beast saying, Who is like unto the Beast? Who is able to make war with him ?" And now again, we are told "there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies; and power was given unto him to continue forty and two months, . . . . to make war with the saints, and to overcome them; and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations." Now, if we accept (and there surely is no just reason why we should not accept) the usual interpretation; the "forty and two months" are to be considered to be months of years; that is, each day therein is to be reckoned as a year. Thus we have ONE THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED AND SIXTY YEARS for the duration of the Papacy as a headship of the Roman Empire. Now it is worthy of remark certainly, and of serious thought also, that from the Edict of Justinian (A.D. 533), which gave political power to the Pope of Rome (and from the date of which edict the Papal Empire grew with rapid strides), to the well-known year 1793, when the Papacy lost its imperial authority (and from which time it has grown only more and more contemptible in a political aspect), was twelve hundred and sixty years, or forty and two months. The Papacy is still a power-alas! but NOT IMPERIAL. It has no authority which it can exercise over any King in Europe. For this, its day is gone. But let us see what is further stated in the Word before

us.

"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. This second beast does not rise from the sea; his seat is not Italy, but INLAND; he comes up OUT OF THE EARTH." He has "two horns like a lamb." The likeness to a lamb may indicate a remarkable appearance of peacefulness; while his speech being like that of a dragon, represents cruelty. The two horns may indicate a particular union of two kingdoms under the control of one headship. This "Lamb," it may be, "shall come in peaceably, and obtain the kingdom by flatteries," and "work deceitfully;" so that "by peace he shall destroy many."2 He is to "exercise all the power of the first beast before him;" that is, he is to be head of the Roman Empire, though his dwelling is not to be found between the seas. Moreover, he is to do honour to the first beast. He is to cause "the earth and them that dwell therein to worship him;" that is, we may suppose, to bow down submissively to the Imperial authority as of old. But more:-This new beast "doeth 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 (that is, in the sight of the whole Empire). And besides this, "he causeth all, both

1 Dan. xi. 21-23.

2 Dan. viii. 25.

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 he that had the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name." And it is added-" 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 THREESCORE AND SIX.

Now upon this second beast I will but comment briefly. We know the dynasty which rose to power in inland parts, and at the close of the last century laid hands on the Imperial throne, taking all but the name only from the Papacy; depriving him who held the Imperial title by the Pope's authority, even of the empty name in which he gloried.2

1 Rev. xiii. It may be interesting to the reader to note that Irenæus writing in the Second Century gives the following reckoning and explanation of this mystical number. λ=30, a=1, t=300, e=5, 1= = 10, v=50, o=70, s=200, making up the total = 666; the letters together spelling λateios, a Latin person—a Roman.

2 The Emperor Napoleon I. degraded the Pope to the rank of Bishop of Rome, stripped the See of Rome of all its temporalities, and confiscated its revenues of every kind. The first blow was struck in 1793. In 1798, the blood of the Roman clergy was shed like water, the city of Rome was taken, and the Pope (Pius VI.) was led away captive. In 1809, the temporal sovereignty of Rome and the States of the Church was taken by General Radet, in the name of Napoleon, who divided the States into departments, to be governed by French officers; and the emperor conferred on his infant son the title of King of Rome. Thus

We have another very clear word upon this subject in the seventeenth chapter. A woman is spoken of "sitting on many waters" (the waters are elsewhere described as meaning "peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.") The woman is arrayed in purple and scarlet, decked with gold, precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand, full of abominations, and upon her forehead a name written— MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS, AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH." She appears "drunken with the blood of the saints and the martyrs of Jesus." Now every one reading this description of the woman, is ready to decide at once "THIS IS THE PAPACY." And no doubt it is so. But it is NOT "The Antichrist." It is NOT "The Man of Sin." It may be a type of him, but it is not he. Let us observe what is said about the woman, for it is worth our close attention. In the third verse we read thus,—“He carried me away into the wilderness; and I saw the woman sit upon a scarlet-coloured beast." Her place and position, therefore, are changed. She had been "sitting upon MANY WATERS" (i.e., ruling over many nations).

the Papacy, as an Imperial power, received a blow, from which it has not rallied.-See Hale's Chronology, vol. iii. p. 625, 626; and Keith's World and Church, p. 214–217.

1 Rev. xvii. 15.

But now she has left her position of authority, and we find her in the wilderness, supported by a scarlet-coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having SEVEN HEADS and TEN HORNS; she is supported, therefore, by the same beast which came before us as the first beast in the thirteenth chapter-namely, THE ROMAN EMPIRE. Then we have here THE ROMAN EMPIRE SUPPORTING THE PAPACY; the Papacy, as it would appear, having become too weak to support itself. But an explanation is afforded us in this chapter, which makes it very plain that only the last headship of this Empire is the actual supporter. In the seventh verse we find the Angel saying, "I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. The beast that thou sawest WAS, and IS NOT; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold THE BEAST THAT WAS AND IS NOT, AND YET IS. And here is the mind that hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth" (Rome is built on seven hills). "And there are seven kings" (this we have explained already). "Five are fallen." (In the day of the vision five of the forms of government had passed away; viz.,