Barnabas," probably written early in the second century A.D., quotes from Daniel concerning the ten kingdoms to show that they would exist at the consummation of the present age. Irenæus (circa A.D. 120-202), a disciple of Polycarp, who had been a companion of the apostle John, observes that "the ten toes are ten kings, among whom the kingdom will be divided." Tertullian, a contemporary of Irenæus, remarks that "the disintegration and dispersion of the Roman State among the ten kings will produce Antichrist, and then shall be revealed that Wicked One, whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of His mouth and destroy by the brightness of His manifestation." Hippolytus, who was a follower of Irenæus, and flourished in the first half of the third century, makes similar reference to the ultimate division. Lactantius, of the latter half of the third and the early part of the fourth centuries, writes as follows: "The Empire will be sub-divided, and the powers of government, after being frittered away and shared among many, will be undermined. Civil discords will then ensue, nor will there be respite from destructive wars, until ten kings arise at once, who will divide the world among themselves to consume rather than to govern it." Cyril (circa 315-386), who became bishop of Jerusalem in 350, quoting from Daniel, and speaking of the Empire and its future division, implies that teaching on the subject was customary in the churches. Jerome (342-420) observes that "at the end of the world, when the kingdom of the Romans is to be destroyed, there will be ten kings to divide the Roman world among themselves." Similarly writes Theodoret in the fifth century, and others of that time make more or less direct reference to the subject. While the views of these writers differ considerably on other points of detail, all are unanimous as to the eventual division of the Empire among ten contemporaneous potentates.

Processes at Work Since the Twofold Division.

The mediæval and modern history of the lands originally constituting the Roman Empire is a history of the formation of independent states in such a way as to point to the eventual revival of the Empire in the tenfold division we have been considering. The process has been a long and involved one, for the counsels of God have had a far wider range than the mere shaping of national destiny. It has been the Divine pleasure, for instance, that the Gospel should be spread among all nations for the purpose of taking out from among them a people for the Name of Christ, and for the formation thereby of His Church. In contradistinction to this, and from the standpoint of the world itself, which, though under God's control, remains in alienation from Him, there has been a gradual development of the political, social, and religious principles which are ultimately to permeate the nations.

Chapter III.

THE OVERTHROW IN THE WEST: GERMANIC INVASIONS.

In the interpretation of his vision of the beast, John is told of its rise, temporary removal, and reappearance: "The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss, and to go into perdition" (Rev. 17. 8). Here the Roman world-power, the imperial dominion, is in view. In verse 11 the final king himself is similarly described. The symbol of the beast is thus employed to describe first the dominion and then its imperial head. This symbolic association of locality and ruler is found elsewhere in Scripture, and is illustrated in this very chapter. The seven heads of the beast, for example, are interpreted in both ways: "The seven heads are seven mountains, ... and they are seven kings" (v. 9, R.V. ) The distinction between verses 8 and 11 may be observed in this way: in the first part of the chapter, verses 1-8, the beast is viewed as a whole, indicating world-wide government; in verse 11 the scope of the symbol is limited, the beast is a person, and is identified with one of the seven heads, or kings, he is "himself also an eighth, and is of the seven." With this individual we shall be occupied later.

A striking illustration of the symbolic use of the word "beast" to denote both a kingdom and the ruler over it is to be found in Dan. 7, where the following statements are made: "These great beasts, which are four, are four kings" (v. 17), and "The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom" (v. 23).