fallen it is fallen Babylon the great Citie For she made all nations to drinke of the wine of the wrath of her fornication And I sawe a woman sitting vpon a scarlet coloured beast full of names of blasphemie which had seauen heads and ten hornes and in her forehead was a name written A mistery Great Babylon the mother of whoredomes and abhominations of the earth And I sawe the woman drunken with the bloud of Saints and with the bloud of the Martyrs of Iesus And the Angell said vnto me The woman which thou sawest is the Great City which raigneth ouer the Kings of the earth Ap. 18. And after this I saw an other Angel come downe from heauen and hee cryed with a loude voice saying It is fallen it is fallen Babylon the great Ciâ—ie and is become the habitation of Deuils and the hould of al foule spirits and a cage of euery vncleane and hatefull bird For all nations haue drunke of the wine of her fornication and the Kings of the earth haue committed fornication with her and the Marchants of the earth are waxed rich of the abundance of her pleasures And I heard an other voice from heauen say Goe out of her my people that ye be not partakers in her sinnes and that ye receiue not of her plagues for her sinnes are come vp to heauen and God hath remembred her iniquities Reward her euen as she hath rewarded you and giue her double according to her workes and in the cup that shee hath filled to you fil her the double in asmuch as she glorified her selfe and liued in pleasure so much giue ye to her torment and sorrowe for she saith in her heart I sit being a Queene and am no widdow and shall see no mourning Therefore shal her plagues come at one day death and sorrowe and famine and she shal be burnt with fire for strong is the Lord God which wil condemne her O heauen reioyce of her and yee holy Apostles and Prophets for God hath giuen your iudgment on her Then a mighty Angel tooke vp a stone like a great milstone and cast it into the sea saying With such violence shall the great citie Babylon be cast and shal be found no more And as the Iewes doe praise God after their deliuerance so is it said that vpon the deliuerance from this spirituall bondage all Christians shall say Let vs be glad and reioyce and worship God saying Amen Hallelu-iah for our Lord God Almighty hath raigned At this deliuerance out of Babell about the euening offering the Angell Gabriel appeareth to Daniel and telleth him the exact houre of Christs death Dan. 9. in these wordes Seauenty seauens or 490 yeares are exactly decreed for the death of Christ the King the most Holy to finish sinne to bring in iustice to reconcile iniquity to annoint the most Holy and to performe euery vision and prophecie By this key the Iewes might haue vnderstoode the death of Christ the sonne of all saluation These seauenty seauens are distinguished into seauen seauens and the Temple shall be built into sixtie two seauens wherein Religion shall seeme to be vtterly obscured and into one seauen in the halfe of which Christ the King must be killed not for himselfe but for the people as Dan. 9. The time of the sixtie two seauens is prooued out of the Grecians Storie whome God in his secret wisedome vsed though vnwittingly to themselues to be recorders of his truth These seauens of weekes I wil handle more at large at the death of Christ where they are fully accomplished Vpon the vision of the foure Beasts in Dan which represent foure stately kingdomes figured before in Nebucadnetzars image which he sawe in his dreame Dan. 2. ariseth a great question Whether the fourth Beast containe the kingdome of the Romanes or not It is certaine it doth not and thus it may be prooued Of the first which is the Lion to be meant of Babylon the Beare to be the kingdome of the Medes and Persians and the Leopard to be Alexanders kingdome there is no controuersie but then of the fourth Beast with ten hornes lyeth the question It is said that a stone shall be cut without hands and shall become a great mountaine and shall fill al the earth and shal fal vpon the image and punne it to dust This stone is Christ vpon whose birth this vision ends for the stone falling vpon the feete of iron clay the whole image fell and was beaten to powder If then vpon the birth of Christ the fourth kingdome must be punned to dust and al the beasts be consumed in the fire by the Ancient of daies as Daniel 7. then the fourth kingdome cannot be the Romanes For vntill the comming of Christ they were in no glory and then were they in their chiefest glory for although a little before indeede they had conquered all the world yet the world did not consent to pay tribute vntill Christs time and therefore it could not bee said a full conquest For it is neuer a full conquest vntill a generall consent of tribute be graunted If it be obiected that it is meant of the second comming of Christ how is euery vision and prophesie performed in Christ and with what authority could Daniel speake of the second comming before hee had mentioned the first Therefore to hold this to be meant of the Romanes proueth Christ not to be yet come nor the ceremonies of Moses to be abolished Againe the fourth Beast that is the fourth kingdome hath relation to the fourth part of the image And by the legges of iron clay and thereby as the legges of one body being twaine are expressed Wherefore as the legges of contrary natures that is of iron and clay being twaine proceede out of one body so the kingdome which by them is signified must be a diuided Nation ruling one kingdome which the Romanes were not for Augustus Caesar was onely Emperour otherwise you darken the Romanes glory Againe it is said of these legges that is of this fourth kingdome that they shall striue by marriages because they were two Nations that is of Syria and Egipt to be as one body But as iron cleaueth not in nature with clay no more should they bee one Whose stories if you examine in Iustine and other heathen Authors you shall find they were from time to time preuented by vntimely deathes For the wiues killed their husbands the mothers their sonnes the sonnes their mothers so that they could not bring to passe their purpose This cannot be applied to the Romanes for they were still one sole gouernment and vniuersall Emperours of themselues Againe the little horne that is the tenth horne of the fourth beast is Antiochus the vilde who is the last part of the fourth beast whose villanies indeede are answerable to the impieties of the Romanes therefore in the Reuelation the whole time of their gouernment is by allusion called daies 1260. a time 2. times and halfe
come to a fearefull end Yea euen like as a dreame doth hee make their image to vanish Some folishly dispute why God hath not saued all things seeing he made all they are answered Ier. 12. The Lord is more righteous then that he should be disputed with Ier. 18. They are in the hand of the Lord as the clay in the hand of the potter Rom. 9. God maketh of one lumpe of clay one vessell to honor and another to dishonour What if God willing to shew his wrath and to make his power knowen suffereth with long patience the vessels of wrath appointed to destruction What art thou that disputest with God Esay 45. It is I that created the light and the darkenesse I make peace and trouble euen I the Lord doe all these things Woe bee vnto him that striueth with his maker the potsherd with the potter saith the clay to the potter what makest thou or thy worke serueth for nothing Woe be vnto him that saith vnto his father why begettest thou and to his mother why bearest thou Thus saith the Lord euen the holy one and maker of Israel That their sinne is the cause of their Condemnation And God not the author thereof Prou. 29. The sinne of the wicked is their owne snare Esay 50. For your offences are you sold and because of your transgression is your mother forsaken Esay 49. Their misdeeds haue separated them from their God and their sinnes hath hid his face from them that hee heareth them not They hope in vaine things imagining deceit and bringing forth euill they breed Cockatrices egges and weaue the spiders webbe who so eateth of their egges dieth but if one treade vpon them there commeth vp a Serpent their deeds are the deeds of wickednes the worke of robbery is in their hands their feet run to euil they make haste to shed innocent blood all their counsels are wicked harme and destruction are in their wayes but the way of peace they haue not knowen in their goings there is no equity their waies are so crooked that whosoeuer goeth therein knoweth of no peace and this is the cause They looke for light and loe it is darkenes They grope like the blind vpon the wall euen as one that hath no eyes They roare like Beares and mourne like Doues looking for health but it is farre from them for their offences are many and their sinnes testifie against the Lord. They will not confesse and acknowledge their sinnes but doe amisse transgresse and dissemble against the Lord and fall away from their God vsing presumptuous and traiterous imaginations in their hearts casting away equitie truth and righteousnesse but the Lord holdeth himselfe by his owne power and he sustaineth him by his owne righteousnesse he putteth on wrath in steed of clothing and taketh iealousie about him for a cloake like as when a man goeth forth wrathfully to recompence his enemies and to be auenged of his aduersaries But vnto Sion hee is a Redeemer and of Iacob which turne from their wickednesse he is a Sauiour and he will giue them an euerlasting name that shall not perish Esay 56. Thus saith the high and excellent euen he that dwelleth in eternitie whose name is the holy one I dwell high aboue and in the sanctuarie and with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit doe I pitch my habitation Psal 104. As for sinners they shall be consumed out of the earth and the vngodly spall come to an end Psal 59. For the sinne of their mouth and for the words of their lippes they shall be taken in their pride and why their preaching is of cursing and lyes Psal 62. Their deuise is onely how to put him out whom God hath exalted their delight is in lies they giue good words with their mouth but curse with their heart for they persecute him whom the Lord hath smitten And they talke how they may vexe him whom he hath wounded 2. Thes 2. Therefore shall the Lord send them strong delusions that all they might bee damned which beleeued not the truth but had pleasure in vnrighteousnesse and obeyed not the Gospel of our Lord Iesus With euerlasting damnation shall they be punished from the presence of the Lord and from the presence of his power Psal 51. That hee may bee iustified in his sayings and cleare when hee iudgeth EPHESIANS 1.10 ⧠That in the fulnesse of time all should be brought vnder one head FVlnesse of time is here taken for the time of Christs death whose death should accomplish the Ceremonie oblation and breake downe the wall betweene the Iew and the Gentile when men should looke no longer for saluation onely from Ierusalem but should prayse God euery where their hearts being assured that they were members of Christ the head The heathen not taking notice of this could neuer come to saluation The blind Iewes not marking this ioyned with Chittim in the second degree which are the Romanes To crucifie Christ the King of the most Holy because hee testified of himselfe that he was that day Starre which was to appeare That Scepter that should dash all the sonnes of Seth The Ladder by whom the Angels of God ascended and descended Shiloh Emmanuel the Lion of the tribe of Iuda The roote of Iessay The Stone which the builders refused The true Manna That spirituall Rocke that would giue waters of life The true Bread that came downe from heauen He vnto whom the Crowne and Diademe did belong Michael who thought it no robberie to bee equall with God The Stone that did punne Nebuchadnetzars Image to dust Palmoni the secret Numberer He who waieth numbreth and diuideth The great shepheard of his sheepe The true Vine from whose sides doe proceed wine of euerlasting life He that came to doe the will of his Father Iohn 4.10 He that met with the woman of Samaria at Iacobs well to whom he promised euerliuing water The Stumbling Blocke to the Iewes The Light to the Gentiles The Eye to the blind And an Helpe to the lame For that is his name God is my strength and my righteousnesse c. Wherefore he hath made them Vagabonds ouer the whole earth and hath brought that Abhomination of Desolation vpon them whereby their Citie and Sanctuarie is destroyed and why because they would not know the Fulnesse of time the day of saluation The Crane the Swallow and the Turtle Doue doe know their time but my people will not know the time of my comming saith the Lord. Also our Sauiour Christ saith Woe bee vnto you Scribes and Pharises Hipocrites You can discerne the wind and the weather but you know not the time of the comming of the son of man which they might haue knowne from Daniel 9. Where the Angel Gabriel saith 70. seuens or 490. yeeres are determined for the death of Christ the King of the most Holy to finish sinne to reconcile iniquity to bring in
to Canaan againe Are borne in Mesopotamia They dwell in Canaan They multiplie in Egypt They returne to Canaan and after that are carried into Babell an other Egypt Is borne in Canaan Hee goeth to Egypt Hee returneth to Canaan and there he dieth and bringeth a new Babell or Egypt the Romanes on the Iewes to destroy them Ramban an old Hebrew maketh another comparison in the euents thus Iacob himselfe was vsed well in Egypt but his posteritie was plagued by the Kings which liued after him in Egypt In Babylon those that went into captiuitie were plagued as Sidrack Mishak Abednego but their posteritie found reliefe in Cyrus and Darius conquering the Babylonians Now it is necessary to speake of the place where Iacob died This place was Egypt Chams countrey long agoe accursed Where it is spoken in the Prophets that in Egypt men spake with the tongue of Canaan the meaning of it is thus much That when Christ shall come to preach his teaching shall be of such power that it shall conuert in all countreyes aswell Egypt as Grecia Barbaria and all other the countreys of the Gentiles which knew not God soules vnto God which being conuerted shall speake the tongue of Canaan that is their tongues shall prayse God for the redemption by Christ which is the tongue of Canaan This continueth yet true for there is no countrey nor nation where God hath not had or hath those which vnfainedly beleeue the Gospel Yet if it be obiected that the tongue of Canaan was Hebrew how then shall a simple ploughman vnderstand it This obiection is thus taken away It is not necessarie for a simple ploughman or trades man to be a skilfull Hebrecian for he may be saued without the knowledge of the tongue seeing by the Bible translated he may learne the religion of Canaan and that learning will teach him the tongue of Canaan If they replie further that the Papists say the translations be corrupted and therefore it is necessarie he should be cunning in the originall For answere to this replie made from the Papists argument if any doubt of the truth of the translations he may resort to learned preachers which can easilie resolue him And for the Papists if the controuersie be betweene them and vs the originall must determine it It is said that Iacobs sonnes were of Cham. It is not meant his twelue sonnes for they were borne before he came into Egypt but that place of Scripture hath speciall reference to the two sonnes of Ioseph Ephraim and Manasses who are reckoned to be Iacobs children For Ioseph marring an Egyptian by whom he had them they by the mothers side are of Cham and so Iacobs children in this sense are of Cham. Thus much for the place Now followeth his will Gen. 49. HEare yee sonnes of Iacob and hearken to Israel your father Heere he repeateth his owne name Israel that is mightie with God The accomplishment of this strength was fulfilled when they came from Egypt As there is no common wealth but stands of those that be wanton of men offer reached with choller of Iudges of husbandmen of merchants of men of trade of warriers to defend from forraine inuasion so are Iacobs twelue sonnes of all degrees in life In placing them here thus their dignitie is regarded and not their prerogatiue of birth for then Reuben should be first Iuda Hath the prerogatiue that his brethren shall praise him Yet if we looke into his life this could not be meant of him for who looser then he who lay with his daughter Thamar But herein is manifest the gifts of God to be of grace and not of nature For if Iuda had bin rare for godlines then the prerogatiue of nature might seeme to haue caused Christ to haue come of him Iuda his storie of prayse God is repeated by Saint Paul Rom. 2. Where he saith Whose prayse is not of men but of God So euery man that knoweth the birth of Christ and embraceth the truth thereof with constancie not turning for the loue of reward his praise is of God though the world hate him Ioseph He exceeds in vertue and thereof hath wonderfull blessings for among the thirteen Iudges sixe are of his tribe by which glory his posteritie began to despise the tribe of Iuda For at Roboams time they say 1. King 12. What haue we to do with the house of Iessay What haue we to doe with the house of Dauid to your tents O Israel to your tents But the Lord plagued them with a plague euer to bee kept in memorie as the Prophet Ieremie saith Iere. 7. Marke what I haue done to Siloh which was a citie in the tribe of Ephraim And againe Psal 78. He for-sooke the tabernacle of Siloh euen the tent hee had pitched among them He refused the Tabernacle of Ioseph and choose not the tribe of Ephraim but choose the tribe of Iuda euen the hill of Sion which he loued Concerning the prosperitie of Iosephs house Nazianzenus noteth that he himselfe was more afraid of the subtilties of Satan in his prosperitie then in his aduersitie Nephtali Of him this onely is spoken Gen. 49. He is a Hind let goe giuing goodlie wordes which was performed when Barac of Nephtali and Debora of Ephraim sang for the ouerthrow of Sisera at the waters of Mageddon Iudg. 5. Now whereas you haue Abacuck to bring a messe of pottake to Daniel in the Lyons denne some Iewe that made that neuer meant so but from that place of Abacucke The iust shall liue by his faith Abac. 2. faineth a comparison that as pottage preserueth this naturall life from perishing so the meditating by faith on the promises of God in Christ kept our soules from wauering by distrust and by that confidence Daniel was saued from the mouth of the Lyons Beniamin A Childe verie vertuous Rachel calleth him Ben-oni Sonne of my sorrow but Israel calleth him Beniamin Sonne of my right hand Moses in Deut. 33. in his blessing saith The beloued of the Lord shall dwell in safetie by him and God shall dwell between his shoulders And so hee did for the Temple was afterwards built in the tribe of Beniamin His tribe hath the first King though he be the meanest of the Tribes Beniamin continueth vntill the euening When the other Tribes fell away hee onely with Iuda at Roboams time hee onely with Iuda in Cyrus time ioyned for the building of the Temple Hester of Beniamin saued all Iuda from the practise of Haman Paul of Beniamin was the one of the last builders of the spirituall Temple Dan. Moses in his blessing in numbring the Tribes leaues out Simeon And in the Reuelation when the Tribes are sealed Dan is left out Therevpon the Grecians thinke that Antichrist shall come of the Tribe of Dan. That is not so but Moses being of Leui in blessing the Tribes putteth in Leui and speaketh largely of his spirituall blessings Iosephs Sons are not to bee left out because they were
groues and high places prophaned the name of the mightie God of Iacob Whose sin saith the Prophet Ieremie c. 17. is written with a pen of iron and with the point of a Diamond grauen vpon the table of their hearts and vpon the hornes of their Altars They shall serue their enemies in the land which they know not for they haue kindled a fire in the Lords anger which shal burne for euer saith the Lord. For where the Lord said Take heede to your soules and beare no burthen on the sabbath day nor bring it in by the gates of Ierusalem but sanctifie the sabbath as I commanded your fathers they obeyed not neither inclined their eares but said desperately surely we will walke after our owee imaginations and doe euery man according to the stubbornnes of his wicked heart Therefore thus saith the Lord The Virgin of Israel hath done very filthily will a man forsake the snowe of Lebanon which commeth from the rocke or shall the cold flowing waters that come from an other place be forsaken I shall scatter them with an East winde before the enemie and I will shew them the backe and not the face in the day of their destruction their children shall be deliuered vp to famine and they droppe away by the force of the sword their citie shall be desolate and an hissing and they shall eate the flesh of their owne children For the Lord will visite them according to the fruit of their workes and kindled a fire to deuoure them round about For his kindred he was of Nimrod of Chams house and partaker of the ancient curse Gen. 10. For we doe not reade that euer he acknowledged the Redemption by Christ which is the summe of al saluation though he by punishments was forced to acknowledge the power of God in his iudgments This is the case of all wicked His countrie was called Babel or Shinear Babel signifying Confusion Shinear Shake off God gaue him a stroke ouer al the world but the glory of captiuing Sems house was the greatest honour this was a wonderfull blessing of God to make himselfe knowne in Babylon rather than among other heathen if he had rightly embraced it but we cannot finde that euer he came to any hope of grace But it was a wonderfull iudgement vpon the Iewes for God thereby shewed himselfe to be better knowen in Babylon though but barely confessed Creator than he was in Dauids kingdome at home who neither acknowledged him Redeemer nor Creator This conquest of Nebucadnetzar ouer the Iewes was prophesied of long before by Ieremie cap. 25. in these wordes From the thirteenth yeare of Iosias the sonne of Amon King of Iudah the word of the Lord came vnto me and I haue spoken vnto you rising earely and speaking but ye would not heare Therefore thus saith the Lord of hostes because ye haue not heard my wordes I will send and take to me all the families of the North and Nebucadnetzar the King of Babel my seruant that is in executing Gods iudgments and will bring them against this land and this whole land shall be desolate and these nations shall serue the King of Babel seauenty yeares This by faith they might haue preuented as did the Niniuites For the Lord promised if they would turne euery one from his euil way and from the wickednesse of their inuentions they should dwel in the land that the Lord had giuen them and their fathers for euer and euer and that he would not punish them But in this we see the purpose of God to be eternall He suffereth his chosen to be tryed and chastised with the afflictions of wicked men that thereby the condemnation of the vngodly may be the swifter against themselues This victorie which God gaue vnto the Babylonians ouer the Iewes was not in that they in any thing deserued the fauour of God but to the end he might the sharplier be auenged of them as Ier. 25 And when these seauentie yeares are accomplished I will visite the King of Babel and that Nation saith the Lord for their iniquities euen the land of the Chaldeans and wil make it a perpetuall desolation and will bring vpon that land all my wordes which I haue pronounced against it for many nations and great Kings shall euen serue themselues of them Thus will I recompence them according to their deedes and according to the workes of their owne handes For loe I beginne to plague the citie where my name is called vpon and should you goe free yee shall not goe quite saith the Lord of hosts When the Lord hath accomplished all his worke vpon mount Zion and Ierusalem I will visite the fruit of the prowd King of Ashur and his glorious and prowd lookes because he said By the power of mine owne hand haue I done it and by my wisedome because I am wise Shall the axe boast it selfe against him that heweth with it or the saw exalt it selfe against him that moueth it therfore shall the Lord send among his fat men leannesse and vnder his glory he shall kindle a burning like the burning of fire and shall consume the glory of his forrest and of his fruitfull field both soule and flesh and he shall be as the fainting of a Standard-bearer For the Lord of hosts shall make the consumption euen determined in the middest of al the land Therefore O people of Sion be not afraid of Ashur he shall smite thee with a rodde nor shall lift vp his staffe against thee after the manner of Egipt But yet a very little time and the wrath shall be consumed and the Lord of hostes shall raise vp a scourge for him according to the plague of Midian in the rocke Oreb as his staffe was vpon the sea so he will lift it vp after the manner of Egipt For behold the day of the Lord commeth cruel with wrath and fierce anger to lay the land waste and he shall destroy the sinners out of it He will visite the wickednesse of the world and their iniquity vpon the wicked and will cause the arrogancie of the prowd to cease and will cast downe the pride of tyrants Their children also shall be broken in peeces before their eyes their houses spoyled and their wiues rauished For Babel the glory of kingdomes the beautie and pride of the Chaldeans shal be as the destruction of God in Sodom and Gomora It shall not be inhabited for euer neither shall it bee dwelt in from generation to generation neither shall the Arabian pitch his tents there neither shall the sheepheards make their fouldes there But Zijm shall lodge there and their houses shall be full of Ohim Ostriges shall dwell there and the Satires shall dance there And Iim shall crie in their places Then shalt thou take vp this Prouerb against the King of Babel say How hath the oppressor ceased and the gold-thirstie Babel rested the Lord hath broken the rodde of the wicked and the scepter of
foretold should come vpon them in the Lawe of Moses Leuit. 26. In these wordes If you will not bee reformed but walke stubbornly against me c. I will appoint ouer you fearefulnesse a consumption and the burning ague to consume the eyes and to make the heart heauie and you shall sowe your seede in vaine for your enemies shall eat it I will breake the pride of power and I will make your heauen as yron and your earth as brasse This was perfourmed when Elias was constrayned to pray for raine Your strength shall be spent in vaine neither shall the Land giue her increase neither shall the trees of the Land giue their fruit I will also send wilde beasts vpon you which shall spoyle you and destroy your cattell and a sword that shall auenge the quarrell of my couenant and when yee are gathered in your Cities I will send the pestilence vpon you and ye shall be deliuered into the hand of the enemie when I shall breake the staffe of your bread then tenne women shall bake your bread in one Ouen and they shall deliuer your bread againe by weight and ye shall eat but not be satisfied and yee shall eat the flesh of your Sonnes and the flesh of your Daughters shall yee deuoure I will make your Cities desolate and bring your Sanctuarie to nought Vpon this destruction Ieremie lamenteth the state of Ierusalems miserie and sheweth therewith the cause of her punishments How doth the Citie remaine solitarie that was full of people she is as a widowe she weepeth continually in the night her teares run downe her cheekes amonge all her louers she hath none to comfort her Iudah is caried away captiue because of affliction and because of great seruitude shee dwelleth amonge heathen and findeth no rest all her persecutors tooke her in the straights The wayes of Sion lament because no man commeth to the solemne feasts all her gates are desolate her Priests sigh her Virgins are discomfited and shee is in heauinesse her Aduersaries are the chiefe and her enemies prosper for the Lord hath afflicted her for the multitude of her transgressions and her children are gone into captiuitie before the enemie And from the Daughter of Sion all her beautie is departed her Princes are become like Harts that finde no pasture and they are gone without strength before the pursuer Ierusalem remembred the dayes of her affliction and of her rebellion and all her pleasant things that she had in times past when her people fell into the hand of the enemie and none did helpe her the aduersaries saw her and did mocke at her Sabbaths Ierusalem hath greeuously sinned therefore she is in derision all that honoured her despise her because they haue seen her filthinesse yea shee sigheth and turneth backward her filthines is in her skirts she remembred not her last end therefore she came down wonderfully she had no comforter shee hath seen the heathen enter into her Sanctuarie whom thou didst command that they should not enter into thy Church Sion stretcheth out her hands and there is none to coÌ„fort her The Lord hath appointed the enemies of Iacob round about him Ierusalem is as a menstruous woman in the middest of them The Lord is righteous for I haue rebelled against his commaundement Heare I pray you all people and behold my sorrow my Virgins and my young men are gone into captiuitie I called for my Louers but they deceiued me my priests and mine Elders perished in the Citie while they sought their meate to refresh their soules how hath the Lord darkened the Daughter of Sion in his wrath and hath cast downe from heauen vnto the earth the beautie of Israel and remembred not his foot-stoole in the day of his wrath The Lord hath destroyed all the habitations of Iacob and not spared hee hath polluted the Kingdome and the Princes thereof he hath destroyed his Tabernacle as a Garden he hath destroyed his congregation the Lord hath caused the feasts and Sabbaths to bee forgotten in Sion He hath forsaken his Altar hee hath abhorred his Sanctuarie he hath giuen into the hand of the enemie the walles of her Pallaces they made a noyse in the house of the Lord as in the day of solemnitie her gates are sunke to the ground he hath destroied and broken her barres her King and her Princes are amonge the Gentiles the lawe is no more neither can her Prophets receiue any vision from the Lord all that passe by the way clappe their hands at thee they hisse and wagge their head vpon the daughter Ierusalem saying Is this the Citie that men call the perfection of beautie and the ioy of the whole earth thy enemies hisse and gnash their teeth against thee saying Let vs deuoure it surely this is the day that wee looked for we haue found and seene it The Lord hath done that which hee purposed hee hath fulfilled his word that he had determined of old 3431. Ezechiel seeth a Vision of the restoring of the Temple THe name of Ezechiels Temple is The Lord is there This Temple had more spirituall ornaments than the first for all the Nations of the earth came thither Christ himselfe taught there a greater than Aaron The old Temple had gold that is the spirite of prophecie which the new Temple had not All the lawes and ceremonies of the former Temple was deliuered vnto them againe anew and Israel and Iudah brought all vnder one head as in the dayes of Dauid and Salomon In the fiue and Twentieth yeare of our being in captiuitie in the beginning of the yeare in the Tenth day of the Moneth in the Fourteenth yeare after the Citie was smitten the hand of the Lord was vpon me and brought mee into the Land of Israel in a diuine vision and set me vpon a verie hye Mountaine wherevpon was as the building of a Citie And behold there was a man with a reede to measure it So in the Ap. 21. Iohn sayth The Angell caried me away in the spirite to a great and a hye Mountaine and he shewed me the great Citie holy Ierusalem descending out of heauen from God and I saw no Temple therein for the Lord God almightie and the Lambe are the Temple of it 3446. Euilmerodach two and Twentie yeres OF him no euill is spoken in the Scripture something is spoken in his praise that he entreated fauourably Ieconias King of Iudah Zorobabel His name signifieth Free from confusion This was perfourmed in him when as hee with Iesus the Son of Iehosadach Ezra 3.2 ledde the people from Babell which signifieth Confusion and builded the Altar of the Lord to offer burnt offerings thereon as it is written Exod. 23. This deliuerance was prophesied of Zorobabell by Haggai the prophet Cap. 2. I will take thee O Zorobabel the Sonne of Selathiel and make thee as a signet vpon my right hand 3469. Baltazar Three yeares HIs name signifieth a searcher of treasuâ—â—â— He was verie wicked as was
the thinges hid in secret places that thou mayest know that I am the Lord which call thee by thy name euen the God of Israel For Iacob my seruants sake and Israel mine elect I will euen call thee by thy name and name thee though thou hast not knowne me I whose hands haue spread out the heauens I haue euen commaunded all thine armie I haue raysed thee vp in righteousnesse and I will direct all thy wayes thou shalt build my Citie and let goe my captiues not for price nor reward saith the Lord of Hostes The labour of Egipt and the marchandise of Ethiopia and of the Sabeans men of stature shall come vnto thee and they shall be thine they shall follow thee and make supplication vnto thee saying Surely God is in thee and there is none other Gods besides And Esay 46. For I call a bird from the East and the man of my counsell from farre as I haue spoken so will I bring it to passe I haue purposed and I will doe it Heare me yee stubborne hearted and that are farre from iustice I bring neere my iustice it shall not be farre off and my saluation shall not tarrie for I will giue saluation in Sion and my glorie vnto Israel These people here mentioned were tributaries to the Persians Cyrus was a figure of Christ For as Cyrus deliuered the Iewes from the bondage of Babel so Iesus Christ deliuered vs from the bondage of the spirituall Babel Thus much for the Prophecie of the persons who should destroy Babylon Now followeth the Prophecies of the destruction thereof BEL is bowed downe Nebo is fallen they are bowed downe and fallen together for they could not rid them of their burden and their soule is gone into captiuitie And Esay 47. Come downe and sitte in the dust O Virgin daughter Bahel sitte on the ground there is no throne O Daughter of the Caldeans for thou shalt no more be called tender and delicate Take the mill stones and grinde meale loose thy lockes make bare thy feete vncouer the leg and passe through the flouds Thy filthinesse shall be discouered and thy shame shall be seene I will take vengeance and not meete thee as a man meaning that he would vse no humanity nor pittie towardes it Our Redeemer the Lord of hostes is his name the Holy one of Israel Sit still and get thee into darknesse O daughter of the Caldeans for thou shalt no more be called the Lady of Kingdomes I was wrath with my people I polluted mine inheritance and gaue them into thine hands and thou diddest shew them no mercie but thou laidst the very heauie yoke vpon the ancient and thou saidst I shall be a Lady for euer so that thou didst not set thy heart to these things neither didst thou remember the latter end thereof Therefore now heare thou that art giuen to pleasures and dwellest carelesse Thou saist in thy heart I am and none else I shall not sit as a widdowe neither shall know the losse of children but these two things shall come to thee in one day the losse of children and widdowhood for the multitude of the diuinations and for the great abundance of thine enchanters haue caused thee to rebell and thou hast said in thy heart I am and none else Stand now among thy enchanters and in the multitude of thy sooth-sayers let now the Astrologers the starre gasers and Prognosticators stand vp and saue thee from these things Behold they shall be as stubble they shall burne like fire and shall not deliuer their owne liues from the power of the flame For Babell is fallen it is fallen and all the images of her Gods are broken to the ground this is the time of the Lords vengeance he will render vnto her a recompence Babell hath beene as a golden cuppe in the Lords hand that made all the earth drunken the Nations haue drunke of her wine therefore doe the Nations rage Babell is sodainely fallen and destroyed howle for her bring balme for her sore if she may be healed We would haue cured Babell but shee could not be healed Forsake her and let euery one goe into his own cuntrey for her iudgment is come vp into heauen and is lifted vp to the clowds O thou that dwellest vpon many waters aboundant in treasures thy end is come euen the end of thy couetousnesse Behold I come vnto thee O destroying mountaine which destroyest all the earth saith the Lord and I will stretch out my hand vpon thee and roll thee downe from the rockes and will make thee a burnt mountaine They shall not take of thee a stone for a corner nor a stone for foundations but thou shalt bee destroyed for euer saith the Lord. A Poste shall runne to meete the Poste and a Messenger to meete the Messenger to shew the King of Babell how his citie is taken on a side therof and that the daughter of Babel is like a threshing floore and the time of her threshing is come saith the Lord. The spoile of me and that which was left of me is brought vnto Babel shall the inhabitant of Sion say and my bloud vnto the inhabitants of Caldea shall Ierusalem say Therefore Babel shall be as heapes a dwelling place for Dragons an astonishment and an hissing without an inhabitant They shall roare together like Lions and yelle as the Lyons whelpes In their heate I will make them feastes I will make them drunken that they may reioyce and sleepe a perpetual sleepe and not wake saith the Lord. How is Sheshack taken how is the glory of the whole world taken how is Babell become an astonishment among the Nations her cities are desolate the land is dry and a wildernesse a land wherein no man dwelleth neither doth the Sonne of man passe therby Though Babell should mount vp to the heauens and though she should defend her strength on high yet from me shall come her destroyers saith the Lord. For the Lord God that recompenceth will surely recompence and I wil make drunke her Princes and her Wisemen her Dukes and her Nobles and they shall slâ—epe a perpetuall sleepe and not wake saith the King whose name is the Lord of hostes And Ieremie tooke a great stone and cast it into Euphrates and said Thus shall Babylon be ouerthrowen Thus the word of the Lord remayneth for euer as it is written If any leade into captiuity hee shall goe into captiuity and if any kill with a sword he must be killed with a sword Ap. 13. Now compare the impieties of Rome or misticall Babylon with these times and you shall find them the very same and therefore the Holy Ghost layeth downe her destruction as the destruction of Babel ANd Ap. 14. I sawe an Angell flie in the middest of heauen hauing an euerlasting Gospel saying with with a loude voice Feare God and giue glory to him for the houre of his iudgment is come And there followed an other Angel saying It is
mee vinegar to drinke they persecute him whom thou hast smitten and they talke how they may vexe him whome thou hast wounded Thou hast layd me in the lowest pit in a place of darkenesse and in the deepe This text the Iewes haue striuen with great malice to corrupt for in stead of Caru that is to say they pierced the Iewes will needs read Caari that is as a Lion but the Massorets who registred the number of the words and letters in the Bible doe testifie that in all good copies it is written Caru they pierce Also the Seuentie Interpreters haue translated into greeke 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. They pierced my hands c. Also the Prophet Zacharie sayth I will powre out the spirite of grace and mercie vpon the house of Dauid and vpon the Inhabitants of Ierusalem and they shall looke vnto me whome they pierced Christ suffered at Easter to end the ceremony of the paschall Lambe For now the true Lambe of God which taketh away the sinnes of the world is offered vp for vs. As of the paschall Lambe no bone was broken so of Christ the immaculate Lambe no bone was broken As the redde Cowe in Moses accompanied with all the people was conuayed out of the host and burned with the campe so also was Iesus ledde out of the Citie accompanied by the people and crucified without the Citie He went ouer the brooke Kedron the way that Dauid fled from Absalom He went into a garden to pray to recouer Adams fall in the garden He suffered on friday being the Iewes sixt day the day wherein Adam was created He suffered at noone the time when Adam disobeyed He suffered on the crosse to take the curse vpon him He openeth Paradise to the poore theefe out of which Adam that day was driuen Two theeues were crucified with him and hee was reckoned amonge the wicked as Esay forespake Esay 53. Generall darknesse at his death was ouer all the world from the sixt houre vntill the ninth houre Adams soule was in darknesse hiding himselfe from the presence of God from the sixt houre vntill the ninth houre At the ninth houre he called on God whose voice Adam could not abide As Ioseph buried his Father Iacob so now Ioseph burieth Christ the true Iacob After three dayes and three nights hee riseth againe as Ionas after three dayes and three nights was deliuered out of the Whales belly After his resurrection hee appeareth twelue times as Iosua sent twelue to view the Land of Canaan He walked on the earth fortie dayes as Iosua viewed the Land fortie dayes On the Fiftieth day hee sendeth the holy Ghost vpon the Apostles so after eating the Lambe on the Fiftie day the Law was giuen Now Christ the couragious white horse shineth and his Kingdome is established and Satan is bound for a thousand yeares For the preaching of Christ and his Apostles hath opened the eyes of some of all the Gentiles in the world whereby the power of Sathan is weakned and the rage of the cruell Hornes of the beast of Rome that is the tyrannie of the persecuting Emperors Nero Domitian and the rest plagued by the hand of God Plagues of blood famine and pestilence resembled by horses red blacke and leane the great beast also hauing one head cut off lyeth dead vntill the end of the thousand yeares and the gracious Gospell of Christ flourishing in Iaphets borders these be the ends of the earth Sems house not regarding the peace of Ierusalē Iaphets Sons are perswaded to come to his tents to fetch precious stones from Sion to lay the foundation of the spirituall Salem to perfourme the blessing of Noah Gen. 10. And God will perswade Iaphet to dwell in the tents of Sem. The earthly Ierusalem is now destroyed by the Romanes vnder whome Christ was crucified called in Dan. 9. the abhomination of desolation whose Citie in respect of their impieties is called Ap. 11. a spirituall Sodome Egipt and therfore vnto Iohn figured by one monstrous beast hauing seuen heads and ten hornes answearable to the number of the heads and hornes of Daniels foure beasts one of whose heads Constantine the great cutteth off by remoouing the imperiall seat of the Romane Empire to Constantinople which he called new Rome so that the beast lay wounded about three hundred yeres one while being ouercome by Vandals another while by Lumbards another while by Germanes one while by one and another while by another and withall such plagues lighted vpon the afflicters of the Church of God that they in effect desired the mountaines to fall vpon and couer them Thus it was of no glorie vntill the end of the thousand yeares then Satan is let loose and suffered to goe roaring about to deceiue the hearts of the people seeking like a ramping and a roaring Lion whome hee might deuoure and hee putteth life into this dead beast hauing power giuen him from God Reuel 13. And hee spake as did the Dragon and hee did all that the first beast could doe in his presence and hee caused the earth with them that dwell therein to worship the first beast whose deadly wound was healed and he did great wonders so that hee made fire to come downe from heauen in the sight of men and deceiued them that dwelt on the earth by the meanes of those signes which hee had power to doe in the sight of the beast saying to them that dwell on the earth that they should make an image vnto the beast which had the wound of a sword and did liue And hee had power to giue a spirite vnto the image of the beast and that the image of the beast should speake and should cause that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should bee killed And hee caused all both small and great rich and poore free and bond to receiue a marke in their right hand or in their foreheads or the number of his name Here is wit let him that hath wisedome count the number of the beast for it is the number of a man and his number is sixe hundred threescore and sixe When Gregorie the seuenth forbiddeth mariages who taketh vpon him not the forme of the former beast and hornes but the shape of a Lambe with two hornes pretending all holynesse of whome Christ forbad long before to take heed saying Mat. 7. Take heed of such as come in sheeps clothing and say here is Christ and there is Christ and to colour this Religion to be good they strengthen the throne of Sathan they erect houses for deuout persons patternes as they say of chastitie good life and all vertue sequestring themselues from the glorie of the world whome the holy Ghost compareth in Ap. 8. to Locusts that is monstrous Serpents sprung frō the seed of that old serpent Sathan the Deuill and are described to haue faces like men to shew that they should bee but priuate men haire like women signifying that they should