An humble attempt to promote explicit agreement and visible union of God's people in…

And tho' it be true, as Mr. Lowman observes, the Pope's ecclesiastical Monarchy, and Power and Influence through Christendom, was greatly established and advanced by Pepin's making him a temporal Prince over the Exarchate of Ravenna; yet, I would ask, whether the Pope's Power and Influence in the World, and his Ability to disturb the Quiet of the Nations of Christendom, and (as 'tis expressed in Daniel) to change Times and Laws, and to carry his own Designs, in the various Countries and Kingdoms of Europe, was not greater before Pepin, than it is now, and has been for a long Time? And yet Mr. Lowman supposes that now is properly the Time of Antichrist's Reign, that the 1260 Years of his Reign continues, and will continue for about ⟨p. 144⟩270 Years longer; tho' his Power be now so small, and has been declining ever since the Reformation, and still declines continually.

One Thing that Mr. Lowman supposes confirms his Opinion of so late a Beginning of the 1260 Years of the Reign of the Beast, is the Order of the several Periods of this Prophecy, and the Manner of their succeeding one another.

As to his particular Scheme of the seven Periods, so divided and limited, and so obviously ranked in such Order, and following one another in such direct and continued Succession, and each ending in a State of Peace, Safety and Happiness to the Church of God, it seems to me to be more ingenious than solid, and that many Things might be said to demonstrate it not to be founded in the Truth of Things, and the real Design of the divine Author of this Prophecy. But now to enter into a particular and full Examination of it, would be to lengthen out this Discourse far beyond it's proper Limits. I would only observe (which directly concerns my present Purpose) that to make out this Scheme, Mr. Lowman supposes that the fifth and sixth Trumpets, that bring on the two first Woes, and the whole 9th Chap. of the Revelation, altogether respects the Saracens. But it appears to me not very credible, that the Saracens should have so much said of 'em in this Prophecy, as to have a whole Chapter taken up about them, and not a Word in the whole Prophecy be said about the Turks, who immediately succeeded them