erected Rev. 4.3 sutable to that A glorious high Throne is the place of our Sanctuary Jer. 17.12 Secondly There is Gods worship Rev. 4.8 They rest not day nor night saying Holy Holy Lord God Almighty Secondly It is a Church of men not of Angels for they sing thou hast redeemed us to God by thy blood Rev. 5.9 which cannot be spoken of the Angels Thirdly It is a Church of men upon Earth and not in Heaven for there are the seven spirits before the Throne which notes the variety of the gifts and graces of the Spirit which are proper only to the Earth for in Heaven gifts shall cease as also the present manner of administration from the Throne And there is before the Throne a Sea of glass in allusion to Solomons Sea which was for the priests to wash in and that supposes defilement which is not in Heaven Fourthly It is a visible and not an invisible Church for here are Beasts and Elders which are Officers and Brethren which belong only unto the Church visible and they are described here as met together to give God glory which belongs only to visible Churches Rev. 9.9 And there be Angels round about the Throne and the Beasts and Elders Rev. 5.11 which shall not be in Heaven for Christ shall put down all rule and authority and power 1 Cor. 15.24 which is to be understood de principatu Angelico as well as of any other power and their shall be need of no such guard in Heaven Fifthly It is spoken of visible Churches all the world over for they say Thou hast redemed us by thy blood out of every Kinred and Tongue People and Nation and hast made us unto our God Kings and Priests and we shall raign in the Earth Rev. 5.10 But they that maintain such a separation from all Churches must blot out this Chapter out of their Bibles for the pure times of the Church it s conceived did not continue above 360 or 365 years and then The man of sin began to be revealed since which time this Opinion doth say there have been neither Beasts nor Elders to observe and give God the Glory of his actings during the whole time of Antichrists Tyranny Secondly The Scripture doth clearly tell us that during the whole time of this great apostacy of Antichrist there are some that the Lord will preserve pure unto himself and which he will own as Churches during the whole time of Antichrist his first rise is set forth Rev. 13. and then we have the state of the Church described Chap. 14.1,2,3,4 by which it appears that when the whole world wondred after the Beast yet there were reserved an hundred forty and four thousand who stood with the Lamb upon Mount Sion having his Fathers Name not Antichrists Mark written in their forheads and they sung a new song that is did praise and worship God in an excellent and acceptable manner which was hid from the rest of the world who did worship the Beast these are said to be redeemed from amongst men and were as the first fruits unto God and to the Lamb of that general Conversion which shall be when Antichrist shall be destroyed Canticum novum pro eximio Psal 33.3 Isa 62.2 Rev. 21.5 vel novum de novo beneficio liberationis factae Isa 42.10 vel novum est innovatum iterum atque iterum repâ—…tum And Chap. 15.1,2 we read of a sea of Glass upon which those stood who had gotten the victory over the Beast his Image Mark and the Number of his name they had the Harps of God in their hands they did worship God purely and publikely during the time of Antichrists raign which is commonly interpreted of the reformed Churches And immediately after Babylons ruine we read of the four Beasts and the four and twenty Elders who observe this and give the Lord the Glory saying Amen Halelujah Rev. 19.4 therefore during the whole time of Antichrist there have been and shall be some that are gathered into Bodies members and Officers Beasts and Elders owned as true Churches by Christ who during the time of this Apostasie have kept their garments are not defiled with women but in reference to Antichrists fornications are Virgins in whose mouth is found no guile but they are without fault before the Throne of God Rev. 14.4,5 How then shall any man say that all Churches have been so corrupted by Antichrist as that they remain no more Churches unto Christ when the Lord gives unto some of them this Testimony that either they have not received the mark of the Beast or have gotten the victory over it and his Name and the number of his Name that is whatsoever is Antichristian and they remain as Virgins and without fault before his Throne Thirdly Let all such persons consider that denying any true Churches of Christ they must of necessity place themselves in the Synagogue of Satan which appears so much the more because they bring upon themselves the guilt of the highest pride in the World which was the Devils sin 1 Tim. 3.6 To unsaint a man is a great height of pride much more to unchurch a Society and that under the name of Antichristian who profess to disclaim Antichrist and whatsoever shall be made to appear to relate to him But what is it then to deal thus with all the Churches of Christ upon Earth Societies where the Lord hath manifested his presence to the Conversion and Salvation of many thousand Souls who have this Testimony from the Lord that they have gotten the Victory over the Beast his Image his Mark his Name those whom the Lord owns as having his Name written in their foreheads And yet to unchurch all these and number them with the Antichristian Party to destruction is such a piece of Pride as one would hardly have thought could have entred into the heart of any but the Devil And that this is more immediatly from Satan I am inclined to think from a passage I have met with in Austin When Satan could not prevail to keep the Christian Religion out of the world but the Gospel did spread even as a Sun-beam among the Gentiles 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Euseb he did then perswade the Heathen and they were confident of it that the Christian Religion should continue in the world but three hundred sixty and five years and then they should return to Paganism again but that so long Peter had bewitched the world by his Sorceries that they should believe in Christ Definitum est quanto tempore mansura esset religio Christiana Petrum maleficia subjungunt ut coleretur Christi nomen per trecentos sexaginta quinque annos deinde completo memorato numero annorum fine mora sinem sumet de civit Dei lib. 18. cap. 53. happily by this Prophesie he might intend that about this time Antichrist the man of Sin should rise and the Temple of God be given to the Antichristian Gentiles Popery