send them to the darknes of hel to their deeper condemnation So that here we see the Word hath a contrary effect in regard of the godly and the wicked And therefore it is compared in the first Chapter to a two edged Sword which on the one side cutteth and healeth to life and on the other side woundeth and killeth to death According as the Apostle saith in the Epistle to the Corinthians We are the sauour of God vnto your saluation that beleeue vnto others vnto condemnation By this deuouring then of their enemies is meant the destroying and conuincing of those that would not yeeld vnto their preaching to their further destruction and deeper condemnation Where wee see that the Prophet here setteth forth that howsoeuer the Ministers of God should haue great strife in those dayes and grieuous enemies yet they should not preuaile against the truth These should haue power to shut the heauens to make the heauens brasse that it should not raine in the dayes of their Prophecie to restraine the fruit of the earth to turne the waters into bloud c. Where hee alludeth partly to the Ministery of Elias at whose prayer the earth was barren and there 1 Kings 17. was no raine for the space of three yeares And partly to the Ministery of Moses who brought bloud in al the land Exod. 7. 17. of Egypt by turning the water into bloud signifying that where the Ministery of the word in the denouncing of iudgements was contemned there the Lord would send Plagues and Pestilence and Flouds and such like vpon them In that which remaineth of the sixt Plague there is first set forth that the two Prophets these two Oliues and Vines should make an end of their Ministery and the Beast should ouercome them Before it was said that at their pleasure and at their owne liking they ouercame others and restrained the dewe of heauen and did execute and bring to passe whatsoeuer they had to doe by the direction by the word and will of God Here now it is said that after the accomplishing of their worke and finishing of their testimony the Beast ouercommeth them To teach vs that the Lord doth so maintaine his Ministers and seruants that vntill they haue finished and accomplished the worke of their Ministery which he hath appointed them to execute they shall not be hurt by Sathan or any of his Ministers or wicked Instruments Which may be a singular comfort to the Ministers and children of God that howsoeuer they be hated of many men in the world yet they shall haue no power to hurt them till the time God hath limited them be expired And here wee are also to consider that in regard of their Ministery these two Prophets did ouercome but in regard of their liues onely they are ouercome herein had their enemies leaue to hurt them they were able to doe nothing else vnto them The time of this appeareth by limitation of this one thousand two hundred and sixty yeares to befall about the dayes of Boniface the eight who was a wretched and cruell persecuter of the Saints of God for by the account of the history it selfe it fals iustly on the one thousand two hundred and sixty yeare after Christ the very yeare of that Beast Boniface who after he had killed the Saints of God would not suffer their bodies to be buried which thing the history particularly witnesseth making mention that the bodies also of the Saints were carried about the City of Rome in triumph and might not be suffered to be buried After it is said that the wicked ones in the token of their ioy make great feasts and sent presents one to another which manner of speech seemeth to bee taken from the Booke of Hester wherein commandement is giuen that for their victory and deliuerance a Feast should be celebrated for euer And of this also the history maketh mention that in regard of their ioy and gladnesse for the destruction and death of Gods Seruants and faithfull Martyrs there was a Feast of Iubily celebrated which afterward they continued wherein also as much as in them lay they did annihilate the comming of Christ who gaue an end of all these ceremonies And this is said to be done in the great City spiritually called Sodome and Egypt where the Lord was crucified whereby the Apostle most plainely describeth Rome as being the greatest City then in the world there being none at that time for fame and greatnesse to be compared to it In that it is called Sodome and Egypt it is spiritually as he saith to be vnderstood It is called Sodome in regard of the filthinesse and abhominations therein by reason of their Sodomitrie their whoredomes and abhominable vncleannes of men with men and all manner of all other such like wretchednesses Egypt in regard of the persecutions of Gods Children alluding to the persecutions whereby the Egyptians kept the Children of Israel in bondage The place where Christ was Crucified to wit Ierusalem so called and attributed to Rome in that Rome brags of it selfe as Ierusalem did to be the most excellent professor of Christs religion the onely Sion the Church and beloued of the Lord albeit indeed it be nothing lesse nay it is rather hated of God as Ierusalem was crucifying the Lord Iesus So that these things doe notably agree with Rome the great City that Sodomiticall persecuting Church yet pretending to be the true Church of God After it is said that their bodies lying three dayes and an halfe that is three yeares and a halfe vnburied that is a mocking-stocke and triumphed-ouer by the wicked they are then raised vp by the Lord to wit not those that were slaine but others in their spirit As Iohn is said to be Elias because he came in the spirit of Elias as it is said to wit with the same boldnesse and zeale that Elias did They are taken into heauen that is separate themselues from the rest of the Sonnes of men which were wicked and worshipped the Beast going into such places where they might serue the Lord. Then followeth immediately a fearefull Earthquake by which the great City was shaken and the tenth part of it ouerthrowne The second Woe being past the third insueth which followeth after the blast of the next Agell The last Angell blew the Trumpet which shall be fulfilled at the dissolution of the world in the latter day when all shall be raised from the dead when all the Kingdomes of the world are committed into the hands of Christ then shall be the accomplishment of his Kingdome when hee shall giue reward vnto his seruants the Prophets to his Saints and to all that feare his name and shall render destruction vnto his enemies and then shall hee giue vp his power vnto his father and God shall be all in all And after this there shall be time no more Then we shall haue Sunne no more that is we shall haue no neede of the Sunne
Beast was the same but in other families as is said before Then it is said here is the minde that hath wisedome that is here is matter wherein those that are wise should occupie their wits and vnderstandings After he declareth what the seauen heads are to wit seauen hils namely that place where the City of Rome is situated and amongst all writers both Latine Greek which speake of it it is called the City of the seauen hils and none but it is so named in any either old or new Latine or Greeke Author And therefore howsoeuer the Papists would post it ouer to Constantinople where the Turke is as hauing thirty hils yet that was of no account in the dayes when this was written Againe that was neuer gouernour of the world as this is called and as it was in those dayes The seauen heads haue another exposition giuen them by the Angell to be seauen Kings that is seauen Gouernours and Emperours of the City whereof it is said fiue are fallen that is were dead one was then that is Domitian who at that time had banished Iohn into Pathmos and he that was to come was the next after Domitian and he should indure but a small time and therefore those that liued in those dayes might easily see the truth of it And this therefore set forth thus that men prouing and seeing this to be true might giue the more credit to the rest And the Beast that was and is not that is is not of the same sort as he was being now changed by another family is the eight to wit in number which was the seauenth also for hee was admitted by the seauenth while the seauenth was aliue for the other being aliue this eight in his dayes was chosen Emperour and was ioyned in gouernement with him as was the custome of Kings when that Kingdomes were doubtfull the Kings tooke their Successors whom they would to haue raigne next in their roome and would in their owne life establish them in their Kingdomes as did Dauid with Salomon who while he yet liued setled his Sonne in the Kingdome taking him as it were and ioyning him in societie with him and setting him by him as it were on the Throne Hauing thus expounded the seauen heads hee comes to tell what is meant by the tenne Hornes which are said to be tenne Kings which had not as yet receiued their power which should ioyne with the Beast to wit should not raigne there where the Beast did but should onely lay their power and authority with his but while he had the ciuill authority alone in the rule of the Emperour as also afterward when the Pope arising should ioyne the spirituall iurisdiction with the temporall gouernement and these tenne Kings it is said should ioyne with this Ciuill and Ecclesiasticall Beast By these tenne it is no great matter whether wee vnderstand a certaine or vncertaine number but it seemeth rather to note an vncertaine number Howsoeuer it were true it is that these the Beast should ioyne with him to take his part to wit they should giue their power to him to ride and runne at his pleasure And these fight against the Lambe who should ouercome them by the power of his word for hee must needes being King of Kings and Lord of Lords and therefore cannot but breake those Hornes that set themselues against him for they receiue of him and hold but of license their Kingdomes from him The Waters are plainely expounded by the Angell to be the great multitudes of people and diuers Countries that should be subiect to that City and Church of Rome Further he declares that as there was a time that the Kings of the earth should ioyne themselues with the Beast to maintaine it so time should come that those Kings and Gouernours as they had suffered themselues to be as it were trodden on by the Beast and to be subiect to the Whore so they should fight against the Beast and against her and most bitterly venter themselues in fight against her yea they shall eate her flesh that is be in mortall hatred with her to consume her and should burne the Harlot that is destroy her vtterly and so punish her as a Harlot for burning was the vsuall death for a Harlot Lastly in that hee saith the woman is the great City that had dominion ouer the Kingdomes of the earth hee sheweth plainely that it is the City of Rome seeing there was no such great Monarch as that since the time of Iohn but onely Rome and Shee was euen then the chiefe Citie in the world Apoc. Cap. 18. 1. And after these things I saw another Angell come downe from heauen hauing great power so that the earth was lightened with his glory c. THe Prophet hauing entred into the description of the City of Rome as of the spirituall Babilon doth on that occasion dispute what shall be done of her for notwithstanding the destruction of the Beast should come before and the ouerthrow of the City should follow yet the ouerthrow of the City is handled in the first place of the Beast is set after vnto the end that he might more fully set down the destruction and notable ruine of the same And first hee declareth the destruction of the City and that it may haue the more authority the Angell that describeth it is said to come from heauen declaring the certainety thereof namely in that this message came from heauen euen from God himselfe and therefore the City of Rome should certainely be destroyed and razed vtterly from the face of the earth And this authority is more fully set forth in that the Angell is described to haue come with such glory that the earth was enlightned therewith and therefore that should be a most euident and vndoubted matter which also appeareth in the mightinesse of his voice Hee saith it is fallen and the second time it is fallen which repetition hee vseth first to raise vp men from their drowsinesse which cannot at the first conceiue of Gods iudgements nor consider them as they ought and therefore they must haue diuers repetitions of the same thing concerning the iustice of Gods iudgements Secondly to shew the certainty of it as before Chap. 14. 8. According as Ioseph interprets Pharaohs dreames of the seauen leane Kine which did deuoure the seauen fatte and the seauen thinne eares of Wheate that did consume the seauenfull that they both did signifie one thing and that the dreame was therefore doubled to shew that that which was signified thereby should certainly come that speedily Euen so the repetition of the denouncing of these iudgements is for this cause namely as to waken the drowsinesse of man so to shew the certainty and speedinesse of the iudgements to be executed Then is set forth the state of this Babilon the City of Rome in that it is said it should become an Habitation of Diuels and of vncleane Birds signifying the great desolation of
strength and fort of Rome was hereby greatly abated and as it were taken away The reason of this is rendred namely that their might be way made for the Kings of the East who should come for the aide and reliefe of this Beast of Rome for whereas by this Iudgement and by these Plagues they should haue turned vnto repentance yet they would not but in their distresse would make rather all friends they could to be at one with the Kings of the earth and vse all meanes of reconciling themselues vnto them and ioyning to themselues the Kings which were from farre making them their defendants and maintainers And whereas it is said that from the Dragon that is from Sathan from the Beast that is from the Empire from the Prophet that is from that man of Rome the Pope are sent forth three spirits It noteth that when they should see themselues thus destitute made naked and depriued of their defences and safeguards which they had before there should be a certaine number of false Prophets raised vp by the Pope and his adherents which should stirre vp and solicite the Kings to ioyne to the Church of Rome These Prophets are compared to Frogs partly because of their loud voice and of that great noise which they should make and whereby they should be continually crying in the eares of the Princes which thing wee see effected by the Monkes Fryers and the rest of those cursed Prophets who are alwaies perswading those whom they would haue to ioyne themselues vnto them by these arguments by defending their holy Father the Pope of helping their holy Mother the Church c. thereby stirring them vp against Christ and his seruants Partly also these false Prophets are compared to frogs by reason of their great multitudes wherein they come And here Christ comforteth and vpholdeth his Seruants and warneth them to take heed to themselues that howsoeuer the Beast with his Prophets thus proceeded and made themselues strong by ioyning to them the Princes of the earth yet hee saith hee will come vpon them as a Thiefe namely at vnawares to them And therefore hee admonisheth the Children of God to watch and keepe vpon them their cloathes and their armour lest hee comming in the night should finde them naked both to their shame and to their destruction they being naked to his iudgements alluding to a Souldier who being naked and without Armour when the enemie commeth must needs be slaine And as they gather the Kings for their assistance so he also gathereth great companies together and the place he gathereth them to is Harmageddon signifying the mountaine of destruction which was the place where Iosiah was slaine and a great ouerthrow was giuen to the Israelites by the King of Egypt which fearefull and grieuous ouerthrow the wicked bragged at and vsed to obiect it against the people of God which here he seemeth to aime at as if hee should say that they should bragge no more against the Church of God because they had so sore an ouerthrow at that time for which there was so great a lamentation as it is said that there was neuer the like heard for euen as that place was a place of destruction to them so this should be to these enemies of God The seauenth Angell poures his Viall on the Aire then there is said to come a voice from the Temple which was the voice of God the effects whereof were wonderfull for it is said that there followed in heauen most fearefull thunders lightnings and voices in the earth a great Earth-quake whereby the earth trembled and shaked which is said to be so fearefull a one as neuer was before Which noteth the fearefull maiestie and terror of God against his enemies and his mightie power whereby hee is able to scatter and to destroy them The words which the Voice vttered are these It is done to wit the consummation of the victory of Christ ouer his enemies the parts whereof are expressed some in the words following to the end of this Chapter and the rest follow in the other Chapters Then in the next words it is said that the victory of Christ is in part wrought by the Earth-quake the effects whereof are first that the great City was shaken to wit Rome called the great City by way of excellencie in that it was counted the greatest in the world being the greatest in account in fame and estimation according to our vsuall custome who call the most famous and chiefe City by the name of The City And it is not onely shaken and many Houses throwne downe but also it is diuided into three parts that is their power is scattered the City being diuided and rent into many peeces by the Earth-quake and not onely this City but many Cities of other Nations and the Isles also to wit other Countries are hereby ouerthrowne and the Mountaines were not found which vseth to come to passe in great Earthquakes their power likewise and strength being taken away Afterwards it is said that there fell great Haile-stones like Talents vpon men and these come when by the Earth quake they were terrified and scared out of their doores for when they were dislodged of their Houses and all refuge then the Lord poured out his iudgements on them to breake their heads the denouncing whereof before could not breake their hearts such was the Haile which fell on the Egyptians that whosoeuer were without the doores should be killed therewith but here the Lord dealeth more seuerely for first he driueth them out of their Houses from all refuge and then poures the Hayle stones vpon them the effect hereof in them is that they blasphemed God by reason of the greatnesse of the Hayle Apoc. Cap. 17. 1. Then there came one of the seauen Angels which had the seauen Vials and talked with mee saying vnto mee Come I will shew thee the damnation of the great Whore that sitteth vpon many waters c. OF the things that were reuealed in the last Vial that which followeth is a part Wee haue already heard of the summe of Christs iudgements on the City and the men thereof Now the Prophet proceedeth to declare the contents which further ensue of that Viall First he saith that an Angell which was one of them that poured out the Viall came to tell Iohn what should befall the Harlot Which teacheth vs that the selfe same Angels that are Executioners of Gods iudgements vpon the wicked are also Ministers of Gods mercie for the comfort of his Children He expounds the iudgement of the Harlot which is the Whore of Rome who is called a Harlot in regard of her abhominations and whoredomes especially spirituall in her Idolatries as also bodily in her beastly fornication that City being the very puddle and sinke of all filthinesse and vncleanenesse She is called the great Harlot because all the Kings of the earth should goe a whoring to her especially by committing spirituall fornication which is Idolatry And
those that were fearefull vnbeleeuing abhominable adulterers idolaters c. they should be cast out of the Kingdome And therefore hee teacheth that none should presume of this mercie of God which liue wickedly and prophanely but those onely should inioy it which should liue holily and vprightly More particularly hee describeth the Church in the ninth Verse where first hauing noted it in generall as before that it shall be as a Spouse and as a Citie he secondly in particular pursues the City more at large And first he sets downe the situation of this City it being a notable commendation for a City to be well situated and this City he saith is situate vpon an hill that is both in a faire and pleasant as also in a strong place according as Cities so situate vse to be noting hereby the excellent situation of it both in regard of the pleasantnesse as also of the strength of it Then hee describes it first in the essentiall parts of it and then by the properties and qualities the priuiledges and good things belonging thereunto For the essentiall parts of them hee mentions to be the Wals the Gates the Streets the foundations of the City and of the Wall And of them he sets forth the matter forme The matter is said to be gold precious stones c. to wit the most precious things that can be The forme that they are most glittering beautifull shining christall-like and lastly in most excellent order In the matter of the Church there are set downe the Children of God particularly for as in generall the Church is set downe by a City so by these particulars are meant the Children of God particularly they being called in the Scriptures the stones of Gods house and of Gods City By these earthly things according to our weake capacity by reason of our ignorance hee sets downe their excellencie that by these things that are better knowne vnto vs we may as by steares come to the view of the heauenly glory and therefore by these matters which are most excellent on earth hee setteth forth that heauenly beautie The forme of the City is foure-square noting a most excellent forme To the measuring whereof the Angell is said to haue a golden Reede where hee takes a similitude from cunning Artificers who to lay euery part euen haue their lines and squares signifying that here euery thing is in perfect order In that the measure is said to be the measure of a man that is of an Angell it meaneth that it was the measure of this Angell that appeared to Iohn in likenesse of a man It had twelue Gates and on the Gates the names of the twelue Tribes of the children of Israell written By the twelue Tribes are vnderstood all the Children of God which are the Israel of God the seede of Abraham according to the spirit Their names written on the Gates which are on euery side of the City doe note thus much namely that as a City hath Gates on euery side to the end that people may haue recourse vnto it from all coasts round about so the Church of God is said to haue twelue Gates round about with the names of the twelue Tribes of the Children of Israell in them to signifie that all the Children of God should come vnto it out of euery part of the world Hauing spoken of the City and of the particular parts thereof he comes to speake of the priuiledges and first he saith they haue no need of any Temple for God shall be their Temple that is God shall be all in all in the Church without meanes of the outward exercises of religion as of the Sacraments the Ministery of the word Secondly there is no neede of the Sunne and of the Moone because the glory of God shall giue it light in regard whereof the Sunne shall haue no light in regard of that light nor any other light for God being infinitely more light shall inlighten them Hereby signifying both by the Sunne and the Temple that both ciuilly and ecclesiastically God should be all in all without any outward meanes of gouernement The glory and honour of the Nations shall be brought vnto it that is they shall haue glory and ioy in regard of the Nations comming thither to wit they should not onely haue ioy in Gods presence which was principall but also in regard of the presence one of another in that the people of God in all Nations shall come thither The Gates shall not be shut in the day for night there is none In that there is no night hee meaneth that there is no alteration of ioy but there is light altogether In that there is continuall day hee noteth that there is all comfort for euermore for the day is comfortable Againe the Gates not shut signifying that there should be no feare of danger now nor terrour of enemies but all peace safety and security Lastly it is said no vncleane thing shall be there that is holinesse onely and those things that are holy shall be there perpetually because those onely that are written in the Booke of life should be there Apoc. Cap. 22. 1. And hee shewed mee a pure Riuer of water of life cleare as christall proceeding out of the Throne of GOD and of the Lambe c. IN this Chapter are set forth to vs first the residue of the effects of Gods presence and of the presence of our Sauiour Christ towards the Church in the world to come partly set forth in the former partly in the beginning of this Chapter containing the comforts they should receiue thereby to wit that they should be throughly and perfectly blessed not onely with necessary things but with all manner of delights and pleasure and with much glory and honour And first it is said there was a Riuer which ranne throughout the midst of it signifying first the pleasantnesse of the City for as that City is notably situated which standeth so as that it hath a Riuer running through it to carry away the filthinesse and vncleanenesse from it so this City is so placed as that it is voide of all noysomnesse and vncleanenesse And also it is said to haue a Riuer going through it in regard of those Countries which vsed to drinke of the water of the Riuer which if it were neere was an excellent commodity which notwithstanding was oft times farre off from the City but here it is not so for this Riuer is neere at hand being a riuer of fresh water yea of water of life and they neede not to goe out of the City to fetch it as did the Samaritan Woman it being euen at the doores In the middes of the Streete and on both sides of the Riuer was the tree of life which signifieth our Sauiour Christ who is called the Tree of life in regard of those most excellent and liuely graces which as most comfortable fruits hee bringeth forth and ministreth vnto his Church And as by the Riuer was set