7 8 There was not, as an historian affirms, a more cruel animal upon the earth; he was so cruel that he was deservedly called by the name of Cyclops, Busiris, Phalaris, and the worst of tyrants. The history of his and several succeeding reigns is full of wars and murders, mutinies of soldiers, and invasions of foreign armies, rebellions of subjects, and deaths of princes. There were more than twenty emperors in the space of fifty years, and all or most of them died in war, or were murdered by their own soldiers and subjects. Besides lawful emperors, there were in the reign of Gallienus thirty tyrants or usurpers, who set up in different parts of the empire, and came all to violent and miserable ends. Here was sufficient employment for the sword; and such wars and devastations must necessarily produce a famine, and the famine is another distinguishing calamity of this period. In the reign of Gallus, the Scythians made such incursions, that not one nation subject to the Romans was left unwasted by them, and every unwalled town, and most of the walled cities were taken by them. In the reign of Probus1 also there was a great famine throughout the world; and for want of victuals the army mutinied, and slew him. usual consequence of famine is the pestilence, and the pestilence is the third distinguishing calamity of this period. This pestilence, according to Zonaras, arising from Ethiopia, while Gallus and Volusian were emperors, pervaded all the Roman provinces, and for fifteen years together incredibly exhausted them; and so learned a man as Lipsius declares, that he never read of any greater plague, for the space of time that it lasted, or of land that it overspread. Zosimus, speaking of the devastations of the Scythians in the reign of Gallus 3 before mentioned, 7 'Neque enim fuit crudelius animal in terris-tam crudelis fuit, ut illum aki Cyclonem, alii Busiridem, alii Scironem, nonnulli Phalarim, multi Typhonem, vel Gygem vocarent.' Jul. Capitol. Hist. August. p. 141. Vid. Trebell. Pollio Hist. August. p. 184, &c. Ο "Ωστε μηδὲ ἓν ἔθνος Ῥωμαίοις ὑπήκοον ἀπόρθητον ὑπὸ τούτων καταλειφθῆναι, πᾶσαν δὲ, ὡς εἰπεῖν, ἀτείχιστον πέλιν, καὶ τῶν ὀχυρωμένων τείχεσι τὰς πλείους, ἁλῶναι. Adeo quidem, ut nulla gens Romanæ ditionis ab eis non vastata manserit, sed omnia, prope dixerim, oppida destituta manibus, et üsdem munitorum magna pars, capta fuerint. Zosim. in Gall. 1. 1, c. 26. 1 Εγένετο λιμός κοσμικός μέγας, καὶ μὴ εὑρεθέντων ἀναλωμάτων, ἐστασίασεν ὁ στρατὸς, καὶ ἐπελθόντες ἔσφαξαν αὐτόν. Fames ingens per totum orbem grassata est: annona autem deficiente, seditione in exercitu excitata, a militibus interfectus est. Joan. Malalæ Chro nogra. 1. 12, p. 400. A 2 Zonaras auctor est, nec cæteri tacuere, sub Gallo et Volusiano imperatoribus, pestem ab Ethiopia exortam omnes Romanas provincias pervasisse, et per quindecim continuos annos incredibiliter exhausisse. "Nec alia unquam major lues mihi lecta (inquit vir nostro ævo celebris) spatio temporum, sive terrarum." Mede, p. 446. Zonar. in Gal. et Volus, Lipsius de Constantia, 1. 2, c. 23. 3 Οὐχ ἧττον δὲ, τοῦ πανταχόθεν ἐπιβρίσαν τος πολέμου, καὶ ὁ λοιμὸς πόλεσί τε καὶ κώς μαις ἐπιγενόμενος, εἴ τι λελειμμένον ἦν ἀνθρώ πειον γένος, διέφθειρεν, οὔπω πρότερον ἐν τοῖς φθάσασι χρόνοις τοσαύτην ἀνθρώπων ἀπώλειαν pyaráμevos. Nec minus bello, quod undique scaturiendo velut emerserat, lues etiam pestilens in oppidis atque vicis subsecuta, quicquid erat humani generis reliquum, absumsit: quæ sane nunquam superioribus sæculis tantam hominum stragem ediderat. Zosim. l. 1 c. 26. 7 8 farther addeth, that the pestilence, not less pernicious than the war, destroyed whatever was left of human kind, and made such havoc as it had never done in former times. He saith also, that in the reign of Gallienus,* such a grievous pestilence as never happened at any time before, rendered the calamities inflicted by the barbarians more moderate. He saith afterwards too in the reign of Claudius,5 that the pestilence seizing on the Romans as well as the barbarians, many of the army died, and also Claudius the emperor. Dionysius in Eusebius treating of the same time, mentions the war, and the famine, and the pestilence, as succeeding one another in their natural order. St. Cyprian too mentions all the three together, as troubling the world more at that time than at any other. He wrote also a treatise upon this very pestilence, which he entitled 'De Mortalitate,' as if he had taken the name from the prophecy which had predicted it. In short, without alleging more testimonies, Eutropius affirms of Gallus and Volusian, that their reign was remarkable only for the pestilence, and diseases, and sickness, Orosius' asserts much the same thing: and Trebellius Pollio 2 likewise informs us, that in the reign of Gallienus the pestilence was so great that five thousand men died in one day. When the countries lie thus uncultivated, uninhabited, unfrequented, the wild beasts multiply, and come into the towns to devour men; which is the fourth distinguishing calamity of this period. This would appear a probable consequence of the former calamities, if history had recorded nothing of it: but we read in history that five hundred wolves together entered into a city, which was deserted by its inhabitants, and where the young Maximin chanced to be. It is well known, that the heathens maliciously ascribed all public calamities to the Christians, and among them we find objected' the wars which they were 3 Αοιμὸς ἐπιβρίσας παῖς πόλεσιν, οἷος οὕτω πρότερον ἐν παντὶ τῷ χρόνῳ συνέβη, τὰς μὲν ὑπὸ τῶν βαρβάρων συμφορὰς μετριωτέρας απέ φηνε. Tanta pestis in civitatibus exorta, quanta nunquam prius ullo tempore exstiterat, calamitates a barbaris illatas leviores reddidit. Zosim. 1. 1, c. 37. 5 Αψαμένου τοῦ λοιμοῦ καὶ Ῥωμαίων, ἀπέθανον μὲν πολλοὶ τοῦ στρατεύματος, τε λευτᾳ δὲ καὶ Κλαύδιος. Sed quod in Romanos quoque pestis sævire cœpisset, cum alii complures in exercitu mortui sunt, tum etiam Claudius vivendi finem fecit. Zosim, ibid. c. 46. 6 Euseb. Eccles. Hist. 1. 7, c. 22. Sed enim cuni dicas, plurimos conqueri quod bella crebrius surgant, quod lues, quod fames sæviant, &c.' Ad Demetrianum, c. 1. Quod autem crebrius bella continuant, quod sterilitas et fames soli ་ citudinem cumulant, quod sævientibus mor- 'Sola pestilentia, et morbis, atque ægritudinibus notus eorum principatus fuit.' Eutrop. 1. 9, c. 5. 1 'Hac sola pernicie insignes Gallus et Volusianus.' Oros. Hist. c. 21. 2 'Pestilentia tanta exstiterat, ut uno die quinque millia hominum perirent.' Trebell. Pollio Hist. August. p. 177. 3 'Lupi urbem quingenti simul ingressi sunt, in quam se. Maximinus contulerat quæ deserta a civibus venienti Maximino patuit.' Julius Capitolin. ibid. p. 150. 4 'Quando cum feris bella, et prælia cum leonibus geşta sunt? Non ante nos ?' Arnob. advers. Gentes, 1. 1, p. 5. obliged to wage with lions and wild beasts; as we may collect from Arnobius, who wrote soon after this time. The colour of the pale horse is very suitable to the mortality of this period; and the proclamation for death and destruction is fitly made by a creature like an eagle that watches for carcasses. This period continued from Maximin to Diocletian about fifty years. (9) "And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held. (10) And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? (11) And white robes were given unto every one of them, and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow-servants also, and their brethren that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled." The following seals have nothing extrinsical, like the proclamation of the living creatures, to determine from what quarter we must expect their completion; but they are sufficiently distinguished by their internal marks and characters. The fifth seal or period is remarkable for a dreadful persecution of the Christians, who are represented (ver. 9) lying under the altar, (for the scene is still in the tabernacle or temple,) as sacrifices newly slain and offered to God. They cry aloud (ver. 10) for the Lord to judge and avenge their cause; that is, the cruelties exercised upon them were of so barbarous and atrocious a nature, as to deserve and provoke the vengeance of the Lord. "White robes are given unto every one of them," (ver. 11,) as a token of their justification and acceptance with God; and they are exhorted to "rest for a season," till the number of the martyrs be completed, when they shall receive their full reward, as we shall see hereafter. Where Mr. Lowman 5 observes very well, that this representation seems much to favour the immediate happiness of departed saints, and hardly to consist with that uncomfortable opinion, the insensible state of departed souls, till after the resurrection.' There were other persecutions before, but this was by far the most considerable, the tenth and last general persecution which was begun by Diocletian, and continued by others, and lasted longer, and extended farther, and was sharper and more bloody than any or all preceding; and therefore this was particularly predicted. Eusebius and Lactantius, who were two eye-witnesses, have written large accounts of it. Orosius asserts that this persecution was longer 7 8 and more cruel than all the past; for it raged incessantly for ten years by burning the churches, proscribing the innocent, and slaying the martyrs. Sulpicius Severus too describes it as the most bitter persecution, which for ten years together depopulated the people of God; at which time all the world almost was stained with the sacred blood of the martyrs, and was never more exhausted by any wars. So that this became a memorable era to the Christians, under the name of the era of Diocletian, or as it is otherwise called the era of martyrs. (12) "And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and lo, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood. (13) And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs when she is shaken of a mighty wind: (14) And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together: and every mountain and island were moved out of their places: (15) And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bond-man, and every free-man hid themselves in the dens, and in the rocks of the mountains; (16) And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: (17) For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?" The sixth seal or period produceth mighty changes and revolutions, which, according to the prophetic style, are expressed by great commotions in the earth and in the heavens. The very same images, the very same expressions are employed by other prophets concerning the mutations and alterations of religions and governments: and why may they not therefore with equal fitness and propriety be applied to one of the greatest and most memorable revolutions which ever were in the world, the subversion of the Heathen religion, and establishment of the Christian, which was begun by Constantine the Great, and was completed by his successors? The series of the prophecy requires this application, and all the phrases and expressions will easily admit of such a construction. "And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, (ver. 12,) and lo, there was (σclouds péyas) a great earthquake," or rather a great concussion; for the word in the original comprehends the shaking of heaven as well as of earth. The same phrase is used by the prophet Haggai, (ii. 6, 21,) concerning the first coming of Christ, "I will shake the heavens and the earth :" and this shaking, as the apostle saith, (Heb. xii. 27,) "signifieth the removing of Acerbissima persecutio, quæ per decem continuos annos plebem Dei depopulata est; qua tempestate omnis fere sacro martyrum cruore orbis infectus est:-Nullis unquam magis bellis mundus exhaustus est.' Sulp. Sever. Hist. Sacr. L. 2, p. 99. those things which are shaken;" and so the prophet Hagga. himself explains it, "I will shake the heavens and the earth, and I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, and I will destroy the strength of the kingdoms of the Heathen :" And where was ever a greater concussion or removal, than when Christianity was advanced to the throne of Paganism, and idolatry gave place to the true religion? Then follow the particular effects of this general concussion, (ver. 12. 14:) "And the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig-tree casteth her untimely figs when she is shaken of a mighty wind: And the heavens departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. Isaiah speaketh much in the same manner concerning Babylon and Idumea, (xiii. 10; xxxiv. 4:) "For the stars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light; the sun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to shine: And all the host of heaven shall be dissolved, and the heavens shall be rolled together as a scroll; and all their host shall fall down as the leaf falleth off from the vine, and as a falling fig from the fig-tree;" and Jeremiah concerning the land of Judah, (iv. 23, 24:) "I beheld the earth, and lo, it was without form and void; and the heavens, and they had no light: I beheld the mountains, and lo, they trembled, and all the hills moved lightly;" and Ezekiel concerning Egypt, (xxxii. 7:) "And when I shall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the stars thereof dark; I will cover the sun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light;" and Joel concerning Jerusalem, (ii. 10, 31:) "The earth shall quake before them, the heaven shall tremble, the sun and the moon shall be dark, and the stars shall withdraw their shining: the sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and the terrible day of the Lord come;" and our Saviour himself also concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, (Matt. xxiv. 29:) "The sun shall be darkened, and the moon shall not give her light, and the stars shall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens shall be shaken." Now it is certain, that the fall of any of these cities and kingdoms was not of greater concern and consequence to the world, nor more deserving to be described in such pompous figures, than the fall of the Pagan Roman empire, when the great lights of the heathen world, the sun, moon, and stars, the powers civil and ecclesiastical, were all eclipsed and obscured, the heathen emperors and Cæsars were slain, the heathen priests and augurs were extirpated, the heathen officers and magistrates were removed, the heathen temples were demolished, and their revenues appropriated to better uses. It is customary with the prophets, after |