In like

but with the Holy City, New Jerusalem. manner we Protestants believe that the woman whom St. John beheld "drunken with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus," with whom "the kings of the earth have committed fornication," "with the wine of whose fornication the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk,"-who was "arrayed in purple aud scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand, full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication," "who was seen "sitting upon a scarlet beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns," upon whose "forehead her name was written" so as to be read by all, MYS

TERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH; who is in short "" THAT GREAT CITY WHICH REIGNETH OVER THE KINGS OF THE EARTH;" (Rev. xvii.)— we Protestants believe that she is the church of Rome.

The name of the church of Rome in Scripture is "MYSTERY." Let us now attend to the words of the angel. Here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth." The name of the woman is written on her forehead; it is "MYSTERY." Every thing connected

MYSTERY.

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with the woman is a 66 The seven mountains on which she sits are SEVEN MYSTERIES. Take away her SEVEN MYSTERIES," in other words, her SEVEN SACRAMENTS," and she falls to the ground. These constitute her strength;

they are essential to her existence they are her life's blood. What, we may ask, would the Church of Rome be without her seven Sacraments? She would be the Church of Rome no longer; for the seven mountains on which she sits would be swept away. What would the Papacy, what would the Pope, be without the seven Sacraments? It would be the Papacy, it would be the Pope, it would be the Beast no longer for the Beast would have lost his seven heads.

We have one observation to make respecting the seven Sacraments of the Church of Rome, which is, that by the confession of Roman Catholic writers themselves, they were unknown in the Christian church, or at least concealed, till the seventh century. It is acknowledged that till that period an unbroken silence is preserved respecting them. This is attributed to what is termed THE DISCIPLINE OF THE SECRET. Upon this subject we will quote a note which is appended to the hundredth page of a work written in defence of Popery, entitled, Travels of an Irish Gentleman in search of a Religion.'

It is to the operation of the discipline of the secret that Catholic (Romish) writers attribute the entire silence which they acknowledge has been preserved on the subject of the SEVEN SACRAMENTS in all the authentic monuments of antiquity which remain to us. According to Schelstrate, one of those by whom the circumstance is thus accounted for-it is not till the seventh century that any mention of the SEVEN

SACRAMENTS occurs.'

No language can be stronger than this. We will now hear Schelstrate speak for himself.

'Si pervolvamus omnia antiquitatis monumenta, si perscrutemur cuncta antiquissimorum Patrum scripta, si investigemus ipsa synodorem decreta, nullum librum, nullum decretum reperiri, quod ante sæculum septimum egerit de Septem Sacramentis, eorumque ritus exposuerit.' If we ransack all the monuments of antiquity, if we search into all the writings of the most ancient fathers, if we investigate even the decrees of synods, we shall find No BOOK, NO DECREE, which treats of the seven Sacraments, and explains their ritual, before the seventh century.' (Schelstraten De Disciplin. Arcan.)

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It appears, therefore, from the above statement, that an entire' and mysterious 'silence' was " preserved on the subject of the Seven Sacraments' of the Church of Rome for six centuries, and was then broken. The world was then told, for the first time, that Christ had appointed Seven Sacraments of the new dispensation which confer grace. The Canon of the Mass was then instituted by Gregory the Great. The Heads of the Beast were then developed. Seven Mountains were then seen with the name MYSTERY or SACRAMENT upon each: and upon them was seen a woman sitting, having upon her forehead her name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT,

THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH."

CHAPTER IV.

THE TEN HORNS OR KINGDOMS OF THE PAPACY.

AND I STOOD UPON THE SAND OF THE SEA, AND SAW A BEAST RISE UP OUT OF THE SEA, HAVING SEVEN HEADS AND TEN HORNS, AND UPON HIS HORNS TEN CROWNS."-Verse 1..

WHENEVER the Roman Empire is spoken of either by Daniel or by St. John, the ten kingdoms into which it should be divided are particularly mentioned.

In Nebuchadnezzar's dream the feet of the image prefigured the Roman Empire, and the toes the ten kingdoms into which it should be divided.

In Daniel's vision of four great Beasts which came up from the sea, the fourth represented the Roman Empire. This Beast was "dreadful and terrible and strong exceedingly: it had great iron teeth; it had also ten horns.”

In the twelfth chapter of Revelation we have an account of a "great Red Dragon," representing "the DEVIL; " which in allusion to the Roman Empire, as the tool of the DEVIL, is thus described.—“ There appeared another wonder in heaven: and, behold!

a great Red Dragon having seven heads and ten horns."

The Beast also, which we are considering, which represents the Papal Roman Empire or the Papacy, has seven heads and ten horns.

This Beast is again seen in the seventeenth chapter, where he is described as "a scarlet coloured Beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns."

Daniel's fourth Beast, as we have observed, is the Roman Empire, both Pagan and Papal. It therefore answers in its latter state to the Beast before us. The Beast is "the Beast that was, and is not, and yet is." The number of the horns remains the same throughout. The only point of difference is, that the horns of the Papacy are "crowned," whilst the horns of the Pagan Roman Empire are not crowned. In the seventeenth chapter the horns of the Roman Empire are seen in a state of revolution, and are again uncrowned. In this last state the Pope will be a confirmed Infidel, but will still be," the Beast that was, and is not, and yet is." For by exalting tradition and apocryphal writings, and putting them on a level with the Scriptures, the Romish Church has paved the way for infidelity. The word of God is made of none effect by her traditions."

We will give the horns of the Roman Empire, as enumerated by Bishop Newton, at the beginning of the eight century. They consisted of I. The Exarchate of Ravenna.-II. The State of Lombardy.