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7.12.

it afcends out of the bottomless pit, that is to say, from Hell. The one hinders not the other. The Papifm comes from Hell, but not by the fame means as the firft beast did. These two Empires come not from the fame place. The firft Empire fprings from the people, and their ambition. The fecond Empire proceeds from the Clergy, and their ambition. It fprings from the Earth as a plant, that shoots out fmall, and becomes great infenfibly, without effufion of blood, and without fpoil. He had two horns like a Lamb. The Roman Church calls her felf the Spouse of the Lamb; ufurps his power; the name of Jefus Christ is always in her mouth; and if the may be believed, fhe doth but exercife the power of Jesus Christ, that hath been lawfully conferred upon her. Jefus Chrift hath two powers, in Heaven and in Earth. All power is given me in Heaven and Earth, faith he. The Roman Church faith the fame thing of her felf. She afcribes to her self the temporal power, and the fpiritual one. He fpeaks as a Dragon. For he utters blafphemies against God, and terrible threatnings against his Children.

And he exercifeth all the power of the first beaft before him. The Papifm hath re-establifht all the authority of the ancient Emperours. The Roman Church caufes her felf to be ferved by Kings. She takes away their demeanfs, the disposes of their Crowns, the draws tribute from them, and exercifeth jurisdiction in all their States. The firft Beaft, that is to fay, the Roman Pagan Empire, did no more in the countries that were fubject to it.

And caufeth the Earth, and them which dwell therein to worship the firft Beaft, Raifing up in her felf the power of the ancient Empire, fhe makes that ancient Empire be raised up again,

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under a new name, viz. that of the Roman Church, be adored and served. And he doth v.13. great wonders, fo that he maketh fire come down from heaven on Earth in the fight of men. We fhall have occafion to obferve, and prove several times hereafter , as we have already done before, that in the style of the Prophets, Heaven, when an Estate and an Empire is treated of, always fignifies the foveraign region of those dignities. The Sun is the Soveraign, the stars are the Grandees. Here an Empire, a State, is treated of under the name of a Beaft. The Soveraign region of that State is the Heaven from that State falls fire, that is to fay, thunders. It can't be doubted, but this is what the Roman Church it felf calls thunders, and thundring Bulls. 'Tis thofe decrees and thofe Papal Bulls which proceed from the Court of Rome. Thefe are no other than Paft-board thunders and artificial fire-works. However 'tis known that they have fet Kingdoms in a flame a hundred and a hundred times and have many times thought to fet all Europe on Fire. To this are added Signs, that is to lay, prodigies of pride, ambition, madnefs, policy, carnal weapons, and other means, by which the Beast of Rome hath ufed to establish its dominion, and fubject Kings to its felf. This doth not exclude the falfe miracles

which the Papifm hath used to eftblish it felf. But as it is here confider'd much more as a Kingdom than as a Religion, by thefe figns 'tis much better to understand the wicked means it hath employed to establish its tyranny, than the lying miracles, which it used to establish its falfe myfteries. And deceiveth them which dwell on the Earth by the means of thofe miracles. That is to fay,

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Y. 15.

v. 16.

he induced them by all the ways of deceit and
violence to do homage to him, and fubmit
themselves to his dominion, Saying to them that
dwell on the Earth, that they fhould make an image
And he had power to give life unto
to the beast.
the image of the beast, that the image of the beast
Should both Speak, and caufe that as many as would
not worship the image of the Beast, should be killed.
This here is an admirable place. The Roman
Church is an Empire. However, it is but an image
of an Empire, an imaginary Empire, founded only
on the deceived imagination of men. They
need but fay NOT, to deftroy this Empire. The
reality of an Empire confifts in citadells, in for-
treffes, in armies. The Roman Church hath none
of all this. For the little armies that the Pope
might raife, is not that which fecures his Em-
pire. 'Tis not therfore a true Empire. The Con-
vents of the Monks are his Citadels. The Monks
are his Souldiers and Armies. The Priests are his
Emiffaries. The Bishops and Arch-Bifhops are his
Lieutenants. But all these are but images. Ne-
vertheless this image of an Empire fpeaks, acts
makes decrees, railes all Europe, and causes all
thofe to be killed, that will not pay it the like
homage, which was render'd to the ancient
Roman Empire.

And he causeth all, both small and great, &c. to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads. And that no man might buy, or fell, favehe that had the mark or the name of the Beaft. The Forehead is the feat of profeffion. Thence it came that ancient Chriffians fignified their profeffion of Chriftianity by a fign of the Cross on the forehead. The Hand is the inftrument of action. The inhabitants of the Earth can

neither

neither buy, nor fell, under the dominion of the Papifm, that is to fay, partake of its favours and its riches unless they have the Profeffion of a Papift on their Forehead, and the actions of one in their Hands. This is what is meant by the Mark of the Beast, and not fome particular mark, and one Properly fo called.

Here is wisdom; let him that hath understanding count the number of the Beast: for it is the number of a man, and his number is fix hundred threefcore and fix. If fo much had not been wrote about this, here would be a fubject to write a great deal upon. But in a few words few words, I can't doubt, but that they who have reckoned the numeral power of the letters of the name of the Roman Church, and of its Pope, have hit upon the fenfe of the Prophecy. Tis the number of bis name; that is to fay, expreffely contained in his name. Tis a number of a man; that is to fay, 'tis a number that must be understood according as men do count; not in a prophetical and Mysterious style, which oftentimes under one number hides another unknown number. But in what language mnft we count the numeral letters of the name of the Beaft? 'Tis eafy to determin that. The Prophecies must be explained according to the language of the Prophets. There are two languages of the Prophets, Hebrew and Greek. Look for the name of the Roman Church in thefe two languages. In Hebrew you will find Romiyth, and in Greek Lateinos. The first fignifies the Roman Beaft, or the Roman Church. The second fignifies the Emperour or the Latin Pope. And in the one and in the other there is exactly fix hundred threefcore and fix.

Here I might stop with reference to the

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num

v. 18.

The num

ber 144. denotes

because of

root.

number 666. And 'tis with fome difficulty that I enter upon the depths of the interpretation of those Authors, who would have this Number 666. refpect not the Name of the Beast, but of his Empire. They pretend, that as the Number 144. is confecrated to fignify the Empire of 7. Chrift, which appears by the 144. thoufand Sealed ones, pretty often mention'd in the whole the Revelation; in like manner the Number Church, 666. mystically denotes the entire Empire of the welve, Beaft and its principal Characters. They obferve, its fquare that the Number 144. hath for its fquare root the Number twelve. For twelve multiplied by it felf, twelve times twelve makes 144. The Number of twelve is facred, because of the twelve Patriarchs of the ancient Ifrael, and the twelve Apostles, that are the Patriarchs of the new Ifrael. So the Number 144. that myftically fignifies the whole Church of I. Chrift, is founded on the Number twelve. That is to fay, the whole Chriftian Church is founded on the Apostles, who make one divine Hierarchy. Wherfore the number twelve bears fway in all the parts of the defcription of the ferufalem, which we read of in the 21. Chap. of the Revelation. She hath twelve Foundations, twelve Gates, twelve angells, twelve Tribes, twelve thousand Furlongs. The Tree of Life, which is in the midft of the place, bears twelve Sorts of fruits every year; and lastly, the Wall is of 144. Cubits, i.e. twelve times twelve. So the Church, which hath her root in the number twelve, by the multiplication of this number twelve by it felf, makes 144. 4 facred Number. But the number 666. which is exorbitant, and which exceeds the number oftwelve and hath not this number twelve for its root,

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