I answer that the Angels cannot create them out of nothing for that is only Gods work and therefore they had them from God who did either create them out of nothing or else did make them out of matter preexistent as the Locusts in the former Trumpet out of smoak v. 3. And if it be asked again what became of these bodies when they laid them down To this I answer that they returned into their former principles again and in case they were created out of nothing they returned into nothing and in case they were made of matter preexistent they returned into it again but whatever became of these bodies afterward this is certain out of Scripture that the Angels can assume them and lay them down again for they have done so heretofore and therefore they may do so again in the case that is now before us 6. The Angels can make use of living bodies that were before created and leave them when they have done as Satan made use of the Serpent to beguile the woman Gen. 3. 1 2. and the good Angel made use of Balaams Ass to speak unto his Master Numb 22. 28. and the Angel in the former Trumpet made use of the Locusts to torment men with their stings so the Angels in this Trumpet may make use of these Creatures to destroy the third part of men though they assume them not 7. If we read the fifteenth verse we shall there find that the Angels have a special hand in this business for they were prepared to slay the third part of men which this Army were to slay and therefore we have reason for to think that either these Horse-men be Angels or else had the guidance of the Angels in this work and we need not say that there were as many Angels imployed in this work as there be Horse-men mentioned v. 16. but four Angels besides the Angel that did sound this Trumpet may suffice to guide these Creatures in this work as one Angel did suffice to guide the Locusts in the former Trumpet 8. The Book sealed with seven seals of which this Prophecy is a part was such a special Book of Prophecy as no man in Heaven or on earth or under the earth was counted worthy to open the Book and look into it but Iesus Christ Rev. 5. 3. therefore we may not think that this Book of Prophecy containeth only things ordinary usual or accustomed such as Church Heresies and Turkish Wars are which though they be grievous and calamitous while they last and continue yet they be common usual and accustomed things which the World and Church of God is well acquainted with We must rather look that in this Book of Prophecy should be things extraordinary unusual rare and unaccustomed such as the plagues of Egypt were which were never known before nor since and such as the Locusts were in the former Trumpet and the Horses and Horse-men in this sixth 9. The Horses be not usual Horses such as men use in War and therefore they that sit on them be not men for how should men come by such Horses as be here described and what men will adventure for to ride them in case they could come by them First it is said that they had heads as the heads of Lions and out of their mouths issued Fire Smoak and Brimstone v. 17. 2. They had tailes like to Serpents bodies v. 19. 3. They had heads behind at the end of their tailes 4. They had mouths in their heads so that they had two mouths as well as two heads one before and another behind and the head before was like a Lions head v. 17. and the head behind in the tail like a Serpents head v. 19. 5. Out of both their mouths issued Fire Smoak and Brimstone 6. By this Fire Smoak and Brimstone were the third part of men slain v. 18. Never any men did ride such Horses as these were nor ever will do 10. The Army here spoken of was two hundred thousand thousand but the Turkish Armies never were so many at one time nor ever will be They say Bajazet the Turk was once in the Field with five hundred thousand and Tamerlan the Tartar with thirteen hundred thousand but what be all these to two hundred thousand thousand There never was such an Army in the Field at one time nor ever will be 11. The Turkish Armies do consist of Foot as well as Horse though most of them be Horse but the Army here spoken of be only Horse and no Foot 12. The Army here spoken of did send Fire Smoak and Brimstone out of their Horses mouths and slay the third part of men therewith this the Turks never did nor ever will or can do And as for those who think that this is meant of Gunpowder in which there is Fire Smoak and Brimstone when they shoot I think it fit to tell them that Guns and Gunpowder were not invented by the Turks but by Bertholdus Niger alias Swart a German Alchymist and a Franciscan Monk about the year of Christ 1380. And Guns and Gunpowder are used not only by the Turks but by other Nations in their Wars all the World over And 't is not the Gunpowder which doth slay men of it self but the Bullet which it driveth forth And the Turks shoot not Gunpowder out of their Horses mouths and tails but out of their Iron and their Brasen Guns and that at one end only so that Guns and Gunpowder are not intended in this Prophecy but Fire Smoak and Brimstone to kill the third part of men therewith and that without either Gunpowder Guns or Bullet 13. By this Army were the third part of men slain which were dwelling at Euphrates Now the Turks be the men which dwell there and therefore it is likely that the Turks be the men which shall be slain by this Army and not the Army which shall slay the third part of men so that the Turks be intended in this Prophecy not as Agents but as Patients not as killing others but as killed by others and God hath shewed in this Prophecy how the third part of Turks shall be destroyed not by Jews nor by Tartars nor by any other men but by Angels in a fearful manner and yet not by them alone but by strange kind of Horses newly created for this purpose and never known in the World before and by Fire Smoak and Brimstone which proceed out of their mouths 〈◊〉 the wonders that be in these Prophecies so wonderful and strange and unaccustomed that men will not believe them nor think upon them in a literal sense because they do not see them but what said Christ to Thomas in a matter as hard to be believed as this Be not faithless but believe John 20. 27. and such things as these or very like them in some kind or other or at least in some degree or other have been done already if we believe the Book of Wisdom c. 11. v. 18 19. CHAP.
longer but the Revelation of the Apostolical Prophet Iohn is the full substance of what he saw and heard without diminution of the words 5. The Prophet Esai was at liberty to go and preach unto the people Sermon after Sermon but the Apostlical Prophet Iohn was not at liberty to travel to the Churches and Preach one day to the Church of Ephesus and another day to the Church of Smyrna and other days to the other Churches as he must have done had he preached the Revelation to them the places being far distant one from another therefore he was necessitated to write his Revelation to the Churches and send it all together and his Commission was so to do Rev. 1. 11. 7. There was not any considerable intermission between one Vision and another excepting onely at the opening of the seventh seal where there was an intermission not of Iohns ecstasie for he was in the Spirit all that while but an intermission of father Revelations for the space of half an hour and no longer Rev. 8. 1. but between the other Visions there was not such an intermission but as soon as one was past the other came immediately without any considerable intermission as you may read Rev. 11. 14. 8. The Book sealed with seven seals was revealed all at once and not at several times far distant one from other Rev. 5. 1. now that Book contained in it all the Prophecies in the Revelation as shall be proved when we come unto the tenth chapter 9. The seven Trumpets were presented to the Apostle all together Rev. 8. 2. and so were the seven vials too Rev. 15. 7. and he did not see one Trumpet in one year and another Trumpet in another year nor one Vial in one Kings Reign and another Vial in another Kings Reign but he saw them successively all together and because all the Prophecies in the Revelation from the eighth chapter downward do belong to these two therefore they were revealed when they were The Prophecy in the eleventh chapter which concerns the two witnesses doth belong to the sixth Trumpet and was revealed when that Trumpet was Rev. 11. 14. the Prophecies in the twelfth thirteenth and fourteenth chapters do belong to the seventh Trumpet and were revealed when that Trumpet was and the Prophecy concerning the fall of Babylon in the seventeenth eighteenth and nineteenth chapters doth belong to the seventh Vial and was revealed when that Vial was Rev. 16. 19. and consequently all the Prophecies in the Revelation from the eighth chapter downward were revealed all together not at several distant times but successively one after another without an interval between the Prophecy which immediately goes before and the Prophecy which immediately follows after 10. Iohn received all his Visions when he was in the Spirit and there is no mention that Iohn was in the Spirit any other day than on the Lords day Rev. 1. 10. and he saith the Lords day in the singular number and not the Lords days in the plural number 11. If Iohn received the Visions of the Revelation at several distant times some in one Kings Reign and some in another Kings Reign then seeing he returned from exile as they say in Claudius's time I would intreat them to tell me whether every time he received a Vision after Claudius's death he were not carried by the Spirit into Patmos to receive it or else received it elsewhere and seeing he saw the name of the Beast as they say in Domitian's time whether he were not carried by the Spirit into Patmos to see that name and recarried back again to Ephesus after he had seen it These inventions do not become the Pens of learned men but if they will suppose or invent such things as these and deliver them for truth it becomes not any man to believe such feigned imaginations 12. Iohn received all his Visions in a trance and how many trances was he in if he received them at sundry times and not at once We read but of one trance that he was in and that was in Patmos on the Lords day Rev. 1. 9 10. and therefore he received his Visions all at once before he was out of that trance 3. Quest. Whether the Prophecies of the Revelation shall come to pass in Asia or in Europe Ans. The Prophecies were written unto Asia and not unto Europe Rev. 1. 4. 11. therefore in all likelyhood they have their accomplishment in Asia chiefly if not in Asia only 2. Iohn was to write both the things which are and the things which shall be hereafter Rev. 1. 19. Now by the things which are is meant the things which are in Asia therefore by the things which shall be hereafter is meant the things which shall hereafter be in Asia 3. Christ himself doth make the chief scene of the Prophecies to be Asia Rev. 22. 16. I Jesus have sent mine Angels to testifie unto you these things in the Churches so we read in the English but in the Greek 't is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 concerning the Churches so that the Churches are the scene of the Prophecies though not the adequate scene of them all yet the scene of many of them and the things he writes to them of are concerning the Churches or which is all one they shall befall the Churches and what is meant by the Churches but the Churches of Asia Rev. 1. 4. 11. 4. To what purpose should he write to Asia the fates and destinies of another Country and not acquaint them with the fates and destinies of their own But if the scene of the Prophecies be Europe what doth he else but acquaint them with the fates and destinies of another Country and neglect to tell them the fates and destinies of their own 5. What be the places which are named in the Prophecies and made the Scene where they shall be acted be they not Ierusalem Sion Babylon the East and the River Euphrates and where shall we find these places but in Asia though not in Asia Minor yet in Asia Major and therefore the Revelation is concerning both Asia's and the things spoken of in the Epistles to the seven Churches are concerning Asia Minor and the Prophecies which follow afterward concerning Asia Major not secluding Asia Minor from having a share in them also 6. That which I drive at in this question is against those which make the chief Scene of the Prophecies to be Europe and will have none of them come to pass in Asia except the Prophecy of the sixth Trumpet concerning the four Angels which were bound at Euphrates Rev. 9. 14. when as the chief Scene of the Prophecies is Asia and but very few of them shall come to pass in Europe and those few are such as are common to them both such as is the Prophecy of the Resurrection of the dead of the final Judgment and of the end of the World which concern all persons throughout the World Rev. 20 21 22 23
c. 7. The seat of the Holy War was Iudaea yet the Soldiers that Warred there against the Turks and Saracens were Europeans and such is the case here the main seat of the Prophecies is Asia yet the Countries near adjoyning may feel the smart of them as Europe felt the smart of the Holy War which was waged in Iudaea 8. The Prophecy of the final Judgment doth concern all the World yet the place where it shall be managed and to which they shall be brought to Judgment is Iudaea So the Prophecies of the Revelation may some of them concern Europe as well as Asia yet the Scene in which they shall be acted is rather Asia than Europe 4. Quest. Whether the Prophecies of the Revelation be of a long continuance or a short Ans. If all the Prophecies of the Revelation be of a short continuance God hath left his Church without a Prophecy to the end of the World for there is no Prophecy which doth reach so far except Daniel or the Revelation but they say the Prophecies of Daniel ended with the destruction of Ierusalem and if the Revelation ends then too or a little after where have we a Prophecy to the end of the World 2. We have a Prophecy in the fifth seal which begins with How long Lord Holy and true Rev. 6. 10. therefore 't is a long time before that Prophecy of the fifth seal is to begin and consequently it is a long time before the Prophecies of the four first Seals shall have an end 3. We have in the twentieth chapter a Prophecy of a thousand years long now a thousand years are not of a short but of a long continuance 4. There is but a little space it may be less than a year between the thousand years and the last Judgment Rev. 20. 3. and there is also set down what shall come to pass in that little space to wit the insurrection and destruction of Gog. and Magog Rev. 20. 7 8 9 10. therefore the Revelation is a Prophecy reaching to the last Judgment 5. We have in that twentieth chapter a Prophecy of the last Judgment it self and a large description of it from the eleventh verse to the end of the chapter therefore the Revelation is a Prophecy reaching not only to the last Judgment but takes the last Judgment in to boot 6. We may go a little further and say that in the one and twentieth and two and twentieth chapters we have a Prophecy of the new Ierusalem the eternal City of the blessed and of the Lake of fire burning with Brimstone the everlasting habitation of the damned therefore the Revelation reacheth not only to the last Judgment inclusively but goes beyond it and speaks in general of what shall come to pass afterward Lastly If the Prophecies of the Revelation were of short continuance what is the reason that Christ is not come to Judgment all this while is it not because the Prophecies of the Revelation which goe before it are not yet fulfilled for if they were Christ would come to Judgment presently and not defer his coming a moment longer and if Christ should come to Judgment to morrow the Prophecies of the Revelation which go before it would be fulfilled before to morrow and if Christ should defer his coming until another year or until another age be over it is because the Prophecies of the Revelation which go before his coming will not be fulfilled before I will not take upon me to determine when the day of Judgment shall begin but my opinion is 't is farther off than many men suppose it may be six thousand years from the Creation of the World shall be expired first and the seventh thousand shall be the day of Judgment and he that lives two hundred or three hundred years hence and finds that Christ is not then come to Judgment let him know the reason is because the Prophecies of the Revelation which go before that day are not then fulfilled and that Christ will defer his coming till they be And as when he suffered on the Cross he remained alive upon the Cross till all things were fulfilled and then gave up the Ghost Ioh. 19. 28. 30. so Christ will not come to Judgment but abide in Heaven where he is until the Prophecies of the Revelation be fulfilled which go before that day and as soon as that is done then Christ will come to Judgment and not defer it any longer as we may read Act. 3. 21. And if it shall be asked of me what Prophecies of the Revelation be yet behind and unfulfilled I answer there is the destruction of Gog and Magog Rev. 20. 8 9. there is the thousand years in the same chapter there is the destruction of the Beast and false Prophet Rev. 19 20 21. there is the destruction of Babylon Rev. 17 and 18. and for ought we yet know all the Prophecies in the Revelation from the first Seal to the end of the Book are yet to be expected Ob. But what then is the meaning of the words Rev. 1. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 things that must shortly come to pass do not these words imply that all the Prophecies of the Revelation were shortly to begin and speedily to have an end Ans. The words Rev. 1. 1. are not to be extended to all the Prophecies in the Book but to the things spoken of in the Epistles to the seven Churches and no farther and the meaning of them is that the things spoken of in the Epistles to the seven Churches were shortly to begin and speedily to have an end but the Prophecies which follow afterward in the Book sealed with seven Seals were not to begin so soon nor speedily to have an end 2. There is a manifest opposition between 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 things which must shortly be done Rev. 1. 1. and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 things which must be done hereafter Rev. 4. 1. now the latter of these that is the things which must be done hereafter mentioned c. 4. 1. is the preface to the Prophecies contained in the following chapters therefore the first of these the things which must shortly be done mentioned c. 1. 1. is the preface to the things spoken of before in the Epistles to the seven Churches contained in the three first chapters and to end where they do end And I find that some are of the mind that the Vision of the seven Churches was written first and sent unto the Churches by it self before any of the rest was written or revealed unto John and if that were true it were then out of question that the words c. 1. 1. are a preface to the three first chapters and not unto the whole Book But 3. Suppose the words c. 1. 1. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 things which must shortly be done are to be extended to the whole Book as a Preface thereunto upon that supposition I say the meaning of them is not that all the Prophecies of
the Revelation are of a short continuance but the meaning rather is that they shortly shall begin but after they are once begun they are to be of long continuance before they have an end for they are to teach to the last Judgment and beyond it too Rev. 20. 1â— 12 13 14 15. Rev. 21. 1 2 3 c. 5. Quest. Whether the scope of the Revelation be to comfort the seven Churches of Asia against the persecution of the Jews by acquainting them with their destruction near approaching Ans. 1. The destruction of the Jews was past before the Revelation was made known to John the one was in the time of Vespasian the other in the time of Domitian 2. John knew of the destruction of the Jews before he was banished into Patmos but he knew not of the Revelation till after he was there 3. Christ had sufficiently foretold his Disciples of the destruction of the Jews in his life-time Mat. 24. Mark 13. Luk. 21. and therefore there needed not a second Revelation of the same thing to John again 4. There is not one Syllable of the destruction of the Jews by Vespasian in all the Revelation That Prophecy Rev. 11. 13. is not meant of the destruction of the Iews but of the Gentiles rather and is not yet fulfilled 5. There is not one Syllable of consolation to the Churches taken from the destruction of the Iews near approaching 6. The Epistles to the seven Churches are not spent in consolations taken from the destruction of the Jews near approaching but in reproofs and menaces for their sins threatning them with their own destruction unless they did amend as you may see Rev. 2. 4 5 14 16 20 22 23. Rev. 3. 2 3 15 16. 7. The destruction of the Jews did not terminate the persecution of the Christians but they were persecuted afterward more than they were before and there was but one general persecution before the destruction of Jerusalem by Vespasian and that was in the Reign of Nero but there were nine general persecutions afterward 8. If any will extend the destruction of the Jews to the time of Adrian this will not terminate the persecutions of the Christians neither for there were but three persecutions before his time the fourth was in his Reign and there were six persecutions afterward Disputation II. 1. Quest. Whether the six first Seals were fulfilled in Judaea at and before the destruction of Jerusalem by Vespasian Ans. No Prophecy is fulfilled before it be revealed but these six first Seals were revealed to Iohn in the Reign of Domitian and therefore not fulfilled at and before the destruction of Jerusalem by Vespasian 2. No man was ever cast into a trance to behold things which he was told of before but Iohn was told by Christ in his life-time the things which should happen in Iudaea at and before the destruction of Ierusalem by Vespasian therefore he was not cast into a trance for such a Revelation 3. No man did write the Prophecies of the Revelation except Iohn but if the six first Seals be meant of the things which shall happen in Iudaea at and before the destruction of Ierusalem by Vespasian Mathew Mark and Luke did write thereof as well as Iohn and that more copiously and plainly than is here delivered see Mat. 24. Mark 13. Luk. 21. 4. No Prophecy is of things useless or needless but if the six first Seals be meant of the affairs of Iudaea at and before the destruction of Ierusalem by Vespasian this Prophecy might very well have been spared for it was well known before and Iohn might have said unto the Angel which shewed him these things Why am I cast into a trance and made believe that I should see things which no man ever saw before and of such concernment as no man in Heaven or in the earth or under the earth was counted worthy to reveal save Christ alone and now I have seen the six first Seals opened of this so highly praised commended magnified and extolled prophetical Book as no Book ever was the like alas what am I the better for it I have seen no more than I knew before 5. Let us take a view of the several Seals in order and we shall find that not any one of them was fulfilled in Judaea at or before the destruction of Jerusalem by Vespasian as some would make us believe they were Begin we with the first Seal which is a Prophecy of a white Horse and he that sate thereon had a Bow and a Crown was given unto him and he went forth conquering and to conquer but no such thing was fulfilled in Iudaea at or before the destruction of Ierusalem in a literal sense which is the cause they fly unto a mystical and understand the Prophecy of the conquest of the Gospel but it will not serve their turn for the Scene of the Gospel is the World and not the narrow confines of Judaea from whence it was removed before this Prophecy was revealed Mat. 21. 43. Act. 13. 46. To which may be added that the first Seal ends before the second Seal begins but the Gospel shall continue to the Worlds end The second Seal is a Prophecy of a red Horse and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth and that they should kill one another and there was given unto him a great Sword but when was this Tragedy acted in Judaea The intestine slaughters of Jews among themselves will not amount unto a War and if they would yet they were not such noted ones nor so numerous as these shall be to which may be added that the rider on this Red Horse was to take peace from the earth which word is too large to be confined to the narrow compass of Jerusalem where the Zelots slew their Brethren not on Horse-back but on Foot and the Sicarii had not great Swords as this Rider had but short Pocket Daggers to slay men with a weapon fitter for Thieves and Robbers than such noted Warriers as this Prophecy aimeth at The third Seal is a Prophecy of a Black Horse and he that sate on him had a pair of balances in his hand And I heard a voice in the midst of the four Beasts say A measure of Wheat for a penny and three measures of Barley for a penny c. which words are either meant of Famine or of civil Justice but the broiles and tumults in Judaea would not suffer civil Justice to be used And if we understand this Prophecy of Famine where shall we find a noted Famine in Judaea except that which Agabus spake of Act. 11. 28. or that which happened in the City in the time of the Siege but neither of these can be meant in this place not the first because the adequate Scene of that Famine was not Judaea but the World and the time when it happened was in the second year of Claudius which was before Iohns banishment into Patmos
and the seventh Trumpet doth not end with the eleventh Chapter for if it did a close would have been put unto it at the end of that Chapter to distinguish it from the Prophecies that follow but there being no period put unto it there as there is to the former Trumpets where they end it is an Argument sufficient that it doth not end there but is to be extended farther even to the twelfth Chapter and to all the Chapters following inclusively until a Period be put unto it which is no where to be found so that the seventh Trumpet hath no end at all nor any close put unto it as the fifth and sixth Trumpets have Rev. 9. 12. Rev. 11. 14. and seeing the seventh Trumpet doth belong unto the Book with seven seals the Prophecy of the twelfth Chapter and of all the rest that follow doth belong unto that other Book also 10. If the little Book had the following Prophecies written in it from the eighth verse of this Chapter to the end of the Revelation what 's the reason that the Angel doth acquaint John with them afterward A man would think that after he had taken the Book and eaten it up he should have known what the Prophecies had been which were contained in it without any further help or any further Revelation but we find that in the next Chapter after this the Angel doth acquaint John with the Prophecies of that Chapter and tells him what they be from point to point and therefore the little Book though eaten up by him did not acquaint him with them before nor tell him what they were Ob. But why was John commanded to eat the little Book if it had no Prophecy written in it Ans. 1. To acquaint him with the sweetness and the bitterness of the Prophecies which follow for by eating of the Book which was sweet in his mouth and bitter in his belly he thereby knew that the Prophecies which follow should be be sweet in the beginning but bitter afterward 2. To signifie unto him that he had not made an end of Prophecying and in particular that the Prophecy of the sixth Trumpet was not fully ended there was a little more behind not yet revealed to him which he was to add to the former part thereof and therefore it is said thou must Prophecy again not begin a new Prophecy ab ovo from the first Original but Prophecy again that is of the other part behind belonging to the sixth Trumpet which was not spoken of before but what that other part was was not written in the little Book but reported to him by word of mouth and it belongs all of it to the sixth Trumpet and the little Book it self to boot From hence it follows 1. That the whole Prophetical part of the Apocalypse doth not consist of two main Prophecies both of them beginning their race at the same Epoch◠or terminus à quo of time and concluding together likewise at the same goal or terminus ad quem The first of these as Mr. Mede would have it is prophetia sigillorum reaching from the fourth Chapter unto almost the end of the tenth The second is prophetia libri beginning at the eighth verse of the tenth Chapter and reaching to the end of the Book But herein Mr. Mede is exceedingly out for there is but one Prophetical Book of the Apocalypse as hath been proved in this Question and this Book is Prophetia sigillorum the Prophecy of the seals reaching from the fourth Chapter or rather from the sixth Chapter to the end of the Revelation 2. That the Prophecies of the Revelation shall come to pass in order as they came forth out of the sealed Book seal after seal Trumpet after Trumpet Vial after Vial and so of all the rest in order as they were presented unto Iohn in Vision of which more in the next Question 2 Quest. Whether the Prophecies of the Revelation shall come to pass in order as they were revealed to John Ans. 1. Things revealed at once and not at several distant times come to pass in order as they be revealed as for instance The Prophecy of the four Monarchies Dan. 7. was revealed to Daniel all at once and it did and shall come to pass in order as it was revealed so the Prophecy of the Ram and Hee-Goat Dan. 8. was revealed to him all at once and it came to pass in order as it was revealed and so give instance where you will it never failes But now the Prophecies of the Revelation were revealed to Iohn all at once and not at several distant times as was proved at large Disp. 1. q. 2. therefore they shall come to pass in order as they were revealed It is otherwise where things are revealed at several distant times here no such order is observed as for instance The Prophecy of the fourth beast Dan. 7. was revealed to him above a year before the Prophecy of the Ram and Hee-Goat mentioned Dan. 8. but yet the Prophecy of the Ram and Hee-Goat came to pass before it In like manner had the Prophecies of the Revelation been revealed to Iohn at several distant times as some of Daniels Prophecies were we could not conclude from thence that they shall come to pass in order as they were revealed but in regard they were revealed to him all at once or at one continued time without ceasing or intermission of his ecstasie we may and must conclude from thence that they shall come to pass in order as they were revealed and presented unto Iohn in Vision 2. The Prophecies of the Revelation were written all of them in one Book and not in two and that was the Book sealed with seven seals c. 5. But as for the little Book c. 10. it had not any Prophecy written in it as was proved at large in the former Question Now had the Prophecies of the Revelation been written in two Books and not in one it might be possible that the Prophecies of these two Books might begin their race at the same Epoch◠or terminus à quo of time and conclude together likewise at the same goal or terminus ad quem but in regard they were all of them written in one Book and not in two here is no colour at all for such a groundless imagination 3. Histories write of things in order as they come to pass as if a man were to write a Chronicle of the Kings of England he would not put King Henry the eighth and his Reign before King Henry the seventh but set down the Kings in order as they Reigned And no other is the case here the prophetical part of the Revelations is a History of things to come as a Chronicle is a History of things past and therefore it sets down things in order as a Chronicle doth 4. It is acknowledged by Mr. Mede and others of his mind that all the Prophecies in the Revelation except that of the Palm-bearers Rev. 7. 9. from
but reacheth onward to the end of the Book and whereas the other Trumpets have a close added to them this Trumpet hath no close at all and therefore hath no end at all before the Book be ended You will say the four first Trumpets have no close to them Answ. They had other Trumpets to succeed them but this Trumpet is the last of all and hath no Trumpet to succeed it Again the two first Woe Trumpets had a close set unto them Rev. 9. 12. Rev. 11. 14. But this Trumpet is the third Woe Trumpet and therefore should in all likely-hood have a close set unto it as the other have if there were any to be set 2. This Prophecy doth not belong to the little Book but to the Book sealed with seven Seals for that Book had something written in it but the little Book had nothing written in it now there is no part of that Book to which this Prophecy can belong but to the seventh Trumpet only 3. The Prophecy of the seven Vials doth belong unto the seventh Trumpet therefore that which comes between the beginning of the seventh Trumpet and the seven Vials doth belong to the seventh Trumpet also Now that the seven Vials do belong to the seventh Trumpet may appear from hence that as the seventh Seal doth contain seven Trumpets so the seventh Trumpet by the like proportion doth contain seven Vials and Mr. Mede in his Remains pag. 10. doth implicitly confess this Argument to be good in case there be but one Book of Prophecy and this I have already proved in a select question on the tenth Chapter concerning this subject 4. The mystery of God doth belong unto the seventh Trumpet as the Angel plainly saith Rev. 10. 7. but the parturition of the Woman is the mystery of God there spoken of Rom. 11. 25. Ob. In the former Chapter v. 15. 17 18. there is mention of the Kingdom of Christ and of the time of the dead that they should be judged and shall this Prophecy succeed that Ans. No it shall not succeed it but begin it The conversion of the Jews is the inchoation of the Kingdom there spoken of as appears v. 10. and the time of the dead in which they shall â—e judged or avenged shall follow thereupon as appears v. 12. but more particularly ch 14. 7. 13. 15 16. ch 15. 1. ch 16. throughout ch 18. 6. 20. 24. ch 19. 2. 20 21. all which belong unto the seventh Trumpet and is the execution of what was spoken of in general in the former Chapter in which the seventh Trumpet is set down in gross but in this and the Chapters following at retail To which may be added that the seventh Trumpet is a Woe Trumpet and there be no Woes belonging to that Trumpet in the former Chapter but only in the general therefore the particulars are in the Chapters following 2. Quest. Whether this Prophecy doth contemporate with the Prophecy of the two witnesses or succeed it Ans. 1. The seventh Trumpet doth succeed the sixth but this Prophecy belongs to the seventh Trumpet and that of the two witnesses to the sixth 2. That which gave occasion or an opportunity to the building of the Temple and the prophecying of the witnesses and removed the impediment thereof was the slaughter of the third part of men which were dwelling at Euphrates and that which gives occasion or an opportunity to the parturition of the Woman and removeth the impediment thereof is the fall of the tenth part of the City and the judgment on the Beast Rev. 11. 13. and as the slaughter of the third part of Men which were dwelling at Euphrates goes before the prophecying oâ— the witnesses as being the occasion of it by removing the impediments and affording an opportunity thereunto so the fall of the City and the judgment on the Beast goes before the Travail of the Woman as being the occasion of it by removing the impediments which were or might be a hindrance to it and affording an opportunity thereupon whereby it might be brought to pass 3. The Church in building is before the Church builded but during the prophecying of the witnesses the Church is in building and when the Woman has brought forth her child the Church is then built 4. Persecution and freedom from it cannot contemporate each with other but in the time of this Prophecy the Church is under persecution and during the prophecying of the witnesses the Church is free therefrom until the 1260 days be ended and then the Beast doth war against the witnesses but not before and though the outer Court be given to the Gentiles during the prophecying of the witnesses yet the inner court where the Church is they dare not meddle with 5. Good success and bad success cannot contemporate each with other but in the former Prophecy the enemy hath some success against the Church for three days and a half as appears v. 9. 11. but in the time of this Prophecy the Dragon hath no success at all 6. The beginning of this Prophecy doth not contemporate with the beginning of the former nor the end of this Prophecy with the end of the former therefore the middle which is the 1260 days in each Prophecy do not contemporate each with other First I say the beginning of this Prophecy doth not contemporate with the beginning of the former for in the beginning of this Prophecy the Church is under the opposition and persecution of the Dragon but in the beginning of the former while the Temple is in building the Church is free Again in the end of the former Prophecy the Church is worsted by the enemy for three days and a half but in the end of this Prophecy the Dragon has the worst of it and the Church the better 7. Other differences there be which shew they do not Synchronise as first the Church in this Prophecy flies away in that she stands to it and flies not Again in this Prophecy the Church is in the Wilderness in that she is without in an open place And thirdly in this Prophecy the Church is invisible and none but the Dragon knew where she was but in the other Prophecy the Church is visible and the Beast knew where she was all which do shew that they do not Synchronise Object The days of the two Witnesses and the days of the Womans being in the Wilderness are equal in duration for they be 1260 days a piece therefore they Synchronise and contemporate each with other Ans. The month of January and the month of March are equal in duration for they be one and thirty days a piece yet they succeed one the other and the month of February comes between and no other is the case here the 1260 days of the Prophesying of the Witnesses and the 1260 days of the Womans being in the Wilderness are equal in duration yet the last of these succeeds the former as the month of March doth the month of
X. The continuation of the sixth Trumpet or a preparation to the second part thereof 1. AND I saw another Angel of special dignity among them come down from Heaven in a cloud having a Rain-bow over his head to denote a glorious apparition and his face was as the Sun for beauty and his feet as Pillars of fire 2. And he had in his right hand a little Book or Schedule not sealed as the other was before but wide open in the Angels hand have nothing written in it and he set his right foot upon the Sea and his left foot upon the dry Land 3. And he cryed with a loud and dreadful voice as when a Lion roareth after his prey and is in sight of it and upon this cry of his as upon a call seven claps of Thunder uttered their voices in my hearing 4. And when the seven Thunders had uttered their voices I was about to write what the seven Thunders had spoken for they spake things 〈◊〉 but I heard a voice from Heaven saying unto me Conceal the things which the seven Thunders have spoken and write them not for they are too terrible to be revealed 5. And the Angel whom I saw standing with his right foot upon the Sea and with his left foot upon the dry Land lifted up his hand to Heaven as a token that he meant to swear 6. And he sware by the true and ever-living God who made the Heaven with the things which are therein and the earth with the things which are therein and the Sea with the things which are therein that the mystery of God should be delayed no longer 7. But in the days of the voice of the seventh Angel when he shall sound his Trumpet which after these things now in hand will shortly be the calling conversion and restoring of the Jewish Nation shall be put in execution and not be laid aside until it be brought to full perfection As soon as that Angel shall begin to sound their calling and conversion shall be brought to pass and before that Angel ends the restauration of their Kingdom shall be finished and this joyful news is no new invention but God hath told it his Servants the Prophets in the old Testament long ago 8. And the voice which I heard from Heaven before bidding me seal up the things which the seven Thunders had spoken and write them not spake to me again the second time and said unto me Go take the little Book or Schedule which is wide open in the hand of the Angel which standeth with his right foot upon the Sea and with his left upon the dry Land 9. So I went unto the Angel as the voice commanded me and I said unto him Give me the little Book or Schedule which is wide open in thy right hand and he said unto me Take and eat it and when thou hast so done it shall make thy belly bitter but in thy mouth it shall be sweet as Hony 10. So I took the little Book or Schedule out of the Angels hand and eat it up before him and it was as the Angel said in my mouth as sweet as Hony but when I had eaten it my belly was bitter 11. And he told me the meaning of it and he said unto me Thou must Prophecy again before the sixth Trumpet endeth and thou must tell what shall befal the People of the Jews and what shall befal the Gentiles and their Kings before the seventh Trumpet soundeth and the mystery of God which I told thee of take effect And the first things that thou must Prophecy of will be very sweet and pleasant as Hony to thy mouth but the second will be very bitter as Gall unto thy stomach Disputation VI. 1 Quest. Whether the little Book had any Prophecy written in it Answ. 1. It is not said in the Text that it had any Prophecy written in it and therefore they which say it had do it upon no ground at all 2. It was wide open and not shut nor sealed therefore there was not any secret thing therein 3. It was but one Schedule or piece of Parchment and that a little one too and therefore too little to contain all the Prophecies from the eighth verse of the tenth Chapter to the end of the Revelation 4. It was far less than the other Book which had seven rolls and seven seals to them But if all the Prophecies from the eighth verse of the tenth Chapter to the end of the Revelation should be comprised in it it would be far bigger than the other Book which had seven rolls and seals to them 5. The other Book which had the seals is commended for its Prophecies Rev. 5. 2 3 4 5. but this Book is no where commended for any Prophecy it had 6. The Prophecies in the following Chapters be of higher note and far more excellent and of more concernment than the Prophecies in the former Chapters be and therefore they belong not to this little Book which is no where commended for its Prophecies but to the other Book with seven seals which hath so high a commendation as not any Book the like Rev. 5. 3 4 5. 7. There should be by this reckoning two Prophetical Books of the Revelation and the seventh verse of the tenth Chapter should be the last verse of the first Book and the eighth verse of the tenth Chapter should be the first verse of the second Book but St. John makes but one Book of all the Revelation and he writes it all in one Volume without division and calls it a Revelation in the singular number and not two Revelations in the plural number Rev. 1. 1. 8. By this reckoning the Prophecies of the other Book with seven seals should be mingled with the Prophecies of the little Book without seals for they say that all the Prophecies in the Revelation from the eighth verse of the tenth Chapter to the end of the Revelation belong unto the little Book Now if you look into the eleventh Chapter you shall there find the ending of the sixth Trumpet v. 14. and after that the seventh Trumpet or some part thereof from the fifteenth verse to the end of the Chapter both which belong unto the other Book with seven seals and namely to the seventh seal thereof Rev. 8. 2. and after this come in the Prophecies as they say of the little Book again What a mingle mangle have we here of those two Books one in another Surely as St. John eat up the little Book so they make the little Book swallow the Prophecies of the other Book into his Belly 9. The sixth Trumpet doth not end with the seventh verse of the tenth Chapter but goes onward to the fourteenth verse of the eleventh Chapter and there ends and not before so that all that Prophecy in the eleventh Chapter to the fourteenth verse doth belong unto the other Book with seven seals