The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet to come; and when he cometh be must continue a short space. And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition. And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast. These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings; and they that are with him are called, and chosen, and faithful. And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues. And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth."

In chapter xii. the outward visible Church was seen flying into the wilderness, seeking, in the arms of the world, protection from the malice of her persecutor. Being nourished and supported by the hand of man in the wilderness, she forsook her first love, and became a harlot, like Aholah and Aholibah of old. In the chapter now under consideration, she is seen standing in the maturity of her corruptions, upheld by her lovers, decked in costly ornaments, glutted

and satiated with the blood of the martyrs, and having the cup of idolatry in her hand; of which cup, the kings of the earth, and all the nations, and people over whom her power is extended, have partaken without exception. Disguised and changed, as she now is, she can scarcely be recognized for the same woman, who before had been clothed with the sun of righteousness, and had the crown of twelve stars. See page 213. The name now upon her forehead is mystery, which is the leading feature of Popery, taking that word to mean, according to its vulgar acceptation, a thing absolutely unintelligible, and incomprehensible.* And it is a very remarkable coincidence, that the word ungo should formerly have been engraved upon the Pope's tiara. Her name is called Babylon, which signifies mixture or confusion ; and so, her abominations consist in mixing heavenly and earthly things together, in confounding law with gospel; and the Jewish, with the Christian ordinances and ceremonies, From this unhallowed association, many abominations have proceeded; and therefore is she called the mother of harlots; as giving birth to many, and to strange corruptions of doctrine, of ceremony, and of moral practice. The

*Muσrnglov signifies some sacred thing, hidden or secret, which is naturally unknown to human reason, and is made known by the revelation of God.-See Parkhurst: Lex: Gr: in Voc.

many waters, upon which the great whore sitteth, are explained v. 15, to be peoples, multitudes, and nations. She is above the kings of the earth, ruling over them, causing them to obey her commands, and turning them to idolatry and superstition. Such

briefly is the Papal power, standing in the maturity of its corruptions, and the particulars are so fully traced by Protestant commentators, that it is unnecessary to go further into detail.

The next point to be considered is the character of the wild beast, who at this period carries the mystic Babylon. It is the beast of the bottomless pit, mentioned once before, as the slayer of God's faithful witnesses, in Rev. xi. 7. and it typifies the Roman power in its last and infidel condition, subsisting in the ten Latin kingdoms, as already explained. Viewing the wild beast as he is exhibited in this place, there are no crowns upon his horns; and the names of blasphemy are transferred from the heads to the body of the beast himself. He is described as arising from the bottomless pit of infidelity, and it is he that goeth into perdition: under this form he perishes.

In the earthquake of the French Revolution, the imperial head of the Latin empire was brought low.

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Its power and its name were taken away together, by Napoleon Buonaparte, in the year 1806. But still there has remained an imperial head amongst the Latin kingdoms; for when the German empire fell, France was raised up into an empire, and the chief ruler of Austria retained the title of emperor. It cannot, therefore, be said, that the imperial head has passed away. The Latin power, however, assumed a new shape. And there is no longer a Roman or a German emperor, who, as the chief of the other Latin kingdoms, has authority to marshal them to war: and who, as the first-born son of the Church of Rome, upholds the Papal Church, and her authority, being ready at all times to draw the sword in her defence: but the Papal Church is now in these latter days, upheld entirely by the individual power of each separate kingdom or government, as the established religion of the land, There has been also another great change the revolutionary and infidel spirit has gone forth pretty generally in the Latin countries; and the Church has lost that hold which it once had, upon the feelings and the affections of the people. In many places, now, the bondage of priestcraft is scarcely tolerated; and a large portion of the people, in more than one Papal country, especially in France, seem to view that Church, not merely with an indifferent, but with a jealous eye; and appear to look for

ward to the time, when her superstitions and her mum

meries shall be brought to nought. present appearances, it is by no

And according to means impossible,.

that a day may not be very distant, when a burst of revolutionary fury, such as was seen thirty years ago, may bring the Papal fabric to the ground süddenly, in more than one country of Europe. An event of this description, extending itself through the Latin empire, would be a very literal fulfilment of verse 16. Conjectures, however, upon future events, do not belong to this inquiry. That which is written shall come to pass, but the mode and the circumstances of the fulfilment, are not objects of legitimate investigation.

It is worthy of remark also, how much the situation, and the aspect of things are changed by the lapse of years. The Church of Rome formerly was paramount, and exercised the full power of the state, în wrath against her enemies; destroying them with fire, and with sword, and with divers kinds of death. This state of things was exhibited under the symbol of the two wild beasts in Rev. xiii.; the last of which, having two horns like a lamb, exercised the power of the first before his face. But in these latter times, the Church no longer uses the sword of the state in manner as heretofore; she is satiated-she has taken her fill-and is become drunken with the blood of the

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