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10 And there are feven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a fhort space.

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II And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the feven, and goeth into perdition.

12 And the ten horns which thou faweft, are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.

13 These have one mind, and fhall give power and ftrength unto the beaft.

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14 Thefe fhall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb fhall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings; and they that are with him, are called, and chofen, and faithful.

15 And he faith unto me, The waters which thou faweft, where the whore fitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

16 And the ten horns which thou faweft upon the beaft, these fhall hate the whore, and fhall make her defolate, and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.

17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God fhall be fulfilled.

18 And the woman which thou faweft, is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

It was not thought fufficient to reprefent these things only in vifion; and therefore the angel, like the ayyλcs, nuncius, or meffenger in the ancient drama, undertakes to explain (ver. 7.) the mystery, the mystic sense or secret meaning, of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her and the angel's interpretation is indeed the beft key to the Revelation, the best clue to direct and conduct us thro' this intricate labyrinth.

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The mystery of the beaft is firft explained; and the beaft is confidered firft in general (ver. 8.) under a threefold ftate or fucceffion, as exifting, and then ceafing to be, and then reviving again, fo as to become another and the fame. He was, and is not, naimeg esw and yet is, or according to other copies xar wagesar and shall come, shall afcend out of the bottomless pit. A beast in the prophetic ftile, as we before observed, is a tyrannical idolatrous empire; and the Roman

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empire was idolatrous under the Heathen emperors, and then ceafed to be fo for fome time under the Chriftian emperors, and then became idolatrous again under the Roman pontiffs, and fo hath continued ever fince. It is the fame idolatrous power revived again, revived again, but only in another form; and all the corrupt part of mankind, whofe names are not inrolled as good citizens in the registers of heaven, are pleased at the revival of it: but in this laft form it Shall go into perdition; it fhall not, as it did. before, cease for a time, and revive again, but shall be destroyed for ever.

After this general account of the beast, there follows an explanation of the particular emblems, with a fhort preface intimating that they are deferving of the deepest attention, and are a proper exercise and trial of the understanding. Here is the mind which hath wisdom; (ver. 9.) as it was faid upon a former occafion, (XIII. 18.) Here is wisdom; let him that hath understanding count &c. The feven heads have a double fignification. They are primarily feven mountains on which the woman fitteth, on which the capital city is feated; which all who have the leaft tincture of letters know to be the fituation of Rome. Hiftorians, geographers, and poets, all

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fpeak of the city with feven bills; and paffages might be quoted to this purpose without number and without end. It is obferved too, that new Rome or Conftantinople is fituated on seven mountains: but thefe are very rarely mentioned, and mentioned only by obfcure authors, in comparison of the others; and befides the seven mountains, other particulars also must coincide, which cannot be found in Conftantinople. It is evident therefore, that the city feated on feven mountains must be Rome; and a plainer description could not be given of it, without expreffing the name, which there might be feveral wife reasons for concealing.

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As the feven beads fignify feen mountains, fo they also fignify feven kings, reigning over the feven mountains. (ver. 1o, II.) Και βασιλεις επλα Eow, And they are feven kings or kingdoms, or forms of government, as the word imports, and hath been shown to import in former inftances. Five are fallen, five of these forms of government are already paft; and one is, the fixth is now fubfifting. The five falien are kings, and confuls, and dictators, and decemvirs, and military tribunes with confular authority; as they are enumerated and diftinguished by those who fhould beft know, the two greateft Roman hiftorians,

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hiftorians,' (7) 'Livy and Tacitus. The fixth is the power of the Cafars or emperors, which was fubfifting at the time of the vifion. An end was put to the imperial name (8) in the year 476 by Odoacer king of the Heruli, who having taken Rome depofed Momyllus Auguftulus, the laft emperor of the weft. He and his fucceffors the Oftrogoths' affumed the title of Kings of Italy but tho' the name was changed, the continued much the fame. This power ftill therefore cannot well be called a new form of government'; it may rather be confidered as a continuation of the imperial power, or as a renovation of the kingly authority. Confuls are reckoned but one form of government, tho' their office was frequently fufpended, and after a time reftored again: and in the fame manner kings may be counted but one form of government, tho' the name was refumed after an interval of fo many years. A new form of government was not erected, till Rome fell under the obedience of the eastern emperor, and the enperor's lieutenant, the exarch of Ravenna, diffolved

(7) Quæ ab condita urbe Ro ma ad captam eandem urbem Romani fub regibus primum, confulibus deinde ac dictatoribus, decemvirifque ac tribunis confularibus geffere. Livii Lib.6. Cap. 1. Urbem Romam a principio reges

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habuere. Libertatem & confulatum L.Brutus inftituit. Dictature. ad tempus fumebantur: neque Decemviralis poteftas ultra biennium, neque tribunorum militum confulare jus diu valuit. NonCinnæ, non Suliæ longa dominatio:

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