defign his pretended modefty, humanity and courtefy, when he is all the reverfe; but rather his infight into the facred fcriptures, and controverfies about them; he pretends to fetting himself up to be an infallible interpreter of them, and judge of all controverfies; though these eyes seem better to signify what he really had, and not what he pretended to; and fo may denote his fagacity and penetration, his craft and cunning, his looking out sharp to get what power and dominion he could, both temporal and spiritual; and his watchfulness and carefulness to keep what he had got, that none encroached upon it, or took part of it away from him: and they may also design all inftruments and means by which he inspects his own affairs, and thofe of others; particularly the order of the Jefuits, which are, as his eyes, every where; fpies in all kingdoms and courts, that pry into the myfteries of ftate, and by one means or another get knowledge of what is done in the councils and cabinets of princes: and how many eyes this horn had, is not faid; nor is it easy to say how many the Pope has; he has as many as Argus, and more too, and these fharp and piercing: his look is faid to be more Stout than his fellows; either than his fellow-bishops, claiming an authority over them, giving out that he is universal bishop; or rather, than his fellow-horns, the kings and princes of the earth; having a look more bold and daring, more arrogant and impudent; affuming that power and authority to himself they do not; all power in heaven, and in earth; a power to depose kings, and abfolve their fubjects from allegiance to them; a power over the minds and confciences of men: or, as it may be rendered, whofe appearance is greater than his fellows"; makes a greater show and figure, appears in greater pomp, fplendor and glory than the kings; unless this can be understood of the fociety and college of his cardinals.

4. This horn is alfo defcribed by its mouth, and what that spoke; it is faid to speak great things, yea very great things; as the Pope of Rome has, in favour of himself; as that he is head of the church, and Christ's vicar on earth; declares himfelf infallible, and to have a power over the kings and princes of the earth; nay, he is faid to speak great words against the Most High; setting himself up as a rival, and upon an equality with him; taking upon him to forgive fin, and to make laws binding on the confciences of men, contrary to the scriptures; and preferring his own decrees, and the traditions of the church, to the word of God; and thus the beaft of Rome is defcribed in Rev. xiii. 5, 6.

5. This horn is defcribed by what he did, or thought to do; he is faid to make war with the faints, and prevail against them, and wear them out; which respects the wars of the popes of Rome with the Waldenses and Albigenses, whom they flew in great numbers, and got the victory over; and what by their oppref

fions

וחזוה רב מן חברתה *

fions and perfecutions, murders and maffacres, have tired and near wore out the patience of the faints: and whereas the beast, the fame with this little horn, fhall make war with the, two witneffes, and overcome and flay them; the faints will then feem to be quite wore out and confumed, when their dead carcaffes will lie in the streets of the great city unburied; fo that they will feem to be all deftroyed, and be thought by the Papifts to be fo; and hence that rejoicing and fending gifts to each other, because these witnesses are no more, Rev. xi. 8-10. alfo he fhall think to change times and laws, which in chap. ii. 21. is ascribed to God as peculiar to him, and joined with removing and fetting up kings; which is what the Pope of Rome has taken to himself, to alter the forms and conftitutions of kingdoms, and to fet up and pull down kings at his pleafure, and free their fubjects from obligation and obedience to them; as alfo to change the use of times and seasons, by fetting apart holy days for the commemoration of his canonized faints; and by appointing fuch days in the week, and such a season in the year, for abftinence from meats; as well as alfo to change laws, the laws of God and man, and difpenfe with both, and make new laws and canons to be obferved. And this power of his was to continue until a time, and times, and the dividing of time, or half a time, as in Rev. xii. 14. where the fame way of speaking is used, borrowed from hence; time fignifies a year, the longest mea fure of time we have, times two years, and a dividing of time, half a year; in all, three years and a half; the fame with the forty two months, the time of the beaft's continuance, Rev. xiii. 5. and of the treading down of the holy city, Rev. xi. 2. and which answer to 1260 days, the witneffes prophefy in fackcloth, ver. 3. by which are meant fo many years; and fo long the little horn or beast is to continue; but when this time is up, then his dominion fhall be taken away, and be confumed and destroyed; yea, because of the words this horn spake, the beast will be flain, his body deftroyed, and given to the burning flame, Dan. vii. 11, 26. the whole empire fhall be deftroyed, the capital of it fhall be burnt with fire, the ten kings fhall hate the whore, eat her flesh, and burn her with fire; this. will be the catastrophe of the little horn. And now, who that attentively confiders how every part of this vifion and prophecy has been exactly fulfilled, except the laft, can hefitate in his mind, or doubt one moment of the certain performance of that, even the utter deftruction of this little horn, or antichrist? The zeal of the Lord of bofts will perform this, as well as all the rest.

2dly, Another famous prophecy of antichrist, and his destruction, we have in a Thess. ii. 3—12, where he is described,

1. By his names and characters; he is called the man of fin; one addicted and given to fin in a grievous manner, notoriously finful, a fpiritual wickedness in high places; one guilty of all manner of fin, as the Popes of Rome have been ;

lying

lying, perjury, adultery, inceft, fodomy, fimony, forcery, and every thing that is bad hence their feat is called Sodom and Egypt, and the antichristian whore, the mother of harlots, and abominations of the earth, all centering here; and therefore with great propriety is he said to be the fon of perdition, a name given to Judas that betrayed our Lord, John xvii. 12. and rightly belongs to antichrist, who is the Apollyon and destroyer of the fouls of men, by his falfe doctrine and worship, and will himself go into perdition: he is alfo reprefented as he that oppofeth; that oppofeth Chrift, and is an adversary of his, and therefore called antichrift: he oppofes him in his offices, in his kingly office, by afferting himfelf to be the head of the church; in his priestly office, by pretending to offer up Christ again in the facrifice of the mafs, when he by one offering has perfected the whole work of atonement; and in his prophetic office, by coining new doctrines and articles of faith: moreover, be exalteth himself above all that is called God; above the gods of the heathens, who afcribe the government of the beavens to one, of the earth to another, of the fea to another, and of the winds to another; but this haughty creature affumes all power to himself, in heaven, earth, and hell: he exalts himself above angels, who are called gods, Pfal. viii. 4. In his bulls he has commanded angels to take fuch a foul out of purgatory, and to carry such a one to heaven°: and above all civil magistrates, who are called gods, Pfal. lxxxii. 5. affuming a power over them to depofe them at pleasure; making an emperor to hold his stirrup whilft he alighted from his horfe, and got upon it, and trampling on his neck, ufing those words in Pfal. xci. 13. and throwing a king under his table to lick bones, whilft he was eating: yea, he fitteth in the temple of God as god, fhewing himself that he is god; he rose up and appeared in the church of God, at least fo by profeffion, where he took his place, and, becoming apoftate, here he continues, and fhews himself as if he was God; admitting his creatures and flatterers to call him God on earth, and our Lord God the Pope; receiving worship from them, and affuming that which is the peculiar prerogative of God, to forgive fin. Moreover, he is called the mystery of iniquity; Mystery is one of the names of the whore of Babylon, and was formerly put upon the mitres of the Popes: it may refpect both doctrines and practices, which were fet afoot in the apostles time, and began to appear and work in Simon Magus, and his followers, and which centered in the papacy. Once more, he is called the wicked one, arou, a lawless perfon; that dispenses with the laws of God and man, setting up himself above all law; giving out that he is not fubject to any human judicature; that he is the fpiritual man that judges all, but is judged of none, being not accountable to any; yea, though he fhould lead millions of fouls to hell, yet none ought to say, "OLord the Pope, "what doft thou ?"

• See my Expofition of 2 Thess, ii. 4.

2. He

2. He is described in this prophecy by his appearance, and manner of entrance, and his influence over men. There was fomething that let or hindered him from making his appearance fooner than he did, which being removed, he was to be and has been revealed; this was the Roman empire and emperors, which fo long as they were, and Rome the feat of their empire, he could not take his place and feat, and appear in his pomp and grandeur; but this lett was removed, partly by Conftantine conquering the heathen emperors, abolishing paganism, and establishing christianity in the empire, and bestowing great riches on the church; but more fo by removing the feat of the empire from Rome to Byzantium, called after his name Conftantinople, which opened the way for the bishop of Rome to take his place; and chiefly and laft of all, the empire being divided into eaftern and western, the latter became extinct in Auguftulus, the laft of the Roman emperors, who refigned to Odoacer, who took upon him the title, not of emperor of Rome, but king of Italy, and retired from Rome to Ravenna; and the feat being empty, was foon filled by the Pope of Rome, and he quickly appeared in his grandeur and glory: whofe coming was after the working of Satan; he came in like him, a deceiver, a liar, and a murderer, and under his influence, and by his affiftance: with all power; with pretenfions to all power in heaven and in earth, even to power next to omnipotence: and figns and lying wonders; pretending to work miracles, though all were shams and lies, of which the popish legends are full; and under a fhew of righteousness deceived many; and meeting with carnal profeffors that loved not the truth, they were given up in a judicial manner to believe his lies; as, that he was head of the church, Chrift's vicar, had a power to forgive fin, and grant pardons and indulgences; particularly that great lie of tranfubftantiation, that he and his priests have power to tranfmute the bread and wine in the Lord's fupper into the very 'body and blood of Christ; receiving which lies, fpoken in hypocrify, they bring damnation upon themselves. And here give me leave,

3. To observe another paffage, though not in this prophecy, yet delivered out by the fame inspired writer, which predicts fome of the notorious doctrines and practices of antichrift; it is in 1 Tim. iv. 1-3. where the apoftle foretels a departure from the faith in after-times, and the appearance of feducing fpirits, who should teach doctrines of devils. The doctrines of dæmon-worship, like that of the heathens, their dæmons being a middle fort of beings between God and men, and mediated between them; and fuch are the angels and faints departed, the Papists direct men to pray unto; and which is called worshipping devils, and idols of gold, filver, brafs, ftone, and wood, Rev. ix. 20. forbidding to marry; matrimony, though God's ordinance, and honourable, is forbidden popish priests, and celibacy is enjoined, under a notion of fanctity and purity; and which is

the fource of great debauchery and uncleanness among them: commanding to abfrain from meats; as on Wednesdays and Fridays in every week, and during the quadragefima or Lent, the faft of forty days. And now whereas it is moft clearly manifeft, that all these characters of antichrift, and all thefe things predicted of him hundreds of years before his appearance, exactly anfwer to the Pope of Rome, and have been punctually performed; there can be no reason to doubt of the certain performance of what the fame prophetic spirit has declared concerning his deftruction; as that the Lord fhall confume him with the spirit of bis mouth, and destroy him with the brightness of bis coming; that is, by the fpiritual and powerful preaching of the gospel, attended with the prefence of Christ in the beginning of his fpiritual reign; when the whole earth will be enlightened with his glory, and antichrift, and all antichriftian darkness, doctrine and worship shall disappear; and the rather this is to be credited, fince it receives confirmation from a prophecy of Ifaiah, delivered many hundreds of years before this, in much the fame language, and from whom the apostle feems to borrow his words; for speaking of Christ, he fays, he shall fmite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall be slay the wicked"; that wicked lawless one, antichrift: The Lord in his great zeal will perform this.

3dly, I will just obferve, in brief, the account we have of antichrift in the book of the Revelation: in chapter the x111th he is described, both in his civil and ecclefiaftic capacity, by two beasts; the one rising out of the sea, that is, out of the commotions made in the empire by the northern nations; when he appeared as a temporal prince, having his feat on the feven-hill-city, fignified by seven heads, and power over the ten kingdoms or ten horns; and is compared to a leopard for his swiftness and infidiousness in obtaining power; to a bear for his cruelty, and to a lion for his strength and terror; and became fo powerful, notwithstanding the deadly wound, as to be admired and feared by all the world; and is described much in the fame manner as the little horn in Daniel, having a mouth speaking blafphemies against God, his tab ernacle and people; and power to make war with the faints, and overcome them, and permiffion to continue exactly the fame time. The other beaft, an emblem of him in his ecclefiaftic capacity, is faid to rife out of the earth; from the dregs of chriftians, earthly, carnal and corrupt, fiom an apoftate church; and pretending to great humility, calling himself fervus fervorum; having two borns like a lamb, as if very meek, humble and harmlefs; but fpake like a dragon, when he uttered his bulls and anathemas: he is reprefented as exercifing all the power he had as a temporal prince, to oblige the world to worship him, and as doing lying miracles to de

ceive

m Ifai. xi 4. which the Targum interprets of the wicked Armillus, the name of the ar tichrift of the Jews, and which is either a corruption of Romulus, the first king of the Romans, and they suppose he will come from Rome; or of the Greek word spoλa, so Philip Aquinas in Lex. fol. 36. 2. inter prets it, a wafer of the people; which well agrees with our antichrift, Rev. xi. 18.