ations of
the Dragon's kingdom, _to worship the first Beast, whose deadly wound was
healed_, that is, to be of his religion. _And he doth great wonders, so
that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of
men_; that is, he excommunicateth those who differ from him in point of
religion: for in pronouncing their excommunications, they used to swing
down a lighted torch from above. _And he said to them that dwell on the
earth, that they should make an image to the Beast, which had the wound by
a sword, and did live_; that is, that they should call a Council of men of
the religion of this Beast. _And he had power to give life unto the image
of the Beast, that the image of the Beast should both speak, and cause that
as many as would not worship the image of the Beast should be killed_, viz.
mystically, by dissolving their Churches. _And he causeth all both small
and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right
band or in their foreheads, and that no man might buy or sell, save he that
had the mark, or the name of the Beast, or the number of his name_; that
is, the mark [Cross], or the name [Greek: LATEINOS], or the number thereof
[Greek: chxs], 666. All others were excommunicated.

When the seven Angels had poured out the seven vials of wrath, and _John_
had described them all in the present time, he is called up from the time
of the seventh vial to the time of the sixth seal, to take a view of the
woman and her Beast, who were to reign in the times of the seventh seal. In
respect of the latter part of time of the sixth seal, then considered as
present, the Angel tells _John_: _The Beast that thou sawest, was and is
not, and shall ascend out of the abyss, and go into perdition_; that is, he
was in the reign of _Constans_ and _Magnentius_, until _Constantius_
conquered _Magnentius_, and re-united the _Western_ Empire to the
_Eastern_. He is not during the reunion, and he shall ascend out of the
abyss or sea at a following division of the Empire. The Angel tells him
further: _Here is the mind which hath wisdom: the seven heads are seven
mountains, on which the woman sitteth_; _Rome_ being built upon seven
hills, and thence called the seven-hilled city. _Also there are seven
Kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when
he cometh, he must continue a short space: and the Beast that was and is
not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into