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flows by an inevitable sequence from the preceding observations. Nor do the reasons, which the Divine of Halle proposes from Daniel and the Apocalypse conjointly, present any impediment to this, whether they be drawn from the Apocalypse alone, or from Daniel also.
a) The beast , he says, is such an individual , as possesses no succes- sors in his kingdom : inasmuch as the kingdom is destroyed together with the destruction of the beast . But the Popes have successors in their hierarchy. — Epicr. p. 403. I reply : The last individual in that succession, as we shall see in Proposition 10, has no successor.
(3) The beast arises from the stock of the princes (Re genten- Stamm) of the Roman monarchy : but no Pope arose from thence: at the same place. I reply: It does not appear, whether the Epicrisis speaks of the stock of princes in a genealogical , or political sense. In a genea- logical sense, the emperors themselves, were of such a varied stock, that many pontiffs are with greater right considered to be of the Roman stock, than, for instance, Trajan himself. In a political sense, whatever power the Pope has, he has it from the monarchy, not from the hierarchy, of Rome.
y) The beast is still future : the Popes have already long reigned : the same. I reply : The last Pope, a remarkable person, most ’wicked, is still future.
h) The beast will obtain kingdoms with the greatest political empire: p. 404. I reply : The Popes have obtained them, and an individual Pope in his last time will obtain them much more.
i) The beast will be cast into the lake of fire : Babylon will first be destroyed by the beast itself. Therefore Babylon is not the beast : the same. I reply : I grant this, without any injury to the Propo- sition. We have cleared out of the way, as I think, the more copious argument : now we return to the Propositions, the tenth of which will more fully illustrate this fifth, even as far as relates to Daniel.
Prop. 6. This Papacy , or papal kingdom , began long since. — By this Proposition I do not attempt to prove, that the Pope is the beast , as the Epicrisis relates, p. 378. That has been proved up to this point. Now, that point being settled, the progress of the legitimate demonstration demands, that it should be shown that there is found in the Papacy such a power as is ascribed in the prophecy to the beast, in preference to that which is ascribed to the whore ; and that there should be an investigation, as to the particular time at which it arose. Wherefore the arguments which I had collected for this Proposition, are especially to the purpose. The beast is opposed to