[1]Isa. vi.[2]Apoc. v.[3]Apoc. vii[4]Buxtorf in Synogoga Judaica, c. 18, 21.[5]Ezek. ix.
[1]Isa. vi.
[2]Apoc. v.
[3]Apoc. vii
[4]Buxtorf in Synogoga Judaica, c. 18, 21.
[5]Ezek. ix.
Of the relation which the Prophecy ofJohnhath to those ofDaniel; and of the Subject of the Prophecy.
The whole scene of sacred Prophecy is composed of three principal parts: the regions beyondEuphrates, represented by the two first Beasts ofDaniel; the Empire of theGreekson this side ofEuphrates, represented by the Leopard and by the He-Goat; and the Empire of theLatinson this side ofGreece, represented by the Beast with ten horns. And to these three parts, the phrases of thethird part of the earth, sea, rivers, trees, ships, stars, sun, and moon, relate. I place the body of the fourth Beast on this side ofGreece, because the three first of the four Beasts had their lives prolonged after their dominion was taken away, and therefore belong not to the body of the fourth. He only stamped them with his feet.
By theearth, theJewsunderstood the great continent of allAsiaandAfrica, to which they had access by land: and by the Isles of thesea, they understood the places to which they sailed by sea, particularly allEurope: and hence in this Prophecy, theearthandseaare put for the nations of theGreekandLatinEmpires.
The third and fourth Beasts ofDanielare the same with the Dragon and ten-horned Beast ofJohn, but with this difference:Johnputs the Dragon for the wholeRomanEmpire while it continued entire, because it was entire when that Prophecy was given; and the Beast he considers not till the Empire became divided: and then he puts the Dragon for the Empire of theGreeks, and the Beast for the Empire of theLatins. Hence it is that the Dragon and Beast have common heads and common horns: but the Dragon hath crowns only upon his heads, and the Beast only upon his horns; because the Beast and his horns reigned not before they were divided from the Dragon: and when the Dragon gave the Beast his throne, the ten horns received power as Kings, the same hour with the Beast. The heads are seven successive Kings. Four of them were the four horsemen which appeared at the opening of the first four seals. In the latter end of the sixth head, or seal, considered as present in the visions, it is said,fiveof the seven Kingsare fallen, and one is, and another is not yet come; and the Beast that was and is not, being wounded to death with a sword,he is the eighth, and of the seven: he was therefore a collateral part of the seventh. The horns are the same with those ofDaniel's fourth Beast, described above.
The four horsemen which appear at the opening of the first four seals, have been well explained by Mr.Mede; excepting that I had rather continue the third to the end of the reign of the threeGordiansandPhiliptheArabian, those being Kings from theSouth, and begin the fourth with the reign ofDecius, and continue it till the reign ofDioclesian. For the fourth horsemansat upon a palehorse,and his name was Death; and hell followed with him; and power was given them to kill unto the fourth part of the earth, with the sword, and with famine, and with the plague, and with the Beasts of the earth, or armies of invaders and rebels: and as such were the times during all this interval. Hitherto theRomanEmpire continued in an undivided monarchical form, except rebellions; and such it is represented by the four horsemen. ButDioclesiandivided it between himself andMaximianus, A.C. 285; and it continued in that divided state, till the victory ofConstantinethe great overLicinius, A.C. 323, which put an end to the heathen persecutions set on foot byDioclesianandMaximianus, and described at the opening of the fifth seal. But this division of the Empire was imperfect, the whole being still under one and the same Senate. The same victory ofConstantineoverLiciniusa heathen persecutor, began the fall of the heathen Empire, described at the opening of the sixth seal: and the visions of this seal continue till after the reign ofJulianthe Apostate, he being a heathen Emperor, and reigning over the wholeRomanEmpire.
The affairs of the Church begin to be considered at the opening of the fifth seal, as was said above. Then she is represented bya womanin the Temple of heaven,clothed with the sunof righteousness,and the moonofJewishceremoniesunder her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve starsrelating to the twelve Apostles and to the twelve tribes ofIsrael. When she fled from the Temple into the wilderness, she left in the Temple aremnant of her seed, who kept the commandments of God, and had the testimony of Jesus Christ; and therefore before her flight she represented the true primitive Church of God, tho afterwards she degenerated likeAholahandAholibah. InDiocesian's persecutionshe cried, travelling in birth, and pained to be delivered. And in the end of that persecution, by the victory ofConstantineoverMaxentiusA.C. 312,she brought forth a man-child, such a child aswas to rule all nations with a rod of iron, aChristianEmpire.And her child, by the victory ofConstantineoverLicinius, A.C. 323,was caught up unto God and to his throne. And the woman, by the division of theRomanEmpire into theGreekandLatinEmpires,fledfrom the first Templeinto the wilderness, or spiritually barren Empire of theLatins, where she is found afterwards sitting upon the Beast and upon the seven mountains; and is calledthe great city which reigneth over the Kings of the earth, that is, over the ten Kings who give their kingdom to her Beast.
But before her flight there was war in heaven betweenMichaeland the Dragon, theChristianand the heathen religions; and the Dragon,that old serpent, called the Devil and Satan, who deceiveth the whole world, was cast out to the earth, and his Angels were cast out with him. AndJohn heard a voice in heaven, saying, Now is come salvation and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of hisChrist: 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. Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe be to the inhabiters of the earth and sea, or people of theGreekandLatinEmpires,for the devil is come down amongst you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.
And when the Dragon saw that he was cast downfrom theRomanthrone, and the man-child caught up thither, hepersecuted the woman which brought forth the man-child; and to her, by the division of theRomanEmpire between the cities ofRomeandConstantinopleA.C. 330,were given two wings of a great eagle, the symbol of theRomanEmpire,that she might fleefrom the first Templeinto the wildernessofArabia, to her placeatBabylonmystically so called.And the serpent, by the division of the same Empire between the sons ofConstantinethe great, A.C. 337,cast out of his mouth water as a flood, theWesternEmpire,after the woman; that he might cause her to be carried away by the flood. And the earth, orGreekEmpire,helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood, by the victory ofConstantiusoverMagnentius, A.C. 353, and thus the Beast was wounded to death with a sword.And the Dragon was wroth with the woman, in the reign ofJulianthe Apostate A.C. 361,and, by a new division of the Empire betweenValentinianandValens, A.C. 364,wentfrom her into theEasternEmpireto make war with the remnant of her seed, which she left behind her when she fled: and thus the Beast revived. By the next division of the Empire, which was betweenGratianandTheodosiusA.C. 379, theBeastwith ten hornsrose out of the sea, and theBeastwith two hornsout of the earth: and by the last division thereof, which was between the sons ofTheodosius, A.C. 395,the Dragon gave the Beast his power and throne, and great authority. And the ten hornsreceived power as Kings, the same hour with the Beast.
At length the woman arrived at her place of temporal as well as spiritual dominion upon the back of the Beast, where she is nourisheda time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent; not in his kingdom, but at a distance from him. She is nourished bythe merchants of the earth, three times or years and an half, or 42 months, or 1260 days: and in these Prophecies days are put for years. During all this time the Beast acted, andshe sat upon him, that is, reigned over him, and over the ten Kingswho gave their power and strength, that is, their kingdomto the Beast; and she wasdrunken with the blood of the Saints. By all these circumstances she is the eleventh horn ofDaniel's fourth Beast, who reigned witha look more stout than his fellows, and was of a different kind from the rest, and had eyesand a mouthlike the woman;and made war with the saints, and prevailed against them, andwore them out, andthought to change times and laws, and had themgiven into his hand, until a time, and times, and half a time. These characters of the woman, and little horn of the Beast, agree perfectly: in respect of her temporal dominion, she was a horn of the Beast; in respect of her spiritual dominion, she rode upon him in the form of a woman, and was his Church, and committed fornication with the ten Kings.
The second Beast, whichrose up out of the earth, was the Church of theGreekEmpire: for ithad two horns like those of the Lamb, and therefore was a Church; and itspake as the Dragon, and therefore was of his religion; and itcame up out of the earth, and by consequence in his kingdom. It is called alsothe false Prophetwho wrought miracles before the first Beast, by which he deceived them that received his mark, and worshiped his image. When the Dragon went from the woman to make war with the remnant of her seed, this Beast arising out of the earth assisted in that war, andcaused the earth and them which dwell therein to worshipthe authority ofthe first Beast, whose mortal wound was healed, and tomake an Image to him, that is, to assemble a body of men like him in point of religion. He had alsopower to give lifeand authorityto the Image, so that it couldboth speak, andby dictatingcause that allreligious bodies of men,who would not worshipthe authority ofthe Image, should bemysticallykilled. And he causeth all men to receive a mark in their right hand or in their forehead, 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; all the rest being excommunicated by the Beast with two horns. His mark isCrossCrossCross, and his nameΛΑΤΕΙΝΟΣ, and the number of his name 666.
Thus the Beast, after he was wounded to death with a sword and revived, was deified, as the heathens used to deify their Kings after death, and had an Image erected to him; and his worshipers were initiated in this new religion, by receiving the mark or name of this new God, or the number of his name. By killing all that will not worship him and his Image, the first Temple, illuminated by the lamps of the seven Churches, is demolished, and a new Temple built for them who will not worship him; and the outward court of this new Temple, or outward form of a Church, is given to theGentiles, who worship the Beast and his Image: while they who will not worship him, are sealed with the name of God in their foreheads, and retire into the inward court of this new Temple. These are the 144000 sealed out of all the twelve tribes ofIsrael, and called thetwo Witnesses, as being derived from the two wings of the woman while she was flying into the wilderness, and represented by two of the seven candlesticks. These appear toJohnin the inward court of the second Temple, standing on mountSionwith the Lamb, and as it were on the sea of glass. These arethe Saints of the most High, andthe host of heaven, andthe holy peoplespoken of byDaniel, as worn out and trampled under foot, and destroyed in the latter times by the little horns of his fourth Beast and He-Goat.
While theGentilestread the holy city under foot, Godgives power to his two Witnesses, and they prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days clothed in sackcloth. They are calledthe two Olive-trees, with relation to the two Olive-trees, which inZechary's vision, chap. iv. stand on either side of the golden candlestick to supply the lamps with oil: and Olive-trees, according to the ApostlePaul, represent Churches,Rom.xi. They supply the lamps with oil, by maintaining teachers. They are also calledthe two candlesticks; which in this Prophecy signify Churches, the seven Churches ofAsiabeing represented by seven candlesticks. Five of these Churches were found faulty, and threatned if they did not repent; the other two were without fault, and so their candlesticks were fit to be placed in the second Temple. These were the Churches inSmyrnaandPhiladelphia. They were in a state of tribulation and persecution, and the only two of the seven in such a state: and so their candlesticks were fit to represent the Churches in affliction in the times of the second Temple, and the only two of the seven that were fit. Thetwo Witnessesare not new Churches: they are the posterity of the primitive Church, the posterity of the two wings of the woman, and so are fitly represented by two of the primitive candlesticks. We may conceive therefore, that when the first Temple was destroyed, and a new one built for them who worship in the inward court, two of the seven candlesticks were placed in this new Temple.
The affairs of the Church are not considered during the opening of the first four seals. They begin to be consider'd at the opening of the fifth seal, as was said above; and are further considered at the opening of the sixth seal; and the seventh seal contains the times of the great Apostacy. And therefore I refer the Epistles to the seven Churches unto the times of the fifth and sixth seals: for they relate to the Church when she began to decline, and contain admonitions against the great Apostacy then approaching.
WhenEusebiushad brought down hisEcclesiatical Historyto the reign ofDioclesian, he thus describes the state of the Church:Qualem quantamque gloriam simul ac libertatem doctrina veræ erga supremum Deum pietatis à Christo primùm hominibus annunciata, apud omnes Græcos pariter & barbaros ante persecutionem nostrâ memoriâ excitatam, consecuta sit, nos certè pro merito explicare non possumus. Argumento esse possit Imperatorum benignitas erga nostros: quibus regendas etiam provincias committebant, omni sacrificandi metu eos liberantes ob singularem, qua in religionem nostram affecti erant, benevolentiam.And a little after:Jam vero quis innumerabilem hominum quotidiè ad fidem Christi confugientium turbam, quis numerum ecclesiarum in singulis urbibus, quis illustres populorum concursus in ædibus sacris, cumulatè possit describere? Quo factum est, ut priscis ædificiis jam non contenti, in singulis urbibus spatiosas ab ipsis fundamentis exstruerent ecclesias. Atque hæc progressii temporis increscentia, & quotidiè in majus & melius proficiscentia, nec livor ullus atterere, nec malignitas dæmonis fascinare, nec hominum insidiæ prohibere unquam potuerunt, quamdiu omnipotentis Dei dextra populum suum, utpote tali dignum præsidio, texit atque custodiit. Sed cum ex nimia libertate in negligentiam ac desidiam prolapsi essemus; cum alter alteri invidere atque obtrectare cæpisset; cum inter nos quasi bella intestina gereremus, verbis, tanquam armis quibusdam hastisque, nos mutuò vulnerantes; cum Antistites adversus Antistites, populi in populos collisi, jurgia ac tumultus agitarent; denique cum fraus & simulatio ad summum malitiæ culmen adolevisset: tum divina ultio, levi brachio ut solet, integro adhuc ecclesiæ statu, & fidelium turbis liberè convenientibus, sensim ac moderatè in nos cæpit animadvertere; orsà primùm persecutione ab iis qui militabant. Cum verò sensu omni destituti de placando Dei numine ne cogitaremus quidem; quin potius instar impiorum quorundam res humanas nullâ providentiâ gubernari rati, alia quotidiè crimina aliis adjiceremus: cum Pastores nostri spretâ religionis regulâ, mutuis inter se contentionibus decertarent, nihil aliud quam jurgia, minas, æmulationem, odia, ac mutuas inimicitias amplificare studentes; principatum quasi tyrannidem quandam contentissimè sibi vindicantes: tunc demùm juxta dictum Hieremiæ,obscuravit Dominus in ira sua filiam Sion, & dejecit de cælo gloriam Israel,—per Ecclesiarum scilicet subversionem, &c. This was the state of the Church just before the subversion of the Churches in the beginning ofDioclesian's persecution: and to this state of the Church agrees the first of the seven Epistles to the Angel of the seven Churches,[1]that to the Church inEphesus.I have something against thee, saithChristto the Angel of that Church,because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of its place, except thou repent. But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of theNicolaitans, which I also hate. TheNicolaitansare theContinentesabove described, who placed religion in abstinence from marriage, abandoning their wives if they had any. They are here calledNicolaitans, fromNicolasone of the seven deacons of the primitive Church ofJerusalem; who having a beautiful wife, and being taxed with uxoriousness, abandoned her, and permitted her to marry whom she pleased, saying that we must disuse the flesh; and thenceforward lived a single life in continency, as his children also. TheContinentesafterwards embraced the doctrine ofÆonsand Ghosts male and female, and were avoided by the Churches till the fourth century; and the Church ofEphesusis here commended for hating their deeds.
The persecution ofDioclesianbegan in the year ofChrist302, and lasted ten years in theEasternEmpire and two years in theWestern. To this state of the Church the second Epistle, to the Church ofSmyrna, agrees.I know, saith[2]Christ,thy works, and tribulation, and poverty, but thou art rich; and I know the blasphemy of them, which say they areJewsand are not, but are the synagogue of Satan. Fear none of those things which thou shalt suffer: Behold, the Devil shall call some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.The tribulation of ten days can agree to no other persecution than that ofDioclesian, it being the only persecution which lasted ten years. Bythe blasphemy of them which say they areJewsand are not, but are the synagogue of Satan, I understand the Idolatry of theNicolaitans, who falsly said they wereChristians.
TheNicolaitansare complained of also in[3]the third Epistle, as men thatheld the doctrine ofBalaam, who taughtBalacto cast a stumbling-block before the children ofIsrael, to eat things sacrificed to Idols, and[4]to commitspiritualfornication. ForBalaamtaught theMoabitesandMidianitesto tempt and inviteIsraelby their women to commit fornication, and to feast with them at the sacrifices of their Gods. The Dragon therefore began now to come down among the inhabitants of the earth and sea.
TheNicolaitansare also complained of in the fourth Epistle, under the name of thewomanJezabel, who calleth herself a Prophetess, to teach and to seduce the servants ofChristto commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed to Idols. The woman therefore began now to fly into the wilderness.
The reign ofConstantinethe great from the time of his conqueringLicinius, was monarchical over the wholeRomanEmpire. Then the Empire became divided between the sons ofConstantine: and afterwards it was again united underConstantius, by his victory overMagnentius. To the affairs of the Church in these three successive periods of time, the third, fourth, and fifth Epistles, that is, those to the Angels of the Churches inPergamus,Thyatira, andSardis, seem to relate. The next Emperor wasJulianthe Apostate.
In the sixth Epistle,[5]to the Angel of the Church inPhiladelphia,Christsaith:Becausein the reign of the heathen EmperorJulian,thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, whichby the woman's flying into the wilderness, and the Dragon's making war with the remnant of her seed, and the killing of all who will not worship the Image of the Beast,shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth, and to distinguish them by sealing the one with the name of God in their foreheads, and marking the other with the mark of the Beast.Him that overcometh, I will make a pillar in the Temple of my God; and he shall go no more outof it.And I will write upon him the name of my Godin his forehead. So theChristiansof the Church ofPhiladelphia, as many of them as overcome, are sealed with the seal of God, and placed in the second Temple, and go no more out. The same is to be understood of the Church inSmyrna, which also kept the word of God's patience, and was without fault. These two Churches, with their posterity, are therefore thetwo Pillars, and thetwo Candlesticks, and thetwo Witnessesin the second Temple.
After the reign of the EmperorJulian,and his successorJovianwho reigned but five months, the Empire became again divided betweenValentinianandValens. Then the Church Catholick, in the Epistle to the Angel of the Church ofLaodicea, is reprehended aslukewarm, and[6]threatned to bespewed out ofChrist'smouth. She said, that she wasrich and increased with goods, and had need of nothing, being in outward prosperity;and knew not that she wasinwardlywretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. She is thereforespewed out ofChrist'smouthat the opening of the seventh seal: and this puts an end to the times of the first Temple.
About one half of theRomanEmpire turnedChristiansin the time ofConstantinethe great and his sons. AfterJulianhad opened the Temples, and restored the worship of the heathens, the EmperorsValentinianandValenstolerated it all their reign; and therefore the Prophecy of the sixth seal was not fully accomplished before the reign of their successorGratian. It was the custom of the heathen Priests, in the beginning of the reign of every sovereign Emperor, to offer him the dignity and habit of thePontifex Maximus. This dignity all Emperors had hitherto accepted: butGratianrejected it, threw down the idols, interdicted the sacrifices, and took away their revenues with the salaries and authority of the Priests.Theodosiusthe great followed his example; and heathenism afterwards recovered itself no more, but decreased so fast, thatPrudentius, about ten years after the death ofTheodosius, called the heathens,vix pauca ingenia & pars hominum rarissima. Whence the affairs of the sixth seal ended with the reign ofValens, or rather with the beginning of the reign ofTheodosius, when he, like his predecessorGratian, rejected the dignity ofPontifex Maximus. For theRomanswere very much infested by the invasions of foreign nations in the reign ofValentinianandValens:Hoc tempore, saithAmmianus,velut per universum orbem Romanum bellicum canentibus buccinis, excitæ gentes sævissimæ limites sibi proximos persultabant: Gallias Rhætiasque simul Alemanni populabantur: Sarmatæ Pannonias & Quadi: Picti, Saxones, & Scoti & Attacotti Britannos ærumnis vexavere continuis: Austoriani, Mauricæque aliæ gentes Africam solito acriùs incursabant: Thracias diripiebant prædatorii globi Gotthorum: Persarum Rex manus Armeniis injectabat. And whilst the Emperors were busy in repelling these enemies, theHunnsandAlansandGothscame over theDanubein two bodies, overcame and slewValens, and made so great a slaughter of theRomanarmy, thatAmmianussaith:Nec ulla Annalibus præter Cannensem ita ad internecionem res legitur gesta. These wars were not fully stopt on all sides till the beginning of the reign ofTheodosius, A.C. 379 & 380: but thenceforward the Empire remained quiet from foreign armies, till his death, A.C. 395. So long the four winds were held: and so long there was silence in heaven. And the seventh seal was opened when this silence began.
Mr.Medehath explained the Prophecy of the first six trumpets not much amiss: but if he had observed, that the Prophecy of pouring out the vials of wrath is synchronal to that of sounding the trumpets, his explanation would have been yet more complete.
The name ofWoesis given to the wars to which the three last trumpets sound, to distinguish them from the wars of the four first. The sacrifices on the first four days of the feast of Tabernacles, at which the first four trumpets sound, and the first four vials of wrath are poured out, are slaughters in four great wars; and these wars are represented by four winds from the four corners of the earth. The first was an east wind, the second a west wind, the third a south wind, and the fourth a north wind, with respect to the city ofRome, the metropolis of the oldRomanEmpire. These four plagues fell uponthe third part of the Earth, Sea, Rivers, Sun, Moon and Stars; that is, upon the Earth, Sea, Rivers, Sun, Moon and Stars of the third part of the whole scene of these Prophecies ofDanielandJohn.
The plague of the eastern wind[7]at the sounding of the first trumpet, was to fall upon theEarth, that is, upon the nations of theGreekEmpire. Accordingly, after the death ofTheodosiusthe great, theGoths,Sarmatians,Hunns,Isaurians, andAustorianMoors invaded and miserably wastedGreece,Thrace,Asia minor,Armenia,Syria,Egypt,Lybia, andIllyricum, for ten or twelve years together.
The plague of the western wind at the sounding of the second trumpet, was to fall upon theSea, orWesternEmpire, by means ofa great mountain burning with firecast into it, andturning it to blood. Accordingly in the year 407, that Empire began to be invaded by theVisigoths,Vandals,Alans,Sueves,Burgundians,Ostrogoths,Heruli,Quadi,Gepides; and by these wars it was broken into ten kingdoms, and miserably wasted: andRomeitself, the burning mountain, was besieged and taken by theOstrogoths, in the beginning of these miseries.
The plague of the southern wind at the sounding of the third trumpet, was to causea great star, burning as it were a lamp, to fall from heaven upon the rivers and fountains of waters, theWesternEmpire now divided into many kingdoms, and to turn them towormwoodandblood, and make thembitter. AccordinglyGenseric, the King of theVandalsandAlansinSpain, A.C. 427, enter'dAfricawith an army of eighty thousand men; where he invaded theMoors, and made war upon theRomans, both there and on the sea-coasts ofEurope, for fifty years together, almost without intermission, takingHippoA.C. 431, andCarthagethe capital ofAfricaA.C. 439. In A.C. 455, with a numerous fleet and an army of three hundred thousandVandalsandMoors, he invadedItaly, took and plunderedRome,Naples,Capua, and many other cities; carrying thence their wealth with the flower of the people intoAfrica: and the next year, A.C. 456, he rent allAfricafrom the Empire, totally expelling theRomans. Then theVandalsinvaded and took the Islands of theMediterranean,Sicily,Sardinia,Corsica,Ebusus,Majorca,Minorca, &c. andRicimerbesieged the EmpererAnthemiusinRome, took the city, and gave his soldiers the plunder, A.C. 472. TheVisigothsabout the same time drove theRomansout ofSpain: and now theWesternEmperor, thegreat star which fell from heaven, burning as it were a lamp, having by all these wars gradually lost almost all his dominions, was invaded, and conquered in one year byOdoacerKing of theHeruli, A.C. 476. After this theMoorsrevolted A.C. 477, and weakned theVandalsby several wars, and tookMauritaniafrom them. These wars continued till theVandalswere conquered byBelisarius, A.C. 534. and by all these warsAfricawas almost depopulated, according toProcopius, who reckons that above five millions of men perished in them. When theVandalsfirst invadedAfrica, that country was very populous, consisting of about 700 bishopricks, more than were in allFrance,SpainandItalytogether: but by the wars between theVandals,RomansandMoors, it was depopulated to that degree, thatProcopiustells us, it was next to a miracle for a traveller to see a man.
In pouring out the third vial it is[8]said:Thou art righteous, O Lord,—because thou hast judged thus: for they have shed the blood of thy Saints and Prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink, for they are worthy. How they shed the blood of Saints, may be understood by the following Edict of the EmperorHonorius, procured by four Bishops sent to him by a Council ofAfricanBishops, who met atCarthage14June, A.C. 410.
Impp. Honor. &. Theod. AA. Heracliano Com. Afric.
Oraculo penitus remoto, quo ad ritus suos hæreticæ superstitionis abrepserant, sciant omnes sanctæ legis inimici, plectendos se pœna & proscriptionis & sanguinis, si ultra convenire per publicum, execrandâ sceleris sui temeritate temptaverint. Dat.viii.Kal. Sept. Varano V.C. Cons.A.C. 410.
Which Edict was five years after fortified by the following.
Impp. Honor. & Theod. AA. Heracliano Com. Afric.
Sciant cuncti qui ad ritus suos hæresis superstitionibus obrepserant sacrosanctæ legis inimici, plectendos se pœnâ & proscriptionis & sanguinis, si ultra convenire per publicum exercendi sceleris sui temeritate temptaverint: ne quâ vera divinaque reverentia contagione temeretur. Dat.viii.Kal. Sept. Honoriox.& Theod.vi.AA. Coss.A.C. 415.
These Edicts being directed to the governor ofAfrica, extended only to theAfricans. Before these there were many severe ones against theDonatists, but they did not extend to blood. These two were the first which made their meetings, and the meetings of all dissenters, capital: for byhereticksin these Edicts are meant all dissenters, as is manifest by the following againstEuresiusaLuciferanBishop.
Impp. Arcad. & Honor. AA. Aureliano Proc. Africæ.
Hæreticorum vocabulo continentur, & latis adversus eos sanctionibus debent succumbere, qui vel levi argumento à judicio Catholicæ religionis & tramite detecti fuerint deviare: ideoque experientia tua Euresium hæreticum esse cognoscat. Dat.iii.Non. Sept. Constantinop. Olybrio & Probino Coss.A.C. 395.
TheGreekEmperorZenoadoptedTheodericKing of theOstrogothsto be his son, made him master of the horse andPatricius, and Consul ofConstantinople; and recommending to him theRomanpeople and Senate, gave him theWesternEmpire, and sent him intoItalyagainstOdoacerKing of theHeruli.Theodericthereupon led his nation intoItaly, conqueredOdoacer, and reigned overItaly,Sicily,Rhætia,Noricum,Dalmatia,Liburnia,Istria, and part ofSuevia,PannoniaandGallia. WhenceEnnodiussaid, in a Panegyric toTheoderic:Ad limitem suum Romana regna remeâsse.Theodericreigned with great prudence, moderation and felicity; treated theRomanswith singular benevolence, governed them by their own laws, and restored their government under their Senate and Consuls, he himself supplying the place of Emperor, without assuming the title.Ita sibi parentibus præfuit, saithProcopius,ut vere Imperatori conveniens decus nullum ipsi abesset: Justitiæ magnus ei cultus, legumque diligens custodia: terras à vicinis barbaris servavit intactas, &c. Whence I do not reckon the reign of this King, amongst the plagues of the four winds.
The plague of the northern wind, at the sounding of the fourth trumpet, was to causethe Sun, Moon and Stars, that is, the King, kingdom and Princes of theWesternEmpire,to be darkned, and to continue some time in darkness. AccordinglyBelisarius, having conquered theVandals, invadedItalyA.C. 535, and made war upon theOstrogothsinDalmatia,Liburnia,Venetia,Lombardy,Tuscany, and other regions northward fromRome, twenty years together. In this war many cities were taken and retaken. In retakingMillainfrom theRomans, theOstrogothsslew all the males young and old, amounting, asProcopiusreckons, to three hundred thousand, and sent the women captives to their allies theBurgundians.Romeitself was taken and retaken several times, and thereby the people were thinned; the old government by a Senate ceased, the nobles were ruined, and all the glory of the city was extinguish'd: and A.C. 552, after a war of seventeen years, the kingdom of theOstrogothsfell; yet the remainder of theOstrogoths, and an army ofGermanscalled in to their assistance, continued the war three or four years longer. Then ensued the war of theHeruli, who, asAnastasiustells us,perimebant cunctam Italiam, slew allItaly. This was followed by the war of theLombards, the fiercest of all theBarbarians, which began A.C. 568, and lasted for thirty eight years together;factâ tali clade, saithAnastasius,qualem à sæculo nullus meminit; ending at last in the Papacy ofSabinian, A.C. 605, by a peace then made with theLombards. Three years before this war ended,Gregorythe great, then Bishop ofRome, thus speaks of it:Qualiter enim & quotidianis gladiis & quantis Longobardorum incursionibus, ecce jam per triginta quinque annorum longitudinem premimur, nullis explere vocibus suggestionis valemus: and in one of his Sermons to the people, he thus expresses the great consumption of theRomansby these wars:Ex illa plebe innumerabili quanti remanseritis aspicitis, & tamen adhuc quotidiè flagella urgent, repentini casus opprimunt, novæ res & improvisæ clades affligunt. In another Sermon he thus describes the desolations:Destructæ urbes, eversa sunt castra, depopulati agri, in solitudinem terra redacta est. Nullus in agris incola, penè nullus in urbibus habitator remansit. Et tamen ipsæ parvæ generis humani reliquiæ adhuc quotidiè & sine cessatione feriuntur, & finem non habent flagella cœlestis justitiæ. Ipsa autem quæ aliquando mundi Domina esse videbatur, qualis remansit Roma conspicimus innumeris doloribus multipliciter attrita, defolatione civium, impressione hostium, frequentiâ ruinarum.—Ecce jam de illa omnes hujus fæculi potentes ablati sunt.—Ecce populi defecerunt.—Ubi enim Senatus? Ubi jam populus? Contabuerunt ossa, consumptæ sunt carnes. Omnis enim sæcularium dignitatum ordo extinctus est, & tamen ipsos vos paucos qui remansimus, adhuc quotidié gladii, adhuc quotidié innumeræ tribulationes premunt.—Vacua jam ardet Roma. Quid autem ista de hominibus dicimus? Cum ruinis crebrescentibus ipsa quoque destrui ædificia videmus. Postquam defecerunt homines etiam parietes cadunt. Jam ecce desolata, ecce contrita, ecce gemitibus oppressa est,&c. All this was spoken byGregoryto the people ofRome, who were witnesses of the truth of it. Thus bythe plagues of the four winds, the Empire of theGreekswas shaken, and the Empire of theLatinsfell; andRomeremained nothing more than the capital of a poor dukedom, subordinate toRavenna, the seat of the Exarchs.
The fifth trumpet sounded to the wars, which theKing of theSouth, as he is called byDaniel, madein the time of the end, inpushing at the King who did according to his will. This plague began with theopening of the bottomless pit, which denotes the letting out of a false religion: thesmoke which came out of the pit, signifying the multitude which embraced that religion; and thelocusts which came out of the smoke, the armies which came out of that multitude. This pit was opened, to let out smoke and locusts into the regions of the four monarchies, or some of them.The King of these locustswas theAngel of the bottomless pit, being chief governor as well in religious as civil affairs, such as was the Caliph of theSaracens. Swarms of locusts often arise inArabia fælix, and from thence infest the neighbouring nations: and so are a very fit type of the numerous armies ofArabiansinvading theRomans. They began to invade them A.C. 634, and to reign atDamascusA.C. 637. They builtBagdadA.C. 766, and reigned overPersia,Syria,Arabia,Egypt,AfricaandSpain. They afterwards lostAfricatoMahades, A.C. 910;Media,Hircania,Chorasan, and allPersia, to theDailamites, between the years 927 and 935;MesopotamiaandMiafarekintoNasiruddaulas, A.C. 930;SyriaandEgypttoAchsjid, A.C. 935, and now being in great distress, the Caliph ofBagdad, A.C. 936, surrendred all the rest of his temporal power toMahometthe son ofRajici, King ofWasitinChaldea, and made him Emperor of Emperors. ButMahometwithin two years lostBagdadto theTurks; and thenceforwardBagdadwas sometimes in the hands of theTurks, and sometimes in the hands of theSaracens, tillTogrul-beig, called alsoTogra,Dogrissa,Tangrolipix, andSadoc, conqueredChorasanandPersia; and A.C. 1055, addedBagdadto his Empire, making it the seat thereof. His successorsOlub-ArflanandMelechschah, conquered the regions uponEuphrates; and these conquests, after the death ofMelechschah, brake into the kingdoms ofArmenia,Mesopotamia,Syria, andCappadocia. The whole time that the Caliphs of theSaracensreigned with a temporal dominion atDamascusandBagdadtogether, was 300 years,viz.from the year 637 to the year 936 inclusive. Now locusts live but five months; and therefore, for the decorum of the type, these locusts are said tohurt men five months and five months, as if they had lived about five months atDamascus, and again about five months atBagdad; in all ten months, or 300 prophetic days, which are years.
The sixth trumpet sounded to the wars, whichDaniel's King of theNorthmade against the King above-mentioned,who did according to his will. In these wars the King of theNorth, according toDaniel, conquered the Empire of theGreeks, and alsoJudea,Egypt,Lybia, andEthiopia: and by these conquests the Empire of theTurkswas set up, as may be known by the extent thereof. These wars commenced A.C. 1258, when the four kingdoms of theTurksseated uponEuphrates, that ofArmenia majorseated atMiyapharekin,MegarkinorMartyropolis, that ofMesopotamiaseated atMosul, that of allSyriaseated atAleppo, and that ofCappadociaseated atIconium, were invaded by theTartarsunderHulacu, and driven into the western parts ofAsia minor, where they made war upon theGreeks, and began to erect the present Empire of theTurks. Upon the sounding of the sixth trumpet,[9]John heard a voice from the four horns of the golden Altar which is before God, saying to the sixth Angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four Angels which are bound at the great riverEuphrates. And the four Angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour and a day, and a month and a year, for to slay the third part of men. By the four horns of the golden Altar, is signified the situation of the head cities of the said four kingdoms,Miyapharekin,Mosul,Aleppo, andIconium, which were in a quadrangle. They slew the third part of men, when they conquered theGreekEmpire, and tookConstantinople, A.C. 1453. and they began to be prepared for this purpose, whenOlub-Arslanbegan to conquer the nations uponEuphrates, A.C. 1063. The interval is called an hour and a day, and a month and a year, or 391 prophetic days, which are years. In the first thirty years,Olub-ArslanandMelechschahconquered the nations uponEuphrates, and reigned over the whole.Melechschahdied A.C. 1092, and was succeeded by a little child; and then this kingdom broke into the four kingdoms above-mentioned.
[1]Apoc. ii. 4, &c.[2]Apoc. ii. 9, 10.[3]Ver. 14.[4]Numb. xxv. 1, 2, 18, & xxi. 16.[5]Apoc. iii. 10, 12.[6]Apoc. iii. 16, 17.[7]Apoc. viii. 7, &c.[8]Apoc. xvi. 5, 6.[9]Apoc. ix. 13, &c.
[1]Apoc. ii. 4, &c.
[2]Apoc. ii. 9, 10.
[3]Ver. 14.
[4]Numb. xxv. 1, 2, 18, & xxi. 16.
[5]Apoc. iii. 10, 12.
[6]Apoc. iii. 16, 17.
[7]Apoc. viii. 7, &c.
[8]Apoc. xvi. 5, 6.
[9]Apoc. ix. 13, &c.