were both caft alive into a lake of fire. This,' fays Dr. Lancaster in his abridgment of Daubuz, not only fig'nifies, that the punishment of the Beaft and of the False Prophet will be exceeding dreadful, but also that it will, and at the fame time the confequences of it, be more terrible than that of their adherents. For we 'must confider, that-the Beaft and False Prophet are bodies politic and perpetual or fucceffive; and that the design here is to fhew us, that Chrift will not only destroy at last the perfons, who at that time are in 'poffeffion of what is fignified by the Beast and False Prophet, but also utterly extirpate the fucceffion of the ¿ tyranny and falfe prophecy for ever. So that the Beast and the Falfe Prophet are perfons in a double capacity; 'that is, perfons in general, enemies to Chrift, and also ⚫ in poffeffion of a power, which is to be extinguished with them. And therefore their particular judgment 'must be confidered with that double view.' Of these two emblematic perfonages the prophet afferts, not only that they were thrown into a lake of fire, but that they were thrown alive. Now, fays Daubuz, alive fignifies.

one having power and activity;' and therefore when ⚫ they are faid to be caft alive,' this may be defigned to 'fhew, that this fudden Revolution fhall happen to them 'whilst they are vigorous and active, ftrengthening ⚫ themselves to refift1, and little expecting to be fud-' 'denly overcome, and that all the power of this tyranny ⚫ and falfe prophecy shall be so destroyed, that it fhall never be able to act again. That is, not only that the perfons of them that hold the power shall be deftroyed, which * is but a transient punishment; but also, that their fuc

14 Perfectly does this correfpond with the account of the war of Armageddon, in which the confederated antichriftian princes are to levy mighty forces, and vigorously to exert themselves, immediately previous to the complete overthrow.

ceffion fhall be flopped, and the like power fhall never 'be revived.'

But enough has been faid to fhew, that a momentous conclufion is to be drawn from the words of St. John. A conclufion highly confolatory and encouraging. Since we have not only feen, that the duration of the fovereignty of the Ten Kings is limited, it being declared, that they receive power as Kings one hour with the Beaft (xvii. 12)15; but have feen it farther announced by the voice of the prophet, that the Lamb fhall overcome the Ten Kings (xvii. 14), that the Beaft having Ten Horns fhall go into perdition (xvii. 8, 11), and again, that this Beaft was taken, and caft into a lake of fire (xix. 20), i. e. totally destroyed; we are, on the authority of prophecy, delivered clearly and repeatedly, authorized to conclude, that all the Monarchies of Europe which are antichriftian will at length be deftroyed. And were fcripture altogether filent, we might gather from the light of reason, that all governments, founded on defpotism and oppreffion, мMUST be offenfive to the Deity. From 'the known perfections of God, we conclude he wills ⚫ the happiness of mankind; and though he condescends'not to interpose miraculously, that that kind of civil polity is most pleasing in his eye", which is produc'tive of the greatest felicity".'

The

It is also faid, in ch. xiii. 5, of the Beast having Ten Horns, that power. Das given unto him to continue forty and two months.

16 We read but of one government appointed by the Deity; and it was not an HEREDITARY and MONARCHICAL GOVERNMENT, like thofe of the furrounding nations, but a FREE and POPULAR one. I now cite from a refpectable anonymous writer. 'The government which God ♦ ordained over the children of Ifrael confifted of three parts, befides the 'magiftrates of the several tribes and cities. They had a chief magistrate, ♦ who was called judge or captain, as Joshua, Gideon, and others; a coun'cil of 70 chofen men; and THE GENERAL ASSEMBLIES OF THE " PEOPLE:

The great Mr. Mede lays it down as a matter undeniably established, that the two-horned and the ten-horned Beasts expire together 18. The former being regarded as the representative of the antichriftian priesthood, reason herself indeed affures us it is highly probable, that though fome particular horns of the Secular Beast, with their attendant hierarchies, will be earliest demolished; yet that the fall of the other civil and ecclefiaftical tyrannies, linked as they are by fo close a union to each other, will be events nearly contemporary. That they will be abfolutely contemporary, the 9th and 10th verfes of ch. xviii. feem to contradict; fince they certainly countenance the idea, that the antichriftian princes of Europe, fome time previous to their own complete overthrow, will witnefs, within the limits of the Western Roman empire, the total downfal of prieftly ufurpation. • We are now to expect foon,' fays Bengelius in the conclufion of his Expofition of the Apocalypfe, the harvest, and the vintage; the pouring out of the vials; the judgment of Babylon; the final rage of the Beast, and his deftruction.' And he fhortly after adds, the

4

PEOPLE: and these judges or captains had not the name or power of kings, neither was their power tranfmitted to their children.' Remarkable is the declaration of Hofea, which he makes in the name of the Supreme Being (xiii. 11), I gave thee a king in mine anger.

7 Hall's Apol. for the Freedom of the Prefs. Pref.

·

18 Clav. Apoc. Pars Prima, Synchronifmus II. p. 523. As these two Beafts,' fays Mr. Whiston, are fuch great companions while they live 'together, fo it is certain, that their final period is at one and the fame 'time, and that they perifh with the fame common destruction,' p. 69. The next are the words of a more modera, a more orthodox, but I will not say, an honester writer.'' These two Beafts,' says bp. Hallifax, being 'infeparable one from the other, in their rife and in their extinction, muft ' of course be considered as contemporaries,' p. 245. I just add, that that part of the apocalypse (ch. xvii.), where the whore of Babylon is defcribed as fitting upon the ten-horned Beaft, evidently implies, that the tyrannizing antichriftian priesthood and the Ten Kings should co-exist.

• Mighty

Mighty and the Nobles of this world are astonished, when they are told there will foon be a Great Change". This celebrated German, it will perhaps be thought, was fomewhat premature, when he ftated this astonishment to have taken place at the time he wrote 20. But as applied to the present æra his statement seems perfectly correct. The materials of a Great Change in the European world are already collected; and rapid is their increase. At length the period is arrived, when all the plunderers of mankind, however difcriminated by titles or offices, feel alternate emotions of aftonishment and terror; and are feriously apprehensive of being buried under the foundation of a Mighty Revolution.

19 Int. to the Apoc, ut fupra, p. 326.

His Expofition was published in 1740.

CHAPTER XIX.

ON PROPHECY IN GENERAL, AND THE HEBREW PROPHETS IN PARTICULAR.

WITHERTO I have been principally employed in citing extracts, or fuggefting thoughts, illuftrative of the apocalyptic predictions. But as a confiderable number of thofe, which occur in the chapters immediately fucceeding, and in the subsequent part of the work, are taken either from Daniel, or from Ifaiah, or from fome other prophetic writer of the Jewish difpenfation, I have concluded, that fome extracts, relative to the Hebrew prophets, and to prophecy in general, may

be

be properly introduced, and that this part of the work furnishes a convenient place for their infertion. Had fo large an affemblage of general obfervations been introduced in the beginning of the work, and added to thofe, relative to the apocalypfe, which are brought forward in the iiid and ivth chapters, I fhould have been apprehensive, left a confiderable proportion of my readers, being principally folicitous to penetrate the import of particular prophecies, would have neglected to beflow upon them that degree of attention which they justly claim.

To know future events,' fays Dr. Sykes, and to be ' able to foretell them, is not, cannot be the effect of study, or peculiar temperature of body; it cannot be taught in fchools, fince it depends upon an infinity of free contingent actions, which he alone who governs all things can direct or forefee. If, therefore, events have been forefeen and foretold, at fuch distance of time, as excludes the knowledge of human minds, and the powers of their conjectures, it must be owing to ' divine influence, and to that alone'.'

There are, it may be observed, several propofitions, to prove any one of which, would be to prove the nonexistence of prophecy. But then these propofitions are fo unreasonable, fo unfounded, that to give a fimple ftatement of them will be fufficient to convince the honeft inquirer, that they are completely incapable of proof. If Collins, in his work against prophecy,' would have acted the part of a fair and reasonable adversary, he fhould,' fays Dr. Samuel Chandler, have proved prophecy an impoffible thing; either that there is no God; or that if there is, he doth not concern himself • about the affairs of nations and kingdoms; or that if

'Principles and Connexion of Nat, and Rev. Rel. p. 176.

'he