as it were a little before the blowing of the seventh trumpet which presently hereupon is sounded as in the next verses appeareth many should repent and give glory to God The second woe is past behold Vers 14 15. the third woe will come anon And the seventh Angel blew the trumpet and there were great voyces in heaven saying The kingdomes of this world are our Lords and his Christs and he shall reigne for evermore Now cometh the third the last and the greatest woe which is the woe of eternall death upon all the ungodly both in their soules and bodies for ever in the last judgment The second woe was Turcisme and this third wo is the last judgment For it now followeth that the seventh Angel bloweth the last trumpet as our Lord Jesus sware before that when the seventh Angel should blow the trumpet there would be no more time Chap. 10.6 Therefore when we see all things fulfilled which do belong unto the sixth trumpet it remaineth that we should every hour expect and look for the blowing of the seventh trumpet and the end of the world For the holy Ghost telleth us that when the kingdome of the Pope and the Turke shall fall and the Gospel be preached in many nations and kingdomes that then the third woe will come anon that is the last judgment followeth presently upon it Now at the blowing of this seventh trumpet there were great voyces in heaven saying The kingdomes of this world are our Lords and his Christs and hee shall reigne for evermore These voyces in heaven are triumphing voyces of Gods elect who doe exceedingly rejoyce and triumph that the kingdome of Satan and Antichrist is overthrown and that the kingdome of God and of Christ is set up and shall stand for evermore For now all adversary power being overthrown Christ doth deliver up a peaceable kingdom to his Father as it is written Then shall be the end 1 Cor. 1.15 24. when he hath delivered up his peaceable kingdome to God the Father For hee must reigne over the Church militant till he have trod downe all his enemies under his feet and when the Son of God hath subdued all things to himselfe then shall hee be subject to his Father as hee is the Mediator of the Church and yet reign with his Church triumphant for evermore Then the four and twenty elders which sate before God on their seates fell upon their faces Verse 16. and worshipped God Saying Wee give thee thankes Verse 17. O Lord God Almighty which art which wast and which art to come for thou hast received thy great might and hast obtained thy kingdome These four and twenty elders do signifie all the elect both of Jewes and Gentiles Chapt. 4. as wee have heard before which all in most suppliant manner doe worship the onely everlasting God even in the Church triumphant and doe greatly rejoyce and give all praise and glory unto him because now he hath received the kingdome the power and the glory both Pope and Turk and Emperor and all his enemies being subdued under his feet Verse 18. And the Gentiles were angry and thy wrath is come and the time of the dead that they should be judged and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the Prophets and to the saints and to them that fear thy name and to small and great and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth Now he mentioneth the wrath and vengeance which is to be powred forth upon all the wicked at the last day and also the reward of the godly For whereas he saith The Gentiles were angry and thy wrath is come and the time of the dead that they should be judged the sense and meaning is that all the profane enemies of the Church which had their time in which they were angry with Gods people and in their wrath did afflict and vexe them very sore should now be judged and condemned in Gods wrath for now the day of his wrath and vengeance is come wherein hee will destroy them that destroyed the earth and seemed to carry all before them and where also he will give a full recompence of reward to all his faithfull worshippers both small and great both preachers and professors of his Gospel Then the Temple of God was opened in heaven Verse 19. and there was seen in the Temple the ark of his covenant and there were lightnings and voyces and thundrings and earth-quakes and much haile This is a further amplification of that which is set down in this former verse For now hee saith that the Temple of God should be opened in heaven that is an open door and passage should be made through Christ for all the elect to enter into Gods everlasting kingdome and reigne with him and his Angels for evermore By the arke of the Covenant is meant Christ who is said here to be seen in the Temple or kingdome of glory because through his mediation onely in whom the covenant of peace is established with his Church the twenty four elders are made partakers of their crownes and enter in with him and his Angels into the everlasting Temple made without hands and eternall in the heavens But on the contrary here is said that there were lightnings thundrings c. that is most horrible vengeance and wrath powred down upon all reprobates in hell-fire for evermore For when it shall be said to all the faithfull Come yee blessed c. then also shall it be said unto all unbeleevers Goe ye cursed into hell-fire c. Now for warrant of this exposition of the last verse that the Temple in heaven is to be understood of the kingdome of glory look chapter 15. verse 5 6 8. chapt 16. verse 1. The reason hereof is that as the doors of the Temple of Jerusalem being set open Gods people entred in and worshipped so the everlasting gates of the new Jerusalem and celestiall Temple being set open by Christ all the elect do enter in and worship God without wearinesse even as the Angels for evermore That the ark of the covenant is taken for Christ see 2 Sam. 6.2 Psal 78. vers 61 62. This ark of the covenant that is Christ is here seen in the Temple because Christ hath already taken possession of heaven as Mediator and Head of the Church and now doth set open the kingdome of heaven to all beleevers that through him they may have free accesse thereunto as it is written that through him onely we have an entrance unto the Father Eph. 2.28 That by thundrings lightnings earthquakes hail is meant that horrible vengeance and wrath which is powred forth upon all the ungodly see Psal 11. verse 6. Let this briefly suffice to satisfie the conscience of the reader And thus much concerning the second vision contained in these eight chapters going before wherein we have heard all things expounded that doe belong unto the opening of the seven seales and
in the earth when they overcome the world by faith and subdue Satan and sin by the power of grace Now where it is said that John saw the soules of them that were beheaded for the witnesse of Jesus c. It is to be understood of those which in the time of the persecuting Empire and growing of the Papacie were slaine for the truth For the second beast which is the dominion of Popes reigned not in those thousand yeers in the which Satan was bound but yet did grow by degrees towards their height and used great tyranny against the servants of God before Satans full loosing The Chiliasts or Millinaries doe fondly gather from this Scripture that after the overthow of Antichrist the Lord Jesus would come and reigne with the faithfull here a thousand yeers upon the earth and that in this time that Christ did so reigne as a great and glorious King upon the earth his subjects should enjoy all maner of earthly pleasures and delights This foolish error is confuted by the words that follow in the text as wee shall see afterwards Whereas hee saith The rest of the dead shall not live again It is to be understood of such as were spiritually dead that is such as despised the Gospel which was preached those thousand yeers and were not thereby revived and quickned unto eternall life but did still remain as men dead in sinnes and trespasses Therefore the meaning of Saint John is that as in the thousand yeers many that heard Christ and his Apostles and their successors were raised up from the death of sin to the life of righteousnesse so many others were not quickened by their doctrine but still dwelt in their sinnes whom hee calleth the rest of the dead and hee saith These shall not live again meaning the life of God or the life of grace And whereas he addeth untill the thousand yeeres be finished hee meaneth never or not at all for so the word untill is often taken in the Scriptures and it is sure that after the expiration of the thousand yeers they did not live the life of God and the life of the Spirit For then the Divell was let loose upon the world to work his pleasure and to seduce with all efficacy of error and iniquity Whereas it is said This is the first resurrection hee meaneth the rising from sin to the life of righteousnesse which was in the thousand yeeres of the Gospels preaching and therefore he addeth that he is blessed that hath part in the first resurrection c. and saith that all such shall reigne with Christ a thousand yeers Which is meant of the reigne of the faithfull even upon earth for the space of the thousand yeers in which Satan was bound but yet excludeth not their eternall glory in the heavens And when the thousand yeers are expired Vers 7.8 Satan shall be loosed out of his prison And shall goe out to deceive the people which are in the foure corners of the earth even Gog and Magog to gather them together to battell whose number is as the sand of the sea Verse 9. And they went up unto the plain of the earth and they compassed the tents of the Saints about and the beloved city But fire came downe from God out of heaven and devoured them Now Saint John telleth us that after the determination of a thousand yeares Satan shall be let loose upon the world for their unthankfullnesse and contempt of the Gospel to seduce and deceive even as much as ever he did No marvaile therefore that the two great and monstrous Heresies of Popery and Mahometry did now begin mightily to grow and increase in the world For what other thing can be looked for after this setting loose of Satan But we are to observe that as Satan was bound by degrees through the Ministry of Christ and his Apostles and in their immediate successors so also he was loosed by degrees by the prevailing of Heresies till the great Antichrist was hatched and brought into the possession of his cursed Chaire For Satan was not fully loosed till the yeare of our Lord 998. At what time Silvester the second came to be Pope who was in league with the Divell Stories doe report that at his death he called for the Cardinals and confessed that hee had familiarity with the Divell and how hee had given himself unto him body and soule so that he might come to the Papall dignity After him succeeded sundry other Popes which were notorious monsters some of them murtherers some poysoners some sorcerers some conjurers by whom the Divell was fully loosed all light of the Gospel and â—rue religion being in a manner cleane put out and most abominable idolatry and all manner of villany spreading over the face of the earth and hereof Saint John saith that Satan being fully loosed hee went forth to deceive the people which were in the foure corners of the â—arth even Gog and Magog c. This seducing by Satan here spoken of is the same with â—hat which is spoken chap. 13. onely this exâ—epted that this of Gog and Magog is more generall Wee read there how all nations â—indreds and tongues were made to worship â—he image of the beast and to receive his mark but that is to be extended no further â—hen to those kingdoms which were subject â—o the Papacy But here by these armies of Gog and Maâ—og are understood all the chiefe enemies â—f the Church in these last dayes since the loosing of Satan both open and secret both Turk and Pope for the Turk is an open enemy the Pope a more close enemy Gog signifieth covered Magog uncovered whereby is noted the Turk For the Pope cometh covered under the name of Christ and Christs Vicar Peters successor c. But the Turk cometh uncovered for hee openly denyeth and impugneth Christ Moreover the names of Gog and Magog are here set downe to note of what countries these chiefe enemies should spring to wit out of Scythia Syria Arabia Italy and Spaine for Magog was the son of Japheth Gen. 10. ver 2. of whom came the Scythians Gog was the name of a great Captaine in the lesser Asia which built a city and named it after his own name Gogkartah that is the city of Gog and it is put in the Prophecie of Ezekiel for the whole region of the lesser Asia and Syria whereby the Prophet did fore-tell that the great enemies of the Church should arise out of those coasts And in very truth they did for out of Egypt Scythia Syria and the lesser Asia did spring up Ptolomeus Seleucus Antigonus Cassander and the rest of Alexanders successors which vexed and oppressed the Jewes by the space of 294. yeers even untill the coming of the Messias at what time the divided Greek Empire was overthrown and translated to the Romans Furthermore it is to be noted that the Prophet Ezekiel saith That Gog is the chiefe Prince of Mesech and Tubal By
all Saints upon the golden Altars which is before the throne We heard before that when the course of the Gospell was stopt by the divell and his instruments yet God was very carefull for the safety and sealing up of his owne servants so likewise we are now to hear of the like care and providence for now that errours and heresies were to be sowne in the World whereby many were corrupted and that He himselfe from Heaven doth proclaime open enmitie against the despisers of his Gospell by giving them up to blindnesse and errour he doth double his care and providence to all his faithfull worshippers For heere we do plainely see that the Church hath a mediator and that he which keepeth Israel neither slumbereth nor sleepeth And therefore when the wrath of God doth most of all breake forth upon the world for the contempt of his graces yet the Church is remembred and set in safety with all her Children For her prayers come up before God and are accepted through the mediator And this is the sence and drift of this third verse By this Angell is meant Jesus Christ the Angell of the covenant as we have heard before who is not an Angell by nature but by office It is manifest that in the old law there was a golden Altar and a golden Censor on which the Priest did burne sweet incense before the Lord which did figure the mediation of Christ in whom the prayers of the Saints are accepted Now heere the holy Ghost alludeth to that sacrificing Priest-hood of the old Testament where incense was offered at the Altar which now is the sweet savour of the death of Christ through whom both we and all our sacrifices are seasoned and sweetned Who therefore is this Angell but Christ What are the sweet odours with the which the prayers of all Saints come before God but the most sweet mediation of the Lord Jesus What is meant by the smoake of the odours which with the prayers of the Saints went up before God out of the Angels hand Surely the sweet incense of Christ mediation wherewith our prayers are spiced and perfumed that they might be as sweet incense of Christs mediation wherewith our prayers are spiced and perfumed that they might be as sweet smelling sacrifices in the Nostrils of God For as water cast into a fire raiseth a smoake so the teares of the faithfull besprinkled in their prayers make them as sweet incense acceptable to God through Christ The summe of all is this that in the middest of all these heresies and those hellish troubles which should be raised up by the Pope and his Clergy the Turke and his armies as in the next Chapter we shall see the elect have their prayers heard for their preservation by the merits of CHRIST verse 5. And the Angell tooke the Censor and filled it with the fire of the Altar and cast it into the earth and there were voyces and Trumpets thundrings and lightnings and earthquakes Heere we see how Jesus Christ taketh the Censor and filleth it with the fire of the Altar that is the graces and gifts of the Spirit for so the fire of the Altas is taken in Esay In this sense it is sayd that our Lord Jesus should baptize with fire and the holy Ghost that is the gifts and graces of the holy Ghost In this sense also the holy Ghost did rest upon the Disciples in the likenesse of cloven tongues like fire whereupon they were all filled with gifts and graces The holy Ghost is compared to fire because he burneth out our drosse purgeth the hearts of the faithfull and setteth them on fire with the burning love and zeale of Gods glory So then it followeth that as before there was provision had for the safety of the Church by her Mediator so heere many heavenly gifts and graces are bestowed upon her For Christ casteth this fire of the Altar upon the earth that is upon his dwelling in the earth Hereupon it is sayd that there were voyces and thundrings c. that is all manner of broyles tumults uprores slaughters and divisions For after the Gospell was sounded forth in the Church by the power of the holy Ghost the divell is disturbed and the World molested And hence spring all these broyles and tumults thundring and lightning and we must looke for such stirres after the preaching of the Gospell whilest there is a world and a divell Therefore our Lord JESUS saith he came not to bring peace into the Earth Mat. 10.34 but fire and Sword and to set a man at variance against his Father and likewise the Daughter against her mother c. For divisions and civill dissensions do alwayes follow the preaching of the Gospell which thing is not yet simply in the nature of the Gospell of peace but accidently through the frowardnesse and corruption of mans nature which will not yeeld unto it but most stubbornely rebelleth against it Then the seven Angels which had the seven Trumpets verse 6. prepared themselves to blow Now beginneth this open warre to be proclaimed against the World for their great ungodlinesse and rebellion against the truth So the first Angell blew the Trumpet verse 7. and there was Haile and Fire mingled with blood and they were cast into the earth and the third part of trees was burnt and all greene grasse was burnt It were absurd to imagine that any thing in this Verse is to be taken literally seeing in the literall Sense there was never any such matter Therefore of necessitie it must be expounded mystically and allegorically Therefore by this Hayle and Fire mingled with blood is meant Errors and Heresies For as Hayle doth beate downe Corne and destroy the fruits of the Earth Fire doth consume and blood doth corrupt and putrifie So false doctrine and Heresie doth annoy consume and corrupt the soules of men For it is sayd that all these things mingled together were cast upon the earth that is the inhabitants of the earth and the third part of the trees that is the numbers of men or a very great part of the World was corrupted For trees in the Scripture signifie men and all greene grasse was burnt that is Esa 61. the fresh fruits of grace did wither apace and dry up for as error and heresie did prevaile so truth and godlinesse did decay All this hath relation to the Heresies of Sabellius Manicheus Marcion Fotinus Paulus Samosatenus Nestorius Novatus Diodorus Apolinaris Pelagius and many others which about this time being foure hundred yeares after Christ began to spring up and grow apace And the second Angell blew the Trumpet and as it were a great Mountaine burning with fire was cast into the Sea and the third part of the Sea became blood c. Upon the blowing of the second Trumpet by the second Angell heere appeareth a great Mountaine burning with fire whereby is meant some great and notable heresies as that of Arrius which
and bloudy tyranny which Antichrist should use against these faithfull witnesses of our Lord Jesus For although they overcome him with the spirituall sword which is the fire that commeth out of their mouthes yet for a time power was given to this Beast that commeth out of the bottomlesse pit that is the Pope and his adherents to murther Gods Saints with the materiall sword but yet note that Antichrist can doe nothing till the two witnesses have finished their testimony such is Gods care and providence for all his faithfull servants And their corps shall lie in the streets of the great City which spiritually is called Sodome and Aegypt where our Lord also was crucified By the great City here is meant Rome and yet not the City onely of Rome but all the Romane Empire power and jurisdictions as afterward shall be made manifest Now the corps and dead carkasses which were murthered and massacred in all Nations by Antichrists tyranny are here said to lie in the streetes of Rome that is to bee cast forth into the open fields as not worthy the honour of buriall in all places countries and kingdomes within the Roman Empire or jurisdiction of Rome as we read to have been in England Scotland France Ireland Germany and Spaine And as the Holy Ghost saith The dead bodies of thy servants have they given to be meat to the fowles of the heaven and the flesh of thy Saints unto the beasts of the earth Moreover it is to bee observed that Rome is here compared spiritually or by a trope to Sodome and Egypt To Sodome for filthines for what City ever was or is more filthy than Rome Chap. 12. the mother of whoredomes and abominations of the earth And to Egypt for Idolatry and keeping Gods people in spirituall bondage Last of all it is here said That our Lord Jesus was crucified at Rome which may seem strange sith all men know that Christ was crucified at Jerusalem But to answere this doubt we are to understand that in respect of the place our Lord Jesus was crucified at Jerusalem but if we respect the power and Authority that put him to death he was crucified at Rome for Christ was put to death by a Roman Judge by Roman lawes by Roman authority by a kind of death proper onely to the Romanes and in a place which then was within the Romane Empire And for this cause is here said that Christ was crucified at Rome And they of the people and kindreds tongues ver 9. and Gentiles shall see their corps three dayes and a halfe and shall not suffer their corps to be put in the grave Hitherto we have heard of the rage of Antichrist against the two witnesses Now further we are to understand of the malice and fury of all his adherents that is all Papists Atheists and the rest of the blinde people and seduced multitude which did allow the Popes cruelty in shedding the bloud of the Martyrs and they doe testifie the allowance and approbation of the Popes fact and also their owne malice and madnesse against them in this that they will not vouchsafe them the honour of buriall but cast out their dead bodies as carrion or as the dead bodies of Dogges or Swine thereby shewing that they esteemed them no beter than so Nay we read that their hellish rage and madnesse was so great and outragious that they wreaked their malice upon the dead bones and carkasses of Gods Saints and Martyrs For their bloudy and most malicious mindes could not be satisfied except they digged up the bodies of Gods witnesses out of their graves and burnt them to ashes Whereas it is said They shall see their corps the meaning is that all the blinde people within the Romane Empire should bee eye-witnesses of these things and not only so but even great Agents also in the slaughter of Gods people By three dayes and a halfe which is halfe a weeke he meaneth all the time of Antichrists raigne and tyrannicall goverment as before hath been shewed For these three dayes and a halfe being in propheticall computation three yeeres and a halfe signifie the same things that the two and forty moneths and a thousand two hundred and threescore dayes before And they that dwell upon the Earth shall rejoyce over them and be glad vers 10. and shall send gifts one to another for these two Prophets vexed them that dwelt on the Earth Here we see how the inhabitants of the Earth that is the seduced multitude and blinde people in the time of ignorance doe greatly insult and triumph over the death of the Lords witnesses and they doe expresse their joy by sending gifts and presents one to another as if they had received some great benefits or had heard the most joyfull newes in the world And the reason is added because they vexed and tormented them meaning thereby that the preaching of the truth and the reproving of their errors Idolatries and manifold impieties was a dagger and a corsey unto them they could at no hand endure it for the preaching of the Gospell is the torment of the World and the Preachers the tormenters These few Preachers thundring against their superstitions and abhominable service of Antichrist did vex every veine in their heart and inwardly so wound and lance their consciences that they could have no rest till they had rid them out of the world But now having dispatched them and made riddance of them they are very crank and jocund vers 11. But after three dayes and a halfe the spirit of life comming from God shall enter into them and they shall stand upon their feet and great feare shall come upon them which saw them Notwithstanding the rage and savage fury of the Pope and his followers yet here is shewed that they could not prevaile as they desired for within three dayes and a halfe that is when the date of Antichrists raigne was expired and the time come that Popery must be disclosed by the light of the Gospell breaking forth there followeth a great alteration For these two Prophets or witnesses are raised up againe For he saith the Spirit of life which came from God shall enter into them and they shall stand upon their feet This may seeme somewhat strange but it is not to be understood that they should be raised up bodily in their persons till the last resurrection but that God would raise up others endued with the same spirit which should mightily defend both the doctrine cause and quarrell which their Predecessors had maintained and sealed with their bloud in whom they should after a sort revive and live againe even as Elias did revive and as it were live againe in John Baptist who is said to be endued with the power and the spirit of Elias as it was foretold by the Prophet and as our Saviour himselfe doth avouch Now blessed be God that we live in these dayes wherein we see with our eyes all
Babylon that he may be fully revenged and execute the fiercenesse of his wrath both upon her and her whole kingdom yea and that in such terrible and wrathfull manner that there shall be no place of refuge no place to flie into for succour for Saint John saith Verse 20. Every I le fled away and the mountaines were not found Meaning that the Papists in that day shall have neither mountain nor Iland to fly unto And last of all the holy Ghost saith that there fell a great haile like talents out of heaven upon the Idolaters Chap. 16.21 insomuch that they blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail for the plague thereof was exceeding great A talent was about the weight of threescore pound as some write Then it followeth that this hail of Gods wrath upon the Papists shall be most terrible and fearfull and beat them down to the ground as it were an haile of mil-stones or plough-irons Now when this hail of talents cometh as assuredly come it shall then shall the kingdome of Popery be beaten to dust and powder and therefore no marvell though the Idolaters seeing all this be in a most horrible rage and blaspheme God Verse 21. as Saint John saith because of this exceeding and most extraordinary plague which shall then come upon them But now to conclude and wind up all together for as much as this last viall is powred into the aire God saith It is done an extraordinary earth-quake followeth the great citie of Rome is rent Babylon called into question and fearful hailstones of wrath powred downe upon the Idolaters I doe conclude that Rome shall fall finally and come to utter destruction in this life Now let us proceed to further proofe In the eighteenth chapter of this book the whore of Babylon saith in heart I sit being a Queen and am no widow Chap. 18.8 9. Isa 47. and shall see no sorrow Therefore shall her plagues come at one day death and sorrow and famine and shee shall be burnt with fire for that God which condemneth her is a strong Lord. First here Rome is described as shee was in the height and top of her pride and security when shee held the dominion of the kings of the earth and boasted that she was the head of the Catholick Church carrying her selfe very insolently above all kings and Emperors treading upon their necks and making them attend at her gates bare-foot in the middest of winter as the stories report Yea and that shee was no widow that is no solitary or desolate person but one that had many lovers which were strong to defend her so as she should feel no want nor see any sorrow But the time will come and draweth on apace wherein shee shall be throughly punished for her haughtinesse and intolerable pride and security For the holy Ghost saith her plagues shall come in one day that is suddenly shortly and speedily even death sorrow and famine and shee shall be burnt with fire for that God which condemneth her is a strong Lord. If this be not plain enough to prove an utter overthrow of Rome I know not what can be plain enough For if death famine and fire will not pull her downe I know not what shall pull her downe But Saint John saith flatly that God himselfe who is a strong Lord will oppose himselfe against Rome and condemne her Who can uphold her Can the king of Spaine can the Cardinals can the Emperour can all the Dukes of Italie and all the potentates of the earth that take part with her No no they are all too weake For if God take against a man Job 23. who can reclaim him saith the holy Ghost For hee doth whatsoever hee will And againe God is wise in heart and mighty in strength who ever hardned his heart against him and prospered If God call not back his anger the most proud hearts are bowed under him And God saith in Ezek 22. Can thy hands be strong or can thy heart endure in the day that I shall have to doe with thee Then it followeth that though Babylon fit as a Queen and all her lovers take part with her yet because the strong Lord is against her therefore shee shall come to utter destruction Some of good judgement in the truth have gathered from this place that the very city of Rome shall be burnt with fire which assuredly may well be but this I am sure of that the phrase of burning with fire doth in the Prophets alwaies signifie an utter destruction and desolation of a city or a kingdom Amos 5.6 and therefore it followeth that Rome shall be utterly destroyed But behold yet a stronger and plainer proofe For Saint John saith Chap. 17.21 A mighty Angel took up a stone like a great milstone and cast it into the sea saying With such a violence shall that great city Babylon be cast downe and shall be found no more All men know that old Babylon in Chaldea was destroyed by the Medes and Persians long before Saint John wrote this book and therefore that is not here meant but the new Babylon which is Rome as before hath been proved The phrases of speech and the signes which the Prophets used to declare the destruction and desolation of old Babylon are here alluded unto the destruction of Rome For wee read in the Prophecie of Jeremie that the Prophet having written in a book all the evil that should come upon Babel for holding Gods people so long in most miserable captivity Jer. 51.61 said to Serajah When thou comest unto Babel thou shalt reade all these words and when thou hast made an end of reading this booke thou shalt binde a stone to it and cast it into the middest of Euphrates and shalt say Thus shall Babel be drowned and shall not rise up from the evill that I will bring upon her although they weary themselves Now let us consider how this agreeth with the same which is here set down and wee shall find that all things are here set down with greater force to expresse as it were a deeper vengeance and a more heavie and unrecoverable destruction First there is a man here is a mighty Angel there the man taketh up a stone here the Angel taketh up a great stone like a mil-stone there the stone is cast into the river here into the deep sea All these circumstances being applied to Rome do greatly aggravate the matter and very plainly shew that it shall fall without all hope of recovery Rome shall fall without all hope of recovery For the Lord declareth by this forcible signe of casting a mil-stone into the sea that the citie and kingdome of Antichrist shall bee cast deep down into perdition and shall lie overwhelmed and drowned in the same for ever For if old Babylon was utterly destroyed and came to a finall desolation in this life much more shall Rome as the holy Ghost disputeth But
to these wholesome warnings with all speed The whole state of this Church of Laodicea is worthy of serious consideration as Mr. Brightman applies it to England in this and divers Chapters for he speakes of our times as if he were now living And further he saith in his Epistle and elsewhere in his Commentary that many are the miseries the Christian Churches must suffe for there will bee a long and dolefull Tragedy which will overthrow with scourges slaughters death and ruine and that the Sword of the Lord shall be made drunke in their blood except they receive warning and amend But yet saith he Be of good coÌ„fort Germany France and Britany and all you Christian Churches this is the last Act for after this Theater and long Tragedy is past there will succeed in the roome thereof happy dayes with abundance of peace and all good things And it is his judgement if I may not say his Prophesie comparing one Scripture with another and times with times That before the yeare 1650. the Jewes shall be called the Whore of Romes nose shall be slit and she stript of all her glorious garments and attire her power and sinews cut and the Pope himself shall run out of Rome into Avignon or in Bononia or thereabout one of his owne Cities and the City of Rome shall be burnt with fire And that the King of Spain and the King of Polony and some other Kings shall bewaile her and would faine helpe her but dare not because they shall be afraid of their owne safety lest they be devoured or scorched with the same fire And further he saith that the Emperor of Germany shall destroy Rome if he set to the worke it being most proper for him but if he did not some other shortly will have the praise of that victory Therefore saith he you godly Princes take the matter in hand and set to this worke it shall not be a thing of so great trouble as you thinke for feare not the huge armies that will come to helpe her If you thinke the Spaniard or the French-man or any other King will raise mighty forces against you to defend her as being Romes friends these are altogether vaine feares scare-crowes goblins bug-beares for simple people for her friends shall stand afar off with waiting testifying their love sighing and sobbing but taking no paines nor striking a stroke to deliver their Whore being now an old withered harlot but crying Alas alas that great City And againe he further saith And you the rest of the Christian Princes you need doe nothing only be valiant and of a good courage in dispatching your worke for the Lord and matters shall prosper as happily as you desire and understand at length by what way you may procure to your selves honour and tranquilitie so quietnes and joy to the whole Christian world Therefore draw your swords against Rome for you shall prevaile And saith he within 45 yeares after Rome is destroyed the Pope once more gathering all his friends together to try his last chance shall then be utterly overthrowne being about the yeare 1686. which wil be the longest time he can continue But Rome being destroyed and the Jews call'd there will bee then to the end a most happy tranquility and things very great indeed and to be admired the joy will be so much that it will be strange and unexpected for in the place of former troubles there will be perpetuall peace and then Kings and Queens will be nursing fathers and nursing mothers unto the Christian Churches Then the great Turke shall be 40 yeares on the decaying hand and lose many Countries but in the yeare 1696. he also shall be utterly overthrowne and then Christ shall raigne with his Ordinances chiefe in the world They that please to examine these quotations in the Margent by Master Brightmans Booke on the Revelations which which hee wrote above 40 yeares ago they shall finde the composer hereof hath endeavored as neere as he could to render the Authour in his owne words including much in so little roome Yet not to forget that hee saith further of England and Ireland Although Christ be angry with us by reason we are so far from a perfect Reformation and they which labour to bring in the Popish ceremonies hated of God to endanger the overthrow of our Kingdome yet he saith Christ hath begun his Kingdome at that time he wrote which was in the dayes of blessed Q. Elizabeth who happily begun and proceeded in the worke of Reformation according to the time and those dayes she lived in the finishing whereof will be required of this Generation otherwise expect God hath a sad controversie with this Land But Christ hath begun his Kingdome both in England and Ireland to reigne evermore and the enemies shall endeavour many enterprises yet they shall vanish like smoake and they shall never prevaile to overthrow Christ his Kingdom begun here for they will never want Christian Princes to maintaine his Truth begun which he saith begun from the yeare 1558. For the seventh Angel blew his Trumpet for this time and saith he would raigne evermore He further saith that ere long before the yeare 1650. the fourth Angell shall powre out his Violl upon the Sun which Sun he interprets the holy Scriptures which illustrate the mindes of men as the beames of the Sun doe the eyes of the body This Violl being powred on them shall give them greater force and edge more vehemently to scorch the man of sin so that hee shall gnash and rage aginst this Sun which hath so discovered his ugly hew to the world and it shall not onely burne and vexe him and those of his houshold but also hypocrites and all others who are not endued with true godlinesse That they shall even boile with envy and strife and all bitternesse of minde like the men of Atlas which curse the Sunne because it parcheth them with too much heate And lastly hee saith for the better understanding of what hee meanes that the City of Rome is not limited to that City but extends as farre as the Pope hath any dominion So that the Citty of Rome is in destroying if any of her dominions bee in destroying as he interprets the Holy Ghosts meaning But the Pope is to be quite and fully overthrowne at the yeare 1686. Therefore by computation Rome must bee in destroying at 1641. in some of his Dominions So I conclude this briefe Relation of what Mr. Brightman largely insists upon shewing his grounds in his Book why he affirmes these things with Christs counsell to this Church of Laodicea I counsell thee to bâ—y of me gold tryed in the fire that thou mayest be rich and white rayment that thou mayest be cloathed and that the shame of thy nakednesse doe not appeare and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve that thou mayest see FINIS LONDON Printed for Richard Harper 1644.