caufjig ally both fmall and greats rich and ^^'
poor^ free a?id bond, to receive his tnark in '
their foreheads \

* 2 ThefT. ii. 4.

^ Rev. xiii. i6.-- Among other appellations, afTumed
by the Bifliop of Rome, that of Vicar of God h one \
hy which hath been ufually undcrftood his unwarrant-
able claim to exercife all thofe a£\s of fpiritual fove-
rcignty, which are the peculiar province of the Supreme
Being. I rather conceive that this title was originally
intended, not as fignificative of honour, but of humility.
The term is borrowed from the Roman Law. Slaves,
out of the little peculium they vyere allowed to have of
their own, very frequently bought another Have, who
was fubje£l to them, as they themfelves were fubje£l
to their proper mafters. Such a flave of a flave, or
fervus fervi^ was called f^iiarius : fo the word is ufed
by Horace,

*' Sive VicARius eft, qui fervo paret, utl mos
*' Vefter ait, feu Confer vus." 2 Serm. VII. 28.
and by Martial,

'^^** Effe fat eft Scrvum; jam nolo Vicarius efTe."
^Ai^\^Aa Lib. II. Epig. 18.

and^ in allufion to this fenfe, the Pope fometimes con-
dcfcends to ftilc himfelf Vicarius, and at other times,
$ervus Servorum, Dei fc. Both expreftions are fyno-
fjymous, and one of them explains the other.

Z 3 2; The

342 Hljlorical View of

SERM. 2. The Redeemer of mankind, before

^^^- he afcended to heaven from whence eom-
" paffion to a miferable world had brought

him down, delivered to his difciples a
Rule of Faith, which was by them com-
mitted to writing in the New Teftament,
and by which the moft ordinary capa-
city may be furnifhed with that wifdoni
that will make him wife unto falvation z.
To this rule, which in the ftrifteft fenfe
may be called infallible, we Proteftants
profefs folely to adhere ; fo that whatever
propofition is not, either exprefsly, or by
fair and logical confequence, deduced
from it, ought not of neceffity to be made
an article of a Chriflian's creed. But a
rule, fo direct as this, was but little fuitcd
to the crooked politics of the church of
Rome : which therefore, in defiance of a
pofitive cornmand % has added to the doc-
trines of Qod's book a long lift of others,
handed down, as is alleged, by Tradition,

^- 2 Tim. iii. 15.

* Dent, xii. 32. Rev, xxii. 18, 19.

through

the Corruptions of Popery. o^j

through a conrfe of feventeen hundred serm.
years, and to be received with the fame xi.
reverence as holy Scripture. If it be ~

alked, how are we to know that thefe
traditional doftrines have, none of them,
been changed or mutilated, in paffing
through fo many hands ; we are anfwered,
they have always been admitted as ge-
nuine by the judgement of the Catholic
Church, and that judgement, in matters
of faith at leaft, is intaliible. If we go on
to afk, in what part of the Catholic
Church this fame infallibility refides ;
fome of their writers tell us, it is in the
Pope, others in a general council, a third
fort, in the Pope and a general council
together ; whilft others maintain, that it
is difFufed through all the members of
the Romifh communion, and others again,
that it exifts in the colleftive body of
Chriftians, wherever fituated in the world.
When Proteftants are urged for a reajon
of the hope that is in them^^ they refer with

\ I Pet. ill. 15.

Z 4 confidence

244 Hijlor'ical View of

^ERM. confidence to the written word, which
^^ is the only authorized ftandard of theo-

^ ' logical truth, and comprehends whatever
is required from a Cliriilian either to be-
lieve or do. V\ hen Papifts to this on^
ginal and all-fufficient ruie would add
another, derived from Tradition, which
they reGo\Timend to us as more complete,
and alfo as infallible ; w^e reply, that all
Tradition is uncertain in its nature ; and
on the boafled quality of infallibility we
can have no rehance, fince the very
Church, which claims to be in poffeffion
of it, has never yet been able to deter-
mine where it is to be found.

If the Church of Rome be thus cul-
pable in arrogating to itfelf Infallibility,
It is equally to be blamed for affuming
another divine attribute, the Forgivenefs
of Sins. The conditions, on v^hich this
invaluable privilege was granted to thofe,
who were converted from a ftate of hea-
thenlfm to Chriftianlty, were Repentance
toivard Gody and Faith toward our herd

the Corruptions of Popery. ,^ 24 c

jefus Chrijl' y as to fuch as are already ^erm^
profefled Chriftians, and through infirmity xi,
or furprize haye fliUen from their inter ' ^
grity, they are Faith and renewed Obe-
dience for the future. To publifh thefe
offers of mercy to an unbeheving and
guilty world, was the great bufinefs of
the Apollles' miniftry ; when, in virtue
of a commiffion from their Lord and
Mafter, they went forth, preaching peace by
Jefus Chrifl ^, and proclamed to Jew and
Gentile the glad tidings of that religion,
according to the terms of which, as then
declared by them on earthy every man's
fentence, whether of acquittal or con-
demnation, would be finally decided in
heaven ^. Fu rther power of abfolving and
retaining fins the Apoftles themfelves had
pot ; ^nd w^3 have no reafon to conclude
that greater authority in fo important a
point is conferred on their lefs enlightened
fucceflbrs. Yet the Church of Rome,

<= Afts XX. 21. ^ A6ts X. 36.

f Matth. xvi. ^g. Jp^n xx« a 3.

with

346 Hljlortcal View cf

8 ER M. with a boldnefs that is beyond conception,
XI. has dared to alter the original conditions;

""""""""""^ of acceptance promulged in the New
Teftament, and to impofe others of its
own, of which it is hard to fay whether
they be more repugnant to fenfe or ho-
nefty. Inftead of that pious forrow,
which flows from the love of God and
worketh repentance tofalvatioh not to be re-
fented of^ they have fubflituted what they
iCall Attrition, or the fervile fear of pu-
nifhment, accompanied with Abfolution,
if it can be had, as fuificient for the re«
•miffion of the greateft guilt, Inftead of
-that amendment of life, which both
'Scripture and reafon affirm is the one
thing needful to regain the favour of our
-offended maker, they teach that Confef-
fion to a Priefl, together with an arbi-
trary penance injoined by him, is of am-
ple merit to atone for the breaches of the
-moral law. In derogation of the puri-
fying efficacy of the blood ofChriJl^ which,

^ 2 Cor. vii. 10.

the Corruptions of Popery, 347

as the Apoftle fpeaks, ckanjeth us from all serm,
fin^^ and difcharges all its flains, they xi.
pretend that fouls in a feparate ftate are '

purged from the defilements contrafted
here, by the fire of a fibulous Purgatory.
And by the fcandalous dodlrine, that par-
don for. every iniquity, whether com-
mitted or defigned, may be purchafed for
money, and the more fcandalous pradtice
of expofing Indulgences to open fale, they
have evacuated the obligations to that
holinefs^ without which no man fhall fee
the Lord^, Who now that refleds on
fuch an impious invafion of the preroga-
tive belonging to God alone, and at the
fame time remembers what is faid in the
fure word of prophecy ' of the great cor-
ruption which was to happen in after-
times in the Church of Chrift, can help
being perfuaded that the inflances now
adduced were principally in the minds of
the infpired penmen, when they defcribe

8 I John i. 7.

^ Heb. xii, 14,

[ 2 Pet. i. 190

Anti

34? Hlflorical f'iezv of

sERM. Antlchrlft as /peaking marvellous things
^?« agalnjl the God of Gods^ ; fiting as god

'^ in the Temple ofGod^ Jhewing himfelf that

he is god ^ ; and opening his mouth in blaf-
phemy againjl God^ to blafpheme his name ^ ?
3. No fooner had the Chriftians emer-
ged from a ftate of perfecution under the
Heathen Emperors, than con^paring, as
was natural, their prefent and paft con-
ditions, they were led to contemplate
^ with an uncommon degree of approbation
the charaders of thofe holy men, who by
the purity of their Hves and the conftancy
of their fufFerings even unto death had
given the moft honourable atteftation to
the truth and excellence of their religion,
and had been the inftruments of procuring
for them much of the peace and fecurity
they now enjoyed. Gratitude, affeclion,
every virtuous movement of the mind,
concurred to promote fo jufi: an efteem
for perfons fo hidily deferving ; and many

^ Dan. xi. 36, '2 Their, ii, 4.

^ JlcVo xiii. 6.

were

the Corrupt ms of Popery^ 34^

Vvere incited to emulate fuch glorious ex- s e r m.
amples, and to 6e followers of them who ^i.
through faith and patience inherited the pro- '

Piifes"". But the confines of right and
wrong, like thofe of light and (hade, are
feparated by narrow and almoft imper-*
ceptible limits ; and from a due regard to
an extravagant veneration the tranfition
was too eafy. The Fathers of the fourth
century, inflead of moderating this grow-
ing evil, inflamed it by their indifcretions.
The tombs of the primitive Chriftians
were chofen, as fit places for the ex-
ercifes of devotion : the graves, where
their bodies had been depofited, were
fought with an over-curious diligence:
viiions and revelations were called in to
<lifcover their relics, which were preferved
with the inofl anxious care, as never-
failing remedies againfl the power of evil
fpirits and natural difeafes : and as the
Gentiles from honouring their Heroes
exalted them into Demons or inferior di*

" Heb. vi. 12.

vinities,

250 Hijlorical View of

jSERM. vinities, fo Chriftians, from the fame pnn«.
^^' ciple of fuperflition, operating in fimilar

' " circumftances, advanced their Martyrs

into heaven, and invoked them as the
beftovvers of prefent and future bleffings.
All thefe errors were foftered and en-
creafed by the bigotry of the Church of
Rome; in which real Angels and fifti-*
tious Saints are equally addreflfed, as pa-
trons and advocates of mankind ; and the
interceffion of the Virgin Mary in par-
ticular is fupplicated, as even more avail-
able than that of her holy child J ejus ^;
Among other inftances of unlawful ado-
ration, invented by the fame idolatrous
fociety, we may reckon here that moft
{hocking and abfurd one, which is paid
to the bread and wine in the celebration
of the Eucharifl: : this pradlice was ori-
ginally begun on an opinion, firft con-
ceived by an enthufiaft of the ninth cen-
tury, that the elements after confecratioil
are tranfubitantiated, or changed into the

^ A^s iv. 27.

body

the Corruptions of Popery, 25^

body and blood of Chrift ; and fuch a doc- s e r m.
trine, however pofitively contradicted by ^^^
the palpable teftimony of fenfe, being caU
culated to infpire ideas of awe and horror,
which are always wanted in a folfe re-
ligion, was ereded in the thirteenth cen-
tury into an article of faith, not to be
refufed under pain of damnation. The
Form of worfhip was equally reprehen-
fible with the Objects of it. Images and
pidlures of thofe, who had acquired the
fame of a lingular piety, were early madej
and almoft as early looked up to as ani-
mated with the prefence of the perfons
whom they refembled : and although this
fpecies of religious homage was oppofed^
and with various fuccefs, for 120 years,
it afterwards obtained the fandion of
the fecond council of Nice, and has been
continued (ince, without interruption,
among the votaries of the Papal See. It
is fuperfluous to add, that all the obfer-
vances, mentioned here, are not only
not Commanded in Scripture, but are in
'^'^''' 4 direa

^^t Htjlorkal View of

SERM. dil-ed violation of it ; inconfiftent with
^i- the fervices we owe to God, even the
Father, and irrecdncileable with that ex-
clufive regard we are enjoined to pay to
the mediation of his Son. Yet, unfcrip-
tural and forbidden as they are, they
were diftindiy foretold many ages ago
by the holy prophets, when they repre-
fent the Apoftafy of the latter times as co'n-
fifting in honouring^ together with the
true God, Mahuzzim^ that is, Angels and
departed Saints y in giving heed to /educing
fpirit^ and doSlrines concerning Demons;
and caujing the earthy and them which
dwell therein^ to make an Image to the
Beajl\

4o The fame fpirit of fuperftition, which
pfodueed an idolatrous veneration of the
Martyrs, difcovered itfelf in another and
a more extraordinary way. The Romarf
tepublic, among other ufeful iiiftitutions,
propofed rewards and honours for the

p Dan. xi. 38, 39. I Tim. iv. i. Pvcv. xiii;
Ui i4j i5»

encourage-

the Corruptions of Popery. 353

encouragement of lawful Matrimony; serm.
and Conftantine himfelf had indireftly ^^•
favoured this ftate, by granting the bene-
fits of legitimation to children born in
concubinage, provided the parents inter-
married afterwards. But the notion,
which then began to prevail, of the fu-
perior merit of celibacy, induced this
Emperor to depart from his own wife
maxims, and to repeal the famous Papiaii
Law, enaScd by iVuguftus, for the ex-
prefs purpofe of conferring privileges on
thofe who were the parents of a numer-
ous offifpring* The Chriftians, already
deeply tinctured with fanatlcifm, eagerly
adopted the ideas of the reigning prince;
and, deprived of the opportunity of dif-
playing their zeal by dying for the caufe
of Chrift, were fond of infliding volun-
tary fufferings on themfelves. In order to
cultivate a more intimate communion with
God, multitudes of both fexcs retired into
•caves and defarts, where, abandoning all
Jiuman connedions, they devoted them-
A a felves

354 Hijlorkal View of

SERM. felves to a rigorous poverty and a fingle
x^* life. Thefe principles and pra£tices were
nothing more at firft than the genuine
effeflis of fimple fuperftitlon : but the
Roman pontiff, with his wonted fubtlety,
took advantage of the ruHng weak-
nefs, and converted it into one of the
moft powerful engines to extend his own
dominion. That crafty prelate was too
fenfible not to perceive, that the chief
circumftance, which attached the Clergy
to fecular concerns, was the love they
bare their children and families; and
that nothing was more likely to fubdue
them to an entire conformity to his will,
than depriving them of this objeft of af-
feftion, and engaging them folely to the
interefls of their own order. To promote
this defign, the moft extravagant praifes
were laviihed on a iingle life ; which was
recommended as highly laudable in all, and
urged as the indifpenfable duty of thofe
who by their office were obliged to an
exemplary purity, and admitted to a nearer

intercourfe

the Corruptions of Popery. 35 r

intercourfe with heaven. This mafter- serm,
ftroke of policy was efFeded, in the ele- ^^*
venth century, by the intrigues of Gre-
gory VII. when, in fpite of the propen-
fities of nature, in fpite of the plaineft
direftions of Scripture, which commends
the flate of Marriage in general as hon-
ourable in all "i, and gives particuhir pre-
cepts concerning that of Bifliops, Pre-
{byters, and Deacons % the primary com-
mand of providence was blafphemoufly
infringed, and an inviolable celibacy was
impofed on all the orders of the Clergv.
But thus it was, that the fpirit of pro-
phecy had before declared ; by which we
are taught, that the fame antichriftian
power, which fhould injoin the worftiip
of demons, (hould alfo not regard the dejlre
of women % and that, among other abo-
minable doflrines introduced by him,
this oi forbidding to marry ^ fhould be one.

1 Heb. xlii. 4. ' i Tim. iii. 2. n. Tit. i. 6.
' Dan. xi. 37. "■ i Tim. iv. 3.

A a 2 ^. The

XI.

356 WJlorkal View of

SERM. 5. The religion of Jefus, like that of
Mofes, was eftablifhed by figns and won-
ders ; which are the proper credentials
of a revelation coming from God, and
were attended with all thofe charaflers
of truth, which the moft fcrupulous en-
quirer could demand. They were ex-
hibited in public, before enemies and
friends, in a learned and inquifitive age,
and on the moft eminent theatre in the
world : they were employed in confir-
mation of do£lrines worthy of God, and
of the utmoft importance to mankind :
they were accompanied with no appear-
ances of vanity or oftentation, and brought
no gain or advantage to the performers ;
and all of them are attefted by perfons,
who gave the moft decifive proofs of their
integrity, by chuiing rather to dye than
deny them. On this footing the evidence
for the gofpel-miracles ftands ; and the
teftimony, which eftablifhes them, is fo
circumftanced, that *' its falfhood would
even be more miraculous than the mi-
2 racles

the Corruptions of Popery, 357

racles it relates;" fo that, by the con- serm*
felfion of fcepticifm itfelf ", the moH: ara- ^^*
demic faith y without incurring the difgrace
of credulity, mav ' them its aflent.
The religion r/" .^al Rome al(o boafts
its prodi-^jej.. .cad of the moft aftoni(hing
kind: but inftead of recommending them-
lelves to the belief of a fober examiner,
they bear about them the plaineft indica-
tions of fraud and folly. Many have
been detedled by contrary evidence; many
deteftthemfelves by their abfurdity: fome
arc related by fufpicious perfons ; others
are wrought for fuipicious purpofes, to
footh the errors or fubferve the interefls,
of a party: and, befides the innate marks
of fahhood with which they abound,
they are of that very fort, which are re-
corded in Scripture as clear and unerring
notes of Antichrift: for thus it is, that
this fin of perdition is pourtrayed by St.
Paul and St. John : whofe coming is after
the working of Satan ^ with all power and
" See Mr. Hume's Effay on Miracles.

A a 3 fgns

258 HiJlorlcal View of

SERM. Jlgns and lying wo?iders^ and deceivahlenefs

^^' of unrighteoiifnefs in them that perijh : and

" he doth great wonders, and deceiveth them

that dwell on the earth, by means of the

Miracles which be hath power to do ^,

6. But we have not yet attained the
complete idea of Popifh pravity. For
when now the Roman pontiff had worked
his way to a fupremacy, unknown and
imallowed in the Church of Chrift, and
on the ftrength of that fupremacy had
proudly arrogated divine honours; when
he had contaminated the purity of the
Chriftian faith by the worfhip of idol-
mediators, and trampled on the rights of
humanity by an unnatural and un-com-
manded cehbacy ; and to all thele in-
flances of corruption had added the
illulive arts of pretended miracles ; then
it was, that he filled up the meafure
of his guilt, by exerting his ill-got-
ten power to the horrid purpofes of

'"^ 2 TliefT. ii. 3. 9, 10. Rev. xiii. 13, 14.

Perfe-

the Corrupt 1072 s of Popery, 359

Perfecutioii. This laft contrivance, the serm,
opprobrium of human nature as well as ^^•
of revealed religion, though permitted to '

difgrace otiier communities, was no where
reduced to a fyftem but in the Church of
Rome : and there indeed we find the
principles of this lyftem laid open, and
exemplified in all their dreadful forms ;
fometimes occafionally, in the cruelties
exercifed towards thofe faithful IVitneJfes •"^',
who refufed to worjhlp the image of the
Beajl ^, and more profeffedly, in that in-
fernal tribunal, the Inquifition. Here
again, as the facred prophets have con-
defcended to notice other parts of this ex-
traordinary charader, we are the lefs to
wonder, if this, the finifhing one, be par-
ticularly defcribed ; firft by Daniel, where
the Little Horn makes war with the Saints
and wears them out and prevails againf
them ^; and afterwards by St. John, where

* Rev. xi. 3. ^ Rev. xiii. 15.

' Pan, vii. 21. 25.

Z 4 Babylon^

360 Hi/lorical View of

SERM. Babylon^ the Mother of Harlots^ is drunken
^^' with the blood of the Saints^ and with the
^ ^ blood of the martyrs of Jefus ^.

It may be thought, that the errors here
objedled to Popery, to which a variety of
others might have been fubjoined ^^ were
introduced by Popes, whofe private vices
were as flagitious as their public govern-
ment was tyrannical. But the truth is,
that all the Roman Bifhops, from the
reign of Conftantine, uniformly laboured
to extend their jurifdidion, and with un^
relaxing perfeverance carried on the fame
fch^me. The hands, which held the
reins of empire, were changed; but the
fpirit, which guided them, was the fame.
Every new pontiff adopted the fchemes
of his predeceilbr; and one encroach-

^ Re\^ xvii. 6. xviii. 2.4.

^ The reader, who wiflies to fee a Recapitulation
of the Prophecies relating to Popery, may do well
to coafult the twcnty-fixth Differtation of the learned
Bifliop of Briftol, in the third Volume of his very
Uiciul Diilciiations on the Prophecies.^

ment

the Corruptions of Popery. 361

ment was ftill fucceeded by another, serm.
till at leng'h the fabric of fuperftitlon ^^*
was pufecled, and towered above the '

clouds.

And here, by way of conclufion, we
may obferve, that all endeavours to ef-
fe£l a reconciliation with the Church of
Rome muft ever be vain and fruitlefs.
Such a cornprehenfion, even upon the
moderate plan that has been propofed
by Groiius and fome others, is abfo-
lutely impoffible. The Roman com-
munion, by its abfurd pretences to in-
fallibility, has precluded itfelf from re-
ceding from any of its moft obnoxious
tenets ; and Proteftants, from the very
nature of their principles, are incapable
of making any concefiions. What fel-
lowjljip hath righteoufnefs with unrighteouf-
nefs ? and what communion hath light with
darknefs ? And what concord hath Chrijl
with Belial? and what agreement hath
the temple of God with Idols ? Where-
fore

3^2 Hlflorlcal View, &c.

SERM. Jhre come out from among them, and he
_ ye feparate, faith the Lord, and touch not

the unclean thing ; and I will receive you ;

and I will he a Father unto you, and ye

fhall he my fins and 'daughters, faith the

Lord Almighty ^

"- 2Cor. vi. 14, 15, 16, 17, 18.

SER.

[ 3^3 ]

SERMON XII.

The Reformation vindicated from
the objedions of the Romanifts,

CONCLUSION.

Rev. xviii. 4.
Come out of her ^ my people ; that ye be not
partakers of her fins ^ aftd that ye receive
not of her plagues.

TH E errors of the Romifli Church, serm,
enumerated in the laft Lefture, ^^^'
though gradually increafing from the times
of Conilantine, did not arrive at their
height, till the thirteenth century ; at
which period, the Papal ufurpations were
carried to their utmoft length, and true
religion was obfcured and well nigh loft
amidft the prevailing interefts of vice and

fuperflition.

3^4 %^ Refarmation. virj^dj^fif.^d from

SERM. fuperftition. Some fee;l^e attempts to jrer
''xii. fill: fuch exorbitant claims, and to reftore
«^ the genuine doctrines of the gofpel to their

priftine fplendor, had indeed been . re-
peatedly made, by different perfons, in dif-
ferent parts of the world : of whom the
Waldenfes and the Albigenfes in the
twelfth century, WickHtF, father of the
. '^' Lollards, in the fourteenth, and Hufs,
with his companion, Jerome of Prague, in
the fifteenth, are defervedly reckoned
among the chief. But th^ honour of
'tearing off the mafk, which had fojqpg
concealed the horrors of this corrupt cprii-
munion, and of expofing its deformity to
open view, was refer ved for the fixteenth
tentury, and for the daring hand. of,Luj-
^fe^^ l^kt intrepid reformert uf^'wetl
k'no\^n, began his attack oh the.Romifh
ilierarcny with deny nig the extravagam:
irierfl tllen generally attributed to Indul-
%iS^{^''^m the deteaion 'ojf * ope Jabufe
tmid\:icHiig^ himV^ihfenfibly,^ tg^rKat ' (^^
fecdnd l?iS ^- tliird j he ' found » ' "the, more

I'O

the obje^ions of the Romanijls. 365

he examined into the tenets of Popery, s e r m.
the lefs defenfible they appeared ; till at xir.
length, to his own iarprize no lefs than
that of others, he was compelled to quef-
tlon the Infallibility, fo confidently claim-
ed by the fovereign head of this depraved
fociety ; the dlflinguifhing principles of
which, he was now convinced, were not
more oppofed to thofe of primitive
Chriftianity, than repugnant to the didates
of found reafon.

The boldnefs of Luther's preaching,
not being difgraced by any defefts in his
moral charadler, made, as was to be ex-
peded, a deep impreffion on his hearers ;
nor was it long, before his opinions were
divulged, and with an aftonifhing rapidity,
from Saxony and Germany, to all the
parts of Europe. But, befides the force
of religious motives, there were other
caufes, which at that time concurred to
fpread the new dodlrines, aid to which
their quick and furprifmg progrefs may
juftly be afcrlbed. Of thefe, the revival
A a 7 of

XII,

366 ^he Re formation vindicated from

SERM, of learning abont the fame period, and the
art of printing, invented not long before,
were by no means the leafl. Copies of
the Scriptures, together with the writings
of the controverfialifts, being now mul-
tiplied, they were perufed with an uncom-
mon avidity, as well by the vulgar and
illiterate, as by the rich and learned : and
the minds of men, awakened from that
lethargy, in which they had flumbered
for fo many ages, were prepared for pu(h-
ing their enquiries into a wider fphere,
and qualified to judge of the frauds and
abfurdities of the ancient fyftem. Poli-
tical confiderations lent their aid to thefe
natural advantages. The remarkable
i'chifm of the Antipopes, which had pre-
vailed in the two preceding centuries, for
fifty years, had a great effedl in diminish-
ing the reverence to the Romiih See : the
Jibertinifm of many of the reigning Pon-
tiffs, and of the higher orders of church-
men, promoted ftiil further the growing
averUou : the iuimenle wealth, with its

neceftary

the pbkBions of the Romanifls. ,^ 267

neqeflary attendant, exceffive power, ac-^ serm.
cumulated by the Popifh clergy ; tliiV^ ^*\v^^
extenfive immunities, added to therir nu- ^"
nierous and oppreffive encroachments ^6^^^
the privileges of the laity; Werefo man^f^^
new incirements to jprinces to recover the
poffeflion of thofe vafl revenues, whiCh the '
miftakeri piety of their anceftors had la- ^
vifhed on the ecclefiaftics, and of whicn
they themfelves had been fo long de-
prived. All thefe caufes, which fingly
had great weight, could not but operate
with increafing ftrength, when united^ ;^^
and are to be regarded by ferious nieli^'
as, purpofely combined by providence, in
order to fecure the truth and purity of
religion, and produce a revolution iii'£fi[er
fentiments of mankind, the moft extra-
ordinary,: aS; J5^eil as^ the moft beneficial,
that ixas happened fince! the firft' pu^lica-

_ .rf^.S^jqthe Hiftory pf the Ernperor Cliai^e^.V.. hvi
Dr. Robertlbn, Book, 11. where the curious reader
may be gratified with an accurate inquiry into- the'
^aiile^'-'V^ich coiUributed to the prbgrer&'':i3f- the
J^^fepimatipn. The

XII.

368 7 he Reformation vindicated from

SERM. The Reformation, thus aufpicioMflv be-
gun by Luther, was attended with ano^
ther circumftance, which, for its im-
portance, deferves to be particularly ad-
verted to. As this bold feclary advan-
ced in the ftudy of theology, to which
he now addifted himfelf with unwearied
diligence, he was not only more and more
perfuaded of the degeneracy of the Romifh
Church, but he difcovered alfo that this
degeneracy had been plainly foretold in
Scripture ; that the chlkracher of Anti-
chrift, fo largely there defcribed, was ve-
rified in the Roman pontiff; and, as the
natural refult of fuch a difco^ery, that
every fincere believer was under an ab-
folute neceflity of withdrawing from his
communion. This was a confequence, of
which Luther at firft was not in the leaft
aware ; for, far from having any inten-
tion to difclaim the fupremacy of the
Apoftolic fee, he profeffed the moft im-
plicit fubmiffion to its anthority, and for
feme time had not the flnaileft doubt of

-•> its

the objedllons of the Romanifts. 369

Its divine original. But when he found, serm,
by a careful comparifon of fafts and pro- ^^^•
phecies, that the corruptions, then adual- "
\y exifting in the Church of Rome, were
the very fame with thofe declared in the
infpired oracles ; and refleded alfo, that
the warning voice, which had proclaimed
thefe delufions of Antichrift, had com-
manded the faithful people of God to
renounce the fociety of this impollor«;
the conclufion was unavoidable, that all
perfons, who wefe perfuaded that Papal
Rome was indeed concerned in the fa-
cred predidlions, had not only the choice,
in point of right, but were obliged, iii
point of duty, to feparate themfelves
from a Church, whofe communication
was infeftious, and in which they could
no longer continue, without partaking
of its fim ^

On this ground then, that the Pope was
Antichrift, the great feceffion of Pro-

* Rev. xviii. 4.

B b teftants

370 The JlefGrmation vindicated from

seiIm. teftants was begun; and on this ground

^^^' the lawfulnefs of fuch a *feceffion may

be clearly fliewn. For although to

forfake the external communion of a

' Church, where there is no urgent neceffity

for fuch a procedure, be without exc^fc ;

'"^et, when a feparation muft either be

made, or we rcmll participate with other*

?n matters which appear to us to be fiii-

tul/ iw reafonable man can have any

fcnrples,- as -to the part he ought to take.

!Not every feparation then from the

Church, but a caufelefs feparation only, is

to be condemned : and the tr^c oreafon,

' whv Proteftants hold theralelves bound to

leave the fociety of Papifls, is not lib

• anuch becaufe the latter are knovvjia to

^teaintain erroi-^ in doftrine and to have

^^fetroduced corruptions in worfliip, which

^•^the former difavow ; but becaufe they im-

■ fofe thefe errors and corruptions upon

others, and hiave fo ordered the term? of

^ Church-fellowfhip, that, we muft join

etJfioiujjD . . with

^^^ the objeSiions of the Rgmafiljih 371

'/,With them in thefe things, or in no* serm.
;thing. This it is, which fixes the mark ^^^*
of Antichrift on the Church of Rome,
and renders it unfafe and unallowable for
Chriftian$ of other denominations to unife
with it in matters of religion. The im-
putation of fchlfm therefore, fall it where
it will, lights not juftly upon us : the
danger and the punifliment, annexed to
fuch a crime, it becomes them more par-
ticularly to confider, who have made it
imprafticable for others to affoclate with
them, by requiring unlawful conditions
of communion.

Still however it may be faid, as it
hath been faid, that although to depart
from the Romifli Church might not,
ftriaiy fpeaking, be fchifmatical, to have
continued in it would at leaft have been
the fafer way. For both Proteftants and
Papifts are agreed, that falvation may be
had in the Church of Rome ; but Pro-
teftants only allow it may be had in the
B b 2 Churches

37<? ^^^ Reformation vindicated from

SERM. Churches of the reformed ; the fafer part
.. .^^^- therefore would have been, to adhere to
' that fociety, in which, by the confeffion

of both fides, falvation may be found.
If this fophifm be intended to operate
*on any but the moft iUiterate of the Ro-
■ rnifh communion, it muft furely lofeits
aim ; and few words will fuffice to expofe
its futility. ?mth

Firftthen we reply, that it is one of
. thofe unfortunate arguments, which, by
-proving too much, prove, in effeft, no-
thing: for if the principle, on which it is
founded, be true, namely, that whatever
religion two or more contending parties
agree in muft therefore be the fafeft, it
• will lead us not only to abjure Proteflan-
-tifm, but Chriftianity alfo. Thus both
- Jews and Chriftians acknowledge the di-
vinity of the rehgion of Mofes ; ;bu|:
.Chriilians only acknowledge the divinitjy
-of, .that of Jefus; therefore.it js fafer to
be a Jew than a Cbriftian. Again, .un-
-believers as well as. behevers own the.

irutli

the obje^ions of the Romanifs. 573

trlith of natural religion, and believers se r m
only own the truth of revealed ; therefore ^^^:
natural religion alone ought to be re-
tained, and revelation ought to be re-
jefted. The argument is the fame in each
of the three cafes ; and if it concludes
nothing in the two latter, why fhould
it be thought to. have any force in the
former ?

Secondly, though Proteftants dare not
imitate the uncharitablenefs of Papifts, in
denying that fincere perfons, of all per*
fUitfiOns, whofe moral condudl is conform-
able to their religious knowledge, may be
favtd; yet both truth and charity oblige
them to declare, that the falvation of
Papifts is not to be obtained but with
niuth difficulty and danger. The doc-
trfn^s of Popery, if we at all underftand
*lieir nature, are, in their tendency, de-
ftruffive both to faith and virtue : how
far they, who profefs fuch dodrines, may
be anfwerable for the evil confequences
which flow from them, efpecially in cafes
B b 3 where

374 ^'^^^ Reformation vindicated from

SERM. where they formally difclaiiii thofe con-
XII- fequences, or are hindered, by education

' ~" or invincible ignorance, from perceiving
them, muft be left to the unerring decifion
of Him, vjhofeeihnotastnanfeeth^^ and
whcfe tender mercies are over alibis works 5.
As to others, who have been blefled with
Opportunities of knowing the truth as it is
in Jefus ^, yet wilfully (hut their eyes
againft it, and, as far as in them lies,
prevent others from feeing it, what their
condition will be in another world, nei-
ther do we prefume to determine ; to their
ofwn Majler they Jiand or fall » ; all we fear
is, that the acceptance of fuch perfons is
extremely doubtful, if not quite defperate;
^nd if they are faved at all, it mull: be in
the way St. Paul fpeaks of, only ^ ^5

^^%- . ..:S1

. Thirdly, ""rantinff the premifes of this

.aro^ument to be true, th

hat Loth fides ig-

bt>lib 2l51(j[i::^ 3111

.riOlt I Sam. xvi. 7. K,fh ^8V5 f f. cxlv. 9. '?! }

^ knowledge

the ohjeEitom of the Romanijls, ^jc

knowledge a poflibility of falvation In the &erm,
^hurch of Rome, and one fide only ac^ xil.
knowledges that poffibility in the Churches ^

of the reformed ; the conclufion, intend-
ed to be drawn from it, that therefore it
is fiifer to be a Papift than a Proteftant, is
demonftrably falfe. For that mud cer-
tainly be the fafefl: way to falvation, in
which there is the greateft fccurity from
fin. Now in the controverted points be-
tween the Papifts and ns, it is not even
pretended that for many of them there is^
any authority in Scripture ; on the con-
trary, if what we fay be true, they arc
pofitively forbidden and unlawful. By
adhering then to the religion of Pro-
teflants, w^e keep within the letter of the
written rule, and fo far are upon fafe
ground ; and by conforming to the in-
junctions of Popery, it is a queftionable
point; at leaft, whether we do not violate
the €xprefs directions of the divine word.
Hence it follows, that the fecurity from
finning mull be lefs, and confequently the
Jy/onJ B b 4 difficulty

376 The Reformation vindicated from

SERM. difficulty of obtaining falvation muft be
^1^* greater, in the comn:iunion of Papifls, tliaa
in that of Proteftants. •'' ^i./ ;

But the emiflaries of the Church ,\of
Rome, not fatisfied with decrying the Rc-
forniation itfelf, have endeavoured in the
fame fallacious train of reafoning to blacken
the charaders of thofe, who efFeded it ;
moll of whom, it has been alleged, were
neither influenced by motives, nor adorn-
ed with manners, at all agreeable to the
•caufe they undertook to ferve. And fo
Jar it is to be lamented, that, with re-
,lpe<fl to many of thefe reformers, em-
Dioyment in the fervice of reHgion did
,not exempt them from the common in-
.firmities of human creatures. But this
Cac^t, inftead of difcrediting the work they
Avere engaged in, may be converted into
jio vulgar ^argument of the divine good-
hefs^.,.^^j'|"l:|^, lame providence, which is
feejt^^fo .frequently to dired the crimes
;ind follies of men to promote the, great
^qijgns^^of juilice in civil life, is equally

viiible.

•fhe obje^ians of the Romanljis, 377

Mifiblev when it uies wicked kines and serm
pi-inces as inftruments to efledluate its ^^^^«
purpofes ia the rehgious iyrtem. In
both cafes, an occafion is adminiftered of
adoring the correfting hand, that out of
partial evil produces univerfal good, and
from means the moft difproportionate or
fanlry can compafs ends, fubfervient ia
the higheft degree to the glory of God,
and to the prefent and future welfare of

man,

' The fame anfwer will ferve for what is
further urged againft the firft reformers
in particular, that they underftood but
very imperfc^dly the nature of that faith,
which they pretended to reftore ; that the
principles, on which they proceeded in
the execution of their fcheme, were of-
^w falfe, and oftener partial; and that
although they might perceive, and with
real concern, the abufes which then pre-
vailed, they were none of tliem pofTefled
of the requifite Ikill, by which alone
thofe abufes could properly be removed.

#i<lu.

3/8 The Reformation vindicated from

8ERM. And where is the wonder, if in a cafe,
^11- where no extraordinary afliftance was
granted or claimed, the perfons employed
Ihould not at once be able to emancipate
themfelves from the erroneous notions, to
which they had been enflaved ? How
many falutary regulations in fociety have
originated from wrong conceptions of the
nature and end of government, or from
the obhquer motives of ambition or ava-
rice in the propofers ! And why (hould

.either our religious or civil privileges be
the lefs cfteemed, fuppofing them to be

^real, becaufe both were procured by men,
who at firft perhaps were not accurately

Jnftructed in the true extent of political or

^Chriftian hberty ? The Reformation, from
which we are taught to expe6l fuch fig*
nal and lafting advantages, cannot, from
the nature of it> be accomplifhed at once,
but requires a confiderable time in order

^tQ.rits completion; and many of the de-
feds, which attended it in its beginnings,
ji^ve . been gradually remedied in its , ad-

vai^ceaien^

the obje^iions of the Romanijis, 379

vancement to maturity. The kingdom oi s e R M,
Antlchrift, whofe ufurpations it has uni-» ^^^^
formly oppofed, hath already been fhaken
to its centre ; and, if any conje(5lure3 of
what is future may be formed from what
h paft, even fetting afide the expeflations
tb be derived from prophecy, the powef
of the Roman pontiff is now upon the
\va}n> ahd will fill its orb no more.

»'vf, )«>

'^Ujc^ ^Conclusion.
^f' The Plan, which I had formed at the
entrance on the prefent courfe, is now
brought to its conclufion : in the profe-
cution of which I have not confined my-
felf to the minute examination of any
fingle prophet or prophecy, but have laid
before you the reafons, from which it
may be concluded in general, that there
are predictions both of the Old and New
Teftamcnt, which have been rightly fup-?
pofed to refer to the defection of Chriftiaa
Rome. An inquiry of this fort feemed
»ot improperly to piecede the accurate

and

q3o conclusion.

SERM. and critical inveftigation of each particular
^•i^- prophecy ; a labour, which may well be
hoped to engage the attention of future
Lefturers, and is indeed the principal ob-
jeft- of an Inftitution, which, more than
any other, is calculated to fupport the
caufe of Reformed Religion, and which de-
ferves, and will have, the grateful ac-
knowledgments of Proteftants, of every
community, in the prefent and in fuc-
ceeding ages. I have only to add a few
ihort refieftions, which may not be with-
out their ufe to thofe, to whom they are
addreffed.

And firft, the fober and candid Deift,
who has not together with the renuncia-
tion of revealed religion thrown off all
regards for that which is called natural,
may be taught the danger of lightly re-
jecting a fyftem of faith and pradice, fuch
as is propofed by Chriftianity, and whicli
is recommended by fo many circumftanc^
of verihmllitude at leaii, if not of truthv
Nothing, hurnauly i'peakiag, could be

CaNCLUSlON. 381

more improbable, than that a religion, fo serm.
pure and fimpie as the Chriftian, lb ab- ^"'
horrent from the views of worldly do-
minion, and fo friendly to the liberties of
mankind, (honld become fubfervient to
the worft and moil diabolical artifices of
ecclefiaftlc tyranny ; unlefs it be, that, af-
ter fuch a tyranny had been once eflabliili-
ed, and interwoven in the frame and tex-
ture of civil governments, it fhould again
recover its primitive integrity. Yet thefe
are fads fo obvious and incontrovertible,
as ,to force themfelves on the moft in-
curious obferver ; and at the fiime time
are fo utterly unlike what has^ happened
in the ufual courfe of things, as vyell as
fo impoffible to be forefeen by the keeneft
eye of unaffifted human fagacity, that the
fuppofition of their making part of a plan,
originally fettled by the great parent of
the univerfe, and in confequence of that
foretold by the mouth of his holy prophets ^^
is,,th^ir.beft,4nd mofl rational folutio^n. •

- Si'--. Secondly,

382 CONCLUSION,

»£RM- Secondly, from hence too the Papift
^^^' may be convinced that we are not acr

'"^^' tuated by unworthy motives of real or
political averiion, when we refufe to
join in communion with the Ghurcli
of Rome ; but by a ferioius regard to
what we conceive to be the will of God,
which hath called his peo^I^ out of this
ipixitual Babylon, that they be not p/ir*
takers of her Jtns^ md receive not of her
plagues "\ Much Jefs aped he apprehend,
that the revival of a ftudy, which natu-
rally calls to mind the pernicious tendency
pf the Papal dodrines, has any the moft
.remote intention to .awaken the feverity
of thofe penal laws, which the exigencies
pf government and a juft regard Xo owr
own fafety have (bmetimes .made neceflary,
but which ,have been JLO Jitjtle put in ex-
ecution, :as rather to expofe the legiflature
iQ th^ charge of imprudent trifling than
pf wanton cruelty. J^he weapons of ow
%v0rfarf^ like thofe employed by the (firft

"* ,Rcr. xviii* 4.
\!i^\'^r champions

CONCLUSION. 382

Jihanapions of Chriftiauitj, arc not carnaJ^'i s e H M",
aiiid thtj only arms we wifli to employ xii.
againft hi^"J^ ^^^ arguments, propofed in ^

the fpirit of love and meeknefs, and found-
ed on the authority of the fame Scrip-
tures, which he holds in common with
ourfelves.

Laftly, Proteftants are above ail others
concerned to regard with becoming fe-
rioufnefs the prophecies concerning An-
tkhrift, and their completion: as it is
on the evidence ariiing from them, that
their own religious principles have been
^chiefly vindicated, and on which they
may be beft maintained. But in vain do
we exprefs our thankfulnefs for deliver-
ance from the yoke of Popery, if it be
not attended with deliverance from an-
other yoke, not lefs oppreffive and more
ignominious, fubje£lioh to our vices* A
return to the follies of fuperftition, ia
thefe times of improved knowledge, is
not much to be feared : our darker now

" 2 Cor. X. 4.

jirifes

384 CONCLUSION.

SERM, arifes from the oppofite extreme, from
^^^' licentious principles and degenerate man-
ners ; which have well nigh deftroyed
the reverence that w^as wont to be paid
to civil government as well as to revealed
religion, and have given the moft fe-
rious alarms to every real lover of his
country. Whether the ftate of pur mo-
rals be fo far corrupted, as to render us
unfit to be longer entrufted with thofe ad-
vantages, which we have fo much abufed,
is a matter that ought to be well con-
fidered by all, who have in any degree
contributed to the general depravity.
Other nations, like our own, have en-
joyed the light of Chriftianity, and again
xelapfed into pagan darknefs. Such was
the cafe of the Afiatic Churches, to whom
St. John addreffes the former part of his
Revelation ; all of whom were once in-
ftrufted in the faving truths of the gofpel,
but have fince become the fynagogue of
Saian^'y the patrons and promoters of

^ Rev. ii. 9.
'** ■ ' vice

CONCLUSION. 385

vice and error. The exhortations and serm,
threatenings, which were direfted by the ^^^*
Spirit of God to them, were meant as
warnings to Chriftians in all ages, who
may be in the fame or fimilar circum-
ftances ; and the admonition, which was
given to the Church of Sardis in parti-
cular, IS, with equal propriety, applicable
to ourfelves : / know thy works, that
thou hajl a name^ that thou llveft, and art
dead. Be watchful, and Jlrengthen the
things which remain that are ready to die ;
for I have not found thy works perfect bc"
fore God. Remember therefore how thou
baji received and heard, and hold faf, and
repent. If therefore thou fh alt not watch, I
will come on thee as a thief and thou fhalt
not know what hour I will come upon thee ?•

p Rev. iii. I5 2, 3.

THE END,

C c

Lately piihUJhed by the fame Author ; and fold
hy T. Cadell, in The Strand,

'T^ H R E E Sermons before the Univerfity of Cam-
bridge, occaijoned by an Attempt to abolifli Sub-
fcription lo the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion, and
publifhed at the Requeft of the Vice-chancellor and
Heads of Colleges. The Third Edition.

A Sermon before the Honourable Houfe of Com-
mons, on January 30, 1769.

IIL

A Sermon before the Governors of Addenbrook's
Hofpital in Cambridge, June 28, 1770.

IV.

An Analyfis of the Romrai Civil Law ; in which
a Comparifon is, occaiionaliy, made betweei^ the
Roman Laws, and thofe of Endand : bein? the Heads
of a Courfe of Le^lures, publickly read in the Uni-
veriity of Cambridge. The Second Edition.

Lately publijhed by T. Cad ell,

TWELVE SERMONS, introduaory to the
Study of the Prophecies ; being the First Course
preached in Lincoln's-Inn Chapel, at the Bifliop of
Gloucefter's Lecture on this Subje6l. By Richard
Hurd, D, D. Preacher to the Honourable Society of
Lincoln's-Inn ; and now Lord Bifliop of LiclificlJ
and Coventry.

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