as they were should be fulfilled therefore that Seal is to continue but a little season after the cry of the souls is over and consequently the seven Trumpets which contain Gods Judgments on their persecutors are to come shortly after â— The sixth Seal is a Prophecy of the signes which Prognosticate the day of Judgment and the second coming of Christ to be near at hand Mat. 24. 30. Mark 13. 26. Luk. 21. 27 28. therefore the fifth Seal is to continue and the Saints to suffer under it till those signs begin and because those signs are not yet begun therefore the fifth Seal is not yet fulfilled 4. From the coming of those signs unto the day of Judgment is but a short time as our Saviour also saith Mat. 24. 33. therefore all the Prophecies in the Revelation from the sixth Seal to the nineteenth chapter v. 11. where the day of Judgment doth commence are to continue but a short time and consequently it is a long time before the four first Seals do end and for ought we know it is a long time before any of them shall begin 5. The opposition between the words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 things that must shortly come to pass Rev. 1. â— and the words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 things that must be done hereafter Rev. 4. 1. intimate so much The first are a Preface to the things spoken of in the Epistles to the seven Churches and shew they were to begin shortly after Johns time the second are a Preface to the Prophecies in this chapter and in the chapters following and shew they were not to begin so soon but a long time after 6. The conjectural expositions of these Prophecies signifie as much for time is the best interpreter of Prophecies and if these Prophecies were fulfilled already men would not speak upon conjecture nor write so variously and uncertainly of the meaning of these Prophecies as they do CHAP. VII The Prophecy of the Sealed which were to be secured from suffering 1. ANd after these doleful sights were over I saw farther what should come to pass in the time of this Prophecy before the seventh Prophecy should begin to wit that four Angels should stand upon the four corners of the earth upon each corner one which should have power over the four winds that be in the earth to let them loose or to keep them in that they should not blow upon the earth nor upon the Sea nor upon the Trees but as they pleased 2. And I saw that another Angel should then come with a Commission from the East and bring the Seal of the living God along with him and that he should cry with a loud voice to the four Angels which had power to hurt the earth and the Sea 3. Saying That they should not hurt the earth nor the Sea nor the Trees until we have sealed the Servants of God in their fore-heads 4. And I heard the number of them which were to be Sealed and they were a hundred and fourty and four thousand young men of the Iewish Nation which are to be reckoned in this manner 5. Of the young men of the tribe of Iuda shall be sealed twelve thousand of the young men of the tribe of Reuben shall be sealed twelve thousand of the young men of the tribe of Gad shall be sealed twelve thousand 6 Of the young men of the tribe of Aser shall be sealed twelve thousand of the young men of the tribe of Naphthali shall be sealed twelve thousand of the young men of the tribe of Manasse shall be sealed twelve thousand 7. Of the young men of the tribe of Simeon shall be sealed twelve thousand of the young men of the tribe of Levi shall be sealed twelve thousand of the young men of the tribe of Issachar shall be sealed twelve thousand 8. Of the young men of the tribe of Zabulon shall be sealed twelve thousand of the young men of the tribe of Ephraim shall be sealed twelve thousand of the young men of the tribe of Benjamin shall be sealed twelve thousand The Prophecy of the blessedness of the not sealed Martyrs after death 9. But lest any should be discouraged from suffering for the cause of Christ because they be not sealed and secured from suffering as the other were there was presented unto me the great felicity and transcendent bliss which the Martyrs should enjoy in Heaven at the same time that the sealed ones should be secured on earth and I saw they should be more in number than the other were to wit an exceeding great multitude which no man could number of all Nations and kindreds and people and tongues which should stand before tâ—e Throne of God and before the Lamb in white robes of Glory and Palms of triumph in their hands 10. Where they shall laud and praise the Lord for that Heavenly Glory and felicity which they shall be in at this time acknowledging and saying Salvation proceedeth from the Lord our God which sits upon the Throne and from Jesus Christ the Holy Lamb and to them be it ascribed for evermore 11. And not only they themselves but also all the Holy Angels which are in Heaven shall laud and praise the Lord for that Heavenly bliss and happiness which the Martyrs shall have in Heaven at that time when the sealed ones are sealed on earth 12. Saying Amen Blessing and Glory and Wisdom and Thanks and Honor and Power and Might be ascribed to the Lord our God for evermore 13. And that I might understand the meaning of the Vision one of the four and twenty Elders asked of me saying What be these comely persons whom thou seest arrayed in white robes of Glory and Palms of triumph in their hands and from whence came they to that blessed State and transcendent degree of happiness which thou seest them now to have 14. And I said Ah Sir thou knowest who they are and I would learn of thee who they be and from whence they came to that blessed State and transcendent degree of happiness which I see them in at this time and what it was that brought them hither Then he said unto me These be the Holy Martyrs of the Church which were in great affliction in the World and suffered death for the cause of Jesus Christ and shed their blood for professing of his Gospel for this cause it is that they be now in white robes of Glory which were made so by his blood and are given them as a reward for their suffering for him 15. For this cause it is that they be now before the Throne of God and serve him in the Church Triumphant as in their life-time they did in the Church Militant and God shall dwell with them and be their God 16. They suffered hunger heretofore but now they suffer it no more they suffered thirst heretofore but now they shall suffer it no more they suffered persecution heretofore but they shall suffer it no more 17.
a short time as hath been proved already ch 6. Disp. 2. q. 5. CHAP. XII The Prophecy of the Woman and the great Red Dragon representing the conversion of the Jews and the opposition and persecution of the Devil 1. AND I saw a great wonder in the Starry Heaven prefiguring what should be done upon the earth and the wonder which I saw was a woman representing the Nation of the Iews cloathed with the Sun in token of her future Glory and the Moon beneath her Feet in token she should change no more and a Crown of twelve Stars upon her head which are the twelve Tribes of Israel 2. And their conversion shall be like the pains of a woman in Travel which hath hard labour and strong pains and throws before she be delivered even so they of this Nation that be converted first shall have hard labour and Travel to convert the rest 3. And I saw another wonder in the Starry Heaven and it was a great Red Dragon representing the Devil and his mighty Agents upon earth which shall oppose the Church of Israel in her Travel and hinder their conversion what they can and they be seven Heathen Kings which shall have Crowns upon their Heads and ten Heathen Kingdoms which shall have no Kings of their own in them at this time 4. And he shall be in a great rage to hear of the conversion of this Church and Nation and in this rage of his shall with his tail in which as some say his main strength doth lye seek to overthrow the frame of nature and had rather Heaven and Earth should have an end than the conversion of that Church be brought to pass Or else his tail may represent the vulgar people that be in his Kingdoms as his seven heads do represent his Kings and by the help of this vulgar people he shall turn aside some part of that Nation from minding their conversion at the present and draw their hearts away from Heavenly things to earthly or else do some other hurt unto them and he himself shall stand before the Church of Israel now ready to be converted to the Faith of Christ threatning to devour them and their Children so soon as they become Christians 5. Yet for all this they shall be converted to the Christian Faith and the Child that shall be born of them is Jesus Christ who is then said to be born spiritually whenas a Church or Nation is brought to believe in him and after their conversion he shall subdue all Nations that War against them with the Sword but he himself shall sit in Heaven at Gods right hand and on his Throne 6. And when they be converted a great part of that Nation shall flee into the Wilderness especially they that be instrumental to convert the rest where they shall have a place prepared for them by the Lord their God as their forefathers had when they came forth of Egypt that they may be nourished and preserved there three years and a half from the fury of the Devil and his Agents 7. But before that this is done there shall be a great battel in the Church Michael and his Angels shall fight against the Devil in behalf of the Church of Israel that they may be converted to the Christian Faith and the Devil shall fight against Michael and his Angels against the others Angels that they may remain in unbelief 8. But Michael and his Angels shall prevail and the Devil and his Angels shall be overthrown and there shall be no place for them any more in the Church of Israel 9. And the great Red Dragon that old malicious Serpent otherwise called the Devil and Satan who deceived our first Parents at the first and the whole race of mankind ever since shall be cast forth of the Jewish Nation and all his evil Angels cast forth with him 10. And there shall be great joy in the Church of Israel and loud acclamation and Thanksgiving saying Now is salvation come to the Church of Israel from the Lord our God he is the Author of it and to him be it ascribed for evermore And the might and Kingdom of our God shall now be seen and made known unto the World and the power of his Christ for the accuser of that Church and Nation is cast forth who before their conversion accused them of their unbelief before our God day and night but from henceforth shall accuse them of that crime no more 11. But they shall overcome him by the merits of his blood who died for them and by their Faith which they have in him and the open profession of the same and they shall not love their lives more than they love their Christ but expose them unto death rather than remain in unbelief and deny their Faith in him and for this it is that Satan shall be cast forth of that Nation 12. Rejoyce ye Church of Israel because Satan is cast forth of your Nation and from ruling any more therein but wo be to the unbelieving Gentiles after this is done for the Devil will be among you altogether and have great wrath as knowing he hath but a short time to stay among you 13. And when Satan shall perceive that he is cast forth of the Jewish Nation he shall set himself to persecute that Church and Nation especially those members of them which were converted first and shall be instrumental to beget the rest to the Faith of Christ. 14. But power and opportunity shall be given to those members of that Church to fly into the Wilderness to the place prepared for them where they shall be nourished and preserved three years and a half from the power of the Devil and his Angels 15. And when the Devil shall perceive that they are fled into the Wilderness he shall send a flood of Water after them to drown them in the Wilderness or drive them out from thence 16. But God shall cause the dry and thirsty earth to open her mouth and swallow up the flood of Water which the Devil shall send after them and the Water thereupon shall do them no hurt 17. At which the Devil shall be very wroth and thereupon shall leave the Wilderness where they be and make War with the remnant of that Church and Nation which shall not flee into the Wilderness as the other shall but keep the commandments of the Lord their God and profess the faith of Jesus Christ in their known and open dwellings 18. And to accomplish this design of his he shall stand upon the sea shore representing the heathen people and Nations of the World out of whom he shall raise a beastly Tyrant to make War against that part of the Church of Israel which shall flee into the Wilderness as hereafter followeth Disputation VIII 1. Quest. Whether this Prophecy doth belong to the seventh Trumpet and be a part thereof Ans. 1. The seventh Trumpet doth not end with the former Chapter
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
often as they will 7. And when they shall have finished their testimony which they were to do in three years and a half the Scarlet coloured Beast which shall arise out of the bottomless Pit shall make War against them and overcome them and slay them which not any one could do before their Prophecy was ended 8. And their bodies after they be slain shall lye in the open Street of the great City which in a mystical sense is called Soâ—om and Egypt for the excessive wickedness that is therein at this time Uncleaness Blood Murther and other abominable sins and wickedness committed by the Gentiles which shall be therein but yet neither of these be in a literal sense the place where the witnesses shall be slain but that you may know what that City is indeed without any mystical sense at all it is 〈◊〉 City where our Lord himself was crucified 9. And the Soldiers of strangers of divers People Tribes Tongues and Nations that shall be sent to Jerusalem by the Beast to make War and slay these two Witnesses shall behold and see their dead bodies in the open Street of the City three days and a half day by day one after another and all that while shall not suffer their dead bodies to be buried and this is done not out of favour or disfavour unto them but only that men might know and see that they be dead and relate it unto others 10. And the Inhabitants of the place City or Country thereabout shall rejoyce over these men and make Feasts and be merry and send presents from their Tables one unto another because these two Prophets of the Lord are dead who by their Preaching and Miracles and Plagues tormented the Inhabitants of the Land when they were alive 11. But after they have been dead three days and a half their souls shall enter into them again and they shall stand upon their Feet and be alive again in their bodies and great fear shall fall upon all them that shall behold it 12. And they shall hear a voice from Heaven saying unto them Come up hither and they shall presently ascend to Heaven in a Cloud as Christ himself did and this shall be done not in their successours but in their own bodies and their enemies shall behold them and see them ascending into Heaven as Christs Disciple did behold and see him when he ascended thither 13. And the same hour that this is done shall be a great earth-quake at Jerusalem and the tenth part of the City fall and be thrown down unto the ground and seven thousand men be slain by the earth-quake and the rest that shall escape shall be afraid and glorifie God for their deliverance 14. The second wo is past when these things shall be fulfilled and there is but one wo more to come when these things are ended and that wo shall come quickly The Prophecy of the seventh Trumpet or the inchoation of it 15. And the seventh Angel sounded his Trumpet and presently upon the sound thereof there were voices of joy exultation and ovation in Heaven saying The Kingdoms of the World shall become the Kingdoms of the Lord and his Christ and he shall Reign for evermore and the time is now at hand in which it shall be done 16. And upon this joyful acclamation the four and twenty Elders rose up from their seats and fell prostrate on their faces and worshipped God because the time was come that the Lord and his Christ should Reign 17. Saying We give thee thanks Lord God Almighty the Monarch of Heaven and Earth the Ruler and Governor of all things therein and that not only now but heretofore in all ages past and throughout all ages for time to come because thou wilt receive thy great power and might and put thy Kingdom in execution 18. And the heathen shall be angry and thy wrath shall come and is now approaching and the time of the dead that Judgment be given to them and reward be given unto thy Servants whom thou shalt imploy to Preach thy Gospel and to thy Saints which be not Preachers but believers of thy Gospel and to all that fear thee both small and great and that thou shouldest destroy and root the Heathen out which corrupt and defile the earth where thou intendest to Reign and set up thy Kingdom 19. And the secret Closet of God shall be opened in Heaven and there shall be seen in his Closet the Ark of his Covenant which he made with the Jewish Nation that they should be converted to the Faith of Christ which at this time is to be put in Execution according to the Prophecy of the Angel in the tenth Chapter but before it commence or take effect there shall be Lightnings and Thundrings and a terrible Earth-quake to usher it in Disputation VII 1. Quest. Whether the Prophecy in the eleventh Chapter from the first Verse to the end of the fourteenth doth belong to the sixth Trumpet and be a part thereof Answ. 1. The sixth Trumpet doth not end with the ninth Chapter nor at the sixth Verse of the tenth Chapter but reacheth onward to the fourteenth Verse of the eleventh Chapter and there ends and not before as appears from the words of that Verse The second woe is past and behold the third woe cometh quickly 2. The close of the sixth Trumpet is not set down at the end of the ninth Chapter nor at the sixth or seventh Verse of the tenth Chapter but at the fourteenth Verse of the eleventh Chapter Therefore whatever comes between the seventh Verse of the tenth Chapter and the fourteenth Verse of the eleventh Chapter doth belong unto the sixth Trumpet and is a part thereof 3. Look into the former Trumpet and you shall not find any thing interposed between the end of that Trumpet and the close thereof and why should any Man think that so large a Prophecy as is contained between the seventh Verse of the tenth Chapter and the fourteenth Verse of the eleventh Chapter is interposed here 4. Of all the six Trumpets none have a remarkable close added to them but the fifth and the sixth Trumpets only and wherefore were these closes added to them but that we might exactly know as well where they end as where they do begin Now the fifth Trumpet ends where the close thereof is set and that is Rev. 9. 12. and therefore also the sixth Trumpet ends where the close thereof is set and that is Rev. 11. 14. and not before 5. St. John when he wrote the Revelation did not distinguish it into Chapters and Verses as now it is but did set down the sixth Trumpet and all the rest of the Revelation joyntly together without any such Partition or Division and if they which did at first distinguish the Revelation into Chapters and Verses had made but one Chapter of the sixth Trumpet beginning with the thirteenth Verse of the ninth Chapter and ending with the fourteenth
3. We read in Daniel that the little Horn who is thought to be the Beast here spoken of made war with the Saints and prevailed against them Dan. 7. 21 22. 25. Now who are meant by the Saints in Daniel but the Jews 4. VVe read in the same Book that Daniels people shall be in great trouble such as never was since there was a Nation Dan. 12. 1. Now from whom shall they have this trouble if not from the Beast here spoken of 5. VVe read in the Prophet Micah According to the days of thy coming out of the Land of Egypt will I shew unto him marvellous things the Nations shall see and be confounded c. Micah 7. 15 16. Now the plagues which shall fall upon the Beast are many of them the very same for kind with the plagues of Egypt therefore as the plagues of Egypt fell upon them for the wrong they did unto the Jews so the plagues which shall light upon the Beast shall fall upon him and his people for the persecution of that Nation 6. After the partuâ—ition of the woman in the former Chapter v. 12. the Devil knows he hath but a short time and therefore the Beast who is raised by him afterward has but a short time too Now if we look upon the Beasts which are in the world at this time whether Turks or any other they have continued a long time and therefore this prophecy is not meant of any of them but remains to be expected upon the Jews Conversion 7. The Beasts which now are in the world came to their height and eminency by long and tedious wars and by the ruines of other Nations but this Beast is raised on a sudden by the Devils art and policy as you may read v. 2. 4. and there are such strange courses taken such witchcraft and inchantment used such signs and wonders shewed such cunning and deceitful tricks invented and such a strange mark imposed by the second Beast to make men adhere unto the first Beast as you may read v. 12 13 14 15 16 17. as never yet was known take them all together at the rising of any Beast since the world began to this very day nor will be till the Jews Conversion and the rising of this enemy of theirs the Beast here spoken of The conclusion therefore is The Antichrist of St. John St. Pauls Man of sin and the Beast here spoken of be not all one The Antichrist of St. John be the false Christs that our Saviour speaks of in the Gospel Mat. 24. 24. which should start up before and after the destruction of Jerusalem 1 Joh. 2. 18. 22. and 4. 3. 2 Joh. 7. The Man of sin spoken of by St. Paul is avouched by some and denied by others to be the Pope of Rome of which see those that have written on that subject But the first Beast here spoken of is a Heathen King or Emperour raised by the Devil to war against the Jews after their Conversion and the second Beast is a Witch as Balaam was raised by the Devil and imployed by the first Beast as Balaam was by Balak to help him and assist him and do mighty things for him and for his settlement in his Kingdom v. 12 13 14 15 16 17. and for the ruine of the Jewish Nation Chap. 16. 13 14. CHAP. XIV The Prophecy of the Virgin Company 1. THen was presented unto me in a Vision what shall come to pass after the three days and a half allotted to the Beasts prosperity shall be ended and I saw a Lamb representing Jesus Christ stand on Mount Sion and with him an hundred forty and four thousand of the Jewish Nation spoken of before but to another purpose in the seventh Chapter who notwithstanding the power and prevalency of the Beast shall boldly profess the Name of Christ and have it and his Fathers Name besides legibly written in their Foreheads 2. And I heard a voice out of Heaven as the sound of many Waters and as the found of a great and mighty Thunder and after that the voice of Harpers making pleasant Melody with their Harps 3. And they sung a new Song before the Throne of God and before the four living Creatures and before the four and twenty Elders which Song shall be sung by none that be upon the earth but by the one hundred forty and four thousand which shall be redeemed from the rest that be upon the earth 4. These be they which shall not be defiled with Women for they shall be Virgins and unmarried Persons these be they which shall wait and attend upon the Lamb as a Lifeguard doth upon their Prince whithersoever he shall go these shall be redeemed from the rest of men as being the first Fruits to God and to the Lamb of the Jewish Nation 5. These be they which shall be without guile fraud and deceit and without stain of hainous sin in the sight of God The Prolcamation of the first Angel 6. And I saw an Angel flie in the midst between the Heaven and the Earth with a commission to preach proclaim and make known and publish the everlasting Gospel of Jesus Christ to the inhabitants of Judaea and to every Nation and Kindred and Tongue and People that shall be therein 7. Saying and proclaiming with a loud voice as he shall flie along Fear God and give him Glory for the hour of his Judgment is come and will shortly fall on all that fear not him worship not the Beast nor yeild obeisance unto him in the way that he goeth in opposition to the Gospel of Jesus Christ but worship him alone that made the Heaven and the Earth and the Sea and the Fountains of Waters The Proclamation of the second Angel 8. And another Angel followed after him proclaiming and saying Babylon is fallen is fallen meaning thereby that she shall shortly fall and come to nought because she made all Nations drink of the bitter Wine of her spiritual Fornication The Proclamation of the third Angel 9. And the third Angel followed after them proclaiming and saying with a loud voice If any worship the first Beast or his carved Image or take an Oath to be true and faithful unto him and receive a mark in their right hand or in their Foreheads in token that they have so done 10. The same shall drink of the bitter VVine of the wrath of God without mixing any thing therein to allay the sharpness of it and shall be tormented with Fire and Brimstone in the sight and presence of the Holy Angels and in the sight and presence of the Lamb. 11. And the smoke of their torment shall ascend for ever and never have an end and they shall be tormented Day and Night without ceasing or intermission which worship the first Beast or his carved Image or take an engagement to be true and faithful unto him and receive the print of his Name in token that they have so done 12. Here will be
unto it mingled with fire and the 144000 that obtain Victory over the first Beast and over his Image and over his mark or which is all one over the number of his name stand at the Glassie Sea as the Israelites heretofore when they had gotten Victory over Pharaoh and his hoast stood at the red Sea with the harps of God in their hands to praise the Lord therewith 3. And they shall sing a song of praise for their Victory over the Beast after the Pattern of the song which Moses and the Israelites did sing upon their Victory over Pharaoh and his hoast and they shall add to that song the song of Jesus Christ in which they shall praise God to this effect Great and marvellous are thy works Lord God Almighty just and true are thy dealings with the Sons of men thou King of Saints 4. Who shall not fear thee and give Glory to thy name for thou only art holy and none besides thee therefore all Nations shall come and worship thee for thy Judgments are manifest and all the world may see that they proceed from thee 5. And after this I looked and behold the Temple of the Tabernacle of Testimony the Holy of Holies the special place of Gods presence in Heaven shall be opened 6. And out of it shall come the seven Angels which have the execution of the seven last Plagues very gloriously apparelled with pure and white linnen and girt about the paps with Golden Girdles 7. And unto the seven Angels shall be given seven Golden Vials full of the Plagues and wrath of God which liveth for evermore 8. And the Temple it self shall be filled with smoak in token of Gods heavy wrath and vengeance which shall be so terrible and unsupportable that none shall be able to enter into the Temple where the representation of Gods wrath shall be until the seven Plagues of the seven Angels shall be executed to the full CHAP. XVI The Prophecy of the first Vial. 1. THEN the seven Angels shall have Commission from God to pour out the seven Vials of his fierce wrath upon the people of the earth successively one after another 2. And the first Angel shall pour out his Vial upon the dry Land and thereupon a very grievous noisome painful malignant ulcerous sore shall fall upon the men which shall take the oath of Allegiance to the first Beast and receive his mark or yield obeysance to his Image as heretofore there fell a grievous sore upon the Aegyptians but this which shall fall upon the Beasts obsequious Servants shall be far more grievous painful and malignant then that which fell upon the Aegyptians The Prophecy of the second Vial. 3. And the second Angel shall pour out his Vial upon the Sea and it shall be turned into blood and that blood shall be like the putred blood of a dead man after it hath been for certain days out of his body and every creature which liveth in that Sea shall dye The Prophecy of the third Vial. 4. And the third Angel shall pour out his Vial upon the Rivers and Fountains of Waters which run through the Beasts Dominions and they shall be turned into blood as the Waters of Aegypt were 5. And the Angel which hath power over the Waters hereupon shall say righteous art thou O Lord and holy because thou bringest such Judgments on them as are suitable to their sins 6. For they shed the blood of thy Saints and Prophets and thou shalt give them blood instead of Water to be their drink 7. And another Angel shall also say right so O Lord right so it is and ought to be just and righteous are thy Judgments very fit and suitable for such bloody persons be thy Plagues The Prophecy of the fourth Vial. 8. And the fourth Angel shall pour out his Vial upon the Sun and yet the Sun shall not be the object of Gods wrath but the instrument thereof and it shall be given to this Angel or to this heavenly body to torment men with fiery heat and they shall be the objects of this Vial and the Plague thereof is burning heat 9. And they shall be tormented with scorching heat from the influence of the Sun and blaspheme that potent God who hath power to inflict such exquisite Plagues as these upon them and shall inflict them at this time and yet their hearts shall be obdurate as the heart of Pharaoh was and shall not repent them of their sins and give God glory as by these Plagues they should have learned to do The Prophecy of the fifth Vial. 10. And the fifth Angel shall pour out his Vial upon the imperial Seat and Throne of the Beast and his Kingdom shall be full of darkness as the Land of Aegypt was and it shall be such a darkness as shall be felt and they shall gnaw their tongues for the grievous pain thereof 11. And blaspheme the God of Heaven because of their pains and their sores so exquisite vehement and malignant shall they be and yet for all this repent not of their deeds The Prophecy of the sixth Vial. 12. And the sixth Angel shall pour out his Vial upon the great and famous River Euphrates and cause the Water of the River to be dried up as the River Jordan and the red Sea heretofore were and this shall be done for this end and purpose that a broad and dry way may be made and prepared for the Kings which be on the East side of Euphrates to pass over to the West side thereof to their own destruction 13. And when the Devil and the first Beast and the second Beast the false Prophet or Magician shall perceive that a broad and easie way is made for them to pass over they shall call for three unclean Spirits which shall be ready at their call and come as easily unto them as 't is for them to speak and call for them 14. And these unclean Spirits be in truth the Spirits of Devils and very Devils indeed working miracles as they go to perswade men the better to do what they would have them do and they be to go to the Kings of the earth and of all the Country and Nations Eastward that be up in Armes to this end and purpose that they may gather them together to destroy the Jews at one blow but God shall turn it to their own destruction and they shall all of them be overthrown themselves in the last Battel they shall fight which hereupon is and shall be called the Battel of the great day of God Almighty 15. Now look unto your selves ye People of the East Country that ye joyn not with these War-like men against the Jews to your own undoing for behold what Christ saith unto you I will come suddenly upon you as a Thief commeth suddenly on a man when he least of all thinketh on it blessed is he that looketh to himself and doth not
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