of their lives, but lifted up their voices in the higli
places of the earth, and in the palaces of kings.
' And many were terrified, and gave glory to the
God of heaven.' Yes, many were converted from
the error of their ways, and from being the enemies
of Christ and His people, became His friends.
' The second woe is past ; and, behold, the third
woe Cometh quickly ' (Rev. xi. 14).
The Seventh Trumpet.
*And the seventh angel sounded; and there
were great voices in heaven, saying. The king-
doms of this world are become the kingdoms of our
Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign for
Q
122 THE APOCALYPSE EXPLAINED:
ever and ever. And tlie four and twenty elders,
which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their
faces, and worshi]3ped God, saying. We give Thee
thanks, Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast,
and art to come ; because Thou hast taken to Thee
Thy great power, and hast reigned. And the nations
were angry, and Thy wrath is come, and the time of
the dead, that they should be judged, and that
Thou shouldest give reward unto Tliy servants the
prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear
Thy name, small and great ; and shouldest destroy
them which destroy the earth. And the temple of
God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in
His temple the ark of His testament : and there
were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and
an earthquake, and great hail* (Rev. xi. 15ā19).
We have here the winding up of the first seiies
of visions in the Revelation ā those contained in the
book which the Lamb took out of the hand of Him
who sat upon the throne, as recorded in the fifth
chapter. The Seven Seals have all been opened,
and the last of the Seven Trumpets contained
under the seventh seal has been blown.
This introduces us to scenes which are yet
in the future. It closes the testimony of the
witnesses, in the sense of the preceding vision.
They had been slain, and raised from the dead,
and exalted to a state of comparative security at
REVELATION, CHAPTER XL 123
the time of tlie Keformation ; but now their war-
fare is ended; their triumph is complete. The
twelve hundred and sixty years, so often spoken
of in the Kevelation, is closed, and the millennial
period of the Church is ushered in,- when ' the king-
dom, and dominion, and greatness of the kingdoms
under the whole heaven shall be given to the people
of the saints of the Most High.'
This seventh trumpet, though a joyful one to the
people of God, is called a woe-trumpet, on account of
its bearing upon His enemies ; portending the de-
struction of their power, the defeat of all their plans,
and their subjection, for a long period, to the rule
of Christ and His people. ' The time of the dead ""
ā the spiritually dead ā ' is come, that they should
be judged, and that .... Thou shouldest destroy
them which destroy the earth.'
This is followed by one of those out-bursting
exclamations of gratitude and praise, which are so
often sounded forth in heaven, in celebrating the
victories of God and the Lamb. ' We give Thee
thanks, Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast,
and art to come : because Thou hast taken to Thee
Thy great power, and hast reigned.' and hast given
' reward unto Thy servants the prophets, and to the
saints, and to them that fear Thy name, small and
great.'
In response to this loyal, grateful song, the
124: THE APOCALYPSE EXPLAINED:
temple of God was opened in heaven ā opened even
to the holy of holies, so that the ark of the tes-
tament was seen : ' x\nd there were lightnings, and
thunderings, and an earthquake and great hail.'
These symhols portend the great changes and
revolutions that must take place on the earth,
when all the wicked are converted or destroyed,
and the kingdom and dominion are given to the
saints.
REVELATION, CHAPTER XII. 125
CHAPTER X. ā .
THE MYSTICAL WOMAN AND HER SEED.
EEVELATION, CHAP. XII.
* A ND there appeared a great wonder in lieaven ;
J-JL a woman clothed with the sun, and the
moon mider her feet, and upon her head a crown of
twelve stars : And she, being with child, cried,
travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.
And there appeared another wonder in heaven ; and
behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and
ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. And
his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven,
and did cast them to the earth : and the dragon
stood before the woman which was ready to be
delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it
was born. And she brought forth a man-child,
who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron :
And her child was caught up unto God, and to His
throne. And the woman fled into the wilderness,
where she hath a place prepared of God, that they
should feed her there a thousand two hundred and
threescore days.
126 ' THE APOCALYPSE EXPLAINED:
'And tliere was war in heaven: MicTiael and
liis angels fought agamst the dragon; and the
dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not ;
neither was their place found any more in heaven.
And the great dragon was cast out, that old ser-
pent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceivetli
the whole world : he was cast out into the earth,
and his angels were cast out with him. And I
heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come
salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our
God, and the power of His Christ : for the accuser
of om* brethren is cast down, which accused them
before our God day and night. And they over-
came him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the
word of their testimony ; and they loved not their
lives unto the death. Therefore rejoice, ye hea-
vens, and ye that dwell in them.
' Woe to the inhabitcrs of the earth and of the
sea ! for the devil is come down unto you, having
great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but
a short time.
' And when the dragon saw that he was cast unto
the earth, he persecuted the woman which brought
forth the man-child. And to the woman were given
two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into
the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished
for a time, and times, and half a time' ā three years
and an half, or twelve hundred and sixty days ā
IIEVELATION, CHAPTER XII . 127
' from the face of the serpent. And the serpent cast
out of his mouth water as a flood, after the woman,
that he might cause her to be carried away of the
flood. And the earth helped the woman ; and the
earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the
flood which the dragon cast out of his mouth. And
the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went
to make war with the remnant of her seed, which
keep the commandments of God, and have the tes-
timony of Jesus Christ ' (Rev. xii.).
Having closed the first series of visions in the
Apocalypse ā those connected with the book of seven
seals ā we now enter upon a consideration of other
visions, ā some of them running back and covering
a part of the ground over which we have already
passed.
In this twelfth chapter, John has a vision, the
scene of which is laid in the visible heavens ā the
region of the sun, moon, and stars ā and not, as
before, in the celestial heavens. He sees a royally
attired woman, bathed as it were in the light of the
sun, with the moon under her feet, and twelve stars,
like a coronal, encircling her head. She is in travail,
and brings forth a son.
This woman and her seed, midoubtedly, repre-
sents the Chm-ch of Christ, looking back to its origin
in the first ages. Her progeny is in peril before its
birth ; for there is crouched very near her ' a great
128 THE APOCALYPSE EXPLAINED:
red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns.' He
is a fearful monster, lying along the sky, and seem-
ing to beat down, with the thrash of his tail, a third
part of the stars of heaven. He is watching the
travailing woman, and waiting to destroy her chikl
as soon as it is born.
This shows the perils of the Chnrch of Christ
in its early history, and the watchful intent of the
powers of darkness to destroy it ; for this great red
dragon is expressly interpreted to be ' that old ser-
pent, called the Devil, and Satan.' But he is foiled
in his attempt to seize and destroy the child. The
babe is instantly taken to a place of security, and
the mother flies into the wilderness, where a place
is prepared for her, and where she is to be protected
and nourished for twelve hundred and sixty days,
or years, ā the same period in which the witnesses
are said to have borne their testimony.
Defeated in his designs upon the early Church,
Satan and his legions now engage in open conflict
"vvith the archangel ^lichael and his legions. John
saw this conflict in the visible heavens, ā much like
one which is said to have been witnessed over Jeru-
salem, just previous to its overthrow by Titus.-^ Of
course, the whole scene was emblematic and vision-
ary, showing the deep interest which invisible beings,
good and bad, feel in the destinies of men ; some
' See Tacitus, Book v. sect. 13.
REVELATION, CHAPTER XII. 129
striving for their salvation, and others as intently,
for their destruction.
In this conflict the dragon is defeated, driven
out of the visible heavens, and cast down to the
earth. Still, his hatred of the mystical woman, the
Church, is not abated. He pursues her into the
place of her retirement, and because he cannot over-
take her, he pours forth after her a flood of water to
destroy her. But her Almighty protector is pre-
pared for this attempt. He opens chasms in the
affrighted earth, which swallow up the rushing
waters, and the Church is safe. She is protected
and nourished for the long period above stated, ā
the twelve hundred and sixty years.
And now, what more instructive parable could
have been invented to set forth the hatred of wicked
beings, satanic and human, to the Church of Christ,
with their persistent efforts to destroy it, and at
the same time to signify its safety in the hands of
its great Deliverer? He thwarts every eflbrt, de-
feats every design for its destruction, until, in the
fulness of time, in the end of these wonders, it is
brought out into a large place, and its final victory
is secured.
It is said in the prediction, that the Church will
one day rule the guilty nations ' with a rod of iron,*
or an iron sceptre. This phraseology, as we find it
in the Scriptures, does not imply cruelty or injustice,
IVBESi'iTJI
130 THE APOCALYPSE EXPLAINED:
but merely firmness, invincibleness, and integrity.
It is applied, in more than one instance, to the rule
of the Messiah (Rev. xix. 15 ; Ps. ii. 9).
We have, mixed up with the triumphs of this
^'ision, as of the last, loud voices in heaven, saying,
' Now is come salvation, and strength, and the
kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ ;
for the accuser of our brethren is cast down. . . ."
And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb,
and by the word of their testimony ; and they loved
not their lives unto the death' (Rev. xii. 10, 11).
REVELATION, CHAPTER XIIL 131
CHAPTER XL
RISE AND DESCRIPTION OP THE PAPAL BEASTS.
REVELATION, CHAP. XIII.
* A ND I stood upon the sand of the sea, and saw
-LX a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven
heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crov^ns,
and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. And
the beast which I saw was Hke unto a leopard, and
his feet were as the feet of a bear, and his mouth as
the mouth of a lion : and the dragon gave him his
power, and his seat, and great authority. And I
saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death ;
and his deadly wound was healed : and all the world
wondered after the beast. And they worshipped
the dragon which gave power unto the beast : and
they worshipped the beast, saying, Who is like unto
the beast ? who is able to make war with him ? And
there was given unto him a mouth speaking great
things, and blasphemies ā¢ and power was given unto
him to continue forty and two months. And he
opened his mouth in blasphemy against God, to
blaspheme His name, and His tabernacle, and them
132 THE APOCALYPSE EXPLAINED:
that dwell in heaven. And it was given unto him
to make war with the saints, and to overcome them :
and power was given him over all kindreds, and
tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the
earth shall worship him, whose names are not
written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from
the foundation of the world. If any man have an
ear, let him hear. He that leadeth into captivity,
shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the
sword, must be killed with the sword. Here is the
patience and the faith of the saints' (Rev. xiii. 1ā10).
The beast of the Apocalypse was incidentally
mentioned in chap. vii. 11 ; but here he is fully pre-
sented and described. A beast, in prophetic lan-
guage, represents a tyrannical, idolatrous kingdom,
or power. Such were the several beasts which
Daniel saw rising up from the sea. The kingdom
of God and of Christ is never set before us under
the symbol of a beast.
As John stood on the sea shore of Patmos, he
' saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven
heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns,
and upon his heads the names of blasphemy,' or
blasphemous names.
The seven heads and ten horns mark this beast
as Rome, in its civil secular power. The seven
heads denote the seven hills on which Rome was
built, and the seven forms of government which
REVELATION, CHAPTER XIII. 133
successively prevailed there. The first six of these,
according to Tacitus, were Kings, Consuls, Dicta-
tors, Decemvirs, Military Tribunes, and Emperors ;
five of which had passed away before the time of
this prophecy; and the sixth form, the Imperial,
was then in its glory. But this, before the fulfil-
ment of the prophecy, had been wounded to death,
and the deadly wound had been healed.
Its wounding and healing are thus set forth
in history. Rome ceased to be an empire in the
year 476, when Augustulus, the last of the em-
perors, was conquered by Odoacer, king of the
Goths. From this period Rome continued to be
subject to foreign princes for about three hundred
years. During a part of this time it was reduced
to a mere dukedom, and made subject to the Exarch
of Ravenna. This, surely, was a wounding to
death of the sixth or imperial head of Rome.
In the latter part of the sixth century the Lom-
bards broke into Italy, possessed themselves of a
considerable part of it, and established a kingdom at
Pavia. As they increased in ambition and strength,
they strove to become masters of Ravenna and
Rome. In these circumstances, the Popes of Rome
applied, first to Pepin, king of the Franks, and
afterwards to his son, Charlemagne, for help. The
Franks came into Italy at two separate times,
drove out the Lombards, and gave their dominions
134 THE APOCALYPSE EXPLAINED
to the Pope. They thus constituted the bishop of
Rome a monarch. He was the sovereign of Rome,
and of a considerable part of Italy ; and here was
the ongin of the temporal dominions of the Pope
(of which he has recently been divested). Here
was the healing of the wounded imperial head ; the
head was restored in another form, and it continued
to be a reigning power for the next thousand years.
But the beast which John saw had not only
seven heads, but ten crowned horns. These signify
the ten kingdoms into which, on its being broken
up, the western Roman empire was divided.
It follows that the beast which John saw rising
out of the sea was not Pagan Rome, nor imperial
Rome, but Papal Rome. It was Rome after its im-
perial head had been wounded to death by the
incursions of the Goths ā after it had been divided
into ten separate governments or kingdoms ā and
after its deadly wound had been healed by crown-
ing the Pontiff, and making him sovereign of a
considerable part of Italy. It was this imperial
Papal Rome which afterwards * opened its mouth in
blasphemy against God, to blaspheme His name,
and His tabernacle, and them that dwell in heaven.'
It was this power which * made war with the saints,
and overcame them,' and which all the wicked of
the earth have been inclined to follow and to wor-
ship. And this same power was to continue its
REVELATION, CHAPTER XIII. 135
blasphemous course and bloody career for forty and
two months, or twelve hundred and sixty days, or
to the end of the twelve hundred and sixty years.
And then its retribution should come ; he that had
led so many into captivity, should go into captivity ;
and he that had killed so many by the sword, should
be killed by the sword.
* And I beheld another beast coming up out of
the earth, and he had two horns like a lamb, and
he spake as a dragon: and he exerciseth all the
power of the first beast before him, and causeth
the earth, and them that dwell therein, to worship
the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed.
And he doeth great wonders, so that he maketh
fire come down from heaven on the earth in the
sight of men, and deceiveth them that dwell on
the earth by the means of those miracles which
he had power to do in the sight of the beast, say-
ing to them that dwell on the earth, that they
should make an image to the beast, which had the
wound by a sword, and did live. And he had
power to give life unto the image of the beast, that
the image of the beast should both speak, and cause
that as many as would not worship the image of
the beast should be killed. And he caused all,
both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond,
to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their
foreheads : and that no man might buy or sell, save
136 THE APOCALYPSE EXPLAINED:
he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or
the number of his name. 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 six hundred three score and six'
(Rev. xiii. 11-18).
If we have succeeded in giving the true signi-
ficance of the first beast, there can be no mistake
in regard to the second : for the two are evidently
in close alliance, mutual assistants, working to-
gether for the same objects and designs. The
second beast * exerciseth all the power of the first
beast before him, and causeth the earth, and them
that dwell therein, to worship the first beast, whose
deadly wound was healed.' At the same time, he
has not the same fierce look as the first beast.
He has horns like a lamb, though he speaks as a
dragon. In short, if the first beast was Papal
Rome, in its secular hingly authority, the second is
the same Papal Rome in its alleged spiritual ecclesi-
astical authority. The two things are distinct, as
here represented, and yet they cannot be separated.
They run on together, playing into each others
hands, and yielding a mutual countenance and sup-
port, until they come to the end of their career ;
which is, the end of the twelve hundi-ed and sixty
years.
The second beast claims, as the Church of Rome
REVELATION, CHAPTER XIII. 137
has ever done, the power to work miracles. *He
doeth great wonders, so that he maketh fire come
down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men,
and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by
means of those miracles which he had power to do
in the sight of the beast.' These are false miracles,
of course, or men would not be deceived by them.
The second beast, like the first, is a persecutor.
He * causeth that as many as wdll not worship the
image of the first beast, shall be killed.' He sets
his mark on all his followers, and will not allow
them to traffic with those who have not the mark,
or the name of the beast, or the number of his
name.
As this device of Popery is not so generally
understood as some others, I adduce the following
authorities to prove it. The Council of Lateran,
under Pope Alexander III., has a severe canon
against the Albigenses and Waldenses. It anathe-
matises any one ' who should receive or cherish
them in his house, or have traffic with them.'
The synod of Tours, under the same Pope, com-
mands that no one ' should receive or assist these
heretics, or hold any communion with them in
selling or buying, that so, being deprived of the
comforts of life, they may be compelled to repent
of the errors of their way.' Also Pope Martin
v., in his bull, issued after the Council of Con-
s
138 THE APOCALYPSE EXPLAINED:
stance, enjoins upon his people that they shall not
allow ' the heretics to have houses in their distncts,
or to enter into any contracts, or carry on com-
merce, or enjoy the comforts of humanity with
Christians.'
In short, there is no difficulty in seeing what
power is represented by this second beast, even if
the closing test proposed by the writer be not ap-
plied. This closing test is the number of his name ;
and this, says John, ' is six hundred three score
and six.'
Various interpretations have been put upon this
number, but nearly all of them terminate in Rome.
The one given by Irenoeus, who lived near the time
of John, is as likely to be correct as any other. He
represents the Greek letters, which, used as numerals,
amount to Qt^^, as also forming the word A ATEINOS,
{Latinus), which is but another name for Rome.
Others solve the mystery of the number in
another way. They show that the time between
the vision in the chapter before us, and the com-
mencement of the Pope's kingly authority, was GQG
years.
In our previous inquiry we have fomid frequent
mention of the forty and two months and twelve
hundred and sixty days, ā which we understand to
denote twelve hundred and sixty years, ā in which
the Church is to be persecuted and well-nigh de-
REVELATION, CHAPTER XIIL 139
stroyed by its enemies. Thus, the holy city is to
be trodden under foot forty and two months ; and
the two witnesses are to prophesy in sackcloth
twelve hundred and sixty days (chap. xi. 2, 3).
The mystical woman is to flee into the wilderness,
and be nourished there twelv^e hundred and sixty
days (chap. xii. 6, 14). And the beast rising out
of the sea is to continue his iron rule forty and two
months (chap. xiii. 5). So, in Daniel, the saints of
the Most High are to be given into the hands of
the power represented by the little horn, until ' a
time and times, and the dividing of time,' Le.^ three
years and a half ā the same period as that indicated
in the Revelation (Dan. vii. 2b).
The question arises now, When did this long
period of oppression and persecution commence?
And when will it end ?
It ends, in every case, in what is technically
called the millennium. And if we knew wdth ac-
curacy when it commenced, we might determine
the date of the millennium. But this we do not
know. When was the mystical temple measured,
and the court of the Gentiles left out, and the
holy city given up to be trodden under foot?
When did the two witnesses commence giving
their testimony in sackcloth? When did the woman
flee into the wilderness, to be sheltered and nour-
ished there? When were the saints of the Most
140 THE APOCALYPSE EXPLAINED:
High giveu into the hands of Daniel's Httle horn ?
We have not the means of answering definitely any
of these questions. Perhaps the periods indicated
by them did not all commence together, but at dif-
ferent times, in the course of a century or more.
Papal Eome did not rise to the height of its supre-
macy all at once. Its usurpations were gi'adually
assumed. Its abominations were gradually accu-
mulated ; and so its prostration and breaking up may
be gradual. The millennium may not be fully in-
troduced at once. It may come along gradually,
and in some of its stages imperceptibly Its light,
which even now may be streaking the east, will
shine brighter and bnghter unto the perfect day.
There is, however, one of the Apocalyptic sym-
bols denoting the commencement of the twelve
hundred and sixty years, which, as it seems to me,
is quite definitely fixed, ā I mean the rising of the
beast out of the sea, in the thirteenth chapter. This
beast, we have seen, denotes Papal Rome, in its po-
litical secular character; and it arose when the
Pope received his temporal dominions, and became
a king. This took place about the year 756 ; and
the twelve hundred and sixty years added to this,
Avill make the millennium to commence in about
A.D. 2000, or in the six thousandth year of the world.
Meanwhile, the way will be constantly preparing
for it ; revolutions will be taking place, one after
REVELATION, CHAPTER XIII . 141
another ; and the power of Kome will be constantly
diminishmg. But at the time above mentioned,