In A. D. 533, the Emperor Justinian, wrote a letter to the Pope declaring him to be “the head of all the holy churches,” and subjecting to his control “all the priests of the whole East.” By the edicts and mandates of Justinian, who was master of the Roman world, the supremacy of the Pope received the fullest sanction; and the highest authorities among the civilians and annalists of Rome, refer to these as evidence of the right of the Pope to the title of “Universal Bishop,” and date it from A. D. 533. p. 200. With this supremacy, the power of the Papacy commenced. The Bible was permitted only in a dead language, and the faithful Christian was obliged to seek refuge in the wilderness. False doctrines obscuring the Bible, and persecuting enactments oppressing the church, clothed the witnesses in sackcloth; and thus only did they testify, till the power of the papacy was broken. Fire proceeded out of their mouth, when they made known the fiery judgments predicted in the Scriptures against all their enemies. And they shut heaven, smite with plagues, turn water to blood, &c., when, in accordance with the inspired record, are fulfilled the predictions which, in various places, are thus symbolized.—See Rev. 15:6; 16:4, &c. The finishing of their testimony, refers to the termination of the sackcloth period,—twelve hundred and sixty years from A. D. 533; _i.e._ in 1793,—if the former date is correct. The beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit, is that on which, in a subsequent vision, the woman is seated, 17:7, 8. John saw this beast arise out of the sea, (13:1); and the subsequent exposition given of it, will show that it symbolized the civil power of the Roman empire in its divided form.—See p. 169. As the ten kingdoms constitute the beast, what is done by any of these kingdoms, is done by the beast. France was one of the more prominent of these kingdoms, and at one period, under Napoleon, controlled the greater portion of the whole. To war against the witnesses, is to oppose, resist, and endeavor to crush them; and to overcome them, is to be successful in such efforts. To kill, when used symbolically and applied to Christians, is to cause them to apostatize—producing spiritual death, 9:5. When applied to the Scriptures, it can only denote their prohibition.