Constantiue the Great commeth to the Imperial seat the Dragon is overcome and Heathenism extirpated vers 4 and following In the second Period from the 400. years and upward Period 2. until the end of the 1200. and 60. years these seven concurrent times are described 1. The holy City is trodden under foot by the Gentiles 2. The two Witnesses cloathed with Sack-cloth Cap. 11. ver 2 3. to the 10th the explaining of which I refer to the 11. Chap. 3. The woman fled into the Wilderness and is fed there The primitive Church rescued from heathenish bondage fled into the wilderness i. e. into a midle estate not wholly hid and invisible nor yet gloriously visible but as it were in a middle condition betwixt both Rob. The two wings of a great Eagle given to the woman to by into the wilderness Mede refers to the Roman Empire whose Ensign is an Eagle and to the two Cesars of the Eastern and Western Empire divided as two wings by whose aid and protection the Church fled into her wilderness estate Cap. 12. verse 6. to 14. As Mary upon the birth of Christ fled from Herod into Aegypt So the Woman i. e. the Primitive Church notwithstanding the persecution of the Dragon having brought forth a man Child who was to rule the Nations with a rod of Iron which primarily belongs to Christ personal Psa 2. Secondarily to Christ mystical his Church and members which Christ mystical ruled all Nations by a rod of Iron subjugating the Roman Empire partly by a spiritual Gospelvictory promoted by Michael and his Angels against the Devil and his Angels rulers in that Empire partly by a corporeal conquest afterward when Christians prevailed and obtained such power and success under Constantine the great and his Successors fled into the Wilderness where she hath a place prepared by God that they should feed her there 1200 and 60. days vers 6. which is again related v. 14. The meaning I conceive is this the Church though freed from heathenish tyranny yet is afresh imbarked in new troubles and persecutions by divers enemies Now during all this time the Church is in her wilderness condition as Israel of old was after their deliverance from Aegypt Thus take the parallel Israel delivered from Egyptian bondage under Pharoah fled towards the wilderness but was persued by Pharoah had liberty to worship God in the Wilderness where their Tabernacle was erected there Apostatized from God and his pure worship in the matter of the Calf Baalpeor Baalam c. and was there exercised with new troubles and afflictions of hunger thirst fiery Serpents and of divers enemies abode in the Wilderness 40. years during which space they made 42 journeys and stations from Aegypt to Jordan And at last all their enemies being subdued Numb 33. from 1. to 50. they quietly possessed the promised rest the Land of Canaan So the Church being freed from Heathenish Tyranny under the Red Dragon fled into the Wilderness but was persued and persecuted by the Dragon had liberty granted of worshipping God in the wilderness by the edicts of Christian Emperors and Kings who erected for them Temples or publique places for Christian worship yet in that her Wilderness estate she made many idolatrous defections Apostatizing from God and his pure worship especially to Antichristianisme Cap. 12.17 And the Dragon was wroth with the woman went to make war with the remnant of her seed c. Cap. 13.1 And I stood upon the sand of the Sea c. Mede saith the words are to be read not steti but stetit Cum Latinis omnibus Syre interpr i. e. The Dragon stood upon the sands i. to bring up this beast out of the sea to persecute the woman Further he saith v. 3. And I saw one of his heads wounded to death That the word vidi is not in some Editions as the Complutense reading the sentence thus The Dragon gave him his power seat and great authority and one of his heads wounded to death that it might be healed or that had been wounded to death and the healing of his wounds which is added this he either saw to be done while he was rising out of the sea or as soon as he was risen out of it is there exercised with new troubles and persecutions by the Dragon Beast and False Prophet abides in this Wilderness seat 42. moneths At last the Dragon the Beast and the false Prophet with all her enemies being vanquished the Church obtaines the new Heavens and new Earth and reigns with Jesus Christ a thousand years yea for ever and ever the former and following series of this Prophecy clears this parallel This state of the Church seems to last till the seventh Trumpet So that to this day the Church is still in this Wilderness-condition but drawing towards the borders of a far happier estate 4. The beast with ten horns blasphemeth God and maketh war with the Saints cap. 13. v. 5 6 7. This ten horned Beast as was mentioned before is the Dragons Delegate or Substitute he is said to rise out of the Sea by Sea here understand that multitude of ten Kingdomes into which the Barbarians had shredded the whole compass of the Roman Territories out of all which the Dragon now endeavours to extract and of which to compose one Roman Dominion or that conflux of Armies and people striving in war like a tempestuous Sea He is said to have seven heads and so is the same beast cap. 17.3 compared with vers 9 10. His seven heads are interpreted by the Holy Ghost himself to be seven Mountains whereon the Royal Seat of the Empire of Rome was built and seven Kings or kindes of Government by which the Empire should be governed The names of blasphemy notes his blasphemous idolatries tending to the extream reproach of God his Religion and Saints his ten horns and upon his horns Voyce out of the Wilderness p. 38. ten crowns these signifie that he should not come to his crown by the strength of his Sword his Leaders and his Legions But of the crowns upon the hornes see another interpretation p. 90. as the Dragon did but by the base and voluntary submission of all the Caesars Kings and Princes as should with one Councel and Vote deliver up their authority and power secular to the devotion and pleasure of the beast therefore he wears his Diadems not upon his heads as the Dragon did but upon his Hornes and upon his Hornes ten crownes Which ten Hornes crowned say most Writers denote ten Kings or Kingdomes into which the Roman Empire of the sixth head was divived all which were to be conjoyned Mede in Cum. Apoc. part 2. cap. 13. into one for carrying of the whore These 10. horns thinks Mede belong not to all the seven heads but onely to the seventh because the heads flourishing the horns flourish the heads fulling the horns necessarily fall therewith Now these ten
horns cannot belong to the first five heads because in Johns time these five were fallen already Rev. 17.10 and consequently their hornes with them nor can these horns belong to the sixth head which then was in Johns time raigning for the Angel tels John plainly the ten horns are ten Kings which have received no Kingdom as yet compare Rev. 17.10 with the 12. verse Therefore it remaines that these ten horns belong onely to the seventh or last head Again this beast is described by his shape vers 2. And the beast that I saw was like a Leopard i. e. like unto the Grecian Monarchy resembled by a Leopard and divided into four heads as this Roman into ten Dan. 6.7 The Leopard is a beast all spotted Pareus in Apoc. 13.2 very swift extream cruel a notable Embleme of this present beast Voice out of the wilderness p. 37. who for his presumption in extolling himself above the Prince of the Covenant defiling his Sanctuary desolating his Sacrifice burning his Statutes and inforcing the humble and meek to the abnegation of the truth by blood fire strapadoes and such like exquisite torments the spirit resembles him to his Arch-type Autiochus descended from the Monarch of Greece here as in Daniel deciphered by a Leopard and I saw the beast like a Leopard Secondly for his strength cruelty and devouring nature the spirit likeneth him to a Bear and his feet were like the feet of a Bear strong cruel and of a devouring nature the embleme of the Persian Monarcy It had saith Daniel Cap. 7.5 three ribs in the teeth of it and they said thus unto it Arise and devour much flesh Thirdly the Holy Ghost likeneth him to the Lyons mouth The Lion was an Embleme of the first Monarcy the Baby lonians the Lions mouth notes strength and cruetly in tearing crushing and swallowing up his prey yea herein the Holy Ghost ascribeth unto him the prophane and cursed mouth of the Monarch of Babylon in commanding the dwellers upon earth Dan. 7.4 upon pain of fire and furnance to adore his golden Idol that he had set up How notably sets this our the Character of this beast his parts being framed of the most notable persecutors that ever were being a confection or compound made up of the terribleness strength and cruelty of all the three foregoing Monarchies hence Daniel admirably describeth this fourth Beast Dan 7.7 as dreadful and terrible and strong exceedingly And it had great Iron teeth Further the Holy Ghost describes him as by his shape so by his State and constitution he was vested with great power and Royal Dominion and herein the holy Ghost sets down the efficient cause the manner of acquiring it and the event of it 1. The efficient cause of it we have in the latter end of the second Verse viz. The Dragon the Dragon gave him his power and his seat and great authority by power Scripture notes not onely strength but bands armies and multitudes of persons The Dragons Bands or Army are his Angels or Devils with Idols their receptacles saith Mede these he gives to this beast together with his Seat and great authority viz. all that authority which he had in the heathenish Roman Empire from which Michael and the Martyrs cast him down overcoming him this he gives to the beast his Substitute to recover it for him How cunningly now Satan acts not now as a red Dragon but as masked in a new manyformed beast to draw the Church to Idolatry under the Christian Empire 2. The manner of his acquiring this Dominion by healing of his mortal wound received in his sixth head by the barbarous Nations Or rather according to Mede by Michaels Victory over the Dragon but now cured by this substituted power of the Beast in the course of his seventh and last head See these two opinions reconciled afterwards And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death and his deadly wound was healed v. 3. 3. The event of this his great Dominion upon the World generally all admiring and adoring this beast thus healed and now termed as the Dragons Deputy viz. highly approving of him and subjecting themselves to him and his power as incomparable and irresistible Adoring in Scripture is put for yeilding subjection Gen. 27.29.37.7 and 49.8 Esa 45. In obeying the Emperors or the Popes Idolatrous decrees they not onely Worshipped them but the Devil in them for the Dragon gave them that power and his work they did And all the World wondred after the beast and they worshipped the Dragon who gave power unto the beast i. e. they subjected themselves to the Dragon in the Beast and they worshipped the beast saying who is like unto the Beast who is able to make War with him v. 3. Again this beast is described by these acts which are ascribed to him viz. his Acts of Idolatrous blasphemy and cruel Tyranny First His acts of Idolatrous blasphemy for the Scripture is wont to set forth Idolatry as Blasphemous opprobrious and contumelious See Deut. 31.2 Jer. 23.25 Isai 65.7 This whole description is taken out of Daniel Cap. 7.25 where he speaks of the same Roman beast but what the Angel declares to Daniel more briefly John explains more largely this is generally mentioned And there was given to him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies and then the continuance of this blasphemous beast is computed And power was given to him to continue 42. months vers 5. The objects of his blasphemies or Idolatries are particularized And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God to blaspheme his name and his Tabernacle and them that dwell in heaven v. 6. thinks Mede Gods name by Image-worship his Tabernacle Christs body Here note saith Mede the beasts 42. months are not to be reckoned from the beginning of his euelty and war against the Saints but from the beginning of his blasphemy i. e. His Idolatry or spiritual whoredom which is when that is attributed to the creature which properly belongs to God Or when any thing beside God is worshipped with Divine Honour or when Saints or Angels are invocated which is to blaspheme them that dwell in Heaven v. 5 6. which invocation of Saints begun saith Perkins to be brought into the Church Anno. 3080. and in 20. years and upward no doubt it grew up to some height wherein the God-head dwelt personally by transubstantiation them that dwell in heaven viz. Saints and Angels by Angel worship Saint-worship or rather Devil-worship under their names Secondly His acts of cruel Tyranny 1. Partly persecuting the Saints And it was given to him to make was with the Saints and to overcome them i. e. with the remnant of the womans seed in the wilderness now this War against the Saints he did not wage from his beginning but when he came to his strength 1200. years after Christ his first expedition was against the Waldenses and Albigenses i. e. true worshippers
the true mystery in the particular intended thereby I finde four opinions about it two of them more considerable 1. Opinion 2 Of those that labour to finde out such names especial in Greek or Hebrew in which tongues all the letters are numerals and fignifie some number or other as may agree to this Roman beast the numeral letters of which name or names may exactly amount to 666. and they especially pitch upon the name Latinos the numeral letters whereof come to 666. and multitudes of other names are found out to like purpose not only by modern but ancient writers but this opinion about 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Forbs saith is so childish an Egyptical toy that he marvels much how ever any solid mind could propound it for a rare point of wisdom And t is the saying of a learned English Writer Voice out of the wilderne s. long before Forbs if I mistake not They that have thought to calculate and find out the mystery of Antichrists number 666. in a word at a word he saith they are deceivd not knowing the power and construction of the Scripture Others hold Opin 2d that Antichrists power should begin Anno Dom. 666. so a late learned Writer hath referred the number 666. to the time of Antichrists revealing Mr Stevens upon the four metall Kingdoms So Ball and Bullinger which opinion is rejected by Pareus Comment Apocalyp and year of rising and coming to his full power and supremacy which was in Phocas his time and so would make the 1200 and 60 days to begin then Which saving my respect to such a learned man I judge cannot be the meaning of the mystery because the 1200 and 60. days and the Witnesses prophecying in sackcloth begin together Now the treading down of the holy City the time when the Witnesses began to prophesie in sackcloth and the womans flight into the wilderness where she was fed 1200 and 60 days is judged by the best Writers upon the Revelation to be after the death of Theodosius when the Roman Empire was overrun by the barbarous Nations which was long before Phocas his time A third third Opinion is also of a learned Writer Opinion 3d. To this way of Interpretation of the number 666. learned Marlorat agrees his words are these Losi hujus tot fere sunt expositiones qout exposiâ—ores And then reckons up and rejects some common opinions about it and then concludes thus Rectius ergo ad tempus Regni Antichristi nonnulli hunc numerum referunt Vt ad Regem Babylonicum dicebatur Numeravit Deus Rignum Tuum perfectissime numeravit illud Dan. 5.26 Nam completis 70 annis captivitatis populi ei per Jeremiam praedictus finis Regni illins aderat perendeigiture est ac si diecret Joannes quemadmodum humana regna dauturnae esse non possunt sed certum habent annorum numerum diviaitus constitatem ita Antichristi Regnum quod ad piorum consolutionem dictum est ne putent Antichristi regnum eternum fore Nam finem habiturum est regum Christi relique amnia cessara Felixagitur est qui numerum hune bestia intelligit cui a Deo datum cognoscere c. Ma lorat on Rev. 13.1 who queres for this Mey who wrote a Treatise many years ago Anno 1592 called Babylen is fallen to which he only sets two letters of his name T. L. and he interprets 666. to reveal Rev. 13.18 the secret counsel purpose of God concerning the period and final end of Antichrist and his Church dominion Where rejecting all opinions but this about it he saith 1. The word Number is never used in Scripture for the begining and rising of any term of time limited and predicted by the Prophets but onely for the end period and determination thereof 2. He calls it the number of a man by man saith he is meant the total sum of that succession of beastly men which make and constitute the existence and person of one Antichrist and by the word number is meant the fatal end and fual determination of their raign and government for so the Finger of God speaketh to Belshazer God hath numbred thy Kingdom i. e. God hath ended and finished the days of thy Kingdom So that by the number of the beast is nothing else but the Period and Final determination of the usurped tyranny and damnation of Antichrist which the Lamb the Lord and preserver of Israel for the glory of his name consolation of his Church and confusion of her foes shall bring to pass in the year which shall be 666. 3. He saith for as much as the Egge of Antichristianisme was laid in the days of Innocent tha first successor to Anastasins the first also of that name in Anno. 406. And that by express Commission there was furthermore granted to the beast his heirs and successors 1260. years for the hatching fostring and perfecting this child of perdition and mystery of iniquity which being added to 406. by rule of true audit must needs verifie this admirable judgen ent which the Spirit of God hath here denonnced and determined to make good upon him in the year which shall be 1666. In which account and discovery of his end the Holy Ghost of purpose leaves out the millenary number as not onely known perfect and immutable but as respecting also the common use of all Nations as well Hebrews as Gentiles who in their stiles for brevity sake do no less often speak and write by the imperfect number omitting the millenary then after the perfect adding the millenary as Munster well observes 4. Vide Calindarium Hebraicum Sebastiani Munsteri This learned Author triumphantly concludes this his interpretation in these words to the Church of Rome And in that year shall my Lord of Rome lay down his proud waves and although he fortifie never so strong and lay his foundation as low as Hell and build his Turrets as high as Heaven and place his Mitre above the Stars yet in that day he shall die the death of the uncircumcised and perish like the Amorite whose fruit is destroyed from above and root from beneath Amos 2.9 and the multitude of his offences shall consume the multitude of his Forces And it shall be more possible for him and easie to him to weigh the fire or measure the wind or call again the day that is past or recover the virdure of the withered grass as a holy one saith then to avoia this counsel and decree of his downfal here determined by the spirit a gainst him saying And the number of him is 666. This interpretation is very pleasing Qui numerum hunc besti a intelligit ae Deo datum est cognoscere c. Ibid. Marlorat and would be less questioned then the former if it did agree with the beginning of the verse which the Author calls a little short Preface of the Holy Ghost to prepare his Reader to attention Here