had therein done amiss Otherwise the fault were in the Angel in rebuking that as a sin which was an action that ought not to have been blamed Which is a thing that we are neither to say nor to think of an Angel of light But what was this fault of St. Iohn Can we say that he failed in reference to the Law and to matter of Right Certainly this Apostle was sanctified to the knowledg of the Truth by that Spirit which inspired him in his divine Writings yet sanctification being not perfect save in heaven there is no danger in confessing him to have been liable to infirmities and the rather because he himself saith 1 Epist chap. 1. v. 8. that if we say that we have no sin we deceive our selves and the truth is not in us Nevertheless seeing that if St. Iohn had failed in matter of Right he must have been guilty of Idolatry a thing he was not capable of committing neither as he was a Iew by his birth and less as he was a Christian who had received a greater measure of the light of Grace and least of all as he was an Apostle that had preached against Idolatry and who had shut up his first Epistle with that Exhortation Little children keep your selves from Idols it is therefore safest to say that he failed in matter of Fact and that being struck with the luster of the Angel he took him for one of the Persons of the Godhead for which the Angel doth rebuke him And what the Angel saith in his reprehending of him do's plainly favour this account See thou do it not say's he for I am thy fellow servant and of thy Brethren that have the Testimony of Iesus Worship God. The Angel saw that he took him not for a Creature but for the Creator For he doth it in the same manner that St. Paul and Barnabas reprehended the Lycaonians Act. 14. 15. when they would have sacrified to them as unto Iupiter and Mercury why do ye these things we also are men of like passions with you The Relapse of St. Iohn into the same fault chap. 22. v. 8. for which he was again rebuked do's invincibly prove that his sin was a faileur in matter of Fact. For who can with any probability believe that St. Iohn would have worshipped a creature if he had known him to be such or who can think but that if the Angel had thought so of him he would have rebuked him with greater severity than he did Whereas even upon that miscarriage he contenteth himself with producing the same reason a second time thar he had alledged unto him before That which the Angel addeth for the Testimony of Iesus is the Spirit of Prophecy is nothing but an Illustration of the reason which he had assigned for not suffering St. Iohn to worship him namely that I am thy fellow Servant For it is all one as if he should have said the Testimony of Iesus which is in thee as an Apostle is the same thing with the Spirit of Prophecy that is in me We are equal and therefore you deceive your self in taking me for an object which ought to be worshipped The Bishop of Rome is not so Scrupulous as the Angel was nor do's he carry it after that manner forasmuch as upon the day of his Election he suffereth himself to be set upon the high Altar where he is worshipped by all the Cardinals and by all the people By which we come to know what agreement there is between the Bishop of Rome and an Angel of light And that there is a great deal more betwixt him and the Angel of Darkness that had the impudence to require of Iesus Christ that he should fall down and Worship him XXXI ILLUSTRATION Of Christ's directing his Epistles and his Revelation to the seven Churches And why AFter that we have explained all the Visions of the Apocalypse we are not to forget to inquire the Reason why Jesus Christ judged it convenient to direct it together with the Epistles particularly to the seven Churches of Asia Ephesus Smyrna Pergamus Thyatira Sardis Philadelphia and Laodicea There is unquestionably a Mystery in it that Jesus Christ should direct this divine Book to Seven Churches neither to more nor to fewer For 1 the number seven is a Mysterious Number through this whole Book It signifieth the universality the fulfilling of all Times as appeareth by the consideration of the seven Seals the seven Trumpets and the seven Vials Because that number denoteth the whole Train of things which the Seals Trumpets and Vials fore-tell are to come to pass till the very destruction of the Antichristian Empire 2 Christ appeareth having in his hand Seven Stars which are the Seven Pastors of the Seven Churches aud walking in the midst of Seven Candlesticks which are the Seven Churches that we have mentioned But why Seven Doth he not promise to be the Protector but of these seven Pastors and the Overseer and Defender but of these Churches 3 There is a Conformity between that Vision in the first Chapter and those of the seven Seals and of the opened Book For we there find the same pomp the sound of a Trumpet and the glorious presence of our Saviour in the midst of his Church And withal he appeareth there walking in the midst of the seven Candlesticks and sitting in the midst of the four living Creatures and the 24. Elders By which conformity we are given to understand that this first Vision is of equal weight and of an equal extension with all the other And that this of the Seven Churches reached to the End of the world as all the following together do 4 Jesus Christ saith to St. John. v. 19. Write the things which thou hast seen and the things which are and the things which shall be hereafter Which is as much as if he had said write not only things which concern the Churches that are mentioned and which ought to be instructed as these are but which also concern all Churches to the End of the world and whereof the seven that are named are a model and Type 5 The Epistles which Jesus Christ directeth to the seven Churches do contain Instructions and Reprehensions which agree unto and exactly express all the different and several conditions in which the Christian Church will be found until the end of the world The State of the Church of Ephesus doth lively represent the condition of the Primitive Church where Truth prevailed and where at the last the decay of Charity became a disposition and a step to a more doleful State. Whosoever well considers what is said to the Church of Ephesus will therein find the condition of the primitive Church painted forth to the life That of Smyrna represents the State of the Church during the fourth and fifth Ages wherein Arianism had the upperhand and wherein the Orthodox were outragiously persecuted That is the Tribulation of ten days wherewith Smyrna is threatned not
imaginable But in truth after that I had throughly examined the vision of St. Iohn and the juncture of time where the Holy Spirit placeth the Reign of a thousand years to wit between the destruction of Babylon and all the Enemies of the Church upon the one side and the War of Gog and Magog as a fruit of the loosing of Satan after he had been imprisoned for a thousand years upon the other side I must declare that I find my self conquered and that I am forced to believe that the Church of God is to enjoy for some Ages an entire and uninterrupted peace here on the Earth I am confirmed in this opinion by a vast number of Prophesies both of the Old and New Testament which cannot be expounded without violence offered to them and are if I may so speak so many inexplicable riddles unless the Church of God be to enjoy that peace in this world of which those promises give us assurance And finding not the least danger in embracing that opinion I have closed with it without any further hesitation For what danger can it be to believe that the Church of God shall enjoy a thousand years Tranquillity here on the Earth I do see none unless it be that the believing so will give offence to the Orthodox who are of another mind and who affirm that the Cross is to be the Banner and Livery of the Church of God thro all Ages But these very Gentlemen do acknowledg that the Church had rest and peace during the Reign of Constantine And there are some who place the thousand years here spoken of under the Reign of that Emperor And do understand by them the Tranquillity that the Church enjoyed from the conversion of Constantine till the time that She became disturbed and persecuted by the Arrians So that the Orthodox Antimillenarians do confess that the Church had at least a twenty years calmness and serenity Why then should they be offended that others who are Orthodox make the peace which the Church is to enjoy to be of a greater length and duration And they cannot but own that the Cross is not essential to the Church of God. It is an accident without which the Church may very well subsist God can as well sanctify the Church in prosperity as in adversity in a calm as well as in a tempest Iob was righteous and rich in good works in the time of his affluence as well as in the time of his misery And why may it not be so in reference to the Church of God If the world be to last seven or it may be eight thousand years what danger will there be in allowing the Church of God one thousand years peace for the six or seven thousand that She is be in trouble and sufferings But let us without prejudice hearken unto what God saith to us upon this subject both by the Ministry of St. Iohn and that of the ancient Prophets Lo what St. Iohn tells us Rev 20. V. 1. I saw an Angel come down from Heaven having the Key of the bottomless Pit and a great Chain in his hand V. 2. And he laid hold on the Dragon that old Serpent which is the Devil and Satan and bound him a thousand years V. 3. And cast him into the bottomless Pit and shut him up and set a Seal upon him that he should deceive the Nations no more till the thousand years should be fulfilled and after that he must be loosed a little season V. 4. And I saw Thrones and they sat upon them and judgment was given unto them and I saw the Souls of them that were beheaded for the Testimony of Iesus and for the Word of God and which had not worshipped the Beast neither his Image neither had received his mark upon their Foreheads or in their right hands and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years V. 5. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished This is the first Resurrection V. 6. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first Resurrection on such the second death hath no power but they shall be Priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with him a thousand years V. 7. And when the thousand years are expired Satan shall be loosed out of his prison V. 8. And shall go out to deceive the Nations which are in the four Quarters of the Earth Gog and Magog c. The Church of Jesus Christ hath a right to say as Iob did I know that my Redeemer Liveth and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the Earth Chap. 19. v. 25. And that not only to raise and gather together my Bones which are scattered about the Graves mouth when he cometh from Heaven with his Glorious Angels to judg the quick and the Dead at the general Resurrection but also to deliver me from the misery wherein I have been in this world and to cause me to enjoy an entire peace after the destruction of all my Enemies For Iob was as well a Type of the Church of Christ as of Jesus Christ himself who is her adorable Head. This is that peace of the Church which St. Iohn doth here represent after that he had described her sufferings For he saw her Rising after the ruin of Babylon and injoying the gracious presence of her Redeemer after the imprisonment of Satan and the conversion of the unbelieving and Idolatrous Nations If we will give credit to some Divines this is the most obscure passage in the Revelation but this obscurity does arise from themselves and from three prejudices wherewith they are possessed 1. That the world is not to last any long time because St. Peter says that the end of all things is at hand 1 Epist chap. 4. v. 7. 2. Thar the opinion of the Millenarians who conceived that Jesus Christ should come from Heaven down here upon the Earth to converse visibly with his people and to cause them enjoy all sorts of pleasures for a thousand years hath been condemned as a carnal opinion tending to sensuality 3. That the Cross is to be the Livery of Christs Disciples through all Ages because Jesus Christ hath said if any man will come after me let him take up his Cross Matth. 16. 24. and because the Apostles have declared that through many tribulations we must enter into the Kingdom of God Acts 14. 22. But we deceive our selves if we do believe the World to be fo near its end seeing before that the Jews are to be converted the Kingdoms of the world are to be brought in to Jesus Christ Babylon is to be destroyed and who knoweth how long time there is to be between the destruction of Babylon and the ruine of her King and of her Religion without reckoning what time there may be to run out from the end of the thousand years Reign to the end of the War of Gog and Magog and from thence to the
their Felicity and whence they same 159 8 Of the Silence in Heaven for half an hour 162 9 Of the seven Angels with the seven Trumpets and of the Angel who cast the Censer into the Earth 163 10 Of the first Trumpet and of the Hail Fire and Blood. 165 11 Of the second Trumpet a Mountain burning cast in the Sea and a third part of it became Blood. 167 12 Of the third Trumpet A great Star fall from Heaven 169 13 Of the fourth Trumpet the third part of the Sun and of the Moon and of the Stars smitten 172 14 Of the fifth Trumpet the Key of the bottomless Pit given to the Star that fell from Heaven 174 15 Of the Locusts 179 16 Of the sixth Trumpet the loosing of the four Angels in the River Euphrates 194 17 Of the Angel with the Book open 201 18 Of the Voice of the Angel that had his right Foot upon the Sea and his left upon the Earth and of the seven Thunders 203 19 Of the Angels Oath and of the finishing the Mystery of God. 205 20 Of the Angels giving the Book to S. John to be eaten and of the effects which ensue thereupon Pag. 207 21 Of the measuring of the Temple and of the outward Court to be trodden under foot of the Gentiles 209 22 Of the two Witnesses their Sackcloth State the time of their Prophecying and their Dignity 212 23 Of the Witnesses being overcome and slain and left unburied 216 24 Of the rising of the Witnesses their Ascending into Heaven and of what follows upon their triumph 227 25 Of the seventh Trumpet The Ark opened in Heaven the Kingdoms of this world become the Lords 240 26 Of the pouring out of the Vials 245 27 Of the time that the Beasts Reign is to continue 265 28 Of the time when the Beasts Reign or the Papal Empire began 269 29 Of the Destruction of Gog and Magog 278 30 Of S. Johns Offence in falling at the Angels feet to worship him 280 31 Of Christs directing his Epistles and his Revelation to the seven Churches and why 284 ◠Defence of the Illustrations upon the Apocalypse concerning the Effusion of the Vials Page 1 Reasons for the Non-Effusion of the Vials 27 A NEW SYSTEME OF THE APOCALYPSE OR A Plain and Methodical Explanation of all the Visions of the REVELATION of St. JOHN The FIRST Part. I. ILLUSTRATION What we are to understand by the BEAST SAint John having in the 17. Chapter v. 1 2 3. told us how he was carried into the Wilderness by one of the Seven Angels that had the seven Viols and how he there saw a Woman sitting upon a Scarlet Beast full of Names of Blasphemy having seven Heads and ten Horns and having in the Vision related in the 13. Chapter described this Beast unto us we are therefore in the first place to inquire what is meant by this Beast with Seven Heads and Ten Horns that we may be able thereby to know with the more certainty and with the greater plainness who this Woman is that is called Babylon the Great whom the Beast carries Nor will it be difficult to understand the meaning and import of this Term Beast it having been explained in the Visions of Daniel For that Prophet having in the 7 th Chap. v. 3 4 5 6 7. declared how that he beheld Four Beasts rising out of the Sea the first whereof resembled a Lion the second a Bear the third a Leopard and the fourth different from the three former He adds that having asked one of the Angels that stood before the Ancient of Day 's what the meaning of that Vision might be it was answered him v. 17. that these four Beasts were four Kings which should arise upon the Earth So that this Explication vouchsav'd by the Angel unto Daniel concerning the Vision of the four Beasts do's fully inform us that this Term Beast in the Revelations of St. John signifies a Power à n Empire a Succession of Kings and Rulers as the four in Daniel's Visions represented the four Empires the Assyrian Persian Grecian and Roman with which the Church of God was concerned and which four Empires had been before represented by the Image that appeared to Nebuchadnezzar in his Dream Dan. 2. 31 c. The word Beast being then used in the Visions of Daniel to denote an Empire or a Succession of Soveraign Rulers it can have no other signification affixed unto it in the Visions of St. John forasmuch as one Spirit inspired both the Apostle and the Prophet And this is the more evident in that Daniel's fourth Beast is the same with that in St. Johns Visions as do's plainly appear by the universal and perfect Agreement that is between the one and the other 1. Whereas Daniel tells us c. 7. v. 7. that the Fourth Beast which is the Roman Empire and to which he gave no Name was different from the three former from the Lion the Bear and the Leopard so St. Iohn represents the Beast upon which the Woman sitteth not only as diverse from those three but as that which there is none that bears any resemblance unto and which as he says Rev. 13. 2. had the Body of a Leopard and whose Feet were as the Feet of a Bear and his Mouth as the Mouth of a Lion. 2. Whereas Daniel Chap. 7. 7. says of the fourth Beast that he had ten Horns St. Iohn says the same of the Beast that carried the Woman Rev. 17. 12. 3. And as Daniel informs us Chap. 7. 24. that the ten Horns of the fourth Beast were ten Kings that should arise out of that Kingdom St. Iohn likewise assures us Rev. 17. 12 that the ten Horns of the Beast upon which the Woman sitteth are ten Kings which had not then received any Kingdom 4. Whereas Daniel says Chap. 7. v. 8. 25. that the little Horn of the fourth Beast had a Mouth speaking great things and uttering words against the Most High. St. Iohn also say's of the Beast that carried the Woman Rev. 13. 5 6. that there was given unto him a Mouth speaking great things and that he opened his Mouth in Blasphemies against God. 5. Forasmuch as Daniel tells us Chap. 7. v. 21. concerning the little Horn of the fourth Beast that he made war with the Saints and prevailed against them St. John say's the same of the fourth Beast upon which the Woman sitteth Rev. 13. 7. namely that it was given unto him to make war with the Saints and to overcome them 6. And whereas Daniel declares Chap. 7. v. 25. that the Saints shall be given into the hands of the fourth Beast a time times and the dividing of time St. John declares also of the Beast upon which the Woman sitteth Rev. 13. 7. that Power was given unto him to continue forty and two moneths which make just three Prophetical years and a half 7. Lastly Forasmuch as Daniel says of the fourth Beast chap. 7. v. 11. that he was
the beginning of it Thus 't is said 1 Sam. 23. 18. that David and Ionathan made a Covenant that is they renewed it for they had made it before So St. Iohn tells us in his first Epist chap 5. v. 13. that he wrote to those who believed that they might believe i. e. that they might increase in Faith. So that that which the Spirit of God would plainly say is that the wrath of the Dragon became inflamed and that he went to make a more dangerous war than he had made before But who are this Remnant of the Seed of the Woman which keep the Commandments of God and have the Testimony of Christ Is there any difference betwixt them and the Church Is not the Church made up of such as keep the Commandments of God and have the Testimony of Jesus Christ There is the same difference between the Woman and those who are her Seed as there is betwixt a Mother and a Daughter The Oriental or Greek Church that had been distressed for about 200 years by the Heresie of Arius is the Mother and the Western or Latine Church is the Daughter and the Remnant of the Seed of the Woman The Bishop of Bitonto used this Distinction in a Sermon which he made before the Council of Trent The Greek Church saith he is our Mother to whom the Latin is indebted for all that She hath And in truth the Terms Church Bishop Priest Deacon Baptism Eucharist and Christian it self are all Greek Terms and plainly shew that our Religion is derived from them from whom we have borrowed the Terms They then who are said to be the Seed of the Woman against whom the Serpent went to make War is the Latine or Western Church where the Dragon all along since that time hath been labouring to accompish the Mystery of Iniquity which was at work in St. Pauls days 2 Thes 2. 7. And this is nothing else save Antichristianism or the Papacy But since the time that a Church of God Separated it self from that which had received the Mystery of iniquity the Church that so withdrew is the remnant of the Seed of the Woman And particularly the Waldenses are this Seed and whose Separation is acknowledged both by Historians and Inquisitors of the Church of Rome who speak of the Waldenses as of Christians who have been Separated from the Roman Church from the time of Sylvester and of Constantine the great Claudius Sesselius Arch-Bishop of Turin tells us in a Book which he writ against the Waldenses that the Sect of the Waldenses took its rise from a most religious person called Leo that lived in the time of Constantine the great and who detesting the covetousness of Pope Sylvester and the immoderate bounty of Constantine chose rather to embrace poverty with the simplicity of the Christian Faith than with Sylvester to be defiled with a Fat and rich benefice and that all they who were seriously Religious joined themselves to him The famous Inquisitor Reynerus Sacco as he is quoted by the Jesuite Cretzer in his Bibliotheck of the Fathers speaks much to the same purpose Amongst all the sects sayth he that either are or have hitherto been there is none that hath been so pernicious to the Church of Rome as that of the Leonists and that for three Reasons 1 Because it is she most ancient and hath continued longest For some affirm that it begun in the time of Sylvester and others in the time of the Apostles 2 Because it hath spread it self farthest there being no place where it is not to be found 3 Because they who are of it have a great shew of piety live vertuously before men believe rightly of the Deity and observe all the Articles of the Creed The Frier Belvedoras in his Relation al consilio de propaganda fide de Extir pandis Hereticis printed at Turin anno 1636. pag. 37 being excusing himself and those Missionaries that were his companions why they could not convert so much as one of the Waldenses do's assign this reason for it namely that that Heresie is too firmly rooted there for any to be able to do good among them in that say's he le Valli d'Angrogna sempre ad in omni tempo hanno havuto Heretici i. e. they of the Valleys of Angrogna have been alway's and through all times accounted Hereticks So that this Woman is exactly the Church of the Valdenses which as Claudius Seysellius tells us did in the person of the forementioned Leo separate from the Church of Rome in the time of Pope Sylvester and of the Emperor Constantine There being two Wings of an Eagle given unto her to assist her in her flight into the Valleys of Piedmont which lye at the foot of the Alp's And from thence they were stiled Valdenses long before the time of Peter Valdo as John Leger hath sufficiently proved in his History These then are the Remnant of the Seed of the Woman who as in France they have been stiled Vaudois from the word Vaux that signifies a Valley so in the Low Countries they have been called Valons which is to say those of the Valleys XIV ILLUSTRATION Of Babylon the great the Mother of Harlots that Sitteth upon many Waters carrying upon her fore-head the name Mystery and having a Golden Cup in her hand REV. CHAP. 17. v. 1 4 5. HAving proved in our Fourth Illustration that Babylon can be nothing else but Rome as professing her self Christian we are now to consider the Description which the Holy Spirit hath given of Babylon and to see how that Picture of her doth agree to Rome There is such an affinity and so many exact Resemblances between Rome and Babylon of the Chaldees that we are not to think it strang that the Holy Spirit hath given unto Rome the name of Babylon They were both founded by persons that were Captains over Robbers and who were great Shedders of blood Babylon by Nimrod who is said to have been a mighty hunter before the Lord Gen. 10. 9. And Rome by Romulus who as another Cain murthered his Brother They were both of them the Seats of great Empires The one as well as the other have had Monarchs who have stiled themselves Kings of Kings For this Title the Pope doth no less claim than Nebuchadnezzar did Both the one and the other have been the Subject of the Visions in the Prophet Daniel As the Babylonish Empire was the first Beast and the Head of the Image so the Roman was the Fourth Beast and the Feet of the Image that were part of Clay and part Iron The one as well as the other hath kept the people of God in Bondage Babylon the Israelites and Rome the Christians The one and t' other have Killed and burnt such as would not worship their Gods. The one as well as the other have been overthrown and after their subversion have past from one Religion to another Babylon being become Mahometan and Rome Popish
esteem that they who before had been called Arnoldians Henricians and Petrobrusians are supposed to have gotten from him the name of Valdenses Tho that is a mistake forasmuch as long before the time of Valdo they who made profession of the true Doctrine had been so stiled from the name of the Valleys of Angrogna and Piedmont where the Church of God had been harboured from the day 's of Constantin as hath been already observed These Teachers are represented crying with a loud voice Fear God because at that season Babylon alone was dreaded it being the common language of every one at that day Who is like unto the Beast who is able to make war with him as the Holy Ghost hath marked Rev. chap. 13. v. 4. They are farther represented crying Give Glory to God because then the Honor due to God was transferred to Creatures which according to St. Paul is a with-holding or a not-giving Glory to God. For that Apostle being speaking of the Pagans he accuseth them of not having glorified God by reason of their giving that honor to the Creature which belonged to none save to the Creator Rom. 1. 21 23. Moreover they are here introduced threatning the men of that Age with the Judgments of God The hour say they of his judgment is come Which Denunciation was fulfilled in the same Century For the Quarrels between the Emperor Frederick and the Pope filled all Christendom with Civil Wars and overwhelmed it with Desolation Besides the Voiage of Louis the seventh into the Holy Land proved most unhappy and then Saladin towards the end of that Age conquered the Kingdom of Jerusalem so that all the Christians became defeated and droven out of Palestine They are further introduced preaching the Gospel to every Nation and kindred and Tongue and People that is through all parts of the Papal Kingdom which in these Visions is signified by the Kingdom of the Beast Of whom it is said Chap. 13. v 7. that power was given unto him over all kindreds and Tongues and Nations and that all who dwelt upon the Earth worshipped him Which can be meant of nothing else but of the Roman Papal Empire In the fourteenth Age about the year 1360. Iohn Wicklif assaulted the Pope and both called him Archheretick Antichrist the Impostore of the Church and proved him to be so by Scripture History and his own Actions He preached likewise against the Sacrifice of the Mass against Indulgences and against the Worship of Images Relicks and Saints The voice of this Angel was so powerful and efficacious that Edward the third King of England ordained in Parliament that from thence forward Bishops should not go to Rome for confirmation but be confirmed at home by their own Metropolitans This Wicklif upon his withdrawing into Bohemia had Iohn Hus for his Disciple Which Hus by the alone power of his Doctrine drew the Kingdom of Bohemia off from obedience to Rome And thence it is that this Angel is introduced crying Babylon is falling is falling Because that was a presage of the falling away of Nations from her which should ensue in the next Age. John Hus was burnt by the Council of Constance contrary to the publick Faith and the safe Conduct that had been given him by the Emperor Sigismond And History reports of him that he should say to his Judges ye are putting a Goose to death for so Hus in the Bohemian Language signifies but a hundred years hence God will raise up a Swan whom tho ye would never so fain destroy ye shall not be able Which Prophecy was exactly fulfilled at the time For as Iohn Hus was burnt anno 1415. so Luther begun the work of the Reformation by writing against Indulgences in the year 1515. And tho the Court of Rome did all they could both to stop his mouth and to destroy him yet they could never effect it It was therefore in the 16. Century that the voice of the third Angel was heard saying loudly If any man worship the Beast and his Image and receive his mark in his Forehead or in his Hand the same shall drink of the Wine of the Wrath of God c. This Angel is Luther who writ with that strength and preached with that efficacy and with such success against the Errors Idolatry and Tyranny of the Church of Rome that near one half of the Nations and People who reverenced her as their Mother and feared her as their Queen withdrew from her Communion and look't upon her with detestation as the Mother of uncleanness and Abominations And as Rome could not behold the success of the voice of the third Angel but with despite and rage so Believers could not escape suffering a great deal from a power which saw it self so dangerously weakned by their Separation This is what the H. Spirit declareth was to be when he saith Here is the patience of the Saints here are they that keâ—p the Commaudments of God and the Faith of Iesus But the Holy Spirit in the message directed thereupon to St. Iohn do's likeway's animate and fortify them against all those evils that Babylon should be able to do unto them And I heard a voice from Heaven saying unto me write Blessed are the Dead which die in the Lord from henceforth yea saith the Spirit that they may rest from their labours and their works do follow them There being no where else and express command given unto St. Iohn to write except in the first Chap. v. 19. It serves to shew the great importance of this Doctrine both in discovering the falsehood of the Romish Doctrine about the State of Dead about the Worship given unto them about Purgatory to which they are adjudged and about the Mass which is made use of for fetching them thence and also for the comfort and encouragement of those who assert the dignity of the Everlasting Gospel and who are persecuted by the Beast for defending of it XVIII ILLUSTRATION Of the Harvest and the Vintage REV. CHAP. 14. v. 14 15 c. THese two Visions do without doubt signify the Judgments of God against his Enemies and the Persecutors of his Church Accordingly Ieremiah useth the similitudes of Vintage and Harvest against Babylon of the Chaldees Chap. 51. v. 33. The Daughter of Babylon saith he is like a threshing floor it is time to thresh her yet a little while and the time of her Harvest shall come Ioel also makes use of them both Chap. 13. 3. Put in the Sicle saith he for the Harvest is ripe come get you down for the Press is full the fats overflow for their wickedness is great There are some who do think that the Harvest respecteth and threatneth the Mahometan Empire but all are agreed that the Vintage referreth unto and threatneth the Papal Kingdom As for me I think it most probable that both these Judgments do threaten the Papal Empire And that the Harvest signifies an Initial Judgment or a Decision as to some
can be no other save that of the Reign of the 1000 years Nor is there any doubt but that this Ierusalem which St. John describes is the very same with that whereof the Prophet Ezekiel hath given a description together with that of the Temple and that there are very many things in that description which cannot be perfectly understood till after the conversion of the Iews A NEW SYSTEME OF THE APOCALYPSE OR An Explanation of all the Visions Of the REVELATION of St. JOHN The SECOND Part. I. ILLUSTRATION Of the Throne the 24. Elders the Sea of Glass and the 4 living Creatures REV. CHAP. 4. THe most difficult part would be yet to do if the ten last Chapters of the Revelation were not as I have supposed an explanation of the Visions contained in the eleven first So that we must have recourse to the Explications given in the first part of this work if we would clearly see into the meaning of the Visions that remain to be explained in the second v. 2. Behold I saw a Throne set in heaven and one sate on the Throne v. 3. And he that sat was to look upon like a Iasper and a Sardine stone and there was a Rainbow about the throne This is a lofty description of the Majesty of God. And his not being named is an advancement of his Glory For God said to Manoah Iudg chap. 13. v. 18. why askest thou after my name seeing it is secret or wonderful The Iasper Stone represents the unchangeablness and eternity of his Essence The fiery Sardine represents his inaccessible Majesty And the Rainbow in heaven signifies the unalterableness of his Covenant v. 4. And round about the Throne were 24 Seats and upon the Seats I saw 24 Elders sitting cloathed in white rayment and they had on their heads Crowns of gold These are the Pastors and Guides of the Church militant under the name of the twelve Patriarchs of the Church of Israel and of the twelve Apostles of the Christian Church because it was in favour of the Church Militant that God revealed his Glory and Majesty to St. Iohn The Title of Elder is a Title of dignity whereof also the whiteness of their Garments and their Crowns of Gold are marks and indications And this gives us ground to hope that they who are Israelites after the Spirit and who through a true faith follow the doctrine of the Apostles shall one day come to be advanced to a glory like unto this v. 5. And out of the throne proceeded lightnings and thundrings and voices and there were seven lamps of fire burning before the throne which are the seven spirits of God. This is a terrible threatning against the Enemies of Gods Church The Seven Spirits are the Spirit himself expressed by the number seven which is a Mystical number and which represents the variety the unexpressible number and the perfection of his Graces v. 6. And before the throne there was a Sea of Glass like unto Chrystall In the Scripture Waters signify people And the Sea is a heap of waters So that this is the Church composed of multitudes of people But to distinguish her from other Societies of the world that are Muddy filthy she is compared to Crystal which is as well pure as it is Solid and transparent She is said to be before the throne because She is ever under the eye and care of her Creator who carries her as the Scripture elsewhere speaketh engraven upon the palms of his hands Isa 49. 16. And round about the throne were four living Creatures full of eyes before and behind v. 7. And the first living creature was like a Lion and the 2d like a Calf and the 3d had the face of a wan and the 4th was like a flying Eagle v. 8. And the four living Creatures had each of them six wings and they were full of eyes within and they rest not day nor night saying holy holy holy Lord God Almighty which was and is and is to come These four living Creatures are beyond all exception the same with those in the Vision of the Prophet Ezekiel chap. 1. For that Prophet stiles them in his 10 chap. v. 5. Cherubims which signify Angels These are then four chief Angels as they are called in the 10 chap. of Daniel v. 13. and they are elsewhere called Archangels as having Angels under them And thence it is said Rev. 15. 7. that one of the four living Creatures gave unto the seven Angels seven Vials full of the wrath of God who liveth for ever ever Which cannot agree but to Archangels These Archangels are represented by the number four either with respect to the four parts of the world according to which the four gates of the new Ierusalem are disposed which was represented by the Mystical Temple of Ezekiel or else with respect to the four Empires under which the Church of God hath been in subjection and afflicted In Ezekiel these living Creatures are represented each of them having the four resemblances of a Lion of an Ox of a Man and of an Eagle but here each is represented as having but one because St. Iohn saw them in a posture of standing whereas Ezekiel saw them in a posture of motion together with their wheels The Lion is an Emblem of invincible courage The Ox is a Symbole of strenth and patience The Man of meekness And the Eagle of promptitude swiftness All which serve to declare the qualities of these Angels in their Execution of divine Orders As their being full of eyes expresseth the knowledg and wisdom wherewith they execute them V. 9. And when these four living Creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him that sat on the throne who liveth for ever and ever V. 10. The four and twenty Elders fall down before him that sat on the throne and worship him that liveth for ever and ever and cast their Crowns before the Throne saying V. 11. Thou art worthy O Lord to receive glory and honor and power for thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure they are and were created Here we have the exact form of true Religion and of lawful worship The Mystical living Creatures do adore none but God the 24 Elders do worship none besides the Lord it is before him that they do alone bow and it is only at his feet that they cast down their Crowns 'T is to him alone that they ascribe honor and glory and they themselves assign the reason of it For say they thou hast created all things Whence is it that the Holy Virgin is not here named if She be also the object of Religion and of worship And why ought we not to be content with that form of Adoration which the Angels of Heaven practice especially seeing we every day say thy will be done in Earth as it is in Heaven Moreover the Scope of this Vision is to assure Christians that God will be alway's in the midst of
he the Earth neither the Sea nor the Trees until we have sealed the Servants of our God in their Foreheads For he doth not simply call them the Servants of God as he would have done had he been speaking to Angels of Satan but he calls them the Angels of Our God thereby acknowledging them for Angels who together with himself could say Our God which the evil Angels do not say neither can they We must therefore inquire what good thing this is that the with-holding of the Winds doth signify And without doubt it signifies Peace and Tranquillity forasmuch as the Wind is that which troubleth the Sea and agitateth the Air. The holding of the four Winds doth then signify an universal Peace in the Empire and in the Church nor can it be denied but that there was such a Tranquillity during the Reign of Constantin For neither was the Church persecuted during his Reign nor was the Empire molested with any War either intestine or forraign after the tragical death of Licinius But what damage could an intire and universal Peace bring to the Church It is certain that such a blessing could not directly and of it self do any hurt but it produced a great deal of mischief by accident and through the abuse that was made of it The calm which the Conversion of Constantin procured to the Church corrupted her For the Christian Emperors having heapt riches and honors upon the Church She became carnal She opened a gate to Heresies to Superstitions to Idolatry and to Tyranny so that at last She is become that Babylon upon which the Vials of Gods wrath are to be poured forth This corruption will be seen both in its Birth in its Growth and in its Fulness under the Trumpets But yet so that this general corruption of the Christian Church could not hinder but that God preserved a certain number of true Worshippers as a Remnant of his Grace And this is the Remnant which the Angel that had the Seal of God declareth unto the other Angels that he was going to mark in order to their being preserved from the general corruption as so many Lots in Sedom and as so many Daniels in Babylon And that this was not a created Angel but the Angel who was the Creator to wit Jesus Christ there is no cause to question For he could be no other than he who is called the Angel of Gods Council Isa 63. 9. the Angel of his Covenant Malach. 3. 1. and He who is called the Eternal Gen. 18. 31. It is He indeed who hath the Seal of God whereby to mark the Elect and this Seal is the Holy Spirit which he giveth unto us 1 Joh. 3. 24. 1 Joh. 4. 13. that whereby as St. Paul saith we are sealed unto the day of Redemption Eph 3. 30. So that this Angel can be none else but the Son of God because it is he alone who sendeth the Spirit Joh. 16. 7. and who knoweth all the Sheep whom the Father had given unto him Joh. 10. 14. VI. ILLUSTRATION Of the hundred forty and four thousand which were sealed of the Tribes of Israel REV. CHAP. 7. V. 4. And I heard the number of them which were sealed and there were sealed 144000. of all the Tribes of the Children of Israel V. 5. Of the Tribe of Judah were sealed twelve thousand of the Tribe of Ruben c. WE have in the 16. Illustration of the first Part assigned the Reason why the Elect are designed by the number of 144000. so that all which remaineth to be done here is to enquire why there are twelve thousand said to be sealed out of every Tribe And this is first because the Church of Israel is the Stock and the Christian Church made up of Gentiles is the Graft inoculated into that of Israel Whence it is that Christians are called by St. Paul the Israel of God and Israel after the Spirit Israel is the Father and Christians are the Children who bear their Fathers Name Secondly it is to shew that however implacable the wrath of God against the Jews may seem to be even after it hath been avenging it self upon them as I may say for these sixteen hundred years yet he hath not forgotten them but will one day call them will take away the Vail of Moses that is upon their heart and which hindreth them for acknowledging Jesus Christ and he will convert them Joseph did not reveal himself to his Bretheren the first time that he appeared to them Iesus Christ carried it after the same manner the first time that he came to the Jews He came to his own but his own received him not But Ioseph discovered himself to his Bretheren at the second time when he came among them and that interview was full of endearedness his Bretheren continued with him and had the best part of the Land of Egypt assigned them to dwell in It will be after the same manner when Christ shall manifest himself the second time to the Jews he will enrich them with the light of his Grace and heap upon them his blessings For as St. Paul speaketh after one of the Prophets There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer and shall turn away ungodliness from Iacob and so all Israel shall be saved Rom. 11. 26. The honor which God doth the Children of Israel in designing the Elect of God by the names of their Tribes is a confirmation of this prediction of St. Paul and of the Prophet These sealed ones are the same with those spoken of Chap. 14. v. 1. with this difference notwithstanding that they are mentioned there in order to be praised for having been faithful to the Lamb while all the inhabitants of the world went after the Beast but they are here spoken of before hand in token that they were to be preserved from the general corruption that was foretold and which was threatned by the Trumpets They weary themselves in vain who go about to seek for a reason why there is no mention here of the Tribe of Dan. Seeing tho it be not mentioned in this place yet it is both mentioned and that first in the 48. of Ezekiel where he treats of the new division of the Land of Canaan and in the enumeration which the Prophet makes of the Gates of the new Jerusalem which is at the bottom the same which St. Iohn describes Chap. 21. where there is one Gate for the Tribe of Dan. This observation serveth to overthrow all the reasons which are alledged for this omission Nor are we to seek for any other reason of it but this that the Holy Spirit would retain the number of twelve because of a reference to the twelve Apostles as hath been already suggested in the forementioned Illustration And whereas it is said that the 144000. are sealed in their Foreheads that implieth that the Elect shall make an open profession of the Doctrine of the twelve Apostles who are the twelve Patriarchs of the Christian
of the Iesuites who are justly esteemed for great Masters in hypocrisy 11 'T is said of these infernal Locusts that they had a King over them which is the Angel of the bottomless pit whose name in the Hebrew is Abaddon but in the Greek Appollyon The Iesuites have also a King whom they vow to obey implicitely in all things This King is the Pope The Holy Spirit clearly expresseth him by the Term Abaddon For this Abba signifieth Father as well as that of Pope doth But the Holy Spirit makes him an Abaddon an Appollyon which signifieth destroyer This King of the Locusts is an Idol who will destroy all that worship him And this is to worship him to believe him Infallible and to render him a blind obedience and which knows no limits 12 Finally it is said of these Locusts of the bottomless pit that their power was to hurt men five moneths If the Holy Ghost had mentioned this only once we might have thought that it was only a bare allusion to natural Locusts which do neither make a noise nor do appear save from May till September But the Holy Spirit not being satisfied with the mentioning of it at the beginning of this description of the Locusts v. 5. but repeating it again at the end v. 10. he do's thereby inform us that he intendeth more than a bare Allusion and that he would hereby mark out unto us the time allotted and prescribed to the Iesuites for them to exercise their power in and in which they are to be so formidable every where in the world This Time is designed by five Moneths which are without doubt of the same nature with the fourty and two mon'ths which make up the duration of the Beasts Kingdom and which shall be proved to be prophetick mon'ths whereof each amounteth to thirty years According to which exposition five mon'ths signisie one hundred and fifty years forasmuch as five times thirty make 150. 'T is already more than 150 years since the Iesuites have been in the world But it is not the duration of that Society from its first Institution to its End that is here treated of That alone which is here intended is the Time that their power should continue And if you ask what power I say that to torment men Now they received this power but from the Pope The Pope did not give it unto them otherway's than by the Bull by which he confirmed their Society Nor was this Bull granted till the year 1540 that Pope Paul III. Emitted it in the mon'th of October 'T is in the vertu ' of this Bull that the Iesuites have had esteem and that they have authority to do all the mischief that they have done within the bounds of the Papal Kingdom From whence it may follow that they shall not be in a condition to torment men for above three years from this time For being now in the year 1687. there are 147 years run out since the date of the Bull of Pope Paul III So that there seem to remain but three years until their having accomplished their five prophetical Mon'ths and until their having exercised their power of Tormenting men for 150 years But if any in order to lessen the probability which is in this conjecture shall object that there have been at least 23. Bulls published in favour of the Iesuites from the year 1540 until the year 1598 and that by five Popes namely Paul III. Iulius III. Pius IV. Pius V. and Gregory XIII and that the power to Torment was not given unto the Iesuites at once but successively aud by degrees each Bull advancing their priviledges And that therefore we cannot define the precise time when this power begun so as to be able to determine from thence when it shall end I answer that none of the following Bulls having derogated in any one priviledg from the first Bull it is but reasonable that we should fix and take up at the first which was granted in the mon'th of October 1540 forasmnch as it was that which established the Society and which is the foundation of all the other Bulls It seems impossible either to destroy or to weaken the power of these Locusts in that they have so strongly established themselves in the Courts of all Princes Nor is there any appearance that Monarchs should attempt it seeing they imploy them in their affairs of State as well as in those which relate to their Consciences But nothing is impossible to God who is the Protector of Kings and who holds their hearts in his hand He hath marked out unto the Iesuites the duration of their power And it shall not exceed five mon'ths continuance which is the same with that of 150 years It is withal extreamly probable that God will make use of Kings for destroying the power of the Locusts as he will serve himself of them for the subverting of Babylon and as he had imploy'd them for the ruin of the Templers who were not near so much hated as the Iesuites are and whose vast Revenues was the greatest reason that Princes had to rid themselves of them and to seise their Estates The Crimes whereof they were accused were but in truth a pretence It may yet be objected against this exposition that the Locusts arose out of the bottomless pit under the fifth Trumpet and that it is more than five prophetical Mon'ths more than 150 years from the sounding of the fifth Trumpet to the Sounding of the sixth under which we now are And by consequence that the Iesuites are not the Locusts seeing they did not appear till under the sixth Trumpet So that the five Mon'ths of the duration of the power of the Locusts must be ill apprehended and ill explained I answer that if the two and forty Mon'ths of the continuance of the Beasts Kingdom amount each of them to thirty years as shall be demonstrated in its place we are not to question but that these five prophetick Mon'ths being indisputably such as they are must constitute 150 years 'T is true that there is a great deal more than an hundred and fifty years to be allowed for the course of the fifth Trumpet to the sixth under which we live and under which the Iesuites came into the world But we laid this down as a foundation at first that all Monks and Fryers are represented by the Locusts as there is no part of the Character of the Locusts but which agrees to them all And tho' the Iesuites be risen above 300. years after the Cordeliers and the Iacobins yet it doth not follow that they ought not to be ranked with those Orders that sprung up before seeing they all make but one Body of Regulars and are all equally both the Creatures and the Supporters of the Pope And the reason why the Holy Spirit had the Jesuites chiefly in his aim is because they are the accomplishment of this new Pharisaism the top of the Mystery of Iniquity and the last as
hast to put it into practice which succeeded to them according to their desires Calcondyla reports that Mahomet II. being besieging Constantinople caused Canon to be cast of so extraordinary a bigness that there needed seventy couple of Oxen and two thousand men to draw one of them 7. The Third part of men killed intimateth the Progress and Spreading both of the Turkish Empire and of their Religion which reunited all their different principalities in the person of Tangrolipix To him succeeded Asan in the year 1059. just about the time that Pope Gregory VII raised the Papacy to the highest top of grandure And it was this Asan that rendred himself Master of all the Countries from the City of Laodicea in Syria even to the Hellespont of Antiochia of Cappadocia of Bithynia of Lycia of Pesidia of Lycaonia of Paphlagonia of Galatia of both the Celicia's of Pontus and of Anatolia And from that time the Sultans have alway's advanced their conquests and have destroyed the Roman Empire in the East having made Constantinople which was formerly the Imperial Seat of it to be that of the Turkish and Mahometan Empire 8. It was upon the Christians that the Turks made all their Conquests and of this the Holy Spirit gives such a reason as might serve to open the eyes of the Papists because it convinceth them of being guilty of Idolatry This accusation the Papists do account the most sensible injury that can be done them but it is a condemnation that they must bear For saith the Holy Spirit The rest of the men that were not killed by these plagues repented not of the works of their hands that they should not worship Devils and Idols of Gold and Silver and Brass and Stone and of Wood which neither can see nor hear nor walk At whose cost was it that the Mahometans erected their Empire Against whom were they the Scourges of God for the punishment of their Idolatry It was not against the Heathens for there were none such within the whole extent of the Eastern Roman Empire It was at the expence of Christians that the Turks extended both their Empire and their Religion And therefore seeing the Holy Ghost declareth that the punishing the Idolatry of Christians was the reason of loosing of the four Angels in the River Euphrates to commit so many Murders it is from thence evident that the Christians who were subdued were Idolaters and also apparent wherein their Idolatry consisted Namely in this that they worshipped Devils and Idols of Gold of Silver of Brass of Stone and of Wood. Nor can it be denied but that the Roman Church is guilty of the same crime If it shall be said that the Roman Church doth not worship Devils as those mentioned in the Text are said to have done I answer first that the word in the Original is Demons which signifieth properly inferior and lower Gods Gods who are Mediators between men and the Supream God which is a Title liberally given to the Saints in the Church of Rome And in which sense the Word used in this place ought necessarily to be expounded seeing there were never any Christians that made profession of worshipping Devils neither could the very Heathens be said to do that forasmuch as Devils were wholly unknown among Pagans I answer secondly that all Religious worship given to a Creature is judged by the Scripture to be rendred to Devils This appeareth fully Ps 106. v. 37. where it is said that they sacrificed their Sons and Daughters unto Devils The Roman Church does believe that She worshippeth God in worshipping Images of Gold of Silver of Brass of Stone and of Wood but the Prophets do instruct us by the example of the Israelites that this Worship is given to Devils They sottishly flatter and deceive themselves in distinguishing betwixt an Idol and an Image foraâ— much as the Greek Term Idol signifieth the same that the word Image doth in our vulgar languages Moreover they who were killed by the Turks worshipped not Devils They only did as the Roman Church doth towards her Images of Gold and Silver c. Yea She doth worse than those Oriental Idolatrous Christians did For she worshippeth as God the Sacrament which must therefore necessarily be a Creature because it is a Sacrament and which cannot be Jesus Christ because it is Instituted by him For that which is Instituted must necessarily be something different from him that Ordains it XVII ILLUSTRATION Of the Angel with the Book Open. REV. CHAP. 10. V. 1. And I saw another mighty Angel come down from Heaven clothed with a Clowd and a Rain-bow was upon his Head and his Face was as it were the Sun and his Feet as Pillars of Fire V. 2. And he had in his hand a Little Book Open and he set his right foot upon the Sea and his left foot on the Earth THe Rain-bow which appeared upon the Angels Head doth place Him out of the rank of created Angels and gives us to understand that this is the Angel of the Covenant the Angel who is the Creator of whom there is mention at the opening of the Seventh Seal namely Iesus Christ And whereas it is added that his Face was as the Sun and his Feet as Pillars of Brass that is a demonstration that he is the same with him who revealed himself to St. Iohn in the first Chap. to wit the Son of God. He appeareth having in his hand a Book open Which Book is not that of the Apocalypse but that of the Holy Scripture in general For the Six Trompets having represented the spoil which popery had done in the Western Church and Mahometanism in the Eastern this Vision doth foretell how this ravage shall be repaired by the preaching of the Gospel For this is an open Book to all such as do in sincerity seek to be instructed in what it revealeth and who seek for nothing besides what is there If our Gospel be hid saith St. Paul it is hid to them that are lost whom the God of this world hath blinded 2 Cor. 4. 3 4. Mahometanism and Popery have shut this Book by exacting a blind Obedience by forbidding the examination of their Doctrine and by interdicting people from reading of the word of God. But the time will come that this divine Book shall be opened and when all men shall be allowed to read it in order to the Reforming those abuses which through the impudence of Mahometanism in the East and the craft of the Papacy in the West have abounded in the Church XVIII ILLUSTRATION Of the Voice of the Angel that had his Right Foot upon the Sea and his left upon the Earth and of the seven Thunders REV. CHAP. 10. V. 2. And he set his right Foot upon the Sea and his left foot upon the Earth V. 3. And cried with a loud Voice as when a Lion roareth and when he had cried Seven Thunders uttered their voices V. 4. And when the Seven thunders had
his Vial upon the Seat of the Beast and his Kingdom was full of darkness and they gnawed their tongues for pain V. 11. And blasphemed the God of Heaven because of their pains and their sores and repented not of their deeds There is nothing here dark provided it be true that the Beast is the Papal Empire according as we have proved and that Rome is the Seat of this Empire as all men do see So that it is the City of Rome which is here threatned by God with an eternal and irrecoverable Ruin. Or rather this is the execution of that denunciation contained in the 18th Chap. and which we have explained in the first Part. Rome is threatned to be destroyed as Egypt as Babylon and as Sodom This fifth Vial shews us the fulfilling of all this Rome being destroyed the Beasts Kingdom becomes full of darkness Which in the Scripture signifies Sadness and Mourning 'T is easie to apprehend the dejection which the Papal Empire will be under and the afflication that they will be in who have the Mark of the Beast his Name or the Number of his Name when they see that Rome is no more 'T is said that they shall gnaw their tongues and blaspheme the God of Heaven i. e. they shall complain that God is wanting in making good his promises namely that Rome should not perish while the world stood and that she should be alway's the Lady and Mistriss of all Churches of Faith and of Religion Which is a horrid blasphemy for where hath God promised any such priviledg to the City of Rome The sixth Vial. V. 12. And the sixth Angel poured out his Vial upon the great River Euphrates and the water thereof was dried up that the way of the Kings of the East might he prepared V. 13. And I saw three unclean Spirits like Frogs come out of the mouth of the Dragon and out of the mouth of the Beast and out of the mouth of the False Prophet V. 14. For they are the Spirits of Devils working miracles which go forth unto the Kings of the Earth and of the whole World to gather them to the battel of that great day of God Almighty V. 15. Behold I come as a Thief blesseth is he that watcheth and keepeth his Garments lest he walk naked and they see his shame V. 16. And they gathered them together into a place called in the Hebrew Tongue Armageddon The sixth Vial destroyeth the Empire of the Turks and their Religion which the sixth Trumpet had advanced to the highest pitch of its grandure For the River Euphrates does undoubtedly signify the people of that part of the world as its being dried up denoteth the End of their Empire and of their Religion After which there will be nothing to hinder either the King 's of the East who shall be enlightned and converted or the Iews who are there dispersed in great numbers from marching into the West to help to finish the destruction of the Beast 'T is remarkable that the Prophet Isaiah doth in the place where he promiseth the conversion of the Iews stile them Kings which as it hath a reference to the Millennian Reign so it induceth to a belief that the Iews are these Kings who are here spoken of The prosperity of Mahometanism and Popery hath kept back the Iews from the Christian Religion which those two Religions have so much disfigured But when through the destruction of Rome they shall behold the Seat of the Beast overthrown and when they shall see the Kingdom of the Beast become full of darkness the great River Euphrates dried up then they will open their eyes and be converted The Conversion of the Jews is unquestionably promised in this place in that St. Iohn useth an expression like to what Isaiah useth chap. 11. v. 15. where their conversion is promised For if St. Iohn speaks of the drying up of Euphrates Isaiah sayth that God will shake his hand over the River Moreover it is plainly in favour of the Jews that St. Iohn useth the Hebrew term Armageddon And there came three unclean Spirits like frogs out of the mouth of the Dragon and out of the mouth of the Beast and out of the Mouth of the false Prophet Who can doubt but that these are the spiritual Fathers of the three Orders of Monks who have made most noise and have done must hurt namely the Jacobin's the Cordeliers and the Jesuites Are not these Spiritual Fathers Do they not depend upon the Pope as upon a Deity Doth not the command of that false Prophet send them to the East-Indies to America and to all places Are they not troublesome and importunate as the Frogs are and are not the Mansions where they are Cloist'red nasty and stinking like the dirty pudles When the Pepe shall find himself threatned with a total ruin he shall send to all parts he shall hunt out these three Orders of Ghostly Fathers in order to assemble all his forces But this rendevouz is said to be in a place called Armageddon because they together with all the Enemies of the Church shall there irrecoverably perish as the Nations that were execrated and excepted from pardon for having made War against Israel Moreover what we have said concerning these three unclean Spirits doth not interfer with nor lessen the probability of the Conjecture which we made about the Monks being the Locusts For we have not said that the Monks are to be totally abolished before the effusion of the 6th Vial but all we have said was that the power which was given them to torment men five Mon'ths shall come to an End within an 150 years signified by five prophetick Mon'ths counting from October 1540. when the first Bull was emitted for the establishing the Society of Iesuites who are principally designed by the Locusts as being they who have advanced the Monastick Order to the highest pitch of their power But this doth not hinder but that both they and the other Monks and Friers shall make a last effort to uphold their own power and that of the Papacy about the time when the Sixth Vial shall come to be poured out The Seventh Vial. V. 17. And the seventh Angel poured out his Vial into the Air and there came a great voice out of the Temple of Heaven from the Throne saying It is done V. 18. And there were Voices and Thunders and Lightnings and there was a great Earthquake such as was not since Men were upon the Earth so mighty an Earthquake and so great V. 19. And the great City was divided into three parts and the Cities of the Nations fell and great Babylon came in remembrance before God to give unto her the Cup of the Wine of the fierceness of his Wrath. V. 20. And every Island sled away and the Mountains were not found V. 21. And there fell upon men a great Hail out of Heaven every stone about the Weight of a talent and men blasphemed God because
and that this doth not conclude that the Vials are to be poured out so near one to another nor with so great celerity I Answer unto him that this cannot be the meaning of it because the three Woes are confined to the three last Trumpets the 1st to the fifth the 2d to the sixth and the third to the seventh For according to Mr. Iurieu the sixth hath been exerting its Influences for almost these 800 years and the 3d Wo is not yet come nor shall come till under the sound of the seventh Trumpet So that the whole course of the fifth Trumpet was not so far distant from the sixth Trumpet to which the 2d Wo is attributed as the whole Course of the 6th is distant from the beginning of the 7th under which the 3d Wo is to arrive And therefore it must be owned that the word quickly being used only in reference to the 3d Wo signifieth that all the plagues or which is the same thing that all the Vials shall be poured out close upon one another and that it doth as much as import that there shall not be so much time employed for destroying the Empire of the Beast as there was for the raising of it Mr. Iurieu had obliged the Anonymous Author if he had answered that which occurs in the Preface to his Illustrations and which is layd down in these Terms 'T is evident that there are in the Revelation three principal Visions in which are contained all the great Events that relate to the Roman Empire and to the Kingdom of Jesus Christ i. e. which concern the True Church and the False These Visions are those of the Seals those of the Trumpets and those of the Vials All the other are but Draughts in which what is represented in the Visions of the Seals Trumpets and Vials is reassumed enlarged and more circumstantially explained For the name Seven which is Mystical and which implies perfection do's inform us that these three Visions comprehend all For 't is found in that of the Seals in that of the Trumpets and in that of the Vials and also in that of the Thunders which are the Forerunners of the Vials Moreover these three Visions are immediately link'd one to another so that the second which is that of the Trumpets beginneth under the 7th Seal and the 3d which is that of the Vials beginneth under the 7th Trumpet As this is the foundation of the Anonymous Author's Systeme and as he hath there declared the Key of the Revelation Mr. Iurieu who knows the art of Reasoning might have observed in that Preface a chain of Ratiocination able to dazle the Eyes of the Reader For if it be true that the Vials are not poured out till under the Seventh Trumpet as the Trumpets sound not till upon the opening of the Seventh Seal then it is most certain that all the Vials remain still to be poured out forasmuch as the Seventh Trumpet hath not yet sounded and that we are hitherto under the Sixth Even as it might be justly said that none of the Trumpets had sounded provided it were true that we were yet under the Sixth Seal and that the Seventh were not until this time opened This Reason doth necessarily naturally follow from that which the Anonymous Author had layd down in his Preface and which is the foundation of his Systeme And if Mr. Iurieu hath vouchsafed no Answer to it doubtless it is because he could find no difficulty in it To the foregoing Arguments the Anonymous Author will add two more which whether he shall call proofs or difficulties is to him indifferent The first ariseth from the comparing Rev. chap. 11. v. 19. with chap. 15. v. 5 6 7. In chap. 11. we read that the Temple of God was opened in Heaven and that there was seen in his Temple the Ark of his Testament and that there were lightnings and voices and thundrings and an Earthquake and great haile And chap. 15. we read that St. Iohn looked behold the Temple of the Tabernacle of the Testimony in Heaven was opened and the seven Angels who had the seven plagues came out of the Temple and one of the four Living Creatures gave to the seven Angels seven golden Vials full of the Wrath of the Living God. 'T is evident that these two Visions are parralel and that they both tend to one and the same End. For in each of them we find the opening of the Temple of God which had been shut against the Jews but is now opened to receive them In the one we see the Ark of the Covenant in the other the Tabernacle of Testimony This Ark and this Tabernacle of Testimony are Iesus Christ whom the Iews shall come to Adore Popery and Mahometism are the two great obstacles which hinder the conversion of the Iews and which confirm them in their obstinacy but behold seven Angels who receive seven Vials for the destruction of the Papacy and Mahometism Now the Temple of God not being opened till under the seventh Trumpet which hath not yet sounded it invincibly followeth that none of all the Vials are hitherto poured out The Anonymous Author's other new Argument which he addeth to the former is taken from that which St. Iohn says chap. 15. v. 1. I saw another great Sign in Heaven He had said the same thing chap. 12. v. 3. with respect to the Subject of the Beast with seven Heads and ten Horns which represent the whole extent of the Roman Empire as well Civil as Ecclesiastical i. e. Papal taking this Extent and duration down from the time that these Revelations were given to St. Iohn For the 12th chap. is a commentary upon the Vision of the Trumpets because we find in that chap. the same thing that we find in the Vision of the Trumpets namely the War of the Dragon against the Woman and against those that are of her Seed So that St. Iohn coming to say chap. 15. with respect to the Subject of the seven Plagues which are the Seven Vials I saw another great Sign in Heaven 't is plain that this Sign is different from the first and represents quite another thing So that if the Holy Spirit do promise in this the ruin of the Papal Empire as he had predicted in that the birth and growth of the said Empire we cannot make the Vials to be poured forth under the Sixth Trumpet without mixing what the Spirit of God would separate and without confounding two different Signs and the different things which are represented by those Signs To which Arguments there may be yet a third subjoined grounded upon chap. 15. v. 8. For 't is there said that after one of the four living Creatures had given to the seven Angels seven Vials full of the wrath of the Living God the Temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his Power and no man was able to enter into the Temple till the 7 plagues of the seven Angels
were fulfilled From thence there clearly result two Truths One that the seven plagues and the seven Vials are one and the same thing and that they signify the same Judgments of God Which is against the opinion of Mr. Iurieu who pretendeth that the plagues are a different thing from the Vials that the plagues are the judgments of God and the Vials periods of Time. The other that the Prophecy doth not say no man could enter into the Temple until the seventh Vial of the seventh Angel was fulfilled but untill the seven Vials of the seven Angels were fulfilled Which sheweth us that none of them are yet poured out because it is only under the Seventh Trumpet which hath not yet sounded that the Seven Angels receive the seven Vials to pour them out And that it is not until then that the Temple is to be filled with Smoke from the glory of God and his power which as it denotes an extraordinary mark of the Gracious presence of God in the midst of his Church so 't is that which we have not yet seen This prophecy doth manifestly allude to the Cloud that filled the Tabernacle of Moses and the Temple of Solomon Exod. 40. 34 35. 1 Kings 8. 10. After that Mr. Iurieu had essay'd to overthrow the Reasons by which the Anonymous Author had proved that all the Vials are still to be poured out he in the next place endeavours to confute the signification of a Cup or Boul which that Author had ascribed to the Vials How is it says he that he doth not perceive that the figure of Vials is not borrowed from the cups of Gods wrath but from hour-glasses This we have already refuted and made it appear that tho the Term Vial should sometimes signify an hourglass yet it cannot have that sense here Because Hour-glasses of Gold are no way 's fit to indicate Time which is measured by the running of Water or Sand. And especially because the term Golden Vial is used Chap 5. v. 8. to import a Cup and not an hour-glass Let us see whether what Mr. Iurieu adds next be more to the purpose The form of Cups saith he is altogether different from that of Vials For these have a large belly and a narrow mouth whereas Cups on the contrary are wide above and narrow below which make some say that the Vials are poured into Cups that so men may drink what was in the Vial as I have observed in reporting the common opinion There can be nothing more impertinent than this speculation For whatsoever opposition he supposeth between the form of Vials and of Cups yet 't is certain that all the best Greek Author's call that which we drink in by the name of Vial. And whosoever hath observed Labourers at their refreshment must needs know that they carry nothing into the fields with them save Bottles which have a large belly and a narrow mouth and that by the strait mouth they are so able to drink the liquor out of the Bottle as to empty it But this saith Mr. Jurieu after I have better thought upon it is not the point for I affirm that the figure of a drinking Cup hath no room in any part of this Vision Because the Vial falls alway's on the Earth or on the Sea but never into a Cup. But how could he forget that both the Term to drink and the Term Cup are used chap. 18. 3 6 Which chapter is at least a Commentary upon the fifth Vial seeing we find nothing in it save a description of the ruin of Babylon Doth he not know that Vials being used in this Vision in a Mystical sense do signify nothing but the judgments of God by which the Enemies of his Church are to be destroyed And that unless it be in a Mystical sense neither the Term Vial nor that of a Cup nor that of drinking are any way to the purpose The Anonymous Author had said in the explaining of the fourth Vial that the Sun upon which it falleth is in all probability the Eastern Roman Empire and that as the fourth Trumpet raised the Turkish Empire so the 4th Vial shall shake and afflict it I may observe saith Mr. Jurieu that this Interpretation is contrary to all kind of principles For whereas the seven Vials are alone designed against the Empire of the Beast i. e. for Antichristianism behold one of the Vials is said to fall upon the Empire of the Turks which is no part of the Antichristian Empire That Interpretation is not therefore contrary to all sort of Principles because 't is contrary to Mr. Jurieu For 't is according to this Principle that the Revelation continueth the History of the fourth Monarchy which Daniel had begun And that this Monarchy being the Roman Empire as it was in the time of St. Iohn the Holy Spirit doth in the Visions of the Seals of the Trumpets and of the Vials represent unto us every thing of importance that was to befal it Now whereas the Turks invading the Eastern part of the Roman Empire and their establishing there both an Empire and the Mahometan Religion was foretold in the Vision of the Trumpets 't is but reasonable to affirm that the Vials shall destroy that which the Trumpets had raised in the East as well as that they shall destroy that which the same Trumpets have built in the Western Roman Empire The Anonymous Author had said that the Subjects of the Turkish Empire shall be mortally afflicted by the Effusion of that Vial but that instead of being converted they shall blaspheme the name of God. In opposition to this Mr. Jurieu saith that the Prophets give us to understand that upon Babylons falling all the Infidels and consequently the Mahometans shall be converted I do acknowledg that after Babylon shall be fallen the Mahometans shall be converted but then it is not the fourth Vial which falleth upon Babylon seeing it subsisteth after that is poured out and 't is only the fifth Vial that destroyed the Antichristian Empire I may add saith Mr. Jurieu that it being the Papal Empire which is intended in this Vision the Sun therefore of the fourth Vial can signify nothing but the Soveraign of that Empire which is spoken of and so can only signify the Pope and not the Turkish Emperor But the falsity of this Principle we have made appear by the Evidence we have given to a principle opposite unto it Mr. Iurieu farther adds I may also observe say's he that this is so far from signifying the ruin of the Turks that granting them to be here spoken of it would import their Exaltation Forasmuch as 't is said of the Sun mentioned in the fourth Vial that power was given unto him to scorch men with fire which implies their destroying others rather than the being themselves destroyed The Anonymous Author before his entring upon the Exposition of the Vials had made a declaration which should not be forgotten namely that seeing the Vials contain