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in some less, prophesying in fackcloth. It will not
be till toward the end of their testimony, and that
end seemeth to be yet at some distance, that the
great victory and triumph of the beast, and the
suppression, and resurrection, and exaltation of
the witnesses will take effect. When all these
things shall be accomplished, then the fixth
trumpet will end, then the Second woe shall be
past, (ver. 14.) the Othman empire shall be
broken in the same manner that Ezekiel
(XXXVIII. XXXIX.) and Daniel (XI. 44, 45.)
have predicted; the sufferings of the witnesses
fhall cease, and they shall be raised and exalted
above their enemies : and when the second woe
shall be thus past, behold the third woe, or the
total destruction of the beast, cometh quickly:
Some time intervened between the first and the
second woes; but upon the ceasing of the second,
the third shall commence immediately.
It

appears then that the greater part of this prophecy relating to the witnesses remains yet to be fulfilled: but possibly fome may question, whether

any part of it hath been fulfilled; whether there have been any such persons as the witnesses, any true and faithful servants of Jesus Christ, who have in every age professed doctrins contrary to those maintained by the pope and church of Rome. The truth of the fact L 2

ز

will best appear by an historical deduction and if it can be proved, that there have constantly been such witnesses from the seventh century down to the Reformation, during the most florishing period of popery, I presume there can

I be little doubt about the times preceding or following. As there hath been occasion to observe before, the seeds of popery were fown even in the apostles time, but they were not grown up to maturity, the power of the pope as a horn or temporal prince was not established till the eighth century; and from thence therefore it will be

proper to begin our deduction, when the beast began to reign, and the witnesses to prophesy in fackcloth.

Great as the power of the Latin church was grown in the eighth century, the Greek church still diflented from it, and opposed it. The emperors (4) Leo Ifauricus and his son Constantine Copronymus not only vigorously opposed the worship of images, but also denied the interceflion of saints, and burnt and destroyed their relics. In the

In the year 754 Constantine Copronymus held a general council at Conftanti

nople of 338 bishops, who prohibited unani-
mousy the worship of saints as well as of
images; and (5) declared that 'only one image

was constituted by Christ himself, namely the
< bread and wine in the eucharist, which re-
' present the body and blood of Christ :' than
which there cannot be a stronger declaration
against the doctrin of transubstantiation as well
as against the worship of images. It is true
that the second council of Nice in the year
787 restored and established the worship of
images, and the pope ratified and confirmed
it; but nevertheless great opposition was made
to it by several churches in the west. Charle-
main (6) held a council at Francfort in the
year 794, consisting of 300 bishops of various
nations, who condemned equally the second
council of Nice and the worship of images.
The Carolin books were also set forth under
the name and authority of that great monarch;
and the doctrins therein contained, of the suf-
ficiency of the scriptures, of the worship of
God alone, of prayers in the vulgar tongue,

of

of the eucharist, of justification, of repentance, of pretended visions and miracles, and various other points, are such as a papist would abhor, and a protestant would subscribe. Not to seek for farther instances, the (7) British churches lamented and execrated the second council of Nice;

and the famous Albin or Alcuin wrote a letter against it, difproving and refuting it by express authorities of holy scripture ; which letter was transmitted to Charles the great in the name of the bishops and other great men of the kingdom. Even in Italy (8) the council of Forojulio prescribed the use of no other creed but that of the apostles, so that they had no conception of the neceflity of so many additional articles, as have since been made by pope Pius IV, and received by the church. Some even of the Italian bishops aslisted at the council of Francfort before mentioned, and particularly Paulinus bishop of Aquileia bore a principal part in it.

Popery prevailed fill more in the ninth century, but yet not without considerable opposition.

Not only (9) the emperors of the east, Nicephorus, Leo Armenius, Michael Balbus, Theophilus, and the emperors of the west, Charles the

great, and Lewis the pious, but also several prelates and ecclefiaftics, opposed the absolute power and supremacy of the pope, together with the worship of images, and invocation of saints and angels. The capitularies and edićts of Charles the great and 'Lewis the pious (1) injoined the reading of the canonical fcripture as the sole rule of faith, without any regard to human traditions or apocryphal writings. Private masses and pilgrimages, and other such superstitions (2) were forbidden by the same capitu, laries. Lewis the pious held a council at Paris in the year 824, which (3) agreed with the council of Francfort in rejecting the second council of Nice, and forbidding the worship of images. Agobard, archbishop of Lyons, in his book against pictures and images, maintains, that we ought not to adore any image of God, but only that which is God himself, even his eternal Son; and that there is no other me

diator

cell. Sacræ Antiq. Lib. 6. Hift. Sect. 5, 8, &c.
Imag. Sect. 7, 8, 9.

(3) Spar..em. ibid. Cap. 9. (1) Capit. . Aquisgranens. Sect. 3. Cap. 12. Seet, 2. Hist.

. Spanhem. Hift. Christian. Sæc. Imag. Sect. 9. Allix's Remarks IX. Cap. 3. Sect. 2. Cap. 9. upon the ancient churches of Sect. 2.

the Albigenses. Chap. gi (2) Spanhem, ibid. Cap. 9.

L4

(4) Quidam