tageous light. It was indeed ftruck at in fome pieces, written profeffedly on that account by certain anonymous ancient Writers, quoted by Denys of Alexandria. Poffibly Meliton might be one of them; however this is only conjecture. But 'twas not fo with regard to Apollonius and Theophilus of Antioch. We find by * Eufebius that the former had made use of the Revelations in his Book against the Montanifts; and among the Works of the latter there is, fays the above-cited Eufebius, a Tract against the Herefy of Hermogenes, wherein be quotes St. John's Revelations, to combat the faid Herefy. Were thofe Pieces now extant, we fhould then fee in what manner they quoted the Revelations against their Opponents, and whether they afcrib'd it to St. John the Evangelift. The most ancient Fathers, fays F. Simon, fometimes follow the method of the Rhetors in their Difputes, who frequently make ufe of fuch Arguments as are merely fpecious, and Inftruments that are not always to be depended upon. St. Jerom is fo far from confidering this as a fault, that he applauds them for it. There is no fix'd Law, fays he, in Difputation. A Difputant muft fometimes object one thing to his Adverfary, fometimes another, and argue to the best of his abilities; fay one thing, and do the very contrary; pretend to offer a piece of bread, and at the fame time have a ftone in his hand. He confeffes this to have been his method, in which, he owns, he imitated the ancient Writers: Here follows, fays he, their manner of Difputation; how many artifices do they not employ to elude the frares of SaEcclef. Hift. Book V. Ch. 18. Critical Hift. of New Teft. Ch. 3. * Ch. 24. ad Parm. + Idem. Book IV. || Epift. tan? tan? They did not speak as they thought, but as nécefity might prompt them. Hence arofe thofe frequent diftinctions between Speaking according to the truth, or agreeable to the prevailing Opinions: Hence fo many Quotations from apocryphal Pieces and other Frauds, which have fince had the epithet of pious bestow'd on them. To return to Theophilus; he, to be fure, wou'd not fcruple to employ the Ri velations against the Hereticks, fince he combats the Heathens with the Sybilline Verfes, which he looks upon as true Prophecies, wherein the Actions of the Emperors are related hiftorically; where mention is made in the most clear and unambiguous terms of Chrift, Antichrift; of the Name of Jefus, which makes 8887; of the number of Rome, viz. 948; of the fecond Destruction of Jerufalem; of the Deftruction of Rome; of the Refurrection; of the Millenium; of Hell-fire, and fuch-like Predictions, which feem to have been coin'd in imitation of thofe in the Revelations. It must be own'd that Theophilus and the reft of the Fathers, have us'd thefe Weapons with a very confident Air; but this is a mark of their fincerity rather than of their judgment. Justin himself was impos'd upon by them, when they came recent from the Impoftor in whofe brain they were firft hatch'd, and who, in all probability, was a Montanist. St. Clemens Alexandrinus, who clofes the fecond Century, gives likewife his Teftimony of the Revelations. To fhew that a Christian muft not fhine in Gold, or Garments of various Colours, he quotes that Vifion where the Martyrs bad white Garments given them; he does *See his Pedago. Book II. Ch. 10. not not tell us any where in his Writings that this Book was written by the Apoftle St. John, but to make up for this, he informs us that St. Peter had written a Book of Revelations. "The "Scripture, fays this Father, teaches us, that "fuch Children as are expos'd to the wide "World, are under the immediate care of a guardian Angel; they shall live, fay the fa"cred Writings, to an hundred years of Age; ἐσ and St. Peter (fays he) tells us in his Revela"tions, that a flash of lightning issued out of thofe Children, which ftruck the eyes of Wo"men." Thefe Revelations of St. Peter, which Sozomen fays were read in the Churches of Paleftine, were had in fuch veneration by Clement, that he has not only given them a place among the chofen Prophecies, but alfo explain'd them in his inftructions as a facred Book. He gives the name of divine Scripture to Baruch's Prophecy ; calls what the Angel had reveal'd to Hermas, a divine Thing, the Book of Tobit, Scripture, by way of eminence. He quotes his Authorities. from the Wisdom of Solomon, from Ecclefiafticus, from the Epiftles of Clemens Romanus and Barnabas, all which he looks upon as Canonical. In like manner he quotes St. Peter's preaching, the Travels of St. Paul, the Gospel according tỏ the Hebrews, the Gospel according to the Egyptians, the Traditions of Matthias, Hydafpes, what is it he does not quote! Now was it poffible for the Revelations to escape a Man of fuch univerfal reading? I don't know where he had read that St. Paul exhorted Chriftians to read the Books of the Sybils. In a word, fays Father Simon, every thing that ferv'd his purpose, was Caftigatis ad op. Voss. by bim employ'd against the Heathens; not once regarding whether the Books he cited were genuine or fpurious, provided they did but fquare with his notions And notwithstanding this, Jerom confider'd him as the most learned of all the Chriftians. I cannot think thefe obfervations trifling, it being certain they may be of fervice to fuch as are defirous of enquiring how far the Testimony of the Fathers may be depended upon. But Tertullian is the moft exprefs of all the antient Fathers: And as he was very zealous for the Millenarians, whom he had defended in a Work written profeffedly for that purpose; fo has he most frequently employed his Pen in favour of the Revelations, which he afcribes to St. John the Evangelift; and on which he even grounds fuch notions, as abfolutely required no lefs an authority; fuch as, for inftance, was the materiality of the Soul: * Now to prove this, he quotes the following Paffage in the Revelations; and I faw the Souls of them that were bebeaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God. In another place he endeavours to prove to the Marcionites, that St. Luke's Gofpel had not been corrupted, and for that purpofe appeals to the decifion of the Churches, whofe Doctrine was conformable to the abovefaid Gofpel: Habemus & Joannis alumnas Ecclefas; nam etfi Apocalipfin ejus refpuit Marcion, ordo tamen Epifcoporum ad originem recenfus in Jobannem ftabit auctorum; which in English is, We also have the Churches that were founded by St. John; for notwithstanding that Marcion look'd upon his Revelutions as fpurious, yet if we trace the Succeffion of the Bishops from the beginning, we fhall manifeftly find * See his Treatise de anima. "that that St. John was the Author of this Piece." It must be confefs'd, that thefe latter Expreffions are ambiguous; and that we are not fure, whether by his fucceffion of Bishops, he intended to point out St. John either as Author of the Revelations, or for the Author, (Founder) and as it were the firft Bishop of the Churches of Afia, which feems more agreeable to the scope of Tertullian's words. The Difpute between this Father and the Marcionites, was not whether St. John was Author of the Revelations, but whether St. Luke's Gospel, which was read in the Afiatick Churches, was genuine and uninterpolated. The Teftimony of thefe Churches must neceffarily be of fome weight; they had been founded and nurtur'd in St. John's Doctrine, which plainly appear'd from the former part of the Revelations. But as the Marcionites rejected that Book, Tertullian refers them to the feries of Bishops, who indeed call'd themselves St. John's Succeffors, and who recogniz'd him as the Founder of their Churches. Be this as it will, 'tis certain from the very words of this Father, that fo far from rejecting the Revelations in imitation of the Marcionites, he, on the contrary, look'd upon them as a genuine production of St. John, who founded the feven Churches of Afia. Whoever doubts of the verity of this affertion, will foon be of another opinion, after he has read this other Paffage of the fame Author on the new Jerufalem, as we find it written in the 21ft Chapter of the Revelations : "We acknowledge that a Reign "upon Earth is promis'd us; namely, the Re "furrection for a thousand years in the City of |