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the kings and princes of Europe now made, to rescue their former rights and privileges from the usurping hands of the papacy; many of which they actually regained during its state of imbecility. For these despoiled sovereigns, who had formerly been the slaves of the arrogant pontiffs, now became their judges and masters. But this deadly wound was healed. The council of Constance began to close this wound, by deposing the three contending pontiffs at that time, and electing a new Pope to the head of the Church. These haughty prelates no sooner beheld themselves again reinstated, than they assumed all the pretensions of their predecessors, and strained every nerve of power to obtain their former supremacy, and heal this dangerous wound. Accordingly Pius II publickly denied A. D. 1460, that the Pope was subject to a general council, and even prohibited all appeals to them; as the council of Constance had declared, that general councils alone possessed supreme power in the Church. He induced Lewis XI, King of France, to abrogate the Pragmatic Sanction; which was an important step to realize and establish the pretensions of the Roman see in that kingdom. The papal hierarchy again went into full operation, and nearly acquired all its former strength; and thus this wound closed gradually, though not without leaving a scar.

All the world wondered after the beast. This cannot suitably be said of a mere temporal kingdom or empire, but has been completely accomplished by that strange infatuation with which the world adored the Roman see for many centuries. All the nations of the Western Church considered the Roman hierarchy as a supernatural estab lishment of Christ on earth, and the papal succession as possessing divine authority; and in amazement acknowledged its power, grandeur, lying wonders, stock of merits and traditions, the councils, pilgrimages, Jubilees, fasts and holy days. The ancient admiration of this beast, is

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in our enlightened time, almost unknown and incredible, even among zealous Roman catholics.

They worshipped the dragon, by esteeming the beast adorable, and paying homage to idols, images, angels, and saints of the beasts coinage though perhaps unknown to the worshippers themselves, I Cor. x, 20; as those who deny the Son, also reject the Father, notwithstanding their professions to the contrary. I John. 11, 23. Joh. XIV, 1.

They worshipped the beast, not only by entitling him Sanctissimus Dominus Papa, Most holy Lord the Pope, John. XVII, 11. and many other such extravagant titles; all which might yet be excused as court ceremony, and extreme vanity, too common among the rulers of this world, and often used without adequate meaning. But when a hundred thousand tongues preach, whole nations confess, and millions believe, that the Pope possesses all power in heaven, earth, and hell, and run to purchase indulgence, remissions of their sins, dispensation of duties, exemption from purgatory, and crowns in heaven; this is more than mere ceremony, and is actually paying an adoration to this beast, which is due only to the Lord. Thus all Europe said, Who is like unto the beast? who is able to make war with him? who is his equal on earth ? We know who is-He with many crowns, out of whose mouth proceedeth a sharp two-edged sword. chap. XIX.

Verse 5. And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things, and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months.*

6. And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to blaspheme his name, and his tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.

A mouth signifies power to speak, vain-glory or boastings, Jud. IX, 38. The same is affirmed of the little horn

*The reading of some copies: And power was given him to make war, is probably a transcription from verse 7, in this place; for he did not make war the whole of his time.

in Dan. VII ; into which this beast terminates, when it again ascends from the bottomless pit. It is not only idolized and adored by its worshippers, it also speaks great things and blasphemies of itself; which it is unlawful to say of any mere creature, and much more so of sinful dust and ashes, like a Pope, History furnishes a large stock of lofty titles which these arrogant Pontiffs have assumed ; and of blasphemous pretensions, which the world was deceived to acknowledge and believe, by judicial delusion. The Roman pontiffs contend to this day, that they have not their equal, not a parallel upon earth; they pretend to infallibility and unlimited power, suffering themselves to be styled Lord God, Most holy pope &. &. by which they blaspheme God. They assume the divine name of holiness, by which they blaspheme the name of God. They affect all power in heaven and in the Church on earth, by asserting themselves to be Christ's vicar, Peter's successor, head of the Church, universal bishop, by which they blaspheme the tabernacle of the Lord. They have anathematized many departed children of God, as heretics, and thus blasphemed them that dwell in heaven. In the exercise of this power, he was suffered by divine permission, to continue and prosper forty and two months. The period of these prophetic numbers, is equal to 666 natural years, as we will endeavour to show in explaining ver. 18, of this chapter.

Verse 7. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations.

8. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb, slain from the foundation of the world.

War with the saints. These saints were the Vallenses, Albigenses, and Waldenses, whatever their enemies may allege against them, to stigmatize their character. They were the seed of those ancient witnesses against the Roman

Jezebel, since the eighth century; a holy & Christian people indeed, who fell a bloody sacrifice to the bigotry and cruelty of papal Rome. Against these pious servants of Jesus, the Roman Pontiffs actually waged a war of extirpation, in the most heinous sense of the word. Hitherto only Pagan Rome, and in some measure the Arians had spilt the blood of Christians; but since A. D. 1204, papal Rome hath slain her ten thousand in every century, and has been blind enough to congratulate herself on that account, and glory in their sufferings. Against this people Pope Innocentius III, established that terrible and bloody tribunal of the Inquisition, or heresy-hunting. And as this inhuman institution could not accomplish all his barbarous wishes, he also proclaimed A. D. 1208 a crusade against them, which was actually assembled, and put in motion the following year. The army was organized in June, near Toulouse, and in July took the city Beziers by assault, upon which ensued an inhuman, and indiscriminate massacre. The crusade is said to have consisted of 500,000 men, who murdered a vast number. The following heads made war with the Wickliffites, the Lollards, the Hussites, and the Protestantes in every country of Europe, down to the French revolution, when their power ceased. The number slain in this war, is almost incredible. History computes the Albigenses and Waldenses slaughtered in France alone, at a million. And the inquisition destroyed in about thirty years 150,000 Christians. To this host of Martyrs in the commencement of the thirteenth century, the prophecy alludes in this place. They are the saints overcome by the beast, and perhaps the fellow servants, and brethren of the primative martyrs, alluded to chap. VI, 11. For if we read in that passage μingov xgovor, a little chronos, as some copies do, that is 950 years, we have this exact period of time from the tenth persecution under the Roman emperor Diocletian, to this papal war against the Waldenses and

Albigenses; and if we adopt the more approved reading xgove, omitting gov little, that is 1100 years, it meets its accomplishment in the wars against the Hussites, as I shall show in chap. XIV.

Power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. St. John often mentions in this history of the beast, that it received power, and was worshipped; and we may confidently expect, that such declarations always indicate an augmentation of homage at these different periods of time, in reference to which these expressions are repeated. The satisfaction would compensate the labour, if an accute historian would point out the gradual rise and decline of the temporal and spiritual power and jurisdiction of the Roman see, in reference to the minutia of this prophecy. An accomplishment of the prediction in so many points, would tend the more to strengthen our faith. The power here given, more particularly refers to the propagation of Popery, and the extension of his authority into distant countries. The original xasav quany, all kindreds, should have been rendered all tribes; for this expression refers to the tribes of Israel, or the Jews, who since the middle of the eleventh century were compelled to seek an asylum in the West, within the jurisdiction of the beast, by whom they were sorely persecuted, and many forced to assume the garb of Christianity, though they remained Jews in their hearts. This abominable hypocrisy is practised by them in Spain and Portugal to this day, in order to escape the inquisition, and for purposes of worldly lucre. During the thirteenth century they were cruelly persecuted by the instigation of the Roman Pontiffs.

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All that dwell upon the earth shall worship him. The servants of Christ have reason to be alarmed at the present indifference concerning Popery, so prevalent in all the Protestant churches. It is not a small mistake to worship the beast, or to attribute a divine origin and dig

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