foreheads Not these Not the servants of God not the true Church That is Her and their hurt which they should receive from those Locusts should be over-ballanced by greater benefits and defences But they were commanded to torment those that had not the seal of God for five moneths ver 5. That is to torment those Saint-persecuting Papists that had tormented the servants of God The patern in the prototype the Locusts which God sent upon the Land of Aegypt plainly shews the manner of their coming and the end of their message which was to torment those persecutors and somewhat to defend persecuted Saints From hence riseth a perplex knot of deceit to those Locusts and others They think that because they torment and oppose Papists or seek perhaps to very little purpose by their teachings and writings to evert or refel their tenents therefore they are Saints their works sincere doctrine sound They have no affinity they think with the son of perdition his deeds of darkness lie far from their doors Whereas this was the grand deceit of their predecessors the Papists when they first erected the Apostacy They because they refelled converted and partly compelled the Arrians and other Sects to the unity of the deceit of that City gave their own deceitful slandering shallow doctrine and obedience the titles of true antient Catholick and Apostolick and reputed them selves and were undoubtedly reputed the true Church Herein those Papists were and these Locusts are much deceived For the Orthodox Papists of the rising Apostacy no less sound in doctrine then moderne Locusts were against the Arrians and other gross Hereticks and many of them might not be sensual professors yet Salvian saith That because of their evil lives even the Arrians were more tolerable And Saint Jerom and sacred writ it self applyes to them all those attributes in the 17 and 18 Chapters that are chiefly due to the son of perdition not because their doctrine was false but their manners corrupt nor because their manners were sensual though such were the fruits of some but because their Apostacy in manners consisted in secular and spiritual wickedness whiles they served but to resist the truth and to exclaim and conspire against the faithfullest witnesses of it or at least to neglect both them and it This is the reformation of Pharisees and Hypocrites which they cry up but they never seek sincere obedience conform to Gospel rule Such formalists or hypocrites be their doctrine never so sound or their professions strict are the head of the body of Apostacy and the highest Pinnacles upon the Towers in that Tripolity of deceit And therefore From hence springs a second deceit not much unlike the former of the Locusts They cast usually the grievous imputation of Antichrist solely upon that Antient Sect of the Papists or upon the literal City of Rome alone and will not no not be taught it so much as touch that burden though they have no less reason to bear it with their little finger but lay it solely upon that Sect or City or the superintendent of it whereas the Apostacy of Antichrist is common to all revolted professors that follow the lusts of the flesh the lusts of the eyes and pride of life For the Apostle did not tax the defection of Demas with turning aside to any one Sect or Heresie but with secular covetousness He hath saith he forsaken us and embraced not this or that Sect or Heresie but this present evil world Sensual secular and spiritual wickedness is the chief visible form of the Apostacy which gives being to it But the different false opinions and deceitful professions therein are but forma figurae the Protean colours and outward cloathings upon the several members of the same Apostacy which makes the many different divisions thereof the more distinguishable For if we fill an hundred glasses of so many different colours with the same liquor or matter each glass renders the same liquor of a different colour whereas indeed there is no difference in the matter but in the colour of those Glasses that contain it so all formal professors in the body of the Apostacy of Antichrist differ not so much in deed as in colour There 's the same sensual secular and spiritual wickedness in all except that in many some one of those three lusts may be most predominant And their outward different formes or professions make no more real reformation or alteration of that threefold matter of iniquity then the different colours of those Glasses alter the matter conteined in them Therefore these Locusts or formal professors that would seem much reformed from Papists in doctrine discipline and obedience having attained faces like the faces of men hair like the hair of women and Crowns like Gold remain Papists in manners or out strip them for pride and covetousness And such have no plea or priviledge but abundant disadvantage thereby because their hearts are thereby much more deceived blinded and hardened against true faith discipline and manners and are made more adverse to truth and averse from peace But we shall come nearer home to the matter Try all things saith the Text and we at this time shall try the Spirit of truth and the Spirit of errour of Christ and Antichrist and shew what the works and practices of Primitive Saints were what they have been since and wherein they differ or rather shall differ from deceiveableness of unrighteousness or the Locusts Gold like Crowns of deceits That so Saints and Sects may not ever swell with intermutual strife wander in wildernesses of obscure aberrations and grabble in darkness to the continual dishonour of God the extream hazard of the true Church and ineffable infelicity of all Nations That we may more assuredly know who these Locusts were and what their Crowns of deceit are we shall enquire when they rose up And the fifth Angel sounded vers 1. And we find them rising up in the time of the fifth Trumpets sounding which was the penultimate dispensation of the Apostacy of Antichrist For that time was to be the last interval save one of the Son of perditions duration because when the seventh Angel shall begin to sound the mystery of God should be finished ch 10.7 The time therefore of these Locusts coming was to be near the end of the Epoche of the Apostacy of Antichrist For the Locusts and plague of Darkness came in Type together and were the last plagues but one when they came Exod. 10. And so these Antitype-Locusts and Darkness came together and were to be so exact are Prophetick Types with their Antitypes the last Plagues but one in the Epoche of the grand Apostacy Ch. 9.1 2. ch 16.10 Therefore these Locusts coming near the end of the Apostacy could not be the Saracens that came near the beginning of it nor be as many Expositors would have them Monkes Fryars or Jesuites who were far from being as these were to be some refuge to the Church Nor do I
and black Conspiracies against the best of Saints was as Rome Papals sins now are fully ripe immediately before her final downfal Therefore Theodosius that great and good Emperour loathing to die upon such a dunghil liv'd with St. Ambrose Jerom fled as from a Captivity from her before her approaching fall and God called his People out of her lest they should partake of her sins and receive of her plagues But Contrarily Papal Rome though mystical also and called a Spiritual City chap. 11.8 was called The place prepared of God to preserve his Church for 1260 years from the rage of the second Dragon chap. 12.6 14. For those two texts in one and the same chapter are not only a twofold Witness in the Word of Truth but the Experience of Ages doth also witness That there was never any other place that ever did or possibly could preserve his Church in such sort so long but only Papal Rome with her Subdivisions She was more a Nursing-Mother than a Stepmother for about eight hundred years to the Gospel-Church a fit place prepared of God for her defence as aforesaid and ever had and still hath which the sequel will clearly shew a reverend esteem for St. Jerom as chief of the primitive Fathers whom Apostate Rome primitive by joynt confederacy conspired against Therefore this City in the 11th and 16th chapters and not that in the 17th and 18th chapters must be the tenfold Spiritual 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or City of Papal Rome humbled and somewhat reformed at first and so prepared of God by the then late dreadful fall and translation of Imperial and Christian Apostate Rome I pass by for brevity in this place those several joyful Acclamations and Alleluia's of the Church in the 19th chapter which she exprest in under and at the beginning of Rome Papal after the fall of Christian Apostate Rome which Alleluia's as also above 800 years of the first Dragon 's binding fell out and were fulfilled in the first times of the Beast and false Prophet Papal chap. 19.20 chap. 20.4 But the perfect dilucidation of these things though intelligent Readers may at present perceive them appertain to their due places in the sequel where we handle them at large Sixthly This threefold City and the Holy City co-indent in a contrariety But the Court without leave out for it is given to the Gentiles and the Holy City shall they tread under foot c. chap. 11.2 The Holy City There 's the City of God the Gospel-Church troden under foot They those Gentiles that trod her under foot There 's this threefold City in the 8th verse more fully set forth Both are Cities Therein they co-indent The Holy City shall they tread There 's their enmity or contrariety This contrariety and its cause is threefold And first The Holy City is contrary to Spiritual Sodom in opposing sensuality Contrary to Spiritual Egypt in impugning sordid tenacity Contrary to Apostate Salem in opposing factious pride and ignorance This threefold opposition from the Holy City is the sum of all Christian duty Herein or in nothing must all Ministers exercise their Preaching and they and all Saints their practice for their own Salvation and examples to others The contrary opposition from this threefold City is the summe of all iniquity in the tenfold body of the Apostacy of Antichrist What that threefold Iniquity because wrapt in the darkest mystery of deceit is we shall shew in its due place and so seek to remove many gross mistakes in manners amongst all Sects Societies of dissenting Brethren and too much amongst true Saints that so men may better know how and what to reprove or preach against and a right means to true peace and prosperity plainly appear For How shall they preach the Text sayes unless they be sent And we may say I say not of all of too many How shall they be sent to reprove that know not how to reprove or to preach that know not what to preach know not what Manners what Opinions to approve what to preach against By this means deadly strife and discords are built upon mistakes frequently every where but Peace inviolable is not built upon the pillar and ground of truth But The Holy City or true Church is no literal but a Spiritual City For her Type the Jewish Church was a Spiritual and no literal City but sometimes scattered in all the 127 Provinces from India to Ethiopia Esth 8.9 9.30 So her Antitype the Holy City or Gospel-Church is no literal but a Spiritual City scattered in many Nations and Church-Societies Her Saints sit down some in Spiritual Sodom some in Spiritual Egypt some in Apostate Salem Some are setled in this Society of dissenting Brethren some in that Sect. And so her Antithesis Papal Rome called Babylon the great in the 16th chapter is no literal but a mystical City because called spiritually called Sodom and Egypt where also our Lord was crucified chap. 11.8 And because extended as far in all Sects and Nations as the Holy City troden by her under her feet is scattered For Seventhly This City say the texts in the 11th 16th chapters was a great City Nor Sodom nor Egypt nor Pagan Rome nor Apostate Salem could ever equal her greatness Literal Egypt was a large Nation and the place to the whole Type-Church of her refuge and defence from the famine So this City called expresly Spiritual Egypt chap. 11.8 was also the place prepared of God for the whole Gospel-Church Her place I say of refuge and defence from the face of the second Dragon for 1260 years chap. 12.6 14. Wherefore As Type Egypt was a National City So this City Antitype Egypt complex of many Sects and Nations is a City of Nations and so the Text expresly asserts v. 9. And they of the People and Kindreds and Tongues and Nations c. And Nations And what of them shall see their dead bodies where in the street of this great City ver 9. This City as Egypt was a Nation was a City of Nations That those Nations in this City were at least ten we shall shew in the sequel But Literal Rome that now is is by the estimate of many Writers but the tenth part in extent to Pagan Rome And it were very absurd to imagine that Rome that now is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of modern Writers but the tenth part as many modern Writers account of the greatness of Rome-Pagan can be Babylon the Great or the tenfold Body of the grand Apostacy Herein therefore Papists and Reformists are both mistaken All Papists few or scarce any excepted misapply all those texts in the 11th 16th 17th 18th chapters that mention a City to the City of Heathen and Imperial Rome and bless themselves in their security as not at all concerned therein In those texts of the 17th and 18th chapters they are not mistaken but much mistaken in those texts of the 11th and 16th chapters which intend
of so doing from the hand of God But Locusts conceive not themselves greatly concern'd in the discharge of any such duty Quid hoc ad nos what 's this say they to us They are otherwise busie in serving God and their best service is but some blind careless fragment of Obedience void of conformity This Righteousness is no Fruit of the true Vine but the wild Grapes of desperate Deceits An Agrest Righteousness growing upon every Hedge Heathens or Hereticks For many Turks and Papists as well as Locusts think it sufficient to declaim in general against sin and out of a strict blind zeal to call for and excite unto Repentance but in particular shew not nor know what sin is nor what true Repentance meaneth But as it 's the property of all blind Hypocrites it 's their Practice to seem to impugne with violence in their Doctrine so they should do sensual Profaneness but never lift up their little finger against Secular and Spiritual wickedness which closly vailed under strict Forms they mistake for the power of godliness and count that to be the richest piece in their Crowns of Righteousness Wherefore having as it were Crowns like gold they think it least belongs to them of any to labour to get Crowns of Gold or to distinguish betwixt Truth and Deceit Truth therefore in practice is no part of their Quid nor do they make the practice thereof being ignorant of it any duty from them But Secondly Quid The Quid or what True Saints should ask of God and give to men is gold I counsel thee saith Christ to buy of me gold that thou mayest be rich and White Raiment that thou mayest be cloathed Rev. 3.18 To wit The gift or power to practise such works as are not found like the Crowns of Locusts wanting in weight that are not dilatory nor defalked nor done with unwilling minds but conform to the Incomplex Principles of Truth in Practice But the Locusts Quid is Gold like Straw of deceit good Works delay'd done by halves or with an unwilling mind or mixt with insolence or morosity or otherwise inconform to the Principles of Truth in practice I counsel thee to buy of me gold c. And must men buy the free gifts of God God is bountiful but men must buy every good and perfect gift of him Such gifts are seldom purchased without much pains and cost So the man that found a Treasure in a field sold all that he had and bought that field Matth. 13.44 But Locusts love money too well and are too lazy to purchase such gifts with much pains or charge But I could wish to counsel them unworthy that all true Saints and Sack-cloth witnesses would give due attention to the counsel of God and buy of him Gold that they may be rich and white Raiment to be better clothed for shame and not be like Laodiceans extream poor and naked And I could wish that Locusts and Hypocrites whough they are busie and mind matters of an hundred times higher concernment would do the same But their smoaky service to God is sufficient the chief good they think and count their Crowns of desperate deceit to be the most inestimable Treasure Such Treasure such Service is the Locusts Quid. Thirdly Their Cui They little care whom they hurt and mind not much to profit any They are oft kind to their kin which kindness seldom falls due till after death They have however gifts to gratifie the rich and rewards for some of their own Societies And they that dwell upon the Earth shall send Gifts one to another Apoc. 11.10 These gifts were no good Works nor this kindness Charity but a commutual corrupt gratifying of the most wicked members of the body of Apostacy One to another This is Philautia self-ended Charity and the kindness of Hypocrites To those of the same Stock Kin Sect The Pharisees did so But true Charity opens her hand wide to the poor in want to good and bad to strangers in distress to Professors of contrary Opinions but especially to the well-deserving Be not overcome with evil but overcome evil with good Rom. 12.21 And is doing good the way to vanquish or good Works weapons to overcome I answer Good Works are the best weapons to overcome Sects and dissenting brethren Overcome therefore their Errours in Doctrine by undeniable dilucidations of sacred Truth Overcome their Manners by manners contrary by kindness mercy and goodness send thy gifts even to Locusts and Hypocrites not as they that dwelt upon the Earth did to encourage one another in doing evil but to win them with good to unity of Faith and true Obedience Let thy kindness convince their uncharitableness Thy Mansuetude their merciless inhumanities Abandon Rigour banish cruelties Be not overcome with evil but overcome evil with good as the best way to win thy worst Enemies and the most effectual means to convince and convert Infidels Sects and dissenting Brethren The wise and ancient Councellours that stood before King Solomon gave some such Counsel to his son For This way of overooming evil with good the Errours and evil Manners of Enemies Sects and Dissenters is Sophia-Chirurgorum the Balsame of Wisdom to heal the bleeding wounds of the Gospel-Church and Christian-States whereas the contrary Counsel of the young rash heady Councellours procured the final Rent and Revolt of the ten Tribes And the like contrary Counsels cause and continue like sad Rents and Divisions in the Church of God I shall here but briefly solve two Questions and so proceed First Whether the superfluities of Nabals Feast were more due to his Sheep-shearers than to David That Feast in Nabals judgement and he was a Fool was due to his Sheep-shearers and no part of it to David that defended his Flocks and his servants that kept them So Locusts and Hypocrites judge nothing due to faithful Shepherds that feed Christs Flocks by sound Doctrine and chiefly by good example For Truth-practising Ministers are the best Preachers though their gift of Vocal Prophesie were very weak and mean But any Sycophant and pretender not true Proficients is the Locust's Cui to whom in their account the rewards of the well deserving are due The second Question is this Whether that Oyntment wherewith Mary anointed our Saviour's feet was due to him or to the poor Joh. 12.3 It was the judgement of Judas that it should have been sold and the price given to the poor So Locusts and Hypocrites are of the same judgement with Judas that no recompence is due to the best deserving but take as great care as he did of the poor The poor though that be usually far from them ought to be sufficiently provided for But the well-deserving have most right to just rewards The time saith the Text is come that thoushouldest give reward to thy servants the Prophets and to those that fear thy Name small and great Revel 11.18 These and what is profitable and honest to promote and
profess ingenuously I could never yet observe the deserts of this David What 's his merit or worth if well examined I am not now to learn what he can teach Nor are his supposed sacred Notions of necessary use at least not new to me Once I read but five lines of his learned work and was so weary it was so ill composed and to little purpose I could read no more He observes no Method and is too tedious in all he writes I could have contracted his matter to better purpose in the tenth part of his words But why sends David upon such a a day as this which he knows to be a busie day He should have first sat down and cast up the cost of keeping so many men so all wise men do and not send to me to maintain them I was ever bountiful ti 's well known to the well-deserving But who is David who 's this Son of Jesse Sic bacchantur Moriones Thus proud Professors folly's Off-spring swell with brutish insolence against the knowledge of the Truth in Practice and those by whose examples they might come to the knowledg of it Virtutis hoec merces meriti hoc praemium Thus proud Professors cast down Peace and Truth by their folly as the foolish woman pull'd down her house with her hands This is not that Peace-producing harmony of those Harps that are the Harps of God But Because two contrary Paterus set together must needs make each other more elucid and apparent I shall in such sort set two by comparing the good Samaritans perfect pattern with those evil-examples of that Priest and Levite that passing by came not to the knowledg of the Truth in practice A certain Priest saith the Text saw the man wounded and passed by A Levite likewise looked on him and passed by on the other side Luke 10.30 The Text chargeth neither as nescient or not knowing the Scriptures Both might come to a large measure of the knowledge of the Truth in the Doctrine of Faith and Manners but took no notice of considered not that which is right in it self and due to be done to the wounded man They passed by Truth in practice What profit to what purpose is it for formal Professors to attain a large measure of the knowledge of the Truth in the Doctrine of Faith and Manners to attain all Faith all Knowledge if they pass by obedience to God mercy and equity to Men For it was the Trade not of that Priest and Levite alone but of the whole Tribe of Pharisees and Apostate Jews by whom our Lord was crucified to say and not do to assert the Truth in Doctrine and pass by the practice of it And so their Antitype Locusts and Hypocrites by whom our Lord is more spiritually crucified in his Mystical Body make it their chief business to come perhaps to the knowledge of the Truth in Doctrine that they may the better by that means pass by the practice of it For the Pharisees searched the Scriptures that testified of Christ that they might find testimony in them against him to put him to death Death they found due to Blasphemers This Doctrine was true And this misapplyed to Christ was enough they needed no more to put him to death Omnia sunt hominu tenui pendentia filo Surely the lives of Men and Saints and the lives of Princes depend upon a very slender thred if one Text of Scripture misapplyed by blind Hypocrites be sufficient to make them to pass by all Equity to Men and Loyalty to Princes Certainly such Professors be their Doctrine never so sound their Professions most strict most deserve effectual refutation and rebuke For misapply'd sound Doctrine is the Doctrine of Devils that very Doctrine which the Devil delivered when he tempted our blessed Saviour and the very same Doctine which the blaspheming Pharisees practised when they put him to death And this way of blasphemy by which the son of perdition slayes the witnesses of the Truth draws so near though in these times of the grand Misadvertency almost Universal to that sin unpardonable that it is a desperate misaffection of the Will more than a mistake of the Intellect I know said Christ the blasphemy of them who say they are Jews and are not but are the Synagogue of Satan Revel 2.9 where we clearly see that to boast of a lye is blasphemy And such blasphemers are most contrary to those Harpers that have the Harps of God We shall therefore handle both briefly together that both may more clearly appear And first Such blasphemers are so far boasters as to become rash Judges of other meus persons and actions of which and whom they are least able to judge But Secondly Such blasphemers misapply by sacrilegious and most wicked uncharitableness the same Text that the Pharisees did against our blessed Saviour and sundry others against the witnesses of the Truth whereby they ruinate their Estates and destroy their lives Such rewards must the best deserving find almost from all hands Unhappy Saints of the living God! unhappy witnesses of his Truth In this unhappy That any envious ignorant and unworthy Hypocrite needs but falsly charge them for their faithful Testimony with boasting or blasphemy and the business is done to their utter undoing What need we any more said the Pharisees But we shall here labour to remove the common mistake that 's the principal cause of that boasting and blasphemy that brings the greatest mischief to mankind and especially to the witnesses of the Truth And first Though I would desire saith the Apostle to glory I shall not be a fool for I will say the truth 2 Cor. 12.6 Whence it 's undeniably manifest That he that speaks or writes the Truth but then most when it makes for Gods glory or a general good is no fool nor a boaster though he seem to fools and Hypocrites so to be but a faithful witness of the Truth and do's therein but discharge charge his inevitable and indispensible duty to God and Man But it 's the common Opinion of Depravers and Hypocrites that to speak or write any thing true or false if it but reflect to the praise of him that speaks or writes it is boasting or vain-glory Then all the Prophets Apostles Saints and Martyrs must needs be boasters and blasphemers This was the mistake of Korah and his 250 conspiring Princes that told Moses and Aaron They took too much upon them were proud but were themselves signally proved to be sinners against their own souls Rebels in Gods sight Exod. 16.38 Ch. 17.10 This was the mistake of Aaron and Miriam when they said Hath the Lord indeed spoken by Moses Hath he not spoken also by us Numb 12.2 They imputed pride self-exalting to Moses the meekest man upon the face of the earth Thus we see that the most faithful Prophets and Martyrs such is the envious pride even in many Saints have been and may be grosly misled by this almost
universal mistake To judge the meekest and most innocent to be self-exalters and vain-boasters only because they are faithful to bear witness to the Truth This was the grand mistake of that Learned and devout Council by whom our Lord was crucisied He as he must inevitably do spake the truth And the Truth cannot but dignifie the doers and sayers of it with the title and due praise of being the Oracles of God But that blind but knowing pust up Senate of Pharisees and Hypocrites misconceived That the Truth which he spake was boasting vain-glory and blasphemy And therefore they all unanimously and with one consent cryed out Crucifie him crucifie him The Witnesses were to be killed and the holy City the Church of God persecuted and trodden under foot in the Antitype-place where our Lord was crucified To wit by such censorious blind professors as the Pharisees were Rev. 11.2 8. And this slanderous imputation and mis-supposition that they are boasters blasphemers and men that take too much upon them is the chief or almost only and universal cause or instrument of their being so killed persecuted and trodden under foot Nor are true Saints as we shewed before free from this frenzy of heady and censorious rashness Elisha discovered the King of Syria's Counsel and design several times to the King of Israel whereby the King of Israel saved himself not once nor twice King 6.10 Such discoveries were signal advantages and deliverances to the King and people of Israel Nor could I but in love to my Country and in fidelity to the Church make this discovery of the chief cause of the killing of her Witnesses That so Ministers and Magistrates as the Church of Ephesus tryed those that said they were Apostles and were not may try those Truth-misapplving Blasphemers that charge her Witnesses falsly with boasting And finding them to be the seditious Synagogue of Satan may rebuke them sharply So may they save themselves and the Church not once or twice from such distress as fell upon the Jews for the very same sin To wit because their Rulers did not duly reprove and rebuke those Christ-crucifying blasphemers that charged him with blasphemy So may the rain of Righteousness after 1260 years restraint fall in plentious showers upon all Nations So peace and prosperity may spring up to all Princes and people So may Ministers and Magistrates they being faithful in the discharge of this duty save the Witnesses of the Truth and perhaps themselves from the bloody irruptions of merciless cruelties in the mouthes of depravers and Hypocrites that falsly accuse them as the first Dragon did Primitive Saints day and night as boasters as blasphemers or as persons unworthy and the worst of evil doers whereby the defences of States and Churches and the healers of their breaches are broken down by the basest of men These derogating Hypocrites and those Harpers that have the Harps of God are most contrary by whose contrariety predicted those first fruits of true obedience to God and good works to men will more easily appear These Harpers saith the Text sung as it were a new song which no man could learn but those 144000 first-fruits vers 2 3 4. Ch. 15.2 Therefore these Harpers must be as those Texts plainly import the same 144000 that had the Name of God written in their foreheads or at least the Teachers of them But We must here distinguish betwixt these 144000 having the Name of God written in their foreheads and those 144000 in the seventh Chapter that were sealed with the seal of God in their foreheads and betwixt both and those that have not the seal of God in their foreheads Chap. 9.4 And first We shall distinguish betwixt these 144000 having the Name of God written in their foreheads and those 144000 in the seventh Chapter that were sealed with the seal of God in their foreheads These sealed 144000 were sealed under the sixth Seal Chap. 6.12 Chap. 7.4 But these 144000 Chap. 14. having the Name of God written in their foreheads were to stand with the Lamb upon mount Sion under the seventh Trumpet Chap. 10.7 Chap. 11.19 Chap. 13.18 Chap. 14.1 Therefore these 144000 conscript in the fourteenth Chapter are not the same Gospel-Church in the same respects to times and things though otherw se the same with-those 144000 sealed servants of God in the seventh Chapter For the seven Seales as most Writers and I with them agree had respect to the Transactions of literal and Imperial Rome and shewed the state of the Church under that power But the seven Trumpets and Vials have respect to Papal Rome and running parallel in the same Synchronism shew the state of the Church under that power The opening of the sixth Seal shews the fall of the sixth head of the ten-fold body of Heathen Rome and the fall of the Pagan Power under that head which is more fully exprest in Chap. 12 to the 14. vers The final excision of Imperial and apostate Rome is held forth under the seventh Seal Chap. 8.5 And this Prophesie is more amply unfolded in the eighteenth Chapter But The fall of Papal Rome or of the grand Apostacy is predicted to be under the seventh Trumpet and seventh Vial Chapter 10.7 Ch. 11.11 15. Ch. 16.17 Then the couscript-Church it seems should be manifest as the Texts shew Also the Texts in the seventh Chapter from the ninth verse to the end and the manifold Prophetick-Promises in those Texts refer to the conscript-Church Chap. 14. Chap. 21. Chap. 22. rather than to the sealed-Church or not to her until after many Centuries of years her Off-spring should have the name of God written in their foreheads Thus their disparities further appear Those 144000 in the seventh Chapter sealed with the Seal of God And these 144000 having the Name of God written in their foreheads are both the Church of God but in different respects and times For those 144000 in the seventh Chapter were the Gospel-Church sealed and numbred in the same Chapter measured in the eleventh Chapter Fed and defended in the Wilderness for 1260 years from the rage of the second Dragon Chap. 12.6 14. contemporal with her Antithesis those Saint-persecuting Truth-pretending Professors that had not the Seal of God in their foreheads Chap. 9.4 And brought from wallowing in blood under the bloody feet of the Roman red Dragon Chap. 12.10 Chap. 18.20 For these 144000 in the seventh Chapter were sealed and numbred immediately after the fall of the first Dragon Chapter 7.3 But these 144000 having the Name of God written in their foreheads Chap. 14. were to stand upon lasting foundations of true Faith and good Manners Mount Zion not immediately after the fall of the power of Rome Imperial but immediately after the fall of Papal Rome Rev. 11.13 15. Chap. 15.2 Chap. 10.7 Chap. 13.18 Chap. 14.1 But because these Texts contain the Myrrhe of Ages to heal all Nations and the best Writers fall short in unfolding of them I shall