there be no decay no leading into Captivity nor complaining in their streets II. The disparity of these two contradictory conditions and the fearfull effects which they in all ages have wrought in the Consciences of men have made me at length after a long time of silence put Pen to Paper and through the intricate Labyrinth of those portions of Scripture which never Commentator yet ever medled with I mean the twelve last Chapters of Ezâ—kiel the three last of the Revelation the last of Daniel with some passages in Hosea and Zechâ—ry to descry when We People of England with all Protestants in Europe shall see an end of these our Warres and Tumults what shall be the Estate of our Churches States and Kingdomes from this present year 1650 to the beginning of the Fifth and last universall MONARCHY of the Gospel of Christ upon Earth which shall begin in the year of our Lord 1710 and in what year we may expect the downfals of the Beast of Rome the Red Dragon of Constantinople the totall Conversion and restauration both of the Eastern and Western Jews within their holy Land of Iury all which must moâ—t certainly be fulfilled before the end of the World Of these high Points and Mysteries I finde nothing in any Commentator upon the last of Daniel and the Revelations save only Brightman who being acquainted in Leiden with Ioseph Scaliger got some but those very imperfect notes of Grebner concerning those Numbers in Ezekiel and Daniel But that excellent Manuscript which Iohannes Baudenâ—is writ of the Life and Writings of Grebner declareth all these things most plainly and punctually how that greater Troubles feâ—rfulleâ— Combustions direfuller Devastations shall come upon the Western Kingdomes of Europe then yet ever did before they can expect the downfall either of Turk or Pope or the universall Monarchy of the Gospel of Christ upon Earth In which incomparable Work the Learned Astrologer bringeth Divine and Heavenly Reasons why Europe for the space of thirty seven years after that fearfull blazing Comet in 1618. should with amazed eyes behold the infinite and sudden mutations and downfals of flourishing States and potent Kingdomes the deformity of Empires and mournfull faces of Commonwealths as is lately happened in England Portugall Swethland Bohemia and Denmark the Devastations of whole Kingdoms at a clap and burning six or seven Nations at once in their ashes and cinders as of late in Germany not to make them ask whether there be a God Heaven and Providence or not or whether Empires and States depend wholly upon the will and power of man or upon secret and hidden causes beyond the thoughts and expectations of the World but to praise God for his paternall corrections seeing by this they know he remembreth them and that through this Fire and Water of Affliction he will bring his Church to a finall Conquest oveâ— her Enemies and both the Congregations of Jews and Gentiles to an universall Monarchy over the face of the whole Earth Severall passages of which Manuscript I will insert here and there in this ensuing Discourse as Method and Matter shall require III. Since the spirituall sword was sheathed in England which lopt off the serpentine Heads of Heresie and Schisme while they were yet growing it is a wonder to see how all Sects and Schismaticall Opinions in the world have like devouring Weed overgrown and choked the seed of the Word Above the rest the Millenaries have exalted themselves whose abominable Pamphlets have flown abroad like Atomes wherein they dream of a Personall Reign of Christ upon Earth how he shall descend from Heaven An. 1666 destroy all the works of darknesse in every corner of the Earth make an easie passage to men from Earth to Heaven so that they may ascend into Heaven and leap down to Earth again as oft as they list how he shall keep a Quarter Sessions or Goal-delivery in his own Person upon Mount Olivet call all Nations before him rebuke them of sin face to face and shall cut out of them their stony hearts and shall sew in their bellies hearts of flesh in stead thereof that An. Dom. 1700 shall be the day of Judgement and that the Judgement shall last other 1700 years because otherwise the glorious Attributes of Christ's Mercy and Justice cannot be sufficiently explained to the World and the Consciences of men All which Fopperies with many mo too horrid to relate are contained in M. Archers Personall Reign of Christ upon Earth Rich. Stirreys Kingdome of King Jesus and in A.R. his Caelestis Hierusalem Printed A. 1642 1644 and 1645. Now having unmasked the vanity of this Error ut contraria juxtà se posita magis elucescant I will epitomize in this Section the truth of the future estate of the World from this time to the end which afterward I intend God willing further to dilate and prosecute in this Treatise This year 1650 all Europe are in civil Warres These civill warres shall not cease till they have mustered out a great Army of the true worshippers of God to ruine Rome which shall be about Anno 1666. Rome thus destroyed the Western Jews shall begin to learn the waies of God and believe his Gospel which they cannot do so long as Rome standeth and shall Anno 1683. enter upon the conversion of their Eastern brethren the 10. Tribes now invisibly hid in Tartaria and India and they two none else shall ruine the Mahumetan Empire about An. 1698. and so shall be restored to the holy Land to reinhabit Jerusalem Then must begin a comparative felicity of the Church of God upon earth because after these times both Turk and Pope shall be destroyed Neverthelesse this felicity must be mingled with internall troubles and persecutions within the bowels of the Church because the Church shall never be wholly at rest while the world standeth Lo here the difference betwixt Truth and Heresie betwixt the opinions of the Millenaries and right sense of Scriptures The Millenaries say Christ must descend personally from heaven The Scriptures on the contrary say he shall not come from Heaven personally till the last day when he shall descend with his holy Angels in flaming fire to judge the quick and the dead He shall send power and strength from heaven to his true Worshipppers as he hath done hitherto to destroy Tuâ—k and Pope from Heaven he shall give power to his ancient people the Jews to regain their ancient Land of Judea and not by his corporeall presence upon Earth from Heaven about An. 1700. he shall transferre his Gospel from Europe as he hath done from Asia and raise up and inspire godly Ministers after his own will who shall implant his holy word in all and every of the Kingdomes and Provinces of America and in all countries of the Southern and Eastern India China Tartaria and in all the regions of the North unto the worlds end and make it shine in as great purity and glory as
his Brethren pitied him not in the anguish of his soul yet he forgiveth and preserveth them in Aegypt and at their deliverance thence marcheth triumphantly before them to Canaan in his Coffin But yet neverthelesse Iacob was to stay in Canaan and Ioseph was to be unknown to his Brethren till Aegypt be destroied by Famine and yeeld if self to Ioseph And the bonâ—s of Ioseph too must stay in Aegypt till 600000 men besides women and children be delivered them by the hands of Moses and Aaron No departure from Aegypt no passage through the Red-Sea without the bones of Ioseph Edom in the dayes of Moses and Babylon in Daniels time suffered the severest punishments God could inflict upon a people and all for afflicting Eber. And here is a mystery not so observed as observable in Scripture As Aegypt was broken before the first Tabernacle was set up by Moses as Edom was harrowed by David before the first Temple was erected by Solomon and thirdly as Babel was Brought to nothing by Cyrus before the second Temple was built by Zorubbabel and Iâ—hoshuah so shall both Edom and Babel Turk Pope and all Monarchies in the Earth be brought to dust before the third Temple be built by the converted Jews in their native Land of Iudea and Ierusalem Ierusalem now inhabited by Turks and hereticall Christians shall at that time be purged from filth and be the only Receptacle of the children of God But when that time shall be I have abundantly shewn in the Sections before And in that season shall Benjamin be sent down from his good father in the power of his right arm and Ioseph even Ben-Ioseph shall make himself known to his Brethren who did hate him shoot at him cast him into the pir and delivered him to the Gentiles Which excellent Parallels of Ioseph and Christ are fully explained in the Massorch Zoar and in Rabbi-Asse besides Ezechiel and S. Iohn in the Revelations Notwithstanding in citing these Jewish Traditions I would not be mistaken as if I maintained a second descention of our Saviour Christ from Heaven as the Millenaries do or that the Jews must have him come personally dowm from heaven to destroy the whole world and restore them to their Land of Iudea I mean no such thing God hath other means to bring his purposes to passe then by sending his Sonne Christ to sojourn the second time upon earth A second Moses yet a King must work all this for them yet not a Moses of their own bloud but a Captain from the North who shall work the works of God in righteousnesse and make peace like a mighty stream overflow the whole earth XIV The consideration of these future great blessings of God towards this Nation of the Jews and in them to all the world in the advancement of the Gospel as likewise the laying to heart the grievous calamities which have so long tossed the Kingdomes and Free-states of Europe should move all men with repentance to prepare themselves to meet those great and fearfull mutations which God is bringing upon all the European Coasts of the world Historians have made their four Monarchies according to the rise or fall of severall particular Nations 1. Assyrians 2. Persians 3. Grecians and 4. Romans but this is a lame Division and comes far short of that transcendent Metamorphosis of humane affairs which by comparing of Histories observation of new Starres and Comets of late with the consideration of the manners and conditions of the sonnes of men we may easily perceive must within these few years be brought upon the world The learned Mathematicians and Philosophers who have more throughly searched into the secrets of Astrology rightlier place their four Monarchies according to the four coasts of Heaven 1. The Eastern Monarchy of the Assyrians 2. The two Southern Monarchies of the Persians and Grecians bounded within the circumference of 3600 miles or 11 degrees of latitude 3. The Western Monarchy of the Romans 4. and lastly the Northern Monarchy but in right accompt the fifth must be of the Northern LION which to the amazement of Christendome shall arise from the Northern Sea and pitch his Tents in the ashes of the Eastern and Western Monarchies But now having made mention so oft of this V. Monarchy in this Pamphlet I think it meet to produce two or three Reasons of the truth and certainty of it deduced out of the holy Scriptures and humane Authority First The Jews have a Tenet among them That their Messias must not come in the Flesh till the destruction of the fourth Monarchy in Daniel which is the Roman and so will not beleeve Christians professing him to be come already but say this coming is deferred till the Roman Empire be totally abolished which because it is not nor must be yet they will not beleeve he hath appeared But the Jews are deceived in this for Dan. 2.44 and 7.9 22. the Incarnation of our Saviour Christ was promised to be in the very nick of the constitution and establishment of the Roman Empire and not after the ruine of it which was performed accordingly else should there have been six Monarchies before the end of the world For the dispersion and rejection of the Jews the revelation of Antichrist with the Fulnesse of the Gentiles was prophesied to be accomplished in the fourth Monarchy all which we see are punctually fulfilled None of which should yet have come to passe if our Saviour Christ was not to be incarnate before the end of the Roman Empire Therefore as the rejection of the Jews with these other signs and things was to be in the fourth Monarchy so their conversion and remission into the Church and the glorious estate of the Gospel upon earth must be in another fifth Monarchy which is yet to come Secondly So many Empires as are comprized in Nebuchadnezzars Image Dan. 2. must come to passe before the end of the World But five Monarchies are comprehended in that Image Ergâ— The major is manifest The minor is thus proved Nebuchadnezzar himself was the Golden Head of this Image as he was in another respect the Feet of the old decrepit Assyrian Monarchy which by his Chaldean Empire and the ruine thereof which was approaching should totally be annihilated The Armes and Brests of Silver are the Empire of the Medes and Persians The Belly of brasse is the Empire of the Grecians by Alexander the Great Lastly the Iron Leggs and the Clay Toes depictured the Roman Empire with the present declining House of Austria and the breathlesse Papacy Therefore the Stone cut without Hands which brake this Image in pieces and became a Mountain and filled the Earth must be understood as I touched before of a Fifth Monarchy yet to come in which by the Conversion of the Jews and fulnesse of the Gentiles the Gospel shall shine in majesty over all Kingdoms upon Earth Thirdly If the rejection and dispersion of the Jews were to be in
in the East and raise a Combination to propagate the Gospel and destroy the Headless Turks Anno Mundi 5622 Praise our God all ye his Saints and Servants and ye that fear Anno Christi 1687 him both small and great And I heard the voice of a great multitude both small and great as it were the sound of many Waters and as the voice of strong thundrings saying Hallelujah for the Lord our God reigneth Let us rejoice and be glad and give glory to him for the marriage of the Lamb is come and his wife hath Anno Mundi 5633 made her self ready Rev. 19.5 6 7. The dreadfull and terrible Battell of the Jews with the enraged Anno Christi 1698 Turks in the land of Judea where the Turks are destroyed with an eternall destruction Ezech. 38. 39. chap. all Gog and Magog viz. Turks and Tartarians gather themselves together to battell whose Number is as the sand of the Sea and they went up into the plain of the Earth and incompassed the Tents of the Saints aboâ—t even the beloved City but fire came down from God out of Heaven and destroyed them Revelat. 20.8 9. Anno Mundi 5635 THE FIFTH MONARCHY Anno Christi 1700 Anno Mundi 5645 ANd I saw a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven Anno Christi 1710 and the first earth were passed away and there was no more sea The new Jerusalem came down from God out of heaven trimmed like a Bride to meet her husband And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying behold the Glory and Tabernacle of God with men and he shall dwell with them and they shall be his people and God himself shall be their God with them and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes and there shall be no more death neither sorrow neither crying neither shall there be any more pain for the first things are passed away Rev. 21.1 2 3 4 c. Anno Mundi 5698 No more Germany no more any Western Empire or any footstep Anno Christi 1763 thereof for God hath now transplanted his Gospel from Europe unto a more gratefull and pregnant soyl which will bring forth the fruits thereof in due season Anno Mundi 5699 Iam nova Progenies coelo demittitur alto Anno Christi 1764 Exoriturque atris Lucifer albus equis Anno Mundi 5702 The holy Temple restored at Jerusalem the holy utensils prepared Anno Christi 1767 the glory of God filâ—eth the house God lovingly upbraideth the Israelites for their infidelity and Idolatry for which they were Vagabonds in all Coasts of the World 2400 years without King Law Priest and Temple and rehearseth their blessed and joyfull estate now being converted and victorious over all their enemies Ezech. 12. last chap. per tot Anno Mundi 5705 Behold I make all things new Rev. 21.5 Anno Christi 1770 Anno Mundi 5728 The Jewish Magistrates and Ministers labour in the Conversion Anno Christi 1793 of the World to the Gospel of God Ezech. 46. per. tot Anno Mundi 5765 The seventh Viall powred out And now are all things fulfilled Anno Christi 1830 which are contained in the Scriptures After which all Nations may expect the comming of the great Judge to render to every man according to his works Thus farre reacheth the Observations of Grebner and Baudensis VI. BEfore I come to comment upon this Chronologicall Index it will not be amisse to deliver that saying Revel 20.8 And the Saints shall reign with Christ a thousand years from all those false Interpretations which have been fastned upon it by Papias Bucholcherus Scaliger Brightman Alsted and others and declare the true sense of it as remotest from Innovation and coming nearest the intention of the H. Ghost There is in this 20 Chap. two severall Epoches of a 1000 years which are two severall waies to be interpreted The first is in vers 2. of Satan being bound for a 1000 years which must begin either at the Instant of our Saviours Incarnation and end at An. 1000 in the 2â— year of the Popedome of Sylvester II that infamous Sodomite Necromancer and Conjurer under whom the filthinesse and Idolatry of the Romish Church was brought to the height or rather they must begin at the Destruction of the 2 d Temple by Titus which was An. 71 and end in An. 1071 in the Popedome of Gregory VII alià s Hildebrand who first broke bonds of Allegiance with Henry the Emperour excommunicated him set the Gospel in a totall Eclipse and Europe in the mournfull Flames of a civil Warre but of this in the Chronology But this in the 8 vers of the Saints reigning with Christ a 1000 years Alsted Bucholcherus and others expound of a Comparative Felicity of the Church on this Earth for a 1000 years beginning An. 1694 when they say all visible Enemies of the Church shall be overthrown and must end An. Ch. 2694. after which shall be the Warre of Gog and Magog against the Church which shall be prevented by the coming of Christ to judgement But in this Alsted is wide from the right mark for this number must begin An. 1072 at the expiration of the former and must be interpreted for all that time that the World shall last after the aforesaid An. 1072. And the holy Ghost doth term this indefinite and unlimited time by the Number of a 1000 years for three speciall Reasons 1 Because a 1000 years are the Number of Perfection and of Eternity and doth most aptly serve to expresse the End of these Earthly Troubles and the beginning of that Time which never shall have end 2 Because those things which the holy Ghost in the Scriptures affirmeth are yet to come must not be plenarily accomplished till after An. 1830 it may please God that the glorious and flourishing estate of the Church and Gospel here upon Earth may continue much of 200 years longer to increase the number of them who shall be saved and to amplifie more the heavenly Attributes of Gods Mercy Righteousnesse Truth Holinesse and Omnipotency in the Salvation of the Just and his Equity Judgement and Uprightnesse in the firebrands of destruction 3 Because a vicissitudinary time of Affliction and Ease Persecution and rest pure Doctrine and Heresies is signified to be the whole continuance or most part of a 1000 years wherein those who are to suffer for the Testimony of the Word of God and the truth of Jesus Christ shall have their reward after the expiration of that time which cannot be till after the last generall Judgement The fearfull and â—errible Warre of Gog and Magog viz. the bloudy Warre of Turks and Tartarians with the Jews newly converted in the Land of Iury in which the very name of Turks shall be rooted from off the Earth must be before the beginning of this glorious Estate and Felicity of the Church of God here upon Earth and therefore the 7 8 9 and 10 verses are in order of time
before the 5 and the 6. The Devil and Antichristianity must be chained up in the dungeon of Hell for the space of a 1000 years after the Incarnation of Christ. An. 1000 must the Devil and Romish Idolatry by the Popedome of Sylvester the second be let loose to range upon Earth and tyrannize over the Church for the most part of another 1000 ever till An. 1698 numerus completus being put here pro incompleto before an happy and comfortable Estate of the Gospel can be brought forth to the World herefore all Christendome from this year 1650 must expect very sad and wofull daies much persecution bloodshed and savadge tyâ—anny in every Kingdom of Europe especially in France Spain Italy Swethland Germany and England untill An. 1698. Some of those Kingdoms which have abandoned the superstition of the beast shall by subtle allurements be perswaded to readmit and reestablish the same Wofull and unsupportable Afflictions shall befall both the European Jews which are the two Tribes of Benjamin and Iudah now resident in Christendom and Turkie as likewise the ten Tribes the Kingdom of Israel who shall insensibly and miraculously arise out of the bowels of Tartaria and India about An. 1669. who neverthelesse shall be so extraordinarily supported by God that they shall stand in little or no need at all of the Christians Because from this time of the Conversion of the Israelites for the spacâ— of 30 years these 12 Tribes shall suffer much trouble Heathens Papists and Mahometans shall strive to eradicate their name from under heaven and yet all in vain for an illustrious and heroick Prince è Tribu Nephtali oriundus shall be their valiant and fortunate Commander called Michael not proprio nomine but because he Dan. 12.1 shall stand up and shew himself the Assertor and Protector of their Religion and Liberty In which time shall be such troubles as never were no nor ever shall be to the end of the world For like as the Christians had rest 30. years from the Ascension of Christ and now have endured the fiery triall almost these 1600. years since that time from the Heathen Emperors and the Beast so the Israeliâ—es which shall 1600. years till Anno 1668. live without Prince Law Temple Sacrifice and true Religion as Hosea prophesied ch 3. v. 4 5. beginning now to be converted to Christ shall have savage times of affliction and Butcheries for other 30. years to welcome their conversion withall till Annoâ— 1698. when God shall grant rest from their enemies and begin a peaceable estate of the Church VII Entring at length upon my Notes on the afore-said Chronology I think it meet first to strengthen the former Epoch's of the ruine of Rome downfall of the Turk and Tartar and the Conversion of the Jews by the Conduct of certain memorable Numbers in holy Scriptures Grave and judicious Authours have with wonder and admiration observed the heavenly and inimitable Method of holy Scrjptures how all the Mysteries and memorable Occurrences in the same are comprized in Numbers how within the compasse of such a Quantity of years God alwayes divulged his Counsels and manifested what he purposed should be wrought among the children of men So that in considering the admirable consent and agreement of Times by things past we may probably conjecture of things to come From the Creation to the Floud was 1656 years the Floud was a sign of the Consummation of all those things which are to be fulfilled before the conclusion of time Anno Christi 1656 let the Church of God expect with joy and comfort the acting of the first Scene of the Tragedies of all those European Kingdoms which have been implacable Persecutours of the Gospel of Christ. The whole Government of Moses who was a second Noah to the Church is a shadow of the Kingdom of Christ. The Law continued in force 1529 years to the Passion of Christ But 1598 years to the Destruction of the Temple by Titus The Destruction of the Temple by Titus was according to the accompt of Dionysius Exiguus A. C. 69. From thence reckon the Number of 1598 years and you come to A. 1667 which is the year which shall smoke with the ascending up of the Flames which consume the Kingdom of the Beast From the Nativity of Christ to his Re-nativity in the preaching of his Gospel by Luther and other eminent Ministers are 1517 years And from the beginning of the Reign of the Maccabees untill the Birth of Christ are 169 years Put these two sums together and you come to Anno 1686 in which God having 18 years before enlightned the eyes of those who for almost 2000 years have sit in darknesse and in the shadow of death and having laid the Kingdom of the Beast and the false Prophet in the lowest dust shall bring that people into the bosome of the true Church which within 13 years after shall deliver his children from all adversity From the universal Deluge of man-kinde by the Floud to the beginning of the universal Captivity of the Church under Nebuchadnezzar beleaguering Ierusalem are numbered 1698 years So likewise from the Birth of the King of Kings unto the final Consummation of the Miseries and restauration of the Felicity of the Church by the Destruction of Gog and Magog shall be reckoned the very same Number of 1698 years From the Confusion of the Tower of Babel to the return of the Jews from Babel are 1666 years and from prophane Pompey's spoiling of the Temple at Ierusalem when the Kingdom was taken from the house of David and Superstition and Gentilism began to spring up amongst the Jews to the Birth of of Antichrist and Apostasie in the Church of God are 666 years from thence â—eckon a 1000 years wherein the Saints must suffer Persecution and Martyrdom for the Testimony of Jesus Christ and the truth of a good Conscience Revel 20.4 and you come to A. 1666 in which shall be fulfilled all those things which are mentioned Revel 18 and the 19 Chapter So likewise from the Departure out of Aegypt untill the Death of Christ are numbered 1542 years to these adde â—hose 169 years which are from â—he beginning of the Reign of the Assomonaei or Macchabees to the Birth of Christ and you come to Anno 1711 which year shall be wonderfull and terrible to all the world because that in the year next going before viz. Anno 1710. the abominable Names and mention of Papists Turks and Tartars being eradicated from the memories of men the glorious Estate of the Gospel and the terrestial Felicity of the Church of God shall begin over the face of the whole Earth From the Birth of Moses untill the Destruction of Ierusalem by Titus which typifies the end of the world are 1646 years so many from the Incarnation of our Saviour denoted that year whose influence hath begun and shall prove fatal to most of the Kingdoms of Europâ— adde to these 20 years to come