back three years and an half, Antichrist will begin his war and persecution in spring.

Though we have already seen a pretty ample account of the fate of Antichrist, we seem however to be presented with another beautiful picture of it, illustrated even with some new scenes, by the prophet Isaiah. Thus speaks he :

Chap. xiv. v. 3. And it shall come to pass in that day, that when God shall give thee rest from thy labour, and from thy vexation, and from the hard bondage, wherewith thou didst serve before.

v. 4. Thou shalt take up this parable against the king of Babylon, and shalt say: How is the oppressor come to nothing, the tribute hath ceased ? v. 5. The Lord has broken the staff of the wicked, the rod of the rulers,

v. 6. That struck the people in wrath with an incurable wound, that brought nations under their fury, that persecuted in a cruel manner.

v. 7. The whole earth is quiet and still, it is glad and hath rejoiced.'

Though this prophecy may in some measure rélate to the king of ancient Babylon, yet it seems to be principally spoken of Antichrist, king of the last Babylon and to be finally completed in him. It is usual with prophets to join in the same description two objects that have a relation one to the other. Here then the Almighty tells his people that, when they shall be freed from their labour, vexation, and hard bondage under Antichrist, ver. 3. they shall address heaven in a hymn of praise and thanksgiving saying: How is the oppressor (Antichrist) come to nothing? The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, the rod of the rulers, that struck the people in wrath with an incurable wound, that brought nations under in fury, that persecuted in a cruel manner: and now the whole earth is quiet and still, it is glad and hath rejoiced,' v. 4, 5, 6, 7.

v. 9. Hell below,' continues the prophet, was in an uproar to meet thee at thy coming, it stirred

up the giants for thee. All the princes of the earth are risen up from their thrones, all the princes of nations.

v. 10. All shall answer and say to thee: Thou also art wounded as well as we, thou art becɔme like unto us.

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v. 11. Thy pride is brought down to hell, thy carcass is fallen down: under thee shall the moth be strewed, and worms shall be thy covering.' Here we see the reception Antichrist meets with at his arrival in the infernal regions. All hell is in an uproar, the princes, the giants or famous warriors whom he had slain, rise up and advance to meet him, addressing him with derision: Oh! Thou art also wounded then as well as we, thou art at last dealt with as thou dealt with us: Thy pride is brought down to hell, &c.

v. 12. How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, who didst rise in the morning? how art thou fallen to the earth, that didst wound the nations? v. 13. And thou saidst in thy heart: I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, I will sit in the mountain of the covenant, in the sides of the north.

v. 14. 'I will ascend above the height of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.

v. 15. 'But yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, into the depth of the pit.' The princes in hell continue to insult Antichrist, saying: How art thou fallen, thou that shone in majesty and brightness like Lucifer, the morning star? They remind him of his former pride, arrogance, superlative insolence, his proclaiming himself God, &c. all which they paint in lively colours: After which with a contemptuous triumph they tell him: But yet thou shalt be brought down to hell into the depth of the pit.

v. 16. They that shall see thee, shall turn towards thee, and behold thec: is this the man that troubled the earth, that shook kingdoms.

v. 17. That made the world a wilderness, and destroyed the cities thereof, that opened not the prison to the prisoners?

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v. 18. All the kings of the nations have all of them slept in glory, every one in his own house. v. 19. But thou wert cast out of thy grave as an unprofitable branch defiled, and wrapped up among them that are slain by the sword, and are gone down to the bottom of the pit as a rotten

carcass.

CHAPTER XII.

The Continuation of the History of the sixth Age.

NOTWITHSTANDING the vengeance of God has thus manifested itself in the total extermination of Antichrist and his armies, his wrath is not yet satisfied, but requires more victims to atone for the injury done to his holy worship by the esta blishment of Idolatry and for the cruelties exercised upon his servants. The Almighty had formerly poured out his indignation upon the Roman emperors, many of whom were struck, and perished under the visible marks of his judgments. But this was not sufficient, he devoted haughty imperial Rome, their capital to destruction, and laid it in ashes. It had participated with its masters in the crime of supporting idolatry, and waging war against the saints, and therefore like them was to be cut off. In the same manner Constantinople, the centre and metropolis of the Antich isti m empire, must also fall under the weight of the hand of God. This we learn from St. John: for thus speaks he,

Chap. xiv. v. 8. And another angel followed, saying: That great Babylon is fallen, is fallen :* which made all nations to drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.' This Babylon has been supposed by many interpreters to mean pagan * In the Greek, Babylon the great city is fallen, is fallen.

Rome, but whoever studies the Apocalypse with attention, will see the error of that opinion. For St. John gives the destruction of heathen Rome in the beginning of the 18th chapter, as we have before seen, and in the same terms nearly, not entirely, as are used here: and as St. John never repeats the same event, this second Babylon must be another city, the great city, which has made all nations to drink of the wine of her fornication or idolatry. This Babylon therefore can be no other than Constantinople, the imperial eity of Antichrist, which has so readily joined him in admitting idolatry, and so hotly concurred to propagate it over the whole earth. Besides, the same conclusion follows from observing, that the transactions related in this 14th chapter belong to the last period of the world. Other proofs will also presently occur.

But our Christian prophet has not only announced to us in general the fall of this last Babylon, but even gives us a special description of its destruction. This is found in the latter part of the 18th chapter. St. John, after carrying on his narrative of the fate of old Rome, in the first part of the same chapter, proceeds in verse 20th, to invite heaven and the saints to rejoice and exult on the occasion. Rejoice over her,' says he, thou heaven and ye holy apostles and prophets: for God has judged your judgment on her. This indicates that here concludes his description of the fall of Babylon or pagan Rome. What follows, belongs therefore to the second Babylon or Constantinople, and is related thus:

Chap. xviii. v. 21. And a mighty angel took up a stone, as it were a great mill-stone, and cast it into the sea, saying: with such violence as this shall Babylon that great city be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.' Here then Constantinople falls, and the manner of her fall is expressed in clear and energetic terms. As a mill-stone

thrown with violence into the sea sinks to the bottom in a moment, so will Constantinople be swallowed up by the sea in an instant, never more to be seen.

This description cannot, it is evident, belong to Rome which does not stand upon the sea. Besides, ancient Rome after its destruction was in some degree rebuilt and still subsists, whereas this last Babylon after its fate shall be found no more at all. The prophet goes on,

v. 22. And the voice of harpers, and of musicians, and of them that play on the pipe and on the trumpet, shall no more be heard at all in thee, and no craftsman of any art whatsoever shall be found any more at all in thee, and the sound of the mill shall be heard no more at all in thee.

v. 23. 'And the light of the lamp shall shine no more at all in thee, and the voice of the bridegroom and bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth, for all nations have been deceived by thy enchantments.' Neither music, nor dancing, of which the eastern nations are fond, nor other diversions, shall ever more be heard or seen in that city, &c. All is profound silence, and utters desolation. No more vestiges even of that great city remaining than of Sodom and Gomorrha, the very place burried in the deep. Her crimes had grown to their full measure. Her luxury had been excessive, to serve which the great men and the princes of the earth had been compelled to strip themselves and to furnish her with every thing that was valuable. Her voluptuousness was such that she seduced all nations by her riches and her pleasures, which, like an enchantment, fascinate the minds of men. By these allurements she had, like ancient Rome, ensnared mankind into her vices and idolatry.

Such is the general view of the state of that imperial city, as it will be at the time of her fall. But what completed to make her infinitely odious