1 Collections out of Tertullian, concerning Efore the Day of Chrift's coming, there Lib. de Refur must be abfceffio regni, by Antichrift, red. cap. 24 and that which hinders, is the Romanus Status, cujus abfceffio in decem reges difperfa, Antichriftum fuperinducet, & tum revelabitur iniquus. Quem Dominus Jefus interficiet fpiritu oris fui. Tertullian mentions the Vials, and the Destruction of the prostituted City by the ten Kings; then the Beast Antichrift, with his falfe Prophet, fhall War against the Church; and the Devil at last being bound, there will be the first Resurrection and Judgment; but the Devil fhall be loofed at laft, and condemn'd to the Fire, and then fhall be the univerfal Resurrection and Judgment out of the Books. These things muft happen in the latter Days, and there fore cannot be spiritually allegoriz'd: Con- Lib.3. adv. fitemur in terrâ regnum repromiffum, fed ante Marcionem. coelum, fed alio ftatu, poft Refurrectionem, in Mille annos, in Jerufalem calo delata. On the Earth, he fays, the Saints were afflicted, and therefore 'tis fit they should rejoyce there, in all plenty of Spiritual Gifts; but after the thousand Years, in which time the Saints fhall rife, fooner or later, according to their Merits, theWorld fhall be destroy'd by Fire, after the last Judgment, and then our Bodies fhall be chang'd into an Angeli cal rect, carnis. cal Substance, and carry'd into Heaven. Lib. de Refur Tertullian fays, that Christ first told the Signs of the Destruction of Jerufalem, and afterwards the Signs of the Destruction of the World, which are those in the Sun, and Moon, and Stars; and the Powers in the Heavens fhall be mov'd, and then the Son of Man fhall come. And in the fame place Tertullian mentions the coming of Elias, and the Perfecution of Antichrift, and the Fall of Babylon. Tertullian lived in 194, and till 216. The 24 Elders, and their 24 Wings, reprefent the 24 canonical Books of the Old Teftament, according to Tertullian. I think it more probable, that they are 24 Churches fill'd by inferiour Bishops in St. John's Days, as the four Beasts reprefent the four Governing Metropolitans at Jerufalem, Antioch, Alexandria and Rome, which were in St. John's time. Collections out of Lactantius, who writ about the Year 320, concerning the Fall of the Roman Empire, Antichrift, and the Millennium. S Agypt was punish'd with many Plagues, before the deliverance of the Children of Ifrael, fo will all the World be fmitten, amongst whom the Jews are difperfed, before their laft deliverance, and many Prodigies will foretell the Destruction of all Nations; there will be great Tumults and and Wars amongst all Nations, and Ægypt fhall fuffer firft, for its Superftitions, which fhall be the cause of these Wars. The Roman Empire muft fall, Et Imperium in Afiam revertetur, atque rurfus oriens dominabitur, atque occidens ferviet; the Roman Empire fhall be divided by many Wars into ten Kingdoms, then an Enemy from the North The Turk. fhall conquer three of thefe Kings that poffefs'd Afia, and become Head of them all, and fhall act tyrannically: By setting up a new Empire, and introducing new Laws, he fhall become the Emperor, transfer the Seat of his Empire, and destroy all by the Sword. Note, That Lactantius here plainly describes the Turks coming from the North; he conquer'd the King of Perfia, the Emperors of Conftantinople and Trapezond; he fet up a new Empire after the taking of Conftantinople,and transfer'd it from Iconium (or Prufa and Adrianople) thither; he chang'd the Laws and poffefs'd all Afia, and deftroy'd all by the Sword. All this Lactantius had from the Sibyls, and this Prophecy is fulfill'd. There fhall be great Inundations, Famines, Peftilences, great Prodigies in the Heavens, Comets, Darkness, the Colour of the Moon chang'd into Blood, falling Stars, and the tenth part of Mankind will be hardly left. Note, That Lactantius having given a general Account of the Roman Empire till the End of the World, now begins a more particular Account from the time of Elias and Mahomet. He He fays, Elias the Thesbite, a great Prophet, fhall be fent from God towards the latter end of the World, to work Miracles, and turn Men to the Knowledge of GOD, and if Men will not obey, he fhall fhut up the Heavens, ftop the Rain, and turn the Waters into Blood; and they that will hurt him shall be destroy'd by Fire proceeding out of his Mouth: Then fhall another King rife out of Syria, the Destroyer of Mankind, and he fhall fight against that Prophet, and overcome him, and kill him, and leave him unbury'd; and after three Days, he fhall rife again, and be taken into Heaven. Note, That this Story about Elias, and his being kill'd, is a meer Conjecture of Lactantius, who mistook the two Witneffes for Elias, Chap. 11, of the Revelations, whereas they must be two: Alfo they are call'd Candlesticks, that is, two Churches. Chrift tells us, that St. John was the Elias, and Fragment. de this was a Tradition of the Jews; as Lactantius xtremo Fudi- intimates, fide Jud.eorum. The Revelations fays io. Caliph. nothing of Elias, unless the Man standing in the Sun be him; and the Sibyl only fays, that he fhall come to destroy the World at laft, but not to preach. This misunderstanding of the two Witneffes has lafted even to this Age, The King of Syria is call'd, Mendaciorum Mabomer's propheta, feipfum conftituet, & vocabit Deum, & fe coli jubebit, ut filium Dei, & dabitur ei poteftas, ut faciat figna & prodigia; for which Men will adore him: He will com command Fire from Heaven, the Sun to ftand ftill, and the Image to speak; then he fhall endeavour to deftroy the Temple of God, and perfecute the Juft; and there fhall be fuch an Oppreffion as was not from the beginning of the World. Note, This is a defcription of Mahomet's Magi cal Delusions, as it is defcrib'd in the Sibyls, and this must be diftinguish'd from the Account of the Northern Enemy above defcrib'd, which is the Turk. Mahomet fets himself above Chrift, who is God. Lactantius miftakes the Turks for the firft Beast in the Revelations, which is the Saracens, for they rofe firft; as appears in the 9th Chap. of the Revelations. The making the Image fpeak, is, the Turks rais'd the Saracens Power and Religion, after they were deftroy'd, and will continue it to the End of the World. After three Years Wars, they that submitted to him are to be mark'd as Beasts, and become Slaves or Tributaries ; but they who refus'd his Doctrine, fled into the Mountains, or were flain: Idem juftos homines obvolvet libris Prophetarum, & cremabit. He will burn the Chriftians with their Prophefies concerning Antichrift; Et dabitur ei defolare orbem terre 42 Menfibus, 1260 Lunar Years, or Hegira's; this must begin from Mahomet. The Miferies in the time of Antichrift are thus defcrib'd, Quafi uno communique latrocinio, terra univerfa vaftabitur. This wicked Prince shall befiege the Christians in R the |