of the False Prophet. When the "beast" is taken, "the
false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived
them that had the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image,"
is cast with him "into a lake of fire burning with brimstone," 19:20. This
identifies the two-horned beast as the Mohammedan kingdom. It also proves
that the Romanic Turkish government will continue till the Second Advent.

Among the wonders it would perform, making fire come down from heaven is
specified. John does not intimate that he saw, in vision, fire thus
descend. The fact is spoken of; and therefore it is not necessarily
symbolic, but may refer to literal fire. Gibbon, in speaking of "the
novelty, the terrors, and the real efficacy of the _Greek fire_," for
which the Eastern empire was so famous, says:

"The important secret of compounding and directing this artificial flame
was imparted by Callinicus, a native of Heliopolis, in Syria, who deserted
from the service of the caliph to that of the emperor. The skill of a
chemist and engineer was equivalent to the succor of fleets and armies;
and this discovery or improvement of the military art was fortunately
reserved for the distressful period, when the degenerate Romans of the
East were incapable of contending with the warlike enthusiasm and youthful
vigor of the Saracens. The historian who presumes to analyze this
extraordinary composition, should suspect his own ignorance and that of
his Byzantine guides, so prone to the marvellous, so careless, and, in
this instance, so jealous of the truth. From their obscure, and perhaps
fallacious hints, it should seem that the principal ingredient of the
Greek fire was the _naphtha_, or liquid bitumen, a light, tenacious, and
inflammable oil, which springs from the earth, and catches fire as soon as
it comes in contact with the air. The naphtha was mingled, I know not by
what methods, or in what proportions, with sulphur, and with the pitch
that is extracted from evergreen firs. From this mixture, which produced a
thick smoke and a loud explosion, proceeded a fierce and obstinate flame,
which not only rose in perpendicular ascent, but likewise burned with
equal vehemence in descent or lateral progress; instead of being
extinguished, it was nourished and quickened by the element of water; and
sand, urine, or vinegar, were the only remedies that could damp the fury
of this powerful agent, which was justly denominated by the Greek