Tillotson's Sermons; edited by R. Barker, D. D. vol. 2. p. 321, being the second Sermon from Rev. xiv. 13. written about 1687-8, at the time of the Persecution of the Protestants in France.

THE Consideration of the extreme sufferings which are to fall upon the faithful servants of Christ in the last times, and which seem now to be begun in the world, should make us very contented to leave this world, and glad of any fair opportunity and excuse to take our leave of it, and to be out of the reach and danger of those violent and more than human temptations, with which our faith and constancy may be assailed; nay, to esteem it a particular grace and favour of God to us, to be taken away from the evil to come, and to prevent, if God sees it good, those extremities of sufferings which are coming upon the world.

These seem now to be begun in some part of it: they, in our neighbour nation, have a bitter cup* put into their hands; a cup of astonishment to all those that hear of it. Whether this be that last and extreme persecution spoken of here by St. John, I shall not pretend positively to determine. It is plainly distinguished in the visions from that under the first beast, described

*The revocation of the edict of Nantz.

Rev. xiii. from verse 1 to 11. And chap. xvii.there I is a description of the beast upon which the woman sitteth, on whose forehead is a name written,—“ Mystery, Babylon the Great." And this beast is there said to have seven heads and ten horns, which are thus explained by St. John, xvii. 9, 10. "And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, upon which the woman sitteth. And there are seven kings;" that is, (as is generally agreed by interpreters), a succession of seven governments. And verse 12, 13, 14. "And the ten horns which thou sawest, are ten kings, which have received no kingdoms as yet, but receive power as kings one hour with the beast. These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast, and shall make war with the Lamb." And verse 18. "And the woman which thou sawest, is that great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth."

So that this beast is plainly the Roman empire; and the woman that sitteth upon her is the great city standing upon seven mountains, which reigneth over the kings of the earth; which can be no other than Rome, as is agreed by interpreters on all sides. Bellarmine (1. 2. c. 2. de Rom. Pontif.) confesseth that St. John, in the Revelations, every where calleth Rome Babylon, as Tertullian, saith he, hath noted, and as is plain from chap. xvii. where Babylon is said to be seated on

seven mountains, and to have dominion over the kings of the earth; there being no other city than Rome which, in the time of St. John, had dominion over the kings of the earth, and that Rome was built upon seven hills is famous. Thus much Bellarmine acknowledgeth, constrained by the force of truth, and for another small reason, namely, because St. Peter writes his first epistle from Babylon; by which, if Rome be not meant, they have no proof from scripture that St. Peter was ever there.

Indeed, they of the church of Rome would have it to be only Rome pagan; but that cannot be, because this beast, after his last head was wounded to death, and his deadly wound was healed, had power given him to continue two and forty months, or as it is elsewhere expressed, 1260 days, that is, in the prophetic style, so many years; and likewise, because it was not to begin till the ten kingdoms, into which the Roman empire upon its dissolution was divided, were set up, which was not till after the western empire was overthrown and destroyed by the Goths and Vandals. And lastly, because this is that Rome, or Babylon, which should finally be destroyed, and cast as a millstone into the bottom of the sea, never to rise again, which is yet to come. And of this beast it is said, that he should make war with the saints, and overcome them, chap. xiii. 7,-that is, that he should raise

a long and great persecution against them, which should try their faith and patience. Ver. 10. “Here is the patience and the faith of the saints." The beast, then, with ten horns, must be Rome governing the ten kingdoms into which the Roman empire was broken; and this can be nothing else but Rome papal, to which the ten kings are said to give their power, and to which they were, in a most servile manner, subject for several ages, as is plain from history.

And, to confirm this, it is very observable that the ancient fathers generally agree, that that which hindered the revealing of the wicked one, (spoken of by St. Paul, 2 Thess. ii. 7, 8,) was the Roman empire, and that being removed, the man of sin, or antichrist, was to succeed in its room. I shall produce a few testimonies to this purpose, but very remarkable ones. Tertullian, expounding what St. Paul means by him that withholdeth or letteth, hath these words: Quis nisi Romanus status, &c. Who is that but the Roman state, which, being broken into ten kings, shall bring on antichrist, and then the wicked one shall be revealed? And, in his Apology, he gives this reason why the christians should pray for the Roman emperors, and the whole state of the empire, because the greatest mischief hanging over the world is hindered by the continuance of it. St. Chrysostom, speaking of that which hinders the revelation of the man of sin, "This,"

says he, "can be no other than the Roman empire; for, as long as that stands, he dares not show himself; but, upon the vacancy or ceasing of that, he shall assume to himself both the power of God and man." St. Austin, in his Book de Civit. Dei," No man," says he, “doubts but that the successor to the Roman emperor, in Rome, shall be the man of sin, and we know who hath succeeded him."*

But now, after this, another beast is represented coming out of the earth, not succeeding in the place of the first beast, but appearing during his continuance, ver. 12; and he hath these remarkable characters by which he may be known:+

1. He is said to have but two horns, by which, according to the interpretation of the ten horns, signifying the ten kingdoms into which the Roman empire after its dissolution should be divided, we are, in all reason, to understand two of those kingdoms, of which this beast, whoever he be, shall be possessed.‡

2. He is said to be like a lamb, but to speak like a dragon; that is, to pretend and make a show of great lenity and mildness in his proceed

The pope..

This description of the beast, as well as that of the little horn, in Daniel, appear to agree in pointing out Napoleon.

As emperor of the French and king of Italy.