Miracles and Kainish Persecutors had they but Power and in the mean time gross Idolaters and either lovers of lying Legends or Inventours of them These unclean Birds are kept out of the New Ierusalem but have their dismal haunts in the rubbish and ruines of the demolished Babylon as has been observed above 16. I Iesus have sent my Angel to testifie unto you these things in the Churches alluding to the Churches in Asia which signifie the whole succession of the truly Catholick and Apostolick Church to the end of the world The Churches therefore for whose use this Book was written are the Churches in Smyrna Pergamus Thyatira Sardis Philadelphia and Laodicea The whole Book of the Apocalypse is as it were an Epistle to them all as they are concerned in their several Successions Which passage is a farther confirmation of the Prophetical sense of the Epistles to the seven Churches in Asia I am the Root and the Off-spring of David * Which may denote his Divinity and Humanity as also his being the Off-spring or Son of David the true Messias his Right to the Kingdoms of the Earth as it is foretold in the second Psalm Ask of me and I will give thee the Nations for thine Inheritance and the utmost parts of the Earth for thy possession And therefore because of the greatness and glory of his Kingdom it follows And the bright Morning-Star In the Sardian Interval he was onely the Morning-Star here the bright Morning-Star which is a sign this saying glances at the Philadelphian Interval in the commencement thereof under the last Vial which sutes with the saying of S t Iohn in the next Verse 17. And the Spirit and the Bride say Come The Spirit because this is the commencement of those Times that are properly called the Reign of the Spirit by the Cabbalists And the voice of the Bride is added as a Testimony of the Churches desire of the settlement of things into the Glorious Condition of the New Ierusalem upon the destruction of the blood-drunken Idolatrous Babylon And let him that heareth say Come that is Let him pray for the acceleration of so glorious a settlement of things And then our Saviour speaks for this latter part of the Chapter from vers 10. to the end is a kind of Dialogue as both Peganius and Grotius have observed And let him that is athirst come that is He that sincerely hungers and thirsts after Righteousness And whosoever will that is whosoever has a Will and Desire let him take the waters of Life freely Let him enjoy the happy priviledge of this Living City of God and so grow up in all true Holiness and Godliness in Communion of the Spirit This priviledge shall he enjoy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 gratis or freely without money as the Prophet speaks 18. For I testifie unto every man that heareth the words of the Prophecy of this Book If any one shall add unto these things Interpreters and not without reason take this to be a commination to terrifie men from being so negligent as to let any Errata slip into the Copies of this Book of Prophecies where every word was so curiously weighed by the Pen-man thereof or from being so bold as on purpose to alter any thing therein by adding or taking away * But I conceive also there is besides this a 〈◊〉 sense and that it is a prohibition from bringing in their carnal Inventions to add inconsistently with the pure Apostolick Doctrines and Institutes of this City Whosoever would do any such thing God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this Book whether they concern this Life or that which is to come the sulphurous lake of fire which is the second Death 19. And if any man will take from the words of the Book of this Prophecy and be faint-hearted or of little or no Faith and contend there never will be such an Excellent State of the Church upon Earth God shall take away his part out of the Book of Life and out of the Holy City and from the things that are written in this Book He shall never be able to enter into the blessed New Ierusalem state by reason of his unbelief 20. He that testifieth these things saith Surely I come quickly that is for the fulfilling of the Visions of the first six Seals and what contemporizeth with them to assist his Church and support them in their Smyrnean Affliction and to defeat the Enemy under the sixth Seal To which Saint Iohn answers Amen Even so Come Lord Iesus This was seasonable for Saint Iohn to say in his time in reference to Christs Coming to subvert the Power of the old Dragon and abolish Paganical Idolatry and Tyranny As it was also in the Pergamenian and Thyatirian Intervals for the oppressed and afflicted Church to say in respect of his coming to judge the Great Whore the Pagano-christian Hierarchy who had been drunk with the blood of the Saints and with the blood of the Martyrs of Jesus And in the Sardian that he would consummate the Judgement begun to be executed on the false Prophet who is perfectly to be consumed under the seventh Vial. And lastly in the Laodicean Interval it will be again very seasonable by reason of the inclining of things again to worse to pray Come Lord Iesus come quickly to that general judgement when Death shall be swallowed up into Victory and all the Saints shall be translated into the incorruptible state of heavenly Bliss and Glory And this whole Book of Prophecies being as it were one entire Epistle Monitory to the Church of God throughout all Ages of the world as there is mention Vers. 16. of witnessing these things to the Churches in Asia no doubt that is over the face of the whole Earth and successively through all Ages or Intervals from Saint Iohn's time to the end of the world Smyrnean Pergamenian Thyatirian Sardian Philadelphian and Laodicean This whole Book I say being such a general Monitory Epistle it is but sutable that he conclude with that usual form of valediction in the Epistles of the Apostles 21. The Grace of our Lord Iesus Christ be with you all Amen NOTES CHAPTER XXII Vers. 16. Which may denote his Divinity and Humanity c. This any one that firmly believes the Divinity of Christ and that he is the Eternal Logos united with the Humane Nature will easily admit to be suggested here though Grotius is content to understand no more by Radix Davidis than Surculus Davidis and I must confess that according to the use of the Hebrew word Radix is sometimes the same with Surculus But being that Root ordinarily signifies that from which another grows not that which grows from another and that this sense here is both true and more ample and sublime and therefore more sutable to the Genius of the Apocalypse I thought it was more probable to be meant here as also in the fifth Chapter And generally the Ancients go
and Thyatiran Successions of the Church it is manifest that Saracens and Turks under the fifth and sixth Trumpets invade the Empire as a Scourge for their Idolatry as plainly appears from Ch. 9. v. 20. where the rest of the men that were not killed by these Plagues are said not to repent them of their worshipping 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Daemons and Idols of Silver and Idols of Gold c. Where Daemons according to the Greek idiom signify either Angels or the Souls of men any Spirits out of Terrestrial bodies the Souls of Saints and Spirits of Angels And lastly in the Opened-Book-Prophecy Chap. II. what is the treading under-foot the outward Court by the Gentiles for fourty two months but the over-running the Empire again with Idolatry and Persecution of which Gentilism or Paganism consists for so many months or Semitimes of months of years And what the 7000. names of men vers 13. but Idolatrous Titles or men of those Titles that belong to the seventh head of the Beast which is an Idolatrous head And Chap. 13. vers 1. the Beast there rising out of the Sea with ten Crowned Horns plainly shows it is the Empire after its division into so many Kingdoms Which therefore is under the seventh head And all the seven heads there are said to have names of Blasphemy upon them that is of Idolatry Besides this Beast is said to be the healed beast and the image of the Dragon that received the deadly wound in his fight with Michael and the Martyrs Which plainly shows that the Empire after Christanity was setled in it became again an Idolatrous persecuting Beast as the old Pagan Empire was And lastly not to number up all we might Chap. 17. the Whore of Babylon with her cup of Fornication that is of Idolatry in her hand as Grotius himself cannot but interpret it and sitting upon a Beast full of Names of Blasphemy that is of Idolatry again even according to Grotius what can this be but the City of Rome and the Roman Empire become Idolatrous But they put it off by saying it is the Pagan Empire and Rome Pagan which is a thing impossible For the Woman here sitting upon the Beast that was is not and yet is which was never true of the Roman Empire till after it had been Christian it cannot be understood of the Roman Empire Pagan And that conceit of Domitian being this Beast it is such a childish trifle or sleight whiffle that it is a wonder to me that any one that had any freeness of judgment or soundness of reason should ever fancy such a thing but having spoken of this in my Preface I will say no more of it here From these few places to omit several others it is abundantly evident that that truely infallible Moderator even the Spirit of God himself has decided the controversie concerning the Idolatry of the Church of Rome and has declared them guilty of that crime and the Protestants guiltless of any crime of Schism in leaving the Communion of that Church Which is a thing seriously to be considered by all the Potentates of Christendom that they may not listen to the voice of the blood-thirsty Iezabel when she shall solicite the Kings of the Earth to the persecution of the Servants of God and Christ because they cannot bow down to stocks and stones with her nor submit to any other of her points of Idolatry Now for any invidious cavils against this firm Protestant Exposition of the Apocalypse I hope Reader thou wilt set as little by them as I do my self For it may be it will be thought by some an high piece of Rudeness and Incivility in that this Protestant Exposition of the seven heads of the Beast makes all the Emperours since the Apostasie of the Church into Idolatry to be part of the seventh head which is one of the heads of Blasphemy though otherwise never so noble and vertuous And the like cavils may be raised touching the Popes of Rome though they be never so Learned and Pious that they will make part of the two Horned Beast that has the Horns of a Lamb but the voice of a Dragon And I must confess the same may be alledged against making those six forms of Pagan Government Kings Consuls Dictators Decemviri Triumviri and Emperours six heads of Blasphemy When amongst the Emperours it is well known what an excellent example of vertue Marcus Antoninus was and that Tully a Roman Consul for Wit Vertue and Eloquence was the glory of the Roman Empire But I can briefly answer for my self that I never since I understood Tully and Marcus Antoninus to be part of those two heads of Blasphemy had in the least the more diminishing thoughts of their Vertues and Perfections I had observed in them before For I knew before they were Pagan Idolaters and that it was the privilege of their nature to bear up so stoutly against the disadvantages of their Religion they were born under And there is the same reason of excellent Emperors and other Princes of the Pontifician Religion The profession of an Idolatrous Religion ought not to derogate from their natural or acquired perfections only all good men will heartily and solicitously wish that their souls were as safe as their personal reputation And I charitably judge of them of the Roman Church who do not stick to call all Protestant Kings and Princes be they never so great or never so good Hereticks and by the punishment they allot to those they call so any one may judge what wretches and vile persons they deem them that they intend notwithstanding no derogation thereby to their personal worth or vertue But here is the great difference that we call them nothing but what the Scripture calls them but they nickname others against all reason and Scripture adding to false and bitter words unjust and barbarous persecutions And what we have said concerning Emperours and Kings the same is to be said of the Popes of Rome No Popes personal perfections and vertues are touched but the Idolatrous and Antichristian constitution and frame of things such as every Pope is to succeed into and which make a Pope a Pope But as for my interpreting the two Horns of the Beast of the Episcopal Mitre that no Protestant Bishop take exceptions the interpretation is not mine but Iosephus Acosta's as Cornelius à Lapide cites him De Tempor Noviss Lib. 2. c. 17. Duo cornua Episcopalis putà Mitrae sive Infulae haec enim est bicornis insigne sunt Videtur ergo quòd hic Pseudopropheta erit Episcopus quispiam Apostata simulator religionis Ecclesiastici honoris proditor qui draconis venenum suis sermonibus populo propinabit So near to the mark is the Interpretation of this Romanist But in the mean time the making the two Horns of the Mitre the two Horns of the Lamb Lamb always signifying in the Apocalypse either Christ himself or his true Church it
Reader for the taking notice of it by makeing use of it here as a Note of the ending of the time of the first wo-Trumpet Wherefore the sense is Chap. 11. vers 14. of The second wo is past Here ends the time of the second wo-Trumpet or sixth Trumpet namely with the Rising of the witnesses or inchoative destruction of the Beast or expiration of his 42. Months Whence this Note is plainly intended for a Note Synchronistical to show that the end of the fourty two Months of the Beast and the end of the sixth Trumpet do Synchronize Which therefore is a thing of admirable importance For the Beast and 144000 sealed Virgins Synchronizing Synch 4. Part. 1. and the commencing of the sealed ones being just at the beginning of the first Trumpet Chap. 7. the Beast also begins and ends with the six first Trumpets whence the time of the sealing of these Virgins and this Note The second wo is past are as it were the two hinges on which all the middle Synchronals hang as M r Mede has very well observed And this I think is a sufficient answer to R. H. his question wherefore were those remarkable closes added to the fifth and sixth Trumpets But the ends he would have them added for I have demonstrated cannot be Which is the greater confirmation they were added for this which is a most worthy and admirable end and becoming the stupendious artifice of this Book To the third argument of M r Mede he answers Admit that passage Thou must prophesie again c. to emply two main Prophecies one of the Sealed Book the other of the Opened Book or that the Book maybe divided into two Tomes and the second begin at Chap. 10. vers 8. yet it does not follow that the second part must begin ab ovo or from the same Epocha with the former But I answer the Vision reaching to the very utmost Goal of the Apocalyptick race from such a time before we come at the eighth verse as I have clearly proved there is all the reason in the world S. Iohn being bid to prophesie again that his prophesying should commence from the same Epocha As if one should intend to write two Tomes of the affairs of any Kingdom the one Secular the other Ecclesiastical and that in his first Tome he had deduced his secular History to the last year it is impossible to imagin but in his next Tome he would begin his Ecclesiastick story from the same Epocha that the secular began from To the fourth and last he answers not unappositely We read not saith he that the voice Chap. 10. vers 8. was as the sound of a Trumpet and therefore not likely to relate to the voice Chap. 4. vers 1. but rather to the voice Chap. 10. vers 4. For that voice Chap. 4. vers 1. is said to be as the sound of a Trumpet but this not This is the first part of his answer but he proceeds But to what purpose he would have the Reader saith he to take notice of this I cannot tell Is this an Index that the Prophecy of the little Book as he calls it doth contemporate with the Prophecie of the Seals No more than the voice Chap. 4. vers 1. is an Index that the Prophecy of the Seals doth contemporate with the Vision of the Seven Churches c. But I briefly reply to the first That seeing Ellipses are so usual in the Apocalypse that the sense may not lye over bare M r Mede has with judgment made this supplement as of a Trumpet it being in all likelihood the same voice that spoke to him at the beginning of the Vision of the seven Churches and of the Prophecy of the Seals Chap. 4. v. 1. Nor is it said here not to be as the sound of a Trumpet but only that qualification is not mentioned for the reason abovesaid But that it should be the voice mentioned vers 4. of this tenth Chapter is not at all likely First because then it would have been only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. And the voice which I heard from Heaven said unto me and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 would be superfluous But then in the second place it being added there ought to be understood something more or different in the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 than simply in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and methinks it is very obvious to conceive what it is if we recur to Chap. 1. vers 10. where Iohn is said to hear behind him a great voice as the sound of a Trumpet that is a loud sonorous or canorous voice And then to Chap. 4. v. 1. where the voice he there hears from Heaven is said to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as of a Trumpet talking loudly or canorously with him Here the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to speak aloud is put instead of the great voice Chap. 1. vers 10. and that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 has sometimes this peculiar signification not to speak simply but to speak aloud is observable in that verse of the Poet 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. where 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is loudly speak out thy letters as the following words also imply And let the inscription on thy leaves be more than ordinary express But what is yet more to the purpose 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which besides the usual signification is very often by the Seventy rendred by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He cryed also in my ears with a loud voice Ezek. 9.1 so is it also in the same sense rendred by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Proclaim in the ears of the people saying Judg. 7.3 And so 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which has no other signification but of loud clamour or vociferation yet by the Seventy Esa. 58.9 it is rendred by 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Clamabis dicet Thou shalt cry and he shall say Here am I. And to come nearer to the present Chapter vers 3. The voices of Thunder I think are loud and sonorous enough and yet the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is used of them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The seven Thunders uttered their voices From whence we see plainly that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vers 8. is not there prefixed for nought but that it signifies a speaking to Iohn with a loud and sonorous voice such as was the voice Chap. 1. vers 10. and Chap. 4. ver 1. expressed by a Trumpet Now therefore being it is said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which implies a speaking thus sonorously to him again and that voice vers 4. of this Chapter is not said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 it cannot be said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to speak in such a loud tone again it having not done so yet once and therefore of necessity it must be referred to Chap. 4. vers 1. From whence it is evident that that supplement of