the God of his fathers, nor the desire of wiving [as saith Mr. Meed], nor regard any God, for he shall magnify himself above all," Dan. xi. 37. We know who it is that calls himself the successor of Peter the prince of the apostles; but this horn regards not the God of those holy fathers. And we are not at a loss to find out who it is that forbids marriage; nor where to find him out that is called our Lord God the pope, and God on earth, &c. Paul applies all this to antichrist: "Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their conscience seared with an hot iron, forbidden to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats." All this is fulfilled in the pope; marriage is forbidden the priests, monks, friars, and nuns; and abstaining from meats in Lent, and at numberless other times, without a licence or grant from the pope to the contrary, is manifest enough to all,

The next account Daniel gives, is, that he shall magnify himself above every God, Dan. xi. 36; which Paul describes thus: "For that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God," 2 Thess. ii. 3, 4. Here the apostle intimates that God would have a

church, or temple, at Rome, as he had in Paul's days and in the days of Constantine, in which church, or temple, when it began to decline, the man of sin should sit, and shew himself to be God, above all civil magistrates that are called gods, and above God himself in some things; that is, in sending, as he pretends, the saints to hell for heretics, and canonizing sinners for heaven for the sake of money, which is acting above God himself.

The apostasy of Rome from Christ to antichrist is a fulfilment of Paul's prophecy in his epistle to the Ronians; "Behold, therefore, the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness; otherwise, thou also shalt be cut off," as they now are.

Now, to find out the mystery of iniquity and man of sin, we must take the hints that God gives us, and apply them where we find them applicable. The

First is, He shall make war with the saints, till the Ancient of Days sets up his universal kingdom. This the pope has done, and it has been done by his instigation, which began soon after Phocas proclaimed him universal bishop: and hence it is said, that in Babylon shall be found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth, Rev. xviii. 24.

2. He is to exalt himself above all that are called Gods. We have long since heard of his kicking the crown from the head of emperors, and

making them hold his stirrup while he mounted his horse, and of ten kings that have given their strength and power to him.

3. He is to forbid marriage. This is published to the world in the pope's decrees.

4. He is to command to abstain from meats. The red-letter days, in their almanacks, and fasting in Lent, is notorious enough: this nation is still filled with the remains of that rubbish.

5. We know who they are that are beguiled by a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels, Col. ii. 18. The worship of angels and saints departed is well known to be enjoined by antichrist.

6. We know who they are that make a shew of wisdom and will-worship and humility, and neglecting of the body, Col. ii. 23. Beating and thumping the craw, whipping themselves, penance, and pilgrimages, are obvious enough. And these are God's marks of antichrist, and we know where to apply them. The

7. Is, that no man might buy or sell, except he has the mark of the beast in his hand, or his forehead. All trade, commerce, and dealings, with those that the pope calls heretics, have been prohibited by the decrees of popes and councils, unless they received the marks of the beast in the forehead, that is, to profess popery; or in the hand, that is, to defend it.

Now this beast is to take the outer court, or gain the outer-court worshippers over to him, Rev. xi.

1,2; and then he will kill or silence all the Protestant ministers of Christ, Rev. xi. 7; and this will be the time of trouble, such as never was before; and at that time shall Michael stand up, Dan. xii. 1. This will be the hour of temptation that will try the whole world that is called Christian, Rev. iii. 10. And, when he hath gained all the outercourt worshippers that he can, and has slain the witnesses, he will set up his tabernacle in this island, and make his own religion once more the established religion of this country. And this is the work that is now in hand, and it goes on apace, but it will not last long: "He shall plant the tabernacles of his palace between the seas in the glorious holy mountain; yet he shall come to his end, and none shall help him." I much question but there are some thousands of infants now born into the world, who will, in their future hoary heads, either rejoice or lament the destruction of the whore of Babylon; for that man of sin will soon have grey hairs upon him, though he will not know it; and if he continues in his greatness threescore and ten years from this time, I have lost my mark: but of that day, and that hour, knoweth

no man.

This man of sin was long hatching. There were many antichrists in the apostles' days, who, by broaching various heresies, were preparing materials for the son of perdition. "The mystery of iniquity doth already work," says Paul. This was antichrist in embryo, or the spirit of antichrist

leavening and influencing the minds of heretics and impostors to receive and embrace him whenever he should appear; this was previous to the revelation of him: but Paul says there was a bar in the way. "Only he who now letteth will let until he be taken out of the way, and then shall that wicked be revealed." The Roman emperors, while they kept their seat at Rome, hindered the appearance of the little horn; but when Constantine moved the seat of the empire from Rome to Constantinople, where all the eastern emperors resided afterwards, and the emperors of the west residing chiefly at Milan or Ravenna, Rome became vacant, and then the fourth beast in its antichristian state appeared, and the little horn, the pope, at the head of it; as it is written: "And the beast which I saw was like 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, his seat, and great authority." And now Phocas, who had murdered his master, proclaimed the pope of Rome universal bishop; and this was the revelation of the man of sin. The Dragon, or Satan, gave him his seat, power, and authority; Phocas gave him his title; Pepin and Charlemagne gave him his patrimony; and the world wondered after the beast, and gave him homage: and God will give him his destruction.