1260 dayes but hath shortned the dayes of their captivity for the elects sake And therefore saith God the witnesses shall prophesie 1260 dayes and the Gentiles shall tread under foot the holy City 42 moneths Now these 42 moneths being just 3 single yeares and halfe beare a proportion of time with the 3 dayes and halfe that the witnesses must lie dead but I pray mark we are not to reckon the fourty two moneths nor the three dayes and halfe to point out no longer time then barely three single years and half as some think But I conceive that God by these tearmes of time points at a higher mystery That is points out to us 3 ages and a halfe or 3 degrees of time and a halfe that he hath determined for the Beast to tread the holy City under foot Therefore when the question was asked by one Angel in Daniels Vision How long shall it be to the end of these wonders Another Angel swears by him that liveth for ever That it shall be for a time times and an half and when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people all these things shal be fiâ—ished John mentions the samet earms of time So that now mark I conceive these time times and a half are 3 ages and a half which God can and will shorten as he pleases as he hath promised And the 42. months nor the 3 dayes and half doth not hold a proportion of years to the 1260. dayes which was the time of the battel but they point out 3. ages and an half of the Reigne of the Beast As the day and Reign of the Dragon the â—lay and Reign of the Leopard the day â—nd reign of the Beast with two horns which speaks like a Dragon the day and reign of the Image of the Beast which I conceive is the half day And by the names and discriptions of these Beasts and by the 3 dayes and half or the divided time as now it is God points out the different workings of the wisdom of the flesh and how she flies from one shape to another as Christ comes into the heart of his Saints to discover her And that an age of a man is called a day the Scriptures make it plain as our Saviour said Abraham desired to see my day that is the day and reign of Christ so the day of Moses or the age or time while Moses bore rule and so here the day of the Dragon before the Devill took up any other shape If you desire to know the Beast that treads you and the holy City under foot look first into your own hearts for there she sits And after that ye have beheld her confused workings there against Christ then look into the world and you shall see the same confusioin of ignorance pride self-love oppression and vain conversation acted against Christ in States in Assemblies and in some Churches in the world But when Christ comes in his brightnes in glory light and beauty as the Son that shines from East to West enlightning the whole earth then will this beast or wisdom of the flesh be destroyed in all her shapes and disguises First in the flesh and hearts of Saints And afterward through the multitude of Saints and their manifold discoveries from God all her confusion shall be thrown down in the world and she shall reign no more but the Kingdom yea the greatnes of the Kingdom under the whole Heaven shall be given to the Saints of the most high The Beast or this powerfull wisdom of the flesh or rather the Serpent in flesh which reads down the holy City 42. months or 3. layes and half in her first day she is grosse â—nd down right prophane which was the day â—f the Dragon or magistracy out of joynt as â—n the day of Nero when Magistrates and people were all deceived But Satan finding he â—ould not do mischief enough against Christ â—n this age or day He chauges his shape into an Angel of light 〈◊〉 in the day and time of setting up an Univerâ—all Bishop that should rule successively but â—eing discovered by the light of Christ to be â—ery hypocriticall and full of abominations â—his is the Leopard She changes her self into her 3. day into reâ—ormed Episcopacy appears by faire shews â—f pretending peace even more closely hypoâ—riticall But this day of hers likewise being discovered to be a day of darknes by the Lord our righteousnes this is the Lamb with the â—wo hornes c. She changes her self into her half day or Image which is more closely hipocriticall then the former she being now hedged into a narâ—ow compasse by Christ and all her shifts are almost discovered so that every young man of Christ can point the finger at her and say that as she that will not suffer Christ to reign King â—riest and Prophet in his own house but will give him the name but reign her self in those Offices This is she that will not suffer Christ to choose his own Church out of the world but she will chuse for him and Christ must either be content with a whole Parish and a whole Kingdom and so the whole world to bee his Church or else this beastly whorish spirit Will allow him no Church at all This is she that will not suffer Christ to call to gift and to send forth his own Ministers and Servants to work in his Vineyard but she will choose call and gift them for him and he must either be content with such Ministers as she ordaines and counts able Schollers and Orthodox Divines or else he shall have none at all Shepherds and Fishermen or Tradesmen that are unlearned in mens writings she will not allow to preach the Gospel though Christ give them anointing and bid them speak the things which they have seen and heard from him More might be said here but every mans experience can ad some thing but I will speak two words more to them that pretend love to Christ First if there be any that by humane wisdom and policy endeavour to set up the worship of God or that by a humane Law or compulfive power will inforce others to give testimony to the Father that Jesus Christ is his Almighty power Call you these people or this Government what you will I am confident it speaks like the Dragon and it is the Image of the Beast And secondly if there be any that pretend love to Christ and yet in their judgements and practices are part for Christ and part for the flesh And though they do not desire a humane Law to enforce others to walk in their way yet they will not own as Brethren nor with the tender embracings of love will not receive any but such as are of their own way and judgment though the Anointing which knits Christs misticall body
God and give glory to him The second is Babylon is faln is flan that great City Babylon is faln And the third is Haleluja for the Lord God omnipotent reigns Now brethren you I speak to in whom the Serpent â— subdued you see and feel that God your teacher your comfort your life your strength your liberty you are set free by him and it is a sweet satisfying freedom Now speak plainly do not your hearts love God and glory in him do you not acknowledge God all in all in pardoning healing teaching saving and manifesting love and life to you and that your selves men and creatures can do nothing herein but must let that alone to God for ever now you give glory to him and you love him and I beleeve that Scripture that is interpreted Fear God should rather be Love God for the frame of spirit thus set at liberty in whom Babylon is faln and in whom the Lord God omnipotent reigns is rather full of the embracings and breathings of love and delight to give God all the glory rather then fear which 〈…〉 of bondage which perfect love casts out Well all that I have 〈…〉 the midst of this cloud of 〈…〉 your Redemption drawes near God is working out an inward and an outward peace and liberty for you all What I have writ in this following discourse I could not but write I was carried by a strong hand I believe of God in writing of it through much bodily weakness and yet with abundance of delight that gave strength to my spirit I leave it with you But the Crown of Glory I chearfully set upon his head that sits upon the Throne and upon the Lamb for evermore May 20. 1648. Your Brother and Companion in the Kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ Gerrard Winstanley the Particulars insisted upon in the following Discourse CHAPTER I. THe great Mystery of God is this He will cast the Serpent out of man and subdue that â—orrupt flesh under his feet dwell in man himself pag. 1. The Promises and Types of the old Testament point out God manrfested in the flesh which is Gods Kingdom God by his Prophets fore-told the captivity of Gentile Saints under the little horn The Beast The Prophets saw not in the depth of those Prophesies God gave them to write God manifested in the flesh makes known his own mystery to men Seven particular heads to be minded about Gods two Witnesses CHAP. II. What the testimony of the two witnesses is p. 9. Jesus Christ and his Saints make one perfect man The Anointing that dwelt in Jesus and in his Saints is that only power that bruises the Serpents head The world ever hated the appearance of God in the flesh CHAP. III. Who these two witnesses are that God speaks of to whom he will give power to prophesie in sack-cloth 1260. dayes p. 15. What is meant by three that bear witness in Heaven and by three that bear witness on earth The excellency of Christs spirit in his sufferings Christ was not compelled by humane authority to bear testimony of his Fathers Councell but he did it willingly The Saints are not compelled they bear testimony of the Father willingly by the power of the same Anointing Gentile Saints are Gods Witnesses that prophesie in sackcloth 42. months What is meant by two Candlesticks And by one golden Candlestick and two Olive-Trees of each side of it And by two Olive-branches Jesus Christ was the first that went under the Captivity of mystery Babylon and the first that came out Christ laid the foundation of Sion and his hand shall finish the building The two witnesses kill enemies by fire that proceeds out of their mouth and how What it is to hurt the two witnesses What Antichrist is What is meant by Heaven The witnesses have power to shut Heaven that it rain not and how What is meant by rain The witnesses have power over waters to turn them into blood and how CHAP. IV. What is meant by 1260. dayes which is the time given to the 2. witnesses to prophesie in cloathed in sack-cloth p 42. What is meant by prophesie and to prophesie in sack-cloth And by 1260. dayes in a literall sence And by silence in heaven for the space of half an hour And by wilderness into which the woman fled The wilderness is a safe hiding place in Gods hand from the face of the Serpent The earth helped the woman What is meant by 1260. dayes in a mystical sense And by 3. dayes and half by 42. months or by time times and dividing of time that the Saints are to lie under the captivity of mystery Babylon What is meant by Dragon by Leopard by the Beast with 2 horns like a Lamb And by the Image of the Beast The proud Beast or whorish spirit will not suffer Christ to reign â—ing Priest and Prophet but he will reign in his stead What it is to speak like the Dragon The Saints rejoyce when Christ reigns What the seaventh day or Sabbath is The Saints greatly rejoyce when they feel and see the Serpent cast out of them and the Anointing appears to rule and dwell in them CHAP. V The Witnesses were to be slain when they had finished their Testimony p. 63. The witnesses finish their testimony and prove the word of the Father true That the seed of the woman should bruise the Serpents head by their own experience not by hear-say What the bottomles pit is What the Beast is that rose out of the bottomless pit What the smoak is that ascended out of the bottomless pit What the King of this bottomless pit is What is the ayre wherein the Beast lives S. John speaks that the two witnesses must prophesie in sack-cloth but 1260. dayes And Daniel saith that the Sanctuary and Hoast shall be trod under foot 2300. dayes how these are reconciled The Beast kills the two Witnesses and how Three dispositions in the Beast whereby he kils Gods two witnesses The Ecclesiastical Lawes of the Beast kill Gods 2 witnesses but give liberty to Gods enemies The Whore kils the two witnesses by that Authority which she got from the Kings of the earth when she and they committed fornication together What the mystery of iniquity is Whâ—â— the Kingdom or mystery of God is The killing of the two Witnesses is not a killing of the bodies of their flesh only but 〈◊〉 killing of their testimony and how The Reaâ—â—â— and whorish spirit snubs and thwarts Jesus Christ in 8. particulars CHAP. VI The Witnesses were slain long agoe have lain dead in the street of the great City three dayes and almost the half and are now upon their rising p. 85. We in these dayes are under the found of the sixth Angel or second woe Four Angels are loosed that were bound up in the great River Euphrates and what they do What the great River Euphrates signifies What is meant by Kings of the East whose way is prepared
act righteousnes chearfully The flesh and the lusts of it ruled strongly in me now holines rules in me so that I can look back and see my strong sins and lusts lie like dead enemies before me and my heart rejoyceth in the Anointing who hath given me the victory And now I see That the love the self-denial the inward rejoycing of my heart to advance God above all things is Christ the Anointing in me the hope of my future established enjoyment of God And this is my life and this my life is hid with God in the Anointed in this glory of Christ thus revealed in me and to my sight feeling that the Serpents head is broken in me in part and shall be quite broken at the resurrection at the day that my body is raised out of the dust In this I rejoyce with joy unspeakable Formerly my life and joy was bound up in creatures in riches in friends in self-satisfaction in my pride covetousnes and contents of the flesh Ah but now my life is the enjoyment of my God His wisdom I glory in His will His love His spirit of truth I glory in Not only to heare of these without by the voice of others but to feel the working dwelling and ruling in me To hear that Christ was raised from death and from the grave is joy But to see and feel Christ the Anointing raised upon me and to feel him who is the spring of life to be opened in me and to send forth sweet manifestations of God to my soul this is much more joyous and full of abundance of inward refreshments But the foul sees and feeles more of this glory within it self then it can relate in words And when once the Saints can speak this in experience then the Serpents head is broke in them the seed of the Woman and they seal to the truth of the Fathers word and now their testimony is finished And this was Pauls case while the Serpents power and head ruled in him he was a blasphemer and a persecuter as himself confessed but when the power of God appeared to break the Serpents head in him then saith he but I have obtained mercy and by the grace of God am made to preach and to acknowledge and practice that faith of God which once I endeavored to destroy But when the Witnesses had thus finished their testimony and proved the word of the Father true in their own experience then the Beast that ascended out of the bottomles pit made War against them and kil'd them Now here mind first what is the bottomles pit I conceive it is the corrupt heart and flesh of man for there is no end of the pride envy ignorant self-conceited subtilty and hurtfull nature of it against Christ the Prince of Princes and being far below God For let a man live ten thousand Million of years and the sinfulnes of his flesh will not lessen but grow worse and worse and rise higher and higher in wickednes against righteousnes and peace if Christ do but let him alone so that the depth of this pit being so far below God may be well said to be bottomles But this is spoke after the manner of men for no man can search the bottom of his heart but God knowes the full depth of it it is not a bottomles pit to him though it be a bottomles pit to men Then secondly mind That the Beast that rises up out of this bottomles pit is the wisdom and power of it branching it self forth into divers forms of Church-Government being contrary to Christ in every thing and so makes war against Gods witnesses in all their actings either inwardly or outwardly And this Beast or blind subtil hypocriticalnes of the flesh will not suffer Christ the Anointing to rule in the flesh but she will rule therein and over Christ too this is the Beast which hath his seat in every Son and Daughter of Adam Now John speaks of a smoak that rises up out of the bottomles pit and this smoak I conceive is either the inward inventions accusations and workings of the flesh within like a cloud hiding the Son of righteousnes from the soul as long as he can Or else it is the outward actings of the wisdom of the flesh in hypocrisie and provocations from men which is like an overflowing wave of powerfull wickednes which drownes the souls of men under ignorance and darknes that they know not what to do or else pufs up their minds with a vain confidence that they worship God according to his word when as it is manifest they have not so much as the letter of the word to warrant their practices and so this smoak becomes a strong delusion to them in whom the Beast reignes with power Then thirdly mind there is a King of this bottomles pit and that is Satan the spirit of darknes that rules in the children of disobedience or the Prince of the Ayre The Ayre I conceive is the element wherein the Beast or whorish spirit lives and that is either the time which God hath given her to reigne in or else the humane compulsive and coersive power exercised by Satan against Christ his Saints compelling the Saints to forsake the spirituall way of Christ and to honour the God of forces and of Silver and Gold which they know not as Daniel speaks for take away this power or let but the Angel powre out his Viall upon this Ayre and the Beast dies her time is done or accomplished So that here is the bottomles pit the corrupt flesh Then the Beast that ascendeth out of this bottomles pit and that is The wisdom of the flesh which is enmity against God And then here is the King of this bottomles pit Even Satan or the universall power of darknes that leads poor sinners captive at his will And yet these three are but one power of darknes in three discoveries fighting and making War against Christ and his testimony But the Anointed will destroy this power of darknes and translate his mysticall body into his own Kingdome of light and liberty And when they had finished their testimony the Beast shall make War against them and shall overcome them and kill them Before I proceed it is needfull to clear one Scripture of Daniel that may raise a scruple In that which I have already writ it appeares that God said the Witnesses should prophesie in sack-cloth 1260. dayes But when one Saint spake to another Saint and asked how long shall be the vision of the daily sacrifice and the transgression of desolation to give both the Sanctuary and the Host to be troden under foot The Angel answered unto 2300. dayes Then shall the Sanctuary be clensed Now this time of Daniels vision was 14. Generations except the 70. years captivity before Christ came therefore I conceive
not suffered to act in their full strength or appear out of that cursed fountain of darknesses till God pleased to let them loose therefore they were evill because bound up or imprisoned in such an evill stinking River Secondly These four Angels were evil in respect of their nature for I believe they are four spiritual powers of wickednes As first wicked craft and subtilty in the strength of it 2. Hypocrisie in the strength of it 3. Envy in the strength of it And 4. A murdering cruelty in the strength of it Now these four Angels or powers of darknes were bound up within the very body of the Serpent and not suffered to act in that violent universal strength as they do till this sixth Angel sounded And now being let loose they stir up every one in the four quarters of the earth and vex and torment you day and night for men in whom these powers rule they have no rest And men are stirred up in Armies to kill and slay But whom do they slay Not the witnesses though they think so in their heart as it is spoke of Gog and Magog but those men only who have not the Seal of God in their forehead or as it is said before the Inhabitants of the Earth And truly the strong subtil craft unparalleld hypocrisie extream envy and inbred cruelty that is expressed in the four quarters of the land of the world too against the Saints that are branded Sectaries Schismaticks Anabaptists Round-heads doth appear plain to me to be those three powerfull Angels of darknes which are let loose in the spirits of men even in that spirit of darknes that hath overspread the Earth man-kind like the over-flowing River Euphrates therefore they are evil Angels Thirdly consider how doe these Angels slay the third part of men Why truly I believe it is not their killing of their bodies only though it may be in these great troubles many are and doubtles shall be killed in that sense but it points out a worser death then that of the body for they kill the very minds and consciences of men And it is thus These four Angels shall be so powerfull in mens spirits and spread so universally over the earth of man-kind That many that are convinced of a false worship and unjust wayes that are practised generally shall out of slavish fear of men and out of shame to own God his wayes at this time are so contemptible and so generally reproached slandered and hated thaâ— a third part of men shall turn Hypocrites and practice wayes contrary to their knowledg and will say do subscribe and fight laugh scosse reproach and kill the Saints yea do any thing so they may have the flattering word of their carnall Neighbours and not be called Round-heads Anabaptists or Independants these names whereby the Saints are branded are so odious And truly these men are slain for the fearfull and unbelieving shall have their part in the lake which is the second death And every Parish through this Kingdom and the World too at this very day are full of these dead men and women But these four Angels are spiritual powers of darknes which do not appear in apparitions and visions but being let loose in mens spirits they rule and work there And the multitudes of men whom they violently stir up are called Armies of horse-men as you may read which declares their strength and their swiftnes to do hurt pointed out by the strength and swiftnes of horses Now these Armies of horse-men or multitudes of men put upon violent and unreasonable actions by these four evil Angels are the appearing cause that doth hurt and kill weak spirited men and women by over-awing them And out of the mouthes of those Armies thus set on fire there proceeded fire smoak and brimstone by which the third part of men were killed By smoak is betokened false Doctrines threatnings reproaches scoffes oppressions and bitter provocations Brimstone betokens persecution whips plunderings prisons And fire betokens fire and faggot hanging murdering or putting them to death in any kind that do not submit to the wayes of these four Angels And this is further cleared by the 19. vers. The power of this Army whereby they do hurt is in their mouths and in their tails That is they call their own inventions and lies the Doctrines of God and against them that do not submit thereunto First they give out bitter reviling language and threatning speeches to plunder imprison and kill And thereby over-aw men and make them afraid and ashamed to own God and so kill them And if this doth not do then their power is in their tails when by the Authority of the Civil Magistrate whom these four Angels have deceived they over-awe men by punishments whips prisons plunderings and death for this followes the other as the tail follows the head And therefore mind That when threatnings reproaches and bitter language goes before prisons and death followes if they can but deceive the Magistracy which is Gods Ordinance and get an Authority by craft from him so to do And thus the four Angels by their Armies deceive and kill weak men and make them out of slavish fear and bashfull shame to disown God and to say or do any thing to preserve themselves from danger And the rest of the men that were not killed by these plagues repented not That is though these Armies of men in whom these four Angels rule with violence were not themselves over-awed by this slavish fear and bashful shame because they are audacious bold and desperately confident in wicked wayes And though they do see poor weak men over-awed by them and made to do any thing not out of sincerity of heart to God but out of hypocrisie and fear to their usurped power of wickednesse They have neither piety in them to see men so enslaved but rather glorie in it neither do they repent of their own works and false Idolatrous worship which is self-invention neither indeed can they for the four evil Angels being let loose rule in them So that these that repent not of the works of their hands are the master-upholders of the Beast against God such as repent not of their pretended plat-forms and customes of pretended divine worship which have no warrant from God Such as repent not of their covetousnes after silver and gold by rich Tythes nor of their murther in reviling imprisoning and killing the Saints nor of their fornication in loving themselves riches creatures honours more then God But though they do not repent yet they shall not reign alwayes like Lords over Gods Inheritance For God hath and doth proclaim by the voice of the sixth good Angel that time to the Beast shall be no more his dayes are near done And secondly after that the spirit of life from God hath raised up the two Witnesses there were seven thousand slain
God dwels who is the light of lights that is called Heaven in the mystery And this leads us to the sanctified Humane Nature Jesus Christ in whom God dwels bodily And I beleeve this is the Heaven here spoken of So that God the Father speakes out of his beloved Sonne Jesus Christ and calls his Witnesses that have been trampled upon under the feet of them that were not in covenant with God fourty two months that is the three dayes and halfe of the Beasts reigne and bids them come up hither into the same condition of Nature Life Liberty Peace Victory Kingdome and Glory of his beloved Son Jesus Christ And this Paul having some experience of gives God thanks that had called him into his Kingdome and glory For seeing the men of the World will have no communion with these lights of God his Witnesses but mightily oppresse them and weare chem out therefore God takes them up into fellowship with himselfe and so the Anointing in the man Iesus and the Anointing in the Saints are made one with the Father and the Father entred into Iesus and the Saints so they likewise enter into the Father and partake of his rest and peace And this is Gods Kingdome even God thus manifested in flesh And so humane flesh is changed into the image of God and the vile bodies of the Saints are made glorious by the in-dwelling of the holy breathings of Almighty God Come up hither faith God into the same height of glory you shal lie no longer under the feet of the Gentiles for the appointed time is accomplished And they ascended up to heaven in a Cloud Now this Cloud is the combustions delusions oppressions and troubles which the foure evill Angels before spoken of raise up For mind and you shall see that when the sixth Angel began to blow the Trumpet the foure evill Angels were loosed out of the great River Euphrates and they went forth killing and doing hurt And thus they continued untill the Witnesses ascended up to heaven and then this second woe ceased And the third woe to the inhabitants of the earth cometh presently after as you may read So the loosing of the four evill Angels and the troubles that they stir up and the ascending up of the Witnesses into heaven were all to be acted under the sound of the sixth Angel which is the second woe By Cloud note four things First what the Cloud is Secondly it darkens the Sunne from our sight Thirdly It sends down rain Fourthly the effects that follow Now by Cloud in this spirituall sense I conceive is meant a conjunction of the seven thousand which Iohn mentions which I shall speak somthing of anone either in whole as they live in all Nations or in part as they have power in one Nation to manage the cause of the Beast by preferring the wisdome power and learning of the flesh in either upholding old corrupt formes and customes or in making new ones of pretended divine worship By reason whereof in the Second place the light of the Son of Righteousnesse Iesus Christ is hid from the generality of men where these bear sway for the immediate teachings of God must not be preached neither must any be suffered to write thereof but the seven thousand or such as they tollerate And so the wisdome of men is taught for the wisdome of God by reason whereof a dark veil is drawn over the mindes of men so that the whole world wonders after the Beast saying Who is like the Beast who is able to make warre with him Or Thirdly by Cloud may be meant the two effects that follow as first the falling of the could in a showr of rain for when the usurped authority of the seven thousand is slighted by the Saints and these Mordecaies will not bow to that proud Haman and indeed none dare encounter with the wisdome power customes formes directories and abominations of the Beast but the Saints in whom the holy breathings of God dwell and the weakest of these dares throw him the glove I say when that cloud of false witnesse is scattered it showres down threatnings oppressions prisons punishments death like a flood of water to drown the woman the Spouse of Christ upon every one that will not conform for truly the King of a fierce countenance the Prince of darknesse rules in the cloud who through policie makes craft to prosper in his hand and he destroyes the holy people mightily and then the second effect But in the Fourth place the falling of the Cloud makes men to run under some shelter And so when this Cloud of false witnesses falls either in self-seeking and false doctrines in threatnings or punishments upon all that will not conform or in forcing people to conform or in restraining people from such wayes of Divine worship â—s God hath perswaded their hearts unto and â—o taking peace from the earth In the falling of this Cloud or in this showre of rain God calls upon his two faithfull witnesses bids them come up to him shelter themselves in heaven even in the glory kingdome and beauty of Jesus Christ And they ascend up to heaven in this cloud that is God takes up his Saints to him is their refuge and shelter their life liberty and comfort he dwels in them and they dwell in him And now they live above the wisdome malice sorrows of the world in the joy rest peace of the Father as Iesus the Anointed did And their enemies beheld them that is those that were the upholders of the Beast shal be coÌ„vinced in their consciences that the Saints whom God so takes up into fellowship with himselfe though they be not bred Schollars inhumane Arts yet they are more righteous then they and at this sight they shall be offended and very angry And in the same hour there was an Earthquake By Earthquake mind two things First when God shakes down all the corrupt flesh in a Saint and treads it under his feet making that subtile proud coveteous envious and unclean Serpent his foot-stoole shaking down either more visible or lesse visible in the eye of the world old Adams building that he may set up his own new building the Anointing And this shaking is that which vnbelievers scoff make a laughing-stock at in these dayes but they can do no otherwise for they are slaves to the Serpent and he makes them do so and they will do so till God pul them out of that power of darknes But this is not the shaking onely which is pointed out by Johns vision though without this the other that follows cannot be done Therfore Secondly the Earthquake here pointed at is this When God shakes down corruption in Magistracy which the Beast brought in and so restores that ordinance of God to purity in justice and when he shakes down all false shews forms customes of
pretended divine worship that he may advance himsel to be the onely teacher of truths in the hearts of his Saints And in the effecting of this great work God shakes and will yet shake Kings Parliaments Armies Counties Kingdomes Universities humane learnings studies yea shake rich men and poore men and throwes down every thing that stands in his way opposing him in his work And this is the earthquake here spoken of which is the history of things which followes the other which is the mystery For as all outward abominations in mens practises came from the indwelling of the Beast in every mans heart so when God first shakes down and casts out the Beast out of mens hearts the outward abominations and unjust practises in church and State shake together and fall presently And truly this is one main testimony that God is shaking down the corrupt flesh in many and is in raysing of his Witnesses in regard we see so much shakings of Kingdoms Assemblies Churches and corruptions out of them which have been brought in and upheld by the Beast all the time of his Reign And in the Earth-quake the tenth part of the City Babylon fell off from the Beast and begins to submit to the Scepter of Jesus Christ and the wisdom love justice and peaceablenes of the Saints or rather of Gods indwelling and teaching of them shall appear so bright and the Government in their hands becometh so righteous more peaceable and more safe for the well-being of men then the former Customs Laws and Directories were all walking in love and justice as Members of one body Christ knit together by the same Anointing that the very enemies shall give glory to God and say his wayes and actings are more righteous then mens And then multitudes shall come in and enquire after Sion with their faces thither-wards the beauty of Sion shall be so glorious By tenth part of the City that fell in the Earth-quake I believe it is a tenth part of the Nations of the world that have been deceived by the Beast and that have acted for the Beast against Christ and wondered after the Beast for when the ten horns or ten Kingdoms that formerly had given their power to the Beast begin to hate the whore and to take back their power out of the hand of that Ecclesiastical whorish spirit the forty two months being now ended and the words of God fulfilled Then the whole ten Kingdoms shall joyn together to advance God in Christ and shall make the beastly whore desolate and naked and shall eat her flesh and burn her with fire And there is some good hopes that these three Kingdoms England Scotland Ireland though three yet united under one State-Government is the tenth part of that great City that shall first fall from the Beast and submit to Christ and then we shall see the witnesses are in rising which I believe with rejoycing that God is raising of them and that this violent storming of the Beast in this tenth part of the City Babylon shall ere long droop and hang the head like a dead man that hath no strength to strive any longer the discoveries and manifestations of God in his Saints shall come in so plentifully like a showre of Hayl that shall sweepe away all the refuge of lies before it But if this threefold Kingdom be not the tenth part nor the Land which God will honour the first of Nations in raising up his Witnesses in and in casting off their Sack-cloth here The Saints must wait but a little longer with patience upon their God for I am mightily perswaded and filled with a sweet joy in the expectation of it That there is a tenth part of the City Babylon falling off from the Beast and striving to set the Crown with shouting upon the head of Jesus Christ And in this tenth part the two witnesses must first throw off their mourning Garment and Sack-cloth but whether it shall be these three united Kingdoms or no I leave that to our Father and submit to him wishing in my heart that England Scotland and Ireland might live before God in this glory I rejoyce inwardly that this shall be the tenth part I have no doubting in my heart about it I have strong perswasions in my spirit that it shall be I greatly desire in my soul that this Land may be the tenth part Yet not my will but the will of my Father be done And as there fell in the Earth-quake the tenth part of the City so in the same Earth-quake were slain of men seaven thousand By seaven thousand I conceive are pointed out the compleat number of those false Witnesses for seaven implies a perfect number whereby the Beast hath deceived the people so that all false Prophets false Ministers either of Justice of Divinity which have reigned with the Beast shall be destroyed with the Beast in this Earth-quake or as John speaks in Revelations 19. in that great battel of God-Almighty the beast was taken and with him the false Prophet that wrought miracles before him with which he deceived them that had the marke of the Beast and them that worshipped his Image These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone That which he called the seaven thousand in the eleventh Chapter he calls the false Prophet in this nineteenth for it is one and the same conjunction of power that doth mannage the cause of the Beast in his severall shapes in his three dayes and half I do not believe that Kingly Authority or Parliamentary Authority is reckoned in the number of the seaven thousand for these two Authorities are Gods Ordinances or the higher Powers which God hath ordained for to preserve peace in the World But all usurped powers from these are Clergical Ecclesiastical Classical which are stolen by craft from those kings of the earth on purpose to make war with the Saints and to stand up against the Prince of Princes these are the seaven thousand and this is the false Prophet that must be broken without hand even the bright appearing of God in Saints shall consume that Beast And by the number of seven thousand as God points out the compleat number of such â—as do mannage the cause of the Beast so he points out that the number that shall be deceived are not a few in the rank of hundreds but many very many in the rank of thousands so many as he calls them the whole World but all that seaven thousand or compleat number that upholds that cause of the Beast are to be slain in the Earth-quake But this slaying is not meant the killing of their bodies though it may possibly fall out that in so great troubles of he world some may be slain in that sense For their slaying points out the slaying of their Cause the destroying of he Beast with all the wisdom Authority