Untitled Treatise on Revelation (section 1.3)
|No 18.|
PROP. I.
The Seales & wthin ye seventh Seale ye Trumpets are distributions of time wch succeed one another orderly wthout any interruption or interfering.
This Proposition follows from ye Rule because in ye vision as it appeared to St Iohn the seales were opened & ye Trumpets sounded one after another in order & ye contents of every seale & Trumpet \are in this book/ described in ye same order wthout any interfering or intervall interruption. And farther as an indication of ye {illeg} {illeg} immediate consequences of opening that seale. ffor as soon as it is opened the Trumpets are given to ye seven Angels in order to their sounding.
I said yt ye Seales & Trumpets are described after one another wthout any real interruption: but this is to be understood wth this limitation that ye seventh chapter be esteemed as a Parenthesis between ye sixt & seventh Seal; & ye tenth chapter {illeg} \{illeg} &/ 13 first verses of ye Eleventh also a Parenthesis between ye sixt & seventh Trumpet. ffor these were inserted into ye continued narration of ye Seals & Trumpets for a singular reason to be explained hereafter, & \are synchronall to ye seventh seal & therefore/ make no more then a verball interruption of their continuity. This I shall have occasion to shew at large in ye 17 18 & 19 Propositions, & at present let it |it may| suffice to signify onely concerning their beginnings & endings yt ye synchronism of ye end of those \For it is manifest that the/ things declared from ch 10.1 to ch 11.13 wth ye end of \end together wth/ ye sixt Trumpet is manifest by these words annexed words \becaus at the end of them is added/: The second wo is past & behold ye third wo cometh quickly. And \so/ ye synchronism of ye beginnings of ye 7th & 8th chapters is manifest from hence, that \seventh seale \manifestly/ begins together wth those things described in the seventh chapter becaus/ ye hurting of ye Earth & ye Sea & ye Trees wch was immediately to follow ye sealing of ye saints ch 7.3 was put in execution at ye sounding of ye Trumpets; the Earth & ye Trees being hurt in ye first Trumpet & ye Sea in ye second: And & therefore ye sealing of ye saints must immediately precede ye first Trumpet & so be coincident wth ye time of incense. And indeed ye stilness of ye winds during ye sealing, & ye silence in heaven during ye incense, what els should they signify by their mutuall resemblance but the coincidence of these times? For by ye silence is to be understood a suspension of those noises wch followed the time of incense, that is of ye voices & thundrings & Trumpets wch is as much as to say a suspension of wars (see Prop 4) & ye stillnes of ye winds {signify} the same thing Def 52. But * * these {illeg} have o{illeg} plain {illeg} in ye Proposition {illeg}refer {illeg}
These {illeg} theses are {illeg} collateral {illeg} wth ye se{ven} seals & {illeg} & so make {no} intrruption.
I {had} thought {illeg} while {illeg} {command} between ye judgments \{illeg} plagues/ of ye 4th & 5t Trumpets by ye {flying of the} Angel through heaven & crying Wo, & \between/ ye plagues of ye sixt & seventh {is} this expression: the {sic} second wo is past & behold ye third wo cometh quickly: ffor these intervalls, as they were requisite to distinguish between ye cardinall revolutions, so they being inconsiderably short they may be esteemed connexions of ye Trumpets & referred each to ye time of ye precedent Trumpet extended so much beyond its plague.
< text from p 2 resumes >PROP IV.
The Calamities wch follow upon sounding ye Trumpets, are all by War.
This ye very soundings of ye Trumpets imply, as being so many Alarms to war. But I shall run over the particulars.
At the first Trumpet the Hail & F Blood mingled wth ye Hail & Fire, at ye second \Vial/ ye sea becoming blood as of a dead man & every thing dying in it, & at ye third Vial the ffountains {illeg}|b|ecoming blood & god's giving them blood to drink because they had shed ye blood of his saints, are sufficient \manifest/ indications of war. For none of this bloodshed can be by persecution of ye saints becaus these plagues are termed ye Vials of ye wrath of God & so to be inflicted upon evill men, as is also exprest in ye pouring out of ye first & third.
{illeg} /Also\ \at/ ye fourth Trumpet or Vial ye smiting of ye Sun Moon & stars, signifies ye overthrow of some King or Kingdom by Def 44 & 45, & so implies war.
And in all these four Trumpets there is also an impression of war by fire & burning. In ye first there is fire mixed wth ye hail & blood, in ye second a mountain burning wth fire, in ye third a Star burning as it were a Lamp, & in ye fourth power is given to ye sun to scorch men with fire: & this figure of fire & burning signifies war by Def 48 & 49
The wars of these four trumpets are also signified by ye four winds in chap 7.1, of wch we shall have occasion to speak in Prop 15.
Moreover at ye fift Trumpet there arose Locusts like horses prepared to battel wth faces like men (i.e Horsmen) & Breastplates as of Iron. And the sound of their wings was as of Chariots & Horses running to Battel.
<5>At the sixt there were let loos four Kings wth an Army of horsmen wth Breastplates & license to kill men.
And at ye seventh the Beast wth ye Kings of ye Earth were gathered together against him that sate on ye hors & against his Army. {illeg} And {sic} there followed a great Hail wth thundrings & lightnings & a great shaking: {illeg} wch are ye singular impressions of a great Battel by Def 51 & 53
<6>
How the severall parts of ye Apocalyps are to be connected one with another & so disposed that they may become one continued narration of things to succeed one another in order, I shall indeavour to explain by the following Propositions.
PROP. II.
The seven Vials of wrath described in Chap 15 & 16 are the same with ye Plagues or woes of the seven Trumpets in Chap 8, 9, 10, 11.
This will appear by the following comparison of each Vial with each Trumpet.
Here the hail & fire mingled with blood wch were cast upon the earth answers to ye Vial poured out upon ye earth. And the trees & grass wch were burnt up answer to ye men wch were infected with ye noysom & grievous sore. ffor trees & grass in visions are used to signify men of high & low degree. |Def | |Yet it is to be noted that notwithstanding this external resemblance of this Trumpet & Vial their interpretation is somthing different.|
The parallelism of ye second third & fourth Trumpet & Vial is manifest. And in this fift there is darkness in both cases; & the seat of ye beast corresponds to the men wch had not ye mark of God in their foreheads; & the pains & sores to ye stingings of Serpents wth wch men were exceedingly tormented but not killed.
| VI. Ch. 9.13, 14, 16. And the sixt Angel sounded, & I heard a voicesaying – loos ye four Angels wch | Ch 16.12. And ye sixt Angel poured out his Vial upon the great River Eu |
Here the four Angels bound at Euphrates with their Army manifestly answers to ye kings of the East at ye same river.
Thus you see the agreement between the plagues of the seven Vials & the woes of ye seven Trumpets is throughout very punctual; so that I think there can be no doubting of their sameness, especially if it be further considered that the filling of the Censer with fire of ye Altar & casting it on ye Earth (Ch 8.5) might be a type of the pouring out of these Vials by the Angel wch came out of the Temple, & so introduced on purpose to insinuate the connexion of these severall parts of the Apocalyps by ye resemblance of the actions.
And as ye censer \may/ be a representative of ye Vials, so the sealed saints with which ye Prophesy of ye Trumpets is introduced (ch 7.3) corresponds to them that had gotten ye victory over the Beast {sic} & over his Image &c. wth which the other Prophesy of ye Vials is introduced, ch 15.2. ffor ye sealed Saints were contemporary with ye Beast (as shall be shewed hereafter) & consequently were the same with those that got the victory over him.
Object. The Plagues {sic} of the Vials are called the seven last Plagues, ch 15.1. And therefore they succede ye woes of the Trumpets.
Resp. It follows onely that they succeed the first six seales whose calamities of warr desolation & persecution were the first plagues prophesied of in this book, & these the calamities of the last seal. For with respect to that seale they may be properly called the last plagues, especiallly since there was to be none after them. |Or els it might be becaus they were to happen in those ages wch ye Apostels called ye last times.|
< insertion from p 8 >I have here put a parallelism between the falling of the tenth part of the city, & the falling of the cities of the nations, not as if they were ye same, but because I take ye former which concludes the sixt Trumpet to be an immediate prodromus \fore-runner/ of the latter wherewith the seventh Vial begins.
And thus you see the agreement between the plagues of the seven the seven vials & ye woes of the seven Trumpets is throughout very punctuall, so that I think there can be no doubting of their sameness | coincidence., especially if it be further considered \I may add that/ that their Introductions also very much resemble one another. For ye sealed saints wth wch ye Prophesy of the Trumpets is introduced (ch 7.3) correspond {sic} to them that had gotten \get/ the victory over the Beast & over his Image &c wth wch ye other Prophesy of ye Vials is introduced ch 15.2 ffor ye sealed saints were contemporary wth ye Beast as shall be shewed hereafter, & consequently were ye same wth those that got ye victory over him. Also ye Vision of offering incense at ye Altar before ye Angels began to sound, corresponds | has some resemblance to ye vision of ye Temple appearing opened in heaven & filled with smoke from ye glory of God, out of wch ye seven angels came to pour out ye Vials. Also It may be al And \perhaps/ ye filling of the Censer wth fire of the Altar & casting it on the Earth (ch 8.5) seems to be \may through ye resemblance of ye actions ~ ~ ~ may be conceived as it were/ a type of ye pouring out of these vials by the Angels wch came out of the Temple. & \is/ introduced on purpose to insinuate ye connexion of these severall parts of ye Apocalyps by the resemblance of the actions. And lastly in that ye Vials are called ye seven last Plagues they suit well wth ye Trumpets wch are ye plagues of the last Seale & inflicted on those wicked ages wch ye Prophets & Apostles considered as ye last times.
< text from p 11 resumes >PROP. III.
The seven Thunders also most (ch. 10.3) most probably denote the same thing with the seven Trumpets.
That they are not a series of things conteined in ye sixt Trumpet is probable, as well because they are omitted in the sixt Vial, as becaus the little book & other circumstances of ye tenth chapter denote a regress of Prophesy. And if there be a regress, then there is no Epocha so proper for them as that of the Trumpets: especially if it be considered, that, as ye Censer is a Type of the Vials of wrath, so the ensuing voices & thunderings (ch 8.5) may be a type of the voices of these seven thunders.
And perhaps the reason why the things wch the thunders uttered are not declared, is because they are sufficiently declared in the Truptets {sic} & Vials. And that these Thunders are notwithstanding introduced may probably be to make the description of the Beast harmonize with his number 666. For 'tis not probale {sic} that they should be introduced for no end, & I cannot yet see any unless to make up this harmony, wch consists in ye tripple repetition of his description by the Trumpets Vials & Thunders, under the first six of which his reign is comprehended.
PROP. III. V
The fals Prophet mentioned in chap 16 & 19, is the same with the two horned Beast {sic} in chap 13.
This is evident by the agreement of their descriptions. ffor ch 13.14, the two horned Beast is said to deceive them that dwell on the earth by means of ye miracles wch he had power to do in ye sight of ye beast, saying that they should make an Image to ye Beast wch had the wound by a sword & did live. And ch 19.20, the fals Prophet is said to have wrought miracles before ye Beast, with wch he deceived them that – worshipped his Image. Which descriptions sufficiently convince their sameness.
But further, as in ch 12 & 13 the two horned Beast is described together with ye Dragon & ten horned Beast, so ch 16.13, instead of ye two horned Beast, the fals Prophet is recconed with ye Dragon & ten horned Beast. Which {sic} argues it to be but another name of ye same thing given upon ye account of its lying wonders, to distinguish it from the ten horned Beast wch in ye 14th & following chapters is eminently stiled the Beast. And hence it appeares why St Iohn never speaks of Beasts in ye plural number, as in some places he should have done had not one of the Beasts been signified by the name of the fals Prophet.
PROP. IVI.
The ten horned Beasts in chap 13 & 17 are ye same.
This is evident also by the agreement of their descriptions. ffor both of them have seven heads & ten horns. On ye hornes of one are ten crowns to denote that they are ten Kings ch 13.1: And ye ten horns of ye other are also ten Kings ch 17.12. ✝ ✝ The one was a[1] slain wth a sword & b[2] revived, ye wound of his c[3] death being healed: the other is called ye beast wch was & \d/ is not & shall ascend out of ye bottomless pit. The one is said to have upon his heads ye name of Blasphemy ch 13.1; & the other to be full of ye names of blasphemy ch 17.3. The one succeeds ye Dragon in his seat which persecuted ye woman in ye wilderness ch 13.2, & consequently is also in ye wilderness; & so is ye other in ye wilderness ch 17.3. Of one it is said that power was given him over all kindreds & tongues & nations ch 13.7, & of ye other yt ye ten Kings give their power & strength to the beast, & yt ye waters where the whore sitteth are peoples & multitudes & nations & tongues, ch 17.13, 15. Of one that all that dwell upon ye earth shall worship him whose names are not written in the book of life of ye Lamb slain from ye foundation of ye world ch 13.8, & of ye other that they that dwell on ye earth whose names are not written in ye book of life from ye foundation of ye world, shall wonder when they behold him ch 17.8. Of one that he with the kings of ye earth & their Armies shall be gathered together to make war against him that sat on the hors (i.e. ye king of righteousness whose name is ye word of God ch 19.11, 12, 13) & against his army; & that he |(i.e. he whose mark was received & image worshipped {illeg} ch 19.20 {shall be} cast into ye lake {of} fire| shall be taken (together with ye fals Prophet wch wrought miracles before him with wch he deceived {sic} them yt had received ye beast's mark & worshipped his image,) & to be cast into the lake of fire ch 19.19, 20: & of ye other that the kings wch give their strength to the beast shall make war with the Lamb & he shal overcome them, ch 17.13. And lastly the destruction of both these beasts is at ye same time, namely at ye beginning of the seventh Trumpet. ffor by comparing ch 19.19, 20, wth ch 16.13, 14, 15, 16, it appears yt ye \agents of the Dragon/ beast & fals Prophet gathered the nations to the battle of ye great day of God against that time when the seventh Vial (which {sic}, by Prop: 1, is contemporary with the seventh Trumpet) was ready to be poured out, & that at the pouring of it out they were overthrown, as is exprest by the falling of the cities of the nations ch 16.19 |& by the taking of ye beast & fals Prophet & slaying the rest ch 19.20|. And so the beast wch ascendeth out of ye bottomless pit ch 11.7, that is ye other Beast on wch the whore sitteth ch 17.8, \this Babylonian Beast/ shall war against ye two Witnesses at ye end of their prophesying & kill them, & consequently rejoyce wth ye nations till their resurrection, that is \till \about/ the end of the second Wo ch 11.12, 13, 14. & consequently \so/ continue/ till \about/ ye sounding of ye seventh Trumpet \(the great City being faln ch 11.13,)/ when their kingdomes must become the kingdomes of Christ Ch 11.15. \And great Babylon come in remembrance before God to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath ch 16.19./ Both these Beasts therefore perish together at ye sounding of ye seventh Trumpet, & so being contremporary {sic} must be one & ye same beast, – contemporary, universal, & \alike in/ in {sic} all \their/ qualities & actions must needs be ye same. Yea Babylon \that great city/ (yt is the Whore of Babylon ch 17.5, 18 & 18.2) is \in chap 14.8, 9/ joyned to that beast whose Image {illeg} is worshipped & mark received. And \so again/ in chap 16.13, 19: her judgment wth wth that beast wch was \is/ related to ye Dragon that is wth ye same beast. And \on wch the/ ye {sic} 17th chap is but a comment. unless there \will/ be supposed two contemporary Empires both wch are alike in all respects & at ye same time ruling over all kindreds & nations even to the number of ten kings, gather them to battle against ye Lord & are overthrown together. Which if it were so, the two Empires or Beasts would have been spoken of in the plural number wherever this great battel against ye Lord is described, as in ch 16 & 19. |Besides that this is absolutely repugnant to the {sic} universality \of both/ described above.|
PROP. VII.
The two horned Beast ch 13 is ye same wth ye Whore of Babylon ch 17.
This also appeares by the agreement of their description. ffor one is a fals Prophet having two hornes like the Lamb but speaking as ye Dragon & deceiving them yt dwell on the earth by meanes of pretended miracles, ch 13.11, 14: the other Mystery the mother of Harlots & abominations of the earth, making ye inhabitants of ye earth drunk wth ye wine of her fornication ch 17.5, 2, & deceving all nations with her sorceries ch 18.23. The one giving life to ye Image of ye beast that |it| should speak & cause |yt| as many as would not worship ye Image of the Beast should be killed ch 13.15; & the other drunken with ye blood of ye saints & with ye blood of ye martyrs of Iesus ch 17.6, & in her was found ye blood of Prophets & saints & of all that were slain upon ye earth ch 18. 4. The one exerciseth all ye power of ye first beast before him wch was over all kindreds & tongues & nations, & this power is exercised not by force of arms but by deceiving men by fals miracles ch 13.12, 7, 14; & ch 16.14: & the other reigneth over the kings of the Earth & sitteth upon peoples & multitudes & nations & tongues, & that not by constraint but but {sic} their voluntary submission ch 17.8, 15, 13, 17. They are destroyed both together, the two horned Beast or fals Prophet at ye same time wth ye ten horned Beast ch 19.20, wch was shown to be at ye sounding of ye seventh Trumpet; & the Whore of Babylon at ye pouring out of the seventh Vial, ch 16.19. \or {illeg} at the same time \{illeg}/ as her Beast. For ye ten Kings hate her & burn her wth fire when they cease to give their kingdom to her Beast ch 16 17.16, 17. That is, when the Beast is dissolved./ They both denote a degenerate apostate christian church; the fals Prophet by a Synecdoche, putting a part for ye whole; & ye whore in opposition to ye woman in the Wilderness wch is Christ's Spouse ye true Church. And lastly both are \alike/ conjoyned wth the same ten horned beast: the two horned beast being said to exercise his power ch 13.12, & ye whore to sit upon him ch 17.3. All wch is more then enough \I think is sufficient/ to prove their sameness.
|Yet thus much is to be noted, that although these names signify ye same thing, yet it is in {divers} respects. In {respect} of its {illeg} {do}ctrin & lying miracles it is a fals prophet & in respect of its Idolatry {illeg}|
Object. The horns of a Beast denote the number of kingdomes or Dynasties wch are combined into one Empire represented by the body of the Beast {sic}, as is manifest in ye visions of Daniel. How then can the two horned Beast wch must therefore signify a combination of two Dynas/ties\
PROP. VI X. VIII.
The Dragon & Beast are ye Kingdome whose symptomes are declared in ye Seales & Trumpets, whereof ye Dragon begins wth ye Seales & ye Beast wth ye Trumpets.
To make this appear I shall lay down ye follwing particulars. 1 That ye Dragon & also ye Beast represent {sic} Kingdoms or els an aggregate of Kingdoms formed into one body politiqꝫ wch may therefore be considered as one Kingdom. For besides that this is their usuall signification in Dreames & Visions Def 31 & 32; the Dragon is said to have seven crowns upon his heads ch 12.3 & to give his power & seat & great authority to ye Beast ch 13.2; And ye Beast to have power over all Kindreds & Tongues & Nations ch 13.7, & wth ye Kings of ye Earth & their armies to make war against him yt sate on ye hors & against his army ch 19.19, & to have 10 crowns upon his horns ch 13.1 & his heads & horns to be {illeg} Kings ch 17.10, 12. All wch circumstances are sufficient indications of their being {illeg} Kingdoms.
2 The Beast succeeds ye Dragon in one & ye falls in wth ye \latter part of ye/ Dragon so as to make but one & ye same kingdom with him. \Or at least an aggregate wch is to be considered but as one. For the Dragon & Beast are worshipped together ch 13.4. & coexist at their latter end ch 16.{13.}/ For it is said that \ye Dragon & beast coexist at their latter end ch 16.13. &/ & ye Dragon gave him his power & his seat & great authority, \yt is by combining wth him./ ch 13.2. And in ch 17.11 ye Beast is recconed but ye eighth King & of ye seven, yt is of ye seven Kings or Heads of ye Dragon. And so being referred to ye Dragons heads as if coincident wth ye last of them, they must both together constitute but one & ye same Kingdom but yet by ye reason of some notable change distinguished into two unlike successive parts whereof ye first is ye Dragon alone, & ye last ye Beast & Dragon together. See Prop. {14}
< insertion from the right margin >2. The Beast is a kingdom derived out of ye Dragon & coextended to ye latter part of him. For ye Dragon gave power to ye Beast ch 13.2. He gave him his power & his seat & great authority.
2. But \yet/ ye Dragon did not give {illeg} cease himself: for ye Beast & Dragon are worshipped together ch. 13.4 & coexist at their latter end ch 16.13. And in ch 17.11 ye Beast is recconned ye eigth King & of ye seven that is of ye seven Kings or Heads of ye Dragon, & therefore not after them all so as to be a quite different head, but coincident wth ye last.
3 The Beast is coextended – – – 3. The Beast is coextended to all ye Trumpets. For at ye pouring out of ye first Vial there fell a grievous sore upon them that had ye mark of ye Beast; & therefore he |was {illeg}|flicted. ffor we have shown that the Beast is overthrown at the beginning of ye seventh Trumpet or Vial. And at ye pouring out of ye first Vial, there fell a grievous sore upon them that had ye mark of the Beast & worshipped his Image. And so the wo of ye fift Trumpet is inflicted on the men that have not ye seale of God in their foreheads ch 9.4. Who those are will appear by comparing it with ye fift Vial wch is said to be poured out upon ye seat of the Beast. So that all men wch have not ye seale of God in their foreheads, that is all those for whose wickedness & on whome God inflicts the punishments of these trumpets, are recconed for members of ye Beast.
4. The Dragon is that part of ye Kingdom whose symptomes are described at ye opening of the seales. ffor since ye Beast was in being at ye first Vial, the Dragon wch preceded him must also precede ye Vials & syncronise wth the seales & so be that part of ye Kingdom whose Kings & other symptomes are described at their opening.
5. The common period of the beast & Dragon & Beast is coincident wth ye common period of ye Seales & Trumpets. I think this is reasonable because ye parts of ye Prophesy will thereby best agree with one another. ffor as of the whole series of Prophesy exhibited by the seales & Trumpets, the most eminent distribution is into two parts, the Seales & the Trumpets; & of ye series of Prophesy exhibited by the Dragon & Beast, the most eminent distribution is also into two parts, the Dragon & Beast: so the most eminent distribution of the subjects of those prophesies must be into two parts or unlike successions of things answering to ye parts of the prophesies. And therefore since both Prophesies relate to one common subject or kingdom as was newly shown, their parts by agreeing to ye same parts of that subject kingdom must synchronise with one another.
|**| |**| The next action is ye persecution of ye Woman by the Dragon, & her flight into ye wilderness, & this must begin wth the next seale. If it begin sooner it will interfere with the Sixt {sic} seale wherewith it is utterly inconsistent. ffor during that seale, the Church is represented in the most flourishing \a victorious/ & triumphant state, so as to strike her enemies with exceeding terrour \over ye Dragon/. And she cannot be at the same time both triumphant over her enemies & \so much/ persecuted by them so as to fly into ye Wilderness It cannot begin therefore sooner then the seventh seale, & there is no {reason} \room/ for it to begin later becaus the Beast is in being at the first Trumpet & Vial ch 16.2. & consequently at the first Trumpet, & his rise is later then the beginning of this Persecution. Wherefore it must begin with the seventh seale. And with the contents of that it suits most punctually. For the prayers of the saints offered up to God, & the contemporary sealing of ye servants of God (Prop 17) & the commission of the four Angels to hurt ye earth & ye Sea so sooon as they were sealed, are all arguments of evil times then beginning, wherein the saints are oppressed, & Gods judgments shortly to ensue upon their enemies for oppressing them. And this alone is \might be/ enough to manifest that the triumph of ye Church ends wth ye sixt seale & consequently that the persecution of ye Dragon begins with the seventh.
Wherefore since the Beast was in being at the first Trumpet & ye Dragon persecuted ye Woman between in the space between that & the beginning of the seventh seale it remains that their common period be coincident with ye common period of ye seales & Trumpets: I mean ye period of ye Dragon so far as he precedes the Beast & of ye seales so far as they precede the Trumpets. For ye Trumpets are conteined within the seventh seale, & ye Dragon does not wholly perish at ye rise of ye Beast, but becomes a member of him as shall be shewed hereafter.
I suppose it will not now be doubted whither the Dragon be then in being; that is, at ye time of ye first Trumpet. And |I| have shown above yt he is {sic} overthrown at ye sounding of ye seventh Trumpet. See ye 5t particular following.
4 The Dragon is coextended to all ye seales. For ye latter part of him because coincident wth ye Beast must fall in wth ye Trumpets & consequently wth ye seventh seale. And therefore ye former part of him wch precedes ye Beast must also precede yt Seale & so fall in wth ye other six
But for fuller manifestation of this particular, & yt it may appear how ye Dragon is yt Kingdom whose symptomes are described in ye seales, it will not be amiss to compare particularly ye Prophesy of ye Dragon wth ye contents of ye seales.
And first concerning ye war wch ye Dragon made wth Michael & his Angels it is said that they overcame him by ye blood of ye Lamb, & by ye word of their testimony, & they loved not their lives unto ye death ch 12.11. Whereby it appears yt ye Angels or souldiers yt warred wth him were ye saints, & their weapons ye blood of ye Lamb & word of their testimony, & their courage that they loved not their lives unto ye death, or that they exposed their lives freely for ye sake of ye gospel. And so this war was managed on ye saints part by testifying ye truth of ye gospell, & on ye Dragons part by persecuting & killing them for their testimony: whence he is called ye accuser of ye brethren wch accused them before God day & night vers 10. And that this was no slight skirmish but a very earnest conflict is further exprest by ye emphaticall repetition yt Michael & his angels fought against ye Dragon, & ye Dragon fought & his Angels. Now if we take a view of ye seales to see where this persecution is described, we shall not find it before ye fift seale, but there it is exprest most lively by ye soules under ye Altar of them that were slain for ye word of God & for ye testimony wch they held, who cryed wth a loud voice saying: How long, O Lord, holy & true dost thou not judg & avenge our blood on them that dwell on ye earth &c.
< text from p 20 resumes >But for ffurther evidence it may not be amiss to compare the history of ye Dragon with the contents of the seales. And first concerning the war wch the Dragon made wth Michael & his angels, it is said that they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, & by the word of their testimony & they loved not their lives unto the death, ch 12.11. Whereby it appeares that the Angels or souldiers that warred with him were the saints, & their weapons ye blood of the Lamb & word of their testimony, & their courage that they loved not their lives unto the death, or that they exposed their lives freely for the sake of the Gospel. And so this war was managed on the saints' part by testifying the truth of ye Gospel, & on the Dragon's part by persecuting & killing them for their testimony: whence he is called the accuser of the Brethren wch accused them before God day & night vers 10. And that this was no slight skirmish but a very earnest conflict is further exprest by the emphaticall repetition that Michael & his Angels fought against the Dragon, & the Dragon fought & his angels. Now if we take a view of the seales to see where this persecution is described, wee shal not find it before the fift seale, but there it is exprest most lively by the soules under the Altar of them that were slain for the word of God & for the testimony wch they held, who cryed with a loud voice saying how long o Lord holy & true dost thou not judg & avenge our blood on them that dwel on ye earth, &c And in the next chapter \seale/ we have the event of this war as lively described by the smiting of the luminaries & powers of heaven & earth. ffor heaven in visions represents the throne or court of a King or other supreme Authority, the clouds his splendor & glory, the earth ye inferior sort of people, the starrs the nobles, the Sun the supreme authority & the Moon the next in dignity. Thus in Ioseph's dreame the sun moon & stars signify his Father Mother & Brethren. And accordingly the smiting Earthquake & smiting of the Sun Moon Stars & heaven at ye opening of the sixt seale will signify the terror of the people & overthrowing of ye kingdom or subduing of that Kingdom wch the Prophesy relates to. Which interpretation is not onely agreable to ye use
<24>The next thing is ye event of ye war wch was yt the Dragon & his angels were not able to witstand {sic}, but neither was their place {sic} found any more in heaven. But ye great Dragon was cast out yt old Serpent called ye Devil & Sathan wch deceived ye whole world, he was cast out into ye earth & his angels were cast out wth him. Now by this victory we are not to understand the subversion of any temporal dominion but a victory of Christianity over heathenism, as is manifest because it was obteined by the blood of ye Lamb & by testimony of his Martyrs, & also because ye Dragon wch was cast out was cast out {sic} is called yt old serpent ye Devil & Sathan wch deceiveth ye whole world, & immediately after his being cast out a voice was heard in heaven saying: Now is come salvation & strength & ye kingdom of or God & ye power of his Christ for ye accuser of or brethren is cast down wch accused them before or God day & night.
And this agrees to ye next seale, where this great overthrow of ye kingdom of Sathan is represented by ye smiting of ye Sun Moon & Stars, ye great shaking, & ye departure of ye heavens. For these expressions universally signify ye overthrow of kingdoms Def 44, 45, 51 & 3 And least {sic} this should seem to respect ye overthrow of any other kingdom then that of Sathan ye whole Seale is spent in describing ye ruin of Idolatry. For ye stars of heaven falling unto ye earth as figgs from a figg tree signify Idols falling down by Def 65 The Heavens departing as a scroll when it is rolled together signify ye roofs & glory of Idol- \their/ Temples cast down by Def 65 The moving of mountains & Islands out of their places signify ye demolishing of their Temples & Altars by Def {illeg} |8 & 19| And ye kings of ye earth & great men & rich men & chief captains & every bond mighty men, & every bond man & every free man hiding themselves in ye Dens & in ye rocks of |ye| Mountains & saying to ye mountains & rocks Fall on us & hide us from ye face of him that sitteth on ye throne; these signify Idols of every degree & sort (whether they be worshipped by Kings or great men or rich men or {ch} captains or mighty men or bond or free) to be \first/ hid & {sic} \or shut up in their temples & then/ buried in ye ruins of their Temples. /thereof.\ \Def 63 & 64/. And lastly as a further indication |yt| this Seale is to be interpreted of a victory of {illeg} christianity over ye kingdom of Sathan it is added that they said: Hide us {from} ye face of *[4] him that sitteth on ye throne & from ye wrath of ye Lamb for ye great day of his wrath is come & who shall be able to stand. Which expressions seem borrowed from Isa 2.21 where in like manner speaking of Idols, he saith that they shall cast them to ye Moles & to the Bats to go into ye clefts of ye rocks & into ye holes of ye ragged rocks for fear of ye Lord & for ye glory of his Majesty when he arriseth to shake terribly ye earth.
But that ye analogy between ye contents of this Seale & ye overthrow of ye Kingdom of ye Dragon may appear more fully: let ye Dragon be compared to ye sun wch became black as sackcloth of hair Def 2 & his angels wch together wth him were cast out of heaven into ye earth, to ye stars wch fell from heaven to ye earth as figgs from a figtree Def 2 \& their being cast {illeg} ἐις την γην into ye earth, to ye hiding of men in Dens & Rocks of mountains & saying {to the} Mountains {sic} & {to the} Rocks fall on {us}/ & ye Heathen Church (if I may so call ye zelous worshippers & defenders of Idolatry) to ye Moon wch became as blood Def 45 ffor ye Dragon & his Church are related to one another as ye church of christ to Christ yt is as a woman to her husband, & so may be signified by ye Sun & Moon like Iacob & Rachel. Gen 37.10.
The next action is ye persecution of ye woman by the Dragon & her flight into ye Wilderness. And this must begin wth the next seale. ffor it cannot begin sooner because ye sixt seale is wholly taken up in casting down ye Dragon & it begins not till after his casting down is {sic} fully accomplished ch 12.13. Nor can it it {sic} begin later: ffor ye Wo wch in ch 12.12 was proclaimed against the inhabitants of ye earth & of ye sea because ye Devil was come down unto them to persecute ye woman, began to be executed on ye earth in ye first Trumpet & on ye Sea in ye second. And therefore since God's judgments follow ye sins of men, the persecution \of ye woman/ wch caused these judgments must begin some little time at least before ye Trumpets & so fall in wth ye time of incence. And wth that it suits most punctually: For ye prayers of ye saints offered up together with ye incense to God, & ye contemporary sealing of ye servants of God, & ye comission of ye four Angels to hurt ye earth & ye Sea so soon as they were sealed are all arguments of evill times then beginning wherein ye saints are oppressed & Gods judgments shortly to ensue upon their enemies for oppressing them.
And hence we may understand why ye narration of ye seales is interrupted between ye sixt & seventh seale by ye interposition of ye seventh chapter. For |ye| designe {sic} of such an interruption must be to signify an end of ye former state of things & ye beginning of a new one by some grand revolution, & so it will most fitly agree to that cardinall period of time wch concluded ye reign of ye Dragon in heaven & began ye flight of ye Woman into ye wilderness. But of this more hereafter
The next action is yt as ye Woman {sic} fled into ye Wilderness ye Dragon cast out of his mouth water as a flood after her yt he might cause her to be carried away of ye flood, and {sic} ye Earth helped her & swallowed up ye waters. Now for understanding this it must be considered ffirst that by ye Earth is meant inhabitants of ye Earth Def 4 namely of yt earth wch was mentioned a little before wth ye Sea to whone {sic} ye Devil came down vers 12. Secondly that by ye waters are meant multitudes of people Def 5 & those inhabitants of ye sea afforesaid ffor since they are cast out of ye Dragons mouth they must be of his kingdom & consequently of ye inhabitants of ye earth & Sea. But not of the earth since that swallowed up these waters & besides it is inconsistent wth ye analogy of ye Vision where two sorts of people are distinguisht by ye earth & names of Earth & sea, to represent those of ye earth by water. \These waters are therefore of the sea/ They are indeed compared onely to a flood when \but that is in respect of their being/ cast out of ye Dragons mouth & not to ye Sea; but that \&/ hinders not that they should be inhabitants of ye sea since all waters originally proceed from thence. Thirdly whereas ye woman was persecuted by ye waters, & ye earth helped her & swallowed up ye waters, there is opposition & war signified between ye earth & waters wth victory to ye earth.
Now compare all this with ye Trumpets & you will find ye Analogy very full. For by Prop 4 the Trumpets are so many sucessive degrees of war wch break out after ye short peace during ye stilness of the winds in the time of incense, & these wars falling heavy upon ye Earth in ye first Trumpet & upon ye waters in ye second & third, the Earth & Waters will therefore be ye parties concerned in these wars & so may well be supposed ye two enemies at war wth one another whereof ye earth is worsted in ye first attempt but afterwards in ye second & third Trumpet prevailes over ye waters &, as it were, swallows them up in victory \drying up them {illeg} up so much that although they were a sea in ye {illeg}/. And to make ye analogy more full it may be noted that ye rivers wch are hurt in ye third Trumpet & ye flood cast out of ye Dragon's mouth are both called by ye same name ποταμὸς.
The last action of ye Dragon mentioned in this \12th/ chapter is that after this he was wrath wth ye woman & went to make war wth ye remnant of her seed wch kept ye commandments of God & have ye testimony of Iesus Christ. And this being when there was left but a remnant of ye seed of ye woman, it must be \understood/ of ye times of greatest desolation, that is of ye 42 Months when ye woman was fully arrived into ye wilderness & ye witnesses prophesied in sackcloth: which I in Prop 16 I shall show to be in ye 5t & 6t Trumpets.
And lastly at ye end of this time it is recorded of ye Dragon in chap 16 that out of his mouth & out of ye mouth of ye Beast & of ye fals Prophet shall there went three unclean froggs spirits like ffroggs unto ye kings of ye earth & of ye whole world to gather them to ye battel of ye great day of God Almighty. And this is yt great battel at ye seventh Vial or Seale Trumpet at wch ye Beast & fals Prophet are taken & cast into ye lake of fire, & ye Dragon bound & cast into ye bottomless pit ch 19.20 & 20.2.
Thus we have deduced ye reign of ye Dragon from ye fift Seale to ye last Trumpet. And {sic} I suppose it will not now be doubted whither he be also synchronall to ye four first seales, since it is not likely that ye wars & other things there described (especially in ye 2d & 4th seale) should relate to any other kingdom then that wch before \at/ \before/ ye battel wth Michael, & consequently before \at/ \before/ ye fift seale, drew the third part of ye stars of heaven wth his tayle & cast them to ye earth, that is wch (by Def 2 & 39) \had then/ subdued ye third part of ye kings & Princes of ye world wth his Armies. |He is indeed represented as if he had| ✝ ✝ had but newly done casting them down when he began yt battel; but he is not introduced rising out of ye earth or sea like ye two Beasts, but as preexistent wth ye woman & Michael: wch is intimation enough that he as well as ye Woman & Michael was in being even before ye writing of ye|th|is Apo Prophesy.
< text from p 28 resumes >Having run through ye Analogy of ye Prophesy of ye Dragon to yt of ye seales & Trumpets: it will not be amis to take notice of an objection that may arise about ye signification of ye Dragon, in yt I understand it one while of a kingdom & another while of that old Serpent ye Devil. For ye circumstances do manifestly require yt it be taken in both these significations, & yet to understand it in both will be no inconstancy if it be done wth mutuall respect to one another, that is, if it be understood indifferently either of such a Kingdom which doth ye works of ye Devil & is of a religion instituted by him, or of ye Devil & his works wth respect to such a Kingdom as doth them. For this is nothing more then when a King is sometimes put for ye person of a king & sometimes for his Kingdom; wch in ye sacred prophesies is not unusuall.
|*| {illeg} Beast is \more especially/ ye Kingdom on wch ye plagues of ye Trumpets & Vialls are {illeg} For thus much is exprest in ye first Vial where there fell a grievous sore on the men wch had ye mark of ye Beast & worshipped his Image; & in ye fift Vial wch was poured upon the seat of the beast, so that his Kingdom became full of darknes; & in ye sixt & seventh Vial where there came out of ye Mouth of ye Beast & Dragon & fals Prophet thre unclean spirits to gather ye world to ye battel of ye great day wherein ye Beast perished & Babylon (ye whore wch sate upon him) came in remembrance before God to give unto her the cup of ye wine of ye fierceness of his wrath. Also in ye preface to ye Vials ye Prophet first introduces ye seven Angels having these seven plagues ch 15.1, & then ye Beast wth ye Victors over the {sic} \Beast/ ver 2, 3, 4, & then returns to ye description of ye Plagues: as if by thus interweaving them he intended to point at ye Beast as ye subject thereof. So in ye Preface to ye Trumpets the Angels are forbid to hurt ye earh {sic} & ye Sea until the searvants of God be sealed, as if it were to signify that those hurts were to be inflicted on ye men wch have not ye seale of God in their fforeheads ffor so it is exprest in ye fift Trumpet. And who those are you may learn by comparing that Trumpet wth ye fift Vial; namely them yt have ye mark of the Beast. In a word, the wickednes & universality of ye Kingdom of ye Beast with ye Dragon, wch by Prop 14 is included in him, is so great as leaves no room for these plagues to fall beside him.
6. The Beast began \rose/ — 6. The Beast began his reign at ye opening of ye seventh seale. ffor first I haue already shown in ye third particular that he began not later yn ye first Trumpet; & he cannot well be supposed to rise before ye Dragon was cast down wch was not fully accompllished before ye end of ye sixt seale. ** Secondly by ye Rule ye most eminent periods of collaterall visions must be adjusted to one another Secondly \Fourthly/ \Lastly/ ye rise of ye Beast is one of ye |most| cardinal revolutions in all ye prophesy & so can fall in with no time so well as wth yt cardinal period between ye sixt & seventh Trumpet \Seale/ where both by ye beginning of ye Trumpets & by ye interposition of ye seventh chapter is signified an end of ye former state of things & ye beginning of a new one. These two periods must therefore be adjusted to one another by Rule And {sic} lastly if ye Prophesy of ye Dragon be surveyed to see what action therein best suits wth ye rise of ye Beast, it will be found to be ye casting out of his mouth waters as a flood after ye woman. For since ye Beast rose out of ye sea & deri ch 13.1 & derived his power & authority from ye Dragon vers 2, & was also a great persecutor of ye church: what els should he be then ye waters wch ye Dragon cast out of his mouth after ye woman? Yea he is expresly called ye many waters upon wch ye whore sitteth ch 17.1, 15; & whence, I pray, should those waters spring but out of ye mouth of the Dragon? But you will perhaps object that ye earth \soon/ swallowed up ye waters whereas ye Beast perished not before ye end of ye Trumpets. Wherefore I must remember you that this swallowing up of ye waters is onely a figure to express ye victory of ye earth over ye waters in ye wars wch should be between them, & so need signify nothing more then the deadly wound wch ye Beast was {illeg} to receive wth a sword. For after this I shall elswhere show how ye Beast was afterwards revived again out of ye earth together wth ye waters wch it swallowed up. Supposing therefore that ye Beast takes his rise at ye casting out of these waters, it will fall in with ye beginning of ye persecution by ye Dragon & consequently wth ye opening of ye seventh Seal. For I {illeg} to fall beside him.
The Beast rose out of ye Sea either at or \a {little}/ after ye opening of ye sixt {seale and} according to ye tenour \& order/ of ye visions yt rise must be after ye war of ye Dragō {wth} Michael, ye Dragon being then \introduced but newly before & in that war/ represented wth his full power wch he gave (some of it at least) to ye Beast at his rise. |This rise therefore could not be before ye opening of ye sixt seale. Nor could it be long after becaus|
7. The Beast ascended out of ye bottomless pit at ye opening of ye seventh seale. He had a double rise whereof ye second (after a deliquium) was out of ye bottomles pit as is manifest from hence yt he is called ye beast wch was & is not & shall ascend out of ye bottomless pit. His rise out of ye Sea signifies only {his} beginning to be a temporal kingdom, but his ascention of out of ye bottomles pit expresses moreover his bringing up wth him a fals infernall religion. Def. The first preceded his mortal wound wth a sword, ye second was at his reviving, for then or \rather/ immediately after was set up his new religion as is {sic} plain from hence that when ye two hornd beast caused men to set up ye worshipping of him & make an image to him, he is not called ye Beast wch {illeg} rose out of ye sea but ye beast whose mortal wound was healed vers 12, & ye \wounded/ beast wch lived or revived vers 14.
Now that this second rise fals in wth ye beginning of ye seventh seal may appear by these reasons. 1 It could not \{illeg}/ be \much/ later becaus ye plague of ye first Vial was inflicted on ye men wch had received ye mark of ye beast & worshipped his Image, & therefore ye Beast & his Image \wth their religion/ were in being before ye pouring out of that Vial & consequently before ye sounding of ye first Trumpet. Nor could it be \much/ sooner because it followed ye deliquium of ye beast wch together wth his continuance before yt deliquium could not but take up some considerable time, & both wch were after ye Opening of ye sixt seale. \It must therefore be about the opening of the 7th seale./ Add that \Secondly/ although the rising of ye beast out of ye sea, becaus it expresses \only/ ye rise of a temporal kingdom wthout respect to religion be not inconsistent wth ye things described in that seal, nor wth those in chap 12.10 coincident to it; yet his ascention out of the pit implying ye rise of a new infernal religion must needs \so soon as that religion is grown to any \considerable/ degree of maturity/ put an end to those things & wth them to that seale & so begin the next. Secondly \Thirdly/ the interweaving —— 
– Secondly \Thirdly/ ye interweaving the vision of ye victors over ye Beast wth ye first appearance of ye seven angels of ye Vials ch 15.1, 2, 6, is intimation enough that those victors begin then to get ye victory, & consequently that ye beast begins then to be. ffor it is necessary that he be adequately synchronall to those yt get ye victory over him because there can be \is/ no cessation of the church militant. Now the first appearance of these Angels, according to ye analogy of this vision of ye Vials wth that of the Trumpets, must be at ye same time wth ye first appearance of the seven Angels of ye Trumpets. That is, at ye opening of ye seventh Seal. Thirdly \Fourthly/ by the opposite relation of the seal of God to ye mark of the Beast, it is most naturall to suppose that ye vision of sealing the saints is {but} a mystical indication of ye time when men began to receive ye mark of the Beast; that is, of ye time when ye Beast arose, wch therefore must be immediately after ye sixt seal. Fourthly \Lastly/ the rise of ye Beast — – adjusted to one another by Rule
8 {sic}. Notwithstanding this ye reexistence of ye beast began a little before ye 7th seale. For ye time of his \death by the/ wound preceding \the setting up of/ his worship & ye making of his Image (chap 13.12,14) & consequently not only ye first Vial \ch 16/ but also his ascention out of ye pit, must fall in wth his \other/ deliquium \or non existence/ in ye sixt seale, as we signified above & even ye resemblance of ye Parables {illeg} may evince. His reexistence therefore begins at ye healing of his wound. But his wound was healed before ye end of ye sixt seale:[5] for this seale, as I shall show {hereafter}, was the Head in wch ye wound \Beast/ was made wounded; & therefore {illeg} be also synchronall to the four first seales, & hence it is not likely that ye warrs & other calamities \things/ there described should relate to any other Kingdom; & the Prophesy after the narration of the seales & Trumpets beginning anew at the Woman & Dragon \ch 12/, there is no reason why it should not return to ye first Epocha.
Object: j. Since the Beast was immediately to succeed the Dragon, his reign ought to be dated from ye overthrow of the Dragon by Michael, wch overthrow may be supposed at ye beginning of ye sixt seale, & so the Beast will begin his reign before ye Trumpets.
Resp. It is {sic} not likely that the direct & immediate effects of Michael's victory should be ye setting up of the Beast who seems to have equald if not transcended the Dragon in wickedness. And therefore the Beast ought rather to be of later date. Yea this is implied by the |This is inconsistent with the triumph of the church in ye sixt seale & {illeg} \much more with/ the following actions| surviving of the Dragon. For his persecuting the woman into the wilderness, & casting out of his mouth water as a flood after her, do infer not onely his after-existence but continuance in \{pristine}/ power, & it is said afterward that the Dragon gave the Beast his power & his seat & great Authority wch he could not have done if he had lost it with Mich in ye Battel with Michael. For his overthrow appears by the description of it to have been in religious & spiritual rather then temporal matters & therefore ye Dragon notwithstanding might still retain his temporal Dominion
The expressions indeed that the Dragon with his angels was cast out of heaven into ye earth do imply his casting out of the throne into a vulgar state & consequently the ruin of his kingdom, but this as I said is to be understood of ye spiritual state & not ye temporal power of that kingdom called the Dragon. For the fuller understanding of wch we must know that the Dragon has here a double signification, representing primarily that old serpent the Devil, & thence by a trope the kingdom wch does the works of the Devil & is of a religion instituted by him. And where it is said yt ye Dragon was cast out of heaven into ye Earth it is to be taken in the first sense for ye Devil with his worship, & not in the second for the temporal state of ye Kingdom wch exerciseth that worship. ffor the words |are,| That the great Dragon was cast out, that old serpent called the Devil & Satan, which deceiveth the whole world; he was cast out into the earth & his angels were cast out with him. ch. 12.9. Which is a {sic} much as to say that the worship of the Devil was cast out of the Throne or Court, & remained onely among the inferiour people. But where it is said yt ye Dragon had seven heads & ten hornes & seven crowns upon his heads, & his tayle drew the third part of the stars of heaven &c And that he \persecuted the woman &/ gave the Beast his power & seat & great Authority, it must be rather taken in ye second sence for the temporary Kingdom. And so comparing these two senses the result will be that after the worship of the Dragon was cast out, the Kingdom denominated from thence still continued & retained its former power & name until it gave the Beast its power & seat & great Authority; [that is untill by reason of some further notable alteration it exchanged its name for that of the Beast.]
Nor need it seem strange that ye Kingdom retained the name of Dragon after the Dragon was cast out, [since he was not thereby quite destroyed but onely cast out of heaven into the Earth, & so stil preserved his worship among the vulgar. And from them the whole kingdom might be properly denominated, so long at least as they continued the major part. Not to urge \And after/ that] \For/ ye ancient worship of ye Dragon might \alone/ be a sufficient reason to continue that name to ye Kingdom for distinction sake untill the rise of the Beast to distinguish it from ye Beast.
Object 2. Before the pouring out of the Vials St Iohn saw them that had gotten ye victory over the Beast ch 15.2, And therefore the Beast existed before the first Vial & consequently before the first Trumpet.
<34>Resp. This vision of the Victors over the Beast doubtless respects all those that were at any time to get the victory over him, & therefore must necessarily extend to the time within the Vials, becaus although the Beast should have begun his reign before them, yet within them was to be the greatest part of his reign wherein those Victors were to get the Victory. And if it extend to the time within the vials, there {illeg} can be no necessity of referring it to any time before them.
Nor need the tense exprest in the translation, I saw them that had gotten the victory over the Beast, breed any difficulty, since it may be as well translated thus. I saw them that get the Victory, or I saw the Victors over the Beast, νικωντας ἐκ του θηρίου. But how ever it be rendered it need not be understood as relating to the time but onely to the form of the Vision wherein future things were {sic} represented as prsent: much after \the same manner/ that before the prophesy of the Trumpets it is said of the Palm-bearing multitude; These are they which came out of great tribulation & have washed their robes, ἔπλυναν τὰς στολὰς {illeg} And yet they were not come out of that tribulation before the sounding of the seventh Trumpet: Or that the Lamb was said to be slain from the foundation of the world, becaus it was so in the foresight & decree of God who beholds futurities as \if/ actually present.
And this interpretation is confirmed by the interweaving of the visions. ffor that of the Vials is first introduced by the appearance of the seven Angels with the seven last plagues vers 1, & then that of the Victors over the Beast inserted vers 2, 3, & 4, & afterwards ye narration of the former vision of the Angels continued vers 5, 6 &c. And this interweaving implies that they are collateral, & consequently, that the Beast & victors over him are to live in the time of ye Vials.
Object 3. After the rise of the Beast, the Dragon is mentioned together with him in chap 13.4, & 16.3, & therefore they two {sic} divers collateral kingdoms.
Resp. Considering the reasons to the contrary in ye 2d Particular of this Proposition, we can onely infer from the contrary former of these two places that they worshipped {the} Dragon first, & afterwards the Beast, or that when they worshipped the Beast they worshipped the Dragon also by retaining divers institutions made in his reign. And in the other place the Dragon may signify either the Devil as it doth afterwards in ch 20.2, 10, or els the aggregate of such men dispersed up & down the world as are, in their hearts at least, infidels, or of other wicked principles differing from those of ye Beast & verging upon heathenism.
PROP. VIII IX.
The Kingdom represented by ye Dragon & Beast is ye same with the fourth Kingdom in Daniel represented by the dreadfull Beast wth great iron teeth, as also by the iron leggs of Nebuchadnezzar's Image. And the two horned Beast is ye same with the little horn of that dreadfull Beast.
This I prove in the following particulars. 1 The same kingdoms are represented by in both those Visions of Daniel: as might appear by the analogy between them, were it not generally granted. ffor they both began in Daniel's days, agree in number, & end into ye same fift kingdom. The fift Kingdom is manifestly the same in both visions; for it is described in one vision to be a kingdom wch God should set up wch shall never be destroyed nor left to other people but shall break in pieces & consume the four precedent kingdoms & shall stand for ever, Dan 2.44. And in the other Vision it is said that after the fourth Beast the kingdom & Dominion & greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven shall be given to ye people of ye saints of ye most high whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom – wch shall never be d not pass away nor be destroyed. Dan 7.14, 26, 27. And so the descriptions of the fourth Kingdom agree, the iron legs answering to ye iron teeth, & the ten toes to the ten horns, & the strength & dominion of this kingdom in both places being described exceeding great above that of the other three.
2. The Kingdom represented by the Dragon & Beast is suppose ye Dragon began cast out of ye waters as soon as he began to persecute, those being ye instrument of his persecution.
The Beast therefore begins with ye seventh seale & consequently wth ye Vision of ye Trumpets. I mean not at ye sounding of ye first Trumpet but at ye delivering of ye seven Trumpets to ye angels in order to their sounding.
PROP. XI {sic}.
The Kingdom represented by ye Dragon & Beast is ye same wth ye fourth Kingdom in Daniel represented by ye dreadfull Beast wth great iron teeth, as also by ye iron leggs of Nebuchadnezzar's image. And ye two horned beast \Whore of Babylon/ is ye same wth ye little horn of yt dreadfull Beast.
This I prove in ye following particulars. j The same Kingdoms are represented in both those visions of Daniel; as might appear by ye analogy between them were it not generally granted. For they both began in Daniel's days, agree in number & end in ye same fift Kingdom. The fift Kingdom is manifestly ye same in both cases visions; for it is described in one vision to be a kingdom wch God should set up wch shall never be destroyed nor left to other people but shall break in pieces & consume ye four precedent Kingdoms & shall stand for ever Dan 2.44. And in ye other vision it is said yt after the fourth Beast ye Kingdom & Dominion & greatness of ye Kingdom under ye whole heaven shall be given to ye people of ye saints of ye most high whose kingdom is an everlasting Kingdom – wch shall not pass away nor be destroyed Dan 7.14, 26, 27. And so ye descriptions of ye fourth Kingdom agree the iron leggs answering to ye iron teeth & ye ten toes to ye ten horns, & the strength & dominion of this Kingdom in both places being is described exceeding great above that of the other three.
2. The Kingdom represented by the Dragon & \Apocalyptic/ Beast is {illeg} {of} ye wound \cannot/ continue \further then/ to ye very end of this seale, \no nor so far, for if it do/ it will not be a {wound} made in ye head but one side of ye head chopt of. The wound therefore is healed, that is ye beast reexists revives or reexists before ye opening of ye 7th seale.
Nor does this contradict what was said above: for this beast was healed & revived before ye other beast caused men to worship him & make his Image & therefore must have drawn up his religion after him either at some little distance or gradually from his reviving. And if so, then we must by virtue of ye arguments in ye foregoing section assigne ye ascention of his religion or ye most notable period of it to ye opening of ye 7th seale, & his reviving or ye politicall part of his ascention to some little time before.
9 Although ye Dragon continue to ye end a kingdome distinct from ye beast \yet that is/ in respect of civile dominion, \only/, yet \For/ even his subjects embrace ye religion wch {sic} ye beast brought out of ye bottomless pit & so far may be accounted subjects of ye Beast also. For all ye world wondred after him & worshipped him & ye Dragon together ch 13.3, 4. And power was given him over all kindreds & tongues & nations. And all that dwell upon the earth were to worship him whose names were not written in ye book of life. vers 7, 8; that is all nations wthin ye compass of this Prophesy: so yt ye Beast in respect of his religion is ye universal kingdome beyond whose {sic} bounds this Prophesy considers nothing. the same wth that in Daniel represented by the Beast with Iron teeth. For both kingdoms have one comon period ending into ye kingdom of the saints wch shall never be destroyed, Dan 7, & Rev 11.15, & so at least they are synchronall. And since both were revealed by the council of the same God for ye same end, (the benefit & establishment of his Church) it is not to be doubted but that one was intended to be a key to the other & therefore that both relate to the same subject.
But to put the matter out of controversy, St Iohn hath signifed this | very elegantly expressed their correspondence by describing the Beast wch he saw, to be like a Leopard, & his feet as the feet of a Bear & his mouth as ye mouth of a Lyon, ch 13.2. ffor these three being the Beasts by wch the three first Kingdoms were represented in Daniel, the naming of them all in this description of ye Beast by St Iohn seems to be on purpose to point at ye vision of Daniel & insinuate the correspondence between the two Prophesies.
And in that onely three of those Beasts, ye Leopard Beare & Lyon are named, it implies that the Beast described must supply the place of the fourth to make up the quaternary. Which he doth the more fitly because they are set down in order backward & he is put in the first place, & also becaus of his shape, he being neither Leopard Beare nor Lyon but a strange Monster as was that other dreadful & terrible Beast with Iron teeth, & having ten horns as the other had. [ {sic}And whereas he participates of ye shape of ye Leopard Beare & Lyon in some of his members, it implies that the Kingdom wch he represents is erected out of their Kingdoms & participates of their people & territories, but yet (like that of the fourth Beast {sic} is a more notable & universal Kingdom because they were but parts of it. Also the description of ye horsmen, or kings of ye Dragon at the opening of the second & fourth seales, shows him to be a most bloody warlike terrible Beast as was the other with iron teeth.
3. The Kingdom therefore represented in ye Apocalyps by the Dragon & Beast is ye same with that represented by Daniel's fourth Beast, & consequently the same with that represented by the Leggs of Nebuchadnezzar's Image.
4. The two horned Beast \whore of Babylon/ is the same with Daniel's the little horn of Daniel's fourth Beast. ffor the two horned beast \Whore/ hath ye same relation to the kings signified by the ten horns of his fellow beast that the little horn hath to ye horns of his Beast. Both of them are members of the same fourth Kingdom, & both rise up after their fellows & exalt themselves above them. ffor of the little horn it is said that his look was stouter then his fellows Dan 7.26, \& that he had eyes & a mouth to represent him as a head set over them/ & of the two horned Beast that he exercised al the power of the first Beast before him & (in form of a whore) sat upon the Beast & ruled over the kings of the earth Rev 13.12 & 17.3, 18. The little horn spake great words against the most high & wore out the saints of the most high & thought to change times & laws Dan 7.25; And the two horned Beast spake like the Dragon & gave life to ye Image yt it could speak & cause that as many as would not worship it should be killed. [He also did great wonders & made fire come down from Heaven on ye earth in the sight of men whereby he deceived them & \so/ prevailing with them to observe his dictates for laws, caused them to worship the Beast & to make an image to him & worship it also.] The little horn had eyes as wel as a mouth to show that he {sic} kingdom should be erected \should reign/ by sharp-sighted policy & subtilty {sic} pretences; & the two horned beast is called a fals Prophet, a deceiver, & a Whore with mystery written upon her forehead. The little horn made war with the saints & prevailed against them Dan 7.21: & ye Whore of Babylon was drunken with the blood of the saints & of the martyrs of Iesus; – & in her was found the blood of Prophets & of Saints & of all that were slain upon the earth. The Dominion of both lasted untill the time that the saints possessed the Kingdom Dan 7.21, 22. Rev 19.19, 20, 21 \16.19 compared wth ch 11.15./, & was of equal continuance, namely a time & times & ye dividing of time, that is, three times or yeares & a half, or two & fourty months Dan 7.25. Rev 12.14 & 13.5. And ye end of both was to be cast into ye burning flame Dan 7.11. Rev 19.20 And lastly as the two hornd Beast \whore/ is represented in the Apocalyps in form of a distinct Beast but yet \Animal {sett}/ presiding over the ten horned Beast, so ye little horn is eyes & mouth of the little horn show that he is not of the same rank with ye other horns but indued with life & sense & so equipollent to a distinct Beast \Animall/ presiding over his Beast.
These therefore being members of the same general Kingdom & alike related \to that kingdom &/ to their fellow members & throughout synchronal & perfectly agreeing in their qualities & fate must necessarily be allowed the same.
Posit IX.
The two hornd Beast is a body of men wch began about the opening of ye seventh seale, & by policy & deceipt grew up wthin ye nations wch worshipped ye ten-horned Beast untill it overtop't all earthly powers.
1. That he is not a single person but a body of men wch began about ye opening is manifest by ye prophetiqꝫ signification of a Beast, & by ye comparison of him to ye ten horned beast in that he is called another Beast ch. 13. {illeg} 11 & by his being ye same wth ye whore who is called a great City.
2 This Beast began about ye beginning opening of ye 7th Seale {sic}. ffor he could not begin much sooner because ye first Beast rose out of ye sea but in ye sixt Seal & he rose after ye first Beast as is manifest both by ye order of ye narration & by the other's being called ye first beast. Nor could he well begin later because he was in being before men made ye image & received ye other Beast's mark 13.14, 16. & those things were done before ye first Vial, ch & consequently before ye first Trumpet. He is represented ye Author & spreader of ye {all} ye wickedness wch sprang up wth ye other beast out of ye bottomless pit, for by his fals miracles he caused men to set up ye worshipping of him & \caused men/ to make & worship his Image & receive his mark, & therefore ye rise of this beast best agrees wth ye ascention of ye other out of ye bottomless pit & so must fall in either be either at or a little before ye opening of ye seventh Seale.
<42>3. He grew up by policy & deceipt & not by force of armes. ffor he deceived them that dwell on ye Earth by fals miracles insomuch that he could bring down fire from heaven & give life to image {sic} of ye beast that it should speak &c. & by this meanes attained to exercise or make use of ye Beast's power being otherwise destitute of power in himself. And so ye Whore is said to deceive all nations wth her sorceries, & to have mystery written upon her forehead. And doubtless by these deceipts it was effected yt ye ten kings should have one mind & give their power & strength unto ye Beast on wch she sate ch 17.13. They are not forced to it but God hath put in their hearts to agreee & give their kingdom unto her Beast untill ye words of God shall be fulfilled vers 17: wch wthout doubt was done by means of her deluding them, for it cannot be supposed yt {sic} kings should voluntarily subject their kingdoms wthout being out-witted & imposed upon; |&| Yea that in ch 16.14 & of ye use of miracles to manage kings & compas temporal ends there is a singular instance in ch 16.14, where ye working of them is mentioned as ye an instrument by wch ye three spirits wch came out of ye mouth of ye Beast Dragon Beast & fals Prophet gather ye kings of ye earth together & of ye whole world to ye battel of ye great day of God Almighty.
{illeg}
Pos Posit. IX.
The two hornd Beast, wch \called also ye fals Prophet,/ is a body of seeming \Heathenizing/ Christians under two supreme Bishops, rose \&/ a little before ye opening of ye 7th Seale \rose/ out of ye inferior sort of people wthin those nations wch afterward worshipped ye other Beast; & by deceiving men {illeg} administred to ye ascention of that beast out of ye bottomles pit, & at length by overtopping all earthly powers by ye like deceipt, became ye whore upon his back. |exalting himself by ye like deceit became the whore upon his back exprest in Daniel by ye little horn of ye 4th Beast. & in Isainiah {sic} 23.15 by Tyre.|
1. That he is not a single person but a body of men is manifest by ye prophetiqꝫ signification of a Beast (Fig ) & by ye comparison of him to ye 10 hornd beast in calling him another Beast ch 13.11, & by his being ye same wth ye Whore \Posit / who is called a great city ch 14.8, & 17.18
2
< text from p 41 resumes >PROP. VIII.
The two horned Beast is some kind of Dominion wch by Policy & deceipt grew up within ye kingdom represented by \nations wch worshipped/ the ten horned Beast untill at length it overtop't all other powers within those {sic} kingdom nations.
1. That he grew up after the ten horned Beast is implied by the order of the narration, as also \& by &/ by his coming up out of the earth whereby is \may be/ typified the slowness of his growth, & by the other's being called the first Beast.
2 That {sic} \he/ is not an external or forreign kingdom but some dominion wch grew up slowly within the kingdom represented by \nations wch worshipped/ the ten horned beast until at length it overtop't all other powers therein, is manifest by the universality of those {sic} ten hornd Beast \worshippers/. ffor All {sic} the world wondered after him, — he had power given him over all kindreds & tongues & nations, & all that dwell upon the earth were to worship him whose names were not written in the book of life, ch 13.3, 7, 8: That is, all nations wch are considered within the compass of this Prophesy; & consequently the two horned beast must be included in those nations.
The same thing appeares also from hence yt whatsoever power the two horned Beast exerciseth it is over the subjects \worshippers/ of the first Beast & therefore within his dominions. ffor he caused the earth & them that dwell therein to worship that beast ch 13.12. And it was in the sight of that beast that he did his miracles whereby he deceived them that dwel on ye earth vers 14, & the Image of that Beast wch he caused them to make, & the mark of that Beast which he caused all both small & great rich & poor bond & free & bond to receive. And those whome the fals Prophet deceived with his miracles were they that had received the mark of the Beast & worshipped his Image \ch 19.20/ & by consequence were his subjects
Also the two hornd Beast exerciseth all the power of the first Beast, & that before him, or in his sight ch 13.12, & sitteth upon him in the form of a whore [who ruleth over peoples & multitudes & nations & tongues, that is over ye subjects of that beast ch 17.15,] & reigneth over the kings of ye earth vers 18, that is, over ye ten horns of yt Beast vers 12, & deceiveth all nations with her sorceries – & maketh all nations, that is ye whole Kingdom of yt Beast, drunk wth ye wine of ye wrath \poison/ of her fornication ch 18.23, 3.
3. And hence it appeares also that this two hornd Beast grew up untill at length it overtopt all other powers \even that of kings/ & extended his {sic} dominion over the whole kingdom, riding as it were upon it.
4. He grew up by policy & deceipt & not by force of arms. ffor he deceived them that dwel on the earth by fals miracles, insomuch that he could bring down fire from heaven & give life to the Image of the Beast that it should speak &c ch 13 And so the Whore is said to deceive all nations with her sorceries, & to have mystery written upon her forehead. And doubtles by these deceipts it was effected that the ten kings should have {sic} one mind & give their power & strength unto ye Beast on which she sate, ch 17.13. They are not forced to it, but God hath put in their hearts to agree & give their kingdom unto her Beast untill the {sic} words of God shall be fulfilled, vers 17; wch without doubt was done by means of her deluding them. ffor it cannot be supposed that Kings {sic} should voluntarily subject their kingdoms without being out-witted & imposed upon. Yea that the chief designe of these miracles was to manage Kings & compass temporall ends may appear out of ch 16.14, where the working of miracles is mentioned as an instrument by wch the three spirits which came out of the mouth of ye Dragon, Beast, & fals Prophet gather the kings of the earth & of the whole world to the battel of the great day of God Almighty.
PROP. VIII. IX.
The Image of the Beast ch 13, is \is also/ some contemporary & internal body politiqꝫ {illeg} representing ye ten horned Beast, but yet deriving its authority from the two horned Beast.
1. The Beast whose Image this is, is the ten horned & not the two horned Beast. ffor it is said to be made to ye Beast wch had ye wound by a sword, that is to ye ten horned Beast. And the same thing is implyed in the often repeated expression of worshipping the Beast & his Image, that is, the ten horned beast & his Image to both which the two horned Beast did injoyn that worship ch 13.12, 15, & both wch in ch 19.20 are mentioned together with the fals Prophet; & therefore since the \fals Prophet is ye/ two horned Beast, this Beast whose is the Image must be that with ten horns: especially since the name of Beast is onely given to the two horned Beast in ch 13, & afterward appropriate to yt with ten horns, the other's name being changed to that of whore & fals Prophet.
2. This Image represents the ten horned Beast. For els it could not be his Image nor would men worship it as they worship the Beast. ffor as the reason why Idolaters worship Idols, is becaus they look upon them as the representatives of their Gods, so ye reason why the worshippers of the Beast do also worship his Image should be that they account it his representative. It cannot be called his Image without respect to likeness, as ye statue set up by Nebuchadnezzar was called Nebuchadnezzar's Image; for so it ought rather to have been called ye Image of the two hornd Beast that caused it to be made; & therefore it must be granted his representative.
3. It is some kind of Authority & not an Image of wood or stone or metal, because it received life from ye two hornd beast so that it could both speak & cause that as many as would not worship it should be killed, & because it was not onely worshipped but made by them that dwel on ye earth, that is, not by an artificer but a multitude. Nor is it so likely that a material Image should be made to represent a body politiqꝫ whose form consists not in any external shape but in Authority & Dominion.
4. This Authority is derived from the two horned Beast. ffor it was this Beast that injoyned men to make the Image, & had power to give life unto it.
5. It is distinct from the Authority of either Beast, being neither the Authority of the ten horned Beast, becaus but his Image; nor of ye two horned Beast because derived from him, and enlivened by his power, nor of both together becaus mentioned together with them both as a third thing distinct from both, ch 13 & 19.
6. It is placed rather in a body politiqꝫ then in a single person. For so it will more truly represent the Beast who is not a single person but the most universal body politiqꝫ.
7. This Image is contemporary with the Beast; because wherever it is mentioned, the Beast is mentioned with it, as in ch 14.9, 11. ch 15.2. ch 16.2. ch 19.20 & ch 20.4: And because it was injoyned to be made by the two horned Beast who was contemporary with the other Beast, & was made even in the first Vial, that is, \almost/ as early as the Beast began his reign.
8. It is also internal to him, that is, \not a forreign kingdome but/ a Body politiqꝫ comprehended within that of \those nations wch worship/ ye Beast & not a forreign Kingdom. For this Image is made by them {sic} same men that worshipped ye Beast, that is by the subjects of the Beast, as may appear by comparing ch 13. vers 8 & 12 with vers 14. Whereas were it a forreign Kingdom it would not be so much an Image of the Beast as a distinct Beast it self, having its proper subjects. Also it is further observable that where the Beast & fals Prophet are cast into ye Lake of fire ch 19.20, & 20.10, the Image is omitted, which ought not to have been done were it not included in the other two. In a word; the Beast, as was said above, is the universal Kingdom, beyond which nothing is considered in this Prophesy.
PROP. XII.
The seven Heads of ye Dragon & Beast are ye distributions of the Kingdom into so many successive parts by the opening of the seales in order: every part or head being continued from the opening of one seale to the opening of the next & the seventh head from the opening of the seventh seale to the beginning of the seventh Trumpet to sound.
And 1 the heads are so many successive parts of the Kingdom. For the heads are stiled Kings & those successive ch 17.10: Where by Kings you must not understand single persons, for the Beast which is said to be but one of the kings or rather but a part of one, being called ye eighth & of ye seven, is yet said to have ten horns {sic} & ten horns \crowns/ upon his horns {sic} to denote so many Kings at once comprehended in that part of one. And besides, what single Kings reign could be long enough for the seventh under which is comprehended all that variety of events during the sounding of ye seven Trumpets, which we shall hereafter show to be above a thousand yeares. By a King therefore is to be understood an {sic} succession of Kings \an {sic} aggregate of kings whether successive or collaterall or successive/ unto some determinate period; & not onely a succession of Kings, but the whole Kingdom also during that succession \{illeg} intervall/: for the beast which is said to be the eighth King & of the seven, signifies the whole kingdom. And 2 therefore the seven successive Kings are so many successive distributions of ye Kingdom.
|*| |*| 2. The heads are to be recconed in common to ye Dragon & Beast, so yt the first six of them belong to ye Dragon alone & ye seventh to ye Dragon & Beast together. For this is implyed by the saying that the Beast is ye eighth King & of ye seven ch 17.10, 11. Which is as much as to say that the Dragon hath seven heads of his own wthout the Beast & in that respect the Beast is but ye eighth, & yet he is to be recconed of the seven because he does not succeed all the seven heads of the Dragon but fall in wth ye seventh. For by Prop 10 the {sic} is manifest Beast falls in wth ye latter part of ye Dragon; & he cannot fall in wth more then ye latter last of his heads because he is called but ye eighth head: whereas he would have constituted also a ninth & tenth head &c, had he fallen in with more heads then the last
And hence it is that ye Dragon hath seven crowns upon his heads to denote his reign in all ye seven —
< text from p 48 resumes >2. The heads are to be recconed in common to ye Dragon & Beast, so that the first six of them & ye first part of the seventh belong to the Dragon ,|a||lone,| & the last part of ye seventh onely to ye \to ye Dragon &/ beasts \in common/ as is exprest in ch 17.10, 11, where the Beast is termed the eighth King & of the seven, that is the latter part of the seventh. And hence the Dragon hath seven crowns upon his heads to denote his reign in all the seven, but the heads of the Beast are without crowns becaus his reign takes not up so much as one entire head. But yet |up {sic} no more then the last head. But yet| to discriminate his last head from the rest, the ten horns on which are ten crowns must be imagined to stand upon that. [For the Dragon's horns are \being/ without crowns to signify that the ten kings represented thereby were not to reign in the time of his heads \solitary reign/ but in that of the Beast: as is expresly interpreted] \For/ in ch 17.12, where in ye time of the sixt head (defined in vers 10) it is said, The ten Kings have received no kingdom as yet but receive power as kings about the same time \the same hower/ with the Beast. And therefore the kings with the Beast begin not their \actual/ reign untill the next or last head, & by consequence the ten horns with the crowns upon them must all stand upon that: For the better conception of which it may be convenient to imagin the heads in order one above another, & the crowned horns upon the uppermost head.
Nor need it seem strange that the Beast should have seven heads attributed to him & yet be but the latter part of the seventh; for it was fit that the symptomes of the whole Kingdom should be recconed in common to both parts to denote their connexion, & it is limitation enough of the order of their reigning, that onely the heads of the one & the horns on the last head of the other are crowned. The which will not onely appear not improper but very significant if we further consider the relation of this vision to that of Daniel where the whole Kingdom, signified here by the Beast & Dragon together, is represented by the dreadful Beast with iron teeth. For although St Iohn's Beast in a strict {sic} sense be {sic} taken onely for that \the last/ part of the Kingdom wch succeeds ye Dragon, & therefore his heads are without crowns, yet his having the same heads with the Dragon may imply that in some respect he is to be taken in a larger sense & extended through the whole kingdom; namely in respect of Daniel's vision to make this Beast adæquate to that, & thereby to signify that they are the same. For this is agreeable to ye precedent Proposition.; \Yea/ & that St Iohn doth sometimes consider this Beast \though perhaps not/ in the same latitude with Daniel, so as to extend it through all the heads, as if the Dragon were but the first part of it, is further inculcated \yet in a greater latitude then the seventh head, as is manifest/ by his calling it in the time of the sixt head, The Beast wch was & is not & shall ascend out of ye bottomles pit, & a little after, The Beast yt was & is not & yet is.
3. The heads of ye Dragon & Beast are the distributions of ye Kingdom according to the seven seales. For since St Iohn no where distributes it into such parts but by the seales & trumpets, & ye Beast or latter part of the seventh head takes up all the Trumpets by prop 6 \the seventh Seale by Prop 10/ it remains that the first six heads & first part of the seventh head be coincident with the first six seales. |And indeed what what els should be meant by calling these heads Kings in ch 17.10 but to point at ye four horsmen in ye 4 first Seales as being ye {four} {illeg} of ye Kings introduced as a specimen of the rest.| & so much of the seventh as precedes the Trumpets. For upon this account some part of the seventh seale must be allowed to precede the Trumpets; as is also manifest by the silence for half an hower between the opening of this seale & sounding of the first angel, the littleness of wch time agrees well with the description of the corresponding head, that when it came it should continue but a short space ch 17.10
Object. If the Heads of the Beast be distributions of him according to the seales, then six of those seales were opened in St Iohn's time, wch is to make him prophesy of things past. For when he wrote the Apocalyps he said of the heads that five are fallen & one is ch 17.10
Resp. This expression is not to be looked upo referred to ye time of writing the Apocalyps but to the time wch was looked upon as present in the vision: For thus in many other places things are spoken of as past or present becaus past or present in the visions though to come in St Iohn's time. As for the time of this expression it was when one of the seven Angels wch had the seven Vials, talked with St Iohn, showing him the judgment of the great Whore & expounding that Vision to him ch 17.1, 7, 10. & therefore it could not precede ye vision of those Angels. Now their first appeareance was when they came out of the temple to pour out the seven vials, & therefore that must be the highest time. And it is most proper to refer it to that time as being the common Epocha of these collaterall visions of ye Vials & Whore. And so since the Vials take up almost all the seventh head, this vision of the Angels wch immediately precedes them may fall into the sixt: wch agrees with the expression \at/ that time that five are fallen & one is
And this is confirmed by comparing it with another saying of the Angel at ye same time, viz: that the Beast was & is not & shall ascend out of the bottomless pit. For it will be difficult to refer that to any other time then that of the sixt seale. before which ye Dragon or first part of Daniels Beast florished, but was then vanquished by Michael, & was afterward to ascend again in another form. |For it is not likely that the non existence of the beast should be of any great duration or fall in wth any other time then that or at least some part of that wherein came ye kingdome of God & power of his Christ after the Dragon was cast out.|
PROP. XIII.
The ten hornes of the Beast are ten contemporary Kingdoms voluntarily uniting & conspiring into one Body politiqꝫ called the Beast.
And 1 that the ten horns are so many Kings is implyed by the crowns upon them & also expresly affirmed ch 17.12 And not onely Kings but \successions of them with their/ Kingdoms, for so {illeg} a horn is often used to signify as may be seen in Daniel \Def /.
2 They are contemporary & not successive Kings ffor this \also/ the horns of a Beast imply when they appear together, as is evident by Daniel's vision of ye Ram & Goat. And much more ought it to be so in this Beast because the \other/ kings which are successive have a different representation, being \signified/ each by one crown upon a head. For as one crown upon a head is made ye emblem of monarchichal government in ye Dragon, so ye ten crowns upon one head must according to ye analogy signify so many kings at once in the Beast. And if it were not so, the little horn \in {sic} Daniel/ wch rose up after the other ten could not well \be said to rise up among them ביגיהן Dan 7.8: nor to/ root up three of \them vers 8, & 20/, & much less after that have fellows \סבדחהּ vers 20/. The ten toes also of Nebuchadnezzar's Image imply so many collaterall kingdoms into which the fourth Kingdom was to be rent \Yea Daniel expresly affirms that it should be divided, & yt its parts should not stick to one {another}/. And the same may be collected from severall expressions in the Apocalyps, as that those Kings are said to receive power as Kings about the same time with the Beast, & to agree & give their I kingdom unto the Beast untill ye words of God shall be fulfilled: which cannot be understood of successive kings. Again, the Whore is said to sit upon peoples & multitudes & nations & tongues & to reign over the kings of the earth ch 17.1, 15, 18. And that all nations have drunk of ye wine of ye wrath of her fornication, & ye Kings of ye earth have committed fornication with her ch 18.3: where by kings of ye earth must be understood Kings of ye several nations wch she sits upon & makes drunk. So ch 18.9, 10 it is said that the Kings of ye earth who have committed fornication & lived deliciously with her shall bewail her & lament her when they shall see the smoak of her burning – saying, Alas, alas, that great City Babylon, — for in one hower is thy judgment come. And in ch 17.16, 17, that the ten horns (after the time is fulfilled that God shall put in their hearts to agree & give their kingdom to the Beast) shall hate the whore & shall make her desolate & naked, & shall eat her flesh & burn her with fire. Which places must necessarily be interpreted of several kings at once. [And lastly in the Battel of the great day of God Almighty, the Beast with the Kings of the earth & their armies, are gathered together against him (the word of God) that sate upon the hors & against his army ch 19.19 & 16.14, & therefore the kings wch untill that time give their power & strength unto ye Beast are many together, & the expression, Kings of the earth, in this Prophesy is to be understood of collateral Kings.]
3. These Kings give their power & strength & kingdom to the Beast voluntarily, & not by compulsion. ffor it is said that they have one mind, & that God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will & \to/ agree & give their kingdom unto the Beast. And the Whore is said to commit fornication with them, & make all nations drunk with the wine of her fornication & to deceive them with her sorceries Ch 18.3, 24. And so the two hornd Beast is said to deceive them by his miracles & by making fire come down from heaven. So that they are perswaded into an unanimous subjection by Sophistry & subtile delusions, but not conquered by the sword.
4 These Kings thus conspiring into one body politiqꝫ are the very Beast. ffor the horns of a Beast are used to signify the \number of/ particular kingdoms or Dynasties of wch the universal Kingdom represented by the whole Beast is composed: as may be seen in Daniel where the two horns of ye Ram were the Kings or Kingdoms of the Medes & Persians which composed that general Kingdom & the four horns of the Goat were the four princi pall Kingdoms of wch the Greecian universal Kingdom after the death {sic} of Alexander consisted. And in like manner the ten horns of this Beast must denote so many Kings or Kingdoms all wch together make up the universal Kingdom signified by the whole Beast. ffor these Kings which {illeg} in the sixt head had received no Kingdoms whence could they receive them but by reading from the Dragon, by sharing his body among them in the time of the last head? Which if it be supposed, yet the universal Kingdom will be still continued in the aggregate of those Kingdoms, as well as the Græcian Kingdom after the death of Alexander was, according to Daniel's representation of it by one Beast with four horns, continued in the aggregate of his sucessors; & on this account more properly that they have one mind, & that god shall put in their hearts – to agree & give their kingdom unto {sic} the Beast, that is, to joyn their kingdoms to the dominions of the Whore \constitute the Beast/, or so to agree & combine together that their kingdoms shall be, as it were, but ye one Kingdom on which ye Whore sits, & by consequence the same with the \very/ Beast. For in the expression of giving their Kingdoms to the Beast, it is to be observed that all their Kingdoms together are called their Kingdom in the singular number & so esteemed as if but one Kingdom, wch may therefore be well represented by one Beast notwithstanding the subdivisions.
And unless this be allowed, the Beast must have more horns then ten; for there are ten horns in ye Kingdom which the kings give unto him, & if he have any other Kingdom \distinct from the Whore or little horn/, there must be one more horn at least in that
But for further confirmation of this particular, it is to be observed that the Whore in one place is said to sit upon the Beast, in another place to sit upon many waters, which are peoples & multitudes & nations & tongues, & in another place to be the great city wch ruleth over the Kings of the earth, ch 17.1, 3, 15, 18. And by consequence, the Beast, the many waters or Nations & the Kings of ye Earth must signify the same thing since they are indifferently used for one another.
And this is further signified by Nebuchadnezzar's Image whose feet & toes were described to be part of iron & part |of| clay to signify the aptness of the Kingdom to be rent into less Dynasties toward the latter end of it. And the distributions of the leggs into ten toes imply the rending of it into so many kingdoms, the aggregate of wch is still to be esteemed ye same universal kingdom as before ye division because they are represented by the toes wch together with the feet & leggs in Daniel's estimation constituted but one & the same fourth kingdom.
[And lastly this is evident by the universality of the Beast, whom all the earth was to wonder after & to worship & to receive his mark.
5.[6] Although the Beast be the aggregate of all nations, yet it may signify after a more special manner that nation where the Whore immediately resideth. For it seems to respect that nation above the rest \[in ch 16.10/ where mention is made of the seat of ye Beast &] in ch 19.19 where the Beast is mentioned together with the Kings of the earth as if there were some \kind of/ difference between them. And so where the Kings of the earth are said to give their Kingdom to the Beast the meaning may be that the other nations joyn with that in submission to the whore. Not as if that were a kingdom divers from the other ten, but either one or more of them, or some region belonging to one or more of them, or else, it may be, some less civile but not regal Dynasty or Dynasties distinct from them all. For that beside the principal division of the Beast into ten Kingdoms there were to be many subdivisions into inferior Dynasties is implyed by the iron & clay which adhered not together, & of which even the toes themselves of Nebuchadnezzar's Image consisted.]
PROP. XIV.
The Horns of the Beast are Kingdoms rent \parted/ \derived/ from the Dragon, & the Dragon himself became one of the hornes.
<56>
1. The horns were kingdoms rent \derived/ from the Dragon. For since the horns which are upon ye Beast's head have their proper crowns, are upon the Dragon's head also, & that wthout any other crowns then the common one of the Head; they must represent the same kingdoms or nations subject to one common King in the reign of the Dragon which were afterwards in the reign of the Beast to obtein their proper Kings. For that this is ye proper interpretation of these circumstances is manifest by the saying in the sixt seale time of ye sixt seale. That the kings had not then received their kingdoms but were to receive them about the same time wth ye Beast. So Dan 7.24 The ten horns out of this Kingdom are ten Kings that shall arise, i.e. that shall arise out of this Kingdom: The force of wch place will appear more fully by considering that since they arise in the middle of his reign, if they did not arise out of him his preceding & following parts could not make one & the same beast. This dividing {sic} of the kingdom is also signified by the toes & by the mixture of Iron & clay in the feet of Nebuchadnezzar's Image, compared wth Daniel's explication thereof, as was signified in the precedent Proposition where this assertion was occasionally touched on.
2. Yet the Dragon did not utterly perish at the rise of the Beast. For immediately before \it is said/ that he went to make war wth ye remnant of ye seed of ye Woman ch 12.17; the unlimitedness of which expression must extend him much farther downwards. And \accordingly/ after the Beast was risen, the world was said to worship not onely the Beast but the Dragon also wch gave power to him ch 13.4. And in the sixt Vial there came three unclean spirits out of the mouth of the Dragon & out of the mouth of the Beast & out of the mouth of the fals Prophet ch 16.13: wch being to gather the nations to ye Battel of that great day of God Almighty wherein ye Beast perished, the Dragon must be \granted/ his contemporary throughout.
2. The Dragon amongst the Kingdoms rent \divided/ from him became one of the horns of the beast. For since the Dragon survived the rise of the Beast & consequently the rending \dividing/ of the {sic} other kingdoms from him, he must either be recconed among those other kingdoms to make up the number of the horns or remain a kingdom external to ye Beast. But not external, for that is repugnant to the universality of the Beast described by St Iohn, & much more to the Vision of Daniel whose Beast comprehends ye Dragon even before the rise of St Iohn's Beast. He is therefore comprehended wthin the Beast & by consequence one of his horns. ffor in that he is a kingdom a crown must belong to him, & the Beast hath no other crowns but those upon his horns.
Yea this is expresly declared in ch 13.2, 4, where it is said that the Dragon gave the Beast his power & his seat & great authority: Which is not to be interpreted as if he parted with |all| his power, for so he would have ceased to be; But the sense is that \having parted wth some/ he gave |him| the \remainder/ by assisting him therewith, as will best appear by comparing this place wth ch 17.13 where the ten kings are in like manner said to give their power & strength to the Beast, yt is to give him their kingdom v 17, wch is the same thing with their becoming his horns. And therefore {illeg} according to the analogy of these two places, the Dragon with the rest of the Kings do all contribute to inlarge the power & dominion of the Beast by the access of their power & strenth {sic} & territories, & so all become his horns: yea the Dragon more eminently then the rest, since from him, according to ch 17, the Beast borrowed the greatest of his power.
PROP. XIII. IV.
The calamities wch follow upon sounding the Trumpets, are all by war.
This the very soundings of the Trumpets imply, as being so many Alarms to War. But I shall run over the particulars.
<59>At the first Trumpet the Hail & fire mingled wth blood; at the second Vial the sea becoming blood as of a dead man, & every thing dying in it, |&| at the third Vial the fountains becoming blood, & God's giving them blood to drink because they had shed the blood of his saints; are sufficient indications of war. For none of this bloodshed can be by persecution of the saints becaus these plagues are termed the vials of the wrath of God, & so to be inflicted upon evil men, as is also exprest in the pouring out of the first & third.
Also \at/ the fourth Trumpet or Vial the smiting of ye Sun Moon & Stars, signifies the overthrow of some King or kingdom, as was explained \by Def /: & so most probably implies war.
|***| *** And in all these four there is also an impression of war by fire & burning. for In ye first there is fire mixed wth |ye| hail & blood, in ye second a mountain burning wth fire in ye third a star burning as it were a Lamp & in ye fourth power is given to ye sun to scorch men wth fire. And this figure of fire & burning signifies war by Def.
The wars of these four Trumpets are also signified by ye four winds in chap 7.1, of wch we shall have occasion to speak in Prop
Moreover at ye fift Trumpet — At the fift Trumpet there arose Locusts like horses prepared to battel, with faces like men (i.e. Horsmen) & Breastplates as of Iron. And the sound of their wings was as of chariots & Horses running to Battel
At the sixt there were let loos four Kings wth an Army of horsmen wth Breastplates & license to kill men.
And at the seventh the Beast with the Kings of ye Earth were gathered together against him that sat on the hors & against his Army, & there followed a great Hail **** wth thundrings & lightnings & a great shaking; wch are ye singular impressions of a great battel by Def
< text from p 59 resumes >PROP. XV {sic}.
The Beast received his deadly wound by ye wars in the first four Trumpets.
1 That the Beast was wounded by a sword in those Tumpets {sic} is manifest by the wars wch are exhibited therein. For since he (by Prop 10) is the Kingdom on which the Plagues of the Trumpets & Vials are inflicted, it must be he that was to sustein the calamities & fate of those wars, & so in them to be wounded with a sword. But let us see whither this wound be so great that it may be called deadly.
In the first Trumpet is onely signified much Bloodshed.
In the second, besides the Bloodshed there is a great burning mountain cast into the sea; a type of the sinking of some great city. For a Mountain is used in scriptures to signify the head city of a kingdom, as Babylon in Ieremiah 51.25, & Ierusalem in Isa. 66.20. & Dan 9.16, 20. & Rev. 21.10. And in this the bloodshed is represented more copious then in the first, as may appear by comparing the first & second Vial. ffor in the first it is onely likened to a grievous sore, but in the second it is exprest by the sea becoming as the blood of a dead man & every living soul dying in the sea.
After this in the third Trumpet there fell a great star from heaven, wch according to the signification of a star assigned above must denote the falling of some great Prince in the Kingdom \& that by war because of its burning/. And here the quantity of bloodshed is still more aggravated by the Angel of ye waters saying, Thou art righteous, O Lord, wch wast art & shall be becaus thou hast judged thus: for they have shed the blood of Saints & Prophets, & thou hast given them blood to drink, for they are worthy – – – even so, o Lord, God {sic} Almighty, true & righteous are thy judgments.
But the fourth Trumpet proceeds yet higher, even to the smiting of the Luminaries, then which there is no emblem of more fatall signification; for it is the Type appropriated in scripture to represent the utter ruin of a Kingdom; onely it is here limited to be but for a certain time by the expressions that the day shone not for a third part of it & the {illeg} night likewise. And therefore since, according to the import of the Trumpets & series of the things exhibited in them, this Eclips of the Kingdom was to happen by war, it must be acknowledged a very deadly wound wth a sword, or rather a wound even to death, as if the \Beast/ were thereby slain during the Eclips & afterward revived again.
2. And this must be the wound which the Beast was to receive; ffor if he received any other, he must have had more such wounds then one. It must be in some of the Trumpets that he was wounded becaus he existed onely in them: & since those Trumpets are descriptions of ye Plagues wch were to be inflicted upon him by war, it is not to be thought that this Plague should be omitted which was so remarkable that St Iohn thrice mentions it as the one of ye main characters whereby to know the Beast, & so great as to be called deadly or rather a wound to death ἡ πληγὴ του θανάτου ἀυτου. Yea that it is not omitted is manifest becaus the Beast was there is such a wound represented to the full, & the Beast according to his description in ch 13 was to have no more deadly wounds then one.
As for ye assignation of this wound, so far as deadly, to ye fourth Trumpet: It cannot be limited to any of the first three becaus they gradually transcend one another in calamities untill the Kingdom be eclipsed in ye fourth, so that there is more reason to \assign it to/ the second then to the first, & still more to assign it the {sic} third, & most to the fourth, & therefore there is no reason to suppose it healed before ye fourth, in wch alone it is \fully/ represented as a wound to death. |*| * We signified above in Prop 10 that this wound was made by the Earth swallowing up ye waters wch ye Dragon cast out of his mouth & that this action was ye subject of ye second & third Trumpets. Whence it follows that ye wound is not fully made before the third Trumpet. And \therefore/ since ye 4th Trumpet is of a signification yet more fatal, & ye onely Trumpet described in such circumstances as do adequately express ye deliquium of a Kingdom, the deliquium resulting from the {sic} wound will naturally fall in wth that Trumpet.
As for the following Trumpets there is nothing in them which may infer the further extent of this deliquium: ffor though ye fift be ushered in wth a wo, yet its calamity — Nor is there any thing in the following Trumpets which may infer its being extended further. ffor though the fift be ushered in with a wo yet its calamity seems to consist rather in duration then acuteness. ffor in it the scorpions were onely to torment men five Months (i.e. of yeares) but not to kill them: wch is more mild then the expressions in any of the four precedent Trumpets. And therefore these may rather be accounted troubles of the Kingdom after the healing of ye wound; & the healing thereof supposed to be at \be dated from/ ye end of the Eclips in the fourth Trumpet. ffor then at least the beast began to revive \the end of this Eclips signifying as well ye end of ye {deliquium as ye beginning of it did ye beginning} {illeg}/, & if the healing of his wound be not dated from thence there will remain no competent time for the chief part of his reign. ffor the things related of him in ch 13 do chiefly respect the time after the healing of his wound as is from hence evident that ye wound is always spoken of as past.
But to make this limitation yet more firm it may be further considered that as ye first four seales in ch 6 were ushered in by the four Beasts, so the first four Trumpets are ushered in apart by their four Angels standing on the corners of ye Earth ch 7.1. For that these were the Angels, not wch sounded, but wch executed the consequent effects is manifest becaus to them it was given to hurt the earth & the sea, & another Angel cryed to them saying, Hurt not the Earth neither the Sea nor the Trees till we have sealed the servants of or God in their foreheads. These are they therefore wch after the saints are sealed hurt the Earth & Trees at the first Trumpet & the Sea at the second: And their number will extend them to the third & fourth also, but no further. \For the winds wherewith ye Angels were to hurt ye earth & ye Sea &c: are so many wars by Def. & therefore we are to suppose that ye Angels let go these winds successively as being ye 4 first of the 7 successive woes of ye Trumpets./ And from this combination of these four Trumpets may be argued that they relate to things of the same nature with one another, & of a different nature from ye contents of the three last wch by the want of Angels are distinguished from them. For otherwise the introduction of the four Angels & their limitation to that number would be an insignificant circumstance.
But to put the matter out of doubt, the holy ghost has again signified the combination of the four first Trumpets by parting them as it were from the three last by the interposition of an Angel flying through the midst of heaven & saying with a loud voice, Wo, Wo wo to the inhabitants of the earth by reason of the other voices of the Trumpet of the three Angels wch are yet to sound. And therefore considering what was declared above of the first four Trumpets, it will be very natural to suppose that they all relate to the wars whereby the Beast was to be wounded as it were by so many degrees was to be wounded untill in the fourth he should suffer an Eclips; & accordingly to assigne the wounding of the Beast to the four Angels of these Trumpets, as if \appointed/ to inflict that wound |by| was the intent & meaning of their commission to hurt the earth & the sea: And it will be as necessary to conclude these wars with the fourth Trumpet, & make the fift begin with a new scene of things. Whence the first four may be fitly called the wound-Trumpets & the three last the wo-Trumpets to distinguish them from one another.
PROP. XVI.
The continuance \two & forty Months/ of the Beast for fourty & two Months, (\i.e/ after ye healing of his wound,) the \prosperous \like// reign of the Whore, the stay of the Woman in the Wilderness, the treading under foot of ye holy City, & ye prophesying of ye two witnesses in sackcloth, are throughout synchronal, & begin with \extend from the beginning of ye Wo Trumpets to the killing \killing/ of the witnesses/ the wo-trumpets, \to/ & end wth ye killing of the witnesses {sic}.
ffor 1 they are of equal duration. The Beast continues \prospers/ 42 Months ch 13.5;{&} the Whore or little Horn a time & times & the dividing of time Dan 7.25; the Woman also \is hid/ a time & times & half a time Rev 12.14, or 1260 days ch 12.6; the Gentiles \flourish prosper/ 42 Months. & ye witnesses \prophesy/ 1260 days ch 11.2, 3. All which are equall since ye holy Ghost in ch 12.6, 14, hath interpreted a time & times & the dividing of time to be 1260 days, that is three yeares & a half or 42 months. ** ** There is indeed three days & a half ascribed to ye Witnesses besides the 1260 days. But these I reccon inclusively, making both end together. For it is not, said When they shall have finished, but when they shall finish or be finishing their prophesy, Ὅταν τελέσωσι, that is, In the latter end of the days of their prophesy the Beast shall make war against them & overcome & kill them.
<66>These numbers \end together towards the end of the sixt Trumpet & therefore/ are synchronall. For on the one hand ye killing of ye witnesses & ye triumph of the nations over them \toward ye end of the sixt Trumpet/, & on ye other hand the voices in heaven at ye beginning of ye seventh Trumpet saying ye Kingdoms of this world are become the Kingdoms of or Lord & of his Christ \for ever/ do sufficiently determin the end of all these things to be between these two periods. Between these They are all of |ym| necessarily implied in ye time before & wholly inconsistent wth ye time after: And the things described between them are such as imply their conclusion \at that time/. For between them |those periods there was a great shaking that is a politicall commotion so great as to overthrow a Kingdom Def 51 &| the 10th ꝑt of ye City fell that is ye whole Babylo city of Babylon then remaining /standing\ & {as} many were slain in the time of this shaking. And by these judgments of God upon this Babylonian Kingdom ye remnant \rest/ were affrighted & gave glory to ye God of heaven, [that is ye rest {sic} of this Kingdom, even the 10 Kings who were ye executioners of these judgments, \who/ now hated {sic} the {sic} & burnt h Whore & made her desolate & naked & eat her flesh \(that is made a prey of her wealth Def )/ & burnt her wth fire (i.e consumed her by war \Def /) & ceased to give their Kingdom to her chap 17.16, 17. These were they who (I mean not ye|o|nely ye persons of Kings but ye people of ye Kingdoms) who being now in great measure converted from their evill way became partly ye desolators of ye Whore & were partly affrighted at her desolation & gave glory to God for judging her.]
But before this, at ye very resurrection of the witnesses fear fell upon all that saw them that is upon ye peoples & Kindreds & tongues & nations even all ye Earth \of the Beast/ wch made war wth them & slew them, & immediately ye witnesses ascended up to heaven in a cloud, yt is, were exalted by a multitude of people, Def 29 & 42. And from this time therefore ye Antichristian Kingdom begins to be shaken: & ye Church is no longer hid in ye wilderness but from hence forward \now/ becomes conspicuous again to all ye world, so as to fright her enemies who beheld her as a cloud for multitude. And therefore the numbers since they express ye time of her obscurity & her {sic} enemies prosperous acting & pre {sic}vailing against her, they must all end together at this period & so be throughout synchronall by reason of their equall length.
\2. They are synchronall & end wth the killing of the Witnesses ~ ~ ~ ~/ 2. They all end with the second wo-trumpet, & {so} \by consequence/ are synchronall. And particularly The total ruin of the Beast I |are synchronal & end wth the killing of the the {sic} witnesses. Of their synchronism severally there are divers {illeg}| shewed in Prop 4 to be at the beginning of the third wo-trumpet |& rises & {falls} together {with the two-}hornd beast or {fals} Prophet, of whose continuance ye whores reign is a middle portion.|, but the beginning of his ruin is at the fall of the tenth part of the city, immediately \soon/ after which is added, The second Wo is past & behold the third wo cometh quickly, as a declaration that this was the conclusion of the second wo-trumpet.
And at the same time the Witnesses ascended into heaven. ch. 11.12.
Also the Gentiles are introduced together with the Witnesses ch 11.2, 3, & therefore being of equal duration must have the same common period. This period may be also collected from hence, that they of the Peoples & Kindreds & tongues, & Nations (i.e. the Gentiles) saw the dead bodies of the witnesses & rejoyced over them ch 11.9, & by consequence trod under foot the holy City till that time, but at the sounding of ye seventh Trum third wo-trumpet they grow angry, {illeg} as if disturbed, the time being come that God should destroy them that corrupt the earth ch 11.8. The same period of the Gentiles {illeg} is further insinuated in Dan 12 where one Angel asking how long it should be to the end of the wonders revealed to Daniel another answered that it should be for a time times & an half, & when he should have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people all those things should be finished. That this relates to the holy city troden under foot by the Gentiles may be argued from the annexed duration of three times & an half, & may further appear by comparing it with Luke 21.24, & Rom 11.25. And the accomplishment hereof being the finishing of all the wonders revealed to Daniel, it can be no other then that notable period of which St Iohn saith, In the days of the voice of the seventh Angel when he shall begin to sound the mystery of God shall be finished as he hath declared to his servants the Prophets, ch 10.7. And whence at the pouring out of the seventh Viall, a voice out of the Temple proclaimed, It is done. |Vide alteram paginam.|
< insertion from p 66 >There are other characters of this synchronism \Of their synchronism severally there are divers characters/: as of ye Witnesses in sackcloth & woman in ye wilderness becaus both express ye \like/ desolate estate of ye Church of the Woman & whore by way of opposition & by their cohabitation in ye wilderness ch 17.3 \becaus the wilderness wherein the woman is is also inhabited by the whore \ch 17.3/ & made to be a wilderness by her abominations Def /. Of the Whore & her Beast becaus shee sits upon him: \(A) / (A) Of ye Beast & woman becaus he rose when she \at her/ beginning {sic} to fly into ye wilderness & continued to ye last trumpet, & in ye wilderness during all ye 42 months, made war wth ye saints, wch were no other then \constitute/ ye woman in ye wilderness with him.
(A) Of ye Woman & Beast becaus ye {saints} wth wch he warred all ye time, must be in ye same wildernes with him & {are} no other then ye woman of the Beast & Gentiles by their identity See Prop 17 |&| of ye Gentiles & witnesses becaus they are introduced together ch 11.2, 3. \Of the Beast & Witnesses becaus he makes Warr wth ym & kills them/ And indeed such is ye affinity of \all/ these things that their synchronism was never yet that I know doubted of, the equality of their duration being alone thought a sufficient indication thereof.
But to comprehend them all together: they are \all/ necessarily implied in the times \immediately/ before ye death of ye witnesses because till {sic} then the enemies of ye Church prevailed more & more over her, & they are inconsistent wth ye times after their resurrection becaus {illeg} from that time she prevailes over her enemies untill first ye great City & soon after ye whole Kingdom of ye Beast be overthrown. For at ye very resurrection of the witnesses she frighted her enemies & was no longer hid in ye wilderness but became visible to all ye world who beheld her as a cloud for multitude, Def The numbers therefore since they all express the time of ye churches desolation & her enemies prevailing over her, must end between these two periods. And of these two {ye}|I| first prefer ye first. ffor then ye Witnesses have done prophesying, & by consequence the Woman is ceased out of ye Wilderness, & ye Temple out of ye City so yt it is no longer a holy City wch ye Gentiles tread under foot; & ye Beast & wth him ye Whore, for want of enemies, have done making war \as their triumphal sending gifts to one another denotes/. The killing of the witnesses therefore puts an absolute end to all things to wch ye 1260 days are applied & therefore \so/ must be the common period of those days. I say an end: for if any one tell me yt Christ has promised yt ye gates of hell shall not prevail against ye Church & therefore she cannot be interrupted, I return yt other saying of his: when ye Son of man cometh shall he find faith on ye earth. As there was intermission of ye Iewish Kingdom for 70 years in ye great Babylonian Capitivity notwithstanding ye promis yt ye Scripture should not depart from Iudah till Shiloh came, so {illeg} in or Saviour's promis a short intermission \of ye Ch/ may not be accounted a prævailing aginsts {sic} {sic} her becaus not a final nor durable prevailing, nor perhaps \yet/ so absolute but that her works may remain \may continue/ in ye earth, some men \remaining/ well disposed to receive ye truth though at prsent carried away wth ye streame, {& some} others \seeking after it & perhaps/ discerning & imperfectly beliving {sic} it but yet \imperfectly/ like those Pharissees that feared to confess it least they should be put out of ye Synagogue \or at least some believing one truth, others another so as among them all to retain the whole/, & if you will go farther & suppose some \few/ true believers \in all that is necessary/, I shall not oppose \gainsay/ it so you will but suppose 'em so few as {illeg} here not to come into compute.
The Witnesses Some I know will {illeg} say yt ye witnesses are two single persons, & so their slaying infers not any such deliquium of ye Church. But they yt will not be pervers may easily discern yt they {sic} Witnesses are something diffused through ye whole Beast's dominion since they were \it was not/ a few men but ye Beast yt made war wth ym & killed them, & not a single City or nation but they of ye peoples kindreds tongues & nations yt rejoyced over ym & saw ym rise again & ascend to heaven in a cloud. And ye city \in/ whose street they were was not a bare City but ye whole dition thereof extending as far as where or Ld was crucified. Also {sic} they are called ye two candlesticks, wch is an emblem not of two persons but of two Churches Rev: 1.20. |And if there {illeg} thing els but {illeg} that it is ye tenour of ye Prophesy to present every thing by figures, it will be ground enough {illeg} understanding {illeg} that for us to suppose ye same done in the Prophets.|
< text from p 67 resumes > <69>That the Whore or fals Prophet perished together wth the Beast was shewed in Prop 5, & is manifest also from hence, That the ten Kings hate her, & make her desolate & \naked &/ eat her flesh & burn her with fire when the {sic} words of God being fulfilled they shall cease to give their kingdom to her Beast, that is, when her Beast shal be dissolved.
And lastly the stay of ye woman in ye Wilderness ended also with the destruction of the Beast, becaus that woman is an emblem of the true Church, & the true church was to be in a distressed state during the reign of the Beast & no longer. |And the same may be argued from her opposition to ye Whore.|
|**| |**| And in a word the killing of the witnesses on one hand, & on the other hand ye voices in heaven \at ye beginning of ye seventh Trumpet/ saying, The Kingdoms of this world are become the Kingdoms of or Lord & of his Christ, do sufficiently determin the end of all these things to be between those two periods, That is about ye end of ye second {sic} Wo-trumpet. And so ending together, & being of equal duration, they must be synchronal. And indeed such is the affinity of these things, that their synchronism was never yet that I know doubted, the {sic} equality of their duration being alone thought a sufficient indication thereof.
But whereas I said that these things end with the sixt Trumpet I would have it understood with some latitude. For the great City is overthrown before the seventh Trumpet, & ye Witnesses revive before the overthrow of that City: & therefore ye reviving of the Witnesses & by consequence the end of this Synchronism must a little precede ye end of the sixt sixt Trumpet, although it seems to be so little that I have not thought it necessary here to consider it.
< text from p 69 resumes >And in a word, the voices at the sounding of the seventh Angel, saying The Kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of or Lord & of his Christ, doe sufficiently determin that then the Beast & Whore are deprived of their dominions & the saints possess the kingdom, & so an end is put to the stay of the woman in the Wilderness & to the treading under foot of the holy City. These therefore ending together, & being of equal duration are synchronal. And indeed such is the affinity of these things that their synchronism was never yet yt I know doubted; of; the equality of their duration being alone thought a sufficient indication thereof.
3. These {sic} \these/ Synchronals begin with the Wo-trumpets, I shall prove by the following Arguments: |This a {sic} {Prero} conclusion of main importance & therefore I shall be ye more particular in the proof of it, urging for that end the following arguments.|
Arg: 1. The wound of the Beast was healed at the end of the fourth Trumpet by Prop 14. And this Synchronism is dated from the healing of that wound|.| by these \Now that this synchronism is dated from the healing of yt wound I prove by these/ reasons.
ffirst the 42 Months of the Beast must either be dated from the healing of his wound or from his first rise, for there is no other remarkable Epocha within his reign. But it cannot be dated from his first rise because \it is/ synchronal to the reign of Daniel's little horn, & this arose not till after the other ten horns wch constitute the Beast. The same may be argued from the Whore for it was shown above in Prop: 7, that she arrived not to her dominion so as to sit upon the Beast untill some time after he was risen.
And some strength it may add to this Conclusion to consider that if the 42 Months \of ye Beast/ ought to be dated from his first rise, by the same reason the 42 Months stay of ye woman in the Wilderness ought to be dated from the beginning of her flight thither when the Dragon first persecuted her after his overthrow by Michael, & so it will be of an earlier date then the rise of the Beast: which being contrary to their synchronism, that stay must be dated from some later period, as suppose from the time when the earth should cease to help the Woman & leave her to make a more absolute or total flight. |Moreover it is to be supposed that ye woman was but {illeg} her flight into ye wilderness when ye Dragon cast out of his mouth water as a flood after her & that she was not fully arrived thither till after the earth had done helping her, & ye|a| Dragon went to make war with ye remnant of her seed was onely left wherewith ye Dragon went to make war. And this as I signified above was not till after the third Trumpet.| And so by the analogy the 42 Months of the Beast may as well be dated from a later period then his first rise, such as is that more notable one of his resurrection when his dominion became established to him & his reign more wicked.
Secondly since the \by Prop 8 the two horned/ Beast was to rise up slowly by policy till he overtopt all other powers within the Kingdom & so became the whore sitting upon the ten horned Beast, it is most likely that he took ye advantage of ye other's declining condition, & got upon him when he was wounded to death & then rose together with him in the form of a Whore upon his back, & so the reign of the whore will be dated from his resurrection.
Thirdly it is observable that the wound is ever spoken of as past. The Beast is not called the Beast wch was to be wounded but the Beast whose wound was healed. Which implies that the things spoken of him in the 13th Chapter, & consequently ye 42 Months do relate to his reign after the healing of his wound.
Yet there is one circumstance that may seem to contradict this; Namely, That ye Image was made to the Beast wch had the wound by a sword & did live; & therefore since the Image was actually made in the first vial \it may be inferred that/ the wound was {sic} healed before that time. This \indeed/ is the more obvious inference, & is rather opposed to ye precedent Proposition then to this: but {sic} considering that the Beast was not in being before the first Vials & so could not receive a wound before that time, we shall rather infer from hence that the Image was made oftener then once, & that this place chiefly refers to the making of it after the reviving of the Beast. Which can be no harsh inference but rather a very naturall one since it was the Custom \this emblem is drawn from/ the custom of heathens is here alluded unto & it was their custom to make more Images then one to a Deity. And as for ye Image being put in the singular number, that need beed {sic} no difficulty since it is very usuall to put ye name of an Individual for ye Species.
ffourthly this 42 Months of the Beast is expres not called the time of his continuance but the time of his making war. Ἐδόθη ἀυτω ἐξουσία πόλεμον πόιησαι μηνας τεσσαράκοντα δύο. There was given unto him power to make war forty & two months. And concerning this his Worshippers, in the vers before, proclaim saying, Who is like unto the Beast? who is able to make war with him? So that these two & forty Months are not spoken of his whole continuance but of the time onely wherein he had power to make war, or made war powerfully in so much that none were able to make war with him: & therefore must necessarily exclude the time of his being wounded to death by war, & begin but at his resurrection.
Conclude we therefore that this synchronism of ye 42 months is dated from the healing of ye wound that is from the end of the fourth Trumpet, & so begins with the wo-trumpets.
Arg: 2. The care taken by the blessed Spirit \Holy Ghost/ to separate the three last Trumpets from the four first, both by interposition of an Angel crying Wo, wo, wo, & by introducing the four Trumpets first apart by their four Angels, must needs imply some considerable difference in the nature of the times wch they relate unto, & so yt the Wo-trumpets begin with some new scene of things, as was signified above. And therefore it will be more naturall to make them begin with this Synchronism then to combine all the seven Trumpets therein by extending it through them all.
And it may add something to this Argument to consider that as the wound-trumpets do gradually transcend one another in their Plagues, so also do these Wo-trumpets: the first proceeding onely to torment & not to kill men, the next to kill the third part of them, & the last to the utter destruction of the Beast. By which graduation both sorts of Trumpets are referred to their own beginning as to their proper Epocha.
Arg: 3. This Synchronism is of all times the most wicked, as is notoriously manifest of the Witnesses & by the description of the Whore of Babylon & in ch 17 & 18 & of ye little horn in Daniel so many ages before. /& of the latter times both by ye Apostles & by Daniel in his other visions\ In like manner the Wo-trumpets are represented as conteining the greatest judgments of God for wickedness, as is manifest by the proclamation of Wo at the beginning of them. And therefore since it is usuall with God to proportion his judgments to wickedness, this Synchronism will best agree to these Trumpets. as if \At least/ ye denunciation of Wo at ye beginning of them |is| were \{must} is equivalent to/ a declaration of God's anger at the aggravation of the wickedness commencing at that time: |& {illeg} I see not {sic} that can answer \what wickedness that can bee/ bee {sic} besides the beginning of this Synchronism.|
Arg: 4. This Synchronism is generally acknowledged to be ye famous reign of Antichrist or man of Sin of whome St Paul to ye Thessalonians ch: 2, said, Ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time: For the mystery of iniquity doth already work onely he who now letteth will let untill he be taken out of the way. Now he who letteth is that Kingdom represented by the Dragon & Beast, that is \by the tradition of the Ancients, the Roman Empire/, that Kingdom whose fate is described in the Seales & Trumpets. And therefore the man of Sin cannot be taken out of ye way nor this Synchronism begin before that Kingdom be taken out of the way. Search now the Apocalyps from the first Trumpet to the last seale to the last Trumpet, & you will find nothing that can signify this taking away beside the sixt Seale & fourth Trumpet; for in them onely is the smiting of the Luminaries wch is ye proper overth Emblem of ye overthrow of a kingdom But I shewed in the Prop {illeg} 10 that the sixt seale was to be interpreted of spirituall matters without diminishing the temporall power of ye Kingdom, & therefore it is onely in the fourth Trumpet that this taking away can happen. And that then it does happen I shewed in Prop 15: the Beast being there wounded to death by a sword, or slain for a time by war. And therefore this Synchronism cannot begin before the fourth Trumpet. \will appear in the application of this Prophesy to history/
I suppose it will not be objected that ye Beast revived again & therefore he was not quite taken out of the way; since his being taken out of ye way for a time might give sufficient liberty to the man of Sin to appear, & it was the man of sin himself that revived the Beast by perswading the kings of ye Earth to agree, & give their Kingdom unto him, ch 17.17.
These Arguments might suffice to evince this important part of the Proposition, but yet I shall add one more, because, beside the strength it hath for this end, it conteins a notable determination of something more then is to be found in the Apocalyps.
<74>Arg: 5. The Whore of Babylon was to be forgotten or left desolate seventy yeares immediately before her reign. But this cannot happen at any other time then in the fourth Trumpet, & therefore her reign begins with the fift.
The major Proposition I prove out of Isa. 23.15, 16, 17, 18 where it is thus written.
"And it shall come to pass in that day that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years according to ye days of one King: After seventy years shall Tyre sing of as an Harlot. Take an harp, go about the City thou Harlot that hast been forgotten, make sweet melody, sing many songs that thou mayest be remembered. And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy yeares that the Lord will visit Tyre, & she shall turn to her hire, & shall commit fornication with all ye Kingdoms of ye world upon the face of the earth. And her merchandise & her hire shall be holiness to ye Lord. It shall not be treasured up nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the Lord, to eat sufficiently, & for durable cloathing."
The circumstances of this Prophesy do in all respects suit wth ye whore of Babylon but not with the City of Tyre, & therefore I shall not doubt here by Tyre to understand this whore.
In the name there can be no difficulty becaus ye Holy Ghost altogether calls the Whore by names borrowed from forreign places, as from Babylon, Sodom, Egypt, & (as some think) Idumea Isa 34, & there is no reason why he may not as well call her Tyre, especially if Tyre in any respects besides wickedness (as in bordering upon the Sea. See Rev 18.17, 19) do more advantageously then other places resemble her. Yea, if I am not mistaken, the holy Ghost hath confirmed this name to her in Ezekiel 28. But at least that this place of Isaiah is to be understood of her will appear by the following considerations.
And first whereas Tyre is here called a Harlot & said to commit fornication with all the Kingdoms of ye world upon the face of the Earth: this is ye exact description of ye whore of Babylon, but can in no wise agree to ye City Tyre. For none but ye Church of God can be an Harlot & commit fornication. This is a crime peculiar to God's people when they forsake him & go a whoring after other Gods or Idols. And therefore although Heathens were universally Idolaters yet ye holy Ghost never reproves any nation under ye notion of committing fornication beside the revolting Iews in the old Testamen {sic} & revolting Christians in ye new. But were it otherwise so that Tyre be called a Harlot for her Idolatry yet I see not how shee should be accused for committing fornication with other nations since her dealing with other nations was onely in matters of trade & merchandise. Nor does ye universality of the expression that Tyre should commit fornication with all ye Kingdoms of ye earth world upon ye face of ye earth agree so well to that city as to ye Whore.
Secondly I see not how the seventy years of desolation can be accommodated to ye City of Tyre. ffor from Isaiah's days to Nebuchadnezzar's there it continued in prosperity excepting onely five or six year's siege & that in vain by Salmanasser, & by Nebuchadnezzar it was not onely ruined for seventy years but for ever as was prophesied by Ezekiel ch 26. Yet not far from this City there was another incompassed by the sea & called by ye same name but this was not ruined with the other,[7] but \from/ that very time governed first by \Baal their king {illeg} for about 10 years & then by/ Iudges for about seven yeares & three months, & then \again/ by Kings (Balator, Merbal Hirom, &c) constituted by the King of the {illeg} & {so} |untill ye reign of Cyrus & from thence for any thing that appears to the contrary| flourished till it was utterly destroyed by Alexander the great under its last King.
Thirdly in that these seventy yeares are said to be according to the days of one King, is plainly signified that this prophesy is not to be interpreted litterally of Tyre, but hath some mystical meaning in it. For what King since Isaiah's days hath reigned 70 yeares? But if we refer it to the Whore of Babylon, & make ye 70 yeares to be the duration of ye fourth Trumpet the interpretation is obvious. Namely that \as/ ye holy Ghost calls the seven Heads of ye Dragon seven Kings & these, as I shewed, are the successive parts of ye Kingdom divided according to the seales: So the like divisions of the Beast by the Trumpets may be also called Heads or Kings, of wch the seventy yeares is the duration of ye fourth.
ffourthly, whereas it is said that Her merchandise & her hire shall be holiness to ye Lord – & that her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the Lord: it is here in so many words declared that by Tyre is meant a people whose merchandise & hire, that is, whose possessions are holiness {sic} unto ye Lord, & that the people for whom this merchandise is, that is the people of Tyre are they that dwell before the Lord. And this is as much as to say that by Tyre is meant a people whose possessions are consecrate & set apart to the true God, so that they cannot be alienated without sacrilege, & a people also that are themselves set apart & consecrate to the service of that God. That is in plain words, a people whose possessions are the revenues of ye Church, & which themselves are ecclesiastical persons like the Tribe of Levi. And this can in no wise be understood of ye Tyrians City of Tyre; but of the Whore of Babylon it is a most apposite description, according to ye character of St Paul, that the Man of Sin should sit in the Temple of God.
And whereas it is further added, that her merchandise shall not be \treasured nor/ laid up – but shal be for them that dwell before the Lord to eat sufficiently, & for durable cloathing; That is, they shall spend it upon their backs & bellies in pride & luxury: this also suits justly with the description of the Whore. For of her it is said that ye merchants of the earth waxed rich through ye abundance of her delicacies, Rev 18.3. And that all that all {sic} were made rich that had ships in the sea by reason of her costliness vers 18. And that she was clothed in fine linnen & purple & scarlet & decked with gold & pretious stones & Pearles vers 16. And ye merchandise she bought was Gold, Silver, pretious stones, Pearls, fine Linnen, Purple, Silk, Scarlet, Sweet Wood, all manner of pretious Vessels, — Cinnamon, Odours, Ointments, Frankincens Wine, Oyle, fine Flower, Wheat, Beasts, Sheep &c. vers 12, 13.
These are the reasons by which I here understand the Whore of Babylon by Tyre: Which being granted & consequently that this Whore was to be forgotten 70 yeares & then to sing as an Harlot, & return to her hire & commit fornication with all the kings of the earth, that is to begin her reign at ye end of the 70 yeares, which was ye Major Proposition; I prove the Minor by this consideration that ye Whore must have began to be (though not to reign) before the 70 years ffor otherwise she could not have bee {sic} said to have been forgotten, nor \afterward/ to return to her hire. But there is no signe of her being before the rise of ye two horned Beast or at ye soonest not before the Dragon began to chase the Woman into the Wilderness: & therefore these seventy yeares must fall within the seventh seale. And within that there is no time so suitable to this desolation as ye fourth Trumpet. Yea it is \seems/ necessary that she be desolate during ye death of her Beast therein, & therefore that must be the time since there is no mention of her being desolate oftener then once.
PROP XVI {sic}.
The Temple within the holy City troden under foot by the Gentiles, denotes the same thing with ye Woman in the Wilderness persecuted by the Dragon & Beast: |the city|
This is in some measure evident by the affinity of their
<78>Temple answering to ye Woman, the city to ye Wildernes, & ye Gentiles to ye Beast \Dragon/ seventh head of ye Dragon & Beast
1 The Gentiles are the same with the Beast becaus by Prop 16 {sic} they are contemporary to him, & all Kindreds & tongues & nations, ch 13.7, 16, that is all Gentiles are his Subjects. Also in prosecuting the description of the Gentiles & Witnesses, the Beast ch 11.7, & they of ye Peoples & kindreds & tongues & nations in vers 9 are put in stead of ye Gentiles.
2 The Temple of God with the Altar & them that worship therein is ye same with ye Woman, becaus they also by Prop 16 are synchronal, & both signify the true church of Christ: the Temple as being dedicated to God's worship & inhabited by him, as St Paul saith to ye Corinthians, Know ye not that ye are ye Temple of God — the Temple of God is holy wch Temple ye are, 1 Cor 3.16, 17; And {sic} the Woman as being the Mother of beleevers Rev 12.17, & Spouse of Christ, ch 19.7. And therefore since there is but one \true/ Church, they must both be the same.
The Temple indeed may seem to be distinguished from the Church by the further mentioning of them that worship in the Temple But I take this to be done but by way of explanation, & as if to define the whole by its members, much after the same manner that in the vision of ye woman it is added that the Dragon went to make war with the remnant of her seed wch keep ye commandments of God, not to distinguish ye seed from the Woman but to explain the signification of the Woman thereby. Let therefore the parallel be put between the worshippers in the Temple & ye seed of the woman, & then ye Temple will answer to the Woman & so differ from ye worshippers in it no otherwise then ye Woman from her seed, or then the whole from \some of/ its members. The same may be argued from the common affection of being measured with a reed, wch would be improper were the things measured of a different kind.
And as ye Temple is a representatve of ye living worshippers so ye Altar therein is of ye Martyrs, wch were to concerning whome it is said that ye former Martyrs represented by the Altar in the fift Seale should rest yet for a little season untill their fellow servants also that should be killed as they were should be fulfilled.
3 The outward Court & holy City is ye same with the wilderness, becaus alike related both to ye Nations signified by the Gentiles & Beast & to ye Church signified by ye Temple & Woman, being inhabited by the one ch. 11.2 & 17.3, & conteining ye other; that is, being their common Dition.
4 This Vision of ye Temple & holy City troden under foot by the Gentiles begins with the seventh seale & so comprehends ye last head of ye Dragon. In ye three former particulars I considered onely ye Synchronism of ye 42 Months, to wch this Vision chiefly relates. But as that Synchronism is dated from a later period then the first rise of ye Beast or first flight of ye woman into ye Wilderness: so it must be of a later date then the first appearance of the Temple & Court troden under foot by the Gentiles. For since these two visions are of ye same signification all their parts must correspond to one another & be coextended, & consequently the Gentiles must begin to tread underfoot ye holy city when ye Dragon begins to persecute ye Woman into ye Wilderness: wch as I shewed in Prop 10 is at ye beginning of ye seventh seale.
And for further confirmation of this it may be also considered that the measuring of the Temple & Altar & them that worship therein with a reed in this vision signifies the same thing with sealing the servants of God in their foreheads with the seale of God in chap 7 \& wth the numbering those that by Tribes that were sealed, 12000 of each tribe/. ffor sealing \or numbring/ or measuring them are but divers modes of expressing God's care for his elect, not much unlike that of our Saviour's telling his disciples that ye very haires of their head are all numbred. Or as St Paul saith that they are sealed to ye day of redemption: And therefore it is not to be doubted but that these circumstances were intended to connect the beginning of this vision with that of ye Temple with that of sealing \& numbring/ the servants of God, & so to fix it at ye beginning of the seventh Trumpet.
Mr Mede extends this vision yet higher, even to the beginning of the first seale, supposing that it ought to return to the highest Epocha becaus it is a regress of Prophesy. That it is a regress of Prophesy is manifest by what I have already \was/ proved & is also plainly signified by the little book wherewith it is introduced as if conteined therein, & by the Angel telling St Iohn when he had eaten it, that he must prophesy again before many peoples & nations & tongues & kings. \above Posit 2. 3./ But I see no reason why it should return higher then to the beginning of the last seale, since the book conteining it is but a little one, & the seven Thunders which are also a distinct Prophesy introduced together with this book, do yet return no higher. Yea to extend it upward to that period & no higher is altogether agreeable to ye method of ye narration, as will appear by considering ye reason & design of this regression, which doubtles was to insert such things as were proper for connecting the vision of ye seales & Trumpets with that of the Dragon & Beast, which things although contemporary with the Trumpets yet could not be declared together with them, becaus continued through them all without being interrupted and distinguished into parts answering to each Trumpet. And therefore as Historians when they have two contemporary subjects wch cannot be \conveniently/ related together, discours first of one till they come to some remarkable period common to them both & then return to bring down the other to ye same period before they proceed; so here St Iohn having related ye fate of the church & Empire together under ye first six seales, when he comes at ye seventh he makes a notable breach by interposing the seventh chapter conteining the vision of the sealed saints, as if it were to cut of ye following visions from those of the six preceding Seales, & there divides the narration, & first declares the fate of the Empire unto ye common period of that & the obscrured {sic} Church & then returns to declare the fate of the Church to the same period: after which he proceeds in ye joint description of both together shewing the downfall of the one & victory of the other at ye sounding of the seventh Trumpet.
And that this is the scope of the Prophesy of the little Book is evident in that it is introduced before that of ye sealed Book is ended, & so is interwoven with it. ffor although the narration of the first six Trumpets was fully completed, as appears by ch 10.6, 7, where it is said that there shall \should/ be time no longer but in the days of ye voice of ye seventh Trumpet \Angel/ when he shall begin to sound the mystery of God should be finished: yet ye narration of the sounding of that Angel was deferred untill St Iohn had related this Prophesy of the little Book, ch 11.14, 15. So that this prophesy is inserted into that of the sealed book, like a Parenthesis within a sentence.
And for this reason I extend this of the little Book onely to ye first thirteen verses of chap 11, & not \with Mr Mede/ to ye end of the Apocalyps; considering that \ye sounding of ye 7th Trumpet is a return to ye contents of ye sealed Book & so must break off ye Prophesy of ye other Book, & that yt other book is neither/ is called but a little book {sic}, that is a book conteining but a little Prophesy & that it is said to be sweet in St Iohn's mouth & bitter in his belly, that is, to begin at the pleasant things wherewith the sixt seale ended with the comfortable description of measuring the Temple & Altar & them that worship therein, signifying God's care for his elect; but from thence to ye end to contein a description of ye worst of times during ye 42 Months: whereas if it be extended beyond that to ye end of the Apocalyps, it would on the contrary be most sweet in his belly by reason of the joyfull times described in ye seventh Trumpet, & more at large in ye three last chapters, & in comparison thereof bitter in his mouth as beginning wth the afflicted state of ye Church militant under ye Seales & \first six/ Trumpets.
PROP. XVII{illeg} XI.
The hundred & forty four thousand sealed Servants of God are extended from ye beginning of ye seventh seale to ye resurrection \death/ of ye Witnesses; & immediately after that the Palm-bearing multitude from thence \their resurrection/ to the utter ruin of ye Beast.
And 1 the 144000 begin with ye seventh seale. ffor although they are set before it, yet \as I signified above/ they are referred to it by being introduced with ye vision of the four Angels wch were to hurt ye earth & ye sea at ye sounding of ye Trumpets. For in these Prophesies it is ye Method of ye holy Ghost when two contemporary subjects are to be related successively, thus to interweave them least they should be taken for successive things. And were it not for this end, ye vision of ye four Angels ought to have been \separate from that of the sealed saints &/ inserted into ye seventh seale to which it belongs.
But for ye better \distincter/ understanding ye connexion of these visions, I shall lay down these further observations \you may consider the following particulars/. ffirst |yt| ye silence in heaven for \about/ ye space of half an hower is ye intervall between ye beginning of ye seventh seale & ye beginning of ye first Trumpet wherein ye Angel offered incens with the prayers of ye saints upon ye golden Altar. For I extend this time of silence through all that intervall, becaus ye circumstances of this vision are taken from ye service of the Iews, & it was their custome to be silent {during} the time of Incense. Secondly the first appearance of the seven Angels wch were to sound is at ye very opening of ye seventh seale becaus it precedes ye time of incens & consequently is at ye beginning of ye half hower's silence. Thirdly the first appearance of ye four Angels is contemporary wth that of the seven. ffor to suppose this is most natural becaus they all belong collaterally to ye same \same/ vision \of the Trumpets/. It is also contrary to ye order of ye narration to put them later, & were they earlier they would interfere with the sixt seale. ffourthly the forbidding of these Angels to hurt the earth & the sea till ye servants of God were sealed implies that they were to hurt the earth & the sea immediately after, & consequently ye time of sealing must be extended to the first Trumpet wherein they begin to hurt ye earth; that is, coextended to ye half hower's silence. ffiftly whereas the four Angels hold the four winds of ye earth yt ye wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree, that {sic} sens is during the time of sealing: the serenity \& stilness/ of that time is a further argument of its coincidence with the half howers silence \**/. ** & that not onely by the similitude of the things, but also by ye agreement of their signification ffor both signify a suspension of the following war: the stilness of ye winds by Def & ye silence in heaven as being a suspension of the noises, that is, of ye voices & thunders & trumpets wch introduced that war. And lastly the blessing of being sealed suits best with the time wherein the sacrifice of their prayers is mutually offered to God. |For this passage is like that in Ezekiel: And ye Lord said unto the Angel: Go through ye midst of Ierusalem & set a mark upon ye foreheads of ye men that sigh & cry for ye abominations that are done in ye midst thereof. Ezek 9.4.|
2 The sealed saints are extended downward into the Trumpets. ffor by forbidding the four Angels that they |to| should not hurt the earth & the sea till the servants of God were sealed, this sealing is represented as a protection of them from the evil of the following times. And afterward in the fift Trumpet by calling the Worshippers of ye Beast the men that have not the seale of God in their foreheads to distinguish them from the saints wch are their contemporaries, it is plainly signified yt those saints are of the numbers of the sealed ones. |So in that ye 144000 are called Virgins & said not to be defiled with women ch 14 it is as much as to say that they have escaped committing fornication wth ye Whore. And therefore they must have been her contemporaries.|
3 The sealed saints are the true church extended downward even to the resurrection \death/ of ye witnesses. That they are the true Church is evident by their being sealed in opposition to them that receive the mark of the Beast, & called the servants of God & ye twelve tribes of ye children of Israel. And that they are \for some time at least/ contemporary to the men that receive the mark of the Beast measured Temple & to ye woman in ye Wildernes is evident by Prop 17{illeg} partic 4 & Prop 10 partic 4; & also by Prop 16, considering that they are extended downward at least to ye fift trumpet as was newly shown. And therefore since there is but one true church these sealed saints must be the same wth ye Temple & Woman, & by consequence equally extended downward with them, that is to ye resurrection \death/ of ye witnesses. For till then ye woman is in the wilderness & ye holy City troden under foot. Prop 16.
There is yet another indication of this {sic} last period. ffor in chap 14 immediately after the description of the Dragon & Beasts the 144000 are again introduced wth ye name of God written in their foreheads, & they are now represented as men redeemed from ye earth & for ye future in fruition of ye prsence of ye Lamb. And immediately after that, to define the time of this Vision, the ascention of ye witnesses into heaven, the destruction of ye Beast, & ye establishment of Christs kingdom \true religion/ are successively represented by the Angel flying through ye midst of Heaven wth ye everlasting Gospel to preach to every nation, & by the fall of Babylon, & by the forbidding men to worship the Beast & his Image & to receive his mark for the future. And therefore ye time of ye 144000 in this life upon earth is fulfilled immediately before the ascention of ye witnesses & so will not extend beyond their resurrection.
<85>4. The Palm-bearing multitude are extended from the resurrection of ye witnesses to ye utter ruin of the Beast. For these immediately follow the sealed saints as is manifest by ye order of the visions & therefore begin at ye resurrection of the Witnesses. And beyond ye utter ruin of the Beast they extend not becaus after that there is no more time for them to be in, ch 10.6, 7. & 1 Thes: 2.8. Their number \ch. 7.9/ is greater then can consist wth the reign of the Beast whilst prosperous, & their great tribulation (ch 7.14) is less consistent with the times after his ruin when the kingdoms of ye world are become the kingdoms of Christ for ever. But in the intermediate time the great prevailing of true religion signified by ye ascention of ye witnesses up to heaven who before prophesied onely in sackcloth, \& by the cloud in wch they ascended, that is by a great multitude of beleivers, Def 29 & 42/ & by the preaching of ye everlasting gospel to every nation & tongue & Kindred & people ch 14.6,[8] & interdicting ye worship of ye Beast & his Image vers 9; does argue the multitu great multitude of its Professors: And at that time also is to be the greatest tribulation that ever was in ye world or ever shal be. Mat 24.29, 30.[9] Dan 12.1, insomuch that St Iohn saith of that time: Here is the patience of ye saints here are they that keep ye commandments of Iesus God & ye faith of Iesus. And both this great number of true Christians & great tribulation {seem} nec are necessarily conjoyned wth ye \times of ye/ ruin of ye Beast, the one to cause his ruin & ye other to be caused by him in the conflict before he be ruined. And therefore the Palm-bearing multitude by reason of the greatness of their number & tribulation, & they onely can suit wth these times.
The same may be further argued from ye contents of ye 19th Chapter. For in vers 1 & 6 there is described such another great multitude preceding the ruin of ye Beast & singing Allelujah at ye judgment of ye Whore wch doubtless are the same wth ye Palm-bearing multitude. For they agree in ye greatness of ye multitude, the one being termed a great multitude wch no man could number of all nations & kindreds & peoples & tongues ch 7.9, & the other much people, & many nations, that waters, that is Nations ch 19.1, 6. They agree also {sic} in their manner of worshiping, the one standing before the Throne & saying \Salvation to our God &c. And the other in heaven saying/ Salvation & glory & honour & power unto {sic} the lord or God, & when they thus sang praises the heavenly Host also yt was about the Throne fell down & worshipped God, ch 7.10, 11 & ch 19.1, 4. And lastly they agree in their white clothing. ffor ye palm-bearing Multitude were clothed in white ch 7.9, & ye other multitude sang that ye marriage of ye Lamb was come & his wife (i.e. ye present Church or multitude that sang) hath made her self ready, & to her was granted that shee should be arrayed in fine linnen clean & white ch 19.8. And so it is said that the Armies wch were in heaven following the King upon white horses clothed in fine linnen white & cleane ch 19.14: wch armies doubtless belong to ye same multitude because the one conquered the Beast vers 19; & ye other rejoyced at ye judgment of ye whore, vers 2. These are therefore ye Palmbearing multitude, & these fall in wth ye times wherein ye Whore & Beast are overthrown.
To conclude, the death of the Witnesses is a breach & ye onely breach made in the continuity of the Church, & this distinguishes her into two such parts as are represented by the sealed Sts & Palm-bearing multitude, & therefore these must fall in wth one another.
< text from p 86 resumes >PROP. VIIIXVIII. XII.
The time from ye beginning of ye seventh seale to ye beginning of ye seventh Trumpet is but one & the same continued Apostacy which arrives to a greater height at ye beginning of ye fift seale \Trumpet/, & at ye greatest height at ye death of ye Witnesses & after their resurrection declines gradually untill first ye great City Babylon be ruined & a while after all the Nations wch gave their Kingdom to it be overthrown wth an exceeding great slaughter.
<87>
1. There is no Apostacy nor Eclips of ye Church before the Seventh Seale. ffor in ye four first seales there is nothing wch respects ye Church unless it be ye victoriousness of her head in ye first. In ye fift seale indeed she suffers a great persecution but that is ye greatest preservative against an Apostacy & produced her triumph over Gentilism wth ye description of wch ye sixt seal is taken up. So in the contemporary Prophesy of Chap 12 ye Woman appeares gloriously adorned wth ye Sun Moon & Stars & suffers no obscuration or detriment by the Dragon till after he was cast out of heaven into ye earth which was not completed till ye end of ye sixt Trumpet. This is all in ye Apocalyps wch precedes ye seventh Trumpet, & in all this there is nothing of Apostacy or obscuration of ye Church, but directly ye contrary.
2. There begins an Apostacy at ye seventh seale. For then the saints \sending up their prayers/ are sealed against the evill times to come \(see Ezek 9.4)/, then the Dragon begins to persecute ye woman & she to fly into the Wilderness, then ye Beast rises her grand enemy rises up & men begin to worship his Image & receive his mark, & for this overspreading of wickedness God prepares ye judgments of ye Trumpets & Vials & inflicts them on ye Beast & his Worshippers, & {sic}
3 The Apostacy ceases at ye beginning of ye seventh Trumpet. ffor then ye Beast & ffals Prophet are destroyed & ye Dragon shut up, & the Kingdoms of ye world become ye Kingdoms of God & of his Christ & he reigns for ever & ever.
4 The time from ye beginning of ye seventh Seal to ye end of ye sixt Trumpet is but one & ye same continued Apostacy. For ye better understanding of wch \this/ you may consider these things. ffirst that this is ye adequate time of the existence of the beast \from his beginning to ascend out of ye bottomles pit/ & in all this time his Image is worshipped & his mark received secondly that at ye beginning of this time the woman begins her flight into ye wilderness & comes not out again till ye end of it. It is but one & ye same continued persecution of her by the same Dragon from ye beginning to ye end. Tis true ye earth helps her for some time against the Dragon but this is not so as to rescue her out of ye Wilderness but onely to preserve her from being quite overwhelmed & carried away of ye flood: not to better her condition but only to save her from perishing. ffor after this she is in a wors condition then before, having left but a remnant of her seed & those too still persecuted by the Dragon till the end. Thirdly the sealed Saints who stand in opposition to those that receive the mark of ye Beast & were sealed all together at ye very beginning of the seventh seale, are extended through all this time to ye death of ye witnesses. ffourthly this time is as it were cut out of the continued series of ye seales & Trumpets by ye two notable breaches made at ye beginning & end of it, I meane ye seventh chapter \wch intercedes the sixt & seventh seale & the tenth/ & ye 13 first verses of ye eleventh chapter wch intercede ye sixt & seventh Trumpet. These are a fence on both sides to inclose, & to separate this intermediate time from ye times before & after, & may be compared to ye two terms of a Parenthesis wch bound & include ye words between them to distinguish them from the rest. Nor do they onely include but like two bands ty all ye intermediate parts together; ffor they both run through ye whole & so close wth one another throughout; the palm-bearing multitude falling in wth ye times after ye resurrection of ye witnesses & ye measuring of ye Temple wth ye sealing of ye saints. And it is yet a further {illeg} band of these times that they are all allotted to ye same seale & to ye same head of ye Dragon. And yet \further/ as if all this were not enough to distinguish & characterise them the Prophet has described them by themselves in ye vision of ye Vials.
And indeed so notable are the times of this Apostacy yt ye whole Apocalyps \from ye fourth chapter/ seems to have been written for ye sake of it. ffor ye first six seales are but like an introduction to give warning of these times approaching & ye 13 following chapters do all of them concern these times, some part of ye 12th chapter onely excepted. And these are the times also wch Daniel in no less then three of his visions (chap 7, 8, 11) has so long before described to be above all others exceedingly wicked.
He that hath ears to hear let him hear.
5. This Apostacy arrives to a greater height at the beginning of the first Wo-trumpet. For then has the Earth done helping the Woman, & she is fully hidden in ye wilderness having left but a remnant of her seed. Then ye Gentiles take full possession of the outward Court, & ye {W} two Witnesses begin to prophesy in sackcloth, & then Babylon gets upon her Beast & heales his wound & begins to sing as an Harlot. This is ye beginning of ye notable synchronism of ye 1260 days wherein wickednes is at ye height, ye next period only excepted.
6. This Apostacy arrives to ye greatest height at the killing of ye Witnesses. ffor the{illeg} warring wth ye Witnesses toward the end of their prophesy argues wors times then before the Beast began that {sic} make war with them, & ye killing of them argues times still wors by the prospering of wickedness; & their enemies rejoicing over their dead bodies, & making merry & sending gifts to one another becaus of ye ceasing of these two {Proph} Witnesses wch tormented them, argues is such a triumph as argues that they are absolute & universal victors over ye truth, having no more enemies left to torment them by standing up for it.
I should now proceed to describe the fall of this Babylonian Kingdom as it is described graduated by these three periods; the resurrection of the witnesses, the fall of Babylon, & the battel of the great day. But these things being described at large in the 14th & 19th Chapters, I shall instead thereof show ye connexion of those chapters wth this interval.
7. The 14th chapter is a description of ye times between the death of ye witnesses & ye beginning of ye seventh Trumpet. This will appear by comparing their contemporary parts whereof ye first |is| ye vision of ye Lamb wth 144000 saints on mount Sion,[10] & this suits best with the time of ye death of ye Witnesses.[11] ffor these 144000 are the same wth ye sealed Saints as may appear both by their equal number, & by the seal in their foreheads wch is here called the name of God, & by the coincidence of ye times wch they were to live in: ffor those were to live in ye times of ye Beast untill ye death of the Witnesses, & these are they that have lived in those times; for they are called those wch were redeemed from the earth & said to be virgins not defiled wth Women, |yt is| not polluted wth ye abominations of ye Whore of Babylon These were therefore ye Virgin Church represented by the woman in ye wilderness, but they are here \represented as/ no longer in the Wilderness but on Mount Sion, as as men that are now redeemed from ye earth & for ye future in fruition of ye prsence of ye Lamb. This Vision is therefore a representation of the accomplishment of the time of those saints on earth & so must fall in wth the end of that time.
There is also another character of this period. ffor in that this chapter immediately succeeds ye vision of the Beast {sic} who {sic} is said to make war 42 Months; it falls in very fitly wth ye end of those Months.
The next thing[12] is ye vision of an Angel flying in the midst of heaven, having ye everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on ye earth {illeg} even to every nation & kindred & tongue & people. And this preceding the fall of Babylon must fall in wth ye resurrection of ye Witnesses.[13] And indeed they are the same thing: the two Witnesses being ye two Testaments, the scriptures wch God has left in ye world for a testimony | to testify of his will \by wch ye will of God is testified to ye world/; their death ye universal neglect of them to rely upon humane authorities; their resurrection & ascention ye reviving spreading & great exaltation of their authority; & ye cloud in wch they ascended ye great multitude of people (the Palm-bearing multitude wch no man could number) to be converted all ye world over by this reviving & universal preaching of ye Gospel. This is that of wch or Saviour said; This Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached in all ye world for a witness unto all nations and then shall ye end come. Matt 24.14.
After this Angel had preached sying {sic} Fear God & give glory to him, ffor ye hower of his judgment is come, |&c.| yt is ye hower in wch he will judg Babylon: there follows another Angel[14] proclaiming that {sic} fall of Babylon is fallen. And this answers to ye fall of the 10th part of ye City,[15] that is of ye whole city \Babylon/ then standing, for it was thrown down by a shaking. Not by an earthquake onely as it is usually translated, but by a shaking of heaven & earth, for so ye word σεισμὸς is used in parts \must be understood {sic}/ in these prophesies. & And this by Def signifies a political commotion so great as to overthrow a Kingdom & so can import nothing less then ye fall of Babylon. And indeed what els signify ye next words [The remnant were affrighted & gave glory to God] but their glorifying God for judging Babylon.
Immediately after this[16] there followed a third Angel prohibiting ye worship of ye Beast & his Image for ye future: from whence we may gather that ye Beast was still in being & had his worshippers. Though the City & dominion of Babylon was at an end the religion still continued among many. And this informs us who those are that cause the further troubles of the saints, concerning wch St Iohn cries out in the next words, Here is the patience of ye saints, here are they yt keep ye commandments of God & ye faith of Iesus; & who the ffroggs are wch come out of ye mouth of ye Dragon[17] & out of ye mouth of ye Beast & out of ye mouth of ye fals Prophet & gather ye whole world to ye battel of ye great day.
The last thing is ye harvest & Vintage[18] & these fall in wth that battel of ye great day.[19] ffor ye Winepress is an emblem of slaughter by Def & ye quantity of blood wch came out of ye winepress even to ye horsbridles by ye space of 1600 {sic} ffurlongs is an {sic} description \indication/ of the exceeding greatness of ye slaughter, & that in Battel: ffor what hors bridles are those but of horsmen in the battel. |**| ** Yea that there may be no room for doubting you have in ye nineteenth chapter this treading of ye winepress & ye great battel joyned together. ffor when ye Word {sic} of God upon ye white hors led ye armies of heaven to that great battel, it is said of him that out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword that wth it he should smite the nations, & that he treadeth ye winepres of ye fiercenes & wrath of God; & then ye battel is immediately described: ffor further elucidation of ye place you may compare it wth Isa 63.2, 3. wch is a description of the same battel by ye like treading of a winepress &c. wch this place of St Iohn relates. This \14th/ chapter \of ye Apocalyps/ therefore ends with the great battel & consequently wth ye {illeg} \very/ beginning of the seventh Trumpet. ffor immediately before ye seventh Vial ye armies of ye whole world are gathered together against \this/ battel, & at it's pouring out their overthrow is described first by ye expression It is done to signify ye suddenness of it, & then by ye voices, thunders, lightnings, shaking, hail, & falling of ye Cities of ye Nations, to express ye action. And therefore since ye 7th Trumpet is coincident wth this Vial it must begin at ye very battel, & be as it were a sounding to ye onset.
8. The 19th {sic} Chapter is a description of the times between ye falling of ye 10th part of ye City & ye beginning of ye seventh Trumpet. ffor I have newly \|For| The great battel/ shows {sic} that it ends at ye very beginning of the seventh Trumpet; & that it succeeds ye fall of Babylon is manifest by its beginning wch runs thus. After these things (i.e. After ye fall of Babylon described at large in ye former Chapter) I heard a great voice of much people in heaven (i.e. ye Church) saying: Allelujah; salvation – to God – for he hath judged ye great Whore wch did corrupt ye earth wth her fornication, & hath avenged ye blood of his servants at her hand, & again they said Allelujah: & her smoke ascendeth up for ever & ever. This Chapter therefore falls in wth begins at ye fall of Babylon & so must fall in wth ye time between that & ye seventh Trumpet.
And indeed ye middle of ye Chapter is also such as can agree to no other time. ffor \(not to repeat the consent of the great multitude wth ye Palm-bearing multitude)/ yt multitude crying ye Lord omnipotent reigneth, argues it to be after the reign of ye Whore; & ye Lamb's wife being not yet married but prepared against ye day of marriage argues it to be before ye seventh Trumpet when ye Lamb, (as is described in ye next words,) comes {sic} to vanquish all her enemies & marry her.
Prop 20
The opening of the first seale was about St Iohn's time.
For St Iohn affirms that when he wrote this Prophesy the time of it was at hand chap 1.3, & 22.10, & that ye things therein were shortly to come to pass chap 1.1, & 22.6: repeating this no less then four times to strike men wth a stronger apprehension of the suddenness of it.
Some would from hence infer that the whole Prophesy was then very suddenly to be fulfilled & therefore long since at an end but its enough if it then began to be fulfilled \during ye 1000 years reign {illeg} wth {illeg} \& the {illeg}/ ye Apostle intended nothing more by/ the aforesaid expressions but to signify yt ye Prophesy should suddenly begin to be fulfilled.
< insertion from the right margin >♁ ffor they that from {illeg} such interpretations as m{illeg} them in his age usefull {illeg} ye Church, what do they {illeg} accuse God of impertinence & {illeg} (as much as in them lies) to {illeg} his {causes.}
< text from p 95 resumes >Prop 21.
The beginning of ye end of the world \seventh Trumpet/ is at ye end of the world.
< insertion from between the lines >
For God designed all Proph his Prophesies for ye use & instruction of the Church & therefore hath so framed them that she should be able to understand them when they {were} fulfilled \*/. But this Prophesy has hitherto been so little useful or understood by the Church, yt Antiquity did not think it concerned their times but wth an universall consent (never before this prsent age contradicted) delivered down to us that it chiefly concerned the last ages of the world: & therefore it is not yet fulfilled. {illeg} {illeg}
ffirst then, No man ever doubted but that ye day of Iudgment was described in ye 20th chapter of this book; & if this Prophesy look so far downward as to ye day of judgment why should we think it overlooks ye intermediate ages? And then why should not ye searies of ye Seales & Trumpets wch is ye most articulate, the most artificiall, & the largest of ye parts of ye Prophesy, be extended through all ages: especially since (as I have shown) it is contemporary to all that precedes the 20th chapter
2 At ye sounding of ye 7th Trumpet –
< text from p 95 resumes >{1} 2 at the sounding of this Trumpet it is said that the Kingdoms of this world are become the Kingdoms of or Lord & of his Christ & he shall reign for ever & ever: & this cannot well be applied to any christian Kingdom wch hath been hitherto, or is like to be before ye end of the world because they neither shall last for ever & ever nor have been or are like to be so much ye Kingdom of Christ as they were in ye Apostles times: unless we will take mea sure rather by ye external pomp then integrity of worship For ye purity of religion \(according to what ye Apostles prophesied of ye latter times)/ hath ever since decreased, & is {like} still to decrease more & more to ye end, insomuch that {illeg} of: See Luke 19.11, 12 & Dan 7.26, 27. But of this more hereafter
3 {sic} After the greatest decay of religion there is to be an universal preaching of the Gospel immedately {sic} before ye seventh Trumpet \Prop. /. But this is not yet fulfilled; there has been nothing done in ye world like it, & therefore it is to come.
4 {sic} At ye end of the sixt Trumpet the Angel sware that there should be time no longer, but at ye voice of the seventh Angel when he shall {sic} begin to sound the mystery of God should be finished as he hath declared to his servants ye Prophets. Now here is a direct assertion of ye end of ye world in these words that there shall be time no longer, & this further character of it, that ye Mystery of God shall yn be finished: By wch mystery nothing I see not what can well be meant if not ye resurrection of the saints & accomplishment of their happiness in Christ's Kingdom, wch according to ye Prophets is to commence at his second coming.
5 {sic} Yea this is positively {sic} asserted ( {sic}Chap 11.18) in these words. Thy wrath is come (viz: at ye 7th Trumpet) & the time of the dead that they should be judged, & that thou shouldst give reward unto thy servants the Prophets & to ye saints & them that fear thy name small & great & shouldst destroy them that which destroy the Earth Compare this wth chap 22.12 Behold I come quickly & my reward is wth me to give every man as his work shall be
6 {sic} A little before ye pouring out of ye 7th Vial (wch is coincident wth ye 7th Trumpet Posit 2) there is warning given of or Saviours coming in these words. Behold I come as a Theif blessed is he that watcheth: A phrase wch is very particularly applied to or saviour's second coming as you may see in Rev 3.3 2 Pet 3.10 Matt 24.43. And |yn| as soon as ye 7th Vial is poured out there came a great voice out of heaven the Temple of heaven from the Throne saying It is done: wch expression must denote the sudden accomplishment of some very extraordinary thing, such as is ye coming of or Saviour & ye change to be wrought in ye world at his coming. |And what els, think you, should be meant by calling {illeg}|
7 {sic} In the end of the 14th chapter (wch in Prop 12.7, I shewed to end at the very beginning of ye seventh Trumpet) you have
[1] a. ἐσφαγμένην εἰς θάνατον wounded to death. ch 13.3
[2] b. Ὁ ἔχει τὴν πληγὴν της μαχαίρας, καὶ ἔζησε \{illeg}/. Qui habet vulnus ensis & vixit \vers 14./ i.e Qui habet vulnus jam sanatum et revixit. Non enim dicit Qui habet et vivit neqꝫ qui habuit et vixit sed verba in diverso tempore posita sunt ut ἔζησε ad {momentum} initium restitutæ vitæ referatur dum ἔχει indefinitè respicit omne tempus post acceptum vulnus.
[3] c. ἡ πληγη του θανάτου αυτου. vers. 12
[4] * i.e. of God ch 4.2
[5] a Posit.
[6] 5. Besides these 10 {Kings} there were to be {many} other little principalities
[7] Iosephus contra Appionem lib 1
[8] See Prop 19.7
[9] See ye Comment on Matth 24
[10] ch 14.1
[11] ch 11.7, 8, 9, 10
[12] ch 14.6
[13] ch 11.11
[14] ch 14.8
[15] ch 11.13
[16] ch 14.9
[17] ch 16.13
[18] ch 14.14
[19] ch 16.14 {sic}, 18, 21.
