The Riſe, Power, and Prevalency of this Adverſary, is deſcribed in this Chapter , the Oppoſition made to him by Chriſt and his followers, Chap. 14. His Fall, chap. 15, 16, 17, 18. for which, Praiſe is groen to God, chap. 19.
The Enemy of the Church is ſhewed to John by the Sym- bol, or Repreſentation of two Beaſts ; the one having the Body of a Leopard, the Feet of a Bear, and th: Mouth of a Lion : the other having two Horns like a Lamb, but ſpeaking like a Dragon, V. 11.
The Reader muſt underſtand, that the Riſe of theſe Beaſts, their Rage, and Prevalency, was contemporaneous with
ſome of the fix Trumpets, mentioned Chap. 8. and 9. For chap. 9.15. upon the ſounding of the ſeventh Trum- pet Antichriſt began to fall; whoſe gradual Fall we ſhall find more fully deſcribed in chap. 16. by pouring out of the Vials; only (as was ſaid before) there 1s from chap. 12. a more particular Deſcription of what ſhould happen to, and in the Church under the ſix firſt Trumpets. |
The beſt Interpreter, by theſe two Beaſts, underſtand the Antichriſt; (for :n a larger Senſe there are more Antichriſts than one) and by the Antichriſt zhey wn: derſtand the Pope, as armed both with a Secular and Eccleſiaſtical Power ; yet I durſt not exclude from that Notion, the Civil Magiſtracy of the Roman Empire, who either help'd the Pope into his Chair, or held him there, to be Antichriſt. ; ;
The greateſt loſs we are at, is to determine the time when the Papacy began : It could not be before the Pagan Empire was thrown down, that was about 325, nor before the Silence in Heaven for half an bour vas over, which ( if that by it the reſt be meant, which the Church enjoyed in the time of Conſtantine and Theo- dofius) tvas about 390 or 400 ; bid if we fix the Riſe of the Papacy there, TI know no ground for 1t ; and it would, Lites. have been determined in 1660, or thereabouts. I think, therefore, we muſt diſtinguiſh berwixt the Riſe and Reign of Antichriſt. It doth not ſeem to me reaſonable to make his Reign to com- mence higher than 600 or 606, when be arrogated to himſelf the Primacy; and that was confirm'd to Boni- face the Third by Phocas, in requital of Boniface Þ1s Kindneſs to him, who had got the Empire by the baſe murder of Mauritius his Maſter, and of all his Chil- dren, and ſtood in need of the Pope's belp to ſupport him. From that time, I judge, the 1260 years ſhould be counted; but Nemo repente fit peſſimus, we muft allow the Papacy ſome time to come to this virile E-
Rate from bis Cradle. And I ſee no great harm of
wing the 200 years, from 400 to 600, for this : _— do think "6 in Jos Chapter zs ſhortly reveal- ed what ſhould happen to the Church from about the year 400, for the ſpace of 42 Months, 1260 Tears, the time of the Beaſt's Reign.
N D I ſtood upon the ſand of the ſea a, and ſaw * a beaſt riſe up out of the ſea b, t having Kt - {even heads, and ten horns, and upon his horns
hap. 17. BE P-'7* ten crowns c, and upon his head the || name of
hOr,names. blaſphemy d.
; | hich
The place of John's preſent Reſidence was Patios, W a an Nat, chap. a He was yet in a Viſhon ;, but thought he was upon the Sea-ſhore, either 1n Patmos, Or elſewhere; b and ſaw
a Beaſt Yiſe up out of the Sea; that " (as I ſhould think) _
REVELATION
pettedly ? for who would expe to ſee a Leopard rife from therce? "r out of the bottomleſs Pit; as chap. 9. 2, 3. or out of the Com- makions of a troubled World, the many Shakings' and Changes chat were in the. Empire. And both theſe may well ſtand toge- ther, for he riſeth originally out of the bottomleſs Pit, but by the ſubſerviency and help of ſuch Concuffions and Troubles. c This Baſt is deſcribed like the Dragon, chap. 12. 3. (only that 15 defcri- b2d with but ſeven Crowns) by which we underſtand the Devi! in the Heathen Emperours of Rome ; and we ſhall find it, wer. 2. fo anſwering Daniels Vifion of the four Monarchies, that I cannot but think the Roman Emperours, after the time of The:doſius, are meant, ſeveral of which were Arrizns, as alſo were the Goths and Vandals (many of them) who from 402, invaded the Empire, and were not beaten out till 564, little above 4o years before Boni-
face was confirmed in his Primacy. Others take this Beaſt to be
Rome Papal, or the Roman-Empire as Antichriſtian, or headed by Antichriſt. d The Arrians denying the eternal Exiſtence of Chriſt, as God, may well be ſaid to have the Names of Blaſphemy upon them, or upon their Heads. And ſo may Rome Papal. in aicribing that to the Creature which particularly belongs to God, as is evi- dent in Popiſh Idolatry. There are other Notions about this Beaſt : ſome would have it to be the Devil, but he is plainly diſtinguiſhed, ver. 2, and 4. from the Dragon: Some would have it to be the Turk, but we read of the worſhipping of this Beaſt, which is what we read not done to the Turkiſh Emperours, who alſo began not ti!l above the year 1200, (though indeed the Saracens began 500 years before) and Rome, which never was the 7irhs Seat, is made the Seat of this Beaſt. Some would have it to be Idolatry it ſelf ; this was Grotius his Notion ; ſee the Reaſons againſt it in Mr. Pool's Sy- nopſis Latina. Some would have it the Pagan Empire of Rome, but John never ſaw the firſt Riſe of that. This is a Beaſt that roſe after the Dragon was caſt down; which muſt be the Roman Empire under the Dominion of the Papacy, in which reſpe@ only it is nov one Beaſt again ; for otherwiſe in Civil Reſpetts it is divided into ten crowned Horns, 7. e. diſtin, independent Kingdoms or Principalities.
2 And the beaſt which I ſaw was like unto a leopard e,and his feet were as zhe feet of a bear f, and his mouth as the mouth of a lion g : * and the dragon gave him
his power þ, and his ſeat z, and great authority &.