Child is come to the Birth there may be strength to bring forth 2 Kings 19 â— and that the Fruit of her Womb this Royal and hopeful Issue may be delivered from the bloody Talons and merciless Paws of this red and fiery Dragon and may be caught up to the Throne of God and there preserved that in due time he may Rule all Nations with his strong and iron Rod. Now is the time That that Grand and Set Battel is to be fought between Michael and the Dragon Rev. 12.7 For now will Michael the Archangel and all the Host of blessed Angels that are under him exert and put forth their utmost strength and power and use their utmost vigilancy and Industry for the supporting and upholding of the pure Church of Christ and to keep the Servants of God from Revolting and Backsliding and falling to Popery and being driven by the Terror of men to fall down and worship the Beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless Pit And now will the Dragon also set his shoulder to the work and he and his black Regiments will labour with Might and Main to extinguish and utterly to put an End to the pure Christian Church and to drive all the faithful Servants of God to desert and forsake him and to turn to the Popish Religion and to join with the Beast of Rome which God hath declared to be a grand Rebel against him and his Kingdom And now therefore it is the Duty of every good Protestant and especially of the Bishops and Pastors of the Protestant Church to be at their most ardent Prayers to Almighty God and to implore his Help that he would have Mercy upon his Church and preserve it from being destroyed by the restless Enemies thereof Now is it their duty to lift up their incessant Cryes to the blessed Jesus that he would make good that Promise to his Church Matth. 16.18 That the Gates of Hell should not prevail against it That he would now hold up his Auspicious Hand while this Battel is fought as once Moses did upon a like occasion Exod. 17.11 and that he would stretch out his Almighty Arm for the support of his Church and Servants and Succour us frail Creatures in the Day of Tryal and Grant Success and Victory to Michael and his Angels who is represented as General of the Christian Forces Now let all the valiant Souldiers of Christ put on the whole Armour of God that they may be able to stand against all the Wiles of the Devil Eph. 6.11 For we are now to wrestle not with flesh and blood against the bodily strength of a single man as wrestlers do But against Principalities against Powers against the Rulers of the darkness or the dark and sinful Rulers of this world against spiritual wickedness in high places Wherefore let us take unto our selves the whole Armour of God that we may be able to withstand in the evil Day and having done all that is in our power that we may stand Let all the faithful Servants of Christ now give all that little help and assistance that they can in so righteous and sacred a Cause as this is when the Church and Spouse of Christ lyeth at the Stake and wherein the blessed Jesus and Saviour of the World requireth their service And then if they fight valiantly in this sacred and Renowned Cause and persevere to the end then let them expect his Euge Well done thou good and faithful Servant Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord Matth. 25.21 And saith our Lord to the Church in Sardis to the Pastors and Members thereof even to the present Christian Church as I understand it and as Dr. More also hath interpreted it Rev. 3.5 He that overcometh the same shall be clothed in white raiment and I will not blot out his name out of the Book of Life but I will confess his name before my Father and before his Angels Those that overcome in this Grand Battel against the Dragon in this splendid manner like Victors and Conquerors are they to be clothed their Names are like to stand Registred in the Book of Life as those that are like to enjoy eternal Bliss and Happiness And to their unspeakable joy and endless glory they will be had in honor before Almighty God and his Angels But if any man draw back his Soul will have no pleasure in him Heb. 10.38 And our Lord hath told us Matth. 10.33 That whosoever shall deny him before men him also he will deny before his Father which is in heaven And now let all the Bishops and Pastors of the Protestant Church remember that bitter Curse which the Angel pronounced against the Inhabitants of Meroz Jud. 5.23 Curse ye Meroz said the Angel of the Lord Curse ye bitterly the Inhabitants thereof because they came not to the help of the Lord to the help of the Lord against the Mighty And let them take care that there may be no cause for the Archangel Michael now to pronounce such another bitter Curse against them for their backsliding at this Day when this great Battel of the Lord upon the account of his Church is to be fought And here we are taught how we must prevail and overcome Rev. 12.11 And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their Testimony and they loved not their Lives unto the death These are the means by which we are to overcome at this time and not by carnal Weapons viz By procuring an interest in the Blood of the blessed Jesus and by a meek and patient suffering for his sake and a firm resolution rather to dye than to depart from the Testimony and Faith of Christ and violate and break his sacred Commandments freely offering up our Lives to him if he should call us to the Cross to suffer Martyrdom for his sake And for our great Comfort and Encouragement herein saith the Apostle 2 Tim. 2.12 If we suffer we shall also reign with him And saith St. John Rev. 14.13 And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me Write Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from hence forth yea saith the Spirit that they may rest from their labors and their works do follow them And again saith he Rev. 20.4 And I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus and for the Word of God and which had not worshipped the Beast neither his Image neither had received his mark upon their foreheads or in their hands and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years This is the first Resurrection Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first Resurrection on such the second death hath no power but they shall be Priests of God and of Christ and shall reign with him a thousand years See Dr. More upon this place And for our great stay and sure support in such a fiery Tryal saith our blessed Lord Matth. 28.20 And lo I am with
apt to believe that many who have been driven out of this World with the Fire of Persecution and with the merciless Torments of cruel Men have departed hence with as much if not more ease than many that have died quietly upon their Beds and undisturbed by the sinful and restless Troublers of this World And if so then we have no great cause to draw back or to be sore afraid even in the worst of Times and Dangers To animate us the more then herein let us remember how victoriously many Saints have gone out of this World to those unspeakable Joys that are prepared for them in the next And as Paul saith Rom. 8.37 have been more than Conquerours thro' him that loved them in all the Tryals and Combats that they have been exercised with And seeing that we are listed Souldiers under Christ Let us follow them in a meek and patient suffering of all the Adversities and Injuries that befal us here for keeping the Faith of Christ and a good Conscience towards God Let us be perswaded as St. Paul was Rom. 8.38 39. That neither Death nor Life nor Angels nor Principalities nor Powers shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord Let us look unto Jesus the Captain of our Salvation the Author and Finisher of our Faith who endured such contradiction of Sinners against himself Who for the joy that was set before him endured the Cross despising the shame and is set down at the right hand of the Throne of God Heb. 12.2 Let us consider him that we may not be wearied and faint in our minds but be faithful unto death that we may not lose our Crown of Life But if we will not be prevailed upon by all these powerful Arguments and Persuasions to keep Faith and a good Conscience and to stick close to our Profession even in the worst of Times If the glory of such sufferings and the unspeakable Reward that doth await them If such assurances of Divine Help and Assistance that Almighty God will never be wanting to us but will have us always under his watchful Eye and will always grant us Succour and Strength answerable to our needs If these will not prevail with us Then we may farther take notice what a miserable condition such Revolters will be in that for fear of Persecution shall forego their Profession Such are like to lose their Lives as our Lord sheweth Mar. 8.35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it And such as are ashamed of him and his words must expect the same measure again to their great and eternal Reproach as our Lord shews ver 38. Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my Words in this adulterous and sinful generation of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy Angels And those that deny him must look for the same return again to their utter confusion Matt. 10.33 But whosoever shall deny me before men him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven The Apostle's words also are now especially to be heeded and laid to heart Heb. 6.4 For it is impossible for those saith he who were once enlightned and have tasted of the heavenly gift and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost and have tasted the good Word of God and the powers of the world to come If they shall fall away to renew them again unto repentance seeing they crucifie to themselves the Son of God afresh and put him to an open shame And saith he again Heb 10.26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the Truth there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery Indignation which shall devour the adversaries And if we Protestants should turn to the Popish Religion we may expect that this will be our condition And to conclude we may see that all Cowards that are not at all valiant for the Truth are like to go to the Lake that burns with Fire and Brimstone Rev. 21.8 But the Fearful and Unbelieving shall have their part in the Lake which burneth with Fire and Brimstone And this consideration also will be of great use to keep us from Backsliding and falling away from our Christian Profession to any Idolatrous or to any other sinful Practices that are not consistent with the Truth of the Gospel when we so plainly see as here we do That such Revolters must bid adieu to all the Bliss and Happiness that is promised in the Gospel and are like to go to the grand Apostate and to that everlasting Fire that was prepared for him and his Angens Matth. 25.41 And if these Arguments will not prevail with us I know not what will Seeing then that the Concerns before us are so very great the avoiding of Eternal Woe and Misery and the obtaining of Eternal Life and Happiness depending upon our good Behaviour and Christian Carriage here Let us be wise then betimes and shew our selves Men and not be like Solomon's Fool that had a price in his hand to get Wisdom but had no heart to it Prov. 17.16 Let us not to avoid a little Suffering here forfeit our Title to the Crown of Life and the blessed Kingdom above and run into endless Misery and Destruction For this will be prodigious folly and madness But seeing it is the Lord alone that must keep and uphold us all or else we shall be sure to fall and all the Watchman's care without his good Protection is to no purpose Ps 127.1 Let us then be careful and diligent to call for his blessed Help and Succour at all times and never trust to our own strength and abilities but let us always be mindful of that Divine Instruction of our blessed Lord and put it in practice Luke 21.36 Watch ye therefore and pray always that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass and to stand before the Son of man And now that all men may be the more sensible of the heavy judgment of God which I affirm to be at hand I shall here add the Eleventh Chapter and some other places of the Revelation of St. John which do particularly treat of the second grand Woe of that sacred Book which is the judgment that I speak of And that this Eleventh Chapter may be the better understood of all men I shall add a short explication of it according to that little Insight that I have into this great Mystery wherein through God's help I intend to be plain that the meanest Capacities may in a good measure understand it if they will and may clearly see that this judgment is there foretold and therefore will certainly come to pass Revelation Chapter XI 1. And there was given me a reed like unto a rod and the Angel stood saying Rise and measure the
both in respect of the seven hills upon which Rome stood and was built and also in respect of the seven Supreme Governments of Kings Consuls Dictators Emperors c. by which that City and the Roman Polity have been governed and which resided there as their great Metropolis yet it is plain to me that by this Beast is for the most part or altogether meant the Popedom and Romish Church since it became an Idolatrous and Persecuting Church And when the Popedom and Church of Rome hath stood 666 years from its first assuming the Nature and Disposition of a Beast of Prey when 666 years are compleated from the time that it first put the true and faithful Servants of God to death in a notorious and remarkable manner then shall the Popedom and Romish Church be destroyed in a most dreadful manner and then shall the third and last Woe be executed upon it And these 666 years do begin as I conceive about the time of the Waldenses and Albigenses and about the year of our Lord 1160. What was done before that time may be looked upon as done in the Minority of the Beast before he came to his full growth and not to be reckoned of but about that time he became of a full Stature and Strength and in a bloody and remarkable manner did destroy the Sheep and Church of Christ and thousands lost their Lives and perished by him And about that time and about the year 1160 do these 666 years begin And when they shall be ended this third Woe cometh which may be said to come quickly in respect of this far longer distance of time that hath been between the first Woe and this second Woe 15. And the seventh Angel sounded and there were great Voices in Heaven saying The Kingdoms of this World are become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ and he shall reign for ever and ever The seventh and last of these Trumpet-Angels here soundeth to Usher in the seventh and last Scene of Affairs of the Church as they are divided under these seven trumpet-Trumpet-Angels For after the time of this seventh trumpet-Trumpet-Angel is expired an End is to be put to this World and there is to be time no more as the Angel sware Rev. 10.5 And the Angel lifted up his hand to heaven and sware by him that liveth for ever and ever That there should be time no longer But in the days of the voice of the seventh Angel when he should sound even the Mystery of God should be finished as he hath declared to his Servants the Prophets In the end of the days of the voice of the seventh Angel the Mystery of God is to be finished and this World then is like to be at an End In this Sacred and Mysterious Book of the Revelation there seem to me to be three Septenaries or distinct Sets and Orders of Prophecies The first is of seven Churches the second of seven Seals and the third of seven Angels sounding with their Trumpets And in the times of the three last of these trumpet-Trumpet-Angels were to be three grand Woes as the Angel declared Rev. 8.13 And I beheld saith St. John and heard an Angel flying thorow the midst of Heaven and saying with a loud voice Woe Woe Woe to the Inhabitants of the earth by reason of the other voices of the Trumpet of the three Angels which are yet to sound The first of these Woe 's was in the time of the fifth Trumpet-Angel and is now long since past the second which is to be in the time of the sixth Trumpet Angel is now at hand and the third is to fall under the time of the seventh and last trumpet-Trumpet-Angel and will be fulfilled hereafter as I said before And the time of the seventh trumpet-Trumpet-Angel doth begin presently after this second dreadful Woe shall be executed And upon his sounding there were great voices and acclamations in Heaven as it was represented to St. John in this Vision declaring that the Kingdoms of this World that is a considerable part of them were become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ and hereby shewing that they will then be so indeed and will then become Protestant Kingdoms and sincere Professors of the pure Word of God and live and act according to the blessed Precepts and Commands of the Gospel of Christ And then he shall Reign over them to the World's end and be owned by them for their Lord and Master and his Sacred Laws shall then stand valid and in force with them and neither the Pope of Rome nor any other such cruel and sinful Lord shall any more in such a manner Tyrannize and Domineer over them and Persecute them and drive them to Idolatry or any other notorious violation of the Sacred Word of God 16. And the four and twenty Elders which sat before God on their seats fell upon their faces and worshipped God Upon this wonderful Work that Almighty God had wrought here upon earth for his Church and faithful Servants the Elders of the Court of Heaven were represented to St. John as falling upon their Faces before God and worshipping of him in this profound manner and hereby shewing that the Church then ought and will magnify him in an exceeding high manner For these Elders seem to allude to the Jewish Sanhedrim and great Council and are the Representatives of the Christian Church as we may see Rev. 5.9 10. where they say of the Lamb For thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every Kindred and Tongue and People and Nation And hast made us unto our God Kings and Priests and we shall Reign on the Earth By declaring that they were redeemed by the blood of the Lamb and that they should Reign on the Earth they shew that they are the Representatives of the Christian Church 17. Saying We give thee thanks O Lord God Almighty which art and wast and art to come because thou hast taken to thee thy great Power and hast Reigned And here is their Song of Thanksgiving and ascribing of Glory to Almighty God who was from all Eternity and endureth to all Eternity upon the account of what he had done for his Church and Servants because in the Day of Anguish and Distress he had in such a wonderful manner stretched out his Omnipotent Arm and rescued them from the very Jaws of Death and Pit of Destruction and given such a Proof of his irresistible Power 18. And the Nations 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 them that fear thy Name small and great and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth This is a Narration of the Elders shewing their high Approbation of what God had righteously done Declaring that the Popish Nations were angry and enraged against the Protestant Church and true Servants
A LETTER OF A Protestant Clergy-man TO THE Reverend CLERGY OF THE Church of England AND To all other good Protestants advertising them from the sacred Revelation of St. John of the Evil which he apprehends to be coming upon THE PROTESTANT CHURCH c. Written by DIGBY BULL M. A. and late Rector of Sheldon in Warwickshire London Printed for the Author and are to be sold by the Booksellers of London and Westminster 1695. Reverend Brethren both of the Clergy and Laiety I Am apprehensive and very confident than an Evil Time is at hand and that Popery is ready to come in upon us for the great Abuse of that blessed Light of the Gospel which we have so freely enjoyed And I doubt that first and last there will be a great deal of Bloodshed in this Nation and I would have you all advertised hereof That you may make all the due Preparation against such a Dreadful Time that may be and may do all that lyes in your Power to preserve your selves and the Flocks that are committed to your Care that you may not fall to Popery nor be taken in any other great Wickedness and so be swept away with the Beesom of Destruction I would have you to peruse Archbishop Usher's Prediction and to make the best use of his Advice that may be For I take it to be of a Divine Nature and do believe that there is Truth in it and that the dismal Time which he speaks of is now at hand And I am perswaded that this Day will come in a surprizing manner as he saith and that such as give themselves up to a carnal and vain Security will be wrapt up in Misery and Destruction before they are well aware of it And therefore it behoveth all Men to look well to the grand Concerns of their Souls and Lives and to be continually upon their Watch and Spiritual Guard that they may not be taken in a vain Confidence like the rich Fool in the Parable Luke 12.16 And from Rev. 11. I do believe that Popery will prevail over us for three Years and an half and that then to the great wonder of the World and like Men from the dead the Protestant Religion shall rise up again and be as Glorious as it was before if not much more so And from the comfortable expectation of this lightsome and joyful Morning we may be the more encouraged with Patience and Perseverance in the Truth to weather out this dark and dismal Night And by the blessed Help and Assistance of Almighty God we shall be able to do it and his Divine Help will never be wanting to us if we seek it with that diligence and care that we ought And the more to keep us from falling to Popery we may remember how strictly we are commanded to keep the Faith and Doctrine of the Gospel pure and uncorrupt and how severely the Violators thereof are threatned And we may sufficiently see that Popery is not at all consistent therewith First We may see that we are strictly enjoined to keep the sacred Commands of Almighty God and to contend earnestly for the Faith of the Gospel and at our Baptism we did solemnly engage to do so by our Sureties Upon our love to him doth our blessed Lord require of us that we should keep his Commandments If ye love me saith he Joh. 14.15 keep my Commandments St. Paul also in sundry places doth strictly charge both Timothy and Titus and in a Solemn manner before God to keep the Precepts and Commandments that he gave them 1 Tim. 5.21 and 6.13 And he sheweth that the Philippians were to strive together for the Faith of the Gospel Phil. 1.27 That ye stand fast in one spirit with one mind striving together for the Faith of the Gospel and in nothing terrified by your adversaries And this St. Jude presseth also Jude 3. It was needful for me saith he to write unto you and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the Faith which was once delivered unto the Saints And to the Angel of the Church in Sardis saith our Saviour Rev. 3.3 Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard and hold fast and repent By the Angel here we are to understand the Bishops and Pastors of the Church and the Flocks under them the Angel seems to be put for the whole Church but especially for the Governours and Pastors of it And this place as Dr. More sheweth respecteth our own times And here we are admonished to remember how we have been Instructed in the sacred Scriptures and also how we have been taught by the blessed Reformation to lay aside all the sinful Errors and Practices of the Romish Church And here we are also strictly enjoined to retain and hold fast all that is good and agreeable to the sacred Scriptures and upon our neglect herein we are severely threatned with Judgment as the following words shew Secondly We may see that such as any ways make void the sacred Word of God are sharply rebuked and severely threatned for it Our blessed Lord himself doth sharply rebuke the Jews upon this account and shews that such Religion is vain when Men leave the Divine Laws and Commandments of Almighty God to follow the Traditions and Precepts of Men. Mar. 7.7 In vain do they worship me saith he teaching for doctrines the commandments of men For laying aside the commandment of God ye hold the tradition of men And saith he Mat. 5.19 Whosoever shall break one of these least commandments and shall teach men so he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven St. Paul also doth shew that he that disannulleth the Gospel of Christ and setteth up any thing in opposition to it is to be had accursed yea tho' he were an Angel from Heaven Gal. 1.8 But tho' we saith he or an Angel from heaven preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you let him be accursed And this the Apostle doubleth that it might be the more heeded and minded and that none might presume to do so And saith St. John 2 Joh. 9. Whosoever abideth not in the Doctrine of Christ hath not God And saith he again Rev. 22.18 For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the Prophecy of this book If any man shall add unto these things God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this Book And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this Prophecy God shall take away his part out of the book of life By these plain places of Scripture we may see how closely we ought to keep to the Sacred Word of God and that it is in vain to pretend to worship and serve Him except we do so And we see that it is a cursed thing to make void the Gospel and to preach up any thing in opposition to it and that such as do so must expect the Wrath and Judgment of God
and Honors that they received by it To hear this profitable Diana of theirs cried down and to see men disswaded from the worshipping of her this moves their blood and puts them into a tumult Act 19.28 11. And after three days and an half the Spirit of life from God entred into them and they stood upon their feet and great fear fell upon them which saw them That is after Popery shall have Reigned three years and an half and after these Protestant Witnesses and Servants of God shall have remained in this dead and forlorn condition three years and an half Then by the Omnipotent Power of God they shall be raised up again from this dead and miserable condition into a lively and happy one Not by might nor by any Power of their own but by my Spirit saith the Lord of Hosts Zec. 4.6 And then shall all men be struck with exceeding great fear at this wonderful Work of God and must then expect the dreadful Effects of this second Woe as the following verses shew 12. And they heard a great Voice from Heaven saying unto them Come up hither And they ascended up to Heaven in a Cloud and their Enemies beheld them That is By an extraordinary Hand of Providence like a commanding Voice from Heaven there was a way made for their great exaltation and accordingly they were exalted to great Honor and Power and Authority in the Church of Christ in a remarkable manner which I understand by their ascending up to Heaven in a Cloud And their Enemies of the Church of Rome saw this and wondred at it that these Protestants which they thought they had in their Power and were wholly subdued should be so strangely rescued from them and exalted again and set out of their reach and power And this is to come to pass after Popery hath prevailed three years and an half over the Protestant Church 13. And the same hour was there a great Earthquake and the tenth part of the City fell and in the Earthquake were slain of men or Names of Men that is Persons of Men seven thousand And the Remnant were affrighted and gave Glory to the God of Heaven That is At the same time that the Protestant Witnesses shall be raised up again in such a wonderful manner there will be a great Earthquake that is an exceeding great Commotion and Tumult of War in the Protestant parts of the World and great Alarming and Fighting And then the Third Part of the Romish Church as I conceive shall be destroyed and fall off from the Popedom part being killed in this great Earthquake and Tumult of War and part turning Protestants And then will there be an exceeding great Slaughter of Men for seven thousand seems here to be put not barely for seven thousand but for an exceeding great number of Men that shall be then slain This we may conclude because this is one of the three grand Woes of this Book and we see that a far greater number than seven thousand have often been slain and yet accounted no Woe by these Sacred Oracles And the rest of the Papists being struck with fear and astonishment at this wonderful and heavy Judgment of God upon them will acknowledge in their Hearts and Consciences that this is in truth the Handy-work of Almighty God and many as may be hoped will upon this turn Protestants and so give Glory to the God of Heaven both with their Heart and Mouth and in the whole course of their Lives By the Tenth Part of the City here I conceive may be meant a Tenth Part of the old Roman Empire and about a third Part of the Popish Empire as it will then be when the Protestant Kingdoms are united to it again This seems probable to me because St. John saith ver 15 There were great Voices in Heaven saying The Kingdoms of this World are become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ And hereby I conceive we are to understand a considerable part of them and more than a Tenth Part of the Popish Empire And three of the ten Horns in Dan. 7. fell before the little Horn with Eyes and a Mouth whereby I understand that the Popish Empire was to be extended over three tenth Parts of the old Roman Empire and so a third Part of the Popish Empire will be a tenth Part of the old Roman Empire which I suppose may be here meant It seems probable to me that there will be some Bloodshed when Popery cometh into this Nation and let the great City of London look to that Let the worthy and pious Citizens thereof hearken to the Watchman's Voice for he is willing to do all that lies in his power to save their Souls and Lives too at this great juncture of time But Woe Woe Woe to poor England and the whole Kingdom thereof and the other Protestant Kingdoms at the end of the three years an and half when Popery shall be driven out For then we see that this dreadful Woe is to be executed Then let the Revolting Protestants and all the Papists of these Kingdoms expect that the heavy Wrach of Almighty God will come upon them if they do not in due time take care to prevent it by hearkening to Wisdom's Voice and taking a due care to reform their Lives according to her Divine Precepts 14. The second Woe is past and behold the third Woe cometh quickly When the three years and an half of Popery are past and this heavy Judgment of God hath been executed upon the formal and sinful Professors of Christianity and an exceeding great multitude of them are slain Then we are to know that the second great Woe is past And behold the third Woe cometh quickly That is in a short space of time and in a far shorter space of time than had been between the first Woe and this second Woe And this third and most dreadful Woe of all is like to come upon the Romish Church about an hundred and thirty years hence and about the year of our Lord 1826. This is too great a Mystery for me and as I conceive for any man else to define the exact year when this dreadful Woe shall fall and therefore I only say about the year 1826 and do not define that for the exact year when the Popedom shall go down But yet I am perswaded that it will stand but a very few years after that time For by these Sacred Oracles we are assured that the number of the Beast is but 666. Rev. 13.18 Here is Wisdom saith the Angel or St. John from him Let him that hath understanding count the number of the Beast for it is the number of a Man and his number is six hundred threescore and six By the Beast here I understand the Beast with seven heads and ten horns and by this Beast with seven heads and ten horns I understand the Papacy and Church of Rome For tho' this Beast be said to have seven Heads
are to be gathered into a place called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon which shews that they are all there to be destroyed where this vast Army shall be drawn together Rev. 16.14 16. Then is to be that grand Earthquake such an Earthquake as the world had never known before ver 18. And there were Voices saith St. John and thunders and lightnings and there was a great Earthquake such as was not since men were upon the earth so mighty an Earthquake and so great Then is the Earth to be shaken in such a manner as it had never been shaken before with the Tumults of War and Armyes and Battels and bloody Tragedies that shall then be acted upon it Then is great Babylon like to be shatter'd and rent to pieces ver 19. And the great City was divided into three parts And great Babylon came in remembrance before God to give unto her the Cup of the Wine of the fierceness of his Wrath. The great City of Mystical Babylon is then to be divided into three parts but never an one of these three parts will be left to uphold the Papal Chair For then will the Kings of the earth that have committed fornication with her and her Merchants and Paramours and Lovers that doted upon her be glad to make their escape from her Torment and Burning and to stand afar off for fear of it and there to pour out their doleful lamentations for her when they behold the smoak of her Burning Rev. 18.9 And of the ten Horns it is said Rev. 17.16 These shall hate the Whore and shall make her desolate and naked and shall eat her flesh and burn her with fire And then will they be ready to curse the day wherein they were made such Slaves and Drudges to the Papacy and Popish Religion And of the Beast and false Prophet it is said Rev. 19.20 And the Beast was taken and with him the false Prophet These both were cast alive into a Lake of fire burning with brimstone which shews that they shall be totally destroyed and swallowed up with a swift and merciless Destruction Then when this third Woe cometh are all the Popish Princes like to lay down their Scepters and to bid Farewel to all Regal Authority for so do these sacred Oracles shew Rev. 16.19 And the Cities of the Nations fell saith St. John That is all the Popish Principalities and Polities shall then fall to nought and be destroyed And under the sixth Seal it is said Rev. 6.15 And the Kings of the earth and the Great men hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains and said to the mountains and rocks Fall on us and hide us Then are all the ravenous Fowls of heaven to be called to the Supper of the great God That they may eat the flesh of Kings Rev. 19.17 18. And I saw an Angel standing in the sun saith St. John and he cryed with a loud voice saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven Come and gather your selves together unto the Supper of the great God That ye may eat the flesh of Kings and the flesh of Captains and the flesh of mighty men and the flesh of horses and of them that sit on them and the flesh of all men both free and bond both small and great When this third Woe cometh Then not only the Popedom and Popish Church and Religion but even the very City of Rome also shall then in a Violent manner be totally destroyed and no Artificer's hammer shall any more be heard therein and the sound of the milstone is then like to cease there and no candle is to shine there any more Rev. 18.21 And a mighty Angel saith St. John took up a stone like a great Milstone and cast it into the Sea saying Thus with Violence shall that great City Babylon be thrown down and shall be found no more at all Here we have the Type of Rome's dreadful destruction viz. that it is to be like the violent dashing of a great milstone into the Sea And ver 22 And the voice of harpers and musicians and of Pipers and trumpeters shall be heard no more at all in thee and no craftsman of whatsoever craft be he shall be found any more in thee and the sound of the milstone shall be heard no more at all in thee And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee and the voice of the Bridegroom and of the Bride shall be heard no more at all in thee The very City of Rome it self is then like to be totally consumed and nothing left but the sad Ruins thereof to declare to Posterity That there once stood the great City that Spiritually was called Sodom and Egypt which was the great Metropolis and Den of all the bloody Tyrants and cruel Persecutors of the Church and Servants of God and the place where Satan himself kept his black Court Rev. 2.13 These Melodious and joyful voices and comfortable sounds shall then totally cease there and the hideous howlings of the beasts of the desert are then like to succeed in their room Rome then is like to become the Rendezvous of Daemons and the Cage and Receptacle of all hateful and uncouth birds For this is the proclamation of the Angel that came down from Heaven Rev. 18.2 And he cryed saith St. John mightily with a strong voice saying Babylon the great is fallen is fallen and is become the habitation of Devils and the hold of every foul Spirit and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird The Satyrs and Goblins may then dance there and the Owls may take it for their habitation All the doleful Creatures of the twilight may then resort thither that are fit to howl and hollow forth the sad Ruin and Desolation of this place and to proclaim to the World That Rome's Day is at an End and the dismal Night of Darkness is come upon her And this third Woe also will come in a surprizing manner upon all such as are wrapt up in Carnal security and are too intent upon their worldly Concerns and eagerly pursuing their sins and wickedness This our Saviour sheweth declaring that his Coming at this third Woe should be like the coming of a thief Rev. 16.15 Behold I come as a thief Blessed is he that watcheth and keepeth his garments lest he walk naked and they see his shame Let all men then take care to be upon their watch and look to it that they be not surprized in their sins and filthiness to their eternal shame and reproach And saith the Angel Rev. 18.8 Therefore shall her plagues come in one day death and mourning and famine and she shall be utterly burnt with fire This seems to intimate that her plagues should come unexpectedly one upon another and she is to be totally consumed And it seems probable that the City of Rome the Mystical Babylon will then be burnt down with fire And as Noah gave
threatneth to spue them out of his Mouth ver 16 and to have no more to do with them as being nauseous and loathsome to him And this is to be fulfilled at the end of the World And if the period of the Philadelphian Church falls about the year 2826 as I have said before then it seems probable to me that the period of this Church and the end of the World will be about the year of our Lord 3000 and when the World hath stood about 7000 years from the Creation of it For the Reverend Archbishop Usher I suppose is not much mistaken in setting the Birth of our Saviour in the year of the World 4000 for I am apt to believe that he was born about that time And the Week consisting of seven Days and the often using of the number Seven in the sacred Scriptures may make it seem the more probable that the World may consist of seven Millenniums and endure just seven thousand years And altho' the World should endure just 7000 years yet our Saviour's Words will still prove a verity and truth as they are applied to the end and last period of the World Matt. 24.36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man no not the Angels of Heaven but my Father only For as no man now can tell exactly how many years are passed since the World was Created so will no man then be able to know exactly when the 7000 years will be expired and compleated I know not the Day and Hour when this second Woe will fell nor the the Day and Hour when the third Woe will fall nor the Day and Hour when the End of the World will be Thro' the good Hand of God so much Light I have as to be able to give warning of these two Woes and to advertise men to take care that they do not perish therein and to let them know when they are approaching but not to tell them the Day and Hour when they will come nor the Day and Hour when the End of the World will be Thus much for the seven Epistles to the seven Churches The seven Seals Rev. 6. and chap. 8.1 do represent and signifie so many successive Scenes of Affairs here upon Earth from the beginning of the Church to the end of the World And how I understand them I shall here briefly set down The White Horse at the opening of the first Seal Rev. 6.1 2. and the Rider thereof with a Bow and a Crown that went forth Conquering and to Conquer I understand to be a representation and signification of the propagation and progress of the Gospel under the auspicious Conduct of the blessed Jesus from the beginning of the Christian Church till about the 16th year of Trajan and the year of our Lord 113 or there about The Red Horse at the opening of the second Seal Rev. 6.3 4. and the Rider thereof that had a Sword given unto him and power to take Peace from the earth and that they should kill one another I understand to be a representation and signification of that great Scene of Blood and Slaughter both of the Martyrs and others from about the 16th year of Trajan till Constantine had overcome Licinius and the year 324. I take the Red Horse and the Rider thereof with his Sword to represent and signifie the great Wars and Bloodshed that was in the Roman Empire in this Interval of time The Black Horse at the opening of the third Seal ver 5 6. and the Rider thereof with a pair of Ballances in his hand I understand to be a representation and signification of that black Scene of Affairs during the time that the Barbarous Nations over-ran the Roman Empire from Constantine's time till towards the time that the Saracens set up their Kingdom at Bagdad and till about the year 740. In this Interval there was a black and calamitous Scene of Affairs great Fires Earthquakes Inundations and Plagues and the Goths Hunnes and Vandals and other Barbarous Nations caused great Bloodshed and plundered and spoiled all before them and caused great Scarcity and Famine For great Armies tho' they find a Land like the Garden of Eden full of all plenty and store yet do soon make it a desolate Wilderness consuming and destroying all before them and putting a stop also to tillage and agriculture do soon bring a miserable Famine upon a Land and Nation And that there was to be great Scarcity and Famine in this Interval of time the Voice in the midst of the four living Creatures doth shew ver 6 saying A measure of wheat for a peny and three measures of barley for a peny and thou shalt not deal unjustly in the oyl and Wine The measure here is something above a quart and the penny here is about seven pence half penny of our Money And when a man can buy but a little above a quart of wheat with seven pence half-penny it shews that there must be great scarcity and dearth And as Dr. More observeth tho he be quite mistaken in his Interpretation here the Choenix which is the measure here was an allowance of food for a day and the penny here was the wages of a day's labor And there must needs then be great scarcity and famine when a man's labor would only buy him food and there is nothing left to buy him cloaths and other necessaries and to help to maintain the rest of his Family And what is here predicted was accomplished in the scarcity and famine that was caused by these Barbarous Nations and the other famines that God sent upon them in this Interval of time The Pale Horse that had Death for his Rider and Hell or the Grave for his Attendant ver 7 8 at the opening of the fourth Seal I understand to be a representation and signification of the great Scene of Mortality and Destruction of men during the time of the Saracens from about the year 740 till about the year 1150. That this was to be a Scene of great Mortality and Destruction of men is here shewed ver 8. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth to kill with the sword and with hunger and with death that may be with the pestilence and mortal diseases and with the beasts of the earth And these seem to have had their completion in this Interval of time when the Saracens over-ran so great a part of the Roman Empire and men so far as I see might be destroyed all these ways The Souls under the Altar at the opening of the fifth Seal ver 9 10 11 I understand to be a representation and signification of the great Scene of Martyrs viz. of the Waldenses and Albigenses and the Martyrs that suffered under the Popish Persecutions from about the year 1150 till about the Reformation and the year 1558 when Queen Elizabeth came to the Throne At the opening of this fifth Seal saith St. John I saw under the altar the Souls