from the taking Rome by Gensericus to Augustulus were so inconâ—…ble as to make some reckon the Western Empire to end with Valentinian the third yet it did really continue though in a languishing condition till it expired in Augustulus a Name suitable to the state it was then dwindled into And whenas its expiring is described in the third Trumpet by a great star falling from Heaven its Name being called Worm-wood the miserable condition of the Empire under those petty Emperors and their perplext troubles do best suit with that Character And the not reviving of the ten-horned-Ten-horned-beast till then does well enough agree with the ten Horns or ten Kings receiving Power as Kings one hour with the Beast for that signifies no more than that they received such Power about the same time with the reviving of the Beast And by the latitude of Mr. Medes's words before cited it might be very nigh the said expiring of the Western Empire before the Empire became divided into ten Kingdoms And as the not reviving of the ten-horned-Ten-horned-beast till the said A.D. 476 does so well agree with those Kings receiving Power as Kings one hour with the Beast so it better suits with the Power and Corruptions of Antichrist being then more advanced to sit him for reviving and heading the ten-horned-Ten-horned-beast And whereas he is represented by a two-horned-Two-horned-beast signifying the twofold Power he claims viz. Ecclesiastical and Civil answering to his Authority of Priest and King whose Vice-gerent he assumes to be and therefore he is said to wear the Horns of the Lamb he begins to head the ten-horned-Ten-horned-beast by exercising onely the first of these Powers till by his Pseudo-prophetick deceits he hath so advanced himself and deluded the World as to make way for his claiming the other Power also In the mean time steps in the other King who was to continue but a short space and was no Roman but a Foreign Head And this was Odoacer King of the Herculi with the succeeding Ostrogoths So that Odoacer extinguishing the Western Empire by vanquishing Augustulus the eighth Head which is the seventh Roman-head does as to one of his Powers which he exerciseth begin to head the Beast at the same time with the rise of the foreign Head which was to continue but a short space viz. both at the expiring of the sixth Head the Roman Emperors But he is not reputed the eighth Head till his exercising the other Power also The first Power fulfils the revealing of the Man of Sin at the expiring of the sixth Head and the other being civil makes him agree with the other Heads and so become the eighth Head which one of the seven or the seventh Roman Head My making the Commencement of the 1260 days to precede the 42 months is further made good out of Daniel For it 's said of the little Horn there cap. 7. which is the Antichristian-head of the Ten-horned-beast That the Saints of the Most High shall be given into his hands for a Time and Times and the dividing of a Time and then Judgment shall sit to take away his dominion and to consume it unto the end Now the said time and times c. being the same as before shewed with the 1260 days and at the end thereof Judgment beginning to sit to take away the dominion of the said Horn or Ten-horned-beast under that Head he is therefore to continue after the 1260 days till his dominion be taken away and consumed which how long it is seems concludible from Daniel cap. 12. Where we find again the said time and times and half c. during which the scattering of the power of the Holy People should be which is the same with the said giving the Saints into the hands of the said Beast and then on Daniel's enquiring What shall be the end of those Wonders there spoken of He is denyed an Answer as enquiring into things that are closed and sealed up till the time of the end yet is told of two periods of time which will make great discovery of what he enquires after viz. From the taking away the daily sacrifice and setting up the Abomination that maketh desolate there shall be 1290 days Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the 1335 days Which Numbers tho' they respect the Profanation of the Temple by Antiochus Epiphanes yet as he is generally agreed to be a Type of Antichrist so they in a Typical sense respect his Reign and so must have the same Epocha with the preceding time and times c. there which they relate to And then the time and times c. or 1260 days ending as before shewed in the year 1660 the 1290 days must end in 1690 and the 1335 days in 1735. So that whereas at the expiring of time and times c. or 1260 days Judgment begins to sit to take away the dominion of the Beast on the rising of the Witnesses after the slaying them at the end of those days the 1290 days denote a time the year 1690 at which some very remarkable advance will be made therein or some notable Transactions or Revolutions will fall out in order thereunto But the 1335 days denote a time the year 1735 at which the taking away his dominion or destroying him will be so completed as to make them Blessed or peculiarly happy that reach thereunto Now as to the falling out of such an event in the year 1690 as I have spoken of we have seen what great Transactions and Changes of such tendency both at home and abroad that with the preceding and following year hath produced and what further we are in continual expectation of And as to the event to fall out in the year 1735 I take it to be the sounding of the seventh Trumpet For on the slaying and rising of the Witnesses and their ascending in a Cloud and the falling thereon of the Tenth Part of the City it 's said The second Woe is past and the third Woe cometh quickly Which Fall of the Tenth Part of the City of which after I take to be a chief part of the event signified to fall out or commence in the year 1690. And we see how the state of the Turkish Empire the second Woe-Trumpet does agree with the seventh Trumpet its being the other event Which hath received such a deadly Wound as to make it ‖ Which is further confirmed from the time for which the Euphratean Horse-men or Turks are loosed Re. 9.5 to execute the second Woe-Trumpet on the Empire For the Day Month Year being Prophetick Days make 396 years the Epocha of which being about the beginning of the Fourteenth Century when the Turks began their Eruption from Euphrates on the Empire they must be now near expiring and therewith end that Trumpet or the Empire that inflicted that Plague At least so far as to make it cease from continuing the Plague of a Woe-Trumpet but the absolute breaking of that Empire seems not to be
needs strike the evil World with some â—…ead of that Divine Power so wonderfully manifested in its â—…dgments But the Contemplation thereof was such reviving â—…d animating of the Witnesses which might be with a due â—…passion of the evils inslicted by those Judgments and an â—…ancing of their Repute and Interest as to complete the setâ—…g them on their feet from their slain condition Which begat in their Adversaries such fear of them fulfillâ—…g what is said of the Witnesses raised again on their feet That â—…t fear fell on them that saw them as brought the Penal Laws 〈◊〉 them to suppress and hath since begotten many politick Arts 〈◊〉 keep them under and hinder their ascending in a Cloud to 〈◊〉 Heaven of Power whether the great Voice ver 12. does 〈◊〉 them Notwithstanding which they have continued still eâ—…ging in the World and will do so till that Voice be fulâ—…ed And as our late Revolution hath gained them that Liâ—…ty which is like to be so holding as to prove an open Door â—…em which no man can shut so it seems designed also for the â—…illing that Voice and thereby accomplishing the Fall of the â—…th Part of the City though the same be hitherto much obâ—…cted by continuance still of the former Enmity against them and Jealousies of them notwithstanding the great detriment the Publick receives thereby Though this Vision thus concerns our Nation as it chiefly respects one of the ten Kingdoms the Empire was divided into as before noted yet it hath also a concurrent fulfilling in other Countries where the afore mentioned design against the Reformed Religion on the Restauration c. hath been pursued to the utmost whereby as the slaying of the Witnesles hath been fulfilled with them so there hath and will be a fulfilling of their Resurrection by the aforesaid Judgment that now sits at the end of time and times c. To take away the dominion of the Beast and to consume it unto the end This Account of the slaying and rising of the Witnesses as respecting one of the ten Kingdoms c. is further confirmed from the Persecution here which succeeded the Restauration it s better agreeing with the slaying of the Witnesses than those Persecutions which then and since have faln out elsewhere coming short of their barbarous Inhumanity though so severe and heavy as to prove ruinous to many and so better answering to the slaying the Witnesses which is different from the former Antichristian Persecutions both as being peculiar to the Witnesses the Worshippers in the Inner-Court or Temple and Altar whereas the former extends also to the Outer-Court trodden down and as being not so much designed to destroy as to silence and subdue importing a political and a spiritual Death viz. as to their exercising their Function of Prophesying from whence they are raised by the Spirit of LIFE entring into them c. Also the Persecution here is more likely than any elsewhere to be the slaying the Witnesses because the Sufferers under it were such as espoused the Cause they were engaged in upon their own Judgment and Choice and much contrary to their worldly Interest both in respect of their excluding themselves thereby from Preferments and also exposing themselves to manifold evils from Punishment of Laws and Enmity of their prevailing Adversaries Whereas the Persecution in France and elsewhere being against a Religion so long established by Law that the Professors of it received it by Education it was therefore like a National Religion which involves all Professors true or false and so had multitudes in its Communion not so much from Principles of Conscience as the Influence of Education whereby the Truth was not so rooted in their hearts as to enable them to abide those Tryals that came upon them But this Account of the slaying and rising of the Witnesses tho' enforced with so strong Reasons will not be easily digested by those who so highly esteem the Reformation as to make the breaking then with Rome to be a dismembring us from the Ten-horned-beast or a separating this Kingdom from continuing one of the Horns thereof Which cannot be if the slaying the Witnesses was fulfilled according to my Account thereof For they being slain by the Beast that ascends out of the Bottomless-pit that is the Ten-horned-beast which cap. 13. is said to arise out of the Sea and cap. 17. to ascend out of the Bottomless-pit this Kingdom must continue a Member of that Beast or one of the Horns thereof at the time of the slaying them Which that it did so seems so clear from other Reasons also as to make it hardly conceivable to be otherwaies For the Reformation made no Alteration in the Civil Government and therefore could not make any as to this Kingdoms continuing a Part or Member of the Ten-horned-beast which is a representation of the Politick or Civil State of the Empire Nor did it make any in the Ecclesiastical Jurisdiction so called the same Hierarchy continuing here with rejection of the foreign Jurisdiction usurpt by the Pope And though the Reformation made in Religion was much Praise-worthy as a good beginning yet it fell much short of obeying that Voice Come out of her my People c. Rev. 18. And yet instead of making further progress it proved retrograde and backsliding became so prevalent as to beget dismal apprehensions of our relapsing to what we had reformed from and thereby involved us in the calamities of the Civil War Yet so far were we from being warned thereby that the Restauration proved a reviving of the same designs which before had produced such sad effects and which now became more eagerly driven on both out of enmity to that Party which were God's Scourge for the former pursuing the same and also to prevent the like sufferings from them again by a total suppressing them It appears therefore that the Antichristian Spirit of the World hath been the prevailing or predominant Spirit in the Nation since the Reformation and how can it then not continue us of the same Antichristian-body the ten-horned-Ten-horned-beast as formerly whatever Variance we have had since with Rome And being refin'd in Profession by the Reformation whilst the same Antichristian Spirit and worldly Power continues to bear sway does rather make us more complete Members of that Beast than make us cease from continuing Members thereof the Mystery of Iniquity consisting in warring against Christ under a Christian Profession or having Horns like a Lamb yet speaking as a Dragon And such Reformation in such enlightened times is indeed serviceable for the prolonging of worldly Power in opposition to the coming of Christs Kingdom whilst Satan being transformed into an Angel of Light and his Ministers into Ministers of Righteousness become thereby enabled the longer to vye with the true Children of Light Also the 1260 days of the Witnesses Prophesying and the Womans abode in the Wilderness ending as before shewed but in the year 1660 and by some not so
soon the Reformation could make no Visible Christian Church whilst the Woman the true Church continues so long after in her secret hid condition from the face of the Serpent Besides the National Church since the Reformation continuing a politick Body as before the Ligament of whose Union being humane Laws supported by worldly Power and thereby comprehending all but those who separate from her for Conscience sake even the most wicked hypocritical Professors as well as true Christians like Tares and Wheat growing together how can this Church so called pretend to be a real Christian Church or Member of the Church of Christ which is his Body The Union of which is by that Spiritual Ligament which knits each Member to other and the whole to Christ its Head whence it hath Nourishment ministred for its Spiritual growth and edifying So that it seems evident that the Reformation could make no such Change as to make the Nation cease from continuing a worldly Politick-body and Member of the Apocalyptick-beast as before The slaying the Witnesses proving therefore fulfilled by the said Restauration it must moderate the severe Censures which that Party that was then prevailed against hath been since blackned with Their Actions in the late times did so transcend the measures of human worldly Affairs as must needs make them seem very unaccountable to those who can judge of them only by their outer appearance and so may well incur severe Censures from them But those who by the Light of Prophecies can contemplate the transactions of those times as an extraordinary work of Providence for the advancing of Christ's Kingdom and quelling all opposition to it must surely judge otherwaies That War may well be reckon'd the Conclusion of the third Vial. That Vial contains those many bloody wars which succeeded the Reformation which was the second Vial and were occasioned by it viz. that between us and the Spaniards on their Invasion and that between them and the Dutch on their Revolt and the Hugonet Wars in France and the long dismal German War c. and ended with our Civil War After which the Treaty at Munster in the year 1648 concluded that bloody Vial by the Peace it gave to Christendom And that year proved so disastrous to Crowned Heads as makes it remarkable for commencing the fourth Vial poured on the Sun as well as for ending the third Vial. The most signal instance whereof was the hard Fate that befel CHARLES the First Who being swayed to such Excesses in Government as were perillous and Ruinous to True Religion and the Rights and Priviledges of the Subject and therein obstructive to the Advancement of Christ's Kingdom it brought the same Plague of the third Vial on this Nation which had befallen other Nations for the like doings Wherein his own part of suffering seems severe after he had yielded so far in giving satisfaction for that Male-Administration of Government which he had been seduced into But his Concessions were with such Reserve as did not yield security from the like Evils befalling the Nation again or however would not comport with the Progress that was then to be made in furthering the coming of Christ's Kingdom by finishing the Prophesying of the Witnesses in order to their slaying and rising again c. and therefore the Zealots for promoting the Interest of that Kingdom could sind no satisfaction in such concessions how plausible and satisfactory soever they appeared to others to be and thereon presumed in a transcendent Instance to become Ministers of the wrath of God declared against all worldly Power that does not submit to the Sceptre of Christ Jesus But their Zeal herein exceeding their Acting according the Righteous Judgments of Truth they failed of becoming established in their success and were so prevailed against by their Adversaries as to receive from them the same measure which they had meted Yet this does not exclude their being such Ministers of God as I have mentioned and they approved themselves to be such who underwent the utmost Tryal of Sufferings dying as men at peace with God and not condemned of him tho' judged of man And it s some exeuse for them that they appear to have been influenced by the Jesuites in that great Transaction see Dr. du Moulin's Vindication of the Protest Relig. c. pag. 59. whose subtle Instigations found their Zeal a sit Subject to work on And the prosperity of that Cause was such till it had finished its Course as must surely make God's owning and espousing the same discernable to all unless such as when his hand is lifted up will not see And the Adherents to it had the priviledge by their prosperous success to finish the mournful Prophesying of the Witnesses in this Nation and then by their being so prevailed against to accomplish the slaying them in order to their rising again and ascending to a triumphant state over their former sufferings Which we see now in a good measure fulfilled and are like to see the Accomplishing thereof by the fall of the tenth part of the City which succeeds the rising of the Witnesses and their ascending in a Cloud c. And what is meant by that Fall is our next Enquiry so far as we can search into what is not yet fulfilled It plainly imports such a Change as will make the Nation cease from continuing a Part or Member of the Ten-horned-beast which as appears it did not by the Reformation and that since save the Interruption by the Civil War we have been rather backsliding than making further progress out of Babylon till our late Revolution which hath freed us from such danger of relapsing and seems designed to complete our coming out from thence though we hitherto make but slow Progress therein by accomplishing the fall of the tenth part of the City By which seems to be meant the expiring of all the Power which the Devil gave to the Ten-horned beast cap. 13. wherewith To war with the Saints and overcome them which however it be diminished so continues as to hinder the Witnesses Ascent to that station whether the Great Voice does call them that is to exclude them from such employment in the Government as would most conduce to God's Glory and the Weal-publick and so promote the Interest of Christ's Kingdom in the Nation And whilst the Enmity against them does so continue as thus to suppress them and keep them under and thereby to obstruct the Advancement of Christ's Kingdom it s a continuing of the said War against the Saints and so makes the Nation not yet cease from continuing one of the Horns of the Ten horned-horned-beast So that till the Judgment that now sits to take away the dominion of the Beast hath so prevailed against all such Antichristian Power as to reduce the Government as to the exercising thereof to a like impotent State with those Beasts Dan. 7.12 Whose dominion is taken away though their Lives be prolonged the fall of the tenth
the powers of darkness and they exercise no power but by Him as our Saviour tells Pilate Thou couldst have no power against me except it was given thee from above For though they yield no voluntary obedience by observing his Laws yet they are under his Government and Restraint in the exercise of that power wherewith they pursue their wicked Inclinations Whereby he makes them Instruments of fulfilling his will when they rebel against Him And the Heavenly station of power which the devil possest in the Heathen Empire of Rome described Rev. 12. by a great red Dragon in Heaven having seven Heads and ten Horns and seven Crowns on his Heads c. does shew his dominion to be by Authority and not by Usurpation as also does the reviving of his Kingdom in the ten-horned-Ten-horned-beast cap. 13. To whom he gave his Power and Seat and great Authority And though the dominion of the despotick Rulers under him is by this Author but his usurpt Empire yet by the Scripture it 's the Authority of God as appears by what is said of Cyrus Esa 45. and by Nebuchadnezzar being told by Daniel That God had given him a Kingdom Power Strength and Glory cap. 2.37 and by his being called God's Servant into whose hands he gave the Nations c. Jer. 27.6 So that though this Author will allow such Rulers to reign but by God's permission yet they are authorized thereunto by his concurrence to their advancement as will after more fully appear But it seems to this Author a Reflexion on the divine Justice and Goodness to make such destructive Rulers God's Authority but it will not appear so if we look on them as Ministers of his wrath whom he hath ordained for Judgment and established for Correction And therefore it 's strange that this Author should allow a destructive power to be of God's appointment for punishment and that therefore though it 's not irresistible upon the account of divine Authority yet it 's to be born with till God accomplish his pleasure on those he scourges with it p. 29. and yet that he should not allow such power to be God's Authority tho' so appointed by Him for the exercising that power given by him to that end on those who by following their own waies become meet to reap such fruit of their doings For whenas the Wickedness of the old World was so great as to make God repent that he made Man â—n the Earth and therefore to destroy that World and instead of Reformation the new World became immersed deeper in corruption God desisting from further striving by his Spirit with sinful Flesh as he had done with the old World Gen. 6.3 though He would not destroy it again as before by reason of the â—…ppy end he designed to put to the wicked and miserable state of it by his coming Who should make Reconciliation for Iniquity â—nd bring in everlasting Righteousness yet till then as the World â—as become more lyable to death which is the Wages of Sin â—…an the old World so it was subjected to him Who hath the â—…r of death committed to him thro' fear of which he makes men 〈◊〉 their life time subject to bondage under such destructive powers 〈◊〉 govern onely by serpentine wisdom or worldly policy for saâ—…fying their Ambition and other boundless Lusts Hence the â—…ur Beasts signifying the four great Monarchies Dan. 7. do arise â—…t of the Sea as also does the Ten-horned-beast Rev. 13. in â—…p 17.8 cap. 11.7 he ascends out of the Bottomless-pit 〈◊〉 also do the Locusts signifying the Saracen Empire come thence â—…p 9. Which Sea and Bottomless-pit denote the Spirit of domination in worldly Rulers acted by the Spirit of the world under the Prince thereof and the Abyss of insatiable Lusts they are sunk into whereby they overflow and overwhelm the world in Thraldom under the bondage of Corruption being upheld in such domination by those Floods of ungodly Men who are the power of Hell or of that Spirit which worketh in the Children of Disobedience and thereby become the Waters that make great and the deep that sets on high those Rulers in their despotick dominion Hence he under whom they thus rule is called Leviathan the piercing crooked Serpent and the Dragon that is in the Sea Esa 27.1 and the destroying his dominion is signified by There shall be no more Sea Rev. 21.1 Since therefore Man by Apostacy became subject to Apostate Angels those Principalities and Powers and Rulers of the darkness of this World c. who gave rise to the unnatural despotick dominion whereby to establish the Kingdom of darkness in the World it 's evident that worldly Rulers under those powers can have no Authority or Right to rule but what is founded on their Power that is their Right is their Power which they gain over lapsed Mankind which by falling from God's Rule over them or deserting their Obedience to Him become so deserted of him and given over to the Ministers of his wrath whose Power is not usurpt by God's permission which as shewed before does clash with his providence as Governour of the World but is given to them by Him for fulfilling his Righteous Will on those who by revolting from Him become meet to be subjected to such Rulers For how wicked soever are the inclinations of such Rulers yet they continue so under the rule of God's power when faln from his moral rule over them as not to be able to commit any evil without his concurrence by giving way or letting them loose thereunto whereby he is the Author of the deed done though not of the evil committed in the doing it As when wild Beasts let loose by their Keepers commit destruction though it be wholly their deed yet the Keeper by reason of his letting them loose is an Author thereof But God does further concur in the Advancing of worldly Rulers to dominion by aiding them with His Power and withdrawing if from them outed by them Whence he is said to gird and loose the Loyns of Princes when he does invest them with Power and devest them thereof Thus did He gird Cyrus though he had not known him and having invested him thus with Power by reason of which he is called Gods Anointed to subdue Nations c. He loosed the Loins of Kings before him Esa 45.5.1 And when he devested Nebuchadnezzar of his Power it 's said to him from Heaven Thy Kingdom is departed from thee and when he re-invested him with it Nebuchadnezzar saies not onely My reason returned to me but also For the glory of my Kingdom my Honour and Brightness returned to me and my Counsellors and Lords sought unto me and I was established in my Kingdom and excellent Majesty was added to me Dan. 4. And of God's investing Princes thus with Power and again devesting them thereof speaks Job cap. 12. ver 18 19. c. And whereas rightful legal Princes are agreed to be the Power of God
Scripture does teach thereof but also signifies little Insight into the State of the opposite Kingdoms of Christ and the Devil in the World the conflict between which and the decree of God to put the Powers of the one under the Feet of the other are the main occasions of his making such Changes by which he pursues the fulfilling his decree as well as awakens in men a fear of him I have therefore given some brief Account of the Rise and State of those Kingdoms in the World driving on to that happy Issue of the great conflict between them whereby the great works of Providence for accomplishing the same may be contemplated with better Judgment than blindly to be censured as dismal works of darkness AN Enquiry into the Vision OF THE Slaying and Rising OF THE WITNESSES c. THe time of the Prophesying of the Witnesses being certain viz. 1260 Prophetick days which are so many years If we can find out the beginning of their Prophesying it will discover also the time of their finishing the same and of the Slaying and Rising of them thereon But I must first note a mistake in Expositors in making the 1260 days of their Prophesying and the Womans abode in the Wilderness to be Synchronal with the 42 Months of the continuance of the Ten-horned-beast and the Treading down of the Outer-Court whenas the Commencement of the former does precede the latter Those times being of equal extent does make it easy to fall into that mistake especially when they cannot much differ in the time of their commencing but that they differ therein is evident First From the continuance of the Ten-horned beast after the Witnesses finishing their prophesying For when they have finished the same the beast ascending out of the bottomless-pit which is the ten-horned-Ten-horned-beast makes war against them and overcomes them c. Also the same Beast is to continue till the abolishing of the Antichristian Powers by the battel of the great day of God Almighty at the seventh Trumpet and the seventh Vial when the Beast and the false Prophet are to be cast into the Lake of Fire Rev. 19.20 Therefore the 42 Months being the same extent of time with the 1260 days and continuing after their Expiring must also Commence after them Secondly From the Persecution which the old Serpent being cast into the Earth Rev. 12. did raise against the Woman fled into the Wilderness before the Rise of the Ten-horned-beast For after his being so cast down he casts out water like a Flood after her to carry her away And after he hath so spent his wrath against her he proceeds to make war with the Remnant of her Seed by the Ten-horned-beast c. 13. Now the Womans abode in the Wilderness being 1260 days the same with the Prophesying of the Witnesses and there suffering this Persecution preceding to the Rise of the Ten-horned-beast its plain that the 42 Months of his continuance must commence after the 1260 days It appearing therefore that the 1260 days and 42 Months are not wholly Synchronal I proceed to the commencement of the first being the time of the Witnesses Prophesying and the Womans abode in the Wilderness Thither she fled from the Persecution of the Devil for her bringing forth the Man-child who was caught up unto Gods Throne and thereby the Devil cast out into the Earth So that her abode there does commence from the time of his being so cast down which befell him about the end of Theodosius Magnus his Reign when the Heathen worship became abolished by his shutting up the Heathen Temples and depriving the Priests of their Revenues Whereby the devil fell from his Heavenly Station of being worshipped as the God of this World as also from the Power which upheld that worship Which further appears from the commencement of the Trumpets which according to Mr. Mede and others was by the Incursion of the Barbarous Nations which immediately succeeded the said Theodosius his death For their sounding being the subject of the seventh seal the devils being cast down must immediately precede the same being that befell him by the Revolution in the Heathen Government which is the subject of the Sixth Seal His fall from Heaven appears therefore both from the abolishing of the Heathen Worship and the immediate succeeding of the Trumpets to be about the end of the said Theodosius his Reign which Mr. Mede makes to end in the year 395 and also makes the devils fall from Heaven by the said Revolution in the Sixth Seal to be then completed or fulfilled But the Persecution thereon which drives the Woman into the Wilderness having no notable Transaction whereto to fix its beginning and being not to be supposed so immediately to succeed the devils being cast out as not to have some small space of time for the raising it and the 1260 days of her abode in the Wilderness being a Computation by Centuries with an odd sixty it s most Congruous to make them Commence with the fifth Century which so soon succeeds the said Theodosius his death viz. begins five years after it and so the odd sixty years to succeed a Century And thus making the beginning of the fifth Century to be the Epocha of the 1260 days of the Womans abode in the Wilderness its clear when they must end viz. in the year 1660 and consequently the 1260 days of the Prophesying of the Witnesses which I think none doubt but that it s during the same time must do the same And as the thus fixing the Epocha of those years or Prophetick days appears so reasonable so the truth thereof will be much confirmed when we come to apply the same to History that is when we find that at the end of those days the slaying and rising of the Witnesses c. became fulfilled which we find not how otherwaies to make out so as to agree with the Vision That the time and times and half c. is synchronal or signifies the same time with the 1260 days appears from both being the measure of the Womans abode in the Wildernss cap. 12. But the 42 months of the Ten-horned beast cannot commence till the Empire became divided into ten Kingdoms by the barbarous Nations that over-ran it which was not till after the middle of the fifth Century Mr. Mede makes it to be soon after the taking Rome by Gensericus the Vandal which he says was A.D. 455. and that the year following or soon after the whole Empire became divided into Ten Kingdoms But the reviving of the Ten-horned-beast cannot well be reckoned till the expiring of the Western Empire in Augustulus A.D. 476. For the Emperors being the sixth Head under which the Beast received its deadly wound by a sword that ought to be expired before its reviving under a new Head Also the Man of Sin was not to be revealed till He that did let viz. the sixth Head or Roman Emperors was taken out of the way And tho' those Emperors
accomplish'd by great Changes and Revolutions in human governments p. 22. should so severely censure the transactions of those Civil Wars and not look upon them to be alike Works of Providence for promoting the ruine of Antichrist whenas they gave so great a check to the Antichristian designs then driven on and such advance to the interest of Christ's Kingdom as that when by the turn of affairs those designs were more eagerly than ever pursued and that with greater advantage than ever both from abroad and at home to make the same successful yet all hath proved like the Rain descending and the Floods coming and the Winds blowing and beating on a House sounded on a Rick his Kingdom having so emerged above all opposition as to be now near a triumphant state in this Nation But it appearing by the Dr's Preface that the Liberty of Thoughts he hath taken proceeds from the Authority of Bishop Overals Convocation book which freed him from the apprehensions of Singularity and Novelty which he was cramp't with he could hardly take greater freedom than the Authority of that Book gave especially in Affairs wherein he is also crampt with a great prejudice which occasioned his so crippling the Truth he asserts in not giving it its due scope or extent and thereby giving such advantage against himself as before noted But whereas on Profanation of the Temple by Antiochus Epiphanes it 's said Dan. 11.32 The People that know their God shall be strong and do Exploits meaning the Resistance made by the Maccabees may not those Exploits which are there spoken of with approbation be lyable to be censured as the Dr. does the Actions of the late Times by the same measure wherewith he judgeth them For the one was a resisting Authority as much as the other yea and more as being begun by private Subjects whereas the other was a Conflict of Authority with it self or of one part of the Legislative power with the other and that upon urgent occasion given though it be called by the Dr. A bare-fac'd Rebellion p. 46 And may not those called chosen and faithful wherewith the Lamb overcomes the Kings of the Earth that war with him Rev. 14. and those Armies on White Horses in Heaven following him that is faithful and true and in righteousâ—ess doth judge and make War cap. 19.11 I say may or shall â—ot these Powers of Christ to settle him in his Kingdom on Earth be lyable by the same measure to the like Censures with those of the Dr. For they will not have the Authority of worldly powers to bear them out for those they are to war against as withstanding the settling of Christ in his Kingdom â—nd therefore must act upon his Authority to whose service through faith and knowledge of Him they have devoted themselves And so not being authorized by the visible worldly powers will be lyable to be censured as the Dr. does those of the late Times by the blind world that judgeth onely according to outer Appearance It 's evident therefore that through Knowledge of God and Faith in Him there may be such a disobedience and resistance of worldly Rulers by their Subjects as is righteous in his sight and acceptable service to Him however condemned of Men. So that as the whole project of Antichrist is under the guise of a Christian Profession to subvert Christianity so the Doctrine of Non-resistance as it hath been managed by many is a playing the like game that is under the Colour of teaching the pure Christian Doctrine of Passive Obedience to deter Men from being concerned in the great works of Providence against the powers of the World for the advanceing of Christ's Kingdom therein and so as much as may be to obstruct the coming thereof Since therefore the despotick dominion of worldly Rulers is but the Empire of the devil which be gave rise to by tempting Man to fall and which Christ came to destroy by destroying the works of the devil those bands of corruption which linkt sinful Man to the Thraldom of his power it appears how incapable Men are of and unmeet for Liberty whilst they continue the Servants of sin and that there 's no true Freedom but that wherewith Christ does make them free no Laws though they be so much consided in being any security for Mens Rights and Liberties whilst the dominion of sin in them does make them the Vassals of Satan taken captive by him at his will And therefore those forms of Government which make a Nation reputed a Free People do little avail thereto further than they preserve them from being so deeply immersed in corruptions as other Nations and so make them retain some vigour and strength to maintain their Rights and Liberties Hence it hath been a policy of despotick Rulers to corrupt their People by licentious Liberty whereby to make them more firmly their slaves they being thereby disperited to struggle for Freedom and are made in love with Thraldom As the Cappadocians being a more vicious Nation than any other did refuse the liberty of being made a Free People when offered it by the Romans no liberty being regarded by such People but that of serving their Lusts that reign in them whereby that Government is most pleasing to them that does most indulge them in the being Servants of Sin and free from Righteousness the bands of which they would break and cast away the cords thereof from them And when Men by Apostacy from God become so degenerated into Enmity against Him that is against Truth and Righteousness they are fit Sbujects for the domination of such Powers as will have as little regard to the same in ruling over them but deal with them according the bruitish state they are sunk into The proper end indeed of all worldly powers is become the Ministers of God for good by being a terrour to evil and not to good works and in some measure they usually prove so human policy or worldly wisdom moving them to restrain great Excesses in wickednesses But when such heroical Princes are advanced to rule as most pursue the due ends of Government yet all that they can effect is but like palliating Cures The in-side is first to be cleansed that the out-side may be clean also whilst the Corruptions of sinful Flesh remain unpurg'd they will have their course of evil Operations Till men have found the strait paths of Life they will be straggling in the broad ways of destruction and whilst they are thus held with the cords of their sins there 's no freeing them from the Thraldom of Satan There 's no recovering them from that bondage of Corruption but by that redemption which saves them from their sins and makes them free by the Truth and so delivers them from the power of darkness and translates them into the Kingdom of our Lord. The power of the devil must be destroyed by destroying his works that gave rise to it This therefore being the end of
part of the City seems not accomplished But there 's reason to reckon the fulfilling thereof near both from the light of this Vision and also from our seeing that Power so declining and languishing that all politick bands and subtle workings of the deceiver for upholding and prolonging it prove like the loosed tacklings that cannot strengthen their Masts nor spread their Sails whereby the Nation as to the worldly politick state of it is in alike unhing'd and crazy tottering condition as in Esay 24.19,20 is described to precede the glorious state of Christ's Kingdom And the Conflict that does spring from this declension of worldly Power and the emerging of the Witnesses ascending in a Cloud is the cause of our present Troubles and Distractions Nor can we well hope for settlement and prosperity till the Judgment that sits hath ended this Conflict by so taking away the dominion or power of the Beast as to fulfil the Fall of the tenth part of the City and the great Voice that calls the Witnesses up to Heaven This will give new Life and Vigour to the Government By the Lord being exalted among us to fill us with Judgment and Righteousness and make wisdom and knowledge the stability of our Times and strength of Salvation It will be a laying the Foundation of that City whose Builder and Maker is God whereby we shall find Him carrying on that Spiritual Building till he hath raised us up to the glorious state of the New Jerusalem And it will be such a preludious commencing of Christ's Kingdom in the Nation as will occasion great Changes throughout Christendom and so be a preparative making way for the great Revolution at the seventh Trumpet which settles Him in his Kingdom on Earth and therein be a great transaction of the fifth Vial which fils the Kingdom of the Beast with darkness And indeed that Vial seems to commence from our late great Revolution and so the Exit of King James did conclude the fourth Vial poured on the Sun as we have before noted his Fathers Fate to be a signal Transaction of its beginning But then whereas the present Consederacy against France is the result of that Revolution which seems not well established till the Confederates have so succeeded against that Sun which hath shined with much scorching heat to the great annoyance of Christendom as to make him set in a Cloud when this befals him which seems very hopeful as well as desireable it may well be reckoned a Transaction belonging to the fourth Vial as being so connext with King James's Exit that the Fall of the one did involve the others Fall Since therefore so great Consequences are like to attend our late Revolution they are much in the dark who are so much concerned for our settling upon our old bottom or worldly state acquiescing in the Deliverance received as if it rendred us as happy as is to be desired or however to be expected like those who reject all speculations of Christ's Kingdom on Earth telling us that he came not to interest himself in or give disturbance to the Rights of Princes or Civil Governments his Kingdom being not of this world shewing themselves of like spirit with those who said We will not have this Man reign over us But tho' his Kingdom be from above as He himself was and not from beneath of this world or according to the course thereof yet it s in this world where He must reign till he hath put down all Authority and Power all Enemies under his feet and so make the Kingdoms of the World become the Kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ c. And the Laws and Liberties which we so Joy in are owing to the advancement of his Kingdom on Earth But the world being unable so to consider them claims them as the Rights of Free-born People and which our Rulers are bound to observe by Original Contract with the People c. Whenas indeed what Change there is in the Government of the Christian world from the absolute dominion of Heathen Princes proceeds from the Victory gained over the powers of the world by the Man-child being caught up unto God's Throne to rule and the Dragon being cast out into the Earth Rev. 12. which caused the great Revolution in the Empire described in the sixth Seal And what Liberty or Freedom can any pretend to who are the Servants of Sin and Satan who having the Power of Death through fear of it makes them all their Liver-time subject to Bondage Which Bondage of Corruption all Mankind are subject to so far as Redemption through Christ Jesus hath not freed them from it And they being thus the Children of wrath under the Thraldom of the Prince of the power of the Air the spirit that worketh in the Children of Disobedience what Rights or Priviledges could they obtain Or what Assurance could they have of them when granted by absolute Heathen Rulers under the Prince of darkness Whose Power did set them above the need of making such Grants and could easily frustrate them when made So that the Grants and Concessions whereby the Princes of Christendom have obliged themselves to their Subjects and thereby enfranchised them from Heathen Thraldom are owing to the downfal of the Devils power by his being cast out of Heaven whereby they being unable to continue that absolute dominion were driven to comply with their Subjects by such Concessions And though his power hath been so restored by the Impostures of the false Prophet and other his subtle Arts to corrupt the Nations of Christendom as in some Countries almost to frustrate the benefit of that Victory over him yet in others it continues to be enjoyed and with that firmness in our Country as to make both former and latter Attempts to deprive us of it fatal to the Undertakers And the late Revolution seems not onely design'd to confirm to us that Benefit when there appeared so much danger of losing it but also much to enlarge the same by that advancemene of Christ's Kingdom which is signified by the Fall of the tenth part of the City But we seem insensible thereof and as little disposed to and prepared for so great a Blessing as Lot and his Family were to depart out of Sodom to escape destruction It 's too high a Blessing for the world to like tho' it be well pleased with than already received of being freed from Heathen Thraldom It can like such Blessings that free it from the evils and miseries that attend it s lapsed state lying in wickedness but is not pleased with such Blessings that tend to recover it out of that state by Reforming its Corruptions Which Indisposition to higher Blessings designed us makes the world so little sensible to whom to ascribe what we already enjoy and so to fail of rendring Him due Praise and Thanks for the same to whom all Judgment is committed that all men should honour the Son as they honour the Father