Prophet Elijah For the worshippers of Baal were so numerous that Elijah thought there was none but himself that did worship the God of Jacob. But there was seven thousand that had not bowed their knee to Baal And these were the oyl and the wine that should not be hurt by compelling of them to hurt their consciences by worshipping a false God as the generality of the people did thorow the darkness of their mindes They being the black horse for the ignorant dark power of the Head-Magistrate to ride or sit upon For as the horse is black so is the rider with ignorance and darkness in spiritual worship Onely he that sits upon the black horse is the dark power of reason Therefore the Apostles calls it the power of darkness for it is the dark reason of man that doth act deeds of darkness Therefore called the power of darkness and the deeds of spiritual darkness in point of worship is called by the Revelation of John he that sits upon the black horse Because he commandeth all people to worship his imaginary God And the people thorow the darkness of their understandings they do obey and so they become in point of spiritual worship a black horse For the dark power of reason to sit or ride upon c. CHAP. XVIII ANd in the 7 verse it is said And when he had opened the fourth Seal I heard the fourth beast say Come and see and in the 8 verse John looked and behold a pale horse and his name that sate on him was Death and hell followed with him and power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth to kill with sword and with hunger and with death and with the beasts of the earth I would have the Reader to minde the interpretation of this pale horse because everyone of us must be a pale horse for death to sit upon Except we be swallowed up of life as Moses and Elijah was Which I nor no man else at this day doth know he shall So that death must ride upon all sinful flesh Now to give you the meaning what this pale horse is it is no other but the sinful soul of man and woman Therefore as the Scriptures saith When sin entred into the world then death entred in upon it So that as soon as ever the souls of Adam and Eve had let sin enter into their souls Then death entered for death did ride upon sin and sin did ride upon the soul of ours first parents According to that saying of God in the day that thou eatest thereof meaning the forbidden fruit thou shalt dye the death So that as soon as sin entred into their souls death entred also So that the souls of Adam and Eve became as a pale horse for death to ride upon For there was not onely the fear of this first death but the fear of eternal death also Which made the soul of Adam to fear therefore he went to hide himself For the fear of death will make the soul to look pale so that it will become a pale horse for death to ride upon For by sin entering into the world death got power over all life So that death sits upon all life both upon man and beasts For the beasts are made subject to death by reason of the fall of man Onely I would have the Reader to understand this secret that the creatures the beasts were created of God on purpose to be killed for the nourishment of man But if sin had never been committed by man death would never have entered upon the life of man nor beast That is no beast would have died naturally as they do now But what were killed on purpose for some use so that no man would have had such lose as some men now have Some are undone by the dying of Horses others by Cows and others by Sheep and this is death that hath entered into the world upon the beasts For the sin of Adam brought death upon all his posterity and upon the beasts also as aforesaid So that the life of man and beasts is become a pale horse for death to sit upon And the fear of death in Adam did make his soul to look pale And so it doth in all mankinde the fear of death it makes the stoutest heart to look pale especially when the fear of eternal death is not taken away As very few men in the world have the fear of the second death taken from them So that their souls look pale indeed so that the generality of men and women have the fear of eternal death that sits upon their souls so that they are that pale horse that death rideth upon And hell follows immediately after the first death the second death and hell go both together hand in hand These things I say will make any soul to look pale This I can experience both by my self and others before I came to know the true way of redemption And because you the Seed of Faith may know that the soul of man is that pale horse that death sits upon Which sin did cause to enter upon all life I say this death it entered upon the life of God himself So that God died unto sin that is to satisfie sin that sin which brought death with it might enter upon the life of God and kill that life in God for a moment But the life of God being more strong then death it pierced thorow the body of death and quickened a new life again So that he overcame death in that death could not keep him under it As it doth the first Adam and his posterity It is much like unto a valiant soldier who by his valor and strength passeth thorow a body of men well armed And by his getting thorow that body of men he comes to rout and scatter them and gets the victory over them So was it with Christ the onely God he laying down his Godhead life it being in the Manhood unto death he passed thorow death and killed that which did kill him to wit sin death and hell These being mighty strong enemies too strong for any created soul or life to encounter with None could do it but the life of the eternal God himself For sin lyeth heavy upon the soul of man and death is the king of fears it maketh kings to fear and tremble at the sight of it And hell is worse then death it self yet these strong enemies are overcome by the blood of the Lamb and in all those that have faith in it and doth truly understand it So that you that have faith may see what this pale horse is John speaketh of and what death is that sits upon the pale horse And what power they have given unto them over the four parts of the earth Even to kill with the Sword and with hunger and with death and with the beasts of the earth The pale horse and death hath power given them over all life in the four
God himself onely So that as he was the Creator of all things he had this Name written on him as he was the Creator Jehovah God Almighty I am that I am this was the Name of God as he was the Creator and this name was written on his Spiritual body which was his vesture for his God-head Spirit to live in but now God is become flesh and hath cloathed the Godhead Life with a garment of flesh as a vesture and shed his most precious blood he being in the condition of a Son or a Servant he made himself capable of the pains of death and so died unto Sin that is to satisfie sin for nothing could satisfie sin but the blood of God And by his dying unto it he destroyed sin in that death could not keep him under it For if death could have kept that body of Christ in the grave so that it might not have risen again then sin and death would have lived for ever and ever and this world would have had no end So that by this death of God he hath conquered sin death and hell for the Seed of Adam that they shall have no power over them not as to keep them under eternal torments But on the contrary he hath by his death overcome sin death and hell so as to make them serve for the eternal torment of the seed of the serpent who have acted sin So that as he hath gone thorow the condition of a Redeemer and overcome sin death and hell upon those two considerations aforesaid By the body of his flesh he hath purchased to himself as he is the Redeemer a name written on that body of flesh which is called his vesture King of kings and Lords of lords But here is one thing more to be minded that this death of Christ was that which treadeth the wine-press of the wrath of Almighty God For God was wrath with sin and nothing could punish sin but an eternal death so that God having no way to destroy sin and to be even with the serpent that brought sin and death into the world not onely to himself and his own seed but also to Adam and his seed So that God being willing to avenge himself of the serpent and his seed and to restore Adam and his Seed again he took upon him the Seed of Abraham which is the nature of Adam and not the nature of Angels of whose nature the serpent was of And so clothed the eternal spirit with a body of flesh and so offered up the eternal spirit unto death that he might destroy him that had the power of death which is the devil which devil is no other but the spirit of reason in man So that as death was in the devils hands before Christs death yet now by his death he hath gained the power of death himself â—nto his own hands So that now he will deliver his own seed from it and will inflict the same death eternal upon the devil and his seed as he would have done upon God and his seed So that the wrath of Almighty God it was against sin and death which the serpent brought into this world upon all the seed of Adam and the body of God by the assistance of the eternal spirit must tread the wine-press of it That is the eternal spirit was the life of the blood that was in that blessed body so that he poured out his soul unto death and was offered up throw the eternal spirit and this was the treading the wine-press of the wrath of Almighty God he being the Almighty God himself and by this work of Redemption he hath a Name written upon that body of flesh he suffered death in King of kings and Lord of lords I confess these things are deep mysteries hard for me to explain in words and more hard to be understood by those who know not what revelation doth mean For things of this nature cannot be explained with that ease as other matters may which is more easie to understand but the Seed of Faith may see what is meant by the wine-press of Gods wrath and who it was that treadeth it in that his soul was made an offering forsin and so hath a Name by his sufferings King of kings and Lord of lords as aforesaid CHAP. LXXVII IN this sixteenth verse John hath concluded the marriage of the Lamb with the joy and glory the Saints shall have in heaven over the destruction of Babylon that is over the destruction of all wicked persecuting men from the beginning of the world to the latter end thereof and by what means these things hath been accomplished Even by that sharp Sword that goeth out of Christs mouth in giving his Angels command to pour out the vials of his wrath upon the earth and by his own garment dipt in blood hath he accomplished glory and eternal happiness to the Saints and shame and endless misery to the reprobate So that in the latter part of this chapter the Spirit doth call to rememberance the great destruction of that great City Babylon and doth incite the Saints in heaven to increase their joy in heaven by feeding upon the destruction of that great whore who caused all the nations of the earth to drink the wine of her fornication as you may see in the seventeenth verse Verse the seventeenth And I saw an Angel standing in the Sun and he cryed with a loud voice saying to all the fowls that she in the midest of heaven Come and gather your selves together unto the Supper of the great God These fowls that fly in the midst of heaven are the Saints they are called by the Spirit the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven and these fowls are invited to Supper with the great God Hâ—â—â— the Reader may see that Christ is the great God for they sup with him they were married unto that is the Lamb they were married unto and he the fowls of heaven must sup with Also this is he that is King of kings and Lord of lords even the great God and that which the great God and the fowls of heaven must have to supper it is set down in the 18 verse Verse the eighteenth That ye may ear the flesh of Kings and the flesh of Captains and the flesh of men and the flesh of horses and of them that fit on them and the flesh of all men both free and bond both small and great This verse doth imply all both great and small that fought under the banner of the beast and the false prophet which false prophet signifies the spiritual Power of the whore as aforesaid and the beast signifies the Civil Power or Head-magistrate who committed fornication with the woman and so joyned together to fight against God and his Saints And these Kings Captains and mighty men and small and great they were all authorized by these two Powers aforesaid to fight against God and his Saints and so they did persecute and kill
of death And being slain by them And these seven Churches having their power and strength to suffer from Christ the Lamb slain they walked in his steps in the way of suffering Therefore called the seven horns of the Lamb or the Lambs seven horns And as for the seven eyes which the Lamb had they are called the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth You may remember that I have shewed before what the seven spirit before the Throne is And these seven spirits which the Lamb hath are the very same That is they are all but one spirit of Christ onely this one spirit doth operate and work seven several ways to wit in the seven Churches of Asia Therefore said to be sent forth into all the earth Because the sound of these seven Churches of Asia of their gifts and suffering went thorow all the earth Therefore called the seven spirits of God yet I would have the Reader to understand thus much That the Lamb that had power to open the book the same Lamb had the seven horns and the seven eyes Now if these seven eyes were the seven Spirits of God then the Lamb must needs be God For the Lamb had the seven Spirits in him and he sent them forth unto the seven Churches of Asia Onely this I would have the Reader to understand that here he is called God as he is a Lamb slain Or as he was in the condition of a Son and a Redeemer So that what power honor or glory soever be attributed to God by the redeemed ones It is with relation to the Son-ship of God He being a Son he is called a Lion and called a Lamb which titles belongeth onely to the Son-ship of Christ He being the onely God though in a two fold state and condition as aforesaid And in the 7 verse it is said And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sate upon the Throne This he that took the book out of his right hand that sate upon the Throne It was the Lamb and this Lamb is Christ and Christ is God and Christ is called the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world He may well be called the Lamb of God because he is God For who can take away the sins of the world but God But God must become a little childe of flesh blood and bone and grow up to a man that he may be capable to suffer the pains of death In that he shed his most precious blood before he could take away the sins of the world And this Lamb which was slain here spoken of by John was no other but God himself But he being now in the condition of a Son in that he had been slain and was now risen again and had accomplished the work of Redemption he was able to sit down in the midst of the Throne And to take the book out of his own right hand as he was the Father and Creator of all things And as he was the Son or Lamb which shed his precious blood to redeem his people from their sins it was his proper work and place to take the book out of his own right hand as he was the Creator and to open the book and loose the seven Seals thereof For in his opening the Book of Life he found the names of all the elect seed written therein which were washed and redeemed with his precious blood Therefore it is said That no man in heaven nor in earth nor under the earth could open the Book but the Lamb onely So that this Lamb must needs be God the Father as well as God the Son for who can open the Book of Life but God himself But he must open it as he was God the Son therefore said to take it out of the right hand of him that sate upon the Throne c. CHAP. XIV ANd in the 8 verse The four beasts and the four and twenty Elders fell down before the Lamb. And in the 9 verse They sung a new Song saying Thou art worthy to take the book and open the Seals thereof for thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood c. I would have the Reader to mind these words why the four beasts and the Elders did sing a new Song Observe it is called a new Song in opposition to the old song As the Gospel of Jesus is called the New Testament and the Law of Moses is called the Old Testament So likewise there is the song of Moses and of the Lamb that is the song of the Lamb. Now the Song of Moses may be called the old song or the first song because Moses the Prophets and Elders of Israel and Saints under that Testament I say they gave praise honor and glory unto Christ as he was God the Father and Creator And as he was the Creator he blessed them with temporal blessings and temporal deliverances So that Moses and the people of Israel sing praise unto God for his wonderful works which he had wrought by the hand of Moses As you may read in the Scriptures in the Song of Moses how wonderfully he doth praise honor and magnifie the God of Israel who had gotten himself a great and terrible name among the heathen And this is called the song of Moses or the old or first song because it was the first manifestation of God as he is the Creator For Moses was the first man that gave us to know any difference of the God of Israel from the God of the Heathen And this manifestation as Moses gives us is that we might know God as he was the Creator and did deliver his people in a more wonderful manner then any other heathen gods could do And in this regard Moses and the Elders of Israel gave praise honor and glory unto the God of Jacob He delivering them out of so many temporal dangers and not onely so but blessing them with many temporal blessings which caused this song of Moses to be sung by the children of Israel And in this regard the song of Moses may be said to be old or the first song he being the first commissionated man to write that which we call the Old Testament Therefore the song of Moses may be called an old Song Because the song of the Lamb is more new for redemption was after creation therefore called a new Song It is called a new Song in relation to a new condition as the Song of Moses was with relation to temporal blessings as aforesaid But this new Song of the Lamb is with relation to spiritual and eternal Blessings So that John in his vision was sensible upon what account this new Song was sung And he seeing in the vision the four beasts and the four and twenty Elders fall down before the Lamb. Having every one of them Harps and golden Vials full of odours which are the prayers of Saints Now these golden Vials are meant
form of a white horse it is not much material for it the spirit will call the righteousness of Saints a white horse who shall gainsay it But however the white Robes of the Saints who are washed in the blood of the Lamb are as a white horse for God their King to ride upon So that if you understand the interpretation of this white horse you may the more easily know the meaning of the other three horses Also it is necessary to know who doth ride or sit upon this white horse I declare by Revelation from the holy Spirit that he which John saw sit on the white horse it was no other but Christ himself It was he that had a bowe and a crown was given unto him it may be said the crown was given unto him as he was the Redeemer For this crown of Glory that was given unto him it was as he was the Redeemer and not as he was the Creator And as he was the Redeemer he sate or rode upon the white horse And he went forth conquering and to conquer That is he being the author of the righteousness of Faith as he was the Redeemer that he made the Saints so pure and white that they became a white horse for him to sit upon So that they were able by their faith in the blood of the Lamb to suffer tribulation and death it self So that they became more then conquerors for he that suffereth persecution for the name of Jesus he doth conquer more then he that doth persecute and put to death So likewise Christ that sate upon this white horse as he was the Redeemer he went forth conquering and to conquer That is he went forth in the power of faith by which he created all things he went forth to redeem the Seed of Adam that was fallen under death and the fear of eternal damnation So that death and hell got power over Adam and his Seed so that Christ riding upon the white Horse of innocency or the righteousness of Faith he went forth conquering and to conquer That is he went forth to die to shed his most precious blood and by his giving himself up unto death He conquered over sin death and hell Therefore it is said in Scripture Oh death I will be thy death oh grave I will be thy victory That is he will get victory over the grave as he did over death for he destroyed death in that death could not keep him under it for ever in that he passed thorow it He got victory over the grave in that the grave could not keep him inclosed in the earth So that he went forth conquering and to conquer never leaving off until he had conquered all his enemies That is to say sin death devil hell the grave these all were his enemies and he hath conquered over them all by his becoming flesh and by his suffering of death upon the Cross as he was a Redeemer or as he was God the Son and these enemie did Christ which sate upon the white horse go forth conquering and to conquer to redeem the Seed of Adam And this is the true meaning what is meant by the white horse and by him that sate thereon and by his conquering and to conquer And the bowe which he had it signified the power he had to shout and kill those spiritual enemies which is sin death hell and devil Which could no ways have been killed but by giving his life up unto death and by his passing thorow death and quickening into life again he killed death sin hell and the devil With this dart of offering up his soul unto death it being shot thorow sin death and hell by the strength or bowe of the power of faith in God And as for the Crown that was given him it is spoken with relation to the Son-ship of God as he is a Redeemer So that the Crown of Glory that he hath given him it is attributed unto him as he is a Redeemer For the work of Redemption is counted by the redeemed ones more worthy of a Crown of glory then the work of creation So that this Crown of glory that is given to Christ that sate upon the white Horse it is in relation to his work of Redemption in that he conquered over all those spiritual enemies as aforesaid So much for the first and second verses CHAP. XVI IN the 3 verse it is said And when he had opened the second Seal I heard the second Beast say Come and see And in the 4 verse There went out another horse that was red and power was given to him that sate thereon to take peace from the earth and that they should kill one another and there was given unto him a great Sword These four beasts which John saw in the vision did signifie unto him those wonderful Transactions which were and should be acted here on earth in the state of mortality in the time of the four Monarchies And signified unto John in the way of vision by four horses Now the second horse that did appear to John in the vision was a red horse and power was given to him that sate thereon to take peace from the earth and that they should kill one another This Monarchical Government went forth upon a red horse that is shedding of blood should be the greatest work he that sate thereon should do It was called a red Horse because of the much shedding of blood so that the blood of men is called a red Horse even as the righteousness of faith is called a white Horse And as the souls of the Saints were made white with the blood of the Lamb so are these souls made red with shedding of one anothers blood So that every mans soul became a red horse and he that sate upon this red horse had power given him to take peace from the earth and for that purpose theâ—e was given unto him a great sword Now this great Sword it was to kill and in killing one another peace must needs be taken from the earth So that this Kingly Power though they were many Kings yet they are called but him that sate upon the red horse So likewise though there were many thousand slain and had their blood shed yet they are all called but A red horse so that there is but the horse and his rider for Kings and Magistrates do ride upon the people in that they command the people to kill one another So that people which go to fight to shed one anothers blood may well be called A red horse for they make their souls as red as scarlet with blood-shed And the power of the Magistrate doth ride and sit upon this red horse for he hath a great sword given unto him to command persecutors to kill one another and they must obey and become a red horse or else they must be killed themselves Thus in short I have given you the signification of the red horse and of him that sits thereon For
parts of the earth So that some being so affrighted at death they shall kill with the sword And others again shall be so fearful of death that they shall starve themselves for hunger Others again shall come under death by natural diseases even as the beasts of the earth dieth So that death that rideth upon the pale horse hath power given as long as this world doth last over all flesh that hath life For it is life that must die and death must take it into his custody and swallow up life into the belly of death Else he cannot be called death except death doth utterly annihilate life it cannot properly be called death For while life is in being death is utterly annihilated in life So that there is no being for death at all not in that mans body But when death entreth into that mans blood who was so full of life before Then death groweth more and more in the blood and eateth up the life quite into death So that there is nothing to be seen in all that life but a dead body For death hath got the life of that body in the body for the body was life before as well as the soul But death having overcome them both they are both swallowed up of death So that you may see death as he is As you did see life as he was before And not that the life goes out of the body as men do vainly imagine so that death is he that rideth upon the pale horse as I shewed before And these four horses as John speaketh of in his vision are the same horses as Zechariah speaketh of in his vision Zechariah the 6 and the 3 verse the Prophet saw in his vision four Charrets and Horses the first Charret had red horses and the second had black horses and the third had white horses and the fourth had grizled and bay horses Now the Prophet expresseth in his vision the horses in the plural number to be more horses then one of a sort But John declares them in his vision in the singular number Therefore though there be more exprest by the Prophet yet the matter and substance is all one For all horses are comprized under those four So that there needeth no further opening of the horses then there hath been For there is enough said concerning those four horses and their riders to satisfie the Seed of Faith But if one should speak never so much the seed of reason will not be satisfied Onely this I would have the Reader not to scruple because the Prophet calls the fourth horse grizled and bay when as John calls it a pale horse For grizled doth signifie death sitting upon the life as paleness doth So that the thing is all one though differing something in words So that there needeth be no further interpretation upon those four horses therefore I shall pass by them and come to the next thing of concernment CHAP. XIX IN the 9 verse of this chapter At the opening of the fifth seal John saw in the vision the souls of them that were slain under the altar for the word of God and for the testimony which they held Now I would have the Reader to consider that visions doth many times present to him that seeth it Things that are at a distance and far off as at present or neer at hand As if the thing were in present being This hath been the usual custom of those that write those visions in the Scriptures They being presented to the chosen Prophets and Messengers of the most high God Those visions so presented were to signifie either some extraordinary happiness and deliverances to a particular person or people or nation or else some great judgement and destruction to a person people or nation in the temporal as aforesaid Or else visions are presented to the understanding of man to signifie spiritual and eternal blessings To a number of people or else to signifie spiritual and eternal miseries unto a number of people So that what visions be declared by chosen men of God though the thing be not immediately at hand whether the vision doth signifie temporal or spiritual things Yet the Seed of Faith doth look upon it as if it were in present being Because they believe the truth of the thing as those Prophets of old did prophesie of Christs coming in the flesh as Isaiah saith in the 9 chapter To us a Childe is born and to us a Son is given meaning Christ c. Now the Prophet saith he is born when as he was not borâ— many hundred years after that And so other of the Prophets looked upon the birth of Christ the Redeemer as in present being For as I have said in my other Writings that faith doth look at things afar off and at a distance as neer at hand and in present being But because the seed of reason cannot do so therefore they do not prevent neither the temporal nor the eternal judgement that will come upon them But you the Seed of Faith may know that John did see in the vision by the eye of Faith the souls of them that were slain under the altar And he heard the cry of them when the fifth Seal was opened That God their Redeemer would avenge their blood on them hat dwell on the earth That is upon the persecutors that dwell on the earth Now I would have you the Seed of Faith to understand how these that were slain under the altar could cry for vengeance seeing they were dead under the altar and yet is said to cry aloud for vengeance on them that persecuted and put them to death The meaning is this that the blood of those that were slain for the testimony of Jesus it did cry vertually and efficaciously unto God that he would avenge it according to his will and promise And so God doth hear the cry of their blood that was slain under the altar I say God doth hear their cry as he did the cry of the blood of Abel it came up unto God as in Gen. 3. and 10. And God said unto Cain What hast thou done the voice of thy brothers blood cryeth unto me from the ground So that the blood of Abel did cry from the ground unto the Lord for vengeance and who must the righteous Judge be avenged of but he that shed his brothers blood And in this manner did the souls of them that were slain under the altar for the word of God and the testimony they held cry for vengeance upon those that persecuted and put them to death So that you the seed of reason may see that there is power in blood that is shed for conscience sake in point of worship to cry unto the Lord for vengeance upon those that do murder and kill upon that account And no persecutor of that nature will escape vengeance to come no more then Cain did escape that slew his brother For the blood of those that are slain in such a
case as aforesaid will speak no better things then the blood of Abel But the very same thing will cry aloud for vengeance as the blood of Abel and as their blood did that was slain under the altar as John saw in his vision Therefore the blood of Christ is said to speak better things then the blood of Abel But this I must tell you it speaketh better things to those that have faith in his death and so are washed by faith in his blood To those it speaketh peace joy life and salvation to the soul and these are better things then the blood of Abel or the blood of the Saints which speaketh to the soul fear horror death and eternal damnation These be the things that the blood of Abel and all innocent blood doth speak and the blood of Christ will speak the same things as Abels blood doth to those that persecuted and put him to death at that time So that according to the serpents desire his blood will be upon them and their children for the serpents children are those that walk in the steps of their fathers and as they that put him to death were the seed of Cain their father as Christ said To those Jews that sought his life he said unto them You are of your father the devil and his works you do for he was a murderer and a liar from the beginning And who was he that did the first murder was it not Cain and they were his children and all persecuting men since have been their children And in persecuting the innocent Saints they justifie the deeds of their fathers that persecuted Christ and their persecuting of Christ in so doing they justified the deeds of the devil their father that slew the Prophets and Cain that slew Abel The grandfather of all persecuting devils for worshipping of God contrary to the tradition of their fathers So that the blood of righteous Abel the blood of Christ and the blood of the Saints will be upon the consciences of the persecuting seed of the serpent and upon their children who walk in the steps of their grandfather Cain And this hath and will be fulfilled upon all the children of those persecuting Jews which put Christ to death So that his blood will be upon them and their children for these are their children and may be called so who are the seed of the serpent who walk in the way of their fathers who did kill the Lord of Life And so his blood will be upon them and their children as they did desire So that his blood doth cry as the blood of Abel did for eternal vengeance For none will shed blood upon that account but the serpent or devil and those that are his children So that you whose understandings are enlightned may see that there is a vertue and power in the blood of Prophets Apostles and righteous men which are Saints who suffer for the true declaration and worship of God To cry unto the Lord for vengeance upon those that shed their blood And the Lord will hear the cry of blood more then he will the cry of the Saint before his blood was shed For the very deed of murther for Religion sake hath the reward of vengeance in it So that God the rightous Judge must needs do right to reward every one according to his works So that the suffering of persecution and death for Truths sake as these Saints did as John speaketh of shall have a blessed reward as is said in the 11 verse Those that were slain under the altar for the word of God and the testimony they held they had white robes given unto every one of them And it was said to them Rest yet for a little season until their fellow servants also and their brethren that should be killed as they were should be fulfilled So that you the Seed of Faith may know that these souls that were slain under the altar were not yet in heaven neither is those white robes yet put upon them notwithstanding it is said there were white robes given them For surely if those souls had been in the heaven of glory with their white robes of the rightousness of faith upon them God would never have bid them rest a little season untill their fellow servants and brethren were killed as they were So that it may be clear to you that have faith in the death of the soul and of a resurrection that there is no souls go to heaven without bodies So that souls cannot go to heaven and put on white robes to stand in the presence of God without bodies So that these souls which cried for vengeance mustly still in the earth and rest a season untill the rest of the Seed of Faith hath passed from death as you have So that God may raise you all together and cloth you all with white robes of rightousness and immortality and glory at the resurrection at the end of the world So that you may all be rewarded and clothed with white robes together and not some served this year and other some the next but you shall all be happy together So that you must rest yet a little season untill all things is accomplished and then I will bless you with an everlasting crown of life Because you suffered death for my name in witnessing to me and I will avenge your blood upon mine and your enemies that persecuted and put me and you to death They shall have their reward also which reward of their deeds will amount to no less than to eternal damnation where the black and dark fire of hell shall burn in their souls to eternity Which shall cause them to cry Oh the eternity the eternity with sorrow pain and shame And when you Saints shall receive your eternal joys then shall your enemies receive their eternal sorrows Which is not yet neither will it be until all things be fulfilled which the Scriptures hath foretold of which cannot be long as men do vainly imagine Because the true Witness of the Spirit is now extant in the world who hath declared and made manifest the mystery of the true God becoming flesh and what the right Devil is with many other heavenly mysteries So that you that have faith in this Commission of the Spirit shall at the end of the world receive with the rest of the Saints white robes with them and you will not think it long for Faith doth look upon eternity as real as if it were in present being So that John might say by h s revelation in his vision that he saw under the Altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God c. and the white robes that were given unto them Because he by faith knew that God will give those that are clothed with the white robes of the righteousness of Faith a Crown of everlasting joy and glory at the end of the world which is as sure as if it were in present being Therefore by
outward trouble Or else they must worship against the light of their conscience and so sting their souls and have the torment of his mind which is as the torment of a scorpion when he striketh a man So that when men are tormented and stung in this manner both in soul and body they will chuse rather to die than to live and shall seek for death but it shall flee from them These things hath been experienced in all Ages by some and will be to the end of the world Verse the seventh And the shapes of the Locusts were like unto horses prepared unto battel And the latter part of the verse The faces of these locusts were like men Verse the eighth They had hair like unto the hair of women and their teeth were as the teeth of a Lion And in the nineth verse They had breast-plates of iron And in the tenth verse And they had tails like unto scorpions and there were stings in their tails and their power was to hurt men five months These locusts that came forth of the smoak of the pit may be said to be in shape like horses prepared unto battel in regard of their strength and preparedness of minde they had to hurt and to destroy for the faces of the locusts were like the faces of men They must needs be like men for they were men onely they were wicked men therefore called Locusts Their hair is said to be like the hair of women in regard they did wear their hair long and their teeth may be said to be like Lions teeth in respect of the readiness they had to tear in pieces with their teeth And they may be said to have breast-plates of iron in that they were exceedingly well armed Also they may be said to have tails like Scorpions because of that poisonous nature that lay in their tailes for there was a sting in it which did hurt men five months Which men are called Scorpions as that of Ezekiel chap. 2. v. 6. he speaking to the rebellious house of Israel whom he calls bryers and thorns as they were fit for nothing else but for the fire Yet they like Scorpions did endeavor to sting Ezekiel but he was incouraged of God not to be afraid of them So that wicked men are Locusts and Scorpions and do sting men about worship with persecution and death it self And this sting may be said to be in their tails when they persecute men meerly for conscience or religion sake Then is the sting in their tails and they do hurt men as the Scorpion of the earth doth hurt when he striketh a man So that great Plagues were upon the earth at the sounding of the fifth Angel Which Plagues did proceed from the smoak of the bottomless pit it being opened by that king who is the the Angel of the bottomless pit whose name is called Appollion That is the Angel of Reason that was first thrown down from heaven unto this earth even he that deceived our first parents as aforesaid which is the destroyer And this Reason that is the fallen Angels nature is that which rules in all wicked Kings and Magistrates therefore called by the Revelation of the Spirit Serpents Dragons Devils Stars Angels the devil and his angels yet all from one Angel of reason fallen And this angel of reason fallen from heaven unto this earth is the Angel of the bottomless pit of the imagination of mans heart which doth send forth that smoak locusts and Scorpions which doth sting and hurt their fellow-creatures Which doth bring such Plagues and woe upon the inhabitants of the earth which is far more then I can relate at the sounding of the fifth Angel But I shall leave the Reader to consider of it therefore I shall say no more of it here CHAP. XXVIII ANd in the thirteenth verse The sixth Angel sounded and John heard a voice from the four horns of the golden Altar which is before God As for the Altar I shall not speak of that for that hath been opened in my other Writings neither shall I speak of the voice which John heard nor of the horns he speaketh of for the thing is of no great concernment to know But I shall proceed to the fourteenth verse The voice that came from the four horns of the golden Altar which is before God saying to the sixth Angel that had the Trumpet Loose the four Angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates Now I would have the Reader to understand that these four Angels that were bound in the great river Euphrates were not good Angels but evil angels That is they were the Dragons angels that is they were four kings that were of the same seed and nature as he was For they came from the old serpent the devil which beguiled Eve He may be called the old serpent because he was the first Angel that was thrown down from heaven unto this earth And where the spirit of this Serpent-angel is in King or Magistrate they being of his seed they may be called Angels also For the devil and his angels are reserved in chains of darkness until the Judgement of the great day The meaning is this the devil was that old serpent-angel that deceived Eve as aforesaid And he being an Angel of light before he was cast down from heaven but now he being upon this earth and dissolving into seed he is become an angel of darkness Why because he hath lost the knowledge of himself what he was himself and what the other Angels were that were of the same nature of reason as he himself is I say he hath lost the knowledge both of the form of Angels and their natures and what he was himself So that he is now in chains of darkness wondering in his imagination what the devil should be Not thinking himself to be the devil and this is spiritual chains of darkness not to know what the devil is in his form and nature And those great men that came of his seed that is to say the seed of the serpent As Cain the first-born of the devil cursed Cham scoffing Ishmael prophane Esau that Dragon Herod with thousands of other kings and great men that are of his seed therefore called angels So that these angels are reserved in chains of darkness until the Judgement of the great day as well as the devil their father For they are as ignorant what the devil is and that they are angels as the serpent is what he was before he was thrown down from heaven So that I would have the Seed of Faith to know that there is no such thing as the seed of reason doth vainly imagine as to think that there is any such thing as a devil and his angels in chains of darkness out of the body of man distinct from man For there is no devil but man and what is in the body of man And this spirit of reason in man is the devil and when the spirit of
of the Spirit a good Beast good King or good Angel So on the contrary if the power and authority of the Head-Magistrate doth act it self forth in unrighteousness and injustice and idolatry and persecution for conscience sake he is called by the spirit an evil Beast a Serpent a Devil a Dragon So that when the spirit or seed of Reason doth act in the Head-Magistrate like a Dragon that King or Head-Magistrate may be said to be a Dragon as Herod And when a Head-Magistrate doth act as a subtile Serpent he may be called a Serpent as did those Jews in Christs and the Apostles time And when a Head-Magistrate doth act as a devil he may be called a devil as murdering Cain in point of wâ—â—â—ip slew his brother Abel and so the Jews did by Christ in point of worship Therefore Christ calls those Jews which were Head-Magistrates as the high Priests and Levites he calls them serpents devils saying they were of their father the devil for he was a murderer and a liar from the beginning Now Cain was the first liar and murderer and so the first devil in the state of mortality And those Jews that would have killed Christ were the children of Cain therefore called devils because they did the same works as Cains their father had done For they had persecuted and killed Prophets and righteous men and so they did Christ himself as Peter doth relate in the Acts of the Apostles So that they walked in the way of their father Cain therefore called devils Onely this I would have the Reader to understand that when the Spirit of Reason doth act in the Head-Magistrate as a Serpent or as a devils or as a Dragon or any other way that the Scriptures doth brand for wickedness it is all acted in this world though John doth say he saw it in heaven But it is by way of vision but the wickedness is acted in this earth for the spirit of reason which is the devil is become mortal and so he exercises his cruelties and murthers upon mortals like himself But it is said to be in heaven because the first original of reason came from heaven The fallen angels nature being the spirit of reason fallen it became mortal and so hath run thorow the seed of mortality and so acts in the state of mortality as a serpent devil or dragon And is said by the Revelation of John to be seen in heaven because the spirit of reason the devil the original of it came from heaven but the things acted by it is acted in this earth c. CHAP. XXXV NOw the spirit of reason in this beast that did arise out of the sea to whom the Dragon gave his power seat and authority unto he is said to be like unto a leopard Now a leopards a speckled or spotted creature Now this beast is said to be like unto a leopard in regard of the policy which he did exercise to gain the people to fight for him and his image For he seemed to the people to be very religious and zealous in worship but it was to images of wood and stone Yet this form of worship and command he gave to the people to worship the Image they were as white spots of righteousness And his threatning of those that would not bow down to worship the Image these were his black spots So that he in this regard may be said to be like a leopard that is spotted black and white Black to the Saints but white to those that received the mark of the beast in his right hand or in his forehead and in this regard he may be said to be like a leopard Secondly He is said to have feet as it were the feet of a Bear that is he acted as a Bear doth with his feet That is to claw and break the bones of that in pieces which he hath power over for the strength and mischief of a Bear it lieth most in his feet So was it with the beast he by his Command to worship the Image which he did set up claw and break the bones of those Saints that would not fall down and worship the Image by persecution imprisonment and death it self And in this regard he may be said to have feet as it were the feet of a Bear Thirdly It is said And his mouth was as the mouth of a Lyon the meaning is this he acted with his mouth as the mouth of a Lyon doth That is as the mouth of a Lyon doth roar with such an exceeding great and terrible noise that the beasts of the forrests exceedingly fear and tremble at the noise of the Lyon that cometh out of his mouth So likewise the roaring noise that came out of this beasts mouth made all the Saints in Asia at that time to fear and tremble For there was gone out of this beasts mouth great blasphemy as in the fifth verse And a Command went out of his mouth that they should worship the Dragon who gave his power seat and authority unto this beast And in regard the Dragons power seat and authority was given and established upon this beast there went a Command out of this beasts mouth that all people should worship the beast as they did the dragon as in the fourth verse of this chapter So that the mouth of this beast may be said to be like the mouth of a Lyon For these his Commands to worship devils and blasphemies against the living God proceeded out of the beasts mouth even as the floods of water did out of the dragons mouth And in this regard the beast may be said to have a mouth like the mouth of a Lyon Now it is to be observed that this beast had one of his heads as it were wounded unto death Now it is to be minded that it was but as it were nor was thought unto death but his head were not quite dead if he had he would have done no more mischief to the Saints But his deadly wound was healed so that the world did the more wonder after him saying Who is like unto the beast Who is able to make war with him Now I would have the Seed of Faith to minde who it was that did give this beast that deadly wound in his head and yet was healed again It was the faith and patience of the Saints that did give him this deadly wound in that they would not worship the beast nor his image but did suffer persecution unto the death joyfully So that this beast was sick with torment of soul in that he could not bring them from the faith of Jesus to worship devils nor to submit to his will so that he was wounded almost to death So that he was weary of persecuting the Saints his Conscience being so wounded he gave over persecuting for a season until his Conscience was healed again And though it be said that he had a wound by a sword and did live it was no other sword but the
how shall a man know that his name is written in the book of Life but in that he knoweth the true God and how to worship the true God without any idolatry Can he know things of this nature but by a Commission from God surely no. And here lieth the comfort that the Seed of Faith have in this life by a Commission from God By faith they know their names were written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world That is they are to look no further than the beginning of the world that is to the first Adam they being of his seed are not counted by the revelation of Faith to be the world It is the seed of the serpent that is called by the Spirit the world and not the seed of Adam So that the Seed of Faith are those that died in the first Adam yet their names were written in his Seed and Christ the second Adam he being the quickening Spirit of that Seed And as the Seed of Faith was dead in the first Adam so likewise the same Seed is quickened again by the second Adam And so made alive again and may be said to be written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world It is said from the foundation of the world with relation to righteous Abel being slain So that who ever is of Adams seed is of Abels seed and who ever is of Abels seed he may be said to have his name written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world For the Seed of Faith doth go no further to finde his name written in the Book of Life than to righteous Abel For who ever goeth further to finde his eternal Life he will come short of it and never finde it I give this hint to the Seed of Faith onely to let them see where the Book of Life is and where they may finde their names written and not to go at rovers beyond the foundation of the world But go to the first Adam as Moses speaketh of and not as the imagination of Reason doth For who ever goeth beyond Adam to finde his name written in the Book of Life he will never finde it So much for the interpretation of the eighth verse CHAP. XXXVII I Shall pass by the two following verses there being nothing in them but what is commonly known therefore in the next place I shall come to the eleventh verse where it is said And I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth and he had two horns like a Lamb and he spake as a Dragon This beast is said to come out of the earth because his power and dominion was most upon dry land Therefore said to come up out of the earth as the other beast did arise out of the sea But this beast had the same spirit of reason in a high nature as the other beast bad and as the dragon had and walked in the same steps or worse than the other beast did and exercised the same authority or worse than the dragon did Yet he had two horns like a Lamb. That is he did appear at his first coming into his Seat more Lamb-like than the other beast whose deadly wound was healed did That is he made a shew at his first appearance as if he would have been more meek and merciful to the Saints that worshipped Jesus than the other beast was So that the Saints had some little hopes that he would have let them exercise their Worship buy and sell and trade without taking the mark of the beast in their foreheads or in their hands And it is very like they had some little space of time at his first coming in to worship buy and sell and trade For it is not to be understood that the Saints were always persecuted and put to death if they had they would have been all extirpated out of the world before three hundred years were expired So that there was sometimes more liberty than at others as there hath been in all Ages So that the two horns of his power did seem to be like a Lamb as if they would do but little hurt for no man doth so much fear the horns of a Lamb as they do the horns of a Bull for the horns signifie Power Now these two horns like a Lamb they did signifie quietness in Religion and peace in the Civil State So that this beast appearing with two horns like a Lamb it gave great hopes to the Saints that they should have liberty of Conscience to worship Jesus And peace in the natural or temporal State to buy and sell and trade freely one with the other As these two Powers did signifie the spiritual power and the temporal power they being the two horns like a Lamb. But this beast he spake as a Dragon And in the twelfth verse He exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him and causeth the earth and them that dwell therein to worship the first beast whose deadly wound was healed Now what the power of the first beast was I have shewed before But in the thirteenth verse And he doth great wonders so that he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men Now these wonders that was done by this beast who had two horns like a Lamb they were but counterfeit Wonders and no real thing For the imagination of man may do seemingly great things to the sight of the dark minde of man There may be wonderful strange things produced by the imagination of reason When the minde is exercised upon a Religious score they may do seeming Wonders and Miracles as they do by their imagination upon a natural account Did not the Magicians and Southsayers in Egypt by their imagination do many seeming miracles as Moses did Did not they cause Frogs seemingly to appear before Pharaoh as Moses did and many other things as Moses did But this the Reader may understand that the Frogs that Moses brought upon Pharaoh they were real substances alive But the Magicians Frogs which they brought up in the sight of Pharaoh they were but shadows like Frogs without substance But the minde of Pharaoh and his people being ignorant and dark took the shadow for substance But if mens mindes be not as dark as pitch they may know that the Egyptians miracles were nothing else but shadows presented to the dark phantasie of man by the imagination of natural art and figure For if the things the Magicians did before Pharoah and the people had been any thing but shadows The people of the land and the King would have been as much troubled to get away the Frogs and other things that the Magicians brought upon Egypt as they were with those Frogs and other things that Moses brought upon Egypt But it may be clear to those that are not as dark as pitch that all those things which the Magicians of Egypt did were
were but shadows and no real thing or substance Onely things produced out of the strength of his own imagination it being stronger then others it did subject the imaginations of others under it And so they were deceived by it their phantasies being dazled and over powered by his knowledge and wisdom in the dark power of reason the devil He could present to their dazled phantasies such like shapes and signs as aforementioned Likewise it was in John Tancy his heart to have offered up his son to a diabolical Diety that he might attain to a greater and higher spiritual power then he had yet attained unto With other strange things he did and would have done had not the Law of the Land been against such things to put them to death He would have done much like Manasses 2 Kings 21.6 who made his son pass thorow the fire So that wonderful strange things may be attained unto by the spirit of reason in man when it is religiously about But I shall speak no more of these things here onely these few lines are to let the Reader to see what strange things hath been acted here in England by men upon a religious account and many more which I will not mention now CHAP. XXXIX BUt I shall open a little what is meant by receiving the mark of the Beast in the right hand or in the forehead The mark of the beast is this when a Head Magistrate or Chief Council in a Nation or Kingdom shall set up by his or their power and authority a Set-form of Worship he or they having no Commission from God so to do And shall cause the people by their power and authority both small and great bond and free to worship after this maner of Worship that is set up by authority as this beast did else they shall be persecuted or killed This Form of Worship so set up without a Commission from God it may and is called by the Spirit An Image for all people to worship by vertue of that Power that did set it up For this I must say that all manner of Forms of Worship which are set up by men who have no Commission from God they are but Idols and Images And who ever doth worship God in those Forms of Worship set up by Non commissionated men they may be said to receive the mark of the beast in the right hand or in the forehead But there was alwayes in most parts of the earth one Supream Power in all Nations that had power to set up Form of Worship as an Image and to command and compel all those that were under their power to worship the Image set up by the Power or by the Beast For all Head-Magistrates are called Beasts as well as Kings else the people have not been suffered to buy nor sell but have been persecuted and killed even as they were at that time by the beast that had two horns like a Lamb. For whosoever would not receive his mark either in his forehead or his right hand that is if they would not worship the Image set up by the beast they should be killed or not suffered to buy nor sell That is not to trade which is as bad to some as death it self So hath it been ever since and will be to the end of the world little or much For let the Reader consider how many have lost their lives for not submitting to the Worship or as I may say Image that hath been set up by the Papists The multitude of people that Power hath slain and persecuted upon that account are hardly to be numbred by man So likewise the Episcopal Power of Worship hath for their Image persecuted and put to death many Also the Presbytery for their Worship or Image have persecuted and put to death many witness New-England Scotland and other places The Independent also for his Worship or Image hath been guilty of persecution The Baptist they also have been guilty of persecution for his Image or Worship witness that one particular of James Naylor For that little Parliament that punished him were most of them Independents and Baptists so that all men when they are in power fall to persecution for Religion if men differ from them in point of Worship And as for the Ranter and Quaker they never were in power so that their persecuting spirits for Religion cannot be seen yet all these seven Churches have an Image to worship That is they every one of them doth set up a several Form of Worship but all false for none of them knoweth the true God neither hath any of them a Commission from God to set up such a Form of Worship as they do So that all Forms of Worship in what manner soever that are set up by Non-commissionated men who are not authorized of God their Forms are but Images or Idols and the Worshippers are Idolaters and doth receive the mark of the beast either in the forehead or in the right hand For the spirit of reason in man is the Beast that sets up Worship as an Image let it be in high or low but more especially in higher Powers who have power to command people to worship his Image And in so doing they do receive the mark of the beast in their foreheads or right hand Now a man may be said to receive the mark of the beast in his forehead when as a man doth worship in that form and manner as is set up by the beasts authority willingly then doth a man receive the mark in his forehead And when a man receives the mark of the beast in his right hand it is when men doth worship and bow down to that form of worship or Image set up by the beast against a mans own mind or unwillingly for fear he shall suffer if he do it not This is to receive the mark of the Beast in his right hand For if the mark of the Beast be not seen in the forehead or in the right hand they shall either be killed or not suffered to trade That is to buy and sell one of these he must be sure to suffer if he hath not the mark in either of those two places aforesaid That is if the people doth not come to the publick worship set up by the Beast either willingly or unwillingly it was known that they had not received the mark of the Beast neither in the forehead nor in the right hand It is called the right hand because the right hand is that that subscribes or writes his name to any thing of concernment So that no man should buy or sell save him that had the mark or the name of the Beast or the number of his name Now observe he that had the name of the Beast or the number of his name were those men that were in offices and places in the Beasts dominions or that had a badge of the Beasts arms upon them For they knew the number of Beasts which
is the Song of the Lamb that is the Song of the Gospel of Jesus And the other hundred forty and four thousand in the seventh Chapter they sung the Song of Moses that is the Song of the Law Now there is no man that could learn or sing this new Song of Praise unto the Lamb nor the Song of Moses but those that were redeemed from the earth Now the Song of Moses and the Song of the Lamb what they are I have opened before Also what the Harps are I have shewed before so that I need say no more of it here CHAP. XLII IN the fourth Verse These are they which were not defiled with women for they are virgins Also they are said to be the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in the fifth Verse there is said In their mouth was found no guile for they are without fault before the Throne of God Observe that those hundred forty four thousand Saints they are said not to be defiled with women for they are virgins The meaning is this they were not defiled in their souls with idolatry in worshipping of idols and false gods For idolatrous men are called Whores and who ever worshippeth images or false gods may be said to go a whoring after strange gods and so comes to be guilty of spiritual whoredom and spiritual fornication and so may be said to be defiled with women as the Scriptures doth in many places prove the truth of this Interpretation And as for their being Virgins the meaning is this they were not tainted with the idolatrous worship of the Nations set up by those Beasts aforesaid that they were as pure in their souls from idolatry as a virgin is from knowing of man For as a virgin is not defiled with man so were these Saints not defiled with idols and images Which idols and images are called in the spiritual Women for they follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth that is they followed him in the Worship of the Gospel notwithstanding that great idolatry and persecution there was in the time while the Apostles Commission did last which was a matter of three hundred years And they are called The first fruits unto God Observe They are called the first fruits unto God because they were of the Jews Seed whom God made a Covenant with that they should worship him as Moses should direct them And these hundred forty and four thousand who were redeemed by their faith and obedience to the Gospel in the Apostles Commission I say these were of the Jews as I said before therefore called the first fruits unto God For the believing Gentiles are not called the first fruits unto God because God chose the Jews Church first Therefore the believing Jews are called by the Spirit in John the first fruits unto God And these being preserved in their spirits from defiling themselves with idols they are said in their mouth was found no guile for they are without fault before the Throne of God That is they were not guilty of worshipping of false gods and so not defiled with women but worshipped Christ in the way as he gave his Apostles to establish as aforesaid And in the sixth verse John saw in his vision another Angel flie in the midst of heaven having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth and to every nation and kindred and tongue and people This Angel John saw flie in the midst of heaven having the everlasting Gospel to preach I declare it was Peter he being the Head-Apostle to whom Christ committed the preaching of the Gospel unto and to whom Christ committed the keyes of heaven and of hell and upon Peters Faith Christ called A Rock upon which he would build his Church Also I would have the Reader to minde that Christ gave this power to all the twelve Apostles as well as to Peter For they all had their Commission from Christ after he was ascended to preach the everlasting Gospel to all Nations that dwell upon the earth according to that saying of Christ to his Apostles before he suffered death Who said unto his Apostles whom he had chose Go preach the Gospel to every creature or to all nations and lo I will be with you to the end of the world c. Now this Gospel was preached to all nations according to the words of Christ in the time of the Apostles Commission As may be read Acts 2.5 And there dwelling at Jerusalem Jews devout men out of every nation under heaven Unto these Jews did Peter and the rest of the Apostles preach the Gospel of Jesus they speaking though unlearned men to every man in his own tongue the wonderful things of God So that this Gospel which the Apostles preached it was carried to all Nations on the earth as you may read Acts 2. beginning at the seventh verse And as for the everlasting Gospel being preached to every nation and kinred and tongue and people it was preached at that time aforesaid and at other times For Jew and Gentile doth include all nations kinred tongues and people And Paul being chosen of Christ to preach the everlasting Gospel unto the Gentiles he was made one with the rest of the Apostles in the Commission of the Gospel So that Peter he being the Apostle of the Jews and Paul being the Apostle of the Gentiles they both preaching one everlasting Gospel so counted by the Spirit in John but one Angel flying in the midst of heaven having the everlasting Gospel to preach Therefore minde though there were Apostles besides Paul and divers other Preachers of the Gospel in the time of that Commission which did last a matter of three hundred years as aforesaid yet they are all called by the revelation in John but one Angel because they were all under one Commission And Peter being the chief and head Apostle of the Commission of the Gospel I declare by revelation that he is called by John that Angel that he saw flie in the midst of heaven having the everlasting Gospel to preach And this everlasting Gospel which was preached it was Christ crucified unto death and Christ risen again and ascended up into glory in that same body he suffered death in And this was that Gospel the Angel did preach unto them that dwell on the earth This is also the everlasting Gospel which is preached to every nation kinred tongue and people And according to the words of Christ when he was upon earth to his Apostles the Gospel was preached to every nation on the earth by Peter and Paul and the rest of the Apostles and Ministers ordained by them and Christ was with them to the end of the world That was to the end of their Commission which did last as aforesaid a matter of three hundred years So that you whose understandings are enlightned in the knowledge of revelation and interpretation of Scripture you may see what is meant by the Angel who had the everlasting
that cloud the Son of Man sate upon they all expecting by faith Gods coming in flesh they being afar off That is their faith in them was satisfied that he would come though it was many hundred years after they were dead the apostles and saints afterwards were witnesses that the Son of Man was risen from the dead So that their faith was a cloud of witnesses also and the faith of Abraham Isaac and Jacob the Prophets Apostles and Saints it was that cloud the Son of Man did sit upon It is called a white cloud by the Spirit because they were never defiled with the fornication of Idols But worshipped the true God according to the Law of Moses and according to the faith of Jesus or the Gospel they not receiving the mark of the beast neither in the forehead nor in the hand That is they were not defiled with worshipping of any Images Idols or false gods whatsoever and in this regard they may be called A white cloud and this is that white cloud the Son of Man even Jesus the onely God doth sit upon As the whore in another case is said to sit upon many waters which I shall have an occasion to speak of when I come to it And as for that golden Crown that was upon his head I declare it was that honor and glory which the Prophets Apostles and Saints do attribute unto him as he is a Redeemer The work of redemption being wrought by him as he was a man he being in the form of a servant so that all the redeemed ones who are sensible of their redemption they do praise and magnifie the man Jesus the only God for his great love towards them in that they had faith to receive the benefit of his death And this honor glory and praise which is attributed unto the man Jesus by his Prophets Apostles and Saints is that golden Crown upon his head and in his hand a sharp sicle Now this sharp sicle in his hand it signfies his great power that when the end of the world shall be that he will send his Angels to reap the world even as Reapers doth corn when the harvest is ripe So when the worlds sins are ripe the harvest will be and much like unto a master of the harvest of Corn he will thrust in his sicle first then all his servants until the harvest is reaped So is it with him that sate under the white cloud when the time is accomplished and the harvest ripe he will thrust in hiâ— sicle first and then all his servants the Angels shall fall to reaping the harvest of this world And shall thrust in their sicles and reap until all be cut down that is Christ shall come in the clouds of heaven with all his holy Angels to destroy this world for ever Then will he thrust in his sicle indeed and this is the meaning of the sicle in his hand And those Angels that cryed to him that sate upon the cloud to thrust in the sicle are the holy Angels aforesaid that must help to reap the world for they have sicles also That is the Angels have power from Christ to destroy and cut down this wicked world when their sins are at the full then are they ripe fit to be destroyed even as the temporal Babylon was when their sins was ripe as in Joel the 3.13 verse Put you in the sicle for the harvest is ripe come get you down for the press is full the fats overflow for the wickedness is great The Prophet Joel spake this in relation to the reaping of Babylon the enemies of the Jews that after the seventy years captivity of Israel their enemies sins of cruel usage was at the full or ripe So that now the sicle that is the power of the sword temporal must utterly destroy Babylon the Jews enemies or reap it for the harvest of their sins and cruelties were fully ripe And the press was full that is their bodies were so full of wickedness and cruelty that they did overflow with wickedness their wickedness was so great So will it be with this spiritual Babylon when the harvest is ripe for this spiritual Babylon is so full of idolatry of idols images and worshipping false gods and persecution of the Saints That the press is full that is their bodies are so full of spiritual wickedness or spiritual fornication and persecution for conscience sake as aforesaid that their wickedness doth overflow even as the aforesaid Babylon did So that in the account of the spirit of faith this spiritual Babylon is as really destroyed and reaped their sins being ripe as the other Babylon was And as the sicle was thrust into them that they were destroyed and reaped so will it be with this as in the nineteenth verse of this chapter And the Angel thrust in his sicle into the earth and gathered the vine of the earth and cast it into the great wine-press of the wrath of God The earth signifies the people and the vine of the earth signifies the wicked idolatrous worship of the people and the great wine-press of the wrath of God signifies that eternal death and destruction upon all idolatrous people who worship false gods This eternal or second death is the great wine-press of the wrath of God and in the twentieth verse of this Chapter it is said And the wine-press was troden without the City and blood came out of the wine-press even unto the horse bridles by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs The meaning is this the wine-press was troden without the City that is the destruction of the enemies of Judah and Israel it was without the City of Jerusalem so will the eternal destruction of all idolaters at the end of the world be without the City New-Jerusalem That is none of the Seed of Faith who are the holy City in the spiritual shall see their destruction For blood shall come out of the wine-press even to the horse bridles the blood signifies the extream torment it being for ever The wine-press signifies the great wrath of God pressing their souls for their wickedness to eternity Unto the horse bridles signifies the extream fulness of wickedness so that the wrath of God might walk in their souls even as an horse may do thorow blood even up to his bridle For Gods wrath will he as many horses to crush and trample his enemies under feet so that their miseries may break forth as blood for Gods horses that is his vengeance to walk thorow to eternity As for the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs that signifies a great space and distance from the City of God that is from the spiritual City of God to wit the true believers So that this spiritual mystery Babylon who made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication as aforesaid I say she must undergo the wrath of God and be troden without the spiritual City the Seed of Faith
patience they are called by the Spirit Kings of the east So that Christ his Prophets Apostles and Saints are those Kings of the East who have the aforesaid waters dryed up that the way for these Kings of the East might be prepared That is there is no natural rivers upon earth that shall hinder or keep from being dryed up neither temporal nor spiritual For the vial of Gods wrath it will dry up all the rivers of waters upon earth natural and all rivers of waters spiritual when Christ shall come in the clouds of heaven with all his Saints the Kings of the East to put an end to this bloody persecuting unbelieving world And to dry up all the waters of peace in mens souls And the Kings of the East by their faith and patience shall walk upon the waters of wicked persecuting mens souls as upon dry ground That is the Kings of the East shall rejoyce in the eternal destruction of their enemies even as their enemies did over them when they persecuted and put them to death So that the way that is the hearts of the Saints enemies may be as a way for the Kings of the East to tread and trample upon all that joy peace and comfort that the Dragon beast and false prophet had when they persecuted the Saints Which Saints are the Kings of the East and that faith and patience the Saints had it prepared themselves to suffer with chearfulness the persecution and death it self So that the waters of the great river Euphrates even the waters of their persecutors souls was dryed up that the Kings of the East that is the Saints might be prepared to fight that good fight of Faith as the Saints did in the time of the Ten Persecutions So much for the interpretation of the twelfth verse CHAP. LII VErse the thirteenth And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs came out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet These three unclean spirits like frogs they are said to come out of the mouthes of three several persons to wit the Dragon beast and false prophet yet these three proceed all from one spirit even the spirit of the fallen Angel or as I may say the spirit of Cain that Dragon-devil who was the first murderer And the spirit of Cain remaining in the seed it bringeth forth many Dragon-devils like himself So that all Dragon-devils make up but one Dragon and so all wicked beasts make up but one wicked beast so all false prophets and false priests or false speakers they make up but one false prophet Now they are called three unclean spirits like frogs in regard of the threefold operations and workings of them For they proceeded from that one spirit of reason the devil Onely this one spirit of reason it doth work three several ways and by three several persons yet all three of them were like frogs They were all alike for wicked idolatry and persecution of the Saints and to deceive the people For they are the spirits of devils working miracles which go forth unto the Kings of the earth and of the whole world to gather them to the battel of that great day of God Almighty as in the 14 verse of this chapter So that these three spirits like frogs that came out of the Dragons mouth and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet They were to go forth to all the Kings of the earth and not onely so but to all great men in the whole world to invite them to persecute and to fight against the Saints with a sword of steel and with other cruel deaths When as the Saints had no other weapons of war but those that were spiritual to wit the sword of the spirit the shield of faith the helmet of salvation these and such like weapons of war the Saints do fight withal But the Dragon beast and false prophet they by their councel power and authority did invite all the kings of the earth and of the whole world to fight against the Lord Jesus and the remnant of the Seed of Faith who are the Saints With persecution and death as aforesaid with carnal weapons and inventions of cruel deaths as the Scriptures and History doth make mention of But the Revelation of John gave him to see that the last battel that will be fought between God Almighty and the dragon beast and false prophet it will be at the end of the world That is Jesus Christ he is God Almighty he and his Saints and Angels shall fight with the dragon beast and false prophet and with all the Kings of the whole world And he and his Saints shall give them an utter overthrow that is an eternal overthrow so that the dragon beast and false prophet with all the adherents unto them shall be destroyed with a second death which shall burn as a lake of fire for even and ever CHAP. LIII IT will be necessary to open something more of the dragon beast and false prophet and of those three unclean spirits like frogs that came out of their mouths The Reader may remember that I shewed before that there was many dragons since Cain yet all counted by the spirit but one dragon and so of the beast and false prophet all are included into one Now this dragon spoken of he is meant the same great red dragon spoken of in the 12. of the Revelation who persecuted the woman namely Herod though there was many dragons after him yet it is called all but one dragon they being all partakers of the same spirit and acted in the same persecution of the Saints So likewise that beast that did arise out of the Sea with seven heads and ten horns as in the thirteenth chapter verse the first Is that beast spoken of here by the spirit though there was divers other beasts after him yet they acting by the same spirit of persecution of the Saints they are all called by the spirit but one beast So likewise the false prophet is meant that government of worship that was established upon the Chief or High-priests of the nations so that there was a spiritual government of worship which did belong to those Images and Idols that was set up by the Power and Authority of the Beast As all Forms of Worships let them be true or false there must be some particular Head as Aaron was High-priest of the Worship of the Law and Christ the Head of the Gospel Worship yet there was many more High-priests besides Aaron yet all called but Aaron the High-priest Even so it was with the false prophet the same spirit of idolatry and persecution for conscience sake for not submitting to worship the beast and his image it did run thorow the spirits of all the false priests as it did in him that was the chief who was set up by the power of the beast at the
upon men any more to eternity For that voice John heard out of the temple in heaven from the throne it was from no other but from God himself saying It is done And immediately upon that voice there were other voices and thunders and lightnings and there was a great earthquake such as was not since men were upon the earth so mighty an earthquake and so great as you may see verse 18. This 18 19 20 21. verses have all of them relation to the end of the world which thing will be done in the pouring out of the vial of the seventh Angel which seventh Angel is now pouring out his vial of wrath upon the men of this world For as the seventh and last Anti-Angel namely the Quakers ministery doth sound and hath sounded neer upon twenty years so likewise the seventh vial hath been poured out this twenty years also And it will last pouring out to the end of time even as the seventh Anti-angels ministery will last to the end of the world as aforesaid And as I said before much like unto those Plagues that Moses brought unto Egypt God will bring upon the earth upon the sea upon the sun and upon the air at the end of the world And as there was a great hail in Egypt so that the Egyptians blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail Even so will it be in the end of the world when those great voices of the four and twenty Elders the four beasts the holy Angels and Saints shall utter their voice in Allelujahs unto God their King and Redeemer it will be as the voice of thunders and lightnings and will cause a mighty great hail every stone the weight of a talent That is God will rain down fire and brimstone upon the earth and sea sun and air so that none of these four which is the life of all creatures shall yield refreshment to the mind of man but it shall rain stones of fire mingled with brimstone which cannot be dissolved So that men shall blaspheme God eternally because of the hail it being exceeding great It must needs be exceeding great because it is eternal it being the last plague or last vial of Gods wrath it being the end of all time there being now nothing but eternal misery to remain For there will fall upon every wicked mans soul whose names are not written in the book of Life such an hail-stone of fire and brimstone that shall weigh a talent That is it shall weigh so heavy upon his heart that it shall press his soul down into the second death which is eternal So much for the interpretation of the chief matters in the sixteenth chapter of Johns Revelation CHAP. LVIII IN the sixteenth chapter of Johns Revelation it doth prophesie of the seven last plagues that God will pour out upon this wicked unbelieving idolatrous world Much like unto those plagues Moses poured out upon Egypt at the beginning of his Commission So likewise will God pour out the vials of his wrath upon the earth at the end of the world Which will be at the end of the Commission of the Spirit Now what these seven vials are I have opened in the 16 chapter Now this 17th chapter it doth contain a prophesie of the downfall of the spiritual Babylon or mystery Babylon It is compared by the spirit in John to a woman arrayed in scarlet to an adulterous woman to a whore to a great city Now this is to be minded by the Reader that there is two Babylons spoken of in Scripture two sorts of whores two sorts of fornication two sorts of Cities two sorts of Vials of Gods wrath to be poured out upon the earth That is there is a temporal Babylon and a spiritual Babylon or Babylon in the History and Babylon in the Mystery or a natural fornication of the flesh with woman and a spiritual fornication in the soul and minde of man with idols And so the one is called a whore or an adulterous woman in the temporal and the other is called a whore in the spiritual So that there is two sorts of whores and two sorts of fornications likewise there is two sorts of Cities that is a temporal City and a spiritual City The temporal City is that which the reason of man hath built for its own glory of wood and stone guilded with Silver and Gold the spiritual City is that which God hath built which is the body of man Therefore it is said in Scripture Your bodies are the Temple of the Holy Ghost so likewise the believing Jews and Gentiles they are called by the Spirit the holy City so that there is a spiritual holy City and there is a spiritual unholy City That is there is true worshippers of God and false worshippers of God a mystery Babylon a mystery of Gods temporal Plagues and spiritual Plagues To sum up all the meaning of Johns Revelation is this that all the true Believers both Jews and Gentiles that doth worship God according to the tennor of that Commission they are under whether it be the worship of the Law of Moses or the worship of the Gospel of Jesus set up by his Apostles or the worship of the Spirit set up by the Witnesses of the Spirit These three being all Commissionated of God so that who ever doth truly believe in these three Commissions in their time and place when they were in being upon the earth I say they are all counted by the Spirit but one City or one woman as Revel 12.1 A woman clothed with the sun c. So on the contrary all false worship that is set up by non-commissionated men who doth resemble or imitate the true worship set up by true commissionated men I say those men having no Commission from God so to do their worship is meer idolatry and all those people who joyn in that worship so set up they are all idolatrous people And so counted by the Spirit in John that great City Babylon in opposition to the holy City of God as aforesaid So that this is to be minded by the Reader that there is but two Cities that is to say the City of Saints and the great city of devils That is all true worshippers are called the holy City and all false worshippers are called by the Spirit the great City Babylon as aforesaid So likewise they are all called but one woman or one whore So that you that have any true light in your understandings you may see that all the messengers of idolatry and all idolatrous people they are called by the Spirit but one whore or one fornication So that look what worship hath been set up by a non-commissionated man at the first In that they did imitate Moses in his worship and so afterwards did imitate the Apostles worship without a Commission from God I say that the first brothers or imitators of Moses and the Apostles worship with all the adherents thereunto and the multitudes
Israel And it was practised by many wicked kings and head-magistrates and false priests and false prophets Which did cause many true Prophets and righteous men to be persecuted and put to death for not giving way to their false worship And so since the Apostles Commission the same thing hath been acted by Kings and Priests and so it will be to the end of the world So that all evil kings and evil head-magistrates are counted by the Spirit but one scarlet coloured beast for the spiritual Whore the woman to sit upon she may be said to sit upon the beast because she fits upon his power for Kings in all ages have been subject to the spiritual power though it hath been never so false for we see by experience that all those that goeth upon a spiritual account if he be but a Minister of the Gospel so called yet he sits upon the Magistrate For where is there a Magistrate in a Parish as a Deputy or such like but the Minister sits upon him So that one can do nothing as to matter of worship without the other So that the idolatrous woman who is the chief may well be said to sit upon a scarlet coloured beast which beast signifies all Kings and Head-magistrates who give themselves up to be guided in matter of worship by non-commissionated men who pretend a spiritual power to be Prophets Priests or Ministers of the Gospel or of the Law without a Commission from God But this beast here spoken of by John it doth chiefly relate to those beasts that did succeed after the destruction of Jerusalem which was a matter of four years after Christs death in relation to those Ten Persecutions which did last a matter of three hundred years So that all those beasts that persecuted the Saints in that time they are called by the Spirit a scarlet coloured beast He may be called a scarlet coloured beast in regard he had assisted the woman with his temporal power to persecute and shed the blood of Saints So that the sins of his soul they were as red as scarlet with the blood of the Saints and in this sense he is called a scarlet coloured beast and not onely so but full of names of blasphemy having seven heads and ten horns The meaning is this so many heads so many names of blasphemy that is there was seven Kings that came out of his loins as I shewed power and all these seven heads or beasts they persecuted and shed the blood of Saints and blasphemed God that had power over Plagues So that they all blasphemed God and shed the blood of the Saints for not worshipping their images and in this regard he may be called a scarlet coloured beast full of names of blasphemy For their souls were all made red as scarlet with the blood of Saints and they all blasphemed alike and the woman sate upon them all alike so that they are all called by the Spirit but one scarlet coloured beast CHAP. LX. VErse the fourth And the woman was arrayed in Purple and Scarlet-colour and decked with Gold and precious Stores and Pearls having a golden Cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication This woman is the same afore-mentioned and as for her being arrayed in Purple and scarlet-colour the purple signifies the civil outside appearance and rich array That is she was arrayed with such outside language and gestures and ornaments concerning the worshipping of Idols That it was as a garment of purple unto her which made the Kings and people all to bow down to her and glad they were that they might drink of that golden cup in her hand which cup was full of abomination And as for the scarlet-colour she was decked with that is within her That is her soul was made as red as scarlet with the blood of the Saints as the beast aforesaid And as for the precious Stones and Pearls she was decked with that signifies that good esteem the beast and the people had of her superstitious worship Thinking in themselves that she was precious in the eyes of the Lord or as a Pearl or Jewel in the sight of God and that she did God good service to kill his Saints that would not bow down and worship so holy a service as was required by her And as for the golden Cup in her hand the Cup signifies the form and manner of worship which she doth prescribe to the beast and the people to false gods And that which this golden Cup in her hand is full with it is the superstitious idolatrous worship that the beast and people must drink of That is they must do as she hath prescribed in matter of worship and so they come to drink out of the golden Cup in her hand and so they take a full draught of her spiritual abominations and filthiness of her fornications with idols and in the blood of the Saints Verse the fifth And upon her head was a name written Mystery Babylon the great the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth There need not be any interpretation upon this verse for I have shewed what is meant by Babylon before and what is meant by the mother of harlots so that I shall pass by this 5 verse and proceed to the 6 verse Verse the sixth And I saw the Woman drunken with the blood of the Saints and with the blood of the Martyrs of Jesus and when I saw her I wondered with great admiration Here John saw in his vision the Woman drunken with the blood of the Saints and Martyrs of Jesus That is mystery Babylon or City Babylon which is compared to a woman that is all persecuting Spirits in point of worship are compared to a woman For they have all drunk the blood of Saints and Martyrs so that John did see in his vision that they were all drunken with the blood of Saints even as men are drunken with wine So that John did wonder with great admiration to see that God should have so much patience as to stay so long before he did pour out his Judgements upon this Woman who had made her self drunken with the blood of the Saints and Martyrs of Jesus But in the seventh verse The Angel said unto John wherefore didst thou marvel I will tell thee the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carrieth her which hath the seven heads and ten horns As if he should say when thou seest the judgement of the woman and of the beast that I will bring upon them thou wilt then marvel no more at their being drunken with the blood of the Saints and Martyrs of Jesus CHAP. LXI IN verse the eighth the Angel doth explain unto Johns understanding what the beast is that doth carry the woman as he did the woman in the seventh verse But the explanation of the Angel it is as dark to the reason of man as the vision it self For who can understand what is meant by these