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Interpretations in which many careful commentators agree are, among others, these: That " Babylon" is the ecclesiastico-political Power, and is represented in the last days by Rome: That the Beast is both a Body and an Individual; is the World-Power and universal kingdom centred in Rome (Rev. xvii., xviii.), and also the last Head of that kingdom (Rev. xiii.), the title being given to the Head as the moving Power of the body: That the "Woman" arrayed in scarlet and decked with gold and precious stones (Rev. xvii. 1-6) is the Apostate Church, the seat of which is at Rome, and its roots and branches traceable in other churches, inasmuch as these others depart from the simple truth of the Apostles' doctrine, the "keeping of the Commandments of God," and the holding the testimony of Jesus Christ:" That the False prophet who has two horns as a lamb, and speaks as a dragon (Rev. xiii. 11), will be the last of the Popes; wielding the power of the Apostate and idolatrous Church, and employing it in the service and to promote the worship of the last head of the World Power, who is the "universal" king, who will rule in Rome and in Jerusalem: This king will have been the supporter of the Idolatrous Church which is seated upon 7 hills and upon many waters, imposing her abominations upon peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues (Rev. xvii. 15); until the 10 kings which shall have given their power to the one Head of the kingdom, or Beast," or WorldPower, shall destroy the body of this Apostate church, and the False prophet shall, instead of many idols as heretofore, set up one, an Image to the first "Beast," whose deadly wound was healed, an object of worship for the whole world; thus reverting to the first rise of this mysterious and combined power, ruling over men's bodies and consciences in the time of Daniel (Dan. ii. 31-45, iii. 1-25), and perpetuated in the 4th Beast seen in vision by Daniel; and taking a change of form in the vision of John,-as though Daniel had seen the vision of Pagan Rome which was then future to him (Dan. vii. 7), and John saw the Papal Rome which in his day was still future, whilst Pagan Rome was present and therefore not a subject of prophetic vision (Dan. vii. 8; Rev. xiii., xvii., xviii). The Beast is the ecclesiastico-political power; and this Beast" of the Apocalypse appears to combine, also, the Papal power and the revived Pagan power and customs; and, in its Head, may be possibly also combined the power and actings of a previous Head (Rev. xvii. 11, xiii, 3) or ruler of the city of Rome, with the power of the Popes. Thus he may be the last king of Rome, and the last pope or head of Rome's religion, adding to his kingship the ecclesiastical office: and the

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False prophet must be his minister, contributing his priestly influence and dominion over the spiritual nature of men; as the ten kings, "having one mind,” contribute their strength and power over the bodies of men, to the one end and object of the Antichrist's aggrandisement. "For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his [the Antichrist's] will,-until the words of God shall be fulfilled." (Rev. xvii. 17.)

NOTES ON THE CHARACTER OF THE ANTICHRIST.

FROM BENGEL'S "GNOMON OF THE NEW TESTAMENT."

"The object of Paul (2 Thess. ii. 3) is to admonish the Thessalonians not to think the Day of Christ nearer than it really is. Paul especially teaches that some great evil will first come. He does not enumerate all the events which were to intervene between that age and The Day of Christ; but he points out a certain one thing, especially remarkable, the explicit declaration of which was even already at that time seasonable and salutary to the Thessalonians. Paul therefore describes the Apostasy [and] the Man of Sin. Vol. iv. p. 218.

"The we (1 Thess. iv. 15) is explained by the following words, who are alive, and further on, who remain,—who live surviving. So also verse 17. Who live, is an antithesis to, who sleep. There is at the same time intimated the small number of those who live, compared with the multitude of the dead; likewise the good condition of those who are asleep, so that the living may desire to be gathered to them. Men of all ages conjointly have a lively anticipation of some one thing;-men of different ages aiming conjointly at some one object (for instance, the House of Commons, in successive ages, seeking civil liberty and good government) are joint representatives of that one idea: and so the men of each particular age might regard themselves as the representatives of it in their particular age;—and so believers, who are now long waiting, and who regard themselves in the light of persons who are to live at The Coming of The Lord, have spoken in accordance with this their character. Each generation, which lives at this or that time, occupies, during that period of their life, the place of those who are to live, to be remaining, at the time of The Coming of The Lord; that is, they are called on to live in daily and hourly expectation of The Lord's Coming in their time, since the time of His Coming was left uncertain for that very purpose, Matt. xxv. 13. Such "watchers" in each generation are

representatives of those who shall actually be found alive when He comes," p. 203. [But this time, left uncertain, has a mark of its commencement and limit:—i. e., whenever the Week of Years (referred to in Dan. ix. 27) is entered upon by the Jewish nation, the End of the Gentile Dispensation is simultaneous with the end of those 7 years of their covenant with the Prince of the Roman people. (Dan. ix. 26; Isa. xxviii. 14-22.)]

"The coming of the Iniquitous one [" Wicked"] is according to the working of Satan in all power, and signs, and lying wonders. This coming has not yet taken place, although its preludes are for a long time not wanting; therefore the check still exists of which Paul speaks, 2 Thess. ii. 7. (There was also a check in the time of Paul, and that check then, and not till then, ceases to exist in the way, when the evil breaks out in all its force. B. iv. 219.) And it is evident from this most powerful argument, that the political power in the hands of the Romans is the check. For no other check, so powerful, and so long continued, will anywhere be found. This check, however, did not restrain the working of Satan,-the Apostasy and the mystery of Iniquity; but the Man of Sin himself,—the setting up of the dominion of the Iniquitous one ["wicked"]; and when it is removed, Satan lends his aid to the Iniquitous one.

"That Iniquitous one is the [wild-] Beast ascending out of the bottomless pit. So long and so continuous is the evil described by Paul, as 'now already working' from its beginnings, or threads in weaving the web,—(2 Thess. ii. 3-7-12; and by John, 1 John ii. 18), that it cannot but fall in at some period with the times of the Apocalyptic 'Beast; ' and the resemblance between the Iniquitous one and the Beast is so great, the power so widely spread and so exalted, that they can only be one subject, they must be one and the same person or existence. The Iniquitous one will not finally perish until after the destruction of the Beast; for in that Battle, which is described in Rev. xix., The Lord's enemies are so completely destroyed, that the calamity described by Paul cannot be extended to a period farther on. Moreover also the Iniquitous one will not perish previously,-before the destruction of the 'Beast,' Rev. xix.,—for he remains even till The Appearing of The Coming of The Lord, 2 Thess. ii. 8.”

[More than that he remains beyond the Appearance of the Coming, beyond The Sign visible in the heavens, even unto the actual Coming of The Lord. Matt. xxiv. 27 (1 Thess. iv. 16, 17; 2 Pet. i. 16-18; Luke

ix. 28-30, 31, 32; Rev. xiv. 1-5); Matt. xxiv. 30 (Rev. xiv. 14, 15); xix. 11 (Matt. xxvi. 64).]

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Rev.

'Therefore the whole evil described by Paul is strictly and intimately connected with the Roman Empire. What tie of relationship the Apostasy and the Man of Sin himself had with the city of Rome, could not be known by the Thessalonians, unless Paul taught them it face to face. The Apocalypse and the event teach us, and will teach posterity more and more fully.

"That Iniquitous one is yet to come. It is one and the same 'Beast' which ascends first from the sea, then from the bottomless pit. That 'Beast' has very much to do with the 'woman,' who is Babylon,-Rome. Sometimes it carries the woman, at length it destroys her with the assistance of the ten horns (Rev. xvii. 16). The 'Beast' out of the sea is the papacy of Hildebrand; but the 'Beast' from the bottomless pit, excepting the succession in the papacy (which does not take away the ancient tradition concerning the rise of Antichrist from the Jews, but leaves it just as it finds it), will have a quite new and singular character of wickedness, on account of which he is called the Man of Sin."

[Bengel considers that the last Pope is this Iniquitous one: he may be an individual who has taken unto himself the kingdom and power of the Popes. The Roman power being the check or hindrance to the Antichrist's development, he indeed must be supposed, in the literal fulfilment, since the Beast must be still existing at the close of this series of events,-to have assumed and absorbed into his own person the ruling power of Rome as existing at the period of time when he shall be developed. With regard to the "singular character of wickedness," to which both Daniel (vii. viii. xi.) and the Apocalypse (xiii. 5, 6) bear such plain and striking testimony, we know that in the Antichristian system the successive heads assumed the prerogatives and titles of The Lord and of His Anointed One,-a more open and absolute name of blasphemy, therefore, must be looked for in the height of the career of the Personal Antichrist. He will deny, apparently, the existence of any other God than himself, as may perhaps be indicated in the beloved disciple's words (1 John ii. 22), "He is Antichrist, that denieth The Father and The Son;" and in those of Daniel (xi. 37), “Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the Desire-Desired One-of women (Luke i. 28, 30-33, 42, 43, 46-49, 54, 55; Hagg. ii. 7; Gen. iii. 15, iv. 1—The Man-Jehovah,‚—v. 29; Gal. iv. 4; Rom., i. 2, 3): nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all."]

"Antichrist, or the Man of Sin, as being about to come in the 19th century, could not be retarded by the Roman power of the 1st and following centuries, on which comp. Rev. viii. ix. Therefore the Roman Emperor will be among the 10 kings; and when he, with the nine others, shall give his power to the Beast,' he will be taken out of the way, and will give place to the Man of Sin. The Roman power is the check even up to the time of the rising of the Iniquitous one ['wicked'], who, after he has arisen, makes the whore [idolatrous church] desolate, with the assistance of the ten horns." iv. 223, 224.

"The two names (2 Thess. ii. 3), Man of Sin, and Son of perdition, correspond by direct antithesis to the Name of Jesus, and represent this Antichrist, who is yet to come, as the greatest enemy of true righteousness; and Paul so describes him as to allude by way of contrast to Jesus Christ, and especially to the passage Zech. ix. 9, 10: for The King of Zion is Righteous, but His enemy is the Man of Sin; He is full of salvation, His enemy is the Son of perdition (consigning as many as possible headlong to destruction, and himself going away to the deepest perdition (Rev. xiii. 8, 15, xvii. 8, 11). The King of Zion is meek, and riding on an ass, in short He is the Author of peace, for where justice and equity flourish, peace flourishes; His enemy opposes and exalts himself, in short he is the Iniquitous one, and occasions all misery and calamity. The Law is holy and just and good; the lawless one, on the other hand, is profane, unjust, and evil. What follows (2 Thess. ii. 4) corresponds by antithesis to the majesty of Christ. And the king shall be exalted, and be magnified above every god, and against The God of gods, and shall speak high-swelling words.' (Dan. xi. 36, vii. 8, 25, viii. 25.) Paul therefore signifies that 'The Day of Christ does not come, unless the prediction of Daniel given in these words concerning Antiochus be so fulfilled (in the Man of Sin), that it shall even be more applicable to the Man of Sin, who corresponds to Antiochus, and is worse than he. He opposes himself, in order that he may exalt himself. He exalts himself in heart, tongue, style, and deeds, by himself and by his adherents:-The Roman Emperor is distinguished by the peculiar title 'Augustus:' therefore the majesty and power of Cæsar, which are most conspicuous at Rome, constitute the principal object of worship, on the earth. Now the Iniquitous one exalts himself, so as that he not only arrogates to himself greater power and worship than any one who is called god or is worshipped possesses; but also so as that every one who is called god or is worshipped is forced to be subject to him, i.e., on