the end of the world but the Angel saith the seventh Trumpet is to sound more days than one and the mystery of God is to be at the beginning of them Rev. 1â— 7. Lastly it is not sense to say the end of the world shall be finished for then an end shall have an end but it is good sense to say the conversion of the Jews shall be finished or shall have an end that is an end of consummation not of annihilation as the world shall Rev. 20. 11. CHAP. XIII The Prophecy of the first Beast and his rising and success against the Jewish Nation 1. THEN I saw a wild Beast representing a new Empire which shall be raised by the Devil out of the people and Nations of the world which shall be then in arms consisting of the same seven Kingly heads that the Dragon had and the same ten horns but with Crowns added to them which they had not before 2. And this Empire shall be as cruel against the Christian Jews as ever the Greek or Persian or Babylonian Empires were heretofore to that Nation and cannot sufficiently be deciphered by one cruel Beast alone but by variety of cruel Beasts made up together in one for it shall have the body of a speckled Leopard as the Greek Empire had and the feet of a cruel Bear as the Persian Empire had and the mouth of a devouring Lion as the Babylonian Empire had and to the making up of this Empire the Devil shall resign unto him his Militia his Imperial Throne and secular authority 3. But before he be established in his Throne there shall be some opposition made against the setling and uniting of this Empire and in the opposition one of his seven heads shall receive a wound by a sword to all mens thinking unto death but his deadly wound shall be healed and after that there shall be no more opposition but all the Country far and near shall admire at it and yield subjection to the Beast without resistance 4. And they shall worship the Beast as the substitute of the Dragon and in so doing they shall worship not the Beast only but the Dragon also and in worshipping of him they ascribe unto him titles of transcendent honour saying who is so potent as the Beast who is able to war with him 5. And he shall take upon him and it shall be permitted to him to speak great and proud things amounting to blasphemy and he shall have power to continue three years and a half in great prosperity and after they are past he shall decay from day to day and never come into prosperity any more 6. And he shall open his mouth wide unto blasphemy and shall not be afraid to blaspheme the God of Israel and his name and his Church and the Jewish Nation 7. And he shall be permitted by God to make War against the remnant of the Church of Israel that shall not flie into the Wilderness with their brethren and to overcome them in the War and he shall have power over all kindreds and tongues and nations far and near to make them joyn with him and assist him in this War 8. And all the Inhabitants of the Earth both far and near shall worship him and yield subjection to him and they that shall so do are such whose names were never written in the Book of life which Jesus Christ hath purchased by his Blood for all that believe in him 9. Let every man take heed how he joyneth with the Beast and taketh part with him against the Saints whom he warreth with 10. He that leadeth any of Gods Saints into captivity shall himself go into captivity he that slayeth any of his people with the sword shall himself be slain by the sword which maketh much for the patience and the Faith of the Saints and is a great encouragement thereunto and they need not use unlawful means for their deliverance or renounce their Faith to save their lives let them believe and trust in God and wait with patience for his help and he will surely visit them and work Deliverance for them The Prâ—phecy of the second Beast and his Actings and Atchievements for the settling of the first Beast 11. And I saw another Beast which shall arise from among the people of the Earth which live a civil life as the other did from the men that were in Arms and he shall have but one Head and on that one Head but two Horns of no great strength and magnitude but very small short and feeble and can do no hurt therewith but he shall speak like a Dragon and be a false Prophet or Magician as wicked Balaam was and shall do more Mischief by his Witch-craft than the other by his Arms. 12. And he shall be a chief Officer of the first Beast to manage his Affairs in his behalf and he shall execute all the secular or civil Power and Authority of the first Beast in his behalf and he shall cause the Inhabitants of the Earth where the Beast doth live to worship and yield Obeisance to the first Beast who received a deadly Wound at his first arising and was healed thereof 13. And he shall do great signs and wonders and one of those wonders is that he shall cause fire to come down from Heaven in the sight of men as the true Prophets 〈…〉 Lord have done and as the Devil himself hath also done 14. And he shall deceive the Inhabitants of the earth through the signs and wonders which shall be given him to do in behalf of the other Beast and one of these wonders whereby he shall deceive them shall be this that he shall say to the Inhabitants of the earth where the Beast doth live that they should make a Molten or a Carved Image in honor of the Beast which had the mortal wound of a Sword and did live 15. And he shall have power to give not life but breath to the graven or molten Image of the Beast in so much that the Molten or Graven Image of the Beast shall speak and cause and appoint and command that as many as will not fall down and worship it shall be killed 16. And he shall cause all both small and great rich and poor bond and free to take an engagement or an oath to be true and faithful to the other Beast and receive a visible mark in their right hand or in their foreheads whereby it may be known that they have so done 17. And he shall take special order with the Inhabitants of the earth that no man shall buy or sell any victuals or commodities save he that hath taken the engagement or the oath to be true and faithful to the first Beast and hath received a visible mark in his right hand or in his forehead in token that he hath so done and this mark which he shall receive is nothing else but the name of the first
interval between I mean between the death of the one and the rising of the other and so that which is spoken of the beast ch 11. belongs to the account of the sixth Trumpet and that which is spoken of him in the chapters following to the account of the seventh 2 Quest. Whether this Prophecy were fulfilled in the Reign of Domitian Ans. 1. This Prophecy was not revealed to John till the Reign of Domitian was well nigh over as both Irenaeus and Jerom and others do testifie and therefore it doth not Prophesie of what was to be done in his Reign for if it did it would have been revealed sooner for Domitian did not live two years much less three years and a half after this Prophecy was revealed 2. This Prophecy doth belong unto the seventh Trumpet and therefore shall succeed all the Prophecies of the former Trumpets but Domitian did not live to see any of the former Trumpets finished and they with whom I deal in this question confess themselves that the Prophecy ch 11. was not fulfilled till the time of Adrian who began his Reign after Domitian twenty years 3. By the beast is not meant the Idol Worship as they would have it but a Kingdom with its King for by that word is meant both and sometimes that word denotes the King as Rev. 17. 11 12. Dan. 7. 17. and sometimes besides the King it denotes the Kingdom as Rev. 17. 3. Dan. 7. 23. and so 't is taken in this place and besides this the Idol-worship was set up at Rome before Domitians Reign began and therefore John doth not Prophesie of the rising of it in the time of his Reign to which may be added that the beast was to continue 42 months but the Idol-worship did continue longer 4. The head which John saw as it were wounded to death is not the Capitol as they suppose but one of the Kings of the Empire as appears by the acception of that word Rev. 17. 10. And besides this the head was wounded by a Sword v. 14. but the Capitol was burnt by fire and that fire was caused by Lightning from Heaven To which may be added that the head here wounded was wounded but once but the Capitol was burnt in the time of Vitellius and rebuilt in the time of Vespasian and after that burnt again in the time of Titus and rebuilt by Domitian and this healing of the beasts wound was a matter of admiration but the rebuilding of the Capitol after it was burnt was no matter of admiration but a feasible thing 5. It was given to this beast to make War with the Saints and to overcome them v. 7. which words do imply resistance on the Saints part but in the persecution of Domitian there was no resistance on the Saints part the Christians in his days thought it better to fly than to fight 6. By the second beast v. 11. is meant some famous witch or other such a one as the Devil never had the like since he was a Devil but this witch cannot be Apollonius Tyanaeus as they suppose for neither he nor any other since his time could do such feats as this witch is said to do v. 12 13 14 15 c. 7. Domitianus Apollonio infestus fuit Apollonius Domitiano saith Grotius de Antichristo pag. 77. Domitian was a hateful enemy to Apollonius and Apollonius to Domitian but the false Prophet here spoken of was the chiefest Friend the beast had and used all the art he could to establish him in his throne v. 12. 14 15 16 17. Rev. 16. 13. 8. Neither the beast nor the witch here spoken of do die a bodily death as other men do but are both cast into Hell alive as appears Rev. 19 20. but Domitian and Apollonius died both of them a bodily death and Domitian died first and Apollonius Tyanaeus afterward the one died Anno Christi 98 the other Anno Christi 99. according to Baronius see Prideaux History pag. 198. 3 Quest. Whether the Prophecy of the first Beast be fulfilled in the Papacy and be meant of them Ans. 1. The first beast is a secular power but the Pope is an ecclesiastical person 2. If the Pope be the seventh head of the first beast who then is the seventh head of the Dragon for he had so many heads before the beast began Rev. 12. 3. 3. If the Pope be the seventh head of the first beast who be the other six Kings Consuls Dictators Decemvirs Military Tribunes and Emperors of Rome till Constantines time were all of them Pagans but if the Prophecy were fulfilled in the Papacy all the seven heads should be Papists else the Prophecy cannot be fulfilled in them 2. If the six first heads be Pagans and the seventh head be Popes the beast is more Pagan than Papist and the Prophecy is not fulfilled wholly in the Pagans nor wholly in the Papists but partly in the one and partly in the other but most of all in the Pagans 3. It cannot be that the six first heads of the beast should be Kings Consuls Dictators Decemvirs Military Tribunes and Emperours for five of these were past before the Prophecy was revealed the Emperours then were but the beast which John saw rise out of the Sea had seven heads whereof none of them were past none of them were present but all of them were then to come for after the Visions in the three first chapters John had no more Visions of things present much less of things past but only of things that were to come as the Angel told him Rev. 4. 1. Come up hither and I will shew thee things which must be hereafter therefore not heads which were then past nor heads which were then present but heads which were then to come and if five of these heads were then past one were then present it had been sufficient to have presented unto John the head that was then to come and no more And if it be said that the Angel speaking of these heads ch 17. saith five of them are fallen one is and the seventh is not yet come to this I answer that the rising of that beast is not presented unto John in that Vision but the destruction of the Whore which sits upon him and when 't is said that five of them are fallen this is not to be understood Historically of what was past before the Apostles days nor of what was present in his days but prophetically of what should be past before and what should be present at the execution of that Prophecy 4. The beast hath not only seven heads but also ten horns and ten crowns upon them and that at one time and not successively one after another but where shall we find so many horns in the Papacy and ten crowns upon them at one time and not successively one after another 5. The beast was like a Leopard and his feet as the feet of a Bear and his mouth as the mouth of a Lyon
by the Image The third Synchronism is of the great Where or mystical Babylon with that same Beast which hath seven heads and ten Horns Ans. If this were meant of the Beast ch 17. it were true and not to be denied but it being meant of the Beast ch 13. it is false for that Beast outlives the Whore and Wars against him that sate upon the White Horse that is against Christ after the Whore is destroyed Rev. 19. 19 20. And the Synchronism doth suppose these Beasts to be all one of which more hereafter The fourth Synchronism is of the 144000 Sealed Virgins with the Whore of Babylon and the Beast Ans. Five Arguments are brought to prove their Synchronising The three first as he confesseth are insufficient to make up a full and entire contemporising for they may all consist but with a partial The fourth Argument is brought to prove a total contemporising but it comes short of it as the three other did for though these Virgins be antistoechal to the Beast and all his followers yet this is only at his declination and not before and though they be the Servants of God and wear his Livery and have his name written in their foreheads yet God had other Servants besides these which had to deal with the Beast and he with them before these had and they be the remnant of the womans seed Rev. 12. 17. Rev. 13. 7. but these Virgins advance against him afterward Rev. 14. 1 2. It is true if God had had no more Servants to oppose the Beast but these only then must these have been antistoechal to the Beast throughout from his first breathing to his last gasp but God had other Servants to oppose the Beast before these did and they are the remnant of the womans seed as was said before therefore these are actually antistoechal to him afterward when the other have done their work and not before The last Argument speaks expresly of a final contemporising and no more which I grant to be true though I dislike the medium which is brought to prove it The truth of the Synchronism which we have in hand is this the Virgin company of the Sealed are antecedaneous to the Beast and false Prophet for they are Sealed in the time of the sixth Seal which is before the times of the Beast and false Prophet do commence but yet they advance not against him nor have to deal with him nor he with them until his 42 months be ended and then they step forth against him and get the Victory over him Rev. 15. 2. And as for the Whore of Babylon we have a Prophecy of her final ruine which is to come to pass in the time of the seventh Vial Rev. 17. 1. but of her first beginning when she began to be a Whore we want a Prophecy in the Revelation to inform us of it The fifth is a consectary of the general Synchronism of all hitherto mentioned Ans. His inference is that they all Synchronise my inference is from what I have said and proved that only the conculcation of the holy City 42 months and the Witnesses in the mean time Prophecying in Sackcloth 1260 days are Synchronals but all the rest succeed one another The whole Prophecy of the twelfth Chapter shall succeed the Prophecy in the eleventh Chapter the Prophecy in the thirteenth Chapter shall succeed the Prophecy of the twelfth Chapter the Prophecy of the fourteenth Chapter shall succeed the Prophecy of the thirteenth Chapter and the Prophecy in the seventeenth Chapter concerning the fall of Babylon shall be the last that shall come to pass of all that have been hitherto spoken of The sixth Synchronism is of the inner Court measured with the Reed of God and of the lying in wait and the Battel of the seven headed Dragon with Michael concerning the Childbirth of the woman in travel Ans. To which I answer 1. That they are not the immediate Antecedents of contemporaries for the woman in the Wilderness Rev. 12. 14. the Beast with ten Horns Rev. 13. 5. and the outer Court Rev. 11. 2. do not contemporate but succeed each other as hath been proved in my answer to the first Synchronism 2. Though it be true that the womans Travel and the Dimication of the Dragon with Michael do contemporate and the flight of the Woman into the Wilderness immediately succeed them Rev. 12. 6 13 14. yet the seven headed Beast restored doth not immediately succeed the Duel in which Michael over-threw the Dragon for the Dragon doth not immediately raise the Beast so soon as he is cast out of Heaven unto the Earth but before he attempt such a Work he first of all persecutes the Woman Rev. 12. 13. then the Woman flies into the Wilderness vers 14. after that he sends a Floud of Water after her to carry her away vers 15. then the Earth swallows up the floud of Water vers 16. and when all this is done then he leaves the Wilderness and goes into the Sea from whence he raises up the Beast to War against the Remnant of the Womans Seed and not before vers 17 18. Rev. 13. 1. 3. That the measuring of the inner Court shall precede the conculcation of the outer Court I grant and that the forty two Months in which the Gentiles shall tread it under foot begin when the measuring of the inner Court is ended but that the measuring of this inner Court shall synchronise with the Womans Travel and the Dimication of Michael with the Dragon I deny and that because the conculcation of the outer Court and the Habitation of the Woman in the Wilderness do not synchronise but succeed each other as hath been proved in my Answer to the first synchronism And therefore as the measuring of the inner Court shall precede the conculcation of the outer so they both shall precede the Womans Travel and as the Womans Travel shall precede her flight and habitation in the Wilderness so the habitation of the Woman in the Wilderness shall precede the Beast and all his Actings against the Remnant of her Seed Lastly Whereas he talks of a repeated Prophecy he should have first proved a repeated Prophecy before he had said so much of it or built an Argument upon it for there is no repeated Prophecy in the Revelation And when the Angel saith Oportet te iterum prophetare thou must prophesie again Rev. 10. 11. the meaning is not that he must begin a new Prophecy ab ovo from the first Original repeating the same times over again but the meaning is that he must prophesie of other things and of other times which shall succeed the former and which he had not spoken of before The seventh Synchronism is of the seven Vials and of the Beast and of Babylon inclining to ruine Answ. And this Synchronism I grant to be true for the seven Vials are the seven last plagues Rev. 15. 1. and they fall upon the men which have the
time of their Sealing not the race of the Sealed but the time of their Sealing Now their Sealing is in the time of the sixth Seal before any of the Trumpets do begin therefore these Palm-bearers precede the seventh Trumpet and the first to boot The second Argument is that they be Citizens of the new Jerusalem Ans. But in the sixth Seal under which they are presented unto John they are not come to that estate at that time their bodies being not then raised from the Grave their Souls being then in Heaven in the state of bliss at such time as the Sealed ones are Sealed on earth Other things there be in these Synchronisms which for brevity sake I omit to speak unto By that which hath been said the Reader may perceive there be no such Synchronisms as he would have except those which belong to one and the same Prophecy as the two Beasts in the thirteenth Chapter do otherwise the Prophecies succeed one another and shall come to pass in order not as they be written but as they were revealed and this is as sure rule to go by and gives great Light to the Exposition of the Prophecies for such an Exposition must be put on each Prophecy as to make it succeed the Prophecy that went before and precede the Prophecie which follows after the same order to be observed in Execution as was in Revelation And here the Reader may take notice 1. That every one of these Synchronisms is to be understood of a total not of a partial Contemporation for some of them are true of a partial Contemporation as that the sealed Virgins do contemporate with the Beast but none of them of a total 2. That for the most part things are set down in writing in such order as they were revealed and there be but very few things that be set down otherwise and they be such as belong to one and the same Prophecy and were presented to John both together but could not be set down in writing both together but immediately one after another As for instance the Travel of the Woman with Child Chap. 12. and the watching of the Dragon to devour her Child as soon as it was born were presented unto John both together and shall come to pass both together but he could not set them down in writing both together but immediately one after another So the watching of the Dragon and the Battail of Michael with him were presented to John both together and shall come to pass both together but could not be set down in writing both together but immediately one after another unless it were in Colums in this manner And there appeared a great wonder in Heaven a Woman cloathed with the Sun and the Moon under her Feet and upon her Head a Crown of twelve Stars And she being with child cryed travelling in birth and pained to be delivered Rev. 12. 1 2. And there appeared another wonder in Heaven and behold a great Red Dragon having seven Heads and ten Hornes and seven Crowns upon his Heads And his Tail drew the third part of the Stars of Heaven and did cast them to the Earth and the Dragon stood before the VVoman which was ready to be Delivered for to devour her Child as soon as it was born Vers. 3 4. And there was War in Heaven Michael and his Angels fought against the Dragon and the Dragon fought with his Angels and prevailed not neither was theâ—â— place found any more in Heaven And the great Red Dragon was cast out that Old Serpent called the Devil and Satan which deceiveth the whole world he was cast out into the Earth and his Angels were cast out with him Vers. 7 8 9. Unless it be in this manner these things could not be set down in writing together but one behind another and in such a case as this things are not set down in writing in some places in such order as they were revealed and they are such as belong to one and the same Prophecy but in other cases where Prophecies are distinct one from another and concern different matters they are set down in writing in such order as they were revealed and shall come to pass in the same order as they were revealed not any thing of another nature or belonging to another Prophecy coming between See more of these Synchronisms Chap. 11. q. 1. Chap. 12. q. 2. Chap. 13. q. 1. Chap. 14. q. 1 Chap. 16. q. 1. CHAP. XI The conclusion of the 〈◊〉 Trumpet or the second part thereof 1. ANd there was put into my hand a Reed like unto a Rod to measure withal and the Angel that gave it me stood by and said unto me Arise and measure the Temple and the inner Court and them that worship therein whereby I knew that a Temple and an inner Court should be built at the Execution of this Prophecy at Jerusalem for the people of the Jews to worship in 2. But the Court which is without the Temple said he unto me leave out and measure not whereby I knew that it should not be built and the reason of it is because it shall be given to the Gentiles to inhabit and Jerusalem shall be trodden under Foot by the Gentiles three years and an half after the Temple and inner Court shall be finished 3. And as soon as the Temple and the inner Court shall be built I will give them to my two Witnesses whom I will raise up of the Jewish Nation and they shall Prophesie therein by immediate Inspiration three years and a half with good success cloathed in Priestly Garments as Eliah's and John Baptist 's were made Sack-cloath 4. These be two anointed ones as Josua and Zerubbabel were and they be also two Candlesticks standing for or before the God of the earth to receive Commandments from him and impart them to the People and they be also so called to signifie the good success of their Ministery which is to lay the Foundation of the Jews Conversion which shall be brought to pass not by might nor by power but by the Spirit of the Lord. 5. And if any one will hurt them or do them any harm before the three years and a half allotted to their Prophecying shall be ended they shall call for fire from Heaven as Eliah did and it shall presently fall upon them and devour them And I say again if any one will hurt them or do them any harm before the three years and a half allotted to their Prophecying be expired in such a manner as was said before shall he be killed 6. These have power to shut Heaven as Eliah had that it rain not in the days of their Prophecy for three years and a half as it did not in the days of his they have also power over waters to turn them into blood as Moses did in Egypt and to smite the earth with all manner of earthly Plagues so
if a mystical year be a thousand years two mystical years must be two thousand years and half a mystical year half a thousand years and then we are gone beyond the number but if by a mystical year be meant a hundred years then two mystical years must be two hundred years and half a mystical year half a hundred years and then we are far short of the number Such inconveniences do they fall into which turn the Scripture into mysteries and make a mystical sense of a Revelation Lastly a thousand years and upward is a long time but by 1260 days is meant a short time yea the whole time of Satans abode upon the earth from the time he is cast out of Heaven is but a short time as appears v. 12. and yet that time is much more than the 1260 days we speak of 3. Quest. Whether this Prophecy were fulfilled in the Reign of Nero Ans. 1. This Prophecy was not revealed to John till after Nero's Reign in the time of Domitian one of his successours as hath been proved ch 6. q. 1. therefore it doth not prophesie of what was done in his Reign 2. This Prophecy doth belong unto the seventh Trumpet in which the mystery of God shall come to pass as hath been proved q. 1. but Nero's reign did not reach unto the seventh Trumpet 3. This Prophecy shall succeed the Prophecy of the two witnesses as hath been also proved q. 2. but that Prophecy of the two witnesses is long after the Reign of Nero as they with whom I dispute in this Question do confess for they say it came to pass in the Reign of Adrian 4. By the parturition of this Woman is meant the national conversion of some people or other Now there were some persons converted to the Faith in the Reign of Nero but what is that to the national conversion of a people The national conversion of the Romans came not to pass till the days of Constantine which was long afterward 5. The first general persecution of the Church was in the days of Nero and if this Prophecy should be meant of it the persecution spoken of in this place should be the first but the persecution in the fifth Seal was before this Rev. 6. 9 10 11. 6. In Nero's persecution many were slain for professing of the Faith and amongst them Peter was one and Paul another but in the persecution here spoken of not any one was slain the Dragons power was too weak as appears vers 4 5 6. 13 14 15 16. Lastly after the parturition of this Woman the Dragon knowes he hath but a short time but since the days of Nero to this day the Dragon hath had a long time and how much more is yet to come before the day of Judgement who can tell 4. Quest. Whether this Prophecy be meant of the conversion of the Jews Ans. 1. The Woman here spoken of had upon her head a Crown of twelve Stars and who should they be but the twelve Tribes of Israel 2. The national Church of Rome which some suppose to be the Woman here meant was not converted till the days of Constantine all the time before that she was in Travail and when she was converted in his time she did not flie into the Wilderness as the Woman here doth but was advanced to great honour and prosperity in the World and the head of that Church was the Emperour himself 3. The Dragon with seven heads and ten horns which some suppose to be the Pagan Roman Empire did no more persecute the Roman Church after she was converted in the days of Constantine but as soon as that Church was converted that Empire wholly ceased as Pagan and became Christian and persecution ceased with it but here the case is otherwise for as soon as the Dragon is cast forth of Heaven to the Earth the persecution of the Woman doth begin 4. We read Dan. 12. 1. And at that time shall Michael stand up the great Prince which standeth for the Children of thy people and there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a Nation even to that same time and at that time thy people shall be delivered c. Now who be meant by Daniels people but the Jews and who is meant by the Woman here spoken of but Daniels people whom Michael standeth for 5. What doth the Angel mean by the mystery of God Rev. 10. 7. but the conversion of the Jews And when shall that mystery be finished but when the seventh Angel begins to sound And when doth this Woman fall in Travail but at the same time too And if it be said that by the mystery of God is meant the end of the world and the second coming of our Lord as Doctor Mayer doth expound it To this I answer 1. That the mystery of God there spoken of is the conversion of some Church or other and whaâ— Church can we imagine is left unconverted till the seventh Trumpet but the Jews only 2. The conversion of the Gentiles is called a mystery Eph. 3. 3. 4. 6. Col. 1. 26. and so is the conversion of the Jews too Rom. 11. 25. But now the conversion of the Gentiles is already and the Apostle speaks of it in both those places as a thing then in being but the conversion of the Jews is yet to come and when shall it be finished but at the beginning of the seventh Trumpet which is the time the Woman here spoken of falls in Travail 3. The conversion of the Jews goes before the coming of our Lord and that which hinders or keeps back the coming of our Lord is the non-conversion of that Nation and that which expedites and hastens the coming of our Lord is the conversion of that Nation as St. Peter saith in two places Act. 3. 19 20 21. 2 Pet. 3. 12. and seeing in this Prophecy of the seventh Trumpet is mention made of the coming of Christ Rev. 19. 11. c. We may well conclude the conversion of the Jews to be meant in this place which is to go before it 4. Where shall we find the end of the world or the second coming of our Lord called a mystery The Incarnation is so called 1 Tim. 3. 16. but where the end of the world or the second coming of our Lord is so called it concerns them to shew which do affirm it 5. The mystery which the Angel meant is declared by God to his servants the Prophets in the Old Testament and what do they speak of more than the conversion of the Jews Esa. 11. 11 12. Esa. 14. 1 2 3. Esa. 27. 12 13. Jer. 23. 7 8. Jer. 31. 27 28. Jer. 32. 37 38. Jer. 46. 27 28. Ezek. 37. 16 17. Hos. 3. 4 5. Joel 3. 1. Amos 9. 11. 14 15. Zach. 8. 20 21 22. with many more the like 6. The Objection doth suppose the seventh Trumpet is to sound but one day and that one day is to be
that day and hour knoweth no man no not the Angels of Heaven but my Father only Mat. 24. 30. And yet such inconvenienâ—es do follow from this interpretation 7. Will you know the truth of this matter and be no more deceived with mystical expositions then take it briefly thus These 42 months be three years and a half and no more and all this time the Beast is in prosperity and makes War against the Church of Israel with good success but as soon as this is over the Beasts adversity doth begin and in the fourteenth Chapter the Angels make a slaughter of him and in the sixteenth Chapter the Vials of Gods wrath fall upon him in his own Dominions and in the nineteenth Chapter Christ comes himself in person and destroyes him and makes a final end of him v. 20 21. Ob. The sixth Trumpet is before the seventh but the Beast here spoken of doth War against the Witnesses in the sixth Trumpet before the Prophecy of the Woman and the Dragon doth begin therefore he is not raised in the seventh Trumpet after the Prophecy of the Woman and the Dragon have an end Ans. This objection were something if the Beast that Wars against the Witnesses ch 11. and the Beast spoken of in this Chapter were the same but what if they be not the same what 's become of the objection then Now that these Beasts be not the same may be proved by these reasons 1. That Beast ch 11. ascends out of the bottomless Pit Rev. 11. 7. but this in the thirteenth Chapter out of the Sea v. 1. and the bottomless Pit in the Revelation is never taken for the Sea or the element of Water but for a deep hole in the element of the earth Rev. 9. 1 2. 11. Rev. 20. 1. 3. 2. That Beast hath seven heads and five of them fall and never rise again Rev. 17. 10. and this Beast hath seven heads too and but one of them is wounded and that wound is healed again Rev. 13. 3. 3. That Beast hath ten horns but no Crowns upon them Rev. 17. 3. and this Beast hath ten horns too and ten Crowns upon them which the other hath not Rev. 13. 1. 4. That Beast hath a woman riding on him Rev. 17. 3. but this Beast arose out of the Sea but no woman riding on him Rev. 13. 1. 5. This Beast hath another Beast with two horns to assist him Rev. 13. 11 12. but that Beast hath no other Beast that we read of to assist him 6. That Beast is red of a Scarlet colour all the body over Rev. 17. 3. but the body of this Beast is speckled like a Leopard the feet like a Bears feet and the mouth like a Lyons mouth Rev. 13. 2. 7. That Beast is raised twice Rev. 17. 8. but this Beast though wounded yet doth rise but once Rev. 13. 1. 8. The Throne of that Beast is Babylon Rev. 17. 5. but the Throne of this Beast is some other place as may appear if we compare Rev. 16. 10. 19. 9. This Beast hath a puissant Army and that immediately after Babylon is destroyed Rev. 19. 19 20. which cannot well be if the Babylonish Beast and this Beast be all one 10. That Beast hath an eighth head which in some respects is to succeed the seventh Rev. 17. 11. but this Beast hath no such eighth head which in any wise is to succeed the seventh Compare we these things together and it may very well be questioned whether the Beasts be the same or no. 2. Suppose the Beast be the same in both places yet unless the head be the same too the objection fails in that respect also for the Beast hath seven heads in all and one of them may War against the Witnesses in the sixth Trumpet and another head be raised in the seventh Trumpet Yea let us go a little further and suppose the head be the same too in both places yet this will not prevail neither for that head may be deposed in the sixth Trumpet before the Prophecy of the woman and the Dragon doth begin and be raised again in the seventh Trumpet to War against the womans seed after the Prophecy in the former Chapter hath an end Look into ch 17. v. 8. and you shall find the Beast is raised twice The Beast which thou sawest was and is not and shall ascend out of the bottomless Pit and go into perdition Here you see is a time in which the Beast was and this time may be the sixth Trumpet Here is next a time in which the Beast is not and this time may be at the beginning of the seventh or at the exit of the sixth before the Prophecy of the woman and the Dragon doth begin Here is thirdly a time when the Beast shall ascend out of the bottomless Pit and be again and this may be the time spoken of in this chapter after the Prophecy in the former chapter hath an end Now of these two answers the Reader hath his liberty to choose which he liketh best but were I to choose my self I would choose the first before the second and that for that very reason which is urged in the objection for the Beast hath a being and doth War against the Witnesses in the sixth Trumpet therefore he is not raised or begins to be in the seventh So that it doth not follow that the Prophecies shall not come to pass in order as they were revealed or that the Prophecy of this chapter shall not succeed the Prophecy in the former chapter but it rather follows that the Beasts be not the same as was said before Ob. The Kingdom of the Beast hath a final end with the sixth Trumpet Rev. 11. 14. and therefore the Prophecies shall not come to pass in order as they were revealed nor the Prophecy of this Chapter succeed the Prophecy of the former Chapter Ans. 1. It may be questioned whether this Beast and that in ch 11. be the same as was said before 2. Whether they be the same or no I deny the Kingdom of the beast hath a final end with the sixth Trumpet and that for these reasons 1. Because we read of his Acts afterward ch 17. 2. Because Babylon is not destroyed till then 3. Because the City spoken of ch 11. is not Babylon but Jerusalem it is not the seat of the beast but of the two Witnesses 4. The tenth part of the City falls and no more Rev. 11. 13. 5. Seven thousand men are slain and no more and what is that to a final destruction of the beast 6. It is not said that the beast was among them 7. Suppose he were among them and also slain with them yet all this will not put an end to the Kingdom of the beast but to one head only for the beast hath seven heads in all and put the case that one of them doth die in the time of the sixth Trumpet yet another may succeed him in the seventh there being some
Rev. 13. 2. Now a Leopard was the emblem of the Greek Monarchy a Bear the emblem of the Persian Monarchy and a Lyon the emblem of the Babylonian Monarchy Dan. 7. 4 5 6. and therefore this beast is made up of all the three partly of the Greek partly of the Persian and partly of the Babylonian Empires but the Papacy doth consist of none of these for they were secular Monarchies in the East but the Papacy is a spiritual Monarchy in the West 6. One of the Beasts heads was as it were wounded to death and his deadly wound was healed Rev. 13. 3. but when was any head so wounded in the Papacy and afterward healed and who should that Popish head be It cannot be said that this was done when the Dragon was dethroned and cast forth of Heaven for the beast was not then in being and not one head only but all the Dragons heads were cast out of Heaven with him It cannot be said that this was done when Constantine became Christian for that was before the Papacy did begin and there was not any Popish head wounded then nor any Popish head healed at that time And thirdly the meaning is not that one head was wounded and another head was healed but the meaning is that one head was wounded and the same head was healed Now the Emperors were one head and the Popes another head and it cannot be said that the Emperors were healed when the Popes came up in their room no more than it can be said that the Kings were healed when the Consuls did succeed them or that the Consuls were healed when they were put down and the Dictators did succeed them and suppose the Popes should be put down and the Emperors come up again it cannot be said that the Popes wound was healed by that means 7. The beast was to continue 42 months Rev. 13. 5. that is three years and a half as hath been proved in the former questions Now these 42 months are not the time of the beasts continuance but the time of his prosperity and no more but the Pope hath lived in prosperity more than 42 months and many more he is like to live and therefore he is not the beast that here is spoken of 8. They that understand this Prophecy of the Papacy do confess that the Pope is not the first beast but the second and they understand by the first beast the secular power of Rome and by the second the Ecclesiastical and yet in reckoning up the seven heads of the first beast they make the Pope one and who the seven heads should be and leave the Pope out they cannot tell 4 Quest. Whether the Prophecy of the second Beast be fulfilled in the Papacy and be meant of them Ans. 1. The second beast is a secular power as the first beast is and a beast in Scripture is never taken for any other power than a secular Dan. 7. 3 4 5 6 7. 17. 23. but the Pope is an Ecclesiastical power not a secular 2. If the Pope be the second beast who then is the seventh head of the first beast for they be two distinct persons as appears Rev. 13. 11 12. Rev. 16. 13. Rev. 19. 20. Rev. 20. 10. 3. The second beast doth exercise all the power of the first beast before him or in his behalf v. 12. Now that power is a secular power for that beast is a secular beast as all confess Now what beast is there in the World whose secular power the Pope doth exercise in his behalf This the Pope never did it is too mean for his supremacy who thinks himself above all Kings and Princes in the World to exercise the power of another in his behalf neither will he ever do it except he cease to be a Pope and become a Lay-man 4. The second beast doth great wonders so that be maketh fire come down from heaven upon earth in the sight of men v. 13. and when did the Pope do this and what should this fire be It cannot be the holy Ghost as some would have it for he is not at the beasts command as this fire is and 't is a wicked thing for any man to think that this wicked Beast can bring the Holy Ghost down from Heaven when he will It cannot be meant of Excommunication as others would have it for that is no wonder as this fire is but a common thing and a spiritual duty incumbent on the Bishops and Pastors of the Church which are not Papists It remains then that this fire is true material fire as that which fell on Jobs cattel was Job 1. 16. and this may be done by art Magick and is one of the great wonders of the second Beast that he can make fire come down from Heaven upon earth in the sight of men to bring them in subjection to the first Beast which was never yet effected nor attempted by the Pope and his Clergy to bring men in subjection to a secular power for which end it is effected here but is yet to be expected 5. The second Beast saith to the Inhabitants of the earth that they should make an Image to the Beast which had the wound of a Sword and did live And he had power to give breath unto the Image of the Beast that the Image of the Beast should both speak and cause that as many as would not worship the Image of the Beast should be killed v. 14 15. And when did the Pope do this What Emperor is there in the World whose Image the Pope caused to be made unto him When did he give breath to such an Image And when did he make such an Image speak and command that as many as would not worship it should be killed and what should this Image be but a Molten or a Carved Image as Nebuchadnezzars Image was Look we all the Scripture over and we shall never find an Image made by man as this Image of the Beast is taken for any other Image than a Molten or a carved Image as Nebuchadnezzars Image was Dan. 3. 1 2 c. and because the Pope never did this the Prophecy is not fulfilled in him 6. The second Beast causeth all both small and great rich and poor free and bond to receive a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads and that no man might buy or sell save he that had the mark or the name of the Beast or the number of his name v. 16 17. And vvhen was this fulfilled in the Papacy To this 't is said that this mark is nothing else but the promise of obedience to which I answer 1. That the Beasts mark is something else besides the Promise of obedience to the Beast for the promise of obedience is a common thing between King and Subject all the World over but the mark of the Beast is peculiar to the Beast alone 2. The promise of obedience is made unto the Beast but the mark of the Beast
is received from the Beast not imposed on the Beast v. 16. 3. Suppose a man hath promised obedience to the Beast how shall it be known that he hath so done And when he comes into a Market or a Fair to buy or sell how shall it be known that he hath promised obedience to the Beast except he have his mark to distinguish him from others For the reason why the mark is given is that such persons may be known from others and no man is to buy or sell that is without it and this is a course which the Pope never took as yet nor is ever like to do and if he should do such a thing hereafter yet he were not the Beast for the Beast did it at his first rising out of the earth which the Pope did not 7. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the Beast for it is the number of a man and his number is 666 v. 18 But what is this to the Papacy Count the number while you will and see whether you can find the Papacy therein Some think to find the number in the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A Papist may as well say that he hath found it in the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but both of them in vain for if you write the vvord perpendicularly in this manner 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 every letter is a numeral and the total is 666 but if you write 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the word collaterally in this manner 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the letters are not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 numeral but syllabical and they serve to make up a vvord or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the name of a man and not 666 nor any other number 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 self is 30 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is 31 but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is nothing and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is nothing 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 so joyn the vvhole vvord 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 altogether and it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 nothing else but the name of a man and not any number 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 at all And if a man were to write 666 in Greek letters he would not set it down in the letters of the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but in the same letters that the Apostle doth and they are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and in no other 2. Suppose it so to be as you would have it write the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 how you will collaterally or perpendicularly and let it go for 666 which way soever it be written yet what is this to the purpose for what Pope or Popish Emperor was ever called by this name 2. When was any man marked with this name as they are with the Beasts name 3. Men do not mark their Cattel with all the letters of their names but with the first letters only and the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is here used doth signifie such a mark as men put upon their Cattel now the first letter in the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the Greek letter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and that stands for 30 and no more and if 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 were the name of the Beast and he to mark his Cattel with it or any other for him his mark would be the letter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and no more 4. We are not bid to count the Beasts name to find out his number but to count his number to find out his name thereby Now they that count the letters in the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 take a contarry course they suppose the Beasts name to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and when they have so done they count his name to find out his number and not his number to find out his name as they ought to do and how know they that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is the Beasts name A Papist may as well say that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is his proper name for that is as much 666 as the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 5. It is a point of understanding or of excellent skill in numeration to count the number of the Beast but to count the number of the letters in the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is no such excellent skill in numeration a young Scholar in Arithmetick may do that and yet have no excellent knowledge in that Art 6. To count the number 666 is to extract the root thereof for it can be done no other way as was shewed in the Paraphrase but to count the number in the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is to do it by addition and it can be done no other way no nor that way neither for it can be done no way at all 7. Will you know the mark of the Beast and the name of the Beast and the number of his name indeedâ—you must go another way to work than hitherto hath been gone and the way that you must go is this 666 is not numerus numeratus the number of the Beast counted to our hand but numerus numerandus the number to be counted by us Now the way to count this number is not by addition or subtraction for here is no other number which this number can be added to or subtracted from neither is it to be done by multiplication or division for here is no other number which it can be multiplied or divided by therefore to count that number is to extract the root thereof Now what is the root of 666 but 25 or 26 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Hebrew Letter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Greek letters And when you see a Beast with seven Heads and ten Horns and another Beast with one head and two Hornes like a Lamb to exercise all his civil power and authority in his behalf and cause his Subjects to be marked in their right hand or in their foreheads with the Capital or Acrostick Letters of his name and the letters of that mark be in numeration 25 or 26 then he is the Beast that here is prophesied of and because this hath not been done in the Papacy this Propâ—ecy is not fulfilled in them but is yet to be expected Hitherto I have shewed you who the Beast is not I will now discover unto you who the Beast is 5 Quest. Whether this Prophecy be meant of the persecution of the Jews after their Conversion Ans. 1. This Prophecy is to come to pass in the time of the seventh Trumpet as hath been proved q. 1. and the mystery of God by which is meant the Conversion of the Jews shall come to pass at that time too Rev. 10. 7. 2. What is meant by the woman in the former Chapter but the Nation of the Jews and wherefore is this Beast raised by the Devil but to make War against the remnant of her seed Rev. 12. 17
the longest Vial and all the Prophecies in the Revelation from the seventeenth verse of the sixteenth Chapter to the end of the Revelation belong unto it and when I say the Vials are of short continuance it is to be understood of the six first Vials and of so much only of the seventh as reacheth from the seventeenth verse of this sixteenth Chapter to the beginning of the twentieth CHAP. XVII The Prophecy concerning Babylon and the destruction of it 1. AND one of the seven Angels which had the effusion of the seven Vials in my Vision and shall have the execution of them when they are to be executed came unto me in my Vision and talked with me saying come hither and I will shew thee the destruction of the great Whorish City which at the commencement of this seventh Vial shall rule over many Nations and who they be that shall destroy her 2. With whom the Kings of the earth shall commit Idolatry and the Inhabiters of the same shall be made drunk with her spiritual and also with her corporal Fornication 3. So he took me aside and carried me in a Vision of my mind into the Wilderness where I saw a woman representing not what was then in being but what shall be hereafter sitting upon a Scarlet coloured Beast full of names of Blasphemy many ways committed against God and Jesus Christ and the Beast had seven heads and ten Horns representing what should be hereafter 4. And the woman which I saw was arrayed in costly apparel of Purple and Scarlet colour and decked with Gold and pretious Stones and Pearls and she had a cup of Gold in her hand representing still what should be hereafter full of abominable sins and wickedness and also most grievous and loathsome Fornication 5. And in her forehead she had a name written declaring what manner of City she should be not perspicuously but in a mystery Babylon the great the Mother of Whoredoms and vile abominations of the earth 6. And besides all this I saw the Woman exceeding drunk with the blood of the Saints of God and of the Martyrs of Jesus Christ and when I saw she was such a one I wondred greatly with exceeding admiration what this Woman should mean 7. And as I was thus wondring in my mind the Angel said unto me wherefore didst thou wonder and continue in so doing I will tell thee what is meant by this wicked woman and what is meant by the Beast that beareth her which hath seven heads and ten Horns 8. The Beast which thou sawest is a King which shall have a Crown and loose it and obtain his Crown again and then go into Perdition and never have a being any more he shall have a Crown before the seventh Vial shall commence he shall loose it a little after the commencement of it and obtain the same again and go into Perdition too before this seventh Vial shall be ended and all the Inhabitants of the earth which were not elected to Salvation shall wonder at it when they see the Beast which shall have a Crown and loose it to obtain his Crown again 9. And this is the sense and meaning of the Vision the seven heads be seven Mountains upon which the City shall be built 10. And they do also signifie seven Kings five of them shall fall and be dead and gone before the seventh Vial shall commence the sixth shall be alive at the commencement of that Vial and the seventh is then to be expected and when he cometh to the Crown he shall enjoy it but a little while 11. And the Beast which shall have a Crown and loose it he shall be the eighth King and succeed the seventh and yet be of the number of the seven too and go into Perdition and be no more forever 12. And the ten Horns which thou sawest the Beast to have do also signifie ten Kings which as yet have not received a Kingdom nor shall have any one before the Beast hath lost his and recovered it again and then they shall receive power to Reign as Kings in one Kingdom one hour with the Beast and this shall be when the seventh Vial shall commence and in the time of it and not before 13. And though they be ten yet they shall have but one mind and adhere unto the Beast with one consent and give their Warlike power and strength to the assistance of the Beast till the rebellious City be destroyed 14. And yet we may not think that they be Christian Kings for after this is done they shall fight against the Lamb and the Lamb shall overcome them in the War and though they be Kings themselves yet he is a greater King then they even the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and they that be with him and on his side be chosen and better Souldiers then any the ten Kings have and also Faithful to him too 15. And the Angel also told me what is meant by the waters upon which the woman sitteth and he said unto me that they do signifie multitudes of People and Nations of divers Languages 16. And the ten Horns which thou sawest the Beast to have be they which shall hate the Whore not for her Religion but for her Rebellion against the Beast and make her desolate and naked without Inhabitants and slay her People with the Sword and burn her Houses with fire 17. And that which shall make them do it is because God shall put it into their hearts to fulfill his mind and will and agree together to give their Kingdom to the Beast until the City be destroyed and no longer 18. And the woman which thou sawest doth signifie the great imperial City which at the commencement of this seventh Vial shall have Dominion over the Kings and Nations of the earth and then it shall be known by name what this wicked Idolatrous and Blasphemous City is Disputation XII 1 Quest. Whether Babylon be the City of Rome Arguments for the Affirmative §. 1. 1. The City which sits on seven Hills is Babylon as appears v. 9. but Rome and no other City in the World sits on seven hills the names of them are these the Capitoline Palatine Caelian Aventine Esquiline Viminal and Quirinal therefore 2. The City which hath seven heads that is seven kinds of Governours successively one after another is the City Babylon mentioned in this place v. 10. but Rome and no other City in the World hath seven heads that is seven kinds of Governours succeeding one anther First Kings Secondly Consuls Thirdly Dictators Fourthly Decemvirs Fifthly Military Tribunes Sixthly Emperours Seventhly Popes therefore 3. The City whose five first heads were fallen in the Apostles time one then was and the other not then come is the City mentioned in this place v. 10. but Rome and no other City in the World had five heads fallen in the Apostles time First Kings Secondly Consuls Thirdly Dictators Fourthly Decemvirs Fifthly Military Tribunes one then in
time for when Domitian was Emperour there were Consuls still as Helvicus sets them down by name pag. 86 87. 14. What if the Words five are fallen be not meant of the Apostles days as indeed they are not for the Apostle writeâ— a Prophecy and not a History and in what â—ense soever he speaks he is to be understood Prophetically and not Historically thus when 't is said Babylon is fallen is fallen Rev. 14. 8. the meaning is not that it was fallen in the Apostles days for that is false but the meaning is that it shall fall hereafter in the time of the seventh Vial and therefore ch 18. 21. the same thing is spoken of in the future tense with violence shall that great City Babylon be thrown down and shall be found no more at all In like manner when 't is said five are fallen the meaning is not that five are fallen in the Apostles days but the meaning is that five are fallen before the seventh Vial shall begin and so whatever is spoken in that verse hath reference to the seventh Vial and not to the days in which the Apostle lived 15. The seventh head is to continue but a short space v. 10. now the Pope whom they reckon for the seventh head hath continued a long time and how much longer he shall continue who can tell And if it be said that this time is called short in the sight of God or in respect of eternal happiness to this I answer that it cannot be the meaning of it for the other six heads did continue but a short space in the sight of God or in respect of eâ—ernal happiness but of none of the seven heads is it said that they continued a short space but only of the seventh and therefore the meaning is that the seventh head shall continue a short space in respect of the other heads but now the Popes have continued a long time much longer then any of the other heads and therefore they be not the seventh head 16. The Beast here spoken of is not the seventh head but the eighth now the Pope is usually counted for the seventh head and therefore he is not the Beast that here is spoken of and if he be not the Beast where shall we find the Beast at Rome Some to salve the matter say that the Gothish Kingdom is the seventh head and the Pope is the eighth but this doth marr the matter quite for if the Gothish Kingdom be the seventh head the Pope must have a quietus est for then he is none of the seven heads that here be spoken of and if he be none of the seven then he is not the eighth for the eighth is one of the seven as appears v. 11. 17. One of the seven heads fell and rose again and so became the eighth head v. 11. but of none of the former mentioned heads can it be said that tâ—ey fell and rose again and so became the eighth head and therefore they be not the heads here spoken of The Popes did not fall and rise again and so become the eighth head neither did the Emperours fall and rise again and so become the eighth head and as for the Consuls it is true they fell and rose again but they be not the eighth head and therefore where shall we find the eighth head at Rome And if the eighth head be not there Rome is not the City that is meant in this place 18. The ten Horns be ten Kings which have received no Kingdom as yet but receive power as Kings one hour with the Beast v. 12. but where shall we find ten Kings belonging to the Pope and rising when he did Divers men have stretched their wits to find them out but with very ill success for what one saith another doth reject and what another saith a third doth contradict so that none can tell who they be and if this cannot be done why may not men suspend their Judgments and take more time and respite before they give their verdict against the City of Rome so peremptorily as they do And if it be said that they of the Negative part can no more tell who these ten Kings be then they of the Affirmative to this I answer that the case is not alike for they which are for the Affirmative do hold the Prophecy v. 12. to be past already and that the ten Kings have received a Kingdom with the Beast already and therefore it concerns them to tell who these ten Kings be but they which be of the Negative part do hold the Prophecy v. 12. to be Future and that the ten Kings have not yet begun to Reign and therefore it cannot be expected that they should tell who these ten Kings be before the Prophecy come to pass 19. These ten Kings whoever they be shall hate the Whore and give their Kingdom to the Beast too at the same time v. 16 17. but where shall we find â—en Kings which shall hate the City of Rome and give their Kingdom to the Pope at the same time 20. The words in the last verse are not meant of the Apostles time but of the time of the seventh Vial so that we are not to look what City reigned in the Apostles time for that was Heathen Rome and not Papal but we are to look what City reigneâ— in the time of the seventh Vial and that is the City which here is spoken of 21. Babylon is not to tast of the cup of Gods wrath till the seventh Vial doth begin Rev. 16. 19. but Rome hath tasted of that cup many a time but especially in the time of the Goths and Vandals by whom it was taken four times and brought to such a desolation by them that not a man woman or child could be seen therein for fourty days together as Mr. Cotton on the thirteenth Chapter of the Revelation doth confess pag. 35. 22. Babylon is one of the greatest Cities in the World Rev. 17 18 and 18. 18. but Rome at this day is but a little City in comparison of other Cities and but the tenth part of what it was before See Mede on the Revelation pag. 152 153. 23. Babylon is one of the strongest Cities in the World Rev. 18. 7 8. but Rome is but a weak City in comparison of other Cities and was seldom besieged but 't was taken 24. Babylon is one of the most prosperous Cites in the World and shall never know sorrow till this destruction comes upon her Rev. 18. 7. but Rome has been a doleful City many a time and though she hath had her days of pleasure and prosperity very many yet she hath had her days of sorrow and affliction too and that in a very heavy manner which Babylon never had nor is to have but once and that is when this destruction comes upon her and not before Rev. 18. 7 8. 10. 17. 19. 21. 25. Babylon is the last City that shall be taken insomuch that she
mystically Shew me this he that can 2. The same things for kind were fulfilled in the Land of Egypt and that in a literal sense But if the Question be whether these Trumpets in particular be fulfilled already my answer is they are yet to be expected and I prove it thus The sixth seal is yet to be expected therefore the seventh seal succeeding it in which the Trumpets are must be expected also Again the sealing of the Servants of God in their foreheads is yet to be expected therefore the Trumpets which follow after it are to be expected also And if we can have Faith to expect our Saviours Prophecy Mat. 24. 29. Mark 13. 24 25. Luk. 21. 25 26. which is the same in special if not in particular with the sixth seal and shall be fulfilled in a literal sense why can we not have Faith to wait on God for the fulfilling of the Trumpets also CHAP. IX The Prophecy of the fifth Trumpet 1. AND the fifth Angel sounded and the Prophecy of his Trumpet was that an Angel shall descend from Heaven to the earth and the Key of the bottomless Pit shall be given into his hand 2. And he shall open the bottomless Pit and upon the opening of it shall come a great smoak out of the bottom of the Pit like the smoak of a great Furnace and the air shall be darkned with the smoak and it shall be so thick that the Sun shall not be able to break through to give light upon the Earth 3. And out of the smoke shall come Locusts into the Land of Asia of a most horrid shape and form never the like seen before and they shall have power to sting the Inhabiters of that Land as the Scorpions of the earth have power 4. And it shall be given them in charge that they shall not hurt the Grass of the Field nor any green Herb nor any vegetable Tree but sting the Men only which shall not have the Seal of God in their Forehead 5. And their Commission shall be not to kill the Men out-right but torment them only five Months and no more and the pain of these Men shall be as grievous as the pain that cometh of a Scorpion when he hath stung a Man 6. And all the time of these five Months shall Men wish for Death thinking to end their pains thereby but shall not find it and shall desire to die rather than to live in such woful pain and torment but Death shall flee away from them 7. And the bodies of these Locusts shall be in shape like to Horses prepared unto Battail and they shall have on their Heads the shapes of Crowns like Crowns of Gold and their Faces shall be in shape like the Faces of Men but the matter of them shall be such as insects have 8. And the hair which they shall have shall be in shape like the hair of Women and the teeth which they shall have shall be in shape like the teeth of Lyons but the matter shall be such as insects have 9. And the Brest-plates they shall have shall be in shape like Brest-plates made of Iron and the dreadful noise of their Wings shall be as the noise of Chariots drawn with many Horses running furiously unto Battail 10. And the tayles which they shall have shall be like the tayles of Scorpions and they shall have stings in their tayles like the stings of Scorpions and their Commission shall be to sting the Men of Asia five Months literally to be understood 11. And they shall have a King or Ruler over them to guide them and direct them in this Work so that they shall not sting every one they meet but whom the Angel of or over the bottomeless Pit will have them and this Angel is not an evil Angel but a good Angel of the Lord whose Name in Hebrew is Abaddon in Greek Apollyon and in English a Destroyer not of the Saints and People of God but of the Enemies of God and of his Church 12. The first Woe is past when these things shall be fulfilled and behold there be two Woes yet to come after these things are ended The Prophecy of the sixth Trumpet reaching from the thirteenth Verse of this Chapter to the fourteenth Verse of the eleventh Chapter or the first part thereof 13. And the sixth Angel sounded and the Prophecy of his Trumpet was that a Command should come from God from the four Corners of the Altar upon which the Angel offered Incense before the Throne of God 14. Saying to the sixth Angel which did sound the sixth Trumpet that he should go and loose the four Angels which should be then bound or restrained from doing Hurt at the great River of Asia called Euphrates but now they should be loosed to execute God's Judgments on the people that dwell there 15. Then the sixth Angel shall go and loose the four Angels which before were bound at Euphrates but ready upon Command to slay the third part of Men that shall be dwelling there and that in as little time as an hour or in as little time as a day or in as little time as a month or in as little time as a year waiting for a Command to put their power in Execution 16. And the number of the Army of Horse that under these four Angels shall be imployed in this Work shall be two Hundred thousand thousand for the number of them was related unto me 17. But these Horses shall not be usual Horses nor their Riders Men properly so called but either Angels or strange kind of Creatures newly created for this purpose and never known in the World before and thus I saw the Horses in the Vision and they that sat on them what ever they be shall have Corslets of a fiery colour and of a blew jacinth colour and of a pale Brimstone colour and the heads of their Horses shall be in shape like the Heads of Lyons and out of the mouths of every one of them shall come forth fire smoak and brimstone literally to be understood 18. Of these three shall the third part of Men be killed which shall be dwelling at Euphrates at that time some shall be killed by the fire and some by the smoak and others by the brimstone which shall come out of the Horses mouths 19. For the power of these strange Beasts shall be in their mouths and which is yet the more strange they shall have mouths in their tayles for their tayles shall be like a Serpents body and have Heads at the end of them and in their Heads a mouth with which they slay the third part of Men which be dwelling at Euphrates at the Execution of the Prophecy 20. And the two other parts of Men which shall escape from these Plagues and not be killed by them shall not for all this repent of their former wickedness that they should not worship Devils nor
the tryal of the patience of the Saints which are living in Judaea when the Beasts engagement comes among them then it will be known who they be which keep the Commandments of the Lord their God and the Faith of Jesus Christ and will not engage unto the Beast though they perish for refusing 13. Then I received a command from Heaven saying unto me Write for the consolation and encouragement of these faithful men which shall suffer at this time Blessed are the dead which die for the Faith of Jesus Christ and for professing of the same and they need not doubt thereof for the spirit saith so which is the spirit of truth and cannot lye and herein their blessedness doth consist they shall rest from their labours miseries calamities pains and dolours which they sustained in this life and the reward and recompence of their Faithful service shall follow after them as soon as they be dead The first Judgment on the Beast 14. Then an Angel shall sit upon a white Cloud in the likeness of a young man with a Golden Crown upon his head and a sharp sickle in his hand to execute a heavy Judgment upon the Beast and his men 15. And another Angel shall come out of the Temple and say unto the Angel which shall sit upon the Cloud Thrust in thy sharp sickle and cut down tâ—e people which belong unto the Beast for the time is come for thee to cut them down because their sins are now ripe 16. And as soon as this commission shall be given the Angel shall thrust in his sharp sickle upon the earth and the people which belong unto the Beast shall be cut down as the Corn is when it is full ripe The second Iudgment on the Beast 17. And after this Angel shall have done his work God shall send another Angel from the Temple with another â—arp sickle to execute another heavy Judgment upon other persons belonging to the Beast in like manner as the former Angel did 18. And another Angel shall come out from the Altar which hath power over fire to Plague the earth therewith when God will have him and he shall cry unto the Angel which hath the sharp sickle saying unto him Thrust in thy sharp sickle and cut down some other people of the earth which belong unto the Beast because their sins are also ripe 19. And the Angel shall make no delay but thrust in his sharp sickle into the earth and cut down the other people which belong unto the Beast and cast them into the great Wine-press of the wrath of God Almighty and squeeze the blood out of them as Grapes are squeezed in a Wine-press 20. And the place where this execution shall be wrought Sâ— all be in Judaea without Ierusalem and the blood of the slaughter be so great that it shall reach even to the Horses Bridles in height for the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs in length Disputation X 1 Quest Whether this Prophecy doth contemporate with the Prophecy in the former Chapter or succeed it Ans. 1. Prosperity cannot contemporate with adversity but in the former Chapter the beast is in prosperity v. 7. and in this Chapter the Beast is in adversity v. 15 16 17 18 19 20. therefore 2. Good success in War and bad success therein cannot contemporate each with other but in the former Prophecy the Beast hath good success in War for 42 months together and in this Prophecy the Beast hath bad success therein and a lamentable slaughter is made of him two times one after another as appears v. 15 16 17 18 19 20. 3. Rising growing and increasing cannot contemporate with dying falling and decaying but in the former Chapter the Beast is rising growing and increasing till he come unto his height and in this Chapter and those which follow the Beast is dying falling and decaying till he come unto his end Ob. The Virgin company are so called because they were not defiled with Harlots v. 4. therefore they fall into the meretricious-times of the Whore of Babylon Ans. Whether they be called Virgins for that reason or because they were unmarried persons as St. Jerom thinks I list not to inquire at this time it is sufficient to say that this Chapter speaks not of the first times of the Virgin Company nor of the first times of the Whore of Babylon but of her declining times only as appears v. 8. Ob. Of this Virgin Company be they which proclaim the fall of Babylon v. 8. and deterr men from worâ—hipping the Beast or his Image and from receiving his mark v. 9. Ans. Be they of the Virgin Company or no which Proclaim the fall of Babylon it makes no matter be it so or otherwise it is not done by them at Babylons first and prospering times but in her latter and declining days only Ob. These be the called and chosen and faithful Soldiers of the Land and if I may so say his life guard by whom he wageth War with the horns of the Beast and at length gets the Victory against them v. 4. and ch 17. 14. Ans. This Victory is not gotten in the first and prosperous times of the beast for then he gets the Victory of the Saints Rev. 13. 7. but in his latter and declining times only Ob. The Virgin Company be the bands of Faithful Soldiers which opposed the Beast and adhered unto the Lamb when others of the World forsook him and received the Character of the Beast therefore either these opposed the Beast at his first beginning or else the Lamb had none on his side to oppose him at that time Ans. The beast was raised to make War against the remnant of the womans seed Rev. 12. 17. so that they be the men which opposed him at the first and were overcome by him Rev. 13. 7. but the Virgin Company are they which oppose him in his latter and declining days and get the Victory against him Ob. The beast and the Virgin Company do contemporate in their ends for they both end together and that is when the History of the Palm-bearers doth begin Rev. 7. 9. 14. Ans. Whether the History of the Palm-bearers doth begin or no when the History of the beast and the Virgin Company doth end I think it needless to inquire at this time for the present I confess that the beast and Virgin Company do end their race together but I deny that they begin their race together but whether they doe or no this Chapter speaks not of it for it speaks only of the first declining of the beast and not of his first beginning nor of his final end Ob. The Virgin Company are sealed ch 7. before any of the Trumpets do begin and â—herefore are they sealed at that time but that they might set themselves against the beast at his first beginning Ans. They are not sealed for that end that they might set themselves against the beast at his first beginning for there
were others to oppose him then Rev. 12. 17. but that they might be preserved from the storms of the ensuing Trumpets Rev. 9. 4. and they are not called forth against the beast till his declining age doth come Ob. By this reckoning the Virgin Company are before the beast and before any of the Trumpets too for they are sealed under the sixth seal ch 7. before the Trumpets do begin and six of the Trumpets are expired before the beast in the former Chapter doth â—egin Ans. In respect of their sealing they are before the Trumpets and so before the Beast too but in respect of their actings spoken of in this Chapter they succeed the 42 months of the former Chapter 2 Quest. Whether this Prophecy be a prediction in gross of what should come to pass from Domitians time to Constantines Ans. 1. The Prophecy in the former Chapter is not a prediction of what should come to pass in the time of Domitian as hath been shewed ch 13. q. 2. therefore this Prophecy is not a prediction of what should come to pass from Domitians time to Constantines 2. The Prophecy in the former Chapter is a prediction of the persecution of the Jews after their Conversion by the Beast and false Prophet there spoken of as hath been also shewed ch 13. q. 5. therefore as the persecution of the Jews is yet to be expected so is the fulfilling of this Prophecy to be expected also 3. Here is a prediction of a hundred fourty and four thousand Sealed persons standing altogether on Mount Sion with the Lamb having his and his Fathers name written in their foreheads but there were no such men so qualified as these were in evâ—ry point in the time of Constantine nor betwixt his time and Domitians read what is said of these men ch 7. q. 1 2 3. and in this Chapter q. 3. and tell me where shall we find such men so qualified as these were in every point and so many of them gathered together in one body as these were since the days of Domitian to this day 4. This Prophecy is to be fulfilled in the time of the Beast as appears v. 9. 10 11. Now this Beast as they interpret the heads thereof doth not reach beyond Domitian for the Beast hath but seven heads and no more and the first of these as they say is Claudius and the last is Domitian and therefore it doth not extend so far as to the days of Constantine 5. Here is no persecution Prophesied of in this Chapter except it be v. 12. 13. Now this persecution is to be in the time of the Beast for refusing his Mark and not Worshipping his Image and therefore not between his time and Constantines 6. Here is an immense effusion of the Enemies blood Prophesied of v. 20. And the Wine-press was troden without the City and blood came out of the VVine-press even unto the Horse bridles by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs But there was no such slaughter in the time of Constantine and Maxentius yea take we all the Souldiers of Maxentius and add we Constantines unto them and suppose we every man of them to be slain on both sides it will not amount nor come near to so vasta slaughter as here is spoken of To which may be added that the destruction of Maxentius and his Army was in Italy but the Wine-press here spoken of is without the City that is without Jerusalem in Iudaea and the blood that came out of the Wine-press was up to the Horse-bridles in height for the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs in length when as Maxentius and a good part of his Army were drowned in the water Eusebius l. 9. c. 9. Socrates l 1. c. 2. 3 Quest. VVho be meant by the Virgin Company and for what cause be they spoken of in this place Ans. 1. The two Witnesses of which before ch 11. be not any of the Virgin Company here spoken of for both of them were slain at one time by the beast there spoken of but none of these were slain by him yea they were therefore Sealed that they might be preserved Rev. 7. 3. Rev. 9. 4. Again the Prophesie of the Witnesses is ended before the seventh Trumpet doth begin but these are all alive and sing a song on Mount Sion after the seventh Trumpet is begun Rev. 14. 1 2. 2. The Woman in the Wilderness is not the Virgin Company mentioned in this place for the woman was not converted till the beginning of the seventh Trumpet but these were all of them the Servants of God before any of the Trumpets did begin Rev. 7. 3. 2. The woman is the Nation of the â—ews converted to the Faith but these are but the first fruits of that Nation Rev. 14. 4. 3. The woman is a Church of men women and Children but these are all of them young men which never knew a woman Rev. 14. 4. 4. The woman fled into the Wilderness for safety but these were never in the Wilderness but stand on Mount Sion with the Lamb without fear what the beast can do unto them Rev. 14. 1. 5. The woman has to deal with the Dragon and he with her before the beast begins Rev. 12. 3. 4. 12. but these have no dealing with the Dragon but with the beast his successour after the Dragons time is over Rev. 15. 2. 3. The Virgin Company be not the remnant of the womans seed mentioned before ch 12. 17. for the womans seed was overcome and slain by the Beast Rev. 13. 7. but none of these were slain by him but all of them sing a song that they escaped Rev. 14. 3. Rev. 15. 2 3. The Virgin Company be the same persons that are mentioned before ch 7. 4. as both the number of the persons and the Seal in their foreheads do Demonstrate And the reason why they are spoken of again in this place is to shew what became of them and how it fared with the Beast and them For ch 7. it is said that they were Sealed and this was done before any of the Trumpets did begin and ch 9. v. 4. they are secured from the Locusts but what became of them afterward from that time to this is not any where declared until now they did not perish in the time of the six Trumpets but did outlive them all they were not slain by the Beast that is mentioned ch 11. as the two witnesses were they did not fly into the Wilderness as the woman did ch 12. they were not slain by the Beast that came out of the Sea as the remmant of the womans seed was ch 12. 17. ch 13. 7. what became of them then did they adhere unto the Beast and receive his mark No neither for they had the Lambs name and their Fathers name written in their foreheads but the Beasts name they had not ch 14. 1. and yet for all this they escaped from the Beast and did not perish
joyn or go along with these men to his own destruction 16. So these unclean Spirits shall prevail with these Kings and Nations of the East Country and perswade them to pass over Armed to the other side of Euphrates and go along together to this great Battel and they shall gather themselves together to a place which at the accomplishment of this Prophecy and for ever afterward shall be called in Hebrew Armageddon where what shall become of them and what shall be the issue of this matter shall be declared in the next Vial. The Prophecy of the seventh Vial. 17. And the seventh Angel shall pour out his Vial into the aire and all that is to be done shall now be done before this Vial endeth 18. And first of all there shall be thunders and lightnings and a great earth-quake the like was not known before since men were upon the earth so mighty an earthquake and so great 19. And the great Imperial City of the Beast shall be divided into three parts and the Cities of the Nations fall and great Babylon shall come into remembrance before God that he may give her to drink of the bitter cup of the fieâ—ceness of his wrath which shall now and not till now be put in execution 20. And every Island in the Sea shall be removed out of his place and the Mountains in the main Land shall not be found 21. And a great hail shall fall from Heaven upon men and every stone thereof shall be about the weight of a Talent and yet for all this they shall not repent them of their wicked deeds but increase their sins the more and blaspheme the God of Heaven because of the hail for the Plague thereof shall be exceeding great Disputation XI 1 Quest. Whether the Prophecy of the seven Vials shall succeed the Prophecy of the Harvest and the Vintage in the fourteenth Chapter Ans. 1. The last Plagues succeed the first but the seven Vials are the seven last Plagues Rev. 15. 1. and therefore the Harvest and the Vintage of the fourteenth Chapter are the first 2. The Virgin Company obtain Victory over the Beast before any of the Vials do begin Rev. 15 2. and therefore the seven Vials do not begin the ruin of the Beast but it was begun before and the seven Vials are added to it to bring up the rere and put a final end unto him Ob. The sixth Trumpet puts an end unto the Beast Rev. 11. 13. and therefore the seven Vials which put an end unto him too do contemporate with it Ans. I deny the Antecedent for the seventh Trumpet puts an end unto the Beast and not the sixth Rev. 11. 18. Rev. 19. 19 20 21. Secondly that destruction ch 11. v. 13. is but of 7000 men and no more and therefore 't is but a partial destruction of the Beast and not a total Ob. But whether it be total or partial it is before the Harvest and the Vintage of the fourteenth Chapter and therefore the Harvest and the Vintage are not the first Plagues Ans. This is very true if the Beast be the same and the heads the same in both places but it may be questioned whether the Beast ch 11. be the same with the Beast ch 14. v. 9. and if they be yet the destruction ch 11. may befal the Beast in the time of one head and the Harvest and the Vintage ch 14. in the time of another head Ob. The wound which the Beast received ch 13. v. 3. is before the Harvest and the Vintage ch 14. and therefore they be not the first Plagues Ans. That wound doth not belong to the ruine of the Beast but was a stop and a hinderance to his setling for a time but no part of his destruction after he is risen 2. That wound is before the 42 months of his prosperity but after they are ended the first beginnings of his ruine are the Harvest and the Vintage ch 14. and the seven Vials which follow after are the consummation of it Ob. The Harvest is the end of the World Mat. 13. 39. Ans. The general Harvest at the day of Judgment is the end of the World and that is the Harvest Christ means Mat. 13. 39. but the Harvest Rev. 14. 15. is a particular Harvest of the Beasts men and no more Ob. The Harvest and the Vintage are both one and therefore they succeed not one another Ans. The general Harvest and the general Vintage are both one and the reapers are the Angels in general Mat. 13. 39. but the Harvest ch 14. is a particular Harvest and the Vintage a particular Vintage and one Angel has a hand in reaping of the harvest and another in gathering of the Vintage Rev. 14. 14. 17. 2 Quest. Whether the Prophecy of the seven Vials be literally or mystically to be understood Ans. 1. A Revelation cannot be a mystery for a Revelation is a manifestation of things that before were hidden and secret but a mystery is when things are hidden and secret still but the Prophecy of the seven Vials is a special part of a Revelation 2. Where there is a mystery in the Revelation it is usually interpreted as the first Chapter and the seventeenth do demonstrate but here is no interpretation of any mystery in the Vials 3. No Scripture is mystically to be understood sine evidente necessitate without evident necessity but here is no necessity much less an evident one so to understand it 4. Where a literal sense may stand that which is furthest from the letter is the worst but here a literal sense may stand For 1. It is not repugnant to any Text of Scripture 2. It is not contrary to any Article of the Christian Faith 3. There is no iniquity therein 4. There is no absurdity at all doth follow therefrom therefore it is literally to be understood 5. The Plagues of Aegypt are literally to be understood but the seven Vials are for the most part the same for kind with the Plagues of Aegypt The first Vial answers to the Boyl breaking forth with blaines upon man and Beast throughout all the Land of Aegypt and what man will say that that Boyl is mystically to be understood The second and third Vials answer to another Plague of Aegypt where all the Water in the River was turned to blood Exod. 7. 20 21. and what living soul will say that that is mystically to be understood The fifth Vial answers to the darkness which fell upon the Land of Aegypt for three days together Exod. 10. 21 22 23. and what understanding is so dark as to understand that darkness mystically The last Vial answers to the hail which fell upon the Land of Aegypt Exod. 9. 22 23 24. and who will say that that hail is mystically to be understood only the fourth and sixth Vials differ in kind from the Plagues of Aegypt but the rest that are mentioned in this Chapter are the same with
being to wit the Emperours and the other not then come that is the Popes therefore 4. The City which in the Apostles time reigned over the Kings of the earth is the City that is meant in this place as the last verse doth demonstrate but Rome and no other City in the World reigned over the Kings of the earth in the Apostles time therefore Rome and no other City in the World is Babylon mentioned in this place And these be the Arguments for the Affirmative which to my thinking are very fair ones and somewhat probable insomuch that the Jesuites themselves have confessed that by Babylon Rome is meant Ribera saith thus Scriptores qui aliter interpretati fuerant veritate ipsa coguntur nobis facere Roman esse hanc urbem fornicariam vastandam evertendam Ribera in cap. 17. § 20. 22. that is the Writers which had otherwise interpreted before are compelled by the truth it self to make Rome to be this whorish City which is to be wasted and destroyed Bellarmin also saith thus Babylon urbs illa magna sedens super septem montes habens imperium super reges terrae est Roma Neque enim alia civitas est quae Johannis tempore imperiam habâ—ierat super reges terra quam Roma notissimum est supra septem montes Roman aedificatam esse Bellarmin lib. 2. de Pont. Rom. cap. 2. that is Babylon the great City sitting upon seven hills and Reigning over the Kings of the earth is Rome for there is no other City which in Johns time Reigned over the Kings of the earth but Rome and it is very well known that Rome was built on seven hills so he notwithstanding the confession of these men and the probability of the former Arguments I think it my duty not to rest here but that I may deal impartially in this point and discover to the reader what may be said against it as well as for it I crave leave to set down such Arguments as have come into my mind for the Negative in the next Section Arguments for the Negative §. 2. 1. This Prophecy was written in behalf of Asia and should in all likelihood belong to them but what hath Rome to do with Asia it neither stands in Asia nor on the borders of it nor hath any thing to do therewith and if it be said that Constantinople is not in Asia neither hear what Scaliger saith of it Europae imposita haec Asiaeque objecta potenti Limes utrique olim nunc utriusque caput In Europe set against potent Asia placed of old the bound and now the head of both 2. Where shall we find seven Hills in Rome and no more Heathen Rome had so many whose names are reckoned in the former Section but besides these there were three more added to the City afterward whereof the first was called collis hortulorum the Hill of Gardens the second mons aureus the Golden Mountain the third Paticanus the Vatican Mountain so that Rome first and last had ten in all and as for Papal Rome that now is it hath but two and no more 3. Is there no City in the world which hath seven Hills but Rome if there be as indeed there is for Constantinople stands on seven Hills at this day and so maâ— other Cities too for ought we know therefore let not men be too peremptory in this point but consider what they say 4. The seven heads be seven Kings but where shall we find so many Kings in Rome and no more For if we take Kings properly and understand thereby so many Monarchs as the ten Kings v. 12. are taken properly for so many Monarchs where shall we find so many Kings in Rome and no more Heathen Rome had Kings and Emperours before Popes began but they were more then seven and Papal Rome hath not one 5. Suppose by seven Kings be meant seven kinds of Governours as 't is commonly interpreted where shall we find so many kinds in Rome For Heathen Rome had not so many and Papal Rome hath but one and it is not likely that Heathen Rome and Papal too should be meant in this place 6. But let us joyn them both together and take Rome in its latitude as it compriseth Heathen Rome and Papal too yet where shall we find so many kinds of Governours in Rome Kings Consuls Dictators Decemvirs Military Tribunes Emperours and Popes make not up the number For the Dictators differed not from Kings but in name and in continuance of their office and the Kings differed not from Empâ—rours but in name and if these three be but one kind of Governours where then be the other six 7. There is a great difference between the Roman Beast and the Roman State now 't is true the Roman State had many heads but the Roman Beast that is the Roman Empire had but one and that is the Emperours and no more 8. None of the seven heads which the Prophecy speaketh of did live and rule together but the Dictators lived and ruled with some of the Consuls while they stood and also with some of the Tribunes while they stood and therefore the Dictators and the Consuls be none of the heads which the Prophecy speaketh of 9. Every one of these heads which the Prophecy speaketh of be long lasting heads and of long continuance except the seventh but the Dictators were but for half a year and they were never chosen but when the common-weal was in some great trouble or danger and at half a years end under pain of Treason they yielded up their office 10. Every one of these heads be the heads of a Beast that is of an Empire for that 's the meaning of the word Beast as appears Dan. 7. 17. 23. but the Consuls Dictators Decemvirs and Military Tribunes were not the heads of an Empire but of a Common-weal for Rome was not an Empire till the Emperours began and the first of them was Julius Caesar. 11. Every one of these heads were supreme heads and not subject to the power and authority of others but the Consuls Dictators c. were subject to the Senate and under their Command and therefore they be not the heads here spoken of 12. None of these heads did rise again after they were fallen except the eighth but the Consuls whom they reckon for the second head did rise again after they were fallen For first the Decemvirs did succeed them for two years or thereabout and when they were ended the Consuls rose again next the Military Tribunes came up in their places and that more then once or twice and as often as they fell the Consuls rose again See Helvicus pag. 66. 68. Sleidan de quaetuor Summis Imperiis lib. 1. pag. 45. 47. 48. 13. It is said v. 10. Five are fallen that is say they the first five and that in the Apostles time before he was in Patmos but this is not so for the Consuls were not fallen in his
That by the Beast Dan. 7. 11. is meant the Monarchy of the Seleutidae I deny 2. But what ever Monarchy be meant thereby when 't is said his Body destroyed and given to the burning flame a total destruction is meant thereby and not a partial 3. The City of Rome was a Christian City in the days of Constantine before the War of the Goths and Vandals did begin 4. By the damnation of Cities and Kingdoms in the Scripture is not meant the subduing of them to tâ—e Christian Faith but a destruction of them in their corporeal substances and that either of the Inhabitants by a corporal death or else of the buildings of the City by consuming fire and both of these are meant in this place Revel 17. 16. See Pareus disputing against Alcazar in this point Revel 14. 8. Object The throwing the great stone into the Sea Vers. 21. alludes to Jer. 51. 63. Thou shalt cast a stone into the midâ—â— of Euphrates and say Thus shall Babylon fall and not rise c. And yet Babylon long continued a great City though the Dominion of it was translated from the Chaldeans to the Medes Answ. But who told them that no more is meant by that Prophecy of Jeremy then was acted against the Chaldees by the Medes and Persians Read the 26 29 37 43 62 64. Verses and read also Jere. 50. 3 13 39 40. and you shall find much more and that is a perpetual desolation of the City which though it were not quite fulfilled by the Medes and Persians yet it came to pass afterward and we see it verified at this day Object The voice of the Harpers c. V. 23. alludes to Jere. 25. 10. I will take from them the voice of mirth and the voice of gladness the voice of the Bridegroom and the voice of the Bride the sound of the Milstones and the light of the Candle and yet Judea of which that is spoken still had people inhabiting it Answ. It is true that Judea had a few poor people remaining in it still after the captivity but yet Jerusalem of which that is spoken had not any 2. Compare the Prophecies both together and you shal find a great deal more in the Revelation then in Jeremy for in Jeremy it is said I will take from them the voice of the Bridegroom and the voice of the Bride the sound of the Milstones and the light of the Candle but he doth not say that this shall be for ever yea it is said in the next Verse for seventy years but in the Revelation he saith The voice of Harpers c. shall be heard no more at all in thee and no Craftsman of whatsoever craft he be shall be found any more in thee and the sound of a Milstone shall be heard no more at all in thee and the light of a Candle shall shine no more at all in thee and the voice of the Bridegroom and of the Bride shall be heard no more at all in thee And therefore a perpetual desolation is spoken of in this place never to be repaired any more 3. If as much be intended in the Revelation as was done by Nebuchadnezzar in Judea or by the Medes and Persians in Chaldea this Prophecy was nothing near fulfilled by the Goths and Vandals for the Civil Polity of the Jews was quite taken away by Nebuchadnezzar for seventy years and the Monarchy of the Chaldees was quite demolished by the Medes and Persians and never restored afterward but the Civil Polity of the Romans was not quite extinguished by the Goths and Vandals nor their Monarchy quite destroyed but the Roman Territories were shreudly wasted and their City fired for the greatest part of it yea and their Monarchy ceased in the West but continued in the East and their Territories were regained afterward out of the hands of the Goths and Vandals and their City was repaired and remaineth to this day 4 Quest. Whether the Beast himself may not hate the Whore and destroy the City in the time of the eighth head and what may be the cause thereof Answ. It is said Vers. 13. that the ten Kings shall give their power and strength unto the Beast but we do not read that they shall give their power and strength unto the Whore and therefore it is possible if not probable that the Beast and the Whore may be at odds 2. It is said Vers. 16. that they shall hate the Whore but we do not find that they shall hate the Beast at all and therefore the Beast and the Whore may be parted each from other 3. We do not read that the ten Kings shall revolt from the Beast as Men do think they shall but on the contrary we read Vers. 17. That they shall give their Kingdom to the Beast until the words of God shall be fulfilled Which words do not imply a revolt but an adhearing to the Beast and a cleaving to him still 4. Until the words of God shall be fulfilled they give their Kingdom to the Beast but the words of God are not fulfilled until the City be destroyed and therefore they shall give their Kingdom to the Beast until the City be destroyed and how can that be done unless the Beast and the City be at odds at that time 5. What is the cause why they hate the Whore Is it not because they love the Beast and give their Kingdom to the Beast as Vers. 16. compared with Vers. 17. doth declare And doth not this demonstrate that the Beast and the City be at odds To make this plain by a comparison Suppose a Man should say The Scotchmen shall hate Oliver Cromwel and his Army for God hath put in their hearts to give their Kingdom to the King Doth not this imply that the King and Oliver Cromwel and his Army be at odds In like manner when it is said The ten horns shall hate the Whore c. For God hath put in their hearts to give their Kingdom to the Beast Doth not this imply that the Beast and the Whore shall be at odds so that the cleaving to the one doth cause the hatred of the other 6. The Beast which carries the Whore and is in love with her doth not reach unto the eighth head but to the seventh and no further as appears Vers. 7. And therefore it may well come to pass that all the seven heads may carry the Whore and be in love with her but the eighth head which is the Beast we speak of in this Question may hate her and not carry her at all And if it be said that the eighth head is of the number of the seven To this I answer So long as he is of that number and under that notion or relation he is one of them that carries the Whore and is in love with her but when he comes to be the eighth head of the Empire he hath then a new relation though he be the same man and doth not carry
the Whore at that time 7. It is likely that the sixth head is the same person that the eighth head is and shall be deposed by the City while he is the sixth head and the seventh head shall be placed in his Throne and in this respect it is that the Beast was and is not and shall be he was in the time of the sixth head he is not in the time of the seventh for he is desposed by the City and the seventh placed in his room And from hence it is That the Beast and the City be at odds the ten Kings shall take part with the Beast against the City and the City shall take part with the seventh head against the Beast but the Beast and the ten Kings shall prevail and destroy the seventh head and the City both together Thus I have gone a way which no man went before that I know of if I be in the right it is thy part gentle Reader to go the same way that I have gone but if thou find that I am in an error and gone out of the right way and canst discover a better to me I will follow thee therein 5 Quest. What use may be made of this Exposition of the Revelation in respect of War and Peace with Papists Answ. We may not begin a War with Papists thinking thereby to fulfil the Prophecies of the Revelation and see an end of them and their Religion in our days and that upon a trebble account First We have proved already Disp. 1 q 3. That the chief scene of the Prophecies of the Revelation is not Europe but Asia and therefore we may not look for the whole or chiefest accomplishment of the Prophecies in Europe where the Papists are but in Asia rather where the Papists are not Secondly We have also shewed by divers Reasons Chap. 17. q. 1. That it is very uncertain whether Babylon be the City of Rome or no and therefore we may not begin a War with Papists thinking thereby to fulfil the Prophecies of the Revelation upon that account For put the case that such a War were begun and it should prove in the end that Babylon is not the City of Rome as we thought it was would we not be ashamed of such a War Do not the Kings of the Earth bewail her and lament for her when they see the smoke of her burning and would not this be our case if we should begin a War with Rome thinking her to be the Babylon which the Revelation speaketh of would we not be sorry if in the issue it should fall out otherwise Hear what the Wiseman saith Prov. 20. 18. Every purpose is established by counsel and with good advise make War Prov. 24. 6. For by wise counsel shalt thou make thy War and in multitude of counsellors there is safety Let us therefore consider of the matter and examine the point a little better before we begin a War upon an uncertain ground and repent thereof when it is done Thirdly Suppose it to be true that Babylon is the City of Rome indeed yet for all this we may not begin a War with Papists thinking thereby that we fulfil the Prophecies of the Revelation and shall see an end of them and their Religion in our days and that for these Reasons 1. We are commanded to pray for the Peace of Jerusalem Psal. 122. 6. But how can we pray for her Peace if we will have Jerusalem begin a War with Babylon Are not these two contrary each to other For when we pray for Peace we are verbally against War but if we will have Jerusalem begin a War with Papists we are really for War and not for Peace which two ought not to be 2. Blessed are the Peace-makers for they shall be called the children of God Matth. 5. 9. Therefore cursed are the War-makers for they be the children of the Devil 1 King 22. 20 21 22 23. Revel 16. 13 14. 20. 7 8. 3. If it be possible as much as lieth in you live peaceably with all men Rom. 12. 8. But how can we live peaceably with all men if we begin a War with Papists And how can it be said that we be for Peace as much as lieth in us if we be the first beginners fomenters and contrivers of a War and will not be at Peace when we may 4. Follow Peace with all men and Holiness without which no man shall see the Lord Heb. 12. 14. But how do we follow Peace if we begin a War with Papists thinking thereby that we fulfil the Prophecies of the Revelation before we know what the true meaning of them is To which I will add another saying of the same Apostle Rom. 14. 9. Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace Therefore Peace is not only to be admitted when it may be had or when it is offered to us and brought unto our doors but we are to follow and seek after it our selves when it is gone away from us and not only so but we are also to follow after the things which make for Peace and conduce thereunto and which may be a means to bring Peace to pass 5. He that will love life and see good days let him refrain his tongue from evil and his lips that they speak no guile Let him eschue evil and do good let him seek Peace and ensue it 1 Pet. 3. 10 11. Psal. 34. 12 13 14. But how can we love life and think to see good days If we be the first that begin a War and will not leave it off till either all or most part of Christendom be destroyed for the Papacy doth take up the greatest part thereof 6. From whence come wars and fightings among you Come they not hence even of your lusts that war in your members Jam. 4. 1. Therefore though men pretend the accomplishment of the Prophecies of the Revelation yet it is rather to be thought that libido dominandi a desire to rule is the cause of War and a greedy mind after other mens possessions is the cause thereof and it is not the accomplishment of the Prophecies of the Revetion but the Revenues of the Church which has an inlet to such a War as this is 7. And then shall that wicked man be revealed whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth and shall utterly destroy with the brightness of his coming 2 Thes. 2. 8. Now who is the man of sin You will be ready to say it is the Pope but what is meant by the spirit of his mouth But the Preaching of the Gospel Isai. 11. 4. Hos. 6. 5. Heb. 4. 12. Revel 2. 16. Therefore the man of sin shall not be consumed by War but by Preaching of the Word To which I may add that which S. Paul saith 2 Cor. 10. 4 5. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnâ—l but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds casting down imaginations and
not so in the point in hand for these Prophecies were not presented unto Iohn at one view as the Image was to Nebuchadnezar in his dream but successively one after another the Prophecy of the witnesses in the eleventh Chapter first the Prophecy of the woman in the Wilderness in the twelfth Chapter next and the Prophecy of the Beast in the thirteenth Chapter afterward And because they were presented unto him successively therefore we conclude that they shall come to pass successively the Prophecy in the eleventh Chapter first the Prophecy in the twelfth Chapter next and the Prophecy in the thirteenth Chapter afterward And thus much for the first Argument 2. He undertakes to prove that the times of the Beast and of the womans being in the Wilderness begin at the same instant of time to wit the Conquest of the red Dragon and the thrusting him out of Heaven unto the earth but he mightily fails in the probation of it 1. In that he makes the Dragon cast out a flood of water after her before she came into the Wilderness as she was flying thither but it is not so for the woman gets into the Wilderness first as appears Rev. 12. 14. and then he sends a flood of water after her to drive her out from thence as appears v. 15. 2. He thinks that by the remnant of her seed is meant the Children which the woman should bring forth in the Wilderness and that the Dragon makes War with them in that place but this is nothing so but by the remnant of her seed is meant those which did remain behind and were not fled into the Wilderness with the woman for if they had been there they had been safe as the woman was v. 14. and the Dragon could not War with them nor get the Victory over them in that place Briefly then the order of the Prophecy is this 1. The Dragon persecutes the woman and that as soon as he was cast forth of Heaven unto the earth v. 13. 2. The woman flies and gets safe into the Wilderness from his persecution v. 14. 3. The Dragon casts forth a flood of water after her to drive her out from thence v. 15. 4. The earth opens her mouth and swallows up the flood of water v. 16. 5. The Dragon seeing that leaves the woman in the Wilderness and departs from thence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to make War with the remnant of her seed v. 17. and who be they but those which were not fled into the Wilderness where the woman was This is the true sense and order of the Prophecy and I wonder that any man should set his wit against it 3. He would have the times of the Beast and of the witnesses end together at the exit of the fixth Trumpet and this he thinks to prove from Rev. 11. 13 14 15. but all in vain for though the times of the witnesses do end at the exit of the sixth Trumpet and we hear no more of them afterward yet the times of the Beast do not as may appear if these things be considered 1. The City there spoken of is not Babylon the Royal City of the Beast but Ierusalem v. 2. and 8. 2. The whole City doth not fall but the tenth part only v. 13. 3. That tenth part of the City fell by an earth-quake but Babylon shall be consumed by fire and not by an earth-quake Rev. 17. 16. Rev. 18. 8. 4. Seven thousand men are slain and no more v. 13. and what is so small a number to the ruine of the Beast 5. Though at the sound of the seventh Trumpet the Kingdoms of this World become the Kingdoms of the Lord and his Christ yet this is but in fieri at that time and not in facto esse it is then a doing and not intirely done it is then in esse inchoato in inchoation only not in esse completo in complete perfection it is then in the bud and in the blossom but not come to full maturity till afterward and as long as it is so and no more the Beast may have a being in the World after the seventh Trumpet sounds until the Kingdom of Christ be brought to full perfection In a word the seventh Trumpet is to sound more days than one as the Angel saith Rev. 10. 7. Now the first day that Trumpet sounds the Kingdoms of the World are become the Kingdoms of the Lord and his Christ inchoative inchoatively but when the seventh Trumpet hath sounded many days and when all the Prophecies of the Revelation from the eleventh Chapter to the twentieth are fulfilled then the Kingdom of Christ shall be brought to full perfection and then the Beast shall have a final end and not before And here it is to be noted that the Beast which Wars against the Witnesses ch 11. is not the same with the Beast which overcomes the Saints ch 13. v. 7. of which more hereafter in its proper place 4. He will have the times of the witnesses and of the Court or Holy City possessed by the Gentiles Rev. 11. 2 3. to contemporate and this I grant to be true for the 42 months of the Gentiles in which they shall tread the Holy City under foot v. 2. and the 1260 days in which the Witnesses shall Prophecy v. 3. are the same 5. He concludes the Synchronism with an inference If the treading underfoot of the Court and Holy City do contemporate with the Prophecy of the Witnesses it will also contemporate with the Beast And this I deny for the Witnesses do not contemporate with the Beast only the two first do contemporate viz. the 42 months of the Gentiles and the 1260 days of the Witnesses but the rest succeed one another the woman in the Wilderness succeeds the times of the Witnesses and the Beast succeeds them both And thus much in answer to the first Synchronism The second Synchronism is of the two horned Beast who is also the false Prophet with the ten horned Beast who is also called the Image of the Beast Ans. And this is true if meant of the time which succeeds his restauration for as soon as the wounded Beast is healed the other Beast is raised to counsel and assist him and from that time forth they Synchronise But whereas he thinks they were raised the one out of the Sea and the other out of the earth both together it is nothing so for the ten horned Beast is raised first and in that respect is called the first Beast v. 12. and after he is raised he is wounded and when his wound is healed then the other Beast is raised and not before And thus much of the second Synchronism And as for the Appendix because it makes nothing to the Synchronism whether it be true or false I omit to speak unto it only I think it not amiss to acquaint the Reader that the ten horned beast is not the Image of the Beast as he would have it but the object represented