what will become of the emphasis that lieth in the word these it being impossible that any speech proceeding from God should be false but rather to intimate that there was nothing in them obscure and uncertain as it fareth with sundry other sayings of God which are very doubtful and hard to be understood Thus when Daniel had declared to Nebuchadnezzar very plainly both his dream and the interpretation thereof he saith in the close of his speech as the Greek version not varying from the Original Syriack hath it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is The dream is true and the interpretation thereof faithful or sure Chap. 2.45 It is also said Chap. 8.26 after that the visions hapning to Daniel at evening on his bed and in the morning when he was risen up from thence had been fully explained the vision of the evening and the morning which was told is true Finally when Daniel Chap. 7. had seen certain visions and was at first troubled about the sence of them but afterwards understood it he writeth thus verse 16.17 18 19. I came neer unto one of them that stood by and asked him the truth of all this so he told me and made me how the interpretation of the things These great Beasts which are four are four Kings which shall arise out of the earth But the Saints of the most high shall take the Kingdom and possess the kingdom for ever even for ever and ever Then I would know the truth of the fourth beast which was diverse from all the others From whence it is evident that to know the truth of visions is to understand the interpretation and meaning of them Wherefore to return to the foresaid passage of the Revelation when it is said These words are true and faithful it is all one as if it had been said These words are plain and certain and to be taken as they sound and consequently such as go about to turn the prophecy touching the New heaven and the New earth and the descent of the New Jerusalem and the making of all things new into an allegory do exceedingly erre from the true and genuine meaning thereof But God hath not yet ceased to inculcate the making of all things new because of the infinite consequence thereof Wherefore to shew how certain the same is he speaketh of it though to come as if it were already past saying it is done he also backeth it with a strong reason the better to imprint the belief thereof in the minds of men whilest he saith that he is Alpha and Omega the beginning and the end The connexion of which reason with the thing to be proved thereby is this that seeing God is not wont like frail and fickle man to do his work by halfes but throughly to effect them it cannot be but that having once begun the salvation of the Saints he should at length accomplish the same and in order thereunto make all things new God having thus fully declared his purpose to make all things new doth afterwards invite men to come and partake of the water of life freely without money and without price The fountain where this water springeth is in the beginning of the following Chapter said to be the throne of God and the Lamb and therefore we are not to understand any water figuratively so taken but such as being received into the body causeth eternal Life in those that drink it But the Invitation to drink of this Water is made to none by God save such as thirst after it and so have an ardent desire to enjoy the benefit of the same What shall we then say to those who are so far from longing to drink of this Water that they believe there is no such thing turning all that is said thereof into an Allegory In the next place God promiseth to them that overcome that they shall inherit all things namely both the Heaven and the Earth that now are and also those that are to come For they as I have before shewn being such as lay down their Lives for the Gospel have a Privilege above others that dy in the Lord in that they are admitted to reign with Christ in Heaven long before the general Resurrection and so like him are the Heirs of all things and Sons of God in a more perfect manner than the rest of the Faithfull who though they enjoy eternal Life with Christ yet are not vouchsafed the Honour to sit with him in his Throne See Chap. 3.21 But as God is the God or soveraign Benefactour of those that suffer Death for the Confirmation of the Truth so on the contrary such as dare not out of cowardice to partake in the afflictions of the Gospel or refuse to believe therein or are filthy in their conversation or unjustly deprive others of their Life or defile themselves with Women or use the confederacy of evil spirits to produce marvellous effects or worship either false Gods or the true God in a false manner by Images which they make to themselves or have guile in their mouth not speaking as they mean have their portion assigned of God unto them in the Lake of Fire which is here again said to be the second Death and that suitably enough For if the place wherein the Saints enjoy everlasting pleasure is in the Scripture called by the name of Life as appeareth by the Collation of Mark 9.47 with Math. 18.9 In the former of which it is said It is better having but one Eye to enter into the Kingdom of God In the latter It is better having but one Eye to enter into Life In like manner may Hell-fire wherein the wicked feel everlasting pain be styled by the name of Death Vers 9. And there came unto me one of the seven Angels which had the seven Vials full of the seven last Plagues and talked with me saying Come hither I will shew thee the Bride the Lambs Wife 10. And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high Mountain and shewed me that great City the holy Jerusalem descending out of Heaven from God John had above said that he had seen the new Jerusalem but neither told us how he came to have a sight thereof nor gave us a particular Description of that goodly Fabrick both which he doth now perform For as to the first he saith that one of the seven Angels that had the seven Vials full of the seven last Plagues and therefore in all likelihood the same that had formerly shewn him the Judgement of the great Whore Chap. 17.1 came and spake with him offering to shew him the Bride the Lambs Wife But here they that do by a mystical Interpretation turn the new Jerusalem into the Church think they have gotten an impregnable place wherein to secure themselves especially seeing the Revelation doth elsewhere confessdly style the Church by the name of the Lambs Wife Chap. 19.7 But they that argue thus do not in the mean time perceive
the fourth universal Empire it was the City to which all Nations were subject and whither they were wont continually to resort Vers 16. And the ten Horns which thou sawest upon the Beast these shall hate the Whore and shall make her desolate and naked and shall eat her flesh and burn her with Fire 17. For God hath put in their Hearts to fulfill his Will and to agree and give their Kingdom unto the Beast until the Words of God shall be fulfilled Here the Angel declareth what the ten Kings aforesaid should do to Rome namely that they should sack and burn it with fire But for as much as that City is here described according to the manner of the Scripture as an Harlot it is therefore suitably said that they shall make her naked and eat her flesh both which are done by pillaging the place and slaying the Inhabitants thereof Thus God saith of Jerusalem under the name of Aholibah the Harlot Ezek. 23.29 They shall deal with thee hatefully and shall take away all thy labour and shall leave thee naked and bare And David saith of his enemies that they came upon him to eat up his flesh namely with the mouth of the Sword Psal 27.2 But the reason why so many Kings otherwise at variance amongst themselves should yet agree herein and give their Kingdom to the Beast which two things here concurring to the destruction of Rome do by the way clearly intimate that it is the Beast who setteth the Kings upon this Work is because God putteth the same into their hearts to the end he may accomplish his words that he to wit had spoken touching the fall of Rome Chap. 14.8 wherefore in as much as the Angels words are so perspicuous concerning this matter they must needs be exceedingly mistaken who expect that Rome shall be destroyed either by other persons than the ten Kings aforesaid or at another time than after the seven Vials of Gods wrath have been poured out upon the Earth during the space of three years and an half that the Tyranny of the Beast over the Saints shall continue But neither is the Beast yet risen nor the ten Kings his Confederates nor those prodigious things come to pass that are mentioned in the 13. Chapter nor so much as one of the Vials poured out as will easily appear to any man who being acquainted with the Histories of former Times and finding no such occurrences there recorded had rather adhere to the plainness of the Scripture it self than follow the obscure and uncertain imaginations of men Vers 18. And the Woman which thou sawest is that great City which reigneth over the Kings of the Earth This is the Close of the Interpretation which the Angel vouchsafeth unto John wherein he discovereth who the Woman is whom John saw in the Wilderness namely the great City that reigned over the Kings of the Earth which all that are skilled in the History of those Times wherein John wrote this Prophecy know to be Rome For she commanding over the whole World must needs reign over those Kings that governed in any part of the same A Proof confirming the Truth of this matter may be seen in Tacitus who in the second Book and twenty third Chapter of his History saith Accessere cum regno Sohemus haud spernendis viribus Antiochus vetustis opibus ingens inservientium regum ditissimus Mox per occultos suorum nuncios excitus ab urbe Agrippa ignaro adhuc Vitellio celeri navigatione properaverat That is Sohemus who was a King of considerable Forces and Antiochus who was mighty for his ancient wealth and of all the subject Kings the richest sided with that party namely to make Vespasian Emperour Agrippa also upon secret Messages of his Friends quitted the City unawares to Vitellius and speedily sailed thither Thus much for the Key here given by the Angel to unlock the Mystery of the Beast which if our men had rather chosen to use than vainly attempted to break up this divine Cabinet with their own forced Interpretations neither had they so much wrested this excellent Prophecy of John nor exposed the Religion of Protestants to the contempt and scorn of her Adversaries who in likelihood measure what Protestants speak in other Points of Religion by the Standard of their Expositions concerning the Beast I should now proceed to the Explication of the eighteenth Chapter But that being onely a Relation touching the manner how Rome shall be destroyed and containing in it self little or no difficulty I judge it better to pass it by and hasten to the nineteenth Chapter wherewith the History of the Beast endeth Chap. 19. Vers 1. And after these things I heard a great Voice of much People in Heaven saying Alleluja Salvation and Glory and Honour and Power unto the Lord our God Vers 2. For true and righteous are his Judgements for he hath judged the great Whore which did corrupt the Earth with her Fornication and hath avenged the Blood of his Servants at her hand Vers 3. And again they said Alleluja And her smoke rose up for ever and ever The Exposition NO sooner is Rome sackt and burnt by the ten Kings aforesaid but this Judgement is entertained with a great shout from Heaven where a vast multitude cry Alleluja ascribing Salvation and glory and honour and power unto the Lord their God Of what persons this Multitude consisteth whither of Angels or of Men though it be not here expressed yet may it by a diligent disquisition be found out For first of all they cannot be Angels because the Greek word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be rendred here in English a Multitude is never used in the Scripture to design a great company of Angels but is on the contrary peculiar to Men as may be seen Chap. 17.15 where Multitudes in Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are ranked with Peoples and Nations But all will confess that Peoples and Nations consist of Men onely Secondly this Multitude doth attribute Salvation unto God which the Angels are not any where found to do For they being by the perfection of their nature exempted from death or any other tribulation whatsoever are thereby also incapable of sharing in the salvation of God and accordingly use no such form of praising him Whence it followeth that they be men Not holy men upon the earth for they are denoted by the four and twenty elders and the four living creatures mentioned afterwards in the fourth verse of this Chapter it remaineth therefore that the multitude aforesaid consists of holy men already raised from the dead and glorified in the Kingdom of heaven when Rome is destroyed and so differ from them who after that destruction shall be made partakers of the same anticipated resurrection as may be seen in the twentieth Chapter of this prophecy and consequently are that great multitude of Saints afore mentioned in the seventh Chapter verse 9. For that those Saints are such as being risen from
the dead triumph in the Kingdom of heaven is evident from the description there given of them For it is said that they were come out of the great tribulation so it is emphatically expressed in the Greek and therefore intimateth that they weee set free from death the chiefest of all tribulations and also were clothed in white Robes and stood before the throne of God being put into such a condition that they should no more hunger nor thirst because the Lamb should feed them and lead them unto living fountains of water No one of which things agreeth either to men here living on the earth or to the souls of such as are departed this life Now the reason that inciteth these Saints in heaven with loud and redoubled voices to cry Allelujah that is Praise the Lord for so this word originally Hebrew doth signifie see Psal 146.1 is the justice of God who as it is here said had both judged that great Harlot which with the lewdness of her whoredome corrupted the earth whereof we have before spoken in our exposition on the seventeenth Chapter and also had avenged the blood of his servants at her hand and this vengeance is taken in so strange a maner that it is not to be parrallelled in all the holy scripture save in the prediction concerning the judgement of God against Bozrah and the land of Idumea whereof we read Isa 34.6 7 8 9 10. and which is not yet come to pass for though many Cities have been burned with the fire of men yea Sodom and Gomorrah with the fire of God from heaven yet hath it not been known that any City after it was once fired did send up the smoak of her burning for ever and ever as it is here affirmed of Rome Which circumstance alone doth sufficiently prove that the prophecy held forth in this book concerning the destruction of Rome is not yet fulfilled forasmuch as she notwithstanding all the sackings and firings that have since hapned to her is yet standing and that in great state and splendor so far is she from being made a desolation and perpetual burnings Vers 4. And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne saying Amen Alleluja The action of the Saints in heaven who give honour and glory to God for executing judgement upon Rome is seconded by the Saints on earth who prostrating themselves before God declare their approbation of what the others had done by saying Amen Alleluja For though the Saints here spoken of are in the vision introduced as being in heaven yet this hinders not but that the true place of their abode is the earth no more then the ascent of John into heaven in a vision and his viewing the things therein contained Chap. 4.1.2 make him in the mean time cease from being a true and real inhabitant of the Isle Patmos for these four and twenty Elders together with the four living creatures I have already proved in mine exposition of the fifteenth Chapter to be the Disciples of Christ in the four quarters of the world Howbeit the four and twenty are both here and else where in the Revelation distinguished from the rest because as the very name of Elders given to them doth import the Pastours of the Church are by them signified And this number of the Elders seemeth to be modelled from the four and twenty Orders of the Priests under the Law 1 Chron. 24.7 8. into whose room the Ministers of the Gospel are come that the people of God might never want some to watch over them in relation to the good of their souls Vers 5. And a voice came out of the throne saying Praise our God all ye his servants and ye that fear him both small and great The praising of God is a thing so comely in the Saints that they are here though upon a new accompt as will appear from that which followeth incited by a voice from the throne to do it again which voice is not to be ascribed to God himself although it proceedeth from his throne but to some other person that is under or about the same and hath him that sitteth on the throne for his God as the voice it self doth intimate when it saith Praise our God all ye his servants If it be further demanded what maner of person the author of the voice should be whether a glorified Saint or an Angel I answer that it rather seemeth to be an Angel because we finde the like exhortation used by an Angel Chap. 14.6 7. As for the Servants of God whom the voice speaketh unto seeing they are distinguished from those that fear God this sufficiently hinteth that they are not meerly pious men but such as besides their piety are imployed by God in the work of the Ministery and in particular bear the office of prophets in the Church for so the servants of God when differenced from them that fear God are elsewhere understood in this book of the Revelation see Chap. 11.18 where it is said That thou shouldest give the reward unto thy servants the Prophets and to the Saints and them that fear thy name small and great Now that many Prophets will then exist when these things are to be accomplished I have before shewed in the exposition of the fourteenth Chapter Vers 6. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude and as the voice of many waters and as the voice of mighty thundrings saying Alleluja for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth Vers 7. Let us be glad and rejoyce and give honour to him for the marriage of the Lamb is come and his wife hath made her self ready Vers 8. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen clean and white for the fine linen is the righteousness of Saints Though the destruction of the wicked be an inducement to praise the name of God and to rejoyce yet is the salvation of the righteous as being in it self a work more excellent and glorious of far greater efficacy to stir up the Saints to the performance of these two things Hence it is that the acclamation here made is more loud and solemn then the others that went before For John saith That he heard as it were the voice of a great multitude and as the voice of many waters and as the voice of mighty thundrings saying Alleluja The reason of which unusual Exultation that I may confirm what I even now asserted is in the first place said to be the Reign of God namely upon the Delivery of the Kingdom into the Hands of the Saints For though God was long before said in the Scripture to be the King of all the Earth Psal 47.7 yet in as much as to reign if you speak properly is to rule and govern by Laws the Reign of God over all the World may in this sense be rightly said to commence with the Kingdom of the Saints And that
the plain and obvious sence thereof clearly testifie Again we have in the Exposition of the nineteenth Chapter verse 1. proved that there is a great multitude of Saints even before the destruction of Rome recalled to life and triumphing in the kingdom of heaven Finally it appeareth from that notable passage Chap. 2.26.27 where Christ saith He that overcometh and keepeth my works unto the end to him will I give power over the Nations and he shall rule them with a rod of iron as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers even as I have received of my Father that whosoever performeth the duty of a Christian to the end of his life and undergoeth a violent death for the name of Christ for I have elsewhere collected that the notion of overcoming when applied to the Saints in the Revelation doth intimate such a death shall be raised up from the dead before the day of judgement to reign over the Nations For can there any such reign be expected after that judgement is once past or did not Christ to whom these Saints are in this respect to be made conformable so come to reign over the Nations Neither doth that passage of Christ John 6.40 This is the will of him that sent me that every one that seeth the Son and believeth on him should have everlasting life and I will raise him up at the last day Nor that of Paul 1 Cor. 15.22 As in Adam all die even so in Christ shall all be made alive but every man in his own order Christ the first fruits afterwards they that are Christs at his coming These passages I say do not a whit withstand the doctrine of an anticipated resurrection which we endeavor to evince out of the book of the Revelation For Christ speaketh of men only as believing on him and Paul of them as dying in the faith and not for the same as the forecited places of the Revelation plainly do Moreover that the Lord Christ Jesus doth now in very deed reign in heaven and so hath done ever since he sat down at the right hand of God and consequently the Saints who are partakers of the first resurrection shall there reign with him is evident from that notable passage or Paul Ephes 1.19 20 21 22. According to the working of his mighty power which he wrought in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him at his own right hand in heavenly places far above all principalities and powers and might and dominion and every name that is named not only in this world but also in that which is to come And hath put all things under his feet and gave him to be the head over all things to the Church And from that of Peter 1 Epist 3.21 22. The like figure whereunto even Baptism doth also now save us not the putting away the filth of the flesh but the answer of a good conscience towards God by the resurrection of Jesus Christ who is gon into heaven and is on the right hand of God Angels and Authorities and Powers being made subject unto him And also from those of John Rev. 1.5 and Chap. 17.14 In the former of which he saith and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness the first begotten from the dead and the Prince or Ruler of the Kings of the earth And in the latter These shall make war with the Lamb and the Lamb shall overcome them for he is Lord of Lords and King of Kings he doth not say he shall be King of Kings But what need have I to accumulate texts of Scripture for the proof of this matter when the second and third Chapters of the Revelation are of themselves abundantly sufficient to convince all that are not obstinately bent against the truth that Christ doth now in his own person govern the Church and take care of it for you shall there have clear and undeniable arguments both of the cognisance that he taketh of mens actions and of the protection he affordeth unto such as walk uprightly with him and also of the judgements he executeth on them that either turn aside out of the right way or at least slacken their first love so that I am not a little moved when I perceive many who otherwise seem to own the Gospel so easily giving ear to such a doctrine as asserteth that Christ is not yet in the possession and exercise of his kingdom but shall hereafter reign and that upon the Earth which opinion thwarteth the whole tenor of the New Testament where Christ since his ascension is usually called Lord and annulleth the faith we repose in Christ for to what purpose is it to rely on him for help and assistance if he be not yet in his kingdome and restraineth prayer and worship before him and in a word ushereth in Judaism for there at length this pernicious conceit is wont to center Wherefore seeing I have irrefragably proved that Jesus Christ doth now reign in heaven neither is there so much as one passage in all the Scripture that saith he shall ever reign upon the earth but he himself on the contrary plainly testifieth John 18.36 That his kingdom is not of this world which could not be true were he to reign personally on the earth as worldly Kings are wont to do I conclude that whatsoever Saints are raised up from the dead to reign with Christ during the space of a thousand years before the last judgement must of necessity ascend up into heaven where he is And this is plainly taught us in that forequoted instance of the twowitnesses who being recalled to life go up into heaven in a cloud Chap. 11.12 T is true indeed that the Saints mentioned in the fifth Chapter verse 10. say That they were made Kings and Priests to their God and should reign on the earth But here is no hint of any resurrection and therefore such Saints are to be understood as having not yet been dead did and should reign upon the earth Thus John saith both of himself and the Saints in the seven Churches of Asia Chap. 1. That Christ had made them Kings and Priests to God And consequently it might have been truly affirmed of them that they should reign upon the earth where they were already Kings For whereas it is usually objected that those Saints in the fifth Chapter say of themselves we shall reign upon the earth and therefore did not already reign this is frivolous for inasmuch as they were already Kings as they themselves affirm and some of them sat with their crowns upon their heads it must needs be that they did already reign and so those words we shall reign upon the earth do not intimate the beginning but the continuance of their reign Thus John writeth to certain Christians of his time 1 Epist 5.13 To the end that they should believe on the name of the Son of God which doth not argue that they did not yet believe the contrary
AN ESSAY To the Explaining of the REVELATION WHEREIN Amongst other things of great moment is clearly proved that by the Beast is meant an Universal Monarch which shall hereafter arise out of the Roman Empire That there shall be a Fifth Kingdom upon the Earth namely that of the Saints together with the manner thereof And that the New Jerusalem is a City properly so called which God hath reserved in Heaven for the Saints Revel 1.3 Blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the words of this Prophecy and keep those things which are written therein Prov. 30.5 6. Every word of God is pure Add thou not unto his words lest he reprove thee and thou be found a Liar LONDON Printed by Henry Hills and are to be sold by George Sawbridge dwelling on Ludgate-hill at the Sign of the Bible 1661. A PREFACE TO THE READER THe Revelation is the most excellent of the P rophetick Books contained in the Scripture as being the Abstract of them all and therefore as the best things are most liable to abuse it hath been shamefully intreated by the greatest part of those that have undertaken to explain the same For it seemeth by their Expositions that they imagine this to be such a Portion of holy Writ whereon men are onely to exercise their Fancies and to suspend the use of Reason whilest they inquire into the sense thereof Neither did I ever finde such monstrous Interpretations imposed on any other Book whether sacred or profane For instance when John doth in the first Chapter wish Grace and Peace to the seven Churches of Asia from the seven Spirits that are before the Throne of God by these say they is meant the holy Spirit who is said to be seven either because of his manifold operations or because he wrought in the seven Churches But by what instance taken out of any Authour either sacred or profane can they avouch such an Interpretation Who ever heard that a single person as the holy Spirit is should either for his many Works or for his working in sundry places be termed Seven And how should any man ever reach the meaning of our word if took to our selves the liberty of speaking thus Again when it is in the 11. Chapter spoken of two Witnesses these say they are the Old and New Testament or Magistracy and Ministry But where in the Scripture are two Witnesses that prophesie or two Prophets for so the Witnesses are there in the 10. Verse expresly styled put otherwise than for two men endued with a prophâ—tick spirit Yea can it without the greatest absurdity be said of any but two men that they prophesie clad in Sackcloth that if any one goeth about to hurt them Fire issueth out of their Mouths and devoureth their Adversaries that they have Power to shut Heaven and turn the Waters into Blood and smite the Earth with every Plague as often as they please that when they have finished their Testimony they are killed and their dead Bodies lie three Days and an half in the Street of a certain City In fine that after the three Days and an half the Spirit of Life from God enters into them so that they stand upon their Feet and afterwards ascend up into Heaven in a Cloud whilest their Adversaries stand looking on them Is it possible for the wit of man with any congruity to Reason and to the words of the Text to draw these things either to the Old and New Testament or to the Magistracy and Ministry Grant once that we may with our mystical Interpretations evade the literal Truth of things so plainly delivered in the Scripture I would fain know what certainty is to be had there or how any thing should ever be proved from thence Likewise we are told in the History of the two Witnesses that they shall prophesie a thousand two hundred and sixty Days This term of time say they signifieth a thousand two hundred and sixty Years a Day according to the usage of the Prophets being put for a Year to which purpose they allege Numb 14.3 34. where it is said Your Children shall wander in the Wilderness forty Years and bear your Whoredoms untill your Carcases be wasted in the Wilderness After the number of the Days in the which ye searched the Land even forty Days each Day for a Year shall ye bear your iniqu ties even forty Years And Ezek. 4.5 6. where it is said I have laid upon thee the Years of their iniquity according to the number of the Days three hundred and ninety Days so shalt thou bear the iniquity of the House of Israel And when thou hast accomplished them lie again on thy right side and thou shalt bear the iniquity of the House of Judah forty Days I have appointed thee each Day for a Year But in neither of these two places are Days to be drawn out into Years Otherwise when it is said in Numbers that the Israelites were forty Days a searching the Land of Canaan we must understand that they spent forty Years about it which every one seeth to be absurd Likewise when Ezekiel lay upon his left side three hundred and ninety Days for the iniquity of Israel and on his right side forty Days for the iniquity of Judah by this reckoning he would have lien on his sides four hundred and thirty Years Wherefore the words in Numbers import no more than that whereas the Israelites had spent forty Days in searching the Land their Children should answerably thereunto wander forty Years in the Wilderness So also doth the passage in Ezekiel signifie that forasmuch as Israel and Judah had now gone a whoring from God for the space of four hundred and thirty Years the Prophet should accordingly lie four hundred and thirty Days upon his sides to bear their iniquity I conclude therefore that it is contrary both to Scripture and Reason to understand by the thousand two hundred and sixty Days that the Witnesses shall prophesie any other than such Days as are properly so called consisting of four and twenty Hours a piece Finally it is said of the Carcases of the two Witnesses that they shall he unburied three Days and an half in the Street of the great City where our Lord was slain which is the most evident description of Jerusalem that can be given this City say they is meant of Rome because our Lord was put to death by the Roman Power 'T is true indeed that a Deputy of the Roman Emperour did crucifie our Saviour Christ but may it therefore be affirmed that he was crucified at Rome Are we wont to say that a thing is done at such a place when it is done onely by the Authority of him that hath his imperial Seat there What man that was in his wits did ever express things in this manner Certainly did the Revelation speak at such a rate as these men imagine it would be the most ridiculous piece that ever was penned and the Authour thereof
and the Antichrist In the next place seeing it is now manifest that by the Antichrist many deceivers are understood let us search out what manner of deceivers they must be to whom this appellation agreeth If we consult with interpreters and observe how variously they define the Antichrist we shall be at a loss concerning that which wee seek after only we shall finde they so order the business as that if they had a spight against any man upon a Religious accompt they could transform him into Antichrist at their pleasure Wherefore leaving them let us betake our selves again to the touchstone of truth the holy Scripture and see how it defineth Antichrist John the only sacred writer that is to guide us in this as well as in the other particulars describing Antichrist Chap. 2. of this first Epistle verse 22. doth if his words be exactly rendred according to the Greek speak thus Who is the liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ this is the Antichrist that denieth the Father and the Son And Chap 4.3 he saith thus Every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God and this is that spirit of Antichrist And Epist 2.7 which place was before quoted to another purpose he saith Many deceivers are come into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh This is the deceiver and the Antichrist From which testimonies it is evident that only he who denieth that Jesus is the Christ or that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is an Antichrist What peevishness is it then that they who make the same confession touching Christ and his coming in the flesh should upon some other difference about Religion reproachfully term one another Antichristians And how contrary is this to the determination of the Scripture it self which all should make the rule of their words and actions These things being unfolded it is an easie matter to perceive my design in writing this Essay which is to enure men more closely to follow the Text of the holy scipture as in other parts thereof so especially in the book of the Revelation where men are wont to be loose and exorbitant in a more then ordinary manner as if they strove who should depart furthest off from the literal sense of that prophecy For bearing in minde continually that rule of interpreting which all that are of a sound judgement readily admit That we are not to recede from the letter of the sacred Text without evident necessity which is when the literal interpretation is repugnant either to our sences or to the scope of the place or to a greater number of plain Texts to the contrary I have as I perswade my self given a sounder and clearer exposition of this difficult prophecy then is commonly to be met withall I have also with the same labour cut off all those forced and factions applications of things mentioned in the said book to the Pope which too justly render the reformed Religion suspected to Papists who are apt enought to think that such violent wresting of the Revelation to disparage them preceedeth from a want of solid Arguments to confute their Doctrine For mine own part there is no man that doth abominate all Popish Superstitions more than my self nor is at a wider distance from them yet doth not the detestation of them so transport me as that I am thereby induced to abuse the holy Scripture to the end I may render Papists more odious For such a way of proceeding is wont to work a contrary effect causing men when they once perceive the Papists to be so palpably wronged to imagine that their Religion is wholly true and harmless otherwise what need was there of so far fetched Allegations to disgrace them I have further observed that there is hardly found amongst us any man of unsound Principles in matter of Religion but presently calleth in the Revelation to his aid torturing the rare Mysteries thereof to get something out of them that may give a colour to his Absurdities Wherefore I made this account with my self that by opening away to the plain and genuine understanding of that Book I might possibly give a check to such groundless fancies and hinder them from pestering the World without controll in the time to come I desire therefore all that shall light on this Essay to peruse it with patience and not pass sentence thereon untill they have read it quite through and well considered the connexion of the several parts thereof and the congruity of the things therein delivered both with Scripture and Reason and if they perceive the worth and sovereign use of the many secrets therein discovered let them give the whole glory of them unto God who is the Father of Lights both of that wherewith the Pen-men of the holy Scripture and also of that wherewith the sound Interpreters of the same are enlightned Reader forasmuch as here remaineth an empty page and some few faults escaped in the printing of this book I have thought sit here to insert them that being taken notice of in the beginning the Book might be run over without any rub in the way ERRATA Pag. 2. for were r. are pag. 14. l. 9. for then r. them pag. 37 l. 21. for not are r. are not AN ESSAY To the Explaining of the REVELATION Chap. 13. Vers 1. And I stood upon the Sand of the Sea and saw a Beast rise up out of the Sea having seven Heads and ten Horns and upon his Horns ten Crowns and upon his Heads the name of Blasphemie The Exposition BY the Beast here mentioned is to be understood a Man according to the Exposition of John himself who saith in the 18. Verse of this Chapter Here is wisdom let him that hath understanding count the number of the Beast for it is the number of a Man For if the Number of the Beast be the Number of a Man by the Beast must needs be meant a Man otherwise his Number would be the Number of something else and not of a Man Again the Beast signifieth such a Man as shall be also a King and that an universal one A King because it is said Chap. 16.10 that the fifth Angel poured out his Vial upon the Throne so it is in the Greek of the Beast For if the Beast hath a Throne he is a King it being proper to Kings to sit upon Thrones Thus the four and twenty Elders which Chap. 4.4 are said to sit upon Thrones do Chap. 5.10 acknowledge themselves to have been made Kings Yea it is subjoyned in the fore-cited passage Chap. 16.10 that the Kingdom of the Beast was darkened But if his Kingdom was darkened then it undeniably followeth that he is a King in as much as a Kingdom and a King are Relatives But it is yet superabundantly manifest that by the Beast is meant a King from the Exposition of the Angel Chap. 17.10 11. where he saith
And there were seven Kings five are fallen and one is and the other is not yet come and when he cometh he must continue a short space And the Beast that was and is not even he is the eighth and is of the seven When he here saith after he had spoken of seven Kings that the Beast is the eighth it must of necessity be meant the eighth King Now that this King is to be an universal one appeareth from the 7. Verse of this Chapter where it is said of him disguized under the name of the Beast that Power Greek Authority was given him over all kindreds and tongues and nations Yea the universal Monarchy of the Beast is sufficiently hinted to us by his rising out of the Sea For if by Waters according to the Interpretation given by the Angel Chap. 17.15 are meant Peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues then suitably by the Sea which is the general confluence of the Waters ought to be understood the universality of Mankinde concurring to the advancement of that universal Monarch decyphered by the Beast This Interpretation of mine is further confirmed by the seventh Chapter of Daniel where the Angel explaining to him the Vision of the four great Beasts that came up out of the Sea saith Vers 17. These great Beasts which are four are four Kings which shall arise out of the Earth But those four Kings as every one that is acquainted with History can tell are the Founders of the four universal Kingdoms namely Nebuchadnezzar of the Caldean Cyrus of the Persian Alexander of the Greek Julius Caesar of the Roman When it is further said that the Beast had seven Heads and ten Horns by the seven Heads according to the Interpretation of the Angel Chap. 17 9,10 are meant seven Hills whereon Rome the Birth-place of the Beast as I shall hereafter prove is seated and by the ten Horns as the same Interpreter goeth on to explain it Verse the 12. of the fore-said Chapter are meant ten Kings which shall receive authority as Kings for a while with the Beast And indeed the Crowns that are upon the Horns do of themselves without any Interpretation sufficiently signifie that by the Horns Kings are understood But of these things more largely when we come to the explication of the Chapter aforesaid Finally as for the name of Blasphemy that was upon the seven Heads of the Beast had it been the will of God that we should know it he would have caused John to set it down But seeing it is neither here nor elsewhere expressed or so much as hinted we should be content to be ignorant thereof and not betray the impatient disposition of our mindes by ghessing at it Vers 2. And the Beast which I saw was like unto a Leopard and his Feet were as the Feet of a Bear and his Mouth as the Mouth of a Lion and the Dragon gave him his Power and his Seat and great Authority So great is the fierceness of the Beast whereby as I before proved an universal Monarch is understood that it is composed of sundry Beasts his Body being like to that of a Leopard whose swiftness in seising on the Prey is noted in the Scripture Hab. 1.8 Their Horses are swifter than the Leopards as also his lying in wait Hos 13.7 As a Leopard by the way will I observe them His Feet or Paws are like to those of a Bear whose chief strength consisteth in his Paws 1 Sam. 17.37 The Lord that delivered me from the Paw of the Bear His Mouth is like to that of a Lion whose ravening with his Mouth is also marked in the Scripture 2 Tim. 4.17 I was delivered out of the Mouth of a Lion Neither is this all but the Dragon whereby the Devil is to be understood as John himself expoundeth it Chap. 12.9 giveth to the Beast his Power which being a Power above Nature the Beast is thereby strengthened to atchieve such things as no natural and humane Power can reach unto The Devil also imparteth to the Beast his Throne and consequently his Dominion over the other evil Spirits of whom he is called the Prince Matth. 12.24 But of this also we will speak more in our Exposition of the 16. Chapter Finally the Devil bestoweth on the Beast great Authority which being different from those things that went before is to be understood of Authority and Dominion over all the World according to that of the 7. Verse where it is said that Power Greek Authority the same Word that is used here in the 2. Verse was given him over all kindreds and tongues and nations Where by the the way it is to be observed that the Authority of the Beast is no lawful Authority nor Ordinance or God as being given to him by the Devil and therefore Men are no more obliged to submit out of conscience unto him than unto the Devil that set him up and accordingly when the Saints levy Arms against the Beast and wage war with him though with ill success as being vanquished by him in fight they do not sin against God nor break that holy Commandment of his delivered to them by the Apostle Paul Rom. 13.1 2 c. Vers 3. And I saw one of his Heads as it were wounded to death and his deadly Wound was healed and all the World wondred after the Beast It appeareth by this passage that the Beast shall receive a deadly Wound whether in Battel or by some other accident is uncertain and that the healing of this Wound shall cause all the World to admire him For who would not wonder at such a King as being wounded unto death is notwithstanding afterwards cured seeing this cannot be effected but by supernatural means Thus when King Hezekiah being sick unto death was restored to his health the Cure was not wrought without a Miracle Neither is there any sufficient Reason can be rendered why we should depart from the Letter in the Interpretation of this place But if it be here objected that the Wound which the Beast receiveth in one of his Heads seemeth not to concern him and therefore neither is the Cure thereof likely to draw all the World into the admiration of him in as much as the Heads are seven other Kings I answer that though the Heads do principally denote seven other Kings yet this hindereth not but that one of them may in a less principal manner signifie him also Yea that it doth so we are assured by the Angels Interpretation Chap. 17.11 who saith that the Beast is the eighth King and is of the seven The expounding of which divine Riddle I reserve for the Comment upon that place where I will make it appear that it is the sixth Head that representeth the Beast and consequently we must here understand that Head to be wounded with the Sword Nor is this any whit more strange than that the great Horn between the Eys of the He-Goat Dan. 8.5 should signifie one and the
the fifth Kingdom upon the defeat of the Beast and all the Kings of the earth that side with him For in this sense is the like removal understood Chap. 6.14 After this earthquake and the dire effects thereof cometh another Judgement very terrible namely that of Hail which is wont to be bred in the Air the place into which this seventh vial is poured and thereof God himself saith to Job Hast thou seen the treasures of the hail which I have reserved against the time of trouble against the day of battel and war Job 38.22 23. Accordingly we read not onely that this was one of the ten plagues of Egypt Exod. 9.23 24 25. but also that God did cast down great Hailstones from Heaven upon the Amorites at the battel of Gibeon so that more died with the Hail-stones then they whom the Children of Israel slew with the sword Josh 10.5 11. Nevertheless it is likely that neither the Hail-stones of Egypt nor those of Canaan were equal in bigness to them that fall down from Heaven upon the worshippers of the Beast For they are said to be about a talent apiece Now though we cannot certainly tell how much a talent weighed yet are we sure that the weight thereof was very great inasmuch as the branched Candlestick of the tabernacle and all the vessels thereof are by the appointment of God to be made of one talent of Gold Exod. 25.31 39. But this plague worketh no better effect upon men then the former ones did For they are so enraged with the greatness thereof that they cannot forbear to vent Blasphemies against God himself Which sheweth that the end of these Plagues is not to reform those on whom they are sent for undoubtedly such as are come to that height of impiety as to worship the Beast yea the Dragon himself are altogether incurable but onely to punish and torment them for their wickedness and so to set off the Riches of Gods grace towards the Righteous whom he hath appointed to Salvation Chap. 17. Vers 1 2. And there came one of the seven Angels which had the seven Vials and talked with me saying unto me Come hither I will shew unto thee the Judgement of the great Whore that sitteth upon many Waters 2. With whom the Kings of the Earth have committed Fornication and the Inhabiters of the Earth have been made drunk with the Wine of her Fornication The Exposition FOr as much as upon the pouring out of the seventh Vial Great Babylon is said to come in remembrance before God that he might give her the Cup of the Wine of his fierce Wrath and this was a thing of great importance to be clearly known for we finde by experience how much hurt the inadvertency of the time and persons appointed of God for the inflicting of this punishment hath done to Christians one of the seven Angels aforesaid cometh to John profering to shew him the Judgement of that great City which according to the usage of the Scripture elsewhere as Isai 1.21 23.15 16 17. Ezek. 16.2 3 35 he calleth an Harlot with whom the Kings of the Earth have had to do and been intoxicated with the Wine of her Fornication The meaning of which Allegory I will unfold when I come to the fourth Verse Vers 3 So he carried me away in the Spirit into the Wilderness and I saw a Woman sit upon a Scarlet coloured Beast full of Names of Blasphemy having seven Heads and ten Horns When the Angel is here said to carry John away in the Spirit into the Wilderness this argueth that his Body continued where he was before and that he was onely in the Spirit of his minde hurried away Thus Paul writing to the Colossians Chap. 2.5 saith Though I he absent in the flesh yet I am with you in the spirit joying and beholding your order and the stedfastness of four Faith in Christ Not that in the substance of his Spirit he was not as well absent from them as in his body otherwise how could he indite that Epistle but because that in the cogitation of his Spirit he was present with them and beheld their Christian behaviour God revealing the same unto him as it here hapned to John to see this wonderful Vision in the Wilderness where as it seemeth the Judgement of Rome was represented unto him rather than in the place of his personal abode because that City is described both in this and also in the following Chapter as ready to become a Wilderness and Habitation of Devils and an Hold of every unclean Spirit and a Cage of every unclean and hateful Bird. All which Creatures are noted in the Scripture to haunt desolate places See Isai 13.20 21 22. 34.13 14. Jer. 50.39 Matth. 12.43 It is further very suitable to represent this City by the name and feature of a Woman because in the Prophets of old whose Language and Descriptions the Revelation every where followeth nothing is more usual Thus Samaria and Jerusalem are brought in as two Women Ezek. 23.1 2 3 4 Who the Scarlet Beast is on whom the Woman sitteth and which is depainted with that colour either for the abundance of Blood which he was to shed or for his kingly Dignity or for both is afterwards declared by the Angel together with the meaning of his seven Heads and ten Horns But for the names of Blasphemy whereof he is full it is neither here nor elsewhere so much as intimated what they be wherefore it would be no less than impudency in us to undertake a description of them Vers 4. And the Woman was arayed in Purple and Scarlet colour and decked with Gold and precious Stone and Pearls having a golden Cup in her Hand full of Abominations and filthiness of her Fornication No marvel if this Woman which sitteth on the Scarlet Beast be so richly and royally attired for Rome decyphered by her being the Seat of the Empire and receiving both the Spoils and Tributes of all the Nations in the World must needs be infinitely rich which was indeed the cause of her corruption in point of manners making her now reach out the golden Cup of her Abominations and whorish filthiness as she had done that of her whorish wrath before Chap. 14.8 For whereas she had in the times of her strict Discipline by her valour and marvellous cunning brought all Nations under her yoke being now on the contrary grown extremely loose and vicious all manner of debauchery and lewdness did distill from her as from the Head into the Body of the whole Universe so that she is in the following Verse styled The Mother of the Abominations of the Earth Vers 5. And upon her Forehead was a Name written Mystery Babylon the Great the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth As the Servants of God had his Name written on their Foreheads and the Inhabitants of the Earth that of the Beast so also hath the stately Woman that John saw in the
Domitiano consulare imperium that is to him namely Vespasian with Titus his son the consulship was voted to Domitian the pretorship and consular authority ib. cap. 16. Mox ejurante Frontino Caesar Domitianus praeturam cepit Ejus nomen epistolis edictisque proponebatur Vis penes Mucianum nisi quod pleraque Domitianus instigantibus amicis aut propria lubidine agebat that is Not long after upon the resignation of Frontinus Caesar Domitian took the pretorship his name was prefixt to all Letters and Edicts The power and sway of affairs was in Mucianus save that Domitian either at the instigation of his friends or upon his own pleasure transacted very many things ib. cap. 20. Vespasianus in Italiam resque urbis intentus adversam de Domitiano famam accipit tanquam terminos aetatis concessa filio egrederetur that is Vespasian being intent upon Italy and the affairs of the City heareth an ill report of Domitian as if he had passed the bounds of his age and carried himself with more state then became an Emperours son Suetonius also saith of him in the description of his life Cap. 1. Post victoriam demum progressus Caesar consalutatus honorem praeturae urbanae cum consulari potestate suscepit titulo tenus quam jusdictionem ad collegam proximum transtulit Caeterum omnem vim dominationis tam licenter exercuit ut jam tum qualis futurus esset oslenderet Nec exequar singula contrectatis multorum uxoribus Domitiam Longinam Aelio Lamiae nuptam etiam in matrimonium abduxit atque uno die super viginti urbana officia atque peregrina distribuit mirari se Vespasiano dictitante quod successorem non sibi mitteret that is Domitian after the victory going out and being saluted by the name of Cesar assumed the honour of the City Pretorship with consular authority as to the Title transferring all the jurisdiction to the next Colleague howbeit he did so licenciously exercise all the power of Sovereignty as that he even then shewed what manner of Prince he would afterwards prove For to omit the rest of his actions having abused the wives of many Citizens he took away Domitia Longina that was maried to Aelius Lamia and made her his own wife and distributed in one day above twenty offices belonging either to the City or to foreign parts Vespasian in the mean time ever and anon crying out that he wondred that his son did not also send him a successor ib. chap. 13. Principatum vero adeptus neque in senatu jactare dubitavit patri se fratri imperium dedisse illos sibi reddidisse Pari arrogantiacum procuratorum suorum nomine formalem dictaret epistolam sic coepit Dominus deus noster sic fieri jubet Unde institutum post hac ut ne scripto quidem ac sermone cujusquam appellaretur aliter that is Domitian having obtained the Empire doubted not to boast in the very Senate that he had given the Empire both to his Father and to his Brother whereas they had only restored it unto him with like arrogancy as he endited a formal Letter in the name of his procurators he began thus Our Lord and God commandeth it so to be done whence it was afterwards injoyned that none should either in writing or in speech give him any other Titles This shifting of the Kingly power in Domitian seemeth to be a proof or essay of what shall hereafter happen to him in the same kind For as he was sometimes recalled from a private condition to the Empire so shall he in future ages arise from the dead to be a King as I have before evinced By what the Angel hath here spoken to declare the Mystery of the Beast it is manifest that by the Beast is meant a Man who was alive when this Vision happened to John For the Angel saith expresly Verse 8. that he is It is also manifest that the Beast had already been a King at Rome and should after the decease of his two immediate Predecessours reign there again But who was there in the time of this Vision to whom such a thing doth agree save Domitian about the end of whose Empire Irenaeus saith lib. 5. cap. 3. that this Book of the Revelation was seen Neque enim ante multum temporis so are his words visum est sed paenè sub nostro saeculo ad finem Domitiani imperii Which may be so far true as that perhaps it was not published and commonly known before that time Nevertheless it appeareth from those words of the Angel Five are fallen and one is that it was written in the Reign of Vespasian These things being so I rightly reckon the Kings from Claudius for if you begin either before or after him the words of the Angel will not suit with the truth of the History as it is delivered by sundry grave Writers that lived in or about those times And it is likely that the Angel so ordered the Vision that the computation should begin from Claudius inclusively because he was the first Roman Emperour that imployed his Authority to molest the Christians For Suetonius in the History of his Life cap. 25. telleth us that he expelled the Jews out of Rome as making continual Tumults by the impulsion of Christ whom he as it seemeth doth out of an heathenish malignity call in Latin Chrestus and not Christus as doth also the Authour of that profane Dialogue called Philopatris which is found among the Works of Lucian see Page 1003. of the Salmurian Edition However certain it is out of the sacred story that Claudius expelled the Jews out of Rome by which means Aquila and Priscilla his Wife both believing Jews being forced to quit Rome betook themselves to Corinth Acts 18.2 It is further manifest from what hath been before discoursed that the Beast Domitian is aptly represented with seven Heads because of his relation both to the seven Mountains and also to the seven Kings that were signified by them For he had not onely sometimes reigned in Rome the seven-hilled City but was also born there for so saith Suetonius in the beginning of his Life Domitianus natus est regione urbis sexta ad Malum Punicum that is Domitian was born in the sixth Ward of the City at the Sign of the Pomegranate He was also Son to one of the seven Kings and Brother to another as hath before been shewed Vers 12. And the ten Horns which thou sawest are ten Kings which have received no Kingdom as yet but receive Power as Kings one hour with the Beast 13. These have one minde and shall give their Power and Strength unto the Beast 14. These shall make War with the Lamb and the Lamb shall overcome them for he is Lord of lords and King of kings and they that are with him are called and chosen and faithful Hitherto the Angel hath spoken concerning the Beast and his seven Heads now he cometh to the
ten Horns that are upon him which be expresly telleth us as you see here that they are ten Kings who did not yet reign but should receive Authority together with the Beast Nevertheless out of what particular parts of the World these Kings shall arise he doth not shew or intimate So that we must of necessity be ignorant of that circumstance either till the thing it self be accomplished or at least till God be pleased to make a Revelation thereof Onely it appeareth out of Daniel Chap. 7.24 25. that they shall start up out of the fourth universal Kingdom that is the Roman For that this Prophecy of the Beast and his ten Horns is the same with that of Daniel in the Chapter aforesaid will easily appear if you diligently compare both the passages together By so doing you will finde that the Beast in the Revelation is in Daniel called the little Horn in as much as the Actions the Confederates and the time of their Tyranny are exactly the same in both Howbeit the time is but short that these ten Kings shall reign together with the Beast for the Angel saith it shall be one hour which Expression of one hour though it be not strictly and properly taken for the twelfth part of a Day it being impossible for the ten Kings to perform all that is here foretold of them in the space of such an hour yet doth it confessedly signifie a short period of time as other like passages of the Scripture will inform us Thus Paul 1 Thess 2.17 saith We Brethren being taken from you for a short time time Greek for the time of an hour in presence not in heart endeavoured the more abundantly to see your face with great desire And Philemon 15. Perhaps he therefore departed for a season Greek an hour that thou mightest receive him for ever Now for as much as I have before evinced that the Beast doth personate Domitian the Roman Emperour and no such thing as the starting up of ten new Kings and their Confederacy with him is said in History to have yet happened to him I judge I may firmly and undoubtedly conclude that this must hereafter be fulfilled when he shall arise from the Dead to rule again The next thing that the Angel mentioneth is the agreement of the ten Kings not whereby they stand well affected towards one another but whereby they all give their Power and Authority to the Beast who setteth himself against Gods people For as to any good correspondence between them in relation to their particular estates they are so far from it that they can no more cleave together than Iron be mixed with Clay Yea though an union be endeavoured by Alliance yet can it not be effected as we are taught by the famous Vision of Nebuchadnezzar Dan. 2.43.44 For that these Kings mentioned in this second Chapter are the same with those of the seventh is apparent as from other circumstances so from the Universal Kingdom out of which they rise and also from their very number in that they are designed by ten horns in the one Chapter and by ten toes in the other Lastly he saith of these Kings that they shall make war with the Lamb Not that they use hostility against the very person of Christ for he being glorified with his Father in the heavens is altogether uncapable of having violence offered to him but because they are armed against the Saints of whom Christ is the head and Captain Thus Abijah the King or Judah exhorteh Jeroboam and the house of Israel from fighting against God when they were about to assail his people 2 Chron. 13.12 Behold saith he God himself is with us for our Captain and his Priests with sounding Trumpets to cry alarm against you O children of Israel fight ye not against the Lord God of your Fathers for ye shall not prosper Moreover that the Saints also put themselves in aray against those Kings appeareth not only from what is plainly affirmed hereof Chap. 19.19 where it is said I saw the Beast and the Kings of the earth and their armies gathered together to make war with him that sat on the horse and against his army but may sufficiently be deduced from that very expression of making war which is here simply and without limitation used by the Angel as I have before proved in mine exposition on Chaep 13.7 But in vain is hostility used by those Kings against Christ for he being as the angel further saith a King of Kings and Lord of Lords can easily subdue them as we see it come to pass in the foresaid nineteenth Chapter Again they that are with him that is on his side as this form of speech doth elsewhere sometimes signifie see Luke 11.23 He that is not with me is against me are called to the Communion of the son of God 1 Cor. 1.9 and chosen to salvation 2 Thes 2.13 and faithful in Christ Jesus Ephes 1.1 and therefore such as the fidelity and goodness of Christ will not suffer so cruelly to be cut off at a blow by these Kings who gather their forces to Armageddon to that purpose But these words aswell as that of warring before used imply that the Saints do muster and imbody themselves in an army namely that they may when their Captain Christ Jesus hath defeated the Beast and all the Kings of the earth with the sword of his mouth erect the fifth Kingdom according to that of Daniel Chap. 7.21 22. I beheld and the same horn that is the little horn whom I before proved to be the same with the Beast in the Revelation made war with the Saints and prevailed against them until the antient of days came and Judgement was given to the Saints of the most high and the time came that the Saints possessed the Kingdom Vers 15 And he saith unto me The waters which thou sawest where the whore sitteth are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues The waters where the harlot sitteth are not only with truth but also with great fitness and elegancy said by the Angel to be Peoples and Nations both because of the violent rushing of men when they are once stirred and likewise of the noise which they make resembling that of waters when they dash against the rocks Thus. Isa Chap 17.12 saith Wo to the multitude of peoples which make a noise like the noise of the Sea and to the rushing of Nations that make a rushing like the rushing of mighty waters And Jeremiah saith of old Babylon the Type of Rome as it seemeth by the Revelation Chap. 51.55 The Lord hath spoiled Babylon and destroyed out of her the great voice when her waves do roar like great Waters a noise of their voice is uttered Whence it is that the stilling of the Tumult of the People is well ranked by the Psalmist with the quieting of the noise of the Seas Psalm 65 7. Now Rome is said to sit upon these Waters because being the Seat of
no other receptacle of the dead besides these twain save only the Grave Thus we finde that Job doth by death understand the Grave Chap. 27.15 When he saith of the wicked man that those that remain of him shall be buried in death and his widows shall not weep Finally Hell not Hell-fire giveth up the souls both of them that were drowned in the Sea under which name all waters are comprehended and also of them that were buried in the earth For that Hell is designed to be the mansion of separated Souls appeareth from the words of Peter Acts 2.31 Who speaking out of the Psalms concerning the resurrection of Christ saith that his soul was not left in hell neither did his flesh see corruption And also from that passage of David Psalm 30.3 O Lord thou hast brought up my soul from Hell thou hast kept me alive that I should not go down into the pit For that I have rightly rendred the words in saying from hell and not from the Grave is manifest both from the Greek version which here hath 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and also from the Hebrew original not using the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is proper to denote a Grave or Sepulchre See Gen. 23.6 but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whereby Hell is wont to be expressed and which lieth in the lower parts of the earth See the Hebrew context of Numb 16.30.33 Besides it is apparent to common sense that not the souls but only the bodies of men are laid in the grave Vers 14. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire This is the second death Vers 15. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire What the second death is and consequently those words mean which we read in the second clause of the sixth verse foregoing as also those Chap. 2.11 where it is said He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death is here by John explained for he expresly telleth us that the lake of fire and brimstone is the second death So that to be cast into that lake and to be under the power of the second death or hurt of it are expressions of the same import Thus had we the testimony of Jesus expounded to us in the nineteenth Chapter Nevertheless how Death and Hell being both of them places and receptacles of the dead should be cast into the said lake is hard to comprehend Yea were it not for a certain passage in the sixth Chapter of this prophecy I should be inclineable to think that this was a mystery which God would not have us pry into as we have above shewn that sundry such mysteries are to be met withal in the Book of the Revelation But forasmuch as in the Chapter aforesaid verse 8. Death is brought in riding upon a pale horse and Hell following him and consequently both of them are represented in the similitude of persons we may from thence rationally collect that in the passage here under debate the Holy Ghost intending to intimate that after the universal Judgement there shall be neither burial nor separation of the soul from the body doth exhibit two persons representing Death and Hell which are thrown into the lake of fire as resigning up their Office to it and being swallowed up therein according to that of the Prophet Hosea Chap. 15.14 O death I will be thy plague O Hell so it is in the Hebrew and not Grave I will be thy destruction Besides the books of the Old and New Testament which are the rule by which the actions of men that have had some form of Religion delivered by God shall at length be examined there is yet another Book opened in the day of judgement to wit the Book of life wherein whosoever have not their names written are said to be cast into the Lake of fire From whence it may be rightly concluded that as the want of being enrolled in that Book was above in the thirteenth and also in the seventeenth Chapters alleged as the Cause why so many erred most grosly in admiring and worshipping the Beast so is it here why so many are thrown into the Lake of Fire in that it is altogether impossible for such persons to attain that piety to which the Promise of eternal Life is annexed As for the place of the Lake of Fire that is here so much spoken of were it part of the World it would of necessity perish with the World which as we have before evinced is to be abolished Wherefore seeing it abideth for ever we ought in reason to conceive that it is without the compass of the World in the Description of which the Scripture doth perpetually omit it And hence it seemeth to be called by Christ the outer Darkness Matth. 22.13 as being without the Verge of Heaven and Earth Chap. 21. Vers 1. And I saw a new Heaven and a new Earth for the first Heaven and the first Earth were passed away and there was no more Sea The Exposition WHat I before said touching the orderly course held by John in setting down his Prophecies is here worthy again to be observed For having in the precedent Chapter described the abolition of Heaven and Earth he now mentioneth the new Heaven and the new Earth that are to succeed in their place And he therefore affirmeth that he had seen this new Heaven and this new Earth though to this very day the old ones still continue because they were represented to him in a Vision Thus Christ saith to his Disciples Matth. 16.28 There be some of them that are standing here who shall not taste of Death till they see the Son of Man coming in his Kingdom Not that any of them were to remain alive to the end of the World for both the Scripture and the Ecclesiastical History testifie the contrary but because about eight days after he vouchsafed to three of them a sight of that glory wherein he shall come as King to judge the World Luke 9.27 28 29 30. But for as much as many endeavour to obscure this passage of the Revelation with their forced Allegories let us confirm the plain and literal meaning thereof by what the Scripture elsewhere speaketh concerning this matter The Apostle Peter describing the Day of Judgement and the alteration that shall happen to the World thereby telleth the pious Jews to whom he directeth his Letters that the Day of the Lord will come as a Thief in the Night in the which the Heavens shall pass away with a great noise and the Elements shall melt with fervent heat the Earth also and the Works therein shall be burnt up Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness looking for and hasting unto the coming of the Day of God wherein the Heavens being on fire shall be dissolved and the Elements shall melt with fervent
Vers 17. And the Spirit and the bride say Come And let him that heareth say Come And let him that is a thirst Come And whosoever will let him take the water of life freely In this verse there are three things remarkable the first whereof is the desire that both the holy Spirit and the Church had to see the coming of Christ before promised inasmuch as it would openly shew both his severity towards the wicked and his goodness towards those that had walked closely with him The second is the command here imposed upon every one that should hear of this coming to wish for it The third is the invitation made to every one that is athirst and earnestly aspireth unto happiness to come and drink of the water of life freely All which are of themselves plain and need no further interpretation Vers 18. For I testifie unto every man that heareth the words of the prophecy of this book If any man shall adde unto these things God shall adde unto him all the plagues that are written in this book Vers 19. 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 and out of the holy city and from the things which are written in this book Moses in the law enjoyned the children of Israel that they should neither adde to the word which he had commanded nor diminish from it Deut. 4.2 So doth Christ here deal with Christians in relation to the book of this excellent prophecy ratifying his injunction with the greatest penalty that can be imagined Now to add to the words of this book or to diminish from them if perhaps any man be ignorant of so easy a matter is to insert something thereunto which was not written by John or to race out something that was there written by him This being so what will become of them at the last day who have rejected this whole book from the Canon of holy scripture pretending it was written not by that holy Apostle John but by some vile person when in the mean time the name of John is often there expressed as the penman thereof and the divine excellency of the things contained in the book sufficiently demonstrateth that it came originally from God what likewise shall we think of those who have so shamefully abused the book of this prophecy as that they durst to make it subservient to their own passions and worldly interests imposing such glosses on the same as have no hint or footstep in the holy Text and that on purpose to blacken some either person or party with whom they are angry and render them odious in the sight of all men Certainly this is little less then adding to the prophecy and argueth so small reverence to the pure and undefiled word of God at which we ought to tremble and withal bewraieth so great malice towards men as that the fifteenth verse of this very Chapter sheweth that such interpreters will at length be excluded out of the Kingdom of heaven Vers 20. He which testifieth these things saith Surely I come quickly Amen Even so come Lord Jesus The Lord Jesus doth here the third time mention his speedy coming of which we have sufficiently treated and John following the direction that was before given him in the seventeenth verse doth beseech the Lord Jesus that according to his promise he would come Which passage is diligently to be observed as strongly pressing them who dare to deny the invocation of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ For it can with no forehead be denied that here is a direct prayer adderssed to him since his ascent into heaven and sitting at the right hand of God Vers 21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all Amen As the foregoing verse yielded us a direct prayer made to Christ so this affordeth an oblique one For John here requesteth that the favour of the Lord Jesus might still be put forth towards the Saints that were in Asia to whom he directed the book of this prophecy Wherefore let us after the example of so holy a person pray earnestly that the same Lord Jesus would continue and multiply his favor towards all his Saints that are dispersed through the whole world that he would shelter them under the shadow of his wings against the rage of their enemies and supply them as their several necessities shall require and finally so fill them with the Spirit of grace that they may abound in love towards one another and towards all men FINIS
to give his throne Chap. 13.2 together with the False Prophet who is said to exercise all the power of the Beast before him Chap. 13.11 12. have dominion over the evil spirits to send them to and fro in the earth This so great an expedition of all the Kings in the world combining to cut off the people of God at a blow is in it self very apt to strike a terrour into the Saints were no river dried up to give way to any of the Kings aforesaid and so to make them flinch from their faith and Piety wherefore the admonition here given by Christ is very seasonable who comparing his coming to that of a thief because of the suddenness thereof for when his Enemies shall say Peace and safety then sudden destruction shall seize upon them pronounceth them happy who in so perillous a time hold fast the garments of their righteousness whereby the nakedness of their sins committed in the time of Ignorance is kept from appearing to their shame As for the place which these Kings aforesaid make their Randezvouz it is here called Armageddon that is the mount of Megiddo For Har in Hebâ—ew signifieth a mount and Mageddon is the same with Megiddo a City belonging to Manasseh Jos 17.11 which is there written by the Greek interpreters Mageddo and hath here the letter N added thereunto by John Thus the City which Luke Chap. 9.10 calleth Bethsaida is by Matthew with the addition of an N termed in Greek Bethsaidan Chap. 11.21 But as the letter N is added to the end of the Hebrew word aforesaid so is the letter or rather aspiration of h taken away from the beginning thereof whilest it is written Armageddon as it fareth with the Hebrew word Hallelujah Psal 146.1 which in Greek is written both there and also in the Revelation Chap. 19.1 Allelujah without the letter or aspiration H. Now the mount of Megiddo seemeth to be chosen of God rather then another place towards which all the Kings of the earth must draw their Armies against that of the Saints because this City had been of old renowned for the wonderful defeat that Barak with ten thousand men at his feet gave to the potent host of Jabin King of Canaan who was a mighty oppresser of the Israelites Judg. 4.2 6. compared with chap. 5.19 20. where in Deborahs song of victory it is said the Kings came and fought then fought the Kings of Canaan in Taanach by the waters of Megiddo they took no gain of money They fought from heaven the stars in their courses fought against Sisera For the memory of the miraculous discomfiture that hapned to Sisera the Captain General of Jabins Army and to the Kings of Canaan that sided with him against Gods people is of great influence upon the hearts of the Saints to make them expect the like overthrow to be given to the Beast and the Kings his followers in the same place Vers 17. And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven from the throne saying It is done Vers 18. And there were voices 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 Vers 19. And die great city was divided into three parts and the cities of the nations fell and great Babylon came in remembrance before God to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath Vers 20. And every island fled away and the mountains were not found Vers 21. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven every stone about the weight of a talent and men blasphemed God because of the plague of the hail for the plague thereof was exceeding great God had already plagued the Beast and his worshippers in the other three Elements of Earth Water and Fire as appeareth by the history of the first third and fourth vials Wherefore that all nature may be armed against so out-ragious offenders this last vial is poured out into the Air. Which is no sooner done but a loud voice is heard out of the temple in Heaven from the Throne saying It is done This voyce is rightly ascribed to God himself that sitteth upon the throne rather then to any other person about or under the Throne as we see it come to pass Chap 19.5 because we find him speaking after the same maner Chap. 21.5 6. He that sat upon the throne said Behold I make all things new And he said unto me Write for these words are true and faithful And he said unto me It is done As therefore in that place it signifieth that there is a period set to the duration of the world so doth it here intimate that no more vials of wrath are to be poured out forasmuch as the wrath of God is accomplished by this last The voyces thunders and lightnings that follow hereupon are all fore-runners of the great and sore Judgements that God is about to bring upon the inhabitants of the earth For thus we see the plagues pertaining to the seven trumpets ushered in Chap. 8.5 6. Among those Judgements an Earthquake is one affirmed here to be the greatest that ever hapned since God created man upon the earth the truth whereof will appear to us if we consider the several effects of this Earthquake For first it sundreth Jerusalem into three parts to wit by the sinking of the intermediate buildings into the ground for no other division is wont to be the effects of an Earthquake And of this Cities shaking about this time we have a more ample relation Chap 11.13 For that Jerusalem is here meant by the great City is evident in that it is distinguished from great Babylon and the other Cities of the nations or Gentiles Wherefore there remaineth no other City to be understood but that of the Jews Jerusalem which hath this very appellation of a great City given to it Chap. 11.8 Another effect of this unusual Earthquake is the falling of the Cities of the Heathen many of which seem to be overturned thereby as it is wont to happen in such shakings A third effect or at least a consequent thereof is the coming of great Babylon into remembrance before God to give unto her the cup of his fierce wrath Not that God had before forgotten her but because he did not then so remember her as to execute his fierce wrath upon her that business being reserved for this time The maner of which execution you may read at large in the 18. Chapter The fourth effect is the removal of every Island and the sinking of the mountains which afterwards ceased to appear These two things shall either come to pass as they are here related for so the others that go before are undoubtedly to be fulfilled or else they onely denote the great alteration that shall happen over all the world by the erecting of