A LETTER OF A Protestant Clergy-man TO THE Reverend CLERGY OF THE Church of England AND To all other good Protestants advertising them from the sacred Revelation of St. John of the Evil which he apprehends to be coming upon THE PROTESTANT CHURCH c. Written by DIGBY BULL M. A. and late Rector of Sheldon in Warwickshire London Printed for the Author and are to be sold by the Booksellers of London and Westminster 1695. Reverend Brethren both of the Clergy and Laiety I Am apprehensive and very confident than an Evil Time is at hand and that Popery is ready to come in upon us for the great Abuse of that blessed Light of the Gospel which we have so freely enjoyed And I doubt that first and last there will be a great deal of Bloodshed in this Nation and I would have you all advertised hereof That you may make all the due Preparation against such a Dreadful Time that may be and may do all that lyes in your Power to preserve your selves and the Flocks that are committed to your Care that you may not fall to Popery nor be taken in any other great Wickedness and so be swept away with the Beesom of Destruction I would have you to peruse Archbishop Usher's Prediction and to make the best use of his Advice that may be For I take it to be of a Divine Nature and do believe that there is Truth in it and that the dismal Time which he speaks of is now at hand And I am perswaded that this Day will come in a surprizing manner as he saith and that such as give themselves up to a carnal and vain Security will be wrapt up in Misery and Destruction before they are well aware of it And therefore it behoveth all Men to look well to the grand Concerns of their Souls and Lives and to be continually upon their Watch and Spiritual Guard that they may not be taken in a vain Confidence like the rich Fool in the Parable Luke 12.16 And from Rev. 11. I do believe that Popery will prevail over us for three Years and an half and that then to the great wonder of the World and like Men from the dead the Protestant Religion shall rise up again and be as Glorious as it was before if not much more so And from the comfortable expectation of this lightsome and joyful Morning we may be the more encouraged with Patience and Perseverance in the Truth to weather out this dark and dismal Night And by the blessed Help and Assistance of Almighty God we shall be able to do it and his Divine Help will never be wanting to us if we seek it with that diligence and care that we ought And the more to keep us from falling to Popery we may remember how strictly we are commanded to keep the Faith and Doctrine of the Gospel pure and uncorrupt and how severely the Violators thereof are threatned And we may sufficiently see that Popery is not at all consistent therewith First We may see that we are strictly enjoined to keep the sacred Commands of Almighty God and to contend earnestly for the Faith of the Gospel and at our Baptism we did solemnly engage to do so by our Sureties Upon our love to him doth our blessed Lord require of us that we should keep his Commandments If ye love me saith he Joh. 14.15 keep my Commandments St. Paul also in sundry places doth strictly charge both Timothy and Titus and in a Solemn manner before God to keep the Precepts and Commandments that he gave them 1 Tim. 5.21 and 6.13 And he sheweth that the Philippians were to strive together for the Faith of the Gospel Phil. 1.27 That ye stand fast in one spirit with one mind striving together for the Faith of the Gospel and in nothing terrified by your adversaries And this St. Jude presseth also Jude 3. It was needful for me saith he to write unto you and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the Faith which was once delivered unto the Saints And to the Angel of the Church in Sardis saith our Saviour Rev. 3.3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard and hold fast and repent By the Angel here we are to understand the Bishops and Pastors of the Church and the Flocks under them the Angel seems to be put for the whole Church but especially for the Governours and Pastors of it And this place as Dr. More sheweth respecteth our own times And here we are admonished to remember how we have been Instructed in the sacred Scriptures and also how we have been taught by the blessed Reformation to lay aside all the sinful Errors and Practices of the Romish Church And here we are also strictly enjoined to retain and hold fast all that is good and agreeable to the sacred Scriptures and upon our neglect herein we are severely threatned with Judgment as the following words shew Secondly We may see that such as any ways make void the sacred Word of God are sharply rebuked and severely threatned for it Our blessed Lord himself doth sharply rebuke the Jews upon this account and shews that such Religion is vain when Men leave the Divine Laws and Commandments of Almighty God to follow the Traditions and Precepts of Men. Mar. 7.7 In vain do they worship me saith he teaching for doctrines the commandments of men For laying aside the commandment of God ye hold the tradition of men And saith he Mat. 5.19 Whosoever shall break one of these least commandments and shall teach men so he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven St. Paul also doth shew that he that disannulleth the Gospel of Christ and setteth up any thing in opposition to it is to be had accursed yea tho' he were an Angel from Heaven Gal. 1.8 But tho' we saith he or an Angel from heaven preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you let him be accursed And this the Apostle doubleth that it might be the more heeded and minded and that none might presume to do so And saith St. John 2 Joh. 9. Whosoever abideth not in the Doctrine of Christ hath not God And saith he again Rev. 22.18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the Prophecy of this book If any man shall add unto these things God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this Book And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this Prophecy God shall take away his part out of the book of life By these plain places of Scripture we may see how closely we ought to keep to the Sacred Word of God and that it is in vain to pretend to worship and serve Him except we do so And we see that it is a cursed thing to make void the Gospel and to preach up any thing in opposition to it and that such as do so must expect the Wrath and Judgment of God
apt to believe that many who have been driven out of this World with the Fire of Persecution and with the merciless Torments of cruel Men have departed hence with as much if not more ease than many that have died quietly upon their Beds and undisturbed by the sinful and restless Troublers of this World And if so then we have no great cause to draw back or to be sore afraid even in the worst of Times and Dangers To animate us the more then herein let us remember how victoriously many Saints have gone out of this World to those unspeakable Joys that are prepared for them in the next And as Paul saith Rom. 8.37 have been more than Conquerours thro' him that loved them in all the Tryals and Combats that they have been exercised with And seeing that we are listed Souldiers under Christ Let us follow them in a meek and patient suffering of all the Adversities and Injuries that befal us here for keeping the Faith of Christ and a good Conscience towards God Let us be perswaded as St. Paul was Rom. 8.38 39. That neither Death nor Life nor Angels nor Principalities nor Powers shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord Let us look unto Jesus the Captain of our Salvation the Author and Finisher of our Faith who endured such contradiction of Sinners against himself Who for the joy that was set before him endured the Cross despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of the Throne of God Heb. 12.2 Let us consider him that we may not be wearied and faint in our minds but be faithful unto death that we may not lose our Crown of Life But if we will not be prevailed upon by all these powerful Arguments and Persuasions to keep Faith and a good Conscience and to stick close to our Profession even in the worst of Times If the glory of such sufferings and the unspeakable Reward that doth await them If such assurances of Divine Help and Assistance that Almighty God will never be wanting to us but will have us always under his watchful Eye and will always grant us Succour and Strength answerable to our needs If these will not prevail with us Then we may farther take notice what a miserable condition such Revolters will be in that for fear of Persecution shall forego their Profession Such are like to lose their Lives as our Lord sheweth Mar. 8.35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it And such as are ashamed of him and his words must expect the same measure again to their great and eternal Reproach as our Lord shews ver 38. Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my Words in this adulterous and sinful generation of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy Angels And those that deny him must look for the same return again to their utter confusion Matt. 10.33 But whosoever shall deny me before men him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven The Apostle's words also are now especially to be heeded and laid to heart Heb. 6.4 For it is impossible for those saith he who were once enlightned and have tasted of the heavenly gift and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost and have tasted the good Word of God and the powers of the world to come If they shall fall away to renew them again unto repentance seeing they crucifie to themselves the Son of God afresh and put him to an open shame And saith he again Heb 10.26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the Truth there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery Indignation which shall devour the adversaries And if we Protestants should turn to the Popish Religion we may expect that this will be our condition And to conclude we may see that all Cowards that are not at all valiant for the Truth are like to go to the Lake that burns with Fire and Brimstone Rev. 21.8 But the Fearful and Unbelieving shall have their part in the Lake which burneth with Fire and Brimstone And this consideration also will be of great use to keep us from Backsliding and falling away from our Christian Profession to any Idolatrous or to any other sinful Practices that are not consistent with the Truth of the Gospel when we so plainly see as here we do That such Revolters must bid adieu to all the Bliss and Happiness that is promised in the Gospel and are like to go to the grand Apostate and to that everlasting Fire that was prepared for him and his Angens Matth. 25.41 And if these Arguments will not prevail with us I know not what will Seeing then that the Concerns before us are so very great the avoiding of Eternal Woe and Misery and the obtaining of Eternal Life and Happiness depending upon our good Behaviour and Christian Carriage here Let us be wise then betimes and shew our selves Men and not be like Solomon's Fool that had a price in his hand to get Wisdom but had no heart to it Prov. 17.16 Let us not to avoid a little Suffering here forfeit our Title to the Crown of Life and the blessed Kingdom above and run into endless Misery and Destruction For this will be prodigious folly and madness But seeing it is the Lord alone that must keep and uphold us all or else we shall be sure to fall and all the Watchman's care without his good Protection is to no purpose Ps 127.1 Let us then be careful and diligent to call for his blessed Help and Succour at all times and never trust to our own strength and abilities but let us always be mindful of that Divine Instruction of our blessed Lord and put it in practice Luke 21.36 Watch ye therefore and pray always that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass and to stand before the Son of man And now that all men may be the more sensible of the heavy judgment of God which I affirm to be at hand I shall here add the Eleventh Chapter and some other places of the Revelation of St. John which do particularly treat of the second grand Woe of that sacred Book which is the judgment that I speak of And that this Eleventh Chapter may be the better understood of all men I shall add a short explication of it according to that little Insight that I have into this great Mystery wherein through God's help I intend to be plain that the meanest Capacities may in a good measure understand it if they will and may clearly see that this judgment is there foretold and therefore will certainly come to pass Revelation Chapter XI 1. And there was given me a reed like unto a rod and the Angel stood saying Rise and measure the
both in respect of the seven hills upon which Rome stood and was built and also in respect of the seven Supreme Governments of Kings Consuls Dictators Emperors c. by which that City and the Roman Polity have been governed and which resided there as their great Metropolis yet it is plain to me that by this Beast is for the most part or altogether meant the Popedom and Romish Church since it became an Idolatrous and Persecuting Church And when the Popedom and Church of Rome hath stood 666 years from its first assuming the Nature and Disposition of a Beast of Prey when 666 years are compleated from the time that it first put the true and faithful Servants of God to death in a notorious and remarkable manner then shall the Popedom and Romish Church be destroyed in a most dreadful manner and then shall the third and last Woe be executed upon it And these 666 years do begin as I conceive about the time of the Waldenses and Albigenses and about the year of our Lord 1160. What was done before that time may be looked upon as done in the Minority of the Beast before he came to his full growth and not to be reckoned of but about that time he became of a full Stature and Strength and in a bloody and remarkable manner did destroy the Sheep and Church of Christ and thousands lost their Lives and perished by him And about that time and about the year 1160 do these 666 years begin And when they shall be ended this third Woe cometh which may be said to come quickly in respect of this far longer distance of time that hath been between the first Woe and this second Woe 15. And the seventh Angel sounded and there were great Voices in Heaven saying The Kingdoms of this World are become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ and he shall reign for ever and ever The seventh and last of these Trumpet-Angels here soundeth to Usher in the seventh and last Scene of Affairs of the Church as they are divided under these seven Trumpet-Angels For after the time of this seventh Trumpet-Angel is expired an End is to be put to this World and there is to be time no more as the Angel sware Rev. 10.5 And the Angel lifted up his hand to heaven and sware by him that liveth for ever and ever That there should be time no longer But in the days of the voice of the seventh Angel when he should sound even the Mystery of God should be finished as he hath declared to his Servants the Prophets In the end of the days of the voice of the seventh Angel the Mystery of God is to be finished and this World then is like to be at an End In this Sacred and Mysterious Book of the Revelation there seem to me to be three Septenaries or distinct Sets and Orders of Prophecies The first is of seven Churches the second of seven Seals and the third of seven Angels sounding with their Trumpets And in the times of the three last of these Trumpet-Angels were to be three grand Woes as the Angel declared Rev. 8.13 And I beheld saith St. John and heard an Angel flying thorow the midst of Heaven and saying with a loud voice Woe Woe Woe to the Inhabitants of the earth by reason of the other voices of the Trumpet of the three Angels which are yet to sound The first of these Woe 's was in the time of the fifth Trumpet-Angel and is now long since past the second which is to be in the time of the sixth Trumpet Angel is now at hand and the third is to fall under the time of the seventh and last Trumpet-Angel and will be fulfilled hereafter as I said before And the time of the seventh Trumpet-Angel doth begin presently after this second dreadful Woe shall be executed And upon his sounding there were great voices and acclamations in Heaven as it was represented to St. John in this Vision declaring that the Kingdoms of this World that is a considerable part of them were become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ and hereby shewing that they will then be so indeed and will then become Protestant Kingdoms and sincere Professors of the pure Word of God and live and act according to the blessed Precepts and Commands of the Gospel of Christ And then he shall Reign over them to the World's end and be owned by them for their Lord and Master and his Sacred Laws shall then stand valid and in force with them and neither the Pope of Rome nor any other such cruel and sinful Lord shall any more in such a manner Tyrannize and Domineer over them and Persecute them and drive them to Idolatry or any other notorious violation of the Sacred Word of God 16. And the four and twenty Elders which sat before God on their seats fell upon their faces and worshipped God Upon this wonderful Work that Almighty God had wrought here upon earth for his Church and faithful Servants the Elders of the Court of Heaven were represented to St. John as falling upon their Faces before God and worshipping of him in this profound manner and hereby shewing that the Church then ought and will magnify him in an exceeding high manner For these Elders seem to allude to the Jewish Sanhedrim and great Council and are the Representatives of the Christian Church as we may see Rev. 5.9 10. where they say of the Lamb For thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every Kindred and Tongue and People and Nation And hast made us unto our God Kings and Priests and we shall Reign on the Earth By declaring that they were redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and that they should Reign on the Earth they shew that they are the Representatives of the Christian Church 17. Saying We give thee thanks O Lord God Almighty which art and wast and art to come because thou hast taken to thee thy great Power and hast Reigned And here is their Song of Thanksgiving and ascribing of Glory to Almighty God who was from all Eternity and endureth to all Eternity upon the account of what he had done for his Church and Servants because in the Day of Anguish and Distress he had in such a wonderful manner stretched out his Omnipotent Arm and rescued them from the very Jaws of Death and Pit of Destruction and given such a Proof of his irresistible Power 18. And the Nations were angry and thy Wrath is come and the time of the dead that they should be judged and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy Servants the Prophets and to the Saints and them that fear thy Name small and great and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth This is a Narration of the Elders shewing their high Approbation of what God had righteously done Declaring that the Popish Nations were angry and enraged against the Protestant Church and true Servants