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moons and festivals as well as all fublunary things, 'under her feet; and upon her head a crown of twelve stars," an emblem of her being under the light and guidance of the twelve apoftles. And the being with child, cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.' St Paul hath made ufe of the fame metaphor, and applied it to his preaching and propagating of the gofpel in the midst of tribulation and perfecution, Gal. iv. 19. My little children of whom I travail in birth again, until Christ be formed in you.' But the words of St John are much ftronger, and more emphatically exprefs the pangs, and ftruggles, and torments, which the church endured from the first publication of the gospel to the time of Conftantine the great, when the was in fome measure eased of her pains, and brought forth a deliverer. Mr Whiston carries the comparison farther. (Effay on the Revelation. Part. 3. Vifion 3.) "For as the time of geftation from the conception to the birth in women with child, is known to be 40 weeks or 280 days; so it is as well known, that from the first rise of our Saviour's kingdom at his refurrection and afcenfion A. D. 33. till the famous proclamation and edict, for the univerfal liberty and advancement of Christianity by Conftantine and Licinius A. D. 313. which put an end to the pangs of birth in the heaviest perfecution that ever was then known, was exactly 280 years," reckoning according to the prophetical account a day for a year. At the fame time there appeared,' ver. 3., ' a great dragon;' which is the well known fign or fymbol of the Devil and Satan, and of his agents and inftruments. We find the kings and people of Egypt, who were the great perfecutors of the primitive church of Ifrael, distinguished by this title in feveral pla ces of the Old Teftament: Pfal. lxxiv. 13. If. li, 9. Ezek. xxix. 3. and with as much reason and propriety may the people and emperors of Rome, who were the great perfecutors of the primitive church of Chrift be called by the fame name, as they are actuated by the fame principle. For that the Roman empire was here figured, the characters and attributes of the dragon plainly evince. He is a great red dragon:' and purple or fcarlet was the diftinguishing colour of the Roman emperors, confuls, and generals; as it hath been fince of the popes and carVOL. II. dinals

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dinals. His 'feven heads,' as the angel afterwards, xvii. 9. 10. explains the vifion, allude to the feven mountains upon which Rome was built, and to the feven forms of government, which fucceffively prevailed there. His

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ten horns' typify the ten kingdoms, into which the Roman empire was divided; and the feven crowns upon his heads' denote, that at this time the imperial power was in Rome, the high city, as Propertius defcribes it, feated on seven hills, which prefides over the whole world. His tail' alfo, ver. 4. drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did caft them to the earth;' that is, hẹ fubjected the third part of the princes and potentates of the earth and the Roman empire, as we have feen before, is reprefented as the third part' of the world. 'He stood before the woman, which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as foon as it was born:' and the Roman emperors and magiftrates kept a jealous watchful eye over the Chriftians from the beginning. As Pharaoh laid fnares for the male children of the Hebrews, and Herod for the infant Chrift, the fon of Mary; so did the Roman dragon for the mystic Chrift, the fon of the church, that he might deftroy him even in his infancy. But notwithstanding the jealoufy and envy of the Romans, the gofpel was widely diffused and propagated, and the church brought many children unto Chrift, and in time fuch as were promoted to the empire. She brought forth a man-child, who was to rule all nations with a red of iron.' ver. 5. It was predicted, that Christ fhould rule over the nations, Pfal. ii. 9. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, thou fhalt dafh them in pieces like a potter's veffel:' but Chrift, who is himself invisible in the heavens, ruleth vifibly in Chriftian magiftrates, princes, and emperors. It was therefore promi-. fed before to Chriftians in general, ii. 26, 27. He that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations (And he fhall rule them with a rod of iron; as the veffels of a potter fhall they be broken to fhivers) even as I received of my Father.' But it fhould feem that Conftantine was here parparticularly

b Septem urbs alta jugis, toti quae præfidit orbi.

Propert. Lib. 3. El. 11. ver. 57.

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ticularly intended, for whofe life the dragon Galerius laid many fnares, but he providentially escaped them all; and notwithstanding all oppofition, was caught up unto the throne of God,' was not only fecured by the divine protection, but was advanced to the imperial throne, called the throne of God;' for Rom. xiii. 1. 'there is no power but of God; the powers that be, are ordained of God.' He too 'ruleth all nations with a road of iron ;' for he had not only the Romans, who before had perfecuted the church, under his dominion, but also & fubdued the Scythians, Samaritans, and other barbarous nations, who had never before been fubject to the Roman empire and as the learned Spanheim informs us, there are ftill extant medals and coins of his with these inscriptions, the fubduer of the barbarous nations, the conqueror of all nations, every where a conqueror, and the like. What is added, ver. 6. of the woman's flying into the wilderness for a thousand two hundred and threefcore days' is faid by way of prolepfis or anticipation. For the war in heaven between Michael and the dragon, and other fubsequent events, were prior in order of time to the flight of the woman into the wilderness: but before the prophet pafeth on to a new fubject, he giveth a general account of what happened to the woman afterwards, and entereth more into the particulars in their proper place.

7 And there was war in heaven ; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon fought and his angels:

8 And prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven.

9 And the great dragon was caft out, that old fer

pent, called the Devil and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his an gels were caft out with him.

IO And I heard a loud voice, faying in heaven, Now is come falvation, and ftrength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power Z 2

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c Eufeb. de Vita Constant. Lib. I. Cap. 20. Lactant. de Mort Perfecut. Cap. 24. Auctor ignotus ad calcem Amm. Marcellini. p. 656. Edit. Valefii Paris. 1681.

d Eufeb. de Vita Constant. Lib. 4. Cap. 5. &c.

e Spanhemii Differt. Decima Tertia de Præftentia et Ufu Numifm, Antiqu. p. 636. 638. Obfervat. ad Juliani Imp. Orat. I. in laudem Conftantii. p. 66.

of his Chrift: for the accufer of our brethren is caft down, which accused them before our God day and night.

11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their teftimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.

12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth, and of the fea for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a fhort time.

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It might reasonably be prefumed, that all the powers of idolatry would be ftrenuously exerted against the eftablishment of Chriftianity, and especially against the eftablishment of a Christian on the imperial throne: and these ftruggles and contentions between the Heathen and the Chriftian religions are reprefented, ver. 7. by war in heaven' between the angels of darkness and angels of light. Michael was, Dan. x. 21. xii. 1. the tutelar angel and protector of the Jewish church. He performs here the fame office of champion for the Chriftian church.' He and the good angels, who are fent forth,' Heb. 1. 14. to minister to the heirs of falvation,' were the invifible agents on one fide, as the devil and his evil angels were on the other. The vifible actors in the caufe of Christianity were the believing emperors and ministers of the word' the martyrs and confeffors; and in fupport of idolatry were the perfecuting emperors and heathen magistrates together with the whole train of priests and fophifts. This conteft lafted feveral years, and the final iffue of it was, ver. 8.

that the Chriftian prevailed over the heathen religion; the Heathens were deposed from all rule and authority, and the Chriftians were advanced to dominion and empire in their stead. Our Saviour faid unto his disciples cafting devils out of the bodies of men, Luke. x. 18. 'I beheld Satan, as lightning, fall from heaven,' In the fame figure Satan fell from heaven, and was caft out into the earth,' when he was thruft out of the imperial throne, and his angels were caft out with him,' not only all the heathen priefts and officers civil and military were cafhiered, but their very gods and demons, who before were adored for their divinity, became the subjects

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of contempt and execration. It is very remarkable, that Conftantine himself and the Chriftians of his time, defcribe his conquefts under the fame image, as if they had understood that this prophecy had received its accomplishment in him. Conftantine himself, f in his epistle to Eufebius and other bifhops concerning the re-edifying and repairing of churches, faith that "liberty being now reftored, and that dragon being removed from the adminiftration of public affairs, by the providence of the great God; and by my miniftry, I esteem the great power of God to have been made manifeft even to all," Moreover & a picture of Conftantine was fet up over the palace gate, with the cross over his head, and under his feet the great enemy of mankind, who perfecuted the church by the means of impious tyrants, in the form of a dragon, transfixed with a dart through the midst of his body, and falling headlong into the depth of the fea: in allufion, it is faid expressly, to the divine oracles in the books of the prophets, where that evil fpirit is called the dragon and the crooked ferpent. Upon this victory of the church, there is introduced, ver. 1o. a triumphant hymn of thanksgi. ving for the depreffion of idolatry, and exaltation of true religion for now it was no longer in the power of the heathen perfecuters, as Satan accufed holy Job before God, to accufe the innocent Chriftians before the Roman governors, as the perpretators of all crimes, and the cau-. fers of all calamities.. It was not by temporal means or arms that the Chriftians obtained this victory, ver. 11. but by fpiritual, by the merits and death of their redeemer, by their conftant profeffion of the truth, and by their patient fuffering of all kinds of tortures even unto death

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€ Νυν δε της ελευθέριας αποδοθείσης, και το δράκοντος εμεινε από της των κοινων διοικήσεως, το Θεό το μέγισ προνοια, ἡμέτερὰ δ' ὑπηρεσία εκδιωχθέν τος, ήλεμαι και πασι φανεραν γεγενησθαι την θείαν δύναμιν, και το λ. Nunc vero cum libertas reftituta fit, et draco ille providentia quidem. Dei optimi maximi, ministerio autem noftro a reipublicæ administratione fubmotus; equidem exiftimo divinam potentiam omnibus clariffime innotuife. . Eufeb. de Vita Conftant. Lib. 2. Cap. 46. Socratis Hift Ecclef. Lib. 1. Cap. 9. Theodoret. Lib. 1. Cap. 15.

8 Eufeb. de Vita Conftant. Lib. 3. Cap. 3. Tov ds exegov nas wodeμion Θήρα, τον την εκκλησίαν το Θε8 διά της των αθέων πολιορκήσαντα τυραννίδος, ・-v deαnovτos μopen. hoftem illum et inimicum generis humani, qui impiorum tyrannorum opera ecclefiam Dei oppugnaverat, sub draconis forma.

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