vation, viz. That the Woman, or great Whore that rides upon the Beaft is the City of Rome, 'tis fo eafily prov'd, is of fuch great importance, and may be difpatch'd in fo few words alfo; that it ought not to be omitted. And first Babylon the great, Apoc. xvij. 5. the Mother of Harlots, and Abominations of the Earth, as the is here ftil'd, is that City which fereth upon feven Mountains, in the express words of the Angel: The feven heads of the Ver. 9. Beaft are feven mountains, upon which the woman jitteth. Which in the days of St. John was as t clear, and known a defcription of the City of Rome, as That great City of England which is fituate on the River Thames, would be of London at this day. And then fecondly, left any fhould poffibly evade or mistake fuch an illuftrious Character, the Angel adds another more plain, if poffible, than the former: The woman which thon Ver. 18. faweft, is that great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth: than which nothing could be plainer, or more unque ftionable of this nature in the World: and therefore juftly fuperfedes any farther Defcriptions or Arguments in the prefent cafe: efpecially fince even Grotius himself, who was fo very unwilling to believe it, is forc'd to own, upon the place, that "there could not have been given more illuftrious marks "of the City of Rome, than thofe made ufe of by the Angel here. Scholium. It must here be obferv'd that when we have fuch See Dr. Cref frequent mention of Babylon, of Babylon the Great, or of the fener's Judg Great City, or of the Great and Broad City, alone, without ments, p. 84, 85. & Juricu, the name Babylon added to it, we muft thereby fo understand the City of Rome, as to remember 'tis confider'd as theHead, + Dies feptimontium nominatus, ab his feptem montibus in queis fita Urbs eft. Varro lib. 4. de L. L. Septemque una fibi muro circumdedit arces. Virgil. Georg. l. 2. & Æneid. 76. Diis, quibus feptem placuere colles Dicere carmen. Horat. Carm. Secular. Montibus, Imperii Roma, Deumque Locus. Ovid. Faft.l.1. & De Dumque fuis victrix feptem de montibus orbem Profpiciet domitum Martia Roma, legar. Trift. l. 3. Eleg. 7. Septem Urbs alta jugis, toti quæ præfidet orbi. Propertius. P. 262, xvj. 19. & L. & Lj. or Metropolis of the Empire; and under that Expreffion fuppofe its whole Dominion or Jurifdiction; i. e. at least the Empire of the Latines, or the Western Empire, to be included. Because, (1.) This gives the beft account why this Apoc. xj. 8. & City is ftill call'd the Great City, and Babylon the Great, and the Great and Broad City in this Prophecy: tho' in fome Pexvij. 1, 5, 18. riods of it many Cities have exceeded it in extent and num& xviij. 2, 10, ber of Inhabitants: viz. because it includes a vaft Jurifdicti16, 18, 19, 21. on, and is confider'd as the Head of the fourth Monarchy; which Empire therefore is not excluded, when its Head, or In Apoc. xvij. Metropolis is exprefs'd. And this is Grotius's own Paraphrase, "Mulier eft Roma; fed Notandum cum Urbe fimul notari Imperium Urbis. (2.) This is the Stile of the Old Prophets, Under the Principal and Royal City to include the Empire belonging Ifa. xlvij. Jer. thereto; and particularly concerning the Old and Literal Ba bylon, from whence St. John borrows that Name for the City of Rome. For thereby the Babylonian Empire is defign'd, or at leaft, is therein included; as I think all Commentators do allow. (3.) The expreffions in the Apocalypfe about Babylon do imply and fuppofe this Signification; and are not otherApoc.xviij.24. wife accountable: As where 'tis faid, that in this Babylan was found the blood of Prophets and of Saints, and of all that were flain upon the earth. Where the two Witneffes dead bodies are faid to ly in this Great and Broad City: and they of the People, and Kindred, and Tongues, and Nations, fee them there three days an half. And where the first Fall of the Antichriftian Beaft is exprefs'd by the fall of the tenth part of this City. All which Expreffions are eafy and accountable in our Notion, that it includes the Empire thereto belonging. But if the City, the Great City, Babylon the Great, and the like Phrafes fignify nothing beyond the Walls of Rome; nor at all relate to the Jurifdiction and Provinces thereto belonging, I know not what tolerable Interpretation can be put upon them. (4.) There is not wanting a fpecial Reafon from Hiftory for this extent of the Name of the City of Rome, as to the latter Ages of it. For as Grotius himself affures us, By the Decree of Antoninus the Roman Emperor, All within the Bounds of the Roman Empire were made Citizens of Rome; which gives a very particular account & xj. 8, 9. Ver. 13. De jure Belli. of of the juftness of these Phrafes in our large acceptation of them as to the Roman Empire, above that of any other Empire whatfoever. But it is here to be particularly noted that as Babylon cannot denote the Compafs of the Roman Jurifdiction Separately from the City of Rome; but only under that, when conjoin'd, the other is taken in; fo by that Jurifdiction, or Compafs of the Empire of Rome, the Latin, or Western Em pire may alone be understood ever fince the Greek, or Eastern Empire own'd another Head, or Metropolis, I mean Conftantinople. II. "This Bealt with feven Heads and ten Horns, is the Roman "fcrib'd by the Prophet † Joel; as we have already with the Part 1. Schol. "Chaldee Paraphraft, Abarbanel,and others among the Jews; and 1. Poft Lem"with St. Cyril,and St. Jerom among the Chriftians, interpreted ma 2, "that Prophecy; but when it is divided into 10Kingdoms,to"wards its conclufion. For (1.) This is the plain Import of Da-. niel's Description of this Empire, both in the Vifion of the Erucam, inquit Hieronymus, Hebræi Affyrios interpretantur, Babylonios, atque Chaldæos; qui de uno orbis climate procedentes tam decem tribuum, quam duarum, hoc eft Ifraelitici populi cuncta vaftarunt. Locuftam autem Medos interpretantur, & Perfas; qui fubverfo Imperio Chaldæorum Judæos habuere captivos. Bruchum Macedonas, & omnes Alexandri fucceffores, maximeque Regem Antiochum cognomento Epiphanem, qui inftar Bruchi fedit in Judæa, & omnes priorum Regum reliquias devo ravit. Rubiginem referunt ad Imperium Romanum, qui quarti & ultimi in tantum oppreffere Judæos, ut de fuis finibus eos pellerent. Hoc utrum quoque hiftorice factum, necne fit, liquido affirmare non poffumus. Neque enim Regum & Paralipomenon narrat hiftoria: quod utique fi fuiflet nunquam fcriptura tacuiffet. Tantum dicimus quod fub metaphora Locuftarum Hoftium defcribatur Adventus. Hieronymo fere affentitur Cyrillus; qui per has quatuor peftes Salmanaffarem, Nabuchodonozorum, Antiochum, & Romanos intelligit. Chaldæus Paraphraftes in eundem fere fenfum confpirat, dum hafce quatuor Locuftarum fpecies Arbe, Jelek, Chafil, & Gazam Joel ij. 25. Populos, & Linguas, & Imperia, & Regna vindictae interpretatur. Abarbanel quoque, Hieronymum fecutus, hunc Prophetam veniffe afferit, ut prophetaret de dominatione quatuor Imperiorum, Babylonici, fcilicet, & Perfici, & Græci, & Romani. Et a literali fenfu ufque adeo alienus eft, ut de iis agens qui ad Locuftas hæc referunt, in ipfa Præfatione exclamet, Abfit a me ut hoc credam: Apud Cl. Bochartum De Animal. Sac. lib. iv. cap. iv. Videfis etam Joel j. 2. & ij. 2. cum Exod. x. 14. great Dan. ij.31. &c. great Image; and in that other, of the fame general nature, of the four Beasts: and that in each cafe in the Vilion it felf, and in its interpretation alfo: And the almoft bare view of the words of the Prophet will abundantly justify this Affertion. Thus in the firft Vifion fays Daniel to Nebuchadnezzar, Thou O king, faweft, and behold a great image: this great image, whose brightness was excellent, stood before thee: and the form thereof was terrible. The images head was of fine gold, his breaft and his arms of filver, his belly and his thighs of brajs, his legs of iron, his feet part of iron, and part of clay. Thou faweft till that a stone was cut out without hands, which more the image upon his feet, that were of iron and clays and brake them to pieces. Now 'tis plain, that the firt State of the Roman Empire, reprefented by the Leggs, all intirely of Iron, has nothing like a divifion isto ten at all; neither indeed has the first part of the latter State, reprefented by the Feet, any fuch divifion. But then the laft part of the latter State, reprefented by the 10 Toes, here fuppos'd as an effential part of the Feet; and afterward mention'd Ver. 41, 42. exprefly, do evidently imply, that the divifion of the Empire into to Kingdoms, was to be the laft Stage of it: and that alone which can be parallel'd with the Beaft when it had 10 Horns, both in Daniel and St. John. Thus more fully in the Interpretation of this Vifion afterward. The fourth kingdom fball be strong as iron; [i. e. in its firft State, reprefented by the Legs, which were wholly of that Metal: and ball breakin pieces, and fubdue all things; [according to the nature of that Metal:] But the feet and toes shall be part of iron, and part of clay and fo the latter part of the kingdom fhall be partly frong, and partly brittle. Now here, fince in this place we find a diftinction between the Feet and the Toes; and fince both of them are made part of Iron, and part of Clay; and fo denominate a compound, or mix'd State of the Empire, after the firft State of Iron was over; and fince withal the 10 Toes are at the extremity of the Feet, they muft denote the very last State of the Empire, not beginning till a confiderable time after the compound, or mix'd State had obtain'd, and continuing till its final Conclufion and Deftruction. Thus alfo in the fecond Vifion: After this, fays Daniel, I saw in the night vifi Ver. 40, &c. Dan. vi ̧ 7. ons,. ons, and behold a fourth beast, dreadful, and terrible, and strong. exceedingly: and it had great iron teeth. It devoured, and brake in pieces, and stamped the refidue with the feet of it: and it was diverfe from all the beafts that were before it: and it had ten horns. Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast; which Ver. 19. &c. was diverfe from all the others, exceeding dreadful, whose teeth. were of iron, and his nails of brass; which devoured, brake in pieces, and stamped the residue with his feet: and of the ten horns that were in his head, and of the other which came up, and before whom three fell; even of that horn that had eyes, and a mouth that Spake very great things, whofe look was more ftout than his fellows. I beheld, and the fame horn made war with the faints, and prevailed against them, until the ancient of days came, and judgment was given to the faints of the most high, and the time came that that the faints poffeffed the kingdom. Where we fee that the 10 Horns are laft mention'd of every thing belonging to the Beast; and the account of thofe 10 Horns, and of the Little Hornrelating to them, reaches to the conclufion of that Kingdom, and the coming of Chrift to take the Kingdom into his own hand. Thus, lastly, in the Interpretation of this Vision, The fourth beaft fhall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which Ver. 23, &c. fhall be diverfe from all kingdoms: and fhall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom, are ten kings that shall arife: and another fhall arife after them: and he shall be diverfe from the first, and he shall fubdue three kings. And he shall speak great words against the most high, and Jhall wear out the faints of the most high, and think to change times and lawes; and they shall be given into his hand until a time, and times, and a divifion, or part of time. But the Judgment shall fit, and they shall take away his dominion, to confume and to destroy it unto the end. Where ftill we fee that the 10 Horns belong to the last State of the Roman Monarchy; and that their Companion who arifes foon after 'em, viz. The little Horn, continues with them till the Judgment fits, or, as it is before, till the Beast is flain, and his body destroy- Ver. 1 1. ed, and given to the burning flame. From all which concurring Evidence in this Book of Daniel, it is clear, that the 10 Horns are the last Sovereigns of the Roman Empire, and imme diately |