A LITTLE VIEW OF THIS OLD VVORLD IN TVVO BOOKS I. A Map of Monarchy Wherein the state of the World is represented under Kings with their entrance Reign and Ends from King Saul to King Charls II. An Epitomy of Papacy VVherein is discovered the rise of Anti-christ with the Entrance Reign and Ends of the Popes of Rome for 740 years till the Pope was fully declared to be the Anti-christ A Work fitted for the Press Five years agone and now published by Tho. Palmer Pastor of a Church of Christ in Nottingham LONDON Printed for Livewell Chapman and are to bee sold at his Shop at the Sign of the Crown in Popes-head Alley 1659. To the Council of State of the Common-Wealth of England Honourable Worthies THe Lord God Almighty is the original of all Created beings and his glory is the great end he is carrying on both in Earth and Heaven Wisdome Grace and Power are the Essence of God and from himself he made and governs the whole Creation independently and none can say Why hast thou done thus There is some parity between a Saints Soul-state and the true Church-state Darkness and bondage precedes light and comfort sufferings goe before rest Abrahams true Seed are in AEgypt they pass the red Sea and wander in a houling Wilderness before they can possess the promised Land of Canaan and all these former dealings of God with his people in Covenant were written for examples and types for us upon whom the ends of the world are come Jehovab hath not usually made great promises to his people and inriched them with his Free Grace but he hath brought them to live upon him by faith for the performance of the word that went out of his mouth yet as God saw the state of future times he was pleased still to discover and fore-tell to his suffering Saints the enemies fall and the Churches advance and glory in this world The state both of the Jewish and Christian Church as to their sufferings union and glory were fully represented in Daniels Visions and Johns Revelations When Jesus Christ was in the Flesh hee was frequently Preaching and in Parables representing the Churches suffering and raised estate and after him the Apostles taught the same things The Prophets and Apostles spake not only of the Churches future sufferings under the Beasts false Prophet the Dragon and the Whore but God was pleased also to compute and measure the time of Saints sufferings to their promised Redemption In Christs fore-telling the events of time after his Resurrection hee gives not his Disciples the number of years but leaves with them several fore-going signs of their promised Redemption that both by computation of time and by signs the Saints might the better finde the time of the Beasts reigns and the appearing and Kingdome of Jesus Christ. Indeed Chronologies are imperfect and I judge the very year of the Beasts fall and Churches deliverance cannot be asserted by man yet I humbly conceive that both from computations and signs God hath begun his Churches deliverance in these Nations The Churches Restoration is as fully promised as her afflicted state fore-told and when the Dragon and the Whore have had their time of tyranny over the Saints why should we not certainly beleeve and look for promised rest If you please here to take a view of the Kings of the Earth and examine Antichrists plots and practices they have fulfilled the Word of God by the mouthes of his Prophets and answer them exactly as face answers face in a Glasse Great Senators I may be bold to say God hath honoured England above all the Nations of the earth and you above many Sons of men in making use of you to begin and prosess your resolutions for the establishment of Truth and Holiness in these Lands it was only the Lords free mercy that brought and hath continued the Gospel in England above any Country and Kingdom in Europe and may we not upon that ground beleeve that appearing and kingdom of the Son of Man promised shall here begin and from hence run from Nation to Nation till all the Vials of Gods Wrath be poured out upon the Churches enemies that great voyce out of the Temple in Heaven be fulfilled saying The Kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ and he shall reign for ever and ever Truely the night is not yet past and the Lords work in your hands is attended with great difficulty yet you shall ever have a Pillar and a Cloud to guide and defend if you keep your eye upon them I think I may say God now calls you to an unwonted work the bringing in of the New Heavens and New Earth wherein dwelleth righteousness which is the Kingdom of Saints in this World Carnal Counsellours and worldly Politicians know little of the Lords designs at this day and will doe as little in his work God is now staining worldly glory God is now fulfilling promises to his Son and his Saints and none but the Spiritual-wise understand the work before you I beseech you look much to God hearken after the teaching and light of the Spirit in the Churches of Christ and so act that you may render up your account with joy not with fear This is the end and all of my desires in this little peice I humbly present you with who shall rejoyce to bee found serviceable in his generation to promote the great design of Jesus Christ and shall abide Your Honours real and faithful Servant in my Lords Work Tho. Palmer From my Lodging upon London Bridge the 4th Mon. 1659. To all that beleeve and look for the Kingdom of Christ and glory of the New-Testamen-Church in this World Precious souls IT was the providence of my dear Father when he took me from more rough imployment in the Warrs of England to call me to preach the Gospel of Light in a dark corner which was not without success and comfort to my soul and refreshing to many at home and abroad but after a little time Satan raised so great opposition against some few painful Servants of the Lord who with my self joyned freely to preach the Gospel on week-days from Town to Town where we were invited by any of the Lords people that after the continuance of this course for about two years and some light especially in the order of the Gospel brake forth the Parish Ministers shut the doors of the Comman Meeting-places against us and by degrees put an end to those fruitful and blessed exercises My more publick Ministration of the Gospel being so prevented and my preaching in my Parish-relation by the same spirit of Antichrist made very ineffectual that young Converts were staggered about Church-order and many Christians drew back It was upon my heart to imploy my spare hours to prepare something for the Presse and preach in Print when I could not preach in other mens Pulpits
I was for some time unresolved of a Subject to write upon but seeking to the Lord in Prayer God set the sence of the old Dragons and the Whore of Babylons long-continued Tyranny over the Saints much upon my soul and I judged it was now a time seasonable and a Work necessary afresh to take a view of this old World under Monarchical Tyranny in States and under mystical Babylons usurpations over the Church of Christ. In the time of the Jewish Church-state and for some time after the New-Testament-church-state was begun Daniels four parted terrible Image and his four monstrous Beasts had all their answerable times and terms that with Christs Incarnation Johns Serpent or Dragon with seven Heads and ten Horns the Heathen Roman Empire was entered the stage of this World and acted like himself But as this Beast grew weak and fell in power the great Whore Mystery Babylon took her opportunity to get up and rides that Scarlet-coloured Beast to this day Since the Pope or Papacy hath ridden the Dragon or earthly Monarchy the Whore hath made great use of the Kings of the Earth to exercise her bloudy cruelty upon the Saints that have owned and sought those priviledges where-with the Lord Jesus Christ hath made them free What the Dragons and the Whores time and Tyranny hath been is not unknown to many Saints and light will break forth more and more to the perfect day Large and vast are those Volumes which have been written upon these four great Empires of the World and the Papacy of Rome but these for the greatest part have been written in strange Tongues and are in the studies of great Scholars to little Spiritual use When Nebuchadnezzar had taken Jerusalem and setled the Empire of Babylon in himself his desires were to know what after should come to passe in the latter daies His mind being thus busied he had a Vision of a great and terrible Image whose head was of Gold his brest and arms of Silver his belly and his thighes of Brasse his leggs of Iron his feet part of Iron and part of Clay a stone cut out without hands smote the Image upon his feet and brake them to peeces that no place was found for them and the stone that smote the Image became a great Mountain and filled the whole earth This Vision was revealed from the Lord to Daniel and by Daniel to King Nebuchadnezzar wherein is presented the future state of the world from that time to the Kingdom of Christ or Kingdom of the Stone and end of this old World From that time the world was to bee under the successive government of four Kingdoms of which Babylon was the first And in the days of these Kings shall the God of Heaven set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed but it shall break in pieces and consume all these Kingdoms and it shall stand for ever The Lords revealing this dream and the interpretation of it to Nebuchadnezzar caused that Heathen King to give glory to God as God of gods and greatly honoured Daniel as honoured of the Lord to reveal the secret I may hence infer it s now a work becoming the Lords people to be inquiring after light in this Prophecie and be saying to the Lords Watch-men as those of Sier Watch-man what of the night watch-man what of the night that is how much of the time of these four Kingdoms are run out or what remains yet to be fulfilled of them when the fifth Kingdom is to begin and the watch-men may answer The morning cometh also the night that is the morning for Saints and the night for sinners It was a mercy that the Lord should have this Prophecie as a ground for faith and prayer to his people but God hath abundantly fore-told the suffering state of his Church under these four Kingdoms hath by his Prophets and Apostles which are now so plain that Saints doe run and â—ead them God Omniscient fore-seeing the need saints would have of support under so long â—â—me of sufferings gives a further discovery of these four Kingdoms to the Prophet Daniel in the first year of Belshazzer King of Babylon In this Vision these â—â—ur Kings or Kingdoms are represented â—nder four monstrous Beasts and these â—â—eat Beasts which are four are interâ—â—eted of four Kings which should arise â—â—t of the earth and for a support to the â—â—rds people the Angel also further adds â—â—at the Saints of the most High shall â—â—ke the Kingdom and possess the Kingdom for ever even for ever and ever The Babylonian Monarchy the Median and Persian Monarchy and the Grecian Monarchy are three of these four Kingdoms expresly sonamed by and to Daniel And the fourth Beast which was dreadful and terrible and strong exceedingly can be no other than the Empire of Rome Time hath now interpreted who the fourth Beast is but Daniels fourth Beast and the Apostle Johns Dragon arâ— one and the same and generally understood to represent the Roman Monarchy Earth and Sea Corruption and Confusion was the original of these Kingdoms and I may as truly say Pride and Contention are the support of earthly Kings and Crowns For the sake of Saints I have gathered this Compendium of these four Kingdoms of Babylon Media and Persia Greece and Rome out of large anâ— vast Volumes to give light into Daniel Visions and Johns Revelations They that with serious thoughts shall read these few pages and run down the line of Monarchy in the several Beasts reigns do noâ— need Spiritual light to discover what implacable enmity hath at all times run the veins of Kings against King Jesuâ— and his Saints The Popes and Prelacy had the same original with earthly Monarchy and no less an enemy to the intrest of Christ and his Saints the Papacy is a Beast arising out of the earth as well as Monarchy yet hath Horns like a Lamb but speaks as a Dragon This Whore hath not only drunk but hath been drunken with the bloud of Saints and the Martyrs of Jesus as well as Monarchy and the time is now near that the Saints shall have commission from the Lord Jesus Christ King of Kings and Lord of Lords not only to give Babylon bloud to drink but to reward her double according to her works in the Cup which she hath filled fill to her double I say this time is near in the whole and in part begun in England I say again and again this is my faith That the hour of Gods Judgements is come to turn the waters of his indignation upon his Churches enemies Beleevers have the Word Covenant and Oath of the erernal God for all this they have the ingagement of the faithful Almighty God that cannot Iye and why should we not expect it Surely the work is upon the wheel that turns fast and nothing but Voyces and Thunders and Earth-quakes nothing but shakings
and changes and over-turnings can bee expected in Churches and States till he come and be lift up whose right alone it is to rule as King of Saints and King of Nations As yet the Lords people see little into this great Mystery of the Prophets and if you find slips and failings in my Computations of years or application of Prophecies cover them or correct them in love considering my love to Christ and his Saints hath ingaged me in this Work and as yet it is neither dark nor light I confesse the whole Book is little more than a Transcript of Divine and prophane Histories in all which I have been faithful to God and Men which Mite I now cast into the poor Saints Treasury and if the Lord Jesus Christ shall make it a seasonable word of truth to Saints it will bee the comfort and crown of him who waites and prayes for the promised Redemption of Sion T. P. A MAP of MONARCHY LIB I. ALL the dealings of God with man are works of wonder As the Lords electing Love hath been cast upon a few of old Adams children to evidence the freedome and riches of his grace So the infiniteness of his Almighty power is manifest in his guidance preservation and protection of these chosen ones through the oppositions and difficulties they meet with in this world For the sake of these was Christ promised Laws Ordinances and Government given For the first 2000. years sin reigned and there were few persons whom the Lord approved of as godly About which time the Lord singled out Abraham and made a special Covenant with him and his seed after his faith Abraham had one Isaac descending from him Isaac had but one Jacob coming out of his Loynes but from Jacob came the twelve Patriarchs I will omit many passages of Gods providence in those times yet it 's manifest that the Church of God then was contained in one Family and though Jacobs Family had in it seventy souls at his going into Egypt amongst themselves these were onely under houshold-Government The time of Israels bondage until their full deliverance was 430. years all which time till neer the end Israel in civil things were under the Government of the Kings of Egypt But when Israels oppressions brought them to their prayers the Lord heard their cries and made provision for their deliverance by the hand of Moses to whom the Lord gave the Government of his people Israel as Judge I cannot here let pass the glorious appearance of God in the multiplying of these people that in the Land of their sad afflictions and hard bondage the number of seventy souls entering Egypt were multiplied to six hundred thousand and 3000. and 550. men of War besides the Tribe of Levi. The Lord now having made good his promise to Abraham in so great a measure that from a Family they were increased into a Body Politick or Commonwealth For the well-ordering of whom God in his wisdom gave to them a sweet fatherly Government under the name and title of Judge many or most of which were Prophets and High-Priests elected by the people not to have a violent proud arbitrary or absolute dominion over them but to minister justice and guide them by the counsel of God Under this happy Government the Lord blessed this people about 450. years It is too manifest that upon the corruptions of some in Government the people would not be satisfied until they had cast off that Government the Lord had given them and blessed to them and would have a King to Judge them like all the Nations This Heathenish request sadly grieved good Samuel and much displeased the Lord yet God in his unsearchable wisdom having great designes to accomplish in the world granted Israel their desires though to be a scourge and a curse to them and commanded Samuel to tell them what oppressors and Tyrants these Kings should be to them And Israel groaned wofully under this Kingly Monarchical Government for about 517. years which ended with the last and great Captivity in Babylon but upon their restauration and return they again set up the Government by Judges according to the institution of God and so continued it many of which Judges ruling after the Captivity as before were High-Priests Now as Kingly Monarchical Government hath been most general in the world and these Kings and Emperours implacable enemies and bloudy persecutors of Christ and the interest of the Saints yea and such as have been the great instruments of the Devil to keep down or keep out Christ from his Kingly Monarchical visible Government over the Saints and Churches which God the Father hath promised to him and conferred upon him I will therefore spot a little Paper and spend a little time to run down the line of Monarchy to give a touch upon the enterance reign and ends of some Kings Emperours and Kings again in the latter times I will begin with the Kings of Israel at their ending I will come to Daniels four Kings and fall in with the Histories of the Kings of England until that name was taken away at White-hall West-minster The Map of Monarchy WHen nothing but a King would Saul content Israel Samuel caused all the Tribes of Israel and all the People to gather to Mizpeh where they chose Saul the son of Kish for chief Captain This was a free election of the People and no secret combination of any party Yet I cannot but note the modesty of the young man seeming to judge himself unfit for so great an honour and high trust hid himself from the Crown If we may judge affections by actions Saul sought the Asses with more desire then a Kingdom And possibly if he had continued in his Native imployment his life might have been longer and his sin less But being now lift up to the Throne Saul ruffles in the world and did something while God was with him yet when the Lord took from Saul the spirit of Government and courage he fell into gross wickedness in the life-time of Saul David was anointed King over Israel I will not insist upon the vile practices of this ungodly man which came to miserable end for not finding a man willing to separate his distracted soul from his miserable body he fell upon his own sword and became his own executioner But this I must further add the lusts of Saul cost Israel dear for he spent much treasure spilt much of their bloud and reigned with Samnel 40. years about Anno mun 2888. For the wickedness of Saul the Lord rejected him took away the spirit of Government he had and commanded Samuel to anoint David the son of Jesse when Saul had reigned but a few years yet David was not set upon the Throne until