<!DOCTYPE ETS PUBLIC "-//UMDLPS//DTD EEBOPROOF 2.0//EN">
<ETS>
<TEMPHEAD>
<REVDESCR>
<CHANGE>
<DATE>2013-10-29</DATE>
<RESPSTMT>
<NAME>Lauren Proux</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
</RESPSTMT>
<ITEM>Checklist: x Add TEMPHEAD, change DATE, validate x Add DIV TYPEs, validate x Review structure, use BODY or rarely GROUP x Check PB placement and completeness, ensure sequence of N="" x Proof title page(s) x Check HEAD TRAILER ARGUMENT EPIGRAPH OPENER CLOSER SIGNED SALUTE BYLINE x Check ^, oe, abq (Esq;), italic I / J, _Initals, &amp;c. x Check # @ -- UNCLEAR LB FIGURE x Check q; startq endq Q&#62; x Correct illegibles from proofsheet x Check illegible page, para, line, span, word, dollar signs Final validate Corrected [ ] illegible groups out of [ ]. Converted [ ] illegible groups to GAP DESC="illegible". DONE</ITEM>
</CHANGE>
</REVDESCR>
</TEMPHEAD>
<EEBO>
<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="B20811">
<STC T="W">C6887</STC>
<BIBNO T="oclc">[ocm]09523066</BIBNO>
<VID>204453</VID>
</IDG>
<TEXT LANG="eng">
<FRONT>
<DIV1 TYPE="title page">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<P>THE JUDGMENTS of GOD UPON THE Roman-Catholick Church, FROM Its fir&s;t Rigid Laws for Univer&s;al Conformity to it, unto its la&s;t End.</P>
<P>WITH A Pro&s;pect of the&s;e near approaching Revolutions, VIZ.</P>
<P>The Revival of the <HI>Prote&s;tant</HI> Profe&s;&s;ion in an Eminent Kingdom, where it was totally &s;uppre&s;&s;ed.</P>
<P>The la&s;t end of all <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Ho&s;tilities.</P>
<P>The general Mortification of the Power of the <HI>Roman Church</HI> in all Parts of its Dominions.</P>
<P>In Explication of the TRUMPETS and VIALS of the <HI>Apocalyp&s;e,</HI> UPON Principles generally acknowledged by <HI>Prote&s;tant</HI> Interpreters.</P>
<P>By <HI>DRUE CRESSENER,</HI> D. D.</P>
<P><HI>LONDON,</HI> Printed for <HI>Richard Chi&s;well,</HI> at the <HI>Ro&s;e</HI> and <HI>Crown</HI> in St. <HI>Paul's Church-Yard,</HI> MDCLXXXIX.</P>
<PB REF="2">
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="dedication">
<PB REF="2">
<HEAD>TO THE KING.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>SIR,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P><HI>PROPHECIES</HI> concerning publick Events near at hand, were u&s;ed to be fir&s;t communicated to the Prince, who was to have the fir&s;t hand in their Accompli&s;hment. This gives Your Maje&s;ty a Right to the Dedication of the Inter|pretations, which I here pre&s;ent. They come to bring You a Pro&s;pect of a &s;peedy Revival of the Reformation where it has been extingui&s;hed, which is from thence to go on continually advancing upon the Ruines of the Roman Church to her la&s;t end. And then Your Maje&s;ty's peaceable Triumphs here mu&s;t be con|cluded to be the immediate Hand of God out of the Cloud for the fir&s;t opening of that Glorious Scene.</P>
<PB REF="3">
<P>SIR,</P>
<P>The fir&s;t di&s;covery in this kind came from a worthy Man then under Your Protection; And this gave You an antecedent Claim to all the acce&s;&s;ory improvements of it. His Attempt for want of a di&s;tinct &s;ettlement of the fir&s;t grounds of it had the ill fortune in the&s;e parts to be received but as his Conjecture. The importance of the thing did there|upon inflame my Curio&s;ity to enter upon a more &s;trict Enquiry after the foundations of the&s;e hopes, having before been encouraged by &s;ome Learned Men in a Method, that I had cho&s;en for &s;ecuring the Explication of the more light&s;ome parts of the Pro|phecy.</P>
<P>In pur&s;uance of this I have more di&s;tinctly &s;tated the fir&s;t Principles of the Grounds, that have been for|merly given, and have added other Evidences to them, which &s;eem more clearly to fix the begin|ning of this happy Revolution, than the light that the main Prophecy it &s;elf does offer for it.</P>
<P>But that which makes the faire&s;t promi&s;e of the near approach of this time, is, Your Maje&s;ty's unexpected &s;ucce&s;s in the&s;e Nations, which has given a per|fect new turn to all the Affairs of <HI>Europe,</HI> and in Concurrence with them does already &s;how the World a plain Pro&s;pect of &s;uch a &s;tate of things
<PB REF="3"> near at hand. It is manife&s;t, That in all appearance the next cau&s;es are now in Action.</P>
<P>It is for this rea&s;on that I have found it nece&s;|&s;ary to look out for &s;ufficient Te&s;timonies, that the&s;e Predictions were Penned long before Your Maje&s;ty's Expedition into the&s;e parts. They would otherwi&s;e run the danger of being thought to be nothing but the Glozing Flatteries of an un&s;incere Pretender; Which Your known aver&s;ion for &s;uch &s;ervile Arti|fices might a&s;&s;ure me You would reject with Di&s;plea&s;ure.</P>
<P>But after &s;uch Te&s;timonies, if there be any &s;trength in the&s;e Interpretations, it may be of U&s;e to Your Maje&s;ty's Government to have them divulged before they come to be fulfilled. To tho&s;e, that believe them, they will be like a Voice from Heaven not only for pre&s;ent comfort to them&s;elves, but to call for their be&s;t a&s;&s;i&s;tance to Your Conduct; And what is it, that a Nation can think too much for a Prince, whom they believe to be de&s;igned by God for the Deliverance of his Church from the mo&s;t de|plorable Slavery, that ever was yet heard of, from the very &s;hadow of Death, and of Hell it &s;elf.</P>
<P>It is no hard thing, <HI>Sir,</HI> to have this generally believed of You. The defence of the Reformation is known to go in&s;eparably along with the Lineal de&s;cent of Your Illu&s;trious Family. They have been called away from their Native Seats to watch con|tinually
<PB REF="4"> for this very thing; And Your Maje&s;ty's. late removal into tbis Land in the time of &s;uch a di&s;tre&s;s of the Neighbouring Churches, <HI>as never was &s;ince there was a Nation,</HI> &s;eems to be <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Dan.</HI> 12. 1.</NOTE> chiefly to give You a convenient Po&s;t to be the Re|viver of that oppre&s;&s;ed Cau&s;e, which next under Heaven owed its la&s;t firm Setlement in the World to the Arms of one of Your Ance&s;tors of the &s;ame Name.</P>
<P>We have already &s;een Your Maje&s;ty in tho&s;e Cir|cum&s;tances of the Prophecy, which pre&s;age the &s;ud|den Accompli&s;hment of that promi&s;ed Deliverance. We have &s;een You at the Head of almo&s;t all the &s;everal kinds of <HI>Peoples,</HI> and <HI>Nations,</HI> and <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rev.</HI> 11. 9, 10, 11, 12.</NOTE> <HI>Tongues,</HI> that would not &s;uffer the <HI>dead Bodies of the Witne&s;&s;es</HI> to be buried. We our &s;elves were thereupon in a manner made the Fir&s;t-fruits from the Dead before their approaching <HI>Re&s;urrection.</HI></P>
<P>The immediate Effect of this we &s;ee, is, that it not only cuts off all hopes of A&s;&s;i&s;tance from the great Oppre&s;&s;or, but does al&s;o let loo&s;e upon him the Forces of an abu&s;ed Kingdom, at a time when he is going to be attack'd by &s;uch a general Storm on all &s;ides of him, as can hardly be paral|lel'd in the Hi&s;tories of falling Empires.</P>
<PB REF="4">
<P> After this it will be ea&s;ie to believe, that Your Maje&s;ty's appearance in behalf of the Oppre&s;&s;ed mu&s;t make their Adver&s;aries think of diverting the Fury of a Million of the mo&s;t enraged of their Ene|mies within their own Bowels; e&s;pecially when the only way that they can hope to compa&s;s it by, is that, which will co&s;t them nothing, <HI>viz.</HI> A Liberty of their Religion. Though their hopes of any con&s;iderable &s;ucce&s;s in it may be never &s;o vain, yet they will find them&s;elves forced to make tryal of it, when all other ways will but &s;trengthen the intere&s;t of an appearing Enemy. And then will the <HI>Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es</HI> be accompli&s;hed.</P>
<P>Who can think that the <HI>Gallican</HI> Church will after that endure to be en&s;laved any longer to tho&s;e Super&s;ti|tions, which they have long &s;ince nau&s;eated, and have forced their Con&s;ciences to put fal&s;e colours upon? This will make it ea&s;ie to conceive, how <HI>the Witne&s;&s;es</HI> &s;hould <HI>a&s;cend</HI> into the Throne, and, as the Prophecy concludes, How the whole Kingdom &s;hould be converted without any violent Methods from the revived Reformation.</P>
<P>If we &s;hould once &s;ee that happy Change, none would que&s;tion, but that &s;o great an encrea&s;e of the Intere&s;t of the Reformation would &s;oon bring on &s;uch a <HI>general mortification of the power of the</HI> Roman <HI>Church in all parts of its Domi|nion,</HI>
<PB REF="5"> as would make it &s;ink by degrees into no|thing.</P>
<P>All Men may &s;ee from Your Maje&s;ty's publick Te&s;ti|monies of it, how firmly Your Heart is &s;et upon the Means, that do the mo&s;t naturally tend to this end; And there &s;eems to be as promi&s;ing a concurrence of the Hearts of Your People towards it, which &s;till con|firms the likelihood of the Event. That all Your Maje&s;ty's De&s;igns for this end may meet with as great Encouragements both from God, and Man, is the hearty Prayer of</P>
<CLOSER><SALUTE>SIR,</SALUTE>
<SIGNED>Your Maje&s;ty's Mo&s;t Dutiful Subject <HI>DRUE CRESSENER.</HI></SIGNED>
<DATELINE><DATE>March 25. 1689.</DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="affirmation">
<PB REF="5">
<P>THe&s;e are to certifie, That this Commentary upon the <HI>Revelation</HI> of St. <HI>John,</HI> to the Nineteenth Chapter, was &s;ent to me by the Author, and read over by me, near a Year ago; when there was not &s;o much as a Thought of what is &s;ince come to pa&s;s in this Kingdom.</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE><DATE><HI>March</HI> 22. 1688/9.</DATE></DATELINE>
<SIGNED><HI>Simon Patrick,</HI> Dean of <HI>Peterborough.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="affirmation">
<P>THe Revolutions that are mentioned in the Title of this Book, were communicated to me in Letters from the Author, in the Year 1687.</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE><DATE><HI>March</HI> 22. 1688/9.</DATE></DATELINE>
<SIGNED>Henry Plumptre.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="affirmation">
<OPENER><DATELINE><HI>Charterhou&s;e,</HI> <DATE>March 25. 1689.</DATE></DATELINE></OPENER>
<P>THis Treati&s;e [concerning the Explication of the <HI>Trumpets</HI> and <HI>Vials</HI> of the <HI>Apocalyp&s;e]</HI> was peru&s;ed by me, to the Nineteenth Chapter of it, near a Year ago.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>T. Burnet.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="affirmation">
<PB REF="6">
<OPENER><DATE><HI>March</HI> 25. 1689.</DATE></OPENER>
<P>WE do te&s;tifie, That the following Papers, to the Nineteenth Chapter, were in our hands the la&s;t Year, when the Bi&s;hops were &s;ent to the <HI>Tower,</HI> and then offered to <HI>Lambeth,</HI> in order to be Publi&s;hed.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED><LIST>
<ITEM><HI>Tho. Paget,</HI> D. D.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Sam. Freeman,</HI> D. D.</ITEM>
</LIST></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="affirmation">
<P>I Do atte&s;t, That what is contained in the&s;e Papers [concerning the Recovery of the Prote&s;tant Churches, and the final end of all Turki&s;h Ho&s;tilities, and the general Mortification of the Roman Church in all Parts of its Domi|nion] was Written by Dr. <HI>Cre&s;&s;ener,</HI> and Tran&s;cribed by me in the Year 1687, in order to be Publi&s;hed.</P>
<CLOSER><SIGNED>Jo&s;h. Thomp&s;on.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="half title">
<PB REF="6">
<P>THE JUDGMENTS of GOD UPON THE Roman-Catholick Church.</P>
<PB REF="7">
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="index">
<PB REF="7">
<HEAD>SUPPOSITIONS AND THEOREMS.</HEAD>
<P>TO avoid all trouble&s;ome interruptions of the Attention, the Proof of every <HI>Theorem</HI> &s;hould be clo&s;ely attended to, when it comes fir&s;t in order to be Read; But when the <HI>Theorem</HI> comes after|ward to be cited to confirm any thing el&s;e, the Proof of it is to be &s;uppo&s;ed, and nothing to be then regarded, but the bare terms of it, and their force to con|firm that which it is cited for.</P>
<PB REF="8">
<LIST>
<HEAD>Suppo&s;itions for the Second Part.</HEAD>
<ITEM><HI>Suppo&s;.</HI> 1. THE Bea&s;t, and the fal&s;e Prophet are the chief Ruling Power of the pre&s;ent Church of <HI>Rome</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Suppo&s;.</HI> 2. That the time, times and an half, the 42 Months, and the 1260 Days are all but divers names of one and the &s;ame &s;pace of 1260 Years.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Suppo&s;.</HI> 3. That the ri&s;e of the Bea&s;t was before the Year 620.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Suppo&s;.</HI> 4. That the Two Witne&s;&s;es in Sackcloth do repre&s;ent the whole True Church of Chri&s;t, that is under the domination of the Bea&s;t.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Suppo&s;.</HI> 5. That <HI>Babylon</HI> &s;ignifies the City of <HI>Rome</HI> in a &s;tate of Eccle&s;ia&s;tical Do|mination.</ITEM>
</LIST>
<LIST>
<HEAD>THEOREMS.</HEAD>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 1. The Woe of the &s;eventh Trumpet de&s;troys the power of the Bea&s;t.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 2. The 144000 are the True Church of Chri&s;t upon Earth.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 3. The 144000 are contemporary with the fir&s;t times of the Bea&s;t.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 4. The 144000 are &s;ealed to &s;ave them from the Plagues of the Trumpets.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 5. The whole time of the Bea&s;t is within the time of the Trumpets.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Con&s;eq.</HI> The Kingdom of the Bea&s;t is an Object of the Trumpets during that Time.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 6. The Body of the Chri&s;tian Church is very much corrupted before the time of the Trumpets.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 7. The Plagues of the Trumpets do in that &s;ucce&s;&s;ion fall upon all parts of the Church, that are corrupted in their time.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Con&s;eq.</HI> The Party of the Bea&s;t are &s;ome corrupt part of the Chri&s;tian Church.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 8. The Plagues of the Trumpets do affect the Dominions of the <HI>Roman</HI> Church all the time of the Bea&s;t.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 9. The Plagues of the Trumpets, the mo&s;t heavy in their time upon the place where they fall.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 10. The Plagues of the Trumpets not capable of being taken in a literal &s;en&s;e.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Con&s;eq.</HI> Tho&s;e Plagues that fall in the time of the Bea&s;t, the heavie&s;t of any within that time to the places where they fall.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 11. The great Tribulation, <HI>Chap.</HI> 7. is neither the Judgments of the &s;ixth Seal, n<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> tho&s;e in the Trumpets.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 12. The great Tribulation is the &s;ame with the killing of the re&s;t of the Brethren i<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> the fifth Seal.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Con&s;eq.</HI> The re&s;t of the Brethren in the fifth Seal is the &s;ame with the great multi+tude, <HI>Chap.</HI> 7. 9.</ITEM>
<PB REF="8">
<PB REF="9">
<ITEM> <HI>Theor.</HI> 13. The Vengeance promi&s;ed in the fifth Seal is the Plagues of the Trumpets.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 14. The Plagues of the Trumpets are not till after &s;ome univer&s;al Per&s;ecution the Church.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 15. The Martyrdoms of the fifth Seal are all pa&s;t before the ri&s;e of the Bea&s;t.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Con&s;eq.</HI> 1. The great multitude, <HI>Chap.</HI> 7. 9. is before the ri&s;e of the Bea&s;t.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Con&s;eq.</HI> 2. All the Martyrs in the fifth Seal, both tho&s;e &s;lain, and that were to be killed before the Year 620.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 16. All the Martyrs in the fifth Seal, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> were killed under Heathen Roman Emperors.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Con&s;eq.</HI> The Martyrs in the fifth Seal were <HI>all</HI> that were killed from that time to t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> end of the Per&s;ecution of <HI>Rome</HI> Pagan.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 17. The &s;ixth Seal is the change of the Pagan Government of <HI>Rome</HI> before the end of all Pagan power in it.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 18. The Plagues of the Trumpets fall upon the &s;ame Nation, that killed the Mar+tyrs in the fifth Seal.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Con&s;eq.</HI> The Plagues of the Trumpets are executed upon the Romans.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 19. The Saracens and Turks were two of the Woes of the la&s;t three Trumpets.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Con&s;eq.</HI> 1. The Saracens and Turks are the Woes of the fifth and &s;ixth Trumpet.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Con&s;eq.</HI> 2. The Turks are the &s;econd Woe.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Con&s;eq.</HI> 3. The Plagues of the fir&s;t four Trumpets mu&s;t fall upon the Romans betwixt t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> end of the Pagan Emperors and the Year 631.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 20. The great City, <HI>Chap.</HI> 11. 8. is the &s;ame with <HI>Babylon</HI> the Great.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 21. The Streets of the great City are the Dominions of <HI>Babylon.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Con&s;eq.</HI> 1. The tenth part of the City is the tenth part of the Dominions of <HI>Babylon.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Con&s;eq.</HI> 2. The tenth part of the City is one of the ten Kingdoms, that were given to the Bea&s;t.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Con&s;eq.</HI> 3. The fall of the tenth part of, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> is the Reformation of that Kingdom.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 22. The Roman Church continues in power after the A&s;cen&s;ion of the Witne&s;&s;es.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 23. The A&s;cen&s;ion of the Witne&s;&s;es is their advancement upon an Earthly Throne.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 24. The killing of the Witne&s;&s;es, <HI>ver.</HI> 7. is not the whole time of the Per&s;ecution <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> the Bea&s;t.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 25. The killing the Witne&s;&s;es is the fierce&s;t Per&s;ecution of the Church, and about the end of the Bea&s;t.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 26. The killing, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> a perfect &s;uppre&s;&s;ion at lea&s;t of the True Religion in all part<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> of the Dominion of the Bea&s;t.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 27. The three days and an half, <HI>ver.</HI> 9. are at lea&s;t three years and an half.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 28. The Dead Bodies of the Witne&s;&s;es, <HI>ver.</HI> 9. cannot &s;ignifie literally.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Con&s;eq.</HI> 1. The Death of the Witne&s;&s;es cannot be a literal Death.</ITEM>
<PB REF="9">
<PB REF="10">
<ITEM> <HI>Con&s;eq.</HI> 2. The killing of the Witne&s;&s;es cannot be a general Ma&s;&s;acre of the Prote&s;tants.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 29. The killing of the Witne&s;&s;es can be nothing but the Suppre&s;&s;ion of the True Reli|gion in <HI>all</HI> Parts of the Juri&s;diction of the Bea&s;t.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 30. The killing of the Witne&s;&s;es is at an end, when the True Religion is &s;uppre&s;&s;ed in all places where the Roman Church is the National Religion.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 31. The killing of the Witne&s;&s;es does not extend to the whole True Church at that time in being.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 32. The Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es, <HI>Ver.</HI> 11. is the reviving of the true Reli|gion in &s;ome of the Dominions of the Roman Church, where it has been &s;uppre&s;&s;ed.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 33. The Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es is not yet pa&s;t.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 34. The Preaching the everla&s;ting Go&s;pel to every Nation, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Ch. 14. 6. is the Preach|ing up of a general Reformation of the Roman Church in the time of the Bea&s;t.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 35. The Hour of God's Judgments, Ver. 7. is about the &s;ame time with the preach|ing the everla&s;ting Go&s;pel.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 36. The Hour of God's Judgments, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> is the beginning of the final ruine of the Roman Church.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 37. The preaching the everla&s;ting Go&s;pel not before the Prote&s;tant Reformation.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 38. The Vintage, Ver. 19. is the la&s;t De&s;truction of the Bea&s;t.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 39. The time of the patience of the Saints, <HI>Ver.</HI> 12. is the fierce&s;t Per&s;ecution of the Church by the Bea&s;t, betwixt the preaching the everla&s;ting Go&s;pel, and the la&s;t end of the Bea&s;t.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 40. The time of the patience of the Saints the &s;ame with that of the killing of Witne&s;&s;es.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 41. The Harve&s;t, <HI>Ver.</HI> 15. is after the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 42. The preaching the everla&s;ting Go&s;pel is the time of the Prote&s;tant Reformation.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 43. The Hour of God<HI>'s</HI> Judgments, <HI>Ver.</HI> 7. mu&s;t be near the fir&s;t times of the Pro|te&s;tant Reformation.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 44. The &s;even Vials are an orderly &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of Judgments upon the Bea&s;t to bring him to his ruine.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 45. The &s;even Vials cannot begin before the Prote&s;tant Reformation.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 46. The &s;even Vials and Trumpets do comprehend in them all the mo&s;t con&s;iderable Judgments upon the Romans that are mentioned in the Prophecy, from the ri&s;e of the Bea&s;t, to his la&s;t end.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 47. The Hour of God's Judgments is the beginning of the time of the &s;even Vials.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Con&s;eq.</HI> The &s;even Vials begin &s;oon after the fir&s;t times of the Prote&s;tant Reformation.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 48. The &s;econd Vial is already poured out.</ITEM>
<PB REF="10">
<PB REF="11">
<ITEM> <HI>Theor.</HI> 49. The Plague of the &s;econd Vial was at an end, at the late&s;t, at the Truce <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">|twixt the <HI>Spaniards</HI> and the <HI>Dutch,</HI> Anno Dom. 1609.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 50. The Plague of the third Vial ended with the Sweedi&s;h War in <HI>Germany.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 51. The Plague of the fourth Vial is the Vexations of the Papal and Imperi<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> Party by the King of <HI>France.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Con&s;eq.</HI> 1. Every one of the Vials require many years to be fulfilled in.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Con&s;eq.</HI> 2. Every Vial ends at forty years di&s;tance from the preceding Vial.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Con&s;eq.</HI> 3. The fifth Vial is near at hand.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Con&s;eq.</HI> 4. The time of the Bea&s;t does end about the Year 1800.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 52. The third Woe falls wholly upon that part of the Roman Empire which is <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> Empire of the Bea&s;t.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 53. The la&s;t act of the &s;eventh Vial is the &s;ame with the la&s;t part of the third Woe</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 54. The Plague of the &s;ixth Vial is not till after the end of the &s;econd Woe.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 55. The Plague of the &s;ixth Vial is all in the time of the third Woe.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 56. The Whole time of the &s;eventh Vial is but the latter part of the time of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> third Woe.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 57. The Plague of the fifth Vial is not yet come.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 58. The third Woe is a continued advancement of the Church in all parts of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> Dominion of the Bea&s;t till the la&s;t end of his Power.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 59. All the Vials that are in the time of the third Woe, are parts of that Woe.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 60. The third Woe is nothing el&s;e but the Vials that are contemporary with it.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Con&s;eq.</HI> The beginning of the third Woe is the fir&s;t of the Vials that are contemporar<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> with it.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 61. The Slaughter and Conver&s;ion of the Enemies of the Witne&s;&s;es, <HI>Chap.</HI> 11. 1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> is at the conclu&s;ion of either the fourth or the fifth Vial.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 62. The Slaughter and Conver&s;ion, <HI>&amp;c. Ch.</HI> 11. is but in one particular part <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> the Dominion of the Bea&s;t.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 63. The Slaughter and Conver&s;ion, <HI>&amp;c. Ch.</HI> 11. is no part of any of the Vials.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 64. The Plagues of the Vials fall not upon one particular part only of the Dominio<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> of the Bea&s;t.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 65. The Plague of the fifth Vial is an eminent Humiliation of the power of t<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> Bea&s;t in all parts of his Dominion.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 66. The whole Plague of the fifth Vial is within the time of the third Woe.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Con&s;eq.</HI> 1. The &s;econd Woe is the Turki&s;h Empire.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Con&s;eq.</HI> 2. The beginning of the Plagues of the fifth Vial is the beginning of the third Woe</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Theor.</HI> 67. The final end of the Turki&s;h Ho&s;tilities, as the &s;econd Woe, and much more th<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> time of the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es, is near at hand.</ITEM>
</LIST>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="table of contents">
<PB REF="11">
<HEAD>THE CONTENTS.</HEAD>
<P><LIST>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. I.</HI> THe kind of Proof, that is here endeavoured after. The rea&s;on of the Method. Five Suppo&s;itions gene|rally allowed by Prote&s;tant Interpreters, upon which the whole Di&s;cour&s;e relies. The Party of the Bea&s;t, a corrupt part of the <HI>Chri&s;tian Church.</HI> The <HI>Roman Church,</HI> an Object of the Plagues of all the Trumpets. The <HI>Saracens</HI> and <HI>Turks</HI> the fir&s;t and &s;econd Woe <HI>Page</HI> 1</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. II.</HI> The great Tribulation, and great Multitude, <HI>chap.</HI> 7. 9. applied: The re&s;t of the Brethren and the Vengeance promi&s;ed, <HI>chap.</HI> 6. 11. The matter of the &s;ixth Seal. The Object of the Plagues of the Trumpets. The Ho&s;tilities of the <HI>Saracens,</HI> and <HI>Turks,</HI> further evinced to be the bu&s;ine&s;s of the fir&s;t and &s;econd Woe. The bounds of the fir&s;t four Trumpets determined <HI>p.</HI> 15</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. III.</HI> The four fir&s;t Trumpets applied. The &s;ignification of a third part in the Trumpets &s;crupulou&s;ly enquired after and deter|mined. Objections an&s;wered <HI>p.</HI> 29</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. IV.</HI> The particular Application of the Matter of the fir&s;t four Trumpets, according to the Notion of the third part mentioned in them. The rea&s;on of the difference betwixt the four fir&s;t and the three la&s;t Trumpets. What Provocations were the cau&s;e of the Judgments of the Trumpets. How they were the Vengeance pro|mi&s;ed to the Martyrs under <HI>Rome</HI> Heathen <HI>p.</HI> 45</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. V.</HI> The Plagues of the Trumpets parallel to the encrea&s;e of the degeneracy of the Church. An Analy&s;is of the Prophetical Schemes from the fir&s;t Trumpet in the Eighth Chapter, up to the fifth Seal in the &s;ixth Chapter. And the nece&s;&s;ity of their Appli|cation, fir&s;t from the &s;ignification of the Schemes, and the order in which they are placed. And then from the remarkablene&s;s of the Events, which required &s;uch a Prophetical Scene to repre&s;ent them.
<PB REF="12"> The direct order of the &s;ame Application from the fifth Seal to the fir&s;t Trumpet. The Schemes before the time of the ri&s;e of the Bea&s;t in the Twelfth Chapter parallel'd with tho&s;e in the Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Chapters <HI>p.</HI> 65</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. VI.</HI> The &s;ignification of the Characters of the Two Witne&s;&s;es demon&s;trated. Their Death fixed to the Suppre&s;&s;ion of the True Church in the Dominions of the Bea&s;t only. The Death of the Witne&s;&s;es no general Ma&s;&s;acre. Two <HI>general</HI> di&s;tinct Suppre&s;&s;ions of the True Church not po&s;&s;ible. The Bodies of the Witne&s;&s;es kept from being buried, an Act of Friend&s;hip. This attributed to Peoples, Tongues and Nations, denotes the A&s;&s;i&s;tance of Pro|te&s;tant States <HI>p.</HI> 82</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. VI.</HI> The Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es is the Recovery of the True Church, where it was totally &s;uppre&s;&s;ed; It is fixed to this pre&s;ent time. Objections an&s;wered. The Re&s;urrection of the Wit|ne&s;&s;es, the Recovery of the Prote&s;tant Churches. And to begin in 1689, or at farthe&s;t in 1690 <HI>p.</HI> 98</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. VIII.</HI> The time of the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es con|firmed from the Expiration of the time a&s;&s;igned to the &s;econd Woe. The &s;econd Woe is the Turki&s;h Empire. The Explication of the Hour, Day, Mouth, Year, a&s;&s;igned to the &s;econd Woe. The fir&s;t Date of that time <HI>p.</HI> 110</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap.</HI> 9. The particular Date of the Hour, Day, Month and Year, &s;tated. The end of the &s;econd Woe, or of all Turki&s;h Wars ju&s;t at hand. And therefore the recovery of the Prote&s;tant Churches by the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es to be be very &s;hortly expected. The Parallel in the Twelfth Chapter of <HI>Daniel</HI> with this of the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es, and the end of the &s;econd Woe. <HI>p.</HI> 123</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. X.</HI> The la&s;t Slaughter, and fir&s;t Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es confined to the Kingdom of <HI>France,</HI> and its Neighbourhood. From thence it di&s;preads it &s;elf over all the Roman Juri&s;diction. Why the pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;econd Woe deferred till the Account of the Bea&s;t and Witne&s;&s;es was interrupted, <HI>Chap.</HI> 11. he ri&s;en Witne&s;&s;es the Executors of the third Woe. The third Woe of &s;ome con&s;iderable dura|tion. The We&s;tern Empire the only Object of the third Woe <HI>p.</HI> 135</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. XI.</HI> The Trumpets and Vials have different Objects. The fir&s;t date of the Vials not before the Prote&s;tant Reformation <HI>p.</HI> 177</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. XII.</HI> Objections again&s;t the date of the Vials from the Refor|mation an&s;wered <HI>p.</HI> 193</ITEM>
<PB REF="12">
<ITEM><HI>Chap. XIII.</HI> The particular Application of the Vials to the mo&s;t re|markable Events &s;ince the Reformation. The Commotions in all Countrys upon the Reformation, the fir&s;t Vial. The Wars all over <HI>Europe</HI> for Religion, in the Reign of Queen <HI>Elizabeth,</HI> the &s;e|cond Vial. The <HI>Swedi&s;h</HI> War, the third Vial. The Humilia|tions of the Papal and Imperial Intere&s;t by the pre&s;ent King of <HI>France,</HI> the fourth Vial. How providentially his owning the Sun for his Emblem does agree with it. The general Humiliation of the <HI>Roman Church</HI> in all <HI>Roman</HI> States, the fifth Vial. Some Enemies beyond <HI>Euphrates,</HI> the &s;ixth Vial. A conjecture about <HI>Harmageddon. p.</HI> 199</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. XIV.</HI> The <HI>Preaching the Everla&s;ting Go&s;pel</HI> (Rev. 14.) is the preaching up a general Reformation of the Church of <HI>Rome. The Hour of God's Judgments</HI> (ibid.) mu&s;t be ju&s;t about the &s;ame time. <HI>The Vintage</HI> is the la&s;t de&s;truction of the Bea&s;t. The <HI>time of the patience of the Saints</HI> is the &s;ame with that of the killing of the Witne&s;&s;es, <HI>Chap.</HI> 11. The <HI>Harve&s;t</HI> af|ter the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es. The <HI>death of the Wit|ne&s;&s;es</HI> no bodily death. The <HI>preaching the Everla&s;ting Go&s;pel</HI> the Prote&s;tant Reformation. The 7 Vials cannot begin before the Prote&s;tant Reformation. The <HI>Hour of God's Judgments</HI> the be|ginning of the 7 Vials. The 7 Vials begin &s;oon after the Prote&s;tant Reformation <HI>p.</HI> 219.</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. XV.</HI> A particular Application of the four fir&s;t Vials; The &s;econd Vial mu&s;t be already poured out. It was at an end at far|the&s;t at the Truce of the <HI>Netherlands, Anno</HI> 16. 9. The ab&s;urd con&s;equences of denying it. The Plague of the third Vial ended with the <HI>Swedi&s;h</HI> War in <HI>Germany.</HI> The demon&s;tration of it. The Plague of the fourth Vial, the King of <HI>France:</HI> This evinced. The fifth Vial is now near at hand. <HI>p.</HI> 235</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. XVI.</HI> The Plagues of the three la&s;t Vials the &s;ame with the third Woe of the la&s;t Trumpet. The Slaughter and Conver&s;ion of the Enemies of the Ri&s;en Witne&s;&s;es, is but in one particular Kingdom of the dominion of the <HI>Roman Church.</HI> The fifth Vial a <HI>gene|ral</HI> Mortification of the <HI>Roman Church. p.</HI> 24<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"></ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. XVII.</HI> The Whole Plague of the fifth Vial within the time of the third Woe: It begins the third Woe. The la&s;t end of the <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Wars or their Ruine, and the Re&s;urrection of the Wit|ne&s;&s;es near at hand. Further evinced, that the Vials mu&s;t be|gin &s;oon after the Reformation, to &s;ignifie the Plagues that fell upon
<PB REF="13"> the <HI>Roman</HI> Party by the Reformation, di&s;tinct from tho&s;e that they &s;uffered at the &s;ame time from the <HI>Turks</HI> as the &s;ecord Woe; How the third Woe is &s;aid to <HI>come quickly.</HI> The date of the Vials &s;oon after the Reformation, aptly intimated at the end of the <HI>9th.</HI> Chapter of the <HI>Revelations,</HI> and the beginning of the <HI>10th.</HI> The &s;ame further proved from the nature of the <HI>Victory</HI> mentioned, <HI>Rev.</HI> 15. 2. before the Vials. No proof from <HI>Rev.</HI> 10. 6, 7. That the beginning of the &s;even Vials mu&s;t be after the &s;ound of the &s;eventh Trumpet. <HI>p.</HI> 255</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. XVIII.</HI> The exact Agreement of the Order of Things in the 9th. 10th. and 11th. Chapters of the <HI>Revelations,</HI> with that of the Schemes in the 14th. Chapter. The Vials contemporary with them both. The four fir&s;t Vials evinced to be before the third Woe. The <HI>coming quickly</HI> of the third Woe explained. The la&s;t end of the <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Wars, and the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es fur|ther proved to be ju&s;t at hand; As al&s;o that the three la&s;t Vials are contained in the third Woe. Why tho&s;e three make but one Woe. An Objection that the third Woe mu&s;t contain all the Vials, An&s;wered. Another Rea&s;on why the third Woe is &s;aid to <HI>come quickly.</HI> Why the &s;even Vials cannot come after all the &s;even Trumpets. Why nothing of the great Per&s;ecution in the &s;even Vials. The Rea&s;on of the name of the &s;even <HI>la&s;t</HI> Plagues given to the Vials. <HI>p.</HI> 270</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap. XIX.</HI> Conjectures about the particular applications of the Harve&s;t, and Vintage Chap. 14. The Vintage, cannot contain in it all the &s;even Vials. The <HI>Millennium</HI> to be upon the Earth: But after the conflagration of this Earth. Many Countries inhabited after the beginning of the Conflagration from <HI>Dan</HI> 7. 12. A mid|dle State of the Church betwixt the end of Antichri&s;t, and the <HI>Millennium</HI> during the Conflagration. <HI>p.</HI> 284</ITEM>
<ITEM><HI>Chap XX.</HI> The three great Revolutions, that are to happen very &s;hortly, con&s;idered &s;ingly, and with relation to one another. How they &s;trengthen the Proof of one another. Why the three la&s;t Vials are di&s;tingui&s;hed from the four fir&s;t. How the time a&s;&s;igned to the Vials, proves the fir&s;t ri&s;e and la&s;t end of the Bea&s;t. The time of the fir&s;t ri&s;e of the Bea&s;t further evinced from the event <HI>p.</HI> 302</ITEM>
</LIST></P>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="preface">
<PB REF="13">
<HEAD>THE PREFACE.</HEAD>
<P>IN all my de&s;igns for the interpretation of the <HI>Apoca|lyp&s;e,</HI> I have as much as I could avoided all di&s;pute about the <HI>different ways,</HI> that Prote&s;tants have fancied in their applications of the Prophecy to the Church of <HI>Rome;</HI> And have in&s;i&s;ted every where upon the things in which they generally agree in that way. My fir&s;t attempt in this way was to demon&s;trate the main conclu&s;ion in which they all agree; And this la&s;t does from their general agreements together, as its Prin|ciples, and Foundation, deduce the Interpretation of the Re&s;t of the Prophecy, which u&s;ed to be always confined to the fancy, in which every Interpreter dif|fered from the re&s;t about the particular nature, and fir&s;t <HI>Epocha</HI> of that, which is called the Bea&s;t.</P>
<P>By this it appears, that as the fir&s;t of the&s;e de&s;igns mu&s;t be chiefly aimed at the <HI>Romani&s;ts,</HI> &s;o this on the contrary can have no di&s;pute with them. For it goes upon &s;uch &s;uppo&s;itions, as they do wholly reject; The following Interpretations are therefore intended only for &s;uch Prote&s;tants, as think they have rea&s;on to be &s;atisfied, that the pre&s;ent <HI>Roman</HI> Church is the great object of this Prophecy.</P>
<P>The Rea&s;on, why this <HI>Second Part,</HI> does precede the other, is, becau&s;e the World is tollerably &s;atisfied of the truth,
<PB REF="14"> that the former does de&s;ign to confirm; And al&s;o be|cau&s;e This does contain predictions in it, that may be|gin to be accompli&s;hed &s;oon after that they are pub|li&s;hed.</P>
<P>My bu&s;ine&s;s in it is, to explain, and apply the mat|ter of the Trumpets, and Vials, and &s;uch parts of the Prophecy, as are implicated with them; and that which I chiefly aim at in the doing of it, is to pro|ceed in a clo&s;e, and di&s;tinct order of deductions from Principles generally acknowledged by Prote&s;tant In|terpreters.</P>
<P><HI>By acknowledged Principles</HI> I prevent the perplexi|ties, that the different Schemes, and Principles of In|terpreters do fill Men with, and which affright the greate&s;t part of tho&s;e, that are otherwi&s;e curious e|nough, from the peru&s;al of any thing of this nature; And <HI>by clo&s;e and di&s;tinct Rea&s;oning</HI> from them, I would remove the fears of that loo&s;e, and wild liberty of fan|cy, and talk, which is no unordinary infirmity of di&s;|cour&s;es on this Subject, and which has prejudiced the mo&s;t judicious again&s;t any thing, that can be offered them in <HI>this kind.</HI></P>
<P>This has forced me to follow the &s;ame cour&s;e which the fir&s;t Mathematicians took about the Elements of Geometry; And that was to lay down tho&s;e Propo&s;i|tions fir&s;t, which they &s;aw to be nece&s;&s;ary for the proof of that truth, which they were in que&s;t of, with|out any regard to the critical method, that it &s;hould be delivered in as a particular &s;cience; &s;o al&s;o have I here begun from &s;uch Principles, as I found nece&s;&s;ary to the proof of my conclu&s;ion in any part of the Pro|phecy, without much regard to the continued order of the Vi&s;ions.</P>
<PB REF="14">
<P> It is therefore very requi&s;ite for the ea&s;ier under|&s;tanding of this part, to have a general Idea of the terms here u&s;ed from either Mr. <HI>Medes,</HI> or &s;ome &s;uch Prote&s;tant Interpretation, And to bring &s;uch an at|tention, as Mathematical Sciences do generally call for.</P>
<P>Some Readers will be forthwith apt to judge from hence, that I &s;eem here to pretend to a Mathe|matical Evidence about &s;uch matters, as they con|clude to be uncapable of any certain explica|tion.</P>
<P>But I am as uncapable of &s;o vain a confidence; I am well &s;atisfied of the impo&s;&s;ibility of any &s;uch degree of evidence in the Interpretation of almo&s;t any Writing; And it has been &s;o ordinary, and fre|quent a thing with me to correct the mo&s;t promi|&s;ing &s;hows, that I have had, of a&s;&s;urance in the&s;e things, and I am &s;o &s;en&s;ible of the great variety of faces, and of the intricate complications of the Schemes of the Prophecy with one another, that I &s;hall never be in danger of pretending to any thing like to that which is &s;trictly called Demon&s;tration; &s;o that if &s;ometimes I be found to u&s;e that word, I can intend no more by it, than a &s;eeming co|gency of proof in di&s;tinction to a loo&s;e conje|cture.</P>
<P>The Rea&s;on why I took that &s;evere Method, was the great di&s;&s;atisfaction I found in the &s;trange liberty of imagination, that I &s;aw taken in the&s;e kind of Inter|pretations, where the whole Body of them is ordinarily nothing but a Sy&s;teme of concinnities and congruities, without any tollerable evidence for the Application, and almo&s;t every &s;entence full of arbitrary &s;uppo&s;i|tions in it. Of the&s;e I &s;aw there might be as ma|ny
<PB REF="15"> varieties, as there were ingenious and contriving heads, of which infinite in&s;tances might be <HI>given.</HI></P>
<P>On the other &s;ide I looked upon the <HI>Apoca|lyp&s;e</HI> to be far the mo&s;t important and coherent Prophecy, that ever was delivered for the in&s;tru|ction, and for the comfort of the Church to the end of the World; And as it is at pre&s;ent lo&s;t to us in the dark Schemes, in which it is wrapped up, &s;o the only way to make it appear again, as the Word of God to <HI>us,</HI> is to prove, and not to gue&s;s at, the meaning of it.</P>
<P>This I have here endeavoured to do, <HI>by</HI> laying down Principles, that are generally a&s;&s;ented to by the be&s;t Interpreters of that Church, which we own, <HI>and by</HI> a di&s;tinct proce&s;s of deductions from them apart by them&s;elves, for the clearer di&s;covery of the &s;trength of the proof, which mu&s;t have been much more implicated, and confu&s;ed in a continued di&s;cour&s;e. The variety of the Schemes, and the re|mote relations of things to one another, and the long &s;eries of con&s;equences, that is required in the rea&s;oning about them, made me think it nece&s;&s;ary to give a di&s;tinct view of every conclu&s;ion alone by it &s;elf; Which does more clearly &s;how the connexi|on of what is truly deduced, and makes it more ea&s;ie to di&s;cover the weakne&s;s of a mi&s;take.</P>
<P>But yet it mu&s;t be allowed, that there is a great difference in the &s;trength of &s;everal of the&s;e conclu|&s;ions, and &s;ome are more apparently loo&s;er than o|thers. And where I could not &s;ee any clear bot|tom to proceed upon, I have either left them in their incertainty, or have u&s;ed a more free and con|tinued di&s;cour&s;e about them. And the&s;e are ordina|rily applications of Hi&s;tory, or conjectural Inter|pretations.
<PB REF="15"> But yet I believe it will ordinarily be found, that where I have declared for any of that kind, I have endeavoured as much as I could to imi|tate the &s;ame kind of caution, that I have done in the other. One in&s;tance of which is that Latitude of application, which I &s;ometimes leave things to, where there &s;eems to be no clear grounds for a de|termination. This I fear will as much di&s;plea&s;e &s;ome for the &s;cepticalne&s;s of it, as the former will do others for the nicene&s;s, and &s;everity of the pro|ce&s;s.</P>
<P>But I hope the free, and ingenuous Readers will approve of the rea&s;ons of both; And upon that ac|count, if I &s;hould be found &s;ometimes to fail of what I intend, will pardon the over&s;ights, that I may be di&s;covered by the more &s;agacious to have fallen into among&s;t the intricate mazes of the&s;e Vi&s;ions. I can a&s;&s;ure them it is no ea&s;ie matter for any man of free thoughts to keep him&s;elf from many &s;lips, and inadvertencies in the&s;e things.</P>
<P>I think, I may ju&s;tly be allowed to have taken more care to clear the fir&s;t foundations of the&s;e mat|ters, and to carry on the explication of them in a more di&s;tinct and coherent order, then has yet been attempted; And the incitation, that I may chance thereby to give to others, that are more able to do it better, as well as the u&s;e of mine own be&s;t en|deavour to be publickly u&s;eful in it, may not only atone for my defects, but procure me the favourable opinion of all, that con&s;ider how ea&s;ie it is to wan|der, when one goes out of the beaten Road in this ob&s;cure Wilderne&s;s.</P>
<P>It cannot but be expected, that &s;o different a me|thod from what has been u&s;ed, mu&s;t have as diffe|rent
<PB REF="16"> effects in re&s;pect of the applications of the Pro|phecy. And I mu&s;t own, that though I general|ly prefer Mr. <HI>Medes</HI> critical expo&s;ition of the words, yet I could hardly &s;ettle upon any of his appli|cations without new grounds for them.</P>
<P>Of this kind will the application of the two fir&s;t Woes and their characters appear to be, which was before but lightly gue&s;&s;ed at, and never &s;atisfactorily e|vinced. This I mention in particular, becau&s;e upon that does all the Interpretation of the re&s;t of the Trum|pets &s;eem to depend.</P>
<P>The &s;ame may be &s;aid of the applications of the fifth Seal, the only key to open that part of the Prophecy, which yet was never before confirmed upon any tol|lerable evidence.</P>
<P>This may excu&s;e the great nicene&s;s, that I have u&s;ed in tho&s;e two points. Others no que&s;tion may make the proof &s;horter; But mo&s;t of tho&s;e that think &s;o, may al&s;o po&s;&s;ibly find them&s;elves, as much di&s;ap|pointed, as I was when they come to try it with any accuracy. However I found this advantage from digging &s;o low for my foundation, that it di&s;cover|ed many new truths to me about &s;ome particular Schemes, which forced me to depart from Mr. <HI>Mede</HI> in almo&s;t all the &s;eries of the Prophecy; And this al&s;o upon that great Rule of all accountable Interpreta|tion, which he him&s;elf has appeared for, <HI>viz. That the literal &s;en&s;e be adhered to without evidence for a|nother.</HI> Upon this do I e&s;tabli&s;h the order of Events according to the order of the Schemes in the Text, where there is no cogent proof of their being anticipa|ted, or tran&s;po&s;ed.</P>
<P>From hence I conclude the time of the Martyrs with <HI>White Robes</HI> (Chap. 7, 9.) to be the &s;ame with
<PB REF="16"> the <HI>Re&s;t,</HI> that were <HI>to be killed within a little &s;ea|&s;on</HI> in the fifth Seal, and therefore before the Trum|pets. As al&s;o the time of the Conquerors (Chap. 15. 2.) to be ju&s;t before the pouring out of the Vi|als, and after the &s;ight of the Judgments of them in the fir&s;t Ver&s;e.</P>
<P>From hence al&s;o do I draw the Links of that Chain; that I have demon&s;trated in the <HI>14th</HI> Chap. which is one of the mo&s;t u&s;eful di&s;coveries for clearing up the Order of all the Events in the latter times, which we meet with in the other Chapters. Mon&s;ieur <HI>Ju|rieu</HI> mu&s;t indeed be allowed to have given the World the fir&s;t Alarme of the death of the Witne&s;&s;es at this pre&s;ent time. But the chief &s;trength of that conclu|&s;ion, in re&s;pect of the time to which it is confined, does lye in the order it is found in, in the 11th Chapter before the pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;econd Woe, and from the place, that the great Per&s;ecution is found to have in the <HI>14th</HI> Chapter, after the Refor|mation. <HI>Theor.</HI> 39.</P>
<P>Without the&s;e boundaries, that Prophecy is left loo&s;e to the different acceptations of the terms in which it is de&s;cribed; But by the fixed period that the Prophecy gives to the continuance of the &s;econd Woe, the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es is confined to the&s;e pre&s;ent times. Whatever &s;trength the grounds, that <HI>Mon&s;ieur Jurieu</HI> gave, may have in them, it is certain, that they were not much regarded in the&s;e parts, but among&s;t his own Country-men; Which does &s;ufficiently ju&s;tifie the pains that I have taken to clear up the foundation, that he depended upon, and to add a new proof of mine own.</P>
<P>My Appearance at this time in this prediction may by &s;ome be apprehended to be but a politick
<PB REF="17"> conjecture from the pre&s;ent State of Affairs, which at this time do &s;eem very plainly to point out &s;uch a revolution in the Kingdom of <HI>France,</HI> which in all humane appearance can no ways be hindred. And to &s;trengthen the Pre&s;umption, that may be taken for the belief of this Prophecy from my Concurrence with others in it upon new grounds, it is convenient to re|move this apprehen&s;ion.</P>
<P>I have &s;ufficient Te&s;timonies, that the&s;e things were wrot long before the lea&s;t appearance of any light|&s;ome circum&s;tances in behalf of the Reformed Church|es, and that they were offered to the publick at a time, when there was the thicke&s;t Cloud over them in almo&s;t all Parts of <HI>Europe.</HI> My Lord of St. <HI>A&s;aph</HI> can te&s;tifie, that they were in his hands a little be|fore the Bi&s;hops were &s;ent to the <HI>Tower.</HI> And I was much plea&s;ed to hear his Lord&s;hip upon the &s;ame grounds &s;peak with &s;uch a&s;&s;urance in that place, that there could be no extinction of the Reformation in the&s;e Parts, at that very time, when all were in a&s;toni&s;hing Apprehen&s;ions of the i&s;&s;ue of his Impri|&s;onment.</P>
<P>But long before this I had communicated the &s;ame with my new grounds for it to my Worthy Friends, the Dean of <HI>Peterborough,</HI> and <HI>Henry Plumptr&egrave;</HI> E&s;q To who&s;e peculiar Zeal for the Intere&s;t of the Re|formation, I owe next under God the chief motive to my undertaking of this part of the Prophecy. And all my Friends can te&s;tifie with what confidence I did remove the fears of Bi&s;hop <HI>U&s;hers</HI> Prophecy, and of any general Per&s;ecution among us, when to all outward appearance there &s;eemed to be the greate&s;t likelyhood of it.</P>
<PB REF="17">
<P> But yet I never accounted the grounds of any of the&s;e particular Events &s;o nece&s;&s;ary, as tho&s;e that Prote&s;tants generally agree in for fixing the main Object and con|cern of the&s;e Vi&s;ions to the Church of <HI>Rome.</HI> And therefore, tho the&s;e Predictions &s;hould fail, yet that will not prejudice the &s;trength of the main Conclu&s;ion, becau&s;e there is no &s;uch immediate connexion betwixt them, as to make it nece&s;&s;ary for them to &s;tand and fall together.</P>
<P>FOR the pre&s;ent Satisfaction of tho&s;e who may que&s;tion the grounds of tho&s;e Suppo&s;itions upon which the&s;e Papers do wholly rely, from the Authority of <HI>Grotius</HI> and Dr. <HI>Hammond,</HI> who have diverted the Scene of the&s;e Vi&s;ions from the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> it will be convenient here to tran&s;cribe the contrary Authori|ties of the mo&s;t zealous and judicious Interpreters of the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> concerning the chief Foundations of the <HI>Grotian</HI> Interpretation, for the intere&s;t of their Cau&s;e.</P>
<P>It would be infinite to tran&s;cribe all the Contrari|ties of the <HI>Romani&s;ts</HI> to this way. And therefore I will only pick out tho&s;e Pa&s;&s;ages wherein they cen&s;ure all the mo&s;t con&s;iderable Foundations of it, as the Imagi|nations of none but Madmen, of Men of no &s;en&s;e in them, or of &s;uch as are perfectly blind, or that &s;ay things that never any did own before &s;ince the writing of the Prophecy, or &s;uch as are again&s;t the common Stream of all con&s;iderable Interpreters, Jews and Chri&s;tians, Ancient and Modern, or the contrary to which is ma|nife&s;t and unque&s;tionable, or which no Man of &s;en&s;e can doubt of.</P>
<P>To begin with that which is the mo&s;t nece&s;&s;ary to the <HI>Grotian</HI> way.</P>
<P N="1">1. It was nece&s;&s;ary for <HI>Grotius</HI> to deny, That the Bea&s;t in the <HI>Revelations</HI> was the &s;ame with the fourth Bea&s;t in the <HI>7th.</HI> of <HI>Daniel.</HI> For then it mu&s;t have con|tinued
<PB REF="18"> till the &s;econd coming of the <HI>Son of Man,</HI> where|as he makes his Bea&s;t to be at an end long before. And therefore &s;ince the Bea&s;t in the <HI>Revelations,</HI> is a|greed by him to be the <HI>Roman</HI> Empire, he makes the fourth Bea&s;t in the <HI>7th.</HI> of <HI>Daniel,</HI> to be a part of the <HI>Grecian</HI> Monarchy, of which the third Bea&s;t there is on|ly the fir&s;t Appearance.</P>
<P>NOW hear what the mo&s;t Eminent of the <HI>Roman</HI> Interpreters &s;ay to this.</P>
<P>The Je&s;uite <HI>Malvenda</HI> (who &s;eems to have been the mo&s;t laborious in this Subject) &s;peaking of this under the name of <HI>Porphyries</HI> Opinion, <HI>pag.</HI> 222. <HI>de Antichri&s;to</HI> <NOTE N="(a)" PLACE="marg">Porphyrii <HI>Sententiam e&s;&s;e aperti&s;|&s;imum delirium S.</HI> Hieronymus <HI>&amp; alii Clari&s;&s;im&egrave; demon&s;trant.&mdash;Omnes enim explorati&s;&s;imum habent, cum Hebraei, cum Chri&s;tiani tertiam &amp; quartam Be&s;tiam e&s;&s;e di&s;tincti&s;&s;imas.&mdash;Ut</HI> in&s;anae procul|dubio Mentis <HI>&s;it, qui &s;ecus &s;entsat,</HI> ibi|dem.<HI>&mdash;Quartam Be&s;tiam e&s;&s;e Roma|num Imperium certum &amp; pervagatum e&s;t apud Omnes Chri&s;tiani Nominis Pro|fe&s;&s;ores.&mdash;Reducendus e&s;t (Lector) in Viam Regiam, &amp; recti&s;&s;imam.</HI></NOTE> St. <HI>Hierom,</HI> &s;ays he, and others do mo&s;t clearly de|mon&s;trate, That <HI>Porphyries</HI> Opini|on is a <HI>perfect Madne&s;s.&mdash;</HI>For All find it to be <HI>unque&s;tionable,</HI> as well Jews as Chri&s;tians, That the third and fourth Bea&s;t are two very di|&s;tinct Bea&s;ts; &s;o that he ought with|out all que&s;tion, to be accounted <HI>A Man of no &s;en&s;e in him,</HI> that can think otherwi&s;e.&mdash;Again, That the fourth Bea&s;t is the <HI>Roman</HI> Empire, is very certain and <HI>com|monly</HI> agreed upon by <HI>all</HI> that profe&s;s the Name of <HI>Chri&s;t.&mdash;</HI>And that the Reader is therefore to be brought into the <HI>Common Road</HI> and the <HI>Kings High-Way.</HI></P>
<P>The Je&s;uite <HI>Viega</HI> in his Comment upon the <HI>13th.</HI> Chapter of <HI>Apocal. Sect.</HI> 1. <NOTE N="(b)" PLACE="marg"><HI>Pro hujus loci Expo&s;itione &s;ciendum e&s;t</HI> Danieli <HI>cap.</HI> 7. <HI>Similem quandam o&s;ten&s;am fui&s;&s;e Vi&s;ionem&mdash;Quae</HI> Be&s;tia <HI>juxta</HI> Communem <HI>Doctorum</HI> Sententiam <HI>e&s;t Imperium</HI> Romanum.</NOTE> It is to be known for the Explication of this place, That there was a Vi&s;ion like to this, &s;hewn unto <HI>Daniel</HI> in his <HI>7th.</HI> Chapter, <HI>(viz.</HI> about the fourth Bea&s;t there,)&mdash;Which Bea&s;t according to the <HI>Common Opinion</HI> of the <HI>Learned,</HI> is the <HI>Roman</HI> Empire.</P>
<PB REF="18">
<P> The Je&s;uite <HI>Alca&s;ar,</HI> who (as <HI>Cornelius &agrave; Lapide</HI> in|forms us, <HI>Prolegom</HI> in <HI>Apocal.)</HI> had &s;pent twenty Years in compiling his Comment upon the <HI>Apocalyp&s;e,</HI> and &s;eems to make it his bu&s;ine&s;s to correct all the Weak|ne&s;&s;es of the other Commentators, &s;ays thus in <HI>Com|ment</HI> in <HI>Cap.</HI> 13. <HI>Apocal. Sect.</HI> 5. <NOTE N="(c)" PLACE="marg"><HI>Negari non potest quin in h&acirc;c Be|&s;ti&acirc;</HI> 10 <HI>Cornuum alludatur ad quartam Be&s;tiam</HI> Danielis.<HI>&mdash;Quam e&s;&s;e</HI> Romani <HI>Imperia Figuram, ut Symbolum</HI> Liquido <HI>Con&s;tat.&mdash;Be&s;tia quarto</HI> Danielis, <HI>per quam Evidens e&s;t Imperium denotari</HI> Romanum.</NOTE> <HI>It cannot be denyed,</HI> but that by this Bea&s;t with the Ten Horns, there is an Allu&s;ion to the fourth Bea&s;t in the &s;eventh of <HI>Daniel,&mdash;</HI>which does <HI>manife&s;tly appear</HI> to be a Figure, and Symbol of the <HI>Ro|man</HI> Empire.</P>
<P>So al&s;o on the <HI>12th.</HI> Chapter of <HI>Apocal.</HI> The fourth Bea&s;t in the <HI>7th.</HI> of <HI>Daniel,</HI> which <HI>it is evident,</HI> does &s;ignifie the <HI>Roman</HI> Empire.</P>
<P>The Je&s;uite <HI>Pererius</HI> upon the <HI>7th.</HI> of <HI>Daniel, v.</HI> <NOTE N="(d)" PLACE="marg"><HI>Quarta Haec Be&s;tia, ut</HI> Omnes <HI>Interpretantur, &amp; ut Res ip&s;a Loquitur, Imaginem referebat</HI> Romani <HI>Imperii.</HI></NOTE> The fourth Bea&s;t, as <HI>All do interpret it,</HI> and <HI>as the Thing it &s;elf does declare it,</HI> is the Image of the <HI>Roman</HI> Empire.</P>
<P>But <HI>Grotius</HI>'s Interpretation of <NOTE N="(e)" PLACE="marg">Grotius in <HI>v.</HI> 13. <HI>Cap.</HI> 7. Dan. <HI>Filius Hominis] id e&s;t Populus</HI> Romanus.</NOTE> the <HI>Son of Man</HI> to be the <HI>Roman</HI> Peo|ple, <HI>v.</HI> 13. <HI>c.</HI> 7. <HI>Dan.</HI> is beyond all their Cen&s;ures, becau&s;e it was never broached by any be|fore; And we have the Judgment of the High Prie&s;t of the Jews, That to apply it to any but to the true <HI>Me&s;|&s;ias,</HI> is <HI>Bla&s;phemy,</HI> Mat. 26. 65.</P>
<P N="2">2. The next great Foundation of the <HI>Grotian</HI> Scheme, is his explaining the &s;even Heads of the Bea&s;t to be &s;even &s;ingle Emperors, becau&s;e &s;aid to be &s;even Kings, <HI>Cap.</HI> 17. <HI>v.</HI> 10.</P>
<P>But the Je&s;uite <HI>Ribera,</HI> one of the mo&s;t Judicious of all the <HI>Roman</HI> Interpreters, admires him for his Affected Singularity in this. In his Comment upon the <HI>17th.</HI>
<PB REF="19"> Chap. <HI>Apocal. Numer</HI> 15. <NOTE N="(f)" PLACE="marg"><HI>Quod&s;i cui durum videtur in uno Rege multos &s;ignificar<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">.&mdash;Putatque Septem e&s;&s;e tantum, is prim&ugrave;m &s;ciet</HI> Om|nes Expo&s;itores <HI>intellexi&s;&s;e in &s;ingulis horum &s;eptem multos comprehendi,</HI> Ne|minemque <HI>&s;eptem tantum Homines e&s;&s;e dixi&s;&s;e praeter Victorinum, cujus Senten|tiae Merito</HI> Omnes <HI>Refragantur.&mdash;Po&s;tremo intelligat non e&s;&s;e inu&s;itatum in Scriptur&acirc;, ut in uno Rege multi &s;imiles, &amp; qua&s;i ejusdem Corporis &s;igni|ficentur quod e&s;t &s;umme ob&s;ervandum. Nam</HI> Dan. 8. <HI>legimus. Ecce Aries.&mdash;Nec di&s;&s;imile &amp; illud,</HI> Jeremiae 25.</NOTE> If a|ny one &s;hould think (&s;ays he) that the&s;e &s;even Kings are but &s;even &s;ingle Per&s;ons, let him know in the fir&s;t place, That <HI>All Expo&s;itors</HI> have made account, that in every one of the&s;e there are a great many comprehend|ed, and that <HI>never any Man</HI> but <HI>Victorinus,</HI> did take them for &s;even &s;ingle Per&s;ons, who&s;e Opinion <HI>All do de&s;ervedly cry out again&s;t.&mdash;</HI>And then next let him under&s;tand, That it is <HI>ordinary</HI> in Scripture, by one King to &s;ignifie many of the &s;ame Kind, and as it were of one and the &s;ame Body, which is more e&s;pecially to be ob&s;erved: So in <HI>Dan. cap.</HI> 8. <HI>The Ram,</HI> &amp;c. So <HI>Jeremiah, cap.</HI> 25. <HI>And ye &s;hall &s;erve the King of</HI> Babylon <HI>&s;eventy Years.</HI></P>
<P N="3">3. <HI>Grotius</HI> makes a great Advantage of making the Term of the Bea&s;t to &s;ignifie different Things in every different Show of it.</P>
<P>For this He meets with this la&s;h from <HI>Malvenda,</HI> in re&s;pect of the Show of the Bea&s;t, in the <HI>11th.</HI> and <HI>13th.</HI> Chapters, <HI>pag.</HI> 226. <HI>de Antichri&s;to.</HI> <NOTE N="(g)" PLACE="marg"><HI>Eandem fui&s;&s;e Be&s;tiam</HI> Nemo Sanae Mentis <HI>poterit dubitare.</HI></NOTE> <HI>No Man in his Wits,</HI> &s;ays he, <HI>can doubt, but that the Bea&s;t in the 11th. Chapter, and that in the 13th. are the &s;ame Bea&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>And in re&s;pect of the Shows of the Bea&s;t in the <HI>13th.</HI> and <HI>17th.</HI> Chapter, he has this rub from <HI>Alca&s;ar,</HI> in <HI>Cap.</HI> 13. <HI>Apoc. v.</HI> 1. <NOTE N="(h)" PLACE="marg">Certum <HI>namque e&s;t maris Be&s;tiam de qu&acirc; in hoc capite &amp; Be&s;tiam illam cui</HI> Babylon <HI>in&s;idet</HI> (cap. 17.) <HI>e&s;&s;e unam candem&abque; Be&s;tiam, ut di&s;erte</HI> Hieronymus, <HI>&amp; &s;uo loco demon&s;tra|himus.</HI></NOTE> <HI>For it is certain,</HI> &s;ays he, <HI>That the Bea&s;t out of the Sea,</HI> (Chap. 13.) <HI>and that Bea&s;t upon which</HI> Babylon <HI>&s;its,</HI> (Chap. 17.) <HI>are but one and the &s;ame Bea&s;t,</HI> as <HI>Hierom</HI> does expre&s;ly affirm, and as we &s;hall in its place <HI>demon&s;trate.</HI></P>
<PB REF="19">
<P> So al&s;o in his Comment upon the <HI>17th.</HI> Chap. <HI>Apo|cal. Di&s;putat.</HI> 10. Speaking of the Opinion of tho&s;e that did di&s;tingui&s;h betwixt the Bea&s;t of the Sea in the <HI>13th.</HI> Chapter, and that in the <HI>17th.</HI> <NOTE N="(i)" PLACE="marg"><HI>Verumenimvero pro Comperto habeo, Be&s;tiam cui Mulier in&s;idet, can|dem e&s;&s;e cum Maris Besti&acirc;, quae</HI> cap. 13. <HI>de&s;cripta e&s;t.</HI></NOTE> <HI>But for my part I take it for undoubted, That the Bea&s;t upon which the Woman here &s;its, is the &s;ame with the Bea&s;t out of the Sea,</HI> de&s;cribed in the <HI>13th.</HI> Chapter.</P>
<P N="4">4. To fix the Application of the Characters of the Bea&s;t in the <HI>11th.</HI> Chap. <HI>Apoc.</HI> to the fir&s;t Times, it was nece&s;&s;ary for <HI>Grotius</HI> to under&s;tand the Judgment of the Dead at the <HI>18th.</HI> ver&s;e, to be nothing but the Revenging of the Cau&s;e of the Martyrs of tho&s;e Times.</P>
<P>But <HI>Ribera</HI> &s;ets this mark upon him for it, <HI>(Com|ment</HI> in <HI>Cap.</HI> 10. <HI>Apoc. Numer.</HI> 20.) upon a mention of that part of the <HI>11th. Chap.</HI> <NOTE N="(k)" PLACE="marg">Caecus <HI>e&s;t, qui non videt Haec ni&s;i po&s;t interitum Antichri&s;ti, &amp; tempore judicii non futura.</HI></NOTE> <HI>He is</HI> blind, &s;ays he, <HI>that does not &s;ee, that the&s;e things cannot come to pa&s;s before the Ruine of Antichri&s;t, and the Times of the la&s;t Judgment.</HI></P>
<P N="5">5. One of the greate&s;t Motives that <HI>Grotius</HI> had, to make him fancy the &s;even Heads to be but &s;even &s;ingle Per&s;ons, was, Becau&s;e the time of the chief Actions is &s;aid to be but fourty two Months or three Years and an half. For this length of time is mentioned in five &s;everal places of the&s;e Vi&s;ions, and yet <NOTE N="(l)" PLACE="marg"><P>Alca&s;ar <HI>in v.</HI> 2. <HI>cap.</HI> 11. <HI>Apocal. Notatione quart&acirc;. Quamobrem</HI> Nece&s;&s;e <HI>e&s;t &s;patium trium annorum cum dimidio e&s;&s;e my&s;ticum, id quod</HI> Exigebat Aenig|matis <HI>ratio.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Item in v.</HI> 2. <HI>cap,</HI> 11. <HI>Ante Notation.&mdash;veruntamen quemadmodum dimidia hora, cap. octavo, &amp; quinque men&s;es, cap. nono, non &s;unt in &s;en&s;u proprio de&s;umpta, &s;ed My&s;tico, ita etiam conve|nienter ad</HI> Apocalyp&s;eos <HI>Contextum</HI> Accipiendi <HI>&s;unt hi</HI> 42 <HI>men&s;es in &s;en&s;u My&s;tico, non proprio. Etenim accipere Hos numeros Dierum aut men&s;ium, ut &s;onant, id quidem</HI> Nequaquam <HI>&s;tylo aenigmatico quadrat.</HI></P></NOTE> <HI>Alca&s;ar</HI> does po&s;itive|ly determine about the&s;e three years and an half, that they mu&s;t <HI>nece&s;|&s;arily</HI> be under&s;tood in a My&s;tical Sen&s;e, to an&s;wer the nature of a My|&s;tical Prophecy, as this is. According
<PB REF="20"> as we &s;ee the half hour in the <HI>8th.</HI> Chapter, and the five Months in the <HI>9th.</HI> Chapter, to be taken; which he &s;ays, are an In&s;tance in the Prophecy, to direct us to the My&s;tical U&s;e of Time in all other places of it. And to take the Days and Months in their literal &s;en&s;e, he &s;ays, Is <HI>not at all</HI> &s;uitable to an Aenigmatical Style.</P>
<P N="6">6. Dr. <HI>Hammond</HI> upon tho&s;e words, <HI>chap.</HI> 1. <HI>v.</HI> 1. <HI>Apoc.&mdash;</HI>Things which mu&s;t &s;hortly come to pa&s;s, &s;ays, That tho&s;e Words were to him the Key for the whole Prophecy, and thence does confidently determine, That the Vi&s;ions of the <HI>Apocalyp&s;e,</HI> were to be fulfilled ve|ry &s;hortly after the Delivery of the Prophecy.</P>
<P>Not to mention the incon&s;i&s;tency of this with the Doctors Interpretations of the Ten Horns 200 Years after, and of the 1000 Years after that in the <HI>20th.</HI> Chapter, together with his Application of <HI>God</HI> and <HI>Ma|gog</HI> to the <HI>Turks</HI> after tho&s;e 1000 Years;</P>
<P>See what &s;mall Account <HI>Ribera</HI> makes of the ground of this confidence upon tho&s;e very &s;ame Words:&mdash;He &s;ays, <NOTE N="(m)" PLACE="marg">Ribera <HI>in cap.</HI> 11. <HI>v.</HI> 1. <HI>Apocal. Numer.</HI> 5. <HI>Id quod incipitur jam fit. Cum ergo illae Per&s;ecutiones,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>cito incipi deberent, recte ait, Quae oportet fieri cito, et&s;i non cito e&s;&s;ent finienda.</HI> Ita probat Communis con&s;uetudo Ser|monis, &amp; con&s;uetudo Scripturae.</NOTE> <HI>It is a common ordina|ry way of Speech, and the Cu&s;tom of Scripture, To &s;ay of Things that were &s;hortly to begin, that they &s;hould &s;hortly come to pa&s;s, tho they were not &s;hortly to be fini&s;h|ed.</HI></P>
<P>This &s;harp and &s;evere Cen&s;ure of all the main Foundations of the <HI>Grotian</HI> Way from the Mouth of that Party, whom it does mo&s;t oblige, does &s;uffici|ently ju&s;tifie the &s;ame kind of Sentence, that has been pa&s;s'd upon it by the mo&s;t &s;agacious of the Prote|&s;tant Interpreters, who cannot but look upon <HI>Grotius</HI> in mo&s;t of the ob&s;tru&s;e parts of Prophecy, as mo&s;t affectedly &s;ingular; and to that degree in &s;ome places, as to make him one of the mo&s;t apparent In&s;tances
<PB REF="20"> of that old ob&s;ervation, <HI>Nullum Magnum Ingenium &s;ine mixtur&acirc;.</HI></P>
<P>I will therefore now venture to conclude, That the Authority of <HI>Grotius,</HI> and Dr. <HI>Hammond</HI> will not much prejudice any Prote&s;tant again&s;t the Suppo&s;itions, which are at fir&s;t laid down as the Ba&s;is of the&s;e In|terpretations.</P>
<P>But if the Predictions before mentioned be &s;hort|ly fulfilled, they will be a mo&s;t con&s;iderable confirma|tion of the Suppo&s;itions upon which they rely.</P>
<P>Whatever may be the I&s;&s;ue of the&s;e particular Ap|plications to the&s;e pre&s;ent Times, the main Body of the Interpretations &s;tands &s;ecure upon another Bot|tom, <HI>viz.</HI> Their pa&s;t Accompli&s;hment. And that long Train of Divine Judgments, which through the Cour&s;e of &s;o many Ages has always run down Parallel with the violent Practices of the <HI>Roman</HI> Church, is expe|perience enough to a&s;&s;ure all the <HI>divided Parts</HI> of the <HI>Reformation,</HI> That the biting and devouring one ano|ther for their Religious Differences, are the next Cau&s;es of mo&s;t of the Judgments of God that come upon them.</P>
<CLOSER><DATE><HI>March</HI> 25. 1689.</DATE></CLOSER>
<PB REF="21">
</DIV1>
</FRONT>
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="text">
<PB N="1" REF="21">
<HEAD>THE Judgments of God UPON THE ROMAN CHURCH, In Explication of the TRUMPETS and VIALLS of the APOCALYPSE.</HEAD>
<DIV2 N="1" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. I.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>The kind of Proof, that is here endeavoured after. The rea&s;on of the Method. Five Suppo&s;itions generally allowed by Prote&s;tant Interpreters, upon which the whole Di&s;cour&s;e relies. The Party of the Bea&s;t, a corrupt part of the</HI> Chri&s;tian Church. <HI>The</HI> Roman Church, <HI>an Object of the Plagues of all the Trumpets. The</HI> Saracens, <HI>and</HI> Turks <HI>the fir&s;t and &s;econd Woe.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>AS I always accounted the Vi&s;ions of the Apocalyp&s;e to be a re&s;emblance of the fir&s;t great Deep, or a dark Aby&s;s of all <NOTE N="(a)" PLACE="marg">THE Je&s;uite <HI>Pererius</HI> to this purpo&s;e Di&s;put. 4. in <HI>Apoc.</HI> God de&s;igned here to &s;ignifie&mdash;the whole progre&s;s, and cour&s;e of the Church, from the beginning of it to the end of it&mdash;And withall, <HI>All the mo&s;t con&s;iderable, and remarkable fortunes</HI> of it, the pro&s;perous as well as the cloudy. So al&s;o Di&s;put. 9.&mdash;This is <HI>above all to be retained&mdash;</HI>that there are here foretold the mo&s;t eminent and remarkable Fortunes, and Events in the Church both pro&s;perous, and the contrary, from the beginning of it to the la&s;t end of it.</NOTE> the con&s;iderable fortunes of the Chri&s;tian Church, to the end of the World: So was it a long while before I could think it po&s;&s;ible to go further in any clear di&s;coveries from them, than the work of the fir&s;t Day, or to divide the Light of it from the Darkne&s;s, which is the whole de&s;ign of my fir&s;t Part. The perplexi|ties
<PB N="2" REF="22"> that I had been in, when I fir&s;t ingaged my &s;elf in the&s;e things, upon the account of the infinite variety of different Apprehen&s;ions, that I met with about them, had &s;ettled me in a &s;trong and habitual aver&s;ion again&s;t all tempting conje|ctures, that had nothing but a fair Concinnity for their Foun|dation. And upon a general and curfory Survey of the Schemes of tho&s;e Vi&s;ions, I could not think there was any better ground of &s;atisfaction to be had about the Application of far the greate&s;t part of them.</P>
<P>Wherefore after &s;ome &s;atisfactory di&s;coveries of the in|&s;ufficiency of the grounds, that I found others to rely upon, and &s;ome fruitle&s;s endeavours of mine own to determine the time and application of the Trumpets and Vials, I came at la&s;t to de&s;pair of making any further progre&s;s in the&s;e things.</P>
<P>But upon a more particular, and clo&s;e Application of my Thoughts, to the darker &s;ides of the Prophecy, I am now more &s;atisfied, that there are &s;uch plain marks of their relati|on to the clearer parts of it, <NOTE N="(b)" PLACE="marg"><HI>Idem Di&s;put.</HI> 10. But this I take to be the rea&s;on why there were &s;o few things plainly &s;ignified, namely, That we might from tho&s;e open-hints hunt after the under&s;tanding of the re&s;t.</NOTE> as are able to lead one to a particular di&s;covery of all the material things that are &s;ignified by them.</P>
<P>I will not ingage that all that &s;hall be here delivered &s;hall appear as ab&s;olutely Nece&s;&s;ary, and Cogent, as the fir&s;t part of the&s;e Enquiries, becau&s;e they are deductions from tho&s;e principles. But yet it will be convenient to follow the &s;ame Proce&s;s and Method, that has been there ob&s;erved, or to &s;et all the Conclu&s;ions di&s;tinctly by them&s;elves, and to di&s;po&s;e them into that Order, in which they do mo&s;t naturally depend upon one another, which will render the whole Pro&s;pect of them more clear, and open, and make it more ea&s;ie to di&s;|cover any weakne&s;s, that may be &s;u&s;pected to be in them.</P>
<P>It may ea&s;ily be apprehended, that it is not my bu&s;ine&s;s here, to prove the principles upon which I rely; Becau&s;e this is but the con&s;equence of another work. But yet I will here make u&s;e of no other Suppo&s;itions, than &s;uch as are the mo&s;t obvious things in the whole Prophecy: And are therefore generally agreed upon by all Prote&s;tant Inter|preters of any Note; And of that kind are the&s;e that follow, which I therefore take as &s;o many acknowledged <HI>Po&s;tulata,</HI> or Foundations to proceed upon.</P>
<LIST>
<PB N="3" REF="22">
<ITEM>1. <HI>That the Bea&s;t and the Fal&s;e Prophet, are the chief Ruling</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Suppo&s;itions.</NOTE> <HI>Power of the pre&s;ent</HI> Church of Rome.</ITEM>
<ITEM>2. <HI>That the Time, Times and an half, the</HI> 42 <HI>Months of the Rea&s;t, and the</HI> 1260 <HI>Days, are</HI> 1260 <HI>Years, and are all one and the &s;ame individual Time.</HI></ITEM>
<ITEM>3. <HI>That the ri&s;e of the Bea&s;t was before the Year</HI> 620.</ITEM>
<ITEM>4. <HI>That the Two Witne&s;&s;es, in Sackcloth, are the Repre&s;entatives of the whole true Church of God, under &s;ubjection to</HI> Roman States.</ITEM>
<ITEM>5. <HI>That</HI> Babylon <HI>is the City of</HI> Rome <HI>in a State of Eccle&s;ia&s;tical Domination.</HI></ITEM>
</LIST>
<P>SINCE all hopes of the Application of the Trumpets do &s;eem to depend upon the Relation, that they may be found to have with that, which is the mo&s;t clearly known in the Prophecy, that is, The characters of the Bea&s;t, the fir&s;t Con|clu&s;ion that &s;hall be here offered, is That</P>
<Q><HI>The Woe of the &s;eventh Trumpet does put an end to all the</HI> <MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>Power of the Bea&s;t.</HI></Q>
<P>For the Bea&s;t is &s;ignified to be in Power again&s;t the Church <NOTE PLACE="marg">Revel. 11. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">, &amp; 15.</NOTE> of Chri&s;t, ju&s;t before the Woe of the &s;eventh Trumpet; And that Woe makes all the Kingdoms of this World, the Kingdoms of Chri&s;t for ever; And therefore mu&s;t all the Power of the Bea&s;t again&s;t the Church be made an end of by it.</P>
<P>It may next be ob&s;erved, That</P>
<Q><HI>The</HI> 144000 <HI>chap.</HI> 14. 1. <HI>are the faithful Members of</HI> <MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>Chri&s;t</HI>'s <HI>Church upon Earth.</HI></Q>
<P>For they are the oppo&s;ite party to that of the Bea&s;t. And <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 14. 1.</NOTE> therefore mu&s;t be upon Earth. And they are repre&s;ented as upon Mount <HI>Sion</HI> with the Lamb, <NOTE N="(c)" PLACE="marg">The Je&s;uit <HI>Alca&s;ar</HI> in cap. 14. <HI>Apoc.</HI> By <HI>Sion</HI> in the Holy Scripture is &s;ignified the whole Church Militant; Becau&s;e, as S. <HI>Paul</HI> &s;aith, The re&s;t are ingrafted upon the &s;ame Olive-tree. <HI>Paul</HI> does &s;o u&s;e the name of <HI>Sion,</HI> Gal. 4. 24. Heb. 12. 22.</NOTE> and therefore mu&s;t they be the faithful members of the Chri&s;tian Church upon Earth; And in the <NOTE N="(d)" PLACE="marg"><HI>Ibid.</HI> The&s;e 144000 are <HI>without all que&s;tion</HI> the very &s;ame with tho&s;e in the &s;eventh Chapter.</NOTE> 7. Chap. they are &s;aid to be the &s;ervants of God Sealed to e&s;cape the Evils, that were to come upon the Earth.</P>
<P>It appears al&s;o from thence, That</P>
<Q><PB N="4" REF="23"> <HI>The</HI> 144000 <HI>chap.</HI> 14. 1. <HI>are Contemporary with the fir&s;t</HI> <MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>times of the Reign of the Bea&s;t.</HI></Q>
<P>For the party of the Bea&s;t at their fir&s;t appearance are &s;aid <NOTE PLACE="marg">Revel. 13. 16.</NOTE> to have received the mark, and name of the Bea&s;t in their Right Hands, or their Foreheads, ju&s;t before the mention of the 144000, who are &s;aid to be &s;ealed al&s;o in their Fore|heads with the Seal of the Name of God, which does mani|fe&s;tly intimate, that the 144000 were then in being, when the other were marked out to be di&s;tingui&s;hed from them, that is, at their fir&s;t appearance.</P>
<P>Wherefore the 144000 do continue with the party of the Bea&s;t, from the fir&s;t beginning of his Reign.</P>
<P>But then it is evident, That,</P>
<Q><HI>The</HI> 144000. <HI>chap.</HI> 7. <HI>were &s;ealed to &s;ave them from the</HI> <MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>Evils of the Trumpets.</HI></Q>
<P>For they were &s;ealed to be &s;ecured from the evils, that <NOTE PLACE="marg">Revel. 7. 2.</NOTE> were going to be inflicted on the Earth and Sea, ju&s;t before the appearance of the Trumpets. And it appears from the fifth Trumpet, which was to torment all who had not <NOTE PLACE="marg">Revel. 9. 4.</NOTE> the Seal of God in their Foreheads, that the evils, that the 144000 were &s;ecured from, were the judgments of the Trumpets.</P>
<P>Indeed the whole 7. Chap. which &s;hows upon what ac|count the 144000 were &s;ealed, appears to be put in betwixt the &s;ixth and the &s;eventh Seal, for no other purpo&s;e, but to &s;ignifie what was fir&s;t to be done to make way for the executi|on of the Judgments of the Trumpets. For tho&s;e Judgments <NOTE PLACE="marg">Revel. 6. 11. ver. 17.</NOTE> had been promi&s;ed in the fifth Seal, in revenge of the Blood of the Chri&s;tian Martyrs, and were &s;een to be near at hand in the &s;ixth Seal, ju&s;t before the 7. Chap. but were deferred to be executed till after that Chapter, at the opening of the &s;eventh Seal. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Revel. 8. 2.</NOTE></P>
<P>The Rea&s;on for which appears from the matter of the 7. Chap. which is nothing el&s;e but an account, either of the 144000 (who were to be &s;ealed before the Judg|ments of the Trumpets, in order to their &s;ecurity under
<PB N="5" REF="23"> them) or of the great multitude of all Nations at the 9. ver&s;e, who are &s;aid to be come out of the Great Tribulation, and appear to be tho&s;e re&s;t of the Brethren, that were in the fifth Seal foretold &s;hould be killed within a little &s;ea&s;on, and ju&s;t <NOTE PLACE="marg">Revel. 6. 11</NOTE> before the Vengeance there promi&s;ed to the Blood of the Martyrs. For the&s;e re&s;t of the Brethren that in the fifth Seal are &s;aid &s;hould be killed, are all the re&s;t of the Martyrs, that were to die in the &s;ame kind of Per&s;ecution, in which tho&s;e others in the fifth Seal were &s;lain, as it is &s;ignified by the expre&s;&s;ion of tho&s;e that &s;hould be killed, <HI>as they were;</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 6. 11.</NOTE> And they being to be killed, within a little &s;ea&s;on, and be|fore the beginning of the Vengeance, there promi&s;ed, they have ju&s;t the &s;ame Character, with that of the great multitude <NOTE PLACE="marg">Revel. 7. 9.</NOTE> of all Nations come out of Tribulation in the &s;ixth Seal.</P>
<P>For the great multitude do by their place in the &s;ixth Seal appear to be within a little &s;ea&s;on after the time of the fifth Seal, And they were <HI>all the re&s;t</HI> of the Brethren, that were to be killed, becau&s;e they were an innumerable <HI>multitude of all nations, kindreds, and people, and tongues, and had white robes</HI> given them like the Martyrs in the fifth Seal; They are al&s;o de&s;cribed as all killed ju&s;t before the time of the Trumpets, as the killing of the re&s;t of the Brethren was foretold &s;hould be ju&s;t before the Vengeance there promi&s;ed.</P>
<P>This does make it &s;ufficiently manife&s;t, that all the bu&s;i|ne&s;s of the 7. Chap. has a relation to the judgments of the Trumpets, that were immediately to follow it; And there|fore that the &s;ealing of the 144000, was only to &s;ave them from tho&s;e evils.</P>
<P>The &s;ealing of the 144000 is indeed an unque&s;tionable al|lu&s;ion to the like repre&s;entation in the 9. Chap. of <HI>Ezekiel,</HI> where the Angels, under who&s;e charge the City <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> was, are commanded to &s;lay all that were in it without pity, excepting tho&s;e who were ordered to be marked in their Foreheads, that they might be pa&s;&s;ed over upon the account <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ezek. 9 4.</NOTE> of their mourning for the abominations of that people.</P>
<P>And by this it does appear, that the rea&s;on of the mark, and number of both the oppo&s;ite parties in the 14. Chapter, is this &s;ealing of the 144000 in the 7. Chap. For there is no manner of account why that particular and unu&s;ual Cha|racter is given to the followers of the Bea&s;t, but only for
<PB N="6" REF="24"> their being there made the oppo&s;ite party to another, that was &s;ealed and numbered; whereas there had been an account given in the 7. Chap. long before, of the &s;ealing of the 144000, for a very particular end, without any relation or mention of the mark, and number of the Bea&s;t.</P>
<P>The time therefore of the 144000, does by this &s;eem to be repre&s;ented, as having been &s;ome while at lea&s;t before the time of the Bea&s;t, becau&s;e they were &s;ealed before the other were marked:</P>
<P>It cannot however be que&s;tioned, but That</P>
<Q><HI>The whole time of the Reign of the Bea&s;t is within the</HI> <MILESTONE N="5" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>time of the Trumpets.</HI></Q>
<P>For the Reign of the Bea&s;t ends with the Woe of the &s;eventh Trumpet (by <HI>Theoreme</HI> 1.)&mdash;And it begins in the time of the 144000 (by <HI>Theoreme</HI> 3.) And therefore in the time of the Trumpets, becau&s;e the 144000 were &s;ealed to be &s;ecured from the evils of the Trumpets <HI>(Theor.</HI> 4.) And &s;o mu&s;t be contemporary with the fir&s;t of them.</P>
<P>The whole time then of the Reign of the Bea&s;t mu&s;t be in the time of the Trumpets, becau&s;e they begin a&s;&s;oon as that Reign, and end after it.</P>
<P>And then it cannot be ea&s;ily doubted, but That</P>
<Q><HI>The Kingdom of the Bea&s;t, is an Object of the Plagues of</HI> <MILESTONE UNIT="Con&s;eq."> <HI>the Trumpets, during the whole time of his Reign.</HI></Q>
<P>For the whole time of the Reign of the Bea&s;t is in the time of the Trumpets <HI>(Theoreme</HI> 5.)</P>
<P>And the followers of the Bea&s;t are di&s;tingui&s;hed by their mark, as the oppo&s;ite party to the 144000. And therefore mu&s;t they be in the &s;ame Empire with the 144000 according to all the u&s;e of marking out per&s;ons in Scripture, to &s;ave them from the evils, that were to come upon the re&s;t. The re&s;t therefore, that were not &s;o &s;ealed, or the party of the Bea&s;t, mu&s;t be the Objects of the Plagues from which the 144000 were &s;ecured, that is, the Objects of the Trumpets.</P>
<PB N="7" REF="24">
<P> It is al&s;o not le&s;s manife&s;t, That</P>
<Q><HI>The main Body of the Chri&s;tian Church is in a State</HI> <MILESTONE N="6" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>of great Corruption before the time of the Trum|pets.</HI></Q>
<P>For the Twelve Tribes, out of which the 144000 are <NOTE PLACE="marg">Revel. 7.</NOTE> cho&s;en in order to be di&s;tingui&s;hed from them, by being &s;ealed, are the whole Jewi&s;h State and Church; And the Jewi&s;h Church is known <NOTE N="(e)" PLACE="marg"><P><HI>Idem Notat.</HI> 21. <HI>in prooem Apocal.</HI> It is the ordinary way of the Pro|phets to touch upon Jewi&s;h matters, and to refer them to the things of the Chri&s;tian Church.</P>
<P><HI>Idem Notat.</HI> in cap. 15. v. 3. It is very u&s;ual with the Prophets under the cover of Jewi&s;h Hi&s;tories to refer to the Hi&s;tory of the Chri&s;tian Church.</P></NOTE> to be generally u&s;ed in this Pro|phecy for the Chri&s;tian Church, and mu&s;t be &s;o here, be|cau&s;e the 144000 are Chri&s;tians (by <HI>Theoreme</HI> 2.)</P>
<P>Now the 144000 are cho&s;en out from the re&s;t, becau&s;e <NOTE PLACE="marg">Revel. 7. 3.</NOTE> they are the Servants of God, and therefore cannot the re&s;t be the true Servants of God. For whereever the Favorites or Ser|vants of God are in the Scriptures marked out to be &s;ecured from any Judgments of God, The re&s;t that are not marked are known to have drawn down tho&s;e Judgments upon their Heads by &s;ome extraordinary wickedne&s;s.</P>
<P>And then how far they are from being the true Servants of God, is &s;ufficiently &s;ignified by the heavine&s;s of the Judg|ments, that the 144000 were &s;ealed to be &s;ecured from. And which therefore mu&s;t fall upon tho&s;e who were not &s;ealed.</P>
<P>This then does &s;ufficiently &s;how the whole Chri&s;tian Church, excepting the 144000 to be in a very corrupt &s;tate before the time of the Trumpets.</P>
<P>By this it appears, That</P>
<Q><HI>The Plagues of the Trumpets do in their &s;ucce&s;&s;ion fall</HI> <MILESTONE N="7" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>upon all the parts of the Chri&s;tian Church, which in the time of tho&s;e Plagues are not the true Servants of God.</HI></Q>
<P>For none but the 144000, who are the faithful Members of the Chri&s;tian Church, are &s;ecured from the Plagues of the Trumpets; And they are cho&s;en out, and &s;ealed to be di&s;tingui&s;hed from all the re&s;t in the time of tho&s;e Judgments. And therefore mu&s;t they fall upon all the re&s;t who are not &s;ealed. And this is openly expre&s;&s;ed in the fifth Trumpet, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Revel. 9. 4, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> which is &s;aid to torment none but tho&s;e indefinitely, that
<PB N="8" REF="25"> have not the Seal of God in their Foreheads, that is, all the con&s;iderable part of the re&s;t of the Church.</P>
<P>And from hence without relying upon any former &s;up|po&s;itions, concerning the Nature of the Bea&s;t, is a very fair ground offered to conclude, That</P>
<Q><HI>The Party of the Bea&s;t, are &s;ome corrupt part of the</HI> <MILESTONE UNIT="Con&s;eq."> <HI>Chri&s;tian Church.</HI></Q>
<P>For by the &s;ealing the 144000 to &s;ave them from the Plagues of the Trumpets, it appears that tho&s;e Plagues are wholly de&s;igned again&s;t the re&s;t of the Chri&s;tian Church, out of whom the 144000 are cho&s;en, in order to their be|ing &s;ecured from tho&s;e evils. And &s;ince the&s;e Plagues are found to fall upon the Followers of the Bea&s;t, <HI>Con&s;eq. Theor.</HI> 5.) That Party mu&s;t con&s;equently be &s;ome corrupt part of the Chri&s;tian Church.</P>
<P>This then may an&s;wer that common Que&s;tion, What evi|dence there is, That the Bea&s;t is a Chri&s;tian Rule, or Church. For what can be more openly and plainly &s;ig|nified, than this is, from his being the oppo&s;ite party to the 144000, and the Object of the Trumpets, which were all to fall upon the Chri&s;tian Church?</P>
<P>But yet it is not nece&s;&s;ary from hence, that the Plagues of <HI>every</HI> Trumpet &s;hould fall upon all the parts of the Church, that are at that Time in a corrupt &s;tate. It is on the con|trary very clearly expre&s;&s;ed, that the Plagues of the four fir&s;t Trumpets do extend but to a third part of the Subject upon which they fall; And therefore cannot <HI>every</HI> one of them be &s;uppo&s;ed to affect the Univer&s;al Church.</P>
<P>But in what &s;tate &s;oever the other parts of the Chri&s;tian Church may be, yet &s;ince it is &s;uppo&s;ed, that the Bea&s;t is the Ruling Power of the Roman Church, it mu&s;t be allowed, That</P>
<Q><HI>The Plagues of the Trumpets do fall upon the Dominions</HI> <MILESTONE N="8" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>of the Roman Church, during the whole Time of the Reign of the Bea&s;t.</HI></Q>
<P N="1"><PB N="9" REF="25"> 1. That the Plagues of the Trumpets do fall upon the do|minions of the Roman Church, <HI>during the Reign of the Bea&s;t,</HI> appears from the &s;ecurity, that the 144000 have from tho&s;e Plagues during that time. For the 144000 are the party op|po&s;ite to that of the Bea&s;t, from whom the followers of the Bea&s;t are di&s;tingui&s;hed by their number, and their mark. The&s;e two parties mu&s;t therefore continue together, thus di&s;tingui&s;hed from one another; And &s;ince the 144000 are &s;ecured from the evils of the Trumpets by nothing but their mark, tho&s;e Plagues mu&s;t therefore fall upon their Adver|&s;aries who have not that mark, that is upon the party of the Bea&s;t, which is &s;uppo&s;ed to be tho&s;e of the Roman Church <HI>(Suppo&s;.</HI> 1.)</P>
<P N="2">2. And then the&s;e Plagues do fall upon the Roman Party for the <HI>whole time of the Reign of the Bea&s;t,</HI> becau&s;e the whole time of the Reign of the Bea&s;t is in the time of the&s;e Plagues <HI>(Theor.</HI> 5.)</P>
<P>But yet it is to be con&s;idered, that the Plagues of the Trumpets may fall upon other parts of the World, be&s;ides the Territories of the <HI>Roman Church,</HI> during the Reign of the Bea&s;t. For the&s;e Plagues are found to concern all the cor|rupted parts of the Church at one time or other, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 7.)&mdash;And the 144000 are &s;ignified to be di&s;per&s;ed among all the corrupted parts of the Church, by being taken out of all the twelve Tribes, that is, out of all the parts that make up the whole Church, and to have a Seal upon them to di&s;tingui&s;h the &s;everal Parcels of them from the re&s;t of that Divi&s;ion. So that unle&s;s it can be made appear, That the juri&s;diction of the Bea&s;t contains all the corrupted parts of the Chri&s;tian Church in it, the Plagues of the Trumpets are not to be confined to that Party only for their Object.</P>
<P>However the concern of the Bea&s;t alone, in the Plagues of the Trumpets, for the <HI>whole</HI> time of his Reign, is &s;ufficient to make any conclude, That</P>
<Q><PB N="10" REF="26"> <HI>The Plagues of the Trumpets are the</HI> <NOTE N="(f)" PLACE="marg"><P><HI>Pererius Di&s;put.</HI> 5. <HI>Apocalyp&s;.</HI> The mo&s;t eminent events are here referred to. See <HI>Pererius</HI> in Note the fir&s;t.</P>
<P><HI>Alca&s;ar Notat.</HI> 6. <HI>prooem.</HI> The Hi&s;torical &s;en&s;e does apply all to the Hi&s;to|ry of the Chri&s;tian Church&mdash;To the events in it, not tho&s;e that are minute, and incon&s;iderable, but to the mo&s;t remarkable and eminent.</P>
<P><HI>Cornel. &agrave; Lapide prolegom&mdash;Apocal. de variis modis interpretandi Apoc.&mdash;</HI>2. others, and far the true&s;t, do apply to &s;ome of the mo&s;t famous events in &s;everal Ages.</P></NOTE> <HI>mo&s;t heavy and,</HI> <MILESTONE N="9" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>la&s;ting Calamities that do happen in their time, within tho&s;e parts of the Empire, upon which they fall.</HI></Q>
<P>For the Plagues of the Trumpets, do take up as much time at lea&s;t to be executed in, as the length of the Reign of the Bea&s;t is. <HI>(Theor.</HI> 5.)&mdash;And that is agreed to be 1260 Years <HI>(Suppo&s;.</HI> 2.) And the&s;e Plagues are &s;et out, as the mo&s;t <HI>dreadful</HI> Calamities that do happen within that length of time.</P>
<P>This is fir&s;t &s;ignified by the &s;olemn repre&s;entation of the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 7. 1. &amp; 3.</NOTE> four Angels, &s;tanding at the four corners of the Earth, and holding the four Winds, that they &s;hould not do that mi&s;chief that was going to be executed upon the Earth and the Sea. And then next by as &s;olemn a &s;ealing of the Servants of God to &s;ave them from tho&s;e evils for this length of time: And again, afterwards by the Voices and Thunderings and Light|nings <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 8. 5.</NOTE> and Earthquake, that followed upon the ca&s;ting of the Fire of the Altar upon the Earth, ju&s;t before the beginning of the Trumpets.</P>
<P>But the mo&s;t Emphatical De&s;cription of the Terrors of &s;ome of the&s;e Plagues, is the dreadful and loud cry of <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 8. 13.</NOTE> the Angel flying through the mid&s;t of Heaven, Chap. 8. 13. Woe, Woe, Woe, to expre&s;s the Terrors of the three Trumpets that were then to come.</P>
<P>This is farther &s;ignified by the choice that is made of the Plagues of <HI>Egypt</HI> to &s;et out the&s;e Calamities by; They are of that &s;ort of <HI>Egyptian</HI> Plagues, of which God &s;ays, in di|&s;tinction <NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 9. 14.</NOTE> to all the re&s;t, That he would &s;end them, that <HI>Pha|raoh</HI> might know, that there was none like him in all the Earth. And of the fir&s;t of the&s;e, <HI>The hail,</HI> He &s;ays it &s;hould <NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 18.</NOTE> be &s;uch as had never been in <HI>Egypt</HI> &s;ince the Foundation of it till then; And of the <HI>Locu&s;ts,</HI> That they &s;hould do that which neither their Fathers, nor their Father's Fathers had <NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 10. 6.</NOTE> &s;een, &s;ince the day that they were upon the Earth. And the <HI>darkne&s;s</HI> is called thick darkne&s;s, and &s;uch as might be <NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 21, 22.</NOTE> felt.</P>
<PB N="11" REF="26">
<P> But the plaine&s;t evidence of the heavy nature and extent of the&s;e Plagues, is the matter of the &s;econd and &s;ixth Trumpet; The burning Mountain ca&s;t into the Sea is never <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 8. 8.</NOTE> u&s;ed among&s;t the Prophets, but to &s;ignifie the utter ruine of Empire; And the &s;laying the third part of Men is &s;uch a <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 9. 19.</NOTE> Plague, as never was before heard of.</P>
<P>To the circum&s;tances al&s;o of the Hail of <HI>Egypt,</HI> is here ad|ded that of Blood, in the Hail of the fir&s;t Trumpet; And to tho&s;e of the <HI>Egyptian</HI> Locu&s;ts are &s;uch adjuncts added in the fifth <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 9. 7.</NOTE> Trumpet, as make them appear to be very dreadful and ter|rible.</P>
<P>And then for the <HI>long continuance</HI> of them, the Locu&s;ts, in <NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 5, 10.</NOTE> the fifth Trumpet, are de&s;cribed to continue five Months, to &s;how the different nature of that Plague, from its Pattern in <HI>Egypt.</HI> And the great &s;laughter of Men in the &s;ixth Trumpet, which &s;eems to refer to the &s;laughter of the Fir&s;t-born in <HI>Egypt,</HI> is de&s;cribed to continue for a Day, a Month and a Year.</P>
<P>Wherefore the Plagues of the Trumpets mu&s;t be the heavie&s;t Calamities, upon the place where they fall, of any that happen in the whole compa&s;s of the time that they are executed in. And therefore are they the mo&s;t dreadful Plagues that can happen in the length of 1260. Years, which they do certainly take up, during the Reign only of the Bea&s;t, <HI>(Suppo&s;.</HI> 2.)</P>
<P>From hence it appears unque&s;tionable, That</P>
<Q><HI>The Plagues of the Trumpets cannot be under&s;tood in the</HI> <MILESTONE N="10" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>literal &s;en&s;e of the words, by which they are de&s;cribed.</HI></Q>
<P>For the expre&s;&s;ions before mentioned, are of much too high and &s;olemn a &s;ignification to &s;ignifie nothing but a great <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 8.</NOTE> Hail and Bla&s;ting, as the Plague of the fir&s;t Trumpet does literally &s;ignifie; Or a change only in the Waters of the Sea and Rivers, as it is in the Plague of the &s;econd and third; Or nothing but an Eclip&s;e of the Sun and Moon, as it is in the fourth Trumpet, and which be&s;ides bear no manner of pro|portion to the Calamities, that do happen in any place within &s;uch a compa&s;s of Years, as the Plagues of the Trumpets have been found to be executed in, <HI>(Con&s;eq. Theor.</HI> 5.)</P>
<PB N="12" REF="27">
<P> But to make it altogether unque&s;tionable, That the matter of the Trumpets, cannot be taken in the literal &s;en&s;e of the words, it is to be ob&s;erved, That the Plague of the third Trumpet is a Star falling like a Lamp upon the third part of the River: Now this is impo&s;&s;ible for one falling Star, as it literally &s;ignifies, to be able to do, though it were as big as the bigge&s;t Lamp that ever was &s;een, e&s;pecially &s;ince it is &s;aid al&s;o to fall upon the Fountains of Water, which mu&s;t be at too great a di&s;tance from one another, for a falling Star to &s;pread it &s;elf over in a literal &s;en&s;e. And how is it po&s;&s;ible to conceive a &s;laughter of the third part of Men in a War of little above a Years continuance, as it is literally expre&s;&s;ed in the &s;ixth Trumpet? The Moun|tain al&s;o in the &s;econd Trumpet, that is &s;aid to burn with Fire, and to be ca&s;t into the Sea, is a very peculiar prophetical <NOTE PLACE="marg">Jerem. 51. 25.</NOTE> expre&s;&s;ion, and is no where u&s;ed in Scripture, but in a my&s;tical &s;en&s;e, and that only for a de&s;truction of Em|pire.</P>
<P>On the other &s;ide, nothing is more obvious among&s;t the Prophets than to u&s;e tho&s;e Terms in a my&s;tical &s;en&s;e, that are here the Characters of the evils of the Trumpets: And the ordinary u&s;e of them there, is to denote the &s;everal Calamities that befal a Nation.</P>
<P>It may therefore be very &s;afely concluded, That the Plagues of the Trumpets are to be under&s;tood of greater Calamities than they literally &s;ignifie.</P>
<P>And then by what hath before been ob&s;erved,</P>
<Q><HI>The Plagues of the Trumpets, that fall within the time</HI> <MILESTONE UNIT="Con&s;eq."> <HI>of the Reign of the Bea&s;t, mu&s;t be the greate&s;t of all the Calamities that do happen within tho&s;e places where they fall, during the whole time of that Reign.</HI></Q>
<P>It is nece&s;&s;ary to put in the limitation <HI>of the places upon which they fall,</HI> becau&s;e there are frequent mentions of the particular parts of Subjects that are affected by the matter of the Trumpets.</P>
<P>The Conclu&s;ion is al&s;o &s;o much the &s;tronger by that Re|&s;triction.</P>
<PB N="13" REF="27">
<P> It may therefore now be concluded, That the evils of tho&s;e Trumpets, which happened during the Reign of the Bea&s;t, mu&s;t be the mo&s;t remarkable calamities, that befell the Roman Empire, within the 1260 Years of his Reign.</P>
<P>From hence it would be inferred, that the <HI>Saracen</HI> Vexa|tions of the Roman Empire mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily be one of the Plagues of the&s;e Trumpets; For it fell within the Time of the Reign of the Bea&s;t, which is generally &s;uppo&s;ed by Pro|te&s;tant Interpreters to have begun before the Year 620. <HI>(Suppo&s;ition</HI> 3.) Whereas the <HI>Saracen</HI> Inva&s;ions were not till after the Year 630; And the whole Roman Empire both in the <HI>Ea&s;t</HI> and <HI>We&s;t</HI> was the Empire of the Bea&s;t, when the <HI>Saracen</HI> Inva&s;ions began. For at that time there was but one <HI>Roman Church</HI> in all tho&s;e Parts, and it continued to be &s;o for above an hundred Years after; all which time did the <HI>Saracens</HI> continue their Ho&s;tilities again&s;t the Ea&s;tern Empire.</P>
<P>And &s;oon after the &s;etlement of the new We&s;tern Empire, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Anno 800.</NOTE> they began their vexations of that part al&s;o of the Empire of the Bea&s;t; And continued them upon <HI>Italy</HI> it &s;elf, for much the &s;ame number of years, that they had plagued the Ea&s;tern parts, from their fir&s;t inroads till that time. So that here was a plague upon the proper Empire of the Bea&s;t for near 300 years together, which mu&s;t certainly have been &s;ignified by &s;ome of the&s;e Trumpets, &s;ince they are found to fall upon the Dominions of the Bea&s;t during the whole time of his Reign <HI>(Theor.</HI> 5.)</P>
<P>If it be &s;o manife&s;t, that the <HI>Saracen</HI> Empire mu&s;t be the matter of one of the Trumpets, then certainly the <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Ho&s;tilities mu&s;t be the bu&s;ine&s;s of another; For betwixt them both they have been a plague to the Roman Empire, both in the <HI>Ea&s;t</HI> and <HI>We&s;t,</HI> for near 1100. years together of the Reign of the Bea&s;t, which is almo&s;t the whole time of his Reign.</P>
<P>And from hence does it al&s;o appear, That the <HI>Saracen</HI> and <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Empires mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily be the fir&s;t and &s;econd Woe. For according to the general opinion of Interpreters concerning the late&s;t ri&s;e of the Bea&s;t, <HI>(Suppo&s;.</HI> 2.) He can|not have much above an hundred years &s;till to come, of which there mu&s;t be &s;ome part allowed for the execution of the third Woe upon him in the &s;eventh Trumpet. So that if
<PB N="14" REF="28"> the fir&s;t or &s;econd Woe were &s;till to come, they would be nothing &s;o con&s;iderable, as the vexations of the Empire by the <HI>Saracens</HI> and <HI>Turks,</HI> had been before, which is contrary to the repre&s;entation of the three la&s;t Woes in the Prophecy, which are &s;ignified to be far heavier, and much more con|&s;iderable evils, than any of the Plagues of the Trumpets be|fore <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 8. 13.</NOTE> them.</P>
<P>Here is therefore now a very fair ground of clear &s;atis|faction, concerning the Nature of the two fir&s;t Woes; but the nece&s;&s;ity of this will appear much more unque&s;tionable, <NOTE PLACE="marg">See <HI>Theorem</HI> 33.</NOTE> from a further con&s;ideration of the Prophecy, and e&s;pecially from the relation of the &s;econd Woe, to the time of the Re&s;urrection and A&s;cen&s;ion of the Witne&s;&s;es, Chap. 8. <HI>Note</HI> 5. And from the nature and time of the fifth Vial, <HI>Con&s;eq.</HI> 1. <HI>Theor.</HI> 66.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="2" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="15" REF="28">
<HEAD>CHAP. II.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>The Great Tribulation, and great Multitude,</HI> chap. 7. 9. <HI>applied: The re&s;t of the Brethren and the Vengeance promi&s;ed, ch.</HI> 6. 11. <HI>The matter of the &s;ixth Seal. The object of the plagues of the Trumpets. The Ho&s;tili|ties of the</HI> Saracens, <HI>and</HI> Turks, <HI>further evinced to be the bu&s;ine&s;s of the fir&s;t and &s;econd Woe. The bounds of the fir&s;t four Trumpets determined.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>THE Application of the Plagues of the fifth and &s;ixth Trumpet to the <HI>Saracen,</HI> and <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> vexations of the Roman Empire, may po&s;&s;ibly be apprehended to have been &s;ufficiently &s;ecured by the proce&s;s of the former di&s;cour&s;e.</P>
<P>But becau&s;e this conclu&s;ion is the foundation of all the hopes, that I have of coming to a determinate knowledge of the &s;ignifications of the re&s;t of the Trumpets, I will en|deavour to &s;etle it upon a &s;till firmer bottom in &s;uch a me|thod, as may at the &s;ame time give an intimation of the ground and rea&s;on of the judgments of the Trumpets, which will have a very great influence towards the di&s;covery of the chief point of the malignity of the Bea&s;t.</P>
<P>For this purpo&s;e it may in the fir&s;t place be ob&s;erved, That</P>
<Q><PB N="16" REF="29"> <HI>The</HI> great Tribulation, <HI>out of which the great multitude</HI> <MILESTONE N="11" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>in white Robes are &s;aid to be come,</HI> chap. 7. 14. <HI>can|not be either the judgments of the &s;ixth Seal, or tho&s;e in the Trumpets.</HI></Q>
<P>For the <HI>great multitude</HI> in white Robes, Chap. 7. are repre|&s;ented as the faithful Members of the Chri&s;tian Church that were come out of great Tribulation, Ver&s;. 14.</P>
<P>But the faithful Members of the Chri&s;tian Church are &s;ealed to e&s;cape the calamities of the Trumpets (by <HI>Theor.</HI> 4.) and are the peculiar &s;elect number of 144000 for all that time which is mentioned in the &s;eventh Chapter, as a note of di|&s;tinction betwixt them, and the great multitude, that comes immediately after in the &s;ame Chapter.</P>
<P>And the calamities of the &s;ixth Seal are &s;hewn to be in|tended <NOTE PLACE="marg">Revel. 6. 16.</NOTE> again&s;t the Enemies of the Lamb, and not again&s;t his faithful followers.</P>
<P>The great Tribulation cannot therefore be either the Ter|rors in the &s;ixth Seal, or the judgments of the Trumpets.</P>
<P>And therefore,</P>
<Q><HI>The great Tribulation,</HI> &amp;c. chap. 7. <HI>mu&s;t be the &s;ame with</HI> <MILESTONE N="12" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>the pre&s;ecution, in which the re&s;t of the Brethren are &s;aid to be killed in the fifth Seal.</HI></Q>
<P>The Original does make this appear to be nece&s;&s;ary. That which is tran&s;lated <HI>out of the great Tribulation,</HI> is <GAP DESC="foreign">, which rendered <HI>verbatim</HI> &s;ignifies, <HI>out of the Tri|bulation</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Revel. 7. 14.</NOTE> <HI>the great one.</HI> And as it is thus called <HI>the Great Tribulation</HI> with an Article of Reference before it, &s;o mu&s;t it import &s;ome Reference in it to a Tribulation, that is &s;ome where thereabouts mentioned; Now there are no other Tribulations mentioned any thing near this place, but the calamities of the &s;ixth Seal, Tho&s;e of the Trumpets and the Per&s;ecutions and Martyrdoms in the fifth Seal.</P>
<P N="1">1. But the great Tribulation cannot be meant of the <HI>calami|ties</HI> of the &s;ixth Seal or Trumpets (by <HI>Theor.</HI> 11)</P>
<P>It mu&s;t therefore be &s;ome Tribulation mentioned in the fifth Seal.</P>
<P N="2"><PB N="17" REF="29"> 2. It cannot be the Martyrdom of the Souls, that were <NOTE PLACE="marg">Revel 6. 10.</NOTE> &s;een &s;lain under the Altar in the fifth Seal. For they are &s;aid <HI>at that time</HI> to have been &s;lain, and to have had white Robes given unto them. Whereas this multitude are de&s;cri|bed to come out of Tribulation <HI>after</HI> the &s;ixth Seal, and to <NOTE PLACE="marg">Revel. 7. 9.</NOTE> be <HI>then</HI> in white Robes. Tho&s;e &s;lain in the fifth Seal are al&s;o repre&s;ented but as a part of tho&s;e, that were killed for the word of God; But the&s;e in the &s;eventh Chapter are a great multitude, which no Man could number, of all Na|tions and Kingdoms, and Peoples and Tongues.</P>
<P>The Tribulation then out of which this great multitude are &s;aid to come, mu&s;t be the per&s;ecution, in which tho&s;e called the re&s;t of the Brethren are foretold in the fifth Chapter &s;hould be killed: For this Tribulation mu&s;t be &s;ome per&s;e|cution mentioned in the fifth Seal, by the fir&s;t Article of this proof; And there is no other per&s;ecution mentioned in the fifth Seal, but only that of the Souls under the Altar, and this of the re&s;t of the Brethren. And by the &s;econd Ar|ticle of this &s;ame proof, it cannot be that Per&s;ecution of the Souls under the Altar. This Tribulation mu&s;t therefore be the Per&s;ecution of the re&s;t of the Brethren.</P>
<P>Be&s;ides, it appears from the proper and natural expo&s;ition of the context, that this multitude in the &s;eventh Chapter mu&s;t be the re&s;t of the Brethren, that are &s;aid in the fifth Seal &s;hould be killed within a little &s;ea&s;on after.</P>
<P>For when we &s;ee an expre&s;s mention in the fifth Seal of <NOTE PLACE="marg">Revel. 6. 11.</NOTE> the re&s;t of the Martyrs that were to be killed after that time, and that determined to be within a little &s;ea&s;on after; And when pre&s;ently after there comes in the mention of a <NOTE PLACE="marg">Revel. 7. 9.</NOTE> great multitude of all Nations, or of all parts of the World come out of a great Tribulation (which is ju&s;t the &s;ame with all the re&s;t of the Brethren Martyrs) and who were clothed in White, ju&s;t as tho&s;e were, who were &s;lain in the fifth Seal; And this al&s;o ju&s;t before the execution of the Vengeance of the Trumpets, which had been promi&s;ed in the fifth Seal, after the killing of the re&s;t of the Brethren; How can any one, without wre&s;ting the&s;e plain intimations to a forced &s;en&s;e of his own, not conclude, That this multi|tude, &s;aid there to be come out of Tribulation, mu&s;t nece&s;|&s;arily be tho&s;e, who were foretold in the fifth Seal ju&s;t before?</P>
<PB N="18" REF="30">
<P> E&s;pecially, if it be con&s;idered that the Article of Reference in that expre&s;&s;ion of <HI>the Great Tribulation,</HI> does nece&s;&s;arily import in it a Relation to &s;ome known Tribulation, and that there is no other mentioned any where near the&s;e Chapters that can &s;uit with it, but only that Per&s;ecution in which the re&s;t of the Brethren in the fifth Seal were to be killed.</P>
<P>Nothing but &s;o very an extraordinary weight of Rea&s;on, as is &s;ufficient to force one to another Interpretation, ought to be regarded again&s;t the great evidence, upon which the former Expo&s;ition has been e&s;tabli&s;hed; And yet the only Rea&s;on, that Mr. <HI>Mede</HI> does give for his different ap|prehen&s;ion in this point, is, That it is &s;aid, that this mul|titude was &s;een <HI>after</HI> the vi&s;ion of the 144000, And there|fore mu&s;t be <HI>after</HI> the time of tho&s;e 144000, that is, after the &s;ounding of all the Trumpets, becau&s;e whereever the term of <GAP DESC="foreign"> is u&s;ed in this Prophecy, it is pretended that it &s;ignifies a &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of things.</P>
<P>But all that need be done to expo&s;e the weakne&s;s of this ground, is only to &s;hew, that the term of <HI>after the&s;e things</HI> does properly &s;ignifie no more in any Hi&s;tory of Vi&s;ions &s;ucceeding one another, than that the Vi&s;ion, which that term brings in, was after another Vi&s;ion, that had been repre&s;ented before it, and not that the things them&s;elves that are de&s;cribed in the latter of the Vi&s;ions, mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily be fulfilled after the time of all the things and per&s;ons that are any ways mentioned in the Vi&s;ion which is before it. And this may be &s;ufficiently proved by in&s;tances of that kind, in this very Prophecy it &s;elf. For example,</P>
<P>The very fir&s;t opening of the Scene of the&s;e Vi&s;ions is introduced with this expre&s;&s;ion, <HI>after the&s;e things,</HI> or <GAP DESC="foreign">, <HI>chap.</HI> 4. 1. And yet the fir&s;t Seal is agreed by Mr. <HI>Mede</HI> to be before the end of many of tho&s;e things, that are mentioned in the Prophecy concerning the &s;even Churches, As particularly the victory, and the reward mentioned in every one of the Prophecies of the &s;even Churches. The ruin al&s;o of <HI>Babylon, chap.</HI> 18. is &s;aid to be &s;een <GAP DESC="foreign">, or after the things that had been mentioned in the Chapters before, and yet the Vintage which is part of tho&s;e things, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 14. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">0.</NOTE> does not end till after the ruin of <HI>Babylon;</HI> And this very &s;ame de&s;truction of <HI>Babylon</HI> had been one of the things
<PB N="19" REF="30"> mentioned in the &s;eventeenth Chapter ju&s;t before. The Allelu&iuml;ahs in the ninteenth Chapter are &s;aid to be <HI>after the&s;e things,</HI> that is, after the burning of <HI>Babylon,</HI> Chap. 18. And yet are the&s;e Allelu&iuml;ahs repre&s;ented to be at the &s;ame time with the a&s;cending up of the &s;moke of it.</P>
<P>And yet though it &s;hould be granted, that the term of <HI>after the&s;e things</HI> &s;hould denote a Succe&s;&s;ion of Events, as well as of Vi&s;ions, yet all that could be made of it in this place, would be only this, that the time of the great multitude in white Robes, was after the time of the fir&s;t &s;ealing of the 144000, or the true Church; And not that they mu&s;t needs be after the end of the whole time of the &s;ealed company. There is evil enough repre&s;ented in the &s;ixth Seal, for their fir&s;t &s;ealing, and to be &s;ecured from before the la&s;t coming of the Chri&s;tian Martyrs out of all Heathen Tribulation.</P>
<P>From the former <HI>Theoreme,</HI> it clearly follows, That</P>
<Q><HI>The re&s;t of the Brethren that were to be killed in the fifth</HI> <MILESTONE UNIT="Con&s;eq."> <HI>Seal, chap.</HI> 6. 11. <HI>were the &s;ame with the great multitude, which could not be numbered of all Nations, and Kingdoms, and people and Tongues in the &s;eventh chap. ver&s;.</HI> 9.</Q>
<P>For the great Tribulation out of which that great mul|titude of all Nations is &s;aid to have been come, is the &s;ame with the Per&s;ecution in the fifth Seal, in which the re&s;t of the Brethren there mentioned, are foretold &s;hould be killed (by <HI>Theoreme</HI> 12.) And the re&s;t of the Brethren, that were to be killed in a per&s;ecution, includes in it all the Martyrs in that per&s;ecution; And therefore is the &s;ame with that great multitude from all parts of the World.</P>
<P>Wherefore,</P>
<Q><HI>The Vengeance promi&s;ed to the Martyrs in the fifth Seal,</HI> <MILESTONE N="13" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>mu&s;t be the calamities of the &s;even Trumpets.</HI></Q>
<P>For that promi&s;ed Vengeance was not to be executed till the re&s;t of the Brethren there mentioned were killed. And tho&s;e re&s;t of the Brethren, are the &s;ame with the mul|titude that came out of great Tribulation in the &s;eventh Chap. (by <HI>Con&s;eq. Theor.</HI> 12.)</P>
<PB N="20" REF="31">
<P> And that multitude did not come out of Tribulation, till after the opening of the &s;ixth Seal, and ju&s;t before the &s;eventh Seal; Wherefore the Vengeance promi&s;ed in the fifth Seal mu&s;t be the evils of the &s;even Trumpets, which <NOTE PLACE="marg">Revel. 8. 2.</NOTE> do immediately follow upon the opening of the &s;eventh Seal.</P>
<P>Again, The Vengeance promi&s;ed in the fifth Seal, mu&s;t be either the Terrors of the &s;ixth Seal, or of the Trumpets in the &s;eventh Seal; For it is promi&s;ed to be within a little <NOTE PLACE="marg">Revel. 6. 11.</NOTE> &s;ea&s;on after.</P>
<P>But it could not be tho&s;e of the &s;ixth Seal. For the Vengeance promi&s;ed in the fifth Seal, was not to come till after the killing of the re&s;t of the Brethren therein men|tioned. And tho&s;e re&s;t of the Brethren could not be killed, during the period of the fifth Seal; for they are manife&s;tly di&s;tingui&s;hed from tho&s;e, who are there &s;aid to be &s;lain, and who are made the proper bu&s;ine&s;s of that Seal. Now the &s;ixth Seal opens immediately after the end of the fifth, without the lea&s;t mention of any further killing of the Bre|thren: On the contrary the great bu&s;ine&s;s of it is tho&s;e Ter|rours, that are de&s;cribed in it, again&s;t the Enemies of God <NOTE PLACE="marg">ver. 15, 16, 17.</NOTE> and the Lamb. Tho&s;e terrours therefore &s;eem plainly to be be|fore the killing of the re&s;t of the Brethren, and &s;o could not be the Vengeance that was to come after the killing of them.</P>
<P>E&s;pecially if it be con&s;idered, that immediately after the &s;ixth Seal, there is ju&s;t &s;uch a Repre&s;entation of the kil|ling <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 7. 9. Revel. 7. 14.</NOTE> of all the re&s;t of the Brethren, as had been mentioned in the fifth Seal, and there made the mark to know the time of the Vengeance there promi&s;ed, by.</P>
<P>And though the &s;ixth Seal does open with a very dreadful repre&s;entation of God's Judgements upon all kind of per&s;ons upon Earth, High and Low, yet all that terrible de&s;cription of the change of the Sun, Moon, and Stars, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> does among the Prophets &s;ignifie no more, than &s;ome great change of a State, and of the political Government of it; And the fright that the great Kings and Captains, and all degrees of per&s;ons, are repre&s;ented to be in thereupon, may be nothing but the great apprehen&s;ions they had of the con|&s;equences of that change of State. But the Judgements them&s;elves, that they were afraid of, &s;eemed to be very
<PB N="21" REF="31"> manife&s;tly deferred, from the provi&s;ion, that is immediately made again&s;t them in the &s;eventh Chap. by the &s;ealing of the 144000.</P>
<P>It is therefore tho&s;e Judgements which they were &s;ealed again&s;t, (and which were to be executed after that great change of the State, which is repre&s;ented in the &s;ixth Seal) that were the Vengeance that was to be given to the Martyrs in the fifth Seal; And tho&s;e were the Calamities of the Trumpets.</P>
<P>It may then now be concluded, That</P>
<Q><HI>The Calamities of the Trumpets could not begin till after</HI> <MILESTONE N="14" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>the end of &s;ome &V;niver&s;al per&s;ecution of the Chri&s;tian Church all over the World.</HI></Q>
<P>For the Calamities of the Trumpets were the Vengeance promi&s;ed to the Martyrs in the fifth Seal, (by <HI>Theor.</HI> 13.)&mdash;And the Vengeance promi&s;ed in the fifth Seal was not to be performed till after that the re&s;t of the Brethren that were to be killed, as they were, were Martyred, <HI>Rev.</HI> 6. 11. And tho&s;e re&s;t of the Brethren, were the great multitude in the &s;eventh Chap. which no Man could number, of all Na|tions and Kingdoms, and People and Tongues, (by <HI>Con&s;eq. Theor.</HI> 12.)&mdash;Which cannot &s;ignifie any thing le&s;s, than an Univer&s;al Per&s;ecution of the Chri&s;tian Church all over the World. The Calamities therefore of the Trumpets could not begin till after &s;uch an Univer&s;al Per&s;ecution.</P>
<P>From hence it nece&s;&s;arily follows, That</P>
<Q><HI>The Martyrdoms of the fifth Seal mu&s;t have been all pa&s;t before the ri&s;e of the Bea&s;t.</HI> <MILESTONE N="15" UNIT="Theor."></Q>
<P>For the Martyrs in the fifth Seal are tho&s;e who were then &s;lain, and all the re&s;t that were to be &s;lain all over the World in that kind of Per&s;ecution, <HI>Rev.</HI> 6. 11. and this was to be before the &s;even Trumpets, (by <HI>Theor.</HI> 14.) Wherefore either none of them could have been Martyred by the Bea&s;t, or they mu&s;t have been all tho&s;e that ever were Martyred by the Bea&s;t; And that al&s;o before the Trumpets. Whereas the wor&s;t of the Martyrdoms under the Bea&s;t, or
<PB N="22" REF="32"> the killing of the Two Witne&s;&s;es, was after the &s;ixth <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11. 7.</NOTE> Trumpet. Wherefore the Martyrdoms of the fifth Seal mu&s;t have been all pa&s;t before the ri&s;e of the Bea&s;t.</P>
<P>Be&s;ides, the Martyrs in the fifth Seal were all to be killed, <HI>within a little &s;ea&s;on,</HI> after the time of that Seal, which the &s;lain Witne&s;&s;es in the &s;ixth Trumpet could not po&s;&s;ibly be; And therefore could not the Witne&s;&s;es be the re&s;t that were to be killed in the fifth Seal; which yet they mu&s;t be, if any of the Martyrdoms of the fifth Seal were in the time of the Bea&s;t. For the term of the <HI>re&s;t of the Brethren</HI> in the fifth Seal includes all that remain to be Mar|tyred by the &s;ame power.</P>
<P>Wherefore all the Martyrs, in the fifth Seal, were to be killed before the time of the Bea&s;t.</P>
<P>And then it is as certain, That</P>
<Q><HI>The great multitude, Chap.</HI> 7. <HI>mu&s;t have come out of Tribu|lation</HI> <MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="Con&s;eq."> <HI>before the ri&s;e of the Bea&s;t.</HI></Q>
<P>For that multitude has been already found to be the re&s;t of the Brethren in the fifth Seal that were to be killed, <HI>(Con&s;eq. Theor.</HI> 12.)</P>
<P>But this conclu&s;ion &s;eems to be much more clearly confirm|ed in this manner:</P>
<P>The 144000 are contemporary with the fir&s;t times of the Reign of the Bea&s;t. <HI>(Theor.</HI> 3.) And the time for which they were cho&s;en out, and &s;ealed again&s;t, was the time of the &s;even Trumpets. <HI>(Theor.</HI> 4.) And therefore the time of the Bea&s;t could not be before the beginning of the &s;even Trumpets. But the great multitude, Chap. 7. are repre&s;ented before the opening of the &s;eventh Seal, as come out of Tribulati|on; whereas the &s;even Trumpets do not appear till af|ter the opening of the &s;eventh Seal. That multitude mu&s;t therefore be come out of Tribulation before the time of the <NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Chap. 12. 10, 11, 12. is the &s;ame de|&s;cription of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> triumph of Martyrs with that of the great multitude, Chap. 7. 10, 11, 12, 14. And Prote&s;tants agree, That the former de&s;cribes the times of <HI>Con&s;tantine.</HI></NOTE> Bea&s;t.</P>
<P>And therefore,</P>
<Q><PB N="23" REF="32"> <HI>All the Martyrs in the fifth Seal either then &s;lain, or that</HI> <MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="Con&s;eq."> <HI>were to be &s;lain, were martyred before the Year</HI> 620.</Q>
<P>For they were all martyred before the Ri&s;e of the Bea&s;t (by <HI>Theoreme</HI> 15.)&mdash;And the Ri&s;e of the Bea&s;t was be|fore the Year 620. <HI>(Suppo&s;ition</HI> 3.) From hence then it ap|pears, That</P>
<Q><HI>All the Martyrs in the fifth Seal, were killed under the</HI> <MILESTONE N="16" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>Heathen Emperors of</HI> Rome.</Q>
<P>For the la&s;t Martyrs of the fifth Seal, were a multitude of all Nations, and People, that no man could number (by <HI>Con&s;eq. Theor.</HI> 12.)&mdash;And they were all killed before the Year 620. (by <HI>Con&s;eq. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">. Theor.</HI> 15.)&mdash;And there were no other per&s;ecutions betwixt the Conver&s;ion of the Imperial Throne to Chri&s;tianity, and the Year 620. that can tolera|bly an&s;wer the characters of &s;o univer&s;al a &s;tate of Mar|tyrdom all the World over.</P>
<P>It is al&s;o as manife&s;t from thence, That</P>
<Q><HI>The Martyrs in the fifth Seal were all the Chri&s;tian Martyrs,</HI> <MILESTONE UNIT="Con&s;eq."> <HI>from that time to the end of the per&s;ecutions of</HI> Rome Pagan.</Q>
<P>For they were tho&s;e, that were then &s;lain, and all the re&s;t that were to be killed all the World over in the &s;ame manner (by <HI>Con&s;eq. Theor.</HI> 12. and <HI>Revel.</HI> 6. 11.) And they were all killed under Heathen Emperors of <HI>Rome</HI> (by <HI>Theor.</HI> 16.)&mdash;They were therefore all that were to be killed from that time to the end of all per&s;ecution, by <HI>Rome Pagan.</HI></P>
<P>And then it is nece&s;&s;ary, That</P>
<Q><HI>The bu&s;ine&s;s of the &s;ixth Seal, be &s;ome great change of the</HI> <MILESTONE N="17" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>Pagan Government of the Empire, before the utter ruin of all Pagan Power in it.</HI></Q>
<P>For the multitude in the &s;eventh Chapter were martyred by <HI>Rome Pagan,</HI> after the opening of the &s;ixth Seal (by <HI>Con&s;eq. Theor.</HI> 12. and <HI>Theor.</HI> 16.)</P>
<PB N="24" REF="33">
<P> Now there need not much pains to prove, That</P>
<Q><HI>The People or Nation, upon whom the calamities of</HI> <MILESTONE N="18" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>the &s;even Trumpets are executed, mu&s;t be the &s;ame Nation with tho&s;e who killed the Martyrs in the fifth Seal.</HI></Q>
<P>For &s;ince the calamities of the Trumpets are the Venge|ance promi&s;ed to the Martyrs in the fifth Seal (by <HI>Theor.</HI> 13.)&mdash;The Vengeance mu&s;t then be executed upon that Nation, who killed them, or el&s;e it could be no revenge for the &s;hedding their blood.</P>
<P>Wherefore,</P>
<Q><HI>The plagues of the Trumpets are executed upon the Roman</HI> <MILESTONE UNIT="Con&s;eq."> <HI>Empire.</HI></Q>
<P>For the plagues of the Trumpets are the promi&s;ed Ven|geance of the fifth Seal (by <HI>Theor.</HI> 13.)&mdash;And they mu&s;t fall upon the &s;ame People, or Nation, who &s;hed the blood of the Martyrs in the fifth Seal (by <HI>Theor.</HI> 18.)&mdash;And tho&s;e were the <HI>Romans</HI> (by <HI>Theor.</HI> 16.)</P>
<P>Again,</P>
<P>That the Roman Empire in general is the Object of the Plagues of the Trumpets, at &s;ome time or other, appears from the chief Object of the Calamities of the Trumpets, which is the whole corrupted Chri&s;tian Church <HI>(Theor.</HI> 7.) Now in that part of the time of the Bea&s;t, which was after the Year 620. <HI>(Suppo&s;.</HI> 2.) The whole Roman Empire was the Dominions of the corrupted Church for above an hundred Year together. For there was but one Emperour of the <HI>Ea&s;t</HI> and <HI>We&s;t.</HI> Wherefore the whole Roman Empire is the Object of the Plagues of the Trumpets.</P>
<P>Therefore mu&s;t tho&s;e calamities be executed upon the Roman Empire.</P>
<P>It might be imagined indeed, that becau&s;e it was the Hea|then Emperours, that &s;hed the blood of the Martyrs in the fifth Seal, that tho&s;e calamities ought to fall upon <HI>Rome Heathen,</HI> to be a Vengeance for the blood of tho&s;e Martyrs.</P>
<PB N="25" REF="33">
<P> But we &s;ee, that the Vengeance was not to begin till all the Martyrs were &s;lain; And they were not all &s;lain, till after the time of <HI>Maximinus</HI> and <HI>Licinius</HI> at the &s;oone&s;t. The per&s;ecu|tion under <HI>Maximinus</HI> has the very &s;ame character in <HI>Petavius,</HI> that the great multitude is &s;et out by Chap. 7. that is, an innumerable multitude. Above all the re&s;t, &s;ays he, <HI>Maxi|minus</HI> expre&s;&s;ed the greate&s;t rage and fury in the Ea&s;t, and killed an innumerable multitude of Martyrs. <HI>Ab Anno Chri&s;ti</HI> 304. <HI>ad</HI> 337. <HI>Rationar. Tempor.</HI> Now <HI>Maximinus</HI> and <HI>Licinius</HI> were the la&s;t con&s;iderable Per&s;ecutors of the Chri&s;tians. So that there was no Pagan Empire left after them, for the Trumpets to be executed upon.</P>
<P>For the Trumpets were not to begin to &s;ound, till after the power of <HI>Rome Pagan</HI> was pa&s;t <HI>(Theor.</HI> 17.) and yet were to continue to the Univer&s;al Reign of Chri&s;t over all the World, at the end of the Woe of the la&s;t Trumpet. There was therefore nothing left for the judgment of the Trumpets to be executed upon, but the Roman Empire converted to Chri&s;tianity. For <HI>Julian</HI>'s Reign afterwards, was too incon&s;i|derable to be the Object of them.</P>
<P>There cannot be any further que&s;tion about this, when it is con&s;idered, that the Object of the calamities of the Trumpets, is all the twelve Tribes, excepting the 144000, that is, as has been before &s;hewn, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 7.) All the corrupt parts of the Univer&s;al Church. And therefore mu&s;t the Chri&s;tian Empire be the only Object of tho&s;e evils.</P>
<P>Indeed, if it be well con&s;idered, there could not well have been a clearer repre&s;entation of this, than what we find at the opening of the &s;ixth Seal; and in the &s;eventh Chapter of <HI>Revel.</HI> For as the appearances of the great change of the Sun, Moon, and Stars, have been found to &s;ignifie the change of the Roman State from Pagani&s;m to Chri&s;tianity. <HI>(Theor.</HI> 17.) So is this plainly enough &s;ignified by the twelve Tribes, in the &s;eventh Chapter, which do properly &s;ignifie the Jewi&s;h State, and not the Jewi&s;h Church. For their Church is repre&s;ented in this Prophecy by the Elders, and the Temple, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> And what then can this &s;ignifie, but that now the Ro|man State was become a Chri&s;tian State, as the twelve Tribes mu&s;t here &s;ignifie. And then the rea&s;on of the di|&s;tinction betwixt the 144000, and the great multitude pre|&s;ently
<PB N="26" REF="34"> after them appears to be, that the one (or the 144000) were the true Church, in a Chri&s;tian &s;tate of the Empire; but the great multitude were come out Martyrs out of an heathen &s;tate, as all People, and Tongues, and Nations are here oppo&s;ed to the peculiar people of the twelve Tribes.</P>
<P>Wherefore by the di&s;tinction of the 144000 from the re&s;t of the Tribes, who are made the Objects of the Trumpets, it is manife&s;t, that there mu&s;t be &s;uppo&s;ed a great dege|neracy of the <HI>Roman Church,</HI> to which tho&s;e calamities are &s;ignified to belong, before the time of the Plagues of the Trumpets.</P>
<P>It can be no wonder, that the Chri&s;tian Government dege|nerated, &s;hould be counted &s;o great an Adver&s;ary to the Church of God: And the Object of his highe&s;t fury for it. For the <HI>Jews</HI> who were the only people of God, were known to be the fierce&s;t enemies to the Chri&s;tian Church, which was but their own Religion improved.</P>
<P>But when&s;oever tho&s;e Judgments may be thought to begin, yet &s;ince it is made unque&s;tionable, that they are to fall up|on the Roman Empire in a continued &s;eries, from within <HI>a little &s;ea&s;on</HI> after the end of the Pagan per&s;ecutions, to the end of the Woe of the la&s;t Trumpet, or to the end of the Reign of the Bea&s;t, It is not to be doubted, but That</P>
<Q><HI>The Ho&s;tilities of the</HI> Saracens <HI>and</HI> Turks <HI>again&s;t the</HI> <MILESTONE N="19" UNIT="Theor."> Ea&s;tern <HI>and</HI> We&s;tern <HI>Roman Empire, were the matter of two of the la&s;t three Trumpets.</HI></Q>
<P>For the calamities of the Trumpets, begin within a little &s;ea&s;on after the end of the Heathen per&s;ecutions (by <HI>Con&s;eq. Theor.</HI> 16. &amp; 13.) And they do not end before the end of the Reign of the Bea&s;t (by <HI>Theor.</HI> 1.)&mdash;And they do all fall upon the remains of the old Roman Empire (by <HI>Con&s;eq. Theor</HI> 18.) The Ho&s;tilities therefore of the <HI>Saracens,</HI> and <HI>Turks,</HI> again&s;t the <HI>Ea&s;tern</HI> and <HI>We&s;tern</HI> Empire, mu&s;t be <HI>&s;ome of the matter</HI> of the&s;e Trumpets.</P>
<P>And &s;ince the three la&s;t Trumpets are repre&s;ented to have far the mo&s;t dreadful Woes in them of any other: The <HI>Sa|racens</HI> and <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Empire mu&s;t be two of tho&s;e three Woes. For the whole time of the &s;ixth and &s;eventh Seal with
<PB N="27" REF="34"> the Trumpets cannot be above 1550 years, counting from the la&s;t end of the Pagan per&s;ecutions in <HI>Licinius,</HI> after the year 300, to the utmo&s;t end of the Reign of the Bea&s;t, that can be &s;uppo&s;ed, <HI>(Suppo&s;.</HI> 3.) And there are &s;till 170 years of that time now remaining upon that &s;uppo&s;ition; &s;o that the whole time of the calamities of the Trumpets to this pre&s;ent cannot be 1400 years. And the Ho&s;tilities of the <HI>Saracens</HI> and <HI>Turks</HI> have continued near 1100 years of that time, ever &s;ince the year 631 at the late&s;t.</P>
<P>Wherefore &s;ince there can be but an hundred and &s;eventy years (according to the late&s;t &s;uppo&s;itions, of the ri&s;e of the Bea&s;t) yet remaining of the whole time of the Trumpets; The <HI>Saracens,</HI> and <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> vexations mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily be two of the la&s;t three Trumpets, that are repre&s;ented to be the three great Woes upon the Roman Empire. For there is none to come after them, that can be greater than the Turki&s;h Em|pire, either for length of time, or for the de&s;troying effects of it; For that has de&s;troyed more of the Roman Empire, than now remains to be ruined under the Bea&s;t.</P>
<P>Again,</P>
<P>The <HI>Saracens</HI> mu&s;t have been one of the&s;e Woes, becau&s;e it fell upon the Roman Empire, when it was all under the juri&s;diction of the Bea&s;t. Both the Ea&s;tern and We&s;tern parts were but one Roman Church in the year 620, when the Bea&s;t mu&s;t at late&s;t have been in being, <HI>(Suppo&s;.</HI> 2.) and under the Plagues of the Trumpets, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 5.) And then it is certain that the <HI>Saracens</HI> were not the &s;econd Woe, becau&s;e that Woe cannot be yet pa&s;t; for the third Woe cometh quickly after it, which de&s;troies the power of the Bea&s;t, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 1.) So the third Woe mu&s;t then have been come ever &s;ince the ruine of the <HI>Saracens,</HI> and have been continually de&s;troying the power of the Bea&s;t ever &s;ince that time, that is, for the&s;e 300 years, which is ab&s;urd to imagine. For the Bea&s;t has been in the greate&s;t flu&s;h of his power, for the mo&s;t part of the time.</P>
<P>The <HI>Saracen</HI> troubles mu&s;t then have been the fir&s;t Woe.</P>
<P>And then mu&s;t the <HI>Turks</HI> have been the &s;econd Woe, Be|cau&s;e the &s;econd Woe mu&s;t be &s;ome that were the Ma&s;ters of <HI>Euphrates.</HI> And there has been none that have been con|&s;iderable <NOTE PLACE="marg">Revel. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> 14.</NOTE> for that, &s;ince the <HI>Saracen</HI> Empire, but the <HI>Turks</HI> only.</P>
<PB N="28" REF="35">
<P> From hence it appears, That</P>
<Q><HI>The Ho&s;tilities of the</HI> Saracens, <HI>and</HI> Turks <HI>mu&s;t nece&s;&s;a|rily</HI> <MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="Con&s;eq."> <HI>be the Woes of the fifth and &s;ixth Trumpet.</HI></Q>
<P>And therefore,</P>
<Q><HI>The Turki&s;h vexations of the Roman Empire are the &s;econd</HI> <MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="Con&s;eq."> <HI>Woe.</HI></Q>
<P>From hence al&s;o does it appear unque&s;tionable, That the re&s;t who are mentioned, Chap. 9. 20. as &s;ufferers by the &s;econd Woe, and yet were not made to repent of their Idols of Gold and Silver by it, mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily be the We&s;tern Chri&s;tians of the Church of <HI>Rome.</HI> For as there is no other part of the ancient Roman Empire but this alone, which is not already de&s;troyed by the <HI>Turks;</HI> &s;o al&s;o cannot there be found any other people be&s;ides, that are any thing near the bounds of that Empire, that have had any Idols of Gold, or Silver, or any thing like them &s;ince the fir&s;t ri&s;e of the Turki&s;h Empire. The only wor&s;hips of God be&s;ides that of the Roman Church, within the extent of the Roman Empire, are the <HI>Mahometan,</HI> the <HI>Jewi&s;h,</HI> that of the <HI>Greek Church,</HI> and the Reformation, all which are known to dete&s;t Image-Wor&s;hip.</P>
<P>By the knowledge we now have of the time of the fifth Trumpet, it is not hard to di&s;cover the bounds of the other four before it. For it is now unque&s;tionable, That</P>
<Q><HI>The Plagues of the fir&s;t four Trumpets mu&s;t be executed</HI> <MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="Con&s;eq."> <HI>upon the Roman Empire, betwixt the end of the Pagan power of</HI> Rome, <HI>and the year</HI> 631.</Q>
<P>For the <HI>Saracens</HI> began their Inva&s;ions in the year 631. And they are the bu&s;ine&s;s of the fifth Trumpet <HI>(Con&s;eq.</HI> 1. <HI>Theor.</HI> 19.) And the calamities of the fir&s;t Trumpet do not begin till af|ter the end of all Pagan per&s;ecution. <HI>(Theor.</HI> 13. and <HI>Con&s;eq. Theor.</HI> 16.)</P>
<P>Wherefore all the fir&s;t four Trumpets mu&s;t have been pa&s;t betwixt the end of the Pagan Empire, and the year 631.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="3" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="29" REF="35">
<HEAD>CHAP. III.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>The four fir&s;t Trumpets applied. The &s;ignification of a third part in the Trumpets &s;crupulou&s;ly enquired af|ter, and determined. Objections an&s;wered.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>TO give a fuller Idea of the Judgments of God upon the Roman Empire, at its fir&s;t degeneracy from the true Spirit of the Chri&s;tian Religion, I will now make a more particular &s;earch after the bu&s;ine&s;s of the fir&s;t four Trumpets, and chiefly becau&s;e it will give us a better di&s;covery of the &s;everal &s;teps, and gradual advances of that which is the chief malignity of the Bea&s;t before his full grown ap|pearance.</P>
<P>It has been already &s;hown that the fir&s;t four Trumpets mu&s;t begin after the end of the time of the Pagan Emperors (by <HI>Con&s;eq.</HI> 3. <HI>Theor.</HI> 19.) And therefore could they not be a revenge upon <HI>Rome</HI> Pagan.</P>
<P>It is as impo&s;&s;ible that they &s;hould begin while the Em|pire was truly Chri&s;tian; for they are a revenge upon the Roman Empire for the Blood of Chri&s;tian Martyrs, which therefore could not po&s;&s;ibly fall upon any true Church of Chri&s;t; for that would be to revenge the cruelties of the Enemies of the Church upon the Church it &s;elf; and be&s;ides, it is plainly expre&s;&s;ed, that all the true Members of the Church are &s;ecured from all the evils of the Trumpets, under the figure of the 144000, that were &s;ealed to e&s;cape tho&s;e calamities.</P>
<P>Wherefore &s;ince it mu&s;t be after the time of both <HI>Rome</HI> Pagan, and <HI>Rome</HI> truly Chri&s;tian, that the&s;e Trumpets mu&s;t begin to be executed, it mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily be after &s;ome dege|neracy of the Roman Empire, or after the beginning of &s;ome corrupt &s;tate of the Roman Church.</P>
<PB N="30" REF="36">
<P> For all the fir&s;t Plagues of the Trumpets, as well as of the Vials, are nothing but references to the &s;ame kind of Plagues upon <HI>Egypt;</HI> and &s;o do plainly intimate, that the Church mu&s;t fir&s;t be in a &s;tate of great Bondage and Oppre&s;|&s;ion under the <HI>Roman</HI> Empire; upon the account of which, as it was the Continuation of the &s;ame Spirit of Cruelty, for which the&s;e Judgments had been before promi&s;ed, the&s;e Cala|mities of the Trumpets are &s;ignified to be inflicted.</P>
<P>This gives a very &s;atisfactory Account of the &s;ignification of the Trumpets in this place. For as they are de&s;cribed to be the Denunciations of very great Evils, &s;o mu&s;t they be the Trumpets of God, to declare War again&s;t the Enemies of his Church, according to the U&s;e of them among the Jews. And if we con&s;ider their Number, and the ruining and de|&s;troying Nature of their Plagues, but e&s;pecially the Effect and Matter of the Seventh, which is a Shout in Heaven at <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11. 15.</NOTE> the Fall of all the Kingdoms of this World into the Hands of God, and Chri&s;t, and his Church, It cannot but be con|cluded with the judicious Je&s;uite <HI>Ribera,</HI> That the &s;even Trumpets are a reference to the going about the Walls of <HI>Jericho</HI> &s;even days with the &s;ound of Trumpets, and to the falling down of the Wall of it, at the &s;hout of the People, on the la&s;t of tho&s;e days. And thus do the &s;even Trumpets appear to be &s;o many &s;everal Calamities upon the <HI>Roman</HI> Em|pire, in order to its la&s;t Ruine.</P>
<P>The Time for the beginning of this, is confined to a little &s;ea&s;on after the killing of tho&s;e in the Fifth Seal; and that &s;ignifies the &s;ame with a little while after the time of the Heathen Emperors. <HI>Con&s;eq. Theor.</HI> 16.</P>
<P>We are therefore to find out Four great Calamities that be&s;el the <HI>Roman</HI> Empire, betwixt the end of the Rule of Pagani&s;m in it, and the Year 631, which is the acknowledged Date of the beginning of the Fifth Trumpet, or of the <HI>Saracen</HI> Empire. And they mu&s;t be &s;uch as may an&s;wer the Characters of the fir&s;t Four Trumpets, in the &s;ame Order in which they lye in the Text.</P>
<P>But becau&s;e it may &s;eem difficult to determine the Time of the Degeneracy of the Chri&s;tian Religion in the Empire, after the Ruine of Pagani&s;m, I will chu&s;e to &s;eek for the Applica|tion of the&s;e Four Trumpets, from what is already known
<PB N="31" REF="36"> of the Fifth, which has been found to begin about the Year 631, <HI>(Con&s;eq. Theor.</HI> 19.) And from thence returning back, according to the Order of the Events to which they are applied, it will be more ea&s;ie to determine the particular Age in which this Degeneracy of the <HI>Roman</HI> Church, or Empire, did begin.</P>
<P>The Fourth Trumpet then mu&s;t be &s;ome very great Cala|mity upon &s;ome of the Ruling part of the <HI>Roman</HI> Empire. The darkning of the Sun, Moon and Stars, mu&s;t &s;ignifie an Eclip&s;e of the Maje&s;ty of the Empire, tho&s;e parts of the Heavens being generally u&s;ed in their My&s;tical Signification for Supreme Government. And that neither the Matter of this, nor of the re&s;t of the Trumpets can &s;ignifie tho&s;e real things by which they are de&s;cribed, appears from <HI>Theor.</HI> 10. And as this darkne&s;s is here determined to a third part of the&s;e Schemes; &s;o mu&s;t it al&s;o be re&s;trained to part only of the Rule of the <HI>Roman</HI> Empire.</P>
<P>For &s;ince it is found to &s;ignifie my&s;tically a Diminution of the Maje&s;ty of the Empire, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 10.) the third part mu&s;t either &s;ignifie the third part of the Supreme Government of the World, of which the <HI>Roman</HI> Empire is &s;uppo&s;ed to be the third part here concerned, or it mu&s;t be a third part only of the <HI>Roman</HI> Empire. But the World cannot be &s;aid to lo&s;e a third part of the Maje&s;ty of it by the Diminution of the Ruling Power of the <HI>Roman</HI> Empire. For there were other Supreme Governments that &s;tarted up in the room of it.</P>
<P>The only Events that can be imagined to be any ways &s;uitable to this Repre&s;entation, before the <HI>Saracon</HI> Inroads about the Year 631, are fir&s;t that famous Eruption of the <HI>Per&s;ians</HI> under <HI>Cho&s;roes,</HI> &s;omewhat before the Year 610, which over|&s;pread the greate&s;t part of the <HI>Roman</HI> Territories in <HI>A&s;ia,</HI> as far as <HI>Chalcedon</HI> in <HI>Bithynia;</HI> and that like a Torrent, or a general Conflagration, as <HI>Petavius</HI> repre&s;ents it. They &s;eized <HI>Jeru|&s;alem,</HI> and got to be Ma&s;ters of <HI>Egypt, Alexandria</HI> and <HI>Libya;</HI> And the Emperor was &s;o humbled by it, that he begged a Peace of them, but could not obtain it, unle&s;s he would deny Chri&s;t, and wor&s;hip the Sun; And &s;o this continued above Twenty Years. But yet in all this, there was no part of the Maje&s;ty of the Empire, which mu&s;t here be &s;ignified at lea&s;t by <HI>the Sun, that was darkned.</HI></P>
<PB N="32" REF="37">
<P> The <HI>Lombard</HI> Inva&s;ion in <HI>Italy,</HI> about the Year 568, may next come in with a pretence to this Fourth Trumpet; For it over-ran all <HI>Italy,</HI> but <HI>Rome</HI> and <HI>Ravenna.</HI> But the excepting of the&s;e two Places, which were the Seats of the Maje&s;ty of the <HI>Roman</HI> Empire, &s;eems &s;ufficient to excu&s;e them from Eclip&s;ing the third part of the Sun.</P>
<P><HI>Ju&s;tinian</HI>'s depriving of <HI>Rome</HI> of all the ancient Glory of its Senate and Con&s;uls, and its being burnt by <HI>Totila</HI> about that time, may make a fair &s;hew of &s;miting the Sun. But that &s;eems to be nothing but an Eclip&s;e upon the City of <HI>Rome,</HI> which had le&s;t almo&s;t all its Superiority under the Command of the <HI>Goths</HI> in <HI>Italy,</HI> and had continued for a long time in that condition before this Act of <HI>Ju&s;tinian</HI>'s; and then <HI>Ju&s;tinian</HI>'s Conque&s;ts could not be the Plague of this Fourth Trumpet; becau&s;e they were no Judgment upon the <HI>Roman</HI> Empire, but an encrea&s;e of the Glory of it. For the Maje&s;ty of the <HI>Roman</HI> Empire was accounted the &s;ame thing, where-ever the Em|peror him&s;elf did re&s;ide.</P>
<P>It is therefore mo&s;t probable, that the Submi&s;&s;ion of <HI>Rome</HI> and <HI>Italy,</HI> and of that part of the Empire to the barbarous Kings of the <HI>Heruli</HI> and <HI>Goths,</HI> is the Fourth Trumpet; for it &s;ucceeded into the place of the We&s;tern Empire, which was very properly the &s;miting of the third part of the Sun, Moon and Stars, as they &s;ignifie the mo&s;t dignified part of the Empire.</P>
<P>The Third Trumpet mu&s;t then be the Mi&s;eries of the <HI>Romans</HI> upon the Fall of the We&s;tern Empire, about the time of <HI>Valentinian</HI> the Third; who&s;e Death the Hi&s;torians do generally look upon as the Date of the Fall of the We&s;tern Empire, though it did continue &s;trugling for Life among the &s;cuffles of &s;everal Competitors above twenty years after. How this might be repre&s;ented by a great Star falling from Heaven, as a Lamp, and by its fall filling all that part of the World with great bitterne&s;s of Spirit, will be better under|&s;tood afterwards.</P>
<P>And then the Second Trumpet before it, mu&s;t be &s;ome great Inva&s;ion of the Empire by a ve&s;t Inundation of People upon it, to the utter ruine of &s;ome third part of it. For the Sea &s;ignifies Multitudes and Nations, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> And the third part of the Sea becoming Blood, mu&s;t &s;ignifie the Wars and bloody
<PB N="33" REF="37"> Fights of tho&s;e Nations and Multitudes. The Effect of which is very plainly determined by the mention of the great Mountain burning with Fire; which is the &s;ame Ex|pre&s;&s;ion that the Prophet <HI>Jeremy</HI> makes u&s;e of to &s;ignifie the De&s;truction of <HI>Babylon;</HI> and then here it can &s;ignifie nothing <NOTE PLACE="marg">Jerem. 31. 25.</NOTE> but the laying wa&s;te the Territories of &s;ome third part of the Empire by the Barbarous Nations, and the &s;haring it among them&s;elves; which is very fitly repre&s;ented by what is ex|pre&s;&s;ed of ca&s;ting the Mountain into the Sea; for that is of the &s;ame import with being &s;wallowed up by the Sea, that is, by tho&s;e Multitudes and Nations.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t Trumpet then mu&s;t be &s;ome great de&s;troying Enemy, &s;ince we are &s;ure by the Applications of the re&s;t, that the Hail mentioned in it, cannot be literally under&s;tood. And then, when be&s;ides its being mingled with Fire, in which it re&s;embles the Hail of <HI>Egypt,</HI> it has the addition of Blood al&s;o with it, it mu&s;t denote &s;ome bloody &s;torms of Enemies upon the Roman Empire. And this does very ex|actly repre&s;ent the Inva&s;ions of the Empire by the Northern Nations, which is the Region of Hail, before their great Suc|ce&s;&s;es to the utter ruine of any part of the Empire.</P>
<P>But the Explication of the&s;e Trumpets, as well as tho&s;e that follow them, will be much more cleared and confirmed by &s;etling the Notion of a <HI>Third</HI> part, which is mentioned as the Object of every one of them.</P>
<P>The Third part cannot be here, as &s;ome would have it, of an Indefinite &s;ignification, or only &s;ignifie a great part in general, or the greate&s;t part of the Subject that it is joyned with; for a Third part has always a definite and determinate &s;ignification, where-ever it has a known &s;en&s;e in Scripture. <HI>(See Concordance in Third Part.)</HI></P>
<P>From hence therefore appears the vanity of all tho&s;e In|terpretations of the&s;e Trumpets, which make account that they are general Calamities upon the Subject where they fall; as tho&s;e which make the Vi&s;ible Church, or the World, inde|finitely to be the Object of them all.</P>
<P>But yet in the next place, the Third part cannot &s;ignifie the whole Roman Empire, as a Third part of the known World in St. <HI>John</HI>'s time; For in the Sixth Trumpet there is a plain <NOTE PLACE="marg">Revel. 9.</NOTE> di&s;tinction betwixt the third part that were &s;lain, and the re&s;t
<PB N="34" REF="38"> who were not killed, and yet did not repent. By the third part then in that place cannot po&s;&s;ibly be meant the Roman Empire in general; for then the &s;en&s;e of the Text mu&s;t be, that it killed tho&s;e of the Roman Empire, which is &s;uppo&s;ed to be the third part of the World; and that the re&s;t of the World be&s;ide, whom it killed not, did not repent; whereas all the Judgments of the&s;e Trumpets have been found to have the Roman Empire only for their Object, <HI>(Con&s;eq. Theor.</HI> 18.)</P>
<P>Again, The <HI>Saracens</HI> in the Fifth Trumpet, <HI>(Con&s;eq.</HI> 1. <HI>Theor.</HI> 19.) are di&s;tingui&s;hed from the Plagues of all the other Trumpets, by falling upon all in general, who had not the Seal of God in their Foreheads: whereas all the re&s;t are con|fined to a third part. So that if the third part in the re&s;t were the whole Roman Empire, the <HI>Saracens</HI> mu&s;t have been the Conquerors of all the World; whereas all their con&s;iderable Conque&s;ts were upon the parts of the Roman Empire.</P>
<P>And be&s;ides, all their Vexations, as they were one of the Calamities of the Trumpets, had only the Roman Empire for their Object, <HI>(Con&s;eq. Theor.</HI> 18)</P>
<P>The darkning al&s;o of the third part of the Sun in the Fourth Trumpet, cannot po&s;&s;ibly &s;ignifie an Eclip&s;e of the third part of the Ruling Power of the whole World, at the pulling down of the Imperial Throne of <HI>Rome</HI> in the We&s;t; for the Kingdoms that &s;tarted up in the room of the Imperial Throne, were as con&s;iderable parts of the Supreme Power of the World, as tho&s;e of the other two parts of it out of the Bounds of the Roman Empire. Nor could the Imperial Throne in the We&s;t alone be called the third part of the Ruling Power of the World, becau&s;e both the Imperial Thrones in the Ea&s;t and We&s;t are &s;uppo&s;ed in this Opinion to be but the third part of the Supreme Power of the World.</P>
<P>If by the third part cannot be meant the Roman Empire in general, then mu&s;t it &s;ignifie a third part of that Empire only. For the Roman Empire is certainly the Object of the&s;e Trumpets.</P>
<P>And by this it appears, that the &s;everal Subjects, upon which the&s;e Plagues do fall, do repre&s;ent &s;ome general Attri|bute of a third part of the Roman Empire. For if they &s;ig|nified any thing le&s;s, they could not repre&s;ent the Evils of a
<PB N="35" REF="38"> whole third part of the Empire; and therefore by the Earth, Sea, Rivers, Sun, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> mu&s;t be meant &s;omething that was common to all the places of &s;ome third part of the Roman Empire.</P>
<P>It will then forthwith be apprehended, That &s;ince the World was commonly known in St. <HI>John</HI>'s time to be di|vided into three parts, <HI>Europe, A&s;ia</HI> and <HI>Africa;</HI> and that the Roman Empire had the Rule in the &s;everal and chiefe&s;t parts of them all, that by a third part mu&s;t be meant one of the&s;e Divi&s;ions of the Empire.</P>
<P>But then the <HI>Saracens</HI> in the Fifth Trumpet, to whom <HI>Africa</HI> was irrecoverably lo&s;t, mu&s;t have &s;lain the third part of Men, as well as the Turks in the Sixth Trumpet; whereas tho&s;e in the Fifth Trumpet are &s;aid only to Torment, and not to Kill Men. The &s;laying the third part of Men, which is found to be but a third part of the Roman Empire, cannot be under&s;tood of any literal &s;laughter of all the <HI>Romans</HI> in tho&s;e Parts. Whoever heard of &s;uch a Butchery in any part of the World? And therefore it mu&s;t &s;ignifie my&s;tically, or the <NOTE N="(a)" PLACE="marg"><HI>GRotius de jure B. &amp; P. Lib.</HI> 2. <HI>c.</HI> 9. <HI>Artic.</HI> 3, 4, 5, 6. Where he &s;hows, that as a people continue one and the &s;ame living Body, as long as they continue in an united Society: &s;o may they be &s;aid al&s;o to die, when their Government, and Society is taken from them; as when a people are reduced under the power of another Nation.</NOTE> utter Extinction of the Name or Power of the <HI>Romans</HI> there, according as that Expre&s;&s;ion is u&s;ed in a my&s;ti|cal &s;en&s;e by the Prophets. And in this &s;en&s;e would the <HI>Saracens</HI> have &s;lain the third part of Men, if <HI>Africa</HI> had been intended here for one of the third parts in the&s;e Trumpets. The Lo&s;s of that we &s;ee is accounted but one of the Vexa|tions with which the <HI>Saracens</HI> tormented tho&s;e that had not the Seal of God in their Foreheads, in di&s;tinction to the kil|ling of a third part, as it is expre&s;sly &s;aid of them.</P>
<P>One would be extremely tempted after this to judge, that by the third part cannot be meant any Divi&s;ion of the Empire into three parts that were all in being together. For it is known that there were but Two con&s;tant di&s;tinct parts of the Roman Empire, and the&s;e were the Ea&s;tern and We&s;tern Empire.</P>
<P>By the third part in the&s;e Trumpets might then be appre|hended to be meant one of the Three &s;ucce&s;&s;ive Thrones of the Roman Empire, that is, the ancient We&s;tern Empire, the Ea&s;tern or Con&s;tantinopolitan, and the new re&s;tored Empire in the We&s;t. For this would very well agree with the order of the Trumpets, where it &s;eems manife&s;t that the four fir&s;t
<PB N="36" REF="39"> Trumpets ruine the ancient We&s;tern Empire, the two next the Con&s;tantinopolitan, and the la&s;t Trumpet makes an end of the Bea&s;t, and of his new re&s;tored Empire in the We&s;t.</P>
<P>But it is too plain, that the third part here is one part of three that were then in being, to allow of this Conjecture, though otherwi&s;e very tempting. The Sea in the Second Trumpet mu&s;t have two parts more in it at that pre&s;ent time when the third part of it became Blood. And by the third part of the Creatures that were in it is manife&s;tly &s;ignified, that there were twice as many in it that did not die by that Plague. And it could not be &s;aid that a third part of the Sun or of the Moon was darkened, unle&s;s there were two other parts of them at the &s;ame time which were not eclip&s;ed by the &s;ound of the Fourth Trumpet.</P>
<P>It mu&s;t therefore now be concluded, that this Expre&s;&s;ion does refer to &s;ome real Divi&s;ion of the Roman Empire into three parts, before the time of the Trumpets.</P>
<P>The Hi&s;tory of tho&s;e Times gives us this light about it. At the Death of <HI>Con&s;tantine</HI> the Great, the Empire was &s;hared among his three Sons. <HI>Con&s;tantine</HI> the Elde&s;t had all the We&s;tern part of it beyond the <HI>Alps, Britain,</HI> the <HI>Gauls,</HI> and <HI>Spain. Con&s;tance</HI> the Younge&s;t had all the re&s;t of <HI>Europe,</HI> with almo&s;t all <HI>Africa,</HI> and the I&s;les between them. And <HI>Con&s;tantius</HI> all the A&s;iatick part of it, with the Kingdom of <HI>Egypt.</HI> And though the whole Empire did not long after fall into the Hands of <HI>Con&s;tantius,</HI> yet be&s;ides the Roman and Con&s;tanti|nopolitan Seats, which were &s;oon after &s;etled Imperial Thrones, there was continually &s;ome or other &s;tarting up in the farthe&s;t We&s;tern Divi&s;ion, till the famous Inundation of the Barba|rous Nations all over the Empire. So that here &s;eems to be ground enough to rely upon this Tripartite Divi&s;ion of the Empire at the Death of <HI>Con&s;tantine</HI> for the Applications of the &s;everal mentions of the third part of the Empire. For it may be thought to be no greater Objection again&s;t the&s;e <HI>three</HI> parts, that they were often under but two Emperors, than it would be again&s;t the <HI>two</HI> parts of it, that they were often united under one &s;ingle Emperor.</P>
<PB N="37" REF="39">
<P> But that, which does the mo&s;t unan&s;werably confirm this threefold divi&s;ion of the Empire, is the Office of the <HI>Prae|fecti Praetorio,</HI> or the Prefects of the Palace, or of the Guard, who were the next Admini&s;trators of the Government under the Emperors, like the Majors of the Pallace in <HI>France</HI> after the time of <HI>Clotaire,</HI> who ruled as ab&s;olutely as the Kings them&s;elves did before, and like the Vice Roys of Kingdomes at this pre&s;ent. They were called <NOTE N="(b)" PLACE="marg"><P><HI>Ca&s;&s;iodor. Variar. Lib.</HI> 6. <HI>cap.</HI> 3. <HI>Formula P. P.</HI> He is called the Father of the Empire&mdash;&s;ome priviledges of this Dignity are &s;uch as make them &s;harers with our &s;elves&mdash;He wants very little of making Laws, &s;ince his Authority can make an end of Affairs without any power of appeal from his &s;entence&mdash;And he puni&s;hes the offences of the Judges of the Provinces&mdash;no Dignity is equal to it&mdash;he judges every where as Vicegerent of the &s;upreme power. We willingly confirm what&s;oever he appoints, who&s;e au|thority we our &s;elves do &s;o much reverence, that we without &s;cruple do tho&s;e things, which we know him to have Decreed, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Joh. Fer&s;ius Sile&s;ius de P. Praet.</HI> ob&s;erves that they acted like the Roman Dictators.</P></NOTE> the Fathers of the Empire, which was a title allowed to none but the Empe|rors and them&s;elves; and they were the la&s;t appeal in their &s;everal juri&s;dictions, and di&s;placed all other Governours at their plea&s;ure.</P>
<P>The&s;e Prefects of the Guard, before the time of <HI>Valerian,</HI> were but two, and they al&s;o without any particular Juri&s;di|ction a&s;&s;igned them. <NOTE N="(c)" PLACE="marg"><HI>Ragonius</HI> was <HI>Praefectus Praetorio Gall.</HI> and of <HI>Illyricum</HI> in the time of <HI>Valerian,</HI> and &s;o was <HI>Q. Vicarius. Spartian</HI> in <HI>Balli&s;ta.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Valerian</HI> divided the Empire into &s;o many Juri&s;dictions under them, but this was only upon &s;ome urgent nece&s;&s;ity of the times; They had not yet any con&s;tant or &s;etled Juri&s;dictions.</P>
<P><HI>Con&s;tantine</HI> <NOTE N="(d)" PLACE="marg">So &s;ays <HI>Zo&s;imus Lib.</HI> 2.</NOTE> was the fir&s;t, who divided the Empire among&s;t his <HI>Praefecti Praetorio,</HI> and made them the ordinary &s;tanding Authority of the Divi&s;ion, over which they pre|&s;ided. But to break their power, he encrea&s;ed them to four; one over <HI>Italy,</HI> and <HI>Africa;</HI> another over all the We&s;t, be|yond the <HI>Alps,</HI> which contained in it <HI>Britain, Gaule,</HI> and <HI>Spain;</HI> a third over <HI>Illyricum;</HI> and a fourth over the Ea&s;t. And when he came afterwards to divide the Empire among&s;t his three Sons, His younge&s;t Son <HI>Con&s;tance</HI> had two of the&s;e Pre|fectures to his &s;hare, <HI>viz.</HI> The <HI>Italian,</HI> and that of <HI>Illyricum. Con&s;tantine</HI> his elde&s;t, had the Prefecture of <HI>Gaule;</HI> and <HI>Con|&s;tantius</HI> his &s;econd Son had the Prefecture of the <HI>Ea&s;t</HI> for his Empire.</P>
<P>By this means was the memory of the threefold divi&s;ion of the Empire kept up, after that the Empire was returned again into the &s;ole power of the Surviving Brother, <HI>Con&s;tan|tius.</HI> The&s;e Prefectures continued &s;till di&s;tinct, and though they were four, yet it was as well known that tho&s;e of <HI>Illyri|cum</HI> and <HI>Italy</HI> were but the two parts of one Imperial &s;hare, and were &s;ometimes confounded together, when the whole Empire was united under one Emperor.</P>
<PB N="38" REF="40">
<P> This appears from <HI>Ammianus Marcellinus</HI> to have been done <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Lib.</HI> 26.</NOTE> in the days of <HI>Julian</HI> the Apo&s;tate, in who&s;e time <HI>Mamerti|nus</HI> was the Prefect of <HI>Italy, Africa</HI> and <HI>Illyricum,</HI> which &s;hows that till after the time of <HI>Julian</HI> the Apo&s;tate at lea&s;t, the only con&s;tant divi&s;ion of the Empire among the&s;e Prefects was that of the three divi&s;ions of the Empire by <HI>Con&s;tan|tine</HI> among his Sons at his death. For till that time the two Prefectures of <HI>Italy,</HI> and <HI>Illyricum</HI> were accounted but &s;uch a part of the Roman Empire, as they had been before, when they made the Body of <HI>Con&s;tans</HI>'s &s;hare in the divi&s;ion, that is, a third part of the whole Empire. And therefore were they &s;ometime united together under one Prefect, as has been ob&s;erved; and <NOTE N="(e)" PLACE="marg"><HI>L.</HI> 21. <HI>C. Theodo&s;. de Naviculis.</HI></NOTE> after the divi&s;ion of the Empire, the <HI>Italian</HI> Prefect had all the We&s;tern &s;hare of <HI>Illyricum.</HI></P>
<P>Now the time, at which the Trumpets began, cannot be much after the Reign of <HI>Julian,</HI> who reduced the four Prefects to three, according to the former divi&s;ion of the Empire among the Sons of <HI>Con&s;tantine.</HI> For the fir&s;t Trumpets are <NOTE PLACE="marg">See Pag. 31. 32, 33.</NOTE> found to begin before the Inundation of the Barbarous Na|tions upon the Roman Empire &s;oon after the Reign of <HI>Theo|do&s;ius;</HI> and then there mu&s;t be a convenient &s;pace allowed for the end of the fir&s;t Trumpet to have its cour&s;e in before that time; which therefore mu&s;t be allowed to begin within a very &s;hort while after the Reign of <HI>Julian.</HI></P>
<P>It cannot therefore be any Objection again&s;t this threefold divi&s;ion of the Imperial Seats, that the Empire was pre&s;ent|ly after the Reign of <HI>Julian</HI> divided into the Ea&s;t and We&s;t, in the Reign of <HI>Valentinian:</HI> and that each divi&s;ion had two of the&s;e Prefects in it. For the third part in the Trumpets is found to refer to a threefold divi&s;ion of the Empire, which mu&s;t at the fulfilling of the Prophecy be well known; and the divi&s;ion of it by <HI>Valentinian</HI> into two parts, and the ranging of the Prefect of the Ea&s;tern <HI>Illyricum</HI> <NOTE N="(f)" PLACE="marg"><HI>Pancirol. Notit. Imperii Orientalis cap.</HI> 23.</NOTE> under the Ea&s;tern divi&s;ion, as a di&s;tinct Prefect from the other three, would not hinder the World in tho&s;e days, from concluding that by the name of a third part of the Empire mu&s;t cer|tainly be under&s;tood one of the former three Imperial &s;hares, which were kept di&s;tinct by the <HI>Praefecti Praetorio,</HI> who ap|peared as &s;o many Lords Deputies of the Empire. For there was no known divi&s;ion of the Empire into three di&s;tinct
<PB N="39" REF="40"> parts at that time, but this, and this was very openly and re|markably known for &s;uch.</P>
<P>Wherefore the third part mentioned in the Trumpets, which has been found to be a real third part of &s;ome divi&s;i|on of the Roman Empire, mu&s;t be one of the three Imperi|al juri&s;dictions &s;et up by <HI>Con&s;tantine,</HI> and pre&s;erved in me|mory by the &s;tanding Offices of the <HI>Praefecti Praetorio.</HI></P>
<P>It is no &s;mall confirmation of this conclu&s;ion, that <HI>Con|&s;tantine</HI> was the fir&s;t Author, both of parting out the Roman Empire into particular juri&s;dictions under the <HI>Praefecti Praetorio,</HI> and into di&s;tinct Imperial Seats among&s;t his three Sons; And be&s;ides, <HI>Con&s;tantine</HI> is allowed by almo&s;t all Interpreters to be very particularly de&s;cribed in the Prophecy; &s;o that &s;uch remarkable actions of his, as the&s;e were, may very well be determined to have been pointed at by &s;uch &s;chemes in the Prophecy, as do very naturally &s;ignifie them, and which cannot be found to agree to any thing el&s;e.</P>
<P>That the&s;e divi&s;ions of the Empire were but the parts of one and the &s;ame Empire, was &s;hown by the publick en&s;igns of Authority, which were con&s;tantly carried before the <HI>Praefecti Praetorio</HI> in their &s;everal juri&s;dictions; though each of the&s;e Prefects were under the immediate authority of but one Emperor, yet before every one of them was carried the Heads of all the Emperors, who were at that time in power, to &s;how, that they were all together the United Maje&s;ty of that Empire, though they had di&s;tinct juri&s;dictions. This may be &s;een in that eminent fragment of the State of the Roman Empire, the <HI>Notitia Imperii</HI> publi&s;hed and explained by <HI>Pancirollus,</HI> where it appears that in the time of the divi|&s;ion <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Cap.</HI> 24. <HI>Notit. Imp. Oriental.</HI></NOTE> of the Empire into the Ea&s;tern and We&s;tern Seats all the great Magi&s;trates of both the divi&s;ions had the Heads of both the Emperors carried before them.</P>
<P>But it is &s;till more evident from the matter of the Trumpets, that the third part in them mu&s;t have a reference to three di&s;tinct Imperial Seats, or &s;hares in one and the &s;ame Em|pire. For what el&s;e can po&s;&s;ibly be &s;ignified by a third part of the Sun, Moon and Stars (in the fourth Trumpet) &s;ince the Sun in general is known in my&s;tical u&s;e, to denote the &s;upreme power of but one Nation or Empire? There is then in that expre&s;&s;ion of the <HI>third</HI> part of the Sun, a plain
<PB N="40" REF="41"> &s;ignification of two other Imperial Seats be&s;ides that, which is intended by the fir&s;t third part.</P>
<P>There is al&s;o be&s;ides, a particular mention of two other &s;u|preme Soveraignties among the Trumpets, really di|&s;tinct from that which is here called a <HI>third</HI> part of the Sun. For in the &s;econd Trumpet there is a de&s;cription of a Moun|tain burning, and ca&s;t into the Sea, which is the very expre&s;|&s;ion, that is u&s;ed by the Prophet <HI>Jeremy,</HI> to &s;et out the Fall of the <HI>Babylonian</HI> Throne. And in the &s;ixth Trumpet there <NOTE PLACE="marg">Jerem. 51. 25.</NOTE> is an account of a &s;laughter of the third part of men; which being known to &s;ignifie the Turki&s;h advances upon the Empire, in di&s;tinction to tho&s;e of the <HI>Saracens,</HI> who are &s;aid not to kill men, but to torment them, mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily de|note <NOTE N="(g)" PLACE="marg">See <HI>Grotius</HI> in Note the fir&s;t, concerning the death of a People.</NOTE> the utter de&s;truction of the Ea&s;tern Roman Em|pire; here are therefore the two other third &s;hares of the Ma|je&s;ty of the Empire particularly de&s;cribed.</P>
<P>It is as evident that the&s;e three &s;hares of the Empire, mu&s;t be three Imperial parts, that are really di&s;tinct from one another, the Mountain ca&s;t into the Sea in the &s;econd Trumpet mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily be the utter ruin of one Imperial part, according to the u&s;e of it in Prophecy. And therefore mu&s;t it be really di&s;tinct from any other part that is menti|oned after it; and then the third part of men in the &s;ixth Trumpet, is as certainly the Ea&s;tern divi&s;ion: Becau&s;e the Woe of that Trumpet has been determined to be the Tur|ki&s;h Empire; and the character of the Eclip&s;e upon the third part of the Sun, is as unque&s;tionably to be under&s;tood of the Roman Throne, becau&s;e no other part of the Empire before the Turki&s;h Conque&s;ts, did lo&s;e its &s;upreme Go|vernment: after that the Mountain was ca&s;t into the Sea, as it is here de&s;cribed.</P>
<P>There has been the more care taken in the former Di&s;|cour&s;e to clear the notion of the third part, which is &s;o of|ten repeated among the Trumpets, becau&s;e there is &s;carce any thing in the Prophecy, that has more perplexed me, or that is more &s;lightly pa&s;&s;ed over by others, or that has more influence upon the interpretation of this part of the Pro|phecy.</P>
<PB N="41" REF="41">
<P> And it may now be concluded from the re&s;olution of this difficulty, that the threefold divi&s;ion of the Empire, to which every mention of the third part in any of the Trumpets does refer, is the divi&s;ion of it among the three Sons of <HI>Con|&s;tantine,</HI> who&s;e particular Juri&s;dictions were pre&s;erved in me|mory by the Office of the <HI>Praefecti Praetorio,</HI> who continued as the Vice-Roys or Deputy Emperors in the Government, and &s;o did repre&s;ent that threefold divi&s;ion of the Empire af|ter the time of the three Brothers, and who were &s;oon af|ter the Death of the la&s;t of them reduced to the &s;ame number with their Lords, whom they repre&s;ented.</P>
<P>Again&s;t this it will be objected, That the Dragon in the 12. Chapter, who has there the proper and peculiar Badges of the Roman Empire, is &s;aid to have drawn the third part of the Stars of Heaven with his Tail, and to have ca&s;t them to the Earth; which according to the my&s;tical &s;ignification of Stars and Heaven in that place, mu&s;t repre&s;ent the Roman Conque&s;ts, of which the Body of the Roman Empire con|&s;i&s;ted; And thus is the Roman Empire &s;ignified to be but a third part of the World, which is here repre&s;ented by Heaven; Which &s;eems to &s;how, that by the third part in the Trumpets is meant no more than the Roman Empire in ge|neral.</P>
<P>This might have a much more plau&s;ible &s;hew, if it had been &s;aid in general, that the Dragon had ca&s;t down the third part of the Stars to the Earth; But when it is attributed to no other part of the Dragon, but his Tail, that &s;eems at fir&s;t &s;ight to intimate, that the third part of the Stars, are not the concern of the whole Roman Empire. Mr. <HI>Mede</HI> who&s;e opinion has the mo&s;t intere&s;t in this Objection, does give this account, why the power of the Locu&s;ts in the fifth Trumpet is &s;aid to lye in their Tails. The Head of the <HI>Saracen</HI> Empire, who are agreed upon to be meant by the <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Mede</HI> p. 1113. in cap. 9. Apoc.</NOTE> Locu&s;ts, was in <HI>A&s;ia:</HI> Their Tail therefore, &s;ays he, mu&s;t be in the parts of their Empire, which were at greate&s;t di|&s;tance from thence, and by their Tails mu&s;t be meant the We&s;tern parts of their Empire in <HI>Europe.</HI> Upon the &s;ame account may it be an&s;wered, that the Dragons Tail mu&s;t be the Roman Conque&s;ts in <HI>A&s;ia,</HI> &s;ince the Head of the Roman Empire was <HI>Italy.</HI> And then by his ca&s;ting down
<PB N="42" REF="42"> the third part of the Stars to the Earth with his Tail, can be &s;ignified no more, than the A&s;iatick part of the Roman Empire.</P>
<P>There is indeed a very manife&s;t rea&s;on, why this &s;hould be made one of the characters to know the time of the Dragon by. For, as it is el&s;ewhere proved, the Roman Empire can|not be the Red Dragon per&s;ecuting the Woman before the Roman Conque&s;ts of <HI>Syria</HI> at the &s;oone&s;t. For as the Woman <NOTE PLACE="marg">Revel. 12.</NOTE> with the Crown of twelve Stars upon her Head, is unque|&s;tionably the Church of God under the proper Badge of the Jewi&s;h Church, that is, the twelve Tribes, or which is of the &s;ame import, the twelve Apo&s;tles repre&s;ented by the twelve Stars: &s;o could it not po&s;&s;ibly be &s;aid to have any trouble from the Romans before their Conque&s;t either of <HI>Judaea</HI> or of <HI>Syria,</HI> which were both of them ju&s;t about the &s;ame time; And then the ca&s;ting down of the third part of the Stars to the Earth by the Dragons Tail does very properly &s;ignifie, that the time of the Dragon began ju&s;t about the end of the Conque&s;t of <HI>A&s;ia</HI> and <HI>Aegpyt,</HI> which have been found to have afterwards made the third part in the divi&s;ion of <HI>Con&s;tantine</HI>'s Empire.</P>
<P>But there is another &s;tate of things, that this power of the Dragons Tail &s;eems more e&s;pecially to refer to. I look upon this whole 12. Chapter to be intended only to &s;et out the &s;everal &s;tates of the Pagan and Chri&s;tian Religion till the ruin of Pagani&s;m in the Empire, and not to &s;ignifie any civil changes of the Government.</P>
<P>We do accordingly find both the Woman and the Dra|gon repre&s;ented as &s;een in Heaven; &s;o that Heaven cannot po&s;&s;ibly in this place &s;ignifie civil authority or worldly power. For then the Woman would be in as much Authority as the Dragon at the time &s;he was per&s;ecuted by the Roman Em|pire, which is a contradiction. Nor can Heaven on the other &s;ide &s;ignifie any place of true &s;piritual Dignity. For it is the place of the Dragon as well as the Woman. And yet it is repre&s;ented as a place of &s;ome advantage or cre|dit to both; For both the ca&s;ting down of the Stars to the Earth by the Dragon, and of the Dragon him&s;elf with his Angels by <HI>Michael</HI> and his a&s;&s;i&s;tants are repre&s;ented as a great diminution of their &s;tate. And what then can this
<PB N="43" REF="42"> my&s;tical &s;tate of Heaven be, which is a common advantage to both a true per&s;ecuted and a fal&s;e per&s;ecuting Religion at the &s;ame time, but the vi&s;ible or outward profe&s;&s;ion of Religion in general, which is common both to the per&s;ecuted, and the per&s;ecuting Party?</P>
<P>According to this, to be ca&s;t out of Heaven down to the Earth, mu&s;t &s;ignifie the lo&s;s of the open, outward profe&s;&s;i|on of either of tho&s;e Religions: and therefore is the Dra|gon <NOTE PLACE="marg">Revel. 12. 5, 7.</NOTE> repre&s;ented &s;till in Heaven after that the man-child was got into the Throne of God, to &s;how that the open pro|fe&s;&s;ion of the Pagan Religion was not at an end upon the en|throning of Chri&s;tianity in the Empire, nor till after the great &s;trugle, that it had with the Defenders of the Pa|gan Religion, which is repre&s;ented by the fight of <HI>Michael</HI> with the Dragon and his Angels; And then the ca&s;ting the Dragon out of Heaven being the end of the publick profe&s;|&s;ion of Pagani&s;m, his ca&s;ting down of the third part of the Stars to the Earth with his Tail mu&s;t &s;ignifie the ruine of all the Religions of the Greek Empire in <HI>A&s;ia,</HI> as the drawing them after him by the &s;ame means may denote the <NOTE N="(h)" PLACE="marg"><P><HI>Grotius c.</HI> 13. <HI>Apoc.</HI> Laws were made at <HI>Rome</HI> again&s;t &s;trange Gods. <HI>Cicero</HI> 3. <HI>de Leg.</HI> And among&s;t foreign Nations there were every where Temples and Al<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">s rai&s;ed in honour of <HI>Rome,</HI> and its Emperors&mdash;Nor did ever the Idolatry of any other Nation extend &s;o far in the wor&s;hip of the City and its Emperors, as that of <HI>Rome.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Ribera</HI> in, <HI>cap.</HI> 14. <HI>Apoc. Numer.</HI> 41. of <HI>Rome.</HI> And tho&s;e Gods which it did it &s;elf wor&s;hip, it &s;et up to be wor&s;hipped by all Nations be&s;ides.</P>
<P><HI>Idem</HI> in <HI>cap.</HI> 17. <HI>Numer.</HI> 5. The <HI>Romans&mdash;</HI>did convey (the wor&s;hip of) their Idols, and their corrupt manners to all Nations, where they ruled, and to tho&s;e who came to inhabit their City. And becau&s;e all Nations did &s;tand in need of the favour, and a&s;&s;i&s;tance of the <HI>Romans,</HI> under who&s;e Dominion they, and all el&s;e were, they did therefore willingly comply with them in it. Be&s;ides, the Kings, and Princes of the Earth, who did above all &s;tudy to plea&s;e the <HI>Romans,</HI> that they might obtain Kingdoms of them, or by their help keep them, did ea&s;ily, and readily wor&s;hip their Idols, and command them to be wor&s;hipped in their Kingdoms.</P></NOTE> Confu&s;ion of tho&s;e Religions in the Roman Wor&s;hip.</P>
<P>There were indeed for a while &s;ome remainders of the Re|ligions of the conquered <HI>Grecians,</HI> as well as of Pagani&s;m, in the Roman Empire, after the time of that mortification of each of them, which is here &s;uppo&s;ed to be their being ca&s;t out of Heaven. But then they were both in as diffe|rent an appearance in re&s;pect of the open profe&s;&s;ion of them all over the two Empires, as Heaven is from Earth, accor|ding to the Scheme of them in the Prophecy.</P>
<PB N="44" REF="43">
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="4" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="45" REF="43">
<HEAD>CHAP. IV.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>The particular Application of the Matter of the fir&s;t four Trumpets, according to the Notion of the third part mentioned in them. The rea&s;on of the difference be|twixt the four fir&s;t and the three la&s;t Trumpets. What Provocations were the cau&s;e of the Judgments of the Trumpets. How they were the Vengeance promi&s;ed to the Martyrs under</HI> Rome <HI>Heathen.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>IF we come to apply the Explication, that has been given of the <HI>third</HI> part, to the &s;everal mentions of it among the Trumpets it is certain in the fir&s;t place, that the &s;ame <HI>third</HI> part of the Empire mu&s;t be the Subject of more than one of the Trumpets. For there are five di&s;tinct mentions of the third part in &s;everal Trumpets, and there cannot be above three of the&s;e third parts that can be really di&s;tinct from one another.</P>
<P>With this Intimation we may proceed to ob&s;erve, that <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 8. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> the <HI>Hail</HI> in the Fir&s;t Trumpet having been found to be the fir&s;t bloody &s;torms of the Northern Nations again&s;t the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 3.</NOTE> Roman Empire next before their prodigious overthrow of it, repre&s;ented by the Sea in the Second Trumpet, the Hail with the Effect of it upon the Third part of the Trees and Gra&s;s, may very well be applied to <NOTE N="(a)" PLACE="marg">SEE <HI>Zo&s;imus lib.</HI> 5.</NOTE> the Inva&s;ions of the <HI>Goths,</HI> in the time of <HI>Valens, Theodo&s;ius, Arcadius,</HI> and <NOTE PLACE="marg">From 37<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters"> 412.</NOTE> part of the Reign of <HI>Honorius.</HI> And the continuance of this &s;torm may be determined to be till the departure of the <HI>Goths</HI> out of <HI>Italy,</HI> after the Sacking of <HI>Rome</HI> by <HI>Alaricus</HI> and <HI>Athaulphus,</HI> which was in the Year 411, which was ju&s;t about the time that tho&s;e &s;warms of divers Nations began with Triumph and Succe&s;s to gain upon the Tran&s;alpine part of the We&s;tern Empire, according to the Character of the Sea of Blood in the Second Trumpet.</P>
<PB N="46" REF="44">
<P> It may then now be ob&s;erved, that the Calamities of the Fir&s;t Trumpet do fall wholly upon the Italian Divi&s;ion, which was a third &s;hare of the Empire, and which was for|merly all under <HI>Con&s;tans.</HI> This, be&s;ides <NOTE N="(b)" PLACE="marg"><HI>Zo&s;imus</HI> gives an account of this in his <HI>20th</HI> Book.</NOTE> <HI>Africa,</HI> reached to the <HI>Helle&s;pont,</HI> within which compa&s;s happened all the Com|motions and Inva&s;ions of the <HI>Goths</HI> under <HI>Athanaricus, Alaricus, Gainas, Rhodagai&s;us</HI> and <HI>Athaulphus;</HI> Which being a continued Vexation of the Empire by one and the &s;ame People, upon one and the &s;ame third part of the Empire (according to the fir&s;t Divi&s;ion of it, though at the time of the&s;e Events under two &s;everal Princes) may very well de&s;erve the name of one and the &s;ame kind of &s;torm, as the Hail is repre&s;ented to be in the Fir&s;t Trumpet. And there is a manife&s;t rea&s;on to warrant the dating the beginning of the Fir&s;t Trumpet as high as the Reign of <NOTE N="(c)" PLACE="marg"><HI>Socrates l.</HI> 4. <HI>Cap.</HI> 13. gives an account of Eighty of the Orthodox Party at one time, that were ordered to be burnt in a Ship. And in the 14. Chap. continues the &s;ame &s;ubject about tho&s;e which were be&s;ides executed by the command of <HI>Valens.</HI> And in his 19. Chap. gives a very &s;ad relation of the per&s;ecution of the Religious Men in <HI>Egypt</HI> upon the &s;ame account, and &s;ays, That <HI>Valens</HI> had ordained per&s;ecution by Law.</NOTE> <HI>Valens,</HI> upon the account of the great &s;everities and &s;iercene&s;s of <HI>Valens</HI> again&s;t the Monks and Bi&s;hops of the Church, which was the fir&s;t In&s;tance of any con&s;iderable Per|&s;ecution again&s;t Di&s;&s;enters.</P>
<P>Some po&s;&s;ibly will be plea&s;ed to find, that both at the beginning and end of the&s;e Gothick Troubles, there was a Storm of &s;uch Hail as was of a prodigious and incredible &s;ize. The fir&s;t is &s;aid to have been as big as great Stones, by which (according to S. <HI>Jerom</HI>'s Relation) there were &s;everal Men &s;truck <NOTE PLACE="marg">Jerom. in Chro|nic.</NOTE> dead. The other are &s;aid to be of Eight Pound weight. This has the credit of almo&s;t all the Hi&s;torians of tho&s;e times to confirm it. And <HI>John&s;on</HI> might therefore well put them both into the Account of his <HI>Admiranda Meteororum.</HI> Of the fir&s;t kind (<NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>Socrat. l.</HI> 4. <HI>c.</HI> 10.</NOTE>) <HI>Socrates</HI> gives this Account, That it was commonly judged that it was a Judgment of God for the Em|perors Severities again&s;t the Church-men.</P>
<P>This indeed might be a concurrent circum&s;tance to allarm the World in after Times to fix the beginning of the Trum|pets to tho&s;e days, when there was &s;o very remarkable an Event according to the Letter of the Prophecy. But it is unque&s;tionable that it could be no more than a my&s;tical Scheme of &s;ome other far more con&s;iderable Judgment that was &s;igni|fied by it, as all the Expre&s;&s;ions concerning the matter of the Trumpets has been already found to be, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 10.)</P>
<PB N="47" REF="44">
<P> It will not be que&s;tioned but that the next third part, which <NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 8.</NOTE> is the third part of the Sea turned into Blood, with a burning Mountain ca&s;t into it, mu&s;t be that great Inundation of the Barbarous Nations all over the Tran&s;alpine part of the We&s;tern Empire, after the departure of the <HI>Goths</HI> out of <NOTE PLACE="marg">From about 412, to 446.</NOTE> <HI>Italy.</HI> The great and known Effects of which was the lo&s;s of all the Prefecture of <HI>Gaul</HI> (or <HI>Con&s;tantine</HI>'s third &s;hare of the Empire) to the &s;everal Nations that invaded it; as <HI>Britain</HI> to the <HI>Saxons; Gaul</HI> to the <HI>Goths, Franks</HI> and <HI>Burgundians;</HI> and <HI>Spain</HI> to the <HI>Suevi, Alans</HI> and <HI>Vandals.</HI></P>
<P>This is very properly expre&s;&s;ed by the ca&s;ting a burning Mountain into the Sea; which is a very peculiar Expre&s;&s;ion, and is known to be u&s;ed by the Prophet <HI>Jeremy</HI> to &s;ignifie the ruine of <HI>Babylon, Jerem.</HI> 51. 25.</P>
<P>Now this is here re&s;trained to that third part only of the Sea which became Blood. And be&s;ides we find afterwards in the Fourth Trumpet a mention of another third part of the Maje&s;ty of the Empire. Which makes it evident, that by the Moun|tain ca&s;t into the Sea, cannot be here meant the lo&s;s of more than one third part of the Roman Empire, which has the name of <HI>Babylon</HI> all over this Prophecy.</P>
<P>And then, &s;ince the ca&s;ting of the Mountain into the Sea all burning with Fire, does very manife&s;tly &s;ignifie the utter and final lo&s;s of it from the <HI>Romans,</HI> it &s;eems thereby to be determined which of the three parts of the Empire it mu&s;t needs be. It is certain it cannot be any part of the Ea&s;tern Empire; for that is not lo&s;t before the De&s;truction of it by the Turks in the Sixth Trumpet. Nor can it be the lo&s;s of the Imperial Seat of <HI>Rome;</HI> for that was never finally lo&s;t from the <HI>Romans.</HI> And be&s;ides, whatever Eclip&s;e of the Maje&s;ty of it there might be before the Fifth Trumpet, it is vey emi|nently &s;et out by the darkning of the Sun, Moon and Stars in the Fourth. And to conceive, that the burning Moun|tain ca&s;t into the Sea might be the &s;ame third part, that had the third part of the Sun darkened in it afterwards, would be to make one and the &s;ame part of the Roman Empire to be fir&s;t like <HI>Babylon</HI> utterly ruined, and after that to be like <HI>Babylon</HI> under the lo&s;s of but a part of the Maje&s;ty of it.</P>
<PB N="48" REF="45">
<P> The Mountain ca&s;t into the Sea cannot therefore be either the Ea&s;tern or the Italian Seat of the Empire; and therefore mu&s;t it be the Tran&s;alpine part of the We&s;tern Empire, commonly known by the name of the Prefecture of <HI>Gaul,</HI> and the Empire of the Elde&s;t of the Sons of <HI>Con&s;tantine:</HI> And &s;o accordingly does it appear upon Record in <NOTE N="(d)" PLACE="marg"><HI>Pancirol. Notit. Imperii occident. Cap.</HI> 1.</NOTE> the <HI>Notitia Imperii.</HI> After the &s;ucce&s;s of the Barbarous Nations upon this part of the Empire, the <HI>Praefectus Praetorio</HI> of <HI>Gaul</HI> has no En&s;igns of his Authority &s;et down there. Becau&s;e, &s;ays <HI>Pancirollus,</HI> all the parts of that Prefecture were &s;eized upon, and in the Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of the Barbarous People.</P>
<P>That which does further confirm the ca&s;ting of the Moun|tain into the Sea to &s;ignifie the utter lo&s;s of that part of the Roman Empire, is, that the third part of the Creatures are &s;aid to have died in the Sea, as well as the third part of the Sea &s;aid to become Blood. For <NOTE N="(e)" PLACE="marg">See <HI>Grotius</HI> in Note the fir&s;t upon Chap. 3.</NOTE> killing and &s;laying a commu|nity of Men does in this Prophecy &s;ignifie the utter end of that community, as will afterwards more certainly appear from the &s;laying of the third part of Men in the Sixth Trumpet, and from the killing of the Witne&s;s in the Eleventh Chapter. And this gives a very &s;atisfactory Account, why the Conque&s;t of <HI>Africa</HI> by the &s;ame Nations within the &s;ame period cannot be acounted any part of this Sea of Blood, or of the Mountain ca&s;t into the Sea, becau&s;e it was not the la&s;t ruine of that third part of the Empire to which it did belong, that is, of the Italian Share or Prefecture. And therefore mu&s;t it be &s;aid of tho&s;e African Conquerors, as it is of the Saracens in the Fifth Trumpet, who over ran the &s;ame place, that they did not <HI>kill,</HI> but only <HI>torment</HI> Men; And &s;o were not capable of being any part of that Sea of Blood wherein all the Creatures of it died.</P>
<P>It cannot be here &s;aid, that the burning of <HI>Rome</HI> by <HI>Alaricus</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>An<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">o</HI> 4<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters">.</NOTE> does the mo&s;t properly an&s;wer the burnt Mountain. It mu&s;t be con&s;idered, that in this place it cannot be the bare City of <HI>Rome</HI> that can de&s;erve the Name of the Mountain. It mu&s;t be the Rule and Domination of it, if any thing. And then the burnt Mountain cannot &s;ignifie any thing le&s;s than the ruines of &s;ome part of its Empire; whereas <HI>Rome</HI> lo&s;t very little of her Imperial Power by that whole Expedition of <HI>Alaricus;</HI> and it was not the Seat of the Empire when this happened,
<PB N="49" REF="45"> and is repre&s;ented to be little regarded by <HI>Honorius,</HI> who had long before left it.</P>
<P>The time of the continuance of this Calamity in the Second Trumpet, mu&s;t reach to the Settlements of the Barbarous People all over the Prefecture of <HI>Gaul,</HI> and that could not be at the &s;oone&s;t before the lo&s;s of <HI>Britain</HI> to the <HI>Saxons</HI> in the Year 446. After that indeed the <HI>Romans</HI> &s;eemed to have very little to do beyond the <HI>Alps,</HI> but to fight &s;ometimes upon the Borders with tho&s;e who had &s;etled them&s;elves all over that part of the Empire. <HI>A&euml;tius</HI> 'tis true did march through the heart of the Country at the defeat of <HI>A<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">tila;</HI> But it was becau&s;e he had all the Kings of tho&s;e Parts for his Con&s;ederates in that Expedition.</P>
<P>THE fall of the great Star like a Lamp upon the Rivers of <NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 10, 11.</NOTE> Waters, &s;eems after this to be the Death of <HI>A&euml;tius;</HI> Of whom <NOTE PLACE="marg">About the Year 450.</NOTE> it is &s;aid <NOTE N="(f)" PLACE="marg"><P>See <HI>Petavius lib.</HI> 6. <HI>c.</HI> 18. <HI>Rationar. Temp. part.</HI> I.</P>
<P><HI>A&euml;tius,</HI> who him&s;elf alone did at that time keep up the Roman Empire from its utter ruine. So <HI>Cu&s;pinian</HI> in <HI>Ca&s;&s;iodori Chronicon. A&euml;tio</HI> 4^o <HI>&amp; Studio C<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;&s;. pag.</HI> 447. and in <HI>Theodo&s;io &amp; Valentiniano. pag.</HI> 127. <HI>de Cae&s;aribus.</HI> So dyed <HI>A&euml;tius&mdash;</HI>with whom al&s;o fell the We&s;tern Empire, and the &s;afety of the Commonwealth, nor could it ever after be rai&s;ed again.</P>
<P><HI>Hieron. Rubeus</HI> to the &s;ame purpo&s;e <HI>l.</HI> 2. <HI>Hi&s;tor. Ravennat. in fine. A&euml;tius</HI> who was accounted the Great &s;ecurity of the We&s;tern Empire.</P></NOTE> by all kind of Hi&s;torians, That He alone was the Upholder of the We&s;tern Empire again&s;t all tho&s;e violent Irruptions of Barbarians for near thirty Years together. And though the Death of <HI>Valentinian,</HI> which was ju&s;t about the &s;ame time, may be thought to be more con&s;iderable, and &s;o a more proper Application to it, yet &s;ince the Emperor mu&s;t be part of the <HI>Sun,</HI> if any thing, in the Roman Empire, he is too high for the Name of a Star. But <HI>A&euml;tius</HI> his quality did ex|actly an&s;wer that Character, and his Death was of much greater influence upon the mi&s;eries that followed upon the We&s;tern Empire pre&s;ently after; And &s;o did much more de&s;erve to be accounted the Calamity of the Third Trumpet, than any thing el&s;e that did happen in that Age; And his great Actions might very well repre&s;ent him to be as a Star like a great Lamp. And then the imbittering of the Foun|tains and Rivers, which is the effect of the fall of this Star, will be ea&s;ily under&s;tood to &s;ignifie &s;uch a &s;ad condition of the Roman Empire, as bitterne&s;s does u&s;ually &s;ignifie among the Prophets when &s;poken of the &s;tate of a Nation. And the mi&s;eries of that Empire after the Death of <HI>A&euml;tius</HI> will afford Matter enough for the Application of it.</P>
<P>But both the fall of the Star and the effect of it is re&s;trained to a third part of the Rivers; And there needs no long &s;earch for the &s;ubject to which this is to be applied. For &s;ince there is nothing that does &s;o well an&s;wer the Cha|racter
<PB N="50" REF="46"> of this falling Star, as the Death of <HI>A&euml;tius,</HI> and the Con|&s;equences of it, it mu&s;t be the Italian Divi&s;ion that mu&s;t be the third part in this place.</P>
<P>THE Matter of the Fourth Trumpet does at fir&s;t &s;ight ap|pear to be the pulling down of the Ruling Power of one of the three Imperial Shares. The darkning of the third part of the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 8. 12.</NOTE> Sun, Moon and Stars can be nothing el&s;e. For the whole Sun is known to &s;ignifie among the Prophets the whole Su|preme Power of a Nation.</P>
<P>It is not difficult to find the Application of this, if it be con&s;idered, that betwixt the Settlements of the Northern People in the furthe&s;t We&s;tern part of the Empire (which mu&s;t be the Matter of the Second Trumpet) and the Sa|racen Inva&s;ions, which is the Plague of the Fifth, there was <NOTE PLACE="marg">Page 47.</NOTE> no Supreme Power of the <HI>Romans</HI> pulled down but the Im|perial Government of <HI>Rome.</HI></P>
<P>The darkning of the Sun, Moon and Stars mu&s;t there|fore be the cea&s;ing of the Imperial Government in the We&s;t for a time, which becau&s;e it had then the Command of no|thing but the Remains of the Italian &s;hare, is therefore very properly called the darkning of but a third part of the Sun that was afterwards to come out of the dark|ne&s;s. For though there were at that time two parts of the three Imperial Thrones pulled down, yet the influence of the Fourth Trumpet in particular was but upon one of tho&s;e Thrones; And therefore could not there above one third part of the Sun be &s;aid to be eclip&s;ed by it. The dark|ning of one third part of the Sun does not make it nece&s;&s;ary that there &s;hould be two parts not darkned. In an Eclip&s;e of the Moon which affects two third parts of the Body of it, it might very properly be &s;aid at the darkning of the latter of tho&s;e two third parts, that it took away the Light of the third part of the Moon, though there had been another third part darkned before, e&s;pecially if there had been an account before of the Eclip&s;ing of the fir&s;t third part of it under another Term, as there is here before this in the Second Trumpet under the Scheme of a Mountain ca&s;t into the Sea. But be&s;ides it will pre&s;ently be found, that the term of darkning the third part of the Sun in this place is to give it a peculiar di&s;tinction from any other third part of him, which had its
<PB N="51" REF="46"> Light wholly and finally extingui&s;hed. For this darkne&s;s was <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Anno</HI> 476 <HI>&amp;</HI> 490.</NOTE> to vani&s;h again in &s;ome years after, and therefore might very well be &s;aid of the third part, though the whole Body of the Sun be&s;ides had been lo&s;t.</P>
<P>The Calamity of the Fourth Trumpet does therefore by this appear to be the Fall of the Imperial Government, and of all its immediate dependants at the Conque&s;ts of <HI>Italy</HI> by <HI>Odoacer</HI> and the <HI>Geths</HI> after him, and the end of the Impe|rial Rule there in <HI>Augu&s;tulus</HI> about the &s;ame time.</P>
<P>This is very aptly &s;ignified by an Eclip&s;e of the third part of the Sun, becau&s;e that does intimate, that it was not a final end of the Imperial Roman Authority in tho&s;e parts but a Mortification of it for a &s;et time only, according to the nature of an Eclip&s;e, which in time pa&s;&s;es away, and then the Sun returns to its former lu&s;tre again. And ju&s;t &s;o did the Impe|rial Government appear again in that third part of the Em|pire at the recovey of the African and Italian part of it by <HI>Ju&s;tinian;</HI> For then the Imperial Authority was there re|turned <NOTE PLACE="marg">About the Year 540.</NOTE> to be as real a third part of the Sun in tho&s;e Parts, as it had been in the Pre&s;ecture of <HI>Gaul</HI> under the We&s;tern Emperor.</P>
<P>But <HI>Ju&s;tinian</HI>'s change of the Dignities of <HI>Rome</HI> and <HI>Italy,</HI> cannot as &s;ome would have it) be taken for any Eclip&s;e of the Roman Sun, as long as there was the &s;ame Imperial Au|thority in tho&s;e Parts that there always had been in the time of any of the Ea&s;tern Emperors, who had the whole Empire under them. For it is the Imperial Authority that mu&s;t be meant by the Sun in this place, which received no more Diminu|tion in the We&s;t by <HI>Ju&s;tinian,</HI> than by any other Prince of the Ea&s;t. All that can be pretended from his putting an end to the Senate and Con&s;ul of <HI>Rome,</HI> will amount to no more than the darkning of the Moon and Stars at mo&s;t. So that the beginning of this darkne&s;s mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily be fetched from the end of the Imperial Authority in the We&s;t with <HI>Augu&s;tulus.</HI></P>
<P>It is al&s;o worth the ob&s;erving, that this Plague of the Fourth Trumpet is &s;et out by the Fall of the <HI>Imperial Autho|rity</HI> in the Italian part of the Empire under the Scheme of the eclip&s;ed Sun, rather than by the lo&s;s of the Body of that Third part; Becau&s;e there was &s;till a con&s;iderable part of the
<PB N="52" REF="47"> Italian &s;hare of the Empire remaining entire in the hands of the Ea&s;tern Emperors, that is, all the Ea&s;tern part of <HI>Illyri|cum,</HI> which was &s;o con&s;iderable as to have a <HI>Praefectus Praetorio</HI> over it alone to it &s;elf. And there was be&s;ides a di&s;tinction made betwixt the Conquerors of <HI>Italy</HI> and the <HI>Romans</HI> there in all the Admini&s;tration of the Government, as may par|ticularly <NOTE N="(g)" PLACE="marg"><HI>Ca&s;&s;iodor. Varior. l.</HI> 1. <HI>Ep.</HI> 28. King <HI>Theodoric</HI> to all <HI>Goths,</HI> and <HI>Ro|mans.</HI> So <HI>l.</HI> 2. <HI>Ep.</HI> 19. And <HI>l.</HI> 3. <HI>Ep.</HI> 49. But more particularly <HI>l.</HI> 8. <HI>Ep.</HI> 4, <HI>&amp;</HI> 5. King <HI>Athalaricus</HI> writes di&s;tinctly fir&s;t to all <HI>Romans,</HI> and then to all <HI>Goths</HI> to take an Oath of Allegiance to him.</NOTE> be ob&s;erved in the time of all the Gothi&s;h Kings. So that the Body of the <HI>Romans</HI> &s;eemed to be kept &s;till di&s;tinct, and that the only change of their State was the lo&s;s of their Head; which therefore to our Admiration is di&s;tinctly repre&s;ented in the Prophecy by the Sun, Moon and Stars, which are known to &s;ignifie a change of the Ruling Power only of a Nation.</P>
<P>Thus does the Object of the Fourth Trumpet &s;tand di|&s;tingui&s;hed from that of the Second. They are both very dreadful Mortifications of the Roman Power in two &s;everal third parts of that Empire. But the Second Trumpet de|&s;cribes its whole third part as at its la&s;t end under the Cha|racter of a Mountain ca&s;t into the Sea; Whereas the Fourth does intimate no more of its third part, but only that the Supreme Government of it was changed, and that al&s;o but for a time, that there was but a pre&s;ent Eclip&s;e upon it.</P>
<P>But yet it was &s;o long a time before this Eclip&s;e was pa&s;&s;ed off, that it was fit there &s;hould be &s;ome more than ordinary Character of it; According as it is here expre&s;&s;ed in five &s;everal In&s;tances, by the darkning of a third part of the Sun, of the Moon, of the Stars, and by the darkne&s;s of a third part of the day, and a third part of the Night. For this Eclip&s;e of the Maje&s;ty of this part of the Empire continued at lea&s;t till the beginning of the conque&s;t of <HI>Africa</HI> by <HI>Ju&s;tinian,</HI> which was above fifty years after the fir&s;t ap|pearance of it. And therefore is there no mention of the Prefectures of <HI>Gaul</HI> or <HI>Italy</HI> in <HI>Ju&s;tinian</HI>'s Code, becau&s;e the Imperial Dignity was then lo&s;t there.</P>
<P>'Tis true, there will thus be a very great interval betwixt <NOTE PLACE="marg">From 4<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">6, to 631.</NOTE> the end of the Fourth Trumpet and the beginning of the Fifth, and a very great di&s;proportion betwixt the continuance of the four fir&s;t Trumpets, and the two next.</P>
<PB N="53" REF="47">
<P> But the Prophecy it &s;elf does give very manife&s;t Intima|tions of them both. For after the Fourth Trumpet there is a very &s;olemn Pau&s;e made before the &s;ounding of the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 8. 13.</NOTE> Fifth, and a new Scene of things prepared to &s;ignifie the importance of it; As if it were on purpo&s;e introduced to make us pa&s;s by all other le&s;s con&s;iderable Calamities that might fall upon the Empire betwixt the Fourth, and that which is really the Fifth.</P>
<P>For after the bare mention of the four fir&s;t Trumpets, and their effects in few words, and in a clo&s;e order, there is in the la&s;t Ver&s;e of the Eighth Chapter this &s;olemn Pau&s;e and Introduction concerning the three remaining Trumpets.<HI>&mdash;And I beheld and heard an Angel.&mdash;And it was an Angel flying through the mid&s;t of Heaven.&mdash;And then, that cried with a loud voice.&mdash;And that a very dreadful cry,</HI> Woe, Woe, Woe <HI>to the Inhabitants of the Earth, by rea&s;on of the other voices of the Trumpets of the three Angels which are yet to &s;ound.</HI></P>
<P>So very &s;trange and peculiar an Alarm from the Text to make the World ob&s;erve the di&s;tinction betwixt the three la&s;t Trumpets and the four fir&s;t, is a &s;ufficient warning to all to neglect any &s;maller Plagues upon the Empire, which might happen betwixt the end of the Plague of the Fourth Trumpet and that which was really to be the Fifth. They might ea&s;ily perceive by this, that no Plague or Judgment upon the Roman Empire could an&s;wer the Character or Woe in the Fifth Trumpet but what was very con&s;iderably heavier than any of the Plagues of the former Trumpets, though the la&s;t of them was the ruine of the Maje&s;ty of the We&s;tern Empire. And therefore none could be able after this to fit the Plague of the Fifth Trumpet to any Event that happened before the ri&s;e of the <HI>Saracens.</HI></P>
<P>And then the &s;ame &s;olemn Expre&s;&s;ions, that &s;et out the great difference betwixt the heavine&s;s of tho&s;e Woes that were to come, in compari&s;on of any of the Plagues of the other Trumpets, do al&s;o at the &s;ame time intimate, that there was &s;ome more than ordinary Provocation that was the cau&s;e of tho&s;e different Judgments.</P>
<PB N="54" REF="48">
<P> And upon a &s;mall Enquiry it will be found, that there was a &s;ecret corre&s;pondence carried on betwixt the Bi&s;hop of <HI>Rome</HI> and the Ea&s;tern Emperor for the advancement of the Authority of the Roman Church over all others after the ruin of the We&s;tern Empire by the Barbarous Nations in <HI>Italy.</HI> The hopes of the Emperor for the recovery of <HI>Italy,</HI> made him look upon it as very requi&s;ite for him to gain the Bi&s;hop of <HI>Rome</HI> to his intere&s;t by advancing the Superiority of that See. And thus was the Authority of the Roman Church continually encrea&s;ing &s;oon after the Settlement of the Bar|barous Nations in <HI>Italy,</HI> till it came to a full height not long before the Saracen Inva&s;ions.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t foundation of this Supremacy was the <NOTE N="(h)" PLACE="marg"><HI>Ana&s;ta&s;ius Bibliothecarius</HI> gives an account of this in the Life of Pope <HI>Hormi&s;da.</HI> But the mo&s;t eminent Monument of it is the Record of the carrying the in&s;trument of the union about the Cities of <HI>Greece,</HI> by Pope <HI>Hormi&s;da</HI>'s Emba&s;&s;adors, in <HI>Tom.</HI> 2. <HI>Concilior.</HI></NOTE> Re|conciliation of the Greek and Roman Church by the Em|peror <HI>Ju&s;tin</HI> and Pope <HI>Hormi&s;da</HI> in the Year 519, after a Schi&s;m of Forty Years together; And for which the Em|peror had the Title of <NOTE N="(i)" PLACE="marg">See <HI>Ana&s;ta&s;ius Bibliothecarius</HI> in the Lives of <HI>Hormi&s;da,</HI> and <HI>John</HI> the Fir&s;t. <HI>Cu&s;pinian in Ju&s;tino Cae&s;are.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Ju&s;tin the Orthodox.</HI></P>
<P>The next great &s;tep was <NOTE N="(k)" PLACE="marg"><HI>Cod. Ju&s;tinian. l.</HI> 8, 9. <HI>de &s;umm&acirc; Trinitate.</HI></NOTE> <HI>Ju&s;tinian</HI>'s Profe&s;&s;ion of his Faith to Pope <HI>John,</HI> wherein he a&s;&s;erts the Pope's Primacy, and promi&s;es his A&s;&s;i&s;tance, that all other Churches &s;hould be united under that See. And this was thought to be &s;o con&s;iderable as to be entred into the Code with the Pope's acknowledgment of the Kindne&s;s.</P>
<P>The next advance is <HI>Ju&s;tinian</HI>'s <NOTE N="(l)" PLACE="marg"><HI>Novell. Ju&s;tinian. de Haereticis,</HI> e&s;pecially that of <HI>Tit.</HI> 5. Let not Here|ticks &s;tay upon Roman Ground. <HI>&amp; de Apo&s;tatis;</HI> Let the Goods of Apo&s;tates be confi&s;cated.</NOTE> new Laws again&s;t Di&s;|&s;enters, and his <NOTE N="(m)" PLACE="marg">The <HI>Theodo&s;ian</HI> Laws again&s;t Hereticks, which had been hindred from being executed by the inva&s;ions of the We&s;tern Empire by the <HI>Barbarians.</HI></NOTE> enforcing his old Penal Laws again&s;t them, which by the Inva&s;ions of the Barbarians had been laid a&s;leep almo&s;t ever &s;ince they were made; But from the time that they were thus revived by <HI>Ju&s;tinian,</HI> they continued in force to this day.</P>
<P>The la&s;t fini&s;hing part of this Church-work was the Settle|ment of the Title of Univer&s;al Bi&s;hop upon <HI>Boniface</HI> by <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>A<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="3 letters"></HI> 606.</NOTE> <HI>Phocas.</HI></P>
<P>An Affair of &s;o great Importance as this was, e&s;pecially &s;ince the whole Prophecy is concerned about it, ought to have &s;ome &s;ignifications of the fir&s;t appearance of it &s;ome way proportionable to the nature of it. And there is nothing among the Trumpets that can tolerably be applied to it but the warning that is here given concerning the three la&s;t Woes. The fir&s;t of the&s;e Woes mu&s;t therefore be at as great a di&s;tance from the Fourth Trumpet as was taken up in laying this Foun|dation
<PB N="55" REF="48"> of the Kingdom of the Bea&s;t, which was the Provoca|tion that brought on the&s;e Woes.</P>
<P>It may now be enquired, wherein lay the chief Point of the heavine&s;s of the three la&s;t Trumpets, which are di&s;tin|gui&s;hed from the re&s;t by the name of the three la&s;t Woes; For the Second Trumpet utterly ruines its third part, and the Fourth Trumpet de&s;troys the Imperial Rule of its re&s;pective part. It might at fir&s;t be apprehended that the difference betwixt them could be nothing but the length of the conti|nuance of the Woes in compari&s;on with the re&s;t of the Trumpets. But this is not &s;o clear of the third Woe, which mu&s;t do its work in a much &s;horter time than the other.</P>
<P>But the certain and unque&s;tionable difference betwixt them, is, that Whereas the common nature of all the Trumpets is to be Plagues upon the Roman Empire, &s;o the three la&s;t Woes were the final ruine and lo&s;s of both the Roman Name and Authority in the greate&s;t part of the Dominions where they fell; But the greate&s;t lo&s;s of the Roman Authority by the other Trumpets was repaired again by the Authority of the Roman Church among them, which was far more ab|&s;olute than ever the Imperial Authority had been, and made all that part of the World take upon them the Name of <HI>Romans</HI> again.</P>
<P>BY this Account that has been given of the fir&s;t four Trumpets, it does appear, that the ground and occa&s;ion of the Plagues of them began very early in the Chri&s;tian Church, and that in &s;o high a mea&s;ure as fitted the Body of the whole Roman Empire to be the Object of &s;uch terrible Expre&s;&s;ions of the Wrath of God towards them.</P>
<P>If it &s;hould be hereupon enquired, What Alteration it might be of the Spirit of the Chri&s;tian Church which could give God &s;uch a Provocation in tho&s;e early times, It mu&s;t be con&s;idered, that that which appears to be the high malig|nity of the Bea&s;t began to be very rife &s;oon after that the Imperial Throne was come into the Church; And that was the forcing Men again&s;t their Con&s;ciences to reverence the Roman Authority in Points of Faith and Wor&s;hip for the only Rule and Standard of Chri&s;tian Truth. And to give this the more &s;olemn appearance, it was propounded under the name of the Judgment of the Catholick Church, which
<PB N="56" REF="49"> had an Infallible Spirit which dictated to it all the things of Religion that the Emperors enjoyned by their Edicts; Whereas it does manife&s;tly appear, that the Councils to whom this Name was given did very ordinarily contradict one another; And that the major part of every one of them (who were They that made all the Canons in them) did generally conform them&s;elves to that Emperor's Opinion that called them and over-ruled them. So that the <HI>&s;itting in the Temple of God,</HI> and <HI>&s;hewing him&s;elf there as God,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 The&s;&s;. 2. 4.</NOTE> &s;eemed to be then in its fir&s;t Formation by the Conduct of &s;ome of the Roman Emperors &s;oon after the advancement of Chri&s;tianity upon the Throne.</P>
<P>The very Fir&s;t-fruits of the Imperial Authority in the Church in the days of <HI>Con&s;tantine,</HI> and even before the full end of the Pagan Per&s;ecution with <HI>Licinius,</HI> were the Depo&s;itions <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Socrat. l.</HI> 1.</NOTE> and Bani&s;hments of the Arian Bi&s;hops, &s;evere Laws for the puni&s;hing even <NOTE N="(n)" PLACE="marg"><P><HI>Socrates l.</HI> 1. <HI>cap.</HI> 6. <HI>Ep. Con&s;tantini ad Epi&s;copos &amp; populum.</HI></P>
<P>This al&s;o we &s;treightly charge and command, That if any be found <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters"> hide or conceal any Book made by <HI>Arrius,</HI> and does not forthwith bring it forth, and deliver it to be burnt, that he dye the Death. For as &s;oon as he is taken, our plea&s;ure is, That his Head be &s;tricken off from his Shoulders.</P></NOTE> with Death all tho&s;e that &s;hould but conceal any of the Books of <HI>Arius;</HI> Be&s;ides the denouncing of the Cur&s;es of God upon all the Arian Party &s;eemed to be Puni&s;hments highly di&s;proportionable to the nature of that Crime. The Roman Councils began al&s;o at the &s;ame time to be accounted the Infallible Oracles of God. <HI>Con&s;tantine</HI> &s;ays of the Council of <HI>Nice,</HI> <NOTE N="(o)" PLACE="marg"><HI>Socrates Lib.</HI> 1. <HI>Cap.</HI> 6. <HI>Ep.</HI> 2. <HI>Con&s;tantine</HI> to the Church of <HI>Alexandria.</HI></NOTE> That it was in&s;pired by the Will of God him&s;elf. And that that which &s;eemed good to them was to be taken for nothing le&s;s than the Mind of God. And of <NOTE N="(p)" PLACE="marg"><HI>Idem L.</HI> 1. <HI>Cap</HI> 6. <HI>Ep</HI> 4. <HI>Con&s;tantine</HI> to the Churches.</NOTE> Councils in general, That what&s;oever was decreed in them, ought to be accounted the Will of God. And in this e&s;teem of Divine In&s;piration were all the Arian as well as the Orthodox Councils among their &s;everal Followers, though they were plainly contradictory to one another.</P>
<P>It is not much to the purpo&s;e to object here that one part of the&s;e Councils mu&s;t undoubtedly be in the Truth; And that tho&s;e at lea&s;t could not be blamed for &s;uch U&s;urpations upon the Con&s;ciences of Men. For, Which &s;oever of them had the Truth on their &s;ide, yet &s;ince the main of the Con|trover&s;ie was about <NOTE N="(q)" PLACE="marg"><P><HI>Luther contra Latom.</HI> If my Soul hates the word <HI>Homo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;ion,</HI> and I will not u&s;e it, I am not an Heretick for that. <HI>Ibid. Homo<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;ion,</HI> which <HI>Hierom</HI> did al&s;o de&s;ire might be laid a&s;ide.</P>
<P><HI>Grotius</HI> in <HI>Re&s;pon&s;. de Antichri&s;to,</HI> Almo&s;t all the <HI>Lutherans</HI> accu&s;e <HI>Calvin</HI> of <HI>Arriani&s;m;</HI> He ought therefore (according to your u&s;e of <HI>Servetus)</HI> to have been burnt.</P></NOTE> Words which were no where ex|pre&s;sly determined in Scripture; And which were of &s;o ambi|guous and ob&s;cure a nature as the Greek and Latin Church were divided about the true meaning of them: And which
<PB N="57" REF="49"> were as ordinarily rejected by tho&s;e very &s;ame Per&s;ons that at &s;ome times defended them, To Pronounce the peremptory Cur&s;es of the Church upon con&s;ciencious Di&s;&s;enters in &s;uch &s;peculative and ab&s;tru&s;e Matters as the&s;e, and to deprive them of the nece&s;&s;ary comforts of this Life for it, and thus to over-awe them to take that for the in&s;pired Will of God, which they would apprehend to be no more at be&s;t than the Philo&s;ophical Exerci&s;es of Mens Wits, did plainly ma|nife&s;t a &s;omewhat too a&s;&s;uming Spirit in the Government of the Church in tho&s;e days.</P>
<P>What&s;oever Rea&s;ons of State there may be for &s;uppre&s;&s;ing the publick Meetings of &s;uch kind of Zealots in Religion, who may be judged from their former behaviour to make it a Principle of their Con&s;cience to endeavour the Subver&s;ion of the Government that they live under, there &s;eems nothing of that kind to have been objected again&s;t the Orthodox, or Arian Di&s;&s;enters in tho&s;e days. Their Crime was nothing el&s;e con&s;iderable, but mere differences of Opinion in Reli|gious Matters.</P>
<P>There &s;eems therefore to be liberty enough to begin the Trumpets from any great and general Calamities, that can be found to be agreeable to the characters of them, at almo&s;t any time after the conver&s;ion of <HI>Con&s;tantine;</HI> And they may very well then be &s;aid to be Judgments for the Blood of the Martyrs formerly &s;hed in the Heathen Per&s;ecutions, becau&s;e the Emperors began to take the &s;ame power upon them, which made the Heathen Emperors appear &s;uch Tyrants again&s;t the Chri&s;tian Church; And that is, The power of giving Law to the Con&s;ciences of Men in di&s;putable things, (and of enforcing it upon them again&s;t their own Judgments,) which is the peculiar Attribute of God. Thus might the Chri&s;tian Emperors de&s;erve very well to bear the puni&s;hment of their Pagan Predece&s;&s;ors, &s;ince they began now to make them&s;elves <NOTE N="(r)" PLACE="marg"><HI>Ribera in cap.</HI> 14. <HI>numer.</HI> 43, 44. Be&s;ides, as that is accounted one and the &s;ame City, which had been before, and is built upon the Ruine of the former, &s;o are they accounted the &s;ame Citizens, although they he not of the Lineage of the former. For they join them&s;elves to them, and become as it were one Body, and one Commonwealth with them. And then are they chiefly to be accounted <HI>One Body</HI> with them, when they <HI>imitate the deeds,</HI> and Crimes of their Predece&s;&s;ors; for which they are to be called The Chil|dren of them, who&s;e Sons in reality they are not. So <HI>John</HI> the 8. they are called the Children of the Devil. And <HI>Ezek.</HI> 16. the Jews are called the Sons of the <HI>Canaanites,</HI> not of the <HI>Patriarchs.</HI> And <HI>Origen</HI> in his 4th. Ho|mily upon <HI>Ezekiel</HI> di&s;cour&s;es at large, That Fathers and Sons are u&s;ed in Scripture very ordinarily, for tho&s;e only who are alike in manners Thus though the Jews were not of the Race of <HI>Cain,</HI> yet the Blood of <HI>Abel</HI> came up|on them. And there were many that were not of the Race of tho&s;e that killed <HI>Zacharias</HI> the Son of <HI>Bara<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters">ias,</HI> upon whom neverthele&s;s the revenge of his Blood was to fall&mdash;And they &s;hall be more heavily puni&s;hed, that imitate the wickedne&s;s of their Predece&s;&s;ors, becau&s;e they &s;in more boldly and impudently, that do tho&s;e things, which they know did provoke God in their Fore-fathers. <HI>Babylon</HI>'s &s;ins came to be remembred, becau&s;e its old &s;ins had been forgotten for the Religion that it had embraced. But new &s;ins like the former appearing the fir&s;t are brought again into mind.</NOTE> one continued Succe&s;&s;ion with them of Spiritual Dicta|tors to the Con&s;ciences of Men, which is one of the greate&s;t Calamities, that can happen to the Chri&s;tian Church. For though Men may be in an error, yet it is infinitely more provoking to be forced to play the Hypocrite with God, even in the <HI>holding of the truth</HI> again&s;t a Man's Con&s;cience;
<PB N="58" REF="50"> than it is to wor&s;hip him in <HI>an erroneous manner</HI> with a &s;in|cere and an upright Heart.</P>
<P>If others will think it better to pitch upon any other kind of provocation in the fir&s;t Chri&s;tian Emperors to fix the beginning of the Trumpets to, yet this Light they can|not but have from the&s;e con&s;iderations about the fir&s;t date of them, That the ruling Religion of the Empire was pro|voking enough, &s;oon after the ruine of Pagani&s;m in it, to make the Roman Empire the object of the vengeance that was to be given to the Blood of tho&s;e who were Martyred under the Heathen Emperors. For what&s;oever tho&s;e Hea|then Princes were in other re&s;pects, yet the thing which made them &s;o abominable in the Eyes of God was their Tyrannies to his Church; That therefore which made the Chri&s;tian Emperors partakers in their &s;ins, &s;o as to bear the vengeance of them, mu&s;t be a like exerci&s;e of the Imperial Authority over the Con&s;ciences of Men; What&s;oever cor|ruption therefore of the true Religion others may think more proper to attribute the&s;e Judgments to, this con|&s;ideration that it was enforced upon the Con&s;ciences of Men, will add a much greater aggravation to it; And the greate&s;t corruption of Chri&s;tianity that can be imagined, even Idolatry it &s;elf, will never be able to an&s;wer the character of the Bea&s;t without it.</P>
<P>It is certain that the &s;ealing the 144000 again&s;t the evils of the Trumpets is a manife&s;t reference to the marking of tho&s;e in the Forehead, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 9. 4. Who were there mark|ed out to be di&s;tingui&s;hed from the whole Body of the Jews be&s;ides; And the rea&s;on of that great &s;laughter of the re&s;t there mentioned is expre&s;ly &s;aid to be, becau&s;e the Land was defiled with Blood, which if it be compared with the rea&s;on of the vengeance of the Trumpets in the fifth Seal, will very much incline any to conclude, that it mu&s;t be &s;ome acts of either Blood, or of &s;ome great cruelty, that mu&s;t be the cau&s;e of the Calamities of the Trumpets.</P>
<P>But yet this Spirit of Cruelty is generally accompanied with the corruption and degeneracy of the Church in re&s;pect of the true wor&s;hip of God; And the exerci&s;e of the Tyran|ni&s;ing Power of the Magi&s;trate is u&s;ually to force the
<PB N="59" REF="50"> Con&s;ciences of Men to comply with a fal&s;e wor&s;hip, as it was in the forementioned ca&s;e in <HI>Ezekiel,</HI> where the Blood, that the Land was defiled with, was &s;hed in the time of the Idolatry of the Jewi&s;h Commonwealth; And &s;o al&s;o does it appear that the Super&s;titions of the Roman Church were begun before the con&s;iderable Violences and Cruelties of the Roman Emperors; As Mr. <HI>Mede</HI> does at <NOTE PLACE="marg">in 1 Tim. 4. 1.</NOTE> large make appear in the in&s;tances of Saint-wor&s;hip before the time of <HI>Theodo&s;ius.</HI> But &s;till that which laid the foun|dation <NOTE PLACE="marg">&lindx;</NOTE> for the ob&s;ervance of the&s;e &s;uper&s;titions was the &s;everity of the Laws to enforce all to an Uniformity in the Roman Wor&s;hip.</P>
<P>HOW early this began may be determined by tho&s;e events to which the fir&s;t Trumpets have been fixed; The &s;everities of <NOTE N="(s)" PLACE="marg"><P>See Note the third on this Chapter.</P>
<P><HI>Pererius in Di&s;put.</HI> 1. <HI>in Apoc.</HI> does cite <HI>Bede</HI>'s Te&s;timony for <HI>Ticonius,</HI> that he applied the Per&s;ecutions that are &s;poken of in the Apocalyp&s;e to <HI>Valentinian</HI>'s Per&s;ecutions of the Donati&s;ts, which were his Sect; And calls them Martyr|doms, and bewails them. And this was about the &s;ame time with <HI>Valens</HI> from another Hand.</P></NOTE> <HI>Valens,</HI> and the &s;evere Laws of <NOTE N="(t)" PLACE="marg"><P>The <HI>Theodo&s;ian</HI> Code is full of the greate&s;t Severities again&s;t Hereticks, <HI>Cod. Theodo&s;. l.</HI> 15. <HI>de Haereticis</HI> 16. <HI>c. Theodo&s;. Tit.</HI> 4 <HI>de his qui &s;up. Religion<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> all quod contendunt. Lex.</HI> 2. <HI>idem Lex.</HI> 3. <HI>idem.</HI> 16. <HI>c. Theodo&s;. l.</HI> 21. <HI>de Hereticis, l.</HI> 26. <HI>de Haereticis.</HI></P>
<P>And Inqui&s;itors were appointed to find out Hereticks in order to their Con|viction and Puni&s;hment. 9, 13, 15, 31, 32, 35, 52 <HI>Cod. Theodo&s;. de Hereticis.</HI></P>
<P><HI>La decadence des Empires, p.</HI> 184. &s;hews, that as the Exce&s;&s;es of the Donati&s;ts about this time did provoke the Orthodox to return the &s;ame to them; &s;o by this means it came to pa&s;s, that Per&s;ecution came then fir&s;t to be made a Doctrine of Chri&s;tian Religion. Before that time all believed the contrary, and the Bi&s;hops judged them&s;elves bound to oppo&s;e them&s;elves (by Remon|&s;trances and Addre&s;&s;es) again&s;t the Emperors Wills, who would make u&s;e of force and violence to reduce the Hereticks. This he calls the mo&s;t remar|kable part of the Hi&s;tory of tho&s;e times, and afterwards ob&s;erves <HI>(p.</HI> 186.) that the Judgments of God did as manife&s;tly &s;hew how contrary the&s;e Pre|cedents were to his Will, in the&s;e words, <HI>mais ce qu'il y a de plus important, c' e&s;t que comme ce &s;ut eu ce temps &amp; en ce lieu que les Orthodoxes adopte<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ent la doctrine de la per&s;ecution, ce &s;ut a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">&s;&s;idans le me&s;me temps &amp; dans le me&s;m<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> lieu, que Dieu fit connoi&s;tr<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> par des Effroiables, jugemens combien il avoit l' honour pources Maximes &s;euri<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">u&s;es.</HI></P></NOTE> <HI>Theodo&s;ius,</HI> which <NOTE PLACE="marg">From 370, to 395.</NOTE> made an Univer&s;al conformity to the Imperial Religion to be a Law of the Empire under Penalties &s;ufficient to af|fright the Con&s;ciences of the generality to a Compliance with them again&s;t the real judgments of their minds, did give the World a very fair mark to fix the date of the&s;e Trumpets upon them; For &s;ince this was much the &s;ame Tyranny, that had before been exerci&s;ed by the Heathen Emperors, they might very well be judged to have brought the guilt of tho&s;e Princes upon their own Heads; Ac|cording to our Saviour's expre&s;&s;ion about the Jews in his time, That they did bear witne&s;s, That they allowed the <NOTE PLACE="marg">St. Luke 7. 47, 48.</NOTE> Deeds of their Fathers in killing the Prophets; And by &s;laying and per&s;ecuting the Prophets and Apo&s;tles, (which were as much of their own Religion, as the &s;everal Sects of Chri&s;tians are to one another) they did bring the Blood of all the Prophets, that were &s;lain from the foundation of the World, upon their own Heads.</P>
<P>And yet mo&s;t of tho&s;e Prophets were &s;lain while the King|dom of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> was Idolatrous, whereas in the time of our Saviour, they were much reformed from all tho&s;e corrupti|ons, as they generally were in all the time of the captivity; Which &s;hows that there is <NOTE N="(u)" PLACE="marg"><P>See <HI>Ribera</HI> in Note the Seventeenth of this Chapter. <HI>Idem in Cap.</HI> 14. <HI>Numer.</HI> 44. Wherefore as <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> &s;hould not have been de&s;troyed by the <HI>Romans</HI> for its old Sins, unle&s;s it had encrea&s;ed them by new and very grievous ones, When it knew not the time of its Vi&s;itation, as our Lord &s;ays, but killed even them by whom it was to have been pre&s;erved. So <HI>Rome,</HI> after the Wor&s;hip of &s;o many Idols, after the mo&s;t cruel effu&s;ion of the Blood of &s;o many Martyrs, &s;hould have continued to the end of the World, becau&s;e it was become the Seat of their Vicar of Chri&s;t, unle&s;s it had equalled its former Impiety by new and unheard of Barbarities and Sins.</P>
<P><HI>Idem. in ver.</HI> 24. <HI>cap.</HI> 18. <HI>Apoc.</HI> He &s;hews, that as <HI>Rome</HI> ruled over all the World, &s;o the Blood of all the Martyrs of Je&s;us were found in her. And tho&s;e that were otherwi&s;e killed are not worth the mentioning. But, &s;ays he, there &s;hall be many more al&s;o of the Chri&s;tian Martyrs killed by the Romans in the &s;ame manner, that is, more than tho&s;e under Heathen Per|&s;ecution.</P></NOTE> a perfect agreement betwixt the avenging of the Heathen Tyranny upon the Chri&s;tian Empire grown unmerciful to its fellow Chri&s;tians, and
<PB N="60" REF="51"> the avenging of the Blood of all the Prophets &s;lain by the Idolatrous &s;tate of the Jews upon the &s;ame Nation, when it was become free from Idolatry, but retained the &s;ame Spirit of oppre&s;&s;ion and cruelty.</P>
<P>And though the &s;everal Captivities were the puni&s;hment of their Idolatry, yet the la&s;t ruine of their State is &s;aid to be in revenge of the Blood of all the Prophets and Apo&s;tles, that had been &s;lain from the foundation of the World. Ju&s;t as the pulling down of Pagani&s;m out of the Impe|rial Throne was God's Judgment upon them for the Ido|latrous exerci&s;e of their power; But tho&s;e Judgments which were to ruine their &s;tate are expre&s;&s;ed to be a vengeance for the Blood of all the Martyrs, that had been &s;lain by that Empire.</P>
<P>And as the &s;etting up uncertain Tradition for the Rule of Faith by the Jews in our Saviour's time, while they were building the Sepulchres of the Prophets, who were &s;lain for the Word of God, was the leading crime of the Jewi&s;h Church in tho&s;e days: So was Tradition coming in for the Rule of Faith into the Chri&s;tian Church ju&s;t before the judgments of the Trumpets, while at the &s;ame time they were rai&s;ing Churches upon the Sepulchres of tho&s;e Martyrs, which had been &s;lain for te&s;tifying the Word of God to be the only rule of their judgments, and actions.</P>
<P>But to make the ca&s;e of the Jews in our Saviour's time, &s;till more parallel to that of the Chri&s;tian Romans after the conver&s;ion of the Empire, it may be further ob|&s;erved, That as the ruine of the Jewi&s;h &s;tate was defer|red till after their rejection of the Me&s;&s;ias, which did make it evident, that there was no further hopes to be had of their Repentance and Reformation: So were the Judgments of the Trumpets deferred till after the appear|ance of Chri&s;tianity upon the Imperial Throne of the Romans, and till after their continuance notwith&s;tanding it in the &s;ame Spirit of cruelty and oppre&s;&s;ion towards their fellow Chri&s;tians. For this did al&s;o &s;how that there was no further hopes of Reformation from the Roman Empire in that re&s;pect.</P>
<PB N="61" REF="51">
<P> There was indeed this difference betwixt the ca&s;e of the Jews and the Chri&s;tian Romans, which made it a greater provocation in the Romans, That the la&s;t per&s;ecuting Spirit of the Jews before the Judgments, that brought them to their ruine, did make u&s;e of little el&s;e, but the power of their Church to affright the Con&s;ciences of Men from the Chri&s;tian Faith; For the Civil Sword was before taken out of their Hands. But the Laws which were made by the Chri&s;tian Roman Emperors again&s;t all that complied not with the Roman Religion, were enforced by the &s;u|pream Authority of the State.</P>
<P>It is certain that the Trumpets can in no other &s;en&s;e be called a vengeance upon the Empire, turned Chri&s;tian, for the Blood of the Martyrs mentioned in the fifth Seal, who were &s;lain by Pagan Emperors, but only for their like per&s;ecutions of their fellow Chri&s;tians, which made the Blood of all the Martyrs of God, that ever were &s;lain by that Empire or Nation to be required at their hands: As the Blood of all the Prophets was charged upon that one Generation of the Jews, who per&s;ecuted the Church of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>And in this the Calamities that befel the Roman Empire, when turned Chri&s;tian, did exactly re&s;emble the mi&s;eries of the Jews about the de&s;truction of <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> when a great part of that Nation were become Chri&s;tians; For as tho&s;e Calamities fell generally upon the gro&s;s Body of the Na|tion of the Jews, and the Chri&s;tians did generally e&s;cape them: So al&s;o is the &s;ecurity of the true Members of the Chri&s;tian Church in the time of the Trumpets here &s;ig|nified by the 144000, who were &s;ealed to e&s;cape tho&s;e Judg|ments.</P>
<PB N="62" REF="52">
<PB N="63" REF="52">
<PB N="64" REF="53">
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="5" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="65" REF="53">
<HEAD>CHAP. V.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>The Plagues of the Trumpets parallel to the encrea&s;e of the degeneracy of the Church. An Analy&s;is of the Prophetical Schemes from the Fir&s;t Trumpet in the Eighth Chapter up to the Fifth Seal in the Sixth Chapter. And the nece&s;&s;ity of their Application, fir&s;t from the Signification of the Schemes, and the order in which they are placed. And then from the remarkablene&s;s of the Events, which required &s;uch a Prophetical Scene to repre&s;ent them. The direct order of the &s;ame Application from the Fifth Seal to the Fir&s;t Trumpet. The Schemes before the time of the ri&s;e of the Bea&s;t in the Twelfth Chapter parallel'd with tho&s;e in the Sixth, Seventh and Eighth Chapters.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>THe Account, that has been given in the preceding Di&s;cour&s;e, of the moving Cau&s;e of the Judgments of the Trumpets does make it &s;ufficiently manife&s;t, that the degeneracy of the Roman Church or Empire mu&s;t be accounted at lea&s;t from the fir&s;t beginning of the &s;ounding of the Trumpets. For &s;ince the Trumpets are a revenge for the Chri&s;tian Blood that was &s;hed before the Empire was <NOTE PLACE="marg">Theor. 13. and Con&s;eq. 3. Theor. 19.</NOTE> converted, there mu&s;t be fir&s;t &s;ome great Provocation after the Conver&s;ion of the Imperial Throne, that could bring that former Blood upon their Heads; And &s;ince the Provocation mu&s;t be &s;ome acts of Cruelty towards Chri|&s;tians, &s;ome way like tho&s;e of the Heathen Emperors, as we &s;ee in our Saviour's In&s;tance of the Jews, this Provo|cation can be nothing but the per&s;ecuting of their Fellow-Chri&s;tians, who were &s;incere and con&s;cientious in their Ser|vice and Wor&s;hip of God. For that was the Crime for <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 6. 1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">, 11.</NOTE> which God's Vengeance was de&s;ired and &s;olicited, and for the continuance of which it was al&s;o promi&s;ed to be granted.</P>
<PB N="66" REF="54">
<P> This then does now &s;hew us a very plain di&s;tinction betwixt the fir&s;t Conception of the malignity of the Bea&s;t, (together with the &s;everal Proce&s;&s;es of his growth in the Womb of the Roman Empire) And his fir&s;t Birth and Appearance.</P>
<P>For one may ob&s;erve, that the bounds of the Plagues of the fir&s;t four Trumpets reach no farther than to the end of <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 4.</NOTE> the Power of the <HI>Goths</HI> in <HI>Italy,</HI> or at farthe&s;t but to the fir&s;t beginning of <HI>Ju&s;tinian</HI>'s Reign, and &s;o do extend no farther than to about the fir&s;t times of the Bea&s;t; But the three la&s;t Trumpets do come all after that time.</P>
<P>And this does give a very accountable Rea&s;on of the va&s;t di&s;proportion betwixt the Plagues of the four fir&s;t Trumpets, and tho&s;e of the three la&s;t. The Plagues of the four fir&s;t were proportioned to the nature of the Provocations for which they were inflicted; which being but the fir&s;t en|deavours and beginnings only of the malignity of the Bea&s;t in the Civil Power, had Judgments accordingly proportioned to them of no very long continuance upon the Empire. But the three la&s;t Woes being Judgments upon them after that the Tyranny of the Bea&s;t was come to its full ap|pearance in confederacy with the fal&s;e Prophet newly ad|vanced to the Spiritual Monarchy, were va&s;tly more dreadful. And the fury of this Tyranny being &s;till much more whetted on by the encrea&s;e and exerci&s;e of the Papal Power, ju&s;t before the founding of the Sixth Trumpet, or the beginning of the Turki&s;h Empire, the Woe of that Trumpet is accor|dingly much heavier and of longer continuance than that of the Fifth.</P>
<P>It may hereupon be imagined, that &s;ince the Bea&s;t was tran&s;lated from the Ea&s;tern Empire to the We&s;tern at the <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Anno</HI> 800.</NOTE> inve&s;ting of <HI>Charlemaign</HI> with the Imperial Dignity, the Ea&s;tern Empire &s;hould have been no longer the Object of the Plagues of the Trumpets.</P>
<P>But it is known, that though the Succe&s;&s;ion of the Line of the Bea&s;t, as Head of the City of <HI>Rome,</HI> might fall into the Family and Succe&s;&s;ors of <HI>Charlemaign,</HI> yet the Ea&s;tern Emperor mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily be a great Limb of him, becau&s;e they retained &s;till the &s;ame per&s;ecuting Laws for Uniformity and Conformity to the Roman Church in tho&s;e Parts, which they had received from their Predece&s;&s;ors while they were the &s;ole
<PB N="67" REF="54"> Heads of the Roman Church. And their differences from the We&s;tern Church in &s;ome few In&s;tances did not hinder them from being much the &s;ame for the main; As we &s;ee at this pre&s;ent in the differences betwixt the Gallican and the Roman Church.</P>
<P>Wherefore the Ea&s;tern and We&s;tern Emperors after that Divi&s;ion in <HI>Leo I&s;aurus</HI>'s time &s;eem in this re&s;pect to be much the &s;ame one Head of the Bea&s;t, that they had been in <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Anno</HI> 730.</NOTE> the &s;ame kind of Divi&s;ion of the Seats of the Empire be|fore the fall of the We&s;tern Empire in <HI>Augu&s;tulus;</HI> And though there was no &s;uch con&s;ent betwixt them in matters of Civil Government as there had anciently been, yet they both agreed in their joynt de&s;igns for the advancement of the Honour of the former Roman Church in each of their Divi&s;ions, as the &s;ole Rule of Faith, according to the Defini|tions of the ancient Roman Councils.</P>
<P>But if the Hi&s;tory of the Ea&s;tern Empire be more nar|rowly and particularly &s;earched into, it will be found, that the Ea&s;tern Empire was in a perfect conformity to the Roman We&s;tern Church for all material Points, and even about the Wor&s;hip of Images and the Supremacy of the Pope for &s;ome con&s;iderable part of the Reigns of tho&s;e Ea&s;tern Princes, who came betwixt the Excommunication of <HI>Leo I&s;aurus</HI> and the end of the Con&s;tantinopolitan Empire. And this is very plainly &s;ignified to be the cau&s;e of the Suc|ce&s;s of the Turks again&s;t the Ea&s;tern Empire by what is &s;aid of the behaviour of the We&s;tern Romani&s;ts under the &s;econd Woe, <HI>Rev.</HI> 9. 20. <HI>That the re&s;t repented not.</HI> For that &s;hews that tho&s;e who were &s;aid before to have been <HI>killed</HI> by that Woe, were puni&s;hed for the &s;ame fault of which the re&s;t would not repent them&s;elves. And it is known to be the Ea&s;tern Empire that is there repre&s;ented by the third part of Men that are &s;aid to be killed by the &s;econd Woe.</P>
<P>Wherefore the Turks in the Sixth Trumpet may now very well be e&s;teemed a Judgment upon the Ea&s;tern Empire for its &s;hare in the party of the Bea&s;t, notwith&s;tanding the Ex|communication of the Greek Emperor out of the We&s;tern Roman Church. For he was &s;till the Roman Emperor in far the bigge&s;t remainder of the Empire, and u&s;ed very often much
<PB N="68" REF="55"> the &s;ame kind of Tyranny over the Con&s;cience that had been in u&s;e among his Predece&s;&s;ors; And that al&s;o upon much the &s;ame Plea, <HI>viz.</HI> the Divine Authority of the former Councils of the Roman Church.</P>
<P>It is not difficult after the &s;tating of the beginning of the fir&s;t four Trumpets, to di&s;cover the intent of all the Actions <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 8.</NOTE> that are de&s;cribed to precede them in order from the end of the fifth Seal; And the be&s;t way to perform it will be to begin with tho&s;e which are the neare&s;t to the Fir&s;t Trumpet, and &s;o to trace them upward from thence, as from things that are already known, and &s;o mo&s;t likely to determine the nature of tho&s;e that are next them, according to the method that has been already u&s;ed for finding out the &s;ignification of the fir&s;t Trumpets.</P>
<P>It is very plain at fir&s;t view, that the Angels ca&s;ting the <HI>fire of the Altar upon the earth,</HI> upon which followed Voices, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 5.</NOTE> and Thunderings, and Lightnings, and an Earthquake, mu&s;t &s;ig|nifie great Judgments that were then coming upon the Earth. For be&s;ides the natural &s;ignification of tho&s;e Expre&s;&s;ions for that purpo&s;e, immediately upon it the &s;even Angels which had the &s;even Trumpets are &s;aid to prepare them&s;elves to &s;ound, that is, to bring on tho&s;e Calamities, which were the bu&s;ine&s;s of the Trumpets.</P>
<P>And then, when it is con&s;idered that this Fire of the Al|tar was ca&s;t out of the &s;ame <HI>Cen&s;er out of which the &s;moak of the Incen&s;e</HI> had ju&s;t before <HI>a&s;cended up before God, with the Prayers of the Saints,</HI> and that al&s;o out of the hand of the &s;ame Angel, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver 3.</NOTE> and that the a&s;cending up of the Prayers of the Saints with the Incen&s;e before God &s;ignifies their being accepted and well-plea&s;ing to God, it may very rea&s;onably be concluded, That the Plagues of the Trumpets were Judgments upon the Empire upon the account of tho&s;e Saints that offered up their prayers to God, and were accepted and heard; which, according to what has been declared to be the rea&s;on of the Plagues of the Trumpets, would &s;ignifie, that tho&s;e Prayers were the Complaints of tho&s;e who were pro&s;ecuted by the Roman Powers, from the fir&s;t beginning of the &s;ounding of the Trumpets to the end of them.</P>
<PB N="69" REF="55">
<P> E&s;pecially if it be con&s;idered, that the&s;e Prayers of the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 8. Ver. 2. Ver. 5 &amp; 6.</NOTE> Saints with the Incen&s;e are placed ju&s;t after the fir&s;t appearance of the Angels with the &s;even Trumpets, and ju&s;t before the &s;hew of the Judgments, for which the Angels with the &s;even Trumpets are &s;aid to prepare them&s;elves to &s;ound.</P>
<P>There is al&s;o, ju&s;t before that fir&s;t mention of the Angels with the &s;even Trumpets, another circum&s;tance to &s;ignifie the Prayers of the Saints to be ju&s;t at hand, and that is, that there was <HI>&s;ilence in heaven for half an hour.</HI> For this Silence joyned with the offering up of the Incen&s;e is a manife&s;t <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 1.</NOTE> allu&s;ion to the cu&s;tom in the Temple of offering up the Prayers in &s;ilence at the time of Incen&s;e, as Mr. <HI>Mede</HI> has ob&s;erved. So that now here appears no fewer than four interchanges betwixt the Prayers of the Saints and the Trum|pets to &s;hew their immediate relation to one another. <HI>Fir&s;t</HI> the Silence to &s;ignifie the time of Incen&s;e and Prayer, then <HI>next</HI> the appearance of the &s;even Angels with the &s;even Trumpets immediately upon it; And <HI>then</HI> the offering up the Prayers with the Incen&s;e; And <HI>la&s;tly,</HI> the execution of the Judgments of the Trumpets.</P>
<P>When to this it is added, That the Prayers and the Judg|ments are conveyed by the &s;ame Cen&s;er, and by the &s;ame <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 3, 4, 5.</NOTE> Angel, and that the Judgments are returned down upon Earth by the &s;ame Cen&s;er, ju&s;t immediately after that the Smoak of the Incen&s;e with the Prayers of the Saints, which had been offered up by it, was a&s;cended up before God,&mdash;when they thus appear to have &s;o plain a Relation of Cau&s;e and Effect to one another, it is very hard to withhold from determining that the Prayers of all the Saints with the Incen&s;e mu&s;t be the immediate moving cau&s;e of tho&s;e Judgments; And therefore that tho&s;e Prayers mu&s;t be the Complaints of tho&s;e Chri&s;tians to God that were per&s;ecuted by the Roman Go|vernors from the fir&s;t times, that that Spirit of Per&s;ecution appeared in the Roman Emperors.</P>
<P>But if all the&s;e different interfering mentions of the Prayers of the Saints and the Judgments of the Trumpets &s;hould only &s;ignifie a meer Priority of Order, and not <HI>really</HI> any Cau&s;ality or Effect upon one another, then by the fir&s;t bare mention only of the Angels with the &s;even Trumpets, ju&s;t
<PB N="70" REF="56"> before the time of Incen&s;e and the Prayers of all the Saints <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 8.</NOTE> is to be under&s;tood the readine&s;s of tho&s;e Angels to begin <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 3, 4, 5.</NOTE> the Judgments of the Seventh Seal at the fir&s;t opening of it, but that the execution of them is deferred till the fir&s;t Zeal and Devotion of the true Chri&s;tian Roman Church (after the Conver&s;ion of the Empire) was over, after which it was a very convenient &s;ea&s;on to begin the Vengeance promi&s;ed to the Martyrs in the Fifth Seal.</P>
<P>However in either of tho&s;e ways it appears, that at the opening of the Seventh Seal the Judgments of the Trum|pets are ju&s;t ready at hand, and that they are the chief bu&s;ine&s;s of that Seal. For they are introduced immediately upon the opening of that Seal. So that though there &s;hould be a &s;ignification in it of the pure &s;tate of the Chri|&s;tian Church before the Trumpets by the Prayers of the Saints, yet it appears to be but of a very &s;hort con|tinuance.</P>
<P>For it is repre&s;ented fir&s;t by the half hours &s;ilence at the time of Incen&s;e and Prayer in the Temple; And that critical <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 1.</NOTE> Determination of it to that &s;pace of time in the words of the Prophecy, mu&s;t be apprehended to &s;ignifie the &s;hortne&s;s of the time, that tho&s;e Devotions &s;hould continue before the coming on of the Plagues of the Judgments. The Angels <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 2.</NOTE> with the Trumpets are al&s;o repre&s;ented as ju&s;t ready to exe|cute tho&s;e Judgments at the fir&s;t mention of that half hour, the time of which had al&s;o been before &s;ignified to be ju&s;t at hand by the Sealing of the 144000 in the Seventh Chap|ter before the opening of the Seventh Seal.</P>
<P>All which does extremely well agree with the &s;hort time of the free &s;tate of the whole Chri&s;tian Church after <HI>Con&s;tan|tine</HI>'s Death. It began to be the Spirit of the Imperial Au|thority &s;oon after that time to make &s;evere Laws about mat|ters of mere Con&s;cience, to force Men to a conformity to the Roman Church again&s;t their Wills and Judgments; And the Judgments of the Trumpets did immediately follow upon it.</P>
<P>And further, that the time of the Trumpets could not be long after the Conver&s;ion of the Empire by <HI>Con&s;tantine,</HI> is al&s;o apparent from the place where the <HI>great multitude</HI> &s;aid to be come out of the great Tribulation are found; And that
<PB N="71" REF="56"> is betwixt the Sealing of the 144000, and the Seventh Seal. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 7. 9.</NOTE> For the Sealing of the 144000 is known to &s;ignifie that the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Theor. 4.</NOTE> Judgments of the Trumpets were not then far of; And yet betwixt that and the execution of them there is de&s;cribed that <HI>great multitude</HI> come out of the great Tribulation, which has been found to be the la&s;t end of the Heathen Emperors, and of their Per&s;ecutions, <HI>(Theor</HI> 16.) And immediately after that appears the opening of the Seventh Seal, the fir&s;t &s;hew of which is the appearance of the Angels with the &s;even Trumpets. This does very plainly &s;ignifie that the end of <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 8. 1.</NOTE> the Pagan Per&s;ecution, and the beginning of the Plagues of the Trumpets were very near one another, if not immediately after.</P>
<P>And yet &s;ince the Sealing of the 144000 comes in before <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 7.</NOTE> the great multitude, one would think that that &s;hould &s;ig|nifie &s;ome providential de&s;ign to &s;ecure the faithful part of the true Church from tho&s;e evils before the end of the Hea|then Per&s;ecutions; Which &s;eems &s;omething difficult to comprehend at the fir&s;t view. For it might &s;eem to have been more proper to have put the Sealing of the 144000 ju&s;t before the executing of the Plagues of the Seventh Seal, again&s;t which they were &s;ecured.</P>
<P>But that may ea&s;ily be thus accounted for. In the Fifth Seal there was a Promi&s;e of Revenge given to all tho&s;e <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 6. 11.</NOTE> that were then killed, to be fulfilled, when <HI>the re&s;t of their Brethren</HI> that were to be martyr'd, as they were, &s;hould be &s;lain. Immediately upon this, at the opening of the Sixth Seal, does follow a dreadful appearance of a Vengeance <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 15, 16.</NOTE> that was very near approaching with a great change of the Government of the Empire. It was then very natural to put in the Exception to this general Threat that was going to be executed; And &s;o do we find the Seventh Chapter en|tring after the terrors of the Sixth Seal with a delay of exe|cution <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 7. 2.</NOTE> till the 144000 were &s;ealed to e&s;cape it. After which comes the <HI>great multitude</HI> out of the great Tribulation, or that <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 9.</NOTE> killing of the re&s;t of the Brethren which was &s;et up in the Fifth Seal, as the Mark to di&s;cern the time of the promi&s;ed <NOTE PLACE="marg">Theor. 1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> Vengeance by; And pre&s;ently after that opens the Seventh <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 8.</NOTE> Seal, with the appearance of the Trumpets which were to bring on tho&s;e Calamities that had been threatned.</P>
<PB N="72" REF="57">
<P> So that the Sealing of the 144000 is but only to follow the decorum of the &s;ubject that was then in hand, or to put in the Exception in the &s;ame place where the Vengeance was repre&s;ented to be <HI>general</HI> or <HI>univer&s;al.</HI> For the excepting of the 144000 is pre&s;ently after the mention of the panick fear that all the World was in for the Wrath of God, that <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 6. 16.</NOTE> was fore&s;een in the Sixth Seal.</P>
<P>It is al&s;o evident from the expre&s;s words of the fifth Seal, That the Calamities of the Trumpets were to be very &s;oon after the end of the Pagan Emperors. For the Vengeance is there promi&s;ed to be within <HI>a little &s;ea&s;on</HI> after that time; <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 6. 11.</NOTE> And the Expiration of that little &s;ea&s;on is al&s;o further deter|mined to be out when the re&s;t of the Brethren &s;hould be all killed, which has been found to &s;ignifie the end of the Pagan <NOTE PLACE="marg">Con&s;eq. Theor. 16.</NOTE> Emperors, and of all their Per&s;ecutions. So that the Trum|pets mu&s;t begin to &s;ound at farthe&s;t &s;oon after the time of <HI>Julian</HI> the Apo&s;tate.</P>
<P>And &s;ince the end of the Pagan Per&s;ecutions is repre&s;ented <NOTE PLACE="marg">Theor. 12. &amp; 16. Chap. 7.</NOTE> by the <HI>great multitude</HI> come out of great Tribulation, which are de&s;cribed as coming after the time of the Sixth Seal: That great change of the State that is &s;et out in the Sixth Seal ju&s;t before them by the Eclip&s;es of the Sun and Moon, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 6. 12.</NOTE> and the change of the Stars, mu&s;t according to the u&s;e of the&s;e Prophetical Schemes nece&s;&s;arily denote the Conver&s;ion of the Imperial Throne to the Chri&s;tian Faith in <HI>Con&s;tantine.</HI> For the Effect of it is a very dreadful apprehen&s;ion of an ap|proaching De&s;truction by all tho&s;e that had been the Enemies of him that &s;at upon the Throne, and of the Lamb, or the ruine of all the Enemies of the Chri&s;tian Church, ju&s;t after the Martyrdoms in the Fifth Seal, which are known to be the Per&s;ecutions under Heathen Emperors, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 16.) And there is nothing in the Hi&s;tory of tho&s;e times that can any ways an&s;wer that De&s;cription, but the beginning of the Con|ver&s;ion of the Empire, and of the ruine of the Pagan Rule in it by <HI>Con&s;tantine.</HI></P>
<P>But le&s;t any &s;hould imagine, that the terrors of the &s;ixth Seal are the <HI>vengeance, that is promi&s;ed</HI> to the Martyrs in the fifth Seal, it mu&s;t be remembred, That the <HI>great Tribulation,</HI> out of which the great multitude in the &s;eventh Chapter are &s;aid to be come, cannot be any thing el&s;e but the &s;ame
<PB N="73" REF="57"> kind of per&s;ecution, in which the re&s;t of the Brethren mentioned in the fifth Seal were to be killed, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 12.) <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 6. 11.</NOTE> <HI>before</HI> the end of which per&s;ecution the <HI>vengeance there promi&s;ed</HI> was not to begin; And that great Tribulation mu&s;t nece&s;|&s;arily be <HI>after</HI> the opening of the &s;ixth Seal, according as it is de&s;cribed, becau&s;e it is found to continue till ju&s;t before the Calamities of the Trumpets, which are the bu&s;ine&s;s of <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 7. 9, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> Ver. 3, 4.</NOTE> the &s;eventh Seal, and is placed betwixt the &s;ealing of the 144000 (which intimates the evils of the Trumpets to be then ju&s;t at hand) and the real beginning of tho&s;e <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 8. 1.</NOTE> evils.</P>
<P>Be&s;ides if we &s;hould regard nothing but the expre&s;&s;ions of the fifth Seal, it &s;eems very plain, that the vengeance there promi&s;ed mu&s;t be after the time of the Calamities of the &s;ixth Seal. For it is confined to <HI>a little &s;ea&s;on</HI> after <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 6. 11.</NOTE> tho&s;e Martyrs in the fifth Seal; And that <HI>little &s;ea&s;on</HI> al&s;o determined to reach to the end of all per&s;ecution of that kind, in which the re&s;t of the Martyrs were to be <HI>killed, as they were.</HI> Now the&s;e <HI>re&s;t of the Brethren</HI> could not be killed in the period of the fifth Seal; For they are di&s;tin|gui&s;hed from tho&s;e, who are made the bu&s;ine&s;s of that Seal. And the Calamities of the &s;ixth Seal appear at the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 12.</NOTE> fir&s;t opening of it after the fifth Seal; There is therefore no place before them for the killing of the re&s;t of the Brethren. They cannot therefore be that <HI>vengeance,</HI> which in the fifth Seal is promi&s;ed to come after the killing of them.</P>
<P>Wherefore &s;ince the Contents of the &s;ixth Seal are placed before the end of all Pagan Per&s;ecution, and yet are a very great &s;how of Judgment upon the Enemies of the Lamb, who at that time could be none but Pagans, they cannot tolerably be apprehended to be any thing el&s;e, but the beginning of the ruine of Pagani&s;m, which was not compleated before the perfect end of all Pagan Power in the Government, and the entire triumph of the Chri&s;tian Church; And that was not till many Years after the Con|ver&s;ion of <HI>Con&s;tantine,</HI> But the continued decay, and weak|ning of that Intere&s;t, from the fir&s;t change of the Imperial Throne, is very emphatically expre&s;&s;ed by the characters of the things in the &s;ixth Seal.</P>
<PB N="74" REF="58">
<P> If it &s;hould be objected, That tho&s;e expre&s;&s;ions in the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 6. 12, <HI>&amp;c.</HI></NOTE> Prophets do never &s;ignifie any thing le&s;s, than the total &s;ubver&s;ion of that State, of which they are &s;poken, it is to be con&s;idered, that the expre&s;&s;ions in them&s;elves have no manner of direct &s;ignification for any &s;uch thing. They are equally capable of being under&s;tood of the ruine of any &s;ort of People; And the time of this Ruine and De&s;truction being confined in the Prophecy to the Pagan State of the Roman Empire, it cannot be under&s;tood of any thing el&s;e, but of the ruine of that.</P>
<P>THE EVENT does confirm all the Application that has been made of the Actions before the fir&s;t Trumpet, pa&s;t all &s;cruple. For as there mu&s;t have been one of the Seals to &s;ignifie &s;o dreadful a &s;tate of the Church, as the <HI>Dio|cle&s;ian</HI> Per&s;ecution; &s;o mu&s;t there have been another to &s;ignifie the change of the Empire by <HI>Con&s;tantine;</HI> And this la&s;t Seal, to an&s;wer the order of events in Hi&s;tory, mu&s;t have begun, as the &s;ixth Seal does, before the la&s;t end of all Pagan Per&s;ecution; But then, after that, and before the ex|ecution of the <HI>vengeance, that was promi&s;ed</HI> in the fifth Seal, there mu&s;t al&s;o have been a de&s;cription of the end of all Pagan Per&s;ecution, as there is at the end of the &s;ixth Seal, becau&s;e it is expre&s;ly &s;aid, in the fifth Seal, That after the re&s;t of the Brethren &s;hould be killed, the Martyrs, &s;aid there to have been already &s;lain, &s;hould be avenged; And the multitude come out of Tribulation, ju&s;t before the Trum|pets, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 7. 9.</NOTE> does exactly an&s;wer this.</P>
<P>But yet that <HI>revenge</HI> could not come, before the Chri&s;tian Church had put on the Spirit of tho&s;e, that killed the Mar|tyrs in the fifth Seal, and therefore ought there before the Trumpets to be, as there is (Chap. 8. 3, 4, 5.) a &s;ig|nification of the per&s;ecuting methods of the Chri&s;tian Em|perors, which brought down that vengeance upon their heads, which was promi&s;ed for the Blood of the Martyrs that was &s;hed under the Pagans.</P>
<PB N="75" REF="58">
<P> BY the method which has been u&s;ed to determine the Application of the fir&s;t four Trumpets, it appears what is to be under&s;tood by all the Actions, that are recorded be|twixt the fifth Seal, and the fir&s;t Trumpet: And after this particular Analy&s;is of all the my&s;tical Repre&s;entations of this part of the Prophecy, it will now be not unplea|&s;ant, to take a more direct view of the order and dependance of them upon one another, according to that <HI>&s;eries</HI> in which they lye, and to ob&s;erve how exactly they an&s;wer to the events of tho&s;e times, to which they are applied.</P>
<P>THE fifth Seal is a very lively Repre&s;entation of the fierce&s;t Per&s;ecution of the Chri&s;tian Church under the Pa|gan Emperors, and that but <HI>a little &s;ea&s;on</HI> before the la&s;t end of all Pagan Power. This does extreamly well agree with <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 6. 11.</NOTE> the Per&s;ecution under <HI>Diocletian,</HI> ju&s;t before the appearance of Chri&s;tianity upon the Throne.</P>
<P>But then it is there foretold, That the&s;e judgments, which the Blood of tho&s;e Martyrs did cry for from Heaven, &s;hould not be executed, till the <HI>re&s;t of their Brethren</HI> were killed; <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ibid.</NOTE> Which &s;uits very well with the continuance of the Per|&s;ecutions of the Church in &s;ome parts of the Empire after the end of that fierce Storm in the Reign of <HI>Diocletian,</HI> and after the Conver&s;ion of <HI>Con&s;tantine. Maximinus</HI> and <HI>Maxen|tius,</HI> and after them <HI>Licinius</HI> did exerci&s;e very Barbarous Cruel|ties again&s;t the <HI>Church after that</HI> time. The accurate <HI>Petavi|us</HI> &s;ays of <HI>Maximinus</HI> alone, That the <HI>Martyred an innumerable</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rationer. Temp. Part.</HI> 1. <HI>in Maximino.</HI> V. 12.</NOTE> <HI>multitude.</HI> Accordingly do we find in the fir&s;t place after the&s;e Predictions the &s;ixth Seal opening with the &s;ignifications of a very eminent change in the Governing part of the Empire, with the approaching ruine of the Enemies of the Church; And <HI>Con&s;tantine</HI>'s appearance upon the Throne with the figure of the Cro&s;s, and the promi&s;ing Motto of it, <HI>In hoc &s;igno vince,</HI> ought not to have any ordinary characters to &s;et it out by. The change of Pagani&s;m for the triumphant appearance of the Chri&s;tian Church upon the Imperial Throne, did require as emphatical Characters to expre&s;s it by, as the de&s;truction of any other Monarchy, that tyran|nized over the Church, for which tho&s;e high expre&s;&s;ions are
<PB N="76" REF="59"> made u&s;e of by the Prophets. And there is nothing in that lively expre&s;&s;ion of the general Panick Fear of <NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 15, 16.</NOTE> that whole party in the &s;ixth Seal, which was not lite|rally fulfilled in the voluntary retirements of <HI>Diocletian</HI> and <HI>Maximian</HI> from the Throne, and the recantations of <HI>Maximinus.</HI></P>
<P>And as the time &s;eemed now to be come for the ven|geance to be executed, that was promi&s;ed to the Mar|tyrs in the fifth Seal, &s;o do we find an univer&s;al dread of <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ibid.</NOTE> it in this Seal; And immediately after it the mention of tho&s;e of the True Church, who were to e&s;cape it, and to <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 7. 4.</NOTE> be &s;ecured from feeling it, in the &s;ealing of the 144000.</P>
<P>That &s;ealing did plainly &s;hew, That the time was ju&s;t at hand for the Judgments, which were threatned; And there|fore there wanted nothing now to bring them on, but the end of that great Per&s;ecution, in which the re&s;t of the Chri&s;tian Martyrs, in the fifth Seal, were to be killed; There is therefore next introduced the great multitude of all Nations, that are &s;aid to be come out of the great Tribulation, <NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 9.</NOTE> which &s;ignifies the whole number of tho&s;e that were to be killed all over the World by the Heathen Emperors, to be now compleated.</P>
<P>Wherefore pre&s;ently after this is the &s;eventh Seal open|ed, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 8. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.</NOTE> with the appearance of the Judgments of the Trum|pets, and <HI>the Prayers of the Saints</HI> that were heard for the execution of tho&s;e Judgments, ju&s;t as it was made good in effect by the beginning of the irruptions of the Bar|barous Nations upon the Roman Empire &s;oon after the end of all the Heathen Emperors.</P>
<P>But that the promi&s;ed vengeance was not to fall upon the Empire, while it continued Pagan, is &s;ufficiently &s;hown by the intimation in the fifth Seal, that it was not to be fulfilled till after the end of all Heathen Per&s;ecution; And that could not be till the Pagan Government was de&s;troy|ed. This &s;hows the difference that there is betwixt the Judgments of the &s;ixth, and tho&s;e of the &s;eventh Seal; For now it appears that the objects of the &s;ixth Seal was <HI>Rome</HI> Pagan, but tho&s;e of the &s;eventh, <HI>Rome</HI> Chri&s;tian degene|rated.</P>
<PB N="77" REF="59">
<P> The Judgments of the Trumpets then were to be ex|ecuted upon <HI>Rome</HI> Chri&s;tian, but not till <HI>Rome</HI> Chri&s;tian had be|gun to bring the guilt of its own Martyrs upon its head, by following the &s;ame cruel methods of Government to|wards its fellow Chri&s;tians, as were in exerci&s;e by the Heathen Emperors. For the Roman Empire mu&s;t be fir&s;t fitted for the Wrath of God, before that wrath could be executed upon it; And it was &s;ufficiently declared in the Prophecy, what provocations they &s;hould be, that &s;hould fit them for tho&s;e Judgments, and that by the nature of them, as they were a revenge for the Blood of Martyrs. Nothing could make them a &s;ubject of God's revenge for the &s;hedding of Chri&s;tian Blood by their Heathen Pre|dece&s;&s;ors, but the &s;ame kind of Spirit and Actions in them|&s;elves.</P>
<P>This does excellently well &s;uit with the practices of tho&s;e times, when the fir&s;t Trumpet began to be &s;ounded; For ju&s;t before that irruption of the Barbarous Nations upon the Empire, the Chri&s;tian Emperors had begun to exerci&s;e great-Cruelties towards tho&s;e who complied not with them, and to make unmerciful Laws again&s;t them; which though they enjoyn'd not &s;uch corruptions as tho&s;e after|wards in the time of the Bea&s;t, yet were they &s;ufficient to make the Lives of Di&s;&s;enters very unea&s;ie to them, and to affright them out of their &s;incerity; And this Spirit continued in them to the time of the ri&s;e of the Bea&s;t, with &s;ome &s;mall intervals of toleration in the Ea&s;tern Empire. There were then manife&s;t provocations enough to fit them for the Calamities of the fir&s;t four Trumpets; And then, after the time of the ri&s;e of the Bea&s;t, there needs no enquiry to be made for the rea&s;ons of the far greater evils in the fifth and &s;ixth Trumpet.</P>
<P>AND NOW by the whole proce&s;s of the&s;e figures, from the time of the fifth Seal to the ri&s;e of the Bea&s;t, we may di&s;cern a very exact re&s;emblance betwixt the de|&s;cription of the State of the Church in this part of the Prophecy, and that de&s;cription which we have of the &s;ame interval all along the Twelfth Chapter. It will be very
<PB N="78" REF="60"> convenient to compare them together, to &s;trengthen the Ap|plication that has been already made.</P>
<P>The <HI>cry of the Martyrs in the fifth Seal</HI> to expre&s;s the heavine&s;s <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 6. 11.</NOTE> of the Heathen Per&s;ecution, that they were under, is ju&s;t the &s;ame with the <HI>cry of the Woman traveling in birth,</HI> and in <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 12. 1, 2.</NOTE> great pain, which is known to &s;ignifie the Church under Hea|then Per&s;ecution, crying for deliverance by the Conver&s;ion of the Imperial Throne.</P>
<P>The <HI>opening of the &s;ixth Seal</HI> immediately after, with all tho&s;e <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 6. 12.</NOTE> great Significations of the change of an Empire, is very well fitted to expre&s;s the great change of the Scene from Pa|gani&s;m to Chri&s;tianity upon the Throne, and is of the &s;ame &s;ignification with the <HI>Womans being delivered of a Man-child</HI> who was to rule all Nations with a Rod of Iron, and the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 12. 5.</NOTE> taking up of that Child to the Throne of God, which is known to denote an advancement to the Royal Seat of a Kingdom.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t mention of the <HI>Womans flying into the Wilderne&s;s</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 12. 6.</NOTE> before &s;he actually did it, does extremely re&s;emble the men|tion of the <HI>&s;ealing of the</HI> 144000 before the time of the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 7. 4.</NOTE> evils that they were &s;ealed again&s;t; Though I take the fir&s;t beginning of the time of the 144000 to be long before the time of the Woman in the Wilderne&s;s. But as her fir&s;t flying into the Wilderne&s;s &s;ignifies her preparation only for it from the very time of her Delivery, and the advancement of her Son to the Throne. So does that an&s;wer the fir&s;t &s;ealing of the 144000 before the real danger again&s;t which they were &s;ealed was come. But by both Figures is &s;igni|fied a very early Preparation of the Roman Church for the Judgments of God by &s;ome general degeneracy from the true Chri&s;tian Spirit.</P>
<P>The dreadful circum&s;tances of the change of the Empire in the &s;ixth Seal, &s;o as to make the <HI>Kings of the Earth hide them|&s;elves</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 12. 16.</NOTE> with the Intimations of the Executions of God's Wrath upon the then great Enemies of the Lamb, is a particular account of the Tragical Effects of the <HI>War of Michael and his</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 12. 7, 8.</NOTE> <HI>Angels, with the Dragon and his Angels,</HI> ending with the ca&s;t|ing them out of Heaven, or from the Ruling Power and Pub|lick Exerci&s;e of the Pagan Religion.</P>
<PB N="79" REF="60">
<P> But the compleat Victory over them, and <HI>the ca&s;ting them</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 12. 9, 10, 11. Rev. 7. 10, 11, 12.</NOTE> <HI>down in effect</HI> is very livelily expre&s;&s;ed by <HI>the great multitude with white Robes, and Palms in their hands,</HI> who are &s;aid to be ju&s;t then come out of the great Tribulation. For all the cir|cum&s;tances of that Triumph that is expre&s;&s;ed to have been in Heaven at the ca&s;ting down of the Dragon and his Angels <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 12 10, 11, 12.</NOTE> are very particularly an&s;wered by the &s;ame kind of Phra&s;es in the De&s;cription of the Affairs of that multitude. There was in both the &s;ame <HI>crying,</HI> and that al&s;o <HI>with a loud</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 7. 10.</NOTE> <HI>voice in heaven.</HI></P>
<P>The words of their Triumphant Cry are much the &s;ame with that of the Multitude; it is in the one, <HI>Salvation to our</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 7. 10. Chap. 12. 10.</NOTE> <HI>God and to the Lamb;</HI> in the other, <HI>Now is come &s;alvation and &s;trength, and the kingdom of our God, and the Power of his Chri&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>Tho&s;e of the great Multitude are &s;aid to have come out <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 7. 14.</NOTE> of the great Tribulation, and to have wa&s;hed their Robes, and to have made them white in the Blood of the Lamb, and are de&s;cribed as Conquerors with Palms in their Hands.</P>
<P>And the <HI>Brethren</HI> in the Twelfth Chapter are &s;aid to have <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 11.</NOTE> overcome the Dragon by the Blood of the Lamb, and becau&s;e they loved not their Lives unto the Death.</P>
<P>The Heavens and tho&s;e that were in them are called to re|joyce <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 12. 12.</NOTE> at the overthrow of the Dragon.</P>
<P>And the Angels and Elders are repre&s;ented in Heaven with <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 7. 11, 12. Rev. 12. 12.</NOTE> the great Multitude, as actually rejoycing and &s;aying, <HI>Ble&s;&s;ing, and glory, and wi&s;dom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might be unto our God for ever and ever, Amen.</HI></P>
<P>After this Victory there is warning given of a time of Woe upon the Inhabiters of the Earth and Sea, from the Wrath of the Dragon: So al&s;o in the Seventh Chapter the evils of the Trumpets again&s;t which the 144000 were &s;ealed, are &s;ignified to come upon the Earth and Sea, but not till after the time of the Victorious Multitude there after mentioned. There is indeed this difference betwixt them, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 7. 2, 3.</NOTE> That the time of the Dragons Woe is de&s;igned by the Devil for the ruine of the Church; But the Evils of the Trumpets are de&s;igned by God to be Judgments upon the degenerate part of the Empire. It appears however in both places, that
<PB N="80" REF="61"> the gro&s;s Body of the new Chri&s;tian Empire, is the Object of the Dragons Woes, and the Calamities of the Trum|pets.</P>
<P>The Dragon begins the execution of the Woe, that was forewarned, with the Per&s;ecution of the Woman that brought <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 12. 13.</NOTE> forth the Man-child. His Intention was to de&s;troy the Church by it; But the Woman had two Wings given her to fly into the Wilderne&s;s to &s;ave her from it. Ju&s;t as the 144000 are &s;aid to be &s;ealed again&s;t the Evils of the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">. 3. 4.</NOTE> Trumpets.</P>
<P>But before the &s;ettlement of the Woman in the Wil|derne&s;s for the number of days, that are alotted to her abiding there, the Dragon is &s;aid to ca&s;t out a Flood af|ter <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 12. 15.</NOTE> her, to cau&s;e her to be carried away by it. As <HI>many Waters</HI> are interpreted by the Angel in the Seventeenth Chapter to &s;ignifie <HI>multitudes</HI> and <HI>Nations,</HI> &s;o mu&s;t a <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 15.</NOTE> Flood &s;ignifie a great inundation of People or Na|tions; And then, the Dragons Flood mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily be, all that inundation of the Barbarous Nations, which de&s;troyed the Roman Empire, and &s;hared it among them|&s;elves.</P>
<P>And &s;ince this Flood is here de&s;cribed as the la&s;t effort of the Dragon again&s;t the Church, till the time of the ri&s;e of the Bea&s;t in the Thirteenth Chapter. The time of this Flood mu&s;t be the whole time of the inundation of the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 8.</NOTE> Barbarous Nations upon the Empire, and therefore mu&s;t it be the &s;ame with the Calamities of all the fir&s;t four <NOTE PLACE="marg">See CHAP. IV.</NOTE> Trumpets.</P>
<P>To an&s;wer the fir&s;t four Trumpets, this time is indeed divided into four con&s;iderable Events, by which this Inva&s;ion gained upon the Empire, becau&s;e the four Trumpets do &s;ignifie &s;o many different Judgments upon the Roman Em|pire; But all the&s;e different parts of their &s;ucce&s;s being no ways con&s;iderable for endangering the Church, but only for their over-running the Empire like a Torrent, they might all very properly be comprehended under the Scheme of a <HI>Flood,</HI> which was the one general nature of them all, as they were the Devils malice again&s;t the Church.</P>
<PB N="81" REF="61">
<P> Thus then we &s;ee, that the next attempt of the Dragon again&s;t the purer part of the Church, does run parallel to the Judgments of the fir&s;t four Trumpets again&s;t the de|generate part of it; And &s;o the &s;ame Calamities, that the Devils malice did intend again&s;t the Church of God, are made the Executioners of the Wrath of God upon tho&s;e whom the Devil had in&s;pired to per&s;ecute them; And in this &s;en&s;e, is the Earth &s;aid to have <HI>helped the Woman by</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 12. 16.</NOTE> <HI>&s;wallowing up of the Flood,</HI> when tho&s;e Barbarous Nations came to have a fixed &s;ettlement in the Roman Empire, upon their de&s;troying of the We&s;tern Power of it, and their dividing it among&s;t them&s;elves. For by this the Roman Empire in tho&s;e parts came to be one &s;etled Ro|man Church in &s;o many divided Kingdoms, in which the True Church did &s;ojourn in Sackcloth and as in the Wil|derne&s;s. Thus &s;tood the Roman Empire ready pre|pared to be that confederacy, which is repre&s;ented by the Bea&s;t, and the Ten Kings, and which is immediately af|ter in the beginning of the Thirteenth Chapter &s;et out by a Bea&s;t <HI>ri&s;ing out of the Sea,</HI> (or out of this great <HI>Flood,</HI> that the Dragon poured out,) with Ten Horns, repre&s;enting &s;o many Kingdoms, &s;pringing out of this Inundation of People.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="6" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="82" REF="62">
<HEAD>CHAP. VI.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>The &s;ignification of the Characters of the Two Witne&s;&s;es demon&s;trated. Their Death fixed to the Suppre&s;&s;ion of the True Church in the Dominions of the Bea&s;t only. The Death of the Witne&s;&s;es no general Ma&s;&s;acre. Two</HI> general <HI>di&s;tinct Suppre&s;&s;ions of the True Church not po&s;|&s;ible. The Bodies of the Witne&s;&s;es kept from being buried, an Act of Friend&s;hip. This attributed to Peoples, Tongues and Nations, denotes the A&s;&s;i&s;tance of Pro|te&s;tant States.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>AMong&s;t all the enquiries, that are at pre&s;ent made con|cerning <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11.</NOTE> the relation of the Affairs of the Bea&s;t to the times, that we now live in, there is none that is &s;o much the general concern of all that are curious, as the kil|ling, and the ri&s;ing again of the Two Witne&s;&s;es in Sackcloth in the Eleventh Chapter. And it will be expected that I &s;hould propound my apprehen&s;ions about that Affair, e&s;pecially about the conjectures that are generally made concerning its Ap|plication to the pre&s;ent po&s;ture of the Affairs of the Church. I mu&s;t indeed acknowledge, That, however dif|ferent I am from <HI>Mon&s;ieur Jurieu</HI> in almo&s;t every thing el&s;e, yet I was extreamly &s;urpri&s;ed with the light that he has given to the Prophecy about the Death of the Two Wit|ne&s;&s;es from the pre&s;ent face of the Prote&s;tant Churches all over <HI>Europe,</HI> and the fore&s;ight of what is likely to &s;uc|ceed them, compared with the Characters of the Text; I own this to have been the fir&s;t occa&s;ion of all the thoughts, that I have had about tho&s;e things, and it did &s;o &s;trongly affect me, that I was impatient to &s;ee it &s;etled upon a clearer foundation, than he has laid for it. I have therefore nicely &s;tated all the &s;ingle Characters in the Text, that relate to that account, and have re&s;olved the
<PB N="83" REF="62"> explication of it into clear Propo&s;itions in an orderly de|pendance upon one another; And have afterwards endea|voured to confirm the &s;ame apprehen&s;ion by a new proof from the expiration of the time of the &s;econd Woe, or the la&s;t end of the Turki&s;h Wars, and from the near approach of the bu&s;ine&s;s of the fifth Vial. I will not venture to &s;ay, That what I have here to propound about this part of the Pro|phecy, is as unque&s;tionable as any of my Propo&s;itions; And yet I cannot but think the greate&s;t part of it at lea&s;t will be judged to be but very little &s;hort of them, if the principles upon which I rely, and which are el&s;e|where &s;ecured, be once granted me.</P>
<P>However, to &s;how, that I am careful to di&s;tingui&s;h be|twixt the different evidence of the grounds, that I offer for all my Conclu&s;ions, I will not pretend to &s;o high a degree of certainty for what I &s;hall here deliver about the&s;e matters, as I make account there is in that part of the&s;e enquiries, that determines the nature and ri&s;e of the Bea&s;t.</P>
<P>It has been already &s;uppo&s;ed, That the Two Witne&s;&s;es do repre&s;ent the True Church of God in all the time of its humiliation under the Bea&s;t in Sackcloth, <HI>(Suppo&s;.</HI> 4.) As al&s;o that the Forty two Months of the Bea&s;t, and the 1260 Years of the Witne&s;&s;es do begin and end together, <HI>(Suppo&s;.</HI> 2.)</P>
<P>It is &s;aid of the Witne&s;&s;es, that when they &s;hould <HI>fini&s;h</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">, 3<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">. 11, 12, 13.</NOTE> <HI>their Te&s;timony,</HI> that, The Bea&s;t &s;hould <HI>war again&s;t them, &s;hould overcome them, and kill them;</HI> That their <HI>dead Bodies &s;hould lye unburied in the Streets of the great City three days and an half;</HI> And then &s;hould <HI>they come to life again, and &s;tand upon their feet,</HI> and <HI>&s;hould be called up to Heaven,</HI> and <HI>a&s;cend thither in a Cloud;</HI> And <HI>that their Enemies &s;hould behold them as they a&s;cended;</HI> And that at the <HI>&s;ame time, that they &s;hould a&s;cend, there &s;hould be a great Earthquake, and the fall of the tenth part of the City,</HI> and <HI>that in the Earthquake there &s;hould be &s;lain &s;even thou&s;and Men,</HI> and <HI>that the re&s;t &s;hould be affrighted, and give glory to God.</HI></P>
<PB N="84" REF="63">
<P> It is unque&s;tionable in the fir&s;t place, That</P>
<Q><HI>The great City, where the dead Bodies of the Witne&s;&s;es did</HI> <MILESTONE N="20" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>lye, is the &s;ame with</HI> Babylon <HI>the Great.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 8.</NOTE></Q>
<P>For it mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily be the City of the Bea&s;t, who killed the Witne&s;&s;es, which is known to be <HI>Babylon</HI> all over this Prophecy, and which has al&s;o the &s;ame particular Name of the <HI>Great City</HI> in all the Chapters wherein it is mentioned: And in the Eighteenth Chapter alone it has this peculiar Epithet given it no le&s;s than five or &s;ix times; When with this it is al&s;o con&s;idered, that the term of the <HI>Great City</HI> denotes a reference to &s;uch a City &s;omewhere before hinted at, it cannot po&s;&s;ibly be apprehended to be any thing el&s;e. Accordingly do we find all kind of Prote&s;tant Interpreters agreed about it.</P>
<P>But then it is al&s;o apparent, That</P>
<Q><HI>By the Street of the great City mu&s;t be meant, The Domi|nion</HI> <MILESTONE N="21" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>or Juri&s;diction of</HI> Babylon, <HI>and not the real Streets of any particular City.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 8.</NOTE></Q>
<P>For &s;ince the Witne&s;&s;es repre&s;ent the whole Church under the Dominion of the Bea&s;t <HI>(Suppo&s;.</HI> 4.) And under the Op|pre&s;&s;ion and Tyranny of that Party for above a thou&s;and years together <HI>(Suppo&s;.</HI> 2.) It is a very ab&s;urd thing to ima|gine, that by the killing of them at the conclu&s;ion of their Te&s;timony, in di&s;tinction to all their Sufferings before, &s;hould be meant nothing but the De&s;truction of them in one <HI>particular</HI> City only, or that their dead Bodies &s;hould be contained within &s;o &s;hort a compa&s;s. <NOTE N="(*)" PLACE="marg"><P><HI>Ribera in cap.</HI> 17. <HI>Apoc. numer.</HI> 7. <HI>Rome</HI> is not here &s;aid to be drunk only for that Blood, which was &s;hed in that City, but al&s;o for that Blood, that was &s;hed in other Cities by its Command and Authority. For <HI>Rome</HI> it &s;elf did al&s;o &s;hed that Blood.</P>
<P><HI>Idem in cap.</HI> 18. <HI>v.</HI> 24. The Blood of all <HI>&amp;c.</HI> was found in her, the Blood of all was imputed to her, as the Author of it. For&mdash;All things were done by the Governours, which <HI>Rome</HI> did &s;et over the Provinces.</P>
<P><HI>Idem in cap.</HI> 14. <HI>numer.</HI> 41. For She <HI>(Rome)</HI> killed all, that were killed by the Com|mand and Authority of her Mini&s;ters.</P></NOTE> The <HI>Great City</HI> mu&s;t there|fore in this place nece&s;&s;arily &s;ignifie that Dominion or Empire of <HI>Rome</HI> which is called <HI>Babylon,</HI> according as it does al&s;o
<PB N="85" REF="63"> u&s;ually &s;ignifie very frequently in this Prophecy; And &s;o al&s;o is the name of <HI>Babylon</HI> u&s;ed among tho&s;e Prophets, <NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;ai. 1. 22. &amp; ch. 47. Jerem. 50. &amp; ch. 51.</NOTE> from whom it is here borrowed, for the whole Babylonian Kingdom.</P>
<P>The pre&s;ence al&s;o of the <HI>Peoples,</HI> and <HI>Kingdoms,</HI> and <HI>Tongues,</HI> and <HI>Nations,</HI> at the &s;ight of the dead Bodies, does make the <NOTE PLACE="marg">ver. 9.</NOTE> place where they were to appear to be &s;ome great Empire. For tho&s;e Expre&s;&s;ions do &s;ignifie <NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Rev. 13. 7. ch. 14. 6. chap. 17. 15. Ver. 10.</NOTE> in this Prophecy all the <HI>&s;everal Nations</HI> of the Roman Empire: The &s;ame al&s;o does appear from what is &s;aid about the rejoycing of tho&s;e that <HI>dwell upon Earth, over the dead Bodies:</HI> For it would be a very extravagant thing to apply this to a three days Death of two Per&s;ons in any particular City.</P>
<P>From hence it nece&s;&s;arily follows, That</P>
<Q><HI>The tenth part of the City,</HI> ver. 13. <HI>mu&s;t &s;ignifie the tenth</HI> <MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="Con&s;eq."> <HI>part of the Juri&s;diction of</HI> Rome, <HI>which is called</HI> Babylon.</Q>
<P>For the term of the <HI>tenth part of the City</HI> is a plain refe|rence to &s;ome known City, that had been before men|tioned; And that can be nothing, but the <HI>great City</HI> ju&s;t before it.</P>
<P>Wherefore by the <HI>tenth part of the City</HI> mu&s;t be meant the tenth part of the Babyloni&s;h Empire; And then con&s;idering that that Empire is &s;et out by the Figure of a Bea&s;t with <HI>ten Horns,</HI> which are &s;aid to be <HI>ten Kingdoms, Rev.</HI> 17. 12, 17.</P>
<Q><HI>The tenth part of the City mu&s;t be one of the ten Kingdoms</HI> <MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="Con&s;eq."> <HI>of the Roman Party.</HI></Q>
<P>And con&s;equently</P>
<Q><HI>The fall of the tenth part of the City mu&s;t denote the Con|ver&s;ion of that Kingdom from the Roman Church.</HI> <MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="Con&s;eq."></Q>
<P>For the Fall of <HI>Babylon</HI> is the decay of the Intere&s;t of the Roman Church in general <HI>(Suppo&s;.</HI> 5.) And therefore by the Fall of one of its Kingdoms mu&s;t be meant the Conver&s;ion of it from that Church.</P>
<PB N="86" REF="64">
<P> And then it being evident from hence, that the other parts of <HI>Babylon</HI> do not fall at the &s;ame time, It is mani|fe&s;t, That</P>
<Q><HI>The Roman Church continues in power after the</HI> A&s;cen&s;ion <MILESTONE N="22" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>of the Witne&s;&s;es mentioned</HI> ver. 12.</Q>
<P>For after that A&s;cen&s;ion of the Witne&s;&s;es is the fall of the tenth part of the City, which implies the re&s;t of the City to be &s;till entire.</P>
<P>But this is made much more manife&s;t by the nature of the third Woe, which &s;uppo&s;es the Bea&s;t in being for its Object; And from the latter Vials, which are certainly part of the third Woe, and Plagues upon the Bea&s;t, as will ap|pear Chap. 7. and Chap. 16.</P>
<P>Wherefore</P>
<Q><HI>The A&s;cen&s;ion of the Witne&s;&s;es into Heaven can be nothing</HI> <MILESTONE N="23" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>but the advancement of them to a Throne here upon Earth.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 12.</NOTE></Q>
<P>For the Bea&s;t, or Roman Church, continues in power after that A&s;cen&s;ion of the Witne&s;&s;es <HI>(Theor.</HI> 22.) And the Witne&s;&s;es continue with the Bea&s;t to the end of his Reign <HI>(Suppo&s;.</HI> 2.)</P>
<P>Therefore mu&s;t the Witne&s;&s;es continue upon Earth after that which is called their A&s;cen&s;ion into Heaven. Their A&s;cen|&s;ion then cannot &s;ignifie any real A&s;cen&s;ion into Heaven.</P>
<P>And then, if that Expre&s;&s;ion be nece&s;&s;ary to be under|&s;tood in a my&s;tical &s;en&s;e, of &s;ome advancement of them upon Earth, it mu&s;t &s;ignifie their advancement to an earthly Throne. For it mu&s;t be &s;ome vi&s;ible advancement, becau&s;e their Ene|mies beheld them a&s;cending; And the u&s;ual &s;ignification of <HI>a&s;cending into Heaven in a my&s;tical acceptation,</HI> e&s;pecially where <NOTE PLACE="marg">I&s;ai. 14. 12, 13.</NOTE> it is expre&s;&s;ed to be a vi&s;ible advancement, as it is here, is an advancement to an earthly Throne. What indeed can tolerably an&s;wer the Character of a&s;cending into Heaven in a vi&s;ible manner without leaving the Earth, but &s;upreme power upon Earth?</P>
<P>This is confirmed pa&s;t all &s;cruple by being immediately
<PB N="87" REF="64"> followed with the fall of the tenth part of the City, which is &s;aid to be at the &s;ame hour that they a&s;cended; For &s;ince that is found to &s;ignifie the Conver&s;ion of a King|dom <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 13.</NOTE> of the Roman Party <HI>(Con&s;eq.</HI> 3. <HI>Theor.</HI> 21) It mu&s;t be the Kingdom, that belongs to the ri&s;en Witne&s;&s;es. And be&s;ides it is expre&s;sly &s;aid, That all in that place were either &s;lain or converted, which denotes the entire Submi&s;&s;ion of it to the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 12.</NOTE> Church.</P>
<P>And then, by the Earthquake at the &s;ame time, which mu&s;t relate to a whole Kingdom with the&s;e circum&s;tances added to it, it would be hard to under&s;tand any thing el&s;e but the change of the State of that Kingdom, according to the my&s;tical &s;ignification of that Expre&s;&s;ion in Pro|phecy.</P>
<P>By the&s;e conclu&s;ions it does appear, That all this Account of the Fortunes of the Witne&s;&s;es after their Re&s;urrection is in Allegorical Expre&s;&s;ions, which gives one a good ground to apprehend, that all, that is &s;aid of them before about their being killed, and ri&s;ing again, is al&s;o Figurative or Allegorical only, as will be further proved for the clearer under&s;tanding of the Fortunes of the Church in the latter times of the Bea&s;t, which is here particularly de&s;cribed.</P>
<P>But it may be the following Conclu&s;ions will be judged to be more clear and nece&s;&s;ary in their own light, than tho&s;e which have been here advanced before them; And then it will be u&s;eful to con&s;ider tho&s;e that follow as good grounds to confirm the certainty of tho&s;e, that have gone before them. For they have neither of them any &s;hew of a nece&s;&s;ary dependance upon one another for their Evi|dence.</P>
<P>Before any further advances to this purpo&s;e, it is to be con&s;idered, That</P>
<Q><HI>The overcoming and killing of the Witne&s;&s;es cannot</HI> <MILESTONE N="24" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>&s;ignifie the</HI> whole <HI>time of their Per&s;ecution by the Bea&s;t.</HI></Q>
<P>For, <HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> This War and Murther is at the <HI>fini&s;hing of the</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 7.</NOTE> <HI>Te&s;timony of the Witne&s;&s;es,</HI> whereas for the greate&s;t part of
<PB N="88" REF="65"> their whole time they were Prophe&s;ying, and &s;o could not be &s;aid to be killed. And the rendring of the Original, <HI>while&s;t they &s;hall perform their Te&s;timony,</HI> is a very forced Tran&s;lation of it; And would make the Church repre&s;en|ted by the&s;e Witne&s;&s;es to be without any Life in it, while&s;t it was doing its Office, e&s;pecially when it appears, That is was &s;uch a killing them, as to make them lye Dead in the Streets, which is quite contrary to their ex|erci&s;ing the Office of Prophets for the whole time of their continuance.</P>
<P><HI>Secondly,</HI> The three days and an half al&s;o of their Death, which are made in this new way to be the whole time of the Witne&s;&s;es, are de&s;cribed to come after the killing them; And this is impo&s;&s;ible to under&s;tand of the whole time of their continuance for 1260 days. For then the whole time of their continuance would come after their Death which is a contradiction.</P>
<P>Be&s;ides, that there is as manife&s;t a difference in the &s;ig|nification of 1260 days, and 3 days and a half, as could be ex|pre&s;&s;ed. So that it looks like one of the greate&s;t extrava|gancies, that ever Learned Men were guilty of, to make two <NOTE PLACE="marg">Dr. <HI>More,</HI> &amp;c. <HI>in cap.</HI> 11. <HI>Apoc.</HI></NOTE> &s;uch plainly different, and incon&s;i&s;tent expre&s;&s;ions to &s;igni|fie but one and the &s;ame thing.</P>
<P>Wherefore the overcoming and killing of the Witne&s;&s;es cannot po&s;&s;ibly &s;ignifie the whole time of their per&s;ecution by the Bea&s;t.</P>
<P>And then it will nece&s;&s;arily follow, That</P>
<Q><HI>The overcoming and killing of the Witne&s;&s;es mu&s;t be the</HI> <MILESTONE N="25" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>fierce&s;t per&s;ecution in the latter time of the Bea&s;t, that ever the Church was to &s;uffer.</HI></Q>
<P>Fir&s;t, <HI>It is in the latter time of his Reign.</HI> For it cannot &s;ignifie the <HI>whole</HI> time of their Per&s;ecution, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 24.) and if it &s;ignifie a particular time, it mu&s;t be that which is a little before the time of the third Woe, as it is de&s;cribed to be; and that being the la&s;t Woe upon the Bea&s;t, it mu&s;t be in the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 14.</NOTE> latter time of his Reign. Be&s;ides, the proper &s;ignification of the expre&s;&s;ions, by which the time of it is determined,
<PB N="89" REF="65"> is, <HI>when the Witne&s;&s;es &s;hould have fini&s;hed their Te&s;timony;</HI> And the time of their continuance being of the &s;ame length with the Reign of the Bea&s;t, <HI>(Suppo&s;.</HI> 2.) It mu&s;t be al&s;o at the conclu&s;ion of his Reign, as well as about the fini&s;hing of their Te&s;timony.</P>
<P><HI>Secondly,</HI> That <HI>it is the fierce&s;t Per&s;ecution that ever the Church was to &s;uffer</HI> from the Bea&s;t, appears by the Character of it in compari&s;on with that of the &s;tate of the Church in all the other parts of his Reign. The &s;tate of the Church under the Oppre&s;&s;ion of the Bea&s;t at all other times has the name only <HI>of the Witne&s;&s;es in Sackcloath;</HI> But this is repre&s;ented by the <HI>making war with them, and overcoming them, and killing them,</HI> which mu&s;t &s;ignifie as much more con&s;iderable a Per&s;ecution than any other, as the killing a Man is in compari&s;on of his being in a &s;orrowful and a mourning condition.</P>
<P>To apprehend of what nature this &s;torm of Per&s;ecution &s;hould be, it mu&s;t be concluded in the fir&s;t place, That</P>
<Q><HI>The overcoming and killing of the Witne&s;&s;es mu&s;t at lea&s;t &s;ig|nifie</HI> <MILESTONE N="26" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>a perfect Suppre&s;&s;ion of the Profe&s;&s;ion of the True Religion in</HI> all <HI>con&s;iderable Parts of the Dominion of the Bea&s;t.</HI></Q>
<P>For it is the fierce&s;t Per&s;ecution that ever the Church was to &s;uffer, and that in the latter times of the Bea&s;t <HI>(Theor.</HI> 25.) And there have been all kind of Martyrdoms and Cruelties exerci&s;ed again&s;t the Profe&s;&s;ors of the Truth in particular Parts of the Dominion of the Bea&s;t for many hundreds of years before the latter times of the Bea&s;t: For his continuance is for Twelve hundred and &s;ixty years together <HI>(Suppo&s;.</HI> 2)</P>
<P>This overcoming therefore, and the killing of the Wit|ne&s;&s;es mu&s;t be an utter Suppre&s;&s;ion of all con&s;iderable pub|lick Profe&s;&s;ion of the Truth in all Parts of the Dominions of the Bea&s;t.</P>
<P>Indeed the killing of the Witne&s;&s;es, &s;ince they repre&s;ent the whole Church <HI>(Suppo&s;.</HI> 4.) cannot without great force and wre&s;ting be under&s;tood of any thing le&s;s than of the Suppre&s;&s;ion of all publick Te&s;timony of the Truth in all the con&s;iderable Parts of the Dominion of the Bea&s;t, where
<PB N="90" REF="66"> they are in Sackcloth; They would not be overcome or killed, nor would they lye dead, if they were Prophe&s;ying in any con&s;iderable Parts of the Dominion of the Bea&s;t; The mo&s;t ab&s;olute Suppre&s;&s;ion of the True Religion in par|ticular Parts of the Dominion of the Bea&s;t, would be but the cutting off of &s;ome Limbs of the Witne&s;&s;es, or of the Body of the Church, whom they repre&s;ent. The killing of the Witne&s;&s;es mu&s;t therefore be a total Extirpation of the True Church, out of all the con&s;iderable Parts of the Domi|nion of the Bea&s;t.</P>
<P>Hence it appears, That</P>
<Q><HI>By the three days and an half of the dead Bodies of the</HI> <MILESTONE N="27" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>Witne&s;&s;es, mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily be under&s;tood at lea&s;t three years and an half.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 9.</NOTE></Q>
<P>For it is impo&s;&s;ible, that they &s;hould &s;ignifie literally three natural days and an half only. For how is it po&s;&s;ible that Peoples, and Kindreds, and Tongues, and Nations, which is u&s;ed in Prophecy to &s;ignifie many different Nations, &s;hould <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ibid.</HI> Chap. 13. 7. Chap. 14. 6. Chap 17. 15.</NOTE> be repre&s;ented, as looking upon the dead Bodies of the Witne&s;&s;es, that is, upon the ruines of the whole Church in all parts of the Dominions of the Bea&s;t <HI>(Suppo&s;.</HI> 4) for three days and an half only? E&s;pecially when we &s;ee half a day added to the number, which it is ab&s;urd to imagine of an Event, which is found to be of &s;o <HI>general</HI> extent all over the Roman Empire.</P>
<P>And then, what&s;oever length of time a <HI>day</HI> may &s;ignifie in my&s;tical Language, yet &s;ince Twelve hundred and &s;ixty days ju&s;t before have been found to &s;ignifie at lea&s;t &s;o many <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Suppo&s;.</HI> 2.</NOTE> years, That is a pre&s;ent Example to determine the &s;ignification of three days and an half to &s;o many years.</P>
<P>Wherefore</P>
<Q><HI>The dead Bodies of the Witne&s;&s;es cannot &s;ignifie literally</HI> <MILESTONE N="28" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>the dead Carka&s;&s;es of &s;lain Men.</HI></Q>
<P>For then (by <HI>Theor.</HI> 27.) they mu&s;t be &s;uppo&s;ed to lye three years and an half unburied in all the parts of the Do|minion of the Bea&s;t, where they are repre&s;ented to be killed
<PB N="91" REF="66"> <HI>(Theor.</HI> 21.) which is a mon&s;trous thing to imagine of any really dead Carka&s;&s;es of Men.</P>
<P>For the &s;ame rea&s;on</P>
<Q><HI>The Death of the Witne&s;&s;es cannot po&s;&s;ibly &s;ignifie literally</HI> <MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="Con&s;eq."> <HI>a bodily Death.</HI></Q>
<P>For then by their dead Bodies mu&s;t al&s;o be literally under|&s;tood real Carka&s;&s;es, contrary to 28. <HI>Theor.</HI></P>
<P>By this then it is undoubted, That</P>
<Q><HI>By the killing of the Witne&s;&s;es cannot be under&s;tood any general</HI> <MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="Con&s;eq."> <HI>Ma&s;&s;acre of the Prote&s;tants.</HI></Q>
<P>Wherefore it is not now to be que&s;tioned, but that the killing of the Witne&s;&s;es, is not to be under&s;tood in a literal, but in a my&s;tical &s;en&s;e only. And then,</P>
<Q><HI>By the killing of the Witne&s;&s;es is to be under&s;tood nothing</HI> <MILESTONE N="29" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>el&s;e but a total Suppre&s;&s;ion of the publick Profe&s;&s;ion of the True Religion in all parts of the Juri&s;diction of the Bea&s;t.</HI></Q>
<P><HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> It <HI>is nothing but a Suppre&s;&s;ion of the Profe&s;&s;ion of the True Religion.</HI> For &s;ince it is not any bodily Death of the Wit|ne&s;&s;es, it mu&s;t be a Suppre&s;&s;ion of that, which is the my|&s;tical Life of the Witne&s;&s;es, and that is, their te&s;tifying to the Truth; And &s;o their continuance in a &s;tate of Death for three years and an half, can &s;ignifie nothing el&s;e, but that perfect &s;tate of &s;ilence, in which the Church con|tinues in the Regions of the Bea&s;t during that &s;pace of time.</P>
<P><HI>Grotius</HI> to this purpo&s;e does very learnedly ob&s;erve upon <HI>Mat.</HI> 8. 22. out of the cu&s;toms of the <HI>Pythagorick</HI> and <HI>Pla|tonick</HI> Schools (who were the mo&s;t univer&s;ally followed in the Apo&s;tles times) that tho&s;e who had left off the Profe&s;|&s;ion of Philo&s;ophy, and were become vicious, were repre|&s;ented as Men dead among them, and had their Coffins &s;et up in the Schools.</P>
<PB N="92" REF="67">
<P> This is agreeable to the ordinary &s;ignification of killing and &s;laying in this Prophecy, as the &s;laying or killing the third part of Men in the Sixth Trumpet, the not killing them in the Fifth, and the Death of the Creatures in the Sea in the Second; in All which Killing and Death is taken for the Extinction of the Name and Profe&s;&s;ion of the Roman Na|tion, or the Non appearance of them under that Name, though they were really in being.</P>
<P><HI>Secondly,</HI> That this extends <HI>only to the Juri&s;diction of the Bea&s;t,</HI> appears from the place where the dead Bodies of the Wit|ne&s;&s;es are &s;aid to lye, which is in the Street of the great City, and that has been found to be the Dominion or Ju|ri&s;diction of the Roman Church <HI>(Theor.</HI> 21.) And be&s;ides, they are the dead Bodies of the Witne&s;&s;es in Sackcloth only, which &s;ignifies that part of the Church only, which is under the Dominion of the Roman Church <HI>(Suppo&s;.</HI> 4.) And from hence it may be concluded, That</P>
<Q><HI>The killing of the Witne&s;&s;es is at an end, when the Pro|fe&s;&s;ion of the True Religion is effectually &s;uppre&s;&s;ed in</HI> <MILESTONE N="30" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>all States, where the Roman Faith is the National Re|ligion.</HI></Q>
<P>For the killing of the Witne&s;&s;es is nothing but the total Suppre&s;&s;ion of the Profe&s;&s;ion of the Truth in all parts of the Dominion of the Bea&s;t <HI>(Theor.</HI> 29.) And therefore it is at an end, when that Profe&s;&s;ion is &s;uppre&s;&s;ed in all con|&s;iderable States that own the Roman Faith for the National Religion. For that is only the Dominion of the Bea&s;t, or of the great City, <HI>viz.</HI> where the Roman Church has the chief Power of the Nation.</P>
<P>It may be objected, That the determinate Time of the la&s;t killing of the Witne&s;&s;es cannot be known, becau&s;e there may new States come under the Dominion of the Roman Church after the total Suppre&s;&s;ion of the True Religion in all parts of the then pre&s;ent Dominion of it; And that therefore the end of the killing of the Witne&s;&s;es cannot be, till the Church be &s;ilenced in all tho&s;e States, which are &s;till to come under the Roman Yoke.</P>
<PB N="93" REF="67">
<P> But then, there would be two Deaths of the Witne&s;&s;es, or two &s;uppre&s;&s;ions of the Church under the Roman Party. For &s;ince the Witne&s;&s;es in Sackcloth are only that part of the True Church, which is in &s;ubjection to the Bea&s;t, <HI>(Suppo&s;.</HI> 4.)&mdash;And that the killing them is found to be nothing, but the effectual &s;ilencing of all that part of the Church, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 29.)&mdash;The Witne&s;&s;es mu&s;t be accounted to be dead in all their Limbs and Members, whenever there happens &s;uch a total &s;uppre&s;&s;ion of the True Religion in all parts of the Dominions of the Roman Party.</P>
<P>And if the other parts of the True Church, which were not at that time in a Sackcloth &s;tate, but in a free and pro&s;perous condition, &s;hould afterwards come under &s;ubjection to the Roman Church, there would then be a new appearance of the Witne&s;&s;es in Sackcloth before the Re&s;urrection of tho&s;e that had been killed; And the&s;e <NOTE PLACE="marg">Suppo&s;. 4.</NOTE> new Witne&s;&s;es being &s;uppo&s;ed to be the whole Church, which is at that time in &s;ubjection to the Bea&s;t, the &s;uppre&s;&s;ion of their Te&s;timony would be a &s;econd killing of the Witne&s;&s;es in Sackcloth, or a new &s;uppre&s;&s;ion of the whole Church under the Bea&s;t; Whereas, after the fir&s;t three years of the dead Bodies of the Witne&s;&s;es they ri&s;e again, and continue in Life to the end of the Reign <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 11.</NOTE> of the Bea&s;t; So that whenever there happens to be &s;uch a total &s;uppre&s;&s;ion of the True Religion in all places, where the Roman Church is in Rule, for three years and an half together, the fir&s;t appearance of that time ought to be looked upon as the only time of the death of the Witne&s;&s;es.</P>
<P>Wherefore, the killing of the Witne&s;&s;es mu&s;t be at an end as &s;oon as ever the profe&s;&s;ion of the True Religion is effectually &s;uppre&s;&s;ed in all places where the Roman Church is the Ruling Religion.</P>
<PB N="94" REF="68">
<P> TO take away all fears of an univer&s;al Conque&s;t of the Church and &s;uppre&s;&s;ion of the Truth all over the World in this great Per&s;ecution, here are very fair intimations, That</P>
<Q><HI>The death of the Witne&s;&s;es does not extend to all parts of the</HI> <MILESTONE N="31" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>True Church, that are at that time in being.</HI></Q>
<P>This may very rea&s;onably be gathered from what is &s;aid Ver&s;e 9. that tho&s;e of the People, and Kindreds, and Tongues, and Nations, &s;hall &s;ee the dead Bodies, but &s;hall not &s;uffer them to be buried. At the fir&s;t one would be apt to look upon the hindrance of Burial by the&s;e People to be an high in&s;tance of malice in them again&s;t the &s;lain Witne&s;&s;es, according as it is almo&s;t every where in Scri|pture repre&s;ented to be, when mentioned with the dead Bodies of the Saints.</P>
<P>But it is to be con&s;idered, that the dead Bodies of the Witne&s;&s;es do in this place &s;ignifie, The Members of the Church in a &s;tate of perfect &s;ilence, without any out|ward <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Theor.</HI> 29.</NOTE> profe&s;&s;ion of the Truth: And then the putting them into Graves mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily &s;ignifie a &s;till higher mi&s;chief in that kind, or the utter extinction, di&s;appearance, and annihilation of the &s;ilenced Church; This is confirmed by what is made to be the u&s;ual &s;ignification of lying un|buried in a my&s;tical &s;en&s;e among&s;t the Ea&s;tern Nations, who&s;e ways of &s;peaking are generally agreeable to the u&s;age of Scripture. The being dead in a my&s;tical &s;en&s;e without any &s;ignification of being buried does with them denote hopes of health and recovery; But the being dead and buried &s;ignifies the <HI>irrecoverable</HI> ruine of a Man; As it may be found in the 130th of the <HI>Apotele&s;mes</HI> of <HI>Apo|ma&s;ar</HI> or <HI>Achmetes</HI> the <HI>Arabian,</HI> which is a Collection of the ancient Interpretations of Prophetical Dreams or Vi|&s;ions, that were in u&s;e among&s;t the Kings of <HI>Per&s;ia</HI> and <HI>India,</HI> and is highly approved of for its u&s;e in the Schemes of this Book, by the Two mo&s;t eminent Criticks in the&s;e matters, <HI>Grotius</HI> and Mr. <HI>Mede,</HI> though the greate&s;t Ad|ver&s;aries to one another in their Applications of this Prophecy.</P>
<PB N="95" REF="68">
<P> According to this, the hinderance of the dead Bodies of the Witne&s;&s;es from being put into Graves, mu&s;t nece&s;|&s;arily &s;ignifie, the not &s;uffering the &s;ilenced Church to be wholly lo&s;t, and annihilated; And &s;ince with this it is &s;aid al&s;o, That tho&s;e of the Peoples and Nations did &s;ee the dead Bodies all this while, this does plainly intimate the oppre&s;&s;ed Church to be in a <HI>Vi&s;ible</HI> &s;tate, and the hin|dring of their Burial mu&s;t therefore &s;ignifie the keeping the Church up in a vi&s;ible, though ruined Condition; And then con&s;idering al&s;o that they were to ri&s;e again within three days after, the hinderance of their Burial mu&s;t nece&s;|&s;arily denote the keeping them in a readine&s;s for their Re&s;urrection; As on the contrary the &s;etting a Watch, <NOTE PLACE="marg">St. <HI>Matth.</HI> 27. 64, 65, 66.</NOTE> and the making all &s;ure about the Sepulchre of our Lord (to who&s;e death, and Re&s;urrection, and A&s;cen&s;ion, this ac|count of the Witne&s;&s;es does unque&s;tionably refer) was a de&s;ign in his Enemies to put an end to all hopes of his Re&s;urrection.</P>
<P>All the&s;e con&s;iderations may a&s;&s;ure any Man, that the hinderance of the Burial of the Dead Witne&s;&s;es was an act of great Charity, and Friend&s;hip; And then, tho&s;e of the People and Nations, who were thus concerned for them, mu&s;t be &s;ome People, who had a great compa&s;&s;ion for the Church in that oppre&s;&s;ed &s;tate, and who would not &s;uffer it to be wholly lo&s;t in the Dominions of the Bea&s;t. The&s;e Friends of the oppre&s;&s;ed Church mu&s;t then be &s;uch, as were of a Party contrary to that of the Bea&s;t, who killed the Witne&s;&s;es; and con&s;idering withal that they were able to hinder the utter extinction of the Church in all parts of the Dominion of the Bea&s;t, <HI>(Suppo&s;.</HI> 2.)&mdash;They mu&s;t be a very con&s;iderable Party; For they were able not to &s;uffer the Enemies of the Church wholly to bury it; And tho&s;e Enemies were the whole Power and Party of the Bea&s;t among&s;t whom the Church had been, <HI>Theor.</HI> 29.</P>
<P>What then can the&s;e Friends of the oppre&s;&s;ed Church be, but &s;ome States or People, that are independent upon the Roman Church, or the Bea&s;t, able to hinder them from making an utter end of the Church, which they had
<PB N="96" REF="69"> &s;uppre&s;&s;ed? And what can tho&s;e States or People be but the re&s;t of the True Church in &s;ome neighbouring Territories?</P>
<P>It may indeed be objected again&s;t this, That the <HI>Peo|ples and Tongues and Nations,</HI> and tho&s;e who are &s;aid to <HI>dwell upon the Earth,</HI> Ver&s;e 9, 10. mu&s;t be the &s;ame Peo|ple. For &s;o are they, Chapter 13. 7, 8. and Chapter 17. 8, 15. And then tho&s;e People mu&s;t be &s;uch, as <HI>rejoyce,</HI> and <HI>make merry over the dead Bodies of the Witne&s;&s;es,</HI> which &s;hows them to be the wor&s;t of their Enemies. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 10.</NOTE></P>
<P>But in the fir&s;t place, there is always a very clear di|&s;tinction put betwixt tho&s;e, that <HI>dwell upon the Earth,</HI> and the <HI>Peoples and Nations,</HI> where ever they are mentioned to|gether in this Book, which is very often; And tho&s;e that are &s;aid to <HI>dwell upon the Earth,</HI> are every where, but in one place repre&s;ented and &s;et out with a &s;ignification of their being the Enemies of God, and the Church. As Chap. 6. 10. Chap. 8. 13. Chap. 13. 8, 12, 14. Chap. 17. 8. Chap. 12. 14. and very expre&s;ly in this place before us. And in that one place, where it has not the plain mark of this &s;et upon it, (Chap. 14. 6.) yet it is ex|pre&s;ly di&s;tingui&s;hed from the <HI>Peoples and Nations and Tongues;</HI> Whereas the wor&s;t that is &s;aid of the <HI>Peoples, and Nati|ons, and Tongues,</HI> is that the Bea&s;t <HI>had power over them,</HI> and that the <HI>Woman did &s;it upon them,</HI> which is no more than <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 13 7. Chap. 17. 15.</NOTE> that the Bea&s;t, and the Woman, had an univer&s;al command of the World, which is all that the Peoples and Nations do &s;ignifie.</P>
<P>But here is be&s;ides under the terms of <HI>they</HI> or <HI>&s;ome of the Peoples and Nations,</HI> &amp;c. an intimation of a &s;elect &s;ort <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 9.</NOTE> of People di&s;tinct from the whole ma&s;s of tho&s;e Nations and People, over whom the Bea&s;t is &s;aid el&s;ewhere to have had power, that is, within the bounds of the ancient Empire of the Bea&s;t. And as tho&s;e that dwell on the Earth are &s;et out as that part of the&s;e Peoples and Na|tions, which were the &s;pecial Friends and Party of the Bea&s;t, by their <HI>rejoycing and making merry</HI> over the Dead Witne&s;&s;es; So are the&s;e on the other &s;ide di&s;tingui&s;hed from them by the care they took to hinder their Burial,
<PB N="97" REF="69"> which kept their dead Bodies in a readine&s;s to ri&s;e again to the confu&s;ion of their Enemies.</P>
<P>Wherefore it may now be &s;afely re&s;olved, That tho&s;e of the <HI>Peoples and Nations</HI> that hindred the Burial of the Witne&s;&s;es, mu&s;t be &s;ome States, that had been <HI>formerly</HI> part of the Empire of the Bea&s;t, (as Peoples and Nati|ons in other places are found to &s;ignifie) but who were <HI>at this time</HI> independent upon his power, and who took part with the Church, to keep it from being utterly lo&s;t in this eminent oppre&s;&s;ion of it; And what then can the&s;e po&s;&s;ibly be but &s;ome parts of Chri&s;tendom freed from the Roman Yoke, who encourage and give protection to tho&s;e that fly to them, and who animate and a&s;&s;i&s;t the re&s;t, whom they left behind them, to continue firm to the Truth within them, which they were forced to deny with their Mouths, or to deny all the Life and Power of it in them?</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="7" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="98" REF="70">
<HEAD>CHAP. VII.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>The Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es is the Recovery of the True Church, where it was totally &s;uppre&s;&s;ed; It is fixed to this pre&s;ent time. Objections an&s;wered. The Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es, the recovery of the Prote&s;tant Churches. And to begin in</HI> 1689, <HI>or at farthe&s;t in</HI> 1690.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>FRom what has been found to have been the undoubted <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11.</NOTE> &s;ignification of the Death of the Witne&s;&s;es, it is as un|que&s;tionable, That</P>
<Q><HI>The Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es is the reviving of the</HI> <MILESTONE N="32" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>outward publick profe&s;&s;ion of the Truth in &s;ome part of the Dominion of the Roman Church, where it had</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 11.</NOTE> <HI>been wholly &s;uppre&s;&s;ed.</HI></Q>
<P>For &s;ince the <HI>killing</HI> and the <HI>dead Bodies</HI> before the <HI>Re|&s;urrection,</HI> and the <HI>A&s;cen&s;ion</HI> after it, have been found to <NOTE PLACE="marg">CHAP. VI.</NOTE> be but figurative expre&s;&s;ions, there is no que&s;tion but their <HI>Re&s;urrection</HI> mu&s;t be taken in the &s;ame &s;en&s;e; And then mu&s;t the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es nece&s;&s;arily &s;ignifie the return of the &s;ame Life into them, which was taken away from them by their Death; And that Death having been found to be the &s;uppre&s;&s;ion of the free profe&s;&s;ion of the Truth, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 29.)&mdash;Their Re&s;urrection mu&s;t con|&s;equently be <HI>the open profe&s;&s;ion</HI> of it.</P>
<P>And this mu&s;t be <HI>in &s;uch places</HI> of the Bea&s;t, where this freedom had been &s;uppre&s;&s;ed; Becau&s;e the Witne&s;&s;es can|not po&s;&s;ibly be &s;aid to ri&s;e from the Dead in places where they never were killed. Be&s;ides, that the Re&s;urrection of the dead Bodies of the Witne&s;&s;es mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily be where the dead Bodies are &s;aid to lye, and that is in the Street of the great City, or within the juri&s;diction of the Ro|man
<PB N="99" REF="70"> Church, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 21.)&mdash;where they were killed.</P>
<P>But then, it does not appear, that the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es was in <HI>all</HI> the places, where the dead Bodies lay. As their killing was carried on by degrees, &s;o it is very probable, that their Re&s;urrection will not be all at a time. But from what will afterwards be found to be the time of the fifth Vial, it will appear, that the Witne&s;&s;es will be all ri&s;en again within a very few years after the fir&s;t beginning of their Re&s;urrection. For the third Woe, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Con&s;eq. 2. Theor. 66. Con&s;eq. 4. Theor. 51.</NOTE> with which the fifth Vial begins will appear to be within a very &s;hort time after the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es; And that repre&s;ents the beginning of the Kingdom of Chri&s;t in all the Kingdoms of this World: As the fifth Vial <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 11, 15. To<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> 6<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> brings on a <HI>general</HI> Mortification of the Roman Church in all parts of his Dominion.</P>
<P>But in the place, where they fir&s;t ri&s;e from the Dead, the Prote&s;tant Church mu&s;t be <HI>&s;oon after</HI> the ruling Reli|gion of that Nation, according to what has been ob&s;erved about the A&s;cen&s;ion of the ri&s;en Witne&s;&s;es into Heaven, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 23.)</P>
<P>About the particular time of this eminent recovery, and new Life of the Church after its la&s;t dreadful oppre&s;&s;ion by the Bea&s;t, there are various apprehen&s;ions among&s;t tho&s;e, who yet agree in the particular application of the Tyranny of the Bea&s;t to the Per&s;ecutions of the Roman Church. Some would have the time of this Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es to have been at the fir&s;t clear &s;ettlement of the Reformation, others would have it &s;till to come, and &s;ome are po&s;itive that it cannot be till ju&s;t about the end of the Reign of the Bea&s;t; And nothing is more worthy our Curio&s;ity, or our mo&s;t diligent enquiry to &s;atisfie it, than the re&s;olution of this Que&s;tion.</P>
<P>It will be a great advance toward this to be a&s;&s;ured, That</P>
<Q><HI>The Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es is not yet pa&s;t.</HI> <MILESTONE N="33" UNIT="Theor."></Q>
<P>That which does mo&s;t a&s;&s;ure this to us is the knowledge we have of the &s;econd Woe. For the <HI>pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;econd</HI>
<PB N="100" REF="71"> <HI>Woe</HI> is de&s;cribed to be ju&s;t after the Re&s;urrection and A&s;cen&s;ion of the Witne&s;&s;es; And &s;eems manife&s;tly to have <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 14.</NOTE> been put in there alone by it &s;elf at &s;o great a di&s;tance from the true place of it (at the end of all the bu&s;ine&s;s of it in the Ninth Chapter) for no other end than to &s;tand for a remarkable event to know the time of this great deliverance by. Now the &s;econd Woe has been found to be the Turki&s;h Empire, <HI>(Con&s;eq.</HI> 2. <HI>Theor.</HI> 19.) And cannot be yet &s;aid to be pa&s;&s;ed away.</P>
<P>But this may be &s;till much more confirmed; For it is ea&s;ie to &s;ee, that the &s;econd Woe cannot po&s;&s;ibly have been pa&s;&s;ed away either <HI>before,</HI> or <HI>&s;ince</HI> that the Turki&s;h Empire began; 1. <HI>Not before,</HI> becau&s;e the la&s;t deliverance of the Church by the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es mu&s;t then have been before that time; And the glorious appearance of the Church in the third Woe, which <HI>comes quickly</HI> after the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 14.</NOTE> &s;econd, mu&s;t have been very &s;oon after that time, and have continued for ever. But this is contrary to all the &s;up|po&s;itions of tho&s;e, that make the Roman Rule to be the Bea&s;t.</P>
<P>The time of the Bea&s;t, and the Witne&s;&s;es mu&s;t al&s;o have been long &s;ince at an end, if the &s;econd Woe had been pa&s;&s;ed away before the beginning of the Turki&s;h Em|pire. For the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es, which is ju&s;t before the end of that Woe, is &s;aid to be when the Wit|ne&s;&s;es had fini&s;hed, or were about to fini&s;h their Te&s;ti|mony. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 7.</NOTE></P>
<P N="2">2. It is in the next place as impo&s;&s;ible, that the &s;econd Woe &s;hould have been pa&s;&s;ed away at any time <HI>&s;ince</HI> the ri&s;e of the Turki&s;h Empire. For the &s;econd Woe is known to be the bu&s;ine&s;s of the &s;ixth Trumpet, which is the &s;e|cond of tho&s;e Trumpets, which had the three dreadful Woes <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev 8. 13.</NOTE> proclaimed to be the bu&s;ine&s;s of them. Now the Woe of the &s;ixth Trumpet is the Wars of the four Angels, which were loo&s;ed from the River <HI>Euphrates,</HI> and who by their Wars, and Conque&s;ts, and Equipage there de&s;cribed, mu&s;t be &s;ome Princes of <HI>A&s;ia</HI> about the cour&s;e of the River <HI>Euphrates.</HI> But from the fir&s;t ri&s;e of the Turki&s;h Empire there has been no other Princes of any power, or continuance in tho&s;e parts, but the Turki&s;h Emperors.
<PB N="101" REF="71"> There has been therefore no appearance &s;ince the fir&s;t ri&s;e of that Empire of any &s;uch Woe in tho&s;e parts that could be different from them; And therefore cannot the &s;econd Woe have been pa&s;&s;ed &s;ince the beginning of the Turki&s;h Empire, what&s;oever that Woe may be in par|ticular.</P>
<P>And if the &s;econd Woe be not yet pa&s;&s;ed away, nei|ther can the time of the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es be yet pa&s;t, becau&s;e the pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;econd Woe, and the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es are de&s;cribed to be <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 11. &amp; 14.</NOTE> much about the &s;ame time, whereas it is certain that for the&s;e thirty years at lea&s;t there has been &s;o little an ap|pearance of the la&s;t deliverance of the Church, that it has been rooted out of almo&s;t all places where the Roman Church has been in any con&s;iderable power.</P>
<P>It may po&s;&s;ibly be thought to be as impo&s;&s;ible, that the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es &s;hould be <HI>near the&s;e pre|&s;ent times,</HI> becau&s;e they are &s;aid to have fini&s;hed their <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 7</NOTE> Te&s;timony before they were killed. For according to that both the Witne&s;&s;es and the Bea&s;t with whom they are contemporary, <HI>(Suppo&s;.</HI> 2.) &s;eem to be ju&s;t at their la&s;t end at the time of their Re&s;urrection; whereas it is utter|ly improbable that the Party of the Bea&s;t in &s;o many &s;everal Kingdoms as he Rules in, &s;hould wholly lo&s;e all that power in &s;o &s;hort a &s;pace of time.</P>
<P>I grant it to be utterly improbable that the Reign of the Bea&s;t &s;hould be &s;o &s;uddenly at an end; But there is no &s;uch nece&s;&s;ity from the Prophecy that the <HI>fini&s;hing of the Te&s;timony</HI> of the Witne&s;&s;es &s;hould &s;ignifie the la&s;t end of their time. It is certain that the Reign of the Bea&s;t or the time of the Two Witne&s;&s;es could not be at an end till &s;ome while after the &s;ounding of the &s;eventh Trumpet; For the &s;eventh Trumpet brings on the third Woe, which <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 14, 1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> mu&s;t be a Woe or Plague upon the Kingdom of the Bea&s;t, becau&s;e there is no other remainders of the Roman Empire for it to fall upon. And it is el&s;ewhere &s;hown that the Roman Empire is the only object of the Plagues of the Trumpets, <HI>Con&s;eq. Theor.</HI> 18.</P>
<P>It is al&s;o &s;aid at the end of the &s;ixth Trumpet, that the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 9. 20,</NOTE> re&s;t did <HI>not repent of their Idols of Gold and Silver;</HI> And
<PB N="102" REF="72"> there is no part of the Roman Empire, but the Church of the Bea&s;t, to which that can belong, which &s;hows them not to be converted ju&s;t before the &s;eventh Trumpet. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 10. 7.</NOTE></P>
<P>This is further confirmed by the effect of the A&s;cen&s;ion of the Witne&s;&s;es, ju&s;t before the pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;econd Woe, and that was the Conver&s;ion but of the tenth part of the Kingdom of the Bea&s;t; &s;o that there remained all the re&s;t of it to be brought to Repentance by the third Woe, which is &s;aid to come quickly after; And the la&s;t effect of that Woe is &s;aid in the Eighteenth Ver&s;e to be to de&s;troy tho&s;e who had de&s;troyed the Earth, who mu&s;t be the Party of the Bea&s;t, and does exactly an&s;wer, what is &s;aid of that Party, Chap. 13. 10. That they that did lead into Captivity, and killed with the Sword, mu&s;t go into Captivity and be killed with the Sword.</P>
<P>The Bea&s;t then cannot po&s;&s;ibly be at an end before the execution of the third Woe upon him; And therefore nei|ther can the Twelve hundred and &s;ixty years of the two Witne&s;&s;es be at an end before the execution of that Woe upon the Bea&s;t. Now that the third Woe will require &s;ome con&s;iderable time to execute it in, after the beginning of the Seventh Trumpet, ought not to be que&s;tioned by any, who con&s;ider that the three Woes of the three la&s;t Trum|pets have a very &s;olemn mark &s;et upon them, at the fir&s;t notice, that is given of them Chap. 8. 13. E&s;pecially when it is al&s;o found, that the two fir&s;t of the&s;e three Woes have taken up above a thou&s;and years <HI>(Theor.</HI> 19.) and that this la&s;t contains in it the three la&s;t Vials. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 16.</NOTE></P>
<P>That which is argued for the &s;hort continuance of the third Woe, becau&s;e it is &s;aid to <HI>come quickly</HI> after the pa&s;&s;ing away of the Second, is of no force, except the <HI>coming quickly</HI> can be proved to &s;ignifie the <HI>going away quickly,</HI> which &s;eems <NOTE PLACE="marg">ver. 14.</NOTE> to be contrary to it. <HI>Coming quickly</HI> does indeed in &s;everal places in this Prophecy, and infinite places of Scripture be&s;ide, &s;ignifie no more than the &s;udden appearance of a <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Riberain Ch.</HI> 1. <HI>Apoc. Ver.</HI> 1. That which is <HI>begun</HI> is alrea|dy come.&mdash;The common u&s;age of Speech, and the u&s;age of Scripture, does ap|prove of <HI>that way of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word">.</HI> So al&s;o in Ver&s;e 3. <HI><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="3 letters">d.&mdash;For the time is at hand, i. e.</HI> For the&s;e things will &s;oon <HI>begin</HI> to come to pa&s;s,</NOTE> thing, not the &s;hort &s;tay of it.</P>
<PB N="103" REF="72">
<P> Wherefore it mu&s;t be concluded, That the end of the Bea&s;t, which is the &s;ame with the end of the Witne&s;&s;es Pro|phecy in Sackcloth, may be many &s;cores of years after the fir&s;t &s;ounding of the Seventh Trumpet. For though at the &s;ounding of the Seventh Trumpet it be &s;aid, that the King|doms of the World are become the Kingdoms of the Lord <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 15.</NOTE> and of his Chri&s;t, and that from thence he &s;hould reign for ever, yet it is al&s;o &s;aid, That the Seventh Trumpet is the Third Woe; And it mu&s;t fir&s;t execute that great Woe upon the Bea&s;t, before there can be &s;uch an univer&s;al Kingdom of Chri&s;t e&s;tabli&s;hed in the World.</P>
<P>There will indeed be no manner of difficulty to apprehend this, if it be but con&s;idered, That all the Trumpets, as well as the Seals and Vials, take up long periods of time within the compa&s;s of which the bu&s;ine&s;s mentioned in them is ful|filled; And therefore the Univer&s;al Reign of Chri&s;t in the Seventh Trumpet mu&s;t be under&s;tood of the concluding part of the period of the Seventh Trumpet, when the whole bu&s;ine&s;s of it is come to its compleat perfection and accom|pli&s;hment; And the means by which it is to be brought to its perfection being the ruine of the Kingdom of the Bea&s;t by the third Woe, well may the whole bu&s;i|ne&s;s of the Seventh Trumpet be repre&s;ented to be the advancement of the univer&s;al glorious Kingdom of Chri&s;t in the World for all the time, that the power of the Bea&s;t is gradually decaying under the third Woe, and that the True Church is advancing upon the ruines of it.</P>
<P>From hence then it appears, That the Two Witne&s;&s;es con|tinue a long while after their Re&s;urrection and A&s;cen&s;ion, or till the third Woe in the Seventh Trumpet be fully exe|cuted upon the Bea&s;t; Which, if it have any proportion to the two Woes before it, ought to continue for a great many years together.</P>
<P>It is therefore now ea&s;ie to under&s;tand, that by the fini&s;h|ing of the Te&s;timony of the Witne&s;&s;es ju&s;t before their be|ing <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 7.</NOTE> killed, cannot be meant the end of their Twelve hundred and &s;ixty years Prophecy. It may therefore denote either the time, when they had fully made known their Te&s;timony to the World, which might be &s;ome time after the Refor|mation, or when they were <HI>about</HI> fini&s;hing the Twelve hun|dred
<PB N="104" REF="73"> and &s;ixty years; As that word <HI>of fini&s;hing a bu&s;ine&s;s,</HI> is commonly u&s;ed for the latter part, but not the la&s;t conclu|&s;ion of Affairs that require a long time for the performance of them. The <HI>fini&s;hing</HI> them is many times meant of their being pa&s;t all the con&s;iderable bu&s;ine&s;s in them.</P>
<P>But that the fini&s;hing of their Te&s;timony cannot &s;ignifie the end of the time of their Sackcloth Prophecy is manife&s;t. For then the Forty two Months of the Bea&s;t would al&s;o have been at an end <HI>(Suppo&s;.</HI> 2.) Whereas the Bea&s;t is &s;aid after that time to have made War with them, and to have killed them; <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver 7.</NOTE> Which mu&s;t denote &s;ome years after that time, if we con|&s;ider, that the Witne&s;&s;es are the whole Body of the Church in all the Dominions of the Bea&s;t <HI>(Suppo&s;.</HI> 4.) And to make the time of the Bea&s;t to be at an end before this, is to make the Bea&s;t to be in the highe&s;t flu&s;h of his power after the end of his power, which is a Contradiction; Be&s;ides what has been already &s;aid of the continuance of the Bea&s;t for all the time of the third Woe in the Seventh Trumpet.</P>
<P>It may be thought to be incon&s;i&s;tent with the trium|phant &s;tate of the Re&s;urrection and A&s;cen&s;ion of the Witne&s;&s;es, that their Sackcloth-Prophecy &s;hould continue for a long while after that time, and even after the &s;ounding of the Seventh Trumpet.</P>
<P>But it may ea&s;ily be ob&s;erved, That the A&s;cen&s;ion of the Witne&s;&s;es, and the Conver&s;ion of their Enemies, did affect but a tenth part of the great City, which can &s;ignifie but a tenth part of the Kingdoms under the Authority of <HI>Babylon</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver 13.</NOTE> <HI>(Con&s;eq.</HI> 2. <HI>Theor.</HI> 21.) which hinders them not from being in Sackcloth &s;till under the re&s;t, though they &s;hould be ri&s;en again from the dead in tho&s;e other places al&s;o; And there is no more incon&s;i&s;tency in &s;uppo&s;ing them in Sackcloth an hundred years after their Re&s;urrection in &s;ome places, than there was in their being &s;aid to be in Sackcloth ever &s;ince the Reformation; Whereas the True Church has been the ruling or triumphing Religion of many Kingdoms &s;ince that time, and therefore far from being in Sackcloth in tho&s;e places.</P>
<P>'Tis enough to give them the denomination of their being the Witne&s;&s;es in Sackcloth for their whole time, That they were all in a &s;tate of Humiliation under the Bea&s;t,
<PB N="105" REF="73"> till ju&s;t about the latter end of their Prophecy, And that &s;ome of them continued to be &s;o till the very la&s;t time of it.</P>
<P>But that the being in Sackcloth for their whole time can|not be &s;aid of them in any other &s;en&s;e, appears from <HI>Theor.</HI> 33. where it is made unque&s;tionable, that the Witne&s;&s;es are not yet ri&s;en again, and therefore have been in their Sack|cloth &s;tate ever &s;ince the Reformation, notwith&s;tanding their flouri&s;hing appearance in &s;everal Kingdoms &s;ince that time.</P>
<P>From what has been here premi&s;ed there will now appear nothing in my Opinion concerning the end of the Reign of the Bea&s;t to hinder the fixing of the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es to the&s;e pre&s;ent times. For we &s;ee bu&s;ine&s;s enough in the third Woe of the Seventh Trumpet for to keep up their Adver&s;ary the Bea&s;t a long time after their Re&s;urrection and A&s;cen&s;ion, which will fill up the remaining part of the Twelve hundred and &s;ixty years of the Witne&s;&s;es, that in my way is &s;till yet to come from this pre&s;ent time.</P>
<P>IT IS therefore now to be enquired, Whether there be any Circum&s;tances, in the De&s;cription of the killing of the Witne&s;&s;es, that are &s;ufficient to determine it to this pre&s;ent time.</P>
<P>That which makes the faire&s;t offer of this kind is the Expre&s;&s;ion of the <HI>killing of the Witne&s;&s;es in Sackcloth.</HI> For &s;ince the killing of the Witne&s;&s;es is not an univer&s;al Extinction of the Profe&s;&s;ion of the True Religion <HI>(Theor.</HI> 31.) It mu&s;t then be &s;uppo&s;ed to extend no farther than to tho&s;e, to whom the Expre&s;&s;ions in the Prophecy &s;eem to confine it, that is, to the Witne&s;&s;es in Sackcloth, or to the Church in a &s;tate of Humiliation under the Bea&s;t, or his Party, which accord|ing to all Prote&s;tants can &s;ignifie nothing but the Prote&s;tant Churches under the Rule of Roman States.</P>
<PB N="106" REF="74">
<P> IF NOW we ca&s;t our eyes upon the pre&s;ent &s;tate of the Reformed Churches, in almo&s;t all parts of <HI>Europe,</HI> where|ever they have been under Roman Catholick States, it will appear, that they want very little or nothing of being totally &s;uppre&s;&s;ed. In all the Imperial Countries, in <HI>France, Poland,</HI> and <HI>Savoy,</HI> they have been &s;ilenced. And what other con&s;iderable part of the World is there, where they have any allowance under Roman Catholicks? Tis true, the Churches of <HI>England,</HI> and of the <HI>Palatinate,</HI> were lately come under Governors of the Roman Party; But they were far from being in a &s;tate of Humiliation under the Roman Church. For they were the ruling Religion in tho&s;e Coun|tries. They had all the Revenues and Preferments of the Church in tho&s;e Places; They had an open freedom and liberty in the publick Exerci&s;e of their Religion, and had all the Revenues of the ancient Roman Church for their encouragements in it; And the Exerci&s;e of the Religion of their Princes looked rather like a Toleration of it, than like the ruling commanding Religion of the Country.</P>
<P>The Prote&s;tant Churches therefore in tho&s;e places, mu&s;t fir&s;t have been di&s;po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed of their Rights, and have been brought down to a &s;tate of Toleration only, before they could have been in a capacity to be the Objects of this la&s;t Per&s;ecution.</P>
<P>Wherefore to all appearance, the Witne&s;&s;es in Sackcloth have been as really put to death by the Bea&s;t, or Roman Party, as can be expected to be requi&s;ite for the fulfilling of a Prophecy about &s;o large a Society, as the Witne&s;&s;es are known to &s;ignifie. For Prophecies about things of &s;o general and comprehen&s;ive a nature, do not u&s;ually regard every &s;mall part or &s;ingle member of that company; And therefore, though there may be &s;ome particular Towns, or little I&s;lands under the Domination of <HI>France,</HI> or &s;ome incon|&s;iderable Principalities in other places where the Witne&s;&s;es are not yet altogether &s;lain, That can &s;ignifie little or nothing to make one judge the Prophecy not to be as yet ful|filled.</P>
<PB N="107" REF="74">
<P> If it &s;hould be thought that the Churches of <HI>England</HI> and the Palatinate ought fir&s;t to have met with the &s;ame fate with the re&s;t of their Brethren, it mu&s;t be con&s;idered, That their condition has not yet qualified them to be Objects of this Per&s;ecution, becau&s;e they were not in a Sackcloth &s;tate. There is then all rea&s;on to judge by the outward appearances of things, that we have been now in the time of the Death of the Witne&s;&s;es.</P>
<P>I mu&s;t confe&s;s I &s;ee no manner of force in the Critici&s;m about the &s;ignification of <GAP DESC="foreign">, to induce me to it, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 8.</NOTE> as if that mu&s;t needs &s;ignifie the <HI>Great Place,</HI> or Market-place of the City, and &s;o denote the place to be <HI>France;</HI> For I find it very frequent in the <HI>Septuagint</HI> to &s;ignifie no more by that word in the &s;ingular number, than <HI>in the common &s;treets</HI> of the City, in oppo&s;ition to the being not &s;o openly expo&s;ed to view, without any re&s;triction to any one place in the Town, that is bigger than the re&s;t.</P>
<P>Be&s;ides, that <GAP DESC="foreign"> is the known word in the <HI>New Te&s;ta|ment,</HI> and very commonly u&s;ed to &s;ignifie a <HI>Market-place,</HI> and no where is <GAP DESC="foreign"> <HI>certainly</HI> known to be u&s;ed in that &s;ignification.</P>
<P>But yet &s;ince the Suppre&s;&s;ion of the Prote&s;tants in <HI>France</HI> was &s;o extremely remarkable for the new Methods, and the horrour of it, and did extend to far the large&s;t part of the Church, and e&s;pecially becau&s;e it was the <HI>la&s;t</HI> con&s;ide|rable &s;laughter of them, there is all rea&s;on to judge, That the three years and an half of their continuance in a &s;tate of Death did begin &s;oon after the Revocation of the Edict of <HI>Nants,</HI> that is, as &s;oon as the Promi&s;e in it of &s;uffering the Prote&s;tants to continue in the Kingdom without any further mole&s;tation of them, was violated by the Military Executions upon them, the immediate effect of which was the general Apo&s;ta&s;ie of the whole Church there.</P>
<P>It is certain that pre&s;ent Death could not have been &s;o much dreaded, as tho&s;e daily Vexations, which the Pro|te&s;tants were there under from tho&s;e Barbarous Executio|ners; Becau&s;e there was no pro&s;pect of any end of their mi&s;ery under them; And nothing could have more &s;hewn that Per|&s;ecution to be the <HI>la&s;t</HI> killing of the Witne&s;&s;es. For as the killing of the Witne&s;&s;es will appear to be the &s;ame with the
<PB N="108" REF="75"> great Per&s;ecution in Chap. 14. 12. So is Death there repre|&s;ented to be a great ea&s;e and deliverance from the evils which were to be endured in it, <HI>Theor.</HI> 40.</P>
<P>I cannot think that the faithful continuance of &s;ome Con|fe&s;&s;ors among them can &s;ignifie any thing to the retarding of the Death of the Witne&s;&s;es, becau&s;e they were &s;o few and incon&s;iderable. Nor can the Humiliation of the Prote&s;tants in <HI>Hungary</HI> &s;ignifie any thing to the retarding of this Date of the Death of the Witne&s;&s;es, becau&s;e they were totally &s;uppre&s;&s;ed there, about the &s;ame time that the Per&s;ecution began in <HI>France.</HI></P>
<P>That which makes me the more inclined to this Opinion, is the common u&s;e of the things of this Prophecy to have very &s;ignal and remarkable Events, and &s;uch as all the World mu&s;t take notice of, To fulfil every con&s;iderable thing, that is foretold in it; And as the French Per&s;ecution was the la&s;t &s;o it made far the greate&s;t noi&s;e in the World of any other.</P>
<P>It is no &s;mall confirmation of this to con&s;ider, That as the time, times and an half of the Bea&s;t and Witne&s;&s;es, have been found according to the very frequent u&s;e of the number 7 in this Prophecy to be a reference to &s;ome 7, of which they are the half; &s;o al&s;o do the three days and an half of the Death of the Witne&s;&s;es &s;eem to refer to &s;ome &s;even years. For they are a very preci&s;e number, and the only in&s;tance of that kind, except the time, times and an half. This would ex|actly an&s;wer the time of the French Per&s;ecution from the fir&s;t flight of the Prote&s;tants in <HI>Poictou</HI> to the <HI>Peoples and Tongues</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 9.</NOTE> in the Spring 1682, to the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es in the Year 1689, of which the fierce&s;t part of it at the Revoca|tion of the Edict of <HI>Nants</HI> would be the ju&s;t half, or three years and an half; But the three years and an half of the dead Bodies being re&s;trained to the <HI>Nations &s;ight of them,</HI> the &s;even <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 9.</NOTE> years may very well be apprehended to begin when the Peo|ples and Nations began to <HI>&s;ee</HI> the fir&s;t beginning of that la&s;t Execution in the Year 1682.</P>
<P>But yet if the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es &s;hould be retarded for &s;ome &s;mall while after the time, that this would fix it to; Here is &s;till matter enough from the&s;e Objections to ju&s;tifie the agreement of the Prophecy with the event;
<PB N="109" REF="75"> e&s;pecially if we con&s;ider withal, that the Per&s;ecution in <HI>Savoy</HI> ended not till a year after that in <HI>France;</HI> And &s;ince that was the rooting out of all the remainders of the old <HI>Albigen&s;es,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Mornay.</HI> pag. 318, 319.</NOTE> who were almo&s;t the only Party of the Witne&s;&s;es for many Ages together, that Per&s;ecution may po&s;&s;ibly be in|tended to &s;ignifie the la&s;t end of their Life for the la&s;t kil|ling of the Witne&s;&s;es, or their <HI>la&s;t &s;truggles</HI> with Death; And then the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es will not be, till a year after the time, that is counted upon from the Revoca|tion of the Edict of <HI>Nants.</HI></P>
<P>But till it appears to be deferred, we mu&s;t think it much more probable to be &s;ooner.</P>
<P>However, from that which is &s;aid about the pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;econd Woe ju&s;t after the A&s;cen&s;ion of the Witne&s;&s;es, and from the Characters of that &s;econd Woe, not only the Re&s;urrection but the A&s;cen&s;ion al&s;o of the Witne&s;&s;es &s;eems plainly to be confined within the &s;pace of a very few years from this pre&s;ent time. For I make account there is very great Evidence, that the &s;econd Woe mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily be very &s;hortly at an end, which will be the matter of the fol|lowing Chapter.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="8" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="110" REF="76">
<HEAD>CHAP. VIII.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>The time of the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es con|firmed from the Expiration of the time a&s;&s;igned to the Second Woe. The Second Woe is the Turki&s;h Empire. The Explication of the Hour, Day, Month, Year a&s;&s;igned to the Second Woe. The fir&s;t Date of that time.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>THE grounds that I rely upon to make me apprehend that the &s;econd Woe will be at an end within the&s;e few years, are the&s;e:</P>
<P N="1">1. That the Second Woe is the Turki&s;h Empire, and its Inva&s;ions upon the Roman Empire; And next, that the time of the continuance of that Woe is determined in the Pro|phecy to a &s;et number of Years; which if we count from the fir&s;t ri&s;e of the Ottoman Empire, about the Year 1300, will expire &s;oon after the Year 1690.</P>
<P>And <HI>fir&s;t,</HI> That the Second Woe is the Turki&s;h Empire, has been already demon&s;trated <HI>(Con&s;eq.</HI> 2. <HI>Theor.</HI> 19.) and will be &s;till further confirmed when it appears, That the time of the continuance of the Second Woe is more than Three hundred and ninety years. And this I will now endeavour to make appear to be nece&s;&s;ary from the Text.</P>
<P>The Four Angels, which are the matter of the Second Woe, are &s;aid to be prepared for an Hour, and a Day, and <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 9. 15.</NOTE> a Month, and a Year, to &s;lay the third part of Men.</P>
<P>To be <HI>prepared for an hour, a day, a month, and a year, to do a thing,</HI> does literally and properly &s;ignifie the length of time, that one continues either prepared for it, or in the perform|ing it. And we &s;ee every where in this Prophecy, that any mention of length of time in it, does &s;ignifie as many Years as it has Days in it <HI>(Suppo&s;.</HI> 2.) According to which, the Se|cond Woe mu&s;t continue at lea&s;t about Three hundred and
<PB N="111" REF="76"> ninety Years. For there is about that number of days in tho&s;e <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 9.</NOTE> parts of time above mentioned in any account of the days of a year.</P>
<P>It is a very frivolous Objection, which is here put in by &s;ome, That by the four Angels can never be meant, four Kings upon Earth; For their Armies are afterwards num|bred and their place made to be the River <HI>Euphrates</HI> upon <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 14, 16.</NOTE> Earth.</P>
<P>If it &s;hould be replied to this, That the being <HI>prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year</HI> does &s;igni|fie no more than that they were ready upon every occa&s;ion, or ready at a &s;et appointed time to &s;lay the third part of Men, here is this to offer again&s;t it.</P>
<P N="1">I. It appears not from any other example in Scripture, That there is any &s;uch u&s;e of the&s;e peculiar expre&s;&s;ions in &s;o indefinite a manner; <HI>To be prepared for an hour, or at a day,</HI> &amp;c. put alone by them&s;elves would, agreeably enough to the common u&s;e of them, &s;ignifie the being ready at a &s;et time, or at any time. But to be prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year joyned all to|gether mu&s;t have a very particular &s;ignification in it. For it would look very odly at this time to u&s;e &s;uch expre&s;|&s;ions as the&s;e, only to &s;ignifie &s;o common a thing, as a Man's con&s;tant readine&s;s at all times for his employment, to &s;ay of him, That he was ready for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year; when any one of them would have been enough, and it is not at all u&s;ual to joyn them all together. The lea&s;t therefore that can be &s;aid of this interpretation, is, That it is <HI>arbitrary,</HI> and <HI>without example;</HI> There is good rea&s;on therefore to apprehend it to be a my&s;tical, and no common expre&s;&s;ion.</P>
<P N="2">II. It is al&s;o contrary to the proper, and natural &s;igni|fication of the&s;e terms to under&s;tand them of a <HI>&s;et point</HI> of time, and not of <HI>the continuance</HI> of time. The fir&s;t of them would take away all the force of the other in the former &s;ignification. For if a Man be ready at an hour, it in|cludes in it his being ready at a day, as his being ready at a day includes his being ready at a month, and a
<PB N="112" REF="77"> year; And if there had been any de&s;ign to have &s;ignified an <HI>exact readine&s;s</HI> by tho&s;e words, they mu&s;t have been in a quite contrary order; It mu&s;t have been &s;aid that they were prepared for <HI>a year, and a month, and a day,</HI> and <HI>an hour.</HI> But in the order, in which they now lye, they do very properly, and naturally &s;ignifie the time of their <HI>con|tinuance,</HI> but very improperly, if not ab&s;urdly, any <HI>ex|act points</HI> of time; As this way of &s;peaking would now appear to be to expre&s;s the &s;et time of the beginning of a Campaign, that it was ready to begin at a day, and at a month, and at a quarter; Its being ready at <HI>a day</HI> in|cludes a much greater exactne&s;s in it, than its being ready <HI>at a month,</HI> and makes all that comes after it in&s;ignificant.</P>
<P N="3">III. On the other &s;ide we &s;ee it very u&s;ual in this Pro|phecy to joyn the length of the <HI>continuance</HI> of any con&s;i|derable thing to the mention of it, and to expre&s;s it by days, or months, which are known to &s;ignifie, as many years, as there are days in that quantity of time that is made mention of; As thrice in the next Chapter but one <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11. 1, 2, 9. Rev. 12. 6, 14.</NOTE> to this; And twice in the next to that about the Woman in the Wilderne&s;s.</P>
<P N="4">IV. But that which does &s;till more confirm the u&s;e of the&s;e expre&s;&s;ions here to be for a length of time, is the particular time of <HI>five months</HI> a&s;&s;igned to the Trumpet ju&s;t <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 9. 5, 10.</NOTE> before it; And this &s;ixth Trumpet being of the &s;ame kind with that before it, or one of the three great Woes, there is all manner of rea&s;on to make one conclude, That the day, and month, and year in this does al&s;o &s;ignifie the length of the time, that the&s;e Hor&s;e-men &s;hould con|tinue to be the &s;econd Woe. For the particular heavine&s;s of tho&s;e two Woes, is thereby &s;ignified to con&s;i&s;t chiefly in the prodigious length of their continuance in compari&s;on with any of the other Trumpets; And &s;ince the length of its continuance is expre&s;ly mentioned in the fir&s;t of them, and that there are words very proper for the &s;ignification of a particular length of time in this &s;econd Trumpet, it is a great pre&s;umption that they &s;ignifie nothing el&s;e here, but the <HI>length of the continuance</HI> of this Woe.</P>
<P N="5"><PB N="113" REF="77"> V. The employment al&s;o, that they were &s;aid to be pre|pared for, does &s;how that by the day, and month, and year mu&s;t be meant the length of the time, that they were to perform it in, and not any <HI>&s;et time,</HI> or upon every fit oc|ca&s;ion; For it is very improper to &s;ay, That a Nation is ready at an hour, or a day, or a month to <HI>&s;lay the third part of Men.</HI> The <HI>&s;laying of the third part of Men</HI> does de <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 15.</NOTE> note a continuance of action for a long time together. And it is impo&s;&s;ible to apprehend, that that can be done at any &s;et time, or upon every occa&s;ion offered.</P>
<P>Wherefore to be con&s;tant to the common u&s;e of all the parts of times in this Prophecy, by the day, month, and year of the four Angels in the &s;ixth Trumpet mu&s;t be under&s;tood about 390 years, that is, as many years as there are days in all tho&s;e &s;everal parcels of time, and the Ad|dition of the hour does determine it to that exact period of time.</P>
<P>There cannot therefore come in any other Conquerors about the River <HI>Euphrates</HI> after the end of the Turki&s;h Empire to be the &s;econd Woe before the &s;ounding of the &s;eventh Trumpet, and the end of the Reign of the Bea&s;t. For the &s;econd Woe, if it were &s;till to come, mu&s;t continue more than 390 years before the end of that time. Whereas according to all the con&s;iderable Opinions of Pro|te&s;tant Interpreters, <HI>(Suppo&s;.</HI> 3.) the end of the Reign of the Bea&s;t mu&s;t be long before that time; And yet the Reign of the Bea&s;t does not end till after the pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;e|cond Woe, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 1.)</P>
<P>It has al&s;o been &s;ufficiently a&s;&s;ured before, that the &s;econd <NOTE PLACE="marg">CHAP. VII.</NOTE> Woe cannot po&s;&s;ibly have been pa&s;&s;ed away either <HI>before</HI> or <HI>&s;ince</HI> the Turki&s;h Empire began, <HI>becau&s;e the</HI> Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es, which mu&s;t be before the pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;econd Woe, is not yet pa&s;t, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 33.)</P>
<P>It may now then be &s;afely concluded, That the Turki&s;h Ho&s;tilities are the &s;econd Woe, &s;ince the &s;econd Woe can neither be before them, nor come after them, and yet by the Character of it, it mu&s;t be in the &s;ame part of the <NOTE PLACE="marg">ver. 14.</NOTE> World, where they are now the Ma&s;ters.</P>
<PB N="114" REF="78">
<P> This conclu&s;ion will be as nece&s;&s;ary, let the years which are &s;ignified by the day, month, and year in the &s;econd Woe, be &s;uppo&s;ed to be of what kind they will. But it will be &s;erviceable for the fixing of the time both of their beginning, and their la&s;t ending, to enquire, of what kind the&s;e years are.</P>
<P>There &s;eems to be a Key plainly offered for the open|ing of the number of days, that are a&s;&s;igned to the length of a year in this Prophecy; And that appears from the 1260 days in the Twelfth Chapter to be 360 days to a year. For the Womans time in the Wilderne&s;s is there expre&s;|&s;ed to be a time, times and an half, and 1260 days. Now by the name of a time is by all agreed to be &s;ignified, a year, and the time, times and an half in that place, is an unanimou&s;ly agreed to &s;ignifie three years and an half. And then, from the 1260 days, which are the &s;ame with the time, times and an half, it appears that each of the&s;e years, can have but 360 days in it to make all the three years, and an half to contain in them but 1260 days.</P>
<P>According to this account the day, month and year in the &s;econd Woe, will be but 391 of &s;uch years as are now in common u&s;e.</P>
<P>It would a little puzzle one at the fir&s;t to imagine what &s;hould be the rea&s;on of this &s;trange computation of years contrary to what was then the common account of the number of days in them among&s;t both the Jews and Romans. For the Jews had long before followed the Grecian account of 365 days to the year ever &s;ince the Grecian Conque&s;t of them.</P>
<P>But the my&s;tery of this will &s;oon be di&s;covered, when it is con&s;idered, that the <HI>time, times, and an half</HI> in this Prophecy is a known reference to the &s;ame account of the times of the little Horn in <HI>Daniel;</HI> (Chap. 7.) And the indu&s;trious explication of that time in this place by Forty two Months and 1260 Days, is for no other end but to &s;ignifie, that the years here meant by the <HI>times</HI> are to be accounted according to the account of the Babylo|nian Month in who&s;e Reign <HI>Daniel</HI> Prophe&s;yed; And 'tis known, that the Babylonian year after the time of <HI>Nabo|na&s;&s;ar</HI> con&s;i&s;ted but of Twelve Months, each of Thirty days
<PB N="115" REF="78"> length, to which they added an Appendix of five days, which the <HI>Greeks</HI> called their <HI>Epagomena.</HI> So that when we find here 42 Months making but 1260 days, it is to be under&s;tood according to the <HI>Aegyptian</HI> and <HI>Babylonian</HI> account of 30 days to a month; As al&s;o the account of but 1260 days to three years, and an half, where the <HI>Epagomena</HI> is omit|ted, becau&s;e of the account by Months only.</P>
<P>This is the only tolerable rea&s;on, that I could ever find for expre&s;&s;ing the &s;ame length of time in this Prophecy in &s;o many different ways, though others are plea&s;ed with other fancies, among&s;t which Mr. <HI>Mede</HI>'s concerning the fitne&s;s of the <HI>Lunar</HI> to the Bea&s;t, and of the <HI>Solar</HI> for the Church is remarkable. But whether this way of account ought to be admitted of in the computation of the Day, Month and Year of the &s;econd Woe is not &s;o certain. All that can be &s;aid of it, is, That it is po&s;&s;ible to be &s;o; But the example of the time, and times is no proof of it. For that was a peculiar Phra&s;e taken out of <HI>Daniel,</HI> and &s;o had rea&s;on to be explained by 1260 Days and 42 Months according to the Babylonian account, which <HI>Daniel</HI> and all in tho&s;e Countrys did ordinarily then reckon by. But the Day, Month, and Year of the &s;econd Woe are not borrowed expre&s;&s;ions, and therefore &s;eem to have rea&s;on to be under&s;tood in the common way of their ac|ceptation in St. <HI>John</HI>'s time, that is, for 396 days, and there|fore in their Prophetical acceptation for &s;o many Years, and tho&s;e al&s;o Roman Years, becau&s;e tho&s;e were the years in u&s;e at the time of this Prophecy, as the <HI>Babylonian</HI> were in the time of <HI>Daniel.</HI></P>
<P>Upon enquiry after the fir&s;t date of the years here &s;ignified by the Day, Month and Year; It will &s;oon appear that they have &s;o great a Latitude for their Application to the Turki&s;h Inva&s;ions of the Roman Empire, that it will re|quire &s;ome care to find the determinate Point of the fir&s;t beginning of them; For the Turks, from their fir&s;t Inva|&s;ions of the Ea&s;tern Empire, have now continued above 600 Years; And therefore do we find very different appre|hen&s;ions, about the fir&s;t date of the&s;e years, Even among
<PB N="116" REF="79"> tho&s;e, who agree upon the &s;ignification of the number of the years from the&s;e Schemes in the Prophecy.</P>
<P>The only con&s;iderable differences, that I have met with, are the Opinions of Mr. <HI>Mede</HI> and Mr. <HI>Brightman.</HI></P>
<P>Mr. <HI>Mede</HI> would have the&s;e years begin with the fir&s;t &s;ettlement of the Turks about <HI>Euphrates,</HI> at the taking of <HI>Babylon</HI> in the Year 1057, and to end at the taking of <HI>Con&s;tantinople,</HI> by <HI>Mahomet</HI> the Great, in the Year 1453.</P>
<P>Mr. <HI>Brightman</HI> would have them begin at the joynt in|rodes of the Turks upon the Ea&s;tern Empire, about the year 1300, and to end in the year 1696.</P>
<P>Mr. <HI>Mede</HI>'s grounds for his Opinion are, <HI>Fir&s;t,</HI> That the four Angels are &s;aid to be prepared for &s;o long a time to &s;lay the third part of Men; And the &s;laying the third part of Men mu&s;t mean the total &s;ubver&s;ion of the <HI>Con|&s;tantinopolitan</HI> Empire to di&s;tingui&s;h it from the Inva&s;ions of the <HI>Saracens</HI> in the fir&s;t Woe, who are &s;aid not to have <HI>killed</HI> them, but only to have tormented them; Whereas <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 5.</NOTE> the <HI>Saracens</HI> did as much as the Turks again&s;t that Em|pire, excepting only the utter &s;ubver&s;ion of it; And the taking of <HI>Con&s;tantinople</HI> was the la&s;t conclu&s;ion of the Fate of the <HI>Con&s;tantinopolitan</HI> Empire, and &s;o might well be ac|counted the la&s;t Act of the &s;laying the third part of Men; And therefore be the la&s;t point of the period of the 396 years. That which he thinks does much confirm this ap|prehen&s;ion, is, That there were ju&s;t the number of 396 years betwixt the fir&s;t &s;ettlement of the Turks about <HI>Eu|phrates,</HI> (by which the Prophecy de&s;cribes them) and the taking of the City of <HI>Con&s;tantinople,</HI> which was the la&s;t end of the Ea&s;tern Empire.</P>
<P>But this Fancy of Mr. <HI>Mede</HI>'s does not an&s;wer the ac|count that we find in Hi&s;tory of the end of the Ea&s;tern Empire; And be&s;ides, it puts a very unnatural force upon the literal con&s;truction of the Text.</P>
<P N="1">1. For fir&s;t, though it be acknowledged that by the third part of Men is meant the Ea&s;tern Empire, the taking of <HI>Con&s;tantinople</HI> has no rea&s;on to be accounted the la&s;t end of
<PB N="117" REF="79"> the Ea&s;tern Empire: For there was another Imperial Throne at <HI>Trapezond</HI> which was not de&s;troyed till near ten years after; Which does take away the foundation that made Mr. <HI>Mede</HI> &s;o very much plea&s;ed with this Fancy, that is, the exact agreement of the event with the words of the Prophecy to a year; E&s;pecially when with this it is remem|bred, that the&s;e years according to the number of days in a year in this Prophecy may not be above 391 of our common years, and &s;o would have been expired about &s;ix years before the la&s;t end of the Empire of <HI>Con&s;tanti|nople,</HI> but fifteen years before the end of that at <HI>Trapezond.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. Again, the number of years is agreed by Mr. <HI>Mede</HI> to be mentioned here, as the length of the continuance of the &s;econd Woe in &s;laying the third part of Men; And how incongruous would it be with the event to make tho&s;e years reach no farther, than the taking the Imperial Seat of the Ea&s;tern Empire, when as the Turks have been for near Two hundred years &s;ince that time as bad a Plague to the remainders of that Empire, as they ever were before. And it appears from the difference betwixt the &s;miting the third part of the Sun in the fourth Trumpet, and the &s;lay|ing the third part of Men in this &s;ixth, (which is upon that account made one of the three great Woes in di&s;tincti|on to the fir&s;t four Trumpets) that it is not the Imperial Throne, that is here &s;ignified by the third part of Men, but the Body of the Roman Power in that part of the Empire, as a di&s;tinct People of that name, which were put <NOTE PLACE="marg">See <HI>Grotius</HI> in Note the fir&s;t on Chap. 3. and Chap. 4.</NOTE> an end to, or lo&s;t in the Nation, that over-ran them, and conquered them.</P>
<P>It will in the next place appear to put a very unnatural force upon the literal con&s;truction of the Text to make the&s;e 396 Years to end at the taking of <HI>Con&s;tantinople</HI> by the Turks.</P>
<P N="3">3. For there is a de&s;cription in the Text of four Angels <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 14.</NOTE> bound in the River <HI>Euphrates,</HI> <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">See Mr. <HI>Mede</HI> on v. 14. chap. 9. Rev.</NOTE> which is agreed on both &s;ides to be the &s;ettlement of the Turki&s;h Sultanies in tho&s;e parts a long time before their famous joint Inva&s;ions of that Em|pire upon their removal from tho&s;e parts of <HI>A&s;ia.</HI> They
<PB N="118" REF="80"> are al&s;o &s;aid upon their being loo&s;ed, to be prepared for an Hour, and a Day, and a Month, and a Year; or, as it is <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 15.</NOTE> al&s;o <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">See the be|ginning of this Chapter.</NOTE> agreed, for 396 Years, to &s;lay the third part of Men; And the word <GAP DESC="foreign"> here rendred <HI>preparea</HI> does properly &s;ignifie the being in <HI>a readine&s;s</HI> to do it.</P>
<P>Wherefore, when they are &s;aid to be in a readine&s;s for 396 years to &s;lay the third part of Men, the natural &s;ig|nification of tho&s;e expre&s;&s;ions would by all impartial per&s;ons be judged to be either that they were in a readi|ne&s;s for 396 years together, <HI>before they were let loo&s;e,</HI> to do it, or that they were ready to &s;lay the third part of Men for 396 years <HI>after they were loo&s;ed;</HI> Their being in a readine&s;s for 396 years mu&s;t &s;ignifie either that they were ready for &s;o long a time together <HI>before</HI> their being let loo&s;e to do it, or that they were in a readine&s;s to act for all that length of time, <HI>after</HI> they were let loo&s;e for it.</P>
<P>But in Mr. <HI>Mede</HI>'s way it mu&s;t &s;ignifie that they were ready partly before and partly after they were let loo&s;e for that execution. For <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>In Cap.</HI> 9. <HI>Apoc.</HI> Ver. 14.</NOTE> he does grant, that the unbind|ing, or loo&s;ing of the Turks in the Text was about the year 1300, and &s;o makes 243 of the 396 years to be <HI>before</HI> that loo&s;ing of them, and 153 of tho&s;e years to be <HI>after</HI> their loo&s;ing; Which yet is not pretended to have any thing in the Text to favour it, and be&s;ides is contrary to the natural force of the words.</P>
<P>It may be &s;aid indeed, That the &s;laying the third part of Men &s;ignifies only the la&s;t Act of the Subver&s;ion of the <HI>Con|&s;tantinopolitan</HI> Empire, &s;ince every thing el&s;e was but the &s;ame with the tormenting them, which is attributed to tho&s;e <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 5.</NOTE> of the Fifth Trumpet before this with an expre&s;s di&s;tinction of the term of <HI>tormenting</HI> them from that of <HI>killing</HI> them; ju&s;t as the killing of the Witne&s;&s;es in the Eleventh Chapter is agreed to be under&s;tood of the la&s;t con&s;iderable Sup|pre&s;&s;ion of the True Religion, though they had been killed in other Countries long before; For the three days and an half begin from that la&s;t Suppre&s;&s;ion of them only.</P>
<PB N="119" REF="80">
<P> In this &s;en&s;e, the readine&s;s of the Turks for the Three hundred ninety &s;ix years to perform that la&s;t Act of the ruine of the Ea&s;tern Empire, may very properly &s;ignifie their being ready from their fir&s;t &s;ettlement in <HI>A&s;ia</HI> for the performance of that la&s;t work, which was the bu&s;ine&s;s, that they were de&s;igned for, and for which all the time of their continuance there was wholly intended.</P>
<P>But it is very ea&s;ie to ob&s;erve, that the &s;laying of the third part of Men is joyned with the <HI>letting loo&s;e</HI> of the An|gels that were bound in the River <HI>Euphrates,</HI> and that the de&s;ign of their being <HI>loo&s;ed</HI> was for that end; And therefore that the fir&s;t beginning of &s;laying the third part of Men mu&s;t be &s;oon after their being let loo&s;e upon the Roman Empire, which &s;hews, that though the la&s;t murdering Act of this Employment was the utter Subver&s;ion of the Ea&s;tern Empire; yet that the whole proce&s;s of it from the beginning to the end is here to be under&s;tood by the &s;laying them from that time, that it was begun upon the <HI>loo&s;ing</HI> of the four Angels to the la&s;t accompli&s;hment of it. Wherefore the &s;laying of the third part of Men mu&s;t begin long before the concluding part of the Three hundred ninety &s;ix years, or from the time of their being <HI>let loo&s;e.</HI></P>
<P N="4">IV. And &s;ince their being in a readine&s;s is placed in the Text betwixt the letting loo&s;e of the Conquerors, and the execution of the de&s;ign, that they were let loo&s;e for, 'tis far more natural to under&s;tand it of a readine&s;s at that time to execute their de&s;ign, than of being ready Three hundred ninety &s;ix years before.</P>
<P N="5">V. Since it is left indifferent in the Text to joyn the Day, Month and Year either with their being prepared to Act, or with the Action and Employment it &s;elf, it is far more agreeable to <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">See Chap 9. 5, 10. Chap. 11. 3. and 12. 14. Chap. 13. 5.</NOTE> all the Examples of any length of time, that is men|tioned in this Prophecy, to joyn it to the Action it &s;elf, than to the being prepared for it; And the Action it &s;elf is the &s;laying the third part of Men, which is agreed not to begin till about the Year 1300.</P>
<P N="6"><PB N="120" REF="81"> VI. Be&s;ides, it is very improper to call the time of the Turks being bound in the River <HI>Euphrates,</HI> their <HI>being ready prepared to &s;lay the third part of Men,</HI> as they mu&s;t do who will have the Three hundred ninety &s;ix years to begin before their being loo&s;ed from thence. For the binding the Angels in the River <HI>Euphrates,</HI> is agreed by all to &s;ignifie a check upon their Power, and a confinement of them within their own Bounds, which is contrary to their being ready prepared to invade or to de&s;troy others.</P>
<P N="7">VII. And then, as altogether improper is it to give the time, that they were executing this murdering de&s;ign after they were loo&s;ed, the <HI>&s;ame</HI> Expre&s;&s;ion, of <HI>being in a readine&s;s only</HI> to do it, which in this way is given to that &s;tate, in which they were for all the time that they were bound, or hindred from executing their de&s;ign, before they were loo&s;ed. For of the&s;e two parcels of time, that is, of the Years in which they were <HI>bound,</HI> and of tho&s;e in which they were <HI>loo&s;ed,</HI> mu&s;t the&s;e Three hundred ninety &s;ix years of being in a readine&s;s be made up in Mr. <HI>Mede</HI>'s way.</P>
<P N="8">VIII. The time of the Saracen Ho&s;tilities again&s;t the Roman Empire, as the fir&s;t Woe, is &s;et out in the Prophecy by the number of <HI>five Months</HI> twice repeated, which do reach to the whole time of their Inva&s;ions of the Ea&s;tern and We&s;tern <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 5. 10.</NOTE> Empire; And this comes ju&s;t before the mention of the Three hundred ninety &s;ix years of this &s;ixth Trumpet, which is the &s;econd Woe. Well therefore may the time that is here pre&s;cribed for the continuance of the &s;econd Woe be concluded to &s;ignifie nothing but the whole time of its con|tinuance to be that Woe; And the time a&s;&s;igned for that, is tho&s;e parts of time, which are agreed to &s;ignifie Three hundred ninety &s;ix years; The Date of which is expre&s;&s;ed in the Prophecy to be at the loo&s;ing of the four Angels, which is agreed to be about the Year 1300.</P>
<P N="9">IX. From the proper and natural Con&s;truction of the Text, the whole matter of the &s;econd Woe will appear to fall within the time which is agreed to be a&s;&s;igned to the &s;laying
<PB N="121" REF="81"> of the third part of Men; And therefore the &s;econd Woe, or the Turki&s;h Ho&s;tilities, not being yet pa&s;t, the Three hundred and ninety &s;ix years can begin but very few years before the Year 1300; For there are very near Three hun|dred ninety &s;ix years pa&s;t &s;ince that time, though we &s;hould account them common Years. But according to the Apoca|lyptical Account of Three hundred and &s;ixty Days to a Year in the then time and times, there has been already Three hundred ninety three Chaldaick Years and an half &s;ince that time.</P>
<P>And that the <HI>whole matter</HI> of the &s;econd Woe does fall within the Years a&s;&s;igned to the &s;laying the third part of Men does thus appear from the mo&s;t proper acceptation of the Ex|pre&s;&s;ions of the Text.</P>
<P>The third part of Men, and the <HI>re&s;t, that were not killed,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 18, 20.</NOTE> are the <HI>whole matter,</HI> or Object, of the &s;econd Woe; And the killing the third part of Men, and the not killing the re&s;t, mu&s;t in propriety of Speech be under&s;tood of the &s;ame time of Action, when &s;ome were killed, and the re&s;t e&s;caped; As, when in the fir&s;t Woe it is &s;aid, that they &s;hould hurt only tho&s;e Men, who had not the Seal of God in their Foreheads, it is plain, that the re&s;t, or the 144000 were &s;ignified to be &s;ecure for all that &s;ame time of the five Months during which that Plague continued upon others.</P>
<P>E&s;pecially if we con&s;ider, that tho&s;e who are &s;aid here <HI>not to be killed,</HI> are &s;aid <HI>not to have repented upon it;</HI> which intimates them to have been Sufferers in the&s;e Judgments <HI>at the time,</HI> when the other were killed, that is, within the time of the Three hundred ninety &s;ix years.</P>
<P>Be&s;ides, the whole bu&s;ine&s;s of the four Angels, who are the &s;econd Woe, &s;eems to be expre&s;&s;ed at the fir&s;t &s;ounding of the &s;ixth Trumpet to be to &s;lay the third part of Men; and this is limited to a &s;et number of Years, as it is granted by Mr. <HI>Mede.</HI> When therefore there comes in afterwards the mention of the <HI>Re&s;t,</HI> who were not &s;lain, who would ever under&s;tand their not being &s;lain, but of the &s;ame time, when the others were &s;lain, which had at fir&s;t been mentioned, as the whole time of the Plague of the four Angels?</P>
<P>The Three hundred ninety &s;ix years therefore are the whole time of the &s;econd Woe, and &s;o are known not to be capable
<PB N="122" REF="82"> of beginning till about the Year 1300, becau&s;e they are not yet at an end. For the Turks are at this pre&s;ent in Arms again&s;t the We&s;tern Empire.</P>
<P>And be&s;ides it appears, That the &s;econd Woe is not to end till after the A&s;cen&s;ion of the Witne&s;&s;es, <HI>Rev.</HI> 11. 14. and the A&s;cen&s;ion of the Witne&s;&s;es is certainly yet to come, as has before been &s;hewn, <HI>Theor.</HI> 33.</P>
<P>It is manife&s;t, that the main rea&s;on of deferring the De|claration in Chap. 11. 14. concerning the pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;econd Woe &s;o long after the true place of it, that is, at the end of the Ninth Chapter, was only to determin the time of the Re&s;urrection and A&s;cen&s;ion of the Witne&s;&s;es.</P>
<P>We may therefore now &s;ecurely conclude, That the Years, agreed to be &s;ignified by the Day, Month and Year in the &s;econd Woe, are to be accounted from the time, that the Turks were let loo&s;e upon the Roman Empire, after they had continued for &s;ome time &s;etled in the Parts of <HI>A&s;ia</HI> about <HI>Euphrates.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="9" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="123" REF="82">
<HEAD>CHAP. IX.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>The particular Date of the Hour, Day, Month and Year &s;tated. The end of the &s;econd Woe, or of all Turki&s;h Wars ju&s;t at hand. And therefore the recovery of the Prote&s;tant Churches by the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es to be very &s;hortly expected. The Parallel in the Twelfth Chapter of</HI> Daniel <HI>with this of the Re&s;ur|rection of the Witne&s;&s;es, and the end of the &s;econd Woe.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>FOR our better &s;atisfaction about the point of time to <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 9.</NOTE> which this loo&s;ing of the Turks from their ancient Set|tlements in <HI>A&s;ia</HI> is to be fixed, from whence the Three hun|dred ninety &s;ix years are to begin their Date, it is agreed by <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg"><HI>Med.</HI> 586. A little before the year 1300.</NOTE> Mr. <HI>Mede,</HI> and others, that it was about the Year 1300.</P>
<P>But becau&s;e all hopes of coming to any determinate know|ledge about the end of the &s;econd Woe, and con&s;equently about the utmo&s;t bounds of the time of the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es, does wholly depend upon the clear &s;tating of the fir&s;t date of the&s;e Years, I will make a more particular Enquiry after the Circum&s;tances that are to &s;ix and determine the fir&s;t beginning of them at the letting loo&s;e of the Turks upon the Roman Empire.</P>
<P>It is a very &s;urprizing thing to &s;ee how particularly the Circum&s;tances of the fir&s;t entrance of the&s;e Euphratean Kings upon their Office are de&s;cribed, as well as to how preci&s;e and &s;et a number of Years they are confined for the di&s;charge of it, as has been ju&s;t now ob&s;erved.</P>
<P>Their fir&s;t entrance upon their work is de&s;cribed to be after the loo&s;ing of the four Angels, which had for &s;ome while been bound in the River <HI>Euphrates.</HI> By this very De&s;cription of them, they mu&s;t have been always under&s;tood, &s;ince the Prophecy was given, to have been &s;ome four Barbarous Kings about the Confines of the Roman Empire in <HI>A&s;ia.</HI> For <HI>Euphrates</HI> was the la&s;t Bounds of the Roman Empire, and of
<PB N="124" REF="83"> the Jewi&s;h Commonwealth, where the Prophecy was given. And by their Armies, and Conque&s;ts, and Equipage, the&s;e four Angels appear to be other kind of fa&s;hioned Kings, than were ever known among Civiliz'd Nations.</P>
<P>But we are &s;pared the labour of any further particular &s;earch after them by the di&s;covery that has been already made of <NOTE PLACE="marg">CHAP. VIII. of this Part.</NOTE> them, which has made it unque&s;tionable that they mu&s;t &s;ignifie four Kingdoms of the Turks.</P>
<P>If we con&s;ult with Hi&s;tory for the &s;ignification of this bind|ing and loo&s;ing of the Turks about the River <HI>Euphrates,</HI> this Account we &s;hall find of it:</P>
<P>The Turks, who before had been for the mo&s;t part a wan|dring <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Knowles</HI> Tur|ki&s;h Hi&s;tory.</NOTE> People, in the Year 1042, ro&s;e up again&s;t their Ma&s;ters in <HI>Per&s;ia,</HI> by whom they had been taken into Pay, and made them&s;elves Ma&s;ters of that Kingdom. From thence they made their Encroachments upon the Roman Empire in <HI>A&s;ia,</HI> and under &s;everal Leaders had erected four Kingdoms about the Confines of the River <HI>Euphrates,</HI> ju&s;t a little before the fir&s;t famous Expedition of the We&s;tern Chri&s;tians, or the <HI>Cru|&s;ado</HI>'s into <HI>Palae&s;tine,</HI> &s;omewhat before the Year 1100.</P>
<P>The&s;e Kingdoms were the <NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg"><HI>Mede</HI> 585.</NOTE> four Sultanies. 1. At <HI>Cae&s;area</HI> in <HI>Cappadocia,</HI> begun there by <HI>Cutlumu&s;us,</HI> but confined to the Borders of <HI>Euphrates</HI> in the time of <HI>Solyman</HI> his Succe&s;&s;or. 2. Of <HI>Aleppo.</HI> 3. Of <HI>Dama&s;cus.</HI> And 4. Of <HI>Bagdad,</HI> which were all up by the Year 1080. And though there was now and then a greater number of the&s;e Kingdoms than four, yet, as the many Divi&s;ions of the Grecian Monarchy in the third Kingdom of <HI>Daniel</HI> are determined to the number Four, becau&s;e that was <NOTE PLACE="marg">Dan 7. 6.</NOTE> the mo&s;t la&s;ting number of the mo&s;t con&s;iderable of them: So may this number very well comprehend in it the whole time of the Divi&s;ions of the Turki&s;h Monarchy, though they were not without &s;ome incon&s;iderable Variations from it.</P>
<P>This Settlement therefore of the Turks in that fourfold Kingdom about the Confines of the River <HI>Euphrates</HI> for about an Hundred and fifty Years together without any con&s;iderable advances upon the Roman Empire, may very properly be called in Prophecy, as it is there, Their being bound in the River <HI>Euphrates,</HI> that is, about the Bounds or Coa&s;ts of that River; For in no other manner can four Kings be imagined to be bound within a River; And &s;o would any one now
<PB N="125" REF="83"> conclude of the &s;ame kind of Expre&s;&s;ion concerning any River of <HI>England:</HI> For Example, That there were in former times three or four Kings bound within the River <HI>Thames,</HI> or <HI>Trent,</HI> or <HI>Severn,</HI> that it mu&s;t denote the Settlement of three or four Kingdoms of the Saxon Heptarchy within the Bounds of tho&s;e Rivers. Their being &s;aid to be bound there, would be judged to be nothing more, but their being there fixed by Providence, and kept in and confined there by neighbouring Princes.</P>
<P>But there is a very eminent circum&s;tance in the Account of the fir&s;t Settlement of the&s;e four Kingdoms about the River <HI>Euphrates,</HI> to which the binding of the&s;e four Angels may be in all rea&s;on apprehended to refer; And that is, the fore|mentioned Expedition of the <HI>Cru&s;ado</HI>'s into <HI>Palae&s;tine</HI> for the Holy War, and their continual Wars with the Turki&s;h Sul|tans from the very fir&s;t. For by this means were the ad|vances of the Turks upon the Ea&s;tern Empire repre&s;&s;ed. Within le&s;s than Twenty Years they were beaten out of the mo&s;t con&s;iderable places of the We&s;tern part of their En|croachments, e&s;pecially in <HI>Syria</HI> and <HI>Palae&s;tine;</HI> So that they were forced back again to the more Ea&s;tern Parts of <HI>A&s;ia</HI> about the River <HI>Euphrates.</HI></P>
<P>This was &s;o very remarkable a check to the Turki&s;h pro|gre&s;s, and it makes &s;o great a figure in the Affairs of tho&s;e times, that it may very well be concluded to have a &s;pecial remark &s;et upon it in the Prophecy; E&s;pecially when it is con&s;idered, that this Holy War began ju&s;t about tho&s;e times, when the&s;e four Kingdoms of the Turks in <HI>A&s;ia</HI> were fir&s;t founded; Which was not above twenty years before that Expedition, and ended but ju&s;t before that great Inundation of the Turks upon the Greek Empire, <HI>Anno Dom.</HI> 1300, and was back'd by the greate&s;t Confederacy of the Roman State that ever was known, by the Authority of the mo&s;t famous of all the Roman Councils, that of the fir&s;t <HI>Lateran.</HI></P>
<P>And then the loo&s;ing of the four Angels from the place to which they were bound, mu&s;t at lea&s;t &s;ignifie the freeing of the Turks from this, and all other Checks and Confinements, And their Commotions and Inva&s;ions of the remainders of the Roman Empire, upon which this and all other Plagues of the Trumpets do certainly fall. The bu&s;ine&s;s for which they were loo&s;ed we &s;ee is &s;aid to be to &s;lay the third
<PB N="126" REF="84"> part of Men, from which they had before been hin|dered.</P>
<P>Now it is well known, that the check, that was given to the progre&s;s of the Turks by the Holy War, was all taken off at the Conque&s;t of all the remainders of the Kingdom of <HI>Je|ru&s;alem,</HI> and at the abandoning of <HI>Palae&s;tine</HI> by the We&s;tern Chri&s;tians; And there were therefore two points of time to which the loo&s;ing of the bound Angels might refer in this re&s;pect. The one was at the taking of <HI>Ptolemais</HI> by the <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Anno</HI> 1291.</NOTE> <HI>Egyptian</HI> Sultan, which was the la&s;t Town then remaining in the Hands of the Chri&s;tians, and from whence upon that ac|count the end of the Holy War in <HI>Palae&s;tine</HI> is generally dated by the Hi&s;torians.</P>
<P>But it may be ob&s;erved, that ju&s;t about the &s;ame time <HI>Ca&s;|&s;anes</HI> one of the Tartar Princes invaded <HI>Syria,</HI> and recovered <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> together with all the mo&s;t con&s;iderable Cities of <HI>Syria,</HI> out of the hands of the <HI>Egyptian</HI> Sultan, and did there|upon put <HI>Tyre</HI> into the hands of the Chri&s;tians with many other Towns and Forts, which the Knights Ho&s;pitallers, and Templers defended till about the Year 1300; At which time the <HI>Egyptian</HI> Sultan recovered all again, into his hands; And all the Orders of the Knights, that had continued till then to be the Champions of the Chri&s;tians again&s;t the Infidels for about 200 years, were thereupon for ever driven out of tho&s;e parts.</P>
<P>This is the account of the continuance of the Holy War in <HI>Palae&s;tine;</HI> But at the time of the fir&s;t of the&s;e two dates, that is, in the year 1291 the Turks them&s;elves were over|run by the Tartars, and made Tributaries to them, and had been for many years in that condition, before the end of the Holy War, which in the latter time of it, was only again&s;t the <HI>Mamalukes</HI> in <HI>Egypt,</HI> without any concern with the Turks. Wherefore &s;ince there are now about 396 years pa&s;t &s;ince the year 1291, and that the Turks do &s;till con|tinue to be the Second Woe, the date of tho&s;e years can|not be taken from that time; Nor can it be thought, that any remainders of that War with the Knights Ho&s;pitallers, and Templers till the year 1300 were a continuance of the binding of the Turks to the confines of <HI>Euphrates,</HI> &s;ince we &s;ee that the Holy War had had nothing to do with
<PB N="127" REF="84"> the Turks for many years before the year 1291. The Turks had been long before invaded, and over-run by the Tartars, and the Sultans of <HI>Egypt</HI> were the only Adver&s;aries, that the <HI>Cru&s;adoes</HI> had to do with.</P>
<P>Wherefore for a further &s;atisfaction about the point of time, when the Turks, who were before confined to the We&s;tern parts of <HI>A&s;ia</HI> about <HI>Euphrates</HI> were loo&s;ed from thence, it is requi&s;ite to enquire from their Hi&s;tory, at what time they were freed from the chief hinderances of their advances upon the <HI>Con&s;tantinopolitan</HI> Empire, and when they did thereupon actually begin their joynt Inva&s;ions of it with &s;ucce&s;s; Of which we have this following ac|count.</P>
<P>About the year 1260, when the power of the <HI>Cru&s;adoes</HI> in <HI>Palae&s;tine</HI> was decaying, the Great Tartar Cham made &s;uch an inroad upon the Turks all over <HI>A&s;ia,</HI> that they took away all their Sultanies from them. They did indeed &s;uffer &s;ome of them to enjoy their Soveraignty in &s;ome &s;mall part of their ancient Dominions, but yet as their Slaves and Tributaries.</P>
<P>This &s;ubjection to the Tartars continued to be acknowledged till the end of the Reign of <HI>Aladin</HI> the younger, which was about the year 1300. But he dying without I&s;&s;ue, and his Vizier <HI>Sahib</HI> being thrown off, the great Men of his Kingdom &s;hared his Dominions among&s;t them&s;elves; And from that time they began their &s;everal Inva&s;ions up|on the <HI>Greek</HI> Empire with great &s;ucce&s;s. Among&s;t the&s;e was <HI>Ottoman,</HI> the founder of the pre&s;ent <HI>Ottoman</HI> Empire; who, as he was far the greate&s;t Conqueror of them all in his time, &s;o did his Family after him &s;oon &s;wallow up the divided Kingdoms of the re&s;t; And &s;o have they conti|nued the &s;ole Monarchs of the Turki&s;h Empire to this day.</P>
<P>Now as the pre&s;ent <HI>Ottoman</HI> Family has ever &s;ince the Union of all the other Kingdoms of the Turks to it been it &s;elf alone the whole Party of the four Angels, who in the Prophecy are &s;aid to &s;lay the third part of Men, &s;o are we by that directed to enquire, when that Family fir&s;t be|gan tho&s;e Conque&s;ts upon the Ea&s;tern Empire, which have gone on ever &s;ince without any interruption. For from that time was the <HI>Ottoman</HI> Kingdom <HI>let loo&s;e</HI> to perform the Work,
<PB N="128" REF="85"> which is a&s;&s;igned to the four Angels in the Prophecy, and have ever &s;ince continued in it.</P>
<P>It is unque&s;tionable, that about the year 1300 upon <HI>Aladin</HI>'s Death, <HI>Ottoman</HI> was an ab&s;olute Soveraign; And at that time all the re&s;t of the divided Sultanies began with him to invade the Roman Empire; So that there is no que&s;tion to be made, whether the loo&s;ing of the four Angels was at that time fulfilled; All manner of check, or confinement was then taken off them, the Tartars Tri|bute was at an end, and every one of them &s;et up for him&s;elf, and advanced upon the neighbouring Provinces of the <HI>Greek</HI> Empire.</P>
<P>But we find <HI>Ottoman</HI> full of action and &s;ucce&s;s before that time; He &s;ucceeded his Father <HI>Orthogrul</HI> about the year 1290. That very year he gained the Ca&s;tles of <HI>Chalce,</HI> and <HI>Chara chi&s;ar,</HI> and &s;oon after, the Ca&s;tle of <HI>Einegiol,</HI> and before <HI>Aladin</HI>'s Death he took the City of <HI>Nice,</HI> which had continued all the time of the Reign of the <HI>Latins</HI> at <HI>Con&s;tantinople</HI> to be the Imperial Seat of the <HI>Greek</HI> Empire till about thirty years before. He was indeed all this time but an underling to <HI>Aladin;</HI> But yet he had the ab&s;olute command of his Country, and power of making Conque&s;ts upon the Chri|&s;tians, and upon the taking of <HI>Nice</HI> had a Commi&s;&s;ion from <HI>Aladin</HI> to take the name and honours of a Sultan upon him. <HI>Ottoman</HI> indeed is &s;aid to have been &s;paring of u&s;ing them, while <HI>Aladin</HI> lived; But his Conque&s;ts are &s;uffi|cient to &s;how that the murdering employment of the Angels was then begun with that &s;ucce&s;s, that it continued ever af|ter without any con&s;iderable interruption.</P>
<P>Wherefore though the Turks might continue to be under &s;ubjection to the Tartars for all the time of <HI>Aladin,</HI> yet &s;ince that was no &s;top to <HI>Ottoman</HI>'s conquering Spirit, it is very rea&s;onable to apprehend, that the loo&s;ing of the Turks from their confinement to &s;lay the third part of Men was begun by <HI>Ottoman</HI> in <HI>Aladin</HI>'s life time; E&s;peci|ally con&s;idering that the Prophecy does generally pitch up|on very remarkable events in all its figures; And that nothing can be more remarkable, than the fir&s;t beginning of the <HI>Ottoman</HI> Power, which the taking an Imperial Seat of the Empire might be very well accounted.</P>
<PB N="129" REF="85">
<P> According to this it is po&s;&s;ible enough for the 396 years in the Prophecy to begin &s;ome years before the year 1300, if we account them common years.</P>
<P>But they cannot begin after that year, becau&s;e there was in that year a very eminent letting loo&s;e of the Turks, who had before been kept under, and confined within their own bounds; The immediate effect of which was, their entring upon the murdering employment, for which the loo&s;ing of the four Angels was de&s;igned, and which has been continued without interruption &s;ince that time.</P>
<P>But it is al&s;o as certain, that the date of the&s;e years can|not begin long before the Year 1300, becau&s;e, there are very near 396 years now pa&s;&s;ed &s;ince that time, and yet the Turks continue &s;till to be the Second Woe.</P>
<P>Wherefore upon the &s;ame account is the end of the&s;e years as capable of various applications, as their beginning; That is, though they cannot be continued beyond the year 1696, yet may they be at an end &s;ome few years &s;ooner. Thus were the &s;eventy years of the Babyloni&s;h Captivity capable of being dated either from the fir&s;t beginnings of it in the days of <HI>Jeh<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">jakim,</HI> or from the la&s;t accompli&s;h|ment of it in the utter de&s;olation of <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> in the Reign <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Kings 24 1. Chap. 25. 1.</NOTE> of <HI>Zed<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">kiah.</HI> And by the event we &s;ee it fixed to the fir&s;t, which was that, which would have been the lea&s;t thought of.</P>
<P>It is therefore manife&s;t, that according to the common cu&s;tom of almo&s;t all the Applications of the my&s;tical figures in this Prophecy, there are very remarkable cir|cum&s;tances, to make the beginning of the Second Woe in the &s;ixth Trumpet to be ob&s;erved by all the World, and tho&s;e are, The general Inva&s;ion of the Ea&s;tern Em|pire by the Turks, and this at the &s;ame time with the ri&s;e of the <HI>Ottoman</HI> Empire, and at the la&s;t end of the Ho|ly War; Which had all of them eight or mine years La|titude to be applied to. The end of the Holy War may be either dated from the year 1291, or from about the year 1300. The beginning of the <HI>Ottoman</HI> Empire, and of the Turki&s;h Inva&s;ions of the Ea&s;tern Empire, &s;eems capable of being dated from any time of <HI>Ottoman</HI>'s Conque&s;ts before the Death of <HI>Aladin.</HI></P>
<PB N="130" REF="86">
<P> But the end of the Years a&s;&s;igned to the continuance of the &s;econd Woe, &s;eems to be very <HI>preci&s;ely</HI> determined in the Prophecy to a <HI>Year,</HI> by the mention of an Hour, and a Day, as well as of a Month, and a Year, and that al&s;o without the interpo&s;ition of a Week betwixt them, as the Order of the parts of time in a Year would require; Which &s;eems plainly to determine the continuance of this Woe to the definite number of Years which are contained in tho&s;e three parts of time; And &s;ince it mu&s;t be &s;ome very remarkable Event, from whence the Date of the&s;e Years does begin, they can|not be &s;uppo&s;ed to end many years &s;ooner than the Year 1696, (if we account by common Years,) becau&s;e there was no part of <HI>Ottoman</HI>'s Reign more con&s;iderable than another before the Death of <HI>Aladin,</HI> excepting his Conque&s;t of <HI>Nice,</HI> and <HI>Aladin</HI>'s Commi&s;&s;ion upon it for the Title and Honour of a Sultan, which could not be many years, though it mu&s;t have been &s;ome while before the Year 1300. For in the Year 1300 <HI>Ottoman</HI> did certainly take upon him the Title of <HI>Sultan</HI> after <HI>Aladin</HI>'s Death; And betwixt <HI>Aladin</HI>'s Death, and the Di|vi&s;ion of his Kingdom among the &s;everal Sharers, there mu&s;t &s;ome time be allowed for his Favourite <HI>Sahib</HI>'s Government before the Year 1300. And &s;ome time al&s;o for <HI>Ottoman</HI>'s Po&s;|&s;e&s;&s;ion of <HI>Nice</HI> before that time, and for <HI>Aladin</HI>'s Commi&s;&s;ion to be Sultan. And we have the Authority of the accurate <HI>Petavius</HI> from the Turki&s;h Annals, which are e&s;teemed the <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Ra<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ion</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">. <HI>Temp. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 word"></HI> 1. <HI>lib.</HI> 9. <HI>cap</HI> <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> mo&s;t exact Account of the Turki&s;h Affairs, That <HI>Ottoman</HI>'s Reign mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily begin near two Years before the Year 1300. And this la&s;t Day determines the end of the Years in this way to the Year 1694 at the farthe&s;t, but it may al&s;o be a few Years &s;ooner, upon the other mentioned ground.</P>
<P>This Calculation does all this while &s;uppo&s;e the&s;e years to be &s;uch years as are now in u&s;e; But according to the Ex|ample of this Prophecy (as has been ob&s;erved) a Year may po&s;&s;ibly here be accounted to be but Three hundred and &s;ixty <NOTE PLACE="marg">See pag. 1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">4, 10<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> Days, and then the Day, Month and Year of the continuance of the &s;econd Woe will be but Three hundred ninety one Years. According to this, the term of them would be ex|pired in the Year 1691, counting from the late&s;t <HI>Aera</HI> of the Reign of <HI>Ottoman.</HI> But if from about two Years before, they would then be at an end in 1689; And then the Re&s;urrection
<PB N="131" REF="86"> and A&s;cen&s;ion of the Witne&s;&s;es, and the Conver&s;ion of the whole Kingdom, whence they &s;hall ri&s;e, as well as the pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;econd Woe, would be all in this pre&s;ent Year.</P>
<P>Whatever uncertainty there may be as to the particular Year when this period &s;hall end, it is certain, that the end of it cannot be far off; And it is a very wonderful thing to &s;ee what great and eminent Circum&s;tances there were to &s;ig|nalize the beginning of it, which mu&s;t make it taken notice of by all the World, e&s;pecially that of the ri&s;e of the pre&s;ent Ottoman Empire, which has been the Terror of the World for the&s;e many Ages, and this al&s;o ju&s;t about the &s;ame time, when all the other Turki&s;h Kings did begin to di&s;charge them&s;elves like a va&s;t Torrent upon the Greek Empire, and from that fir&s;t beginning continued their Inva&s;ions ever after with an uninterrupted Succe&s;s, till they had &s;eized upon all the broken remainders of that Empire.</P>
<P>And to make this every way an&s;werable to the Characters of it in the Prophecy, this was all accompanied with that eminent Circum&s;tance of the departure of the We&s;tern Chri|&s;tians out of the <HI>Holy Land,</HI> who had continued from the very fir&s;t Setlements of the Turks about <HI>Euphrates,</HI> till a very few years before the end of the Holy War, to give Check to the further progre&s;s of the Turks, and to keep them within the Confines of that River: So that their leaving tho&s;e Parts did look like the giving up of the Greek Empire into the hands of the Turks, whom before they had always u&s;ed to bridle in and re&s;train from invading it, and did very exactly an&s;wer the Expre&s;&s;ions of the Prophecy concerning the binding them within the River <HI>Euphrates.</HI></P>
<P>For though the Turks at the departure of the <HI>Cru&s;ado's</HI> were not in Arms again&s;t them, yet &s;ince their departure did take off all that re&s;traint, which was the whole bu&s;ine&s;s of their &s;tay in tho&s;e Parts, and which they had always been active in, and which they mu&s;t always have continued, as long as they &s;hould &s;tay there, it is very rea&s;onable to conclude, That the Greek Empire was left naked without its ancient Guards, and Champions, at their return home again, and &s;o &s;eemed to be delivered up into the hands of its Executioners, for that mur|dering Act, which is called in the Text, <HI>The &s;laying the third part of Men.</HI></P>
<PB N="132" REF="87">
<P> But it is not nece&s;&s;ary from the Text, that the Year of this departure &s;hould be thought to be the fir&s;t of the 396 years, though it were the unbinding or loo&s;ing of the four Angels; For the 396 years are de&s;cribed in the Text to begin with the actual beginning of the Execution of tho&s;e Angels upon the third part of Men, after they were loo&s;ed, which may very well be allowed to be &s;ome few years after; As it has been found Nece&s;&s;ary &s;o to be from the number of years which <NOTE PLACE="marg">Page 118.</NOTE> are already pa&s;&s;ed &s;ince the time of that departure.</P>
<P>But from all the concurrent Circum&s;tances, which have been &s;pecified, it is manife&s;t, that the end of the &s;econd Woe is now almo&s;t ju&s;t at hand: And does not the pre&s;ent po&s;ture of the Turki&s;h Affairs extremely agree with this? The lea&s;t that can come of the late Humiliation of them, mu&s;t in all likelihood be the keeping them in perpetual Peace and Quiet, and &s;o prove the End of the &s;econd Woe.</P>
<P>I mu&s;t indeed confe&s;s, that I do not think it nece&s;&s;ary, that the end of the &s;econd Woe &s;hould be the utter ruine of the Turki&s;h Empire. For I &s;ee, that the Saracens, who were unque&s;tionably the fir&s;t Woe, are &s;aid to be pa&s;&s;ed away, as they were the fir&s;t <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 12.</NOTE> Woe, long before the end of the Saracen Empire, that is, at the time when they cea&s;ed to be any longer a Torment and Vexation to the Roman Empire, which was near 200 years before the la&s;t end of their own Empire. The torment of <HI>five Months,</HI> though twice repeated, could not be much longer than 300 years, which, as it does indeed well enough an&s;wer the con|tinuance of each of the Ho&s;tilities again&s;t the Ea&s;tern fir&s;t, and then the We&s;tern Empire, &s;o was the la&s;t end of both near 200 years before the la&s;t end of the Saracen Rule.</P>
<P>But all things concur to verifie the Prophecy about the pa&s;|&s;ing away of the &s;econd Woe within a very &s;hort time. The period a&s;&s;igned for it in the Prophecy is ju&s;t almo&s;t at its la&s;t end: There is a very great appearance of the Death of the two Witne&s;&s;es, which mu&s;t happen before it. The Treaty for a <HI>general</HI> Peace with them is already advanced, and in all kind of likelihood to &s;ucceed, and the pre&s;ent Humiliations of the Turks, are the mo&s;t like the la&s;t conclu&s;ion of all their Ho&s;tili|ties of any condition, that they ever yet were in; And when|ever the Peace &s;hall come to be made with them, there will be &s;o many confederated Princes engaged in it by Intere&s;t to
<PB N="133" REF="87"> &s;ecure the perpetual Ob&s;ervation of it, as will in all likelihood affright tho&s;e People from ever attempting to break it, before their Empire comes to its la&s;t end: And be&s;ides, it will require a very long breathing while, before that unwieldy Monarchy can recover it &s;elf from the weakne&s;s, that it is now reduced to.</P>
<P>Here it might without any great difficulty be &s;hewn, how exactly agreeable this conjunction of the end of the Turki&s;h Empire with the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es, is to the &s;ame kind of De&s;cription of the latter end of the Turki&s;h Empire in the la&s;t Ver&s;e of the Eleventh Chapter of <HI>Daniel,</HI> and in the beginning of the Twelfth Chapter.</P>
<P>For, as it is el&s;ewhere made to appear, the full end and <NOTE PLACE="marg">PART I.</NOTE> accompli&s;hment of the deliverance of God's People men|tioned in the Fir&s;t Ver&s;e of the Twelfth Chapter of <HI>Daniel,</HI> is the beginning of the Univer&s;al and Eternal Kingdom of Chri&s;t. For it is the end of the times of the little Horn, which is ju&s;t before the Kingdom of the Son of Man, as the Angel does expre&s;sly declare, <HI>Chap.</HI> 12. 7. And then is the &s;cattering of the Holy People, or <HI>the Captivity and Bon|dage of the Church under the Bea&s;t,</HI> &s;aid to be accompli&s;hed, <HI>ibid.</HI> And therefore does the full deliverance of the Church in that place appear to be the &s;ame with the glorious effect of the Woe of the Seventh Trumpet, <HI>Rev.</HI> 11. 15.</P>
<P>Wherefore &s;ince there is al&s;o in the &s;ame Fir&s;t Ver&s;e of that Twelfth Chapter, the mention of &s;uch a time of Trou|ble, as never was, &s;ince there was a Nation, even to that &s;ame time, which was to be ju&s;t before the beginning of that deliverance, what can that be but the killing of the Wit|ne&s;&s;es ju&s;t before their Re&s;urrection and A&s;cen&s;ion, and the Woe of the &s;eventh Trumpet? Which is el&s;ewhere &s;hewn to be the fierce&s;t Per&s;ecution, that ever the Church was to &s;uffer <HI>(Theor.</HI> 4<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">.) And that ju&s;t before the beginning of the la&s;t deliverance of the Church by the Woe of the &s;eventh Trumpet.</P>
<P>Now the time of this great di&s;tre&s;s in the Twelfth Chap|ter of <HI>Daniel</HI> is &s;aid to be at the &s;ame time <HI>(Ver&s;e</HI> 1.) that &s;ome great Empire, that planted its Tabernacle, or Royal Seat betwixt the Seas, in the glorious Holy Mountain, &s;hould come to its end, <HI>Chap.</HI> 11. 45. Which cannot be under|&s;tood
<PB N="134" REF="88"> of any other Empire, than what mu&s;t at lea&s;t rule over <HI>Pale&s;tine,</HI> or the <HI>Holy Land.</HI> The <HI>Holy Mountain</HI> does always in Scripture &s;ignifie &s;omething of <HI>Mount Sion.</HI> And there is no other Empire but the Turki&s;h Empire, which can have tho&s;e Characters at the Re&s;urrection and A&s;cen&s;ion of the Witne&s;&s;es. For the Turks, who are unque&s;tionably the &s;econd Woe <HI>(Con&s;eq.</HI> 2. <HI>Theor.</HI> 19.) are not at an end till after that time, <HI>Rev.</HI> 11. 14.</P>
<P>The Turki&s;h Empire does therefore there appear to come to an end ju&s;t about the &s;ame time with the fierce&s;t Per&s;ecution of the Church, which is &s;aid to be immediately followed <HI>at the</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Dan. 11. 45. &amp; 12. 1.</NOTE> <HI>&s;ame time</HI> with the great deliverance of the Church, in the &s;ame manner as the &s;econd Woe is &s;aid to pa&s;s away pre|&s;ently after the Re&s;urrection and A&s;cen&s;ion of the Witne&s;&s;es, which was much about the &s;ame time with their Death, or <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11. 14.</NOTE> with the fierce&s;t Per&s;ecution of the Church ju&s;t before the beginning of its la&s;t deliverance.</P>
<P>And then the De&s;cription <HI>(Dan.</HI> 11.) of the Ho&s;tilities of the King of the North and of the South before the end of the latter of them, which are de&s;cribed to be again&s;t another great Poten|tate fir&s;t mentioned at <HI>Ver&s;e</HI> 36. do very exactly agree with the De&s;criptions of the Saracens and Turks, as the two fir&s;t Woes in the Fifth and Sixth Trumpet upon the Roman Empire, which is <NOTE N="(a)" PLACE="marg">A <HI>L<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">a&s;er</HI> on <HI>Ver.</HI> 2. <HI>Cap.</HI> 11. <HI>Apocal. Notat.</HI> 3. &s;peaking of the latter end of the Eleventh and beginning of the Twelfth Chapter of <HI>Daniel,&mdash;From thence</HI> (&s;ays he) <HI>c<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters">e the common co&s;ent of the Doctors (of the Church) that</HI> Daniel <HI>did pa&s;s on from the Per&s;ecution of</HI> Antiochus Epiphanes, <HI>in the Eleventh Chapter, to the Prophecy of Antichri&s;t:</HI> And quotes <HI>Bellarmin, lib.</HI> 3. <HI>de Pontif. cap.</HI> 8. for delivering there, That the Ancient Fathers made no doubt, but that tho&s;e words of <HI>Daniel</HI> in the Eleventh and Twelfth Chapters, were to be referred to Antichri&s;t. And that <HI>Pererius</HI> &s;ays the &s;ame on <HI>Dan.</HI> 12. And <HI>S<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">r<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">a<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">ius</HI> in <HI>Pract. Hi&s;tor.</HI> fol. 590.</NOTE> agreed to be &s;ignified by the King in <HI>Ver&s;e</HI> 36. For <HI>Arabia,</HI> the Country of the Saracens, was South of the place, where the Prophecy was given, and <HI>Armenia,</HI> the Seat of the Turks, was on the North of it.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="10" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="135" REF="88">
<HEAD>CHAP. X.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>The la&s;t Slaughter, and fir&s;t Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es confined to the Kingdom of</HI> France, <HI>and its Neigh|bourhood. From thence it di&s;preads it &s;elf over all the Roman Juri&s;diction. Why the pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;econd Woe deferred till the Account of the Bea&s;t and Witne&s;&s;es was interrupted,</HI> Chap. 11. <HI>The ri&s;en Witne&s;&s;es the Executors of the third Woe. The third Woe of &s;ome con&s;iderable duration. The We&s;tern Em|pire the only Object of the third Woe.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>BY what has been ju&s;t before &s;hewn concerning the time <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11.</NOTE> fixed in the Prophecy for the la&s;t end of the Turki&s;h Ho|&s;tilities under the Character of the &s;econd Woe, it appears that the deliverance of the oppre&s;&s;ed Prote&s;tant Churches, called the Re&s;urrection of the two &s;lain Witne&s;&s;es, mu&s;t begin at lea&s;t in &s;ome of the Dominions of the Roman Party within a very &s;hort time. For according to the Order of things in the Text, the Witne&s;&s;es mu&s;t not only ri&s;e again, but a&s;cend into Heaven, or into the Throne, as that is generally known to &s;ignifie in Prophecy, before the pa&s;&s;ing away of that Woe. They mu&s;t al&s;o before the end of that Woe have conquered all the Op|po&s;ition, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver 12, 13, 14.</NOTE> that will be made again&s;t them in tho&s;e Parts, where they ri&s;e up, which may rea&s;onably be &s;uppo&s;ed to take up &s;ome time after their fir&s;t Re&s;urrection. For upon their A|&s;cen&s;ion there is a De&s;cription of the Fall of the tenth part of the City, and then a &s;laughter of 7000 Men of the oppo&s;ite Party, and of the Submi&s;&s;ion and Conver&s;ion of all the re&s;t of them; The effecting of all which may very well be judged to require as long a time as that interval which may be &s;uppo&s;ed to come betwixt the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es, and the la&s;t end of the Turki&s;h Wars.</P>
<P>Wherefore it appears from hence to be very improbable, that the final &s;laughter of the two Witne&s;&s;es &s;hould not be
<PB N="136" REF="89"> already pa&s;t; For according to the be&s;t, and mo&s;t exact ac|count of the beginning of the Reign of <HI>Ottoman,</HI> and of his fellow &s;harers of the <HI>Aladinian</HI> Kingdom (two or three years before the year 1300.) There is now but a very &s;hort time yet behind according to the common account of years. And there mu&s;t be time enough allowed after the killing of the Witne&s;&s;es for the three years of the Dead Bodies of the Witne&s;&s;es, and for their being &s;o powerful as to a&s;cend into the Throne after their coming to Life again, and for conquering all that oppo&s;ition, which is &s;ignified in the Prophecy &s;hould be made again&s;t them; And that cannot be &s;uppo&s;ed to be done on a &s;udden; becau&s;e, that after the &s;laughter of a part of their Enemies, the re&s;t are &s;aid to have <HI>given glory to God,</HI> or to have been Converted; And <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 14.</NOTE> how can it be imagined, that there &s;hould be &s;uch a ge|neral Conver&s;ion of a Nation on a &s;udden, without any methods of violence, and con&s;traint, which we are not to think, that the True Church newly re&s;tored out of Per&s;e|cution will ever make u&s;e of? We have indeed of late been &s;o u&s;ed to miraculous Providences, that we may po&s;|&s;ibly enough &s;ee &s;uch a revolution in a neighbouring King|dom, as Affairs do now promi&s;e. But then that does &s;till more invite us to expect the Re&s;urrection of the Wit|ne&s;&s;es at this pre&s;ent time.</P>
<P>It may therefore now be very rea&s;onably concluded, That the Death of the Witne&s;&s;es is already pa&s;t, and that in all pro|bability the point of time, from which the three years and an half of its continuance did begin, was at the revocation of the Edict of <HI>Nants</HI> by the King of <HI>France;</HI> Which, as it was done with the greate&s;t Formalities of publick Authority again&s;t far the large&s;t Body of the Reformed Churches, that were in a &s;tate of humiliation under the Roman Party, &s;o did it appear upon that account to have the proper mark of an event that was &s;it to be referred to in this Prophecy; Which, according to what has been ob&s;erved of the &s;ignification of the Schemes of it, does generally referr to very eminent and remarkable events: And it is &s;aid of this in particular, That Peoples, Tongues and Nations &s;hould &s;ee the Dead Bodies for the three days and an half, to &s;ignifie it to be &s;o notorious, as that all the World &s;hould take notice of it; And nothing of that
<PB N="137" REF="89"> kind, &s;ince the Heathen Per&s;ecutions did ever make a greater noi&s;e in the World to draw the like ob&s;ervation of all Men after it, than the new Acts of Cruelty again&s;t the <HI>French</HI> Pro|te&s;tants, which made Life appear far more dreadful to them, than pre&s;ent Death and Martyrdom.</P>
<P>There was indeed all Artifice u&s;ed by the Eccle&s;ia&s;ticks to conceal and di&s;gui&s;e the Truth of the&s;e Proceedings, as if there had been no methods of force or violence heard of among them. But the va&s;t multitudes, which poured them&s;elves into all the neighbouring Nations round about them, were a &s;ufficient <HI>Cloud of Witne&s;&s;es</HI> to all the World to confirm them in the certainty of it; And the Mi&s;eries to which they expo&s;ed them&s;elves to get free from the force and violence which they were there under, are unque&s;tionable a&s;&s;urances of the horror of it.</P>
<P>In all probability there cannot be any other Per&s;ecution yet to come, of which it can be &s;o properly &s;aid, as of the late Per&s;ecution in <HI>France,</HI> That the <HI>Peoples, Tongues and Na|tions</HI> did then begin to take &s;uch &s;pecial notice of it. But be|&s;ides, The French Church was the la&s;t con&s;iderable part of the Reformation, that was in a Sack-cloth &s;tate, and &s;o mu&s;t in all likelihood be the la&s;t murdering blow in the &s;laughter of the Witne&s;&s;es.</P>
<P>To this it is well worth the adding, That there mu&s;t be &s;ome &s;pecial rea&s;on, why the time of the dead Bodies of the Witne&s;&s;es &s;hould be expre&s;&s;ed by Three Days and an half. For as it has been ob&s;erved of the time, times and an half, &s;o is there the &s;ame rea&s;on, that the Three Days and an half &s;hould be judged to refer to &s;ome &s;even Days of which they are the half, becau&s;e the whole Book of the Apocalyp&s;e was wholly upon the number <HI>&s;even</HI> in almo&s;t all its number of things. And therefore when we find &s;uch <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 span">.</NOTE> a <HI>peculiar</HI> and <HI>preci&s;e</HI> number of Three and an half, in the times, and in the&s;e days, which are the almo&s;t only broken number, that can be found in the whole Book be&s;ides; It would make one &s;trongly pre&s;ume, that they mu&s;t be the half of &s;ome remarkable <HI>Seven.</HI></P>
<PB N="138" REF="90">
<P> Now as no other Hypothe&s;is does give any Account of this about the time and times, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> &s;o cannot there be any other Per&s;ecution betwixt this of <HI>France,</HI> and the end of the Turki&s;h Ho&s;tilities (as the &s;econd Woe) that can have room enough to come in for a claim to the Prophecy: Becau&s;e it mu&s;t be of &s;even years continuance, according to this reference of the three days and an half, whereas the &s;econd Woe mu&s;t be at an end before that time.</P>
<P>But the beginning of the fiercene&s;s of this la&s;t Per&s;ecution in <HI>France</HI> does admirably well &s;uit with this; as has been before ob&s;erved. For from the flight of the Prote&s;tants in <HI>Poicton</HI> in the Spring 1682 (to give notice to the <HI>World,</HI> or to the <HI>Peoples, and Tongues, and Kindreds, and Nations,</HI> that the &s;laugh|ter <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 9.</NOTE> of the Witne&s;&s;es was then begun) to the full compleating of the &s;laughter of them, <HI>Octob.</HI> 1685, was ju&s;t about three years and an half; And then the three years and an half more of the dead Bodies of the Witne&s;&s;es from that time, to the Year 1689, would make the exact whole number of <HI>Seven.</HI></P>
<P>This would incline one to apprehend, that the fir&s;t re|viving of the true Religion, that had been before &s;uppre&s;&s;ed, ought to be in the Kingdom of <HI>France.</HI> The dead Bodies of the Witne&s;&s;es one would imagine &s;hould ri&s;e to life again in the &s;ame place, where they received their la&s;t Deaths Wound; And it mu&s;t be acknowledged, that all the Circum&s;tances in this Prophecy would very well agree with this. For there is the mention of the Fall of the tenth part of the City upon it, which, according as it is proved <HI>(Con&s;eq.</HI> 2. <HI>Theor.</HI> 21.) mu&s;t &s;ignifie one of the ten Kingdoms, which are repre&s;ented by the ten Horns of the Bea&s;t to be in league with <HI>Babylon.</HI> For by the City here is unque&s;tionably to be under&s;tood the &s;ame City of <HI>Babylon,</HI> in who&s;e Streets the dead Bodies of the Witne&s;&s;es are &s;aid ju&s;t before to lie; And by that <HI>great City</HI> is as undoubtedly &s;ignified the whole <NOTE PLACE="marg">Theor. 20, 21.</NOTE> Dominion of the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> and not the particular City of <HI>Rome,</HI> or the Territories only adjoyning to it. And therefore the tenth part of the City may very well &s;ignifie the Kingdom of <HI>France.</HI></P>
<PB N="139" REF="90">
<P> But yet I mu&s;t confe&s;s, I &s;ee no &s;uch plain Characters in the Text to determine the fir&s;t ri&s;ing of the Witne&s;&s;es to that particular Kingdom. For as for that Critici&s;m of <HI>Mon|&s;ieur Jurieu</HI>'s about the word <GAP DESC="foreign">, as if that &s;hould &s;ignifie the great place of the City, and &s;o denote <HI>France,</HI> which is the bigge&s;t Kingdom of the Roman Party, I have before ob&s;erved, that there is no force at all in it; which yet he acknowledgeth to be the chief thing that induced him to have that Apprehen&s;ion.</P>
<P>And then the other ground ju&s;t now alledged for it, That the Witne&s;&s;es &s;hould ri&s;e again in the &s;ame place, where they received their la&s;t deadly Wound, may be thus ea&s;ily an&s;wered, <HI>viz.</HI> That by the two Witne&s;&s;es are under&s;tood a large Society of Men; And by the killing them is only meant the killing of the la&s;t remaining part of them, which therefore was the final murder of the whole Body of them. Wherefore by the &s;ame way of &s;peaking, as the killing the la&s;t part of them is made the date of the Death of the whole Company, may the reviving of any other part of them be al&s;o made the date of the Re&s;urrection of them all, &s;ince they are all to ri&s;e again. The fir&s;t date of the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es may therefore begin in any other Kingdom of the Roman Party, as well as in that, where the la&s;t Body of them was killed.</P>
<P>And yet when it is con&s;idered, That the A&s;cen&s;ion of the Witne&s;&s;es comes immediately after their Re&s;urrection, which is known to &s;ignifie their being placed in the Throne of that Kingdom, where they ri&s;e, it is very difficult to imagine, where this can happen, but in the Kingdom of <HI>France.</HI> For as it mu&s;t be in a Roman Catholick Kingdom to be the tenth part of the City, &s;o cannot it be in the Imperial Throne; For the Bea&s;t is to continue in his Throne long after this time, and how is it po&s;&s;ible for the re&s;t to be converted there, as it is intimated in the Text by the fright of the Remnant, and their giving glory <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver. 14.</NOTE> to God.</P>
<P>Nor is it any thing likely to be in <HI>Spain</HI> or <HI>Italy;</HI> For it is utterly improbable, that there &s;hould be &s;o &s;trange and &s;udden a Conver&s;ion, as mu&s;t follow pre&s;ently after the A&s;cen&s;ion of the Witne&s;&s;es, in tho&s;e Parts, where there
<PB N="140" REF="91"> are not the lea&s;t foot&s;teps of the Reformation. Nor can it indeed be called the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es in a place where they never were in Sackcloth, nor put to <NOTE PLACE="marg">Theor. 32.</NOTE> death in that condition. The &s;ame may be &s;aid of any other Parts of <HI>Germany,</HI> where the Prote&s;tant Religion was never, as yet, in the free and full Po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of its Liberty.</P>
<P>The Duke of <HI>Savoy</HI> &s;eems not to be con&s;iderable enough to have his Dominions accounted one of tho&s;e Kingdoms, which are repre&s;ented by the ten Horns of the Bea&s;t, and which only can here be meant by the tenth part of the City; And be&s;ides, he &s;eems to be but one and the &s;ame Intere&s;t with <HI>France.</HI> And there is no other places to fix it upon, but either <HI>Poland</HI> or <HI>France;</HI> And <HI>Poland</HI> has been now &s;o long &s;etled in an univer&s;al conformity, that it is no|thing &s;o likely to be the place of &s;o general a Reformation and Conver&s;ion, within &s;o &s;hort a &s;pace of time; But the Gallican Church, in the pre&s;ent &s;tate of it, &s;eems to be already in the fair way to a thorough Reformation.</P>
<P>Again, one would be apt to conclude, that that which is &s;aid of the dead Bodies of the Witne&s;&s;es, That <HI>Peoples, and Tongues, and Nations,</HI> would not &s;uffer them to be put into Graves during the time of the three days and an half, mu&s;t more particularly refer to the Protection and Provi&s;ion that was made by other Prote&s;tant States for the late Sufferers of <HI>France.</HI> As the killing the Witne&s;&s;es was the total Suppre&s;&s;ion of the publick exerci&s;e of their Religion, &s;o their not &s;uffering their Bodies to be put into Graves mu&s;t be the keeping up the Members of that Church which is in a &s;tate of death and &s;ilence, in a capacity of re|viving the publick Profe&s;&s;ion of their Religion again. And nothing does &s;o properly provide for that as the encourage|ment of the &s;light of tho&s;e Per&s;ons by which they are pre&s;erved from the nece&s;&s;ity of conforming them&s;elves to the Wor&s;hip of the Bea&s;t, which would be the burying of the Truth in them pa&s;t all hopes of reviving. Now all the concern of the Prote&s;tant States in this kind in behalf of their per&s;ecuted Bre|thren from the date of the three days and an half, was all to make Provi&s;ion for the <HI>French,</HI> and their Neighbors of <HI>Savoy,</HI> who are to be accounted of the &s;ame Church and Per&s;ecution with them.</P>
<PB N="141" REF="91">
<P> Wherefore &s;ince the per&s;ons that are to ri&s;e again from the Dead, are the &s;ame with tho&s;e, who&s;e Dead Bodies were not &s;uffered to be put into Graves during the time of the three days and an half, it would make one appre|hend that the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es mu&s;t be fir&s;t verified of the <HI>French</HI> Prote&s;tants; It is they alone who have been the con&s;iderable concern and care of all Pro|te&s;tant States ever &s;ince their &s;light, upon the final &s;up|pre&s;&s;ion of their Religion, and that is the time from whence the not &s;uffering of the Dead Bodies to be buried is &s;uppo&s;ed to begin.</P>
<P>And then by the reference, that has been ob&s;erved to be in the three days and an half, to &s;ome whole number of a &s;even years Per&s;ecution, the <HI>French</HI> Per&s;ecution, which does exactly an&s;wer this as yet, would make one almo&s;t confident, That <HI>France</HI> mu&s;t be the concern of the whole time of tho&s;e years from the fir&s;t beginning of them at that &s;laughter of the Witne&s;&s;es in <HI>Poictou,</HI> to the la&s;t end of them at the Re&s;urrection.</P>
<P>That which has been here di&s;cour&s;ed relates to the fir&s;t Re&s;urrection of the &s;lain Witne&s;&s;es in one particular King|dom, according to the Character of it in the Text. But that will &s;oon be followed by the &s;ame kind of Revolutions in other places in re&s;pect of Religion, as we &s;ee the Trumpet promi&s;ing it after the pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;econd Woe, or after the end of the Turki&s;h War; And if the care I have taken to fix the beginning of the date of the Vi|als be &s;ucce&s;sful, the fifth Vial mu&s;t in my way begin the bu&s;ine&s;s of the &s;eventh Trumpet not long after the Re&s;ur|rection of the Witne&s;&s;es in <HI>France,</HI> or pre&s;ently after the end of the Turki&s;h Wars, as the &s;econd Woe; And the Revolution in the fifth Vial does promi&s;e an univer&s;al di&s;turbance in the whole Kingdom of the Bea&s;t, or in all the Roman Territories.</P>
<P>It may now be ob&s;erved upon what account the men|tion of the Bea&s;t, and Witne&s;&s;es, comes to be interpo&s;ed betwixt the conclu&s;ion of the bu&s;ine&s;s of the &s;econd Woe, at the end of the Ninth Chapter, and the &s;ignification of
<PB N="142" REF="92"> the pa&s;&s;ing away of that Woe at the Fourteenth Ver&s;e of the Eleventh Chapter. For the proper place for that declaration of the pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;econd Woe, is at the end of all the bu&s;ine&s;s of it, which is concluded in the Ninth Chapter. It is manife&s;t that the rea&s;on of this mi&s;placing of things is for nothing but to joyn the latter part of the times of the Bea&s;t, and Witne&s;&s;es, with the concluding part of the &s;ixth Trumpet, and thereby to &s;how what re|lation there is betwixt the Hi&s;tory of the Bea&s;t (which is the bu&s;ine&s;s of the re&s;t of the Prophecy) and the times of the Trumpets.</P>
<P>But that which is the more <HI>particular</HI> de&s;ign for this kind of interpo&s;ing the account of the Death and Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es before the end of the &s;econd Woe, &s;eems evidently to be to &s;how what Enemy it was that &s;hould be the third Woe, and who &s;hould be the objects of it. For after the whole bu&s;ine&s;s of the &s;econd Woe had been concluded in the Ninth Chapter, it is &s;aid Ver&s;e 20. That the <HI>re&s;t</HI> repented not of the works of their hands; After which comes in the Relation of the Bea&s;t, and Wit|ne&s;&s;es to &s;how who were tho&s;e <HI>re&s;t,</HI> that repented not for the Judgment of that Woe, (upon whom for that rea&s;on the next Woe was to fall) and who &s;hould be the in|flicters of the &s;ucceeding Woe: According to the exam|ples of the Two Woes, that went before, where there is <HI>fir&s;t</HI> an account of the <HI>object</HI> of the Woe, which in the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">. Ver. 15.</NOTE> fifth Trumpet is tho&s;e <HI>who were not &s;ealed,</HI> and in the &s;ixth Trumpet <HI>the third part of Men,</HI> and then, <HI>the enemy,</HI> that was to be the inflicter of it, which in the fifth Trumpet is the Locu&s;ts, and in the &s;ixth Trumpet the <HI>Euphratean</HI> Hor&s;emen. So al&s;o here is the Party of the Bea&s;t intro|duced for the <HI>object</HI> of the la&s;t Woe, or the &s;eventh Trumpet, and the Witne&s;&s;es repre&s;ented to ri&s;e from the Dead, and to be enthroned ju&s;t before it, together with their Triumph over their Enemies, to &s;how who are to be the <HI>Enemies,</HI> and Tormentors to execute the third Woe.</P>
<P>It is plain, that the third Woe mu&s;t be one and the &s;ame Enemy, and intere&s;t to hold any re&s;emblance to the other two; And accordingly do we find it &s;o repre&s;ented by
<PB N="143" REF="92"> the effect of it, which was the advancement of the univer|&s;al Kingdom of Chri&s;t; And &s;ince this is de&s;cribed to be begun by the &s;ucce&s;s of the Two Witne&s;&s;es ju&s;t before the &s;ounding of the &s;eventh Trumpet, it is to be con|cluded, That the executors of the third Woe are the ri&s;en Witne&s;&s;es, and that they are altogether the Agents in it. The whole bu&s;ine&s;s of the &s;eventh Trumpet is the conti|nual advancement of the Kingdom of Chri&s;t; This is &s;ig|nified to be a Woe, and de&s;truction to the Bea&s;t; And therefore mu&s;t all the inflicters of it be of the party of that Kingdom, to make it one &s;ingle Woe only: Accor|ding as the Agents in the two fir&s;t Woes have been found to be. Wherefore the power of the ri&s;en Witne&s;&s;es mu&s;t be accounted the chief Agent in the third Woe or &s;eventh Trumpet.</P>
<P>That the Bea&s;t and Witne&s;&s;es mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily continue together in the bu&s;ine&s;s of the &s;eventh Trumpet for a con|&s;iderable time, is unque&s;tionable: becau&s;e they both end to|gether, and mu&s;t therefore continue together during all the time of the execution of the third Woe upon the Bea&s;t.</P>
<P>And if the time of the pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;econd Woe, or the Turki&s;h Ho&s;tilities, be any thing &s;o near, as has been already proved, the continuance of the third Woe <NOTE PLACE="marg">CHAP. VII&punc; I<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">X, and X.</NOTE> mu&s;t be for many years together: For the third Woe is &s;aid to <HI>come quickly</HI> after the pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;econd, which, as has been &s;hown, mu&s;t denote the &s;udden begin|ning of the third Woe after the &s;econd, and not the &s;ud|den execution of it.</P>
<P>As for that which is alledged in favour of the &s;udden execution of the third Woe pre&s;ently after the end of the &s;econd, from that expre&s;&s;ion in the Tenth Chapter, <HI>When the &s;eventh Angel &s;hould begin to &s;ound, the my&s;tery of God &s;hould be fini&s;hed,</HI> as if that &s;hould &s;ignifie, That the third Woe &s;hould be fully accompli&s;hed at the fir&s;t &s;ound|ing of the &s;eventh Trumpet, that objection has all its force from the Tran&s;lation of <GAP DESC="foreign">, but that ex|pre&s;&s;ion is as ordinarily taken for the <HI>whole time</HI> of any action to come, as it is for the <HI>beginning</HI> of it.</P>
<PB N="144" REF="93">
<P> If it &s;hould be que&s;tioned whether the &s;eventh Trumpet, or third Woe may not concern the Ea&s;tern Empire, as the two Woes before it did, and &s;o have little or nothing to do with the Affairs of the Bea&s;t; It is to be con&s;idered, That the Ea&s;tern Empire is &s;ignified to have been utterly de&s;troyed by the &s;econd Woe under the terms of the <HI>&s;laying the third part of Men,</HI> which can &s;ignifie nothing more again&s;t the <HI>Greek</HI> Empire, than what the <HI>Saracens</HI> before them did, but unle&s;s it was the utter ruine of that Empire; And &s;o there is nothing now remaining of the <HI>Roman</HI> Empire for the la&s;t Woe to be executed upon, but only the Domi|nion of the Party of the Bea&s;t; And the <HI>Roman</HI> Empire has been before proved to be, the only object of the Calami|ties of the Trumpets, <HI>(Con&s;eq. Theor.</HI> 18.)</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="11" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="177" REF="93">
<HEAD>CHAP. XI.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>The Trumpets and Vials have different Objects. The fir&s;t Date of the Vials not before the Prote&s;tant Re|formation.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>THE Di&s;covery that has been made of the nature of the third Woe, is a fair invitation to enquire, what Relation the Seven Vials have to the latter Times of the Bea&s;t. For it is certain that the third Woe mu&s;t have &s;ome relation in it to the Vials, becau&s;e the Vials are &s;aid to be the la&s;t Plagues upon the Bea&s;t, and the third Woe is found to be the la&s;t Woe that brings him to his ruine.</P>
<P>It will indeed be found to be of the greate&s;t importance, for the fixing the Applications of all the parts of the Pro|phecy which relate to the latter Fortunes of the Church, and of the Bea&s;t, to determine the fir&s;t Date of the time of the &s;even Vials.</P>
<P>At the fir&s;t cur&s;ory view of the Matter of them, one would be very apt to judge them to be the &s;ame Plagues with the Trumpets. For as they are the &s;ame preci&s;e number with them, &s;o do they, every one of them in particular, fall upon the &s;ame Subject, that each of the Trumpets are concerned about, and that al&s;o exactly in the &s;ame order; the fir&s;t in each upon the Earth, the &s;econd upon the Sea, the third upon the Rivers, the fourth upon the Sun, the fifth upon the Men that had not the Seal of God in their Foreheads, or upon the Kingdom of the Bea&s;t, the &s;ixth upon the River <HI>Euphrates,</HI> the &s;eventh upon all the Re|mainders of the power of the Bea&s;t, to his final De&s;tructi|on.</P>
<P>But it is to be con&s;idered in the fir&s;t place, That how great a Pre&s;umption &s;oever this may give to think them to be but one and the &s;ame thing, yet it is certain, that it is very u&s;ual in this Book to give the &s;ame general Characters of very different Things. One great In&s;tance of which, is the frequent u&s;e of the number Seven, to &s;ignifie the Sums
<PB N="178" REF="94"> of Things of one and the &s;ame Kind, tho the &s;everal Sums that have that name, be very different from one another in the number of the Particulars that are included in each of tho&s;e Seven; &s;o al&s;o are there the &s;ame De&s;criptions of the Doxologies of the 24 Elders in &s;everal parts of the Prophecy, which yet are agreed by all to be applied to very different Things.</P>
<P>This then does &s;ufficiently &s;atisfie one, that it would be agreeable enough to the u&s;e and cu&s;tom of this Prophecy, That the &s;even Trumpets and the &s;even Vials &s;hould have one or two of the &s;ame general Characters in each, tho they &s;hould belong to very different Things.</P>
<P>The Trumpets and Vials might thus have both of them the number of 7, to expre&s;s their being the Sum of all the Plagues of each Kind; and each of the&s;e Kinds might have the &s;ame general Object a&s;&s;igned to them, tho in other re&s;pects they were very different from one another.</P>
<P>One may indeed ea&s;ily perceive the rea&s;on of the Order in which the fir&s;t five Subjects of the Plagues, both of the Trumpets and Vials are placed, to be only to re&s;emble the Empire, upon which they fall to a Sy&s;tem of the World; and accordingly do we find the parts of it reckoned up in that order in which the parts of the World do the mo&s;t nearly regard us: The Earth fir&s;t, with the Contents of it, the Trees and Gra&s;s; and then the Sea, with the Things in it, the Ships and Fi&s;h: After that the Rivers, which are the la&s;t con&s;iderable parts of this lower World; then the Sun, and Moon, and Stars, as the De&s;cription of the cele&s;tial part of the World; and after them, the Air betwixt Heaven and Earth, which in both the fifth Trumpet and fifth Vial, is repre&s;ented to be darkened. But then that the Evils them|&s;elves which are inflicted in each of the&s;e Vials and Trum|pets, mu&s;t be Plagues really different from one another, is apparent upon the&s;e &s;everal Accounts.</P>
<P N="1">1. The re&s;pective Plagues of each Trumpet and Vial, are &s;ignified by the Schemes of different Plagues. The <HI>Egyp|tian</HI> Hail is the plague of the fir&s;t Trumpet; but the plague of the fir&s;t Vial is that of the Boyles and Sores. The plague of the third Trumpet is the <HI>Egyptian</HI> Plague of the Rivers
<PB N="179" REF="94"> turned into Blood: The plague of the third Vial, is the bit|terne&s;s of the Waters of the River, like the Waters of <HI>Marah.</HI> The plague of the fourth Trumpet, is the Sun &s;mitten and darkened: The plague of the fourth Vial is on the contrary, the Sun in great power, and &s;corching Men with the heat of its Light. The fifth Trumpet is the plague of the <HI>Egyptian</HI> Locu&s;ts, and the &s;moke of the Pit that brought them: The fifth Vial brings on the <HI>Egyp|tian</HI> Plague of Darkne&s;s.</P>
<P N="2">2. The Plagues of each Kind are al&s;o di&s;tingui&s;hed from one another, by the different parts of the Subject that they fall upon; tho&s;e of the Trumpets do generally extend but to a third part of the Subject that they are concerned about, tho&s;e of the Vials do fall upon the &s;ame kind of Subject without limitation.</P>
<P N="3">3. Again, The plagues of the Vials are very expre&s;ly di|&s;tingui&s;hed by name from tho&s;e of the Trumpets; they are called the &s;even la&s;t Plagues after the &s;even Trumpets had been before particularly de&s;cribed. There could not have been a more plain and manife&s;t note of di&s;tinction from one another than this. For tho the la&s;t Days and the la&s;t Times be taken in a great Latitude in Scripture, yet the Name of the &s;even la&s;t Plagues, after an account of &s;even other Plagues which had been de&s;cribed almo&s;t ju&s;t before them in the &s;ame Prophecy, cannot without forcing and wre&s;ting the Expre&s;&s;ions be thought to have no relation to the Plagues that had been mentioned before them.</P>
<P N="4">4. And then it is expre&s;ly &s;ignified, that the fir&s;t Vial is contemporary with the Reign of the Bea&s;t; for it fell upon tho&s;e who had his Mark, and that not till there was a very &s;ignal Victory obtained over tho&s;e that had that mark, as is de&s;cribed <HI>chap.</HI> 15. 2. But the Plagues of the Trumpets mu&s;t be in their full power at the fir&s;t beginning of the Reign of the Bea&s;t at late&s;t, and when he is in the highe&s;t flu&s;h of Pro&s;perity; for the whole time of the Reign of the Bea&s;t is in the time of the Trumpets. <HI>Theor.</HI> 5.</P>
<P>It cannot be here pretended, that the Victory over the Bea&s;t, <HI>chap.</HI> 15. 2. was after any of the Vials; for it is de&s;cribed at the &s;ame time with the fir&s;t &s;ight of the
<PB N="180" REF="95"> 7 Angels with the 7 la&s;t Plagues, and before they went out to execute them: And be&s;ides, it is &s;aid, That after that they were &s;een to go out of the Temple for that purpo&s;e.</P>
<P>Indeed, from the con&s;ideration of the place of this Victo|ry in that Chapter, compared with the Circum&s;tances in which it is mentioned, and with the Fortunes of the Church &s;ince the fir&s;t ri&s;e of the Bea&s;t, I cannot but conclude that the fir&s;t Date of the Vials mu&s;t be &s;ome time after the beginning of the Prote&s;tant Reformation.</P>
<P>The Grounds upon which I rely for it are various; and the &s;tronge&s;t are tho&s;e which are drawn from the <HI>14th.</HI> Chapter, in the latter end of the&s;e Papers. But I will at pre&s;ent con&s;ider, what Advantages there are here offered in the <HI>15th.</HI> Chapter, by way of Preamble, to the more particular account of the Vials, which follows it in the <HI>16th.</HI> Chapter: And tho I do not e&s;teem all the particu|lars that I bring here in this Chapter, to confirm it to be of equal force for it, yet there is enough in them to make it un|que&s;tionable, that the Vials could not begin before that time.</P>
<P N="1">1. It is plain from the Text, that the Time of the Vials began not till after a very &s;ignal Victory over the Bea&s;t, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 15. 2.</NOTE> and his Image, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> And as the whole Time of the Bea&s;t is de&s;cribed all over the Prophecy, as a State of outward real Tyranny and Oppre&s;&s;ion, &s;o mu&s;t the Victory over the Bea&s;t be as <NOTE N="(b)" PLACE="marg"><HI>Idem.</HI> To overcome the Bea&s;t is not only not to adore him, (for that they might do by flight,) but to denounce the fierce&s;t War to the Bea&s;t, by the Mi|ni&s;ters of the Go&s;pel.</NOTE> real and literal a deliverance from that Tyranny; or be at lea&s;t the humbling or &s;ubduing the power of it. The Victory of the Witne&s;&s;es over the Bea&s;t, which is the Victory here meant, mu&s;t be allowed to be as real and literal as the Victory of the Bea&s;t over the Witne&s;&s;es.</P>
<P>The Conquerors are indeed &s;aid to be &s;een in Heaven, as if it were only a deliverance from the Tyranny of the Bea&s;t by Death; but it is well known, that Heaven all o|ver the&s;e Vi&s;ions, is taken in very different &s;en&s;es, and generally does &s;ignifie nothing but the peculiar pre&s;ence of God in his Church upon Earth, when it is joined with the Temple, as in this place; and &s;o is it in &s;everal places of this Prophecy &s;et out by the Temple, with the chief things belonging to it: And tho per&s;everance to the death in the mid&s;t of Per&s;ecution, be al&s;o called a Victo|ry
<PB N="181" REF="95"> in this Prophecy, yet that is a Victory that runs through the whole Time of the Reign of the Bea&s;t, whereas this is repre&s;ented as a peculiar deliverance, ju&s;t at the beginning of the &s;even la&s;t Plagues.</P>
<P N="2">2. It is al&s;o repre&s;ented as a deliverance out of <HI>Egypt</HI> as is <NOTE N="(c)" PLACE="marg"><P><HI>Alca&s;ar</HI> in cap. 15. There is a manife&s;t allu&s;ion in the Sea of Gla&s;s to the Red Sea, which the Children of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> pa&s;&s;ed through&mdash;with this dif|ference, that the Plagues in that Hi&s;tory go before the entrance of the <HI>I&s;|raelites</HI> into the Sea; but the Plagues in this place, do not go before the En|trance of the&s;e my&s;tical <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> into the Sea, but follow it.</P>
<P><HI>Ibid.</HI> The Sea here is not to be under&s;tood of the Sea in the Temple, as it is in the <HI>4th.</HI> Chapter, but of the Red Sea.</P>
<P><HI>Ibid.</HI> The Song of <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> here is the Song of Deliverance, in the <HI>15th.</HI> Chapter of <HI>Exodus.</HI> And the Song of <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> and of the Lamb, is the Song of <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> taken my&s;tically for a Chri&s;tian Song. It is u&s;ual with the Prophets under the cover of <HI>Jewi&s;h</HI> Hi&s;tories, to allude to the Hi&s;tories of the Chri&s;tian Church. <HI>John</HI> fir&s;t &s;aw <HI>(the Conquerors on)</HI> the Sea of Gla&s;s, and after that the Angels with the &s;even Vials: But the Angels are fir&s;t mentioned, to &s;ignifie the Judgments, that the Conquerors rejoyced to fore&s;ee ju&s;t then coming.</P>
<P><HI>Ibid.</HI> The Victory is a Triumph over the my&s;tical <HI>Pharaoh.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Ibid.</HI> The Conquerors here mentioned, I make account, are unque&s;tionably the 144000 in the <HI>7th.</HI> and <HI>14th.</HI> Chapters: And therefore as Conquerors they have Palms in their Hands, in the <HI>17th.</HI> Chapter. And Harps here, and in the <HI>14th.</HI> Chapter.</P>
<P><HI>Ibid.</HI> They are &s;aid to &s;tand upon the Sea, as the Angel in the <HI>10th.</HI> Chapter, becau&s;e they &s;tood in the Sea.</P>
<P><HI>Cornel. &agrave; Lapide,</HI> on the <HI>15th.</HI> chap. <HI>Apoc. v.</HI> 2. This is an allu&s;ion to the Pa&s;&s;age of the <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> over the Red Sea dry-foot&mdash;It does therefore &s;igni|fie the Pa&s;&s;age of the fir&s;t of the Faithful through the Sea of Gentili&s;m.</P>
<P><HI>Ribera,</HI> cap. 15. <HI>Apoc.</HI> The Conquerors &s;tand upon the Sea, that is, ju&s;t at the brink of it. (Upon, is taken here for near.) Now they &s;tand ju&s;t near the Sea, not within it, becau&s;e they are not a part of that Sea;&mdash;tho they live near the followers of Antichri&s;t.</P>
<P><HI>Ibid.</HI> They &s;ing the Song of <HI>Mo&s;es,&mdash;</HI>that is, the &s;ame that <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> &s;ung with the People after their Pa&s;&s;age over the Red Sea,&mdash;But with very good rea&s;on &s;hall the Conquerors of <HI>Antichri&s;t</HI> &s;ing this Song, becau&s;e as the Children of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> &s;ung it, becau&s;e they were not catched by <HI>Pharaoh:&mdash;</HI>So they, becau&s;e they are not overcome by Antichri&s;t, who&s;e Type <HI>Pha|raoh</HI> was.</P>
<P>And as the Children of <HI>I&s;rael</HI> &s;ung upon the Shore of the Red Sea, &s;o &s;hall the ju&s;t &s;ing upon the Shore of the Sea of Gla&s;s.</P></NOTE> evident from the mention of the Song of <HI>Mo&s;es,</HI> which they &s;ung, which is much the &s;ame with that which was &s;ung by the <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> at their deliverance from the <HI>Egyptian</HI> Bondage; And therefore are they repre&s;ented upon a Sea of Gla&s;s <NOTE PLACE="marg">Exod. 15. 1.</NOTE> mingled with Fire, in reference to the Red Sea which that did repre&s;ent.</P>
<P>Accordingly do we find the Tyranny of the Bea&s;t re|pre&s;ented by <HI>Egypt,</HI> which is one of the Names of <HI>Rome</HI> in this Book; and the &s;even Plagues are here de&s;cribed in a plain allu&s;ion to the Plagues of <HI>Egypt:</HI> But yet with this difference betwixt them, that the Song of <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> is here &s;ung upon a Deliverance that was before the Plagues; whereas in that of <HI>Exodus,</HI> it was &s;ung upon a Deliverance af|ter the Plagues: And there is in this of the Vials the mention of two Deliverances; one of a part of the Church, which is <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 15. 2.</NOTE> de&s;cribed here as coming before the Vials; and another of the whole Church at the end of the Vials; and therefore are <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 11. 1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> there two di&s;tinct Songs of Victory and Deliverance. One here before the Vials, and another after the Vials, in <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 15. 3.</NOTE> Chap. 19. and in the la&s;t Trumpet, Chap. 11. ju&s;t as the Temple of the Tabernacle is here opened before the Exe|cution <NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 5.</NOTE> of the Plagues of the Vials, and is found in the &s;ame Expre&s;&s;ions at the end of the Matter of the la&s;t Trumpet, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 11. 19.</NOTE> which is certainly after the time of the Vials. And by the opening of the inner Court of the Temple, or of the Ta|bernacle of the Te&s;timony, mu&s;t be under&s;tood a greater Freedom of the true Chri&s;tian Church, than before had been, as will be afterwards made to appear.</P>
<P>This fir&s;t Victory then cannot tolerably be under&s;tood of any thing le&s;s than a Freedom from the Bondage of the <HI>Roman Church,</HI> or of a free Exerci&s;e of the true Religion: For this Victory mu&s;t an&s;wer the Deliverance out of <HI>Egypt.</HI> There mu&s;t be a di&s;tinction made betwixt it and the &s;er|ving God under Bondage and Slavery, as the <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> did in <HI>Egypt:</HI> And therefore mu&s;t it be not only a Spiritual
<PB N="182" REF="96"> Freedom from the wor&s;hip of the Bea&s;t in their Souls, but an outward freedom al&s;o from the con&s;traints and oppre&s;&s;ions of their Enemies.</P>
<P>This does Mon&s;ieur <HI>Jurieu</HI> very well urge about the la&s;t deli|verance of the Church, before which it is &s;aid to be in a Cap|tivity, which is called <HI>Egypt,</HI> under the Tyranny of the Bea&s;t; Its deliverance out of it mu&s;t therefore (as he ob&s;erves) be a &s;tate of freedom upon Earth, if not an Earthly <HI>Canaan.</HI> It can|not be le&s;s than an enjoyment of a freedom from all mole&s;ta|tion from the Bea&s;t in the &s;ervice of God; for that is the plain litteral &s;en&s;e of the expre&s;&s;ions. And &s;ince the victory in this place is allowed by him to have al&s;o the characters of a deliverance out of <HI>Egypt,</HI> there is altogether the &s;ame rea&s;on for interpreting it to be an outward freedom of a part of the Church from the &s;ame Yoke and Oppre&s;&s;ion, tho not &s;o full, and compleat, as that glorious deliverance of the whole Church of Chri&s;t at the la&s;t end of the Bea&s;t; And there is no tolerable excu&s;e for judging it to be other|wi&s;e, unle&s;s it were here joyned with &s;ome other circum|&s;tances, which did make it nece&s;&s;ary to be a Spiritual victo|ry only.</P>
<P>Now &s;uch a free Exerci&s;e of the true Religion can never be found to have been till the time of the Reformation. The <HI>Walden&s;es,</HI> and <HI>Albigen&s;es</HI> were indeed in the publick profe&s;&s;ion of their Religion before that time; but it was al|mo&s;t con&s;tantly with their Arms in their Hands; They were far from having any open &s;ecure freedom in it; or any Protection from the Civil Power; And how little like that was to a Victory over their Enemies, and all their Confederates, as it is here de&s;cribed to be over the Bea&s;t, and his Image, and his Mark, and his Name, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> does ap|pear from the con&s;tant troubles, and Wars that people were in, during that &s;mall interval, in which they had the publick exerci&s;e of their Religion. If that can be called a victory over the Bea&s;t, what can be called Warring with him?</P>
<P>As for other more &s;piritual notions of War and Victory, they mu&s;t fir&s;t be proved to be nece&s;&s;ary, before we can be allowed to leave the litteral acceptations of them, which is the common u&s;e of them in this book.</P>
<PB N="183" REF="96">
<P> The humbling of the Papal Authority by the Councils of <HI>Con&s;tance</HI> and <HI>Ba&s;il</HI> can be nothing of the Victory here de&s;cribed. For the mo&s;t that can be made of that, is, that it was a Victory of the Image or of the Church of <HI>Rome,</HI> over the Fal&s;e Prophet, or the Papal Power. The <HI>Roman</HI> Church continued &s;till to be the Rule of Faith, which is the great malignity of the Bea&s;t and his Image; and a very notorious effect was there &s;hewn of it at that time, when <HI>John Hus</HI> and <HI>Hierome</HI> of <HI>Prague</HI> were burnt for their Erro|neous Opinions.</P>
<P N="3">3. It cannot but &s;eem very har&s;h and incongruous at the fir&s;t &s;ight, to place the&s;e Vials in any part of the Reign of the Bea&s;t betwixt the fir&s;t advancement of the Papal Power, and the Reformation, becau&s;e that was the mo&s;t flouri&s;hing &s;tate of the <HI>Roman</HI> Church; and the Vials are but the &s;e|veral Judgments of God to bring that Church to its end by &s;o many &s;en&s;ible decays of his Power.</P>
<P>They are repre&s;ented as &s;o many pre&s;ent vexations and humiliations of that party, as the Plagues of <HI>Egypt</HI> were to <HI>Pharaoh</HI> and the <HI>Egyptians.</HI></P>
<P>Now from the time of <HI>Gregory</HI> the 7th, 1074. till the time of the Reformation, the <HI>Roman</HI> Church was in its highe&s;t triumph, and the followers of the Lamb under the mo&s;t ab&s;olute Slavery, and the mo&s;t Tyrannical Oppre&s;&s;ions; And how can that be con&s;i&s;tent with any &s;uch &s;ignal Vi|ctory over the Bea&s;t, as is de&s;cribed to precede the&s;e judg|ments upon him? For this Victory cannot denote any thing le&s;s, than a freedom from the <HI>Roman</HI> Yoke, and &s;ome &s;ig|nal blow to the weakening of the Empire of the Church, and which was the beginning of their &s;orrows, and was followed by the re&s;t of the &s;even plagues in order, till that Church was utterly ruined.</P>
<P>Indeed there has nothing yet been offered that does give any tolerable account of any Victory of the true Church of Chri&s;t, before the Reformation, from whence the date of the&s;e Vials &s;hould begin. Mo&s;t of the applications of the Vials them&s;elves are &s;o far from being accompanied with any Victory over the Bea&s;t, that the very Vials them&s;elves and the judgments in them are applied many times to things, that were the greate&s;t &s;trength, and advancement
<PB N="184" REF="97"> of the <HI>Roman</HI> Church, &s;uch as the&s;e that follow; The re|ducing of the &s;everal Kingdoms of the World under the Obedience of the <HI>Roman</HI> Church, by a Sea of Blood, is made a Vial; and yet that was the greate&s;t advancement of that intere&s;t. The Barbarity of the Tenth Age is made another Vial, and yet it was that that e&s;tabli&s;hed the mo&s;t ab&s;urd Doctrines of the Church of <HI>Rome.</HI> The Slaughter of the <HI>Cru&s;ado's</HI> is made another; and yet that Holy War was the occa&s;ion of the encroachments of the Papal Power upon the rights of Princes in their ab&s;ence. The Tyrannical Exer|ci&s;e of the power of the Church over Kings and Princes, is made the &s;corching Sun, and yet, that was &s;o far from being a Judgment, that it was the mo&s;t flouri&s;hing in&s;tance of the Commanding Sovereignty of it. The fury of Prin|ces again&s;t the <HI>Walden&s;es</HI> and <HI>Albigen&s;es</HI> is made the &s;ame Vial with as little rea&s;on. The <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Inroads are made another Vial; and yet 'tis known that it was the <HI>Greek</HI> Church only, that they oppre&s;&s;ed before the Reformation, excepting &s;ome &s;mall encroachments upon the <HI>Venetians,</HI> which can hardly be called a Judgment upon the Bea&s;t.</P>
<P>It is evident enough, that the Plagues of the&s;e Vials are de&s;cribed as &s;o many &s;en&s;ible torments and pre&s;ent humili|ations of the power of the Bea&s;t, as has been ob&s;erved; And that indeed is the proper &s;ignification of a plague, and of <GAP DESC="foreign"> in the Original, e&s;pecially when &s;aid to be as here, the fierce wrath of God, which &s;ure mu&s;t be &s;ome thing, that is very &s;en&s;ibly felt in the &s;mart, and pain of it. But tho&s;e fore-mentioned events, tho' they might be judgments upon the Bea&s;t, as his greate&s;t victories may al&s;o be made to be, yet they were &s;o far from being any pre&s;ent &s;en&s;ible trouble to him, that they were either the fierce&s;t exerci&s;e of his Tyrannical Rule, or the greate&s;t ad|vancements of his Intere&s;ts. And then how can the Saints of God be repre&s;ented as &s;inging that Song of Triumph, that <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> &s;ang at the de&s;truction of <HI>Pharaoh</HI> and all his ho&s;t in the <HI>Red Sea,</HI> when the Bea&s;t is in his greate&s;t Exal|tation and Tyranny?</P>
<P N="4">4. Con&s;cquent to the&s;e Characters of a victory and deli|verance of the Church, before the inflicting of the&s;e plagues, is the opening of the Temple of the Tabernacle of the
<PB N="185" REF="97"> Te&s;timony in Heaven, which does al&s;o very properly &s;ig|nifie, the Freedom of the true Chri&s;tian Church at the Reformation. For as the Temple in general, with the pr&eacute;|&s;ence of God in it, and called Heaven, does in many places of Scripture, but e&s;pecially in this Prophecy, &s;ignifie the Chri&s;tian Church, &s;o that part of the Temple, which is here de&s;cribed, is by all acknowledged to be the innermo&s;t part of it, and is generally agreed to &s;ignifie the <NOTE N="(d)" PLACE="marg"><P><HI>Ribera,</HI> cap. 11. <HI>Apoc. v.</HI> 2.&mdash;None can be ignorant, that what is here &s;aid of the Temple and Altar, cannot be under&s;tood of the Temple of <HI>Jeru|&s;alem;</HI> &s;ince it was de&s;troyed by <HI>Titus,</HI> and was not in being when <HI>John</HI> wrote the&s;e things. But by it, he &s;ignifies the Church, of which the Tem|ple was the Figure or Type.</P>
<P><HI>Ibid.</HI> In the Temple were Two Parts. The fir&s;t was that which none but the Prie&s;ts and Mini&s;ters of the Temple were to go into, where the Altar &s;tood, which was the inner Court. The other was the outward Court, where all the Lay-men were placed. The fir&s;t was properly called the Temple of God, becau&s;e all the Sacrifices, Offerings, and Incen&s;e, were offer'd up there upon the Altar. The other part is often called the Temple, but in a more large and improper u&s;e of the word. By the fir&s;t part, and the Prie&s;ts in it, are here under&s;tood the be&s;t in the Church, and the mo&s;t dear to God, and the Elect. By the other part, or the outward Court, is here under&s;tood the un&s;anctified part of the Church, that is, tho&s;e that are at greater di&s;tance from God, and le&s;s under the &s;en&s;e of his Fear. By this may ea&s;ily be under&s;tood what <HI>John</HI> here writes; he is commanded to mea&s;ure the Tem|ple, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> which is the &s;ame with the making a &s;eparation and choice of the Elect Members of the Church, who are not to be delivered to Antichri&s;t. nor to his A&s;&s;i&s;tants.</P></NOTE> true Church of Chri&s;t upon Earth, in <HI>chap.</HI> 11. <HI>v.</HI> 1.</P>
<P>Now the <HI>opening of the Temple</HI> here, is the &s;ame Ex|pre&s;&s;ion with the opening of the Temple at <HI>Hezekia</HI>'s Reformation, which had been &s;hut in the time of Idolatry and Apo&s;tacy. And if this be compared with the place where tho&s;e who are &s;aid to &s;ing the Song of Victory did &s;tand, that is, upon <HI>the Sea or Laver</HI> near the Altar, it &s;eems to be a very plain Signification of a free exerci&s;e of the true Religion in the Church, which had been &s;uppre&s;&s;ed before, when the Temple was &s;hut. However, we have great rea&s;on to think this opening of the inmo&s;t part of the Temple to be &s;ome new manife|&s;tation of God to the World; Fir&s;t, Becau&s;e it is intimat|ed to have been opened, <HI>that all Nations might come and wor|&s;hip before God,</HI> v. 4. And next, Becau&s;e it is &s;aid, <HI>v.</HI> 8. <HI>That none was able to enter in till the Plagues of the &s;even Angels were fulfilled;</HI> which &s;hews it to have been opened for their En|trance in, after that was over. And la&s;tly, Becau&s;e the Temple had been mentioned twice together ju&s;t before this Chapter, without any &s;uch Circum&s;tances: And then, what is meant by the Glory of God in the Temple, as we here find it may be under&s;tood from the Rea&s;on that God gives, <HI>Ezek.</HI> 43. 9. for the &s;tay of his Glory in the Temple, <HI>viz. The putting away their Whoredoms,</HI> that is, Idolatry.</P>
<P N="5">5. E&s;pecially, when we &s;ee this al&s;o followed with that remarkable circum&s;tance of the Temples being <HI>filled with &s;moke from the Glory of God, &s;o that none could enter into it before the &s;even Plagues of the &s;even Angels were fulfilled.</HI> For this &s;eems to be a very plain allu&s;ion to the &s;ame Circum&s;tances and Expre&s;&s;ions about the fir&s;t Dedi|cation or Con&s;ecration of the Tabernacle, <HI>Exod.</HI> 40. 34. and al&s;o to the &s;ame De&s;cription of the fir&s;t Dedication of
<PB N="186" REF="98"> <HI>Solomons</HI> Temple, in <HI>Kings</HI> and <HI>Chronicles:</HI> For in tho&s;e pla|ces <NOTE PLACE="marg">1 Kings 8. 10, 11. 2 Chron. 5. 13, 14.</NOTE> we find ju&s;t the &s;ame peculiar Expre&s;&s;ions with the&s;e here, and no where el&s;e be&s;ides in Scripture; and therefore ought the &s;ame phra&s;e here to be interpreted of &s;ome new Dedication or Con&s;ecration of the Chri&s;tian Church to Gods Service, after the Profanations of it by the Bea&s;t: And what Eminent Change of the State of the Chri&s;tian Church from the corruptions of the <HI>Roman</HI> Hierarchy can any ways an&s;wer this but the Reformation?</P>
<P>If it &s;hould be here objected, that according to this the Con&s;ecration of the Chri&s;tian Church mu&s;t have la&s;ted from the Reformation to the end of the Vials, and that none of the Reformed could have entred into the Church till then; and that therefore, the fir&s;t mentioning of the opening of the Temple could not mean the Reformation, &s;ince it appears here to be as good as &s;hut immediately after:</P>
<P>That may ea&s;ily be an&s;wered by the like Examples of the Tabernacle and Temple: None, no not the Prie&s;ts could enter into them, till the <HI>Cloud of Gods Glory</HI> was taken away: For it was not throughly dedicated till then; and &s;o the continuance of the <HI>Cloud of Gods Glory</HI> did &s;ignifie the Time that was taken up in the Con&s;ecrating the Hou&s;e of God, to fit it for a continual Habitation for him&s;elf after that was done.</P>
<P>And then the like circum&s;tance in this my&s;tical Tem|ple, the Chri&s;tian Church, can &s;ignifie nothing el&s;e, but the preparation of the Church for Gods Service, from the time of the Reformation to the end of the &s;even Vials, when all the World &s;hall become one holy Temple to God, the new <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> fitted and prepared for him to dwell in with his People: Till then, tho the Temple might be &s;aid to be opened, yet it could not be wholly &s;et apart for Gods Service; for the Chri&s;tian Church was fir&s;t to be purged and cleared, before it could be wholly dedicated to &s;uch holy U&s;es: And therefore the Vials were fir&s;t to be poured out upon that Power which &s;at in the <HI>outward Court of the Temple, &s;hewing him&s;elf there that he was God.</HI> For this &s;eems to have a very plain allu&s;ion to <HI>chap.</HI> 11. 1, 2. where the <HI>inner part of the Temple</HI> is po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ed by the true Church only, while the
<PB N="187" REF="98"> <HI>outward Court is trodden under foot by the Gentiles,</HI> till the end of the Reign of the Bea&s;t.</P>
<P>Wherefore the not entring into the Temple in this in|terval, betwixt the Reformation and the Univer&s;al Reign of Chri&s;t in his Church, can only &s;ignifie, That the Re|formed Churches are but &s;cattered Altars, and particular Synagogues, till they come all to be united into one Uni|ver&s;al Temple at the end of the Con&s;ecration of the Chri&s;tian Church, that is, at the end of the Vials and of all the Enemies of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P>We do accordingly find, that at the la&s;t Trumpet the Temple, which is here de&s;cribed to be &s;o full of the Glory <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11. 19</NOTE> of God that none&punc;could enter in, is there &s;aid to be <HI>open|ed</HI> again, as it was expre&s;&s;ed of it before that appearance of the Smoke, and the Glory of God in it. And this does confirm what before was &s;aid of the Significations of two &s;everal triumphant Appearances of the Church: The fir&s;t of which is repre&s;ented in this place, by the opening of the innermo&s;t part of the Temple upon the Victory <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 15. 5. v. 2, 3, 4.</NOTE> over the Bea&s;t and his Image, which is accompanied with a Song of Victory and Triumph; all which is de&s;cribed to be before the going out of the Angels with the &s;even Vials: And the other is at the &s;ounding of the la&s;t Trumpet, with <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 11. 19.</NOTE> ju&s;t the &s;ame Expre&s;&s;ions of the opening of the inmo&s;t part of the Temple, which was introduced al&s;o with a Song <NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 17.</NOTE> of Triumph, of much the &s;ame nature with the former.</P>
<P N="7">7. But yet to &s;hew that the&s;e two Songs of Triumph did belong to very different Times of the Church; in the fir&s;t Song of the <HI>15th.</HI> Chapter, it is &s;aid of a Time then to come, <HI>All Nations &s;hall come and wor&s;hip before thee:</HI> But in the other <NOTE PLACE="marg">ver&s;e 4.</NOTE> of Chapter the <HI>11th.</HI> at the &s;ounding of the la&s;t Trumpet, it is &s;aid of the Time then pre&s;ent, <HI>The Kingdoms of the World</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">ver&s;e 15.</NOTE> <HI>are become the Kingdoms of the Lord and his Chri&s;t, and he &s;hall Reign for ever and ever.</HI> And the Conquerors that &s;ing the fir&s;t Song, are repre&s;ented &s;tanding on the my&s;tical Red <NOTE PLACE="marg">ver&s;e 2.</NOTE> Sea, not yet pa&s;&s;ed over it, but in a condition &s;till to be pur&s;ued by the my&s;tical <HI>Pharaoh,</HI> which does exactly re|pre&s;ent the fir&s;t State of the Reformation.</P>
<P N="8">8. And yet without the con&s;ideration of either any &s;ig|nal Deliverance or freedom of the Church, the very nature
<PB N="188" REF="99"> of the &s;even Plagues is &s;ufficient to &s;atisfie one, that they cannot begin before the Reformation: Becau&s;e, till then the <HI>Roman</HI> Hierarchy was in its full Glory, whereas the &s;even Plagues are all great Mortifications to the power of the Bea&s;t. They are &s;aid to be in Vials full of the Wrath <NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 1, 7.</NOTE> of God, and in which the Wrath of God is filled up.</P>
<P>The&s;e are the concurrent Circum&s;tances of the Text, to determine the Date of the Vials to be after the time of the Reformation; and the proof that has been drawn from them, will be &s;till much more &s;trengthned, if it be con|&s;idered,</P>
<P N="9">9. That the Reformation was &s;o very eminent and ge|neral a Triumph over the Bea&s;t, &s;o remarkable a Delive|rance of a great part of the Church from Slavery and Captivity, &s;o exactly an&s;wering the Characters of the opening of the Temple of God, and of the new Dedication of it to Gods Service, That it ought to be &s;omewhere in the&s;e Vi&s;ions about the Bea&s;t de&s;cribed by as eminent Marks of Deliverance from Captivity, and of the free exer|ci&s;e of the true Religion. But no where is there any Cha|racters that do &s;o remarkably &s;et out the&s;e things as tho&s;e here in the <HI>15th.</HI> Chapter. Tho&s;e in the <HI>14th.</HI> Chap|ter, which are the only Expre&s;&s;ions be&s;ides which &s;eem capable of &s;ignifying this great Change of the State of the Church, will appear to be nece&s;&s;ary to be the &s;ame State of the Church with this, tho they do nothing &s;o fully and openly expre&s;s it, as the&s;e in this place.</P>
<P>Some indeed would have the time of the Reformation to be de&s;cribed in the &s;eventh Trumpet. But tho the Cha|racters of that might well enough &s;uit it, yet it is certain, that the &s;eventh Trumpet is not yet &s;ounded, becau&s;e nei|ther are the Witne&s;&s;es yet ri&s;en again, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 33.) Nor the &s;econd Woe yet pa&s;&s;ed away, <HI>Ibid.</HI> Which yet mu&s;t both be before the time of the &s;eventh Trumpet, <HI>Rev.</HI> 11. 11, 14.</P>
<P N="10">10. But after all, it mu&s;t be al&s;o con&s;idered, That there have been &s;ince the Reformation, three or four more emi|nent Judgments upon the whole party of the Bea&s;t, than any of tho&s;e that are made the bu&s;ine&s;s of the Vials be|fore the Reformation; and the&s;e have been di&s;tinct one
<PB N="189" REF="99"> from another, and cannot be all comprehended in the &s;eventh Vial, no more than the Judgments of the three la&s;t Vials can be comprehended under the third or fourth. Never was there &s;o univer&s;al an Ocean of Blood all over <HI>Europe,</HI> and that to the e&s;tabli&s;hment of the true Religion, and to the weakning of the <HI>Roman</HI> Party, as about the be|ginning of the <HI>Dutch</HI> Common-Wealth: Never was there before &s;uch Rivers of Blood in the Imperial Countries, as during the time of the <HI>Swedi&s;h</HI> War: Who before could ever be &s;o compared to the Sun in the fourth Vial, as the pre&s;ent King of <HI>France,</HI> &s;ince by that Character it mu&s;t be the mo&s;t eminent Monarch in <HI>Europe,</HI> in enmi|ty to the Imperial Power? And what Heats and Vexa|tions have the Imperial Party had at any time before the Reformation comparable in the length of their conti|nuance to tho&s;e hot Effects of the Sun, with which the King of <HI>France</HI> has enraged and enflamed them, and di|verted them from advancing their Univer&s;al Monarchy over the World?</P>
<P>The&s;e Plagues and Vexations then of &s;o con&s;iderable and of &s;o general a concern to the whole <HI>Roman,</HI> both Imperial and Papal Party, do more de&s;erve to have &s;o many di|&s;tinct Vials for the matter of them, than tho&s;e Events that are applied to the&s;e Vials before the Reformation.</P>
<P>There is therefore no ground for comprehending the&s;e di&s;tinct remarkable Judgments, which were at &s;uch di|&s;tance from one another under the &s;eventh Vial only.</P>
<P>Now if we compare all the&s;e Con&s;iderations together, they will &s;till much more &s;trengthen one another. The Victory here mentioned is &s;uch a Deliverance from the <HI>Roman</HI> Slavery, as the Deliverance of the People of God out of <HI>Egypt</HI> was: It mu&s;t then be as real a Freedom as that was a real Bondage and Oppre&s;&s;ion. It was al&s;o a De|liverance that was followed with the la&s;t Plagues of <HI>Egypt,</HI> which brought the Bea&s;t to his ruine: And &s;uch al&s;o as was accompanied with a new opening of the Temple of God, which does el&s;ewhere &s;ignifie the full liberty of the true Chri&s;tian Church; and is al&s;o de&s;cribed by a new Con|&s;ecration of the Church to Gods Service: It is al&s;o de|&s;cribed as the fir&s;t Deliverance of a part of the Church
<PB N="190" REF="100"> with the &s;ame kind of opening of the Temple and Song of Victory, that the la&s;t Deliverance of the whole Church is &s;et out by.</P>
<P>And therefore, this Victory and Deliverance mu&s;t nece&s;|&s;arily be at &s;ome great Mortification of the Papal Power before the la&s;t ruine of it, and with &s;ome great Triumph and Freedom of the Chri&s;tian Church in the full and free Exerci&s;e of the true Religion, after a great Oppre&s;&s;ion un|der Antichri&s;tian Tyranny, and yet long before the la&s;t general Freedom from it. And what remarkable time can this be apprehended to be, &s;ince the fir&s;t Exaltation of the Tyrannical Power of the <HI>Roman</HI> Church, but the Re|formation?</P>
<P>E&s;pecially, if we add to this, that &s;o eminent a Change of the State of the Church, as the Reformation was, and the remarkable Judgments which have &s;ince hapned up|on the <HI>Roman</HI> Party, ought to have been &s;omewhere in this Prophecy as particularly expo&s;ed. And yet there is not &s;o clear or con&s;i&s;tent Characters of either of them in any other part of the Prophecy: But the&s;e Circum|&s;tances here in the beginning of the <HI>15th.</HI> Chapter, with the fir&s;t half of the Vials, do all very exactly &s;uit the&s;e Events, and concur together to expre&s;s the Order of them. For we have here a de&s;cription of a fir&s;t Deli|verance of a part of the Church of God from the Ty|ranny of the Bea&s;t, in reference to the la&s;t full Delive|rance of the whole Church after the pouring out of tho&s;e &s;even Plagues upon the Bea&s;t, which were to begin up|on the fir&s;t Victory over him, and which will be found to be to admiration, an&s;werable to the &s;everal Humili|ations that the <HI>Roman</HI> Church has &s;uffered &s;ince that time. <NOTE PLACE="marg"><P><HI>(a)</HI> A <HI>Lea&s;ar</HI> in cap. 15. <HI>Apoc.</HI> The &s;even Angels it may be, are an allu&s;ion to the &s;even Bed-chamber Officers of the King of <HI>Per&s;ia.</HI></P>
<P><HI>Ribera.</HI> cap. 15. <HI>Apoc.</HI> By &s;even I do not under&s;tand many, as <HI>Bede</HI> and o|thers, but only &s;even. For, he calls them the &s;even la&s;t Plagues which were in the Vials of the &s;even Angels.</P></NOTE></P>
<PB N="191" REF="100">
<PB N="192" REF="101">
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="12" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="193" REF="101">
<HEAD>CHAP. XII.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>Objections again&s;t the Date of the Vials from the Re|formation an&s;wered.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>AGain&s;t all that has been concluded in the former Di&s;cour&s;e, it may be urged, That this Victory here mentioned in the <HI>15th.</HI> Chapter, does &s;eem to be &s;et out as a Triumph over the Bea&s;t at the end of the Plagues. For the Song that they &s;ing, does refer to the executing of the Judgments of tho&s;e Plagues.</P>
<P>But tho this &s;hould be granted of the Song, yet this Victory is repre&s;ented as a di&s;tinct thing from the mat|ter of the Song; for the rea&s;on of their &s;inging may in|deed in all probability, be their &s;ight of the &s;even An|gels with the &s;even la&s;t Plagues, mentioned ju&s;t before their Appearance, as it became the Conquerors of tho&s;e Enemies of God upon whom the Plagues were to fall. But there is not the lea&s;t hint, that their Victory was nothing but the ruine of the Bea&s;t by tho&s;e Plagues, and at the end of them all; on the contrary, it is repre&s;ent|ed as a Deliverance before the pouring out of any of the Vials, and as di&s;tinct from them.</P>
<P>It may be further objected in confirmation of the for|mer, That this Victory and Deliverance is &s;et out as a Deliverance out of <HI>Egypt;</HI> and the Plagues have a mani|fe&s;t reference to the Plagues of <HI>Egypt;</HI> now the <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> Deliverance out of <HI>Egypt,</HI> was not till after the Plagues of <HI>Egypt:</HI> And therefore neither &s;hould this Victory here be till after the&s;e Plagues.</P>
<P>This would &s;ignifie &s;omething, if the Deliverance here were expre&s;ly &s;aid to be ju&s;t in the &s;ame manner with the Deliverance of the <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> out of <HI>Egypt,</HI> and that the Plagues here did go before the Victory, as it is related of the other Plagues of <HI>Egypt</HI> before the Deliverance of that People.</P>
<PB N="194" REF="102">
<P> But it is far otherwi&s;e here. The Victory here is as manife&s;tly &s;et before the Plagues, as the Deliverance in the Hi&s;tory of the <HI>I&s;raelites</HI> is related to come after the Plagues; the Conquerors here do only triumph at the manife&s;tation of Gods Judgments to them, after the &s;even Angels with the &s;even Plagues were &s;een, and before they went out of the Temple to pour out their Vials.</P>
<P>Be&s;ides, we have the mention of two di&s;tinct Triumphs before and after the Vials, as has been ob&s;erved; and this here before the Vials, is not the &s;ame with that af|ter them in the &s;eventh Trumpet: For in this it is &s;aid, <HI>All Nations &s;hall come and wor&s;hip before thee;</HI> but in that, <HI>The Kingdoms of this World are become the Kingdoms of the Lord, and of his Chri&s;t, and he &s;hall reign for ever and ever.</HI> The fir&s;t relates to an Univer&s;al Conformity that was to come, and the latter to &s;uch a Chri&s;tian Uniformity that was then pre&s;ent.</P>
<P>It al&s;o follows here, that after the Victory and Song here mentioned, there was an opening of the Temple; and this was another di&s;tinct opening of it than that which is mentioned at the Deliverance in the &s;eventh Trum|pet; <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 11. 19.</NOTE> and therefore mu&s;t the Deliverance here be al&s;o di|&s;tinct from that which is mentioned there, which was at the end of the &s;even Vials.</P>
<P>That the opening of the Temple here after the Song of Victory, was different from that after the &s;eventh Trumpet is manife&s;t; for the opening of the Temple here, was before the going out of the Angel with the &s;even Vials, and before the filling it with &s;moke from the Glo|ry of God; but the opening of it after the &s;eventh Trum|pet, was after the end of the Vials; for it is &s;aid, <HI>That none could enter into the Temple till the &s;even Plagues were fulfilled.</HI></P>
<P>But it may be further alledged in Plea, for the placing the Deliverance here mentioned after the Vials, that it is u&s;ual in this Prophecy, before any extraordinary Judg|ments of God, to repre&s;ent a Scene of Per&s;ons rejoycing and triumphing as Conquerors, by way of Anticipation; whereas the true time of that Victory is at the end of tho&s;e Judgments: And &s;o may the Victory here men|tioned
<PB N="195" REF="102"> be no more, than the triumphant &s;tate of the Church after the fulfilling of the &s;even plagues.</P>
<P>Thus we &s;ee before the &s;ounding of the &s;even Trumpets there is a &s;hew of a great multitude, with White Robes and Palms in their hands, Glorifying God, all which are un|doubted &s;ignifications of a victorious &s;tate of the Church; But yet the time of the&s;e Palm-bearers, and of their Vi|ctory, could not be till after the Judgments of tho&s;e Trum|pets. For the Palm-bearers are &s;aid to be &s;een after the Vi|&s;ion of the 144000, which were &s;ealed to be &s;aved from the Judgments of the Trumpets, and who therefore mu&s;t be contemporaries with the &s;even Trumpets. The Palm-bearers therefore mu&s;t be after the Trumpets, tho' repre|&s;ented as before them, becau&s;e they come after tho&s;e that are Sealed, who are at the &s;ame time with the Trumpets; For whenever a Vi&s;ion is &s;aid to be after another in this Book, as this of the Palm-bearers is &s;aid to be after the Sealed Company, it is pretended, that it always &s;ignifies, that the things &s;een in that Vi&s;ion, are after the things that were &s;een in the Vi&s;ion before it, and not only that the &s;ight of the one was after the &s;ight of the other.</P>
<P>So al&s;o are the 144000 repre&s;ented in the 14th Chapter upon Mount <HI>Sion,</HI> &s;inging a new Song, with Harpers &s;inging to their Harps, before the pronouncing <HI>Babylon</HI> fallen, or the threat of God's Judgments upon tho&s;e who &s;hould Wor|&s;hip the Bea&s;t, and yet (&s;ay they) it cannot be thought, that that triumph could be before the fall of <HI>Babylon.</HI></P>
<P>In the latter of the&s;e in&s;tances, there is no mention at all of any triumph over <HI>Babylon:</HI> Their Song and their Harping may be very rea&s;onably Judged to be the Religious Exer|ci&s;es of the Church in the time of Per&s;ecution, which &s;eems to be very plainly intimated by what is &s;aid of the Song that they &s;ung, ver&s;e 3. that it was a new Song, which none could learn but the 144000. For what can that &s;ignify but Religious Wor&s;hip, kept up by them alone, &s;ince it is repre&s;ented to be Sung before the Throne, as the &s;ong of the Elders? Chap. 5. 11. But the fir&s;t of the&s;e in&s;tances requires a little more pains to an&s;wer it.</P>
<P>That which the Objection from it does chiefly rely upon, is, that the vi&s;ion is &s;aid to be <GAP DESC="foreign">, or after that of the &s;ealed Company.</P>
<PB N="196" REF="103">
<P> But that does in propriety of &s;peech &s;ignify no more, than that &s;uch things were &s;een after the other, and not that the things in the one, came after the end of tho&s;e things that were &s;een in the Vi&s;ion before.</P>
<P>And there are al&s;o Examples in this very Prophe&s;y of &s;uch acceptations of the &s;ame kind of phra&s;e, as has been &s;hewn, <HI>Theorem</HI> 12.</P>
<P>And yet, if this con&s;tant &s;ignification of <GAP DESC="foreign">, or <HI>after the&s;e things</HI> &s;hould be granted, it would be a new confirmation of what has been &s;aid about the time of the deliverance and Song of triumph in the 15th Chapter. For it is &s;aid, that <HI>after that,</HI> the Temple was &s;een to be opened, which has been &s;hewn to be nece&s;&s;arily under&s;tood of an opening of the Temple before the pouring out of the Vials; and therefore much more mu&s;t the deliverance there men|tioned be before the &s;ame Vials, &s;ince the opening of the Temple is &s;aid to be after that Vi&s;ion.</P>
<P>There is therefore either no force at all in the term of <GAP DESC="foreign"> to prove the Palm-bearers to come after the end of the fortunes of the Sealed Company, or the &s;ame force in it to a&s;&s;ure us, that the Conquerours in the 15th Chapter were before the Vials.</P>
<P>This does excellently well agree with what the 6th Seal is generally interpreted by others to be; For if that be the Enthroning of the Chri&s;tian Profe&s;&s;ion by <HI>Con&s;tantine,</HI> it is certain that nothing could have more &s;hewn the glorifying of God by this Multitude to be at that time, than the exact agreement of the de&s;cription of it here, with tho&s;e expre&s;&s;ions which we find at the ca&s;ting out of the Red-Dragon out of Heaven in the 12th Chapter; for in both they cry with a loud voice; They both u&s;e the &s;ame kind of phra&s;es, <HI>Salvation to our God and to the Lamb,</HI> and, <HI>now is come Salvation, and the Kingdom of our God, and the power of his Chri&s;t;</HI> They are both repre&s;ented as Conquerours. The one with Palms, and white Robes wa&s;hed in the blood of the Lamb, and the other by overcoming their Enemy by the blood of the Lamb; They are both repre&s;ented as the Martyrs of God, the one is &s;aid to come out of the great Tribulation; The other, not to have loved their Lives unto the Death; They are both a victory that cau&s;e triumph in
<PB N="197" REF="103"> Heaven; In the one, the <HI>Heavens are &s;aid to rejoyce and them that dwell therein,</HI> and in the other, <HI>all the Angels about the Throne.</HI> And no where be&s;ides in this book are there any characters, that do &s;o expre&s;sly agree with the circum&s;tances of the&s;e Palm-bearers, as the&s;e in the 12th Chapter, which is generally agreed to be the de&s;cription of the Pagan Per&s;ecution, and of the Conque&s;t of it by the e&s;tabli&s;hment of the Chri&s;tian Profe&s;&s;ion in the Im|perial throne.</P>
<P>There is indeed in that 12th Chapter, the mention of the <HI>Remnant of the Seed of the Woman,</HI> with whom the Dragon went to make War after the Woman was fled into the Wilderne&s;s, which may at fir&s;t be thought to be the &s;ame with the <HI>re&s;t of the Brethren,</HI> that in the 5th Seal are &s;aid, &s;hould be killed; And then the Palm-bearers might be the re&s;t of the Brethren mentioned in the fifth &s;eal, and yet by this appear nece&s;&s;arily to be after the Trumpets, as the Victory of that Remnant in the 12th Chapter, was to be.</P>
<P>But it is manife&s;t, that the re&s;t of the Brethren in the 5th &s;eal cannot be the &s;ame with the Remnant of the &s;eed of the Woman in the 12th Chapter; for tho&s;e in the fifth Seal were to be all killed within a <HI>little &s;ea&s;on</HI> after the time of that Seal, and the vengeance of the Trumpets was al&s;o to be after that they were killed. For upon their Cry for Judgment, and vengeance, they are bid to re&s;t for a little &s;ea&s;on, or to wait a little while with patience for it, till the re&s;t &s;hould be killed; The plain obvious &s;en&s;e of which is, That after the killing of the re&s;t of their Bre|thren within a &s;hort while after, the Murderers &s;hould have filled up the mea&s;ure of their wickedne&s;s, and then they &s;hould be ripe for judgment; which &s;hews the judgment was to come after the killing of the re&s;t, and that not long after the time of the fifth &s;eal; But it is certain, that the Dragons War with the Remnant of the &s;eed of the Woman, and the killing them was during the whole time of the Reign of the Bea&s;t; and therefore not within a little &s;ea&s;on, nor before the vengeance of the Trumpets, or before the promi&s;ed ven|geance of the fifth Seal; for the time of mo&s;t of the Trumpets is generally agreed to be within the time of the Reign of the Bea&s;t.</P>
<PB N="198" REF="104">
<P> Wherefore if we now compare the forementioned cir|cum&s;tances together, the force of <GAP DESC="foreign"> will &s;ignify no|thing to wre&s;t the Palm-bearers out of their natural proper place and order in the &s;ixth &s;eal, to make them come four Chapters after the Order, that they have in the Prophecy, and after no fewer than &s;even long judgments which they are placed before.</P>
<P>There is therefore no example now to be found of any &s;uch &s;inging a Triumph before a victory, as &s;ome would have the&s;e Conquerours of the Bea&s;t, and of his Image here to do.</P>
<P>But on the other &s;ide we may now with a great deal of &s;atisfaction ob&s;erve from this la&s;t in&s;tance, how exact a corre&s;pondence there is betwixt the &s;even Trumpets, and the &s;even Vials in the manner of their fir&s;t Ri&s;e, as well as in all other re&s;pects; and it is chiefly for the clearing of this Remark, that I have &s;o long in&s;i&s;ted upon an&s;wering the la&s;t Objection. <HI>E. G.</HI></P>
<P>As both the Trumpets and the Vials are &s;et out as ju&s;t the &s;ame number of Plagues, or &s;everal in&s;tances of the wrath of God, and both &s;eem to have a plain reference to the Plagues of <HI>Egypt,</HI> &s;o are they both &s;hewn to belong to almo&s;t all the &s;ame &s;ubjects, and that in the very &s;ame Or|der, as the Earth, and the Sea, the Rivers, the Sun, the River <HI>Euphrates,</HI> Heaven. They are al&s;o both fir&s;t foretold in General, before they are reckoned up in order, the Trum|pets in the &s;ixth Seal, and the Vials in the Harve&s;t and Vintage; and both of them are de&s;cribed to begin at a &s;ig|nal deliverance of the Church, or at a &s;ignal humbling of the power of the Enemies of God. The Kings and great Men hid them&s;elves in the rocks at the &s;ixth Seal before the Trumpets, and the Conquerours of the Bea&s;t appear before the Vials, &s;tanding upon a Sea, like the Red Sea. The Church al&s;o is in a great Triumph of joy in the Palm-bearers with the Angels before the Throne ju&s;t before the Trumpets, and the Song of <HI>Mo&s;es</HI> is &s;ung ju&s;t before the Vials; and therefore well might the Vials have the name of the &s;even la&s;t plagues, for their perfect re&s;emblance with the &s;even Trumpets, which were the &s;even fir&s;t plagues.</P>
<P>And if we allow with the generally of Interpreters that
<PB N="199" REF="104"> the Deliverance of the Church before the Trumpets, was the fir&s;t Conver&s;ions of the Chri&s;tian Emperors, how na|tural is it to think that the deliverance of the Church be|fore the Vials was nothing but a new Return or Re|formation of the Chri&s;tian Religion upon &s;ome of the Thrones of the ten Kings?</P>
<P>The Objections again&s;t the beginning of the time of the Vials, before the &s;ounding of the &s;eventh Trumpet, are &s;ufficiently an&s;wered chap. 18.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="13" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. XIII.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>The particular Application of the Vials to the mo&s;t remarkable Events &s;ince the Reformation. The Com|motions in all Countrys upon the Reformation, the fir&s;t Vial. The Wars all over</HI> Europe <HI>for Religion, in the Reign of Queen</HI> Elizabeth, <HI>the &s;econd Vial. The</HI> Swedi&s;h <HI>War, the third Vial. The Humi|liations of the Papal and Imperial Intere&s;t by the pre&s;ent King of</HI> France, <HI>the fourth Vial. How providentially his owning the Sun for his Emblem does agree with it. The general Humiliation of the</HI> Roman <HI>Church in all</HI> Roman <HI>States, the fifth Vial. Some Enemies beyond</HI> Euphrates, <HI>the &s;ixth Vial. A conjecture about</HI> Harmageddon.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>THE Application of the &s;even Vials, does in my way give the Prophecy &s;o great a part in all the great Actions and Expectations of this pre&s;ent Age, that I could not think that I could be accounted tedious in the nice&s;t and mo&s;t &s;crupulous Examination I could u&s;e, to &s;trengthen and to &s;ecure the Foundation of it. 'Tis upon this account that I have been &s;o careful to e&s;tabli&s;h the fir&s;t Date of the Vials, upon which the whole Application is chiefly
<PB N="200" REF="105"> grounded; and there are &s;o many things of the greate&s;t importance as well as of pre&s;ent concern, to gratifie and &s;urprize the Curio&s;ity of all Men in the particulars of this Application, that I am apt to imagine, that nothing will be judged to have been unnece&s;&s;ary, that has been employed to e&s;tabli&s;h the grounds of it.</P>
<P>If we then date the Victory of the Reformation from a|bout the year 1530. when it was carried on with the face of Authority in <HI>Germany</HI> and <HI>Switzerland,</HI> and by Prote&s;tant Leagues, there will then be about the &s;pace of fourty years for each of the fir&s;t four Vials to take their turn in.</P>
<P>I do not confine the Period of every Vial to that pre|ci&s;e number of fourty years, becau&s;e there is no Cha|racter in the Text that does &s;o determine them to tho&s;e bounds. But be&s;ides my own Suppo&s;itions about the end of the Bea&s;t, which would well agree with it, there have been &s;uch remarkable Events that have hapned within the &s;pace of every fourty years &s;ince the Reformation, and which do very wonderfully &s;uit the matter of the&s;e Vials, that one can hardly forbear from being confident, that they mu&s;t be the fulfilling of the fir&s;t four Vials, if the whole &s;even begin about the time of the Reformation, and have near 300 years to run their cour&s;e in, as I make account has been el&s;ewhere e&s;tabli&s;hed.</P>
<P>E&s;pecially, if we con&s;ider, That there are no other Judg|ments upon the <HI>Roman</HI> Church &s;ince the Reformation, that do &s;o con&s;iderably an&s;wer the Characters of the&s;e Vials, as the&s;e &s;ignal ones that are here pitched upon.</P>
<P>For <NOTE N="(a)" PLACE="marg">SEE note the fir&s;t, and 6th, on the fir&s;t Chapter, e&s;pecially the 6th.</NOTE> the&s;e Plagues according to their De&s;cription, mu&s;t fir&s;t be &s;o many very eminent Judgments upon the <HI>Roman</HI> Party, and that to the greate&s;t extent of the Do|minion of that Church to make them remarkable, and therefore upon the greate&s;t part of <HI>Europe.</HI> They mu&s;t al&s;o be eminent Plagues of a long continuance, to di&s;tin|gui&s;h them from the le&s;&s;er Evils which do u&s;ually happen within the &s;pace of fourty years, which is &s;uppo&s;ed to be the Period for every Vial; and they mu&s;t la&s;tly, an|&s;wer the Characters of each Plague in the Text. And tho&s;e which I &s;hall mention, and none other, will be found to be thus qualified for the time that is pa&s;t &s;ince the
<PB N="201" REF="105"> Reformation, which is much above half the whole term a&s;&s;igned them.</P>
<P>And fir&s;t, I que&s;tion not but that all will grant, that the Reformation gave vexation and unea&s;ine&s;s enough to the whole party of the Bea&s;t, to qualifie it for the Applica|tion of the fir&s;t Vial. For what does more properly an|&s;wer the grievous &s;ore of the fir&s;t Vial, than the inward Torment and exulcerated Spirits of the <HI>Romani&s;ts</HI> in ge|neral, at the Succe&s;s of the Reformation? And what but an inward unea&s;ine&s;s of Mind can be &s;ignified, by the inflict|ing of a grievous Sore upon a particular party of Men, in di&s;tinction to the re&s;t who live among&s;t them, as this is &s;aid here to be inflicted upon the Men that had the mark of the Bea&s;t? To apprehend it to be any other kind of out|ward Sore upon a particular party of Men only, would be to make it to be &s;ome extraordinary Miracle from Heaven, which is not by any Interpreters of this Prophe|cy judged to be nece&s;&s;ary, for the fulfilling of the Judg|ments foretold in it. On the contrary <NOTE N="(b)" PLACE="marg"><P>It is al&s;o the opinion of the be&s;t of the <HI>Roman</HI> Interpreters, that the&s;e plagues are to be under&s;tood in a my&s;tical &s;en&s;e.</P>
<P><HI>Alca&s;ar</HI> in Note the third on the 11th Chap. does &s;hew all the Schemes to be My&s;tical allu&s;ions to the Hi&s;tories of the <HI>I&s;raelites,</HI> and &s;ays be&s;ides expre&s;ly, that the Seven Plagues are to be taken in a my&s;tical &s;en&s;e. And for proof of this does in&s;tance in the fifth Vial, which he &s;ays is by none under&s;tood as it litterally &s;ignifies, and thereupon demands, why the re&s;t &s;hould not be inter|preted after the &s;ame way, or in a my&s;tical &s;en&s;e.</P>
<P>And <HI>Ribera</HI> on the &s;econd Ver&s;e of the 16th Chapter, does &s;hew that many do under&s;tand the fir&s;t plague (of the grievous &s;ore) in a Moral (yet My&s;tical) &s;en&s;e; As <HI>Bede</HI> and others. And that <HI>Andreas</HI> Bi&s;hop of <HI>Cae&s;area</HI> in particular, and <HI>Arethas</HI> the be&s;t of the old Commentators do in particular make the grie|vous &s;ore to be a burning vexation of the heart, as it is here made to be.</P></NOTE> it is generally agreed by all the con&s;iderable Prote&s;tant Interpreters, that the Plagues of the Vials are generally to be under&s;tood in a my&s;tical &s;en&s;e. And tho this inward Vexation may be thought to be too common a Di&s;po&s;ition of that Party under all the Vials, to be made the Judgment of any one of them in di&s;tinction to the re&s;t, yet it cannot but be imagined, that their Fury and Indignation at the fir&s;t ap|pearances of this new Face of Religion, mu&s;t be in a very different degree from what it was after they were long u&s;ed to it. The Hi&s;tory of that Time does &s;uffici|ently convince us, That the new Surprize, that the Spirits of Men were then in at this new Doctrin, did more en|flame them about the fir&s;t Times of the preaching it, than they can be &s;uppo&s;ed to have been &s;ince, tho the Effect of it was chiefly within them: For Rage is the mo&s;t painful and fretting before it breaks out into Re|venge, and that was enough to make it a different Plague from all the re&s;t.</P>
<P>But be&s;ides, tho&s;e inward Vexations were the peculiar Evils of tho&s;e fir&s;t fourty years, without any other very con&s;iderable Judgment upon the Bea&s;t. For his lo&s;s of the
<PB N="202" REF="106"> States and Kingdoms which embraced the Reformation, is included in the Victory over the Bea&s;t before the Vials, tho the fir&s;t Date of that Victory be from the fir&s;t con|&s;iderable appearance of Authority in defence of the Re|formation.</P>
<P>But yet after all the Rea&s;ons that I have alledged for it, I do not expect that the Character of this fir&s;t Vial &s;hould be generally allowed by any, that have been fixed upon any other way, to be &s;o nece&s;&s;arily and clear|ly determined in the Text, to &s;ignifie the Matter unto which it is applied. And I do not pretend to maintain, that it is uncapable of any other Interpretation, which may be thought to agree better with the fir&s;t beginning of the Reformation and the Characters of the Judgment of this Vial.</P>
<P>But the effect of the &s;econd Vial, is expre&s;&s;ed in terms of as manife&s;t and open a &s;ignification in Prophecy, as it well could have been; The <HI>Sea becoming like the Blood of a</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 15. 3.</NOTE> <HI>dead Man,</HI> and that <HI>of every living Soul dying in the Sea,</HI> are Expre&s;&s;ions that have no ambiguity in them. The Sea is known to &s;ignifie in &s;everal places of this Prophe|cy, the &s;ame with that which <HI>many Waters</HI> is explained <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 17. 14.</NOTE> to &s;ignifie in the <HI>17th.</HI> Chapter, where the Angel tells the Apo&s;tle, <HI>That it was his de&s;ign to interpret the dark terms of the Vi&s;ion to him.</HI></P>
<P>The Sea mu&s;t therefore here &s;ignifie Multitudes, and Tongues, and Nations; and its becoming like the Blood of a dead Man, can then &s;ignifie nothing but an Univer&s;al Sea of Blood among&s;t all People and Nations, that is, among&s;t tho&s;e Nations who were confederates with the Bea&s;t. For the Dominion and Sphere of the Bea&s;t, mu&s;t always be accounted the Scene of all the Judgments of the&s;e Vials.</P>
<P>And what was there ever more notoriou&s;ly an&s;werable to this, than that Ocean of Blood that was &s;hed in the Low Countreys, in <HI>France,</HI> in Sea Fights betwixt <HI>England</HI> and <HI>Spain,</HI> and the <HI>Dutch,</HI> be&s;ides other le&s;&s;er Effu&s;ions of it in <HI>Scotland,</HI> and other Countreys, during the Reign of Queen <HI>Elizabeth</HI> of <HI>England?</HI> And all upon the account of Re|ligion.</P>
<P>The Succe&s;&s;ion of King <HI>James</HI> to the Crown of <HI>England,</HI>
<PB N="203" REF="106"> and the peace of <HI>Vervins</HI> betwixt the <HI>French</HI> and <HI>Spaniard</HI> to|gether with the &s;ettlement of <HI>Henry</HI> the fourth, in the Throne of <HI>France,</HI> and his Edicts of Pacification with the Prote&s;tants, &amp; the Truce betwixt the <HI>Spaniards,</HI> &amp; the <HI>Dutch,</HI> may very well be accounted a very remarkable end of this Sea of blood, or of the General effu&s;ion of it in almo&s;t all parts of <HI>Europe.</HI></P>
<P>This event was &s;o very famous a circum&s;tance of the humbling the power of the <HI>Roman</HI> Intere&s;t, that it ought to have been very &s;ignally remarked by &s;ome of the&s;e Vials, and none could have more fully, and plainly expre&s;&s;ed it than this Sea of bloud in the &s;econd of them. Neither is there any other State of affairs &s;ince the Reformation that does &s;o fitly an&s;wer the Characters of this Vial as this, that has been mentioned. And it is a &s;ufficient prejudice again&s;t all other Interpretations of this &s;econd Vial, which place it, as I do, after the Reformation, that they take no notice of &s;o &s;ignal, and &s;o generally manife&s;t a Judgment upon the Bea&s;t, as this univer&s;al Blood&s;hed was, notwith|&s;tanding that it is &s;o plainly &s;et forth in the expre&s;&s;ions of this Vial, and was &s;o remarkably fulfilled al&s;o in the event before the Eyes, and to the &s;en&s;e and feeling of almo&s;t all <HI>Europe,</HI> which is that part of the World who are the gene|ral concern of all the Vials.</P>
<P>Whatever therefore may be &s;crupled at in the applica|tion of the fir&s;t Vial, it cannot hinder us from determining the bounds of it to that time that was betwixt the beginning of the Reformation, and this Sea of Blood; For there could not have been a more open prediction, or a more exact conformity to it, than there is betwixt the &s;econd Vial, and the Sea of Blood, within the Time of the &s;econd forty years after the Reformation.</P>
<P>Neither is it any objection again&s;t this, and the follow|ing Applications, that the Prote&s;tants were almo&s;t as great &s;ufferers as the Roman Party. For all that is here to be re|garded, is, whether all the&s;e evils were not great humili|ations of that Intere&s;t, and of tho&s;e, who were the great Lords and Ma&s;ters of the World before. There is no con|&s;iderable conque&s;t to be had over any powerfull Enemies, without a great lo&s;s of Blood on the Conquerours &s;ide; For a Victory does generally &s;uppo&s;e a fight before it, and
<PB N="204" REF="107"> there is no Fighting without Blows on both &s;ides.</P>
<P>THE Rivers of Blood, which are the Judgment of the third Vial, began in tho&s;e remainders of the Religious War betwixt the <HI>Spaniard</HI> and the <HI>Dutch:</HI> Or, if that &s;eem rather the Ebb of the Sea of Blood, in the occa&s;ional Tumults of <HI>Hungary,</HI> and <HI>Tran&s;ylvania</HI> for Liberty of Con&s;cience, <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Anno</HI> 1605.</NOTE> wherein the Papal and Imperial party had generally the wor&s;t, e&s;pecially under the management of <HI>Stephen Botski,</HI> who, as <HI>Petavius</HI> &s;ays in &s;hort of him, did exceedingly tor|ment the <HI>Roman</HI> Catholicks.</P>
<P>But it may be very rea&s;onably thought, that the <HI>Bohemian</HI> War in the &s;ame period, wherein both the Palatinates were gained to the Imperial party, was a &s;ufficient amends for all the other troubles, and lo&s;&s;es, that the Bea&s;t had &s;u&s;tained; and the humbling of the Prote&s;tants in <HI>France</HI> at the taking of <HI>Rochell,</HI> &s;oon after the other, was a great advancement of the Papal Intere&s;t.</P>
<P>That therefore which does the mo&s;t remarkably fufill the intent of this Vial is the de&s;cent of the <HI>Swedes</HI> into <HI>Ger|many,</HI> and their over-running it like a Torrent, and their continuing Conquerours there in one of the mo&s;t Bloody Wars, that ever was heard of for near 17 years together; Which did all fall &s;o heavily at la&s;t upon the Papal Intere&s;t, and the <HI>Roman</HI> Church, that at the treaty of <HI>Mun&s;ter,</HI> the Popes Nuncio, <HI>Fabio Chigi,</HI> who was afterwards <HI>Alexander</HI> the 7th, made a very &s;olemn prote&s;tation there in the name of his Ma&s;ter again&s;t the peace of <HI>Mun&s;ter,</HI> as if it had been but a bargain to betray, and give up the Revenues, Privileges, and Rights of the <HI>Roman</HI> Church. And who can be &s;uppo&s;ed to be a better Judge of the evil of this plague, than they who were the mo&s;t intere&s;ted in it, and the chief &s;ufferers by it?</P>
<P>There were indeed very &s;trange Alienations made of Church-Lands and Goods into Secular hands by that Treaty, &s;o as even to give great offence and &s;candal to many Pro|te&s;tants them&s;elves; and a general Liberty for the exerci&s;e of the Reformed Religion was e&s;tabli&s;hed by it almo&s;t all over the Empire: And it is well known, that the <HI>Swedes,</HI> at their fir&s;t coming into the Empire, declared it was to re&s;tore the Liberties of the Prote&s;tant Religion, as well as
<PB N="205" REF="107"> of the Princes of the Empire. And in all the management of that War, one may &s;ee it was nothing but a War for Religion, and that it had as bloudy effects every way &s;uita|ble to the u&s;ual heats and animo&s;ities, in &s;uch ca&s;es.</P>
<P>It is certain that <NOTE N="(c)" PLACE="marg"><HI>Jonas Wex de Antichri&s;to.</HI> p. 86. who wrot about the middle of the <HI>Swe|di&s;h</HI> War, and was him&s;elf a <HI>Swede,</HI> after he had divided the plagues upon the Bea&s;t into Spritual and Corporal, in the 91 and 92 Articles, &s;ays thus&mdash;The greate&s;t Corporal Judgment that has been poured out upon the Kingdom of Antichri&s;t &s;ince the fir&s;t &s;ettlement of his Kingdom, is that which was brought upon it by a Northern Lyon, that is, <HI>Gu&s;tavus Adolphus.&mdash;</HI>For in the year 1630. did he break in upon the Kingdom of Antichri&s;t, upon the <HI>Babylonian</HI> Confederacy, and give it &s;uch a Corporal wound, as it never before had received &s;ince the fir&s;t &s;ettlement of the Domination of the Pope, and the open di&s;covery of the fornication of his <HI>Babylon.</HI></NOTE> the <HI>Swedi&s;h</HI> War did make &s;o great a noi&s;e in all parts of the World, that it mu&s;t needs have a peculiar place to it &s;elf in &s;ome of the&s;e Vials, if they be|gin with the Reformation; Almo&s;t all <HI>Europe</HI> was engaged in it, the Princes of the <HI>Empire, France, Spain,</HI> the <HI>Dutch,</HI> the <HI>Swedes,</HI> the <HI>Pope,</HI> and <HI>England</HI> was an abettor and a&s;&s;i&s;tant; and where can we find a place for it &s;o every way &s;uitable to it, as in this of the Rivers of Blood? For tho' it did en|gage almo&s;t all the Princes of <HI>Europe</HI> in the Quarrel, yet in this it differed from the Sea of Blood in the &s;econd Vial, That the &s;eat of this War was only in <HI>Germany</HI> and the borders of it. And &s;o was it but Rivers of Blood in one particular part of <HI>Europe</HI> at one time, whereas the other was an Ocean of Blood almo&s;t all over <HI>Europe</HI> at the &s;ame time.</P>
<P>Be&s;ides, there mu&s;t be two di&s;tinct Vials for the&s;e two &s;o di&s;tinct and eminent Events, and which were at &s;uch di&s;tance from one another, and therefore mu&s;t the Sea of Blood in the &s;econd Vial belong only to the fir&s;t of the&s;e two.</P>
<P>This does extreamly well agree with what is added in this Vial, to determine it to the mo&s;t con&s;iderable part of the Rivers, and that is, that it was <HI>poured out upon the fountains of Waters,</HI> which mu&s;t &s;ignify, that it was a Judg|ment upon the Head, and fountain of the Empire of the Bea&s;t, &s;ince all the parts of the World mentioned as the Subjects of the&s;e Vials, are all but &s;o many re&s;pective parts of the Territories, and power of the Bea&s;t; and then by the&s;e <HI>Fountains of Water</HI> mu&s;t in all rea&s;on be under&s;tood the Imperial Family, or their Dominions, which are the chief Fountains of all the power of the Bea&s;t; and &s;o was this War the mo&s;t heavy upon the Territories of the <HI>Au&s;trian</HI> Family, or their immediate dependants.</P>
<P>The event does al&s;o very exactly an&s;wer the rea&s;on that is given for the&s;e Rivers of Blood, which is expre&s;&s;ed to be &s;ome former very bloody Cruelties again&s;t the Saints of God; and the Cruelties of the Imperial party towards the
<PB N="206" REF="108"> Prote&s;tants after the end of the <HI>Bohemian</HI> War was one of the chief motives of the <HI>Swedi&s;h</HI> Inva&s;ion.</P>
<P>Never did <HI>Germany</HI> drink &s;o deeply of God's Judgments in blood, as during the time of this War; and the Tri|umph of the Prote&s;tant party in it, was much like the exul|tation of the Angel of the Waters at the pouring out of this Vial. <HI>v.</HI> 5, 6. <HI>Thou art Righteous, O Lord, becau&s;e thou ha&s;t Judged thus. For they have &s;hed the blood of Saints, and Pro|phets, and thou ha&s;t given them blood to drink; for they are worthy.</HI></P>
<P>And this by the way does give us a very &s;atisfactory ac|count, why the <HI>Swedi&s;h</HI> War &s;hould be accounted the chief matter of this third Vial alone by it &s;elf, tho' it continued not above a third part of the period of the Vial.</P>
<P>For here is an intimation of a very dreadful &s;hedding of Blood by the party of the Bea&s;t, before the return made to it by the Rivers of Blood; which does &s;uppo&s;e the Cruel|ties of the Bea&s;t to take up a con&s;iderable part of the period allotted to this Vial, and to go before the Judgment conti|nued in it; and then the &s;hedding of their Blood in that War can be but the latter part of the Vial, as it does ap|pear al&s;o to be in the event.</P>
<P>The end of the plague of this third Vial may very rea|&s;onably be determined to the conclu&s;ion of the Treaty of <HI>Mun&s;ter.</HI> For that Treaty was the mo&s;t Eminent and Fa|mous, as well as the mo&s;t General agreement, and Peace of all <HI>Europe,</HI> to the great advantage of the Prote&s;tant Cau&s;e.</P>
<P>We may therefore now conclude, that the Prophecy, and the Events, do extend the bounds of the three fir&s;t Vials, to the end at lea&s;t of the chief part of the fury of the <HI>Swe|di&s;h</HI> War in <HI>Germany;</HI> and this does very well agree with the three fir&s;t forty years after the Reformation a&s;&s;igned to them.</P>
<P>There is no need of making any very curious enquiry, what eminent Intere&s;t it can be, that is &s;ignified by the Judg|ment of the next Vial, which is &s;aid to be the giving the <HI>Sun power to &s;corch Men with fire.</HI> For the Earth, and Sea, and Rivers having been found here not to &s;ignify litterally, but My&s;tically, as they are often u&s;ed in this Prophecy for the &s;everal &s;tates of Men in the <HI>Roman</HI> party, by the <HI>Sun</HI> mu&s;t be meant &s;ome chief conquering Potentate within
<PB N="207" REF="108"> the compa&s;s of the Empire of the <HI>Roman</HI> Church, which is the common Scene of all the Vials, and Judgments. If to this we joyn, that it mu&s;t al&s;o be &s;ome eminent Po|tentate, that is made u&s;e of as a judgment upon either the Papal or Imperial Intere&s;t, and therefore not the Emperour, (who&s;e Super-eminent <HI>Roman</HI> Title &s;hews him to be an Head of the Bea&s;t;) who can it be, that can be the bu&s;ine&s;s of this Vial for the next forty years, but the King of <HI>France,</HI> who is &s;o con&s;iderable in <HI>Europe</HI> as to go under the name of <HI>Lewis</HI> the Great, the Elde&s;t Son of the <HI>Roman</HI> Church, and the Mo&s;t Chri&s;tian King in the Antichri&s;tian State? He is far the mo&s;t likely to be the Sun in that Heaven, where the Bea&s;t <HI>&s;itteth as God.</HI></P>
<P>If it be Objected that he is an advancer of the Intere&s;t of the Bea&s;t; It mu&s;t be con&s;idered, that all that he is regarded for in this Vial is that part of his Hi&s;tory wherein he has been a plague to the Confederates, and &s;upporters of the Bea&s;t. And has he not been &s;o for almo&s;t the whole forty years after the <HI>Swedi&s;h</HI> War in his Quarrels with the Popes, and his continual Wars with the <HI>Au&s;trian</HI> Family, to the great hinderance of the growth and Progre&s;s of the cau&s;e, which they were always &s;o zealous to promote? Excepting that one expedition into <HI>Holland,</HI> which did leave little or nothing in the po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of the <HI>French</HI> after the Kings return home again; Who is there that have lo&s;t any con&s;iderable part of their dominion by him, but the <HI>Au&s;trian</HI> Family, and the in&s;eparable adhaerent to the Intere&s;t of that Fa|mily, the Duke of <HI>Lorrain?</HI></P>
<P>As for the effects of his Quarrels with the Popes, we may &s;ufficiently &s;ee, what heats they have put the See of <HI>Rome</HI> into by the preparations that were made by <HI>Alexander the Seventh</HI> again&s;t the <HI>French</HI> about the affairs of the <HI>Cor&s;i,</HI> and by the zeal of this pre&s;ent Pope, in the bu&s;ine&s;s of the Regale, which concluded with the determination of tho&s;e famous points concerning the Papal Authority by the ge|neral A&s;&s;embly of the whole <HI>French</HI> Clergy; All which were as great humiliations of the Spiritual Head of the <HI>Roman</HI> Party, as the <HI>French</HI> Conque&s;ts were of the Secular Head of them.</P>
<P>And both the Papal and Imperial Party may very
<PB N="208" REF="109"> properly be &s;aid to bla&s;pheme the God of Heaven, for the inflicting the&s;e Plagues upon them, by attributing it wholly to the Devil, whom they would affirm to move the King of <HI>France</HI> to all the&s;e things again&s;t them, whereas they are the ju&s;t Judgments of God upon them only to bring them to Repentance, as we &s;ee it plainly here intimated by way of Explication: <HI>They bla&s;phemed God,</HI> who had power over the&s;e Plagues, or from who&s;e hand they came, <HI>and they repented not to give him Glory,</HI> or the Glory of his Ju&s;tice: For they attributed all this to the power of the Devil only in him.</P>
<P>This Vial then does very fitly &s;uit the Actions of the <HI>French</HI> King, till the late general Truce.</P>
<P>In the mean while it is to be con&s;idered, That &s;o emi|nent an Ho&s;tility again&s;t the <HI>Au&s;trian</HI> Intere&s;t for &s;o long a continuance, could not rea&s;onably be omitted out of the Judgments upon the Bea&s;t; and be&s;ides, there would be &s;o many years pa&s;t &s;ince the <HI>Swedi&s;h</HI> War, without any Judgment con&s;iderable, unle&s;s this be allowed to come in for one.</P>
<P>It is certain, there is nothing expre&s;&s;ed in the Prophecy about this power given to the <HI>Sun,</HI> which is not very well an&s;wered by the heat and vexation that the King of <HI>Fran|ces</HI> Quarrels and Wars have put the <HI>Papalins,</HI> and the <HI>Imperiali&s;ts</HI> and <HI>Spaniards</HI> into. For the <HI>&s;corching with Heat</HI> being acknowledged to be my&s;tically under&s;tood, it may properly enough &s;ignifie any Vexation that comes by the means of him who is there meant by the <HI>Sun.</HI></P>
<P>But for the &s;atisfaction of tho&s;e who may de&s;ire a more literal Application of this Character of &s;corching Men with Fire, it may be further con&s;idered, That &s;ince by the Sun mu&s;t here be meant &s;ome Soveraign Power of Men, according as we &s;ee <HI>Men</HI> to be under&s;tood by the Sea and the Rivers; the only thing that can be imagi|ned to be an&s;werable to the Character of &s;corching Men with Fire, by &s;uch a conquering Power, is the burning their Towns and Hou&s;es; and does not this very well &s;uit with the <HI>French</HI> Bombs, which make a Town intolerable to the Inhabitants of it before it be taken? And &s;o makes a di&s;tinction betwixt the <HI>Swedi&s;h</HI> War, which was by Blood and Cruelty&punc; and the <HI>French</HI> War, which was little el&s;e
<PB N="209" REF="109"> then the taking of Towns without any &s;uch a great effu&s;ion of the Blood of the <HI>Romi&s;h</HI> Party.</P>
<P>If there be ground enough upon other accounts, to fa&s;ten this Vial upon that King, it was very providentially or|dered, That he &s;hould give the <HI>Sun</HI> for his device upon his Coin, from the fir&s;t Times of his Appearance after the <HI>Swedi&s;h</HI> Wars, as may be &s;een in almo&s;t all his fir&s;t Bra&s;s and Golden Coins, to &s;ignifie his appearance like the <HI>Sun</HI> out of a <HI>Cloud</HI> after his fir&s;t Troubles, with the Princes of the Blood.</P>
<P>This is &s;till the King of <HI>France</HI>'s Emblem; but now is come to be a Sun &s;hining upon the Univer&s;e, with this Motto, <HI>Nec pluribus impar;</HI> and it is publickly given him in his Triumphs and Honours, and is as gravely owned by him|&s;elf: <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Anno</HI> 168<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> An eminent confirmation of this was his la&s;t Re|ception at <HI>Luxemburgh,</HI> where all the Windows of the Streets were full of nothing but glorious Repre&s;entations of the <HI>Sun</HI> by <HI>Artificial Lamps,</HI> on purpo&s;e contrived in honour of him. And the contention betwixt Dr. <HI>Wagen&s;eil,</HI> pro|fe&s;&s;or at <HI>Altdorf,</HI> and Father <HI>Mene&s;trier,</HI> about the confor|mity of this to the Laws and Rules for Devices, does give &s;ufficient Te&s;timony to the matter of Fact it &s;elf, which is the ground of their Di&s;pute.</P>
<P>Dr. <HI>Wagen&s;eil</HI> is of opinion, that all well invented De|vices of Princes, do come by In&s;piration. I am &s;ure, that would very well &s;uit with the pre&s;ent Application of this part of the Prophecy to the King of <HI>France;</HI> if other Con&s;iderations &s;hould make it very probable, this remark would encline one to think, that God had put it into the mind of that King and his Flatterers to pitch upon, and to own this Device in &s;o publick a manner. But this I mention only as a concurrent circum&s;tance, to make him known to the World by.</P>
<P>The bu&s;ine&s;s of the fourth Vial, does then &s;eem to end ju&s;t about this pre&s;ent time. And now if we take a review of the&s;e four fir&s;t Vials, it will be hard for any to find out any other four Events &s;ince the Reformation, con&s;iderable enough to be accounted Judgments upon the Bea&s;t, much le&s;s any four &s;uch remarkable ones, as tho&s;e which have been pitch'd upon, that have been &s;o much the
<PB N="210" REF="110"> concern of all <HI>Europe,</HI> and have la&s;ted &s;o long, and are &s;o exactly an&s;werable to the Characters of each Vial in the Text; and tho&s;e are the proper Qualifications for the mat|ter of every one of the Vials, that is, that it be of a general extent, that it la&s;t many years, and that it be agreeable to <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;. 1, 2, 3.</NOTE> the Characters of the Text.</P>
<P>But if it &s;hould be que&s;tioned, Whether there be yet four of the Vials pa&s;t, tho it &s;hould be granted that the Reformation was the fir&s;t Date of them all, That &s;cru|ple may be ea&s;ily removed, if it be con&s;idered, That there mu&s;t be either four of them pa&s;t or but two: For if it be allowed that the Rivers of Blood in the third Vial, were fulfilled before the pre&s;ent King of <HI>France</HI>'s Appea|rance in Action, He mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily be the bu&s;ine&s;s of the fourth Vial, becau&s;e for the&s;e fourty years the Bea&s;t has not had any trouble from any other hand that can tole|rably an&s;wer the general extent or vexation of a Judg|ment upon the <HI>Roman</HI> Party. But if it be not allowed, that the Rivers of Blood were fulfilled before that time, they could not have been fulfilled in his Reign; for they are very plainly de&s;cribed to be a bloody Revenge for the Cruelties of that Party to the true Church, to which the <HI>French</HI> Conque&s;ts have no manner of likene&s;s. They were rather Surprizes of Towns than any great Acts of Blood, and the Prote&s;tants were fellow Sufferers with the re&s;t in tho&s;e few Battels that were fought.</P>
<P>Wherefore if the Sea of Blood in the &s;econd Vial, &s;hould be extended to the beginning of the King of <HI>Fran|ces</HI> Reign, there could have been no other Vial fulfilled &s;ince that time: For the Rivers of Blood are the next Vi|al; and there has been now fourty years pa&s;t without any thing like the Characters of that.</P>
<P>Now if there &s;hould be but two Vials yet pa&s;t for the&s;e One hundred and &s;eventy years &s;ince the Reforma|tion, there would be no manner of proportion betwixt them and the other five, which would all of them be crouded within the &s;pace of about One hundred years at farthe&s;t, according to the third Suppo&s;ition about the end of the Reign of the Bea&s;t. And yet there is no &s;uch remark upon the&s;e two fir&s;t Vials, to di&s;tingui&s;h them
<PB N="211" REF="110"> from the other five, as there is upon the three la&s;t Trum|pets, to di&s;tingui&s;h them from the four fir&s;t, in re&s;pect of the different length of their continuance. And be&s;ides, there would be above &s;ixty years interval betwixt the &s;econd and the third Vial, without the concern of any of the Vials in it.</P>
<P>THE Period of the FIFTH Vial then mu&s;t begin at the extirpation of tho&s;e fourty years that began at the end <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 16. 10.</NOTE> of the <HI>Swedi&s;h</HI> War.</P>
<P>The Judgment therefore to be poured out of this fifth Vial, is &s;till to be expected. For it may be ob&s;erved in all the former Vials, That the Period in which the Event happens, mu&s;t be di&s;tingui&s;hed from the Judgment, which is the matter of it, and which many times does take up &s;carce half the time of the Period in which it happens.</P>
<P>Thus the <HI>Sea of Blood</HI> was but for part of the time of the &s;econd Vial, and the <HI>Rivers of Blood</HI> but part of the third; and great interruptions were there in tho&s;e <HI>&s;corch|ing hot Actions</HI> of the <HI>Sun</HI> in the fourth. So al&s;o in this fifth it mu&s;t be expected, <HI>That the Darkne&s;s over all the Kingdom of the Bea&s;t mu&s;t be by intervals.</HI></P>
<P>And therefore no Man is to wonder, that in the time of a Vial that is poured out upon the Seat of the Bea&s;t, as this is, the Bea&s;t &s;hould at fir&s;t have the greate&s;t flu&s;h of power, and the greate&s;t likelihood of a general Suc|ce&s;s. For &s;uch was the appearance of the Power of <HI>Charles</HI> the Fifth, at the beginning of the fir&s;t Vial; of the power of <HI>Philip</HI> of <HI>Spain</HI> by the Duke of <HI>Alva,</HI> and of the Leaguers in <HI>France,</HI> and of Queen <HI>Mary</HI> in <HI>England</HI> a|bout, or a little after the beginning of the &s;econd Vial; &s;uch al&s;o was the fair &s;how of the Roman Intere&s;t in <HI>France</HI> upon the conver&s;ion of <HI>Henry</HI> the fourth at the beginning of the third Vial; and this was followed with the conque&s;t of the <HI>Palatinate,</HI> and the victories over the Prote&s;tants in <HI>France,</HI> before there was any con&s;iderable appearance of any River of bloud, which yet was very eminently fulfilled by the <HI>Swe|di&s;h</HI> war; The Peace al&s;o of the <HI>Pyreneans</HI> did quite take of the &s;corching of the Sun for a while at the beginning of the fourth Vial.</P>
<P>Wherefore we are to look upon the pre&s;ent oppre&s;&s;ion of
<PB N="212" REF="111"> the Prote&s;tants in <HI>France,</HI> and in other places, and the flou|ri&s;hing &s;how of the Papal Intere&s;t at pre&s;ent to be but a brea|thing while for them, and a preparation only for a very great cloud, which &s;hall continue long upon them within the compa&s;s of the&s;e next fourty years which are now com|ing on.</P>
<P>By the de&s;cription of the plague of this Vial, and the dif|ferent characters of it, in di&s;tinction to the Sea and Rivers of blood and the being &s;corched with heat, which were the plagues of the preceding Vials; It &s;eems rather to be &s;ome great confu&s;ion and vexation in the <HI>Kingdom,</HI> and <HI>Throne</HI> of the Bea&s;t, then any great Acts of cruelty again&s;t that Par|ty; It mu&s;t be as different from that, as a Cloud is from Ri|vers of blood.</P>
<P>And then &s;ince there is the mention of the &s;ame effects of this Vial, with tho&s;e in the fir&s;t Vial, that is, of pains and &s;ores, with the addition al&s;o of the great fury and indigna|tion which they did put the Subjects of the Bea&s;t into, &s;o as to make them gnaw their Tongues, and bla&s;pheme the God of Heaven; There is good rea&s;on to apprehend, that it may &s;ignifie much the &s;ame thing with the fir&s;t Vial, And that is, the Rage, and fury of the Romani&s;ts at a new Re|formation getting ground among&s;t them; And if this pre|&s;ent juncture &s;hould be the time of the death of the two Witne&s;&s;es in the <HI>11th.</HI> Chap. as has in the <HI>9th.</HI> and <HI>10th.</HI> Chapters been made appear to be very probable, one can|not but be verily per&s;waded, that this fifth Plague which is now approching mu&s;t be &s;uch a fury and vexation at the Ri&s;e of a new Reformation among&s;t them upon the Re&s;ur|rection of the two Witne&s;&s;es.</P>
<P>But however the darkne&s;s upon the Kingdom and Throne of the Bea&s;t, mu&s;t be a great Eclip&s;e of their pre&s;ent Tri|umphant Condition; And it is a character di&s;tinct from all the plagues that did &s;ignify any Acts of blood or litteral Conque&s;ts of his Territories.</P>
<P>The place for this Plague to be poured out upon, has a very &s;ignal mark given it. The <HI>Seat,</HI> or <HI>Throne</HI> of the Bea&s;t may be either that where he really Reigns, and re|&s;ides, which is the Imperial Hereditary Countreys, or that from whence he has the name of the Bea&s;t, which is the City
<PB N="213" REF="111"> of <HI>Rome,</HI> and nothing but the event can determine which of the two is here meant.</P>
<P>But by his <NOTE N="(d)" PLACE="marg"><HI>Ribera</HI> on the 10th <HI>V.</HI> of the 16th <HI>Chap. Apocal. upon the Seat of the Bea&s;t:]</HI> That is, &s;ays he, upon the Kingdom, as <HI>Andreas Cae&s;are|en&s;is</HI> &s;ays; He &s;mote the Kingdom of the Bea&s;t.</NOTE> Throne may al&s;o be meant only his Su|preme Authority in general, becau&s;e it is here explained by his Kingdom, the Darkne&s;s in which was the Plague upon his Throne. And by his Kingdom in this place will be found to be meant nothing but his power in general, <HI>Theor.</HI> 65. See further there.</P>
<P>The Sixth Vial &s;eems to be ju&s;t &s;uch a confederacy of the Papal and Imperial Intere&s;t in a War again&s;t &s;ome <HI>Ea&s;tern</HI> Princes, as we &s;ee at pre&s;ent carried on again&s;t the <HI>Turks,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 16. 10.</NOTE> but with a much different Succe&s;s; This of the &s;ixth Vial being intended for a very &s;ignal Judgment upon the Bea&s;t.</P>
<P>By the mention of the River <HI>Euphrates</HI> one would at fir&s;t apprehend, that the judgment of the &s;ixth Vial was to be executed by the &s;ame people, who were the Actors in the Sixth Trumpet, who are there de&s;cribed to be Kings <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 9. 14.</NOTE> about the River <HI>Euphrates,</HI> as the&s;e are here &s;aid to be the Kings of the <HI>Ea&s;t,</HI> for who&s;e pa&s;&s;age the River <HI>Euphrates</HI> is &s;aid here to be dried up.</P>
<P>But it is plain, that they mu&s;t be two different Nations; For tho&s;e in the &s;ixth Trumpet are de&s;cribed to be Kings bound within the River <HI>Euphrates,</HI> and are known to be the <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Empire, as has been &s;hewn: But the&s;e Kings in the Sixth Vial, are &s;ome Kings of the <HI>Ea&s;t,</HI> who are on the <NOTE N="(e)" PLACE="marg"><HI>Ribera.</HI> V. 14. Cap. 16. <HI>Apocal.&mdash;</HI>Kings, who &s;hall then be in the Provinces of the <HI>Ea&s;t&mdash;</HI>nothing but the River <HI>Euphrates</HI> &s;hall &s;tand in their way&mdash;to hinder the march of their Army. <HI>Andreas Cae&s;areen&s;is</HI> does hereupon imagine, that Antichri&s;t &s;hall come with the&s;e Kings out of the <HI>Ea&s;t,</HI> that is, out of <HI>Per&s;ia.</HI></NOTE> other &s;ide of the River <HI>Euphrates,</HI> and for who&s;e ea&s;y pa&s;&s;age towards the Bea&s;t, the waters of that River are to be dryed up.</P>
<P>The Kings of the <HI>Ea&s;t</HI> mu&s;t therefore here be &s;ome Prin|ces beyond the River <HI>Euphrates;</HI> The chief of whom now is the <HI>Per&s;ian;</HI> But before the time of this Vial may appear &s;ome other Princes of quite another nature.</P>
<P>It may &s;eem a little difficult at the fir&s;t to comprehend how the&s;e <HI>Ea&s;tern</HI> Princes &s;hould be able to make their way to the Imperial Countries, for which here the River <HI>Euphrates</HI> &s;eems to be dryed up: For there is the whole <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Empire betwixt them. And it is hard indeed to ap|prehend how it &s;hould be done but by the de&s;truction of the <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Empire; And the pre&s;ent po&s;ture of their Af|fairs does offer us &s;ufficient ground to apprehend that to be
<PB N="214" REF="112"> po&s;&s;ible enough. Here is almo&s;t all the length of the period of this pre&s;ent Fifth Vial to give time for &s;uch a work, be|&s;ides the number of years that there may be allowed for it al&s;o in the period of the Sixth, before the Judgment of that Vial &s;hall begin.</P>
<P>But according to the de&s;cription of the time of the <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> vexations in the Sixth Trumpet, and the pa&s;&s;ing over of the &s;econd woe, together with the A&s;cen&s;ion of the Wit|ne&s;&s;es, Their end &s;hould be within a very few years, ac|cording to the Rea&s;ons that I have given for it in the Ninth Chapter.</P>
<P>As for the Interpretations of the River <HI>Euphrates,</HI> which would make it have a my&s;tical &s;ignification, they &s;eem to be &s;ufficiently taken off by the known litteral &s;ignification of the River <HI>Euphrates</HI> in the Sixth Trumpet, which is now generally acknowledged to be there taken for the real River only; And is al&s;o proved to be nece&s;&s;ary to be &s;o, Chapter the 9th. And &s;o we have an Example in this Prophecy to determine this Interpretation of it, as well as the proper litteral &s;ignification of the term it &s;elf, which ought not to be departed from, when it may as ea&s;ily be retained.</P>
<P>The effect of this Vial &s;eems to be a great de&s;truction of the party of the Bea&s;t by their Enemies, which according to the plague of every Vial is to continue a long while a|mong&s;t them; And tho' it be called the Battle of the great <NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 14, 15.</NOTE> day of Almighty God, as if it were but &s;ome great Battle at one time, yet by that term of the great day of the Lord is in many places &s;ignified a long continuance of time.</P>
<P>But here is a peculiar coming of Chri&s;t, de&s;cribed in that <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;e 15.</NOTE> manner, that his coming unexpectedly, and &s;uddenly for the inflicting of &s;ome Judgment is &s;et out in &s;everal places of the <HI>New Te&s;tament;</HI> Which gives one ground to appre|hend, That that War mu&s;t be a very &s;ignal de&s;truction of the Confederates of the Bea&s;t. And yet I cannot think it to be the &s;ame with that Battel, <HI>Ch.</HI> 19. where the Bea&s;t <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;e 19, 20.</NOTE> and Fal&s;e Prophet were de&s;troyed. For all that &s;eems plainly to belong to the &s;eventh Vial, as well as the Judgment upon <HI>Babylon</HI> mentioned before it, and threatned in the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Cha. 16. 19.</NOTE> &s;eventh Vial; and it would confound the Order of the things in the&s;e Vi&s;ions to &s;et the matter of the &s;ixth Vial behind the bu&s;ine&s;s of the &s;eventh.</P>
<PB N="215" REF="112">
<P> Indeed if it be well ob&s;erved, there is a plain di&s;tinction to be found betwixt the Enemies in the &s;ixth Vial, and tho&s;e in the &s;eventh. For the burning of <HI>Babylon,</HI> which is one great effect of the &s;eventh Vial is known to have been foretold to belong to the ten Kings, that were to be the Confederates of the Bea&s;t till the words of God &s;hould be fulfilled, and wear his ten horns. <HI>Rev.</HI> 17. 16. But the Enemies in the &s;ixth Vial are the Kings of the <HI>Ea&s;t,</HI> who are quite another part of the World, than tho&s;e <HI>We&s;tern</HI> Princes of the <HI>Roman</HI> Party.</P>
<P>As for the place of the Battle called <HI>Harma-Geddon</HI> I think Mr. <HI>Mede</HI>'s determination of all the controver&s;ies about it is the be&s;t, that it is one of the &s;ecrets of God, and not to be defined by us, till the Event &s;hall make it known.</P>
<P>But yet it mu&s;t be confe&s;&s;ed, that the Expre&s;&s;ions are not determinate enough to a&s;&s;ure any that this meeting to|gether in <HI>Harma-Geddon</HI> is more than a preparative for a continued la&s;ting War in the &s;eventh Vial. And then &s;ince by the drying up the River <HI>Euphrates,</HI> the <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Empire ap|pears to be then utterly ruined, by the gathering together of the Bea&s;t with his Confederates, and the Kings of the <HI>Ea&s;t</HI> <NOTE N="(f)" PLACE="marg"><P><HI>Idem,</HI> in v. 16. <HI>ibid, Armageddon]</HI> He gives an Hebrew name, be|cau&s;e it was a place of the <HI>Hebrews,</HI> not either known, or named any where el&s;e&mdash;But where it is we cannot certainly know, becau&s;e the Scripture has made no mention of it any where: I apprehend it to be a place nigh <HI>Je|ru&s;alem,</HI> and the Valley of <HI>Jeho&s;aphat.&mdash;</HI>Interpreters give various rea&s;ons for its name, but which &s;eem all to be little to the purpo&s;e.</P>
<P>But becau&s;e none can tell where this &s;hall be, and it is no where men|tioned in the Scripture, I imagine that the name of it may be wrong wrote, and Corrupted, and that it &s;hould be <HI>Mageddon&mdash;</HI>which is known to be a large Plain fit for a Battle, where <HI>Jo&s;ias</HI> died fighting with the King of <HI>Egypt. Tyconius</HI> is of the &s;ame mind. <HI>Homil.</HI> 13. But if it is really <HI>Harma-Geddon,</HI> then it &s;ignifies the Mountain of <HI>Megiddo,</HI> becau&s;e that Plain was upon a great Elevation.</P></NOTE> in <HI>Harma-Geddon</HI> &s;eems to be &s;ignified, that <HI>Syria,</HI> and <HI>Pa|le&s;tine</HI> to which the name of <HI>Harma-Geddon</HI> does mo&s;t likely refer, &s;hould be the Seat of the mo&s;t con&s;iderable of the la&s;t conflicts of the Bea&s;t with his Conquerours.</P>
<P>The Seventh Vial brings on the la&s;t Ruine of <HI>Babylon</HI> and the Bea&s;t. And the fir&s;t expre&s;&s;ion in it does very fully &s;ig|nify it. <HI>It is done,</HI> mu&s;t referr to the accompli&s;hment of <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 16. 17.</NOTE> all the bu&s;ine&s;s of the Vials at lea&s;t; and the Vials are declared to be the la&s;t plagues, in which the wrath of God is fulfilled; And this wrath is again&s;t the Bea&s;t, and his Confederates, and therefore mu&s;t the la&s;t of the&s;e Vials be the la&s;t act of the wrath of God again&s;t the Bea&s;t, or, his de&s;truction.</P>
<P>But this mu&s;t be under&s;tood of the conclu&s;ion of the period of the &s;eventh Vial, not of the beginning of it. For we &s;ee great preparations for the de&s;truction of the Bea&s;t, and his Confederates after this fir&s;t mention of the Vial in General. There is the great City to be divided into <NOTE PLACE="marg">ver&s;e 19, 20, 21</NOTE> three Parts; The Cities of the Nations to fall; Great <HI>Baby|lon</HI>
<PB N="216" REF="113"> to be judged; The plague of the Hail out of Heaven; and then the Armies of the Word of God, to fight with the Armies of the Bea&s;t, and of the Kings of the Earth. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 19. 19.</NOTE></P>
<P>This expre&s;&s;ion, <HI>It is done,</HI> at the fir&s;t pouring out of the &s;eventh Vial, is like to tho&s;e at the fir&s;t founding of the &s;eventh Trumpet, <HI>The Kingdoms of this World are become</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 11. 15.</NOTE> <HI>the Kingdoms of the Lord, and of his Chri&s;t;</HI> Which yet were not verify'd, till after the third Woe (which is part of the matter of the &s;eventh Trumpet) was Executed upon the Bea&s;t; And the time of the third Woe mu&s;t be a good part of the &s;eventh Trumpet to hold any proportion to tho&s;e two Woes, which went before it, which took up the whole bu&s;ine&s;s of the fifth and &s;ixth Trumpet, and are found to have continued very near Eleven hundred years.</P>
<P>Wherefore it is evident, that the &s;eventh Vial contains in it the la&s;t ruin of the Bea&s;t and his party; Which is the &s;ame with the end of the third Woe in the &s;eventh Trum|pet, after which begins the Univer&s;al reign of Chri&s;t over <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 11. 15.</NOTE> all the Kingdoms of the World. And &s;ince the Vials are called the &s;even la&s;t plagues in relation to the Trumpets, which were the &s;even fir&s;t, the la&s;t Vial mu&s;t then be the la&s;t part of the third Woe of the &s;eventh Trumpet.</P>
<P>For the la&s;t of the &s;even la&s;t Plagues mu&s;t be at lea&s;t after the beginning of the la&s;t of the &s;even fir&s;t Plagues, or after the fir&s;t &s;ounding of the &s;eventh Trumpet: The fir&s;t of the &s;even la&s;t Plagues mu&s;t needs be after the fir&s;t of the &s;even fir&s;t Plagues, and &s;o mu&s;t the la&s;t al&s;o of the one be after the la&s;t of the other.</P>
<P>From hence then it appears, that the beginning of the &s;e|venth Vial is not yet come. For the la&s;t Trumpet is not yet &s;ounded, becau&s;e neither are the Witne&s;&s;es yet ri&s;en again, nor are the <HI>Turks,</HI> who are certainly the &s;ixth Trumpet, and the &s;econd Woe, yet pa&s;&s;ed away, as it is &s;aid of the &s;econd <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 11. 14.</NOTE> Woe before the &s;eventh Trumpet.</P>
<P>Be&s;ides, the &s;eventh Vial is the la&s;t of the la&s;t Plagues upon the Bea&s;t, and therefore mu&s;t be after the &s;eventh Trumpet, which is al&s;o a Plague upon the Bea&s;t, as it is the third Woe, of which the Bea&s;t alone is the Object; be|cau&s;e after the time of the &s;econd Woe there is no other part of the Roman Empire, but the Kingdom of the Bea&s;t
<PB N="217" REF="113"> to be the object of it; and all the Trumpets are certainly plagues upon &s;ome part of the <HI>Roman</HI> Empire, <HI>(Con&s;eq. Theor.</HI> 18.) Be&s;ides, That the effect of the Woe of the &s;eventh Trumpet is the &s;ame with that of the &s;eventh Vial, which is the la&s;t end of all the Enemies of the Chri&s;tian Church. The Seventh Vial mu&s;t therefore be the la&s;t part of the Woe of this &s;eventh Trumpet, and therefore cannot be yet pa&s;t, becau&s;e the &s;ixth Trumpet is not yet pa&s;&s;ed away.</P>
<P>The Seven Vials then cannot be yet poured out, as &s;ome would have them, and there mu&s;t be another of the Vials found out to &s;ignify the Reformation, than this &s;eventh Vial, by tho&s;e who would have the Vials begin before that time.</P>
<PB N="218" REF="114">
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="14" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="219" REF="114">
<HEAD>CHAP. XIV.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>The</HI> Preaching the Everla&s;ting Go&s;pel <HI>(Rev.</HI> 14.) <HI>is the preaching up a General Reformation of the Church of</HI> Rome. The Hour of God's Judgments <HI>(ibid,) mu&s;t be ju&s;t about the &s;ame time.</HI> The Vintage <HI>is the la&s;t de&s;truction of the Bea&s;t. The</HI> time of the pati|ence of the Saints <HI>is the &s;ame with that of the killing of the Witne&s;&s;es, Chap.</HI> 11. <HI>The</HI> Harve&s;t <HI>af|ter the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es. The</HI> death of the Witne&s;&s;es <HI>no bodily death. The</HI> preaching the Everla&s;ting Go&s;pel <HI>the Prote&s;tant Reformation. The</HI> 7 <HI>Vials cannot begin before the Prote&s;tant Reforma|tion. The</HI> Hour of God's Judgments <HI>the beginning of the</HI> 7 <HI>Vials. The</HI> 7 <HI>Vials begin &s;oon after the Prote&s;tant Reformation.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>THO' the time of the fir&s;t date of the &s;even Vials, and the application of every one of them in particular, &s;eem to have been &s;ufficiently cleared in the preceding Chapters, yet it will be convenient to take in all the light, that is offered from the Prophecy, to confirm the grounds that have been already given for them. And upon a &s;mall reflection it will at the fir&s;t &s;ight be found, that there are very fair advantages offered for this purpo&s;e in the 14th Chapter of this Book.</P>
<P>I will therefore take a new pro&s;pect of the &s;even Vials with re&s;pect to the relation that they may be found to have to that part of the Prophecy, and will endeavour from thence to repre&s;ent the rea&s;ons, that do &s;till much more confirm the explication, that I have given of the Vials in as clo&s;e and dependant an order, as any that have been yet delivered.</P>
<P>In order to this I think it ought to be granted me, that</P>
<PB N="220" REF="115">
<P> The Events which are referred to in the 14th Chap. do follow one another in the &s;ame Order, in which the Schemes that repre&s;ent them are there placed.</P>
<P>For this is the natural and litteral con&s;truction of the Or|der of all the Schemes in the Prophecy, and therefore with|out &s;ome great evidence for another Order <NOTE N="(a)" PLACE="marg">A <HI>Lea&s;ar</HI> in <HI>Chap.</HI> 13. <HI>Di&s;putat de totius Capitis Argumento.&mdash;</HI>There|fore <HI>Ribera</HI> will have no Order of the things to be adhered to, nor the Series of the Prophecy to be ob&s;erved. But that which <HI>Ribera</HI> thinks good to &s;wallow, neither will the <HI>Millenaries</HI> nor any el&s;e &s;wallow, who has found out a way to carry on a &s;uitable Interpretation, accord|ing to the Order of the things in the Prophecy, without any Anticipations or Leaps, or confu&s;ion of the Order.</NOTE> it ought to be adhered to; For that I account one of the mo&s;t certain Rules of Interpretation, and without it, the mo&s;t &s;eemingly plain Interpretations of all would be but arbitrary and groundle&s;s.</P>
<P>But here is be&s;ides a, particular Order, and Succe&s;&s;ion of Angels one after another, from the beginning to the end of the Chapter, to make it unque&s;tionable, that the Events which they &s;ignify are in an Orderly Succe&s;&s;ion to one another.</P>
<P>That which is in the fir&s;t place to be ob&s;erved for the de&s;ign above-mentioned is, that,</P>
<Q><HI>The preaching of the Everla&s;ting Go&s;pel to every Nation,</HI> &amp;c. <MILESTONE N="34" UNIT="Theor."> Chap. 14. 6. <HI>is a preaching up of a general Reforma|tion of the Roman Church in the time of the Reign of the Bea&s;t.</HI></Q>
<P N="1">1. It is <HI>preached in the Time of the Reign of the Bea&s;t;</HI> For it follows in Order after the account of the Ri&s;e of the Bea&s;t, in the 13th Chap. And after the account of the 144000, (who are &s;aid to be &s;ealed, as the oppo&s;ite party to tho&s;e, who had received the mark of the Bea&s;t) at the fir&s;t ver&s;e <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 14.</NOTE> of this Chapter.</P>
<P N="2">2. It is the <HI>preaching up of a Reformation,</HI> becau&s;e the matter of it is an exhortation to Repentance, upon a declaration of God's Judgments being then at hand, in the&s;e Terms; <HI>Fear God, and give glory to him, for the hour of his Judgment is</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 14. 7.</NOTE> <HI>come;</HI> And to <HI>give glory to God</HI> in &s;uch circum&s;tances is known to &s;ignify a publick profe&s;&s;ion of Repentance.</P>
<P N="3">3. And it is <HI>a general Reformation,</HI> becau&s;e it is preached to <HI>every Nation, and Kindred, and Tongue, and People,</HI> and that al&s;o after a more depre&s;&s;ed, and &s;ilenc'd &s;tate of the Church during the Reign of the Bea&s;t, which is intimated by the
<PB N="221" REF="115"> Select and cho&s;en number of the 144000, &s;aid ju&s;t before this to have been <HI>the fir&s;t fruits,</HI> in di&s;tinction to the innu|merable <NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 4.</NOTE> multitudes of all Nations, to whom the Go&s;pel is &s;aid here to be preached, and who are therefore introduced immediately after the account of them.</P>
<P N="4">4. It appears al&s;o to be a call to a general <HI>Reformation of the Roman Church,</HI> becau&s;e that immediately after it follows a declaration of the nearne&s;s of Gods Judgments, and thereupon there is a denunciation of a Judgment upon <HI>Babylon,</HI> and ano|ther threat pre&s;ently after to tho&s;e who &s;hould Wor&s;hip the <NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 8, 9.</NOTE> Bea&s;t or his Image; which &s;hews, that the friends of <HI>Baby|lon,</HI> and of the Bea&s;t, are the whole intent of this Refor|mation.</P>
<Q><HI>The Hour of Gods Judgments,</HI> chap. 14. v. 7. <HI>is ju&s;t a|bout</HI> <MILESTONE N="35" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>the &s;ame time with the preaching the everla&s;ting Go&s;pel.</HI></Q>
<P>For the near approach of the Judgments of God, is made the motive to per&s;uade Men to comply with the Preachers of the Go&s;pel. They are moved to <HI>fear God and to give Glory to him,</HI> which is to make a &s;olemn and publick pro|fe&s;&s;ion of Repentance, becau&s;e <HI>the hour of his Judgment was come,</HI> or was ju&s;t then at hand.</P>
<P>There are indeed much the &s;ame expre&s;&s;ions in the pro|phets that &s;peak of the Judgments of God as then pre&s;ent upon <HI>Babylon,</HI> which were not to appear till many &s;cores of years after that time. But then tho&s;e expre&s;&s;ions are joyned with others, which &s;hew the time of their fulfilling to be a great many years off. But here the nearne&s;s of Gods Judg|ments is made an Argument to per&s;uade to a Reformation, at that pre&s;ent time when the Go&s;pel was preached. They are exhorted to give Glory to God at that pre&s;ent time, be|cau&s;e the hour of the Judgments of God was then come; which does very manife&s;tly confine the hour of Gods Judg|ments to the &s;ame time that the everla&s;ting Go&s;pel was preached.</P>
<P>Again, the per&s;ons to whom <HI>I&s;aiah,</HI> and <HI>Jeremiah</HI> did preach the de&s;truction of <HI>Babylon</HI> were not then pre&s;ent. But the per&s;ons to whom this Angel was to preach mu&s;t be pre|&s;ent,
<PB N="222" REF="116"> when he was to preach to them, or there mu&s;t be a force put upon the words. For they are a plain relation of the preaching of an Angel to all Kindred, and Nations for the ha&s;tening of their repentance by alarming them again&s;t the hour of Gods Judgment then coming upon them; Whereas the Judgments upon <HI>Babylon</HI> foretold by the Pro|phets were known not to concern any of that Age, And &s;o were nothing but a prophetical repre&s;entation of judgments at a di&s;tance.</P>
<P>It may al&s;o be every where ob&s;erved <NOTE N="*" PLACE="marg">See concor|dance in the Word <HI>near.</HI></NOTE> among&s;t the Pro|phets, that when ever the Judgments of God are &s;aid to be near, it is certainly meant, that they are near tho&s;e times in which the people, to whom it is &s;poken are exhorted to repent: And &s;o mu&s;t the time of judgment here be at the &s;ame time that the everla&s;ting Go&s;pel was preached to make men repent. The hour of Gods Judgment in this place, mu&s;t therefore be at the &s;ame time with the preaching the ever|la&s;ting Go&s;pel.</P>
<Q><HI>The hour of Gods Judgments</HI> v. 7. <HI>is the beginning of tho&s;e judgments of God upon the</HI> Roman <HI>Church, which</HI> <MILESTONE N="36" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>brought it to its final ruin.</HI></Q>
<P>For when the hour of Gods Judgment is &s;aid to be come upon a Nation among&s;t the Prophets, it always &s;ignifies the Time of its la&s;t Judgments, or the gradual advances of its de&s;truction. But more perticularly does the hour of Gods Judgment upon <HI>Babylon,</HI> to which this u&s;e of it here refers, mo&s;t certainly denote the la&s;t fore-runners of its Ruin, a|mong the Prophets, <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> 13. ch. 47. <HI>Jerem.</HI> 50. ch. 51. And then by all that does follow immediately upon it, This hour of judgment appears to be the beginning of the la&s;t de|&s;truction of the rule of <HI>Babylon,</HI> and the Bea&s;t. For from this place to the end of the chapter is a continued declara|tion of de&s;troying judgments, by the <HI>fall of Babylon,</HI> and by <HI>drinking of the Wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out with|out mixture into the Cup of his Indignation,</HI> and by the <HI>Harve&s;t,</HI> and <HI>Vintage,</HI> which are always taken for de&s;troying judg|ments, <HI>Joel</HI> 3. 13. <HI>Jerem.</HI> 51. 33, 34. with <HI>Lament.</HI> 1. 15. <HI>Matth.</HI> 13. 39.</P>
<Q><PB N="223" REF="116"> <HI>The preaching of the everlasting Go&s;pel to all Nations and</HI> <MILESTONE N="37" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>People</HI> v. 6. <HI>could not be before the Prote&s;tant Reforma|tion.</HI></Q>
<P>For this preaching the Go&s;pel, is the preaching of an Uni|ver&s;al Reformation of the <HI>Roman</HI> Church in all the Terri|tories of the Bea&s;t. <HI>(Theor.</HI> 34.)&mdash;But there was no &s;uch general preaching up of Reformation before the Prote&s;tant Reformation. There are none but the <HI>Walden&s;es,</HI> and <HI>Albi|gen&s;es</HI> who can be pretended to have began this de&s;ign.</P>
<P>But that which does mo&s;t certainly exclude the <HI>Albigen&s;es</HI> from any concern in this, is, That the hour of Gods la&s;t judgments upon the <HI>Roman</HI> Church, was come at the &s;ame time, when this preaching began <HI>(Theor.</HI> 35.)&mdash;But the <HI>Albigen&s;es</HI> &s;erved for nothing but for matter of greater Tri|umph, and glory to the <HI>Roman</HI> Church. And tho they might in their time have been a pre&s;ent check, and Mortifi|cation to that party, yet it could not po&s;&s;ibly be &s;aid, That the hour of Gods Judgment was then come upon them, be|cau&s;e that expre&s;&s;ion does at lea&s;t denote the beginning of a continued Succe&s;&s;ion of &s;uch judgments upon the <HI>Roman</HI> Church as do gradually bring it to its la&s;t ruin <HI>(Theor.</HI> 36.)&mdash;Whereas the <HI>Roman</HI> Church was in a much higher ex|altation for Three hundred years after that time, than ever it was before; And a much greater check had that party received from the <HI>Greek</HI> Church &s;ome Hundreds of years be|fore the <HI>Albigen&s;es,</HI> than it had from them. Wherefore that preaching of the Go&s;pel could not be before the Prote&s;tant Reformation.</P>
<Q><HI>The Vintage in</HI> chap. 14. v. 19. <HI>is the la&s;t de&s;truction of the</HI> <MILESTONE N="38" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>Bea&s;t.</HI></Q>
<P>For &s;o it is Repre&s;ented (both in this chap. and in the 19. <HI>ch.</HI> 15.) as the la&s;t work of the conque&s;t of Chri&s;t in his de|&s;truction of the Bea&s;t. But be&s;ides, The vintage is u&s;ed a|mong the Prophets for nothing but the la&s;t de&s;truction of a <NOTE PLACE="marg">Joel 3. 13. Lam. 1. 15.</NOTE> Nation, when it is u&s;ed to &s;ignifie any judgment upon it.</P>
<Q><PB N="224" REF="117"> <HI>The time of the</HI> patience of the Saints chap. 14. v. 12. <HI>is the fierce&s;t per&s;ecution of the true Church by the Bea&s;t,</HI> <MILESTONE N="39" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>betwixt the preaching of the everla&s;ting Go&s;pel, and the la&s;t de&s;truction of the Bea&s;t.</HI></Q>
<P N="1">I. That it is <HI>betwixt the preaching of the Go&s;pel, and the la&s;t de&s;truction of the Bea&s;t,</HI> is manife&s;t from the place, that it has in the Prophecy betwixt the preaching and the Vintage.</P>
<P N="2">II. And that it is the <HI>fierce&s;t per&s;ecution of the Church</HI> within that compa&s;s of Time, is &s;ufficiently &s;ignified by the&s;e em|phatical expre&s;&s;ions<HI>&mdash;Here is the patience of the Saints.&mdash;Here are tho&s;e that keep the Commandments of God:</HI> And<HI>&mdash;Ble&s;&s;ed are they that die in the Lord from henceforth, for they re&s;t from their Labours.</HI></P>
<P>There could hardly have been a more emphatical &s;ignifi|cation of a very extraordinary Tryal of the patience and con&s;tancy of the true Church at that particular Time above any other Tryal what&s;oever; They are expre&s;&s;ions of a mo&s;t remarkable per&s;ecution, and di&s;tingui&s;h it from all o|thers of the kind: As if the patience of the Saints and their con&s;tancy to the Faith in all other Tryals, had been no|thing to be regarded in compari&s;on with the exerci&s;e of it un|der this: And as if their deliverances from all other per&s;e|cutions, were not at all to be compared with the happine&s;s of their deliverance out of this, tho it were by their deaths; Which by the way &s;hews, that the &s;ufferings in this per&s;e|cution were much more grievous, then Martyrdom it &s;elf: For death is repre&s;ented to be an ea&s;e and a deliverance from the&s;e &s;ufferings; and that is repeated again, after the fir&s;t mention of the Ble&s;&s;edne&s;s of &s;uch a death, together with the rea&s;on given for it, in the&s;e Terms; <HI>Yea, &s;aith the &s;pirit, for they re&s;t from their Labours.</HI></P>
<P>There is indeed the fir&s;t of the&s;e characters mentioned in the 13. <HI>ch. v.</HI> 10. But that &s;eems to refer to the whole time of the Tyranny of the Bea&s;t in General, whereas this here is &s;ingled out, and fixed to a particular time, that is, ju&s;t before the la&s;t de&s;troying calamities upon the Bea&s;t; Or if that in the 13. <HI>ch.</HI> be any particular time of the Bea&s;t and the place of it, which is after the account of the Fortunes of
<PB N="225" REF="117"> the Bea&s;t, and the call for attention <HI>v.</HI> 9. and the threat of Revenge that is joyned immediatly with it, under the term of <HI>going into Captivity</HI> and of <HI>being killed with the Sword</HI> does <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 13. 9, 10.</NOTE> &s;hew it to be the &s;ame particular time of per&s;ecution, with this, which is ju&s;t before the la&s;t de&s;troying judgments upon that party.</P>
<P>The <HI>particular time</HI> of this per&s;ecution is fixed by the order of the prophe&s;ie, as has been ob&s;erved. For it is found be|twixt the new preaching of the Go&s;pel and the Vintage which is the la&s;t de&s;truction of the Bea&s;t <HI>(Theor.</HI> 38.)</P>
<Q><HI>The time of the patience of the Saints</HI> chap. 14. v. 12. <HI>is the</HI> <MILESTONE N="40" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>&s;ame with the time of the overcoming and killing of the two witne&s;&s;es in the</HI> 11. chap. v. 7.</Q>
<P>For the time of the patience of the Saints is after the <MILESTONE N="1"> preaching the everla&s;ting Go&s;pel, <HI>(Th.</HI> 39.) and therefore &s;ince the Prote&s;tant Reformation, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 37.)&mdash;It is al&s;o <MILESTONE N="2"> before the de&s;truction of the Empire of the Bea&s;t, becau&s;e it is before the Vintage, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 38.)&mdash;And it is the fier|ce&s;t <MILESTONE N="3"> per&s;ecution of the Church by the Bea&s;t, of any other within tho&s;e bounds, (by <HI>Theor.</HI> 39.)</P>
<P>Now the overcoming and killing of the two Witne&s;&s;es <MILESTONE N="1"> Cha. 11th, mu&s;t al&s;o be after the beginning of the Prote|&s;tant Reformation, becau&s;e the Re&s;urrection of the Wit|ne&s;&s;es is not yet pa&s;t, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 33)&mdash;And their Re&s;ur|rection mu&s;t at farthe&s;t be, within three years and an half after their death, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 27.)&mdash;And then the over|coming <MILESTONE N="2"> and killing the Witne&s;&s;es, mu&s;t be before the la&s;t Woe upon the Bea&s;t, or his la&s;t de&s;truction, becau&s;e it is before the pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;econd Woe, Chap. 11th. It is then within the &s;ame bounds of time that the other per|&s;ecution is de&s;cribed to have been.</P>
<P>It is al&s;o the fierce&s;t &s;torm of per&s;ecution within tho&s;e <MILESTONE N="3"> bounds of time, becau&s;e it is de&s;cribed by the overcoming and killing of the Witne&s;&s;es, whereas all their other mor|tifications under the Bea&s;t, are repre&s;ented only by their being in Sackcloth.</P>
<P>Now there can be but one, and the &s;ame per&s;ecution, that can be called the fierce&s;t of all that were within the &s;ame bounds of time.</P>
<PB N="226" REF="118">
<P> Be&s;ides, the killing of the Witne&s;&s;es appears to be the &s;ame with the time of trouble, <HI>Dan.</HI> 12. 1. becau&s;e they are <MILESTONE N="1"> both de&s;cribed to be ju&s;t before the beginning of the la&s;t de|liverance of the Church from the Tyranny of the Bea&s;t or little Horn; And at the &s;ame time with the end of an Em|pire, <MILESTONE N="2"> that ruled over the Holy-Land. <HI>Dan.</HI> 11. 45. <HI>Rev.</HI> 9. 14. and 11. 14. And both of them have the Characters of a great Per&s;ecution of the Church in tho&s;e circum&s;tances. <MILESTONE N="3"> And then the killing of the Witne&s;&s;es mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily be the fierce&s;t Per&s;ecution of the Church, becau&s;e that time of trouble in the 12th of <HI>Daniel</HI> was &s;uch, as never had been &s;ince there was a Nation, even unto that &s;ame time, v. 1. that is, not from the beginning of the World to almo&s;t the latter end of it, as the time that is there de&s;cribed does ap|pear to be.</P>
<P>Wherefore the time of the patience of the Saints is the &s;ame with that of the overcoming and killing of the Wit|ne&s;&s;es.</P>
<P>And from hence it is further confirmed, that,</P>
<Q><HI>The Killing of the Witne&s;&s;es</HI> (Chap. 11. 7.) <HI>cannot be a</HI> <MILESTONE UNIT="Con&s;eq."> <HI>bodily death.</HI></Q>
<P>For death is in this per&s;ecution, repre&s;ented to be a ble&s;|&s;ing, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 14. 13.</NOTE> and a great deliverance, and time of re&s;t from the pains and vexations, that they were here under.</P>
<P>From the former propo&s;ition it is al&s;o evident, that,</P>
<Q><HI>The Harve&s;t ju&s;t before the Vintage,</HI> chap. 14th, <HI>mu&s;t be after the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es.</HI> <MILESTONE N="41" UNIT="Theor."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">ver&s;e 15.</NOTE></Q>
<P>For it is a part of the la&s;t de&s;troying Judgments upon the Bea&s;t after the time of the patience of the Saints; and &s;o <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 14. 16.</NOTE> is a Revenge upon the Bea&s;t for the death of the Witne&s;&s;es, which cannot be till <HI>after</HI> the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es, becau&s;e the Re&s;urrection is within three years and an half <NOTE PLACE="marg">Joel 3. 13.</NOTE> after their death, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 27.)</P>
<Q><PB N="227" REF="118"> <HI>The preaching the Everla&s;ting Go&s;pel to every Nation,</HI> &amp;c. <MILESTONE N="42" UNIT="Theor."> Chap. 14. <HI>is the Time of the Prote&s;tant Reformation.</HI> <MILESTONE N="42" UNIT="Theor."> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;e 6.</NOTE></Q>
<P>For it cannot be before the Prote&s;tant Reformation, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 37.)&mdash;And it is the preaching up of a General Reformation before the time of the patience of the Saints, that is, before the death of the Witne&s;&s;es, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 40.)&mdash;And therefore cannot the preaching up of the Go&s;pel to eve|ry Nation, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> be either at the new appearance of the Ri&s;en Witne&s;&s;es, or of the Harve&s;t in the 14th Chap. which is after the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 41.)&mdash;Or at the &s;ound of the la&s;t Trumpet: And there is no o|ther Scheme in the Prophecy, that does any way &s;uit the character of it.</P>
<P>Be&s;ides, it is repre&s;ented here as the fir&s;t preaching of the Go&s;pel of Repentance to every Nation, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> after a &s;ilenced or depre&s;&s;ed &s;tate of the Church, during the Reign of the Bea&s;t, &s;ignified by the peculiar number of the 144000, in di&s;tinction to the innumerable multitudes of all Nations, to whom it was preached. And therefore mu&s;t it be the fir&s;t preaching up of the General Reformation of the <HI>Roman</HI> Church, or the fir&s;t beginning of the Prote&s;tant Reforma|tion, &s;ince it has been found impo&s;&s;ible to be before that Reformation. <HI>(Theor.</HI> 37.)&mdash;From whence it nece&s;&s;arily follows, that,</P>
<Q><HI>The Hour of Gods Judgments,</HI> Chap. 14. 7. <HI>mu&s;t be about</HI> <MILESTONE N="43" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>the fir&s;t times of the Prote&s;tant Reformation.</HI></Q>
<P>For the hour of God's Judgments, <HI>v.</HI> 7. is ju&s;t about the &s;ame time with the preaching up of the Everla&s;ting Go&s;pel <HI>(Theor.</HI> 35.)&mdash;which is found to be in the beginning of the Prote&s;tant Reformation, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 42.)</P>
<Q><HI>The &s;even Vials are an Orderly &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of Judgments up|on</HI> <MILESTONE N="44" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>the Bea&s;t</HI> <NOTE N="(b)" PLACE="marg"><HI>Idem</HI> in <HI>Cap.</HI> 13. <HI>Apoc. Sect.</HI> 5. The Plagues of the Vials &s;ignifie the War that the Chri&s;tian Church make again&s;t <HI>Idolatry,</HI> till it did de&s;troy it; As <HI>Irenaeus</HI> learnt with a great deal of plea&s;ure, of one of the Antient Elders, who it may be was <HI>Polycarp</HI> the Di&s;ciple of <HI>John.</HI></NOTE> <HI>to bring him to his la&s;t Ruine.</HI></Q>
<P>For they are called the la&s;t Judgments of God, in which the wrath of God is filled up, Chap. 15. v. 1. And it is <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 15. 1.</NOTE>
<PB N="228" REF="119"> manife&s;t, that the Bea&s;t is the Object of them all, and is brought to his la&s;t end by the la&s;t of them.</P>
<P N="1">1. That the Bea&s;t is the <HI>Object of them all,</HI> is manife&s;t from the Characters of them; it is expre&s;ly mentioned in the fir&s;t <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 16. 2, 10, 12. v. 4, 19.</NOTE> Vial, and in the fifth and &s;ixth, and openly enough intimat|ed in the third and &s;eventh.</P>
<P>There remains then no que&s;tion about any, but the &s;econd and the fourth. And the knowledge that we have of the Object of all the re&s;t, is &s;ufficient to determine them to the &s;ame party; e&s;pecially, when it is plainly &s;ignified in the <HI>15th.</HI> Chapter of all the &s;even Vials in general, That they <NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 3, 4.</NOTE> are the manife&s;tations of Gods Judgments, ju&s;t upon the Victory that was obtained over the Bea&s;t and his Image; and this is expre&s;&s;ed in the very Song of Triumph that ac|companies that Victory.</P>
<P>Be&s;ides, the Sea in the &s;econd Vial, becoming like the <HI>Blood of a dead Man,</HI> does naturally denote an Ocean of <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 16. 3.</NOTE> Blood; and the acceptation of <HI>many Waters,</HI> is found to &s;igni|fie in this Prophecy, <HI>multitudes of Nations and People;</HI> and &s;o <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 17. 15.</NOTE> does comprehend in it at lea&s;t tho&s;e People and Nations, that are within the Territories of the Bea&s;t, becau&s;e it is a Judg|ment upon the Enemies of God, of which the Bea&s;t is in almo&s;t all the&s;e Vials, &s;ignified to be the chief; And then tho&s;e in the fourth Vial after this, will nece&s;&s;arily be <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 16. 8.</NOTE> determined to the &s;ame party of Men with all the re&s;t, e&s;|pecially, when it is found that they bla&s;phemed God, and <NOTE PLACE="marg">ver&s;e 9.</NOTE> repented not.</P>
<P N="2">2. And further, that the&s;e Vials do <HI>follow &s;oon after one another, to the la&s;t ruine of the Bea&s;t,</HI> appears from the effect of them all, which is, that they were the manife&s;tation of Gods Judgments, &s;o as to make all <HI>Nations come, and wor&s;hip before</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 15. 4.</NOTE> <HI>him;</HI> which, as it does denote them to be the ruine of the Bea&s;t, &s;o could not this have been &s;aid of them, If there had been any &s;uch long intervals betwixt them, as gave the Bea&s;t time to recover him&s;elf of the Wounds of the former, before the next Judgment came to touch him.</P>
<P>The continuance al&s;o of the Glory of God in the Tem|ple <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 15. 8.</NOTE> until the Plagues of the Vials were fulfilled, and the con&s;tant continuance of the Smoke there, to hinder any from coming into the Temple before the end of tho&s;e Judgments,
<PB N="229" REF="119"> does &s;ufficiently intimate, that they were an uninterrupted Succe&s;&s;ion of Judgments, and the con&s;tant continuance of the Wrath of God upon that party, from the fir&s;t begin|ning to the la&s;t end of them.</P>
<P>Wherefore the &s;even Vials are an immediate Succe&s;&s;ion of the la&s;t Judgments of God upon the Bea&s;t, which bring him to his ruine.</P>
<P>And from thence it appears, That</P>
<Q><HI>The &s;even Vials cannot begin before the Prote&s;tant Re|formation.</HI> <MILESTONE N="45" UNIT="Theor."></Q>
<P>For the &s;even Vials are the la&s;t Judgments upon the Bea&s;t, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 44. and <HI>Rev.</HI> 15. 1.) And they are &s;aid to be the Judg|ments <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 15. 1. V. 4.</NOTE> of God, made manife&s;t about the time that they be|gin; and therefore mu&s;t the hour of Gods Judgment upon the Bea&s;t have nece&s;&s;arily been come at that time. But the hour of Gods Judgment is not before the Prote&s;tant Re|formation, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 43.) And therefore, neither can the &s;even Vials begin before that time.</P>
<P>But yet &s;ince this does not prove the certain time of their beginning &s;ince the Reformation: To determine the fir&s;t Point of that beginning, it may be con&s;idered, That</P>
<Q><HI>The &s;even Trumpets and the &s;even Vials, do contain in them</HI> <MILESTONE N="46" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>all the &s;en&s;ible Judgments of God, of a general concern, upon the</HI> Roman <HI>Empire, that are mentioned in this Pro|phecy, from the beginning of the Reign of the Bea&s;t to the la&s;t end of it.</HI></Q>
<P>For the &s;even Trumpets begin before the Reign of the Bea&s;t, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 5.)&mdash;And both the Vials and Trumpets continue to the end of his Reign. <HI>(Theor.</HI> 1. and <HI>Theor.</HI> 44.)&mdash;And both the Vials and Trumpets have the <HI>Ro|man</HI> Empire for their Object, <HI>(Con&s;eq. Theor.</HI> 18. and <HI>Theor.</HI> 44.)&mdash;And the &s;even Vials are called the &s;even la&s;t Plagues upon <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 15. 1&punc; and CHAP. 1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> of this part.</NOTE> that Empire, in relation to the &s;even Trumpets, which are the &s;even fir&s;t; And there was no interval betwixt the fir&s;t and la&s;t Plagues, for any other to come in betwixt them. For the Trumpets, which are the fir&s;t continue to the la&s;t
<PB N="230" REF="120"> end of the Bea&s;t; And therefore may they well be conclud|ed, to contain under them all the Plagues or Judgments of God upon the <HI>Roman</HI> Empire, at lea&s;t tho&s;e that were the mo&s;t con&s;iderable from the time of the fir&s;t of them to the end of the la&s;t of them. For if there had been more con&s;iderable Judgments than tho&s;e upon that Empire re|corded in this Prophecy within that compa&s;s of time, the Plagues would have then been more than the number which is here a&s;&s;igned to them.</P>
<P>It has al&s;o been made to appear, That the &s;even Trum|pets are a continued Series of Calamities, which brought all <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Theor</HI> 1. and <HI>Theor.</HI> 8.</NOTE> the parts of the <HI>Roman</HI> Empire to their final ruine at the glo|rious Reign of Chri&s;t in the &s;eventh Trumpet; And more particularly, That the four fir&s;t Trumpets did ruine the fir&s;t <HI>We&s;tern</HI> Empire; the two next, the <HI>Ea&s;tern</HI> Empire; and <NOTE PLACE="marg">CHAP. 4.</NOTE> the la&s;t, the new <HI>We&s;tern</HI> Empire, called the Bea&s;t. And the &s;even Vials are a continued Succe&s;&s;ion of &s;o many Ca|lamities in particular, that brought the la&s;t Remainder of the Empire (called the Bea&s;t) to its la&s;t ruine, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 44.) And to what end &s;hould they be &s;o particularly mentioned in a &s;et number, if they were not all the con&s;iderable things of that kind, within that compa&s;s of time in which they were placed; that is, &s;ometime before the Ri&s;e of the Bea&s;t to the la&s;t end of his Reign?</P>
<P>But this does the mo&s;t &s;atisfactorily appear, from mo&s;t of the particular In&s;tances of Gods Judgments upon the <HI>Roman</HI> Empire, which are mentioned in this Prophecy after the Ri&s;e of the Bea&s;t. For Example, The Judg|ments upon <HI>Babylon</HI> and the Bea&s;t, in the <HI>17th. 18th. 19th.</HI> Chapters of the <HI>Revelations,</HI> were foretold to belong to the <HI>7th.</HI> Vial, Chap. 16. 19. compared with the fir&s;t ver&s;e of the <HI>17th.</HI> Chapter. The Vintage in the <HI>14th.</HI> Chapter is ex|pre&s;ly named as the bu&s;ine&s;s of the &s;eventh Vial, in the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;e 19.</NOTE> <HI>19th.</HI> Chapter. The Harve&s;t in the <HI>14th.</HI> Chapter, being after the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 41.)&mdash;mu&s;t <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;e 15.</NOTE> be a part of the third Woe in the &s;eventh Trumpet, which <HI>cometh quickly</HI> after the pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;econd; and the &s;econd pa&s;&s;eth away ju&s;t after the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es. The lea&s;t that can be meant by the fall <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11. 14.</NOTE> of <HI>Babylon</HI> in the <HI>14th.</HI> Chapter, mu&s;t be either the be|ginning <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;e 8.</NOTE>
<PB N="231" REF="120"> or the end of the Vials, becau&s;e that is the whole de&s;ign and end of the Vials, to bring <HI>Babylon</HI> and the Bea&s;t to their la&s;t Ruine, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 44.)&mdash;The &s;even Thunders in the <HI>10th.</HI> Chapter, are in a very proper place to be the &s;ame <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;. 3, 4.</NOTE> thing with the 7 Vials, and &s;o are they generally accounted by almo&s;t all &s;orts of Interpreters. So that of all the par|ticular In&s;tances of Gods Judgments, after the Ri&s;e of the Bea&s;t, there remains nothing but the hour of the Judg|ments of God, mentioned in the <HI>14th.</HI> Chapter, that is <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;e 7.</NOTE> not expre&s;ly known to belong either to the Trumpets or the Vials: And yet &s;ince the Fall of <HI>Babylon</HI> does immedi|ately follow the mention of it, as the particular explication of the Judgments, who&s;e hour was ju&s;t before &s;aid to be come, it cannot be imagined, but the hour of Gods Judg|ments mu&s;t be the beginning of the &s;ame Judgments which are made to be the Fall of <HI>Babylon;</HI> And &s;o mu&s;t that al&s;o belong to &s;ome of the Vials.</P>
<P>Indeed, the Fall of the tenth part of the City, and the &s;laying the 7000, (Chap. 11. 13.) is not to be reduced to any of either the Trumpets or Vials: But then neither is it to be lookt upon as any con&s;iderable Judgment of God upon the <HI>whole Roman</HI> Church, becau&s;e it is de&s;cribed to be done in a moment, and to extend but to a tenth part of the Ju|ri&s;diction of it.</P>
<P>The Victory over the Bea&s;t and his Image in the <HI>15th.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;e 2.</NOTE> Chapter, is but in a <HI>part</HI> of the Territories of the Bea&s;t, and not <HI>general,</HI> and is plainly a Spiritual Conque&s;t of that Party, and rather a deliverance from them than a triumph over them; and therefore is no <HI>&s;en&s;ible</HI> Judgment upon the Bea&s;t, but the immediate effect of that Victory as a Judg|ment upon the Bea&s;t, is &s;et out in the fir&s;t of the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 16. 2.</NOTE> Vials.</P>
<P>Wherefore, it may now &s;afely be concluded, That the Trumpets and Vials are all the con&s;iderable Judgments of God upon the <HI>Roman</HI> Empire, that are mentioned in this Prophecy in any time betwixt the fir&s;t Ri&s;e of the Bea&s;t and his la&s;t end.</P>
<P>It is ea&s;ie therefore now to apprehend, That,</P>
<Q><PB N="232" REF="121"> <HI>The hour of Gods Judgments,</HI> Chap. 14 5. <HI>is the beginning</HI> <MILESTONE N="47" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>of the time of the &s;even Vials.</HI></Q>
<P>For the hour of Gods Judgments is &s;ignified to be the be|ginning of the la&s;t Judgments of God upon the Bea&s;t, which brought him to his ruine, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 36.)&mdash;And all the con|&s;iderable Judgments of God upon the <HI>Roman</HI> Empire, from the fir&s;t Ri&s;e of the Bea&s;t, are contained in the Trumpets and Vials, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 46.)&mdash;And the hour of Gods Judgments cannot be the <HI>beginning</HI> of any Judgments of the Trum|pets upon the party of the Bea&s;t. For it is found to be ju&s;t after the beginning of the Reformation, which was the time of the &s;ixth Trumpet, or of the <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Ho&s;tilities, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 19.) But the <HI>Turks</HI> had been a plague to the party of the Bea&s;t, long before that time, in his Wars with the <HI>Ve|netians;</HI> And if it &s;hould be &s;aid, That they <HI>begun</HI> but then to attack the Empire of the Bea&s;t in <HI>Hungary,</HI> yet they cannot po&s;&s;ibly be accounted the <HI>beginning</HI> of Gods Judg|ments, which brought that Party to their ruine. For after one or two Expeditions of <HI>Solyman</HI> the Magnificent, they cea&s;ed from mole&s;ting them for above 130 years after, and now lately have lo&s;t much more to them than they ever took from them. The hour of Gods Judgments cannot therefore be the beginning of any Plagues upon the Bea&s;t in the Trumpets; And therefore mu&s;t it be the be|ginning of &s;ome of the Judgments of the Vials upon him, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 46.)</P>
<P>Now if this hour of Judgment be the beginning of any of the Vials, it mu&s;t begin with the Plague of the fir&s;t Vial; for otherwi&s;e the Judgment in the fir&s;t Vial would have been before that the hour of Gods <HI>la&s;t</HI> Judgments upon the Bea&s;t was come, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 36.)&mdash;Whereas the fir&s;t Vial is one of tho&s;e <HI>la&s;t</HI> Judgments upon him, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 44.)&mdash;And &s;o would the hour of Gods <HI>la&s;t</HI> Judgments <HI>have been come</HI> with the fir&s;t Vial <HI>before it was come,</HI> which is a contradiction. Wherefore the hour of Gods Judgments, Chap. 14. 7. mu&s;t be the beginning of the time of the fir&s;t Vial.</P>
<PB N="233" REF="121">
<P> It is a very great confirmation of this conclu&s;ion, That the Vials have the &s;ame peculiar Expre&s;&s;ions, to &s;ignifie the nature of them, that are found joined with the particular In&s;tances of Gods Judgments, immediately after the gene|ral Declaration about the nearne&s;s of the <HI>Hour</HI> of them in the <HI>8th</HI> and <HI>9th.</HI> Ver&s;es of the <HI>14th.</HI> Chapter. For Example: The Vials are &s;aid to be the <HI>Wrath of God,</HI> and the <HI>Time of</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 15. 1, 7. Chap. 16. 19.</NOTE> <HI>the Wrath of God;</HI> and the la&s;t of them to be the <HI>Cup</HI> of the <HI>Wine</HI> of the fiercene&s;s of his <HI>Wrath;</HI> which are all the &s;ame Expre&s;&s;ions with the <HI>Hour of Gods Judgments,</HI> and with what is threatned, &s;hould be the la&s;t end of tho&s;e who &s;hould wor&s;hip the <HI>Bea&s;t</HI> or his <HI>Image,</HI> in the <HI>10th.</HI> Ver&s;e of the <HI>14th.</HI> Chapter, That <HI>they &s;hould drink of the Wine of the Wrath of God, that is poured out without mixture into the Cup of his In|dignation,</HI> that is, &s;hould be de&s;troyed in the Vintage, and be tormented with Fire and Brim&s;tone.</P>
<P>And it is &s;aid, That the <HI>Judgments of God were made mani|fe&s;t</HI> by the <HI>Vials,</HI> which is ju&s;t the &s;ame with the <HI>Hour of his</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 15. 4</NOTE> <HI>Judgments are come;</HI> And They are called the &s;even la&s;t Plagues, as the <HI>Hour</HI> of <HI>Gods Judgment</HI> does al&s;o &s;ignifie the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;e 1&punc;</NOTE> la&s;t <HI>Judgments</HI> upon a <HI>Nation:</HI> And the Victory over the Bea&s;t, with the Song of Deliverance out of Spiritual <HI>Egypt,</HI> Chap. 15. 2, 3, 4. is of the &s;ame Signification with the preach|ing the everla&s;ting Go&s;pel to every Nation, after a nar|rower confinement of it to the 144000, and the exclu&s;ion <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 14. 6.</NOTE> of all the re&s;t.</P>
<P>It is not therefore now to be que&s;tioned, but that the <HI>Hour</HI> of <HI>Gods Judgments,</HI> Chap. 14. is the beginning of the time of the &s;even Vials; And as nece&s;&s;ary is it upon the &s;ame account, That</P>
<Q><HI>The &s;even Vials begin &s;oon after the fir&s;t-Times of the Re|formation.</HI> <MILESTONE UNIT="Con&s;eq."></Q>
<P>For that <HI>Hour</HI> of <HI>Judgment</HI> which is the beginning of the &s;even Vials, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 47.) is ju&s;t about the time of the Reformation, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 43.)</P>
<P>From hence it appears, That the Vials cannot be all fulfilled within a &s;hort &s;pace of time, as &s;ome would have it &s;ignified of them, by the coming quickly of the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11. 14.</NOTE>
<PB N="234" REF="122"> third Woe. For they begin with the Reformation <HI>(Con&s;eq. praeced.)</HI> and end with the Bea&s;t, who is not yet at an end.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="15" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="235" REF="122">
<HEAD>CHAP. XV.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>A particular Application of the four fir&s;t Vials; The &s;econd Vial mu&s;t be already poured out. It was at an end at farthe&s;t at the Truce of the</HI> Netherlands, Anno 1609. <HI>The ab&s;ured con&s;equences of denying it. The Plague of the third Vial ended with the</HI> Swedi&s;h <HI>War in</HI> Germany. <HI>The demon&s;tration of it. The Plague of the fourth Vial, the King of</HI> France: <HI>This evinced. The fifth Vial is now near at hand.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>THE fir&s;t Date of the Vials, will make it ea&s;ie to fix the particular Applications of them. But to avoid all loo&s;e Conjectures, it will be requi&s;ite to confine our &s;elves within the &s;ame &s;trict order of deductions that has been before u&s;ed; And the fir&s;t Foundation for this End, is, That</P>
<Q><HI>The &s;econd Vial is already poured out.</HI> <MILESTONE N="48" UNIT="Theor."></Q>
<P>For the Character of the &s;econd Vial, is, <HI>The Sea becom|ing</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 16. 3.</NOTE> <HI>like the Blood of a dead Man,</HI> or a Sea of Blood; which does manife&s;tly denote a time of general Blood&s;hed in the Territories of the Bea&s;t. For the Vials fall all upon the Bea&s;t, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 44.)&mdash;And as there is here a di&s;tincti|on made betwixt a <HI>Sea of Blood,</HI> and the <HI>Rivers of Blood</HI> in the third Vial, &s;o by the <HI>Sea of Blood</HI> mu&s;t be &s;ignified a general effu&s;ion of Blood in all parts of the Empire of the Bea&s;t, in di&s;tinction to Rivers of the &s;ame kind, which mu&s;t be but in particular places of that Empire, accord|ing to the natural Signification of the Schemes: A Sea has been al&s;o found in Prophecy, to &s;ignifie Multitudes, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 17. 15.</NOTE> and Nations, and People.</P>
<P>Now about the time of the fir&s;t founding of the <HI>Dutch</HI> Common-Wealth, almo&s;t all <HI>Europe</HI> was in Blood in Wars about Religion: <HI>England, France, Spain,</HI> and the Low-Countries,
<PB N="236" REF="123"> were for a long time engaged in the&s;e Wars by Sea and Land; And then this time of Blood mu&s;t nece&s;&s;a|rily be either the Plague of the fir&s;t or of the &s;econd Vial: For they begin all &s;oon after the Reformation, <HI>(Con&s;eq. Theor.</HI> 47.)&mdash;And &s;ince the Character of the fir&s;t Vial is a grievous &s;ore upon the party of the Bea&s;t, and the &s;econd is the Sea of Blood, it is hardly po&s;&s;ible for any impartial Per&s;on not to be a&s;&s;ured, That this general ef|fu&s;ion of Blood at the beginning of the <HI>Dutch</HI> Common-Wealth, mu&s;t be the Plague of the &s;econd Vial.</P>
<P>By this, the time of the fir&s;t Vial appears to be confin|ed within the compa&s;s of fourty years, that is, betwixt the fir&s;t publick Settlement of the Reformation, which might be called a Victory over the Bea&s;t and his Image, <HI>(Chap.</HI> 15. 1.) And the beginning of the Low Country Commotions, which was about the year 1570. And the fir&s;t publick Settlement of the Reformation after a Victory over the <HI>Roman</HI> Party, cannot be accounted before the Leagues of the Prote&s;tants with one another in <HI>Germany,</HI> about the year 1530.</P>
<Q><HI>The time of the &s;econd Vial was at an end at the farthe&s;t,</HI> <MILESTONE N="49" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>upon the Truce betwixt the</HI> Spaniards <HI>and the</HI> Dutch, <HI>in the year</HI> 1609.</Q>
<P N="1">1. For the &s;econd Vial began to be poured out about the beginning of the Low Country Commotions, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 48.)</P>
<P>And there was an end of all the Wars for Religion in <HI>Europe,</HI> at the Truce betwixt the <HI>Dutch</HI> and <HI>Spaniards,</HI> in the year 1609. So that the Sea of Blood in the &s;econd Vial, could not have continued longer than to that time.</P>
<P>For there was no other Wars after that time for Re|ligion, but &s;uch as the <HI>Roman</HI> Party were victorious in, till the beginning of the <HI>Swedi&s;h</HI> War, which was not till twenty years after; And the Religious Wars within that time, in &s;ome particular places and at di&s;tant times, as in <HI>Bohemia</HI> and <HI>France,</HI> in which none but the Party of the Bea&s;t was victorious and &s;ucce&s;sful, could not be part of this Sea of Blood, becau&s;e they were neither <HI>general</HI> nor <HI>Judgments</HI> upon the Bea&s;t, as all the Vials are, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 44.)
<PB N="237" REF="123"> &mdash;And yet are the&s;e two the principal parts of the cha|racter of the &s;econd Vial, both as it is a Vial in general, and as it is that particular Vial.</P>
<P>This indeed does appear to be a &s;ufficient ground of Sa|tisfaction about this matter, to tho&s;e who can allow the former conclu&s;ions concerning the time, that the Vials in general and that this in particular did begin at.</P>
<P>But becau&s;e there may a very great u&s;e be made of the full certainty of this po&s;ition, it will be worth the while to con&s;ider, What incon&s;i&s;tent and har&s;h con&s;equences will nece&s;&s;arily attend the extending the &s;econd Vial beyond that time.</P>
<P>It is certain, That if the &s;econd Vial continue longer, it mu&s;t reach to the end of the <HI>Swedi&s;h</HI> War; For &s;ince the bu&s;ine&s;s of it is a bloody Judgment upon the party of the Bea&s;t, <HI>(Rev.</HI> 16. 3. and <HI>Theor.</HI> 44.) there will be no other Reli|gious War found before the <HI>Swedi&s;h,</HI> that it can be ap|plied to, after the end of the general Commotions of <HI>Europe</HI> with the Peace of the <HI>Netherlands.</HI></P>
<P>For in the <HI>Bohemian</HI> and <HI>French</HI> Wars, as has been ob&s;er|ved, <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Anno</HI> 1618, and 1627.</NOTE> the Party of the Bea&s;t did triumph over the Church. The &s;econd Vial mu&s;t then according to this Suppo&s;ition, be extended to the end of the <HI>Swedi&s;h</HI> War at lea&s;t, which was not till the year 1647. And then mu&s;t the&s;e follow|ing Incon&s;i&s;tences be dige&s;ted.</P>
<P N="1">1. The time of the fir&s;t Vial would not have been above fourty years, but the time of the &s;econd would have con|tinued for near eighty years, and that without the lea&s;t hint of any &s;uch difference betwixt them in the Prophecy; whereas it is u&s;ual in this Prophecy to &s;et a mark of di&s;tincti|on upon Plagues of the &s;ame kind, that are any thing con|&s;iderably different from one another in the length of their continuance. This may be ob&s;erved in the di&s;tinction that is made betwixt the three la&s;t Trumpets and the four for|mer; And there is a preci&s;e Time mentioned in the fifth and &s;ixth Trumpets, to di&s;tingui&s;h their di&s;proportion to one another; And this di&s;tinction in &s;ome places does &s;eem plainly to intimate, That there is no con&s;iderable difference betwixt the length of the re&s;t, that have no &s;uch mark to &s;ignifie it by. For <HI>exceptio firmat Regulam.</HI></P>
<P N="2"><PB N="238" REF="124"> 2. There would thus have been about 120 years betwixt the beginning of the &s;econd Vial and the beginning of the third, whereas there was but fourty years di&s;tance betwixt the beginning of the fir&s;t and of the &s;econd.</P>
<P>For if the Sea of Blood be extended to the end of the <HI>Swedi&s;h</HI> War, the third Vial would not be yet come; For there has been nothing &s;ince the end of the <HI>Swedi&s;h</HI> War, that can to|lerably de&s;erve the name of a dreadful Revenge upon the Bea&s;t for former Barbarities to the Church in <HI>Rivers of Blood,</HI> which is the Character of the third Vial.</P>
<P N="3">3. There would al&s;o have been very great intervals be|twixt the parts of the Plague of the &s;econd Vial, and be|twixt the Plague of the &s;econd Vial and the third: Where|as the Judgments of the Vials are repre&s;ented to be mor|tifying Judgments of the Bea&s;t, coming &s;oon after one ano|ther, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 44.)&mdash;But in this Suppo&s;ition, there would have been twenty years triumph of the Bea&s;t in the &s;econd Vial, betwixt the Truce of the <HI>Netherlands</HI> and the <HI>Swedi&s;h</HI> War; And fourty years interval betwixt the end of the &s;econd Vial, with the War of it, and the beginning of the third Vial, which is not yet come: And all this without the lea&s;t hint of it in the Prophecy, as has been found to be u&s;ual in &s;uch Ca&s;es.</P>
<P N="4">4. That which did mo&s;t properly and exactly an&s;wer the Character of the third Vial, would thus be applied only to the &s;econd, for which it is unnatural and improper. The <HI>Rivers of Blood</HI> in the third Vial, which are &s;ignified to be &s;ent as a Revenge upon the party of the Bea&s;t, for great Cruel|ties <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 16. 4, 5, 6, 7.</NOTE> that were committed before, do very properly and naturally repre&s;ent the <HI>Swedi&s;h</HI> War in the &s;everal parts of <HI>Germany,</HI> which was declared to have been undertaken in Vindication of the Prote&s;tants States, who had &s;uffered by the Imperial U&s;urpations and Cruelties &s;ome years before it; And was continued by them and their Allies only in <HI>Germany,</HI> or the Confines of it: Whereas that particular Seat of War, and the Revenge which it was to be for the former Cruelties of that Party, has nothing to repre&s;ent it in the <HI>Sea of Blood</HI> in the &s;econd Vial, which mu&s;t be <HI>a general</HI> effu&s;ion of Blood in almo&s;t all parts of the <HI>We&s;tern</HI> Empire, and in which the States that are the Friends of the
<PB N="239" REF="124"> Church, are comprehended as well as the party of the Bea&s;t, tho it be a Judgment only upon the latter.</P>
<P N="5">5. The Humiliations which the party of the Bea&s;t hath &s;uffered ever &s;ince the <HI>Swedi&s;h</HI> War, would thus be pa&s;&s;ed over as no concern of the Vials; whereas the Mortificati|ons that they have received from the King of <HI>France</HI> for this fourty years together &s;ince that time, have been at lea&s;t as great as tho&s;e that are &s;ignified by the Characters of the fir&s;t and fourth Vials.</P>
<P N="6">6. This Proof would be &s;till more unque&s;tionable, if it were further con&s;idered, That there is now but about One hundred years to the end of the Vials, as has been demon|&s;trated <NOTE PLACE="marg">PART. I.</NOTE> concerning the time of the fir&s;t Ri&s;e of the Bea&s;t; And therefore that in this way, the &s;econd Vial would take up as much time as all the five that are yet to come. But the proof that has been already given of it, is &s;uf|ficiently clear without it.</P>
<P>It may therefore now be &s;afely determined, That the Univer&s;al Blood&s;hed in the &s;econd Vial, mu&s;t have been at an end, upon the fore-mentioned League betwixt the <HI>Spaniards</HI> and the <HI>Dutch</HI> at the farthe&s;t.</P>
<Q><HI>The Plague of the third Vial ended with the</HI> Swedi&s;h <HI>War</HI> <MILESTONE N="50" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>in</HI> Germany.</Q>
<P>For the Plague of the third Vial could end neither before nor after that War.</P>
<P N="1">1. <HI>Not before the</HI> Swedi&s;h <HI>War;</HI> becau&s;e betwixt the Uni|ver&s;al Blood&s;hed in the &s;econd Vial, and the <HI>Swedi&s;h</HI> War, there was no &s;uch bloody Revenge upon the Bea&s;t for Cruelties before committed, as is made to be the Cha|racter of the third Vial. The particular Wars in &s;ome places before that time, betwixt the <HI>Romani&s;ts</HI> and the <HI>Pro|te&s;tants,</HI> tho they might begin &s;ome execution upon that party, yet were almo&s;t all to the great di&s;advantage of the Church, as the <HI>Bohemian</HI> and <HI>French</HI> Wars in parti|cular, which were the only con&s;iderable Events of that kind.</P>
<P N="2">2. Again, If the third Vial had ended before the <HI>Swedi&s;h</HI> War, then that War mu&s;t have been the Plague of the
<PB N="240" REF="125"> fourth Vial. For there could not have been more than the Judgment of one Vial upon the Bea&s;t, betwixt the end of the <HI>general</HI> Sea of Blood in the &s;econd Vial and the <HI>Swedi&s;h</HI> War, becau&s;e the party of the Bea&s;t were the Conquerors for near twenty years after the time of the &s;econd Vial: And then the <HI>Swedi&s;h</HI> War mu&s;t have been the fourth Vial, becau&s;e it was the greate&s;t Mor|tification that the Bea&s;t has received &s;ince the Reforma|tion; And &s;o could not be left out as no part of any Vial.</P>
<P>But the <HI>Swedi&s;h</HI> War could not have been the fourth Vial; For then the time after it would have been the fifth; whereas &s;ince the <HI>Swedi&s;h</HI> War there has been no|thing that comes any thing near the Character of the fifth Vial: But on the contrary, in&s;tead of weakning of the Kingdom of the Bea&s;t and humbling his Throne, the Bea&s;t has been &s;ucce&s;sful in the extirpation of the true Religion out of all the <HI>Roman Catholick</HI> Countries, where it had been &s;etled. For the&s;e fourty years together he has been rooting them out of <HI>Poland,</HI> out of all the Im|perial Countries, out of the Kingdom of <HI>France</HI> and the Dukedom of <HI>Savoy,</HI> where there is now no appearance of the outward profe&s;&s;ion of the Prote&s;tant Religion.</P>
<P N="2">2. The Plague of the third Vial could not <HI>end after the</HI> Swedi&s;h <HI>War.</HI> For there has been nothing an&s;werable to the Character of a bloody Revenge upon the Bea&s;t, that is &s;ig|nified by Rivers of Blood, &s;ince the fiercene&s;s of that War. And there would be an interval of eighty years &s;ince the end of the &s;econd Vial and the beginning of the third, if the third Vial were &s;till to come; And the <HI>Swedi&s;h</HI> War would have been in that interval accounted no Judg|ment upon the Bea&s;t, which was the mo&s;t bloody Re|venge upon him that he ever yet had.</P>
<P>The <HI>French</HI> and <HI>Spaniards</HI> did indeed continue the War. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Till the year 1660.</NOTE> But they were both of the &s;ame Religion, and the con|te&s;t was only Civil Juri&s;diction; And &s;o could not have in it any thing of the nature of a Vengeance for Blood.</P>
<P>As for the beginning of this third Vial, it may be dat|ed from <HI>Stephen Botsky</HI>'s Cruelties to the <HI>Roman</HI> Party in <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Anno</HI> 1605.</NOTE> <HI>Hungary.</HI> For <HI>Botsky</HI>'s Actions could not be accounted part
<PB N="241" REF="125"> of the Sea of Blood, becau&s;e it was in none of the Terri|tories in which the re&s;t were; but might very well be looked upon as part of the Rivers of Blood, becau&s;e they were the beginning of Blood&s;hed in the <HI>Fountains of Waters,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 16. 4.</NOTE> that is, in the Imperial Countries. This indeed did happen three or four years before the <HI>Dutch</HI> and <HI>Spani&s;h</HI> Truce, but that is not worth the con&s;idering.</P>
<Q><HI>The Plague of the fourth Vial is the Vexations of the Impe|rial</HI> <MILESTONE N="51" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>and Papal Party, by the pre&s;ent King of</HI> France.</Q>
<P N="1">1. For the Plague of the fourth Vial is tho&s;e Mortifi|cations <MILESTONE N="1"> of the Party of the Bea&s;t, which came upon them after the end of the Plague of the third Vial, for any &s;uch con&s;iderable proportion of time, as the re&s;t of the Vials have taken up, and which do an&s;wer the Cha|racters of the fourth Vial.</P>
<P>Now the Vexations of that Party by the pre&s;ent King of <HI>France,</HI> have fir&s;t <HI>continued</HI> upon them for as con&s;ide|rable <MILESTONE N="1"> a length of time as any of the Plagues of the re&s;t of the Vials; For they have <HI>continued</HI> for fourty years together after the end of the third Vial or the <HI>Swedi&s;h</HI> War.</P>
<P>The whole Reign of this pre&s;ent King of <HI>France</HI> has been nothing but an almo&s;t continued Mortification of the Papal Party and the <HI>Au&s;trian</HI> Family, or its very near De|pendants and Allies, with &s;ome &s;mall and incon&s;iderable Interruptions.</P>
<P>The beginning of it may be accounted the continuance of the <HI>French</HI> Ho&s;tilities in <HI>Flanders</HI> after the <HI>Swedi&s;h</HI> War, and the Peace of <HI>Mun&s;ter,</HI> which la&s;ted till the Peace of the <HI>Pyrenaeans</HI> above ten years together. It was again re|newed by the Sei&s;ure of <HI>Lorain,</HI> and was continued by the Conque&s;ts in <HI>Flanders</HI> and <HI>Burgundy,</HI> and after that carried on by the <HI>German</HI> War, and a new Inva&s;ion of the Low Countries; And followed with the taking of <HI>Luxemburgh,</HI> and will now be concluded with a <HI>Phaethontean</HI> Fall of this Sun in his <HI>&s;corching Heats</HI> about the <HI>Rhine.</HI></P>
<P>During the&s;e Humiliations of the Imperial Party, he had al&s;o very frequent occa&s;ion to vex and humble the
<PB N="242" REF="126"> &s;everal Popes within the&s;e fourty years, for the Re&s;titution <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Innocent</HI> X.</NOTE> of <HI>Ca&s;tro,</HI> and the Rights of the Duke of <HI>Modena,</HI> but e&s;pe|cially in the Affair of the <HI>Cor&s;i,</HI> and about the Regale, <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Alexander</HI> VII.</NOTE> and now lately in the bu&s;ine&s;s of the <HI>Franchi&s;es.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Innocent</HI> XI.</NOTE></P>
<P N="2">2. And next, that the&s;e Ho&s;tilities do very properly an|&s;wer the Characters of the fourth Vial, has been already &s;ufficiently &s;hewn, Chap. 13.</P>
<P>Since the common Subject of all the Vials is the Em|pire of the Bea&s;t, never can one hope to find any Ho&s;tili|ties again&s;t him, that can &s;o well an&s;wer the Character of the <HI>Sun,</HI> and the <HI>&s;corching</HI> that Party with <HI>his Heat,</HI> than <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;. 8, 9.</NOTE> the Vexations of him who is &s;et out by the Title of the <HI>Elde&s;t Son of his Kingdom,</HI> and who is in &s;o Eminent a manner the greate&s;t Potentate in <HI>Europe,</HI> and is every where known by the name of the mo&s;t <HI>Chri&s;tian King</HI> for his Eminency in the <HI>Roman</HI> Party.</P>
<P>Again, If the <HI>French</HI> Vexations of the Imperial and Papal Party for the&s;e la&s;t fourty years, &s;hould not be the <MILESTONE N="2"> fourth Vial, Then would there fir&s;t have been an inter|val of near fourty years betwixt the third Vial and the fourth; whereas they are &s;ignified to follow &s;oon after one another, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 44.) And which is explained by the Example of the three fir&s;t Vials that did come &s;oon af|ter one another, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 49, 50, 51.) And next there would have been no account made of all the Evils that the Party of the Bea&s;t has &s;uffered from the <HI>French</HI> for the&s;e fourty years, tho they have been greater than the Plagues of the fir&s;t Vial, and tho they do very exactly an&s;wer the Character of the fourth.</P>
<P>The Actions of the la&s;t pa&s;t fourty years, do not an|&s;wer the Characters of either the &s;econd, or third, or <MILESTONE N="3"> fifth Vials, much le&s;s can they at all be thought to have any relation to the Characters of the &s;ixth or &s;eventh Vials, but do very properly an&s;wer tho&s;e of the fourth.</P>
<P>After this evidence for the Application from the Pro|phe&s;ie it &s;elf, it cannot but &s;urprize one to &s;ee how providentially it was ordered for the making it known to the World, as has been remarked, That from the be|ginning <NOTE PLACE="marg">CHAP. XIII.</NOTE> of the Reign of this pre&s;ent King of <HI>France</HI> to this time, the <HI>French</HI> Court &s;hould be &s;o extreamly fond
<PB N="243" REF="126"> of the Figure of the <HI>Sun</HI> for their Kings Device, &s;o as even to &s;tamp it upon the publick Coin, and &s;hould be &s;o zealous in the Defence of the Propriety of it again&s;t all Oppo&s;ers.</P>
<P>Now if the time of the Vials does begin &s;oon after the Reformation, (according to <HI>Theor.</HI> 47.) And the pre|&s;ent <HI>French</HI> King be the chief matter of the fourth Vial, it may &s;afely be concluded of the Vials in general, That</P>
<Q><HI>Every one of the Plagues of the Vials do take up a great</HI> <MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="Con&s;eq."> <HI>many years to be fulfilled in.</HI></Q>
<P>And then does it appear more particularly, That,</P>
<Q><HI>The di&s;tance of the end of each Vial from the end of that</HI> <MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="Con&s;eq."> <HI>which went before it, is about fourty years.</HI></Q>
<P>For it appears from the different Characters of the three la&s;t Trumpets in compari&s;on with the four fir&s;t, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 8. 13.</NOTE> That the Prophecy takes care to give very plain and open &s;ignifications of the different lengths of the &s;everal Plagues, where the difference betwixt them is any thing con&s;iderable in the lengths of the Events: And there|fore may it be rea&s;onably concluded, that if there were any con&s;iderable difference betwixt the di&s;tance of any one of the Vials from another that was next before it, in compari&s;on with the di&s;tance of the re&s;t from tho&s;e that did immediately precede them, There would have been &s;ome peculiar Signification given of it in the Pro|phecy. But there is no &s;uch di&s;tingui&s;hing mark &s;et up|on any of the Vials, as does in the lea&s;t intimate any dif|ference betwixt them, in regard of the length of their con|tinuance.</P>
<P>It may therefore from hence be gathered, That the Ends of the time of the Vials, are at equal di&s;tances from one another; And this being determined by the four fir&s;t Vials, (which are already known,) to the term of about fourty years, is to be applied upon that account to the time of the three la&s;t Vials al&s;o.</P>
<PB N="244" REF="127">
<P> This would very much confirm that which is el&s;e|where <NOTE PLACE="marg">PART I.</NOTE> endeavoured to be demon&s;trated, That,</P>
<Q><HI>The time of the Bea&s;t mu&s;t be at an end about the</HI> <MILESTONE N="3" UNIT="Con&s;eq."> <HI>year</HI> 1800.</Q>
<P>For the three la&s;t Vials according to the Example of tho&s;e before them, are to continue each of them about fourty years, and they are yet to come. But the la&s;t of them may be &s;uppo&s;ed to fini&s;h its bu&s;ine&s;s in a &s;horter time, and then the end of the Bea&s;t mu&s;t be &s;ome years before that time.</P>
<P>It does al&s;o follow from what has been ob&s;erved, of the u&s;ual time of the continuance of every Vial, com|pared with the length of the Reign of the pre&s;ent King of <HI>France,</HI> That,</P>
<Q><HI>The fifth Vial is now near at hand.</HI> <MILESTONE N="4" UNIT="Con&s;eq."></Q>
<P>For the pre&s;ent King of <HI>France</HI> has Reigned now a|bove Fourty years &s;ince the end of the third Vial, or the <HI>Swedi&s;h</HI> War. And that &s;pace of time will be found to be the common di&s;tance of all the other Vials from any other: Wherefore the fourth Vial mu&s;t be now very near its end, and the beginning of the fifth near at hand.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="16" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="245" REF="127">
<HEAD>CHAP. XVI.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>The Plagues of the three la&s;t Vials the &s;ame with the third Woe of the la&s;t Trumpet. The Slaughter and Conver&s;ion of the Enemies of the Ri&s;en Witne&s;&s;es, is but in one particular Kingdom of the dominion of the</HI> Roman Church. <HI>The fifth Vial a</HI> general <HI>Mor|tification of the</HI> Roman Church.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<Q><HI>The third Woe in the &s;eventh Trumpet, falls wholly upon</HI> <MILESTONE N="52" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>that part of the</HI> Roman <HI>Empire which belongs to the Bea&s;t.</HI></Q>
<P>FOR all the Trumpets fall upon &s;ome part of the <HI>Ro|man</HI> Empire, <HI>(Con&s;eq. Theor.</HI> 18.)&mdash;And the Woe of the &s;ixth Trumpet does de&s;troy the <HI>Ea&s;tern</HI> Empire, <HI>(Con&s;eq.</HI> 2. <HI>Theor</HI> 19.)&mdash;There remains therefore nothing to be the Object of the third Woe in the &s;eventh Trumpet, but the <HI>We&s;tern</HI> Empire with the Church Rule of it, which is the Juri&s;diction of the Bea&s;t.</P>
<Q><HI>The la&s;t Act of the &s;eventh Vial, is the &s;ame with the</HI> <MILESTONE N="53" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>la&s;t part of the third Woe in the &s;eventh Trumpet.</HI></Q>
<P>For the &s;ole Object of the third Woe is the Party of the Bea&s;t, (by <HI>Theor.</HI> 52.)&mdash;And it ends with the ruine of that Party ju&s;t before the Univer&s;al and Eternal Reign of Chri&s;t, <HI>Rev.</HI> 11. And the &s;eventh Vial does end with the de&s;truction of the Bea&s;t, <HI>(Rev.</HI> 19. <HI>Theor.</HI> 44.) The la&s;t Act of both, mu&s;t therefore be but one and the &s;ame thing.</P>
<Q><HI>The Plague of the &s;ixth Vial cannot appear till after the</HI> <MILESTONE N="54" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>end of the &s;econd Woe in the &s;ixth Trumpet.</HI></Q>
<P>For the Plague of the &s;ixth Vial is to be after the Reformation, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 45.) And therefore long after the
<PB N="246" REF="128"> &s;ettlement of the <HI>Turks</HI> on this &s;ide the River <HI>Euphrates, (Rev.</HI> 9. 14. <HI>Theor.</HI> 19.) It is al&s;o de&s;cribed to come from <HI>beyond</HI> the River <HI>Euphrates,</HI> and to have the <HI>Waters of</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 16 12.</NOTE> Euphrates <HI>dryed up</HI> for a more ea&s;ie Pa&s;&s;age: And the drying up of the Waters of the River of a Nation, does &s;ignifie among&s;t the Prophets the de&s;truction of the King|dom, to which they are a Fence, <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> 19. 5, 6, 7, 8. <HI>Jerem.</HI> 51. 36, 43. compared with <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> 44. 27. <HI>Jerem.</HI> 50. 38. <HI>I&s;aiah</HI> 11. 15, 16.</P>
<P>And <HI>Waters</HI> do repre&s;ent a whole Nation among&s;t the Prophets, <HI>I&s;a.</HI> 8. 7. And then the drying them up can be nothing but the de&s;truction of that Nation.</P>
<P>Now there is no Kingdom that has appeared in tho&s;e parts &s;ince the Reformation, but the <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Empire; much le&s;s any that can de&s;erve that Epithet of the <HI>great River Euphrates</HI> any thing like the <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Empire; Where|fore the Plague of the &s;ixth Vial cannot appear till af|ter the Ruine of all the Remainders of the <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Em|pire about <HI>Euphrates,</HI> that is, not till after the pa&s;&s;ing a|way of the &s;econd Woe.</P>
<P>Indeed, it cannot be conceived how any Enemy &s;hould be able to come from beyond the River <HI>Euphrates</HI> again&s;t the <HI>We&s;tern</HI> Empire by Land, as is here &s;ignified by the <HI>drying up of the Waters of the River,</HI> as long as the <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Empire holds up in <HI>A&s;ia.</HI></P>
<P>And be&s;ides, if there &s;hould be any &s;uch new Plague from tho&s;e parts before the <HI>pa&s;&s;ing away</HI> of the &s;econd Woe, there would be a new Trumpet &s;ounded again&s;t the <HI>Ro|man</HI> Empire from the &s;ame quarter of the World, before the pa&s;&s;ing away of the Trumpet before it; whereas the &s;econd Woe of the &s;ixth Trumpet is &s;aid to <HI>pa&s;s away</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11. 14.</NOTE> before the &s;ounding of the &s;eventh Trumpet.</P>
<P>If it &s;hould be hereupon imagined, That the Plague of the &s;ixth Vial might be nothing el&s;e but the pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;econd Woe, or the end of the <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Em|pire &s;ignified by the drying up of <HI>Euphrates,</HI> it is to be con&s;idered, That the drying up of the Waters of <HI>Eu|phrates</HI> is not the Plague of the &s;ixth Vial, but only to make way for the Plague of that Vial, which is the pre|paration of the <HI>Ea&s;tern Kings upon the Bea&s;t and fal&s;e Pro|phet;</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">. 12, 13.</NOTE>
<PB N="247" REF="128"> And be&s;ides, the Plague of every Vial falls upon the Party of the Bea&s;t, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 44.) And therefore cannot that of the &s;ixth be de&s;igned again&s;t any other.</P>
<Q><HI>The Plague of the &s;ixth Vial mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily be in the time</HI> <MILESTONE N="55" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>of the third Woe.</HI></Q>
<P>For the Plague of the &s;ixth Vial is after the pa&s;&s;ing a|way of the &s;econd Woe, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 54.)&mdash;And the third Woe <HI>comes quickly</HI> after the &s;econd, which it cannot be <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11. 14.</NOTE> imagined to do if the Plague of the &s;ixth Vial &s;hould come in betwixt the pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;econd Woe and the coming of the third; For the bu&s;ine&s;s of the &s;ixth Vial is the la&s;t de&s;truction of the great Kingdom near <HI>Euphrates,</HI> and great preparations for War betwixt the whole Party of the Bea&s;t all the World over, and the Kings of the <HI>Ea&s;t,</HI> which cannot be brought about in a &s;mall time.</P>
<P>And from hence it appears, That,</P>
<Q><HI>The whole time of the Plague of the &s;eventh Vial, is con|temporary</HI> <MILESTONE N="56" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>with the latter part only of the time of the third Woe.</HI></Q>
<P>For the Plague of the &s;ixth Vial is executed in the time of the third Woe, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 55.)&mdash;And the whole time of the &s;eventh Vial is after that of the &s;ixth, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 44.)&mdash;And the la&s;t end of the &s;eventh Vial is the &s;ame with the la&s;t part of the third Woe, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 53.)&mdash;The whole time therefore of the &s;eventh Vial, is in the time of the latter part of the third Woe.</P>
<P>It is al&s;o apparent from the former Propo&s;ition, That,</P>
<Q><HI>The Plague of the fifth Vial is not yet come.</HI> <MILESTONE N="57" UNIT="Theor."></Q>
<P>This does nece&s;&s;arily follow from what has been found to be the time of the fourth Vial, which appears to be but now at its la&s;t conclu&s;ion; But this is now &s;till fur|ther confirmed from what has been ju&s;t now found about the time of the &s;ixth Vial.</P>
<PB N="248" REF="129">
<P> For the Plague of the fifth Vial is at an end before that the &s;ixth begins, <HI>(Theor</HI> 44.) And the Plague of the &s;ixth Vial is in the time of the third Woe, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 55.)&mdash;And the third Woe is not yet come, becau&s;e the &s;econd is not yet pa&s;&s;ed away, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 19.) If then the Plague of the fifth Vial were already come, it mu&s;t be in being at this pre&s;ent time, becau&s;e the &s;ixth which is not yet come, mu&s;t be &s;oon after it, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 44.)</P>
<P>But there is no manner of appearance of any &s;uch <HI>Dark|ne&s;s upon the Kingdom of the Bea&s;t</HI> at this pre&s;ent, as is de|&s;cribed <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 16. 10.</NOTE> in the fifth Vial. But in&s;tead of it, we &s;ee the Maje&s;ty of the <HI>Roman</HI> Church to be &s;o far from being <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Anno</HI> 168<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> eclip&s;ed, that it is now in the greate&s;t Glory and Splen|dor, that it has been &s;ince the Reformation; it has been continually victorious over the Church for above the&s;e thirty years together in all parts of the Dominions of the <HI>Roman</HI> Church, where the Prote&s;tants had any al|lowance, in <HI>Poland, Bohemia, Sile&s;ia, Moravia, Hungary,</HI> the <HI>Bavarian</HI> Territories, and lately very remarkably in the great Kingdom of <HI>France,</HI> and in the Dukedom of <HI>Sa|voy,</HI> to the utter extinction of all profe&s;&s;ion of the true Religion among&s;t them.</P>
<P>Wherefore the Plague of the fifth Vial cannot be yet come.</P>
<P>Now to &s;hew what Relation the fifth Vial has to the third Woe, it is to be ob&s;erved, That,</P>
<Q><HI>The third woe is a continual advancement of the Church</HI> <MILESTONE N="58" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>in all parts of the Dominion of the Bea&s;t till the la&s;t end of his Power.</HI></Q>
<P N="1">1. The third Woe is <HI>an advancement of the intere&s;t of the Church,</HI> becau&s;e it is a Woe upon the Party of the Bea&s;t, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 52.) that advances the Univer&s;al Kingdom <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11. 15.</NOTE> of Chri&s;t.</P>
<P N="2">2. It is &s;uch an advancement of the Intere&s;t of the Church in <HI>all parts of the Dominions of the Bea&s;t,</HI> becau&s;e the whole matter of it is the <HI>Kingdoms of this world become the King|dom</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ibid.</NOTE> <HI>of the Lord and his Chri&s;t;</HI> And this al&s;o after the Re|&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es, which is the beginning of the
<PB N="249" REF="129"> new recovery of the Church in all parts of the dominion of the Bea&s;t, where they had been killed.</P>
<P N="3">3. It is a <HI>continual</HI> or <HI>gradual</HI> advancement of the Church, and not a &s;udden total triumph over its enemies, becau&s;e it is contemporary with the two la&s;t Vials at lea&s;t, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 55 and 56. Which are gradual advances of the de&s;truction of the Bea&s;t; whereas if the third woe were nothing but a &s;udden general Triumph of the Church over the power of the Bea&s;t, it could not be in the time of the &s;ixth Vial at lea&s;t, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 16, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters">.</NOTE> which repre&s;ents the Party of the Bea&s;t to be in a con&s;ider|able po&s;ture of oppo&s;ition.</P>
<P N="4">4. It is a <HI>continual or uninterrupted &s;ucce&s;s</HI> of the Church again&s;t the Bea&s;t, becau&s;e fir&s;t it is after the Re&s;urre|ction of the Witne&s;&s;es which appear to be the la&s;t delive|rance of the Church from the oppre&s;&s;ions of the Bea&s;t, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 1.)</P>
<P>And next, becau&s;e the Character of the third woe <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 11. 51.</NOTE> is the conver&s;ion of the Kingdoms of this World, which cannot &s;ignifie le&s;s then an <HI>uninterrupted</HI> advancement of the power of the Church above the power of its chief enemies, which in this place are none but the party of the Bea&s;t, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 52.)</P>
<P N="5">5. The third Woe is al&s;o a <HI>continual or uninterrupted &s;uc|ce&s;s</HI> of the Church <HI>to the la&s;t ruin of the Bea&s;t,</HI> becau&s;e it is the Woe of the la&s;t Trumpet, which makes <HI>all the King|doms</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Rev.</HI> 11. 15.</NOTE> <HI>of the World the Kingdom of Chri&s;t,</HI> and al&s;o becau&s;e it is the &s;ame thing in the la&s;t end of it with the la&s;t part of the &s;eventh Vial, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 53.)&mdash;For the la&s;t part of the &s;eventh Vial is the ruin of <HI>Babylon</HI> and the Bea&s;t, upon which &s;ucceeds the everla&s;ting Reign of Chri&s;t with his Saints. Wherefore the third Woe is a continual advance|ment of the intere&s;t of the Church in all parts of the do|minion of the Bea&s;t with an uninterrupted &s;ucce&s;s again&s;t that Party to their la&s;t ruin.</P>
<Q><PB N="250" REF="130"> <HI>All the Vials, that are contemporary with the third Woe,</HI> <MILESTONE N="59" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>are parts of it.</HI></Q>
<P>For the third Woe is the uninterrupted &s;ucce&s;s of the Church to the la&s;t ruin of the Bea&s;t, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 58.)&mdash;It is al&s;o <HI>all the parts</HI> of that &s;ucce&s;s to the la&s;t, becau&s;e in all parts of the dominion of the Bea&s;t to the la&s;t, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 1. and 52.)&mdash;And all the Vials are the la&s;t Plagues upon the Bea&s;t to mortifie his power in the Church, and to bring him to his la&s;t ruin, (by <HI>Theor.</HI> 44.)</P>
<P>Wherefore tho&s;e Vials, which are contemporary with the la&s;t Woe, are but parts of the &s;ame uninterrupted &s;uc|ce&s;s of the Church, which the la&s;t Woe is in general.</P>
<P>This is confirmed by the example of the other two Woes before the la&s;t Trumpet. For the &s;econd Woe is <HI>all the parts</HI> of the &s;ucce&s;s of the Turks again&s;t the Roman Empire; And the fir&s;t Woe was all the parts of the &s;uc|ce&s;s of the Saracens within the time allotted to it.</P>
<P>And by this it appears, That</P>
<Q><HI>The third Woe is nothing el&s;e but the Vials that are contempo|rary</HI> <MILESTONE N="60" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>with it.</HI></Q>
<P>For if there were any more plagues in the third Woe, be|&s;ides the Vials, that are contemporary with it, Then the Vials would not be the &s;even la&s;t plagues, which brought the Bea&s;t to his ruin; For tho&s;e plagues which are &s;uppo|&s;ed to be in the third Woe be&s;ides the plagues of the Vials, that are contemporary with it, would be &s;ome of the &s;even la&s;t plagues. Wherefore the Vials that are contemporary with the third Woe, are <HI>All the parts</HI> of that Ruin of the Bea&s;t, which is the third Woe in general.</P>
<P>And therefore,</P>
<Q><HI>The beginning of the third Woe is the plague of the fir&s;t of tho&s;e</HI> <MILESTONE UNIT="Con&s;eq."> <HI>Vials.</HI></Q>
<P>AS a further preparation for a di&s;covery of the Rela|tion of the fifth Vial to the third Woe, it may be con&s;i|dered, That</P>
<Q><PB N="251" REF="130"> <HI>The &s;laughter, and conver&s;ion of the enemies of the ri&s;en wit|ne&s;&s;es</HI> <MILESTONE N="61" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>ch. 11th.</HI> 13. <HI>is at the conclu&s;ion of either the fourth or fifth Vial.</HI></Q>
<P>For that &s;laughter, and conver&s;ion is ju&s;t before the third woe, and therefore ju&s;t before that Vial that begins the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11. 13.</NOTE> third woe, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 60.)&mdash;And that Vial mu&s;t be either the fifth or the &s;ixth; For the third woe is not yet come, And the fourth Vial is ju&s;t about its la&s;t end; <HI>(con&s;eq. Theor.</HI> 51.) And the &s;ixth is known to be a part of the third woe <HI>(Theor.</HI> 55. and 59.) Wherefore that &s;laughter and conver&s;ion mu&s;t be either ju&s;t before the fifth or the &s;ixth Vial, that is, either at the conclu&s;ion of the fourth or fifth Vial.</P>
<Q><HI>The &s;laughter, and conver&s;ion</HI> &amp;c. <HI>chap. 11th. is but in one</HI> <MILESTONE N="62" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>particular part of the dominion of the Bea&s;t.</HI></Q>
<P>For all the enemies of the Witne&s;&s;es in that place are &s;ig|nified to be at an end, <HI>&s;even Thou&s;and were &s;lain and the re&s;t</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11. 13.</NOTE> <HI>converted;</HI> Which &s;hows the Scene of that event to be but one part of the dominion of the Bea&s;t, becau&s;e the party of the Bea&s;t continues in oppo&s;ition to the Church long af|ter that Time, for the whole continuance of the Time of the &s;ixth and &s;eventh Vials in the third Woe <HI>(Theor.</HI> 44.)</P>
<Q><HI>The &s;laughter and conver&s;ion</HI> &amp;c. <HI>chap. 11th is no part of any</HI> <MILESTONE N="63" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>of the &s;even Vials.</HI></Q>
<P>For it is at the conclu&s;ion of either the fourth or the fifth Vial <HI>(Theor.</HI> 61.)&mdash;And the Per&s;ons, who are the objects of the fourth and fifth Vials continue <HI>impenitent</HI> af|ter <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 16. 9, 11.</NOTE> the Plagues of them, whereas after the &s;laughter in chap. <HI>11th the re&s;t</HI> are &s;aid <HI>to give Glory to God</HI> or to repent and be converted; The per&s;ons therefore in that place of the <HI>11th</HI> chap. mu&s;t be different from tho&s;e, who are the objects of the fourth and fifth Vials; And the &s;ixth Vial is certainly after the time of that &s;laughter and conver|&s;ion, which is de&s;cribed to be before the pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;econd Woe; For the &s;ixth Vial is a part of the third
<PB N="252" REF="131"> Woe, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 59.) Wherefore that &s;laughter and conver|&s;ion can be no part of the plagues of any of the <HI>Vials.</HI></P>
<P>From hence it does appear, That</P>
<Q><HI>The Plagues of the Vials do not fall upon one particular part</HI> <MILESTONE N="64" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>only of the dominion of the Bea&s;t.</HI></Q>
<P>For if the Plagues of the Vials did fall upon any parti|cular parts only of the dominion of the Bea&s;t, Then would the &s;laughter and conver&s;ion of the enemies of the Witne&s;&s;es belong to one of the &s;even Vials, contrary to <HI>(Theor.</HI> 63.)</P>
<P>The con&s;equence is nece&s;&s;ary, For the &s;even Vials are the &s;even la&s;t Plagues upon the Bea&s;t, And that &s;laugh|ter and conver&s;ion, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> is within the time of the Vials, becau&s;e not yet pa&s;t, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 33.)&mdash;It is al&s;o as con&s;ider|able a Plague upon the Bea&s;t, as any can be in <HI>a particu|lar part only</HI> of his dominion, becau&s;e it appears to be the total ruine of the intere&s;t of the Bea&s;t in the place, where it is, <HI>Seven Thou&s;and were &s;lain and the re&s;t</HI> converted; It is therefore as much qualified to be one of the &s;even la&s;t Plagues, as any of the Vials, if they fall upon particular parts only, of the dominion of the Bea&s;t.</P>
<P>It may be replyed, that the Vials may be the &s;even la&s;t Plagues in &s;ome parts of the dominion of the Bea&s;t, And yet this be a Plague different from them in another part of his dominion. But then there mu&s;t be eight la&s;t Plagues upon the Bea&s;t in all, whereas the Vials are cal|led the &s;even la&s;t Plagues <HI>in which the wrath of God was</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 15. 1.</NOTE> <HI>filled up:</HI> Which does plainly &s;ignifie them to be &s;even, and no more. E&s;pecially when we &s;ee them reckoned up in order one after another, which &s;hows the number &s;even to be a broken number, and therefore to be limit|ed to ju&s;t &s;o many particulars.</P>
<P>Wherefore the Vials mu&s;t be Plagues of a different na|ture, and much more con&s;iderable, then the &s;laughter and conver&s;ion of the enemies of the Witne&s;&s;es was; And this they could not be, as has been &s;hown, if they had been upon particular parts only of the dominion of the Bea&s;t. And therefore mu&s;t they be of a more <HI>general</HI> extent.</P>
<PB N="253" REF="131">
<P> It is al&s;o apparent from all the objects of the Vials, that the Plagues are poured out upon all the chief &s;up|porters of the intere&s;t of the Bea&s;t. The fir&s;t Vial pours out a Plague upon all tho&s;e in general, that had <HI>the mark</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 16. 2. v. 3.</NOTE> <HI>of the Bea&s;t;</HI> The &s;econd brings in an Ocean of blood in <NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 4.</NOTE> all parts of the dominion of the Bea&s;t, The third extends to all the con&s;iderable friends of the Imperial and Papal Intere&s;t, the Rivers and Fountains, the King of <HI>Spain,</HI> the Duke of <HI>Lorraine,</HI> the Duke of <HI>Bavaria,</HI> and all the Imperial Party in <HI>Germany.</HI> The fourth is found to be of <NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 8.</NOTE> much the &s;ame extent; The fifth has nothing in it that contradicts this, but is &s;aid to fall upon the Kingdom of <NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 10.</NOTE> the Bea&s;t indefinitely; The &s;ixth is expre&s;ly intimated to concern the Bea&s;t and fal&s;e Prophet, and all the Kings of the earth, that are their confederates; And the &s;eventh is generally agreed to be the final de&s;truction of the whole Party.</P>
<P>Wherefore it may now be concluded, that the Plagues of the Vials, do not fall upon particular parts only of the dominion of the Bea&s;t.</P>
<Q><HI>The Plague of the fifth Vial is an eminent humiliation of the Ruling power of the Bea&s;t</HI> in all parts <HI>of his dominion.</HI> <MILESTONE N="65" UNIT="Theor."></Q>
<P N="1">1. It is an <HI>eminent humiliation of the Ruling power of</HI> the Bea&s;t, becau&s;e it is &s;aid to fall upon his <HI>throne,</HI> and <HI>to fill his Kingdom with darkne&s;s;</HI> And <HI>darkne&s;s upon a Kingdom</HI> is <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 16. 10.</NOTE> commonly u&s;ed among&s;t the Prophets, to &s;ignifie at lea&s;t a great di&s;order in the Government of a Kingdom, but &s;ometimes al&s;o it denotes the utter ruine of it: Where|fore &s;ince the Kingdom of the Bea&s;t is &s;aid here to be full of darkne&s;s; The lea&s;t that that can &s;ignifie is a very eminent humiliation of the Ruling power of the Bea&s;t.</P>
<P N="2">2. The Plague of the fifth Vial is al&s;o an humiliation of the power of the Bea&s;t <HI>in all parts of his dominion,</HI> be|cau&s;e <MILESTONE N="1"> this darkne&s;s is expre&s;&s;ed to <HI>fill</HI> his Kingdom: And by the <HI>Kingdom of the Bea&s;t</HI> mu&s;t be under&s;tood his <HI>Ro|man</HI> Kingdom. For it is his <HI>Roman</HI> Authority in general which in all parts of this Prophecy is &s;ignified by the terms of <HI>the Kingdom, or Power, or Authority of the Bea&s;t.</HI> And
<PB N="254" REF="132"> his <HI>Roman</HI> Kingdom is <HI>all</HI> the parts of the dominion of the Bea&s;t.</P>
<P N="2">2. This is al&s;o further confirmed by the Sphear, and Object of all the other Vials which is the party of the Bea&s;t in general, as has been ob&s;erved, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 64.)</P>
<P N="3">3. Whatever might be &s;ignified by the Object of the other Vials, yet by the <HI>Kingdom</HI> of the Bea&s;t in di&s;tinction to the &s;everal Parts of it named in the other Vials, as the Earth, Sea, Rivers, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> cannot be &s;ignified le&s;s, then that <HI>whole</HI> Kingdom of which the others &s;eem to be but the <HI>Parts;</HI> And that mu&s;t be his whole <HI>Roman</HI> King|dom. For it is that dominion, of which the Earth, Sea, and Rivers in the other Vials are &s;aid to be the Parts.</P>
<P N="4">4. By the Dominion, Authority, and Kingdom of the Bea&s;t in all other Parts of this Prophecy is &s;ignified his <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 13. 3, 4, 5, 7, 12. and Ch. 17, 13, 17.</NOTE> Kingdom and Authority indefinitely, or without any limi|tation to one particular Principality, where his chief Seat is; And &s;o denotes his Authority in general or in all Parts of his Dominion; And therefore ought his Kingdom in the fifth Vial to be under&s;tood indefinitely, or without re&s;triction to any particular Part of his Juri&s;diction.</P>
<P N="5">5. E&s;pecially, if it be con&s;idered, that in the figure of the Bea&s;t, The Ten Horns, which repre&s;ent all the other Kingdoms, are &s;hown to belong to him as his proper fur|niture; And in the explication Tho&s;e Ten Kings are &s;aid to have one mind, and to agree to give their Kingdoms to <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 17, 13, 17.</NOTE> the Bea&s;t, by which they become all his one Kingdom only.</P>
<P N="6">6. By the Kingdom of the Bea&s;t mu&s;t at lea&s;t be &s;ignified &s;omething more than what is called <HI>the tenth Part of the City</HI> chap. 11. v. 13. That is, more than one of the Ten Kingdoms which are &s;aid to be given to the Bea&s;t, <HI>(Con&s;eq.</HI> 2. <HI>Theor.</HI> 21.) And therefore mu&s;t the Kingdom of the Bea&s;t &s;ignifie more than either the Imperial Countries or the Papacy; And then what can it &s;ignifie, but the <HI>whole</HI> extent of the Dominion of the Bea&s;t or his King|dom in general?</P>
<P>The pouring out of the Vial upon the <HI>Throne</HI> of the Bea&s;t, need not be fixed to any particular Seat of the Bea&s;t. For the <HI>Seat and Throne</HI> of the Bea&s;t in this Pro|phecy,
<PB N="255" REF="132"> is frequently u&s;ed for his &s;upream Authority in ge|neral, and not for any particular place, where it re&s;ides, as <HI>Chap.</HI> 13. 2. and <HI>Chap.</HI> 17. 15. <HI>The waters where the whore &s;itteth: As</HI> Babylon, and the great City, are al&s;o known to be u&s;ed for the Univer&s;al Domination of <HI>Rome.</HI></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="17" TYPE="chapter">
<HEAD>CHAP. XVII.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>The whole Plague of the fifth Vial within the time of the third Woe: It begins the third Woe. The la&s;t end of the</HI> Turki&s;h <HI>Wars or their Ruine, and the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es near at hand. Further evinced, that the Vials mu&s;t begin &s;oon after the Refor|mation, to &s;ignifie the Plagues that fell upon the</HI> Roman <HI>Party by the Reformation, di&s;tinct from tho&s;e that they &s;uffered at the &s;ame time from the</HI> Turks <HI>as the &s;econd Woe; How the third Woe is &s;aid to</HI> come quickly. <HI>The date of the Vials &s;oon after the Reformation, apt|ly intimated at the end of the</HI> 9th. <HI>Chapter of the</HI> Revelations, <HI>and the beginning of the</HI> 10th. <HI>The &s;ame further proved from the nature of the</HI> Victory <HI>mentioned,</HI> Rev. 15. 2. <HI>before the Vials. No proof from</HI> Rev. 10. 6, 7. <HI>That the beginning of the &s;even Vials mu&s;t be after the &s;ound of the &s;eventh Trum|pet.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>I Have been the more &s;crupulous to confirm the general extent of the Vials upon the whole Kingdom of the Bea&s;t, becau&s;e upon the &s;trength of that does depend all determinate Knowledge of the beginning of the time of the fifth Vial, which is very requi&s;ite for fixing the time of the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es: For now it appears, That</P>
<Q><PB N="256" REF="133"> The whole Plague of the fifth Vial is within the time of <MILESTONE N="66" UNIT="Theor."> the third Woe.</Q>
<P N="1">1. For the fifth Vial ends ju&s;t before the time of the &s;ixth, (by <HI>Theor.</HI> 44.)&mdash;And the &s;ixth is part of the third Woe, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 55. and 59.)&mdash;And would begin the third Woe, if it were the fir&s;t of the Vials in the third Woe, <HI>(Con&s;eq. Theor.</HI> 60.)&mdash;And then the fifth Vial being not long before it, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 44.)&mdash;Would be contemporary with that State of things which is de&s;cribed to come ju&s;t be|fore the pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;econd Woe; For the third Woe <HI>comes quickly</HI> after the pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;econd. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11. 14.</NOTE></P>
<P>But the Plague of the fifth Vial cannot po&s;&s;ibly be <HI>contemporary</HI> with that State of things that is de&s;cribed to come ju&s;t before the pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;econd Woe.</P>
<P>For the Plague of the fifth Vial continues for a great many years together, <HI>(Con&s;eq. Theor.</HI> 51.)&mdash;And therefore, if it were contemporary with tho&s;e things that are de|&s;cribed before the pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;econd Woe, it mu&s;t be contemporary with the <HI>overcoming and killing of</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">R<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 span"> 13.</NOTE> <HI>the witne&s;&s;es.</HI> For they ro&s;e again from the dead within three years and an half at the farthe&s;t after their killing, And their A&s;cen&s;ion into the Throne, is de&s;cribed to be pre&s;ently after; And the Earthquake, and all that <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;e 1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">, 14.</NOTE> follows till the mention of the pa&s;&s;ing away of the third Woe, is &s;aid to be at the &s;ame time with their A&s;cen&s;ion: So that the time of the fifth Vial mu&s;t then reach as high at lea&s;t, as the overcoming and killing the Witne&s;&s;es.</P>
<P>Now the Witne&s;&s;es repre&s;ent the whole Church under the power of the Bea&s;t, <HI>(Suppo&s;.</HI> 4)&mdash;And the over|coming and killing them, is the utter extinction of all publick profe&s;&s;ion of the true Religion within the Juri&s;|diction of the Bea&s;t, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 29.)&mdash;VVhich mu&s;t there|fore require many years to accompli&s;h it; e&s;pecially if it be con&s;idered, That that Suppre&s;&s;ion of the true Reli|gion in all <HI>Roman Catholick</HI> Countries, called the Death of the VVitne&s;&s;es, mu&s;t be after the beginning of the Reformation, and when it has got ground in many King|doms; becau&s;e it is ju&s;t before the third Woe.</P>
<PB N="257" REF="133">
<P> But it is a plain contradiction, that the Plague of the fifth Vial &s;hould be at the &s;ame time with &s;uch a Tri|umph of the Bea&s;t over the Church in all parts of his Do|minion for many years together. For that Plague is, on the contrary, an eminent Humiliation of the power of the Bea&s;t in all parts of his Dominion for many years together, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 65. <HI>Con&s;eq. Theor.</HI> 51.)&mdash;Neither can the Plague of the fifth Vial be <HI>part of it</HI> before the pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;econd woe, after the Triumph of the Bea&s;t over the Church in killing the witne&s;&s;es and <HI>part of it</HI> in the time of the third woe; For then it mu&s;t be con|temporary with the Slaughter and Conver&s;ion of the Enemies of the VVitne&s;&s;es, or the Party of the Bea&s;t, <HI>Rev.</HI> 11. 13, 14.&mdash;Whereas the fifth Vial repre&s;ents all Parts of the Dominion of the Bea&s;t to be impenitent. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 16. 11.</NOTE> The Plague of it was upon his whole Kingdom, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 65.) And they are &s;aid <HI>not to repent,</HI> which &s;ignifies, That <HI>no part</HI> of his Kingdom were converted; And therefore can there be <HI>no part</HI> of the Plague of the fifth Vial before the time of the third woe, becau&s;e the third woe follows pre&s;ently after the &s;econd, at the pa&s;&s;ing away of which, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11. 14.</NOTE> that Slaughter and Conver&s;ion of the <HI>Roman</HI> Party is de&s;cribed to be.</P>
<P>VVherefore &s;ince <HI>no part</HI> of the fifth Vial can be be|fore the third woe, it mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily <HI>All</HI> of it be with|in the time of the third woe.</P>
<P N="2">2. It appears al&s;o by what is found to be meant by the Plague of the fifth Vial, That it <HI>could not be before the be|ginning</HI> of the third woe, becau&s;e the third woe is the be|ginning of the uninterrupted Encrea&s;e of the Succe&s;s of the Church again&s;t the Bea&s;t, in all parts of his Domi|nion till his la&s;t Ruine, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 58.)&mdash;And the &s;ixth Vial is certainly a part of that Succe&s;s, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 55.)&mdash;And the fifth Vial is ju&s;t before the &s;ixth, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 44.)&mdash;And re|pre&s;ented to be an Humiliation of the power of the Bea&s;t in all parts of his Kingdom, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 65.)</P>
<P>The fifth Vial mu&s;t therefore begin at the &s;ame time with the third woe, and be the &s;ame with it upon that account, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 59.)</P>
<P N="3"><PB N="258" REF="134"> 3. The Character of the fifth Vial does &s;eem to have <HI>an immediate Relation</HI> to the bu&s;ine&s;s of the third woe. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 16. 10.</NOTE> The Plague of it falls upon the <HI>Throne</HI> and <HI>Kingdom</HI> of the Bea&s;t, which does very naturally &s;ignifie the begin|ning of a general Humiliation of the power of the Bea&s;t in all the ten Kingdoms, of which his Kingdom con|&s;i&s;ts, which does properly denote, That the <HI>Kingdoms of this world</HI> do then begin to be the <HI>Kingdom of Chri&s;t,</HI> ac|cording <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11. 15.</NOTE> to the Character of the third woe: And this is another confirmation, that the fifth Vial begins the third woe.</P>
<P N="4">4. The Plague of the fifth Vial has al&s;o the &s;ame effect attributed to it that the fir&s;t Vial had at the beginning of the Reformation, that is, Sores and Pains to <HI>make them gnaw</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 16. 10.</NOTE> <HI>their Tongues for pain;</HI> Which &s;eems to intimate, That they &s;hall have much the &s;ame unea&s;ine&s;s and indignati|on from alike Cau&s;e, or by rea&s;on of a new Reforma|tion among&s;t them, &s;ince there is none of the other Vials that are &s;aid to have that effect, but only the fir&s;t: And then what can be liker the Character of the third woe, then the beginning of &s;uch a Reformation, which is to continue to the end of all the Vials? And it is not ea&s;ie to imagine, what el&s;e can be meant by the <HI>darkning of the Kingdom of the Beast,</HI> and the humbling of his <HI>Throne,</HI> but a general Reformation in all Roman Catholick Coun|tries; For that is properly the Kingdom of the Bea&s;t.</P>
<P><Q>All the Proof that has been hitherto given of this Pro|po&s;ition, is wholly independant upon the Application of the Trumpets; And upon that account it may be made u&s;e of as another confirmation, That,</Q> <HI>The &s;econd Woe is the</HI> Turki&s;h <HI>Empire.</HI> <MILESTONE N="1" UNIT="Con&s;eq."></P>
<Q><P>For the &s;econd woe is a Nation that was loo&s;ed from <HI>Eu|phrates</HI> to de&s;troy the third part of Men, and it ending ju&s;t before the third woe, that is, ju&s;t before the fifth Vial, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 66.) It mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily be now in being; <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Con&s;eq. Theor.</HI> 60.</NOTE> For the fifth Vial is near at hand, <HI>(Con&s;eq.</HI> 4. <HI>Theor.</HI> 51.) Now there is no other Nation in being at this pre&s;ent, to which tho&s;e circum&s;tances can agree; but the <HI>Turki&s;h</HI>
<PB N="259" REF="134"> Empire on the other &s;ide, &s;ince it has been proved in the Interpretation of the Trumpets, <HI>(Con&s;eq.</HI> 2. <HI>Theor.</HI> 19.) That the <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Ho&s;tilities are the &s;econd woe; The pre&s;ent condition of the <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Empire does &s;hew, That the &s;econd woe is pa&s;&s;ing away at this pre&s;ent, that is, ju&s;t before the time of the fifth Vial, <HI>(Con&s;eq.</HI> 4. <HI>Theor.</HI> 51.) And therefore mu&s;t the fifth Vial begin the third woe.</P>
<P>For what&s;oever may be the i&s;&s;ue of this pre&s;ent Humi|liation of the <HI>Turks,</HI> yet the lea&s;t that can be conceived of it is, That they will be no more a <HI>Woe</HI> to the <HI>VVe&s;tern</HI> Empire; For it appears from the &s;ixth Vial, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 54.) that there will be no <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Empire at that time to hinder the Pa&s;&s;age of the Kings of the <HI>Ea&s;t;</HI> And according to the Examples of all the re&s;t of the Vials before it, the fifth mu&s;t be pa&s;t within the&s;e next fourty years; And therefore it cannot be above &s;o many years at farthe&s;t before the end of all the Power of the <HI>Turks.</HI> Now it cannot be conceived, That they &s;hould be in any di&s;po|&s;ition or capacity, within &s;o &s;hort a &s;pace of time, to be a new woe to their neighbour Princes, e&s;pecially when it is con&s;idered, How many Allies mu&s;t be comprehended in the next general Peace with the <HI>Turks,</HI> and how much it will be the intere&s;t of them all to join again&s;t any Violation of it.</P>
<P>Tho the <HI>Turks</HI> &s;hould continue a di&s;tinct People and Kingdom till that time, for fourty years longer; yet according to the Example of the fir&s;t woe, That would not qualifie them to be &s;till accounted the continuance of the &s;econd woe; for the time of the fir&s;t woe was pa&s;t before the loo&s;ing of the four Angels, or the Reign of <HI>Ottoman,</HI> that is, when the <HI>Saracens</HI> cea&s;ed to be a Vexation to the <HI>Roman</HI> Empire, which was long before the <HI>Saracen</HI> Empire was de&s;troyed.</P>
<P>Wherefore, &s;ince in all Appearance the &s;econd Woe mu&s;t at farthe&s;t be pa&s;&s;ed away upon the next general Peace with the <HI>Turks;</HI> And &s;ince either a general Peace or their la&s;t Ruine cannot be far of, the third Woe mu&s;t begin very &s;hortly; And therefore mu&s;t the fifth Vial al|&s;o, which is now near at hand, <HI>(Con&s;eq.</HI> 4. <HI>Theor.</HI> 51.) be within the time of the third woe.</P></Q>
<P N="5"><PB N="260" REF="135"> 5. The de&s;cription al&s;o of the killing of the Witne&s;&s;es ju&s;t before the third woe, does extreamly well agree with the State of the Prote&s;tant Church at this pre&s;ent, (as has been ob&s;erved, <HI>Chap.</HI> 7.) which makes it very probable, That the third Woe is not farther off this pre&s;ent time than the fifth Vial, who&s;e time is near at hand, <HI>(Con&s;eq.</HI> 4. <HI>Theor.</HI> 51.) And therefore that the Plague of the fifth Vial is in the time of the third woe.</P>
<P>The general Tendency of all Chri&s;tendom at this pre|&s;ent towards a Reformation, does &s;till further confirm our Expectations of the near approach of the third woe; <HI>Molinos</HI> Succe&s;s in almo&s;t all the <HI>Southern</HI> parts of <HI>Europe,</HI> to the alienating their Hearts from many of the Super&s;titions of their Church: And the general di&s;gu&s;t, that the mo&s;t con&s;iderable part of the <HI>Gallicane</HI> Church have again&s;t the offen&s;ive Doctrines of the <HI>Roman</HI> Party, are very plain Te&s;timonies of the general Inclination of that Party to a new Reformation: The plaine&s;t in&s;tance of which, is their new way of defending their Cau&s;e by fal&s;e colours, to make their Religion to be much the &s;ame with that of the Reformed Churches, which has now the Appro|bation of all the Ruling Part of their Church.</P>
<P>NOW if the Plague of the fifth Vial be in the time of the third woe, &s;ince it mu&s;t be the fir&s;t of the&s;e Vials that are contemporary with that woe; it is then appa|rent from <HI>Con&s;eq. Theor.</HI> 60. That,</P>
<Q><HI>The beginning of the Plague of the fifth Vial, is the be|ginning</HI> <MILESTONE N="2" UNIT="Con&s;eq."> <HI>of the third woe.</HI></Q>
<P>AND as the pre&s;ent po&s;ture of the <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Affairs, and the pre&s;ent State of the Prote&s;tant Churches all over <HI>Europe,</HI> do much confirm the fifth Vial to be the begin|ning of the third woe; &s;o do the other parts of the proof of that Propo&s;ition much more &s;trongly prove, That,</P>
<Q><HI>The final end of the</HI> Turki&s;h <HI>Ho&s;tilities as the &s;econd woe,</HI> <MILESTONE N="67" UNIT="Theor."> <HI>and much more the time of the Re&s;urrection of the witne&s;&s;es is near at hand.</HI></Q>
<P>For the third woe begins with the Plague of the fifth
<PB N="261" REF="135"> Vial, (Con&s;eq. 2. <HI>Theor.</HI> 66.) and that Plague is near at hand (Con&s;eq. 4. <HI>Theor.</HI> 51.) and therefore mu&s;t the things which are de&s;cribed to come before the third woe be &s;till more near this pre&s;ent Time, The fir&s;t of which is the pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;econd woe, or the final end of all the <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> ho&s;tilities.</P>
<P>Now if the final end of all <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> ho&s;tilities be &s;o near, the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es mu&s;t be ju&s;t at hand. For the advancement of the Reformed Religion, into the Throne of a Kingdom, where the Witne&s;&s;es lay dead, cal|led their <HI>A&s;cen&s;ion</HI> (e&s;pecially &s;ince it is accompanyed with the end of all their Enemies in that Kingdom by the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11. 12, 13.</NOTE> conver&s;ion of it, all which is to happen before the end of the &s;econd woe) mu&s;t in all likelyhood take up almo&s;t all the Time that is now to come before the end of that woe, &s;ince it is determined to be &s;o near at hand. And then the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es, which mu&s;t be before all tho&s;e events mu&s;t be very near this pre&s;ent Time.</P>
<P>This is very much confirmed by the examples of all the Vials that are pa&s;t; The bu&s;ine&s;s of each of them did follow &s;oon after one other. It is true, the Plague of the third Vial did not appear it may be to any purpo&s;e, till twenty years after the end of that of the &s;econd.</P>
<P>But there was enough in the <HI>Hungarian, Au&s;trian,</HI> and <HI>Bohemian</HI> commotions ju&s;t about the end of the &s;econd Vial, to give them the name of the beginning of the third Vial upon the fountains of Waters; And the more con|&s;iderable in&s;urrections in <HI>Bohemia,</HI> and <HI>Hungary</HI> were not long after; And they were both in much the &s;ame place with the <HI>Swedi&s;h</HI> War, and upon much the &s;ame account, for a liberty of Religion.</P>
<P>According to this general example of the re&s;t, The fifth Vial mu&s;t begin within a very few years: And &s;ince the third Woe begins with the fifth Vial, which is now at hand <HI>(Con&s;eq.</HI> 4. <HI>Theor.</HI> 51.) The &s;econd Woe mu&s;t pa&s;s away in a very &s;hort Time.</P>
<P>The pre&s;ent State of the <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Affairs will not in all appearance allow any long delay for the accompli&s;hing of this; That Government &s;eems to be uncapable of &s;ub|&s;i&s;ting
<PB N="262" REF="136"> &s;o long without a peace. Their late pillages of <HI>Con|&s;tantinople,</HI> and the impoveri&s;hing of the richer &s;ort among them, which was the only thing they could have recour&s;e to in a Time of need, has di&s;abled all the great Men to relieve them on any emergent occa&s;ion; And the publick reve|nue was &s;o much fallen before, and their trea&s;ury &s;o whol|ly exhau&s;ted, that there is no appearance of any way for them to rai&s;e a fund for the further continuance of the War, again&s;t &s;uch Victorious Enemies, as are now enga|ged by intere&s;t to continue their Conque&s;ts upon them. Now the next general Peace with their Enemies, if they have any, mu&s;t, as has been ob&s;erved (CHAP. 9.) be the la&s;t end of their ho&s;tilities: But &s;ince the&s;e things were wrot, there has been an apparent beginning of the Peace. And if the &s;econd Woe mu&s;t &s;o nece&s;&s;arily be at an end within that compa&s;s of years, then certainly by the day month and year of the continuance of the &s;econd Woe, chap. 9. 15. mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily be meant above 390 years, &s;ince it will be ju&s;t about that number of years from the letting loo&s;e of the <HI>Turks,</HI> from their confinement about <HI>Euphrates</HI> to the forementioned Time: which is another <MILESTONE N="1"> confirmation that the end of the &s;econd Woe is near at hand. And yet before the end of the &s;econd Woe, there mu&s;t be the conver&s;ion of an whole Kingdom of the <HI>Ro|man</HI> Party (Con&s;eq. 2. <HI>Theor.</HI> 21.) which cannot be ima|gined to require le&s;s then the time, that remains to con|clude the <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Peace; E&s;pecially when it appears, that all the Neighbouring Kingdoms of that Party are repre|&s;ented to be &s;till <HI>impenitent,</HI> and powerful enough to en|courage <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 16. 9.</NOTE> their friends again&s;t &s;uch an Apo&s;tacy; And that it cannot be thought that the Witne&s;&s;es ju&s;t ri&s;en with an abhorrence of the cruelties that they had &s;uffered &s;hould carry on &s;uch a conver&s;ion by Force and Violence, after that all tho&s;e that openly oppo&s;ed them are de&s;troyed, or at lea&s;t di&s;abled from doing any hurt, as it is here re|pre&s;ented. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11. 13.</NOTE> The conviction of the con&s;ciences of an whole Kingdom, while many other Kingdoms of that Party do at the &s;ame time continue their impenitence, mu&s;t in all rea&s;on require at lea&s;t &s;o &s;hort a time to accompli&s;h it in.</P>
<PB N="263" REF="136">
<P> The Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es then which is to be before all the&s;e things, cannot be judged to be a years di&s;tance from this pre&s;ent time at the farthe&s;t, and then this pre&s;ent time mu&s;t be the time of the death of the Witne&s;&s;es. For otherwi&s;e there would be three years and an half &s;till to come before their Re&s;urrection, where|as the end of the &s;econd Woe &s;eems not likely to allow time for it. From hence does appear how unlikely it is that the la&s;t great Per&s;ecution of the Church &s;hould be yet to come.</P>
<P>BUT if this pre&s;ent be the Time of the death of the Witne&s;&s;es, there is no Per&s;ecution con&s;iderable enough to be made the date of it, that is, of the la&s;t &s;uppre&s;&s;ion of the whole reformed Church, &s;ince the time of that which began with the Revocation of the Edict of <HI>Nants</HI> in <HI>France Octob.</HI> 1685. From which Time therefore the date of the three years and an half of the death of the Witne&s;&s;es, may very rea&s;onably be apprehended to begin, And their Re&s;urrection may upon the &s;ame account be expected before the middle of this year. But e&s;pecially when this con&s;ideration is joyned with all the re&s;t that have been mentioned before.</P>
<P>Indeed if the length of the years, that are comprehend|ed in the day, month, and year of the &s;econd woe be well attended to, and be concluded to follow the exam|ple of the years contained in the time, times, and an half, that is, 360 days to a year, the years of the &s;econd woe mu&s;t end at farthe&s;t in the year 1691, but according to the mo&s;t accurate account of the beginning of <HI>Ottomans</HI> Reign they mu&s;t end before; And before the end of that &s;econd woe the Witne&s;&s;es mu&s;t be ri&s;en again, and be a&s;cended.</P>
<P>It is ea&s;ie now to di&s;cern the rea&s;on, why the A&s;cen&s;ion of the Witne&s;&s;es, and the fall of the tenth Part of the City, and the ruine or conver&s;ion of all that were in it, are no Parts of the third woe, notwith&s;tanding that they are the beginning of the uninterrupted &s;ucce&s;s of the Church again&s;t its Enemies. <NOTE N="&dagger;" PLACE="marg">Theor. 65.</NOTE> For by the nature of the fifth Vial it appears, that the beginning of the third woe is <HI>a general</HI> calamity upon the Kingdom of the Bea&s;t;
<PB N="264" REF="137"> whereas all tho&s;e other events have regard but to <HI>a tenth Part</HI> of his Kingdom.</P>
<P>It is al&s;o ea&s;ie to di&s;cern, why the third woe is &s;aid to <HI>come quickly</HI> after the pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;econd; For the Witne&s;&s;es or <HI>the Church</HI> having recovered it &s;elf from the oppre&s;&s;ions of the Bea&s;t, and triumphed in the con|que&s;t of an whole Kingdom of that Party before the end of the &s;econd woe, The third woe which begins with the uninterrupted &s;ucce&s;s of the Church to the la&s;t end of the Bea&s;t, cannot be far off from &s;uch a glorious be|ginning of the triumph of it.</P>
<P>For <HI>coming quickly</HI> both in its own natural &s;ignification, and in its frequent u&s;e in Scripture does &s;ignifie the &s;ud|den beginning of a thing to appear, not the &s;udden pa&s;|&s;ing of it away, as &s;ome would have it under&s;tood.</P>
<P>And from hence it appears, why the declaration con|cerning the pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;econd woe, is brought <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11. 14.</NOTE> in here alone by it &s;elf, at &s;o great a di&s;tance from the proper place of it at the end of the <HI>9th</HI> chap. to which it refers: It &s;eems to be plainly for no other end, but only, that it might &s;erve, as an eminent event to know the Time of the la&s;t deliverance of the Church from the power of the Bea&s;t by; And upon that account mu&s;t the Time of its <HI>pa&s;&s;ing away</HI> be pre&s;ently after the fir&s;t triumph of the Church after its deliverance at the A&s;cen&s;ion of the Witne&s;&s;es, becau&s;e the general &s;ucce&s;s of the Church <NOTE PLACE="marg">Theor. 59.</NOTE> which is the third woe, mu&s;t begin &s;oon after &s;o fair an advance towards it.</P>
<P>It may now with &s;ome &s;atisfaction be ob&s;erved, that as the whole account of the Death, Re&s;urrection, and A&s;cen&s;ion of the Witne&s;&s;es, is a manife&s;t allu&s;ion to the Death, Re&s;urrection, and A&s;cen&s;ion of Chri&s;t; &s;o al&s;o is the Univer&s;al Reign of Chri&s;t over the Kingdoms of this World in the third woe, repre&s;ented to be ju&s;t upon the A&s;cen&s;ion of the Witne&s;&s;es into Heaven, As the King|dom of Chri&s;t is &s;aid to begin at his A&s;cen&s;ion into Hea|ven. And as the whole time of our Lords appearance in his office upon earth was three years and an half, and his &s;tay in the Grave three days and an half, &s;o al&s;o is the whole time of the Witne&s;&s;es Prophecy three years and
<PB N="265" REF="137"> an half, and the time of their death three days and an half.</P>
<P>THUS have we in the third woe fir&s;t the general A|gent, from whence it has its di&s;tinction from the re&s;t of the Trumpets, and that is, <HI>the Intere&s;t of the Church,</HI> as the di&s;tinction of the two other woes is from the Per|&s;ons, that execute them, The <HI>Locu&s;ts,</HI> and the <HI>Hor&s;emen</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 9.</NOTE> <HI>about Euphrates.</HI> Here are al&s;o the divers ways by which this woe is executed, that is, by the three Vials, as we &s;ee in the other two woes the different manner of their vexations, of the <HI>Ea&s;tern</HI> fir&s;t, and then of the <HI>We&s;tern</HI> Em|pire, under the Schemes of <HI>five months</HI> twice mentioned <NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 5, 10.</NOTE> in the fir&s;t, and the <HI>third part of men, and the re&s;t</HI> in the &s;econd. It might be hereupon demanded, why the re&s;t of the Vials &s;hould not upon the &s;ame account have their place al&s;o in the third Woe; For they appear to be all Plagues upon the Bea&s;t to bring him to his ruin, and to advance the power of the true Church; And there is no appearance of any &s;uch thing any where el&s;e in the <HI>11th</HI> chap. before the third Woe. For the Bea&s;t is &s;et out in the highe&s;t flu&s;h of his power, till ju&s;t almo&s;t be|fore the &s;ounding of the &s;eventh Trumpet.</P>
<P>But all that fair &s;how of the Bea&s;t before the &s;eventh Trumpet, is expre&s;ly &s;aid to regard nothing but the la&s;t i&s;&s;ue of the la&s;t War of the Bea&s;t again&s;t the Witne&s;&s;es, or the overcoming them, and the killing them; And that <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> is but a very incon&s;iderable part of the latter times of the Bea&s;t. But if we ca&s;t our eyes upon the fortunes of the Bea&s;t ever &s;ince the Reformation, it mu&s;t be acknow|ledged, that there has been other &s;ignal humiliations of his power, and &s;o exactly an&s;werable to the characters of the fir&s;t Vials, that as they mu&s;t have been <HI>&s;omewhere</HI> &s;ignified among&s;t the judgments upon the Bea&s;t, and are <HI>no where el&s;e</HI> found to be intimated, &s;o is there all rea&s;on to fix them upon tho&s;e Vials.</P>
<P>And tho' there be no mention of any &s;uch mortifica|tions of the Party of the Bea&s;t, in the 11th chap. be|fore the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es; and the third Woe, yet is there a manife&s;t intimation in the 10th chap. of at lea&s;t the beginning of &s;ome terrible judgments up|on
<PB N="266" REF="138"> them, &s;ome while before that time. For after it had been &s;ignified at the end of the 9th chap. that the <HI>Re&s;t</HI> of <NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 20.</NOTE> the <HI>Roman</HI> Empire, who were not de&s;troyed by the <HI>Turks,</HI> but <HI>only tormented,</HI> did <HI>not repent of their Idols of Gold and Silver,</HI> notwith&s;tanding all that they had &s;uffered by that Woe, it follows immediatly upon it in the beginning of the 10th chap. that the <HI>&s;even Thunders</HI> uttered their Voices; which &s;eems to be a manife&s;t intimation of the farther cha&s;ti&s;ement of tho&s;e, who could not be brought to Re|pentance by the former judgments; And tho&s;e mu&s;t ne|ce&s;&s;arily be the Party of the Bea&s;t: Becau&s;e after the de|&s;truction of the <HI>Greek</HI> Empire by the <HI>Turks,</HI> &s;ignified by the &s;laying the third part of Men, about the end of the 9th chap. ju&s;t before, there was no other remainder of the <HI>Roman</HI> Empire, but they, that could be tho&s;e impeni|tent Per&s;ons, much le&s;s, that could be &s;aid to wor&s;hip any Idol of Gold and Silver.</P>
<P>Now the &s;even Thunders are uttered long before the Declaration about the pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;econd Woe <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 10. 4.</NOTE> in the 11th. chap. And therefore mu&s;t the Time of them at lea&s;t begin before the third Woe. And what can the judgments of the &s;even Thunders be imagined to be, but the Plagues of the &s;even Thunders be imagined to be, but the Plagues of the &s;even Vials, &s;ince they are the &s;ame number of Plagues upon the &s;ame Party, and appear ju&s;t about the concluding time of the Trumpets, which does &s;ufficiently qualifie them for the &s;ame name of the &s;even la&s;t Plagues, by which the &s;even Vials are known? There is therefore ground enough from hence to be very confi|dent, that the &s;even Vials mu&s;t begin before the found of the &s;eventh Trumpet, or before the third Woe.</P>
<P>As for the particular time of their beginning, it appears from the 15th chap. That the Vials do begin upon &s;ome eminent <HI>Victory over the Bea&s;t, and over his Image, and over</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 2.</NOTE> <HI>his Mark, and over the number of his Name.</HI> A victory o|ver the Image of the Bea&s;t, and the number of his name, that is, over the <HI>Church-power</HI> of the <HI>Roman</HI> Party, and the <HI>name of a Roman-Catholick</HI> can &s;ignifie nothing but the <NOTE PLACE="marg">PART I. Chap. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="2 letters">.</NOTE> free and undi&s;turbed profe&s;&s;ion of the true Religion, re|formed from the <HI>Roman</HI> Impo&s;itions.</P>
<P>And by the place of the &s;even Thunders in the tenth
<PB N="267" REF="138"> chap. which appears now to be the &s;ame with the &s;even Vials, this Victory or Freedom from the Yoke of the <HI>Roman</HI> Church, mu&s;t be before the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es, and the pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;econd Woe. So that it mu&s;t then be, the fir&s;t beginning of &s;uch a new Reformation, and of the undi&s;turbed profe&s;&s;ion of it, as mu&s;t happen before the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Theor. 33.</NOTE> who are el&s;ewhere determined not yet to be ri&s;en again; And what remarkable time can that be, but the beginning of the Prote&s;tant Reformation?</P>
<P>For the victory over the Image of the Bea&s;t, which de|notes this freedom of Religion, mu&s;t be under&s;tood in that indefinite &s;en&s;e in which it is expre&s;&s;ed in the Text, and &s;o to comprehend in it all the Parts of the Refor|mation; And it being al&s;o de&s;cribed as a Victory <HI>newly</HI> obtained, and a deliverance from oppre&s;&s;ion <HI>ju&s;t newly</HI> ap|pearing, it mu&s;t then &s;ignifie the fir&s;t beginning of a ge|neral Reformation before the time of the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es; And therefore to no other point can this Victory be rea&s;onably fixed, but to the fir&s;t beginnings of the <HI>Lutheran</HI> Reformation. The Vials then mu&s;t be|gin &s;oon after that Time, and be fitted to tho&s;e events, which do mo&s;t remarkably an&s;wer the characters of them in that <HI>&s;eries,</HI> in which they follow one another; And the knowledg that is already had of the time of the three la&s;t Vials will confine the four fir&s;t to tho&s;e events, which do the mo&s;t exactly &s;uit them &s;ince the beginning of the Reformation.</P>
<P>Again, &s;ince the &s;even Thunders are a further cha&s;ti&s;e|ment of the Party of the Bea&s;t, for their impenitency under the evils of the &s;econd Woe, or the <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Ho&s;ti|lities, the Vials may very well be &s;uppo&s;ed to begin pre|&s;ently after the inva&s;ion of the Imperial Countries by <HI>So|lyman</HI> the Magnificent, and his famous Siege of <HI>Vienna,</HI> the Imperial &s;eat of the Bea&s;t; Which happening ju&s;t at the &s;ame Time, when the <HI>Roman</HI> Party were every where called to repentance by the Preachers of the Reformati|on, and they notwith&s;tanding continuing ob&s;tinate after
<PB N="268" REF="139"> it, was a &s;ufficient ground for new judgments upon them, and for tho&s;e mortifications which they received by the &s;uc|ce&s;s of the Reformation.</P>
<P>It is indeed pretended, that from this very account of <MILESTONE UNIT="Objection."> the &s;even Thunders in the tenth chap. it appears, that the Vials, which are the &s;ame with them, mu&s;t begin with the third Woe, becau&s;e immediatly after the uttering of the &s;even Thunders, and the command to &s;eal them up, the Angel there is &s;aid to <HI>&s;wear,</HI> that the <HI>Time of them</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 6, 7.</NOTE> <HI>&s;hould not be yet,</HI> (as it is in the Original,) <HI>But that in the days of the &s;eventh Angel,</HI> (which is the time of the third woe) <HI>the my&s;tery of God &s;hould be fini&s;hed.</HI></P>
<P>But it is manife&s;t from all the de&s;cription of that An|gel, which is made up of &s;everal very &s;trange, and pe|culiar circum&s;tances (the very &s;ame with that of the An|gel in the 12th chap. of <HI>Daniel.</HI> 7. 5.) That the &s;olemn a&s;|&s;everation, that he here makes is the &s;ame with tho&s;e which he &s;wears &s;o &s;olemnly to in that place of <HI>Daniel,</HI> and that is, to declare, when the &s;even Thunders, and the Times of the Bea&s;t &s;hould <HI>end,</HI> not when tho&s;e la&s;t Plagues upon the Bea&s;t &s;hould <HI>begin.</HI></P>
<P>As for that expre&s;&s;ion in the Original <GAP DESC="foreign">, as if that &s;hould &s;ignifie, that the Time of the Trum|pets <NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 6.</NOTE> &s;hould not be yet, or not before the &s;eventh Trumpet: It is known that the general &s;ignification of <GAP DESC="foreign"> is a &s;pace of Time taken Indefinitely, and that the word, that is every where u&s;ed in the <HI>N. T.</HI> to &s;ignifie the time or <HI>&s;ea&s;on</HI> of a thing is <GAP DESC="foreign">; And tho' <GAP DESC="foreign"> might be pretended in &s;ome rare u&s;e of it to &s;ignifie the <HI>particu|lar</HI> Time of a thing, yet it has then mo&s;t certainly the Article before it; And never will it be found that <GAP DESC="foreign"> without an Article does &s;ignifie any definite particu|lar time. And therefore cannot it here &s;ignifie the par|ticular time, or &s;ea&s;on of the &s;even Vials.</P>
<P>The proper &s;ignification therefore of that expre&s;&s;ion, <GAP DESC="foreign">, is either, that there &s;hould be no lon|ger delay of tho&s;e la&s;t Judgments of the Thunders, which &s;hould put an end to the Times of the Bea&s;t; But that they &s;hould all be fini&s;hed under the &s;eventh Trumpet; Which would both determine the time, when the Judg|ments
<PB N="269" REF="139"> of the Thunders &s;hould <HI>begin,</HI> that is, immediat|ly after the impenitency of the <HI>Romani&s;ts,</HI> under &s;ome great mortifications of them by the &s;econd Woe, and would al&s;o fix the point beyond which the <HI>la&s;t fini&s;hing</HI> of them &s;hould not be delayed, which is &s;ignified to be the Time of the &s;eventh Trumpet; Or el&s;e it mu&s;t &s;ig|nifie that after the &s;even Thunders, there &s;hould be no longer Time of any <HI>Roman</HI> Rule, which is the Object of all the Trumpets, but that in the days of the &s;eventh Trumpet (after the la&s;t Thunder) All the Prophecy con|cerning the <HI>Roman</HI> Empire &s;hould be fulfilled. For <GAP DESC="foreign"> without an Article mu&s;t &s;ignifie length of Time in|definitely or in general; And thus does the proper im|port of <GAP DESC="foreign">, &s;till further prove the be|ginning of the &s;even Vials to be before the &s;eventh Trum|pet or la&s;t Woe.</P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="18" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="270" REF="140">
<HEAD>CHAP. XVIII.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>The exact Agreement of the Order of Things in the 9th. 10th. and 11th. Chapters of the</HI> Revelations, <HI>with that of the Schemes in the 14th. Chapter. The Vials contemporary with them both. The four fir&s;t Vials evinced to be before the third Woe. The</HI> coming quickly <HI>of the third Woe explained. The la&s;t end of the</HI> Turki&s;h <HI>Wars, and the Re&s;ur|rection of the Witne&s;&s;es further proved to be ju&s;t at hand; As al&s;o that the three la&s;t Vials are con|tained in the third Woe. Why tho&s;e three make but one Woe. An Objection that the third Woe mu&s;t contain all the Vials, An&s;wered. Another Rea&s;on why the third Woe is &s;aid to</HI> come quickly. <HI>VVhy the &s;even Vials cannot come after all the &s;even Trumpets. VVhy nothing of the great Per&s;ecution in the &s;even Vials. The Rea&s;on of the name of the &s;even</HI> la&s;t <HI>Plagues given to the Vials.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>OF all the Interpretations that have been made in this part, there is none that &s;eems to be more near the certainty and clearne&s;s of a moral Demon&s;tration, than the conclu&s;ions which have been ju&s;t before drawn from the Order of things in the fourteenth Chapter.</P>
<P>And by the u&s;e that has been made of tho&s;e Deducti|ons from the <HI>14th.</HI> Chapter, it may with a great deal of &s;atisfaction be ob&s;erved, How exactly an&s;werable the whole proce&s;s of that Chapter is to the Series of Events, that are de&s;cribed from the end of the <HI>9th.</HI> Chapter, to the end of the la&s;t woe in the <HI>11th.</HI> Chapter.</P>
<P>The time of the 144000, who are &s;ealed to e&s;cape the Calamities of the Trumpets, &s;eems plainly to be at an end, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 7.</NOTE> after the chief Heat of the &s;ixth Trumpet, at the la&s;t Ver&s;e
<PB N="271" REF="140"> of the <HI>9th.</HI> Chapter. They could <HI>not</HI> be &s;ealed to be &s;e|cured again&s;t the Evils of the &s;eventh Trumpet; For the Evils of the &s;eventh Trumpet is the power of the true <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11. 15. and Rev. 14. 6. Theor. 58.</NOTE> Church it &s;elf, or of the 144000 them&s;elves, increa&s;ed into a numberle&s;s number of all Nations, and advancing by degrees upon the Ruines of the remaining part of the <HI>Roman</HI> Empire, after the de&s;truction of the <HI>Ea&s;tern</HI> Em|pire; And therefore could not the 144000 be &s;ealed to e&s;cape the Evils of the la&s;t Trumpet.</P>
<P>The end of that number of the 144000, &s;eems then to be at the impenitency of the <HI>Romani&s;ts,</HI> after the Inva&s;ions of <HI>Germany</HI> by the <HI>Turks,</HI> and the Siege of <HI>Vienna</HI> by <HI>So|lyman</HI> the Magnificent, ju&s;t at the beginning of the Refor|mation, when all <HI>Europe</HI> began to come into the Church, and &s;o turned the 144000 into the innumerable multitude, <HI>Chap.</HI> 14. 6. Or ju&s;t before the uttering of the &s;even Thun|ders, immediately after the end of the <HI>9th.</HI> Chapter, <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 10. 4.</NOTE> which are found by the &s;even Vials to begin with the Reformation. For tho the 144000 are repre&s;ented as the oppo&s;ite Party to that of the Bea&s;t, and &s;o &s;eem to be made contemporary with the Bea&s;t to his la&s;t end, yet &s;ince it is certain, That the 144000 were &s;ealed long before the Reign of the Bea&s;t, which was not till after the fir&s;t Trumpets, (CHAP. I IV. Second Part.) Their time may be as well at an end before the end of the Reign of the Bea&s;t, according as it is here repre&s;ented to be.</P>
<P>Thus al&s;o is the time of the 144000 in the <HI>14th.</HI> Chap|ter, repre&s;ented to be pa&s;t ju&s;t before the <HI>preaching of the</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 14. 6. Theor. 42.</NOTE> <HI>Go&s;pel to all Tongues and Nations,</HI> which is now found to be the fir&s;t Times of the Reformation. They are &s;aid to be the Fir&s;t-fruits to God and to the Lamb, and to be <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;. 3, 4.</NOTE> redeemed from the Earth, in di&s;tinction to the great Bo|dy of the Church of all Tongues and Nations, who are de&s;cribed to follow immediately after them, according to the known di&s;tinction of the <HI>Fir&s;t-fruits</HI> from the <HI>re&s;t</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 14</NOTE> <HI>of the Heap</HI> in the Jewi&s;h Law, and of the <HI>Fir&s;t-Born</HI> from the re&s;t of the numerous Family, who were to be <HI>redeem|ed</HI> by &s;omething el&s;e in lieu of them, and not to be &s;a|crificed. And &s;o their being &s;aid here to have been <HI>re|deemed,</HI> does confine the Signification of the <HI>Fir&s;t-fruits</HI> to
<PB N="272" REF="141"> their proper Notion, as things di&s;tinct from and before the re&s;t that follow, according as the u&s;e of this &s;ame term of <HI>Fir&s;t fruits</HI> is found to be in the New Te&s;ta|ment it &s;elf, as <HI>Rom.</HI> 16. 5. 1 <HI>Cor.</HI> 16. 15.</P>
<P>By this then it is here &s;ignified, That the time of the 144000 was pa&s;t at the preaching of the Go&s;pel to all People and Nations, or at the beginning of the Refor|mation, ju&s;t as their time is found to end after the fury of the &s;ixth Trumpet, or with the beginning of the &s;even Thunders in the <HI>10th.</HI> Chapter. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Pag. 271.</NOTE></P>
<P>The fir&s;t uttering of the &s;even Thunders, as the time that they begin at, is before the War, and the overcom|ing and killing of the Witne&s;&s;es, in the <HI>10th.</HI> and <HI>11th.</HI> Chapters.</P>
<P>So al&s;o is the Hour of Gods Judgments, which is of the &s;ame import, de&s;cribed to be before the great Per&s;e|cution, in the <HI>14th.</HI> Chap. ver&s;. 7, and 12.</P>
<P>The War and Succe&s;s of the Bea&s;t again&s;t the Witne&s;&s;es in the <HI>11th.</HI> Chapter, is de&s;cribed to be betwixt the be|ginning of the &s;even Thunders at the Reformation, and the end of the &s;econd Woe, and immediately before the &s;econd Woe.</P>
<P>And &s;o is the great Per&s;ecution in the <HI>14th.</HI> Chap|ter, betwixt the Fall of <HI>Babylon</HI> at the Reformation, and the Harve&s;t and Vintage, which are known to be the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Theor 38, and 41.</NOTE> &s;ame with the third Woe. And in both of tho&s;e Chap|ters, is that Per&s;ecution de&s;cribed to be the fierce&s;t Storm that ever fell upon the Church, during the whole time of the Reign of the Bea&s;t. In the <HI>11th.</HI> Chapter, it is expre&s;&s;ed by the terms of overcoming and killing the two Witne&s;&s;es, in di&s;tinction to all the other Humiliati|ons of the Church over the Bea&s;t, which are repre&s;ent|ed only by their being in Sackcloth; And in the <HI>14th.</HI> Chapter, it is &s;et out by words of &s;pecial remark, for the &s;ame purpo&s;e; As, <HI>Here is the patience of the Saints:</HI> As if the patience and con&s;tancy of the Saints and Martyrs un|der all other Tryals and Sufferings in the time of the Bea&s;t, were nothing to be compared with this.</P>
<P>And then the work of the Harve&s;t being performed <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 14. 14.</NOTE> by one like the Son of Man, and the Wine-pre&s;s after
<PB N="273" REF="141"> the Vintage being trodden by one who&s;e name was the <HI>Word,</HI> does &s;hew, That they are both parts of Gods la&s;t <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 19. 13, 15.</NOTE> Vengeance executed upon the Bea&s;t by the intere&s;t of Chri&s;t and his Church, ju&s;t as the third Woe in the <HI>11th.</HI> Chapter, is known to be nothing but the Victories of the Chri&s;tian Church over the Bea&s;t.</P>
<P>The Hi&s;tory of the &s;even Vials, has been already found to be contemporary with the whole time of the&s;e two agreeing parts of the Prophecy, and mu&s;t therefore ne|ce&s;&s;arily receive a great Light from them for the deter|mination of the particular place of every Vial, as well as it &s;elf illu&s;trate the Order of the Things that are deli|vered in tho&s;e other Chapters.</P>
<P>And by comparing all the&s;e three Accounts together, it appears fir&s;t, That as the time of the Vials has been found to begin with the Reformation, &s;o the Victory o|ver the Bea&s;t and his Image, ju&s;t before the Vials, <HI>Chap.</HI> 15. mu&s;t be the &s;ame with the liberty of Preaching the Go&s;|pel to all People and Nations, <HI>Chap.</HI> 14. 6.</P>
<P>And then it having been before proved, That the three la&s;t Vials are confined to the la&s;t Woe in the &s;eventh Trumpet, And al&s;o that the beginning of the whole number of them is at the Reformation, That gives very good ground to conclude, That the place of the four fir&s;t Vials mu&s;t be betwixt the beginning of the Refor|mation and the la&s;t Trumpet.</P>
<P>For if but one of tho&s;e four &s;hould be made to belong to the la&s;t Trumpet, there would then be no proportion betwixt the time of the la&s;t four of the Vials and the fir&s;t three. Since the time of the end of all the Vials mu&s;t be the de&s;truction of the Bea&s;t, which is determined to about the year 1800, <HI>(Suppo&s;.</HI> 3.) there will be near 300 years betwixt the fir&s;t Vial and the la&s;t; And then the la&s;t Woe in the &s;eventh Trumpet, being known not to be yet come, there remains but about an 100 years for the con|tinuance of it.</P>
<P>Wherefore if there &s;hould be four Vials in the la&s;t Woe, and but three before it, there would be no manner of proportion betwixt the time of the three fir&s;t and of the four la&s;t. The three fir&s;t would have taken up near
<PB N="274" REF="142"> 200 years, and the four la&s;t would not have above 100 years for their continuance; And &s;o the three fir&s;t, which are not half the number, would have continued near twice as long as the four la&s;t, which are more than half the number; which cannot be imagined of them, &s;ince there appears no mark of di&s;tinction betwixt them in the Text. For we have very good grounds to conclude from the mark of di&s;tinction, that is &s;et upon the <HI>three la&s;t</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 8. 14.</NOTE> <HI>Woes,</HI> to &s;ignifie the great di&s;proportion of their continu|ance in compari&s;on with the four fir&s;t, And from the five <HI>Months</HI> allotted to the fir&s;t Woe, to di&s;tingui&s;h it from the much longer continuance of the &s;econd VVoe, That if there were any &s;uch great difference betwixt the time of the fir&s;t and la&s;t Vials, it would have been &s;ome ways hinted in the account of them.</P>
<P>If it be here objected, that there is no &s;uch di&s;tinction of the third woe from the two former, which yet is not to continue a quarter of the time that is given to the &s;econd woe, it is to be con&s;idered, That the la&s;t woe is the end of all the bu&s;ine&s;s of the Prophecy, and &s;o was the eternal Triumph of the Church over the Bea&s;t.</P>
<P>As for that which may be pretended from what is &s;aid of the la&s;t woe, which is the &s;ame with the latter Vials, That it &s;hould <HI>come quickly</HI> after the &s;econd woe, as if that might be interpreted of the &s;hort time of every par|ticular Vial contained in the third woe, in compari&s;on with tho&s;e before them. It is to be con&s;idered, That it is the la&s;t woe only in general, that is &s;aid to <HI>come quick|ly,</HI> and not the parts of the la&s;t woe in re&s;pect of one another, of which kind the Vials of the la&s;t woe are &s;up|po&s;ed to be; And that Expre&s;&s;ion can then at be&s;t &s;ignifie no more, than that the la&s;t woe &s;hould <HI>come quickly,</HI> in di&s;tinction to the other woes before it; And let the la&s;t woe be as &s;hort as it will in compari&s;on with tho&s;e be|fore it, yet that would give no Authority to place any more of the Vials in it, than would hold proportion to the time of the re&s;t of the Vials that went before them.</P>
<P>But it has be&s;ides been &s;hewn, (CHAP. 17.) That the la&s;t wee is &s;aid to <HI>come quickly,</HI> becau&s;e it was to begin
<PB N="275" REF="142"> very &s;hortly after the end of the &s;econd woe; As to <HI>come quickly</HI> after another does naturally and u&s;ually &s;ignify in Scripture, and not becau&s;e it was very &s;hortly to be fulfilled.</P>
<P>VVherefore to keep any tolerable proportion betwixt the di&s;tant Periods of the fir&s;t and latter Vials, the three la&s;t of them mu&s;t take up the whole time of the la&s;t woe; And &s;o there will be an equal proportion betwixt the time of the four fir&s;t Vials (which will take up a|bove 160 years,) and the time of the three la&s;t, which will not have above 100 years to perform their work in.</P>
<P>From hence it may next be concluded, That the Re|&s;urrection of the witne&s;&s;es and the end of the <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Ho&s;ti|lities is ju&s;t at hand. For the time of the fir&s;t four Vials which begin with the Reformation, is now run out; And there is but ju&s;t room enough left for the three la&s;t Vi|als to have their cour&s;e; And the three la&s;t Vials being <NOTE PLACE="marg">Theor. 66. Con&s;eq. 2.</NOTE> proved to belong to the third Woe, the third Woe mu&s;t therefore be ju&s;t at hand, and &s;o the &s;econd Woe by the &s;ame Rea&s;on, mu&s;t al&s;o be very nigh its end. Now the &s;econd Woe is known to be the <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Ho&s;tilities <HI>(Con&s;.</HI> 2. <HI>Theor.</HI> 19.)</P>
<P>And if the &s;econd Woe be &s;o very near its end, the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es mu&s;t be &s;till nearer; For there &s;eems to be many things to be done, betwixt the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es and the pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;econd Woe. And this is another ground to expect a removal of the Clouds that are at pre&s;ent upon the Reformed Church, and an end of the <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Power with|in very few years, though there &s;hould be little &s;trength apprehended to be in the proof of it, from the <HI>Day, Month,</HI> and <HI>Year,</HI> Rev. 9. 15.</P>
<P>From hence al&s;o we &s;ee the length of the third Woe in the la&s;t Trumpet to be determined to the whole time of the three la&s;t Vials, which in proportion to the re&s;t, cannot take up much le&s;s than 100 years; This does al|&s;o &s;hew, That the la&s;t Trumpet mu&s;t begin to &s;ound within very few years, and bring in a victorious State of the Church, advancing continually without any con&s;ide|rable check, upon the ruines of the Kingdom of the Bea&s;t
<PB N="276" REF="143"> and his Party, till it end in a perfect Triumph over all the Remainders of his Power in the World; And that the chief remarkable Events by which this &s;hall be effected, &s;hall be the Calamities of the three Vials.</P>
<P>If it &s;hould be hereupon enquired, how the <HI>three</HI> la&s;t Vials can be the &s;ame thing with the <HI>one</HI> la&s;t Woe of the &s;eventh Trumpet, there is a very obvious Account of it in that which is made to be the la&s;t Woe, which is the uninterrupted Triumph of the Church over its Enemies, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 58.) Now the three la&s;t Woes have their nature and di&s;tinction from tho&s;e who are the particular Execu|tors of them; And the only Agent in the Woe of the la&s;t Trumpet being the Intere&s;t of the Church or of the re|vived Witne&s;&s;es, it is therefore made but one Trumpet, according to the Examples of the two Woes before it; Which make but two &s;ingle Trumpets, tho each of them contain in them many different Vexations of the &s;everal parts of the <HI>Roman</HI> Empire, which is the Object of them. But the Vials being the &s;everal kinds of Judgments upon the Party of the Bea&s;t from the &s;ame Agents, are there|fore as many as there are different kinds of Humiliation of them by that one and the &s;ame Intere&s;t.</P>
<P>And tho the Plague of the &s;ixth Vial &s;eems to come from another hand than that of the Church, under the Name of the Kings of the <HI>Ea&s;t,</HI> yet before they are de&s;cribed to act again&s;t the Bea&s;t, or to come to the Battel, there is a manife&s;t intimation of a very extraordinary Pre&s;ence of Chri&s;t him&s;elf coming into their Party, and that in &s;uch a manner, as he is &s;ignified in other places to come to inflict &s;ome eminent Judgment.</P>
<P>But it may &s;eem at fir&s;t &s;ight to be &s;omething har&s;h, from the account ju&s;t mentioned, to make but three of the Vials to be the Woe of the la&s;t Trumpet, &s;ince that Woe is here made to be the whole Series of the la&s;t Mortifications of the Bea&s;t by the Church, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 58.) And for that Rea&s;on ought to include in it all the for|mer Vials, which were Mortifications of the Bea&s;t by the &s;ame hand.</P>
<PB N="277" REF="143">
<P> In an&s;wer to this, it is to be con&s;idered.</P>
<P N="1">1. That tho' the la&s;t Trumpet be nothing but the la&s;t Judgments upon the Bea&s;t from the Church, yet it can be but that part of them, which began after the pa&s;&s;ing a|way of the &s;econd Woe, or of the power of the <HI>Turks;</HI> And the &s;econd Woe being certainly known not to be yet pa&s;t, and there having already been &s;everal Judgments up|on the Bea&s;t, &s;ince the Reformation, <HI>contemporary</HI> with the &s;econd Woe, and <HI>yet no parts of</HI> it, the third Woe, or the la&s;t Trumpet, cannot po&s;&s;ibly be thought to have any thing to do with tho&s;e Judgments.</P>
<P N="2">2. Again, there is a manife&s;t rea&s;on in the Text why the four fir&s;t Vials &s;hould be before the la&s;t Trumpet, though they be mo&s;t of them Plagues from the Church, as well as the Woe of that Trumpet; For there is a plain difference betwixt the power of the Church again&s;t the Bea&s;t in the fir&s;t Vials, and the &s;ucce&s;s of it in the three la&s;t. The four fir&s;t Vials have been found to be before the death of the two Witne&s;&s;es <HI>(Theor</HI> 61.) And the &s;ucce&s;s of the Church again&s;t the Bea&s;t before that Time was very variable, and more like the chance of War; It was continually interrupted with the like for|tunes of the Party of the Bea&s;t, and, con&s;idering the la&s;t I&s;&s;ue of this War betwixt them, <HI>viz.</HI> the killing of the two Witne&s;&s;es, the Bea&s;t &s;eemed to have gotten much the advantage of the Church by this War. But the &s;uc|ce&s;s of the Church again&s;t the Bea&s;t in the three la&s;t Vi|als, is repre&s;ented as an uninterrupted triumph over their Enemies in the way to their utter ruine. And thus the Death and Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es put in betwixt the four fir&s;t Vials, and the three la&s;t &s;tands in the Pro|phecy, <HI>like a very Remarkable boundary and partition,</HI> to di|&s;tingui&s;h the bounds and nature of the fir&s;t Vials from the la&s;t. And ju&s;t as betwixt the fourth and the fifth Trumpet, comes in that great recovery of the <HI>Roman</HI> Empire by <HI>Ju&s;tinian,</HI> before the three la&s;t de&s;troying Trum|pets, &s;o here betwixt the fourth and fifth Vial, comes in the killing of the Witne&s;&s;es, as a great recovery of the Bea&s;t before the beginning of the three la&s;t de&s;troying Vials.</P>
<PB N="278" REF="144">
<P> Thus does the fir&s;t beginning of the bu&s;ine&s;s of the third Woe, appear to be ju&s;t like that of the &s;econd; The &s;ame thing, that was the matter of each of them, was acting long before it came to be the particular bu&s;ine&s;s of the Woe. The <HI>Turks</HI> who are the &s;econd Woe were a great Plague to the <HI>Ea&s;tern</HI> Empire near 200 years be|fore the time, that they began the Execution of that Woe, by <HI>&s;laying the third part of Men,</HI> which was not be|gun <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev 9. 15.</NOTE> till about the year 1300. As long as they were held in check by the Cru&s;adoes in the Holy War, and were repre&s;&s;ed by them, they are not made to be any part of the &s;econd <HI>Woe.</HI> So al&s;o are the Plagues upon the Bea&s;t from the Church not accounted any part of the third Woe in the Time of the fir&s;t Vials, whil&s;t they were continually returned again upon the Church; But the fir&s;t date of it, as the third Woe, is from the fir&s;t beginning of &s;uch a Victorious State of the Church, as continued triumphant over its Enemies to their la&s;t ru|ine without any con&s;iderable interruption. And as the beginning of the &s;econd Woe is determined to the Time, that the <HI>Turks</HI> were loo&s;ed from their confinement about <HI>Euphrates,</HI> which had a very great event in Hi&s;tory to make it generally known: &s;o is the beginning of the third Woe &s;ignified to be pre&s;ently after the Death and Re&s;ur|rection of the Witne&s;&s;es, which was to be a State of the Church, that &s;hould alarme all the World to take no|tice of it.</P>
<P>It is now apparent therefore from the Text, why the third Woe mu&s;t of nece&s;&s;ity <HI>come quickly</HI> after the end of the &s;econd, as it is there &s;aid of it; For the Re&s;urrection and A&s;cen&s;ion of the two Witne&s;&s;es, which is ju&s;t before the end of the &s;econd Woe, mu&s;t be &s;uch a new flouri&s;h|ing of the Church, as is made by the Text to be the be|ginning of the third Woe. And it is ea&s;ie to believe, that by the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es the executio|ners of the third woe were ready prepared to do their office, when we &s;ee they had already begun a part of it, at the fall of the <HI>tenth part of the City,</HI> ju&s;t before the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11. 13, 1</NOTE> pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;econd <HI>Woe.</HI></P>
<PB N="279" REF="144">
<P> The third woe therefore mu&s;t needs <HI>come quickly</HI> after the &s;econd, becau&s;e it began to appear ju&s;t before the end of the &s;econd, whereas the characters of the &s;econd woe <NOTE PLACE="marg">Con&s;eq. 1. Theor. 19. CHAP. III. VIII, &amp; IX.</NOTE> did not appear till about 300 years after the end of the fir&s;t woe, nor the fir&s;t woe till near an 100 years after the end of the Plague of the fourth Trumpet, that went before it.</P>
<P>It mu&s;t be acknowledged, that it would make a much fairer &s;how of concinnity in the Prophecy, if the &s;even Vials were included in the la&s;t woe, or the &s;eventh Trum|pet, as the &s;even Trumpets &s;eem to be included in the &s;eventh Seal; For this would make the&s;e Vi&s;ions &s;eem to have a very orderly dependance upon one another, from the fir&s;t opening of the Scene in the fifth chap. to the end of the Prophecy; whereas now the&s;e Vials &s;eem to interfere confu&s;edly with the Trumpets, four of them are in the Time of the &s;ixth Trumpet, and three of them in the time of the &s;eventh; And I mu&s;t confe&s;s I was &s;o de&s;irous to have the Vials fall all under the la&s;t Trumpet, that I was &s;ometimes thereby bya&s;&s;ed to ap|prehend, that the victory over the Bea&s;t before the Vials in the 15th chap. mu&s;t be the Re&s;urrection and A&s;cen&s;i|on of the Witne&s;&s;es, and then the Vials mu&s;t have all fallen within the &s;eventh Trumpet.</P>
<P>But the Reformation was &s;o remarkable a triumph <MILESTONE N="1"> over the Bea&s;t, and &s;o plainly referred to in the Pro|phecy <MILESTONE N="2"> at the 14th chap. as the beginning of the Judg|ments <NOTE PLACE="marg">Theor. 43.</NOTE> of God upon that Party, that I could not avoid the pitching upon that for the fixed point to date the Vials from; E&s;pecially when I found that there had <MILESTONE N="3"> been events &s;ince that Time, that did exceed the judg|ments of the fir&s;t Trumpets, and are no where account|ed <MILESTONE N="4"> for but in the Vials, that did exactly an&s;wer the cha|racters of the four fir&s;t Vials in the &s;ame Order, that they lye in the Prophecy; And &s;aw no manner of ground from the Text to place them any where el&s;e, but only <MILESTONE N="5"> the Imagined concinnity of the Parts of the Prophecy; For that is not to be valued without good grounds, or where there is any con&s;iderable rea&s;on for a different way.</P>
<PB N="280" REF="145">
<P> And then, it is no wonder, that the Vials &s;hould in|terfere with the two la&s;t Trumpets, becau&s;e at the &s;ame time that the woe of the &s;ixth Trumpet was plying the Bea&s;t on one &s;ide, the Plagues of the fir&s;t four Vials were upon him on the other &s;ide, and &s;o were two &s;orts of Plagues contemporary with one another from &s;everal quarters, and therefore could not be included in one a|nother. If the <HI>Turks</HI> were the &s;ixth Trumpet, it is cer|tain, that the &s;ixth Trumpet could not include tho&s;e eminent Judgments, that have fallen upon the <HI>Romani&s;ts</HI> &s;ince the Reformation, and therefore mu&s;t the&s;e judg|ments be &s;ignified either by &s;o many Vials, or not be &s;ignified at all; Whereas they were far more con&s;ider|able humiliations of that Party, than their vexations from the <HI>Turks</HI> at the &s;ame Time; As that Ocean of blood, that has been &s;hed to the end of the <HI>Swedi&s;h</HI> War, and that to the e&s;tabli&s;hment of the Prote&s;tant Intere&s;t, mu&s;t be acknowledged to have been.</P>
<P>But it may be demanded, why the Hi&s;tory of the &s;even Vials in the 15th and 16th chapters, and which is now found to be contemporary with almo&s;t all the time of the two former agreeing Parts of the Prophecy, (in the 11th and 14th chap.) &s;hould have nothing in it, concerning the great Per&s;ecution before the la&s;t end of the Bea&s;t, which is &s;o di&s;tinctly mentioned in both of the other.</P>
<P>In an&s;wer to this, it is to be con&s;idered that the Pro|phecy of the Vials regards nothing but the account of tho&s;e Vials, and the judgments in them, for which end alone they are &s;et apart by them&s;elves, as &s;ingled out to have them particularly under&s;tood under the name of the &s;even la&s;t Plagues upon the Bea&s;t; And very im|proper had it been to interpo&s;e any di&s;cour&s;e of the &s;uc|ce&s;s of that Party over the Church of God in the mid&s;t of them.</P>
<P>For tho' the great per&s;ecution (chap. 11.) be mention|ed in the account of the Trumpets, which &s;eemed to be as much &s;ingled out to &s;ignifie &s;o many Plagues, as the Vials are, yet there &s;eems to be an evident Rea&s;on for that; and that is, becau&s;e it was nece&s;&s;ary before the la&s;t
<PB N="281" REF="145"> Trumpet, to give &s;ome account of tho&s;e that were to be the Actors in it, which were the Witne&s;&s;es ri&s;en again from the dead: As al&s;o to &s;how the connexion of the Pro|phecy of the Trumpets, with the re&s;t of the Prophecy that follows after it to the end of the Book about the Reign of the Bea&s;t; And no other account is there of the Tyranny of the Bea&s;t among&s;t the Trumpets, but only that Per&s;ecution, To &s;how, that it was brought in as nece&s;&s;ary to &s;erve that end.</P>
<P>Be&s;ides, that Per&s;ecution among&s;t the Trumpets did not check the Plagues of the &s;ixth Trumpet upon the Bea&s;t, where it is placed, but was the &s;ucce&s;s of the Bea&s;t again&s;t quite another Enemy, then tho&s;e in the &s;ixth Trumpet, and &s;o was proper enough to be mentioned, with the account of the Plague, that the Bea&s;t did &s;uffer from that Trumpet, at the &s;ame Time; But it could not be mentioned among&s;t the Vials without confounding the humiliations of the Bea&s;t in the Vials, with his Triumphs in re&s;pect of the &s;ame Enemy, that is, the Party of the true <HI>Church.</HI></P>
<P>It may indeed at the fir&s;t be apprehended, that con&s;i|dering that there is no mention in the Hi&s;tory of the Vials of any of the events that are &s;ignified to come be|fore the la&s;t Trumpet in the 11th chap. That that ve|ry name of the &s;even la&s;t Plagues &s;hould intimate, that the Vials could not begin, till after the &s;ounding of the la&s;t of the Trumpets, which are the &s;even fir&s;t <HI>Plagues.</HI></P>
<P>But it is to be con&s;idered, that the la&s;t Trumpet is, the la&s;t Woe, or la&s;t Plague upon the Bea&s;t; For it brings him to his la&s;t Ruine; And therefore is it im|po&s;&s;ible for the Vials, which are Plagues upon the Bea&s;t, to be after the la&s;t Trumpet. And this does &s;ufficiently &s;atisfie us, that the name of the la&s;t Plagues given to the Vials cannot po&s;&s;ibly &s;ignifie, that they were to come after all the &s;even fir&s;t; And if not <HI>after all</HI> the &s;even fir&s;t, then there is no force in that expre&s;&s;ion to determine the Time of them to any particular <HI>part</HI> of the latter end of them; They may as well be called the la&s;t Plagues, if they fall in the Time of the &s;ixth Trumpet, as well as if they fall in the Time of the &s;eventh, if they be dif|ferent
<PB N="282" REF="146"> evils from that of the &s;ixth Trumpet; E&s;pecially when it is found that to make them contemporaries with the la&s;t Trumpet, they mu&s;t be a part of the bu&s;ine&s;s of it <HI>(Theor.</HI> 59.) And therefore cannot po&s;&s;ibly have the name of the la&s;t Plagues for coming after that Trumpet, with which they are contemporary.</P>
<P>There mu&s;t therefore be &s;ome other rea&s;on for their name of the &s;even la&s;t Plagues, then their coming after all the &s;even Trumpets; And from the con&s;ideration of the nature and order of the Trumpets it is evident e|nough, that there is a great di&s;tinction betwixt the Judg|ments of God in the Trumpets according to the &s;everal Parts of the <HI>Roman</HI> Empire, which they ruined. Thus the four fir&s;t which did ruine the fir&s;t <HI>We&s;tern</HI> Empire, are manife&s;tly di&s;tingui&s;hed from the three la&s;t, the two fir&s;t of which did next bring the <HI>Ea&s;tern</HI> Empire to its ruine, and the la&s;t the new <HI>We&s;tern</HI> Empire re&s;tored, with the Church Rule of it.</P>
<P>The &s;even Vials therefore are very properly called the &s;even la&s;t Plagues, becau&s;e they fall upon the la&s;t re|maining Part of the <HI>Roman</HI> Empire in the <HI>We&s;t,</HI> or the Juri&s;diction of the Bea&s;t; Which becau&s;e it is a Church Rule of a much different nature from tho&s;e civil Juri&s;|dictions of the Empire, that had been de&s;troyed before, and e&s;pecially becau&s;e the fir&s;t beginnings of its decay be|gan before the la&s;t end of the &s;ixth Trumpet, therefore are the Vials (which give an account of the gradual de|cays of it from its fir&s;t declining &s;tate) very properly called the &s;even la&s;t Plagues, as tho&s;e which brought the la&s;t remainder of the power of <HI>Rome</HI> to its final ruine; And as the civil &s;tate of the Empire, had &s;even Plagues allotted to the ruine of it by the Trumpets, &s;o was it but &s;uitable that the Church power of it, which makes almo&s;t all the figure of the Bea&s;t, &s;hould have the &s;ame number of Judgments to bring it to its la&s;t End by the Vials.</P>
<P>Thus may we find all the objections again&s;t dating the Vials from the beginning of the Reformation fully an|&s;wered; As 1. That of the great concinnity of placing the &s;even Vials under the &s;eventh Trumpet, as the &s;even
<PB N="283" REF="146"> Trumpets are in the &s;eventh Seal. 2. That again&s;t divi|ding <NOTE PLACE="marg">pag. 280.</NOTE> the Vials betwixt the Time of the &s;ixth and &s;eventh Trumpet, 3. That of the agreement of the name, and <NOTE PLACE="marg">pag. 279. pag. 278.</NOTE> nature of the &s;even Vials, with tho&s;e of the la&s;t woe. 4. That of the incon&s;i&s;tency of the Vials, as Plagues up|on the Bea&s;t, in the time of the flouri&s;hing State of the Bea&s;t, and the mi&s;eries of the Church at the Death of the Witne&s;&s;es. <NOTE PLACE="marg">pag. 273.</NOTE> <NOTE PLACE="marg">RIbera on v. 3. c. 1. <HI>Apocal.</HI> Things which mu&s;t &s;hortly come to pa&s;s. How &s;hortly, when mo&s;t of the things in the <HI>Apocolyp&s;e</HI> were not to be fulfilled, till about the end of the World? This we may &s;ay, that which is begun is now done. The common way of &s;peaking confirms this, and the u&s;age of Scripture.</NOTE></P>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="19" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="284" REF="147">
<HEAD>CHAP. XIX.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P><HI>Conjectures about the particular applications of the Har|ve&s;t, and Vintage Chap.</HI> 14. <HI>The Vintage cannot contain in it all the &s;even Vials. The</HI> Millennium <HI>to be upon the Earth: But after the conflagration of this Earth. Many Countries inhabited after the beginning of the Confla|gration from</HI> Dan. 7. 12. <HI>A middle State of the Church betwixt the end of Antichri&s;t, and the</HI> Millennium <HI>during the Conflagration.</HI></P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>FRom the Knowledge that is now had of the third Woe, and of its Parts, the three la&s;t Vials, It may be concluded, that the <HI>Harve&s;t and Vintage</HI> are nothing <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 14. 15, 18. Jerem. 51. 33, 34. with La|ment. 1. 15.</NOTE> but the work of the la&s;t Woe. <HI>a</HI> For according to the u&s;e of tho&s;e expre&s;&s;ions among&s;t the Prophets for the judgments of God upon a Nation, they mu&s;t here &s;ig|nifie the final judgments of God upon the <HI>Roman</HI> Church in the la&s;t ruine of it. And &s;ince they are both known to be after the time of the Re&s;urrection of the Wit|ne&s;&s;es (by <HI>Theor.</HI> 38, and 41.) what can they be but the work of the la&s;t Woe?</P>
<P>But yet it mu&s;t be acknowledged, that the Harve&s;t and Vintage are repre&s;ented, as two di&s;tinct Parts of the la&s;t de&s;truction of the <HI>Roman</HI> Party by the two di&s;tinct Angels, which had the charge of them; And by that, the Harve&s;t and Vintage &s;eem to denote two very &s;ignal <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 14. 15, 18.</NOTE> Judgments immediatly con&s;equent upon one another to the la&s;t de&s;truction of that Intere&s;t.</P>
<P>And then, the intimation of two remarkable comings of Chri&s;t to Judgment at the end of the &s;ixth and &s;eventh <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 16. 15, &amp; 19, 11.</NOTE> Vials do thereupon &s;eem to challenge the Application of the Harve&s;t and Vintage to them&s;elves. For the Harve&s;t is de&s;cribed to be performed by one on a cloud like the <HI>Son of Man,</HI> as Chri&s;t is el&s;ewhere de&s;cribed; And the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 14. 14.</NOTE> treading of the Wine-pre&s;s after the Vintage is &s;aid ex|pre&s;ly to be done by him who&s;e name is the word; and <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 19. 15.</NOTE>
<PB N="285" REF="147"> what fairer ground can there be de&s;ired to judge the Har|ve&s;t and Vintage to be the effect of the&s;e two Vials? e&s;|pecially when it is con&s;idered, that the fifth Vial, which only can pretend to have a &s;hare in this, &s;eems evident|ly <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 16. 10.</NOTE> to be no de&s;troying judgment. The Bea&s;t is after that in the &s;ixth Vial repre&s;ented to be in great power with the Kings of the Earth and of the whole World. And <NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 12.</NOTE> therefore does the fifth Vial &s;eem to be uncapable of be|ing a Part of the Harve&s;t, which is always u&s;ed to &s;igni|fie <NOTE PLACE="marg">Jerem. 51. 33. Matth. 13. 39.</NOTE> a de&s;troying Judgment.</P>
<P>This would extreamly well agree with the Harve&s;t and Vintage in the Prophet <HI>Joel,</HI> from whence the u&s;e <NOTE PLACE="marg"><HI>Joel</HI> 3. 13.</NOTE> of that and of the Vintage in this place &s;eems manife&s;t|ly to be fetched; For the Harve&s;t and Vintage are there u&s;ed to &s;ignifie the de&s;truction of the Enemies of Gods Church, in the valley of <HI>Jeho&s;aphat</HI> at the deliverance of his People from them; And the Plague of the &s;ixth Vi|al is ju&s;t the &s;ame thing, in HARMAGEDDON, which &s;ignifies the &s;ame with the periphra&s;is of that in <HI>Joel,</HI> that is, THE VALLEY OF CONCISION. And the Kings of the <HI>Ea&s;t</HI> in the &s;ixth Vial, are generally judged to be the Nation of the <HI>Jews</HI> returning towards their own Land from beyond <HI>Euphrates,</HI> where they are &s;aid to be in very great numbers.</P>
<P>Thus would the Harve&s;t be the Victory of the <HI>Jews</HI> over the <HI>Roman</HI> Party, and the Vintage the triumph of the Gentile Chri&s;tians over them. And it may be ob|&s;erved all over the New Te&s;tament, that the Church of Chri&s;t is repre&s;ented by the&s;e two as the con&s;tituent Parts of it. And thus would the di&s;tance of the end of the &s;ixth <NOTE PLACE="marg">Forty days.</NOTE> Vial from that of the &s;eventh be very properly &s;ignified by the di&s;tance of the Harve&s;t from the Vintage, which is not much above forty days, and would very well an&s;wer the forty years betwixt the ends of tho&s;e two Vials.</P>
<P>But when we &s;ee that the &s;eventh Vial con&s;i&s;ts of <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 16. 17. &amp; ch. 18. 2. ch 19.</NOTE> two di&s;tinct de&s;troying judgments, one upon <HI>Babylon,</HI> and the other upon the Bea&s;t, and that that upon <HI>Ba|bylon</HI> is repre&s;ented to be of general influence upon the <HI>whole</HI> Party, and that all along the 14th chap. before the Harve&s;t and Vintage, <HI>Babylon</HI> and the Bea&s;t are &s;et
<PB N="286" REF="148"> out as the two great di&s;tinct Objects of the Plagues of God, there is ground enough to think, that the Harve&s;t and Vintage may be nothing but the two Parts of the Plague of the &s;eventh Vial upon <HI>Babylon</HI> and the Bea&s;t; And this would very well an&s;wer the nature of the Har|ve&s;t and Vintage, as they are the two parts of the la&s;t continued De&s;truction of the growth of one year.</P>
<P>It may indeed at fir&s;t be imagined, That the la&s;t De|&s;truction of the Power of the Bea&s;t in the Harve&s;t and Vintage, may be the &s;ame with the Plagues of the &s;even Vials; For tho&s;e Plagues do at the beginning of the <HI>15th.</HI> Chapter, immediately follow the mention of the Vintage <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 16. 17.</NOTE> at the end of the <HI>14th.</HI> Chapter, as the <HI>particular</HI> Judgments by which the la&s;t De&s;truction of the Bea&s;t (&s;ignified by the Harve&s;t and Vintage) is executed; ju&s;t as the la&s;t part of this De&s;truction is &s;et forth <HI>in general</HI> in the &s;eventh Vial, and does appear to be afterward executed by the ruine of <HI>Babylon,</HI> and the Bea&s;t <HI>in particular,</HI> in the <HI>18th.</HI> and <HI>19th.</HI> Chapters; And, as the Vengeance for the Blood of the Martyrs promi&s;ed only <HI>in general</HI> in the fifth Seal, is &s;pecified afterwards in particular, in the account of the Plagues of the &s;even Trumpets, (by <HI>Theor.</HI> 13.)</P>
<P>There is this farther ground for &s;uch an apprehen&s;ion; The Wine-pre&s;s is called, (Chap. 14. 19.) <HI>The great Wine-pre&s;s of the Wrath of God.</HI> And Chap. 19. 15. <HI>The Wine-pre&s;s of the fiercene&s;s and wrath of God.</HI> And the &s;eventh Vial which is agreed to be concerned in the Vintage, is &s;aid, Chap. 16. <HI>To be the Cup of the Wine-pre&s;s of the fiercene&s;s of Gods Wrath.</HI> It <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 15. 1, 7.</NOTE> cannot therefore be que&s;tioned, but that the &s;eventh Vial is certainly of the &s;ame nature with the treading the Wine-pre&s;s. Now the re&s;t of the Vials have much the &s;ame Character with that of the &s;eventh. For they are &s;aid to be the <HI>Wrath of God filled up,</HI> and Vials <HI>full of the Wrath of God.</HI></P>
<P>It mu&s;t be acknowledged, That if there were nothing el&s;e again&s;t it, the&s;e concinnities might be li&s;tened to.</P>
<P>But there are &s;everal Con&s;iderations, which &s;hew it to be nece&s;&s;ary for the Vials to begin before the time of the Vintage or Harve&s;t, as particularly that of <HI>Theor.</HI> the <HI>47th.</HI> And the eminent Vexations of the <HI>Roman</HI> Party
<PB N="287" REF="148"> ever &s;ince the Reformation, e&s;pecially that Ocean, and tho&s;e Rivers of Blood, which was &s;hed from the beginning of the <HI>Dutch</HI> Common-wealth to the end of the <HI>Swedi&s;h</HI> War in <HI>Germany,</HI> which were as eminent Plagues to the Party of the Bea&s;t, as the fir&s;t Trumpets were to the <HI>Ro|man</HI> Empire; And which mu&s;t be &s;ignified by either the &s;even fir&s;t or the &s;even la&s;t Plagues: And it is not to be doubted, but that they are no ways &s;ignified by any of the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Theor. 41.</NOTE> Plagues of the Trumpets, which are the &s;even fir&s;t Plagues, and therefore mu&s;t be &s;ignified by the Vials; And then mu&s;t the time of the Vials begin long before the la&s;t de|&s;truction of the Party of the Bea&s;t in the Harve&s;t and Vintage, becau&s;e that time is certainly not yet come; whereas tho&s;e Eminent Judgments &s;ince the Reformation, are long &s;ince pa&s;t.</P>
<P>It may al&s;o be ob&s;erved, That there is no &s;uch exact Agreement betwixt the Character of the Wine-pre&s;s and that of <HI>all</HI> the &s;even Vials. The Wine-pre&s;s is &s;aid to be the Wine-pre&s;s of the fiercene&s;s and wrath of God, and is indeed the &s;ame with the Cup of the Wine of the fiercene&s;s of Gods Wrath mentioned in the &s;eventh Vial. But that Expre&s;&s;ion of the &s;eventh Vial, does plainly di&s;tingui&s;h it from the re&s;t of the Vials, as a very ex|traordinary Expre&s;&s;ion of the wrath of God, far beyond tho&s;e in the re&s;t of them: And therefore does rather di|&s;tingui&s;h the Vintage, (which has al&s;o the &s;ame Expre&s;&s;ion,) as well as it &s;elf, from the re&s;t of the Vials, then prove it to be the &s;ame with them.</P>
<P>The like may be ob&s;erved from the <HI>14th.</HI> Chapter, <HI>v.</HI> 10. where there is almo&s;t the very &s;ame particular Character of the Vintage that has been found in the &s;e|venth Vial; it is called the <HI>drinking of the VVine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the Cup of his Indignation,</HI> which is the &s;ame with the <HI>Cup of the wine of the fiercene&s;s of Gods wrath</HI> in the &s;eventh Vial, and do both of them denote the highe&s;t point of the Fury of Gods VVrath in the la&s;t Act of De&s;truction (which is certain|ly &s;o in the &s;eventh Vial,) and therefore do thereby di&s;tin|gui&s;h the Vintage and the &s;eventh Vial, from all the preceding Expre&s;&s;ions of Gods wrath in the re&s;t of the
<PB N="288" REF="149"> Vials; According as we &s;ee the <HI>drinking of the wine of the wrath of God</HI> in the <HI>14th.</HI> Chap. 10. Quite another thing than the <HI>Hour of Gods Judgments</HI> in the <HI>7th.</HI> Ver&s;e before it; And refers plainly to the Vintage <HI>that was to come,</HI> as the Hour of Gods Judgments does refer to &s;ome Vengeance of God <HI>ju&s;t then begun.</HI> And thus the one of them repre&s;ents the time of the Vials ju&s;t then begun, and the other the la&s;t end of them with the &s;eventh Vial.</P>
<P>It is plain enough (from <HI>Theor.</HI> 36.) That the Hour of Gods Judgments mu&s;t &s;ignifie the beginning of the la&s;t <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 14. 7.</NOTE> Plagues of God upon the <HI>Roman</HI> Party; And &s;ince the fir&s;t of the Vials is al&s;o the fir&s;t of the la&s;t Plagues of God upon the &s;ame Party, it mu&s;t be contemporary with the Hour of Gods Judgments. And then mu&s;t it as certainly <NOTE PLACE="marg">Theor. 39. Ver&s;e 12.</NOTE> be before the Harve&s;t and Vintage, which are after the great Per&s;ecution.</P>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<P>THIS was the farthe&s;t Progre&s;s of my De&s;ign, when I received the late Learned and Ingenious Di&s;cove|ries about the future State of this Earth, from my Ho|noured Friend, The Author of the <HI>New Theory of the Earth.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Dr. <HI>Burnet.</HI></NOTE> I cannot &s;ufficiently expre&s;s the &s;atisfaction I took in the Choice, and very &s;urprizing Entertainment that I there met with; And I think my &s;elf obliged thereupon to communi|cate &s;ome of mine own Reflections in confirmation of what he has there advanced. If I chance to differ from Him in &s;ome &s;mall Matters, I am &s;o well acquainted with the great In|genuity and Freedom of his Spirit, that I think it not worth the while to excu&s;e it.</P>
<P>I do wholly &s;ub&s;cribe to his Opinion about the nece&s;&s;i|ty of the literal Acceptation of the fir&s;t part of the <HI>21&s;t.</HI> Chapter of the <HI>Apocalyp&s;e,</HI> concerning the Re&s;urrecti|on of the Saints: And from thence do acknow|ledge the unque&s;tionable grounds we have for a Ble&s;&s;ed <HI>Mil|lennium</HI> here upon Earth. Ever &s;ince I fir&s;t learnt it from Mr. <HI>Mede,</HI> I have extreamly admired, How it was po&s;&s;ible for it to &s;tand &s;u&s;pected for an Here&s;ie for &s;o many Ages together, and even before the Times of the Degeneracy of the Church, ONLY becau&s;e &s;ome incon&s;iderable Here|ticks had made a &s;en&s;ual Application of it.</P>
<PB N="289" REF="149">
<P> It is certain, That the <HI>Chilia&s;ts</HI> have had very unrea&s;on|able Charges upon them by their Adver&s;aries, from the fir&s;t times of Imperial Orthodoxy; And nothing but &s;uch a kind of Inju&s;tice could have made &s;o fair and mode&s;t a Writer as Mr. <HI>Mede,</HI> break out into &s;uch a Pa&s;&s;ion again&s;t St. <HI>Jerom</HI> upon &s;uch an occa&s;ion, as we find him pag. 898. <HI>Os Hier|onymi!</HI> &s;ays he, and &s;o goes on in expo&s;tulating with him.</P>
<P>For it is now almo&s;t generally agreed, That the mo&s;t Eminent Fathers of the Church for the fir&s;t 300 years, were of that Opinion. The Je&s;uite <HI>Petavius,</HI> and others of his Society and Communion, as well as the mo&s;t Learned of Prote&s;tants, do take it for a thing that cannot be denyed.</P>
<P><HI>Ju&s;tin Martyr</HI> alone is a &s;ufficient Witne&s;s for the &s;en&s;e <NOTE PLACE="marg"><GAP DESC="foreign">, &amp;c. <HI>Ju&s;tin Mart|in dial. cum Tryphone,</HI> pag. 307. <HI>Edit.</HI> Paris.</NOTE> of all the con&s;iderable parts of the Chri&s;tian Church in his Days, which were the neare&s;t the Apo&s;tolick Times of almo&s;t any remainder of Antiquity after them. In his Dialogue with <HI>Trypho</HI> the Jew, He tells him, That he him|&s;elf, and All el&s;e that were then Orthodox Chri&s;tians were of that mind, that is, that there &s;hould be a <HI>Millennium</HI> of the Saints upon Earth.</P>
<P>The evidence that there is for this Opinion from the <HI>21&s;t.</HI> Chapter of the <HI>Apocalyp&s;e,</HI> mu&s;t convince All that will hold to the true Rule of all Interpretation, which is, <HI>Not to leave the literal &s;en&s;e of the words, where there is no clearer grounds for another.</HI></P>
<P>For to make it unque&s;tionable, That the Per&s;ons that were cho&s;en to Reign with Chri&s;t for the &s;pace of a thou|&s;and <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;e <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">. 9</NOTE> years, were to enjoy this Priviledge upon Earth: It is expre&s;ly &s;aid, That their Enemies <HI>God</HI> and <HI>Magog went up upon the breadth of the Earth, and compa&s;&s;ed the Camp of</HI> the&s;e <HI>Saints.</HI></P>
<P>They them&s;elves are al&s;o &s;aid to <HI>live again</HI> after they were beheaded, in di&s;tinction to the <HI>re&s;t of the Dead,</HI> who did not <NOTE PLACE="marg">Vere 4, 5.</NOTE> then <HI>live again;</HI> which &s;hews, That the Life that they en|joyed was a <HI>real Corporeal</HI> Life, and not that in which <HI>All Souls</HI> are &s;aid to live to God after Death.</P>
<P>Therefore al&s;o is it, That this <HI>New Life</HI> is called by the &s;ame Name of a <HI>Re&s;urrection,</HI> that is u&s;ed to &s;ignifie the re|turn <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;e 4, 5.</NOTE> of departed Souls into their Bodies again; And this is called the <HI>Fir&s;t Re&s;urrection</HI> in di&s;tinction to the other,
<PB N="290" REF="150"> which is called the <HI>Second;</HI> Which denotes this living again of the Martyrs in the <HI>Millennium,</HI> to be the &s;ame kind of bo|dily Life that is promi&s;ed at the la&s;t Re&s;urrection.</P>
<P>The further confirmation of this from other Autho|rities is &s;o well performed by the Author of the <HI>Theory,</HI> that it needs no further concern about it of that kind.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t <HI>Epocha</HI> of the <HI>Millennium,</HI> &s;eems to be more difficult to determine, <HI>viz.</HI> Whether it begins before the Conflagration or after? And if after it, Whether only af|ter the fir&s;t Effects of the Conflagration in &s;ome particu|lar parts of the Earth, or after the end of the general Conflagration of the whole Earth.</P>
<P>It &s;eems to be pa&s;t all que&s;tion, That the <HI>Millennium</HI> does not begin before the fir&s;t Appearance of the Conflagra|tion. For both <HI>Babylon</HI> and the Bea&s;t, are repre&s;ented in the <HI>18th.</HI> and <HI>19th.</HI> Chapters, ju&s;t before, to have been con&s;umed by Fire: And in the account of the fourth Bea&s;t of the &s;eventh Chapter of <HI>Daniel,</HI> which is unque&s;tionably the &s;ame with the Bea&s;t in the <HI>Revelations,</HI> at the <HI>11th.</HI> Ver&s;e, <NOTE PLACE="marg">PART I.</NOTE> The <HI>Body of the Bea&s;t</HI> is &s;aid to be <HI>given to the burning Flame;</HI> Where by the Body of the Bea&s;t all will allow, mu&s;t be meant the Body of that particular Kingdom: Which is a &s;ufficient Proof of its being a very remarkable beginning of a general Conflagration.</P>
<P>For the Territories that mu&s;t be &s;ignified by the Body of the <HI>Roman</HI> Kingdom, mu&s;t be a con&s;iderable part of that which is to be de&s;troyed by the la&s;t Conflagration; And therefore cannot but be accounted the beginning of it.</P>
<P>We do al&s;o find the General Conflagration of the Earth, to be frequently repre&s;ented as one continued Event, and fixed to one &s;et time, which is called, <HI>The Day of the Lord, The la&s;t End, The coming of the Lord.</HI> And this is frequently fixed to the burning of the Seat of Antichri&s;t, as its fir&s;t imme|diate Effect; Which is a manife&s;t proof, that this burning of the Bea&s;t, and of <HI>Babylon,</HI> is the fir&s;t beginning of that Ge|neral Conflagration, which from the beginning of it to the end of it, is repre&s;ented as one continued thing.</P>
<P>Thus does St. <HI>Peter</HI> call the time of the General Con|flagration, <HI>The coming of Chri&s;t, The Day of the Lord, in which</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 Epi&s;t. 3, 4, <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"> 1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter"></NOTE> <HI>the Heavens and the Earth &s;hould pa&s;s away, and be burnt up;</HI>
<PB N="291" REF="150"> Now the&s;e &s;ame terms of the coming of Chri&s;t and of the day of the Lord, are by St. <HI>Paul</HI> given to the fir&s;t appear|ance <NOTE PLACE="marg">2 The&s;&s;. 2. 8.</NOTE> of Chri&s;t from Heaven in flames of Fire, to the de&s;truction of <HI>the Man of Sin.</HI> So al&s;o is the fir&s;t appear|ance of Chri&s;t in flames of Fire, made to be the &s;ame with the time of the general de&s;truction of all tho&s;e <HI>that obey not the Go&s;pel of Christ,</HI> and called by the &s;ame name of the day of the Lord, and his coming, 2 <HI>The&s;&s;alon.</HI> 1. 7, 8, 9, 10.</P>
<P>It may then now be concluded, that the <HI>Millennium</HI> cannot begin before all appearance of the general Con|flagration.</P>
<P>But it may be que&s;tioned whether it is not to begin immediatly after the fir&s;t effect of it upon <HI>Babylon,</HI> and the Bea&s;t.</P>
<P>That which gives the faire&s;t occa&s;ion for this doubt, is the intimation we have after the relation of the burn|ing of the body of the Bea&s;t, in the &s;eventh of <HI>Daniel,</HI> that there will after that remain a con&s;iderable Part of the Earth entire, and inhabited. For it is there &s;aid at the 12th V. that <HI>the re&s;t of the Bea&s;ts had their Lives pro|longed for a &s;ea&s;on and time,</HI> tho' their dominion had been taken from them. The lea&s;t that can be apprehended to be meant by the <HI>re&s;t of the Bea&s;ts,</HI> mu&s;t be, that the three other Kingdoms, the <HI>Babylonian, Per&s;ian,</HI> and <HI>Gre|cian,</HI> which had been repre&s;ented by three Bea&s;ts ju&s;t be|fore, were not de&s;troyed by Fire, as the <HI>Roman</HI> Territo|ries, repre&s;ented by the Body of the fourth Bea&s;t, are de&s;cribed to be: that they had indeed lo&s;t their ruling power, or their dominion, but that the People in them were &s;till alive; This &s;eems to be the true, and genuine &s;en&s;e of that ver&s;e, becau&s;e it follows immediatly after the account of the &s;laying of the fourth Bea&s;t, and of the burning of his body; And therefore ought to be under|&s;tood of the &s;ame time, and in oppo&s;ition to what the o|ther is &s;aid then to &s;uffer.</P>
<P>If this &s;hould be interpreted only of the continuance of the three Kingdoms, (&s;ignified by the <HI>re&s;t of the Bea&s;ts)</HI> for all the time, that they were made a Part of the <HI>Ro|man</HI> Monarchy, that was no more than what was before
<PB N="292" REF="151"> &s;ignified v. 23. in the Scheme of the fourth Bea&s;t. For <NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 23.</NOTE> that it is &s;aid of him, that the Kingdom repre&s;ented by that Bea&s;t had <HI>devoured the whole Earth,</HI> out of which the <NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 17.</NOTE> other three are &s;aid to ari&s;e; And this was repre&s;ented in the de&s;cription of that Bea&s;t long before this exception of the re&s;t of the <HI>Bea&s;ts.</HI></P>
<P>This then would incline any to apprehend that <HI>Greece,</HI> and <HI>A&s;ia,</HI> were here &s;ignified to continue &s;till inhabited, after the Burning of the <HI>We&s;tern</HI> Part of the <HI>Roman</HI> Ter|ritories.</P>
<P>And this apprehen&s;ion would be fortified by what may generally be ob&s;erved of the great judgments of God up|on the World. They are ordinarily executed by the con|currence of the natural di&s;po&s;ition of things at tho&s;e times. This does the Author of the Theory ob&s;erve in his explanation of the Deluge, which is every where made the great Parallel of the de&s;truction of the World by Fire.</P>
<P>According to this one would expect, that the Confla|gration of the Earth &s;hould not be all at one time. For it is incredible, that the Seas about the Earth &s;hould be evaporated in any &s;hort time, if the Conflagration were carried on by the natural cour&s;e of things; Be&s;ides, that it mu&s;t require great di&s;tances of time to carry on &s;o great a work through all the re&s;i&s;tance, that it is to over|come in the body of our Earth.</P>
<P>This con&s;ideration, I &s;ay, does fortifie the other; But I would not have propounded it alone, becau&s;e there are manife&s;t intimations, that there will be the immediate hand of Heaven, for the beginning of this de&s;truction in the Territories of the <HI>Bea&s;t.</HI></P>
<P>To this may al&s;o be added the con&s;ideration of the di&s;tinct, and &s;eparate accounts of the burning of <HI>Babylon,</HI> and the Bea&s;t; As if it were but the fir&s;t earne&s;t of the general de&s;truction. Thus we &s;ee it, in <HI>Daniel,</HI> and the <HI>Apocalyp&s;e</HI> about the Bea&s;t, and 2 <HI>The&s;&s;.</HI> concerning the la&s;t end of the Man of Sin.</P>
<P>And the Wine-pre&s;s which does the mo&s;t fully expre&s;s the la&s;t end of all things in the Apocalyptick Scene, and as this Author ob&s;erves, &s;eems to be nothing but that
<PB N="293" REF="151"> Lake of Fire and Brim&s;tone, which is the natural effect of a Conflagration, we &s;ee it re&s;trained only to a certain number of <HI>furlongs</HI> out of the City <HI>Babylon,</HI> or to &s;ome <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 14. 20.</NOTE> certain bounds of the <HI>Roman</HI> Territories in <HI>Europe.</HI></P>
<P>The&s;e may be &s;ome inducements to apprehend, that there may be many Countries entire for &s;ome con&s;idera|ble time after the ruine of the Antichri&s;tian Powers by Fire. And then, the Prophecies every where repre&s;enting the next State of the World after that to be the Univer|&s;al Reign of Chri&s;t in the World, they &s;eem to invite us to begin the <HI>Millennium</HI> there, when all the Enemies of the Chri&s;tian Church are repre&s;ented to be de&s;troyed; e&s;pecially when we &s;ee no di&s;tance made in the Prophe|cies, betwixt the end of the Bea&s;t and the beginning of the <HI>Millennium;</HI> And this would place the beginning of the <HI>Millennium</HI> within the time of the Conflagration, in tho&s;e Parts of the World which were yet untouched and entire.</P>
<P>But this is incon&s;i&s;tent with the Characters of the Per|&s;ons, who are de&s;igned for this Ble&s;&s;ed State. They are &s;aid to be tho&s;e, that were <HI>beheaded for the Word of God,</HI> and which were to ri&s;e again from the Dead; And there|fore are the remaining Inhabitants of any other Part of the World uncapable of this Character.</P>
<P>It might indeed be replyed, that tho&s;e, who are de|&s;cribed as ri&s;en from the Dead for this end, are only that Part of the&s;e Inhabitants, which were to <HI>&s;it upon Thrones, and to judge</HI> the re&s;t, upon which account they are &s;aid <HI>to Reign,</HI> or to be the Kings in this World together with Chri&s;t; Which &s;uppo&s;es, that there mu&s;t be others be|&s;ides, whom they were to Reign over, and to judg.</P>
<P>That therefore, which does the mo&s;t clearly determine the fir&s;t point of the <HI>Millennium</HI> is the Characters of the New <HI>Jeru&s;alem.</HI></P>
<P>Immediatly after the thank&s;giving for the de&s;truction of <HI>Babylon</HI> chap. 19. 6. It is <HI>&s;aid that the Lord God Omnipo|tent Reigneth;</HI> And that the <HI>Marriage of the Lamb was</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 6, 7.</NOTE> <HI>come,</HI> and that <HI>his Wife had made her &s;elf ready.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. It is unque&s;tionable, that by the Wife of the Lamb in this place is meant the &s;ame thing in &s;ub&s;tance with
<PB N="294" REF="152"> that which is called the New <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> chap. 21. 2. For, as her being only ready for Marriage, in the 19. chap. does &s;ignifie her to be yet but a Bride, &s;o has the New <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> the &s;ame names in the other Chapter, of a <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ch. 21. 2, 9.</NOTE> Wife, and Bride to the Lamb, in reference to this.</P>
<P N="2">2. It is as manife&s;t, that the rea&s;on why this intima|tion of the readine&s;s of the Lambs Wife, comes in im|mediatly after the account of the burning of <HI>Babylon,</HI> is to &s;ignifie the &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of the true Spou&s;e of Chri&s;t, in the room of the WHORE that was de&s;troyed.</P>
<P N="3">3. By this then it appears, that that State of the Church, which was to be afterwards the New <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> was to &s;ucceed &s;oon after the de&s;truction of the Bea&s;t; For it was &s;aid to be in a readine&s;s ju&s;t before the la&s;t Fight of <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ch. 19. 2, 11.</NOTE> the Armies of Chri&s;t with tho&s;e of the Bea&s;t.</P>
<P N="4">4. From hence does it appear, that the New <HI>Jeru&s;a|lem,</HI> and the <HI>Millennium</HI> are the &s;ame &s;tate of the Church of Chri&s;t. For that &s;tate of it which is called the New <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> could not either end before, nor begin after the <HI>Millennium.</HI></P>
<P N="1">1. It could <HI>not end before the Millennium:</HI> Becau&s;e there was a New Heaven, and a New Earth, and the former <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 21. 2.</NOTE> were pa&s;&s;ed away before the Appearance of the New <HI>Je|ru&s;alem;</HI> Which &s;hows, that this State of the New <HI>Jeru&s;a|lem</HI> was after the general Conflagration; And then, it has the priviledge of <HI>having no more death in it;</HI> And therefore <NOTE PLACE="marg">V. 4.</NOTE> mu&s;t it always continue, and con&s;equently be the &s;ame State of the Church with that in the <HI>Millennium</HI> during tho&s;e years, let the fir&s;t beginning of it be never &s;o un|certain; Wherefore the continued State of the New <HI>Je|ru&s;alem</HI> could not be pa&s;t before the <HI>Millennium.</HI></P>
<P N="2">2. The State of the New <HI>Jeru&s;alem could not begin after the Millennium:</HI> Becau&s;e it was in a <HI>readine&s;s</HI> to come pre&s;ent|ly after the ruine of <HI>Babylon,</HI> and before the burning of <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ch. 19. v. 7.</NOTE> the Bea&s;t, after both which the <HI>Millennium</HI> is de&s;cribed to be; Whereas if the New <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> were to come after the <HI>Millennium,</HI> it would not begin till above a Thou&s;and years after it was &s;aid to be in a readine&s;s to come.</P>
<P>And further, it is expre&s;ly &s;aid, that the Enemies of the Saints in the <HI>Millennium</HI> compa&s;&s;ed their Camp, and
<PB N="295" REF="152"> <HI>the Beloved City,</HI> which is the &s;ame peculiar Character of the New <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> with tho&s;e of the Holy City, and the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 20. v. 9.</NOTE> Wife, or Bride of the Lamb, in chap. 21. 2, 9. This &s;hews, that the <HI>Millennium,</HI> and the New <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> were both at the &s;ame time. And this added to the former part of the Proof is a &s;ufficient conviction, that the New <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> and the <HI>Millennium</HI> are the &s;ame State of the Church.</P>
<P N="5">5. If the New <HI>Jeru&s;alem,</HI> and the <HI>Millennium</HI> be the &s;ame &s;tate of the Church, then are we no longer to &s;eek for the fir&s;t beginning of the <HI>Millennium.</HI> For the New <HI>Jeru&s;alem</HI> did not begin till after the general Conflagra|tion, or not till there was <HI>a New Heaven, and a New</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 21. 2.</NOTE> <HI>Earth, and no more Sea.</HI></P>
<P>This is &s;ufficient to determine the beginning of the <HI>Mil|lennium</HI> to be after the general Conflagration.</P>
<P>But after all this, the difficulty about the prolonging of <NOTE PLACE="marg">Dan. 7. 12.</NOTE> the lives of the re&s;t of the Bea&s;ts for a Sea&s;on, and time, does &s;till remain. For if the <HI>Ea&s;tern</HI> Parts of the Earth, <HI>Greece</HI> &amp; <HI>A&s;ia</HI> do after a while continue entire, as &s;eems by tho&s;e Bea&s;ts to be &s;ignified, there is all rea&s;on to apprehend that the Chri&s;tian Church will flouri&s;h there free from all fear of its Enemies; And then there will be a State of the Church betwixt the ruine of the Bea&s;t, and the <HI>Millen|nium,</HI> that does not &s;eem to have any mention of it either in <HI>Daniel,</HI> or the <HI>Revelations.</HI></P>
<P>In an&s;wer to this objection, it is to be con&s;idered that the true Church is de&s;cribed to be in a <HI>readine&s;s</HI> for the <HI>Mil|lennium,</HI> before the time of its being actually in that &s;tate; <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 19. 7.</NOTE> And the dre&s;s, that the Wife of the Lamb is &s;aid to be put into, in order to the Marriage (Chap. 19. 8.) gives room enough for that pure &s;tate of the Chri&s;tian Church, which is to come in betwixt the ruine of the Bea&s;t, and the la&s;t end of the Conflagration.</P>
<P>For the&s;e things &s;eem to be prepared in the &s;ixth Vial. For the matter of that is a War betwixt the Bea&s;t and his Confederates, and the Kings of the Ea&s;t beyond <HI>Eu|phrates.</HI> And the place of the Battel being &s;aid to be <HI>Harmageddon,</HI> which by the be&s;t criticks is determined to referr to &s;ome place in <HI>Pale&s;tine,</HI> this does &s;eem plainly to intimate, that all <HI>A&s;ia</HI> will then be under Chri&s;tian Kings,
<PB N="296" REF="153"> who &s;hall &s;ubdue all the power of the Bea&s;t in tho&s;e Parts. For tho' there be no expre&s;s mention of a Vi|ctory in that Vial, yet &s;ince it mu&s;t be a Plague upon the Bea&s;t, as all the re&s;t of the Vials are, the only Plague, that it &s;eems capable of inflicting upon them, is the con|que&s;t of that force, which were gathered together in <HI>Har|mageddon;</HI> The very name of <HI>Harmageddon</HI> does alone evince this. For it does properly &s;ignifie, a place of Con|ci&s;ion or de&s;truction.</P>
<P>Here then appears ground enough to conclude, that <HI>A&s;ia</HI> will be the la&s;t Stage of the Church on this &s;ide of the Earth; And this gives room enough for the fulfil|ling of the Prophecies concerning the conver&s;ion of the <HI>Jews,</HI> and for any of tho&s;e Priviledges, which by others may be thought to be nece&s;&s;arily confined to that Coun|try.</P>
<P>For in the fir&s;t place the Air and Soil of that Coun|try mu&s;t in this way be &s;uppo&s;ed to be much changed to the better. Whether &s;uch a change in the body of the Earth, as the burning up of the <HI>Roman</HI> Territories mu&s;t needs make, may &s;o change the Center of its gra|vity, as thereby to make it incline more to a direct &s;ci|tuation of its Poles to the Sun, which will make its &s;ea|&s;ons equable, and healthful, as the fir&s;t part of the The|ory has ob&s;erved, I know not; But the Exhalations, and Vapours, that may come cool to tho&s;e <HI>Ea&s;tern</HI> Parts from the great Fire in the We&s;t, will make the Soil much more verdant and fruitful: As it is every where ob&s;erved of tho&s;e grounds, that are near Mount <HI>Ae<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">na,</HI> or <HI>Ve&s;u|vius.</HI> How the A&s;hes &s;hould flie &s;o far, is ea&s;ie to ima|gine from the di&s;tances, that the eruptions of ordinary <HI>Volcanoes</HI> have reached to; It will be as ea&s;ie to appre|hend, how the vapours &s;hould wander &s;o far to congre|gate into fruitful &s;howres, if we con&s;ider, that the heat of the <HI>We&s;tern</HI> Air will drive them into tho&s;e quarters, that are farthe&s;t from the <HI>focus</HI> of it till they can be cool enough to conden&s;e into Clouds.</P>
<P>This apprehen&s;ion of the gradual, and &s;low Progre&s;s of the Conflagration, and of the continuance of the Chri&s;tian Church for &s;ome while after the fir&s;t beginning
<PB N="297" REF="153"> of it, is further confirmed by the different Ends of the Bea&s;t, and of the Kings of the Earth, that were confederated with <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 19. 20, 21.</NOTE> him. The Bea&s;t and Fal&s;e Prophet, are &s;aid <HI>to be ca&s;t alive into the Lake of Fire and Brim&s;tone;</HI> But All the re&s;t of the Confederates to have been &s;lain with the Sword that pro|ceeded out of the Mouth of him that &s;ate upon the Hor&s;e.</P>
<P>The Sword of him that is there called the WORD <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;e 13.</NOTE> OF GOD, and which is &s;aid to proceed out of his Mouth, is generally concluded by Interpreters, to &s;ignifie the &s;ame with the Sword of the Spirit, which is &s;aid to be the <HI>VVord of God,</HI> Ephe&s;. 6. 17. The Effect a&s;cribed to this Sword going out of the Mouth of the WORD, <HI>viz.</HI> that with it he &s;hould &s;mite the Nations, does al&s;o con|firm <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;e 15.</NOTE> this. For it is the &s;ame kind of Expre&s;&s;ion, that is u&s;ed to the Church in <HI>Pergamos,</HI> That he would fight a|gain&s;t <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 2. 16.</NOTE> them with the Sword of his Mouth; Which there|fore in both places, mu&s;t denote the terrifying Power of the Word of God in the Con&s;cience, in order to an inward Conviction; Ju&s;t as it is de&s;cribed in the <HI>4th.</HI> Chapter of <HI>Hebrews, v.</HI> 12. with the &s;ame peculiar Epithet of a <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 1. 16. and Chap. <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">. 12.</NOTE> Two-edged Sword, that is here the Scheme of it, and in two other Chapters of the <HI>Revelations;</HI> And the Effect of it as a Two-edged Sword in that place of the <HI>Hebrews,</HI> is &s;aid to be, <HI>To pierce to the dividing a&s;under of Soul and Spi|rit, of the Joints and Marrow, and to be a di&s;cerner of the Thoughts and Intents of the Heart;</HI> All which is but a De|&s;cription of the Terrors of an Evil Con&s;cience, by the Power of the Word of God awakening it.</P>
<P>Wherefore when the Confederates of the Bea&s;t are &s;aid to be &s;lain with the Sword coming out of the Mouth of the Word, nothing can be under&s;tood by it, but the terrify|ing Power of the Truth made known to their Con&s;ciences. And then the <HI>&s;laying</HI> them mu&s;t be under&s;tood in that &s;en&s;e, which <HI>killing</HI> and <HI>&s;laying</HI> without mention of Blood, is in &s;everal places of the&s;e Vi&s;ions known to have, that is, of having lo&s;t a former State, by which things were di&s;tin|gui&s;hed from the re&s;t of the World.</P>
<PB N="298" REF="154">
<P> Thus is the killing of the Witne&s;&s;es known to &s;ignifie no|thing but the Suppre&s;&s;ion of that outward Profe&s;&s;ion of the Truth, which made them Witne&s;&s;es, and not po&s;&s;ible to &s;ignifie a litteral Death, <HI>(Con&s;eq.</HI> 1. <HI>Theor.</HI> 28.) And their Death and dead Bodies there mentioned, are to be under&s;tood in the &s;ame &s;en&s;e. So al&s;o is the killing of the third part of Men in the &s;ixth Trumpet, found to <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 9. 15.</NOTE> be nothing but the lo&s;s of that <HI>Roman</HI> Name and Power, by which they were before di&s;tingui&s;hed from the <HI>Turks.</HI> For it is a mo&s;t incredible thing, That the third part of Men &s;hould be <HI>really killed,</HI> nor was it ever verified in Hi&s;tory.</P>
<P>In the &s;ame &s;en&s;e have the Expre&s;&s;ions of <HI>killing</HI> and <HI>dying,</HI> been found to be taken in the fifth and &s;econd <NOTE PLACE="marg">CHAP. IV.</NOTE> Trumpet; As al&s;o at the A&s;cen&s;ion of the Witne&s;&s;es, where 7000 <HI>are &s;aid to be &s;lain,</HI> and <HI>the re&s;t</HI> to be converted. For <HI>&s;laying</HI> mu&s;t either &s;ignifie in that place, only the Sup|pre&s;&s;ion of the Profe&s;&s;ion of the <HI>Roman</HI> Religion, or el&s;e the Kingdom there de&s;cribed to be converted mu&s;t not have one real <HI>Romani&s;t</HI> in it, which is ab&s;urd to imagine of it at that time, to which this is fixed, that is, long before the la&s;t end of the <HI>Roman</HI> Church.</P>
<P>And in this &s;en&s;e does Mr. <HI>Mede</HI> explain this very place, <HI>pag.</HI> 907. and quotes <HI>Ho&s;ea</HI> 6. 5. to back it, where it is &s;aid, <HI>I have &s;lain them by the Words of my Mouth.</HI></P>
<P>This is then a &s;ufficient warrant to conclude, That <HI>by the &s;laying of the Kings and their Armies with the Sword, that pro|ceeded out of the Mouth of him that &s;ate upon the Hor&s;e,</HI> is to be under&s;tood nothing but the terrifying Conviction of the re&s;t of the <HI>Romani&s;ts,</HI> after the burning of the <HI>Roman</HI> Terri|tories; Whereas the Bea&s;t and Fal&s;e Prophet are &s;aid to be ca&s;t <HI>alive</HI> into the <HI>Lake</HI> of <HI>Fire</HI> and <HI>Brim&s;tone,</HI> to &s;ig|nifie, That they were cut off in their Impenitence, and without Remor&s;e or Change of their Profe&s;&s;ion. It is certain, That if the Sword out of the Mouth of Chri&s;t, &s;hould be interpreted of any &s;uch fiery Bla&s;t, as was to de&s;troy &s;o many Confederates of the Bea&s;t, it mu&s;t much more have fir&s;t &s;truck down the Bea&s;t and Fal&s;e Prophet them&s;elves, before the time of the <HI>Lake</HI> of <HI>Fire</HI> and <HI>Brim|&s;tone.</HI></P>
<PB N="299" REF="154">
<P> From hence then, there is another ground to apprehend, That the Chri&s;tian Church &s;hall not only continue but en|crea&s;e, after that particular Conflagration of the <HI>Roman</HI> Territories.</P>
<P>Again&s;t this di&s;tinction of the end of the Bea&s;t and his Confederates, it may be &s;ugge&s;ted, That the Bea&s;t is al|&s;o <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;e 11.</NOTE> &s;aid in the <HI>7th.</HI> of <HI>Daniel</HI> to have been &s;lain, and his Body to have been given to the burning Flame.</P>
<P>But it is plain, That this is a manife&s;t Contradiction to what is affirmed of him, in the <HI>19th.</HI> of the <HI>Revelations,</HI> if what is &s;aid of him in both places &s;hould be under|&s;tood of the &s;ame time of him in the litteral &s;en&s;e. For in the &s;eventh of <HI>Daniel,</HI> he is repre&s;ented as <HI>&s;lain</HI> before he was thrown into the burning Flames. And in the <HI>19th.</HI> Chapter of the <HI>Revelations,</HI> as thrown into the Fire <HI>alive.</HI> That place therefore in the <HI>7th.</HI> of <HI>Daniel,</HI> mu&s;t be &s;o un|der&s;tood, as to make it capable of being con&s;i&s;tent with the other.</P>
<P>Now it is certain, That in the <HI>19th.</HI> Chap. <HI>Revelations,</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 19. 20.</NOTE> it is expre&s;ly &s;aid, That the Bea&s;t was ca&s;t <HI>alive</HI> into the <HI>Lake</HI> of <HI>Fire</HI> and <HI>Brim&s;tone:</HI> And in what &s;en&s;e &s;oever the Bea&s;t be &s;aid to be <HI>alive,</HI> when he was thrown into the Flames, it mu&s;t at lea&s;t &s;ignifie, That he was not then litterally dead; The mo&s;t then that can be &s;ignified by his being &s;lain, and having his Body ca&s;t into the Flames in <HI>Daniel,</HI> is only this, That he was not only &s;lain, which the re&s;t of the Bea&s;ts are &s;aid not to have been, but al&s;o was burnt: There is no nece&s;&s;ary order of things imported in tho&s;e two Characters. They are capable of being under|&s;tood of the &s;ame la&s;t end of the Bea&s;t; And &s;o are to be interpreted to reconcile it with the other Account of his end, which is not capable of being otherwi&s;e taken.</P>
<P>But then it mu&s;t be owned, That the term of Slaying the Bea&s;t in <HI>Daniel,</HI> mu&s;t there be litterally taken; And that upon this very good rea&s;on, <HI>viz.</HI> Becau&s;e there is no u&s;e of that Expre&s;&s;ion in the Prophecy of <HI>Daniel</HI> in any other than the litteral Sen&s;e, whereas it is mo&s;t commonly taken in a Figurative Sen&s;e in the <HI>Revelations,</HI> as has been already ob&s;erved.</P>
<PB N="300" REF="155">
<P> A further ground for this is, The intimati|on that is given of the Marriage Supper of the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 19. 7, 9.</NOTE> Lamb, ju&s;t after the Ruine of <HI>Babylon,</HI> and of a Ble&s;|&s;ing pronounced to all that &s;hould be <HI>called</HI> to it; And thereupon follows the mention of a Cry with a loud Voice, to call all the Fowls of Heaven to the Sup|per <NOTE PLACE="marg">Ver&s;e 17.</NOTE> of the great God. This would incline any to deter|mine, that this which has &s;o peculiar a Name, as that of the Supper of the Great God, mu&s;t be the &s;ame with what was before called the Marriage of the Lamb, when it appears to have the &s;ame kind of Circum&s;tances joined with it. Now this Supper is de&s;cribed to con&s;i&s;t of the Fle&s;h of the &s;lain Kings and Captains, <HI>&amp;c.</HI> which com|pared with what has been already found to be the Sig|nification <NOTE PLACE="marg">Pag. 298.</NOTE> of &s;laying them, does naturally invite one to determine, That the Marriage Supper of the Lamb mu&s;t be the Conver&s;ions of the re&s;t of the World after the Ruine of the <HI>Roman</HI> Church. For &s;ince their being &s;lain is found to be a Figurative Expre&s;&s;ion, neither the feed|ing upon their Fle&s;h nor the Fowls of Heaven, can be under&s;tood in a litteral &s;en&s;e. Nor can it be under&s;tood in the litteral way, Why the eating of the Fle&s;h of Kings and Captains, &s;hould be called the Supper of the Great God, with any Reference to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb; which mu&s;t upon that account, denote &s;ome Rela|tion in it to the beginning of the Univer&s;al flouri&s;hing State of the Church, and its nearer Union with Chri&s;t the Spou&s;e of it; And then this Supper being de&s;cribed to be ju&s;t about the burning of the Bea&s;t, and before the <HI>Millennium,</HI> and to con&s;i&s;t of tho&s;e &s;ame Per&s;ons that were confederated with the Bea&s;t upon this pre&s;ent Earth, it mu&s;t be interpreted of &s;ome flouri&s;hing State of the Church after the beginning of the Conflagration, and be|fore the end of it.</P>
<P>This middle State of the Church before the la&s;t end of the Conflagration, is al&s;o intimated in the Show of the Holy City, that the Evangeli&s;t is called to at the <HI>9th.</HI> ver&s;e of the <HI>21&s;t.</HI> Chapter; He is invited to that &s;ight by one of the &s;even Angels with the &s;even Vials, ju&s;t as he was to the &s;ight of the Judgment of <HI>Babylon,</HI> by an
<PB N="301" REF="155"> Angel of the &s;ame Character, Chap. 17. 1. Who by the Plague of the &s;eventh Vial upon <HI>Babylon,</HI> ju&s;t before that Show, appears to be the &s;eventh Angel; And then the immediate con&s;equence of that Judgment upon <HI>Babylon,</HI> being the Freedom and Deliverance of the Chri&s;tian Church, That Angel of the &s;even Vials who calls to the &s;ight of the Holy City, ought in all rea&s;on to be judged to be the &s;ame &s;eventh Angel, And con&s;equent|ly to call the Apo&s;tle to a &s;ight of the Holy City that was to begin upon Earth, as well as the other of the Judgment upon <HI>Babylon.</HI> But this I mention only as an in|timation concurrent with the other.</P>
<P>Thus may the fir&s;t Earne&s;t of the Univer&s;al Reign of Chri&s;t begin with the Conflagration upon the Stage of our Earth; And &s;o may the immediate Effect of the third Woe upon the Bea&s;t in the &s;eventh Trumpet, be as it is de&s;cribed, The Conver&s;ions of the Kingdoms <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11. 14, 15.</NOTE> of this pre&s;ent World, into the Univer&s;al Kingdom of the Lord and of his Chri&s;t. And from that time may Chri&s;t be &s;aid to begin to Reign with his Father for ever, tho the <HI>Millennium</HI> will be his more peculiar &s;hare of that Reign. And thus may the Lord God Omnipotent <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 19. 6, 7</NOTE> be &s;aid to Reign, while the Lambs Marriage Supper is eating, and his Bride preparing Her &s;elf to be <HI>READY</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 21. 2.</NOTE> in this World, before it comes to de&s;cend from Heaven, as the <HI>New Jeru&s;alem.</HI></P>
<P>The Conflagration may indeed at the fir&s;t thought of it, &s;eem to be but a very improper Scene of Things for &s;o re|fined a State of the Church to be con&s;tantly entertained with. But it is to be con&s;idered, That tho&s;e Flames of Vengeance that they will have continually before their Eyes, will be only the means of keeping them in a more con&s;tant and &s;trict ob&s;ervance of their Duty. It is certain, that this par|tial Conflagration would give rea&s;on enough for the Con|ver&s;ion of both <HI>Jews</HI> and <HI>Heathens</HI> in all parts of the World, which is difficult to find a place for in any other way.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 N="20" TYPE="chapter">
<PB N="302" REF="156">
<HEAD>CHAP. XX.</HEAD>
<ARGUMENT>
<P>The three Great Revolutions, that are to happen very &s;hortly, con&s;idered &s;ingly, and with Relation to one another. How they &s;trengthen the Proof of one ano|ther. Why the three la&s;t Vials are di&s;tingui&s;hed from the four fir&s;t. How the time a&s;&s;igned to the Vials, proves the fir&s;t Ri&s;e and la&s;t End of the Bea&s;t. The time of the fir&s;t Ri&s;e of the Bea&s;t further evinced from the Event.</P>
</ARGUMENT>
<P>UPON a Review of the Explication of the Trum|pets and Vials, it appears, That there are three re|markable Revolutions relating to the&s;e pre&s;ent Times that are fore-&s;hewn in them.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t is, The Return of the Profe&s;&s;ion of the Re|formed Religion in &s;ome Eminent Kingdom where it is now &s;uppre&s;&s;ed; This is &s;ignified by <HI>the Re&s;urrection of the Wit|ne&s;&s;es,</HI> Rev. 11. 11, 12.</P>
<P>The &s;econd is, The la&s;t end of all <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Wars again&s;t the <HI>VVe&s;tern</HI> Empire, &s;ignified <HI>by the pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;e|cond woe,</HI> Chap. 11. 14.</P>
<P>The third is, The General Mortification of the Ruling Power of the <HI>Roman</HI> Church, &s;ignified <HI>by the pouring out of the fifth Vial upon the Throne of the Bea&s;t,</HI> Chap. 16. 10.</P>
<P>The&s;e Events &s;eem to have very fair grounds for each of them, independant of the proof of the other two. But the full &s;trength of the Application of them, does depend upon the Relation that they appear to have to one ano|ther.</P>
<P>Thus may it be ob&s;erved of the fir&s;t of the&s;e, That the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es con&s;idered apart from <MILESTONE N="1"> the two other, has the&s;e grounds for its Relation to the&s;e pre&s;ent Times.</P>
<P>The Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es is <HI>after three days and an half of the Death of the witne&s;&s;es in Sackcloth.</HI></P>
<PB N="303" REF="156">
<P> Now the Witne&s;&s;es in Sackcloth being agreed to be the <NOTE PLACE="marg">Suppo&s;. 4.</NOTE> Repre&s;entatives of the whole true Church in &s;ubjection to the <HI>Roman</HI> Church, Their Death mu&s;t be the total Suppre&s;&s;ion of the Profe&s;&s;ion of the true Religion in all con&s;iderable Countries, that are under <HI>the Domination of the</HI> Roman <HI>Church.</HI></P>
<P>This is &s;till further confirmed by the place, where the dead Bodies of the Witne&s;&s;es are &s;aid to lye; And that is, <HI>in the</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Theor. 21.</NOTE> <HI>Streets of the Great City,</HI> or within the Territories of the <HI>Ro|man Church.</HI></P>
<P>If after this we look into the pre&s;ent po&s;ture of the Pro|te&s;tant Churches all over <HI>Europe,</HI> it will appear too &s;adly plain, That the Prote&s;tant Profe&s;&s;ion has within the&s;e thirty years been totally &s;uppre&s;&s;ed in all the con&s;iderable Countries where it was under the <HI>Roman Church;</HI> And the la&s;t Act of this Sup|pre&s;&s;ion was either at the Revocation of the Edict of <HI>Nants,</HI> and the Military Execution of it all over <HI>France</HI> pre&s;ently after the publication of that Edict, or at farthe&s;t at the con|clu&s;ion of the Per&s;ecution in <HI>Savoy</HI> the year after. But that of <HI>Savoy</HI> &s;eems not to be con&s;iderable enough to come in|to this account.</P>
<P>It appears however from hence, That the Prophecy of the Death of the Witne&s;&s;es, mu&s;t have been fulfilled at the end of one of the&s;e particulars, unle&s;s we can imagine, That there will be two Deaths of the Witne&s;&s;es in Sackcloth, which has nothing to countenance it in the Prophecy. For the pre|&s;ent total Suppre&s;&s;ion of the Reformed Religion, and all <NOTE PLACE="marg">Suppo&s;. 4. Theor. 29.</NOTE> con&s;iderable Countries that are under the <HI>Roman</HI> Yoke, mu&s;t be accounted one Death, according to the Signification of the Witne&s;&s;es in Sackcloth, and the Death of them.</P>
<P>Wherefore the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es being de|&s;cribed to be three years and an half after their Death, &s;igni|fied by the three days and an half, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 27.) Their Re&s;ur|rection cannot be far off this pre&s;ent Time. And as their Death was the Suppre&s;&s;ion of the Reformed Religion, &s;o mu&s;t their Re&s;urrection be the Freedom of that Profe&s;&s;ion returned again; And this is re&s;trained to one Kingdom only, where that Profe&s;&s;ion was &s;uppre&s;&s;ed, under the Character of the fall of the <HI>Tenth part of the City, (Con&s;eq.</HI> 2. <HI>Theor.</HI> 21.) The whole of which City is repre&s;ented by <HI>Babylon,</HI> and <HI>Babylon</HI> is
<PB N="304" REF="157"> found to &s;ignifie the whole Dominion of the <HI>Roman</HI> Church, and that Dominion is Divided into ten Kingdoms, and &s;ignified by the ten Horns of the Bea&s;t.</P>
<P>Here is therefore good ground to expect the return of the Prote&s;tant Profe&s;&s;ion in the Kingdom of <HI>France</HI> within a very &s;hort time, and not only that, but the Conver&s;ion of the whole Kingdom of <HI>France</HI> &s;oon after the grant of a Free Exerci&s;e of the Reformed Religion; becau&s;e the A&s;cen&s;ion of <HI>the witne&s;&s;es, and the Repentance of the rest, follows &s;oon after their Re&s;urrection,</HI> Chap. 11. 12, 13.</P>
<P>THE Grounds for applying the end of the <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Wars <MILESTONE N="2"> to the&s;e pre&s;ent Times without any con&s;ideration of the o|ther two Events, are, The length of the time a&s;&s;igned to the continuance of the &s;econd Woe in the &s;ixth Trumpet, and the pre&s;ent po&s;ture of the <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Affairs.</P>
<P>For the time allotted to the continuance of the Woe, is <HI>an Hour, a Day, a Month, and a Year;</HI> And the&s;e parts of Time have <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 9. 15.</NOTE> been proved, to &s;ignifie &s;o many Years as there are Days in that Sum, or more than 390 Years; (CHAP. VIII. of this Part.) It has been al&s;o made much more &s;ure, That that woe of the &s;ixth Trumpet is the <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Ho&s;tilities again&s;t the <HI>Ro|man</HI> Empire, <HI>(Con&s;eq.</HI> 2. <HI>Theor.</HI> 19.) The beginning of this length of Time has al&s;o been &s;hewn to be fixed to &s;ome be|ginning of the Reign of <HI>Ottoman,</HI> (CHAP. IX. of this Part.) And from the beginning of any Date of <HI>Ottomans</HI> Reign to this pre&s;ent time, there are already run out 390 of our com|mon Years.</P>
<P>But from &s;ome Examples in this Prophecy, it is po&s;&s;ible, That the account of Time may here be by <HI>Chaldaick</HI> or <HI>Baby|lonian</HI> Years, that is, 360 Days only to the Year; And then the whole Sum of the Years a&s;&s;igned to the continuance of the &s;econd Woe or the <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Ho&s;tilities, amounts to but 391 of our common years: Which therefore mu&s;t be now at their conclu&s;ion if tho&s;e two accurate computers of Time, Mr. <HI>Mede,</HI> and <HI>Petavius,</HI> be in the right, who date the Reign of <HI>Ottoman</HI> from a little before the Year 1300.</P>
<P>However, let the <HI>Day, Month,</HI> and <HI>Year,</HI> of the &s;econd Woe, be accounted by <HI>Roman</HI> Years, which was the received way of Calculation in St. <HI>Johns</HI> time, as the other portions of time in his Prophecy that were taken out of <HI>Daniel,</HI> are ac|cording
<PB N="305" REF="157"> to the <HI>Babylonian</HI> Account in the time of <HI>Daniel;</HI> yet there is ground enough from the Hi&s;tory of <HI>Ottomans</HI> be|ginning, to think them capable of expiring very &s;hortly. For it has been found (CHAP. IX. of this Part,) That <HI>Ottomans</HI> Victories again&s;t the <HI>Roman</HI> Chri&s;tians began &s;even or eight years before the year 1300; And then there is &s;pace enough left from that Date for the expiration of the <HI>Day, Month</HI> and <HI>Year,</HI> at this pre&s;ent time, tho they &s;hould be accounted to be 396 Years according to the <HI>Roman</HI> Calculation of the number of Days in a Year, when this Prophecy was delivered.</P>
<P>As this does &s;ufficiently &s;hew, that which &s;oever of the Calculations be taken, the time a&s;&s;igned in the Prophecy is capable of expiring about this pre&s;ent time: &s;o does the pre&s;ent po&s;ture of the <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Affairs extreamly concur to &s;trengthen our Expectations of the la&s;t end of all the <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Ho&s;tilities again&s;t the <HI>VVe&s;tern</HI> Empire, by a la&s;ting and general Peace.</P>
<P>THE Application of the third Event to the&s;e pre&s;ent <MILESTONE N="3"> Times, that is, The general Mortification of the Power of the <HI>Roman</HI> Church, is grounded upon the Date of the fir&s;t beginning of the Vials; Which compared with the Events that have &s;ince happened, and that have been applyed to the four fir&s;t Vials, does make it &s;eem requi&s;ite, That the fifth Vial &s;hould be now ju&s;t at hand; The effect of which is, <HI>To fill the Kingdom of the Bea&s;t with Darkne&s;s.</HI> And this Ground for it is independant of the Characters of the o|ther two Events.</P>
<P>BUT NOW if we come to compare the Proofs of the&s;e Events for the confirmation of one another, They will appear to have a much &s;tronger Foundation for their Application.</P>
<P>For Example, The fir&s;t of the&s;e Revolutions or the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es, does appear to be much more clo&s;ely confined to the&s;e pre&s;ent Times, by its Relation to the &s;econd and third.</P>
<P>For if the <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Ho&s;tilities (the &s;econd of the&s;e Events,) <MILESTONE N="1"> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11. 13, 14. Theor. 21. and Con|&s;eq.</NOTE> mu&s;t be very &s;hortly at an end, then mu&s;t the Re&s;urrecti|on of the Witne&s;&s;es be much &s;ooner. For there is the Conver&s;ion of an whole Kingdom of the <HI>Roman</HI> Party to
<PB N="306" REF="158"> be performed, betwixt the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;|&s;es and the pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;econd Woe, or of all <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Ho&s;tilities. And the pre&s;ent po&s;ture of the <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Affairs gives a further pre&s;umption of the likelihood of this.</P>
<P>The nearne&s;s of the time of the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es, will be &s;till more confirmed by the Grounds <MILESTONE N="2"> that there are for the near approach of a general Morti|fication of the Power of the <HI>Roman</HI> Church, which is the third of the&s;e Revolutions before mentioned.</P>
<P>For if the Plague of the fifth Vial which is found to &s;ignifie this Event, be &s;o near at hand with the general Hu|miliation of that Party, the Death of the Witne&s;&s;es mu&s;t very &s;hortly be over, and their Re&s;urrection begin in one at lea&s;t of the Kingdoms of that Party, before the general Advance of their Power in All the Territories of the <HI>Roman</HI> Church, which is the bu&s;ine&s;s of the fifth Vial; <NOTE PLACE="marg">Theor. 65.</NOTE> But e&s;pecially, if the fifth Vial be the fir&s;t part of the third Woe, which brings on the Univer&s;al Kingdom of Chri&s;t <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11. 15.</NOTE> in the &s;eventh Trumpet, <HI>(Con&s;eq.</HI> 2. <HI>Theor.</HI> 66.) For the third Woe cometh quickly after the &s;econd; And the Witne&s;&s;es mu&s;t be ri&s;en again before that time, according to the order of the Prophecy.</P>
<P>THE &s;econd Revolution, or the end of all <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Vexa|tions, is al&s;o much more certainly confined to the&s;e pre|&s;ent Times, by the Relation of its Schemes to tho&s;e of the fir&s;t and third of the&s;e Events.</P>
<P>For if the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es be now very <MILESTONE N="1"> near at hand, the pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;econd Woe cannot be far off. The &s;econd Woe pa&s;&s;es away pre&s;ently after <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 11. 13, 14.</NOTE> the A&s;cen&s;ion of the Witne&s;&s;es, which is de&s;cribed in the Prophecy to be much about the &s;ame time with their Re|&s;urrection.</P>
<P>And next, if the third Event or the Plague of the fifth <MILESTONE N="2"> Vial be near at hand, for the general Mortification of the Power of the <HI>Roman</HI> Church, then All the Ho&s;tile Power of the <HI>Turks</HI> mu&s;t be &s;oon at its la&s;t end: Becau&s;e the Plague of the fifth Vial begins the third Woe, <HI>(Con&s;eq.</HI> 2. <HI>Theor.</HI> 66.) And therefore mu&s;t the pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;e|cond Woe, or the end of the <HI>Turki&s;h</HI> Ho&s;tilities be before it.</P>
<P>THE third Revolution or the general Mortification
<PB N="307" REF="158"> of the <HI>Roman</HI> Church, is much more certainly fixed to the&s;e pre&s;ent Times by the Relation of its Characters to tho&s;e of the fir&s;t and &s;econd of the&s;e Revolutions.</P>
<P>This need no long proof. For the fifth Vial, which <MILESTONE N="1"> does de&s;cribe this Revolution, is the beginning of the third Woe, <HI>(Con&s;eq.</HI> 2. <HI>Theor.</HI> 66.) And it is &s;aid to come quick|ly <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 11. 14.</NOTE> after the pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;econd Woe: If then the pa&s;&s;ing away of the &s;econd Woe (which is the &s;econd of the&s;e Revolutions,) be near at hand, the ge|neral Mortification of the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> which begins the third Woe in the fifth Vial, cannot be far off.</P>
<P>So al&s;o, if the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es be at hand, <MILESTONE N="2"> the fifth Vial which begins the third Woe mu&s;t be &s;oon after that Revolution; becau&s;e the third Woe is in the Prophecy de&s;cribed to follow &s;oon after the &s;econd, which is the next in the Prophecy to the Re&s;urrection and A&s;cen|&s;ion of the Witne&s;&s;es. And be&s;ides, the third Woe is the continual Advancement of the true Church, or of the Ri&s;en Witne&s;&s;es in all parts of the World, to the la&s;t ruine of the Power of the <HI>Roman</HI> Church, <HI>(Theor.</HI> 58.)</P>
<P>And this according to the order of the Re&s;urrection of the Witne&s;&s;es, and of the third Woe in the Prophecy, &s;eems to be nothing el&s;e but an immediate Sequel of the Re&s;ur|rection and A&s;cen&s;ion of the Witne&s;&s;es; For it &s;eems to be nothing el&s;e but the immediate Progre&s;s of the Power of the true Church in all parts of the Dominion of the Bea&s;t, after its recovery from a State of Death in one par|ticular Kingdom where it fir&s;t revives. And &s;o the third VVoe is nothing el&s;e but the continual encrea&s;e of that Re|covery of the Church from the fir&s;t Appearance of it from Death, at the Re&s;urrection of the VVitne&s;&s;es. There|fore the Plague of the fifth Vial being the fir&s;t beginning of this third VVoe, mu&s;t follow very &s;oon after the Re|&s;urrection of the VVitne&s;&s;es.</P>
<P>From hence may it ea&s;ily be di&s;cerned, why the three la&s;t Vials are di&s;tingui&s;hed from the four fir&s;t, and made &s;o many parts of the third VVoe. That which makes the difference betwixt them, is, That the four fir&s;t fall upon the Party of the Bea&s;t from the time of the fir&s;t general Decay of his Power. But the three la&s;t come
<PB N="308" REF="159"> upon them after a new recovery of that Party, and their Triumph over the Witne&s;&s;es, And &s;o are the three la&s;t Woes upon that party after the la&s;t flu&s;h of their Power; As the three la&s;t Trumpets are di&s;tin|gui&s;hed by the &s;ame name of three Woes from the four fir&s;t, to denote the different Judgments, that were then to come upon the account of the recovery of the <HI>Ro|man</HI> Tyranny at the new Ri&s;e of the Bea&s;t, which had been much humbled by the Fall of the <HI>We&s;tern</HI> Em|pire.</P>
<P>AND NOW it may be ob&s;erved, that the proof of the Applications of the Trumpets, and Vials does &s;tand upon its own bottom, without any other &s;uppo&s;itions a|bout the fir&s;t date of the appearance of the Bea&s;t, then that it was before the year 620, which all con&s;iderable <NOTE PLACE="marg">Suppo&s;. 3.</NOTE> Prote&s;tant Interpreters do agree in. And from thence it is ea&s;ie to ob&s;erve, what a new demon&s;tration a <HI>po&s;te|riori,</HI> the&s;e Applications do offer for the fixing the fir&s;t date of the 1260 years of the Reign of the Bea&s;t.</P>
<P>For, in the fir&s;t place, if the date of the Vials be the fir&s;t times of the Prote&s;tant Reformation, and the fifth Vial be but ju&s;t now at hand, then the three la&s;t Vials, which are now &s;till to come, mu&s;t require about an 100 years to be fulfilled in, to hold any proportion to the four fir&s;t, which are found to have been pa&s;t &s;ince that date; And it appears to be a common Rule in this Prophe|cy, to ob&s;erve &s;ome proportion betwixt the Parts of every number in it, which are of the &s;ame kind with one another, as al&s;o to &s;ignifie the di&s;proportion, that there is betwixt &s;uch parts of numbers, when there is really any di&s;propor|tion in the events to which they are applyed. This has been already ob&s;erved in the marks, that are &s;et upon the three la&s;t Trumpets, to di&s;tingui&s;h the length of that conti|nuance from that of the four fir&s;t; And this note of di&s;tin|ction betwixt the different Trumpets is a probable confir|mation of the equal proportion, that there is betwixt the equal parts of other numbers, which have no &s;uch mark of di&s;tinction betwixt them. For <HI>Exceptio firmat Regulam.</HI></P>
<PB N="309" REF="159">
<P> It is therefore very rea&s;onable to conclude from hence, that the end of the time of the Vials will not be much &s;oon|er, or later than about an 100 years hence.</P>
<P>And then &s;ince the la&s;t Vial ends with the de&s;truction of the Bea&s;t, this is a new confirmation of that which has been el&s;ewhere advanced, <HI>viz.</HI> that the fir&s;t appearance of the Bea&s;t was at <HI>Ju&s;tinians</HI> recovery of the <HI>We&s;tern</HI> Empire, from which time to about the year 1800 will be about 1260 years. <NOTE PLACE="marg">Con&s;eq. 4. Theor. 5. Con&s;eq. 2. Theor. 66.</NOTE></P>
<P>THIS is very agreeable to the nature of the third Woe in the &s;eventh Trumpet, which brings the Bea&s;t to his ruine, and is found to be ju&s;t now at hand by the execution of the fifth Vial. For it is one of tho&s;e three Trumpets, which are di&s;tingui&s;hed from the four fir&s;t for the length of their <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 8. 13.</NOTE> continuance under the name of the three la&s;t Woes; And according to the length of the continuance of the other two Woes before, it mu&s;t continue for a con&s;iderable time to hold any proportion with them.</P>
<P>And that which remains for the ruine of the great City <HI>Babylon,</HI> after the fall of the tenth part of it ju&s;t before the third Woe, does &s;eem to require as con&s;iderable a length of <NOTE PLACE="marg">Chap. 11. 3<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> time to fini&s;h that work in. For it is the conver&s;ion of all the <HI>Roman</HI> Church, except a tenth part of it, which is there|by &s;ignified to remain for the work of the third Woe in the &s;eventh Trumpet, and which therefore cannot require le&s;s, than &s;uch a proportion of time for it, as is allotted to the three la&s;t Vials.</P>
<P>The <HI>coming quickly</HI> of the third Woe (chap. 11. 14.) is of no weight to hinder the length of its continuance, as has been el&s;ewhere ob&s;erved. <HI>Coming quickly</HI> does generally &s;ignifie in Scripture, and every where el&s;e the &s;udden appearance of a thing, and not the &s;udden going of it away; But more e&s;pe|cially in this place, where it is u&s;ed to &s;ignifie a &s;ucce&s;&s;ion only to another thing, that is &s;aid to be <HI>pa&s;&s;ed away.</HI></P>
<P>This <HI>Epocha</HI> of the end of the Reign of the Bea&s;t, may be al&s;o thus further confirmed from the event. The Reign of the Bea&s;t is &s;uppo&s;ed now in being, and that the continuance of his Reign is for the &s;pace of 1260 years. The Reign of the Bea&s;t then could not begin muchbefore the year 450. For there
<PB N="310" REF="160"> are very near 1260 years pa&s;&s;ed &s;ince that time. There wants now but 20 years of that whole &s;pace of time. And be|&s;ides, there is certainly &s;ome part of the time of his Reign &s;till to come. For the two Witne&s;&s;es are certainly not yet ri&s;en, nor the &s;econd Woe pa&s;&s;ed away, after both which mu&s;t come a third Woe of &s;ome continuance, to be able to make an end of the Bea&s;t with the three &s;ignal &s;ucce&s;&s;ive judgments of the three la&s;t Vials in it; E&s;pecially when the Plague of the 6th is de&s;cribed, by a great War betwixt &s;eve|ral great Potentates.</P>
<P>Now there was no appearance of any remarkable event, fit to &s;ignali&s;e the fir&s;t Ri&s;e of the Bea&s;t by, betwixt the year 450, and the time of <HI>Ju&s;tinian.</HI> That which is chiefly urged for this purpo&s;e, is the new appearance of the Ten Kings in the <HI>Roman</HI> Empire about that time, among&s;t whom that Em|pire was &s;hared.</P>
<P>But is is certain, that the Ten Kings were in po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of their &s;hare of the Empire &s;ome while before that time; and therefore mu&s;t the Bea&s;t have been ri&s;en before the year 450 according to that account; And then would he be at an end before any &s;uch long execution could be done upon him, as the three la&s;t Vials, or the third Woe do repre|&s;ent.</P>
<P>Be&s;ides, the Bea&s;t in the Revelations is known to be the &s;ame with the little Horn in the &s;eventh chapter of <HI>Daniel.</HI> And the Ten Kings are there &s;uppo&s;ed to have been ri&s;en before the appearance of the little Horn. For it is &s;aid, that he came up after them, and that <NOTE PLACE="marg">Dan. 7. 24. v. 8.</NOTE> he came up among them.</P>
<P>The fir&s;t of which does plainly expre&s;s the preceed|ing appearance of the Ten Horns, and the latter the exi&s;tence of them all, when the little Horn appeared among&s;t them. It is al&s;o &s;aid, that the little Horn had <HI>three of the fir&s;t Horns</HI> plucked up by the roots <HI>before</HI> Him.</P>
<P>Tho&s;e <HI>fir&s;t</HI> Horns had been before named the Ten Horns; Which is a clear &s;ignification, that the ten Horns were all ari&s;en before him, who had three of <HI>them</HI> plucked up <NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 8.</NOTE> for him.</P>
<PB N="311" REF="160">
<P> There is therefore no force from the pretended &s;i|multaneous <NOTE PLACE="marg">v. 7.</NOTE> Ri&s;e of the Bea&s;t with the ten <HI>Kings</HI> to fix the Ri&s;e of him to about the year 450, or to any time after it, before the Reign of <HI>Ju&s;tinian.</HI></P>
<P>THAT which is the chief mark to know the fir&s;t appearance of the Bea&s;t by, is the New &s;ucce&s;&s;ion of a King, who was one of &s;ome other &s;even, that had been before him; <HI>The Bea&s;t&mdash;is the eighth, and is of the &s;even;</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 17. 1<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="UOM" EXTENT="1 letter">.</NOTE> And it being agreed, that all the &s;even Kings are &s;o ma|ny different appearances of the &s;upreme Government of the <HI>Romans,</HI> it mu&s;t be enquired, whether there were any &s;uch new appearance of the ruling power of <HI>Rome,</HI> betwixt the year 450, and the time of <HI>Ju&s;tinian.</HI></P>
<P>It is certain that the Imperial Government was about the year 450 the Ruling Power, and that it received no change till the conque&s;t of <HI>Rome</HI> and <HI>Italy</HI> by the <HI>Goths</HI> and <HI>Heruli.</HI></P>
<P>But it was impo&s;&s;ible for tho&s;e Barbarous Kings to be the Bea&s;t, becau&s;e they were in that Age made an end of, whereas the Bea&s;t is agreed to continue to this day.</P>
<P>Nor could it be any new appearance of the Papal &s;u|periority, which could about that time be called the Ri&s;e of the Bea&s;t. For all the increa&s;e of the Papal Power would concern the Fal&s;e Prophet only, who is the &s;e|cond <NOTE PLACE="marg">Rev. 13. 11. 12.</NOTE> Bea&s;t; Whereas there is a manife&s;t di&s;tinction be|twixt that which is every where in this Prophecy called the Bea&s;t, and Him, who is called the Fal&s;e Prophet; For the latter is on purpo&s;e repre&s;ented by a &s;econd Bea&s;t, to &s;how the difference betwixt him, and the fir&s;t.</P>
<P>By this then it appears, that the fir&s;t Ri&s;ing of the Bea&s;t, could not happen before the return of the Impe|rial Government again to the City of <HI>Rome</HI> with <HI>Ju&s;ti|nian;</HI> Which as it was a new change of the Ruling Power of that place after its Conque&s;t of the <HI>Goths,</HI> &s;o was it very properly qualified to bear the Name of the eighth King, who was one of the &s;even; For it was the Imperial Government, which had been the &s;ixth King before, But upon its re&s;tauration after the ruine
<PB N="312" REF="161"> of the <HI>Goths,</HI> who&s;e Reign was the &s;eventh King, was an eighth, which had been one of tho&s;e &s;even, that were pa&s;t, and gone before it.</P>
<P>Thus does it appear, what a confirmation there is of the fir&s;t appearance of the Bea&s;t with <HI>Ju&s;tinian,</HI> from the grounds that have been given for the applications of the Trumpets and Vials, independant of any parti|cular &s;uppo&s;ition concerning the fir&s;t Ri&s;e of the Bea&s;t. And now on the other &s;ide it may be ob&s;erved, what a confirmation it is of the applications, that have been made of the Trumpets and Vials, that the fir&s;t appear|ance of the Bea&s;t, has been proved to have began with <HI>Ju&s;tinian.</HI> <NOTE PLACE="marg">PART. I.</NOTE></P>
<P>That which does receive the greate&s;t advantage by this is the application of the Vials. For if the fir&s;t time of the Bea&s;t was at <HI>Ju&s;tinians</HI> recovery of the City of <HI>Rome,</HI> then mu&s;t not it end till a little before the year 1800. And then &s;ince the la&s;t Vial is to bring the Bea&s;t to his end, The la&s;t Vial mu&s;t al&s;o end about the &s;ame time.</P>
<P>Wherefore &s;ince the three la&s;t Vials have been found nece&s;&s;ary to be contained in the third Woe, (Chap. 16.) which is certainly yet for to come, and that the Vials are found to begin with the Reformation, The fourth Vial cannot be &s;till to come. For then there would be no proportion betwixt the three fir&s;t, and the four la&s;t; The three fir&s;t would have taken up about 160 years, and the four la&s;t would be fini&s;hed in an 100 years at farthe&s;t, and this without the lea&s;t intimation of any &s;uch difference betwixt them in the Prophecy, which yet is found to &s;ignifie any con&s;iderable difference betwixt the parts of the &s;ame number when really it is &s;o; As in the mark of di&s;tinction, that it has &s;et upon the three la&s;t Trumpets, and in that of the &s;eventh King, <HI>Rev.</HI> 17. 10. to &s;ignifie his &s;hort continuance</P>
<PB N="313" REF="161">
<P> This demon&s;tration of the fir&s;t Ri&s;e of the Bea&s;t does al&s;o confirm that remarkable difference, that the Prophecy makes betwixt the four fir&s;t Trumpets, and the three la&s;t. For according to what has been found to be the unque&s;tion|able interpretation of the fifth Trumpet, the three la&s;t Trumpets begin &s;oon after the fir&s;t appearance of the Bea&s;t, and the four fir&s;t end a little before his appear|ance, which gives a very &s;ufficient rea&s;on why the three la&s;t &s;hould be judgments of &s;o much heavier a nature than the four fir&s;ts as to be introduced with &s;o dreadful a cry of Woe, Woe, Woe, and to be followed with &s;uch dreadful Repre&s;entations an&s;werable to it. The provo|cations of the Bea&s;t were of a much higher malignity, then tho&s;e beginnings of the <HI>Roman</HI> Tyranny, that u&s;her'd him in, and were therefore to be an&s;wered with judgments &s;uitable to them.</P>
<P>But then the &s;ealing of the 144000 before the marking of the Party of the Bea&s;t did &s;how, that the main body of the Chri&s;tian Church was corrupt enough before the appearance of the Bea&s;t to have the Vengeance of the four fir&s;t Trumpets executed upon it.</P>
<P>The length al&s;o of the time a&s;&s;igned to the execution of the third Woe upon the Bea&s;t, is by the &s;ame means further confirmed. For the third Woe ends not before the la&s;t end of the Bea&s;t; It is that, which ruines him; And by its character of coming quickly after the &s;econd Woe, and by the known end of the period of the &s;e|cond Woe (from the day, month, and year a&s;&s;igned for the continuance of it) the third Woe mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily begin within a very few years; Wherefore the conti|nuance of the execution of that Woe upon the Bea&s;t mu&s;t be about an 100 years, that is, from a few years hence to about the year 1800.</P>
<DIV3 TYPE="part">
<PB N="314" REF="162">
<P>BEfore we take our la&s;t farewell of the&s;e con&s;iderati|ons, it will be no unplea&s;ing Entertainment of our minds to reflect a little upon the &s;trange concurrence of Events, that come now to crowd into be accompli&s;hed a|bout the&s;e pre&s;ent times.</P>
<P>All that dreadful War, and &s;laughter of the Witne&s;&s;es in the eleventh chapter, has happened within the com|pa&s;s of the la&s;t forty years. And the whole Plague of the fourth Vial has been executed within the &s;ame time.</P>
<P>The la&s;t end of the &s;laughter of the Witne&s;&s;es, Their not being &s;uffered to be buried, Their Re&s;urrection from the dead, Their A&s;cen&s;ion into Heaven, The fall of the tenth part of the City, The general Repentance of it, And the end of the &s;econd Woe, are confined to a very few years, &s;ome pa&s;t, and the re&s;t at hand, And &s;ignifie the mo&s;t remarkable Events, that can be found in many Ages, <HI>viz.</HI> The utter extinction of the profe&s;&s;ion of the truth in all the con&s;iderable Territories of the <HI>Roman</HI> Church, the pre&s;ervation of it in the Con&s;ciences of the denyers of it, the revival of the outward po&s;&s;e&s;&s;ion of it where it was &s;uppre&s;&s;ed, the advancement of the Pro|te&s;tant Religion into a <HI>Popi&s;h</HI> Throne, The Revolt of the Government of that Kingdom from the <HI>Roman</HI> Church, the conver&s;ion of that whole Kingdom to the Reformed Religion, and then the final end of all <HI>Turk|i&s;h</HI> Wars, either by a general peace or the ruine of their Empire.</P>
<P>Pre&s;ently after this is to be expected the beginning of the fifth Vial, which is the mo&s;t remarkable Plague of any that had happened, and at the &s;ame time the begin|ning of the Third Woe, &s;et out by the eminent circum|&s;tances of the &s;ounding of the la&s;t Trumpet, and to be &s;oon fulfilled by the beginning of a general mortification of the Intere&s;t of the <HI>Roman</HI> Church in all parts of its Dominion, which is to continue for about forty years.</P>
<PB N="315" REF="162">
<P> The&s;e Reflections compared with the happy earne&s;t, that we have already had in the&s;e Nations, of the &s;peedy accompli&s;hment of the light&s;ome part of the&s;e Events ju&s;t now at hand, mu&s;t make us with all pious grati|tude acknowledge, that, BLESSED ARE THE EYES, THAT SEE THE THINGS, THAT WE DO, AND SHALL SEE.</P>
</DIV3>
</DIV2>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
<PB REF="163">
</DIV1>
</BODY>
<BACK>
<DIV1 TYPE="collection of letters">
<PB REF="163">
<HEAD>Letters wrote, when there was the greate&s;t Apprehen&s;ions of the late Dangers.</HEAD>
<DIV2 TYPE="letter">
<HEAD><HI>To</HI> Henry Plumptre, <HI>E&s;q</HI></HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>DEAR.......</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>YOU have made a true gue&s;s at the cau&s;e of my long &s;ilence. Indeed I have been almo&s;t buried in my Apocalyptical Thoughts for the&s;e &s;everal Months, and &s;everal times have re&s;olved to find lei&s;ure enough to write to you, and yet have been again diverted from it&mdash;for which I beg your Pardon. But to &s;hew you, that I have made &s;ome Improvement by it, I do now acquaint you, that I am in a condition to write Progno&s;tications of the Affairs of almo&s;t all Kingdoms for the&s;e Hundred Years next following. I will endeavour here to give you an Account of &s;ome of the Particulars of them in order.</P>
<P N="1">1. I make account, that it is demon&s;trable, That the Woe of the &s;ixth Trumpet is the Turki&s;h Encroach|ments upon the Remains of the ancient Roman Em|pire.</P>
<P N="2"><PB REF="164"> 2. That the la&s;t end of their Ho&s;tilities is deter|mined in expre&s;s terms in the <HI>Prophecy</HI> to the time of Three hundred ninety &s;ix Years at mo&s;t, from the fir&s;t ri&s;e of the <HI>Ottoman</HI> Family.</P>
<P N="3">3. That they will either begin a perpetual Peace, or have an end of their Empire within the&s;e Eight Years at <HI>farthe&s;t,</HI> but there are grounds enough to expect it &s;ooner.</P>
<P N="4">4. But yet that there will be neither a <HI>general</HI> Peace with the Turks, nor the Ruine of their Empire before about the Year 1690.&mdash;And very probable,</P>
<P N="5">5. That the Two Witne&s;&s;es were killed at the Revo|cation of the Edict of <HI>Nants</HI> in 85.</P>
<P N="6">6. And therefore improbable, that there &s;hould be any Per&s;ecution or Suppre&s;&s;ion of the True Religion in <HI>England,</HI> where the Witne&s;&s;es are not &s;o much as in a Sackcloth &s;tate. The &s;ame may be apprehended of the <HI>Palatinate.&mdash;</HI>But much more certain,</P>
<P N="7">7. That the True Religion will revive again in &s;ome very con&s;iderable Kingdom before the <HI>general</HI> perpetual Peace with the Turks, or the Ruine of their Empire.</P>
<P N="8">8. And from the fir&s;t flouri&s;hing return of it in that Kingdom, it will continue advancing upon the Ruines of the Roman Church, without any Interruption, for about an Hundred Years, or till the la&s;t end of that Church.</P>
<P N="9">9. That the Church of <HI>Rome</HI> will begin to be in that uninterrupted, or gradual decay of its Power, pre&s;ently after the <HI>general</HI> Peace, or Ruine of the Turki&s;h Empire.</P>
<P N="10"><PB REF="164"> 10. That the fir&s;t Humiliation of the Roman Intere&s;t after the end of the Turki&s;h Ho&s;tilities, will be &s;ome Troubles in the Imperial Countries, or in the Lands of the Papacy, which mu&s;t be within very few Years.</P>
<P N="11">11. That tho&s;e Troubles will continue till about the Year 1720 at lea&s;t, if not &s;ome years after.</P>
<P N="12">12. That tho&s;e Troubles will be an Humiliation of the Power of the Roman Church, mo&s;t probably by a New Reformation getting ground among them, but with|out much Effu&s;ion of Blood. They will be a great Eclip&s;e of the pre&s;ent flouri&s;hing appearance of the Imperial, or the Papal Power.</P>
<P N="13">13. That the pre&s;ent King of <HI>France</HI> will be not much longer active again&s;t the <HI>Spani&s;h Netherlands,</HI> or the Imperial Intere&s;t.</P>
<P N="14">14. That betwixt the Year 1720, and 1760, there will be a very eminent War betwixt &s;ome Ea&s;tern Princes on the other &s;ide of <HI>Euphrates,</HI> and the Confederate Princes of the Roman Party.</P>
<P N="15">15. That in the latter part of that War there will be &s;ome eminent Judgments, that will make way for a particular advancement of the Kingdom of our Lord.</P>
<P N="16">16. That betwixt the Year 1760 and 1800, <HI>Rome</HI> will be de&s;troyed, and &s;oon after, the chief Supports of the Roman Church, Eccle&s;ia&s;tical and Civil, or the Impe|rial Roman Power, and the Papal will be de&s;troyed.</P>
<P N="17"><PB REF="165"> 17. I had forgot to add in its place, That it is mo&s;t unque&s;tionable, that the Two Witne&s;&s;es <HI>Rev.</HI> 11. can never have yet been ri&s;en again from the Dead; Nor can their Re&s;urrection be deferred till after either the end of the Turki&s;h Empire, or the conclu&s;ion of the <HI>general</HI> Peace with them.</P>
<P>But what&s;oever becomes of all the&s;e Particulars, my main Demon&s;tration about the time of the Ri&s;e of the Bea&s;t, and the fixing it to the pre&s;ent Heads of the Roman Church &s;tands &s;till un&s;haken.</P>
<P>If you meet with Dr. <HI>Patrick,</HI> pray tell him, That his Encouragement was the great Motive to me to enter into the more ob&s;cure and uncertain parts of the Prophecy; But I think I have done it with &s;o much Caution, that I am confident I &s;hall be allowed to proceed upon acknow|ledged Grounds, and not to be very loo&s;e in my De|ductions and Connections.&mdash;God grant I be not deceived in any thing material to the Comfort of his Church.&mdash;I believe all may be fini&s;hed before <HI>Chri&s;tmas.</HI></P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE><DATE><HI>Novemb.</HI> 22. 1687.</DATE></DATELINE>
<SIGNED><HI>I am,</HI> &amp;c.</SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="letter">
<PB REF="165">
<HEAD>To the &s;ame.</HEAD>
<HEAD TYPE="sub">At the fir&s;t Change of Corporations to get the Te&s;t off.</HEAD>
<P><HI>I</HI> Was very much plea&s;ed with the diverti&s;ement which you made your &s;elf in your la&s;t. What&s;o|ever pity others may meet with, the New Chartermen will find none. The pre&s;ent Revolutions I look upon to be the beginning of the preparations for the univer|&s;al Kingdom of Chri&s;t upon Earth. <HI>What&s;oever others may intend,</HI> or de&s;ign by this Liberty of Con&s;cience, I cannot believe, that it will be ever recalled in <HI>England,</HI> as long as the World &s;tands, and &s;o may be, and is very likely to be of much &s;urer, and more la&s;ting continuance than <HI>Magna Charta.</HI> But yet, though va&s;tly tempted to concur with the Court in the Per&s;ons, that are recommended to be cho&s;en for Par|liament, I cannot in Con&s;cience comply. I look upon this Parliament as wholly de&s;igned for the compo&s;ure of a Difference betwixt the King and the Nation, and therefore ought to con&s;i&s;t of Per&s;ons wholly independent upon the favour of the Court, to be able to keep to their intentions of a la&s;ting &s;ecurity for the Nation.&mdash;So that I, who could do it more according to the&s;e Prin|ciples, than any el&s;e, do now &s;tand alone by my &s;elf
<PB REF="166"> to be the only Object of a Storm. But I hope that Liberty of Con&s;cience will be faithfully ob&s;erved.&mdash;New Matter coming into my thoughts, or new &s;trength of Proof for the old, has kept my Work &s;till upon the Anvil. But I hope to have quite done with the Se|cond Part within the&s;e three Weeks, or Month, and to &s;end it to Doctor <HI>Patrick,</HI> and while he is peru&s;ing that, I will endeavour to fini&s;h the Fir&s;t. The Bi&s;hop of St. <HI>A&s;aph</HI> has a de&s;ire to &s;ee my Papers, having a de&s;ign him&s;elf to Print &s;omething on that Subject. I de&s;ire you to correct one part of the Conclu&s;ions in my la&s;t Letter, and that is concerning the Troubles of <HI>Germany</HI> Imperial, or the Papacy in particular, and in&s;tead of them to under&s;tand it of the great Diminu|tion of the power of the Roman Church in general. For it mu&s;t nece&s;&s;arily be the Dominion of the Roman Church in general, which is meant by the Kingdom of the Bea&s;t in the fifth Vial, and which is very &s;hort|ly approaching: But yet Imperial <HI>Germany,</HI> or the Papacy may be the chief &s;ufferers in it.</P>
<P>I am more and more confident, as Apocalyptical Men u&s;e to be, of the &s;trength of my Conclu&s;ions; And from thence &s;end you the News of a continual increa&s;e of the flouri&s;hing State of the Church very &s;hortly to begin, and to continue to the end of the World; And therefore de&s;ire you to take &s;pecial Care of your Health, and to de&s;ire all good People to do &s;o, that they may be &s;o happy as to live to &s;ee a full confirmation of this Prediction;&mdash;But <HI>the next Year</HI> &s;eems in all probability to be a Year of Wonders for the recovery of the Church. My Pen runs before I am aware of it; For my Head is
<PB REF="166"> full, and I think I have got one to ea&s;e my &s;elf up|on, and &s;o I de&s;ire you to bear it patiently; It is no|thing but a great confidence in the intere&s;t I have in your Friend&s;hip, that is the cau&s;e of it, and therefore is to a&s;&s;ure you how much without re&s;erve I am</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE><DATE><HI>Feb.</HI> 21. 1687/8.</DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
</DIV2>
<DIV2 TYPE="letter">
<P>AS to your demand about my Opinion of the Year 89. I mu&s;t own that I am of the mind of <HI>Mon|&s;ieur Jurieu</HI> about the Re&s;urrection, though I think that which he makes a chief ground for it, to be weak&mdash;I think &s;uch a thing to be highly probable to happen that Year in &s;ome eminent Kingdom of the Ro|man Party where the Reformed Religion has been &s;uppre&s;|&s;ed, and upon comparing the circum&s;tances of other Kingdoms with the Characters of the Text, I cannot imagine where it &s;hould be but in <HI>France.</HI> For the A&s;cen&s;ion that follows, may, I think, be demon&s;trated to &s;ignifie an advancement to an Earthly Throne. And where can that be the next Year among&s;t the King|doms of <HI>Poland, Bohemia, Sile&s;ia, Hungary, France?</HI> &V;pon this occa&s;ion I cannot but mention to you, That the King of <HI>France</HI> either has not long to live, or mu&s;t be really made <HI>The Mo&s;t Chri&s;tian King</HI> within the&s;e few Years. But pray do not imagine that I af|firm
<PB REF="167"> the&s;e things upon &s;o fanciful a bottom as <HI>Mon&s;ieur Jurieu</HI>'s <HI>grand place</HI> is, which be&s;ides other defects, is a wrong Tran&s;lation, and has no clear known u&s;e of the <HI>Greek</HI> word in that &s;en&s;e either in the <HI>New Te&s;ta|ment</HI> or the <HI>Septuagint.</HI></P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE><DATE><HI>Feb.</HI> 28. 1687/8.</DATE></DATELINE></CLOSER>
<TRAILER>FINIS.</TRAILER>
<PB REF="167">
</DIV2>
</DIV1>
</BACK>
</TEXT>
</EEBO>
</ETS>
