the Revelation do all of them consist of these numbers seven Seals seven Trumpets seven Vials consisting all of them of ordinal numbers whereof the seven Trumpets are the issue of the seventh Seal and therefore shall come to pass in order after the sixth Seal is ended and the seven Vials are the issue of the seventh Trumpet though not the immediate nor the adequate issue of it and therefore they shall come to pass in order after the Prophecy of the fourteenth Chapter doth determine and not before 6. What Man will say that King Henry the seventh was before Henry the sixth such an absurdity do they run into which interpret the sixth Seal of the day of Judgment and make the seventh Seal which contains the seven Trumpets to be before it It is as if a Man should say that King Henry the seventh was before King Henry the sixth and the reason why King Henry the sixth is set before King Henry the seventh in the English Chronicles is because he was first revealed unto the Writer but in order of Reigning King Henry the seventh was before him 7. If the seven Trumpets shall come to pass before the sixth Seal what 's the reason that the sixth Seal was revealed to Iohn before them And so of other Prophecies if that which was revealed first shall come to pass after that which was revealed afterward why was it revealed first and not afterward God could have revealed to Iohn the seven Trumpets before the sixth Seal and doubtless would have done so if the seven Trumpets were to come to pass before it but now we find 't is otherwise the sixth Seal was revealed to Iohn before the seven Trumpets were and what was the reason of it but because it shall come to pass before the seven Trumpets shall and no other reason can be given for it But if any one think otherwise that the sixth Seal shall come to pass after the seven Trumpets let him tell me why was it revealed before the seven Trumpets were and not tather after them And so of other Prophecies it may be asked if that which was revealed first shall come to pass after that which was revealed afterward why was it revealed first Give an answer he that will 8. Unless the Prophecies of the Revelation shall come to pass in order as they were revealed what a confused Chaos is the Revelation It is as if a man should write a History of the affairs of England but in such a mingled and confused manner that no man can find any order in it no man can tell by reading of it whether such a Parliament were in such a Kings Reign and such a Parliament in another Kings Reign nor which King did Reign first and which next the Book is such a mingle mangle a mess of altogether that no man can tell what Accidents were in one Kings Reign and what Accidents in another Kings Reign Such a confused Chaos do they make of the Revelation no man can tell by reading of it where to begin nor where to end nor where to find the middle of it whether the Seal shall come to pass first and the Trumpets next and the Vials next or whether some of the seven Seals shall come to pass first and some of the seven Trumpets next and some of the seven Vials next or in what order things shall come to pass in the Revelation no man can tell 9. Where no instance can be given to the contrary there things shall come to pass in order as they were revealed and such are the Prophecies of the Revelation no instance can be given of any Prophecy that shall come to pass before or after the order of its Revelation and therefore they shall come to pass Prophecy after Prophecy as they were revealed and presented unto Iohn in Vision Ob. But Mr. Mede in his Synchronisms hath given divers instances to the contrary Ans Every one of those instances do fail as shall appear by the answers which I give to every Synchronism in order An Answer to the Synchronisms of Mr. Mede The first Part. The first Synchronism of the woman remaining in the Wilderness of the seven headed beast restored of the outer Court troden under foot by the Gentiles of the witnesses in the mean time Prophecying in Sackcloth All which he will have Synchronise because they be of equal times To which I answer that the month of April hath as many days as the month of Iune and the month of Iune hath as many days as the month of September yet these three months succeed one another and no other is the case here The Prophecying of the witnesses in Sack-cloth hath as many days as the woman hath in the Wilderness and that is 1260 days and the woman hath as many days in the Wilderness as the 42 months of the Beast amount unto yet they succeed one another as the month of Iune succeeds the month of April and the month of September succeeds them both But as for the conculcation of the outer Court 42 months and the Prophecying of the witnesses in the mean while 1260 days I confess that they Synchronise but none of the other do Mr. Mede saw the weakness of his first Argument and in the close thereof confesseth that it is not necessary that equal times should Synchronise howbeit for confirmation of it he adds in his Parenthesis that in Visions shewed at the same time it is very likely that they do To which I answer that this doth no way strengthen nor add any confirmation to his Argument for equal times presented all at once at one view may and do succeed one another as appears in a leafe Almanack wide open where all the months of the year many of which are equal one to another and have as many days one as another are presented to my eye all at once at one view yet they succeed one another the month of March succeeds the month of Ianuary though equal in duration to it and the month of May though of equal duration too succeeds them both So put the case that these Prophecies were presented unto Iohn the same time at one view yet may they succeed one another for all that But the case is not so in the point in hand for these Prophecies were not presented unto Iohn at one view as the Image was to Nebuchadnezar in his dream but successively one after another the Prophecy of the witnesses in the eleventh Chapter first the Prophecy of the woman in the Wilderness in the twelfth Chapter next and the Prophecy of the Beast in the thirteenth Chapter afterward And because they were presented unto him successively therefore we conclude that they shall come to pass successively the Prophecy in the eleventh Chapter first the Prophecy in the twelfth Chapter next and the Prophecy in the thirteenth Chapter afterward And thus much for the first Argument 2. He undertakes to prove that the times of the Beast and of the
womans being in the Wilderness begin at the same instant of time to wit the Conquest of the red Dragon and the thrusting him out of Heaven unto the earth but he mightily fails in the probation of it 1. In that he makes the Dragon cast out a flood of water after her before she came into the Wilderness as she was flying thither but it is not so for the woman gets into the Wilderness first as appears Rev. 12.14 and then he sends a flood of water after her to drive her out from thence as appears v. 15.2 He thinks that by the remnant of her seed is meant the Children which the woman should bring forth in the Wilderness and that the Dragon makes War with them in that place but this is nothing so but by the remnant of her seed is meant those which did remain behind and were not fled into the Wilderness with the woman for if they had been there they had been safe as the woman was v. 14. and the Dragon could not War with them nor get the Victory over them in that place Briefly then the order of the Prophecy is this 1. The Dragon persecutes the woman and that as soon as he was cast forth of Heaven unto the earth v. 13.2 The woman flies and gets safe into the Wilderness from his persecution v. 14.3 The Dragon casts forth a flood of water after her to drive her out from thence v. 15.4 The earth opens her mouth and swallows up the flood of water v. 16.5 The Dragon seeing that leaves the woman in the Wilderness and departs from thence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to make War with the remnant of her seed v. 17. and who be they but those which were not fled into the Wilderness where the woman was This is the true sense and order of the Prophecy and I wonder that any man should set his wit against it 3. He would have the times of the Beast and of the witnesses end together at the exit of the sixth Trumpet and this he thinks to prove from Rev. 11.13 14 15. but all in vain for though the times of the witnesses do end at the exit of the sixth Trumpet and we hear no more of them afterward yet the times of the Beast do not as may appear if these things be considered 1. The City there spoken of is not Babylon the Royal City of the Beast but Ierusalem v. 2. and 8.2 The whole City doth not fall but the tenth part only v. 13.3 That tenth part of the City fell by an earth-quake but Babylon shall be consumed by fire and not by an earth-quake Rev. 17.16 Rev. 18.8.4 Seven thousand men are slain and no more v. 13. and what is so small a number to the ruine of the Beast 5. Though at the sound of the seventh Trumpet the Kingdoms of this World become the Kingdoms of the Lord and his Christ yet this is but in fieri at that time and not in facto esse it is then a doing and not intirely done it is then in esse inchoato in inchoation only not in esse completo in complete perfection it is then in the bud and in the blossom but not come to full maturity till afterward and as long as it is so and no more the Beast may have a being in the World after the seventh Trumpet sounds until the Kingdom of Christ be brought to full perfection In a word the seventh Trumpet is to sound more days than one as the Angel saith Rev. 10.7 Now the first day that Trumpet sounds the Kingdoms of the World are become the Kingdoms of the Lord and his Christ inchoative inchoatively but when the seventh Trumpet hath sounded many days and when all the Prophecies of the Revelation from the eleventh Chapter to the twentieth are fulfilled then the Kingdom of Christ shall be brought to full perfection and then the Beast shall have a final end and not before And here it is to be noted that the Beast which Wars against the Witnesses ch 11. is not the same with the Beast which overcomes the Saints ch 13. v. 7. of which more hereafter in its proper place 4. He will have the times of the witnesses and of the Court or Holy City possessed by the Gentiles Rev. 11.2 3. to contemporate and this I grant to be true for the 42 months of the Gentiles in which they shall tread the Holy City under foot v. 2. and the 1260 days in which the Witnesses shall Prophecy v. 3. are the same 5. He concludes the Synchronism with an inference If the treading underfoot of the Court and Holy City do contemporate with the Prophecy of the Witnesses it will also contemporate with the Beast And this I deny for the Witnesses do not contemporate with the Beast only the two first do contemporate viz. the 42 months of the Gentiles and the 1260 days of the Witnesses but the rest succeed one another the woman in the Wilderness succeeds the times of the Witnesses and the Beast succeeds them both And thus much in answer to the first Synchronism The second Synchronism is of the two horned Beast who is also the false Prophet with the ten horned Beast who is also called the Image of the Beast Ans And this is true if meant of the time which succeeds his restauration for as soon as the wounded Beast is healed the other Beast is raised to counsel and assist him and from that time forth they Synchronise But whereas he thinks they were raised the one out of the Sea and the other out of the earth both together it is nothing so for the ten horned Beast is raised first and in that respect is called the first Beast v. 12. and after he is raised he is wounded and when his wound is healed then the other Beast is raised and not before And thus much of the second Synchronism And as for the Appendix because it makes nothing to the Synchronism whether it be true or false I omit to speak unto it only I think it not amiss to acquaint the Reader that the ten horned beast is not the Image of the Beast as he would have it but the object represented by the Image The third Synchronism is of the great Whore or mystical Babylon with that same Beast which hath seven heads and ten Horns Ans If this were meant of the Beast ch 17. it were true and not to be denied but it being meant of the Beast ch 13. it is false for that Beast outlives the Whore and Wars against him that sate upon the White Horse that is against Christ after the Whore is destroyed Rev. 19.19 20. And the Synchronism doth suppose these Beasts to be all one of which more hereafter The fourth Synchronism is of the 144000 Sealed Virgins with the Whore of Babylon and the Beast Ans Five Arguments are brought to prove their Synchronising The three first as he confesseth are insufficient to make up a full and entire contemporising
year be meant a hundred years then two mystical years must be two hundred years and half a mystical year half a hundred years and then we are far short of the number Such inconveniences do they fall into which turn the Scripture into mysteries and make a mystical sense of a Revelation Lastly a thousand years and upward is a long time but by 1260 days is meant a short time yea the whole time of Satans abode upon the earth from the time he is cast out of Heaven is but a short time as appears v. 12. and yet that time is much more than the 1260 days we speak of 3. Quest whether this Prophecy were fulfilled in the Reign of Nero Ans 1. This Prophecy was not revealed to John till after Nero's Reign in the time of Domitian one of his successours as hath been proved ch 6. q. 1. therefore it doth not prophesie of what was done in his Reign 2. This Prophecy doth belong unto the seventh Trumpet in which the mystery of God shall come to pass as hath been proved q. 1. but Nero's reign did not reach unto the seventh Trumpet 3. This Prophecy shall succeed the Prophecy of the two witnesses as hath been also proved q. 2. but that Prophecy of the two witnesses is long after the Reign of Nero as they with whom I dispute in this Question do confess for they say it came to pass in the Reign of Adrian 4. By the parturition of this Woman is meant the national conversion of some people or other Now there were some persons converted to the Faith in the Reign of Nero but what is that to the national conversion of a people The national conversion of the Romans came not to pass till the days of Constantine which was long afterward 5. The first general persecution of the Church was in the days of Nero and if this Prophecy should be meant of it the persecution spoken of in this place should be the first but the persecution in the fifth Seal was before this Rev. 6.9 10 11. 6. In Nero's persecution many were slain for professing of the Faith and amongst them Peter was one and Paul another but in the persecution here spoken of not any one was slain the Dragons power was too weak as appears vers 4 5 6.13 14 15 16. Lastly after the parturition of this Woman the Dragon knowes he hath but a short time but since the days of Nero to this day the Dragon hath had a long time and how much more is yet to come before the day of Judgement who can tell 4. Quest Whether this Prophecy be meant of the conversion of the Jews Ans 1. The Woman here spoken of had upon her head a Crown of twelve Stars and who should they be but the twelve Tribes of Israel 2. The national Church of Rome which some suppose to be the Woman here meant was not converted till the days of Constantine all the time before that she was in Travail and when she was converted in his time she did not flie into the Wilderness as the Woman here doth but was advanced to great honour and prosperity in the World and the head of that Church was the Emperour himself 3. The Dragon with seven heads and ten horns which some suppose to be the Pagan Roman Empire did no more persecute the Roman Church after she was converted in the days of Constantine but as soon as that Church was converted that Empire wholly ceased as Pagan and became Christian and persecution ceased with it but here the case is otherwise for as soon as the Dragon is cast forth of Heaven to the Earth the persecution of the Woman doth begin 4. We read Dan. 12.1 And at that time shall Michael stand up the great Prince which standeth for the Children of thy people and there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a Nation even to that same time and at that time thy people shall be delivered c. Now who be meant by Daniels people but the Jews and who is meant by the Woman here spoken of but Daniels people whom Michael standeth for 5. What doth the Angel mean by the mystery of God Rev. 10.7 but the conversion of the Jews And when shall that mystery be finished but when the seventh Angel begins to sound And when doth this Woman fall in Travail but at the same time too And if it be said that by the mystery of God is meant the end of the world and the second coming of our Lord as Doctor Mayer doth expound it To this I answer 1. That the mystery of God there spoken of is the conversion of some Church or other and what Church can we imagine is left unconverted till the seventh Trumpet but the Jews only 2. The conversion of the Gentiles is called a mystery Eph. 3.3 4.6 Col. 1.26 and so is the conversion of the Jews too Rom. 11.25 But now the conversion of the Gentiles is already and the Apostle speaks of it in both those places as a thing then in being but the conversion of the Jews is yet to come and when shall it be finished but at the beginning of the seventh Trumpet which is the time the Woman here spoken of falls in Travail 3. The conversion of the Jews goes before the coming of our Lord and that which hinders or keeps back the coming of our Lord is the non-conversion of that Nation and that which expedites and hastens the coming of our Lord is the conversion of that Nation as St. Peter saith in two places Act. 3.19 20 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 hastning the coming 21. 2 Pet. 3.12 and seeing in this Prophecy of the seventh Trumpet is mention made of the coming of Christ Rev. 19.11 c. We may well conclude the conversion of the Jews to be meant in this place which is to go before it 4. Where shall we find the end of the world or the second coming of our Lord called a mystery The Incarnation is so called 1 Tim. 3.16 but where the end of the world or the second coming of our Lord is so called it concerns them to shew which do affirm it 5. The mystery which the Angel meant is declared by God to his servants the Prophets in the Old Testament and what do they speak of more than the conversion of the Jews Esa 11.11 12. Esa 14.1 2 3. Esa 27.12 13. Jer. 23.7 8. Jer. 31.27 28. Jer. 32.37 38. Jer. 46.27 28. Ezek. 37.16 17. Hos 3.4 5. Joel 3.1 Amos 9.11.14 15. Zach. 8.20 21 22. with many more the like 6. The Objection doth suppose the seventh Trumpet is to sound but one day and that one day is to be the end of the world but the Angel saith the seventh Trumpet is to sound more days than one and the mystery of God is to be at the beginning of them Rev. 10.7 Lastly Concerning the conversion of the Jews see what Bishop Prideaux Dr. Willet Mr.
typically why should any man think that in the Revelation they be put for years absolutely For typically they cannot be unless a man will say that John was three years and a half in receiving this Prophecy as the men of Israel were forty days in searching the Land of Canaan which I think no man will affirm Briefly then if days be put for years in the Revelation 1260 days for 1260 years it is either absolutely or typically If absolutely shew me the like in other places If typically shew me the analogy between the type and the Antitype as it is plainly to be seen in Moses and Ezekiel As ye were forty days in searching the Land so shall ye bear your iniquity in the Wilderness forty years and as Ezekiel was to lye on his right side forty days so God would wink at their iniquity forty years and then the captivity should be brought upon them This is the analogy beteen the type and the Antitype in Moses and Ezekiel shew me the analogy in the Revelation for if no analogy can be found there is no type nor Antitype to be had Again if days be put for years absolutely in the Revelation then neither that place Numb 14.34 nor that place Ezek. 4.6 will prove it for in both these places they be put typically not absolutely And if it be said that they be put typically in the Revelation then as Ezekiel was to lye on his right side forty days in his ecstasie so the Angel was three years and a half in revealing this Prophecy unto John and three years and a half more in revealing the Prophecy of the Woman and three years and a half more in revealing the Prophecy of the Beast and John was so long in his ecstasie when as the whole Revelation was revealed to him in one day and that was the Lords day Rev. 1.10 See Disp 1. q. 2.6 What if these 1260 days of the Witnesses and the 1260 days of the Womans living in the Wilderness and the 42 months of the Beast do not contemporate but succeed one another Is not this an Argument that they are literally to be understood Now that the 42 months of the Beast shall succeed the 1260 days of the Woman and the 1260 days of the woman shall succed the 1260 days of the Witnesses hath been proved already in the former Chapter q. 2. and shall be proved farther in the twelfth and thirteenth Chapters following 7. What if these days of the Witnesses be days of safety and security is it likely that they shall be in safety or security so many years Now that these days of the Witnesses be days of safety and security the fifth sixth and seventh verses of this Chapter do plainly teach And if any man will hurt them understand before the 1260 days be ended fire proceedeth out of their mouth and devoureth their Enemies c. so that their enemies be in danger all that time but the Witnesses be in safety 8. To this may be added what the Angel saith in the former Chapter v. 6 7. that there should be time no longer but in the days of the voice of the seventh Angel when he shall begin to sound the mystery of God shall be finished which words imply that there is but a very little time from thence to the sounding of the seventh Trumpet as Brightman well expounds it and consequently the 1260 days of the two Witnesses which comes between that time and the sounding of that Trumpet is but a short time To which likewise may be added that these two Witnesses be two men and no more and therefore they cannot live so long as to Prophesie 1260 years And if it be said that these two Witnesses be put for all the Prophets that suffered for the name of Christ all that time and that they be called two because they be but few to this I answer 1. That if this were the meaning the word two might very well have been left out and it had been sufficient to have said I will give power to my Witnesses and they shall Prophesie 1260 days and this would have took them in all and the sense had been compleat without the word two but the wisdom of God thought it fit to put it in and that no less than four times in this Prophecy once v. 3. twice v. 4. and the fourth time v. 10. and wherefore was it done but to shew that these two Witnesses be two men and no more like as when 't is said Mat. 27.38 And there were two Thieves crucified with him wherefore was the word two put in but to shew the Thieves were two men and no more So when 't is said I will give power to my two Witnesses wherefore is the word two put in but to shew that these two Witnesses be two men and no more 2. We cannot say that all the Prophets which suffered for the name of Christ in Queen Maries days were but few or that they which suffered since in Ireland were but few or that they which suffered of late days in Savoy were but few much less can we say that all the Prophets which suffered in 1260 years space were but few And though the Prophets which suffered in some Kings Reigns were but few or none at all yet count we the number of them all which suffered in 1260 years space and we cannot say that they be few Rev. 7.9.14 3. We cannot say that all the Prophets which suffered for the name of Christ in 1260 years space call them few or many did begin and end their Prophecy together but some at one time and some at another time We cannot say that they did all dye in one day and in one place but some in one year and some in another year some in one place and some in another place but of these two Witnesses we may say that they did both begin and end their Prophecy together they both suffer death in one day and in one place and they both return to life in one hour And therefore these two witnesses be not all the Prophets of the Lord which have suffered for his name 1260 years together for they dyed successively at distant times and in distant places but these died both in one day and in one place too and therefore they be two men and no more and the 1260 days be three years and a half and no more And this is more than I need have said to this objection but if any doth desire more let him read what is said ch 12. q. 2. and he shall find something more said unto it 2 Quest Whether this Prophecy were fulfilled in Adrians time Ans 1. The measuring of a Temple and an Altar doth imply the building of two Holy places at Jerusalem for the People of the Jews to worship in the one in the place where the Temple stood the other in the place where the Altar stood but we read not of any such places built in
be said to be crucified at Rome Ans I deny the sequele For Christ told Pilate thou couldest have no power at all against me except it were given thee from above Joh. 19.11 yet no man will conclude from thence that Christ was crucified in Heaven because Pilate had authority from Heaven no more ought any man to say that Christ was crucified at Rome because Pilate had authority from thence Herod had authority from the City of Rome yet the young children which were slain by him were slain at Bethlehem and not at Rome Mat. 2.16 Yea we may go a little farther and say that the City of Rome was not guilty of their death nor of Christs neither for the authority which Herod had was only in the general and that is not sufficient to make the City of Rome guilty of their blood it must be a special warrant order or authority from Rome that must do that and this Herod wanted and so did Pilate too Yea let us go a little farther and suppose that Pilate had a special order or authority from the City of Rome to put our Saviour Christ to death yet this will not suffice to make the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the ubi or the where to be the City of Rome but Ierusalem alone and the reason of it is because the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the ubi and the where do note the place where the thing was done and not the power or authority by which 't was done as when 't is said that Mary Magdalen and Mary the Mother of Ioses beheld where here he was laid Mark 15.47 it is not meant of the power or authority which they had from Pilate to lay his body there but of the place where they laid him And so give instance where you will it never fails See Ioh. 19.18.20.41 Ob. Christ was crucified not only by the Roman power but also for the Roman cause Ans It was a pretended cause and not a real for Pilate did acquit him and said he found no fault in him Luk. 23.4 and the reason why he put Jesus to death was for fear of the Jews and not for any other cause Mat. 26.27 Luk. 23.22 23. But secondly let the cause be what it will it is nothing to the purpose for the cause is not here spoken of but the place only and they which understand the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the ubi or the where our Lord was crucified to be meant of the cause and not of the place are as far from the meaning of the Prophecy as Jerusalem is from Rome Ob. Christ was been crucified in his members at Babylon Ans Is this indeed the meaning Why Christ has been crucified in his members at Jerusalem as well as in his own body so that Ierusalem may be the City in that sense too 2. I deny that to 〈◊〉 meaning for it is not said in every City where our Lord was crucified but in the street of the great City pointing out but one City and no more 3. These words where our Lord was crucified were added to deelare what City 't is where the Witnesses shall be slain and if we understand them of the City where Christ was crucified himself we can quickly tell what City 't is that is meant in this place but if we understand it of the crucifixion of his members from time to time Christ has been crucified in so many places that we cannot tell by this description what City 't is is meant here 4. Who be the members in which you say Christ was crucified Be they the same with the two Witnesses Or be they other members of his If other members then unless you tell us who these other members be we cannot tell by this answer what the City is in which the two Witnesses shall be slain But if you say the members be the same with the two Witnesses what is this but a meer Tautology It amounts to no more than this the two Witnesses shall be slain in the City where they shall be slain That which makes men run into these errors and mistake the meaning of the Prophecy is because they put no difference between the seat of the Witnesses and the seat of the Beast in which respect the Protestants are as far remote from the meaning of the Prophecy as the Papists for the Papists make the seat of the Witnesses to be Ierusalem and the same the seat of the Beast too but the Protestants make Babylon the seat of both And both of them are out in this particular for Ierusalem is the seat of the Witnesses but not of the Beast and Babylon is the seat of the Beast but not of the Witnesses and it is altogether unlikely and inconsonant to reason that the Witnesses should Prophesie in Babylon where the Beast hath his Throne or that the Beast should let them Prophesie before his own door three years and a half before the War against them But it is very likely and consonant to reason that the Witnesses should Prophesie at Ierusalem some hundred miles distant from the City of Babylon for some space of time before the Beast hear thereof and it is also likely that as soon as he doth hear thereof he will send his Soldiers forth of Babylon to march unto Ierusalem to War against the Witnesses and put an end unto their Prophesying which Soldiers of his may come thither at that nick of time in which the three years and a half allotted for their Prophesying shall be ended So that the Witnesses are not slain within the compass of that time or before that time be ended as some would have it but immediately when that time is over This is my conception of this Prophecy which I shall adhere unto until a better shall be shewn me And here the Reader may perceive that I follow neither Papist nor Protestant in the exposition of this Prophecy but the truth only which if it please God to discover by my weak endeavours it is as much as I look after in writing what I do 4 Quest How long the six first Trumpets shall continue Ans The Plagues of Egypt did continue but a little while as the learned Bishop of Armagh hath proved in his Annals pag. 20 21. and most of these Trumpets are the same with them 2. The fifth Trumpet is to last but five months Rev. 9.10 which wants a month of half a year 3. The Sealed ones were Sealed before any of the Trumpets did begin Rev. 7.3 and the same persons are all of them alive after all the six Trumpets are ended and a good part of the seventh Trumpet also over Rev. 14.1 4. All the time from the sixth Seal unto the day of Judgment mentioned Rev. 19.11 c. is but a short time as hath been proved already ch 6. Disp 2. q. 5. CHAP. XII The Prophecy of the Woman and the great Red Dragon representing the conversion of the Jews and the opposition and persecution of
hath no end at all before the Book be ended You will say the four first Trumpets have no close to them Answ They had other Trumpets to succeed them but this Trumpet is the last of all and hath no Trumpet to succeed it Again the two first Woe Trumpets had a close set unto them Rev. 9.12 Rev. 11.14 But this Trumpet is the third Woe Trumpet and therefore should in all likely-hood have a close set unto it as the other have if there were any to be set 2. This Prophecy doth not belong to the little Book but to the Book sealed with seven Seals for that Book had something written in it but the little Book had nothing written in it now there is no part of that Book to which this Prophecy can belong but to the seventh Trumpet only 3. The Prophecy of the seven Vials doth belong unto the seventh Trumpet therefore that which comes between the beginning of the seventh Trumpet and the seven Vials doth belong to the seventh Trumpet also Now that the seven Vials do belong to the seventh Trumpet may appear from hence that as the seventh Seal doth contain seven Trumpets so the seventh Trumpet by the like proportion doth contain seven Vials and Mr. Mede in his Remains pag. 10. doth implicitly confess this Argument to be good in case there be but one Book of Prophecy and this I have already proved in a select question on the tenth Chapter concerning this subject 4. The mystery of God doth belong unto the seventh Trumpet as the Angel plainly saith Rev. 10.7 but the parturition of the Woman is the mystery of God there spoken of Rom. 11.25 Ob. In the former Chapter v. 15.17 18. there is mention of the Kingdom of Christ and of the time of the dead that they should be judged and shall this Prophecy succeed that Ans No it shall not succeed it but begin it The conversion of the Jews is the inchoation of the Kingdom there spoken of as appears v. 10. and the time of the dead in which they shall be judged or avenged shall follow thereupon as appears v. 12. but more particularly ch 14. 7. 13. 15 16. ch 15. 1. ch 16. throughout ch 18. 6. 20. 24. ch 19. 2. 20 21. all which belong unto the seventh Trumpet and is the execution of what was spoken of in general in the former Chapter in which the seventh Trumpet is set down in gross but in this and the Chapters following at retail To which may be added that the seventh Trumpet is a Woe Trumpet and there be no Woes belonging to that Trumpet in the former Chapter but only in the general therefore the particulars are in the Chapters following 2. Quest Whether this Prophecy doth contemporate with the Prophecy of the two witnesses or succeed it Ans 1. The seventh Trumpet doth succeed the sixth but this Prophecy belongs to the seventh Trumpet and that of the two witnesses to the sixth 2. That which gave occasion or an opportunity to the building of the Temple and the prophecying of the witnesses and removed the impediment thereof was the slaughter of the third part of men which were dwelling at Euphrates and that which gives occasion or an opportunity to the parturition of the Woman and removeth the impediment thereof is the fall of the tenth part of the City and the judgment on the Beast Rev. 11.13 and as the slaughter of the third part of Men which were dwelling at Euphrates goes before the prophecying on the witnesses as being the occasion of it by removing the impediments 2 Thes 2.6 7. and affording an opportunity thereunto so the fall of the City and the judgment on the Beast goes before the Travail of the Woman as being the occasion of it by removing the impediments which were or might be a hindrance to it and affording an opportunity thereupon whereby it might be brought to pass 3. The Church in building is before the Church builded but during the prophecying of the witnesses the Church is in building and when the Woman has brought forth her child the Church is then built 4. Persecution and freedom from it cannot contemporate each with other but in the time of this Prophecy the Church is under persecution and during the prophecying of the witnesses the Church is free therefrom until the 1260 days be ended and then the Beast doth war against the witnesses but not before and though the outer Court be given to the Gentiles during the prophecying of the witnesses yet the inner court where the Church is they dare not meddle with 5. Good success and bad success cannot contemporate each with other but in the former Prophecy the enemy hath some success against the Church for three days and a half as appears v. 9.11 but in the time of this Prophecy the Dragon hath no success at all 6. The beginning of this Prophecy doth not contemporate with the beginning of the former nor the end of this Prophecy with the end of the former therefore the middle which is the 1260 days in each Prophecy do not contemporate each with other First I say the beginning of this Prophecy doth not contemporate with the beginning of the former for in the beginning of this Prophecy the Church is under the opposition and persecution of the Dragon but in the beginning of the former while the Temple is in building the Church is free Again in the end of the former Prophecy the Church is worsted by the enemy for three days and a half but in the end of this Prophecy the Dragon has the worst of it and the Church the better 7. Other differences there be which shew they do not Synchronise as first the Church in this Prophecy flies away in that she stands to it and flies not Again in this Prophecy the Church is in the Wilderness in that she is without in an open place And thirdly in this Prophecy the Church is invisible and none but the Dragon knew where she was but in the other Prophecy the Church is visible and the Beast knew where she was all which do shew that they do not Synchronise Object The days of the two Witnesses and the days of the Womans being in the Wilderness are equal in duration for they be 1260 days a piece therefore they Synchronise and contemporate each with other Ans The month of January and the month of March are equal in duration for they be one and thirty days a piece yet they succeed one the other and the month of February comes between and no other is the case here the 1260 days of the Prophesying of the Witnesses and the 1260 days of the Womans being in the Wilderness are equal in duration yet the last of these succeeds the former as the month of March doth the month of January and that which follows in the former Prophecy from the seventh verse to the end of the chapter comes between Object But these Visions were presented both at one
time without ceasing or intermission therefore seeing they be equal in duration they contemporate each with other Ans Things presented all at once at one view or at one time may succeed one another witness Nebuchadnezars Image Dan. 2. and the seven heads of the Beast Rev. 17.3.9 10. 2. These Visions were not presented both at once at one view or at one time as Nebuchadnezars Image was eodem tempore simultaneo but successively and immediately one after another as Daniels four Beasts were eodem tempore successivo Dan. 7. and look in what order they were revealed in the same shall they come to pass that is successively and immediately one after another as Daniels four Beasts do Dan. 7.3 c. Object The Womans flight into the Wilderness was presented unto John before the Battail betwixt Michael and the Dragon did begin v. 6. but it shall come to pass afterward as appears v. 14. Ans I deny the Antecedent for the sixth verse shews that the womans flight into the Wilderness was when her Travel ended and she had brought forth her Son and the fourteenth verse also shews that her flight into the Wilderness was when the Battel betwixt Michael and the Dragon ceased and he was cast forth into the earth therefore the womans Travel and the battel betwixt Michael and the Dragon ended both together and were presented unto John both together but could not be set down in writing both together unless it were collaterally as was shewed pag. 118. but successively as it is one after another which is the reason that the womans flight is set down v. 6. after her Travel ended and repeated again v. 14. after the Battel ended 2. Suppose it to be true that the womans flight into the Wilderness was presented unto John before the Battel betwixt Michael and the Dragon did begin if this were so then the sixth verse is meant of the beginning of the womans flight into the Wilderness and the fourteenth verse of the ending of it and if this be so the Battel betwixt Michael and the Dragon is not durante puerperio during the time of the womans Travel but durante fuga during her flight into the Wilderness and if this latter hold good then things are set down in writing as they were revealed and shall come to pass accordingly in such order as they be written in the Book no Book of Scripture equalising it Object Three years and a half may succeed one another but 1260 days mentioned in these two Prophecies be so many years and it is not likely that so many years should succeed one another Ans It is not my opinion only but Piscators in Apocalyp Cap. 12. v. 6. Peter Moulins in his accomplishment of Prophecies pag. 194. 196. and the late Annotators on Daniel c. 7. v. 25. who all of them do understand by these numbers three years and a half and no more Again the Church is in the Wilderness 1260 days together but the Church never was nor ever will be in the Wilderness so many years together 3. The Church is in safety 1260 days but the Church never yet was nor ever will be in safety from the enemy so long a time as 1260 years amount unto 4. When days be put for years in the Scripture it is usually expressed or intimated in the Text as Numb 14.34 Ezek. 4.6 but here is no mention nor intimation of any such thing had not God told Moses and Ezekiel that a day goes for a year neither of them would have so understood it but now in the Revelation God doth not tell us that a day is put for a year therefore we may not so understand it 5. In other Prophecies of Scripture where days are mentioned we do not understand years thereby as Numb 11.19 20. Dan. 8.13 13 14. Jona 3.4 Mat. 12.49 Joh. 2.19 and that because God doth not bid us so then where God doth not bid us by days understand years we may not so understand it but now in the Revelation God doth not bid us by days understand years as he doth in Numbers and Ezekiel therefore we may not so understand it 6.1260 days be no more than time times and half a time and that is no more than three years and a half as the Annotators on Daniel in their first Edition do confess and it may be proved by reason for time is one year times two years and half a time is half a year and seven times in the Book of Daniel is seven years Dan. 4.16 Again it is said in Daniel that he shall wear out the Saints and they shall be given into his hand until a time times and half a time Dan. 7.25 but now the Saints were never wearied out so long together neither were they ever given into the enemies hand so long a time as 1260 years nor ever will be And thirdly there is an Analogical proportion observable in these times for times is double in quantity to time and time is double in quantity to half a time But now if by time we understand a thousand and by times two hundred and by half a time sixty we destroy the proportion for by this reckoning time is more than times which ought to be less by half and half a time is less than half a time which ought to be just so much You will say that there is the like inconvenience in applying this number to 1260 days I answer no for time times and half a time is not 1260 days formally but vertually neither is it so many days divisim but conjunctim my meaning is time is not a thousand days times two hundred days and half a time sixty days but time is a year times two years and half a time is half a year that is three years and a half in the total Now because in three years and a half there be just 1260 days hence it is that these times be even in the total but not in each several part as hath been shewed And fourthly to make these times of Daniel to amount to 1260 years they take a strange course for they turn years into days and days into years again first they turn three years and a half into 1260 days and this they may do for it is all one in the total but this will not content them but when they have so done they turn these days into so many years and say that 1260 days is 1260 years and this they may not do for it is not all one in the total Others take a stranger course and by time times and half a time they understand three years and a half as we do but then by years they mean mystical years and what that is they do not tell us neither can they tell us for if a mystical year be a thousand years two mystical years must be two thousand years and half a mystical year half a thousand years and then we are gone beyond the number but if by a mystical
shall receive is nothing else but the name of the first Beast or the number of his name imprinted on him 18. Now here is the mystery of the business here is wisdom to be seen in him that can unfold this riddle let him that hath skill in the art of numeration count the number of the first Beast for it is a number or a computation that is used by man and may be found out by the art of man and the number he must count to find out The other number which is the true mark and name of the first Beast is 666 and he that will count this number as it ought to be must not think to do it by addition or subtraction for here is no other number which this number can be added to or subtracted from neither may he think to do it by multiplication or division for here is no other number which this number 666 can be multiplied or divided by but it must be done by extracting of the root thereof and he that can perform this work as it ought to be and compare it with the mark which the second Beast shall cause men to take shall thereby know who the first great Beast is and his name to boot this cannot be done before the Beast be come into the World and his mark be imprinted on his loyal Subjects and then is the time to perform this work and not before Disputation IX 1 Quest Whether this Prophecy shall contempor te with the Prophecy in the former Chapter or succeed it Ans 1. Prosperity cannot contemporate with adversity nor the Church in safety with the Church in danger but the woman in the former Chapter is in prosperity or at least in safety in the Wilderness as appears v. 6.14 15 16. and the Dragon cannot hurt her in that place but in this Prophecy the Church is in adversity and the Beast is in prosperity and doth War with her and overcome her 42 months together v. 5.7 2. The Beast is not raised by the Dragon till he went to make War with the remnant of the womans seed and he went not from the Wilderness to make War with the remnant of her seed till his attempts against the woman in the Wilderness proved frustrate and succesless Rev. 12.17 3. The true order of the Prophecy is this 1. The woman falls in Travel and the Dragon stands before her to devour her child as soon as it was born v. 2 3 4. 2. Michael and his Angels fight against the Dragon and cast him forth of Heaven to the earth that he might not hinder the Nativity of the Child v. 7 8 9. 3. The woman bringeth forth and the Dragon persecutes the woman and she flies into the Wilderness v. 5 6.13 14. 4. The Dragon sends a flood of Water after her to drown her in the Wilderness or drive her out from thence and the earth opens her mouth and swallows up the flood of water v. 15 16. 5. the Dragon is angry with the woman and goes away from the Wilderness to the Sea with an intent to make War with the remnant of her seed v. 17 18. 6. The Dragon raiseth up the Beast mentioned in this thirteenth Chapter to be his Captain General in this War v. 1. 7. The War begins and the Saints are overcome 42 months v. 5.7 8. After this the Beast prevails no more but decays every day more and more until he come unto his end ch 14.16 and 19. this is the order of the Prophecy and it is to be admired at that men should set their wits against it 4. They which hold this Prophecy to contemporate with the former think that by the remnant of the womans seed whom the Dragon Warreth with is meant the Children which she bringeth forth in the Wilderness but this cannot be so for the woman in the Wilderness is in safety as appears v. 14. and the Dragon cannot War with her nor her Children in that desolate place and therefore by the remnant of her seed is not meant the Children which she bringeth forth in the Wilderness but the Children which were left behind and were not fled into the Wilderness with the woman and these be they whom the Dragon Warreth with but the other are in safety Ob. The 1260 days of the woman and the 42 months of the Beast are all one Ans 30 days in April and 30 days in June are all one in quantity yet they succeed one another so the 1260 days in the former Chapter and the 42 months in this Chapter be all one in quantity yet they succeed one another as June succeedeth April Ob. 1260 Days be so many years and 42 months be so many years too and it is not likely that times of so long continuance should succeed one another Ans This objection hath been answered twice already first ch 11. and secondly ch 12. and now I will answer it the third time and say something else unto it 1. I might say that theologia symbolica non est argumentativa mystical Theology is no sufficient Argument to build our Faith upon and if men have nothing else to say for themselves but mystical expositions of the Scriptures it is a sign that their cause is very bad 2. Times of equal length may succeed one another as appears in the months of the year So put the case that these 42 months and the 1260 days be so many years yet 't is possible they may succeed one another though not in whole yet in part as Solomon and David reigned fourty years a piece yet some part of Solomons Reign was with David his Father before his death and the other part after his death 3. Where shall we find in all the Scripture that a month is put for thirty years I find in many places where 't is put for thirty days as Jam. 5.17 Heb. 11.23 Luk. 1.56 but for thirty years never 4. The Revelation it self doth put a difference between a day a month and a year Rev. 9.15 which were prepared for an hour a day a month and a year where a day is less than a month and a month is less than a year 5. These 42 months is the time of the Beasts prosperity and of the Churches great adversity but the Church never was nor ever will be in adversity so long and the strongest Beast that ever was was never in prosperity so many years together nor ever will be 6. By this interpretation of 42 months one may find out the day of Judgment and some men have been very bold in this point for they make these 42 months to last unto the day of Judgment so that by this reckoning the Church will be in a sad and calamitous condition until the day of Judgment and if they can but tell us one thing more and that is when these 42 months begin we may easily calculate the day when Christ shall come to Judgment which no modest man will adventure once to do seeing
for they may all consist but with a partial The fourth Argument is brought to prove a total contemporising but it comes short of it as the three other did for though these Virgins be antistoechal to the Beast and all his followers yet this is only at his declination and not before and though they be the Servants of God and wear his Livery and have his name written in their foreheads yet God had other Servants besides these which had to deal with the Beast and he with them before these had and they be the remnant of the womans seed Rev. 12.17 Rev. 13.7 but these Virgins advance against him afterward Rev. 14.1 2. It is true if God had had no more Servants to oppose the Beast but these only then must these have been antistoechal to the Beast throughout from his first breathing to his last gasp but God had other Servants to oppose the Beast before these did and they are the remnant of the womans seed as was said before therefore these are actually antistoechal to him afterward when the other have done their work and not before The last Argument speaks expresly of a final contemporising and no more which I grant to be true though I dislike the medium which is brought to prove it The truth of the Synchronism which we have in hand is this the Virgin company of the Sealed are antecedaneous to the Beast and false Prophet for they are Sealed in the time of the sixth Seal which is before the times of the Beast and false Prophet do commence but yet they advance not against him nor have to deal with him nor he with them until his 42 months be ended and then they step forth against him and get the Victory over him Rev. 15.2 And as for the Whore of Babylon we have a Prophecy of her final ruine which is to come to pass in the time of the seventh Vial Rev. 17.1 but of her first beginning when she began to be a Whore we want a Prophecy in the Revelation to inform us of it The fifth is a consectary of the general Synchronism of all hitherto mentioned Ans His inference is that they all Synchronise my inference is from what I have said and proved that only the conculcation of the holy City 42 months and the Witnesses in the mean time Prophecying in Sackeloth 1260 days are Synchronals but all the rest succeed one another The whole Prophecy of the twelfth Chapter shall succeed the Prophecy in the eleventh Chapter the Prophecy in the thirteenth Chapter shall succeed the Prophecy of the twelfth Chapter the Prophecy of the fourteenth Chapter shall succeed the Prophecy of the thirteenth Chapter and the Prophecy in the seventeenth Chapter concerning the fall of Babylon shall be the last that shall come to pass of all that have been hitherto spoken of The sixth Synchronism is of the inner Court measured with the Reed of God and of the lying in wait and the Battel of the seven headed Dragon with Michael concerning the Childbirth of the woman in travel Ans To which I answer 1. That they are not the immediate Antecedents of contemporaries for the woman in the Wilderness Rev. 12.14 the Beast with ten Horns Rev. 13.5 and the outer Court Rev. 11.2 do not contemporate but succeed each other as hath been proved in my answer to the first Synchronism 2. Though it be true that the womans Travel and the Dimication of the Dragon with Michael do contemporate and the flight of the woman into the Wilderness immediately succeed them Rev. 12.6 13 14. yet the seven headed Beast restored doth not immediately succeed the Duel in which Michael over-threw the Dragon for the Dragon doth not immediately raise the Beast so soon as he is cast out of Heaven unto the Earth but before he attempt such a Work he first of all persecutes the woman Rev. 12.13 then the woman flies into the Wilderness vers 14. after that he sends a Floud of Water after her to carry her away vers 15. then the Earth swallows up the floud of Water vers 16. and when all this is done then he leaves the Wilderness and goes into the Sea from whence he raises up the Beast to War against the Remnant of the Womans Seed and not before vers 17 18. Rev. 13.1 3. That the measuring of the inner Court shall precede the conculcation of the outer Court I grant and that the forty two Months in which the Gentiles shall tread it under foot begin when the measuring of the inner Court is ended but that the measuring of this inner Court shall synchronise with the womans Travel and the Dimication of Michael with the Dragon I deny and that because the conculcation of the outer Court and the Habitation of the woman in the Wilderness do not synchronise but succeed each other as hath been proved in my Answer to the first synchronism And therefore as the measuring of the inner Court shall precede the conculcation of the outer so they both shall precede the womans Travel and as the womans Travel shall precede her flight and habitation in the Wilderness so the habitation of the woman in the Wilderness shall precede the Beast and all his Actings against the Remnant of her Seed Lastly Whereas he talks of a repeated Prophecy he should have first proved a repeated Prophecy before he had said so much of it or built an Argument upon it for there is no repeated Prophecy in the Revelation And when the Angel saith Oportet te iterum prophetare thou must prophesie again Rev. 10.11 the meaning is not that he must begin a new Prophecy ab ovo from the first Original repeating the same times over again but the meaning is that he must prophesie of other things and of other times which shall succeed the former and which he had not spoken of before The seventh Synchronism is of the seven Vials and of the Beast and of Babylon inclining to ruine Answ And this Synchronism I grant to be true for the seven Vials are the seven last plagues Rev. 15.1 and they fall upon the men which have the Mark of the Beast Rev. 16.2 and upon his Throne and Kingdom vers 10. and upon Babylon vers 19. and they never leave her till they bring her and the Beast to a final end Rev. 17. and 18. and 19.20 The second Part. Answ And thus I have gone over the first part of his Synchronisms and as I believe have given fit Answers to them all what is true I have confessed to be true and what is otherwise I have given Reasons for my denial and dislike of it I proceed now with the like Candor and Ingenuity to speak unto the rest of the Synchronisms which follow but before I begin I must premise a few things in answer to his Prologue 1. That the little Book had not any Prophecy written in it as hath been proved in the former Question 2. That upon this account the
come Ob. By this reckoning the Virgin Company are before the beast and before any of the Trumpets too for they are sealed under the sixth seal ch 7. before the Trumpets do begin and six of the Trumpets are expired before the beast in the former Chapter doth begin Ans In respect of their sealing they are before the Trumpets and so before the Beast too but in respect of their actings spoken of in this Chapter they succeed the 42 months of the former Chapter 2 Quest Whether this Prophecy be a prediction in gross of what should come to pass from Domitians time to Constantines Ans 1. The Prophecy in the former Chapter is not a prediction of what should come to pass in the time of Domitian as hath been shewed ch 13. q. 2. therefore this Prophecy is not a prediction of what should come to pass from Domitians time to Constantines 2. The Prophecy in the former Chapter is a prediction of the persecution of the Jews after their Conversion by the Beast and false Prophet there spoken of as hath been also shewed ch 13. q. 5. therefore as the persecution of the Jews is yet to be expected so is the fulfilling of this Prophecy to be expected also 3. Here is a prediction of a hundred fourty and four thousand Sealed persons standing altogether on Mount Sion with the Lamb having his and his Fathers name written in their foreheads but there were no such men so qualified as these were in every point in the time of Constantine nor betwixt his time and Domitians read what is said of these men ch 7. q. 1 2 3. and in this Chapter q. 3. and cell me where shall we find such men so qualified as these were in every point and so many of them gathered together in one body as these were since the days of Domitian to this day 4. This Prophecy is to be fulfilled in the time of the Beast as appears v. 9.10 11. Now this Beast as they interpret the heads thereof doth not reach beyond Domitian for the Beast hath but seven heads and no more and the first of these as they say is Claudius and the last is Domitian and therefore it doth not extend so far as to the days of Constantine 5. Here is no persecution Prophesied of in this Chapter except it be v. 12.13 Now this persecution is to be in the time of the Beast for refusing his Mark and not Worshipping his Image and therefore not between his time and Constantines 6. Here is an immense effusion of the Enemies blood Prophesied of v. 20. And the Wine-press was troden without the City and blood came out of the VVine-press even unto the Horse bridles by the space of a thousand and six hundred furlongs But there was no such slaughter in the time of Constantine and Maxentius yea take we all the Souldiers of Maxentius and add we Constantines unto them and suppose we every man of them to be slain on both sides it will not amount nor come near to so vast a slaughter as here is spoken of To which may be added that the destruction of Maxentius and his Army was in Italy but the Wine press here spoken of is without the City that is without Jerusalem in Iudaea and the blood that came out of the Wine-press was up to the Horse-bridles in height for the space of a thousand and six hundred surlongs in length when as Maxentius and a good part of his Army were drowned in the water Eusebius l. 9 c. 9. Socrates l 1. c. 2. 3 Quest VVho be meant by the Virgin Company and for what cause be they spoken of in this place Ans 1. The two Witnesses of which before ch 11. be not any of the Virgin Company here spoken of for both of them were slain at one time by the beast there spoken of but none of these were slain by him yea they were therefore sealed that they might be preserved Rev. 7.3 Rev. 9.4 Again the Prophesie of the Witnesses is ended before the seventh Trumpet doth begin but these are all alive and sing a song on Mount Sion after the seventh Trumpet is begun Rev. 14.1 2. 2. The Woman in the Wilderness is not the Virgin Company mentioned in this place for the woman was not converted till the beginning of the seventh Trumpet but these were all of them the Servants of God before any of the Trumpets did begin Rev. 7.3 2. The woman is the Nation of the Jews converted to the Faith but these are but the first fruits of that Nation Rev. 14.4 3. The woman is a Church of men women and Children but these are all of them young men which never knew a woman Rev. 14.4 4. The woman fled into the Wilderness for safety but these were never in the Wilderness but stand on Mount Sion with the Lamb without fear what the beast can do unto them Rev. 14.1 5. The woman has to deal with the Dragon and he with her before the beast begins Rev. 12.3.4.12 but these have no dealing with the Dragon but with the beast his successour after the Dragons time is over Rev. 15.2 3. The Virgin Company be not the remnant of the womans seed mentioned before ch 12.17 for the womans seed was overcome and slain by the Beast Rev. 13.7 but none of these were slain by him but all of them sing a song that they escaped Rev. 14.3 Rev. 15.2 3. The Virgin Company be the same persons that are mentioned before ch 7.4 as both the number of the persons and the Seal in their foreheads do Demonstrate And the reason why they are spoken of again in this place is to shew what became of them and how it fared with the Beast and them For ch 7. it is said that they were Sealed and this was done before any of the Trumpets did begin and ch 9. v. 4. they are secured from the Locusts but what became of them afterward from that time to this is not any where declared until now they did not perish in the time of the six Trumpets but did outlive them all they were not slain by the Beast that is mentioned ch 11. as the two witnesses were they did not fly into the Wilderness as the woman did ch 12. they were not slain by the Beast that came out of the Sea as the remmant of the womans seed was ch 12.17 ch 13.7 what became of them then did they adhere unto the Beast and receive his mark No neither for they had the Lambs name and their Fathers name written in their foreheads but the Beasts name they had not ch 14.1 and yet for all this they escaped from the Beast and did not perish under him but sing a song for their deliverance as in this and the next Chapter is declared Rev. 14.3 Rev. 15.2.3 Ob. Marriage is honourable in all and the bed undefiled but VVhore-mongers and Adulterers God will Judge Heb 13.14 Ans Notwithstanding this text of Scripture I cannot think