<Ir>

No. 8

The first Book
Concerning the Language of the Prophets.

Chap 1[1]
A synopsis of the Prophetick ffigures.

He that would understand a book written in a strange language must first learn the language & if he would understand it well he must learn the language perfectly. Such a language was that wherein the Prophets wrote, & the want of sufficient skill in that language is the main reason why they are so little understood. Iohn did not write in one language, Daniel in another, Isaiah in third, & the rest in others peculiar to them selves; but they all wrote in one & the same mystical language as well known without doubt to the sons of the Prophets as the Hieroglyphic language of the Egyptians . to their Priests. And this language so far as I can find, was as certain & definite in its signification as is the vulgar language of any nation whatsoever: so that it is only for want of skill therein that Interpreters so frequently turn the prophetic types & phrases to signify what ever their ffansies & Hypotheses lead them to. He therefore that would understand the old Prophets (as all Divines ought to do) must fix the significations of their types & phrases in the beginning of his studies. Something in this kind has been done by former writers, & as I have endeavoured in the following discourse to carry on the designe further so I hope others will bring it to more perfection. The Rule I have followed has been to compare the several mystical places of scripture where the same prophetic phrase or type is used & to fix such a signification to that phrase as agrees best with all the places, & if more significations then one be necessary to note the circumstances by which it may be known in what signification the phrase is taken in any place & when I had found the necessary significations to reject all others as the ofspring of luxuriant fansy. ffor no more significations are to be admitted for true ones then can be proved. And as Criticks for understanding the Hebrew consult also other Oriental Languages of the same root, so I have not feared sometimes to call in to my assistance the eastern expositors of their mystical writers (I mean the Chalde Paraphrast & the Interpreters of dreams) following herein the Example of Mr Mede & other late writers. ffor the language of the Prophets being hieroglyphical had affinity wth that of the Egyptian Priests & eastern wise men & therefore was anciently much better understood in the East then it is now in the west. I received also much light in this search by the analogy between the world natural & the word politique. ffor the mystical language was founded in this analogy & will be best understood <IIr> by considering its original. That you may therefore see more clea{illeg} {illeg} {illeg} give you a short draught of it as follows, {illeg} to the proof of the particulars.

1. The whole world natural consisting of heaven & earth signifies {illeg} whole world politique consisting of thrones & people or so much of it as if {illeg} {illeg} in the prophesy. & the things in that world signify the analogous {illeg} in this. For the heaven{illeg} the things therein signify Thrones & dignities & those that enjoy {illeg} the earth with the things therein the inferior people. Whence {illeg} towards heaven & descending to the earth is put for rising {illeg} in honour & power. Rising out of the earth or waters {illeg} into them, for the rising to any dominion or dignity out of the inferior state of people, {illeg} the same into that inferior state. Descending to the lower {illeg} Hades or Hell for descending to a very low condition. Moving from one place {illeg} Moving from one place {illeg} translation from one office dignity or dominion to another {illeg} quakes & the shaking of heaven & earth for the shaking of {illeg} as to overthrow them: the creating a heaven & earth & their passing away (or which is all one the beginning & {illeg} {illeg} away of the kingdom or kingdoms signified thereby.

2. Now in heaven the Sun & Moon are by Interpret{illeg} put for the persons of Kings & Queens, but in sacred Proph{illeg} not single persons the sun is put for the whole species & {illeg} in the kingdom or kingdoms of the World politique, sh{illeg} regall power & glory; the Moon for the body of the common people considered as the Kings wife or (if the people be described by another type) for the body of the Priests;; the stars for subordinate Kings Princes & great men, or for Bishops & Rulers of the people {illeg} God when the Sun is Christ; Light for the glory judgment truth {illeg} knowledge wherewith great men shine & illuminate others; dar{illeg} for obscurity of condition & for error & ignorance; darkning smiting or setting of the Sun Moon & stars for the ceasing of a Kingdom or for the desolation thereof proportional to the darkness: darkning the Sun turning the Moon into blood & falling of the Stars for the {illeg} New Moons for the return of a dispersed people into a body poli{illeg} or ecclesiastique. wars {illeg} persecutions & troubles inflicted by the King &

3. ffire & meteors refer to both heaven & earth & signify as follows. Burning any thing by fire is put for the consumption thereof by war a conflagration the earth or turning a country into a lake of fire for the consumption of a kingdom the < insertion from f Iv > the ascending up of the smoak of any burning thing for ever & ever for the continuation of a conquered people under the misery of perpetual subjection & slavery. < text from f IIr resumes > : the scorching heat of the Sun for vexatious wars persecutions & troubles inflicted by the King. Clouds whether in heaven or on earth for multitudes of men: riding on the clouds for reigning over much people: covering the Sun with a cloud or with smoke for oppression of the King by the armies of an enemy: Tempestuous winds (that is, the motion of Clouds) for wars: Thunder (that is, the voice of a cloud) for the voice of a multitude: A storm of thunder lighting hail & overflowing rain for a tempest of war descending from the heavens & clouds politique on the heads of their enemies: Rain if not immoderate & dew & living water for the graces and doctrine of the spirit; & the defect of rain for spiritual barrenness.

4. In earth the dry land & congregated waters, (as a sea a river a flood) are put for the peoples of several regions nations & dominions: a Wilderness for a desolate people: embittering of waters for great affliction of the people by war & persecution: turning them <IIIr> to blood for the mystical death of bodies politique that is for their dissolution. The overflowing of a sea or River for the invasion of the earth politique by the people of the waters Drying up of waters for the conquest of their regions by the earth. ffountains of water for cities the permanent heads of rivers politique. Mountains & Islands for the cities of the earth & sea politique with their territories & dominions. Dens & Rocks of mountains for the Temples of Cities & the hiding of men in those Dens & rocks for the shutting up of Idols in the caverns of their temples. Houses & Ships for families assemblies & towns in the earth & Sea politique: & a navy of war-ships for an army of the kingdom signified by the sea.

5. Also minerals vegetables & animals are put for people of several regions & conditions: & particularly trees hearbs & land animals for the people of the earth politique; flaggs reeds & fishes for those of the waters politique; & birds & insects for those of the political heavens & earth.

6. If the world politique considered in Prophesy consists of many kingdoms they are represented by as many parts of the world natural: as the noblest by the celestial frame & then the Moon & Clouds are put for the common people, the less noble by the earth sea & rivers & by the animals or vegetables therein & then the greater & more powerfull animals & taller trees are put for Kings & Princes. And because the whole kingdom is the body politique of the King therefore the Sun or a Tree or a Beast or Man whereby the King is represented is put in a large signification for the whole Kingdom, & several animals as a Lyon a Goat a Dragon a Whore a Frogg a Cherubin according to their qualities are put for several Kingdoms & bodies politique. Yet sometimes Vegetables & Animals are by certain epithites or circumstances extended to other significations, as a Tree when called the tree of life or of knowledge & a beast when called the old serpent or worshipped.

7. When a Beast or Man is put for a Kingdom his parts & qualities are put for the analogous parts & qualities of the kingdom: as the Head of a Beast for the great men who precede & govern the tail for the inferior people <IVr> who follow & are governed, the heads if more then one for the number of capital parts dynasties or dominions in the kingdom whether collateral or successive with respect to the civil government. The horns on any head for the number of kingdoms in that head with respect to military power Seing for understanding & the eyes for men of understanding & policy & in matters of religion for Bishops. Speaking for making laws & The mouth for a lawgiver whether civil or sacred. The loudness of the voice for might & power the faintness thereof for weakness. Eating & drinking for acquiring what is signified by the things eaten & drunken. The hairs of a Beast or Man & the feathers of a bird for people. The wings for people spread abroad into distant regions. The arm of a man for his power or for any people wherein his strength & power consists. His feet for the lowest of the people. The feet nails & teeth of a Beast of prey for armies & squadrons of armies. The bones for fortified Cities & strong holds. The flesh for riches & possessions & the days of their continuing or acting for years.

8 When a Man is taken in a mystical sense his qualities are often signified by the circumstances of things about him. So a King is signified by his being crowned A Ruler by his riding on a Beast. A warrior & conqueror by a sword & Bow. A Iudge by weights & measures A sentence of absolution by a white stone. A new dignity by a new name. Moral & civil Qualifications by garments Honour & glory by splendid apparel. Royal dignity by purple or scarlet. Righteousness by white robes. Dishonour shame or filthiness by nakedness. Error & misery by a cup of wine & by drunkenness. Worshipping or serving fals Gods by receiving their mark in the hand or forehead or their name or the number thereof. So also a wound of Man or Beast is put for overthrow in war. A sore & pain for a durable plague of war. Pain in travail of a manchild for the affliction of war or persecution which a nation suffers in labouring to bring forth a new kingdom. The birth of a child for the birth of a new kingdom, the death of Man or Beast for the dissolution of the body politique thereof. & the resurrection of the dead for the revival of the dissolved dominion. < insertion from f IIIv > Teaching the truth by prophesying witnessing & having the testimony of Iesus. Making a gain of (religion by trafick & merchandise by drinking a cup of wine. A state of affliction mourning & humiliation by cloathing in sackcloth. Worshipping or serving the fals Gods of any nation by committing adultery with their Princes or by worshipping them & their Images & receiving their mark or name or the number thereof in the hand or forehead in token of servitude & by having them in admiration & blaspheming God. < text from f IVr resumes > And these are the principal types & figures which arise from comparing the world politique to the world natural. ffor there are divers others either more obvious or to be explained in their proper places.

<Vr>

9 In the Apocalyps the world natural is represented by the Temple of Ierusalem & the parts of this world by the analogous parts of the Temple: as heaven by the house of the Temple; the highest heaven by the most holy; the Throne of God in heaven by the Ark; the Sun by the bright flame of the fire of the Altar, or by the face of the Son of Man shining through this flame like the Sun in his strength; the Moon by the burning coals upon the Altar convex above & flat below like an half Moon; the stars by the Lamps; thunder by the song of the Temple & lightning by the flashing of the fire of the Altar; the earth by the Area of the courts & the sea by the great brazen Laver. And hence the parts of the Temple have the same signification with the analogous parts of the world.

Tis a familiar figure to understand the whole kingdom by the name of the Metropolis & then the Gates, Walls, windows & streets of the City signify as do the heads horns eyes & body of a beast, & the regular structure & glorious ornament of the City by gold & pearles & pretious stones or otherwise is put for the justice glory & majesty of its dominion.

Now the harmony of all these interpretations is such that if only some of them were proved by scripture & the Eastern Interpreters, the rest would be proved by the relation they have to these. I shall go over them in order.

<VIr>

Chap. 2
Of the world, Heaven & Earth, & Hell ascending to heaven & descending to earth, rising out of the earth or waters & falling into them, descending into Hell moving from place to place, earthquakes, shaking & passing away of heaven & earth, & the beginning & end of the world.

< insertion from f Vv >

Nothing is more frequent in scripture then to put the world for a great body of people, as in these places. Augustus Cæsar taxed all the world Luk. 2.1. All the world wondred after the Beast Apoc 13.2 The great Dragon was cast out which deceiveth the whole world Apoc 12.9 These have turned the world upside down Acts 17.6. Ye are the light of the world Mat. 5.14 The world is gone after him Iohn 12.19 The world lyeth in wickedness 1 Iohn 5.19. The sins of the world Iohn 1.29. The saviour of the world Iohn 4.42. The wisdom of this world 1 Cor. 3.19. The Prince of this world Iohn 14.30. And in the same sense is The end of the world sometimes used as we shall see hereafter.

Now that this signification of the World had its rise from putting the world naturall for the world politique will appeare by the putting the parts of the world natural, heaven & earth for the analogous parts of the world politique: as in Isa 5.16, where the new founding - - - -

< text from f VIr resumes >

The comparison of the world politique to the world natural may appear out of Isa 51.16, where the new founding of the politique world or kingdom of the Iews is exprest by planting the heavens & laying the foundations of the earth. I have put my words in thy mouth & have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand that I may plant the heavens & lay the foundations of the earth: & say into Zion thou art my people: that is, saith the Chalde Paraphrase, I have put the words of my prophesy in thy mouth & protected thee in the shadow of my power that I might raise up the people of whom tis said they shall be multiplied as the stars of heaven, & that I may found the congregation of whom tis said that it shall be multiplied as the dust of the earth, & say to the inhabitants of Zion ye are my people. And so in Isa. 65.17 Behold I create new heavens & a new earth, & the former shall not be remembred — ffor behold I create Ierusalem a rejoycing & her people a joy. And in Haggai: Yet once more I will shake the heaven & the earth & the sea & the dry land & I will shake all nations. Which is afterward by the Prophet interpreted of Kingdoms I will shake, saith he, the heavens & the earth & I will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, 2:21-2 And so also by the Apostle Paul. This yet once more, saith he, signifieth the removing of those things which are shaken — that those things which cannot be shaken may remain. Wherefore we receiving a kingdom wch cannot be moved &c. Heb. 12.26, 27. And hence the overthrow of the kingdom of Babylon is represented by shaking the

<1r>

The First Book


Concerning the Language of the Prophets.

Chap. 1.
A Synopsis of the Prophetic ffigures.

He that would understand a book written in a strange language, must first learn the language & if he would understand it well he must learn the language perfectly. Such a language was that wherein the Prophets wrote, & the want of sufficient skill in that language is the main reason why they are so little understood. Iohn did not write in one language, Daniel in another, Isaiah in a third & the rest in others peculiar to themselves; but they all wrote in one & the same mystical language, as well known without doubt to the sons of the Prophets as the Hieroglyphick language of the Egyptians to their Priests. And this language so far as I can find was as certain & definite in its signification as is the vulgar language of any nation whatsoever: so that it is only through want of skill therein that Interpreters so frequently turn the Prophetick types & phrases to signify whatever their ffansies & Hypotheses lead them to. He therefore that would understand the old Prophets (as all Divines ought to do) must fix the significations of their types & phrases in the beginning of his studies. Something in this kind has been done by former writers: & as I have endeavoured in the following discourse to carry on the designe further, so I hope others will bring to it more perfection. The Rule I have followed has been to compare the several mystical places of scripture where the same prophetick phrase or type is used & to fix such a signification to that phrase as agrees best with all the places: & if <2r> more significations then one be necessary to note the circumstances by which it may be known in what signification the phrase is taken in any place: & when I had found the necessary significations, to reject all others as the ofspring of luxuriant fansy. ffor no more significations are to be admitted for true ones then can be proved. And as Criticks for understanding the Hebrew consult also other oriental languages of the same root: so I have not feared sometimes to call in to my assistance the eastern expositors of their mystical writers (I mean the Chalde Paraphrast & the Interpreters of dreams) following herein the example of Mr Mede & other late writers. ffor the language of the Prophets being Hieroglyphical, had affinity with that of the Egyptian Priests & Eastern wise men & therefore was anciently much better understood in the East then it is now in the west. I received also much light in this search by the analogy between the world natural & the world politique. ffor the mystical language was founded in this analogy & will be best understood by considering its original. That you may therefore see more clearly how this analogy stands I shall here give you a short draught of it as follows before I proceed to the proof of the particulars.

1. The whole world natural consisting of heaven & earth signifies the whole world politique consisting of thrones & people, or so much of it as is considered in the prophesy: & the things in that world signify the analogous things in this. ffor the Heavens with the things therein signify thrones & dignities & those that enjoy them & the earth with the things therein the inferior people, & the lowest parts of the Earth called Hades or Hell the lowest & most miserable part of the people. Whence ascending towards heaven & descending to the earth is put for rising & falling in honour & power . Rising out of the earth or waters, or falling into them, for the rising to any dominion or dignity out of the inferior state of people or falling from the same into that inferior state. Descending into the lower parts of the earth called Hades or Hell, for descending to a very low & unhappy state. Speaking with a faint voice out of the dust for being in a weak & lost condition. Moving from one place to another for translation from one office dignity or dominion to another. Great Earthquakes & the shaking of heaven & earth for the shaking of kingdoms so as to overthrow them. The creating a heaven & earth & their passing away, or, which <3r> is all one, the beginning & end of the world) for the rise & ruin of the body politick signified thereby.

2. Now in heaven the Sun & Moon are by Interpreters of dreames put for the persons of Kings & Queens, but in sacred Prophesy which regards not single persons, the Sun is put for the whole species & race of Kings in the Kingdom or Kingdoms of the world politick shining with regal power & glory: the Moon for the body of the common people considered as the Kings wife: the stars for subordinate Kings Princes & great men or for Bishops & Rulers of the people of God when the Sun is Christ: Light for the glory truth & knowledge wherewith great & good men shine & illuminate others: darkness for obscurity of condition & for error & ignorance: darkning, smiting or setting of the Sun Moon & stars for the ceasing of a kingdom or for the desolation thereof proportional to the darkness: darkning the Sun turning the Moon into blood & falling of the stars for the same. New Moons for the return of a dispersed people into a body politique or ecclesiastique.

3 ffire & Meteors refer to both heaven & earth & signify as follows. Burning any thing by fire is put for the consumption thereof by war: a conflagration of the earth or turning a country into a lake of fire for the consumption of a kingdom by war: the being in a furnace for the being in slavery under another nation: the ascending up of the smoak of any burning thing for ever & ever for the continuation of a conquered people under the misery of perpetual subjection & slavery: the scorching heat of the Sun for vexatious wars persecutions & troubles inflicted by the king. Clouds whether in heaven or on earth for multitudes of men: Riding on the clouds for reigning over much people: Covering the Sun with a cloud or with smoak for oppression of the king by the armies of an enemy: Tempestuous winds (that is, the motion of clouds) for wars: Thunder (that is, the voice of a cloud) for the voice of a multitude: A storm of thunder, or lightning hail & overflowing rain for a tempest of war descending from the heavens & clouds politique on the heads of their enemies: Rain if not immoderate, & dew & living water for the graces & doctrine of the spirit: & the defect of rain for spiritual barrenness.

4. In earth the dry land & congregated waters (as a Sea, a River, a fflood) are put for the peoples of several regions nations & dominions: a wilderness for a desolate people: embittering of waters for great affliction of the people by war & persecution: turning <4r> them to blood for the mystical death of bodies politique that is, for their dissolution. The overflowing of a Sea or River for the invasion of the earth politique by the people of the waters. Drying up of waters for the conquest of their regions by the earth. ffountains of water for cities the permanent heads of rivers politique. Mountains & Islands for the cities of the earth & sea politique with their territories & dominions. Dens & Rocks of mountains for the Temples of Cities & the hiding of men in those Dens & Rocks for the shutting up of Idols in their temples. Houses & Ships for families assemblies & towns in the earth & Sea politique: & a Navy of war-ships for an army of the kingdom signified by the Sea.

5. Also Animals Vegetables & Minerals are put for people of several regions & conditions; & particularly trees hearbs & land animals for the people of the earth politique, flaggs reeds & fishes for those of the waters politique, & birds & insects for those of the politique heaven & earth, a fforest for a Kingdom, Paradise for a very flourishing & peaceable Kingdom, & Wilderness for a desolate & thin people.

6. If the world politique considered in Prophesy consists of many kingdoms, they are represented by as many parts of the world natural: as the noblest by the celestial frame, & then the Moon & clouds are put for the common people; the less noble by the earth sea & rivers & by the animals or vegetables or buildings therein, & then the greater & more powerfull animals & taller trees are put for Kings & Princes. And because the whole kingdom is the body politick of the king, therefore the Sun or a Tree or a Beast or Bird or Man whereby the King is represented is put in a large signification for the whole kingdom, & several animals as a Lion a Goat a Dragon a Whore a Prophet a Frogg a Cherubin according to their qualities are put for severall kingdoms & bodies politique & sacrificing of Beasts for slaughtering & conquering of Kingdoms & friendship between Beasts for peace between kingdoms . Yet sometimes Vegetables & Animals are by certain epithites or circumstances extended to other significations, as a Tree when called the tree of life or of knowledge & a Beast when called the old Serpent or worshipped.

7 When a Beast or Man is put for a kingdome his parts & qualities are put for the analogous parts & qualities of the kingdom: as the head of a Beast for the <5r> great men who precede & govern the tail for the inferior people who follow & are governed the heads if more then one for the number of capital parts dynasties or dominions in the kingdom whether collateral or successive with respect to the civil government: the horns on any head for the number of kingdoms in that head with respect to military power: seing for understanding & the eyes for men of understanding & policy & in matters of religion for Bishops: speaking for making laws & the mouth for a lawgiver whether civil or sacred: the loudness of the voice for might & power; the faintness thereof for weakness: eating & drinking for acquiring what is signified by the things eaten & drunken: the hairs of a Beast or Man & the feathers of a Bird for people: the wings for the branches of a people spread abroad by conquest over other nations. the arm of a man for his power or for any people wherein his strength & power consists: his feet for the lowest of the people or for the latter end of the kingdom: the feet nails and teeth of a Beast of prey for armies & squadrons of armies: the bones for strength & fortified places: the flesh for riches & possessions, & the days of their continuing or acting for years. And when a Tree is put for a kingdom its branches leaves & fruit signify as do the wings feathers & food of of a Bird or Beast.

8. When a man is taken in a mystical sense, his qualities are often signified by his actions & by the circumstances of things about him. So a Ruler is signified by his riding on a Beast: a Warrior & Conqueror by his having a sword & bow: a potent man by his gigantick stature: a Iudge by weights & measures: a sentence of absolution or condemnation by a white or black stone: a new dignity by a new name: moral & civil qualifications by garments: honour & glory by splendid apparel: royal dignity by purple or scarlet or by a crown: righteousness by white & clean robes: wickedness by spotted & filthy garments: affliction mourning & humiliation by cloathing in sackcloth: dishonour shame & want of good works by nakedness: error & misery by drinking a cup of his or her wine who causes it: : propagating any religion for gain by exercising trafick & merchandise with that people whose religion it is: Worshipping or serving the fals Gods of any nation by committing adultery with their Princes or <6r> by worshipping them & their Image & blaspheming God, or by receiving their mark or name or the number thereof in the hand or forehead in token of servitude: Overthrow in war by a wound of Man or Beast: a durable plague of war by a sore & pain: the affliction or persecution which a people suffers in labouring to bring forth a new kingdom by pain in travail of a man-child: the birth of a new kingdom by the birth of a man-child: the dissolution of a body politick or ecclesiastick by the death of Man or Beast, & the revival of a dissolved dominion by the resurrection of the dead.

9 Sometimes a body politick - - -

<6v>

9 Sometimes a body politick is represented by the Building of a City or Temple: & then the stones of the building are put for the people of the Kingdom & if the building be a City the walls gates windows & streets thereof have the same signification with the bones heads eyes & body of a Beast; & the regular & accurate structure of the city & its height & ornaments of gold, pearls; pretious stones & other things of value denote the justice, height & glory of its dominion: but if it be a Temple the parts hereof have the same signification with the analogous parts of the World. ffor Temples were anciently contrived to represent the frame of the Vniverse as the true Temple of the great God. Heaven is represented by the Holy place or main body of the edifice, the highest heaven by the most Holy or Adytum, the throne of God by the Ark, the Sun by the bright flame of the fire of the Altar or by the face of the Son of man shining through this flame like the Sun in his strength, the moon by the burning coals upon the Altar convex above & flat below like an half moon, the starrs by the lamps, thunder by the song of the Temple, lightning by the flashing of the fire of the Altar, the Angels or inhabitants of heaven by Cherubins carved round the temple, the Sea by the great brazen laver, the earth by the area of the Courts & the bottomles pit or lower parts of the earth called Hades & Hell by the sink which ran down into the earth from the great Altar & was covered with a stone to open & shut. And all these parts of the Temple have the same signification with the parts of the world which they represent. And in allusion to the River Siloam which ran by the Temple of Ierusalem & flowed thence eastward & was by the Iewish Doctors accounted a type of the spirit, a River of life flowing eastward from the throne of God with trees of life growing on the banks thereof is put for the Law of God going out from the Throne of the kingdom to the Nations, the fruit of the trees & the water of the River being that spiritual meat & drink which Christ has represented by his body & blood & by the bread & wine in the Eucharist; & which were also prefigured by the Manna & rock of water in the wilderness

<7r>

Chap. II
The dayly worship described.

The Iewish service began every morning with the sounding of Trumpets, opening of the Temple & killing of the morning sacrifice together, & dressing of the Lamps immediately after. The Lamps were drest by the Priests in their lots & on the fast of the seventh month & seven days before by the High Priest. And in allusion to this Iohn hears a great voice as of a Trumpet, & turning to the voice sees one like the Son of man in the High Priests habit among the seven branches of the golden candlestick dressing the Lamps so that they appeared like a rod of seven stars in his right hand. And his countenance being seen through the bright flame of the Altar appeared as the Sun shineth in his strength & his eyes like flames of fire, & his feet like ambar as if they burned in a furnace. The Lamps he dresses successively by dictating seven prophetic exhortations to the seven Angels of the Churches. For the seven Angels are represented by the seven stars & seven lamps & seven eyes of the Lamb & answer to the seven Amarcelim which were chief Officers of the Temple next in dignity to the two Catholikim as the Catholikim were next in dignity to the high Priest & his Deputy.. For the seven Amarcelim were Priests & officers of like & equal honour & authority, , & had joyntly the keys of the seven gates of the Temple, & those also of the Treasuries, & the direction appointment & oversight of all things in the Temple. And the seven Angels were also chief Priests because they came out of the Temple[2] where none but chief Priests enter, & were cloathed in pure & white linnen & had their breasts guirded with golden girdles which is the Priests habit, & at seven sacrifices poured out seven Vials or drink offerings & sounded seven trumpets. And as they are Priests so they are said to be before the throne or Adytum of the Temple & are considered in the Apocalyps as having the oversight of all things, being called[3] the seven eyes of the Lamb, & the seven spirits of God sent forth into all the earth, that is, the seven messengers of God. Angels signify messengers & are put in <8r> general for Officers & ministers of the Temple & by consequence the seven chief Angels for the seven chief Officers. After this, saith Iohn, that is, after the dressing of the Lamps, I looked & behold a door [the eastern door of the Temple not opening but already] opened in heaven, & I heard the first voice as the voice of a trumpet talking with me & saying, Come up hither & I will shew thee things which must be hereafter. This voice being the second sounding of the Trumpet called the Prophet up to the open door to see the solemnity of the morning sacrifice with such other visions in the Temple as prefigured things to come. For the Trumpets sounded every day thrice: first at the opening of the gates of the Temple, then at the morning & lastly at the evening sacrifice. In the Epistles to the seven churches Iohn was bid to write things past present & to come but here he is shewn only things to come & therefore all interpretations are erroneous which apply any part of the following prophesy to things done before the prophesy was written. And immediately I was in the spirit & behold a throne was set in heaven & one sat on the throne. Iohn was in the spirit by the power of the Angel who was sent to shew him these things & standing at the open door saw the Adytum of the Temple & God sitting in it above the Ark between the Cherubims. And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper & a sardine stone; that is of an olive colour & complexion like the jasper, with the ruddy colour of the Sardius intermixed; this being the complexion of the natives of Iudea. And there was a rainbow round about the throne in sight like unto an Emerald: which implies that the Sun was then in the east or that it was the time of morning sacrifice. And round about the throne were four & twenty seats & upon the seats I saw four & twenty Elders sitting, cloathed in white raiment; & they had on their heads crowns of gold. These Elders are the Priests & Levites divided into 24 courses under 24 Princes who had 24 chambers about the Temple, twelve on one side of the Priests court & twelve on the other side thereof. Every Elder comprehends in his mystical body the Prince Priests & Levites of one course. ffor every single person in this prophesy is put for a multitude: And every elder has a viol of incense as a Priest & a harp as a Levite for the musick of the Temple. And out of the throne proceeded lightnings & thundrings & voices. Thundering is the voice of a cloud & a cloud signified a multitude. Iohn standing at the eastern gate of the outward Court saw the flames of the altar like lightnings & heard the Temple-music like thundrings & voices, as if they proceeded out of the throne. And so when Daniel saw the Ancient of days sitting & his throne like fiery flames & a fiery stream issuing forth from before him, it may be conceived that Daniel saw him as it were through the flames of the altar. And there were seven lamps of fire burning [in the seven branches of the golden candlestick in the Temple] before the throne, which [lamps] are the seven spirits of God. And before the throne [in the Priests' court, between the altar & the Porch of the temple] there was a sea of glass like unto crystal [the great brazen laver.] And in the midst of the throne & circuit of the throne that is over against the midst of it & on either hand, were four Animals or Seraphims full of eyes before and behind, and also within or under their wings. These Animals by their many eyes signify the people of Israel in the four sides of the <9r> outward court, which in Solomons Temple was the peoples court. And the first was like a Lyon, the second like a calf, the third had the face of a man & the fourth was like a flying eagle. The people in the wilderness encamped round the Tabernacle. On the east were three tribes under the standard of Iudah, on the west were three tribes under the standard of Epraim, on the south were three tribes under the standard of Reuben, & on the north were three tribes under the standard of Dan. Num. 2. And the standard of Iudah was a Lyon, that of Ephraim an Ox, that of Reuben a man & that of Dan an eagle as the Iews affirm. Whence were framed the Hieroglyphicks of Cherubims & Seraphims to represent the people of Israel, a Cherubim having one body with the four faces of a Lyon, Ox, Man & Eagle looking to the four winds of heaven without turning about & four Seraphims having the same four faces with four bodies, one face to every body. Conceive therefore that the first Beast stands on the east side of the Temple with the head of a Lyon, the second on the west side with the head of a Calf, the third on the south side with the head of a Man, & the fourth on the north side with the head of an eagle: & that these four signify all the twelve tribes of Israel, those tribes out of which the hundred forty & four thousand were sealed, Apoc. 7.4. And they had each of them six wings, two wings to a tribe, in all 24. And these are the four & twenty stations of the people of Israel answering to the 24 courses of the Priests. ffora[4] because the morning & evening sacrifices were offered for all the people & they whose sacrifices were offered were obliged to be present in the Temple, the people had their representatives distinguished into four & twenty stations or courses to attend each their week in order, & each station had its President called the President of the station. And they rest not day & night [that is morning & evening at the sacrifices] saying Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty which was & is & is to come. These animals are therefore the Seraphims which appeared to Isaiah in a vision like this of the Apocalyps. For there also the Lord sat on a throne in the Temple & the Seraphims each with six wings cryed Holy, holy, holy Lord of hosts. And when those Animals give glory & honour & thanks to him that sat on the throne who liveth for ever & ever, the four & twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne & worship him that liveth for ever & ever & cast their crowns before the throne saying, Thou <10r> art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory & honour & power: for thou hast created all things, & for thy pleasure they are & were created. At the morning & evening sacrifices so soon as the sacrifice was laid upon the Altar, & the drink offering began to be poured out the trumpets sounded & the Levites sang by course three times, & every time when the trumpets sounded a[5] the people fell down & worshipped. Three times therefore did the people worship, to express which number the Beasts cry Holy, holy, holy; & the song being ended, the people prayed standing till the solemnity was ended, & in the mean time the Priests b[6] went into the Temple & there fell down before him that sat on the throne & worshipped.

And I saw in the right hand of him that sat upon the throne a book written within & on the backside & sealed with seven seales. This alludes to the book of the Law which was laid up in the most holy place at the right side or south side of the Ark & so appeared to Iohn as it were in the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. The book of the Law the Iews distinguish into sections & call some of these section open others shut up. So the last section of Genesis wherein Iacob in blessing his sons, predicts the actions captivities & returns of their posterity & the coming of Shiloh they note for a section shut up. And in the same sense the songs & prophetic speeches & visions of Moses & the Prophets & the whole book of the law so far as its ceremonies & festivals are types of things to come, are shut up & are considered by the old Prophets as a sealed Book. So Isaiah:[7] Bind up the testimony, seal the Law among my disciples. And again: the Lord hath poured out upon you the spirit of deep sleep, & hath closed your eyes & the Prophets your Rulers hath he covered, & the vision of all is become as a Book that is sealed which men deliver to one that is learned saying: Read this I pray thee, & he saith, I cannot for it is sealed. So Daniel whose visions concern the things prefigured in the Law is bid to shut up the vision of the Ram & Goat. And in his last vision when the Angel comes to shew him what is noted in the Scripture of truth he is bid to shut up the words & seal the book & told that the words are sealed till the time of the end, & then knowledge shall be encreased. This book of the scripture of truth thus sealed is the book in the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. For understanding how it was written within & on the backside & sealed, conceive that the prophesies of the first six seals being short & single were written on the first six leaves within & that that of the times of the seventh seale being long & variously repeated was written on the seventh leaf within & on the backside & also on the first page of the eighth leaf, & that the book was composed of these eight leaves & sealed either with seven seales put in between the leaves or by tacking every two leaves together by a label & sealing the seven labels, or in any other manner so that by opening the seales successively the leaves might be opened in order. Now this book was of so great consequence that Iohn saith I saw a strong Angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book & to loose the seales thereof? And none in heaven nor in earth neither under the earth was able to open the book neither to look thereon. And I wept much because no man was found worthy to open & to read the book neither to look thereon. And one of the Elders said unto me, Weep not: behold the Lion of the tribe of Iudah, the root of David hath prevailed to open the book & to loose the seven seales thereof And I beheld, & lo, in the midst of the throne [that is, at the foot of the Altar over against the midst of the throne] & in the midst of the four Animals & of the Elders stood a Lamb as it had been slain [that is, at the morning sacrifice] & he came & took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne All the Priests were allowed to go into the Holy Place to worship, but none were allowed to go into the most Holy besides the high Priest. And when he had taken the book, the four Animals & four & twenty Elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them Harps & golden Vials full of odours which are the prayers of the Saints And they sung a new song saying, Thou art worthy to take the book & open the Seales thereof: for thou wast slain & hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred & tongue & people & nation, & hast made us unto our God kings & priests & we shall reign over the earth. Whence its manifest that the Animals & Elders are Christians of all nations. And I beheld & I heard the voice of many Angels round about the throne & [round about the Animals & the Elders, and the number of them was ten thousand times <11r> ten thousand & thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power & riches & wisdome & strength & honour & glory & blessing. Because he humbled himself & became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross, therefore God hath highly exalted him & given him a name which is above every name; that at the name of Iesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven & things in earth & things under the earth; & that every tongue should confess that Iesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. And every creature which is in heaven & on the earth & under the earth & such as are in the sea & all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing & honour & glory & power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne & unto the Lamb for ever & ever. And the four Animals said, Amen. And the four & twenty elders fell down & worshipped him that liveth for ever & ever.

Thus have you in these visions the worship described of true Christians, such as know the Father & the Son whilst others deny them by worshipping the Beast & his Image. For the Beast & his Image are in this prophesy opposed to God & Christ, & to worship the first is to forsake blasphem & deny the last & go a whoring after other Gods. Deut 31.16: Iosh. 24.15, 16, 20, 27. Iob. 31.28. Isa. 65.

Chap. III
The Prophesy of opening thesealed Book & of sounding the Trumpets described.

Conceive now that by opening the first seal the first leaf of the book was opened & by opening the second seale the second leaf was opened.) & so on till all the leaves were opened (in order conceive also that every written page conteined a distinct prophesy & that the times of the first six Seales were predicted each of them once namely on the six inside pages of the first six leaves, & that of the seventh thrice or upon the three next pages, vizt the two pages of the seventh leaf & the first page of the eight, every page conteining prophesy of the whole time of this seale. And lastly conceive: that when the Lamb had opened the first six seales & their visions were past, he viewed the writing on the outside or first page of the seventh leaf while the winds hurt the earth and sea, then opened the seventh seal & viewed the writing on the inside of the same leaf while the Trumpets sounded, then being transformed into the shape of an Angel with the book open in his hand, viewed the inside of the seventh leaf again while the thunders uttered their voices; then having cast his eye upon the eighth leaf gave Iohn the book to eat, & while Iohn was digesting the eaten book prophesied to him by memory out of the eigthth leaf untill the seventh Trumpet sounded: and that Iohn being now inspired anew by eating & digesting the book prophesied again out of it to the end of the Apocalyps beginning with these words And the Temple of God was opened in heaven & repeating the whole prophesy in the same order as before, but under other forms of visions.

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It was the custome for the High Priest seven days before the ffast of the seventh month to continue constantly in the Temple & study the book of the Law that he might be perfect in it against the day of expiration, wherein the service which was various & intricate was wholy to be performed by himself, of which service one part was reading the Law to the people. And to promote his studying it, there were certain Priests appointed by the Sanedrim to be with him those seven days in one of his chambers in the Temple & there to discourse with him about the Law & read it to him & put him in mind of reading & studying it him self. And this his opening & reading the law those seven days is alluded unto in the Lambs opening the seven seales. Conceive that the seven days begin in the evening & that the solemnity of the ffast begins in the morning of the seventh day.

The seventh seal was therefore opened on the day of Expiation & then there was silence in heaven for half an hour & an Angel (the high Priest) stood at the Altar having a golden censer & there was given him much incense that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden Altar which was before the throne. The custome was on other days for one of the Priests to take fire from the great Altar in a silver censer, but on this day for the High Priest to take fire from the great Altar in a Golden censer, & when he was come down from the great altar he took incense from one of the Priests that brought it to him & went with it to the golden Altar, & while he offered the incense the people prayed without in silence which is the silence in heaven for half an hour. And when the High Priest had laid the incense on the Altar he carried a censer of it burning in his hand into the most Holy place before the Ark. And the smoke of the incense with the prayers of the saints ascended up before God out of the Angel's hand. On other days there was a certain measure of incense for the golden Altar: on this day there was a greater quantity for both the Altar & the most Holy, & therefore it is called much incense After this the Angel took the censer & filled it with fire of the (great) Altar & cast it to the earth, that is, by the hands of the Priests who belong to his mystical body he cast it to the earth without the Temple for burning the Goat which was the Lords Lot. And at this & other concomitant sacrifices untill the evening sacrifice was ended, there were voices & thundrings & lightnings & an earthquake, that is, the voice of the High Priest reading the Law to the people & other voices & thundrings of the trumpets & temple-musick at the sacrifices & lightnings of the fire of the Altar.

The solemnity of the day of Expiation being finished <13r> the seven Angels sound their Trumpets at the great sacrifices of the seven days of the feast of Tabernacles, & at the same sacrifices the seven Thunders utter their voices which are the Musick of the Temple intermixt with the soundings of the Trumpets, & the seven Angels pour out their Viols of wrath which are the drink offerings of those sacrifices.

Before the Lamb opened the seventh seal & looked on the prophesy on the inside of the seventh leaf, you are to conceive that he viewed the synchronal prophesy on the outside of the same leaf. And upon his viewing it Iohn saith: And after these things [that is, after the visions of the sixt seal] I saw four Angels standing on the four corners of the earth holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth nor on the sea nor on any tree. And I saw another Angel ascending from the east having the seal of the living God; & he cried with a loud voice to the four Angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth & the sea, saying, Hurt not the earth neither the sea nor the trees till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. ✝ < insertion from f 12v > of our God in their foreheads. ✝ This sealing alludes to a tradition of the Iews that upon the day of Expiation all the people of Israel are sealed up in the books of life & death. [8] For the Iews in their Talmud tell us that in the beginning of every new year or first day of the Month Tisri, three books {are} opened in judgment, the book of life in which the names of those are written who are perfectly just, the book of death in which the names of those are written who are atheists or very wicked & a third book of those whose judgment is suspended till the day of expiation & whose names are not written in the books of life & death before that day. The first ten days of this month they call the penitential days, & all these days they fast & pray much & are very devout that on the tenth day their sins may be remitted & their names may be written in the book of life, which day is therefore called the day of Expiation. And upon this tenth day in returning home from their synagogues they say to one another, God the creator seal you to a good year. For they conceive that the books are now sealed up, & that the sentence of God remains unchanged henceforward to the end of the year. And the same thing is signified by the two Goats upon whose foreheads the High Priest yearly in the day of Expiation lays the two lots inscribed. For God & For Azazel, Gods Goat signifying the people who are sealed with the name of God in their foreheads.

The servants of God being therefore sealed in the day of Expiation, conceive that the four Angels which hold the four winds were the first four of the seven Angels which stood before God. < text from f 13r resumes > Conceive that the four Angels were the first four of the seven Angels which stood before God & appeared upon opening the seventh seal & that upon their holding the blustering noisy winds there was silence in heaven for half an hour, & that in the time of this silence before the sealing of the servants of God, the Angel with the golden censer offered their prayers with incense upon the golden Altar. & that so soon as they were sealed the winds hurt the earth at the sounding of the first Trumpet & the sea at the sounding of the second, these winds being the wars of the first four Trumpets. For as the first four seals are distinguished from the three last by the appearance of four horsmen towards the four winds of heaven, so the wars of the first four Trumpets are distinguished from those of the three last by representing these by the four winds & the others by three great Woes. In one of Ezekiel's visions,[9] when the Baylonian captivity was at hand, six men appeared with slaughter weapons A man cloathed in linnen with a writer's inkhorn by his side, is commanded to go through the midst of Ierusalem, & set a mark upon the foreheads of the men who sigh & cry for all the abominations done in the midst thereof, & then other six men (like the Angels of the first six Trumpets) are commanded to slay those who are not marked, & after them the man cloathed in linnen (a seventh) scatters over the city coals of fire to consume it. These visions have relation to one another, & the six first men with the slaughter weapons answer to the six first Angels with the trumpets & the seventh man with the writers inkhorn to the seventh Angel. Whence it may be understood that the Angel who ascended from the east with the seal of the living God, was the seventh Angel, & that the servants <14r> of God whom he sealed continued till he was ready to sound, & kept the feast of tabernacles & then by the preaching of the everlasting Gospel grew into an innumerable multitude of all nations & on the seventh day of the feast or at the sounding of the seventh trumpet, kept the solemnity of the great Hosannah; coming out of the great tribulation with palm branches in their hands & crying, Salvation (that is Hosannah) to our God. For the solemnity of the great Hosannah was kept upon the seventh day the great day of the ffeast, & the carrying of palm-branches & crying Hosannah are symbols of a great victory, that victory by which at the sounding of the seventh trumpet the mystery of God is finished & the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord & his Christ who reign for ever & ever. For after they come out of the great tribulation they are before the throne of god & serve him day & night in his Temple, & he that sitteth upon the throne shall [thence forward] dwell among them They shall hunger no more neither thirst any more neither shall the [scorching] Sun light on them nor any heat. For the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them [with the fruits of the tree of life] & lead them unto living fountains of waters And therefore they are the everlasting kingdom of our Lord & his Christ which at the sounding of the seventh Trumpet is set up & is afterwards called the new Ierusalem coming down from heaven, the Bride, the Lambs wife, of whom its said. Behold the tabernacle of God is with men & he will dwell among them - - & wipe away all tears from their eyes & give unto him that is a thirst of the fountain of the water of life freely - - - & on either side of the river was the tree of life which bare twelve manner of fruits & yeilded her fruit every month. - - - And they shall need no candle neither light of the Sun for the Lord God giveth them light, & they shall reign for ever & ever.

After six of the Angels answering to the six men with slaughter weapons, had sounded their Trumpets; the Lamb in the form of a mighty Angel came down from heaven cloathed with a cloud & a rainbow upon his head & his face was as it were the Sun & his feet as pillars of fire [the shape in which Christ appeared in the beginning of this prophesy] & he had in his hand a little book open, the book which he had newly opened. ffor he received but one book from him that sitteth upon the throne, & he alone was worthy to open & look on this book. Conceive that he continues to look on the inside of the seventh leaf which he was viewing before in the shape of a Lamb, & thereby repeats the prophesy of that page. And he set his right foot on the sea & his left foot on the earth & cried with a loud voice as when a lyon roareth. It was the custome for the High Priest on the day of Expiation to stand in an elevated place in the peoples court at the eastern gate of the Priests Court & read the law to the people while the Heifer & Goat which was the Lords lot, were burning without the Temple. Conceive him standing in such a manner that his right foot might appear to Iohn as it were standing on the water of the sea of glass & his left foot on <15r> the ground of the House, & that he cried with an articulate voice, reading out of the book with a loud voice as of a roaring Lion & that this his crying with a loud voice is a repetition of the prophesy of the voices thundrings lightnings & earthquake which were concomitant to the Angels filling the golden censer with fire from the Altar & casting it to the earth. ffor both Angels are the same High Priest & his reading the law was a part of those voices. And when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. Thunders are the voices of a cloud & a cloud signifies a multitude. Conceive these thunders to be the voices of the cloud wherewith the Angel is cloathed & that this cloud signifies the Levites standing upon the steps of the eastern gate of the Priests court behind the high Priest & appearing round about him & with harps & other musical instruments playing & singing aloud as it were with voices of thunder, at the sacrifices of the seven days of the feast of Tabernacles when the seven Trumpets sounded. For the trumpets sounded & the Levites sang alternately three times at every sacrifice & therefore the seven thunders are nothing else then a repetition of the prophesy of the seven Trumpets in another form. And I heard a voice from heaven saying, Seale up those things which the seven thunders uttered & write them not. For they being a repetition of the prophesy of the seven trumpets it was unnecessary to write them here. And the Angel which I saw stand upon the sea & upon the earth, lifted up his hand to heaven & sware by him that liveth for ever & ever that [after the seven thunders or trumpets] there should be time no longer, but in the days of the voice of the seventh Angel when he shall begin to sound the mystery of God should be finished as he hath declared to his servants the Prophets.

And the voice which I heard from heaven [saying, seale up those things which the seven thunders uttered] spake to me again & said, Go & take the little book &c And I took the little book out of the Angels hand & ate it up & it was in my mouth sweet as honey & as soon as I had eaten it my belly was bitter. And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples & nations & tongues & kings. This is an introduction to a new prophesy, to a repetition of the prophesy of the whole book, & alludes to Ezekiel's eating a roll or book spread open before him & written within & without & full of lamentations & mourning & wo, but sweet in his mouth. Eating & drinking signify acquiring & possessing. So eating flesh is put for acquiring riches Dan. 7.5, 23. Eating Christ's flesh & drinking his blood for beleiving on him & receiving his doctrine (Iohn 6,) & the leaven of the Pharisees is their doctrine (Mat. 16.12) & the tree of life & water of life are wisdom & understanding (Prov. 3.18 & 15.4, & 13.14 & 14.27 & 16.22.) And drinking the water of life is receiving the spirit (Iohn 7.39.) And so eating the book is becoming inspired with the prophesy conteined in it. It implies a being inspired in a vigorous & extraordinary manner with the prophesy of the <16r> whole book & therefore signifies a lively repetition of the whole prophesy & begins not till the first prophesy, that of the seals & trumpets {is ended}. It was sweet in Iohn's mouth & therefore begins not with the bitter prophesy of the Babylonian captivity & the gentiles being in the outward court & treading down the holy city & the prophesying of the two witnesses in sackcloth & their smiting the earth with all plagues & being killed by the Beast; but so soon as the prophesy of the Trumpets is ended it begins with the sweet prophesy of the glorious woman in heaven & the victory of Michael over the Dragon & after that it is bitter in Iohn's belly by a large description of the times of the great Apostacy. Conceive therefore that the Angel, before he gave Iohn the book to eat, viewed the writing on the first page of the eighth leafe, & that when Iohn had eaten the book & in order to a new prophesy was digesting it, the Angel described the times of the seventh seal once more by memory out of that page in the manner following.

* < insertion from f 15v > * And the Angel stood [upon the earth & sea in the Temple above described] saying, Rise & measure the Temple of God & the Altar & them that worship therin, [that is their courts with the buildings thereon, vizt the square court of the Temple called the separate place & the square court of the Altar called the Priests court, & the court of them that worship in the Temple called the new court] but the [great] Court which is without the Temple leave out & measure it not for it is given to the Gentiles & the holy city shall they tread under foot forty & two months. The visions had hitherto appeared in the first Temple, & those of sealing the saints sounding the Trumpets & uttering the thunders had alluded unto the fast & feast of the seventh month celebrated in this Temple. The Angel still appears in the same Temple untill the sounding of the seventh Trumpet on the last day of that feast: but in prophesying out of a new leaf of the book describes the times of the seventh seal by alluding unto the Babylonian captivity & the building of a second Temple. This Temple is not shewed unto Iohn, but the Angel commands him to measure the inner Courts of the first Temple to signify that they should be rebuilt for the worship of the people of God & to leave the outward court of this Temple unmeasured to signify that it should not be rebuilt but be given to the Gentiles, those Gentiles who captivate the holy city & tread it under foot, that is to the Babylonians, the Whore of Babylon & her Beast & those that worship him. For measuring is a type of building (Zech. 2 & Ezek. 40) & the outward court of the Temple was not rebuilt by Zerubbabel but left open to the Babylonians & called the court of the Gentiles. Measuring is also < text from f 16r resumes > < insertion from f 15v > < text from f 16r resumes > Measuring is also a type of distinguishing th{at which} is measured from that which is left unmeasured or from that {which} is measured for another purpose, as is evident by Davids measuring Moab with a line, even with two lines to put to death & with one full line to keep alive (2 Sam. 8.) And therefore in this prophesy the measuring a part of the temple for the saints & leaving out the rest for the gentiles, signifies the same thing with numbering & sealing the servants of God in their foreheads & leaving the rest of the 12 tribes unsealed or marking them with the mark of the Beast. For the servants of God by being numbred & sealed out of the 12 tribes, are, as lively stones, built up a new spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Iesus Christ 1 Pet. 2.5. And I will give power unto my two Witnesses & they shall prophesy 1260 days, that is all the time that the Gentiles tread the holy City underfoot. These are the two olive trees & the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. In the first Temple there were seven candlesticks representing the seven churches of Asia: in the second there are two Candlesticks to represent two churches here called the two witnesses. These are called two Prophets with respect to Haggai & Zechary who prophesied at the building of the second temple. They are also called witnesses because it is the business of prophets to testify against wicked men (2 Chron. 24.19.) & olive trees with respect to the two Olive trees which Zechary describes in the second temple (Zech 4.) <16v> <17r> describes in the second Temple, Zech. 4. The visions being in the Temple, the candlesticks must be conceived to resemble the candlesticks in the Temple. In the Tabernacle there was one golden candlestick with seven branches & seven lamps upon the branches, & in the Temple of Solomon there were ten such candlesticks; but in the Apocalyps there were but seven lamps & therefore but one candlestick with seven branches, which branches are called the seven golden candlesticks. One branch was in the middle & three on either side (Exod. 25.32) & thereby the lamps were in a right line so as to appear to Iohn like a rod of seven stars in the right hand of the Son of Man. The seven candlesticks signify seven churches & all seven are but one sevenfold Church & so are most fitly represented by one sevenfold candlestick. The seven lamps enlighten the Temple, & the Temple represents the Church catholick. These lamps are the seven spirits of God (Apoc. 4.5) & the seven spirits are sent forth into all the earth (Apoc. 5.6.) & Zech 4.10) & therefore the lamps are the light of the Church catholick & the sevenfold candlestick is a symbol of the Church catholick. And the same thing is signified by the Lamb with his seven horns & seven eyes. His mystical body is the Church catholick, his eyes are the seven spirits of God & his horns the seven churches. Before the writing of this Prophesy the light of the gospel came to all nations from Ierusalem. Vpon the Iewish war the Apostles with the Church of Ierusalem fled from that city & Christ by the seven epistles instructed the seven Churches of Asia that they might instruct others, & dressed their lamps that they might shine bright, & Iohn presiding there long after the death of the rest of the Apostles & instructing them left a race of disciples which made those churches the great light of the Church catholick in the first ages of the Christian religion untill the Woman (with an outward form of Church government) fled from the Temple into the wilderness & ceased to be illuminated any longer by the light of these lamps. And then in allusion to the times of the Babylonian captivity a second Temple is built for the worship of those who remain in Iudea & in the holy City now troden under foot by the Babylonian Gentiles: & the outward court of this Temple is left open & unbuilt & given to those Gentiles.

In the second Temple there was a Candlestick with seven lamps whose form is thus described in the visions of Zechary ch 4. The lamps were joyned to a golden bowle by seven golden pipes through which the oyle ran into them & the bowle stood upon a golden candlestick & was joyned to two vessels of oyle on either side by two golden pipes through which the oyle ran into it, & the two vessels were supported by two Olive trees, not living trees growing upon a root & flourishing with branches & leaves, but shafts of Olive wood. These two Olive trees & this candlestick (suppose with two branches) are alluded unto in the Apocalyps, the name of candlestick which in the old Testament is given to the stem with all its branches, being in this Prophesy given to each of the branches. Now Candlesticks signify churches as above & so do Olive trees Rom. 11.17, 24. & since the two Candlesticks support the golden bowle with all the seven lamps, & the two Olive trees supply them with oyle for illuminating the whole Temple of God, they must represent the whole Church of God distin-

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describes in the second Temple. Zech. 4. The visions being in the Temple, the candlesticks must be conceived to resemble the candlesticks in the Temple. In the Tabernacle there was one golden candlestick with seven branches & seven lamps upon the branches & in the temple of Solomon there were ten such candlesticks, but in the Apocalyps there were but seven lamps & therefore but one candlestick with seven branches, which branches are called the seven golden candlesticks. One branch was in the middle & three on either side (Exod 25.32) & thereby the lamps were in a right line so as to appear to Iohn like a rod of seven stars in the right hand of the son of man. The seven Candlesticks signify seven churches & all seven are but one sevenfold Church & so are most fitly represented by one sevenfold candlestick. The seven Lamps enlighten the Temple & the Temple represents the Church catholick. These lamps are the seven spirits of God (Apoc. 4.5) & the seven spirits are sent forth into all the earth (Apoc. 5.6 & Zech 4.10) & therefore the lamps are the light of the Church catholick & the sevenfold candlestick is a symbol of the Church catholick. < insertion from f 17v > These have power, like Elijah & Elisha in the reign of Iezabel, to shut heaven that it rain not in the days of their prophesy. < text from f 17Ar resumes > And the same thing is signifyed by the Lamb with his seven horns & seven eyes. His mystical body is the Church catholick, his eyes are the seven spirits of God & his horns the seven churches.

Now this vision of the sevenfold candlestick & of the Lamb with seven horns continues while the Lamb is opening the seven seals: but upon opening the seventh seal the Lamb changes his shape & appears in the form of the high Priest with a golden censer to offer the prayers of the saints upon the golden altar. I say he changes his shape: for he never appears in two shapes at once. And at the same time, instead of the seven candlesticks of gold there are two Candlesticks of olive tree. And hence forward the Church catholick is represented by the mystical body of Christ in the form of an high <17Br> Priest with his leggs burning as it were in a furnace by reason of the persecutions, & by two candlesticks called Olive trees in allusion to the vision of Zechary. In that vision the seven lamps were joyned to a golden bowle by seven golden pipes through which the oyle ran into them, & the bowle stood upon a golden candlestick & was joyned to two vessels of oyle on either side by two golden pipes though which the oyle ran into it, & the two vessels were supported by two olive trees, not living trees growing upon a root & flourishing with branches & leaves, but shafts of olive wood. In the Apocalyps the two olive trees are called two candlesticks, & therefore you may conceive that in the visions as they appeared to Iohn, the whole golden frame of the lamps & bowle & two vessels of oyle are supported by two candlesticks of olive tree standing under the two vessels of oyle, without the golden candlestick under the bowle, there being no mention of this golden candlestick in the visions of Iohn.

Christ threatened to remove the Candlestick of Ephesus out of its place & to spew the Church of Laodicea out of his mouth. These being two branches of the sevenfold golden candlestick, were not to be removed alone Conceive therefore that at the opening of the seventh seale, when the Lamb with seven horns changes his shape into that of the high Priest or Angel standing at the golden altar & as it were on the earth & sea, the sevenfold golden candlestick is removed & the two candlesticks of olive wood come into its place; & that the Angel continues standing with right foot on the earth & his left foot on the sea all the time of this vision of the two candlesticks of olive wood supporting the seven lamps: & that the Church catholick which had been hitherto represented by the sevenfold golden candlestick & by the mystical body of Christ in the form of a Lamb with seven horns is henceforward represented by the two candlesticks of olive wood & by the mystical body of Christ standing with his right foot on the earth & his left foot on the sea. ffor Candlesticks signify Churches, & the two candlesticks which support all the seven lamps can signify nothing less then the Church catholick. As Nebuchadnezzars image by its ten toes represented the division of the fourth monarchy into ten kingdoms: : so Christ by his two leggs standing on the earth & sea represents the Church catholick seated in the two empires of the earth & sea, & these are the two Candlesticks & the two Witnesses which prophesy in the times of the seventh seale.

And if any man will hurt them fire procedeth out of their mouth & devoureth their enemies: These have power to shut heaven that it rain not in the days of their prophesy: that is, they have the power of Elijah & Elisha & are persecuted by the woman in the wilderness as the prophets were by Iezabel in a dry & barren season. And they have power to turn the waters into blood & to smite the earth with all plagues as often as they will At the sounding of the first Trumpet they consume their enemies with fire cast on the earth, at the sounding of the second they turn the waters of the sea into blood, & in the following Trumpets & the seven Vials of wrath called the seven last plagues they smite the earth with all plagues. For they continue till the seventh Trumpet sounds. And when they shall be finishing their testimony the Beast which ascends out of the abyss [or sea] shall make war against them and shall overcome them & kill them, or dissolve their bodies ecclesiastical. And their dead bodies shall lye in the street [or province] of the great city which is spiritually called Sodom & Egypt & [Babylon] where [or in whose street] our Lord was crucified. Sodom for its spiritual whoredome or uncleanness, Ægypt for its persecution, & Babylon for its captivating & treading under foot the holy city, destroying the first Temple & invading the outward court of the second Temple, & worshipping its kings & setting up an image to be worshipped by all people nations & languages upon pain of death. Afterwards these Witnesses rise again, affright their enemies & ascend up to heaven in a cloud [or multitude] & a tenth part of the great city falls which puts an end to the second Wo: After which the third Wo comes quickly, & puts an end to the prophesy of the seals & Trumpets.

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guished into two Churches. And the same distinction was represented by the son of Man appearing in the beginning of the Prophesy with two flaming eyes & two feet burning as it were in a furnace. His mystical body represents the Church catholick & his eyes & leggs denote the division of this Church into two parts, the churches of the earth & Sea For afterwards when the Son of man in the form of an Angel comes down from heaven with feet as pillars of fire he sets his right foot upon the sea & his left foot upon the earth . He has a little book open in his hand to signify that this last vision relates to the times which follow the opening of all the seales. He stands in this posture all the time that he is prophesying concerning the second Temple & two Witnesses. And therefore the two Witnesses being represented by the two Candlesticks & two Olive trees in this Temple & so being the Churches of Christ which worship in this Temple, they are the same churches with those represented by his two feet, the churches diffused through the nations of earth & sea.

In allusion to the prophesying of the prophets Haggai & Zechary at the building of the second Temple, the two Witnesses of Christ are said to prophesy in sackcloth while the Babylonian gentiles tread the Holy city under foot. And if any man will hurt them fire proceedeth out of their mouth & devoureth their enemies. These have power [like Elijah & Elisha in the reign of Iezabel] to shut heaven that it rain not in the days of their prophesy And [like Moses & Aaron in Egypt] they have power to turn the waters into blood & to smite the earth with all plagues as often as they will. For the seven lamps of these two candlesticks are the seven spirits or Angels which stand before the throne of God & sound the seven Trumpets & have the seven last plagues or Vials of wrath. At the sounding of the first Trumpet they consume their enemies with fire cast on the earth, at the sounding of the second they turn the waters of the sea into blood & in the following Trumpets & the Vialls of wrath called the seven last plagues they smite the earth with all plagues. For they continue till the seventh Trumpet sounds. And when they shall be finishing their testimony, the Beast which ascends out of the abyss [or Sea] shall make war against them & shall overcome them & kill them or dissolve their bodies ecclesiastical. And their dead bodies shall lye in the street [or Province] of the great city which is spiritually called Sodom & Egypt & [Babylon] where [or in whose street] our Lord was crucified. Sodom for its spiritual whoredom Egypt for its persecution & Babylon for its captivating & treading under foot the holy City, destroying the first Temple & invading the outward Court of the second Temple & worshipping its kings & setting up an Image to be worshipped by all people nations & languages upon pain of death. Afterwards these witnesses rise again, affright their enemies & ascend up to heaven in a cloud [or multitude] & a tenth part of the great city falls, which puts an end to the second Wo. After which the third Wo comes quickly & puts an end to the prophesy of the Seals & Trumpets.

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Chap. IV.
The Prophesy of the eaten Book described.

As several visions in Daniel have interpretations annexed to them so hath Iohn's prophesy of the seales & trumpets, & this interpretation is a repetition of the prophesy of the whole book in the same order as before & in a manner more full & sensible, as is signified by Iohn's eating & digesting the book & thereby becoming inspired with the whole prophesy anew more intimately & perfectly then before when he only saw the book at a distance: The repetition begins thus.

And the Temple of God was opened in heaven & there was seen in his Temple the Ark of his testament. As the former prophesy began with a door opened in heaven so doth this There Iohn saw a throne set in heaven & God sitting upon it here he sees in the Temple the Ark of the Testament which is God's throne. This Temple was the first temple, or if you please the temple of the tabernacle as it is afterwards called, that is the tabernacle & first temple together. ffor the second temple had no Ark.

And there were lightnings & voices & thunderings & an earthquake & great hail: a short representation of the wars of the four horsmen which appeared at opening the first four seals.

And there appeared a great wonder in [the Temple of] heaven, a woman cloathed with the Sun & the Moon under her feet. Conceive her appearing through the bright flame of the Altar with her feet upon the burning coals of the altar as upon an half moon, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars representing the twelve Apostles. She is therefore the church from the days of the twelve Apostles: for her seed keep the commandments of God & have the testimony of Iesus. The Church catholick which was before represented by a golden candlestick with seven branches is now represented by this Woman.

And she being with child cried travelling in birth & pained to be delivered: which came to pass at the opening of the fift seal by the great persecution there described

And there appeared another wonder in heaven, & behold a great red Dragon [the Roman heathen Empire] having seven heads & ten horns & seven crowns upon this heads. This Dragon being the old serpent called the Devil & Satan, is that Devil who hath his seat in Pergamus, that is the Greek empire in the reign of the last horn of Daniel's He Goat, which horn was mighty but not in his own power but in the power of the Romans as was shewed above. His heads being crowned are seven kings or dynasties of kings or successive reigns, such as the kingdom was distinguished into by the opening of the seven seales. For the first four of these reigns are represented by four horsmen with armies & standards & a crown is given to the first horsman to shew that he is a king, & it is to be conceived that all the seven are of a kind. The reign of the Dragon therefore so far as it is considered in this prophesy begins with the opening of the first seale.

And the great Dragon was cast out [of heaven] — & his Angels <20r> were cast out with him, as is represented by the smiting of the sun moon & stars & the passing away of heaven at the opening of the sixt seale. He was cast out of the Temple above into the Peoples court.

< insertion from f 19v > ‡ And he came down to the inhabiters of the earth & sea, the earth & sea which were hurt at the sounding of the two first Trumpets, the earth & sea upon which the son of man in the form of an Angel set his left foot & his right. To reign over the nations of this earth & sea the Dragon came down with great wrath, And he persecuted the Woman which brought forth the Man-child, & to the Woman were given two wings of a great Eagle. The great eagle denotes the Roman Empire & by the division of this Empire into the Empires of the earth & sea or Greeks & Latines, the Woman or Church catholick diffused through this Empire, receives two wings of a great Eagle.

< text from f 20r resumes >

And the woman fled into the wilderness, & left in the Temple a remnant of her seed who keep the commandments of God & have the testimony of Iesus Christ. Conceive that this division of the Church into the woman & the remnant of her seed was made at the opening of the seventh seale when 144000 were numbered & sealed out of all the twelve tribes of Israel & the sevenfold candlestick was removed out of the temple: & that Iohn saw the woman flying from the Dragon & from the Temple through the wilderness or desert of Arabia to the city Babylon seated on the many waters of Eufrates where she commits spiritual fornication with the great men of Babylon in worshipping Dæmons or dead mens souls & images of metal wood & stone which can neither hear nor see nor walk.

< insertion from f 19v > ✝ About the same time that the woman fled there arose up two Beasts one out of the sea the other out of the earth. The first Beast had seven heads & a mortal wound in one of them & his wound was healed & he revived before he arose. And in allusion to the custome of the Heathens of deifying & worshipping their kings after death & erecting Temples & Images & sometimes Oracles to them & marking their worshippers: the second Beast acts the part of a Priest & maketh or createth all the power of the first Beast before him, that is, he deifies this Hero, this Man of sin & makes him of divine authority among the people. And he causeth the earth & them that dwell therein to worship this first Beast whose deadly wound was healed. And he maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men for sacrificing the saints on his altars. And he deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by fals miracles saying that they should make an Image to the Beast which had the wound by a sword & revived. And he gave breath to the Image that the Image shold both speak like one of the ancient heathen Oracles, & [by dictating] cause that as may as would not worship the Image should be killed. And he causeth all both small & great, rich & poor, free & bond to receive a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads, that is all who are not at the same time sealed with the seale of the living God. For all that dwell upon the earth worship this beast whose names are not written in the book of life, that is all who are not sealed. And after this marking Iohn looked & lo a Lamb stood on mount Sion & with him an hundred & forty four thousand having his name & his fathers name written in their foreheads. Conceive that between the opening of the seventh seal & sounding of the first Trumpet the people represented by the twelve tribes of Israel became divided into two parties one of which being very small was numbered & sealed with the seale of God the other being very great & universal was marked with the mark of the Beast & that so soon as this sealing & marking was finished, that is, at or a little before the sounding of the first Trumpet, the Lamb stood on mount Sion with the 144 thousand who were newly sealed.

< text from f 20r resumes >

This marking & sealing alludes to a custome of the heathens of marking servants with the mark or name of their masters souldiers with the mark or name of their king & worshippers of a God with the mark or name of the God, as by marking the worshippers of Bacchus with the figure of an ivy leaf or with any of the names of Bacchus or with the number made up of the numeral letters of his name. And such marks or names or numbers were usually set upon the forehead or neck or right hand or arm or breast of the person marked & were made sometimes by burning & sometimes by pricking & colouring the flesh. So Lucian tells us that all the worshippers of the Dea Syria were marked some in the palm of their hand others in their neck & that from thence it came to pass that all the Assyrians appeared with marks upon them, that is all those whom he there calls Assyrians, including the Syrians & Babylonians. And this custome was very ancient being interdicted by Moses: Ye shall not print any mark upon you I am the Lord your God Levit. 19.28.

In the solemnity of the ffast of the seventh month the attonement for the sins of the people was made by two Goats the one God's lot, the other Azazel's that is the Devil's. Which of the two Goats should be God's was determined by lot. The lots were of gold one with the inscription For God, the other with the inscription For Azazel. These lots were put into a box & shaken & the High Priest, one of the Goats being set at his right hand & the other at his left, put both his hands together into the box, took out the lots, & laid the right hand lot on the head of the right hand Goat & the left hand lot on the head of the left hand Goat And then Gods lot was sacrificed as a sin offering to cleanse the sanctuary from the sins of the people, & Azazel's lot had the sins of the people confest over him & put upon his head, & so loaden <21r> with their sins was let go into the wilderness. Thus by these two Goats was signified a separation of the people into two parties with the names of God & Azazel upon their foreheads. And in allusion to this ceremony there are numbered & sealed with the name of God on their foreheads an hundred forty & four thousand out of the twelve tribes of Israel & the rest are marked with the mark or name of the Beast. And the glorious woman in heaven who signifies the church of God or twelve tribes of Israel separated from a remnant of her seed becomes loaden with sins & flys into the wilderness with a name on her forehead, Mystery, Babylon the great the mother of harlots & abominations of the earth: & the remnant of her seed keep the commandments of God & have the testimony of Iesus & the name of God is on their forehead & they are mystically killed or sacrificed for not worshipping the Image of the Beast, being the first fruits unto God in respect of the following harvest.

And I heard a voice from [the temple of] heaven as the voice of many waters [or much people] & as the voice of a great thunder; & I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: & they sing as it were a new song before the throne & before the four Beasts & the elders [& by consequence in the Temple] & no man could learn that song but the hundred & forty four thousand. A new song denotes a new state of things & singing is prophesying. Conceive this harping & singing to be the temple musick performed at the eastern gate of the Priests court at the dedication of a new Temple, praising God for {their} escaping the mark of the Beast & being sealed with teh seal of God in their foreheads. You may conceive also that the 144000 continue on mount Sion with the Lamb & sing at the sacrifices of the first six days of the feast of tabernacles & that no man else could learn their song because all others worship the Beast. Conceive also that in some considerable part of this time the Gentiles tread down the holy city 42 months, the two witnesses prophesy in sackcloth 1260 days, the woman is fed in the wilderness 1260 days & a time times & half a time & the Beast speaks great things & blasphemies 42 months ffor all these things are of a length & agree in the nature of the things & therefore are coincident to one another & make but one period of time

These are they which were not defiled with weomen; for they are Virgins. opposed to them who committ fornication with the great whore. These are they which follow the Lamb whethersoever he goeth, in obeying his commandments, while all the rest wonder after the Beast These were redeemed from among men being the first fruits unto God & to the Lamb with respect to the following harvest. And in their mouth was found no lye as in the mouth of the ffals Prophet: for they are true witnesses & have the testimony of Iesus, & their song is a true prophesy, the prophesy of the two Witnesses.

And I saw an Angel fly in the midst of heaven having the everlasting Gospel [the scripture of truth now opened by the event of things] to preach unto them that dwell on the earth even to every nation & kindred & tongue & people; saying with a loud voice, Fear God & give glory to him for the hour of his judgement is come and [instead of the Beast & his Image] worship him who made heaven & earth & the sea & the fountains of waters. And there followed another Angel saying Babylon the great is fallen is fallen, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. Conceive that when the times of the great Apostacy or first six Trumpets are expiring <22r> the hundred & forty four thousand by the preaching of the everlasting gospel & the double fall of Babylon become an innumerable multitude of all nations.

And a third Angel followed them saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the Beast & his Image & receive his mark in his forehead or in his hand [vizt in the time of the great tribulation or last persecution of the innumerable multitude] the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation & he shall be tormented with fire & brimstone in the presence of the holy Angels & in the presence of the Lamb. - Here is the patience of the saints here are they that keep the commandments of God & the faith of Iesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which dye in the Lord from henceforth: yea saith the spirit that they may rest from their labours & their works do follow them. All this is introductory to the great tribulation & now follows the tribulation it self. And I looked & behold a white cloud & upon the cloud one sat like the son of man having on his head a golden crown & in his hand a sharp sickle. And another Angel came out of the Temple crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud: Thrust in thy sickle & reap for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth & the earth was reaped. Conceive this harvest to be of the martyrs in the great tribulation. In the persecution described at the opening of the fift seale the martyrs who lay slain at the foot of the altar, cried with a loud voice saying; How long, O Lord, holy & true dost thou not judge & avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth & it was said unto them that they should rest yet for a little season untill their fellow servants also & their brethren that should be killed as they were should be fulfilled. A little season & a short space are in this prophesy phrases for the duration of the great Apostacy as where 'tis said that the Dragon hath great wrath knowing that he hath but a short time and that the seventh head of the Beast must continue a short space. The martyrs were to rest during this little season in the end of which there was to be another great persecution which Daniel calls a time of trouble such as there never was since there was a nation & Christ in Matthew's Gospel a great tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world & in the Apocalyps 'tis called the great tribulation out of which the Palmbearing multitude comes & the harvest of the earth which Christ reaps with a sharp sickle. In this persecution the brethren of the martyrs were to be killed as they had been in Dioclesians persecution, & so soon as this harvest is reaped God avenges the blood of the martyrs on their persecutors by gathering the Vine of the earth with a sharp sickle at the sounding of the last Trumpet

And another Angel came out of the temple in heaven he also having a sharp sickle. And another Angel came out from the Altar who had power over the fire & cryed with a loud cry to him that had the sharp sickle, saying, Thrust in thy sharp sickle & gather the clusters of the Vine of the earth: for her grapes are fully ripe. - It was the custome for the Priests who were to perform any part of the service of the Temple not to do it till the Officer who had the direction of the service called to them to do it. And in allusion to this custome an Angel coming out from the Temple calls to him that sat on the cloud to thrust in his sickle & reap; & an Angel coming out from the Altar who had power over the fire, that is an Officer who had the charge of the Altar & direction of the sacrifices calls to the sacrificer who came out of the Temple with a sharp sickle, to thrust in his sickle & gather the clusters of the Vine of the earth. And the Angel thrust in his sickle into the earth & gathered the vine of the earth & <23r> cast it into the great wine press of the wrath of God & the wine-press was troden without the city [by the Word of God & his army upon white horses,] and blood came out of the Wine-press, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand & six hundred furlongs, that is all over Iudea. ffor 1600 furlongs was anciently reputed the length of Iudea.

Iohn has hitherto prophesied out of the first six leaves & the first page of the seventh leaf of the eaten book & now proceeds to prophesy out of the second page of the seventh leaf

And I saw another signe in heaven great & marvellous seven Angels having the seven last plagues [above mentioned]; for in them is filled up the wrath of God. They are called the seven last plages to signify that they are the plagues last mentioned the plagues with which the two Witnesses smite the earth, the plagues of the last seal & of the last time & as is here exprest the plagues in which is filled up the wrath of God. And therefore they are the plagues of the seven thunders. For thunders signify wars & wars are plagues &after the seven Thunders there is time no longer but the mystery of God is finished & the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord & his Christ & they reign for ever. These plagues of the thunders were mentioned after those of the first six seales & first six Trumpets & after them there is no more time & therefore they are the last. They were left unwritten before & therefore they are written now. .

And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire & them that [in the spiritual conflict or hour of temptation] had gotten the victory over the Beast & over his Image & over his mark & over the number of his name [that is, the hundred & forty four thousand who had been newly sealed with the name of God in their foreheads] stand on the sea of glass mingled with fire. Conceive them standing above the steps at the eastern gate of the Priests court so that they might appear to Iohn as it were standing on the sea of glass mingled with the fire of the Altar. & this sea of glass is the sea of brazen looking-glasses in the Tabernacle Exod 38.8.

And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God & the song of the Lamb, saying, Great & marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty, just & true are thy ways, &c. Singing is prophesying, & The song of the Lamb is the song which the Lamb & the hundred & forty four thousand sang on mount Sion before the throne & before the four beasts & the elders where these Victors now stand. This was a song of victory & therefore the victory was a spiritual one such as in all the epistles to the seven churches is called overcoming. For such was the victory of the Lamb & the 144000. Both Victors gained a victory over the Beast & over his Image & over his mark & name & for this victory sang the same song in the same place with harps, & therefore are the same victors.

This song is also called the song of Moses, & thereby is insinuated an allusion to the victory of Moses over the Egyptians. ffor in the Prophesy of the woman & Dragon, the Dragon is Egypt, the woman crowned with a crown of twelve stars & pained in travel is the Church of the Hebrews in bondage & affliction & the manchild with the rod of iron is Moses with his rod. The Dragon Pharaoh stood ready to devour the Manchild so soon as it was born. The child was preserved and caught up to the throne of the Hebrews, the magicians & <24r> host of Egypt were overcome by Michael & the Hebrews fled into the wilderness upon Eagles wings & there Balaam taught Balac to entice them to fornication & idolatry by weomen. A Dragon or Crocodile was the ancient type of Pharaoh. So Ezekiel calls Pharoah the great Dragon that lyeth in the midst of his rivers, & the Dragon that troubleth the waters with his feet And Isaiah thus describes the coming of Israel out of Egypt. Art not thou he that hath cut Rahab (that is Egypt) in pieces & wounded the Dragon? Art not thou he who dried the sea —– for the ransomed to pass over. And in the Psalms the coming of the Church out of Egypt & making a prey of the drowned Egyptians is thus exprest. Thou didst divide the sea by thy strength. Thou breakest the heads of the Dragons in the waters, thou breakest the heads of Leviathan in pieces & gavest him to be meat to thy people inhabiting the wilderness. To this many headed Leviathan, the seven-headed Dragon alludes: for the great City (the throne which the Dragon relinquished to the Beast) is spiritually called Egypt. Apoc 11. Conceive therefore that by reason of this allusion to the history of Moses, the new song which the 144000 sang with the Lamb upon mount Sion & now sing upon the sea of glass, is called the song of Moses. Conceive also that the 144000 victors sing this song at the end of the half hours silence when the Angel with the golden Censer cast fire on the earth & Iohn heard voices & thundrings, & that these voices & thundrings are the song it self. For they sing it for the victory which they had gotten by their prayers offered up to God with much incense by the Angel at the golden Altar in the time of that silence: which victory was to overcome the temptation of that time & prevail to be sealed with the name of God in their foreheads while the rest of the twelve tribes were overcome by the temptation & carried away with the multitude to worship the Beast & his Image & receive his mark. ffor a victory over the mark of the Beast & over the number of his name can be nothing else then a victory whereby the Victors escaped the receiving that mark & number & prevailed to receive the seale of God. And so a victory over the Beast & over his Image, that is over their worship, is escaping that worship & persevering in the worship of God.

And after that I looked & behold the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony was opened & the seven Angels came out of the temple having the seven plagues, cloathed in pure & white linen & having their breasts girded with golden girdles, that is, being in the habit of priests. And one of the four Beasts gave unto the seven Angels seven golden Vials full of the wrath of God who liveth for ever & ever. And the temple was filled with <25r> smoke from the glory of God & from his power & no man was able to enter into the temple till the seven plagues of the seven Angels were fulfilled. By this filling of the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony with smoke the dedications of the tabernacle & first temple are alluded unto: ffor the second temple had no testimony in it. After Moses had led Israel out of Egypt & sung a song of triumph over the Egyptians at the red sea represented here by the sea of glass, he set up the tabernacle & dedicated it, & from thence forward it was covered with a cloud during all the stay of the woman in the wilderness. In these visions this song is sung on the sea of glass in the temple of the Tabernacle on the day of the dedication. The dedication of Solomon's temple was kept upon the feast of the seventh month which began upon the 15th day of the month & when the Priests had brought in the Ark & were come out of the holy place & the Levites arrayed in white linnen having cymbals & psalteries & harps stood at the east end of the Altar & with them an hundred & twenty Priests sounding with trumpets – & were as one to make one sound & lift up their voice with the trumpets & cymbals & instruments & praised the Lord, saying, For he is good, for his mercy endureth for ever, then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord so that the Priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God. 2 Chron. 5. This dedication continued seven days, that is, all the days of the feast of Tabernacles, & was kept with exceeding great sacrifices besides the sacrifices of the ffeast. ffor Solomon sacrificed 22000 Oxen & 120000 sheep. Conceive that the drink offerings of these sacrifices are alluded unto in the seven Vials of wrath, & that the loud noise of singing with Trumpets & musical instruments at these sacrifices are alluded unto in the seven Trumpets & seven Thunders. ffor upon pouring out the drink offerings of the sacrifices the Priests sounded their trumpets & the Levites plaid upon musical instruments & sang till the service was ended. Ecclesiastic. c. 50. So then the seven trumpets & seven thunders are but several names of one & the same temple-music & are synchronal to the seven vials of wrath, as may also appear by their being the prophesy of one & the same page of the sealed book, & also by the following comparison of the seven trumpets with the seven vials.

Apoc. 8 & 9.Apoc 15 & 16
And I saw the seven Angels which stood before the throne of God, & to them were given seven trumpets.And I saw the seven Angels having the seven last plagues.
And there were voices & thundringsAnd the Victors sing the song of Moses and the Lamb.
And the seven Angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound.And I heard a great voice out of the temple saying to the seven Angels, Go and pour out the vials of the wrath of God upon the earth.
And the first Angel sounded & there followed hail and fire mingled with blood & they were cast upon the earth & the third part of the earth was burnt upAnd the first went & poured out his vial upon the earth & there fell a grievous & noisome sore on the men which had the mark of the Beast & upon them which worshipped his Image.
And the second Angel sounded — & the third part of the sea became blood And the second Angel poured out his Vial upon the sea & it became
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and the third part of the creatures which were in the sea & had life diedas the blood of a dead man, and every living soul died in the sea.
And the third Angel sounded & a great star fell upon the third part of the rivers & upon the fountains of waters — & many men died of the waters because they were made bitter.And the third Angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters and they became blood – And men had blood given them to drink because they had shed the blood of saints.
And the fourth Angel sounded & the third part of the Sun was smittenAnd the fourth Angel poured out his vial upon the Sun.
And the fift Angel sounded — & the sun & the air were darkened with smoak — & there came out of the smoke locusts which were to hurt those men which have not the seale of God in their foreheadsAnd the fift Angel poured out his vial upon the seat of the Beast & his kingdom was full of darkness & they gnawed their tongues for pain.
And the sixt Angel sounded — & the four Angels were loosed which were bound in the great river Euphrates.And the sixt Angel poured out his Vial upon the great river Euphrates, & the water thereof was dried up that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.
In the voice of the seventh Angel the mystery of God shall be finished —– And the seventh Angel sounded –– & there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord & of his Christ & he shall reign for ever and ever. —– And the nations were angry & thy wrath is come & the time of the dead that they should be judgedThe kings of the earth & the whole world were gathered to the battel of the great day of God Almighty. Behold I come as a thief. —– And the seventh Angel poured out his vial into the air, & there came a great voice out of the temple saying, It is done – And great Babylon came into remembrance before God to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath — & men blasphemed God.

In these Prophesies the same things are called the whole & the third part in different respects, & so it is in different respects that the sun is darkened in the fourth Trumpet & yet scorches men with heat in the fourth vial.

Hitherto the Prophesys of the first seven leaves of the Book have been repeated & described in other forms of visions then before & enlarged, and now follows a supplemental repetition of the prophesy of the eighth leaf. There Iohn saw & measured the inner courts of the Temple & the Altar & them that worship therein & was told that the outward court was given to the Gentiles who should tread down the holy city 42 months; all which is a plain allusion to the Babylonian captivity: here Iohn is carried from the Temple into the wilderness of Arabia & saw a woman sitting upon the many waters of Euphrates which woman is called Babylon & the great city & the great Whore, the last name being given her for her idolatry & uncleaneness. For old Babylon was infamous for the multitude of her idols & also for her whoredoms in a litteral sense. Then Iohn was told that the Beast which ascends out of the abyss or sea shall make war against the two Witnesses & kill them, & their dead bodies shall lye in the street of the great city which spiritually is called Sodom & Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified, that is, in the street or territory of the great city spiritually called also Babylon, : here he sees this Beast & the great city <27r> in the form of a Woman sitting upon him, drunken with the blood of saints. This is that blasphemous Beast which Iohn saw rising out of the sea with seven heads & ten horns & a mortal wound in one of this heads, & that woman who fled from the Dragon into the wilderness to her place; which place is to sit upon the Beast, that is, to reign over him. Her place is her state & dignity & her dignity is to sit a Queen & live deliciously with the kings of the earth:[10] For she is the great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth.[11] In this place or station she is fed or nourished by the merchants of the earth 1260 prophetic days which are so many years. Her Beast was & is not & shall ascend out of the abyss & go into perdition < insertion from f 27v > Her Beast was & is not & shall ascend out of the abyss & go into perdition & they that dwell on the earth shall wonder (whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world) when they behold the Beast which was & is not & is at hand. Which is as much to say, Her Beast was alive & is now dead & shall ascend out of Hades & go alive into perdition in the lake of fire & after his resurrection they that dwell on the earth whose names are not written in the book of life shall idolize & adore him as a God with great admiration For this is that Beast which was slain with a sword & revived & ascended out of the sea or abyss from the dead, & after his death & resurrection from the dead was consecrated & deified by the ffals Prophet who causeth the earth & them that dwell therein to worship him. And all the world wonder after him; & all that dwell upon the earth worship him whose names are not written in the book of life of the slain Lamb from the foundation of the world. These two Beasts are perfectly the same: Both have seven heads & ten horns, are slain, rise out of the sea or abyss from the dead, &are deified, wondered after & worshipped by all men whose names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, & both have upon them the names of blasphemy, that is, the names of fals gods. Prophesy is of things future & the first thing spoken of as future in this prophesy of the eighth leaf of the book, is the ascent of the Beast out of the abyss, & therefore the prophesy of the eighth leaf begins with his ascent & contains a description of his reign from the time of his resurrection, & for that reason takes a survey of him from the times next preceding when he lay dead of his wound. He was before he was wounded &c < text from f 27r resumes > . He was before he was wounded to death with a sword, He is not while he lies dead of his wound, & upon reviving he ascends out of the sea or abyss from the dead. His heads are called seven kings. ffive of them fell before he was slain with a sword & ceased to be, one of them was when he lay dead of his wound & the seventh was not then come & therefore the mortal wound of the Beast was in his sixt head. One side of his head was not chopt off but the wound was in his head & therefore he revived before the time of his sixt head expired. He revived before he ascended out of the sea & his ascent out of the sea begins a seventh head & the Beast which was & is not he is the eighth & of the seven, that is, the latter part of the seventh. When the Dragon gives the Beast his power and throne, then begins the reign of the eighth head. The ten horns of the Beast are ten kingdoms which arise at the same time with the eighth & agree & give their kingdom to compose the Beast untill the words of God be fulfilled & then hate the whore & eat her flesh & burn her with fire & soon after make war with the Lamb & are overcome & the Beast & ffals Prophet are taken & cast alive into the lake of fire. & the rest are slain with the two edged sword, & the Dragon is shut up in the bottomless pit. This is the battell of the great day of God Almighty & the war to which the seventh Trumpet sounds, by which the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord & of his Christ.

At the sounding of the fift Trumpet, the bottomless pit <28r> was opened with a key to let out a false religion. Conceive this pit to be not the open abyss or sea out of which the nations arose but the wide & deep sink of the temple which had a cover of stone & ran down from the foot of the altar into the heart of the mountain of the house & from thence out of the side of the mountain into the brook Kidron to convey away the blood of the sacrifices & the drink offerings & filth of the temple. Conceive also that this pit was set open at the sounding of the fift Trumpet to let out the kingdom of darkness represented by the thick & dark smoke & the locusts coming out of the smoke, & that it continued open till the sounding of the seventh Trumpet. And that when the Beast & fals Prophet were cast into the lake of fire an Angel came down from heaven having the key of this pit & bound the Dragon that old serpent which is the Devil & Satan a thousand years & cast him into this pit & shut him up & set a seale upon him that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years should be fulfilled: after which he is loosed, deceives the nations again Gog & Magog to assemble them to battel against the beloved city & is taken & cast into the lake of fire where the Beast & fals Prophet were before.

At the sounding of the seventh Trumpet it is said that the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord & of his Christ & he shall reign for ever & ever, & that his wrath is come & the time of the dead that they should be judged & that God should give rewards unto his servants the Prophets & to the saints & to them that fear his name small & great & should destroy them which destroy the earth: & in the repetition of that prophesy the fowles of the heaven (the blessed of the Lord) are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb & there is war between the host of heaven on white horses & the kings who destroy the earth, & the Beast & ffals Prophet are taken & destroyed in the Lake of fire & the rest are slain with the two edged sword & all the fowls are filled with their flesh at the supper of the great God, that is they take the kingdom. And Iohn saw thrones & they sat upon them & judgment was given unto them, and the martyrs & they that had not worshipped the Beast nor his Image nor received his mark rose again from the dead & reigned with Christ a thousand years till the battel of Gog,[12] & after that, for ever & ever: but the rest of the dead lived not again till the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed is he that hath part in the first resurrection on such the second death hath no power. For the day of judgment must begin at the house of God. But as Christ, when he rose from the dead, conversed not with mortals unless when he thought fit to appear to his disciples for manifesting the truth of his resurrection: so when the saints & martyrs rise from the dead it is to be conceived that they converse only with one another, & appear not to mortals unless perhaps upon very extraordinary occasions. ffor the children of the resurrection are as the Angels in heaven. They have power over the nations & rule them with a rod of iron, but in a manner invisible to mortals, as the Angels have done hitherto. And after the thousand years are expired the rest of the dead live again small & great & the books are opened & all the dead are judged according to their works & whoever is not found written in the book of life is cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. this day of judgment, the ancient of days sits on a great white throne (Dan. 7. 9,10. Apoc. 20.11, 12.) & the earth & heaven flee away & there appears a new heaven & new earth & God makes all things new & a new Ierusalem comes down from God out of heaven which for its power & dominion & glory & righteousness is compared to a city of gemms & the nations do bring their glory into it, & they reign for ages of ages.

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Chap. V.
Of the Kingdoms and Churches, which are the subject of sacred Prophesy.

Sect. 1.
Of the Dragon & ten horned Beast.

The Iews & the nations by which they were to be captivated, & particularly the nations within the bounds of the four Monarchies are the subject of sacred prophesy in the old Testament, & the nations through which the Christian religion was to be propagated are the subject of sacred prophesy in the new, & especially of the Apocalyps. For this Prophesy being given by Christ is a Revelation of such things as principally concern the Christian religion & therefore relate chiefly to those kingdoms in which the Christian religion flourished most. And so far as the new Testament has relation to the old, the two last of the four monarchies are the principal subject of this Prophesy. For they composed the old Roman Empire & the Christian religion has been propagated into all the Roman Empire < insertion from f 28Ar > {Empi}re. And from thence it spread also into all the nations on the north side of the Empire; Colebes, {illeg}, Alania, great Russia, Chersonesus, Dacia, Poland, Germany Sweden & Danemark. Ire{næu}s lets us know that the Christian religion was in a flourishing state in Germany in {the} middle of the second century. Afterwards Charles the great propagated the Roman Catholick religion into all Germany by conquest, & from thence it began at the same time to spread into Danemark Swedeland & Poland. Dacia being conquered by Trajan received the Christian religion very early, sent its Patriarch to the Council of Nice & was generally converted before its inhabitants the Goths & Vandals invaded the Empire. The Christians who fled from the Churches of Pontus Asia & Thrace in the times of Persecution & chiefly in the persecutions of Decius Dioclesian & Maximinus, propagated the Christian religion amongst the Scythians & with their disciples continued in subjection to the churches from whence they fled,[13] & received their bishops from them , the Christians in Iberia Abasgia & Alania from the Metropolitan of Pontus & those in Russia & Chersonesus from the Metropolitan of Thrace untill the times of the Council of Constantinople & all of them after those times from the Patriarch of Constantinople. And the Primate of Russia continued to be ordeined by the Patriarch of Constantinople till about the year 1588 when Hieronymus Patriarch of Constantinople coming to Moscow resigned his Patriarchal dignity to the metropolitan of that city And the Christian religion was also spread into Persia Arabia & Æthiopia under the Bishops of Antioch & Alexandria.

So then the Christian world which is the subject of this prophesy consists of three parts or Tribes: the third monarchy or Greek Empire, the fourth monarchy or Latine Empire & the forreign nations. And the third part of the earth sea rivers sun moon & stars is a third part of this Christian world. < text from f 29r resumes > So then the Christian world which is the subject of this prophesy consists of three parts or Tribes: the third Monarchy or Greek Empire, the fourth Monarchy or Latine Empire, & the northern nations of Europe. And these parts being almost equal, you may know by this division that the third part of the earth sea rivers sun moon & stars is the third part of this Christian world. And this unfolds to us the mystery of counting the number of the Beast. For the name & number of the Beast is opposed to the name of God & to the number of his servants who stand on mount Sion with his name on their foreheads. And in that respect the number of the Beast 666 is to be counted in such manner as the number of Gods servants 144000 was counted. This number was counted by multiplying 12000 by its divisor 12 the number of the Tribes of Israel (Apoc. 7) & therefore 666 is to be counted by multiplying some number by a divisor of that number. And there is but one way of counting it in this manner, which is by multiplying 222 by its divisor 3 the number of the Tribes of them that worship the Beast.

The four Beasts representing the four <30r> Monarchies are still in being. ffor the lives of the three first Beasts were prolonged after their dominions were taken away, & they continue till a stone cut out of a mountain without hands, breakes in pieces at once all the four parts of Nebuchadnezzars Image, the gold the silver the brass & the iron. And since all Daniels Beasts were alive in Iohn's days & still continue alive & therefore are synchronal to Iohn's Beasts, & Iohn's prophesy was given by the same Holy Ghost with Daniel's & is very full of allusions to the prophesies of the old testament, we may expect to find Daniel's Monarchies in Iohn's prophesies so far as they relate to the Christian religion. And therefore we ought to compare the prophesies of Daniel & Iohn & agree them together so far as they can be made to agree without straining. For there is no better way of interpreting scripture then by comparing the parts of it & reconciling all the synchronall & all the analogous parts of prophesy which can be reconciled without force. Tis certain that the same things are described again and again in prophesy: And all the descriptions of one & the same thing must be conjoyned that they may interpret one another & supply one anothers defects & joyntly make one complete description which cannot be misapplied to history. And those interpretations are always to be preferred which reduce the parts of scripture to the greatest consent & harmony. Daniel has described the same Monarchies again & again in four severall prophesies, & yet the words were shut up & sealed till the time of the end. Iohn's Prophesy is a Revelation of what was shut up & sealed before, & therefore must be compared with Daniel's that all may be understood.

The people of the first & second Monarchies beyond Armenia Assyria & Chaldæa, were never yet converted in great numbers to the Christian religion. The third Monarchy founded by Alexander the great, was propagated down through the Roman Empire & after separation from the Latines was seated at Constantinople & is now under the dominion of the Turks. This was the principal seat of the Christian religion in the primitive times, & is represented in Daniel first by the brazen belly & thighs of Nebuchadnezzar's Image, then more particularly by the Leopard, & still more particularly by the He-Goat, & in Iohn still more particularly by the great red Dragon. The fourth Monarchy being founded by the Latines, conquered the Greeks, then separated from them & breaking into ten kingdoms has ever since continued in a divided form. This received the Christian religion from the Greeks in the primitive times & is represented in Daniel first by the iron leggs & feet of Nebuchadnezzars image, & then more particularly by the fourth Beast which was dreadfull & terrible & strong exceedingly & had ten horns, & in Iohn still more particularly by the blasphemous Beast which rose out of the sea with seven heads & ten horns. And as Daniel's third & fourth Beasts are sometimes united & sometimes divided so it is in Iohn. The Leopard Goat & Dragon signify properly the nations over which the Greeks reigned on this side Media & Persia, & the fourth Beast & seven-headed Beast signify properly the nations of the Latine Empire, but when the Greeks & Latines were united in one Empire the whole is represented by them all. For in Daniel the <31r> last horn of the Goat became greater then any of the former horns & the fourth Beast devoured the whole earth, & therefore both of them comprehended the whole Roman Empire in a general sense while the Empire continued united, but the Goat has a more special relation to the Greeks & the fourth Beast to the Latines, & when the Greeks & Latines separate, the Goat relates only to the Greeks & the fourth Beast only to the Latines. And so in Iohn, when the Greeks & Latines are united in one Empire the whole is both Dragon & Beast, but when they are divided the Greek Empire is the Dragon & the Latin is the Beast. The Dragon at his first appearance in heaven signifies the whole Roman Empire but chiefly with respect to the Greeks, & the Beast is latent in him: but when the Empire becomes divided, the Dragon retires from the west to signify only the Greek Empire, & the Beast rises out of the inhabitants of the Sea in a distinct & separate form to signify the Latin empire & the Dragon gives him his western throne & power & great authority.

Many of the ancient heathens & especially the Mendesians in Egypt, represented their Gods in the shape of Goats. Such Gods were Pan, Faunus, Silvanus, Silenus, the Satyrs & Ægipans. So Selden: Qui solemnia Sagarum Conciliabula aperiunt, ij Dæmonum principem qui præsidet, hirci figuram præ se ferre tradunt. And Diodorus: The Egyptians attributed divinity to the Goat & initiated their Priests to this God in the first place. And Majmonides: E Zabijs quidam fuerunt qui dæmones colebant & eos existimabant habere formam hircorum. Vnde etiam Dæmones Seirim, hoc est, hircos appellabant. Hæc opinio Mosis ævo jam longe lateque diffusa fuit, sicut ait Levit. 17.7, et non sacrificabunt sacrificia sua hircis, id est, Dæmonibus ita appellatis. They had sacrificed in Egypt to goats & Moses forbids them doing it any more. So by Goats or Satyrs in Isa. 31.21 & 34.14 interpreters understand Devils. And hence it is that we still paint Devils in the form of Satyrs. So then as the Dragon is the old Serpent called the Devil & Satan, so the He-Goat in Daniel is a type of the same signification & therefore fitly applied to signify the same Empire with the Dragon. This Empire was to place the abomination & therefore is represented by the same types with the Devil.

In the armies of the Roman Empire both before & after the Empire became Christian, a flying Eagle was the standart of a Legion & a Dragon the standard of a company, & in every Legion there were ten companies & by consequence ten Dragons. These Dragons were of a purple colour & so fastened to the top of a long pike as like weathercocks to turn their tailes from the wind & to hiss by means of the wind blowing into their open jaws. The bearers of these two sorts of standarts were called Aquiliferi & Draconarij. And from these badges of the Roman Empire, this Empire is represented in the second book of Esdras by an Eagle & in this prophesy by a great Eagle whose two wings were given to the Woman that she might fly into the wilderness & by a great red Dragon who persecutes her. And to represent the idolatrous religion & large extent of the Empire, this Dragon is called the Devil & Satan who deceives the whole world. He is that Satan whose throne is in Pergamus (Apoc. 2.13) & Pergamus is the Metropolis of the He-Goat.

The seven-headed Beast by the number of his horns & other <32r> circumstances is manifested to be the same with Daniel's fourth Beast. Both had ten horns & by consequence were divided into ten kingdoms which is the character of the western Empire. Daniels Beast had an elventh horn, which was a distinct animal with eyes & a mouth & as we shewed above signifys the Church of Rome & so answers to the Woman riding upon Iohns Beast. This Beast was like a Leopard & had feet as the feet of a Beare & a mouth as the mouth of a Lion Apoc. XIII.2: which is the description of Daniels fourth Beast. ffor that Beast was dreadful & terrible as a Leopard is, & fought & stamped with his feet as a Bear doth, & had great iron teeth wherewith he devoured & brake in pieces like a Lion. Daniel's three first Beasts are here named backwards & Iohn's is named in the room of the fourth to signify that he is the fourth, & is also described of like shape. And as Daniel's fourth Beast reigned in his little horn a time times & half a time, or three years & an half, so Iohn's reigned 42 months which is also three years & an half. And lastly as Daniels fourth Beast has Rome for its Metropolis so has Iohn's. ffor Iohn's Beast succeeds the Dragon in his throne, & the heads of Iohn's Beast are called seven hills where the Woman sitteth, which is as much as to say that the head city or Metropolis of the Beast is the seven-hilled City over which the Woman reigneth. She sits on the Beast, that is, reigns over him, & therefor is his Metropolis. She is also called the great City which reigneth over the kings of the earth & Babylon the great city: which names import that she is that great City which was the Metropolis of a great Empire & beseiged Ierusalem burnt the Temple & captivated the Iews as old Babylon had done before. And therefore Peter writing from Rome in the time of that siege & alluding in many things to the Apocalyps, calls Rome by the name of Babylon. For all antiquity agree that Peter wrote his Epistles from Rome & by Babylon understood that city.

The Greeks called themselves Romans & gave the name of Romania to the Region about Constantinople & distinguished themselves from those of the western Empire by the names of Greeks & Latines. Whence the word ΛΑΤΕΙΝΟΣ is the name of the western Empire. This name is the proper name of a man & the number of this name is 666 & this is the number of the name of the Beast, as Irenæus hath long since observed.

The nations of the Roman Empire are also distinguished into two parts by the names of the earth & sea: as where the first plague falls on the earth, the second on the sea, & where the Devil comes down to the inhabitants of the earth & sea, & where the ten horned Beast rises out <33r> of the sea & the two horned Beast out of the earth. And this distinction seems occasioned by the language of the Iews who called those countries the earth to which they travelled by land & those the Isles of the sea & Isles of the Gentiles to which they went by sea. And according to this language, the sea in Iohn's days was Europe & the Earth was Asia & Afric, & the mountains & islands are the reigning cities of this earth & sea. And because the Eastern Empire was seated chiefly in the earth & the western chiefly in the sea: by the earth & sea we may sometimes understand these Empires. And since the ten-horned Beast rises out of the sea, you may know also by that character that he reigns in Europe & is the western Empire.

The Dragon has crowns upon his heads & the Beast has crowns upon his horns & the heads & horns are called kings & the Dragon gave the Beast his throne & power & great authority & by all these characters the Dragon & Beast are kingdoms. The Dragon is that old serpent called the Devil & Satan who deceiveth the whole world, & all the world wondred after the Beast & worshipped him, & therefore they are very great kingdoms. The Dragon is that Satan who had his throne in Pergamus & dwelt there (Apoc. 2.13) & this is all one as to call him the kingdom of Pergamus, & we shewed above that this kingdom is the little horn of the He-Goat which waxed exceeding great. As this horn of the Goat cast down the stars of heaven to the grownd & stamped upon them, so the Dragon's tail drew the stars of heaven & cast them to the earth. These actions are of like signification: for the horn of the Goat & tail of the Dragon are their fighting members & signify their military powers or armies commanded by their kings. By the agreement of their actions you may know that they are one & the same kingdom. The Dragon therefore at his first appearance in heaven when he stands before the Woman to devour her child signifies the whole Roman Empire but chiefly with respect to the Greeks & the Beast is united to him & latent in him; for the Dragon & Beast have common heads & common horns. But when the Roman Empire becomes divided, the Dragon retires from the western nations to signify only the Greek Empire & the Beast rises out of the isles of the sea in a distinct & separate form to signify the Latine empire, & the Dragon gives the Beast his throne & power & great authority among the Latines & from thenceforward reigns only over the Greeks. For the Dragon did not cease at the rise of the Beast. After the Beast was risen they worshipped the Dragon & Beast together (Apoc. XIII.4) & at length three unclean spirits like froggs came out of the mouths of the Dragon Beast & ffals Prophet (Apoc. XVII.13) & in the end when the Beast is cast into the Lake of fire the Dragon is cast into the bottomless pit (Apoc. XX.2.) The Dragon & Beast therefore after the division of the Roman Empire continue in being together till the end & by consequence signify the eastern & western or Greek & Latine Empires.

The Dragon has crowns upon his heads & not upon his horns & the <34r> Beast has crowns upon his horns & not upon his heads to signify that the Dragon reigned only in the heads & the Beast only in the horns, & by consequence that the Dragon reigned in the heads over the whole Roman Empire untill the Beast with his horns rose out of that part of the Empire called the sea or Isles of the sea & received from the Dragon the throne of that part of the Empire. As Daniels three first Beasts remained alive after their dominions were taken away, so Iohn's was alive before he rose out of the sea; & being till that time a part of the Dragon's kingdom he has the same heads with the Dragon, but without crowns because he reigned not apart before he rose out of the sea & received the Dragon's throne. And while the Dragon & Beast were united in one kingdom as they had common heads so they had common horns, the Dragon comprehending in his body politique the nations out of which the the ten horns at length arose, but the Dragons horns were without crowns because the ten kings received no kingdom while he reigned over the whole, but afterwards when the Beast arose & received the Dragon's throne, they received power as kings at the same time with the Beast. Conceive therefore that the Dragon reigned in his heads over the whole Roman Empire untill the Empire became divided into the Greek & Latin Empires, which was a little before the end of the fourth Century, & that the Dragon then gave his western throne to the Beast & was thenceforward the Greek Empire & the Beast the Latine, & that the ten horns are the ten kingdoms into which the Latine Empire brake in the reign of Arcadus & Honorius. For there are no other divisions of the Roman Empire which can answer to these things. Yet if you please you may conceive that when the Dragon gave the Beast his throne he became one of his horns, & that the Beast from that time forward signifies the whole Roman Empire in a divided state, but more especially the western part of the Empire, the people of the eastern Empire being his worshippers.

Sect. II.
Of the Woman & two-horned Beast

In this Prophesy the scene of the visions is the Temple & the worship of Christians is described in the Temple under the form of the Iewish worship as we shewed above. And hence the Christian Churches are represented in this prophesy by the twelve tribes of Israel, & when some are numbered out of the twelve Tribes & sealed with the seale of God, the rest of the Tribes who are not sealed become the Synagogue of Satan who say they are Iews & are not, that is, who profess themselves Christians but are the Curch of the Devil. ffor all men whose names are not written in the book of life, that is, all who are not sealed with the seale of God, wonder after the Beast & worship him & his Image & receive his mark. When the saints are sealed out of the twelve Tribes, the rest of the Tribes receive the mark of the Beast & become the Synagogue of Satan, & therefore they that have the mark of the Beast & worship him & his Image, are Christians in outward profession.

And as the Tribes of Israel & Iudah are in the old Testament represented by weomen, so the Church of Christ signified by those Tribes is here represented by the Lamb's wife & by the glorious Woman in heaven. For this Woman <35r> by having the Sun Moon & stars about her is represented the feminine part of a kingdom, the kingdom of Christ. She is cloathed or invested with the power of Christ her king represented by the Sun. She has under her feet the common people represented by the Moon & upon her head a crown of twelve stars, which are the twelve Apostles & a symbol of the twelve tribes, & her seed keep the commandments of God & have the testimony of Iesus, & therefore she is the Church. In the first ages of Christianity she is the true sincere Church of Christ diffused through the whole Roman Empire represented by the Dragon: but upon the division of the Empire into two Empires represented by the Dragon & ten-horned Beast the visible Church degenerates & becomes divided into two Churches represented by the Woman & two-horned Beast. For upon this division of the Empire the Woman & Dragon part from one another. She flies from the Dragon into the western Empire called a wilderness for its spiritual barrenness & desolation, & is nourished in her place in the Wilderness for a time times & half a time from the face of the Serpent: And the Dragon gives the Beast his western throne. And as the ten horned Beast rises out of the Sea to succeed the Dragon in the western Empire so the two horned Beast rises out of the Earth to succeed the Woman in the eastern Empire. While the Empire continues undivided the Dragon signifies the whole Empire & the Woman the whole Church thereof: but upon the division of the Empire the Dragon is restrained to signify the eastern part thereof & the Woman to signify the Church of the western part: And this separation is represented by the Womans flying from the Dragon & being nourished in the wilderness from the face of the Serpent: and the ten-horned Beast rises out of the sea to succeed the Dragon in the western part of the Empire, & the two-horned Beast out of the Earth to succeed the Woman in the eastern part thereof.

Every kingdom hath its Church, & the Churches of the Dragon & ten-horned Beast are the two-horned Beast and the Woman in the Wilderness. For when she fled into the Wilderness she fled from the Dragon, & therefore ceased to be in his kingdom. She was afterwards found in the Wilderness sitting upon the ten-horned Beast, that is, reigning over him, & therefore became his Church. She is the great City which reigneth over the kings of the earth represented by the ten horns of the Beast. She is Babylon the great, the <36r> western Babylon which captivated the Iewish nation the great city seated upon seven hills & by consequence the Church of Rome. And this Church is the Church catholick of the western nations & kingdoms into which the Latine Empire becomes now divided.

And the two-horned Beast rose out of the earth or nations of the eastern Empire, & therefore is seated in that Empire. It hath two horns like the Lamb, that is, two churches like the seven churches of Asia signified by the seven horns of the Lamb, & therefore is an ecclesiastical body. It speaks as the Dragon & therefore is of the Dragon's religion. And a Church in the eastern Empire of the Dragon's language & religion is the Greek church. This Beast by means of fals miracles deceiveth them that dwell on the earth & for doing so is called the fals Prophet, & therefore is of an ecclesiastical kind, and this fals Prophet survives the Whore of Babylon being cast alive into the lake of fire after the ten kings have eaten the flesh of the Whore & burnt her with fire, & therefore this Prophet differs from the Whore & signifies another idolatrous Church, & by consequence the Greek Church or Church of the Greek Empire. This Church is also called the synagogue of Satan. For the Dragon is that old Serpent called the Devil & Satan, & therefore the synangogue of Satan is the Church of the Dragon.

<37r>

Sect. III.
Of the division of Empire & Church into two Empires & two Churches.

When the Temple was opened in heaven for Iohn to see the visions in it, he saw there the Ark of the Testament, & the child-bearing Woman & the Dragon standing by her & how her child was caught up to the throne of God above the Ark, & the Dragon was cast out of this Temple of heaven by Michael into the outward court or court of the people which people are here called the inhabitants of the earth & sea, & how the Woman (in allusion to the Babylonian captivity) fled from this Temple though the Wilderness of Arabia to serve her Gods wood & stone, & became seated in the great city Babylon which reigneth over the kings of the earth & left a remnant of her seed with the Dragon in the outward court of the Temple. There he saw the two Beasts rise out of the sea & earth & the second Beast deify the first & cause men to erect an Image to him & to worship the Image. There the Dragon by the dictates of the speaking Image (before he gave his throne to the Beast) made war upon the Womans seed & mystically killed all that would not worship the Image: & there all men received the mark or name of the Beast or number of his name except the 144000 who were sealed with the name of God & being forbid to buy or sell & by consequence interdicted society by excommunication, retire from the multitude in the outward court of the Temple & stand on mount Sion with the Lamb & sing a new song before the throne & the four Beasts & the Elders & by consequence in the inner Court at the eastern border thereof called the Court of Israel. ffor there the singing used to be performed. And when the Dragon had mystically killed those that would not worship the Image of the Beast in the outward Court & interdicted communion to those that would not receive his mark, he there gave the Beast his throne & power & great authority And all the world wondred after the Beast, & power was given him over all kindreds & tongues & nations, & all that dwell upon earth worship him [& his Image] whose names are not written in the book of life.

In the beginning of the visions in the Temple which was opened in heaven the Ark was seen in it, & therefore it was the Tabernacle or first Temple or Temple of the Tabernacle as it is afterwards called. Now they that worshipped in the Tabernacle & first temple were the twelve tribes of Israel, & the Woman which appeared in this Temple had upon her head a crown of twelve stars to represent these tribes, & out of all these tribes the 144000 were numbred & sealed, & twelve tribes being all Israel represent the Church catholick; & this church inhabited the earth & sea because the Angel who had the seal of God cried with a loud voice saying: Hurt not the earth & sea till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. These tribes are the inhabiters of the earth & sea to whom the Dragon came down from his heathen throne with great wrath, the earth & sea upon which the Son of man stood with the little book open in his hand, the earth out of which the two horned Beast arose & on which the plage of the first Trumpet & Vial fell & the sea out of which the ten-horned Beast arose & on which the plague of the second Trumpet & Vial fell. For the earth & sea with their inhabitants are the subject of this prophesy. The Church catholick therefore by the sealing of 144000 out of the twelve tribes & separation of the rest becomes divided into two parties. The <38r> multitude receive the mark or name of the Beast or number of his name & continue in the outward court of the Temple where they used to worship & there worship the Beast & his Image & the 144000 are sealed with the name of God & being excommunicated by the multitude retire into the Court of Israel in the eastern border of the Priests court.

The Beast was slain with a sword & revived before he rose out of the sea with the wound healed in one of his heads, And after his death & resurrection the two horned Beast consecrated him a God & caused an Image to be erected to him as his Oracle & that he & his Image should be worshipped & all men be initiated in the society of his worshippers. For the receiving his mark or name or the number of his name is being initiated in the worship of him & his Image as the heathens were initiated in the worship of their Gods by being marked in the arm or neck with the mark or name or number of the name of the God to whose worship they were dedicated. And because those that were initiated in the religion & society of the worshippers of the Beast & his Image were of the twelve Tribes of Israel & all were initiated except 144000 & excommunicated those that would not be initiated its manifiest that the Church catholick at this time suffered a very great alteration in respect of her numbers & constitution. The external form of Church government in the west went along with the Woman into the wilderness & was taken from the remnant of her seed by killing those in the east who would not worship the image of the Beast & excommunicating those in all the Empire who would not receive his mark. By this means the Church catholick was reduced to the small number of 144000 sealed out of all the twelve tribes of Israel. And these remained in a state of persecution & affliction under the persecuting Dragon & Beast like the 7000 who had not bowed the knee to Baal in the days of Ahab & Iezabel.

And this great change is further represented by measuring the courts of the Temple & Altar & them that worship therein as was done in the time of the Babylonian captivity by Ezekiel, & by placing two candlesticks & two olive-trees in the room of the sevenfold golden candlestick to represent the Church, & by changing the shape of the Lamb with seven horns who opened the seven seals into that of the High-priest & his coming down from heaven with the book open in his hand & standing upon the earth & sea with his two burning leggs, & by the dedication of a new Temple signified by the smoke with which the Temple of the Tabernacle was filled from the glory of God & in Paul's Epistles by the falling away & the revelation of the Man of Sin. For the Beast with his worshippers is this Man of Sin For the apostasy to the worship of the Beast was universal: all men wondred after him whose names were not written in the book of life & therefore there could not be a greater Man of sin. The Beast is worshipped in the outward court of the Temple which is given to the Gentiles or nations for this worship: & the Man of Sin sits in the Temple of God shewing himself that he is a God. The Beast received the Dragons throne <39r> and {power & overcame} the saints & none were able to make war with him, & the Man of Sin opposed & exalted himself above every thing that is called God or that is worshipped. The Beast rose out of the sea after the fall of the heathen Roman Empire & reigned till the Word of God came against him in the clouds of heaven with a two edged sword coming out of his mouth & caused him to be taken & cast alive into the lake of fire; & the Man of sin was to be revealed after the heathen Roman Empire which letted should be taken out of the way & to continue till Christ should destroy him with the breath of his mouth & the brightness of his coming. When the Beast rose out of the sea & began to be worshipped, the invocation of Saints by meanes of a great noise of miracles pretended to be done by the dead Saints & their reliques overspread the Empire, & the coming of the Man of Sin was with all signes & lying wonders in them that perish. At that time the Beast & his worshippers separated from the communion of the 144000 as is signified by sealing & marking two parties the one with the name of God & Christ the other with the name of the Beast: & the revelation of the Man of sin was in like manner made by his separating from the Church of God. For Iohn speaking of the great Antichrist & his forerunners, saith: As ye have heard that Antichrist shall come, even now there are many Antichrists, whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us: for if they had been of us they would have continued with us: but they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. While those of erroneous opinions concerning the objects of worship continued in communion with the Church the mystery of iniquity worked in them & where any of them separated & went out from her communion, then they were made manifest & revealed & became Antichrists, & such a manifestation of the great Antichrist Iohn calls the coming of the Antichrist & Paul the revelation of the Man of sin. This mystery of iniquity began to work in the Apostles days & produced many separations from the Church all which in the language of the Apostles were Antichrists; & was to continue working till it should produce the great separation called by the Apostles the Antichrist {illeg} the Man of sin. And it is observable that the revelation from whence the Apocalyps hath its name, is made by opening the seals of the propphetick book successively untill all the book be opened, & that upon opening the last seal the Man of sin is revealed. ffor then the Beast rises out of the sea & all receive his mark except the 144000 who are interdicted buying & selling for not receiving it; & from thenceforward the Gentiles or nations worship him & his Image in the outward court of the Temple, that is, in an outward form of religion & Church government; & the 144000 are excommunicated & expelled that Court & retire into the inner part of the Temple untill the sanctuary shall be cleansed.

While the twelve tribes continue united in one communion, the whole is represented by the mystical body of Christ & by the Candlesticks in the Temple & by the Woman in heaven; But when the Woman in flying into the Wilderness recedes from the communion of the remnant of her seed & the multitude of Israel receive the mark of the Beast, they cease to be a part of Christs mystical body & of the Church represented by the Candlesticks in the Temple; & those that are sealed with the name of <40r> God cease to be a part of the mystical body of the apostatizing Woman & both parties begin to be represented apart by proper types. The mystical body of Christ & the Candlesticks in the Temple henceforward signify only those that are sealed with the name of God & the Woman & two Beasts & Dragon signify only those who wonder after the Beast & receive his mark. And this distinction begins when the two Beasts rise out of the sea & earth & the second deifies the first & creates all his divine power & authority before him, & causeth the earth & them that dwell therin to worship him, & doth great miracles so as to bring down the fire of excommunication from heaven upon earth in the sight of men against those that will not worship him & causes an image to be made to him & worshipped, & the Dragon by the influence of that Beast begins the war upon the remnant of the womans seed & kills all that will not worship the Image & forbids buying & selling to all that do not receive the mark or name of the first Beast, & all the twelve tribes receive his mark or name except the 144000 who at the same time are sealed with the seale of God. And this marking & sealing was between the opening of the seventh Seal & sounding of the first Trumpet. Apoc. 7.2, 3 & 16.2.

The Temple being the scene of the visions I conceive that it remains the same from the beginning to the end, & that in allusion to the times of the Tabernacle or first Temple or those of the second for representing the various states of the Church the things that appear in the Temple are only changed. And in all cases the Church is represented by the Candlesticks which appear in the Temple & by the mystical body of Christ in what form soever he appears & by the four Beasts whenever they appear. In the beginning of the Prophesy untill the seventh Trumpet is ready to sound, & again in the repetition or interpretation of this prophesy from the time that the Temple of God was opened in heaven & the Ark of his testament was seen in it untill the seventh Viall be poured out, the times of the Tabernacle & first Temple are alluded unto. And in all these visions the Church of God is represented by the golden Candlestick with seven branches which was placed in the Tabernacle & first Temple. Solomon placed ten such candlesticks in the first Temple, but each of them being sufficient to represent the Church, there is but one with its seven branches considered in the prophesy. In this Tabernacle or Temple the Church is also represented by the four Beasts & by the Lamb with seven horns whether he appears before the throne & opens the seales of the Book or stands on mount Sion with the 144000. In the latter part of the prophesy from the time that the mighty Angel comes down from heaven with the Book open in his hand untill the sounding of the seventh Trumpet, & again in the repetition or interpretation of this part of the prophesy when one of the seven Angels carries Iohn into the wilderness to see the great whore sitting upon her Beast, the times of the Babylonian captivity & second Temple are alluded unto, & the Church of God is represented by the two Candlesticks & two olive-trees which the Iews (out of poverty) placed in this Temple upon their first return from captivity Zech. 4, & by the mystical {b}ody of the Son of man in the form of an Angel with feet as <41r> pillars of fire standing on the earth & sea, & instead of the four Beasts the Gentiles are placed in the outward Court. ffor Zerubbabel built only the courts of the Temple & Altar & the new Court or weomens court for the use of God's people & left the outward court unbuilt & open to the Gentiles. When the twelve tribes of Israel represented by the four Beasts standing in the outward court, became divided into two parties one of which is sealed with the seal of God & the other receives the mark of the Beast: the multitude of Israel which receive the mark of the Beast still continue in the outward court & for their idolatry in worshipping the Beast & his Image as the heathens worshipped their fals Gods & Idols, are called Gentiles. These are the synagogue of Satan who say they are Iews & are not. They have an outward form of religion & church government & therefore are said to worship in the outward court, but under this form of religion & church government they worship the Beast & his Image & therefore are gentiles. And tho they worship in the outward court of the Temple they tread under foot the holy city & therefore are Babylonian gentiles. As the Woman upon degenerating becomes the great city Babylon, so the four Beasts in the outward court representing the twelve tribes of Israel upon revolting from the worship of God to the worship of the Beast & his Image become the Babylonian Gentiles treading under foot the holy city & worshipping in the outward court of the Temple. When the Tabernacle or first Temple is alluded unto there are 144000 sealed out of all the twelve tribes of Israel & an Angel filled a Censer with fire of the altar & cast it to the earth, & this is in allusion to Ezekiels vision in the times of the first Temple just before the Babylonian captivity when a man was commanded to go through the midst of Ierusalem & set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sighed & cried for all the abominations done in the midst thereof, & to take coals of fire from between the Cherubims & scatter them over the city. When the times of the Babylonian captivity & second temple are alluded unto Iohn is commanded to measure the temple & altar & the court of them that worship therin & this is in allusion to Ezekiels measuring the Temple & altar with their courts in the beginning of the Babylonian captivity. When the Tabernacle & first Temple is alluded unto the 144000 who are sealed & get the victory over the mark of the Beast stand on mount Sion with the Lamb & sing a new song before the throne & before the four Beasts & the Elders. There they stand on the sea of glass & sing the song of Moses & the Lamb & the temple of the Tabernacle was filled with smoke from the glory of God & from his power so that no man was able to enter into the temple: & this is in allusion to the dedication of the Tabernacle & Solomons Temple & signifies a new state of the Church commencing with the sealing of those that get the victory over the mark of the Beast & worship in this temple. And when the second temple is alluded unto the same thing is signified by measuring the Temple & Altar in token of rebuilding them with their courts for those that worship therein: ffor measuring is a type of building Zech. 2.2, 4. And because in the tabernacle & first Temple there was a golden <42r> candlestick with seven branches & in the second Temple two Candlesticks & two olive-trees: the septenary number is applied to the Church when the tabernacle or first Temple is alluded unto & the binary when the second. In respect of the seven churches of Asia which in the beginning of the prophesy were made a type of the Church catholick the church in all ages is represented by the seven horns of the Lamb & seven golden Candlesticks, & in respect of the division of the Roman Empire into two Empires whereby the Woman received two Wings of a great Eagle the sincere part of the Churches represented by those two wings are typified by the two burning leggs of Christ & by the two candlesticks & two olive-trees & for their sufferings & testimony called the two witnesses. When the Temple of the Tabernacle is alluded unto, the Angels of the seven Churches sound the seven Trumpets & one of the four Beasts gives the seven Angels seven Vialls of wrath to pour out upon the apostates: & when the second Temple is alluded unto the two Witnesses execute the seven plagues. If any will hurt them fire proceedeth out of their mouth & devoureth their enemies. — These have power over the waters to turn them to blood & to smite the earth with all plagues as often as they will; that is with all the seven plagues.

<43r>

< insertion from f 41v >

When the Dragon signifies the whole Roman Empire the Woman signifies the whole Church untill by the persecution of the Dragon she separates in communion from the remnant of her seed who keep the commandments of God & have the testimony of Iesus, & then she signifies a Church in a state of defection schism & apostasy from that remnant, & the remnant signifies the whole true church of God. And when two Beasts arise, one out of the inhabitants of the Sea the other out of the inhabitants of the earth, & the Dragon retiring to the shore gives the Beast his throne in the sea the empire becomes divided into two Empires the empires of the earth & sea or east and west, & the Woman retires into the west from the face of the Serpent & sitting upon the first Beast becomes his church, & the second Beast succeeds the Woman in the earth & becomes the Church of the Dragon. ffor this Beast is a fals Prophet & has ecclesiastical horns & speaks as the Dragon & therefore is a Church of the Dragons religion. And the Remnant of the Womans seed, or as many of them as in the war which the Dragon made upon them, were sealed out of all the twelve tribes of Israel, continue to be the true Church of God persecuted by the inhabitants of the earth & sea & testifying against the fals Prophet & the Woman, & called the two Witnesses with relation to those inhabitants & to the two wings of the Woman whose seed they are. Thus the Empire becomes divided into two Empires with their Churches fals & true: the Dragon the two-horned Beast & one witness in the earth; the ten horned Beast the Woman & the other witness in the sea. But yet God having but one Church & one Temple, the two Witnesses are but one Church & one double Candlestick in that Temple, distinguished into the Churches of the earth & sea but not divided from one another. And the name of two Witnesses being now the name of the Church catholick of God; he that hurts any considerable part of this Church, hurts the two Witnesses. And altho the Beast is now the name of the Western Empire, yet since by the influence of the two horned Beast he is deified & worshipped in the earth, & all men receive his mark, & power was given him over all kindreds & tongues & nations, & all that dwell upon the earth worship him whose names are not written in the book of life & all the world wonders after him: he may be sometimes taken in a larger sense so as to include all his worshippers, especially when the Witnesses are considered as prophesying against him or he is considered as making war upon them.

< text from f 43r resumes >
<44r>

Sect. IV.
A further account of the division of the Roman Empire.

Iohn tells us that before the Beast ascended out of the abyss five of the kings represented by his heads were fallen & the sixt was then in being. ffor before he ascended he was latent in the Dragons mystical body & therefore partakes of all his heads. ffor he was the water which the Dragon cast out of his mouth as a flood after the Woman to cause her to be carried away of the flood. ffor waters are peoples & nations & multitudes & tongues, & an aggregate of waters as a stream a river a flood or sea is an aggregate of men, a body politick or ecclesiastick, a kingdom or a Church. The waters which Christ spewed out of his mouth signify a body ecclesiastick, the Church of Laodicea, first united to Christ's mystical body as a part thereof & afterwards in a state of separation or schism: & in like manner the waters which the Dragon casts out of his mouth must signify a body politick first united to the Dragons body as a part thereof & afterwards divided from it. And the western Empire hath a particular relation to the watry element. For the Beast rises out of the sea & the Woman sits upon many waters: which waters signify the peoples nations multitudes & tongues over whom the Woman reigneth, & which compose the horns & body of the Beast on whom she sitteth. Her floating upon the flood & sitting upon many waters & upon the Beast are types of one & the same signification & represent her reigning over the flood in her way into the wilderness & over the many waters & the Beast in the Wilderness. She fled from the Dragon westward to reign at Rome the great city Babylon the city upon seven hills, & therefore the flood which the Dragon cast out of his mouth after her is a western kingdom.

And as the flowing of the flood out of the Dragon's mouth signifies a division of the empire into two Empires one of which during the division is represented by the Dragon & the other by the flood so the flying of the Woman from the remnant of her seed signifies the division of the Church into two Churches one of which is the Woman the other the remnant of her seed. When she receives two wings of a great eagle she becomes distinguished into two Churches in communion with one another. Vpon these wings she fled into a spiritually barren kingdom represented by the wilderness. When she began to fly the Dragon cast out water as a flood after her that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood, that is, that by the division of the Empire he might promote the division of the Church & cause the Woman to separate from the remnant of her seed. The earth helps her & prevents the separation for a time by swallowing up the flood, but at length she separates & escapes into the barren wilderness, & the Dragon goes to make war with the remnant of her seed who keep the commandments of God. And henceforward none are permitted to buy & sell, that is to be in communion with her & the Dragon & two Beasts but those that are initiated in their religion by receiving the mark or name of the Beast or the number of his name. The Dragon <45r> persecutes first the Woman & then the remnant of her seed, & the multitude degenerates, becomes spiritually barren & receives the mark of the Beast, except the 144000 who have the testimony of Iesus & are sealed with the name of God in their forehead, & in whose mouth there was found no lye. These are Gods true witnesses, & being the seed of the Woman with two wings are thence called the two Witnesses. When the Dragon began to persecute the Woman they began their testimony against him; & at the same time two wings were given her to fly from him, & from this division made in the beginning of their testimony & continued for some time they are ever after called the two Witnesses. We are not to look for two Churches which always continue distinct: the denomination is taken from the first division while they were yet in communion with the Woman & made a part of her mystical body & from the two Empires in which they were seated then & sometime after.. As the Beast is said to have ten horns & the other Beast two horns & the Lamb seven horns (the seven Churches of Asia) & the Leopard four heads & four wings, & the Woman two wings, not because they are always actually divided into that number of horns & wings but because that was their first number: so the Witnesses are called two from their first number represented by the two wings of the Woman while they were a part of her mystical body. And by the same figure that the Woman may be conceived to keep her two wings after she is separated from the saints & retired into the Western Empire, the saints after that separation may keep the name of two Witnesses wherever the remnant of the Womans seed shall be dispersed. The name of two Witnesses being given them while they were a part of the Womans body they retain it ever after without further regard to forms of government or places of aboad. These are the martyrs who are mystically killed by the Dragon for not worshipping the Image of the Beast, the first fruits unto God, the saints who worship in the inner court of the Temple on mount Sion & on the sea of glass, who by their testimony get the victory over the Beast & over his Image & over his mark & over the number of his name, the holy city troden under foot by the Gentiles, the Saints with whom the Beast makes war & whom he overcomes & kills in the streets of the great city, & the martyrs of Iesus with whose blood the Whore is drunken. And the Beast when opposed to the two Witnesses, may be taken in a large sense, so as to include all his worshippers, that is, all whose names are not written in the book of life.

The occasion of the division of the Empire into two parts was the building of Constantinople by Constantine the great. It was founded in November A.C. 338 & dedicated in May A.C. 330, & endowed with a Senate & privileges like those at Rome, & made the metropolis of all the eastern part of the Empire as Rome had hitherto been of all the Empire & was henceforward of all the western part thereof. By this division of the Empire between two imperial cities the Woman received two wings of a great eagle that she might fly into the Wilderness & then the two Witnesses began their testimony. At the death of Constantine the great A.C. 337 the Dragon cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the Woman to cause her to be carried away of the flood. ffor the Empire at that time became divided between the sons of Constantine, his second son Constantius reigning over the east & his other two sons Constantine & Constans reigning in the west. But Constantine was quickly slain & then his brother Constans reigned over all the west, making Rome his imperial seat as Constantinople was the imperial seat of Constantius. And this division of <46r> the Empire tended to make the like division of the Church. For the Bishop of Rome began now to claim the universal bishopric & his claim was submitted unto by the western Churches & supported by the western Empire against the eastern Churches & almost made a schism between them. For in the year 341 this Bishop began to receive appeals from the Councils of the Greek Church & proudly summoned the Bishops of that Church to appear before him in a Council at Rome, but was stoutly opposed & reprimanded by those Bishops for his ambition. Then by the favour of the western Emperor Constans he prevailed to have a Council summoned by Imperial authority out of both Empires to meet at Serdica in the year 347. About eighty eastern bishops came to Serdica, but finding that matters were prejudged by the western bishops in favour of the pretended authority of the Bishop of Rome, & that they could not come to the Council without communicating with Bishops who stood excommunicated by them, they went back, & the remaining part of the Council decreed appeals from all the Churches to the Bishop of Rome, & thereby gave him the supremacy over all the west. For the western churches submitted to that decree. And these proceedings almost made a schism between the Churches of the two Empires the people of the western Churches beginning now to avoid the communion of the of the eastern but those of the eastern not yet avoiding the communion of the western. And this tendency to a schism is represented by the endeavour of the flood to carry away the Woman, & her new dominion in the west is represented by her floting upon the waters. Thus did the Woman soon after she had received two wings of a great Eagle, begin to fly into the wilderness. For the western Churches headed by the Church of Rome are the Woman reigning there.

But the force of the flood to carry away the Woman was but of short continuance. For Magnentius slew Constans & succeeded him in the West A.C. 350, & within a year or two was conquered by Constantius. And by that victory of the eastern Empire over the western, the earth or eastern Empire opened her mouth & swallowed up the flood & thereby retarded her flight for a time. For by the union of the two Empires a stop was put to the impending schism, & the Woman with her two eagles wings continued to represent the undivided Church of the whole Empire for some time longer, & the new dominion of the Bishop of Rome was suspended during that time, the western Bishops being forced to allow the authority of the eastern Churches & Councils over their own members in matters judicial without appeal to the Bishop of Rome.

By the same victory of Constantius over Magnentius the Beast was wounded to death with a sword & ceased to be till he revived & ascended out of the abyss, both Empires becoming united under Constantius & his successors Iulian & Iovian till the reign of Valentinian & Valens. Between them the Empire became again divided A.C. 364, & by this division the deadly wound was healed & the Beast revived & soon after rose out of the sea, & the Woman by a tendency to a new schism continued her flight into the Wilderness & the Dragon went to make war with the remnant of her seed.. Then by the death of Valens the Empire became united again under Gratian the successor of Valentinian for about five months, & by the next division which was between Gratian & Theodosius A.C. 378, the Woman separated from the remnant of her seed, & the ten horned Beast rose out of the sea to succeed the Dragon in the west, & the two horned Beast rose out of the <47r> earth to succeed her woman in the east & by the influence of this Beast the Dragon made war with the remnant of her seed.. And at the same time the Bishop of Rome recovered the universal Bishopric over all the west & began to govern the Churches of the Western Empire by Vicars & to write decretal Epistles; & by this dominion she began to sit upon the Beast & to change times & laws. And in those days the invocation of saints overspread all the Churches, & thereby she became the Whore of Babylon.

Theodosius reigned in the east & Gratian with his his young brother Valentinian in the west. Maximus compassed the death of Gratian & made Valentinian fly into the east & succeeded them. Theodosius A.C. 388 conquered Maximus & restored Valentinian & reigned with him three years in the west & returned into the east A.C. 391. Eugenius A.C. 392 compassed the death of Valentinian & succeeded him in the western Empire, but Theodosius made his younger son Honorius Emperor of the West in the room of Valentinian, conquered Eugenius A.C. 394, died three or four months after; & by his last will & testament left the Empire divided between his two sons Arcadius & Honorius. After which the two Empires were united no more. By conquering the West & resigning the conquest to Honorius the Dragon gave the Beast his power & throne. The Beast revived before he could ascend out of the sea & ascended before the Dragon who stood upon the land could give him his power & throne. These were three distinct successive acts & imply three successive divisions of the Empire & can agree to no other then the three last divisions, those three to which we have applyed them. Theodosius by conquering Maximus reigned over both Empires, over the east with Arcadius & over the West with Valentinian & Honorius. Thus the Empire was united under him in the last seven years of his reign & yet at the same time divided between Arcadius who was Emperor of the East & Valentinian & Honorius who were successive Emperors of the West. The Dragon therefore in some respect reigned over the whole Empire even after the Beast was risen, & this reign is to be referred to his seventh head. And when Theodosius by his last will & testament left the Empire divided between his sons & was succeeded in the eastern Empire by his eldest son Arcadius, the Dragon gave the Beast his western throne & power. And now the Beast being revived & risen out of the abyss & having received the Dragons ancient throne we are to expect the reign of the ten horns. For they were to receive power as kings at the same time with the Beast, that is, at the same time that the Dragon gave the Beast his power & throne & great authority. And accordingly the Western Empire became divided into ten kingdoms in the reign of the Emperors Arcadius & Honorius, as we shewed in our commentary upon Daniels fourth Beast.

Before the Woman received two wings of a great Eagle there was war in heaven. Michael & his Angels fought against the Dragon, & the Dragon fought & his Angels & prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great Dragon was cast out, that old Serpent called the Devil & Satan which deceiveth the whole world, he was cast out into the earth & his Angels were cast out with him. And Iohn heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation & strength & the kingdome of our God & the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down who accused them before our God day & night. And they <48r> overcame him by the blood of the Lamb & by the word of their testimony, & they loved not their lives unto the death. This is a very plain description of a great conflict between the Roman heathen Empire & the army of Christ. For Michael & his Angels are Christ & his army, such an army as was accused by the Dragon day & night & loved not their lives unto the death, such an army as overcame the Dragon by the blood of the Lamb, & by the word of their testimony; that is, an army of martyrs & confessors. And this war between Michael & the Dragon was managed on the Dragon's part by accusing & persecuting the Christians & putting them to death for their religion, & on the Christians part by confessing & testifying the truth of their religion & persisting in their confession & testimony without fearing to lose their lives for the same. And by this conflict the Dragon that old Serpent called the Devil & Satan, that is, the heathen Roman Empire in respect of its religion, was overcome & cast out of heaven to the earth & was succeeded in the throne by a new kingdom called the kingdom of God. ffor the conflict ended with a voice from heaven saying: Now is come salvation & strength & the KINGDOM OF OUR GOD, for the accuser of our brethren is cast down. And all this can agree to nothing else then the last of the heathen persecutions which began in the reign of Dioclesian A.C. 302 & lasted almost two years over all the Roman Empire & ten years together with great violence over all the eastern part thereof & was greater then all the former persecutions taken together, & which ended in the ruin of the heathen Roman Empire & the setting up of a Christian Empire in its room under Constantine the great.

The same revolution is predicted also by the Vision of the Woman who being great with child cried travelling in birth & pained to be delivered, & by the Dragon's drawing the third part of the stars of heaven with his tail & casting them to the earth, and standing before the Woman ready to be delivered for to devour her child so soon as it was born, & by her bringing forth a Man-child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron & was caught up unto God & his throne from the jaws of the Dragon. ffor since this Parable ends with the flight of the Woman into the Wilderness, & that of the war between Michael & the Dragon ends also with the same flight, both the Parables ending at the same time must be synchronal & concerne the same revolution of the Empire. ffor describing & pointing out this grand revolution more clearly & fully the description is repeated. The Woman travelling in birth & pained to be delivered signifies the Church in affliction by a great persecution which ended in the birth of a Christian kingdom, & therefore was Dioclesian's persecution. And the same persecution is signified by the Dragons drawing the third part of the stars of heaven & casting them to the earth. This act shews that the Dragon is the persecutor, & the other of the Womans being pained in child-birth, that she is the person persecuted. The third part of the stars of heaven, or stars of the third part of the Christian world, are martyrs & confessors of the provinces of the Greek Empire where <49r> the persecution was very vehement & lasted ten years together, being carried on by Dioclesian Galerius & Maximinus successively, besides what the Christians of that part of the Empire suffered afterwards under Licinius. For in the western part of the Empire where Herculius Constantius & Constantine reigned successively the persecution lasted scarce two full years being stopt by Constantius, & the Martyrs & Confessors were so few & made so small an appearance that before the end of two years there were pillars set up by the heathens in several parts of Spain, with inscriptions signifying that the superstition of Christ & name of Christians were every where extinguished. In Dacia & such other Provinces as had newly revolted from the Roman Empire & make another third part, there was no persecution at all. The Man-child which the Woman brought forth is not a single person but a kingdom as Isaias interprets the type. ffor the Woman is a body polytick & the child must be a body of the same kind with the mother. And this kingdom was Christian because it was the son of the Woman & was to rule all nations with a rod of iron, which in this prophesy is the scepter of Christ's kingdom. The persecution began by an Edict for demolishing the Churches & burning the sacred books throughout the Empire A.C. 302, & the Man-child was born in the western part of the Empire by the victory of Constantine the great over Maxentius in the end of the persecution A.C. 312. And six years after by the victory of Constantine over Licinius a heathen persecuting Emperor who reigned in the east, the Man-child was caught up to the throne of the whole Empire. And the Dragon at the same time being cast out of heaven by Michael began to come down among the inhabitants of the earth & sea with great wrath knowing that he hath but a short time; that is, the heathens being cast out of their old throne flowed into the Christian Churches of the earth & sea, making an outward shew & profession of the Christian religion for temporal ends but retaining their vicious lives & heathen principles & inclinations to superstition, & thereby they soon corrupted the Christian religion & filled it full of the vices & superstitions of the heathens, making hast to do this because the Dragon had but a short time to reign among the Christians before he should be cast into the bottomless pit. And all the short time of the Dragons wrath, the saints testify against him. ffor in all persecutions the saints have the testimony of Iesus. They begin their testimony therefore when he begins to persecute the Woman & two wings are given her to fly into the wilderness. And when she separates from them & flyes to the great city Babylon, they are sealed & measured & begin to prophesy in the second Temple, & are there represented by two Candlesticks of olive-tree, & worship in the inner Court upon mount Sion & upon the Sea of glass, singing there a new song, that is prophesying in a new state of the Church, while the nations tread under foot the holy City & set up the abomination of the Wilderness in the outward court instead of the daily worship, which by killing those that would not worship the Image of the Beast & excommunicating those that would not receive his mark was now taken away in that Court to make room for the Man of Sin & the worship of the dead in an outward form of Church government.

<50r>

Sect. V.
Of the seven heads & ten horns of the Dragon and Beast.

The Dragon & Beast being the subject of the Prophesy & signifying the Roman Empire sometimes united & sometimes divided & the relation which they have to one another & to the Empire with its parts being understood, it will not be difficult to describe their heads. The four first are the four horsmen which the four Beasts standing towards the four winds of heaven call Iohn to come & see, & which therefore stood in the regions of the Beasts, the first horsman to the east the second to the west the third to the south & the fourth to the north. Riding signifies reigning & the four Beasts with their faces of a Lion, an Ox, a Man & an Eagle allude to the armies of Israel encamped about the tabernacle in the wilderness in four bodies under their several banners; the tribes of Iudah Issachar & Zabulon being on the east side under the standard of a Lion, those of Reuben Simeon & Gad on the south side under the standard of a Man, those of Ephraim Manasseh & Benjamin on the west side under the standard of an Ox, & those of Dan Asher & Naphtali on the north side under the standard of an Eagle. The encampment is described in the book of Numbers & the Iews keep a tradition of the forms of the four standards. Every horsman therefore with the horse he rides upon & the Beast which appears in the same region with him, is a fit embleme of an Emperor with his Empire & his army under its standard. And thus the four horsmen with their Beasts very fitly represent four reigns or dynasties of Emperors.

The first Emperors were Italians called the twelve Cæsars. Of these there were two Dynasties, the first of the family of Iulius Cæsar which lasted till the death of Nero, the next of the family of Vespasian which lasted till the death of Domitian the last of the twelve Cæsars. The Apocalyps was written in the end of the first Dynasty & is of things future & therefore we are to begin with the next. Of this dynasty there were only three Emperors, Vespasian and his two sons Titus and Domitian. Vespasian was created Emperor in the east in the time of the Iewish war. And there being then a rumour in all the east of a prophesy that a great monarch should arise about that time in Iudea, the Romans interpreted it of him. Percrebuerat Oriente toto vetus et constans opinio, esse in fatis ut eo tempore Iudæa profecti rerum potirentur. Id de Imperatore Romano quantum eventu postea patuit, prædictum Iudæi ad se trahentes rebellarunt. Suetonius in Vespatiano. Pluribus persuasio inerat antiquis sacerdotum literis contineri eo ipso tempore fore ut valesceret Oriens, profectique Iudæa rerum potirentur. Quæ ambages Vespatianum et Titum prædixerunt. Tacitus. Hist. l. 5. Quod Iudæas ad bellam maxime <51r> excitaveverat responsum erat ambiguum itidem in sacris libris inventum, quod eo tempore quidam esset ex eorum finibus, orbis terræ habiturus Imperium. Id enim illi quidem quasi proprium acciperunt, multique sapientes interpretatione decepti sunt. Hoc autem plane responso Vespasiani designabatur Imperium qui apud Iudæam creatus est Imperator. Ioseph. de bello Iud. l.7. c.12.

The second Dynasty was a western family of Spaniards, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus, Marcus & Commodus. All these were of Trajans family Trajanus homo Hispanus nec Italus erat nec Italicus; ante eum nemo alterius nationis imperium Romanum obtinuerat, (Dion.) Natus Italicæ in Hispania (Victor de Cæsar.) Hadriani origo posterior ab Hispaniensibus manat. Ejus pater Ælius Hadrianus consobrinus Trajani Imperatoris, mater Gadibus orta (Spartian. in Hadriano) Ipse Trajani municeps et nepos (Spartian. in Severo) natus Italicæ in Hispania (Victor et Euseb. Chron.) Η᾽ν μὲν γὰρ πολίτης ἀυτου καὶ ἐτραπεύθη ὑπ᾽ ἀυτου, γένους θ᾽ ὁι ἐκοινώνει, καὶ ἀδελφιδην ἀυτου ἐγεγαμήκει, τὸ τε σύμπαν συνην ἀυτω καὶ συνδιητατο (Dion) Hispania Principum mater est: hæc Trajanum hæc deinceps Hadrianum misit Imperio (Pacatus Paneg. ad Theodos.) Antoninus Pius, cui paternum genus e Gallia transalpina, Naumasense scilicet (Capitolinus) ab Adriano in filium adoptatus cujus gener fuerat (S. Aur. Victor Epitome) ea tamen lege ut is Marcum fratris uxoris suæ filium similiter adoptaret (Capitolin.) Marcus Hadriani consanguineus (Dion in Hadriano) et Antoni gener (Eutrop.) filiusque per adoptionem (Dion. Capitolin. Euseb. Hist. l.4. c.14) Ipse Adrianum vocat avum suum & Trajanum proavum (Spartian. in Piscen. nigro.). Ejus amita Galeria Faustina Antonini uxor, Proavus paternus Annius Verus ex succubitano Mancipio ex Hispania factus Senator (Capitolin.) Vnde Themistius[14] Theodosium ex Hispania Imperatorem alloquens vocat Trajanum & Marcum et Antoninum πολίτας καὶ ἀρχήτας αυτος populares et majores ejus. Commodus Marci filius (Capitolinus alijque) ultimus Trajanidum.

The third Dynasty was a southern family of Africanus, Severus, Antoninus Caracalla, Macrinus, Heliogabalus, Alexander, the three Gordians & Philip. The family of Severus reigned till the death of Alexander. Among them reigned Macrinus of another southern family & to Macrinus I add the three Gordians & Philip, as Emperors of the same kind & neglect Maximinus a Tyrant contemporary to the Gordians. Severus oriundus ex Africa, Provincia Tripolitana, oppido Lepti, solus omni memoria et ante et post ex Africa Imperator fuit (Eutrop.) nativitate scilicet et genere proximo. Ipso cano Capite et crispo Afrum quiddam usque ad senectutem <52r> sonans (Spartian.) Caracalla Severi filius (Spartian.) Macrinus natione Maurus e Cæsarea Stifensi obscuris natus est parentibus. Habuit enim præter cætera alteram aurem perforatam ut est Maurorum consuetudo (Dion.) Sub Commodo relegatus in Africam ubi ut infamiam damnationis legeret fertur lectioni operam dedisse, egisse causulas, declamasse, jus postremo dixisse; deinceps advocatum fuisse fisci ex quo officio ad amplissima quæque pervenit (Capitolin.) Heliogabalus Caracallæ filius (S. Aur. Victor. et Euseb. Chron.) Et Alexander consobrinus ejus & filius adoptivus ex familia Severi etiam prognatus (Lamprid. Zosim. l.1) Iulia utique Severi conjux sororem habuit Mæsam cui duæ erant filiæ, Soænis et Mammæa. Hæc Alexandrum, illa a Caracalla compressa Heliogabalum edidit. Maximinus Thracia oriundus in Gallia salutatus Imperator ex corpore militari primus ad Imperium accessit sola militum voluntate cum nulla Senatus intercessisset authoritas nec ipse Senator esset (Eutrop. Capitolin. Euseb. Oros.) Contra eum Gordianus pater Proconsul Africæ una cum filio Gordiano in Africa salutati Imperatores et a Senatu confirmati damnato Maximino ut hoste reipublicæ. Iamque Gordianum Africanum appellarunt (Capitolin. Herodian. Zosimus.) Hic post annum et dimidium in Africa transactum, Carthagini perijt una cum filio et mox tertius Gordianus sive ex filio sive ex filia Gordiani senioris natus in imperium a senatu sufficitur, & Maximinus deinde post triennium invasæ tyrannidis occiditur. (Capitolin.) Gordiano tertia successit Philipus Arabs Vostris Arabiæ urbe obscuris parentibus natus (Pompon. Læt.)

The fourth Dynasty was of many northern short lived Emperors, Decius, Gallus with his son Volusian, Valerian with his son Gallienus, Claudius, Aurelian, Tacitus, Probus & Carus with his sons Numerian & Carinus. Decius e Pannonia inferiore Bubulæ natus (Aurelian. Victor, alijque) in Pannonia etiam Imperator factus (Zosim.) Valerianus natus Romæ sed in Rhætia et Norico agens factus est Imperator (Euseb. Eutrop. Iornand.) Claudius Dalmatia <53r> oriundus (Treb. Pollio) Aurelianus ortius Sirmij in Pannonia inferiori parentibus obscuris: ut nonnulli Dacia Ripensi. (Vopisc.) Tacitus Italus imperavit menses tantum sex. Carus aut Naronæ in Illyrico (Aurel. Victor, & Cerilianus apud Vopiscum) aut Romæ sed Illyricis natus est parentibus (Onesimus apud Vopiscum.)

The fift Dynasty was of several Emperors reigning together & sharing the Empire amongst them by common consent. It began with the reign of Dioclesian & Herculeus. Dioclesian Galerius Maximinus &, Licinius reigned successively over the eastern part of the Empire & Herculeus Constantius & Constantine the great over the western, & these Emperors had for the most part two Cæsars under them. This Dynasty the Romans distinguished from the reigns of the former Emperors by dating from the beginning of it an Æra called the Æra of Dioclesian & the Æra of the Martyrs. For this Æra commenced with the reign of Dioclesian A.C. 284 Aug. 29, & was in use till the Æra of Dionysius prevailed, that is, about 250 years. Scaliger saith it is still in use among the Christians of Africk & Æthiopia. This Æra I consider as a sufficient argument of the beginning of a new Dynasty, the Romans looking upon Dioclesian as the restorer of their Empire. ffor in the fourth Dynasty it was in great danger of falling but was restored by Dioclesian & his colleagues to its former greatness & tranquility & enlarged by the addition of Assyria & the five Provinces beyond Tigris.

The sixt Dynasty began with the victory of Constantine the great over Licinius whereby the Empire was again reduced to a monarchical form. This Dynasty continued in the family of Constantine till the death of Iulian the apostate, after whom reigned Iovian seven months, & then the Empire became divided by degrees into the Greek & Latin Empires, which was the seventh Dynasty.

In the four first Dynasties the Roman Emperors represented by four horsmen with their armies under four standards had various warrs, all which are in the beginning of the repetition of the Prophesy at the opening of the Temple in heaven, represented by lightnings & voices & thundrings & an earthquake & great hail. The chief character of the fift Dynasty was Dioclesians persecution from whence his Æra was called the Æra of the Martyrs, & this is represented at the opening of the fift seal by the souls of the Martyrs under the altar & in the repetition of the Prophesy by the pains of a woman in travail & by the Dragons tail drawing the third part of the stars of heaven (or stars of the Greek Empire) & casting them to the earth. The chief character of the sixt Dynasty was the dethroning of heathenism & enthroning of Christianity. And this is represented at the opening of the sixt seale by a description of the end of the heathen world, in the repetition of the Prophesy by the casting of the Dragon that old Serpent out heaven & exalting the Man-child up <54r> to the throne. The Dragon reigned in heaven till the end of the fift Dynasty, & then came down & began a new reign amongst the inhabitants of the earth & sea, which new reign is the sixt Dynasty & lasted only till the Beast rose out of the sea & received the Dragons throne.

In this sixt reign the Empire became divided between the sons of Constantine the great into the eastern & western Empires, but after a few years the western Empire was conquered & mystically slain by the sword of the eastern, & ceased untill the reign of Valentinian & Valens. And in respect of the time when the western Empire represented by the Beast was extinct it is said that the Beast was & is not & shall ascend out of the abyss & go into perdition & that the Beast was & is not and yet is, & that five kings are fallen & one is & the other is not yet come & when he cometh he must continue a short space & that the Beast had a mortal wound in one of his heads & revived. He revived by the division of the Empire between Valentinian & Valens, & being now alive he ascended out of the abyss or sea at the next division of the Empire which was between Gratian & Theodosius, & at the last division which was between the sons of Theodosius he received the Dragons throne & power & became the eighth & of the seven. ffrom the time of his ascending out of the abyss untill his going into perdition he was to continue a short space & this was his seventh reign or Dynasty, & after he was ascended the Dragon gave him his throne & power & great authority & this act began a new reign which is the latter part of the seventh & is therefore called the eighth & of the seven. The seven reigns begin with the opening of the seven seales & the eighth with the sounding of the Trumpets. ffor by these periods the Roman Empire is divided into Dynasties; & the period of the Trumpets is the eighth & of the seven being continued in the period of the seventh seale.

This eighth period is by the sounding of the seven Trumpets subdivided into six intervalls of time, but these make not changes in the reign of the Dragon & Beast common to them both before the sounding of the last Trumpet, & therefore there are no more common Dynasties then eight. At the sounding of the last Trumpet an end is put to the reign of them both: for the mighty Angel sware that there should be time no longer but in the voice of the seventh Angel when he shall begin to sound the mystery of God shall be finished, & when he sounds the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of our Lord & of his Christ who reign for ever & ever. He sounds to the battel between the army on white horses in heaven & the army of the Beast & kings of the earth in which battel the Beast & ffals Prophet are taken & cast alive into the lake of fire & the Dragon into the bottomless pit: & here ends the reign of the eighth king. His reign is therefore by the sounding of the seven Trumpets distinguished only into six intervalls of time, & these intervalls being thrice repeated, once by the sounding of the seven Trumpets, once by the voices of the seven thunders & once by the pouring out of the seven vials of wrath, answer to the mysterious number of the Beast 666. What <55r> follows concerning the thousand years or day or judgment & the kingdom of heaven, is to be conceived not sealed up under any of the seven seals but written on the backside of the book.

In the time of the sixt reign or head, when the Beast had been & was not & was to ascend out of the abyss, the ten kings had received no kingdom but were to receive power as kings about the same time with the Beast. This Beast received the Dragons throne at the death of Theodosius A.C. 395 Ian. 13, & therefore the ten horns were now to receive power as kings. And accordingly the western Empire began presently to break into ten kingdoms. For so soon as the Emperor was dead, Ruffin invited the barbarous nations on both sides the Danube to invade the Romans, & the Visigoths thereupon rose from their seats in Thrace & the Vandals from theirs in Pannonia & the Hunns Alans & Ostrogoths came over the frozen Danube the next winter, & the Suevians invaded Rhætia, & after various wars, the Visigoths invaded Italy & went thence into Gallia, the Hunns seated themselves in Pannonia with the Ostrogoths under them, the Vandals, the Alans in two bodies, the Suevians & the Burgundians invaded Gallia & Spain & there erected five kingdoms. And upon these commotions the Salian Franks rose up in arms & founded the present kingdom of France, & the Britains separated from the Empire & set up a government of their own, & the remainder of the western Empire made up the number of ten kings. Most of these kings received power as kings upon the death of Theodosius & all of them within the space of 12 or 13 years after, the Empire breaking into these ten kingdoms by one continued series of war which began at the sounding of the first Trumpet & shifted from east to west at the sounding of the second. Vpon the sounding of the first Trumpet they began to receive power as kings, upon the sounding of the second they were distinctly formed into ten kingdoms seated in the western Empire, {&} at the sounding of the third they are represented by rivers & fountains of water. As the Leopard which rose out of the sea with four heads & four wings represents the Greek Empire which was first monarchical & then brake into four great kingdoms, so the Beast which rose out of the Sea with ten horns represents the western Empire first in a monarchical form & presently after divided into these ten kingdoms. And as the four heads & wings of the Leopard & four horns of the He-goat constantly represent the kingdoms into which the Greek Empire was divided whether more or fewer then four, the number four <56r> respecting only the first division: so the ten horns constantly represent the kingdoms into which the Latine Empire is at any time divided be they more or fewer then ten, the number ten respecting only the first division. And for this reason they are called the ten horns even after the little horn of Daniel's fourth Beast had rooted up three of them. They became of one mind that is of one religion & by uniting in religion & submitting to the Womans ecclesiastical authority they agreed & gave their kingdom to compose the Beast.

And because the kingdoms over which the Woman reigneth may be considered either as the ten kings in respect of their first rise or as the seven which remained after three of the ten were rooted up, they are also represented by the seven mountains on which the Woman sitteth. ffor the heads of the Beast have a double signification. They are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth, that is seven dominions over which she reigneth, & they are also seven [successive] kings five of which were fallen before she began her reign.

Some have recconed the Greek Empire amongst the horns of the Beast. For as the ten horns are ten kings which agree & give the power & strength to the Beast so the Dragon gave the Beast his power & throne & all the world wondred after him & power was given him over all kindreds & tongues & nations & all that dwell on the earth worshipped him whose names were not written in the book of life. But its to be observed that after it was said that the Dragon gave the Beast his power & throne & that all the world wondred after him, it is added in the next words that they worshipped the Dragon which gave power to the Beast, & they worshipped the Beast saying, Who is like unto the Beast? Who is able to make war with him? For by these words the Dragon & Beast, or Greek & Latine Empires, are atill distinguished & considered apart. Yet the power of the Beast became universal in respect of his worship. ffor after he was mortally wounded & rose from the dead, the two-horned Beast became his Priest, consecrated him a God, & caused the eastern nations to make an image to him, & to worship him & his image, & wonder after him, but gave him no temporal dominion over them.

<56Ar>

Chap. VI.
The Prophesy of the Epistles to the seven Churches explained.

<57r>

The Prophesy of the Apocalypse neare the beginning thereof relates chiefly to the first ages of Christianity & neare the end to the last. The first six chapters treat very largely of the times preceding the great Apostasy & the five next treat largely of the reign of that Apostasy & briefly of its fall. Then follows a repetition of the whole & the twelft chapter treats briefly of its rise, the five next treat largely of its reign the two next very largely of its fall & the three last as largely of the times after its fall. And according to this method of the Prophesy the Epistles to the seven Churches must respect the first ages of Christianity.

These Churches are literally the particular churches in Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamus, Thyatira, Sardius, Philadelphia & Laodicea, & the Epistles written to them as particular churches may be taken in a litteral sense concerning such things as happened to them in the first ages. The false Apostles in Ephesus may be Cerinthus & such others as taught false doctrines there. The Nicolaitans may be those in which the mystery of iniquity began to work, who besides their pretensions to knowlege falsly so called taught the dissolution of marriage & the common use of weomen pretending the authority of Nicolas one of the first seven Deacons, & made the Eucharist an abominable sacrifice to their fals Gods, such as were Simon & Helena.. The Woman Iezabel may be one of the weomen of Montanus who pretended to the spirit of prophesy & spread his doctrine in Thyatira or some other earlier woman among the Nicolaitans. The martyr Antipas may be some eminent Christian who was slain in Pergamus before Iohn received this prophesy. But in a mystical sense the seven Churches of these cities are joyntly & severally types of the Church Catholick, & signify the same thing with the seven Candlesticks in the Temple & with the seven horns of the Lamb. As the lamps of the Candlesticks illuminate the whole Temple, so the Angels or teachers of these Churches illuminate the Church catholick. They were chosen to be joyntly the Metropolis of the Church catholick from whence the light of the gospel went forth into all the earth above thirty years together under the government & teaching of Iohn & a long time after under the government & teaching of his disciples & their successors. And Epistles directed to the Angels or teachers of the Metropolis may respect the whole Church. And as the seven heads of the Beast relate to seven successive periods of the Roman Empire so the Epistles directed to the seven churches of Asia may relate to seven successive periods of the Church catholic under that Metropolis.

For the church catholick is in this prophesy represented by the <58r> woman in heaven cloathed with the Sun & having the Moon under her feet & a crown of twelve stars upon her head. And the seven Churches are her first Metropolis & continue to be her Metropolis till she flies into the Wilderness ceases to be the seven Churches & becomes the Whore of Babylon. And the seven epistles answer to seven successive states which she underwent before she changed her Metropolis being admonitions against the approaching apostasy. She was in her first state under the heathen Emperors during the lightnings voices & thundrings (Apoc. 11.19) untill she appeared in travail; in her second state during her travail; in her third state between the birth of the Man-child & her receiving two wings of a great Eagle; in her fourth state when she floated in the water which the Dragon cast out of his mouth after her; in her fift state when the earth had swallowed up the water; in her sixt state when the Dragon was wroth with her; & in her seventh state when the Dragon ceased to persecute her & went to make war with the remnant of her seed, by which war the seven churches fell in outward form & appearance.

During these seven periods of time the Church had a great struggle with the mystery of iniquity. For this mystery began to work in the Apostles days, & was to continue working till the man of Sin should be revealed, being the mystery of spiritual fornication written on the Whore's forehead. It was founded in Metaphysical mysteries or knowledg falsly so called, & introduced the eating of things sacrificed to Idols. And because this mystery was to overcome the Church therefore Christ admonishes her in these Epistles to contend against the professors of this mystery calling them Nicolaitans or spiritual fornicators, Balaam the fals Prophet & Iezabel the fals Prophetess who teach & seduce to eat things sacrificed to Idols, & the synagogue of Satan which say they are Iews & are not. These are the Antichrist which Iohn tells us should come & whose forerunners began to appear in his days, & from whose appearance he concludes it was the last time. His meaning is that the time of the end spoken of by Daniel in which the great Antichrist should rise & reign, was in some respect commenced because his forerunners began to appear & once appearing were not to cease before his coming. These false teachers & their followers being therefore of such dangerous consequence, the Epistles to the Churches are chiefly for encouraging the Churches of the first ages to contend against them.

The first Epistle directed to the Church of Ephesus relates to the times of preaching the Gospel before the Woman was in travail, that is, to the state of the Church under the heathen Emperors from the Apostles' days untill the 10th persecution. ffor in this Epistle Christ saith that the Church of Ephesus cannot bear them which are evil & hath tried them which say they are Apostles & are not & hath found them lyars: both which characters, her purity & her trying false Apostles, agree best with the primitive times. The false Apostles are the fals teachers of the first ages, such as were Simon Magus, Menander, Cerinthus, Basilides, Carpocrates, Valentinus, Marcion, Montanus, Tatian, Sabellius, Paul of Samosat &c which being forerunners of the great <59r> Antichrist, the Church of Ephesus is commended for trying & dicovering them. These are also the Nicolaitans whose deeds the church of Ephesus hated, they being spiritual fornicators who denyed the father & the son, as the Apostles Peter & Iohn describe in their Epistles. But yet this Church notwithstanding these her good qualities had left her first love. She was much perfected in the beginning & had been decaying ever since the Apostles days, and therefore Christ admonishes her to remember from whence she was fallen & repent & do the first works: otherwise he would come & remove her candlestick out of its place. How this Church a little before the tenth persecution had left her first love & inclined to æmulation, dissimulation, contention, wrangling backbiting & faction, Eusebius in the beginning of the eighth book of his Ecclesiastical History describes at large, & how instead of repenting she grew worse & worse untill the persecution overtook her. For when she repented not, Christ brought on this persecution to purge her from evil men & in the beginning of the persecution removed her candlestick out of its place, by causing her churches to be thrown down throughout all the Empire & her assemblies to be interdicted, as Eusebius describes.

The second Epistle relates manifestly to this persecution, as may appear by these words. And unto the Angel of the Church of Smyrna write, These things saith . . . . . he which was dead & is alive; I know thy works & tribulation & poverty, but thou art [spiritually] rich, & I know the blasphemy of them which say they are Iews & are not but are the synagogue of Satan: [that is, I know the idolatry of the disciples of the false Apostles which now begin to be numerous & which say they are Christians & are not, but are the Church of Satan:] fear none of those things which thou shall suffer. Behold the Devil [the great red Dragon] shall cast some of you into prison that ye may be tried & ye shall have tribulation ten days [that is, persecution ten years.] Be thou faithful unto death & I will give thee a crown of life. . . . . . . He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. By the length of the persecution you may certainly know that it was the tenth persecution, that of Dioclesian.

The third Epistle relates to the times next after the tenth persecution, as is manifest by the words: To the Angel of the Church in Pergamus write . . . . . . I know thy works & where thou dwellest, even [in Pergamus] where Satan's throne is [that is, in the Greek Empire descended from the kingdom of Pergamus & represented in this Prophesy by the great red Dragon that old Serpent called the Devil & Satan] & thou holdest fast my name [during the present reign of the persecuting Greek Emperor Licinius] & hast not denied my faith even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithfull martyr who was slain amongst you where Satan dwelleth [that is in the days of the tenth persecution wherein my faithfull martyrs represented by Antipas were slain in the Greek Empire where the Dragon reigneth & where the persecution was sharpest & lasted ten years.] But I have a few things against thee because thou hast there [in the Greek Empire] them that hold the doctrine of Balaam [the fals Prophet or aggregate of fals teachers] who taught Balac [the king] to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel [to cause them] to eat things sacrificed to Idols & to commit fornication: so hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. <60r> Repent or else I will come unto thee quickly & will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. The Nicolaitans were therefore such as taught the doctrine of Balaam for seducing the people of God to idolatry, a generation of false teachers with their churches lasting from the days of the Apostles to the time that Christ comes with the sword of his mouth against his enemies; the whole body of Antichrist in all ages.

The fourth Epistle relates to the division of the Empire between Rome & Constantinople & between the sons of Constantine the great, & to the Woman growing proud, ambitious & potent & claiming appeals from all the world, which is the universal bishopric, & thereby beginning to set up Popery The words run thus. And to the Church in Thyatira write, These things saith the son of God who hath eyes like unto a flame of fire & his feet like fine brass [the types of the eastern & western Churches or two wings of the great Eagle] I know thy works & charity &c. Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee because thou sufferest that woman Iezabel who calleth her self a prophetess [& is tainted with the doctrine of the Nicolaitans] to teach & to seduce my servants to commit [spiritual] fornication & to eat things sacrificed to Idols. And I have given her space to repent of her fornication & she will not repent. Behold I will cast her into a bed [of torment] & them that commit fornication with her into great tribulation [in the lake of fire] except they repent.

The fift Epistle respects the Church reunited under Constantius, at which time it flourished with temporal prosperity & grandeur & with multitudes of people, & made an outward profession of the truth against the innovations of Arius & the Pope & others, but through prosperity abounded with dissemblers, & was much decayed in piety & vertue, & had but few good Christians. For the Epistle runs thus. And unto the Angel of the Church in Sardis write: These things saith he that hath the seven spirits of God & the seven stars [the type of the Angels of the whole united Church] I know thy works that thou hast a name that thou livest & art dead. Be watchful & strengthen the things that are ready to dye: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. . . . . . . Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments, & they shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy.

The sixt Epistle respects the Church in affliction during the reign of Iulian the Apostate a heathen Emperor; as is manifest by the words. And to the Angel of the Church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true he that hath the key of David [the key of the Temple which Isaiah[15] calls the key of the house of David] he that openeth [to the throne of God] & no man shutteth & shutteth [from the throne] & no man openeth: I know thy works: Behold I have set before thee an open door [to the throne from whence thou art at present excluded] & no man can shut it [to hinder thee from entring in again.] For thou hast a little strength & [in this time of persecution] hast <61r> not denied my name. Behold I will make them of the synagogue of Satan which say they are Iews [the Nicolaitans which say they are Christians] & are not, but do lye; behold I will make them to come & worship before thy feet, & to know that I have loved thee. Because [in the reign of the Emperor Iulian] thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep from the hour of temptation which [by false miracles] shall come upon all the world [to set up the invocation of Saints & the worship of dead men & thereby] to try them that dwell upon the earth.

The seventh Epistle relates to the Church in the reign of Iovian Valentinian & Valens, when by recovering the throne she grew great & splendid & abounded in wealth but abated in vertue & piety till Christ spewed her out of his mouth. I know thy works, saith he, that thou art neither cold not hot: I would thou wert cold nor hot. So then because thou art luke warm & neither cold not hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth: because thou sayest I am rich & increased with goods; & knowest not that thou art wretched & miserable & poor & blind & naked. This Church was spewed out of Christs mouth at the opening of the seventh seal. ffor then the twelve tribes of Israel, which are the primitive Church Catholick represented by the Woman, were rejected & received the mark of the Beast except the 144000 which were sealed with the seale of God in their forehead. Then the first beast rose out of the Sea & began to be worshipped & his mark to be received by all men. Then the woman escaped into the wilderness & began to commit fornication with the kings of the earth & the second Beast rose up in her room, & the Dragon began to make war with the remnant of her seed which keep the commandments of God & have the testimony of Iesus Christ. All these things are of a kind & began at once & brought in a new scene of things

In the beginning of the visions of the Woman & Dragon the Temple of God was opened in heaven that Iohn might see those visions therein: & therefore when the Woman fled from the Dragon into the wilderness it is to be conceived that she fled from this Temple & left in it the remnant of her seed which keep the commandments of God & have the testimony of Iesus, & that the Dragon turning from the Woman made war upon the remnant in this Temple while she was flying through the wilderness of Arabia to Babylon, & that the seven candlesticks in this Temple represent the Woman & her seed till she separates from them & with a splendid external form of Church government flyes into a state of spiritual barrenness & becomes the Whore of Babylon. < insertion from f 61v > - represent the Woman & her seed till she separates from them & with an external form of Church government flyes into a state of spiritual barrennes & becomes the splendid whore of Babylon. For then she is spewed out of Christs mouth & her candlestick is removed out of its place. Then she ceases to be illuminated by the seven lamps, & to be represented by the seven golden candlesticks, and then Christ ceases to write any more epistles unto her. The epistles were for admonishing her to be zealous in contending against the mystery of iniquity which was to work till it overcame her. After she was overcome there was no need of any more admonitions of that kind.

< text from f 61r resumes >

It is further to be conceived that this Temple being the Temple of Ierusalem on mount Sion, was the same Temple with that on mount Sion in which the the 144000 stood with the Lamb before the throne & before the four Animals & before the Elders, & that the 144000 are they that worship God in this Temple, & by consequence the remnant of the Woman's seed, or so many of them as were sealed. For they were sealed out of all the twelve Tribes of Israel, & those Tribes worshipped in the Temple of Ierusalem on mount Sion where <62r> the Lamb took the book & opened the Seals thereof.

And therefore when all are killed who will not worship the Image of the Beast & none are suffered to buy & sell except those who have the mark or name or number of the name of the Beast: we are to conceive that this is done by a persecution of the remnant of the Womans seed & that this persecution is the war which the Dragon went to make upon this remnant. ffirst the Dragon persecuted the Woman & made her fly into the wilderness & so soon as she escaped from him, he turned from her & went to make war upon the remnant of her seed & in this war he killed those who would not worship the Image of the Beast & interdicted buying & selling to all who had not the mark or name or number of that Beast. And thereupon all receive that mark or name or number except the 144000 who by persisting in the truth get the victory & are sealed with the name of God in their foreheads & stand on mount Sion with the Lamb.

It is further to be conceived that this persecution was raised by the influence of the second Beast. He spake as the Dragon & was the Dragon's Church, & therefore the Dragon acted by his advice in matters of religion. He declared what ought to be done in those matters, & the Dragon was the temporal power which put it in execution. When the first Beast had been slain & revived & rose out of the sea, the second Beast deified him & caused men (the subjects of the Dragon) to erect an image to him & worship it & to receive the mark of the deified Beast upon pain of being interdicted buying & selling. He had power to bring down fire from heaven upon earth in the sight of men, that is, to bring down war & persecution upon those that would not worship the Beast & his Image. ffirst he excommunicated them & in pronouncing the excommunication brought down a lighted torch (as a custome is in excommunications) from above his head, which is bringing down fire from heaven in a literal sense & then he delivered them up to the temporal power to be killed or interdicted buying & selling.

The 144000 being thus interdicted the society of the twelve Tribes, retire from the Court of the people into the inward court where the Lamb is, & standing with the Lamb before the throne & before the Elders & the four Animals, suppose at the eastern gate of that court where the Levites used to sing, they sing a new song at the sacrifices on the ffast or on the day of the Dedication & on the seven days of the ensuing ffeast, while their Angels represented by the seven Lamps sound the seven Trumpets & pour out the seven Vials at the same sacrifices. <63r> And in the mean time the twelve Tribes worship the Dragon & the Image of the Beast in their own Court, the outward Court of the Temple, till the seven plagues be fulfilled For they are the synagogue of Satan which say they are Iews & are not, & the inhabitants of the earth & sea convened in the outward Court of the Temple, where the Dragon that old Serpent called the Devil & Satan when he was cast out of heaven by Michael, came down to them with great wrath, knowing that he hath but a short time amongst them untill he shall be cast into the bottomless pit.

<64r>

Chap. VII.
The Prophesy of opening the first six Seales explained.

Sect. I
The first seal opened

The first seven leaves of the prophetic Book contein the history of seven successive Dynasties of the Roman Empire which are the seven heads of the Dragon & Beast: & these leaves are opened by opening their seales. At the opening of the first seal the first Beast which was like a Lion & stood eastward, called Iohn to come & see & he saw & behold a white horse & he that sat on him had a bow & a crown was given unto him & he went forth conquering & to conquer. By the crown the horsmen are kings & by the bow this king is a conqueror & by the white horse he is a very good man & by his situation & the situation of the first Beast eastward he was an eastern Emperor. All which is true of Vespasian the first Emperor of the first dynasty of kings who reigned next after the writing of the Prophesy. He was created Emperor in Iudæa which was eastward from Rome & was an excellent Emperor, & at that time there was a rumour in all the east occasioned by the prophesy of Daniels weeks that there should arise a great king in Iudæa, & this the heathens recconed accomplished in Vespasian. He went forth conquering the Iewish nation, dissolved their polity, burnt Ierusalem & the Temple, slew captivated & dispersed the people & sold the country: things of that consequence in religion that they deserved to be taken notice of in this Prophesy. In destroying Christ's enemies the Iews, he may be recconed the Minister of Christ.

Sect. II.
The second seal opened.

At the opening of the second seal the second Beast which was like an Ox the type of slaughter & stood westward from the throne called Iohn to come & look westward: and there went forth another horse which was red, and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth & that they should kill one another, & there was given unto him a great sword. All which agrees to Trajan the first Emperor of the second Dynasty. This Dynasty was of Spaniards a people westward from Rome & Trajan was the greatest conqueror of all the Roman Emperors. The Empire was almost dissolved by the seditions & defections in Nero's reign & something repaired by Vespasian & again made to totter by Domitian. Trajan not only resetled it but enlarged it by forreign conquests more then ever did any other Emperor; insomuch that historians reccon the ακμη of the Empire to have been in his reign, and that the Emperor <65r> Iulian in his Cæsars, singling out Iulius Cæsar, Octavius, Trajan Marcus & Constantine as the five gallantest of all the Roman Emperors to compare with Alexander the great, calls Iulius, Octavius & Trajan the most warlike & in conclusion allots Trajan to keep company with Alexander. He was the first that propagated the Empire beyond the Danube & having conquered & almost depopulated Dacia by war he repeopled it with great numbers from several parts of the Empire He gave a king to the Albani & received those of Iberia & Colchos & the Cimmerian Bosphori & Sauromatæ. He seized the regions of the Saracens & Arabians & reduced Arabia into the form of a Province. He recovered Armenia from the Parthians & conquered Mesopotamia & Assyria reducing them into the form of Provinces, & was the first that extended the Empire beyond Euphrates. He subdued the Cordueni & Mardomedi & Seleucia & Ctesiphon & Babylonia & made the king of Parthia give him hostages, & went as far as India & built a Navy in the Persian gulph to invade the Indians. In his letters to the Senate he gave them account of so many conquered nations that they neither knew them all nor could number them & therefore besides other honours, they erected to him a triumphal arch in the market place of Rome & decreed that he might triumph of as many nations as he pleased But when he was upon the sea the conquered nations revolted & slew the garrisons: upon which followed great confusion & slaughters on both sides. The Iews also in Libya & Cyrene & Egypt & Thebais & Cyprus revolted & slew great multitudes of the Romans & Greeks putting them to various deaths & eating their flesh. Dion reccons about 200000 slain about Cyrene & 240000 in Cyprus & the like slaughter in Egypt. Whereupon Trajan sent captains against them who slew vast multitudes of them. And because they were very numerous in Mesopotamia he commanded that they should be all slain & rooted out of that Province; & accordingly great numbers of them were slain there. And by all these conquests & mutual slaughters the Empire was died with blood as is represented by the red colour of his horse.

Sect. III.
The third Seal opened.

At the opening of the third Seal the third Beast which had a humane face & stood southward from the throne called Iohn to come & look southward. And lo, a black horse, & he that sat on him had a pair of ballances in his hand, & Iohn <66r> heard a voice in the midst of the four Beasts say, A chœnix of wheat for a penny & three Chœnixes of Barley for a penny & see thou hurt not the oyle & the wine. All which is the exact character of Severus the founder of the southern dynasty of Emperors. A pair of ballances denotes a Iudge just or unjust accordinly as the ballance is true or false sincere or bruised, & such was Severus. In his childhood he used no other play then of walking with the fasces & axes before him & of sitting with the boys about him & acting the Iudge. At the age of 32 years he was designed Prætor by the Emperor Marcus. When he came to be Emperor he heard causes all the morning till noon, was severely just, & inexorable against criminals, made excellent laws, left his Deputy Iudge when war required him to lead the army & instituted his sons in the law, & from him that study took such encouragement that I know not any other age of the Empire where a greater number of famous lawyers are recorded then that which followed his reign most of which were the auditors of Papinian his special favourite. The voice in the midst of the four Beasts respects Rome the center of the Empire. And there the measure by which the corn in the publick granaries was dispensed for the sustenance of the people was a Chœnix. The proclamation, A Chœnix for a penny denotes plenty; & Severus was the first who increased the corn in the publick store houses of Rome & so far as I can find he was the first that gave them oyle & gave it gratis. When Severus had newly conquered Albinus, in writing an angry letter to the Senate he thus commemorates his benefactions & upbraids them for their ingratitude. Ego frumenta reipublicae detuli, ego multa bella pro republica gessi, ego populo Romano tantum olei detuli quantum rerum natura vix habuit; ego interfecto P. Nigro vos a malis tyrannis liberavi: Magnam sane mihi reddidistis vicem, magnam gratiam. Spartian tells us: Rei frumentariæ quam minimam repererat ita consuluit, ut excedens vita septem annorum Canonem populo Romano relinqueret, ita ut quotidiana septuagena quina millia modiorum expendi possent, olei verò tantum ut per quinquennium non solum Vrbis usibus sed et totius Italiæ quæ oleo egeret, sufficeret. Whence Casaubon by recconing eight Chœnixes to a bushel collects that there were 600000 persons in the Turba frumentaria <67r> of that city. Severus gave also a very fertile feild to the city, which I suppose was for vines. The black colour of his horse is a type of funerals of great men such whose funerals then used & still use to be solemnized in this mourning colour. And for the slaughter of such his reign was so infamous as much to transcend the reigns of the worst Tyrants Nero Domitian & Commodus. When he overcame Piscenuis Niger in Syria he shewed much cruelty by which and the austerity of his manners (for he was against his enemies very cruel & inexorable) the Senate & Citizens of Rome became so disaffected to him as in his war with Albinus to favour his enemy. Whereupon he put to death great multitudes of men & weomen of the best quality in Spain & Gallia where Albinus reigned & was conquered, & afterwards in Italy at his return thither; & confiscating their estates gave more to the soldiers & left more to his sons then any other Emperor. Amongst the rest he slew very many of the Senators, the letters which he found with Albinus betraying them. Spartian names 41 Senators whom he put to death without hearing them, and then adds: Horum igitur tantorum ac tam illustrium virorum (nam multi in his Consultares, multi Prætorij, omnes certè summi viri fuere) interfector, ab Afris ut Deus habebatur. - - - Damnabantur autem plerique cur jocati essent, alij cur tacuissent, alij cur pleraque figuratè dixissent, ut quod esset Imperator verè sui nominis verè Pertinax vere Severus. Multos insuper quasi Chaldæos aut vates de sua salute consuluissent interemit præcipue suspectans unumquenque idoneum imperio. - - Infinita multorum cæde crudelior habitus. Spartian in Severo. Innumeros Senatores interemit, et ab alijs Scyllæ Punici, ab alijs Marij nomen accepit. Spartian. in Piscen. Nigro. Omnes Senatus Principes & singularum Provinciarum nobilissimos et ditissimos quosque interfecit. Auri enim avidissimus fuit ut fortitudinem vinceret avaritia. Suidas in Severo. Cædibus illustrium virorum adeo infamis ut Punicas clades in toga cæsorum civium Romanorum sanguine rependeret. Egnatius in Severo.

Sect. IV.
The fourth seal opened.

At the opening of the fourth seal the fourth Beast which was like a flying Eagle (the embleme of slaughter) & stood northward from the throne, called Iohn to come & look northward, <68r> and Iohn looked & behold a pale horse & his name that sat on him was death & Hades followed him, & power was given unto him over the fourth part of the earth to kill with the sword & with hunger & with death & with the Beasts of the earth. This character agrees fully to Decius the first Emperor of the northern Dynasty. His name was Death & he rode on a horse of a pale colour the colour usually ascribed to death: & this was thus fulfilled. The Scythians from Tanais invading Thrace, Decius beat them at first, but pursuing them to the Banks of Tanais & there endeavouring to attack them through a lake; he stuck fast & perished with his son & his whole army.

It is not to be expected that all the Emperors in a whole Dynasty should be of one & the same sort & character; all of the first Dynasty conquerors & good men, all of the second very great warriors & disturbers of the peace of the earth, & all of the third eminent Iudges : & therefore I have applied the characters of the horsmen only to the first Emperor of every Dynasty, & accordingly have interpreted the fourth horsman of Decius alone. But this Horsman was followed by Hades, the king of the dead, who had power over the fourth part of the earth (that is, over the Roman Empire which was about the fourth part of the habitable world then known) to kill with the sword & with hunger & with death & with the beasts of the earth, that is with civil wars, with famin, with pestilence & with forreign kingdoms or nations invading the Empire. And therefore we are further to shew how Hades after the reign of Decius afflicted the Empire with these four plagues.

The Plague Of the Beasts of the earth.

Vpon the death of Decius & his army, the barbarous nations began to invade the Empire on all sides. The Scythians invaded both Europe & Asia; the Goths Borani Carpi and Vrugundi invaded Europe, the Persians invaded Mesopotamia & Syria & took Antioch. All this was in the two years reign of Gallus the successor of Decius. In Valerian's reign the Scythians invaded Greece Illyricum Italy & Asia; the Marcomans & others invaded other places; the Goths Borani Carpi & Vrugundi over-ran all Italy & Illyricum & some of them passed into Asia, the Germans infested Gallia & were opposed by Gallienus, & the Persians over-ran the east & took Valerian captive. And after all this the state of the Empire grew still worse. Gallieno in omnem lasciviam dissoluto Germani Ravennam usque venerunt; Alemanni vastatis Gallijs in Italiam transiere; Græcia, Macedonia, Pontus, Asia depopulatæ per Gothos; Quadi & Sarmatæ Pannonias occupaverunt; Germanis Hispanias obtinentibus Tarracon expugnata est, et <69r> Parthi Mesopotamiam tenentes Syriam incursarunt. Euseb. Chron. et Eutrop. l.9. Francorum gentes direpta Gallia Hispaniam possederunt vastato ac pene direpto Tarraconensium oppido; nactisque in tempore navigijs pars in usque Africam permeavit: Victor de Cæsar. Hispania duodecim annis fere sub barbaris laboravit regnante Gallieno: Oros l. 7. c 41. Claudius Gothos jam per quindecim annos (i.e. a morte Decij) Illyricum Macedoniamque vastantes bello adortus incredibili strage delevit: Iornand. l. 1. de Regn. success. Delevimus trecenta & viginti millia Gothorum, duo millia navium mersimus: Claudius Imp. apud Pollionem. Aurelian in the reign of Claudius slew 30000 Francks at Ments & in his own reign vanquished the Marcomans & Sueves a terrible enemy in Italy & his successor Probus having beaten the Franks & Alemanns in Gallia wrote this to the Senate: Supplicationes vestro more decernite Nam et quadringenta millia hostium cæsa sunt et sedecim millia armatorum nobis oblata & septuaginta urbes nobilissimæ captivitate hostium vindicatæ & omnes penitus Galliæ liberatæ. This letter is recorded by Vopiscus, who adds that Probus after this supprest the Sarmatæ & other nations in Illyricum the Goths Vandals & Gepidæ in Thrace & the Parthians & others in the east. And after all this Dioclesian & his Colleagues had great & lasting wars with the barbarous nations before they could quiet the empire.

The plague of the Sword.

Vpon the death of Decius the Empire fell into disorder as well by civil wars as by barbarian invasions, so that between Decius & Dioclesian, that is, within the space of 33 years, of about 21 legitimate Emperors & Cæsars (besides seven tyrannical ones who perished all by the sword) there died only Licinian & Claudius by the pestilence & Carus by lightning & three more were slain by the publick enemy, & all the rest fell by the sword of one another or of their own soldiers. And besides all these, within the fifteen years reign of Gallienus who was one of the one & twenty, there arose no less then 29 or 30 other Tyrannical Emperors some of which were as powerful as Gallienus himself, & all these also fell by the sword except three or four who had their lives given them by their conquerors What slaughters followed upon the civil wars between so many Emperors & Tyrants may easily be imagined. I shall content my self with one instance. Vpon conquering Ingenuus who was saluted Emperor by the Legions of Mœsia Gallienus was so cruel towards both soldiers & inhabitants of Mœsia as to leave many cities void of Males. His cruelty may be understood by this Epistle to Verianus. Gallienus Veriano. Non mihi satis facies si tantum armatos occideris quos et fors belli perimere potuisset: perimendus est omnis sexus virilis, si et senes atque impuberes sine reprehensione nostra occidi possint. Occidendus est quicunque male voluit. Occidendus est quicunque male dixit. Contra me, contra Valeriani filium, contra tot principum patrem et fratrum Ingenuus factus est <70r> Imperator. Lacera, occide, concide: animum meum intellegere potes: mea mente irascere qui hæc manu mea scripsi.

The plagues of ffamin & Pestilence.

In the first year of Gallus the successor of Decius a vehement plague began from Ethiopia & went through all the Roman Provinces exhausting them wonderfully till after the death of Claudius, that is for about fifteen years together. Vbique maximam partem incolentium exhausit, pleraque loca inhabitata reliquit: Latus. Per omnia Romani regni ab Oriente in Occidentem spatia, cùm omne propemodum genus hominum & pecudum neci dedit, tum etiam corripuit lacus et infecit pabula tabo: Oros. l. 7. c. 27. Nec alia unquam major lues mihi lecta spatio temporum sive terrarum: Lipsius de Constant. 2.23. At the same time with this plague a famin also began which lasted longer then the plague, the wars hindring agriculture & wasting the old stores. In Gallus's reign Dionysius Alexandrinus thus mentions it in his epistle to the brethren. Post hæc (that is, after the persecution of Decius) et bellum et fames secula sunt, quæ una cum ethnicis pertulimus. - - - At ubi cùm nos tum ipsi respiraveramus invasit lues ista, res illis quovis terrore terribilior & calamitate quacunque lamentabilior, nobis vero exercitatio et exploratio nullis reliquis inferior. In Valerian's reign Cyprian thus mentions both: Cum dicas plurimos conqueri quod bella crebrius surgant quod Lues quod ffames sæviant, quodque imbres & pluviæ serena longa suspendant. In Claudius's reign Zosimus tells us that a body of Barbarians in Macedonia perished by famin with their cattel: and Pollio that a multitude of barbarians in Thrace laboured so much under famin & pestilence that Claudius sleighted them. And in Aurelian's reign Zosimus mentions how a body of Scythans in Pannonia were prest with famin

So terrible were these plagues of wars pestilence & famin that Cyprian who lived in that age, concluded from them that the end of the world was at hand, as you may understand by his Tract de Mortalitate & yet he was martyred before the reign of Gallienus when they were at the height.

You have now the interpretation of the four horsmen; and as there is nothing in the Prophesy which has not to a title been fulfilled, so the Prophesy had omitted nothing remarkable enough to be a convenient character of the thing designed to be characterised. For what was there in Trajan's reign very singular besides his victories & the ensuing killing one another? What in Severus's besides his acting the Iudge, killing <71r> the Senators & great men & augmenting the city provisions? What in Decius's but his perishing with his whole army? And what was there in the times immediately following him, worth being taken notice of in comparison of the four plagues? I say what was there singular? For as for Trajan's humanity, Severus's wars, & the like, they were things common to them with divers other Emperors: whereas the prophesy (as was fit) takes notice of nothing but what was most remarkable in the kind. You may find other conquerors besides Trajan, other killing one another besides that in the Iewish war, other Iudges & killers of great men besides Severus, & others perishing fatally besides Decius; but all the Roman History will not afford others so eminent in the kind as these, nor which are combined with one another after the same manner. And as for the quaternary of plagues, I know nothing like it. So that the Prophesy & History do not only fit, but are not otherwise to be fitted.

Sect. V.
The fift Seale opened.

The four horsmen being the first four Dynasties of the Empire or heads of the Dragon & appearing upon opening the first four seales we may expect that the fift head or Dynasty is the subject of the fift leaf of the prophetick book & appears upon opening the fift Seal. The first Dynasties were monarchical, this is of several Emperors reigning at the same time & sharing the Empire between them by consent. It began with the reign of Dioclesian & his Colleagues & lasted till Constantine the great, by conquering Licinius reduced the Empire back into a monarchical form, as was said above. It is also distinguished from the former Dynasties by the Æra of the Empire dated from its beginning & called the Æra of Dioclesian & the Æra of the Martyrs. ffor after the Empire by the four plagues of the last Dynasty was almost dissolved & ruined, it was restored & as it were new founded by Dioclesian & his Colleagues & brought to a very flourishing state. Its character is a great persecution of the Christians. For when the Lamb had opened the fift seale Iohn saw under the Altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God & for the testimony which they held. And they cried with a loud voice saying, How long, o Lord, holy & true dost thou not judge & avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth. And while robes were given unto every one of them & it was said unto them that they should rest yet for a little season untill their fellow servants also & their brethren that should be killed as they were should be fulfilled. This is a very plain description of an extraordinary persecution of the Church & answers perfectly to Dioclesian's persecution & to that alone. For that Persecution was notably sharp & great above all the former persecutions & seems to have exceeded them all put together, & to have been the only persecution which was universal, so that in respect of this the former deserve <72r> but little to be considered. Amongst the former that of Decius is accounted the greatest being much more sharp & general then the rest & yet that was not universal nor lasted above one year & three months; whereas this continued with unexpressible violence ten years together over all the east beyond Italy, & almost the two first of those years over all the west but with less violence the western nations affording fewer Martyrs & Confessors. This is the Tribulation of ten days which the Church of Smyrna was to suffer. It began in Spring A.C. 303 & was so vehement that in about thirty days were slain 17000. And yet it was sharper in the second year then in the first, & after it ceased in the west it grew notably sharper under Maximinus in the east & did not begin to mitigate before the end of the seventh year. In Egypt alone were slain (saith Ignatius of Antioch) 144000, and seventy thousand banished. And if you peruse the description which Eusebius gives of it you will scarce find it milder in other Provinces. From this persecution the Æra of Dioclesian was called the Æra of Martyrs. These Martyrs are represented as sacrifices lying under the Altar, that is, on the pavement at the foot of the Altar where the sacrifices used to be slain, & they are told that they must rest for a little season untill the sufferings of their brethren who should be killed as they were should be accomplished; that is, untill the end of the great tribulation, or untill the times of the seventh seal should be expired. For the little season is the reign of the seventh head or king called a short space Apoc. 17.10, & a short time Apoc 12. And as the Tribulation of ten days came in the end of the reign of the heathen Empire & was followed by a victory of the Christians which put an end to the reign of the heathens: so the great Tribulation is to come in the end of the Empire of the great Antichrist & is to be immediately followed by a victory of the saints which will put an end to the reign of the Antichristians. And then God will judge & avenge the blood of the Martyrs on them that dwell on the earth.

Sect. VI.
The sixt Seale opened.

And when he had opened the sixt seal there was a great earthquake [or shaking of the kingdom so as to remove it. Heb. 12.26, 27, 28] and the Sun [of the Empire] became black as sackcloth of hair, & the whole Moon [the Empire the Emperors wife] became as blood [being polytically slain or dissolved] & the stars of heaven fell unto the earth as a fig-tree casteth her green figgs when she is shaken of a mighty wind, & the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together [that is, the great men of the kingdom fell down from their places of honour & the throne & dominion thereof fled away Isa. 34.4 Nahum 3. 12] and every mountain & island were moved out of their places [that is the cities of the earth & sea changed their dominions: Dan. 9.16, 20. Ier. 51.24, 25.] And the kings of the earth & the great men & the mighty men & every bond man & every free man <73r> hid themselves in the dens & in the rocks of the mountains [or buildings of the Cities or Temples] & said to the mountains & rocks Fall on us & hide us [in rubbish] from the face of him that sitteth on the throne & from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of his wrath is come & who shall be able to stand. What this means may be understood by comparing it with the following places. Enter into the rock & hide thee in the dust for the fear of the Lord & for the glory of his Majesty — ffor the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud - & upon all the high mountains — & the Idols he shall utterly abolish, & they shall go into the holes of the rocks & into the caves of the earth for fear of the Lord & for the glory of his majesty when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth. In that day a man shall cast his Idols of silver & his idols of gold which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles & to the bats to go into the tops of the ragged rocks for fear of the Lord & for the glory of his majesty when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth: Isa. 2. The High places of Aven the sin of Israel shall be destroyed: the thorn & the thistle shall come upon their altar, & they shall say to the mountains, Cover us, & to the hills, ffall on us: Hosea. 10.8. Men are here put for Idols as in divers other places of Scripture. Thou hast played the harlot with many lovers, yet return to me saith the Lord. - - She commited adultery with stones & with stocks: Ier. 3.1, 9. So Baalim are called the lovers of Israel: Hosea 2.12, 13. & the Idols of Egypt Assyria & Babylonia are called Egyptians Assyrians & Babylonians wherewith Israel & Iudah commit fornication: Ezek. 16 & 23. The men therefore who hid them selves in dens & rocks of the mountains & said to the rocks ffall on us & hide us, are Idols of all sorts which were now laid aside in private places of the Cities or Temples untill the buildings fell on them & covered them in rubbish.

So then at the opening of the sixt Seal is predicted the shaking, eclipsing, dissolving, falling departing & vanishing of the whole heathen Roman world, & the abolishing of their Idols. And this came to pass in the reign of Constantine the great & his successors & can be applied to no other period of time. Constantine a Christian overcame the heathen Emperor Licinius, applied the donaria of the heathen Temples to the building of Constantinople, caused the Idols to be thrown down & laid aside & great numbers of them to be brought to Constantinople & there exposed to the derision of the people; & he & his sons interdicted the worship shut up the Temples & threw down the Altars & the porches & roofs of some of the Temples & let the rest go out of repair. And by this means the heathen religion decayed so fast, that before the reign of their successor Iulian the Apostate one half of the people of the Empire were become Christians. But Iulian opened the Temples & restored the heathen worship & Valentinian & Valens tolerated it all their reign. And therefore the prophesy of the sixth seal was not fully accomplished before the reign of their successor Gratian. It was the custome of the heathen Priests, in the beginning of the reign of every soveraign Emperor to offer him the dignity & habit of Pontifex Maximus. This dignity all Emperors had hitherto accepted of: but Gratian rejected it, threw down the Idols, interdicted the sacrifices, <74r> and took away the revenues of the sacrifices & salaries & authority of the Priests. And Theodosius followed his example. And Heathenism afterward recovered it self no more, but decreased so fast that a[16] Prudentius about ten years after the death of Theodosius called the heathens vix pauca ingenia & pars hominum rarissima. For when the Dragon that old Serpent called the Devil & Satan, the spirit of the heathen religion, was cast out of the Roman throne, he came down among the Christian inhabitants of the earth & sea with great wrath; the heathens who then began in great numbers out of temporal ends to profess the christian religion bringing in among the Christians the vices & superstitions of the heathen religion: & thereby the conversion of the rest of the heathens became more easy & the old heathen religion quickly ceased. And at the same time a new sort of Christian religion was set up which was mixed of heathenism & christianity & in this Prophesy is called worshipping the Beast & his Image & receving his mark & committing fornication with the whore of Babylon, & in Daniel the transgression & abomination which maketh desolate or which turneth into a wilderness. For this is that wilderness into which the woman fled & where Iohn saw her sitting upon the Beast.

This Beast with his worshippers is the Man of sin who opposeth & exalteth himself above every one that is called a God or object of worship that he may sit in the temple of God shewing himself that he is a God, and whom the Lord shall consume with the breath of his mouth & shall destroy with the brightness of his coming. For this is exactly the character which is given the Beast in the Apocalyps. He is slain, revives, is deifed, has an Image set up to him & with his Image is worshipped by all men whose names are not written in the book of life, & is at length taken and destroyed in the lake of fire by the Lord at his coming. And now ye know, saith the Apostle Paul, what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work, only that which letteth will let untill he be taken out of the way & then shall that wicked one be revealed — whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power & signes & lying wonders. That which letted was the Roman Empire as the ancient Christians affirmed by tradition, that is, the heathen Empire then standing. ffor till the heathen Empire was taken out of the way it was impossible for a Christian dominion to rise up in its room which should exalt it self above every God. This empire was taken out of the way at the opening of the sixt seal as we have newly explained: & at the opening of the seventh seal the Man of sin was revealed. For then the Beast rose out of the sea & was deified by his Priest the two horned Beast & began to be worshipped with his Image by all nations. This Prophesy is called The Revelation of Iesus Christ & the revelation is made by opening the seals in order untill the Man of sin be revealed, whose coming was with all signes & lying wonders for setting up the worship of dead men as you have heard above. The Apostle tells <75r> us that the day of Christ shall not come except there come a falling away first & that Man of sin be revealed the Son of perdition. There came a generall falling away by the setting up of Saint-worship & therefore the Man of sin was then revealed. The time is best determined by the holding of the four winds.

Sect. VII.
The holding of the four winds explained.

At the opening of the fourth seal the Empire was invaded on all hands by barbarous nations so as to be in great danger of falling: but Dioclesian & his colleagues repulsed the invaders & restored the Empire to a flourishing & formidable state & in this glory it continued during the reign of Constantine the great & his sons. Some wars Constantius had with the Persians & Alemans but not great & rather with advantage & glory then danger to the Empire, so that his Empire equalled that of his father, as you may learn out of Gregory Nazianzen's first Oration against Iulian written immediately after Iulian's death, where he thus expostulates with Constantius for making Iulian Emperor. Quodnam hoc consilium suscepisti qui omnes non tuæ solum sed etiam superioris memoriæ Imperatores animi solertia et acumine longe antecellebas? Qui barbaras nationes per gyrum repurgabas tyrannosque intestinos ditioni tuæ partim sermonibus partim armis subjiciebas et quidem utrumque ita dextre et egregie, quasi ab altero nihil molestiæ tibi exhiberetur: cujus cum magna et eximia trophæa armis et prælio quæsita, tum majora et illustriora sine ulla cruoris profusione parta: ad quem legationes et supplicationes undecunque confluebant: cui nationes omnes partim jam dicto audientes erant, partim jamjam futuræ erant; ut in eadem causa essent omnes ij quorum expugnatio in spe posita erat, ac si jam domiti atque in potestatem redacti essent: &c. This was the flourishing state of the Empire till the Persians beat & slew Iulian the successor of Constantius: after which shock the Empire was quickly invaded on all sides. Hoc tempore, saith Ammianus, velut per universum orbem Romanum bellicum canentibus buccinis, excitæ gentes sævissimæ limites sibi proximos pessultabant: Gallias Rhætiasque simul Alemanni populabantur: Sarmatæ Pannonias & Quadi: Picti Saxones & Scoti & Attacotti Britannos ærumnis vexavere continuis: Austoriani, Mauricæque aliæ gentes Africam solito acrius incursabant: Thracias diripiebant prædatorij globi Gotthorum: Persarum Rex manus Armenijs injectabat. And whilst the Emperors were busy in repulsing these enemies the Huns Alans & Goths passed the Danube in two bodies, overcame & slew Valens & made so great a slaughter of the <76r> Roman Army that Ammianus saith: nec ulla Annalibus præter Cannensem ita ad internecionem res legitur gesta. And this was recconed the beginning of the calamities & ruin of the Empire. So Ruffin a[17]: Quæ pugna initium mali Romano Imperio tunc et deinceps fuit. And Platina b[18]: Hæc clades Romani Imperij ac totius Italiæ exitium fuit. This was in the year 378, & new the Goths freely depopulated all Thrace & the neighbouring Provinces from the walls of Constantinople to the Alps. And at the same time Gratian laboured under a difficult war with the Alemans in Gallia & Rhætia, so that the Empire was in danger of falling. Iacebat, saith Pacatus,[19] innumerabilibus malis ægra vel potius dixerim exanimata Respublica barbaris nationibus Romano nomini velut quodam {diluvis} superfusis. But the two next years Gratian & the new Emperor Theodosius & their captains by many & great victories checkt the Barbarians & quieted the Empire & reduced it to an universal peace the Persians also thereupon desiring peace by their Embassadors.. Cum Gratianus afflictum ac pene collapsum reipublicæ statum videret, — Theodosium Orientis præfecit imperio, qui Alanos Hunnos et Gothos incunctanter aggressus magnis multisque prælijs vicit; urbem Constantinopolin victor intravit Oros. l. 7. c. 34. {Ausonio} et Olybrio Coss (A.C. 379) Theodosius fit Augustus 14 Kal. Feb. ipsoque anno multa bella Romani cum Gothis commiscuerunt. Deinde victoriæ nunciatæ adversus Gothos Alanos atque Hunnos 15 Kal. Decemb. Proximo anno (A.C. 380) Gratiano 5 et Theodosio Aug. Coss. victoriæ nunciatæ sunt amborum Augustorum. Et ipso Anno [post bellum confectum] ingressus est Theodosius Constantinopolim 18 Kal. Decemb. Idacius in ffast. Cons. When d[20] Zosimus had described the same war, he adds: Eodem tempore (sc. quo Gothi reprimerentur) Theodosio quidam alij quoque prosperi casus accidere. Nam Scyros et Carpodacos permistos Hunnis ultus est et prelio superatos Istrum trajicere suasque sedes repetere compulit. Hinc igitur militibus animorum fiducia redire, paululumque videri de rebus adversis superiorum temporum respirare Princeps et agricolis exercendarum aperarum suarum quidem Imperator in hunc modum acceptis detrimentis mederi visus est. To the same purpose writes Claudian de 4to Consulatu Honorij:

Nam cum barbaries penitus commota gementem

Irrueret Rhodopen, & mixto turbine gentes;

Cum deserta suas in nos transfuderat arctos,

Danubij totæ vomerent cum prelia ripæ;

Cum Geticis ingens premeretur Mœsia plaustris,

Flavaque Bistonios operirent agmina campos:

Omnibus afflictis et vel labentibus ictu,

Vel prope casuris unus tot funera contra

Restitit, extinxitque faces agrisque colonos

Reddidt, & leti rapuit de faucibus urbes.

Nulla relicta foret Romani nominis umbra

Ni pater ille tuus jamjam ruitura subisset

Pondera, turbatamque ratem, certaque levasset

Naufragium commune manu &c

To the same purpose speake Ierome, Prosper, Marcelline, Victor, Gregory Nazianzen, Socrates, & Sozomen. And how the wars with the Scots in Britain, the Moors & Austorians in Afric & Cyrenaica & the Sarmatæ & Quadi in Pannonia were ended before the year 380 you may see in Ammianus, & also how eighty thousand Burgundians came to the Rhene & were stopt by Gratian. Iornandes mentions also an incursion of the Vandals (he means the Alemans) into <77r>

< insertion from f 76v >

Gallia supprest by Gratian when Theodosius lay sick at Thessalonica which was in the year 380. ffor before the end of this year the empire was quieted in all places & thenceforward remained quiet from invasions till the death of Theodosius, this warlike & victorious Emperor continuing all his reign to check & keep out the barbarous nations by force; as Pacatus in his Panegyric above mentioned which he spake to this Emperor himself a little after his victory over Maximus, A.C. 388, thus describes. Miremur ne in urbibus tuis et a populis tuis te videri, quem fere nulla in solo suo natio externa non vidit, idque ita crebro ut pene tam notus sit barbaris vultus iste quam nobis: et siqui forte sunt barbarorum qui nondum virtutis tuæ fulmen exceperint nominis terrore permulsi et velut afflati quiescant. Tua enim Imperator auspicia non {hoc} tantum gentes tremunt quas ab orbe nostro sylvarum intervalla vel flumina montesve distinguunt: sed quas æternis ardoribus inaccessas aut continua hyeme separatas aut interfusis æquoribus abjunctas natura determinat. Non Oceano Iudus, non frigore Bosphoranus, non Arabs medio sole securus est. Et quo vix pervenerat nomen ante Romanum accedit Imperium. Dicamne ergo receptos ad servitium Gothos, castris tuis militem, terris sufficere cultorem? Dicam a rebellibus saracenis pœnas polluti fœderis expetitas? Dicam interdictum Scythis Tanaim? imbellis arcus esse fugientis Allani? Quæcunque natio barbarorum robore ferocia, numero gravis unquam nobis fuit, aut boni consulit, aut quiescit, aut lætatur, quasi amica si servietis. Thus far Pacatus. And as Theodosius kept the Empire quiet so he left it quiet at his death. Theodosius composita tranquillataque republica apud Mediolanum constitutus diem obijt: Oros. l. 5. c. 35. Omnibus inimicis Theodosius superatis in pace rebus humanis Mediolanum excessit: Iornandes de Regn. Success. Theodosius filijs Imperium nullis seditionibus turbatum ἀστασιάστατον βασιλείαν transmisit: Philostorg. l. 11. c. 22. In pace rebus humanis, annum agens quinquagesimum apud Mediolanum excessit: utramque rempublicam utrique id est Arcadio & Honorio quietam relinquens: S. Aurel. Victor. But this great warrior being succeeded by children & leaving his elder son Arcadius Emperor of the east under the tuition of Ruffin & his younger son Honorius Emperor of the west under the tuition of Stilico, these Tutors turned traytors & conspired with the barbarous nations thinking by their assistance to gain the Empires to themselves. And first Ruffin called into the eastern empire the barbarous nations who lay next it, & they harrassed all that empire for about 11 or 12 years together & shook it with incredible violence: & then Stilico called into the Western Empire the rest of the barbarous nations who ruined that Empire & brake it into ten kingdoms. And these wars the Romans a[21] looked upon as the effect & consequence of the former war wherein Valens perished, & b[22] sometimes dated them from the beginning of that war with the Goths Huns & Alans, as if Theodosius had not put a full end to that war but only restrained it by force during his warlike reign, the barbarous nations lying ready to pursue their hostilities so soon as the restraint should be taken off. Which I note because it is the character of the winds. ffor the winds were held by force that they should not hurt the earth & sea (or Eastern & Western Empires) till after a certain time, & continued ready to break out & blow upon them so soon as the restraint should be taken off. By these winds I understand, not civil wars but forrein invasions, such winds as were held at the four corners of the earth or borders of the Empire & blew upon it from thence, the armies of forreign nations < text from f 77r resumes > invading the Empire on all sides successively. These winds hurt the earth & Sea, or, as is afterwards represented, a third part of the things in Earth Sea rivers sun Moon & stars, that is a third part of the world politick considered in this prophesy. One third part is the Greek Empire stricktly called the earth. Another third part is the Latine Empire stricktly called the Sea, & another third part is the winds which hurt them, that is the nations which invade the Greek & Latine Empires, & more especially the nations of Dacia. For Dacia being conquered by Trajan remained a Province of the Roman Empire for many years, & at length the empire brake into three principal parts the kingdom of Dacia, the Greek Empire & the Latine Empire. And the kingdom of Dacia in the reign of Dioclesian & Constantine the great & his successors became very potent & of great extent so as in the reign of its last king Ermaneric to equal or exceed France & Germany together. And out of this kingdom came the nations which invaded the Empire on the four sides of Rome & thereby composed the four winds which hurt the Earth & Sea, vizt the nations of the Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Vandals, Alans, Chatti, Burgundians, Gepides, Lombards, Heruli, Rugi, Sarmatæ, Sclavi, Bastarnæ. Tacitus tells us that Hadrian granted seats in Dacia to Catualda king of the Marcomans; & the Marcomans & Quades are found mixed with the Gothic nations which invaded the Greek Empire in the reign of Arcadius. The Hunns also seated themselves in Dacia & from thence invaded the Romans. The Salian Francks were a part of the western Empire & continued subject to the Romans till the winds began to hurt the earth & Sea.

Chap. VIII
The seventh seal opened.

<78r>

Chap. VIII.
The Prophesy of opening the seventh Seal explained.

We shewed above that the prophesy of the sixt Seal extended to the death of Valens, & the next thing is the holding of the four winds. They began to be held in the year 379 & were fully checkt & ceased in the year 380, & at the same time all noise ceased & there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour. This silence began with the ceasing of the winds: for noise denotes war & silence peace. With the holding of the winds & ceasing of all noise the times of the seventh seal began. After this silence there were an hundred & forty four thousand servants of God sealed out of all the twelve tribes of Israel & the rest received the mark of the Beast & thereby were initiated into his religion & became the synagogue of Satan: & before the servants of God were sealed an Angel offered their prayers with much incense upon the golden Altar, in the time of silence & then cast fire, to the earth, to sacrifice Gods Lot, & at the sacrifice there were voices & thunderings & lightnings & an earthquake , which is to be understood not of the lasting & pernicious wars of forreign invaders, represented by the winds, but of the religious war whereby those who would not worship the Image of the Beast were killed. After which the seven Angels prepared themselves to sound their trumpets to seven great wars, the four first of which are the four winds which blow from the four corners of the earth & were to hurt the earth & the sea & the trees. These winds respect the city Rome as in the center & blow in the same order that the four Beasts appeared, the first being chiefly an eastern, the second chiefly a western, the third chiefly a southern & the fourth chiefly a northern wind; & they hurt the earth, the sea, the trees, the ships, the mountains, the rivers & the sun moon & stars, that is, the whole frame of the Roman Empire; & extinguishing the old dominion of Rome make way for a new dominion of that city. These winds being the wars of forreign invaders who were checkt & restrained for a time by Gratian & Theodosius, must be understood to break out a fresh & to begin to hurt the earth & sea when those forreigners begin again to invade & harrase the Empire with great & lasting violence, which was presently after the death of Theodosius & division of the Empire between his sons.

The first Trumpet

The first of the four winds is an eastern wind and <79r> hurt the earth or eastern Empire, that earth out of which the two horned Beast arose. For at the sounding of the first Angel there followed hail & fire mingled with blood [that is a bloody fiery violent tempest of war] & they were cast upon the earth & the third part of the earth was burnt up & the third part of the trees were burnt up [the earth & trees of the eastern Empire which is one of the three parts of the subject of sacred prophesy] & all green grass was burnt up: that is, the people of the Greek Empire great & small signified by trees & grass, were scorched & as it were consumed & burnt up by that war. And so the first Vial was poured out upon the earth & there followed a noisome & grievous sore [or painful tedious war] upon the men who [by the influence of the two horned Beast] had the mark of the [other] Beast & worshipped his Image. For Theodosius who had checkt the barbarous nations died in Ianuary A.C. 395. And from that time for ten or twelve years together all the eastern Empire was invaded & most grievously afflicted by barbarous nations, besides what it suffered by pestilence famin & other disasters For so soon as Theodosius was dead Ruffin to whom he left the tuition of his eldest son Arcadius the eastern Emperor, thinking to get that Empire to himself, called in the nations of the north. And first Alaric with a great army of Goths & other barbarians, the very same year, rising out of Thrace where the Emperor Theodosius had seated him, invaded Macedon sparing neither towns nor men, & going thence by Thessaly into Achaia he rased almost the whole country, & amongst other cities Thebes & Athens. Then rushing into Peloponnesus he laid wast Corinth Argos & Sparta with many other cities & from thence betook himself into Epire where he continued the same depopulations. And the next year going out of Epire he over-ran Achaia & for four years together continued to wast it & Epire & the neighbouring Provinces with fire & sword.

In the winter after Alaric began these devastations, A.C. 395, there brake into Thrace & Pannonia from beyond the frozen Danube by the invitation also of Ruffin a great body of Huns Alans Ostrogoths Sarmatans Quades & Marcomans, who harassed those & the adjacent regions for some years together, but chiefly Thrace. And in the same winter or spring following by the invitation of the same Ruffin there flowed another great inundation of Huns from the regions of <80r> Tanais & Mæotis into both Armenias Syria Cappadocia & Cilicia. And besides all this, a[23] Thrace & b[24] Asia smarted very much under the depopulations caused by Gainas a Goth who being one of Arcadius's Generals & turning Traitor b[25] called into the Empire from beyond Ister great numbers of Ostrogoths & conspired with Tribigildus (or Targibilus) another Goth who being set over some bands of Barbarians in Asia, withdrew his obedience & fell to depopulate Phrygia, Pamphylia, Lydia, & the adjacent regions. And after them a great army of Huns under Vldin from beyond the Danube wasted Thrace & the Isauri from the reccesses of the mountain Taurus overspread first Armenia Cilicia Mesopotamia & both Syrias & then all the lesser Asia to the very Hellespont, together with the Island Cyprus: dividing themselves into many little troops, that they might by overrunning all at once, do the more mischief. Whence they were compared to thieves. Nor did Egypt, Libya Cyrenaica, Pentapolis & the neighbouring parts of Afric suffer less by the invading Mazaces & Auxorians Austurians or Saturians whose incursions began A.C. 396 & were at the height about seven years after. And Rhætia was also invaded by the Suevians.

In the mean while when Alaric had for five years together harassed the regions of the Greeks, he determined to invade the western Empire, & passing out of Macedon into Dalmatia Illyricum & Pannonia a[26] A.C. 400 depopulated also those regions & while the Roman army was defending Rhætia against the Germans marched into Venetia & Tuscia & in a short time made himself master of the cities there & beseiged the Emperor Honorius at Hasta, so that every one began to think of leaving their seats in Italy. But Stilico the next Spring b[27] A.C. 403 beat him first at Pollentia with a difficult but notable victory & then again at Verona. And whilst these things were doing Radagaisus a Pagan & king of another dynasty of the Goths prepared a far greater army then that of Alaric consisting of Goths Sarmatans & Germans to the number of four hundred thousand if we may believe Zosimus or according to the least accounts c[28] of two hundred thousand & d[29] upward. With these he passed the Iulian Alps & the regions of Venetia & having wasted many cities in the way beseiged Florence, but was there beaten & his army ruined by Stilico.

The grassation of Alaric in Greece is thus described by Zosimus.[30] Alaricus e Thracia discedebat et in Macedoniam Thessaliamque progrediebatur interjecta cuncta diruens. — Dein aditu per Thermopylas in *[31] Græciam concesso, Barbari mox <81r> ad expeditam agrorum direptionem et universum oppidorum excidium progrediebantur, viros quidem cujusvis ætatis interrimentos, pueros autem et mulierculas gregatim una cum opibus universis ceu partam prædam abigentes. Ac Boætia quidem tota cæteræque Græca nationes, quascunque post occupatum aditum illum Thermopylarum transibant Barbari, plane jacebant; et eversionem suam hodieque spectatoribus intuendam exhibent, solis Thebis, partim ob urbis munitionem, partim quod Alaricus Athenas capere properans, earum obsidioni non inhæsisset. — Sed Atheniensium civitas hoc tempore in extremum conjecta periculum evasit. Alaricus autem Attica tota vastationis experta relicta, in Megaridem transibat, & oppido primo impetu capto, Peloponnesum itinere continenti petebat obstaculum nullum expertus. Cumque Gerontius Istmi transeundi copiam ei fecisset omnes ab eo deinceps urbes citra laborem et pugnam capi poterant quod nullis essent munitæ mœnibus propter eam securitatem quam Istmus eis præstabat. Itaque confestim prima Corinthus cum finitimis oppidis vi capiebantur & secundum hanc Argos una cum ijs locis quæ inter hanc et Lacedæmonem interjacerent. Ipsa quoque in societatem captæ Græciæ Sparta veniebat.

Zosimus here writes that Attica & the cities of Thebes & Athens escaped these flames but Baronius [32] out of Ierome Claudian & Eunapius proves the contrary. The passage of Claudian[33] is this

Si tunc his armis acies collata fuisset,

Prodita non tantas vidisset Græcia clades,

Oppida semoto Pelopeia Marte vigerent,

Starent Arcadiæ starent Lacedemonis arces,

Non mare fumasset geminum flagrante Corintho,

Nec fera *[34] Cecropias traxissent vincula matres.

In the passage of Eunapius are these words: Infinitæ et inexplicabiles clades non multo post exundarunt (quas in historiæ spatiosis campis diffusius narravimus —) quando Alaricus cum Barbaris per Thermopylarum fauces pervasit, non secus quam per apertum stadium aut campum liberum et equorum cursui patentem. To which I may add this passage of Synesius:[35] Nihil jam Athenæ splendidum habent præter celeberrima locorum nomina. Ac velut ex hostia consumpta sola pellis superest, animalis quod olim aliquando fuerat indicium: sic inde deducta Philosophia, restat ut oberrando Academiam ac Lycæum mireris. – – Athenæ quondam civitas fuit, domicilium Philosophorum: nunc eam mellatores celebrant.

The following depopulations of the west by the same Alaric is thus hinted by Socrates: Alaricus – Constantinopoli discedens ad Occidentis partes transgressus est, cumque in Illyricum pervenisset late cuncta vastari cœpit. Porro transeunti obstiterunt Thessali circa ostia Peni fluminis — commissaque pugna, tria circiter millia ex ejus exercitu perimerunt. Posthac barbari qui cum illo erant quicquid obviam fuit igne ferroque vastarunt. And <82r> Claudian somewhere:

— Vastator Achivæ

Gentis, et Epirum nuper populatus inultam

Præsidet Illyrico: Iam quos obsedit amicus

Ingreditur muros, illis responsa daturus

Quorum conjugibus potitur natosque peremit.

Nor were these regions depopulated by Alaric only but by other barbarians before him as is to be collected out of Claudians poem de bello Gildonico written A.C. 398 where he speaks thus of the western Empire.

Nam quæ jam regio restat si dedita Mauris

Regibus, Illyricis accesserit Africa damnis? &c

Where note that Illyricum is to be taken not in a strict sense for Dalmatia & Liburnia only, but also for Pannonia & Noricum. ffor so largely was the word then used, as tou may see in Notitia Imperij Romani: And by Ierom's information Pannonia suffered in this storm as well as Dalmatia, & probably more sharply being nearer the barbarians

Again Vindelicia & Noricum after they had felt the fury of Alaric were invaded by another army of Barbarians from beyond the Danube whilst Alaric was harrassing Italy: of which Claudian:[36]

– – – – – – Iam fœdera gentus

Exuerant Latijque audita clade feroces

Vindelicos saltus & Norica rura tenebant.

Also after the repulse of Alaric by Stilico these regions suffered further desolations by Radagaisus & others, all which a[37] Ierome in another place written when the wars of this trumpet were in a manner ceased & those of the next newly begun, has thus endeavoured to express. Vastatis urbibus hominibusque interfectis, solitudinem et raritatem bestiarum quoque fieri et volatilium pisciumque. Testis Illyricus est, testis Thracia, testis in quo ortus sum solum (i.e. Dalmatia) ubi præter cœlum et terram et crescentes vepres et condensa sylvarum, cuncta perierunt. Iram quippe Dei optimi maximi etiam bruta sentiunt animalia. Quid multis opus verbis? Romanus corruit Orbis. Occidens in Germaniam translatus est.

The irruption of the Huns into Armenia & the adjacent provinces, Ierome who was then in the east describes thus:[38] Quærentibus nobis dignum Fabiolæ habitaculum — ecce subito discurrentibus nuncijs Oriens totus intremuit. Ab ultima Mæotide inter glacialem Tanaim et Massagetarum immanes populos, ubi Caucasi rupibus feras gentes Alexandri claustra cohibent, erupisse Hunnorum examina quæ pernicibus equis huc illucque volitantia cædis pariter ac terroris cuncta complerent. Aberat tunc Romanus exercitus et bellis civilibus in Italia tenebatur. Insperanti ubique aderant et famam celeritate vincentes, non religioni, non dignitatibus, <83r> non ætati parcebant, non vagientis miserebantur infantiæ. Cogebantur mori qui nondum vivere cœperant, et nescientes malum suum inter hostium manus ac tela ridebant. Consonus inter omnes rumor petere eos Hierosolymam, et ob nimiam auri cupiditatem ad hanc urbem percurrere. Muri neglecti pacis incuria sarciebantur. Antiochia obsidebatur. Tyrus se volens a terra abrumpere insulam quærebat antiquam. Tunc et nos compulsi sumus parare naves, esse in littore, adventum hostium præcavere, et sævientibus ventis magis Barbaros metuere quam naufragium.

And in his third Epistle, written I suppose in the third year of the irruption (A.C. 397) the same Ierome thus describes and laments the afflicted estate of the Empire on both sides the Hellespont, dating the mischief from the irruption of the barbarous nations in the reign of Valens. Horret animus temporum nostrorum ruinas persequi. Viginti et eo amplius anni sunt cum inter Constantinopolim et Alpes Iulias quotidie Romanus sanguis effunditur. Scythiam, Thraciam, Macedoniam, Dardanian, Daciam, Thessaliam, Achaiam, Epiros, Dalmatiam, cunctasque Pannonias, Gothus, Sarmata, Quadus, Alanus, Hunni, Vandali, Marcomanni vastant, trahunt, rapiunt. Quot matronæ, quot virgines Dei et ingenua nobiliaque corpora his belluis fuere ludibrio? Capti Episcopi, interfecti Presbyteri et diversorum officia clericorum; eversæ Ecclesiæ, et ad altaria Christi stabulati equi; martyrum effossæ reliquiæ: Vbique luctus, ubique gemitus & plurima mortis imago. Romanus orbis ruit, et tamen cervix nostra non flectitur. Quid putas animi nunc habere Corinthios, Athenienses, Lacedœmonios, Arcadas cunctamque Græciam quibus imperant Barbari? Et ecce paucas urbes nominavi in quibus olim fuere regna non modica. Immunis ab his malis videbatur Oriens & tantum nuncijs consternatus. Ecce tibi anno præterito ex ultimis Caucasi rupibus immissi in nos jam non Arabiæ sed Septentrionis lupi tantas brevi Provincias percurrerunt. Quot monasteria capta? Quantæ fluviorum aquæ humano cruore mutatæ sunt? Obsessa Antiochia, et urbes reliquæ quas Halys, Cydnus, Orontes, Eufratesque præterfluunt. Tracti greges captivorum. Arabia Phœnice Palestina Ægyptus timore captivæ. Non mihi si linguæ centum sint oraque centum; fferrea vox; Omnia pœnarum percurrere nomina possim. Neque enim historiam proposui scribere sed nostras breviter flere miserias. And a little after he adds: Et quasi non hæc sufficerent cladibus, plus pene bella civilia quam hostilis mucro consumpsit. — Xerxes cum de sublimi loco innumerabilem vidisset exercitum, flevisse dicitur quod post centum annos nullus eorum superfuturus esset. O si possemus in talem ascendere speculam de qua universam terram sub nostris pedibus cerneremus jam tibi ostenderem totius Orbis ruinas, gentes gentibus et regnis regna <84r> collisa, alios torqueri, alios necari, alios absorberi fluctibus alios ad servitutem trahi — et non Xerxis tantum exercitium, sed totius mundi homines qui nunc vivunt in brevi spatio defuturos. Vincitur sermo rei magnitudine, et minus est omne quod diximus.

Claudian also who was equally an eye-witness & sufferer in the tempest, describes it very elegantly in a poem[39] written at the same time (vizt about the year 398 or soon after) comparing it to the relaxation of a wind as if he meant to be an interpreter.

— Ventis veluti si fræna remittat

Æolus, abrupto gentes sic obice *[40] fudit,

Laxavitque viam bellis. Et nequa maneret

Immunis regio, cladem divisit, in orbem

Disposuitque nefas. Alij per terga ferocis

Danubij solidata ruunt, expertaque remos

ffrangunt stagna rotis. Alij per Caspia claustra

Armeniasque nives inopino tramite ducti

Invadunt Orientis opes. Iam pascua fumant

Cappadocum, volucrumque parens Argæus equorum.

Iam rubet altus Halys, nec se defendit iniquo

Monte Cilix. Syriæ tractus vastantur amœni

Assuetumque choris & læta plebe canorum

Proterit imbellem sonipes hostilis Orontem.

Hinc planctus Asiæ; Geticis Europa catervis

Ludibrio prædæque datur, frondentis ad usque

Delmatiæ fines; Omnis qua mobile Ponti

Æquor et Hadriaticas tellus interjacet undas,

Squallet inops pecudum nullis habitata colonis

Instar anhelantis Libyæ quæ torrida semper

Solibus, humano nescit mansuescere cultu.

Thessalus ardet ager, reticet pastore fugato

Pelion, Ematheas ignis populatur aristas.

Iam plaga Pannoniæ; miserandaque mœnia Thracum,

Arvaque Mysorum, jam nulli flebile damnum

Sed cursus solennis erat: campusque furori

Expositus, sensumque malis detraxerat usus.

Eheu quam brevibus pereunt ingentia causis!

Imperium tanto quæsitum sanguine, tanto

Servatum; quod mille Ducum peperere labores,

Quod tantis Romana manus contexuit annis,

Proditor unus iners angusto tempore vertit, &c. [41]

The beginning of these miseries on this side of the Hellespont the Poet a little before describes more particularly, speaking thus of the traytor Ruffin

Ille avidus prædo jam non per singula sævit

<85r>

Sed scæptris inferre minas, omnique perempto

Milite, Romanas audet prosternere vires.

Iam gentes Istrumque movet, Scythiamque receptat

Auxilio, traditque suas hostilibus armis

Relliquias: mixtis descendit Sarmata Dacis,

Et qui cornipedes in pocula vulnerat audax

Massagetes, patriamque bibens Mæotim Alanus,

Membraque qui ferro gaudet pinxisse Gelonus:

Ruffino collecta manus. Vetat ille domari,

Innectitque moras, et congrua tempora differt

Nam *[42] tua cum Geticas stravisset dextera turmas

Vlta *[43] Ducis socij letum, parsque una maneret

Debilior facilisque capi: tunc impius ille

Proditor Imperij, conjuratusque Getarum

Distulit instantes illuso Principe pugnas,

Hunnorum laturas opem, quos affore bello

Novat, et invisis mox se conjungere castris.

And a little after:

Aspice barbaricis jaceant quot mœnia flammis,

Quas mihi Ruffinus clades quantumque cruoris

Præbeat, et quantis epulentur cædibus Hydri.

The grassation of Tribigildus you have thus described in Zosimus:[44] Tribigildus non turmis Romanis sed barbaris in Phrygia subsistere jussis præerat — Assumptis autem Barbaris in quos habebat imperium, quicquid erat in medio situm invadebat, nec aut virorum aut mulierum aut puerorum cædibus abstinens & obvia quæque diripiens perexiguo tempore tantam coegit multitudinem mancipiorum aliarumque vilium personarum ut Asiam totam in extremum periculum conjiceret. Nam et Lydia plena variæ perturbationis erat omnibus prope dixerim ad loca maritima confugientibus, cumque suis universis ad insulas aliove navigantibus. Et Asia mari finitima periculum se quantum alias nunquam accidisset in proclivi conspecturam verebatur. — Tribigildus dein omni vastata Phrygia, Pisidas adortus est — et factum ut obsistente nemine quævis oppida per vim caperentur, omnes illorum incolæ cum ipsis militibus inficerentur, nemo denique barbarus Romanis amicus esset. After this the Historian declares how when the forces of Tribigildus were diminished & his confederate Gainas sent him new supplies, he raged more then before for a time & consumed one of the Roman armies which was sent against him. But let us hear Claudian's description of these desolations <86r> composed in the time of the action A.C. 399.[45]

—— Ostrogothis colitur mixtisque Gothunnis

Ph{ry}x ager – – – – – – – – –

Iam vaga pallentem densis terroribus aulam

Fama qualit, stratas acies, deleta canebat

Agmina, Mæonios fœdari cædibus agros,

Pamphylios Pisidasque rapi; metuendus ab omni

Targibilus regione tonat: modo tendere cursum

In Galatas, modo Bythinis incumbere fertur.

Sunt qui correptis ratibus, terraque marique

Adventare ferant. Geminantur vera pavoris

Ingenio; longe spectari puppibus urbes

Accensas, lucere fretum, ventoque citatas

Omnibus in pelago velis hærere favillas.

Gainas also who secretly set Tribigildus on work at first, pretending then to go against him, when he came there committed the same depopulations, whereof Socrates makes this mention:[46] Gaina Gothus Magister utriusque militiæ factus, *[47] Gothorum gentem universam ex sedibus suis accivit. Et contra Tribigildum Phrygiam vastantem profectus est ducens secum Gothorum barbarorum maximam multitudinem. Qui cum Phrygiam esset ingressus, cuncta cœpit subvertere. Romanis verò gravis subitò invasit trepidatio tum ob ingentem numerum Barbarorum qui cum Gaina erant, tum quod oppulentissimis Orientis Provincijs ad omnia opportunis grave periculum imminebat.

The incursions of the Isauri are expressed briefly in Marcelline's Chronicle thus: Indic. 3 Stilicone et Anthemio Cosso. (i.e. A.C. 405) Isauri per montem Tauri discursantes ingens dispendium reip. importarunt. And in Nicephorus thus: Hunni Istrum transgressi Thraciam vastants percurrerunt, Huldam ducem habentes. Et Isauri quidam prædones perquam feri ingenti coacta multitudine, Phœniciam atque Cariam et quæ in medio sitæ sunt urbes excursionibus extremisque cladibus vexarunt. Also Ierome in his a[48] epistle to Theophilus of Alexandria makes this short mention of it: Ne quoquam tardius beatitudini tuæ Latino sermone translatum librum tuum remitterem multa in medio impedimenta fecerunt; Isaurorum repentina irruptio, Phœnices Galilææque vastitas, terror Palestinæ præcipuæ urbis Hierosolymæ, et nequaquam librorum sed murorum extructio. So Chrysostom in his 14th Epistle written in his journey into banishment A.C. 404: Cum in hoc statu res nostræ essent, subitò ad nos affertur Isauros cum infinita hominum manu Cæsariensem regionem populari et magnum quoddam oppidum incendisse atque omni <87r> belli clade pervastasse. And in Epist. 61 written afterwards from Armenia: Omnia hic cædibus, tumultibus, cruore atque incendijs plena sunt, Isauris nimirum cuncta ferro atque igne populantibus. And again in Epist 69: Nos nuper quidem asperrima hieme loca subinde commutantes nunc in Vrbibus, nunc in terræ faucibus & sylvis commorati sumus ab Isauris in nos impetum facientibus omni ex parte vexati et exagitati, —— et præter id quod singulos in dies, ut ita dicam, pro foribus nostris mors est, Isauris videlicet omnia invadentibus, atque igne et ferro tum corpora tum ædificia delentibus, famem etiam, quam loci angustia et eorum qui huc confugiunt multitudo minatur, pertimescimus. Palladius b[49] saith that they laid wast Rhosus & Seleucia, & Theodoret c[50] that they robbed & burnt the greatest part of the east And Zosimus: Dum familiares Principis de vastatis [Constantinopoleos] ædificijs instaurandis cogitabant, allatus est Aulicis nuncius magnam Isaurorum multitudinem, quæ supra Pamphyliam Ciliciamque posita semper in asperrimis et inaccessis Tauri montibus degit, in latronum manipulos divisam regionem subjectam invadere. Ac oppida quidem munita tentare non poterant, vicos autem mœnibus destitutos et obvia quævis irruendo vexabant, quos incursus id ipsis faciliores reddebat quod istæc regio paulo ante fuisset ab hostibus capta, Tribigildo cum barbaris suis rebellionem molito. His nunciatis Arbazacius [or Artabacus] Dux mittitur qui laborantibus Pamphyliæ rebus succurreret &c. Zosimus here mentions their incursions only into Pamphylia & Cilicia: but out of Philostorgius who lived in those times it appears that they were of much greater extent.

The desolation of Libya under the invading Austurians Synesius laments in many of his Epistles (as Epist, 57, 73, 78, 93, 103, 122, 124, 125) but chiefly in his Catastasis a discourse written in the seventh year of the invasion when the enemy after some conflicts with the Roman soldiers had mastered all opposition & newly rased Pentapolis. Equidem nescio saith he quid de calamitatibus dici oporteat quæ in oculis omnium versantur. —— Pentapolitanæ res heri ac nudius tertius in Romanorum potestate manserant, qui deinceps amissa ea gente in recensendis Præfecturis suis illam præteribunt. Prorsus nunc de Pentapoli actum est; funditus inquam illa concidit: quæ varijs quidem ærumnis annum jam septimum conflictari cœperat. Sed quemadmodum animal quoddam ægre moriens, sic illa spiritus sui reliquias cogebat atque contrahebat. Felix sit Anysij memoria: Is enim annum ad illius tempus adjecit, cum clypeis quidem omnium, Vnegardorum verò manibus opportunè uteretur. Itaque nonnihil dilata calamitas est. Neque enim confertis copijs regionem pervagati sunt; ad latrocinia sese converterunt, fugientes identidem atque irrumpentes. Posteaquam vero ter instructa acis præliati consilium mutarunt, nunc campos longe lateque omnes eques obtinet, nunc intra mœnia <88r> conclusi milites tenentur, alij alio dissipati, quod Cerealis tempore malum accidit, nec utiles sibi invicem esse possunt quod non collecti in unum atque coacti sunt. Quamobrem hostium res luculentæ et prosperæ sunt. Qui enim superiore anno velites erant et ad fugam expediti, nunc oppugnatores urbium sunt. Nunc postquam Pagorum muros everterunt, oppida ipsa justo exercitu circundant. Quid enim non illis successit? Ausuriani Thracum equitum loricas induerunt, non quod ijs opus habent sed ut ornatum atque habitum irriderent. Posthac Marcomannorum clypeis usi sunt. Ad velites atque expeditos Romanorum Legio redacta est, qui quidem miseratione hostium salutem consecuti sunt. — O veteres illos Romanorum spiritus! qui ubique omnia debellare solebant, qui dissitas continentes trophæis suis conjunxerunt: nunc ab infelici dispersaque gente eò redacti sunt, ut periculum sit ne præter Græcas urbes etiam Africanas, ipsamque adeo quæ in Ægypto est Alexandriam amittant. — Proh audaciam illam qua freti velut retibus universam Provinciam amplexi sunt! Nullus ijs accessu mons arduus, nullum satis munitum castellum fuit, regionem omnem pervagati, omnem perscrutati sunt, ætatemque omnem in servitutem redigerunt. Olim ex historicum numero ita scribentem nescio quem audio, Fæminas et puerulos excidiorum ac subversionum argumento relinquebant. Sed longe aliud Pentapoli contigit. Quæ enim Ausuriano possessio commodior muliercula et infantulo —— Quibusnam illi sacris, quibus religiosis locis pepercerunt? Nonne in multis agri Barcæi locis sepulchra recentia effoderunt? Nonne ab ijsdem ipsis per universam Ampelitidem, quæ quidem sub nostra potestate est, ecclesiæ omnes succensæ sunt atque in rudera et ruinas redactæ? Nonne sacras mensas perinde ac profanas ad dividendas carnes apposuerunt? Mystica porro vasa quibus ad publicas sacrasque libationes utebamur, nonne ad obeundas dæmonum cæremonias in hostilem regionem translata sunt? Quidnam horum religiosis auribus tollerabile est? Nam qui commemorare velit quot castella demoliti sunt, quantum utensilium ac supellectilis avexerint, boves item ovesque omnes quæ quidem e Barbarorum præda servatæ reliquiæ in præruptis montium et cavernis abditæ fuerant: is in tantis malis, non sine vitio aliquo minutis persequendis nimium anxius videatur, quanquam quinque camelorum millibus prædam avexisse dicuntur, numero autem triplo majore vedeunt, accessione captivorum tanto plures effecti. Periere, extinctæ sunt Pentapolitanæ res, ad exitum venerunt, confectæ sunt occiderunt: <89r> neque nobis omnino amplius neque Imperatori supersunt. Neque enim Imperatoris ea possessio dici potest, e qua nihil utilitatis reportet. Ecquis verò fructus ex derto colligere ullus possit Neque mihi patria superest quam deseram, sola enim navis inopia facit ut nondum in alto navigem et ad insulam aliquam appellam. Nam Ægypto diffido propterea quod eo quoque Camelus pervenire potest Austurianum militem gestans. In insulis itaque degam, inops ex divite, inquilinus Cythereo cive ignobilior &c.

The Ausurians or Austorians invaded Libya first in the reign of Valens as is mentioned above & then were quieted till the death of Theodosius, & in the year 396 (as Gothofredus in his commentary on the a[51] Edict of Arcadius against the Saturians or Ausurians determins) made a new irruption which Synesius in the title of his Catastasis calls ἡ μεγίστη των βαρβάρων ἤφοδος & in his 129th Epistle written that same year, thus laments: Heu juventutem male a nobis amissam! Heu frugum a nobis frustra speratos proventus! Hostilibus flammis agros consevimus. Plærisque nostrum divitiæ in pecore erant, in armentis camelorum, in gregalibus equis: periere omnia, omnia abacta. Sentio me præ dolore non esse mei compotem, verum ignosce quæso: mœnibus enim septus sum, & obsessus hæc scribo. — equorum ungulis pulsantur omnia, omnemque regionem hostes obtinent. Afterwards the Ausurians were in some measure checkt by the Roman soldiers as the Emperor Arcadius mentions in the said Edict dated Theodoro V.C. Const. that is, A.C. 399. But after this they beat the Roman soldiers in several battels, destroyed the country of Pentapolis, & made incursions eastward into Cyrene & Egypt & westward into Africa as Philostorgius informs us.

The irruption of the Huns under Vldin is thus mentioned by Sozomen.[52] Eodem tempore (hoc est quo Chrystomus in exilium missus fuit, A.C. 404) – Hunni trajecto Istro Thraciam vastarunt. Latrones quoque Isauri coacta ingenti multitudine urbes omnes quæ inter Cariam et Phœnicem interjacent una cum vicis populati sunt. And a little after:[53] Vldis Barbarorum qui circa Danubuim erant Regulus cum ingenti exercitu amnem transgressus in finibus Thraciæ castramentatus fuerat, cumque urbem Mœsiæ quæ Castra Martis dicitur proditione cœpisset inde in reliquam Thraciam excursiones faciebat. Nec fadus cum Romanis facere præ superbia dignabatur.

The terrible invasion of Radagaisus is thus mentioned by Orosius:[54] Radagaisus omnium antiquorum præsentiumque hostium longè immanissimus repentino impetu totam inundavit Italiam. Nam fuisse in populo ejus plusquam ducenta millia Gothorum ferunt. Hic supra hanc incredibilem multitudinem indomitamque virtutem Paganus et Scytha erat: qui ut mos est barbaris hujusmodi gentibus) omnem Romani generis sanguinem Dijs suis propinare devoverat. The time of his invasion is thus set down by Prosper: Anno decimo Arcadij et Honorij sæva Italiæ barbarici motus tempestas incubuit: siquidem Rada- <90r> gaisus Rex Gothorum Italiæ limitem vastaturus transgreditur. Anno undecimo multis antea vastatis urbibus Radagaisus occubuit. Marcellin refers his death to the following year A.C. 406, and so doth Gothofredus out of the Imperial edicts.

Having run over the particulars I shall now subjoyn the description which Philostorgius another eye witness has given us of these times as a compendium of what we have hitherto collected out of various authors. This Photinus has thus contracted:[55] Ait Philostorgius Hunnos qui Scythiæ sunt intra Istrum, cum prius multum terræ occupassent devastassentque, transito postea fluvio gelu constricto, confertim Romanum imperium adortos, perque totam Thraciam diffusos totam Europam deprædatos. Qui vero ad solem orientem sunt fluvio Tanai transito & in Orientem effusi per Armeniam majorem in Melitenam, quæ vocatur, irruperunt: exinde Ephratensi incubuerunt et ad Syriam Cœlem usque deprædati sunt, Ciliciamque percurrentes cædem hominum incredibilem operati sunt. Neque hi solum sed et Mazaces et *[56] Auxoriani (hi verò inter Libyam et Afros habitant) juxta Orientalem eorum plagam Libyam incursarunt, neque exiguam Ægypti partem simul vastarunt. Afros vero incursantes juxta solem occidentem vicina populati sunt. Adhæc Tribigildus vir Scytha — manum barbaricam habens et in *[57] Nacolia Phrygiæ considens, Comitisque honorem gerens, ex amicitia in inimicitiam Romanorum versus, ab ipsa Nacolia exorsus plurimas Phrygiæ civitates occupavit magnamque hominum cædem patravit. Adversus quem Gainas dux missas, qui et ipse barbarus erat, victoriam prodidit, paria et ipse adversus Romanos agere cogitans. Exinde Tribigildus quasi Gainam fugiens, Pisidiam et Pamphiliam invadens deprædatus est. Postea multis et ipse tum miserijs tum Isauricis pugnis attritus vires suas in Hellespontum servavit, et in Thraciam transfretans, non multo post interfectus fuit. Gainas verò post proditionem Ducis habitu Constantinopolim reversus eam sibi subjicere in animum induxit. Cœlestis verò vis quædam armata visa ijs qui eam capere cogitabant in ipso actu terrefactis, urbem quidem incendio liberavit, illos verò deprehensos humano judicio dedidit, multaque cædes eorum fluxit. Gainas vero in tantem metum conjectus fuit uti — fugeret urbe. Quoniam vero Thracia vastata erat, neque necessarium quicquam præbere poterat, neque aliam labem ferre, Gainas Chersonesum transfretavit ratibus cogitans in Asiam trajicere, &c. — Præter dicta mala, et Isaurorum gens varias clades intulit: ad solem quippe orientem Ciliciam percursarunt et conterminam Syriam non Cœlem modo sed et alteram ad Persas tendentem. Post patrata autem ibi incredunda et Thraciam et Pamphyliam aggressi sunt, & Lycios vastarunt, Cypruno Insulam everterunt, Lycaonas & Pisidas in captivitatem abduxerunt et Cappacocas, Pontum usque aggressi, pessimaque quæ ab alijs barbaris fieri solent; erga captivos hi fecerunt. —— Ait etiam Philostorgius quod circa prædicta tempora Alaricus Gothus genere, circa superiores Thraciæ partes vires colligens Græciam ingressus sit, et Athenas <91r> tenuerit et Macedonas & finitimos Dalmatas deprædatus sit, ingressus sit et Illyricum, Alpibusque transcensis Italiam irruperit. Thus far Philostorgius: And Gothofredus in his commentary on this place comprehends all this within the ten years next after the death of Theodosius.

Besides what the Romans suffered by these wars they were also much afflicted with famin & pestilence the usual concomitant of violent & destructive wars. This Photius tells us out of Philostorgius.[58] Ait [Philostorgius] quod sua tempestate tanta hominum mortalitas incesserit quantam nulla ætas ab omni sæculo cognovit: et hanc verò Xiphian astrum portendisse. Neque enim militares tantum sicut olim superioribus bellis, interiere, neque intra unam aliquam terræ partem mala hæc constitere, verum omnia hominum genera periere, omnis verò perijt. Europa, Asiæ haud exigua portio simul attrita fuit, sed et Libyæ pars magna et maxime quæcunque Romanis paret: Nam et barbaricus ensis magnum numerum confecit & pestes famesque, et ferarum greges incubuerunt, terræ motus frequentes urbes domosque a fundamentis evertentes in immensum exitium dedere, et hiatus terræ alicubi sub habitatoribus ruptæ sepulchra erant præsentanea. Illuviones item aquarum ex aere et alibi spicula flammea. Est et ubi turbines ignei immissi variam et intollerabilem labem intulere. Imò et grando manuali lapide major plurimum terræ vastavit, ad octo quippe librarum quas vocant ponderis usque visa fuit ingruens. Nivium quoque vis frigorisque immanitas quos alia plaga non corripuit hos corripiens vita privavit. Et hæc manifeste divinam nunciarunt iram quam sigillatim recensere supra humanam vim fuerit. Vpon all which Gothofredus makes this comment. De varijs Philostorgij tempestate (sub Arcadio et Theodosio juniore scil.) casibus majoribus divinæque iræ signis quæ Xiphian astrum [anno 390 visum] portendisse ait Philostorgius, est hoc caput. Quod quidem excribit Nicephorus lib. 13, c. 36, ubi ingentem hominum ubique mortalitatem terræque vastitatem memorat, tum a barbaris, tum a peste fameque, terræ motibus, hiatibus terræ illuvionibus aquarum, spiculis flammeis, turbinibus igneis, grandine nivibus frigore. Quæ omnia vera sunt et apud alios scriptores passim occurrunt: in Marcellini Chronico, et Chronico Alexandrino ubi casus hi per singulos pene annos sub Arcadio et Theodosio jun. memorantur: vide ann: 394, 396, 401, 402, 404, 408, 419, 422, 422 {sic}.

Arcadius died in spring A.C. 408 & at that time the wars of this Trumpet a[59] ceased in the east & were succeeded by the wars of the second Trumpet in the west; the regions of Gallia Spain & Britain continuing quiet b[60] till the end of the year 407, & the eastern Empire continuing quiet all the reign of Theodosius jun. & for a long time after.

<92r>

The second Trumpet.

And the second Angel sounded and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea [that is, a great city consuming by war, the city called in this prophesy the great City, the city Rome, was cast down from it's dignity & dominion & sunk in the sea whose waters are a[61] peoples & multitudes & nations & tongues, the great sea out of which Daniels four Beasts arose] & the third part of the sea [that smaller sea out of which the ten horned Beast arose, the western empire which is a third part of the whole] became blood [the type of slaughter & death & the third part of the creatures which were in the sea & had life died [by a dissolution of their body politique & by the breaking of the western empire into ten kingdoms] & the third part of the ships [the wooden sea-towns or towns of the western Empire] were destroyed [shipwrackt in this great tempest of war & sunk in the sea like the great mountain being either beseiged & taken or otherwise coming into the hands of the enemy.] This is the interpretation & the history is as follows.]

In the end of the year 407 a great body of barbarous nations, namely Goths, Vandals, Alans, Burgundians, Suevians Alemans, Quades, Gepides, Herules &c being invited from their seats in Germany by the treacherous Stilico, passed the Rhene & from that time invaded first Gallia & then Spain with great violence, & the Franks on this side the Rhene revolted & called in other Franks from beyond the Rhene, & the Visigoths under Alaric leaving their seats in Pannonia to the Hunns came into Noricum A.C. 408 & there hearing of the death of Stilico who for conspiring with them was slain the same year 10 Kal. Sept. they went into Italy & besieged Rome thrice in two years & by famin sword & captivity emptied it of inhabitants & harassed Italy & thence invaded Gallia & Spain. And the Picts & Scots invaded Britain. And the Barbarous nations overpowering the Empire formed new kingdoms on their conquests.

Alaric first beseiged Rome in the year 408, took the Gate by which the city was supplied with provisions continued the siege till many perished by famin, by eating one another & by a pestilence arising from the steams of dead carcasses & A.C. 409 < insertion from f 92v > & A.C. 409 for a great quantity of gold silver & other valuable things raised the siege & afterwards treated also with the Emperor Honorius about peace. But the Emperor having sworn to have no peace with him refused his proposals tho judged very moderate & thereupon Alaric returned to Rome & demanded the assistance of the citizens against the Emperor. They at first refused & he beseiged the city again & took the gate where their provisions were laid up & when they were prest with famin the Senate consented & made Attalus (who was then Prefect of the City) their Emperor, & Attalus making Alaric & Valens captains of his forces went against Honorius, but upon new disgusts against Attalus Alaric laid Attalus aside & besieged Rome a third time, & after a new famin & pestilence wherein great multitudes perished took the city in the night Aug 23, A.C. 410, put some to the sword sparing those who fled to churches, permitted his army to plunder the houses, burnt part of the city, & captivated & disperst the miserable citizens who had escaped the famin pestilence & sword so that the city continued three or four years without inhabitants & was afterwards repeopled by degrees.

In describing the first of these sieges Zosimus tells us: Quia cuncta ventris inediæ succurrent defecerant, famem (ceu consentaneum erat,) pestis excipiebat, & omnia plena cadaveribus erant. Quumque non possent extra urbem sepeliri cadavera, quod omnes ex urbe vias hostes obsiderent; urbs ipsa mortuorum sepulchrum erat{:} adeo quidem ut eset alioquin etiam in urbe solitudo; ac, si maxime nulla fuisset alimentorum penuria, vel exhalans e cadaveribus fætor, ad interficienda corrumpendaque corpora suffecisset: Zosim. l. 5. And Ierome: Romam in gremio suo non pro gloria sed pro salute pugnare, imò ne pugnare quidem sed auro et cuncta supellectile vitam redimere: Hieron. Epist. 11. And of the third siege: Fame perit antequam gladio, et vix pauci qui caperentur inventi sunt ad nefandos cibos erupit esurientium rabies et sua invicem membra laniarunt: dum mater non parcit lactanti infanti et suo recipit utero quem paulo ante effuderat: Hieron. Epist. 16. Proh nefas! Orbis terrarum ruit < text from f 92r resumes > <93r> Proh nefas! Orbis terrarum ruit et in nobis peccata non ruunt. Vrbs inclyta et Romani Imperij caput uno hausta est incendio. Nulla est regio quæ non exules Romanos habeat: Hieron. ad Gaudentium Epist. 12. Quis crederet ut totius Orbis extructa victorijs Roma corrueret ut ipsa suis populis et mater fieret et sepulchrum, ut tota Orientis Ægypti Africæ littora olim dominatricis urbis servarum et ancillarum numero complerentur, ut quotidie sancta Bethlehem nobiles quondam utriusque sexus atque omnibus divitijs affluentes susciperent mendicantes? Quibus quoniam opem ferre non possumus condolemus et lachrymas lachrymis jungimus: Hieron. Proœm. in Ezek. 3. Occidentalium fuga et sanctorum locorum constipatio nuditate atque vulneribus indigentium, rabiem præferat barbarorum quos absque lachrymis et gemitu videre non possumus: Hieron. Proœm. in Ezek. 7. Barbari qui cum Alarico erant quicquid obviam fuit igni ferroque vastantes ad extremum Romam quoque ipsam occuparunt maximamque partem admirandorum illic operum incendio consumpserunt: Socr. l. 7. c. 10. Alarico Romam ingresso cum intra et extra urbem cædes agerent, omnibus indultum est qui ad sanctorum limina confugerunt: Idatius. <94r> Iratus ob hæc Alaricus cum post primam irruptionem in portum Vrbis Romæ tanquam hostis infestis signis Romam versus contendit. Exinde verò tantæ gloria magnitudinem ac potentiæ famam externus ignis et hostilis gladius et barbarica captivitas quasi sortito inter se diviserunt. Dum Vrbs Roma in ruderibus esset Alaricus Campaniam deprædatus est, atque illic morbo correptus occubuit. Vxoris autem ejus frater Adaulphus ei successit, qui Placidiam Honorij sororem quam Alaricus captivam ab urbe Roma secum abduxerat, sponsam accepit — nec multo post – interficitur. Exinde Barbari fœdus cum Honorio percusserunt et Placidiam sororem reddiderunt — cum prius partem Galliarum ad agros excolendos accepissent. Posthæc autem [i.e. post annum 416 quo Adaulphus cæsus est & Placidia Imperatori tradita] Roma a gravissimis malis paululum respirans, incolis frequentari cœpit. Et Imperator cum eo advenisset manu simul et lingua ædificationem Vrbis comprobavit: Philostorg. lib. 12. c. 3. 3, 4, 5. The Goths left Italy & invaded Gallia A.C. 412, & its probable that Rome began soon after to be repeopled. [62] ffor in the year 414 Albinus being Prefect of the City writ to the Emperor for a further allowance of corn by reason of the increase of the citizens & added that in one day the new comers were computed fourteen thousand.

Thus at the sounding of the second Trumpet a great Mountain, the Metropolis of the Roman Empire was set on flames by war & cast down with violence from the height of its honour & glory & dominion & sunk down in the Roman sea whose waters are peoples & multitudes & nations & tongues, the citizens who survived the siege being thrown out dispersed & scattered into all the Empire & sinking in the Roman waters into the lowest of dishonour poverty & misery. And tho the city was afterwards peopled again yet it was but thinly peopled & recovered it's temporal greatness no more but was made subject to Ravenna which henceforward became the Metropolis of this Empire. The sacking of old Babylon by the Medes is in Ieremie's prophesies represented by that citie's being called a destroying mountain & rolled down & made a burnt mountain (Ier. 51.25) & by its being covered with the sea (vers. 42) & sinking in the waters of Euphrates like a stone & not rising from the evil which God brings upon it (vers. 63, 64.) And the fall of the great city Babylon in the Apocalyps is also represented by burning her with fire (Apoc 18.8) & by casting a great stone like a millstone into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall the great city Babylon be thrown down & shall be found no more at all (v. 21.) And a figure of the very same kind is the casting a great mountain burning with fire into the sea. This figure was certainly taken from Ieremie's prophesy, & alludes unto it, & signifies here as well as there the great city Babylon burning & sinking. There it was the old Babylon & here it is the new. There were many other cities sackt & taken in this war but all these are represented in general by the third part of the ships which were destroyed. The great mountain is the great city & the great city in this prophesy is <95r> Babylon. It signifies a particular city, a city greater & more eminent then the rest, the Metropolis of the whole. For this Prophesy takes notice of nothing in particular but what is most eminent in the kind. Otherwise the interpretation would be uncertain. In all the Roman history I meet with nothing besides the ruin of Rome to which this figure of the burning & sinking mountain can be so well applied; & in all this prophesy there is nothing besides this figure to represent the ruin of that city; an event so very considerable as to deserve to be represented.

As for the wars in other parts of Italy & in Pannonia Noricum Gallia & Spain I described them above where I shewed the breaking of the western Empire into ten kingdoms, and shall only subjoyn here a few passages by which you may understand their violence. Ierome in his 11th Epistle ad Gerontium written upon the first taking of Rome A.C. 409 thus describes the war then raging in Gallia. Qui tenebat de medio fit & non intelligimus Antichristum appropinquare. Innumerabiles & ferocissimæ nationes universas Gallias occuparunt. Quicquid inter Alpes & Pyrenæum est quod Oceano et Rheno includitur Quadus, Vandalus, Sarmata, Alani, Gepides, Heruli, Saxones, Burgundiones Alemanni et (O lugenda respublica!) hostes Pannonij vastarunt. Etenim Assur venit cum illis. Maguntiacum capta atque subversa est & in Ecclesia multa hominum millia trucidata. Vangiones longa obsidione deleti, Rhemorum urbs præpotens, Ambiani, Attrebates, extremique hominum Morini, Tornacus, Nemete, Argentoratus translati in Germaniam. Aquitaniæ novemque populorum Lugdunensis & Narbonensis Provinciæ præter paucas urbes populata sunt cuncta, quas et ipsas foris gladius, intus vastat fames. Non possum absque lacrymis Tolosæ facere mentionem quæ ut hucusque non rueret sancti Episcopi Exuperij merita præstiterunt. Ipsæ Hispaniæ jam jamque perituræ quotidie contremescunt, recordantes irruptionis Cimbricæ, et quicquid alij semel passi sunt illi semper timore patiuntur. Quis hoc credet? Quæ digno sermone comprehendent? Romam in gremio suo non pro gloria sed pro salute pugnare, imò ne pugnare quidem sed auro et cuncta supellectile vitam redimere? The like miserable devastation of Spain the next year is thus described by Isidorus in his Vandalic history: Vandali, Alani et Suevi Spanias occupantes, neces vastationesque cruentis decursibus faciunt, urbes incendunt substantiam direptam exhauriunt ita ut humanæ carnes vi famis devorarentur a populis. Edebant filios suos matres. Bestiæ quoque morientium gladio fame ac peste caveribus adsuetæ, etiam in <96r> vivorum efferebantur interritum. Atque ita quatuor plagis per omnem Spaniam sævientibus divinæ iracundiæ per prophetas inscripta olim prænunciato adimpletur. These four plagues Idacius refers to the 16th year of Honorius A.C. 410. And Prosper who lived in those times & wrote in the year 417 or 418 thus laments the miserable condition of the western Empire in general

[63] — Felix

Quem non concutiat vicina strage ruina

Intrepidum flammas inter & inter acquas.

Nos autem tanta sub tempestate malorum

Invalidi passim cædimur et cadimus.

Cumque animum patriæ subijt fumantis imago,

Et stetit ante oculos quicquid ubique perit:

Frangimur immodicis et pluribus ora rigamus,

Dumque pios agimus vertimur in quærulos.

Nec parcunt quidam turbatam incessere mentem,

Linguarum et jaculis saucia corda petunt.

Dic (aiunt) causas, qui rerum hominumque labores

Arbitrio credis stare regique Dei;

Quo scelere admisso, pariter periere tot urbes,

Tot loca, tot populi, quid meruere mali?

Si totus Gallos sese effudisset in agros

Oceanus, vastis plus superesset aquis.

Quod sane desunt pecudes, quod semina frugum,

Quodque locus non est vitibus aut olais:

Quod fundorum ædes vis abstulit ignis et imbris,

Quarum stare aliquas tristius est vacuas.

Si toleranda mali labes, heu cæde decenni

Vandalicis gladijs sternimur et Geticis.

Non castella petris, non oppida montibus altis

Imposita, aut urbes amnibus æquoreis

Barbarici superare dolas atque arma furoris

Evaluere omnes: ultima pertulimus.

This complaint of the Romans against Gods providence for suffering them to be thus afflicted is mentioned also by Cassian in his sixt Collation & by Austin of Hippo in his epistle to Victorianus & occasioned the Book of Salvian de Gubernatione Dei which was written about the year 440 to shew that the Romans were more wicked then any of those nations which invaded them & deserved what they suffered. And here in making some mention of their sufferings Salvian gives this description of what he had seen himself at the taking of Trevirs; which I set down as an instance of their sufferings at the taking of other cities.[64] Excisâ ter continuis eversionibus summa urbe Gallorum, cum omnis civitas bustum esset, malis et post excidia crescentibus. Nam quos hostis in exidio non occiderat post excidium calamitas obruebat: cum id quod excidio evaserat morti, post excidium non <97r> superesset calamitate. Alios enim impressa altius vulnera longis mortibus necabant, alios ambustos hostium flammis, etiam post flammas pœna torquebat. Alij interibant fame alij nuditate, alij tabescentes, alij rigentes: ac sic in unum exitum mortis per diversa morientium genera corruebant. Et quid plura? Excidio unius urbis affligebantur quoque aliæ civitates. Iacebant siquidem passim, quod ipse vidi atque sustinui, utriusque sexus cadavera nuda, lacerata, urbis oculos incestantia, avibus canibusque laniata. Lues erat viventium, fætor funereus mortuorum: mors de morte exhalabatur; ac sic etiam qui excidijs supradictæ urbis non interfuerant mala alieni excidij perferebant. /

He describes also in general how the Romans by the wars of this Trumpet were reduced to a servile miserable condition & remained so till the time of his writing.[65] Omnia quæ fuerant aut ablata aut immutata sunt, sola tantum vitia creverunt. Nihil nobis de pace et prosperitate pristina reliquuum est, nisi sola omninò crimina quæ prosperitatem non esse fecerunt. Vbi namque sunt antiquæ Romanorum opes ac dignitates? Fortissimi quondam Romani erant, nunc sine viribus. Timebantur Romani veteres, nos timemus. Vectigalia illis solvebant populi barbarorum, nos vectigales barbaris sumus. Vendunt nobis hostes lucis usuram. Tota admodum salus nostra commertium est. O infelicitates nostras! ad quid devenimus? et pro hoc gratias agimus barbaris a quibus nos ipsos pretio comparamus. Quid potest esse nobis abjectius vel miserius; et vivere nos post ista credimus quibis vita sic constat? Insuper etiam ridiculos ipsi nos esse facimus: aurum quod pendimus, munera vocamus. Dicimus donum esse quod pretium est et quidem petium conditionis durissimæ ac miserrimæ. Nos semper redimimur et numquam liberi sumus. Illorum more dominorum nobiscum barbari agunt, qui macipia obsequijs suis non necessaria, mercedibus dependendis locant. Similiter enim non unquam ab hac sumus liberi functione quam pendemus. Ad hoc quippe mercedes jugiter solvimus ut sine cessatione solvamus.

The wars of this Trumpet upon granting seats to the Barbarians in Gallia Spain & Pannonia abated & by the coming of the Goths out of Italy into Gallia & Spain & other new occasions increased & with more or less violence continued almost without intermission untill the year 427 when peace was concluded between the Goths & Romans, and the Vandals having slain that same year almost twenty thousand Romans in battel passed into Afric & began the wars of the next Trumpet. The wars to which the second Trumpet sounded were the western wind & hurt the sea or western empire united in one body politique & not yet divided into several kingdoms: the wars to which the next Trumpet sounds were a southern wind & hurt the rivers & fountains of water or the kingdoms & head cites of kingdoms into which the western empire was divided before the sounding of that Trumpet

<98r>

The third Trumpet.

And the third Angel sounded & there fell a great star from heaven burning as it were a lamp [the Emperor of the west with his dominion consuming by war] & it fell upon the third part of the rivers [upon the kingdoms of the western empire which is a third part of the whole subject of sacred prophesy] & upon the fountains of waters [the head cities of those kingdoms.] And the name of the star is called wormwood [bitterness of affliction] & the third part of the waters became wormwood, & many men died of the waters because they were made bitter [i.e. the nations of the western empire by the fall of the star were embittered with affliction, & many died a death politique by the dissolution of that Empire.]

The figure of a great star burning as it were a lamp & falling from heaven into the waters, is of the same kind with that of the great mountain burning with fire & falling into the sea. The only difference is that the mountain signifies a reigning City & the star a king with his body politique. This figure is taken from Isaiah's prophesy against the king of Babylon, where he thus compares that king to the morning star falling from heaven.[66] How art thou fallen from heaven o Lucifer son of the morning How art thou cut down to the grownd who didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, I will sit upon the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north, I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the most High: yet thou shalt be brought down to Hell, to the sides of the pit. As the old Prophets represent the fall of old Babylon by the falling of a burning mountain & the fall of its king by the falling of the bright morning star: so Iohn represents the fall of new Babylon & that of its king by the falling of a great burning mountain & by that of a great star burning like a lamp. Certainly this star cannot be applied to any thing more properly then to the western Emperor. For tho several kingdoms were now rent from him yet he retained still a great dominion reigning over all Afric, Italy, Rhætia, Noricum, Istria, Illyricum & part of Gallia & Spain. And even Afric alone was as big or almost as big as Gallia & Spain together For Baronius[67] computes (out of Austin) that there were <99r> 625 episcopal seats in Afric A.C. 411, besides 120 more recconed by the Donatists & disputed by the Catholicks. But upon the sounding of the third Trumpet this Empire became enflamed with new destructive wars whereby it wasted & fell gradually for almost fifty years together & then sunk & vanished.

ffor upon a discord &c Vide pag. sequ. under Aspar, they beat those also. After which Boniface returned to Rome & Aspar to Constantinople & Trigetius succeeded them in Afric & opposed the Vandals with various success till both being weary they made peace in February A.C. 435..[68] This invasion of Afric, Possidius Bishop of Callama who was present to these miseries, thus laments in his oration upon the death of Austin abovementioned who died in Hippo in the third month of the seige of that city. [69] Brevi consequenti tempore divina voluntate et potestate provenit ut manus ingens diversis telis armata et bellis exercitata immanium hostium Wandalorum, et Alanorum commixtam secum habens Gothorum gentem aliarumque diversarum gentium personas ex Hispaniæ partibus transmarinis navibus Africæ influxisset & irruisset, universaque per loca Mauritaniarum etiam ad alias nostras trajiciens provincias & regiones, omni sæviens crudelitate et atrocitate cuncta quæ potuit expoliatione, cædibus, diversisque tormentis, incendijs alijsque innumerabilibus et infandis malis depopulata est, nulli sexui, nulli parcens ætati nec ipsis Dei sacerdotibus vel ministris, nec ipsis ecclesiarum ornamentis seu instrumentis vel ædificijs. Et hanc ferocissimam hostium grassationem et vastationem, ille homo Dei et factam fuisse et fieri non ut cæteri homines sentiebat et cogitabat: sed altius et profundius ea considerans & in his animarum præcipue vel pericula vel mortes prævidens; solito amplius fuerunt ei lacrymæ panes die ac nocte, amarissimamque et lugubrem præ cæteris suæ senectutis jam pene extremam ducebat ac tolerabat vitam. Videbat enim ille homo Dei civitates excidio perditas pariter cum ædificijs, villarumque habitatores, alios hostili nece extinctos, alios effugatos atque dispersos: ecclesias sacerdotibus ac ministris destitutas virginesque sacras et quosque continentes ubique dissipatos: et in his alios defecisse tormentis, alios gladio interemptos esse, alios in captivitate (perdita animi et corporis integritate ac fidei) malo more ac duro hostibus deservire. Cernebat etiam hymnos Dei et laudes de ecclesijs deperisse, ædificia ecclesiarum quam plurimis in locis ignibus concremata esse, solemnia quoque quæ Deo debentur <100r> de proprijs locis defecisse: sacrificia ac sacramenta divina vel non quæri, vel quærenti qui tradat non facile reperiri: in ipsas montium sylvas et cavernas petrarum et speluncas confugientes, vel ad quascunque munitiones, alios fuisse expugnatos & interfectos, alios necessarijs sustantaculis evolutos atque privatos ut fame contabescerent: ipsosque ecclesiarum præpositos & clericos, qui forte Dei beneficio vel eos non incurrerant, vel incurrentes evaserant, rebus omnibus expoliatos atque nudatos egentissimos mendicare, nec eis omnibus ad omnia quibus fulciendi essent, subveniri posse. Vix tres superstites videbat ex innumerabilibus ecclesijs, hoc est Carthaginensem, Hipponensem et Cirtensem quæ Dei beneficio excisæ non sunt, et earum permanent civitates et divino et humano fultæ præsidio; licet post ejus obitum urbs Hipponensis incolis destituta, ab hostibus fuerit concremata.

During the peace between the Emperor & the Vandals, Geiseric their king molested the Catholick Clergy of Afric, removing and banishing many of them upon pretenses of their reflecting upon him in their sermons & killing some of them: [70] And some of the Vandals A.C. 437 infested the mediterran sea with piracy & the next year wasted many Islands & chiefly Sicily. And Geiseric the year following invaded the Romans again by land & took Carthage the richest & most populous & potent city of all Afric, captivated many of the Senators, seized the wealth of the city, subdued the Province & made Carthage the seat of his kingdom. And the next year A.C. 440 he invaded Sicily wasting all places there as he had done in Afric. Then the Greek Emperor A.C. 441 sent against him a fleet of sixty ships which sailed to Sicily & Afric but returned without success, & the year following a peace was made with him by both Emperors. Of what consequence these wars were to the western Empire, Salvian who wrote at this time, has thus exprest. [71] Eversis Gallijs et Hispanis, postremò nequa pars mundi exitialibus malis esset immunis, navigare per fluctus bella cœperunt: quæ vastatis urbibus mari clausis, atque eversis Sardinia et Sicilia, id est fiscalibus horreis, atque abscissis velut vitalibus venis, Africam ipsam, id est quasi animam captivavêre reipublicæ.

Geiseric married his son Hunneric to the daughter of Theodoric king of the Visigoths, & upon suspicion of her preparing poison for him, cut off her nose & sent her back to her father & to prevent revenge sent to Attila king of the Hunns on both sides the Danube & incited him by many gifts to invade Theoderic. Whereupon Attila with an army of five hundred thousand Hunns, Ostrogoths, Gepids, Herules, & other barbarians A.C. 451, passed the Rhene, entred Gallia, & wasted many cities, but was beaten by the united force of the western Emperor & the barbarous kings of Gallia, & retired into Scythia with the remainder of his army. And the next year A.C. 452, having got up a bigger army <101r> then before he passed over the frozen Danube into Pannonia in winter & marched thence in spring into Italy to revenge himself on the western Emperor for assisting the Visigoths, & beseiged Aquileia. The city held out till his army began to grow weary but at length was taken. Thence Attila marched towards Millain & Pavia plundering the cities as he went & the next winter passed the Po & directed his course towards Rome, but was opposed by Ætius with a great army of Romans & Barbarians & turning back made peace with the Romans, retired into Pannonia with many captives & died the next year, A.C. 454, & the kings of the Ostrogoths, Gepids & other nations under him revolted from his sons.

In the spring following Maximus a Senator & Patrician contrived the death of the Emperor Valentinian & invaded the western thone. And thereupon the Empress Eudoxia the widdow of Valentinian, invited Geiseric king of the Vandals to come to her assitance against Maximus: & Geiseric the same year A.C 455 with a fleet of three hundred thousand Vandals & Moors invaded Italy, took & plundered Rome & many other cities & carried thence the wealth of the cities & flower of the people into Afric. Post exitum Maximi confestim secuta est multis digna lachrymis Romana captivitas. Vrbem omni præsidio vacuam Geisericus obtinuit, — et per quatuordecim dies continuos secura et libera scrutatione omnibus opibus suis Roma vacuata est, multaque millia captivorum prout quisque aut ætate aut arte placuerunt cum regina [Eudoxia] & filiabus ejus Carthaginem abducti sunt. Prosper apud Euseb. l. 1. Paul. Diac. l. 15. Exinde regum multorum divitias cum populis captivavit. Quæ dum multitudo captivitatis Africanum attingeret littus, divendentibus Vandalis et Mauris ingentem populi quantitatem ut moris est barbaris, mariti ab uxoribus, liberi a parentibus separabantur. Victor de persec. Vandal. l. 1. Gazam omnem Imperatoriam in navibus positam secum in Africam tulit: ac siqua erant Romæ decora, itemque Iovis Capitolini tegularum ex ære auratarum partem dimidiam abripuit. Vnam vero ex his navibus ubi statuæ fuerant tempestate perijsse dicunt, cæteras incolumes in Africam delatas. Procop. de bello Vand. l. 1. Miles Genserici avidus prædæ in Campaniam incursat, Capuam evertit Neapolim expugnat, Nolam obsidet, urbes reliquas diripit - - - onustus præda cum ingenti captivorum numero Africam repetit. Aventinus in Annal. Boi. et Pompon. Læt.

<102r>

The next year A.C. 456 they invaded & conquered the rest of Afric & expelling the Romans rent all Afric from the Empire. And then they infested & subdued Sicily, Sardinia Majorca Minorca & several other Isles of the Mediterranean & infested the seacoasts of Italy & all Europe with yearly incursions & depredations till the western Empire fell. Post mortem Valentiniani Geisericus totius Africæ ambitum obtinuit nec non et insulas maximas Sardiniam Siciliam Corsicam Eubusum Majorcam Minorcam et alias multas superbia sibi consueta defendit. Victor de Vand. Pers. l. 1. Post mortem Valentiniani, aliquot annos veris initio continuò longas fecit prædando et populando incursiones, nunc in Siciliam, nunc in Italiam civitates insuper partim diripiendo partim solo æquando: ubi vero omnia delevit, ad Orientis conversus Imperium Illyricum omne simul et Peloponnesum, hisque adjacentes insulas cum reliqua Græcia invadit. Ad Italiam rursum Siciliamque reversus, quicquid erat reliqui diripuit. Procop. de bello Vandal. l. 1. Quæ verò Geisericus in Hispania Italia Dalmatia Calabria Apulia Sicilia Sardinia Brutijs Lucania Epiro vel Hellada gesserit, melius ibi ipsi qui passi sunt miserabiliter lugenda narrabunt. Victor Hist. Vand. lib. 1 in finem. So Sidonius in his Panegyric called Anthemius, speaking of the short reign of the Emperors after Valentinian saith

- - - - Quemcunque creavit

Axe meo natum, confestim fregit in illo

Imperij fortuna rotas. Hinc Wandalus hostis

Vrget, et in nostrum numerosa classe quotannis

Militat excidium; conversoque ordine fati

Torrida Caucaseos infert mihi Byrsa furores.

Præterea invictus *[72] Ricimer, quem publica fata

Respiciunt, proprio solus vix Marte repellit

Piratam per rura vagum, qui prælia vitans

Victorem fugitivus agit. Quis sufferat hostem

Qui pacem pugnamque negat? Nam fœdera nulla

Cum Ricimere jacit.

Porro ita formidabilis erat Gensericus piratica classe ut Alexandria etiam fuerit timore concussa. Etenim hæc habent a[73] acta Danielis Stylitæ. "Quædam fama in omnes Gentes manavit Gensericum regem Wandalorum bellum gerere adversus Romanos magno apparatu & majori audacia, et quod magna manu pervenit Alexandriam, eam sibi volens belli facere præmium. Non parùm ergo animo angebatur magistratus et ipse Imperator." Baronius ad Ann. 465 sect. 33.

<103r>

When the Romans had lost Afric the Emperor Majoranus prepared great forces to recover their loss & sailing to Afric laid seige to Carthage A.C. 458; but fell sick & was forced by the Vandals to retire without success. And the Vandals thenceforward continuing very troublesome to both Empires the Greek Emperor Leo A.C. 468 sent against them a navy of a thousand one hundred & thirteen ships & an hundred thousand men & recovered Sardinia & Tripolis: but his fleet in sailing towards Carthage was met by the fleet of the Vandals & put to flight with great loss of ships & men. But two years after this, the fleet of the Greeks beat the fleet of the Vandals upon the coast of Sicily & forced them to fly to Carthage. Then Ricimer falling out with the western Emperor Anthemius, beseiged him in Rome A.C. 472, & after the city had suffered much by famin & pestilence took it & gave his soldiers the plunder. This was the third time that Rome was taken & plundered. In the mean time Geiseric to recover him self, sollicited the Ostrogoths to invade both empires; which they did in two bodies. But the western Emperor Glycerius bought off those who entered Italy & perswaded them to go into Gallia & joyn themselves with those of their own nation the Visigoths, who would give them seats. The Visigoths received them & being much strengthened thereby made war upon the Romans & drove them out of Gallia. And now Odoacer king of Herules & Turcilings, nations which had warred under Attila, hearing that the western Empire was grown small & poor & weak & disturbed & unable to defend it self, came with an army over the Danube through Noricum into Italy A.C. 476, beseiged & took the Roman army in Pavia, marched thence against the Emperor Augustulus, took Ravenna & Rome, & in one year put an end to the western Empire. All which is related by Sigonius in his book De Occidentali Imperio.

Thus did this great Star fall by degrees flaming with war and burning like a lamp & sinking in the midst of the many rivers of water into which the Empire of the Latines was now divided. And this his fall was effected by Geiseric king of the Vandals who from the time that he invaded Afric made war upon the Romans about fifty years together almost without intermission & upon the ruins of the western empire erected a very potent kingdom in Afric & the Isles of the Mediterranean, & also occasioned the wars of the Hunns & the losse of all Gallia & Spain to the Goths, & with a powerfull fleet by yearly invasions & rapines took away the wealth & people of Italy till this Empire became too weak to support it self any longer. This was the effect of the southern wind.

But because this Star is called wormwood & the waters became wormwood & many men died of the waters because they were made bitter: that you may understand how much the Roman waters were embittered by the Vandals I shall add the following description of their wars & devastations written by Victor an African Bishop ten years <104r> after this Empire fell. Sexagesimus nunc ut clarum est agitur annus ex quo populus ille crudelis ac sævus Vandalicæ Gentius Africæ miserabilis attigit fines, transvadens facili transitu per angustias maris qua inter Hispaniam Africamque æquor hoc magnum ac spatiosum bissenis millibus angusto se limite coartavit. Transiens igitur quantitas universa, caliditate Geiserici ducis, ut famam terribilem suæ faceret Gentis, ilico statuit omnem multitudinem numerari usque ad illam diem quam huic luci uterus profuderat ventris. Qui reperti sunt *[74] senes, juvenes, parvúli, servi vel domini, octaginta millia numerati. Quæ opinio divulgata usque in hodiernum a nescientibus armatorum tantus numerus æstimatur, cum sit nunc exiguus et infirmus. Invenientes agitur pacatam quietamque provinciam, speciositatem totius terræ florentis, quaquaversum impietatis agminibus impendebant, devastando depopulabantur, incendio atque homicidijs totum exterminantes. Sed nec arbustis fructiferis omnino parcebant, ne forte quos antra montium aut prærupta terrarum, vel seclusa quæque occultaverant post eorum transitum illis pabulis nutrirentur: et sic eadem atque iterum tali crudelitate furentibus, ab eorum contagione nullus remansit locus immunis. Præsertim in ecclesijs basilicisque & cæmiterijs et monasterijs sceleratius sæviebant —— Quanti tunc ab eis præclari pontifices et nobiles sacerdotes diversis pœnarum generibus extincti sunt, ut traderent siquid auri vel argenti proprium vel ecclesiasticum haberent. Et dum hæc quæ erant, urgentibus pœnis facilius proderentur, iterum crudelibus tormentis oblatores urgebant autumantes quandem partem non totum esse oblatum; et quanto plus dabant tanto amplius quempiam habere credebant. Alijs palorum vectibus ora reserantes, fœtidum cænum ob confessionem pecuniæ faucibus ingerebant. Nonnullos in frontibus & tibijs nervis remugientibus torquendo cruciabant. Plerisque aquam marinam alijs acetum, amurcam, liquamenque, et alia multa atque crudelia tanquam utribus imbutis ori impositis sine misericordia porrigebant. Non infirmior sexus, non consideratio nobilitatis, non reverentia sacerdotalis crudeles animos mitigabat: quinimmo ibi aggerebatur ira furoris, ubi honorem conspexerant. Quantis sacerdotibus, quantisque illustribus onera ingentia ut camelis vel alijs generibus jumentorum, imposuerint nequeo enarrare, quos stimulis ferreis ad ambulandum urgebant, quorum nonnulli sub fascibus miserabiliter animas emisere. Senilis maturitas atque veneranda canicies, quæ cæsariem capitis ut lanam candidam dealbarat, nullam sibi ab hospitibus misericordiam vindicabat. Sed etiam parvulos ab uberibus rapiens maternis Barbarus furor, insontem infantiam elidebat ad terram. Alij parvulum pedibus tenentes, a meatu prorsus naturali usque ad arcem capitis dissipabant. —— In ædificijs nonnullis magna <105r> rum ædium vel domorum ubi ministerium ignis minus valuerat, tectis admodum despicatis pulchritudinem parietum solo æquabant, ut nunc antiqua illa speciositas civitatum, nec quia fuerit prorsus appareat. Sed et urbes quam plurimæ aut raris aut nullis habitatoribus incoluntur. Nam et hodie siqua supersunt, subinde desolantur, sicut ubi Carthagineo dignam theatro ædem Momoriæ, et viam quam Cœlestis vocitabant, funditus deleverunt. — Vbi verò munitiones aliquæ videbantur, quas hostilitas barbarici furoris oppugnare nequiret, congregatis in circuitu castrorum innumerabilibus turbis, gladijs feralibus cruciabant, ut putrefactis cadaveribus, quos adire non poterant arcente murorum defensione, corporum liquescentium enecarent fœtore. Quanti et quam numerosi tunc ab eis cruciati sunt sacerdotes explicare quis poterit? Tunc etenim nostræ civitatis venerabilis Papinianus antistes, candentis ferri laminis toto adustus est corpore. Similiter et Mansuetus Vricitanus in porta incensus est Fornitana qua tempestate Hipponeregiorum obsessa est civitas quam omni laude dignus beatus Augustinus librorum multorum confector, pontifex gubernabat. —— Quid multa? Post has trucis impietates insaniæ, ipsam urbem maximam Carthaginem Geisericus tenuit et intravit, et antiquam illam ingenuam ac nobilem libertatem in servitutem redegit. Nam et senatorum urbis non parvam multitudinem captivavit. Deinde proponit decretum et unusquisque auri argenti gemmarum vestimentorumque pretiosorum quodcunque haberet offerret et ita in brevi avitas atque paternas opes tali industria abstulit rapax. Disponens quoque singulas quasque provincias, sibi Byzacenam, Abaritanam, atque Getuliam et partem Numidiæ reservavit exercitui vero Zeugitanam vel proconsularem funiculo hæreditatis divisit. Valentiniano adhuc Imperatore reliquas licet jam exterminatas provincias defendente. Post cujus mortem totius Africæ ambitum obtinuit, nec non et insulas maximas Sardiniam, Siciliam, Corsicam, Ebusum, Majorcam, Minorcam vel alias multa superbia sibi consueta defendit. Quarum unam illarum id est Siciliam Odoacro Italiæ regi postmodum tributario jure concessit, ex qua eis Odoacer singulis quibusque temporibus, ut dominis, tributa dependit, aliquam sibi tamen reservantibus partem. Præterea præcipere nequaquam cunctatus est Vandalis ut episcopos atque laicos nobiles de suis ecclesijs et sedibus nudos penitus aufugerent. Quod si optione proposita exire tardarent, servi <106r> perpetui remanerent. Quod etiam in plurimis factum est. Multos enim episcopos et laicos claros atque honoratos viros, servos esse novimus Vandalorum.

After the fall of the western Empire, the Vandals made war upon their neighbours for many years tho not with so much success as at first, & I meet with not other lasting & more memorable wars before that which Iustinian & his successors made upon the barbarous nations in Italy, & therefore I still refer the wars of the Vandals to the third wind. For the Vandals continued to vex Italy & the neighbouring regions with their fleet some years after the fall of the western Empire; Baronius saith till the marriage of Trasamund king of the Vandals with Amalafrida sister of Theodoric king of the Ostragoths; & this marriage he refers to the year 500, Sigonius to the year 512. The words of Baronius are: [75] Iam tutum redditum commercium inter Africanos et Italos cum sanxivisset fœdus Rex Theodoricus cum Wandalorum rege, a quo hactenus frequentes fiebant in solum Italicum incursiones. Stabilita est enim inter eos pax fœdere nuptiarum, data ei [sc. Trasamundo] in matrimonium Amalafrida. De qua inita inter eos concordia hæc Ennodius in Panegyrico Theoderici: "Quid castigatas Wandalorum, ventis parentibus, eloquar deprædationes, quibus pro annua pensione satis est amicitia tua? Evagari ultra possibilitatem nesciunt, Duce sapientia: affines esse meruerunt quia obedire non abnuunt."

And besides these wars by sea they had others by land with the Moors. We told you that at the sounding of this Trumpet when the Vandals invaded Afric the Moors also rose up in arms & invaded the Romans. After Geiseric had erected the kingdom of the Vandals in Afric the Moors grew quiet & continued quiet all his reign being afraid of him & assisted him in his wars: but after his death, which happened thirty seven years & three months after the taking of Carthage, that is, in Ianuary A.C. 477, a[76] the Moors revolted & made war upon his son & successor Huneric & the following kings of the Vandals, taking Mauritania from them & doing them great mischief & mutualy receiving great mischief from them. In the reign of Huneric they shook of the yoke of the Vandals & possest Aurasius a great mountain 13 days journey from Carthage southward & three days journey in compass. With Gundamund the successor of Huneric they fought many battels. They warred also with Trasamund the successor of Gundamund & in the end of his reign gave him a total rout whereby he lost almost all his army. After which, Hilderic the successor of Trasamund continued the war with bad success, & was therefore deposed & succeeded by Gilimer. For which fact the Greek Emperor Iustinian being a friend to Hilderic sent an army into Afric under the conduct of Belisarius, who in two years conquered the Vandals <107r> and put an end to their kingdom A.C. 534.

That which at the sounding of the third Trumpet is represented by the waters becoming wormwood is at the pouring out of third Vial of wrath represented by their becoming blood. By their becoming wormwood it is to be understood that they were only tinged with wormwood & became bitter: & so by their becoming blood it is to be understood that they were only bloodied or tinged with blood. And both phrases together signify that the people of the western Empire here signified by the waters were in bitter affliction through the wars & bloodshed which ensued upon sounding the third Trumpet. Ieremy in lamenting the desolation of Iudah by Nebuchadnezzar, uses the like expressions: The ways of Zion do mourn because none come to the solemn feasts. All her gates are desolate, her Priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted and she is in BITTERNESS. Lament. 1.4. He hath filled me with bitterness & made me drunken with WORMWOOD. Ch. 3.15. Remember mine affliction, the WORMWOOD & the Gall. v. 19 This bitterness of affliction represented here by wormwood & gall arose from the desolation of Iudah by war: & the desolation of Afric by the wars of this Trumpet was as great or greater & is as much lamented by Victor. Adveniant omnes qui mecum angustæ viæ carpunt iter, et propter verba labiorum Dei vias custodiunt duras, et videant si est dolor sicut dolor meus. Quoniam vindemiata sum in die furoris Domini. Aperuerunt super me ossuum omnes inimici mei. Sibularunt et fremuerunt dentibus: dixerunt, Devoravimus eam. En ista est dies quam expectavimus, invenimus, vidimus. Adestote Angeli Dei mei — et videte Africam totam dudum tantarum ecclesiarum cuneis fultam, nunc ab omnibus desolatam; tantis ordinibus sacerdotum ornatam, modo sedentem viduam et abjectam. Sacerdotes ejus et seniores in desertis locis et insulis defecerunt quærendo sibi escas ad manducandum et non inveniunt. Considerate et videte quia Sion civitas Dei nostri facta est vilis, facta quasi polluta menstruis inter inimicos suos. Manum suam misit hostis ad omnia desiderabilia ejus. — Viæ ejus lugent eo quod nemo veniat in die festo. Egressus est a {facie} ejus omnis decor et deliciæ. Didicerunt vias asperas ambulare virgines et juvenes ejus in aulis educati Monasteriorum, abierunt in captivitatem Maurorum dum lapides sancti ejus disperguntur non tantum <108r> in capitibus omnium platearum sed etiam in locis squalidis metallorum. — Quæsivit a patribus Orientis qui simul contristaretur, et non fuit; consolantem et non invenit: dum manducaret in esca sua fel, & in siti sua potaretur aceto. After this lamentation Victor invokes Peter & Paul & the rest of the Apostles & Saints, & then concludes his history with this prayer directed to them.. Dicatur Angelo percutienti, sufficit: jam cohibe manum tuam. Quis ignoret hæc nobis probrorum nostrorum scelera procurasse aberrantibus a mandatis Dei, et in lege ejus nolentibus ambulare? Sed prostrati rogamus ut non spernatis vestros miseros peccatores per eum qui vos ad Apostolicum culmen provexit humiles piscatores. This worshipping of dead men was the crime for which the Roman Catholicks were punished by these plagues & yet the more they were punished the more they worshipped them: Or, as is exprest in the two next Vials of wrath, They blasphemed God because of their pains & repented not. But this was not the only crime for which the Africans were punished, they were guilty also of shedding the blood of saints.

And I heard the Angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which wast, & art, & shalt be, because thou hast judged thus: For they have shed the blood of saints & prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink; for they are worthy. And I heard another out of the altar, say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true & righteous are thy judgments. When Attalus was made Emperor, Honorius fearing least the Donatists in Afric should side with him, repealed the laws which he had made against them which were many & severe but did not yet extend to blood. Whereupon a Council of African Bishops which met at Carthage 14 Iun. A.C. 410 sent four of the Bishops in their name to the Emperor to procure a revocation of that repeal: & the Emperor not only revoked that repeal but made the punishment capital by this Edict.

Impp. Honor. & Theod. AA. Heracliano Com. Afric.

Oraculo penitus remoto quo ad ritus suos hæreticæ superstitionis obrepserant, sciant omnes sanctæ legis inimici plectendos se pœna et proscriptionis et sanguinis si ultra convenire per publicum, exceranda sceleris sui temeritate temptaverint. Dat. VIII Kal. Sept. Varane V.C. Cons. (A.C. 410.)

And five years after, when Heraclianus was dead & his acts abrogated, to remove all disputes about the validity of this law & shew that the laws of the Empire did not depend upon the lives & fortunes of those to whom they were inscribed, Honorius enforced the former edict with this

Impp. Honor. et Theod. AA. Heracliano Com. Afric.

Sciant cuncti qui ad ritus suos hæresis superstitionibus obrepserant sacrosanctæ legis inimici, plectendos se pœnæ et proscriptiones et sanguinis si ultra convenire per publicum <109r> exercendi sceleris sui temeritate temptaverint: nequa vera divinaque reverentia contagione temeretur. Dat. VIII Kal. Septemb. Honorio X et Theod. VI AA. Coss. [A.C. 415.]

These Edicts being directed to the governour of Afric were in force only in Afric & comprehended the Donatists & all others who separated from the Roman Catholick Church & met apart to worship God. For the Donatists are expresly called Hereticks in former Edicts, and when a question was moved whether one Euresius a Luciferan Bishop was comprehended within the laws against hereticks the Emperors explained the word by this Edict.

Impp. Arcad. et Honor. AA. Aureliano Proc. Asiæ.

Hæreticorum vocabulo continentur, et latis adversus eos sanctionibus debent succumbere, Qui vel levi argumento a judicio Catholicæ religionis & tramite detecti fuerint deviare: ideoque experientia tua Euresium hæreticum nec in numero sanctissimorum Antistitum habendum esse cognoscat. Dat. III. Non. Sept. Constantinop. Olybrio et Probrino Coss. [A.C. 395]

By this Edict it is manifest that all sectaries or Separatists were Hereticks in the sense of the Roman Laws. And therefore by the laws above recited it was made a capital crime in Afric to separate from the Roman Catholick & meet apart for divine worship upon any pretence whatever. The Roman Catholicks by their worshipping dead men, their magical use of the signe of the cross, their spirit of persecution manifested in these & former laws & the great load of heathen superstitions & other humane inventions with which their worship was soiled, gave sufficient cause of separation, & yet by these laws made it death to separate. This is killing men for not being of the Roman Catholick communion. This is that sort of persecution by which the Beast made war with the saints & overcame them, that sort of persecution by which the Whore of Babylon became drunken with the blood of Saints & of the martyrs of Iesus. Theodosius indeed put forth a law for punishing the Encratites & Saccofori with death, which was a very ill president; but those laws respected only two or three particular sorts of ill men, these were against all men who were of any other then the Roman Catholick communion. And since they were the first laws of this this kind & gave a beginning to that sort of persecution which in this prophesy is called shedding the blood of Saints & prophets, the crime of the Africans was the greater & the punishment was suitable. For when the Vandals first invaded Afric that country was very populous & in a very flourishing condition, consisting of about seven hundred bishopricks, which was more then in all France Spain & Italy together: but by the wars between the Vandals Romans & Moors it was depopulated to that degree, that in the reign of Iustinian who overthrew the <110r> kingdom of the Vandals, it was rare & next to a miracle for a travellour to see a man. Procopius endeavours to make Iustinian guilty of this devastation. Africam late adeo patentem ita perdidit (saith Procopius) ut iter facienti hominem conspicere rarum sit ac miraculo propinquum Atqui Vandalorum qui arma ferrent fuerant ibi millia octoginta. Mulierum puerorum servitiorum nunierum quis dixerit? Iam Afrorum tum urbes habitantium tum agros colentium tum mari viventium tanta erat (nam ipse vidi) multitudo ut ab homine nullo exprimi possit. His autem plures multo Mauri. Omnes illi cum fæminis ac sobole stirpitus interiere. Tum verò et Romanorum militum & qui eos Byzantio secuti fuerant, magnam partem ea terra sepelit. Quare siquis dixerit interijsse in Africa quinquies decies centena hominum millia, minus, opinor, vero dixerit. How far Afric was dispeopled by the wars of Iustinian & how far by former wars during all the reign of the Vandals is not material to enquire. It suffices that by all those wars seditions & persecutions together it was wonderfully dispeopled & left almost destitute of inhabitants: God pouring out this Vial of wrath upon the Africans with so great severity, because they shed the blood of his saints & were the first who set on foot those bloody persecutions which have since been exercised in Europe & continue in the Roman Catholic Church to this day.

<111r>

The fourth Trumpet.

Odoacer reigned over Italy about 14 years. In the mean time[77] Zeno the Greek Emperor contracted friendship with Theodoric king of the Ostrogoths, gave him seats in Dacia Ripensis & part of Mœsia, adopted him to be his son, made him Master of the horse, Patricius & Consul of Constantinople, & to divert the Ostrogoths from invading the eastern Empire gave him the kingdom of the West, recommending to him the Roman people & Senate. [78] And Theoderic thereupon led his nation into Italy, conquered Odoacer & extended his dominion over Italy, Sicily, Rhetia, Noricum, Dalmatia, Liburnia, Istria, & part of Suavia, Pannonia & Gallia. Whence Ennodis in a Panegyric to Theodoric said, ad limitem suum Romana regna remeasse. Theodoric reigned with great prudence moderation & felicity, treated the Romans with singular benevolence, governed them by their own laws & restored their Empire under their Senate & Consuls, he himself supplying the place of Emperor, but absteining from the title. Ita sibi parentibus præfuit saith Procopius,[79] ut vere Imperatori conveniens decus nullum ipsi abesset. Iustitiæ magnus ei cultus, legumque diligens custodia. Terras a vicinis barbaris servavit intactas, solertiæ fortitudinisque summus. Injuria quenquam subditorum nec afficiebat ipse, nec affici ab alijs sinebat, dempto quod partem agrorum quam Odacri milites possederant, inter se Gothi partiti sunt. Verbo igitur Invasor, reipsa Imperator & clarissimis quibus id nomen obtigerat nulla parte minor, multum a Gothis, æque ab Italis amabatur, more scilicet humani ingenij, quo fit ut cum in imperio gerendo alij alia sequantur instituta, statim placeat regimen, quibus res e voto eveniunt: grave sit illis quibus non e sententia res cadunt. Adeptæ potentiæ post annos septem et triginta vivendi fecit finem, tam hostibus semper formidatus quam ingens sui desiderium subditis relinquens. And Cassiodorus: Patricio et Hypatio Coss [A.C. 500] DN. Rex Theodoricus Romam cunctorum votis expetitus, advenit: et Senatum suum mira affabilitate tractans, Romanæ plebi donavit annonas; atque Vrbis admirandis mœnibus, deputata per annos singulos maxima pecuniæ quantitate, subvenit: sub cujus felici imperio plurimæ renovantur urbes, munitissima castella conduntur, consurgunt admiranda palatia, magnisque ejus operibus antiqua miracula superantur. And Sigonius tells us that <112r> in ancient monuments he had these these titles: D.N. gloriosissimus atque inclytus rex Theodoricus, victor, ac triumphator, semper Augustus, bono reip. natus, custos libertatis, & propugnator Romani nominis, domitor gentium. Thus did the remainder of the western Empire after the fall of the western Cæsars revive & flourish forty & two years together under Theodoricus & his successor Athalaricus, so that Evagrius the historian calls them Administrators of the western Empire & others write that the western Empire was translated to them, & Procopius an eye-witness, tells us that after the Greeks invaded Italy the Goths thus contended with Bellisarius: Non vi Romanis Italiam eripuere Gothi. Odoacer eam Imperatoris cum cæde raptam, cum alter Imperator Orientem obtinens Zeno, ulcisci interfectum, Italiam servitio eximere quærens, sed virium quas Odoacro opponeret, non satis apud se reperiens, Theuderichum principem nostrum, qui ipsi tum Zenoni obsidium minabatur, permovit ut inimicitiam recentem condonaret memoriæ dignitatum a se acceptarum (et Patricius quippe et Consul Romanus fuerat) de Odoacri autem in Augustulum scelere pœnas sumeret, Italiamque ipse et Gothi tenerent in posterum ut qui optimo jure. Hunc in modum adepti Italiæ imperium, legem statumque incolumem servavimus non minus quam Imperatorum qui maxime. Theuderichi et eorum qui in Gothorum principatum ei successere, nullæ leges extant, non scriptæ, non moribus constitutæ. Quæ Dei cultum creditaque de Deo attinent, ita illibata Romanis servavimus, ut Italorum nemo seu volens sive invitus sententiam mutaverit, Gothis qui mutavere idem fuerit innoxium Ipsas quoque sacratas Romanorum ædes summa veneratione colimus: nemo unquam qui ad ea perfugit mali vel minimum perpessus est. Publicos honores indigenæ tenent, nemine Gotho participe. Si mentior, sit qui arguat. Addere et hoc licet, permissu Gothorum, Romanos quotannis Consulatum, dante Orientis Imperatore, accipere. Hæc cum ita se habeant, vobis nulla fuit Italiæ cura dum eam Odoacer et Barbari decem totos annos vexant, expilantque: nunc verò eos qui jure tenent per injuriam invaditis.

Now the four winds signifying four great & durable wars between the Romans & Barbarians & the fourth being a northern wind in respect of Rome, & there being no such war after the fall of the western Cæsars during all the reign of Odaocer Theodomir & Athalaric: we may reccon that the fourth wind, or war to which the fourth Trumpet sounded, did not begin before Iustinian sent an army under Belisarius & other captains against the Ostragoths, & put an end to the peaceable & happy times of the Romans under that <113r> flourishing kingdom. Nor did it begin later, for this war hath all the characters of the fourth wind. It began A.C. 435, which was the year after Iustinian had conquered the Vandals in Afric & thereby put an end to the third wind. It was waged almost wholy in Dalmatia, Liburnia, Venetia, Lumbardy, Tuscia & the other parts of the Empire of the Goths which lay northward from Rome. It was very lasting: for it continued about seventy years; twenty years between the Romans & Ostragoths & fifty years more between the Romans & other barbarous nations. And it was very violent & destructive. Procopius an eye witness reccons that some millions of men perished in the war between the Romans & Ostrogoths. In taking Millain alone the Goths slew all the males young & old amounting (as Procopius reccons) to three hundred thousand, & sent the weomen captives into Gallia to their allies the Burgundians. And how many were slain or captivated in other sieges & in Battels & inrodes or perished by famin & pestilence the consequence of great wars, is difficult to estimate. Rome her self was taken & retaken several times & thereby her people were thinned, her old government by a Senate & Consuls ceased, her Nobles were ruined & all her glory was extinct, & after a war of seventeen years continuance the kingdom of the Ostragoths fell whose kings had been her husband & her Sun. Thus at the sounding of the fourth Angel the third part of the Sun was smitten & the third part of the Moon & the third part of the stars so as the third part of them was darkned: & the day shone not for a third part of it & the night likewise: that is, the Sun Moon & Stars of the third part were darkned.

After the ruin of the Gothick Empire which fell in the year 552, the a remainder of the Goths & an army of Germans which they had called in to their assistance continued the war three or four years longer: & then ensued the b[80] war of the Heruli, who, as c[81] Anastasius tells us, perimebant cunctam Italiam, slew all Italy. And after that the war of the Lombards the fiercest of all the barbarians continued from the year 568 for 38 years together, facta tali clade, saith Anastasius, qualem a sæculo nullus meminit. It ended in the Papacy of Sabinian A.C. 605 by a lasting peace then made with the Lombards. Eleven years before it ended, Gregory the great then Bishop of Rome thus mentions it: e[82] Viginti jam et septem annos ducimus quod in hac Vrbe inter Longobardorum gladios vivimus. And three years before it ended he mentions it thus. f[83] Qualiter enim et quotidianis gladijs et quantis Longobardorum incursionibus, ecce jam per triginta quinque annorum longitudinem premimur nullis explere vocibus suggestionis valemus. In one of his g[84] sermons to the people he thus expresses the great consumption of the Romans by these wars: Ex illa plebe in- <114r> innumerabili quanti remanseritis aspicitis et tamen adhuc quotidie flagellæ urgent, repentini casus opprimunt novæ res et improvisæ clades affligunt. In h[85] another sermon he thus describes the desolations: Destructæ urbes, eversa sunt castra, depopulati agri in solitudinem terra redacta est. Nullus in agris incola, pene nullus in urbibus habitator remansit. Et tamen ipsæ parvæ generis humani reliquiæ, adhuc quotidie et sine cessatione feriuntur, & finem non habent flagella cœlestis justitiæ. Ipsa autem quæ aliquando mundi Domina esse videbatur qualis remansit Roma conspicimus innumeris doloribus multipliciter attrita, desolatione civium, impressione hostium, frequentia ruinarum. —— Ecce jam de illa omnes hujus sæculi potentes ablati sunt. —— Ecce populi defecerunt. — Vbi enim Senatus? ubi jam populus? contabuerunt osse, consumptæ sunt carnes, omnis enim sæcularium dignitatum ordo extinctus est, et tamen ipsos nos paucos qui remansimus adhuc quotidie gladij adhuc quotidie innumeræ tribulationes premunt. — Vacua jam ardet Roma. Quid autem ista de hominibus dicimus? Cum ruinis crebrescentibus ipsa quoque destrui ædificia videmus: postquam defecerunt homines etiam parietes cadunt. Iam esse desolata, ecce contrita, ecce gemitibus oppressa est &c —— Hæc autem quæ de Romanæ urbis contritione dicimus, in cunctis facta mundi civitatibus scimus; alia enim loca desolata sunt alia gladio consumpta, alia fame cruciata alia terræ hiatibus absorpta. Despiciamus ergo hoc præsens sæculum vel extinctum. All this was spoken by Gregory to the people of Rome who were witness of the truth. And the same Gregory tells us in his k[86] Dialogues that a little before the invasion of Italy by the Lombards there was a Revelation made to one Redemptus a Bishop in these words. Finis venit universæ carnis. Finis venit universæ carnis. Finis venit universæ carnis. This revelation Gregory understood of the end of the world & expounded it after this manner. Post illam Prophetiam mox illa terribilia in cælum signa secuta sunt, ut hastæ atque acies igneæ ab aquilonis parte viderentur. Mox effera Longobardorum gens de vagina sua habitationis educta, in nostram cervicem grassata est; atque humanum genus quod in hac terra præ nimia multitudine quasi spissæ segitis more surrexerat, succisum aruit. Nam depopulatæ urbes, eversa castra, concrematæ ecclesiæ, destructa monasteria virorum et fæminarum, desolata ab hominibus prædia, atque ab omni cultore destituta in solitudine vacat terra; nullus hanc possessor inhabitat, occuparunt bestiæ quæ prius multitudo hominem tenebat et quid in alijs mundi partibus agitur ignoro: nam in hac terra in qua nos vivimus finem suum non nunciat sed ostendit. On these words of Gregory l[87] Baronius <115r> makes this Comment. At nequis putet mendax fuisse Oraculum de fine universæ carnis prædictum: sciat his verbis non sæculi consummationem significatam sed gentis Italicæ cladem: sicut olim Deum per suum Prophetam comminatum fuisse constat, ubi ait; Hæc dicit Dominus Deus terræ Israel: Finis venit: Finis venit super quatuor plagas terræ: Nunc finis super te &c Sicut ergo finem universæ carnis minitate Propheta, non mundi est demonstratus interritus, sed imminentes tantum clades præfiguratæ fuere; ita pariter eadem quæ prædicta sunt Redempto, accipienda erunt. Certe quidem finis quodammodo tunc dici potuit advenisse ROMANI OCCIDENTALIS IMPERII cum Longobardi Italiam invadentes rerum potiti sunt. Etenim post paucos Exarchas Constantinopoli ab Imperatoribus in Italiam missos qui Ravennæ considere consuevere, ijsdem diu prævalentibus Longobardis, Occidentis Imperium penitus collapsum est, neque usque ad Carolum Magnum restitutum, ut tamen in Gallias fuerit ipsum translatum. Sane quidem quam durissima foret Longobardorum adventu grassatio ejusmodi factis divinitus vaticinijs præsignata potest intelligi, quibus mundi ipsius interitus fuit creditus significari. Quid autem passa sit Longobardis Italia, vel hoc uno collige argumento. Si teste Procopio cum ijdem amici essent Imperatoris et laboranti Italiæ bello Gothico in auxilium Longobardi venientes longe deteriora hostibus perpetrarunt ut opus fuerit eos dimittere: quid ab ijsdem factum potest existimari cum jam hostes redditi hostili animo Italiam invaserunt. Sane quidem adeo immensa ubique increbuere sub ipsis mala ut non leves quæque personæ sed ipse Gregorius Papa existimarit jam instare novissimum diem quo universi Orbis conflagratio immineret.

And thus did the Sun, that is, the kings of the barbarous nations, & principaly those of the Lombards, scorch men with great heat, as is exprest at the pouring out of the fourth Vial, that is, with great heat of war. And men were scorched with great heat & blasphemed the name of God who had power over these plagues & they repented not to give him glory. Blasphemy is in all this prophesy put for idolatry, & the names of blasphemy for the names of fals Gods. Men blasphemed the name of God because of the heat & repented not: that is they invoked & worshipped their fals Gods because of their affliction & were so far from repenting that the more they were in affliction the more they worshipped them. Their being in affliction increased their devotion. They invoked the saints before, but now they worshipped them with more devotion & ceremony. Now they began to invoke them in their publick supplications or Litanies for averting <116r> God's wrath. Now they began to make solemn processions to the Churches where the supplications were to be made. Now they began to carry the Pictures & Images of Christ & the Saints in solemn processions & for promoting their veneration to pretend that they were ancient reliques. & to attribute miracles to them. Now they began to be more offended at those men who opposed the placing of Pictures & Images in churches or demolished those which were there placed then at those men who worshipped them. And now they began also to say Masses for souls in Purgatory. And these things were set on foot by the devotion of Pope Gregory the great, a man who being a Monk was much inclinded to superstition, & being learned & very diligent & well skilled in business he new modelled the Roman service & ceremonies & by his preaching writing visible humility & sanctity of life & pretence of miracles gained such a reputation among the clergy & people as gave credit & authority to his institutions, so that they were received & followed in after ages & still continue in use tho not without additions. Platina mentioning Gregories book of the sacraments, his Kyrie eleisons & Antiphonies & his institution of Litanies & Stations, subjoyns. Quid plura de hoc sanctissimo viro commemorem? cum omnis institutio ecclesiastici officij, veteris præsertim, ab eo sit inventa & approbata: quem quidem ordinem utinam sequeremur. Non abhorrerent hodie a lectione officij viri docti, quemadmodum faciunt propter barbariem nescio quam illi latinitati et compositioni additam. This Pope appointed the Litanies called the greater supplications with a sevenfold procession to the Church of the Virgin Mary, & they tell us that in making those processions upon Easter day A.C. 591 in the time of a great plague, the Image of the Virgin Mary painted by Saint Luke was carried before him, & an Angel was heard speaking to the holy Virgin & saying Regina cœli lætare, Allelujah, quia quem meruisti portare, Allelujah, resurrexit sicut dixit, Allelujah. Which salutation being heard by Gregory, he presently by divine inspiration completed it after this manner, Ora pro nobis Deum Allelujah. And soon after this the Angel appeared putting up his sword into the scabbard, at the sight of which Gregory being comforted told the people that God's wrath was appeased & the raging plague was at an end. And accordingly from that time the plague abated. And henceforward, saith Sigonius, the solemn Antiphony of the Church continued as an argument of joy at the resurrection. These things are affirmed by Sigonius who saith that he related them as they are written in the Rituals of the Roman Church And now by this great miracle the solemn Antiphony of <117r> invoking the Virgin Mary being thus brought into their publick worship, it has not only continued in use ever since yearly upon Easter day & from thence to Trinity Sunday, but has been a president for inserting other invocations of the Virgin Mary & the rest of the Roman Saints into the publick worship of that Church & particularly into their Litanies so that there is no solemnity, no ffast, no Sunday or festival no religious assembly no day in the year in which they do not worship one or more of them by some prayer, vow, hymn prostration or other act, besides their saying Ave Marys to the Virgin as frequently as Pater nosters to God Almighty.

And as Gregory had the Image of the Virgin carried before him in procession so Austin the Monck when he was sent by Gregory into England went singing of Litanies with a silver cross & the Picture of Christ carried before him. And about the same time the armies of the Greek Emperors had the picture of Christ carried before them in their wars like the Ark before the armies of the Israelites: which picture was said to be sent by Christ to king Algar & was called ἀχειροπόιητος not made with hands, that it might be respected & venerated as a very sacred relique. And when Serenus Bishop of Marseils seing some Images set up & worshipped by some of the people brake the Images: Pope Gregory reprehended him for it, saying, Permittimus imagines Sanctorum quicunque eas formare voluerit tam in Ecclesia quam extra ecclesiam propter amorem Dei & Sanctorum ejus adorare vero eas nequaquam cogimus. Frangere vel destruere eas etiam siquis voluerit non permittimus. The same Gregory erected statues in the Oratory of his Monastery & he being ill at his stomach & Eleutherius who was said to have raised a dead man to life prostrated themselves before the Images in prayer to God, &, saith Pope Hadrian, they were heard. He erected Images also in Churches & sent them as presents to his friends. And about six years after his death, Pope Boniface IV by the consent of the Emperor Phocas (whom Gregory had courted) set up the Images of the Virgin Mary & all the Martyrs in the place of the Images of Cybele & all the heathen Gods in the Pantheon at Rome & in their honour instituted the annual feast of all saints. The dedication of the Pantheon Sigonius refers to the year 610 Indic. 13 when Pope Boniface convened a Council at Rome as Beda relates. In the Office for this ffestival there is this prayer. Angeli, Archangeli, Throni et Dominationes, Principatus et Potestates, Virtutes Cœlorum, Cherubim atque Seraphim, Patriarchæ et Prophetæ, Sancti legis doctores, Apostoli, omnes Christi Martyres, Sancti Confessores, Virgines Domini, Anachoretæ, Sanctique omnes, Intercedite pro nobis. There is also this Hymn. Placare, Christe, servulis, Quibus Patris clementiam, Tuæ ad tribunal gratiæ, Patrona Virgo postulat. Et vos beata per novem Distincta gyros agmina, Antiqua cum præsentibus Futura damna pellite. Apostoli cum vatibus apud severum judicem, Veris reorum fletibus Exposcite indulgentiam. Vos purpurati Martyres, vos candidati præmio confessionis, exules vocate nos in patriam. Chorea casta virginum, Et quos eremus incolas Transmisit astris, cœlitum locate nos in sedibus. <118r> Auferte gentem perfidam credentium de finibus, unus omnes unicum Ovile nos Pastor regat. On the same day there is also this Hymn

Salutis æternæ dator

Iesu, redemptis subveni.

Virgo, parens clementiæ

Dona Salutem servulis

Vos Angelorum millia

Patrumque cætus, agmina

Canora votum, vos reis

Precamini indulgentiam.

Baptista Christi prævius

Summique cœli claviger

Cum cæteris Apostolis

Nexus resolvans criminum.

Cohors triumphans Martyrum,

Almus sacerdotum chorus

Et virginalis castitas

Nostros reatus abluant

Quicunque in alta syderum

Regnatis aula Principes,

Favete votis supplicum

Qui dona cœli flagitant.

These prayers & hymns you may find in the Roman Breviarys From all which it appears that after Pope Gregory began to recommend the invocation of saints & use of images & to introduce them by miracles into the publick worship of the Roman Church, this sort of devotion increased very fast so that within the space of 18 or 20 years all the saints began to be solemnly invoked & all their images erected & venerated in the Churches at Rome from whence this worship by the Popes authority was soon propagated into all the Roman Empire.

Men begain to invoke the Martyrs in their private devotions & to paint the Martyries with the histories of their passions soon after the reign of Iulian the Apostate as I gather from the writers of that age Basil, Epiphanius, Gregory Nyssen, Paulinus of Nola, Prudentius, Austin of Hippo & Euodius the earliest writers who mention the painting of Martyries & Churches. And about seventy years after the reign of Iulian they began to place images in Saint Peters Church at Rome. But before the erecting of images became common the superstition was checkt for a time by the wars of the barbarous nations who differed in religion from the Roman Catholicks & for the most part reigned over the city of Rome. But after the kingdom of the Ostrogoths fell & Rome came into the hand of the Exarchs of Ravenna who were Catholicks, & Agilulphus king of the Lombards by means of his Queen Theodelinda became also a Roman Catholick (which came to pass in the year 590) Pope Gregory & his successors returned to advance their gainful superstitions of invoking the saints & honouring their reliques & images, & at the same time gaining the universal Bishopric became more able to propagate it then before.

Vpon the death of Constantine the great the Pope began to claim appeals from all the world & was supported in his claim by the western bishops, & stifly opposed by the eastern. This ambition of the Western <119r> Churches & departure from the Eastern with intention of subduing them, was one of the first acts of the Womans flying into the wilderness. But she was humbled for a time first by the conquest of the western Empire by the eastern in the reign of Constantius & then by the sacking of Rome & division of the western Empire into ten kingdoms, eight or nine of which being erected by northern Barbarians differed from the Catholicks in religion. This oppression of the western Roman Catholicks made them unite more firmly into one body under the Pope for strengthning themselves, so that after a few years the acknowledgement of the Pope's authority became a part of the religion of the western Roman Catholicks, & to be converted to this religion implied the acknowledgment of the union of the Churches under him. And thence it came to pass that the ten kings upon their conversion to the catholick faith united under the Pope as the common Bishop of all their churches. And first the Francks submitted to it upon the conversion of Clodoveus their king A.C. 496, Remigius bishop of Rhemes being made the Pope's deputy bishop over France.[88] Then Spain submitted in the reign of Reccarede A.C. 590 & Lombardy the same year in the reign of Agilulf king of the Lombards & Brittain began to submit A.C. 596 by the preaching of Austin the monck to the Saxons, & the Greek Empire submitted by the grant of the Emperor Phocas A.C. 606. Thus the ten kings began to be of one mind & to agree & give their power & strength & kingdom to the Beast. And henceforward by the Popes universal authority Images began to be erected every where in churches after the example of what was done in the Pantheon & other churches at Rome. And because the Church of Rome began now to reign over the ten kings & enticed them to this idolatrous religion & thereby became rich & potent, she is hence forward in this prophesy compared to a woman arrayed in purple & scarlet & decked with gemms, who lives deliciously & sits a Queen upon seven mountains & upon the ten horned Beast in a spiritualy barren wilderness & commits fornication with the kings of the earth & makes the nations drunk with the wine of her fornication & abounds with gold & silver & pretious stones & pearles & fine linnen & purple & silk & scarlet & all things of price & enriches the merchants of the earth with her costliness: & in the prophesies of Isaiah she is elegantly represented by the merchandizing city of Tyre in these words

Howl, ye ships of Tarshish for your strength is laid wast. And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years according to the days of one king.[89] After the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an harlot. Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast been forgotten, make sweet melody sing many songs that thou <120r> mayest be remembred. And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the Lord will visit Tyre & she shall turn to her hire, & shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth; & her merchandise & her hire shall be holiness to the Lord. It shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the Lord, to eat sufficiently, & for old-fashioned cloathing. This prophesy cannot be applyed to the old city Tyre in a litteral sence. For a whore is in sacred prophesies put for the Church of God in a state of idolatry. God is her husband & by idolatry she forsakes him & goes a whoring after other Gods, & commits fornication with the nations & kingdoms whose Gods she worships: and there is no other city besides the great city represented by the Whore of Babylon, which hath committed fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth, or as is exprest in the Apocalyps, which hath made all nations drunk with the wine of her fornication. Her merchandise is not like the merchandise of old Tyre. It is the hire of her fornication. It is holiness to the Lord. It is for them that dwell before the Lord, that is, for the Priests. It is for them to eat sufficiently & to wear ancient or old-fashioned cloathing suitable to the Priesthood, that is, it is for the maintenance of the Priests. And I do not see how all these things can agree to any other merchandising city then the Whore of Babylon that great city who enriched the merchants of the earth with her delicacies. To this City & to this alone all these things agree perfectly. She began before the times of the fourth Trumpet to play the harlot worshipping dead men & setting up some Images. She began also before that time to sing as an harlot, her Bishops living sumptuously & claiming appeals from all the world & being called Oecumenical by the Council of Chalcedon & head of all the Churches by the Emperor Iustinian. But in the times of the fourth Trumpet she was thrown down & forgotten seventy years . For the wars of that Trumpet began in Sicily & Dalmatia A.C. 535 & in Italy A.C. 536 & in the end of that yeare Rome opened her gates to the army of Belisarius & in March following was besieged by an army of 150000 Goths & her Bishop deposed & banished by Belisarius; & from the beginning of this seige Rome was eclipsed & darkned losing her senate & Consuls & almost all her people & becoming an ignoble dukedome subject to Ravenna & her buildings falling for want of inhabitants as was explained above, & the Patriarch of Constantinople now claimed the universal bishopric as if Rome were extinct & forgotten. And in this obscurity she remained till the end of the war A.C. 603 & further till she recovered the universal bishopric by the grant of the Emperor Phocas A.C. 606, <121r> so that the whole time of her obscurity was seventy years. At the end of this time she turned to her hire & began to sing as an harlot & commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the [Roman] world upon the face of the earth. For she begged the Pantheon of the Emperor Phocas the next year, as I reccon by allowing two or three years for cleansing & repairing the Pantheon & preparing Images to be set up in it before it was dedicated: & hence forward erecting Images in this & other Churches she propagated her idolatrous religion into all kingdoms by means of her universal bishoprick, & by this religion grew very rich & lived deliciously.

And now the wickedness of the Roman Catholicks growing greater then before, their punishment is proportionaly increased. ffor an Angel (or, as some Manuscripts have it, an Eagle) flyes through the midst of heaven saying with a loud voice; Wo, Wo, Wo to the inhabitants of the earth by reason of the other voices of the Trumpet of the three Angels which are yet to sound.

<122r>

Chap. IX.
The Prophesy of the three Woes at the voices of the three last Trumpets explained.

Sect. 1.
The first Wo.

And the fift Angel sounded and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth [the Prophet Mahomet] and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit, & he opened the bottomless pit [by false prophesy] & there arose a smoke out of the bottomless pit as the smoke of a great furnase [a very thick & black cloud of disciples] & the Sun & the air were darkned by reason of the smoke of the pit. As the casting the Dragon into the bottomless pit & locking him up that he should deceive the nations no more for a thousand years & then letting him out to deceive the nations again, signifies the putting an end to a false religion whereby the Devil had deceived the nations & the rise of a new false religion whereby he should deceive them again: so here, the opening of the bottomless pit (the sink of the Temple) & letting out a thick black smoke which darkned the world signifies the rise of a new false religion, a kingdom of darkness.

And there came out of the smoke Locusts upon the earth [a numerous armed multitude of Arabians, for Locusts are a numerous southern insect abounding in Arabia,[90] whence they are carried by the wind into Chaldea Iudea Cyprus & Egypt; & the Arabians are a numerous people, & their army was of old compared to Locusts for multitude. Iudg. 6.5 & 7.12.] and unto them was given power as the scorpions of the earth have power [to torment men by war as with the stings of Scorpions.] And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth neither any green thing neither any tree [as real Locusts do] but only those men who have not the seale of God in their foreheads, [that is, those men who have the mark of the Beast.] And to them it was given that they should not kill them [by dissolving their bodies politic & subverting their kingdoms] but that they should be tormented [by inroads invasions & various wars] five months. And their torment was [sharp] as the torment of a scorpion when he striketh a man. And the shape of the Locusts were like unto horses [or horsmen] prepared to the battel, & on their heads were [Turbants] as it were crowns of gold, & their faces were as the faces of men [for they were men] & they had long hair as the hair of weomen. [For the Arabians cut their hair <123r> round like an arch upon their forehead & ware it at full length behind like weomen & put up under a Quoif or Turbant] & their teeth were as the teeth of Lions [large & strong for devouring like Daniels fourth Beast] & they had breast plates as it were breast plates of iron & the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battel [that is they were an army of horsmen] & they had tails [or Battalions of foot] like unto Scorpions [thick & strong] & stings in their tails [their foot being armed with bows & arrows, & striking men with their arrows & spears as with the stings of Scorpions.] And their power was to hurt men five months. And they had a king over them who is the Angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abbadon, but in the Greek tongue his name is Apollyon, that is, the Prophet Mahomet who opened the Pit, & his successors the Califs were their king as well as their Prophet; & by the wars & victories of this king, his name was made known to both Hebrews & Greeks. To the Greeks he was Apollyon a destroyer, & to those of Palestine over whom he reigned, he was Abbadon which signifies also a destroyer & seems to allude to the kings of the Nabatean Arabians who were seated along the eastern side of the Rea Sea from Petra to Albus Pagus a great market of the Nabatæans & by consequence from Mecha to Medina where the Mahometan religion had its rise & Mahomet reigned in the beginning. For this region was called Oboda & all the kings thereof were called Obodas from Obodas the first king who was buried there & deified by the natives, that is from Nabaioth the son of Ismael by softening & at length omitting the first letter of the name. ffor he was the first king & founder of the nation. As the Roman Emperors were called Cæsars from Cæsar & the kings of Egypt Pharaoh & Ptolomy, those of the Parthians Arsasæ, & those of the Arabians in the northern border of the Nabateans Aretæ: so the kings of the Nabateans were called Obodas & in this Prophesy Abaddon. And under this king the Locusts were to torment men five months.

Mahomet pretended to be called to the Office of a Prophet in the 40th year of his age A.C. 609 & began then to make disciples privately, & in the 44th year of his age he began to manifest his vocation at Mecha & set open the bottomless pit, & in the 14th year of his vocation A.C. 622 he fled from Mecha to Medina & began to arm his followers, that is, to bring Locusts out of the smoke. He reigned ten years at Medina in which time he fought several battels & took Mecha Bahraina, Tajifac, Sanaa, Gineda, Gjuxisja & other chief cities of Arabia conquering almost all Arabia ffælix & Petræa & there founding a considerable kingdom, & after his death his successor Abubecre in the first year of his reign prosecuted the war in Arabia & enlarged the kingdom & in the second year he sent an army to invade Chaldea & the next year sent other forces to invade Syria which forces that summer <124r> took Bosra the metropolis of the Idumeans at the entrance of Syria, but before they took it he died at Medina in August A.C. 634. The next year his successor Omar sent fresh forces into Syria which put the Romans to flight & after half a year's seige took Damascus, & the year following they won several battels & beseiged Ierusalem.

Hitherto the Califs reigned at Medina, but the next year, A.C. 637 they translated the seat of their kingdom from Arabia into Syria. ffor Omar made his son Governour of Medina & went himself into Syria & took Ierusalem & all Phœnicia & sent a great army to invade Egypt. And the same year they took also the royal city of the king of Persia with his Treasures & Crown & conquered a considerable part of Persia putting the Persians to flight. Which sucesses may be recconed the beginning of their Empire. Before this year they were only kings of Arabia but now they began to be Emperors of the East, having conquered Phœnicia, Syria Damascena, Chaldea, part of Persia & some part of Egypt, & now making Damascus the seat of their Empire, & Omar being the first Calif to whom they gave the title of Imperator fidelium. He was also the first who assembled men yearly under one Prince in the month Ramedan, & who used the {years} of the Hegira dating his Letters from that Æra.

The next year (A.C. 638) he took Antioch with all Syria, & the year following his forces became masters of Gran Cairo in Egypt & beseiged Alexandria, & after 14 months seige they took Alexandria A.C. 641, & in a year or two more carried on their conquest into Libya as far as Barca. And while these things were doing westward his armies extended their conquests eastward over Mesopotamia Assyria & Persia as far as Bactria. All this was done in the ten years reign of Omar. And his successors carried on the conquest eastward over all the kingdom of Persia, southward over Thebais Æthiopia & Nubia & westward over all Barbary to the Ocean, & then invaded Spain, France, Italy, Greece Asia minor & all the sea coasts of Europe, vexing Europe with frequent incursions & beseiging Constantinople several times.

While they reigned at Damascus the Monarchy rose up to its full growth & flourished in its vigour. At length Almansor A.C. 762 gave commandment for the building of Bagdad, & it was built in four years & then became the seat of Empire, & Damascus remained only the Metropolis of the upper Syria, its walls being pulled down before. Almansor died near Meccha A.C. 775, & his son Mahadis was then made Calif at Bagdat & reigned there, & the Monarchy flourished under that Metropolis till about the year 870 & then began to be shaken with some intestine broiles but overcame them & continued almost entire till about the year 900, & then began to fall in pieces. The governour of Egypt revolted A.C. 882, but was reduced A.C. 905. <125r> The Caramites revolted A.C. 899 & rent away Arabia Fælix & Petræa. The ffatamids revolted under the Conduct of Mahadis A.C. 910 & rent away Afric Sicily & the west, & Mahadis was succeeded there by his son Caijmus. The Dailamites revolted A.C. 927 & within four years extended their kingdom over a great part of Media & Hycania & in three or four years more under the conduct of Mardawigus & Amaduddaulas took from the Calif Chorasan & all Persia The Calif A.C. 930 granted Mesopotamia & Miafarekin to Nasiruddaulas the grandson of Hamedan for an annual tribute, & A.C. 933 he made Abubecre Achsijd Prefect of Egypt & then deposing him made one Ahmed Prefect in his room. But Achsijd having obteined Syria invaded Egypt in August A.C. 935 & set up a new dominion over both regions which lasted many years. And now the Empire of the Saracens being broken into many kingdoms & divided amongst temporal Princes & the remaining dominion of the Califs at Bagdad being disturbed & small & in danger of falling: the Calif sent for Mahumet the son of Rajici from Wasitum a city of Chaldea where he reigned, & he came to Bagdad in November A.C. 936 & the Calif made him Emperor of Emperors & surrendred to him the army & treasury & all the temporal power of the Califate, as is related by the Arabic Historians. For Elmacinus relates the matter thus. Anno Hegiræ 324 [qui cœpit Novemb. 30. A.C. 935] ad se venire jussit Califa Arradis Billa Imperatorem Muhamedem filium Rajici qui Wasiti erat & ibi dominabatur; cogente ad id eum necessitate, propter perturbationem Imperij, & ineptitudinem Consiliarij ad eam dignitatem. Venit itaque filius Rajici Bagdadum, & constituit eum Arradis Imperatorem Imperatorum, commisitque ei administrationem regni & jussit eum pro se concionari super suggesto. Induit quoque ei vestem dignitatis, ac dedit ei vexillum. Venit autem Bagdadum vicessimo quinto Dulhiggiæ [i.e. Novemb. 13 A.C. 936] & scribam constituit Ahmedem f. Alis, Cufæum; curavitque ea omnia quæ curare soliti erant Consiliarij. Atque ab eo tempore dignitas Consiliarij Bagdadi obsolevit, neque remansit nisi nomen ejus: potestas autem omnis cessit Imperatoribus qui rerum potiebantur. Atque id duravit donec florere desierunt Salgjuki [i.e. Turcarum Imperatores] Bagdadi. Ineunte itaque anno 325 [qui cœpit Novemb. 19. A.C. 936] mundus in manibus erat Principum, qui Imperio se ingesserant, et Reges terræ erant. Quicunque enim urbem aliquam nancissebatur, Regem se ejus nominabat, alios omnes arcens. Erantque Basra, Wasitum & Ahwaza in manu Abu Abdallæ Baridæi, & fratrum ejus; Persia in manu Amaduddaulæ f. Bojæ Dailami, et Wasmakini fratris Mardawigi; Mausila Diarrebia et Diarbecra in manu filiorum Hamadani; Ægyptus et Syria in manu Muhammedis Achsijdi filij {Taagi}; Occidens et Africa in manu Caijmi f. Mahadis; Hispania in manu filiorum Ommiæ; Chorasana in manu Nasri f. Ahmedis Samanæi;; Iamama, Bahraina & Hagjara in manu Taheri Caramitæ; Tabristana & Gjorgjana in manu Dailamorum. Neque mansit in manu Chalifæ filij Rajici quicquam præter <126r> Bagdadum. Et abolita sunt telonia regni: unde et potentia Chalifatus diminuta est, & debilitatum regnum, & rapinæ viguerunt. Pecunia autem omnis portata est in gazophylacia Imperatorum, qui, pro lubitu suo de ea disponebant et impensas imperiales omnes faciebant. And a little after. Atque hic Arradis multas res ultimus inter Chalifas præstitit. Nam ultimus egregios fecit versus; ultimus sua solius auctoritate de exercitibus & pecunijs disposuit; ultimus concionatus est, in suggesto, die Veneris; ultimus sedit cum sedentibus & pænitentiam egit cum pænitentibus; ultimus impensas fecit, munera dedit, servos et culinas habuit, more antecessorum suorum. Nam qui post eum Chalifatui præfecti sunt, ad tempora usque Moctafis [i.e. ad A.C. 1160 circiter,] eos scito nihil habuisse in Iraca atque alijs provincijs, præter nudum titulum; regimen autem oncne fuisse penes Reges illos qui imperio potiti sunt. To the same purpose writes Abul-Pharajius another Arabic historian. Anno [Hegiræ] trecentesimo vicesimo quarto impulit necessitas Al Radium ut Abu Becrum Mohammedem filium Rayeki imperatorem exercitus crearet. Eum ergo Imperatorem Imperatorum constituens, vectigalibus et tributis & curijs per omnes regiones præfecit, jussitque in omnibus suggestis nominis ejus in concionibus mentionem fieri: atque ab eo tempore irritum factum est. Vizieri munus. Filius. Rayeki siquidem et ipsius scriba omnium rerum curam gerebant: eodemque modo quicunque post eum Imperatores Imperatorum fiebant, se habebant. Omnes pecuniæ in eorum gazophylacia importebantur, easque pro lubitu erogabant, et Chalifæ nihil aliud quam quod ipsis visum relinquebant.

Within less then two years after this change Bagdad (as Elmacinus writes) was taken from Muhammed by one Iahcamus a Turk, & from that time often taken & retaken being in the hands sometimes of the Turks & sometimes of the Arabians or Saracens untill at length Togrulbec took it & established it to the Turks. And these reigns of the Turks put a fuller period to the monarchy of the Saracens under the Chalif.

Now since the Chalifs reigned at Medina as kings of Arabia or some part thereof till the year 637, & in that year translated the seat of their kingdom into Syria & began to enlarge it into a great Empire by taking Ierusalem & conquering all Palestine & part of Persia & Egypt: if we date their empire from that year (for by naming their king a destroyer in the languages of the Hebrews & Greeks is implied that he should receive his name as king from destroying their countries;) & if we extend the reign of this monarchy under the Angel of the bottomless pit, from that year inclusively to the end of the year 936. in which the Chalif lost all his temporal power & ceased to torment the Romans: the whole duration of this great Monarchy will be just 300 years, that is ten prophetick months <127r> putting days for years & recconing 30 days to a month. But because there were two successive dynasties of this monarchy the one at Damascus in Syria the other at Bagdad in Chaldea & because the monarchy is represented by Locusts & the nature of Locusts is to live only five months, they being hatched annually by the heat of the sunabout a month after the vernal Equinox & laying their eggs & dying about the autumnal Equinox: the Prophet for the decorum of the type divides the whole time into five months & five months: saying twice, that the Locusts tormented men five months; that is in all ten months. ffor the repetition is not without a meaning. In this Prophesy there is nothing superfluous. They reigned something less then five months at Damascus & something more at Bagdad; five months at each place more or less; in both places together ten months.

Elmacinus by dividing his history into three books distinguished the Empire of the Saracens into three successive Dynasties, the first comprehending its rise & increase during the reign of the Orthodox Chalifs at Medina & Damascus, the second conteining its decrease during the reign of the Abasides at Bagdat untill they subjected themselves to temporal Princes (which two Dynasties together, neglecting the small kingdom at Medina, interpreted to be the twice five months reign of the Locusts under their king the Angel of the bottomless pit:) & the third Dynasty is the further continuance of this Empire after its distraction & division into several kingdoms most of which were governed by Saracens & some of them by Turks. And this Dynasty, according to the Saracen Historians ended with the year 1258. For Abulpharajius, who divides his History into so many Dynasties as there had been supreme Empires since the creation & reccons this Empire of the Saracens in the ninth place, extends this Empire from the time of their Prophet Mahomet to the taking of Bagdad by the Tartars, & there concludes it, making the short lived Empire of the Tartars then founded upon the ruins of the Saracens & Turks by Hulacu to be the tenth Dynasty or supreme Empire & their common period to be the year 1258.

How much the Roman Catholicks both Greeks & Latins were tormented by the Saracens during all these three Dynasties is sufficiently related in the histories of those times. For this plague fell upon both Greeks & Latins: upon the Greeks because it fell upon the men who had not the seal of God in their foreheads that is upon those who by the influence of the two-horned Beast received the mark of the other Beast; & upon the Latines because the fift Angel poured out his Vial upon the seat of the Beast. And they gnawed their tongues for pain & blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains & sores & repented not of their deeds This plague was inflicted upon the Romans for their idolatry <128r> and yet the more they were plagued the more they worshipped their false Gods & Idols: which worship is in this prophesy called blaspheming God. ffor after the use of Images in Churches was defended by Pope Gregory & the Images of the Virgin Mary & the Martyrs were by the authority of Pope Boniface & the Greek Emperor set up in the Pantheon at Rome: such Images were set up by degrees in all Churches being consecrated & called holy Images, & the Catholicks grew more & more superstitious towards them till many of the people worshipped them with such a worship as others took for Idolatry. Whereupon the Greek Emperor Leo Isaurus A.C. 726 ordered all Images to be demolished & forbad the invocation of saints & was excommunicated for it by the Pope. And after a long & sharp controversy, in which some of the Latine Churches sided with the Greeks, the Pope at length got the victory. And the canonizing of Saints & doctrine of transubstantiation came in about the same time. And before the times of this Trumpet expired the idolatry of the Roman Catholicks arrived to the height.

While the Empire of the Saracens continued divided into many kingdoms, the Turks under Seljuck revolted from the Tartars & under the conduct of his grandson Togrulbec ( called also Togra, Dogrissa, Tangrolipix & Sadoc) conquered Chorasan & Persia, & A.C. 1055 added Bagdad to their Empire & made that city the seat thereof, the Chalif sending for Togrulbec & crowning him there. Afterwards Togrulbec had several wars for establishing himself in his kingdom conquering Iraca or Chaldea, & then died: A.C. 1063, & was succeeded by his brothers son Olub'Arslan Adaduddaulas called also Asan, Assan, Accian, Axan, Olbarsalan, Alpasalem, & Aspasalem. Olub'Arslan reigned over Persia from the river Tigris to the river Oxus & by the conduct of his kinsman Artoc {made} war upon the {Greeks} added Mesopotamia to his empire , & A.C. 1070 beseiged & took Aleppo but left it in the hands of the former king as Viceroy, & the next year took the Emperor Diogenes Ramanus prisoner & was slain in December following A.C. 1071 or 1072 & succeeded by his sons Melech, Malechsah Melicsjah or Melecla the third Sultan of this new Empire called also Gelaluddaulas.. Melechsah invaded Syria & Cappadocia & took Damascus, Aleppo & Cæsarea, & winning many battels extended his dominion from the furthest borders of the Turks to Ierusalem & the bounds of Arabia fælix. He took Damascus A.C. 1080 by the conduct of his brother Tagjuddaulas Nisus, & the same year he took Aleppo by the conduct of Sjarfuddaulas governour of Mosul. And the next year by the conduct of Sedijduddaulas Abulhasen Alis he invaded Cappadocia & took Cæsarea & soon after Iconium from the Romans. And upon the death of Sjarfuddaulas A.C. 1085 Tagjuddaulas by the help of Artoc sultan of {Maredin} took Aleppo & became lord of all Syria under Melechsah. And now this great Empire of the Turks being arrived to its ἀκμη lasted in a monarchical form till the death of Melichseh A.C. 1092 & then being left to his son Mahmed a child six years old, brake into several smaller kingdoms or Sultanies of the Turks, the elder brother of Mahmet & the Governors of Provinces revolting & making themselves absolute. <129r> One of these Sultanies continued at Bagdad in the line of Togrubbec till about the year 1160 & then returned into the hands of the Chalif who reigned there as a temporal Prince for the future. And four others were the Sultany of Mesopotamia, the Sultany of Armenia, the Sultany of Syria & the Sultany of Capadocia; all of them seated upon the great river Euphrates, besides the Sultany of Maredin founded by Artoc.

The Sultany of Mesopotamia was seated at Mosul a city on the western banks of Tygris three or four days journey from Euphrates, & comprehends part of {Assyria.} After the death of Malechsah it had the sixteen following Sultans in continual order:[91] Iagarmish, Zengius, Maudib, Oksenkar or Assangar, Ezzodin, Zengius or Sanguin, Gaza, Cotbodin, Gazi, Ezzoddin, Nuroddin, Ezzodin, Nuroddin, Naseroddin, Badroddin & Saleh, the last of which reigned till the end of this Sultany.

The Sultany of Armenia was seated at Miyapharekin, Magarkin or Martyropolis a city of the greater Armenia a days journey eastward from the lake Thospites through which the rivers Euphrates & Tigris run before they part from one another, & two days journey north from Ameda. This Sultany comprehended Ameda & was sometimes united to & sometimes divided from the Sultany of Maredin Mirdin or Marde a city of Mesopotamia six or seven days journey from Euphrates. Its sultans were *, Gazi or Ilgazi the son of Artoc,, Tamartash the son of Gazi, Nojmoddin *, *, Saladin, Adel, Nojmoddin, Modhaffer & Ashraph.

The Sultany of Syria was seated at Aleppo & comprehended Damascus. Its first soverain Sultan was Tagjuddaulas Tatash the son of Olub Arslan He {revolted} from Mahmed A. C. {1092} reigned over all Syria & was succeeded by his Son Roduan A.C. 1095, {And} {Roduan} by his son Tagjuddaulus A.C. 1113. And he by {Lulus} Solyman, {Balac} Bulgar {illeg} Oksenkar Nuroddin, {illeg} Saladin, Dh{illeg} Azir, Malec Naser. {{Decac}} the brother of {Roduan} {illeg} revolted from {illeg} {&} with his successors Doldequin {Tegel-melud} & {illeg} reigned {illeg} Damascus {illeg} {illeg} reigned {illeg} both {Mosul} & Aleppo & {illeg} {illeg} Aleppo {to his} {illeg} Nuroddin A.C. 11{illeg} took Damascus from {Meieredin} A.C. 1154 & invaded Egypt A.C. 1168. And his successor Saladin A.C. 11{93} left Syria divided A.C. 1193 left it divided between his two sons Dhaher Gazi who reigned at Aleppo & Aphdal Saphadin or Saphradin who reigned at Damascus, . < insertion from f 128v > The Sultany of Syria was seated at Aleppo & comprehended Damascus being sometimes divided between those two cities. Its first absolute Sultan was Tagjuddaulas Nisus the Son of Olub {Arslan}. Vpon the death of his brother Melechsah he revolted from Mahmet the son of Melichseh A.C. 1092 & reigned over all Syria. He was succeeded by his son Roduan A.C. 1095, & Roduan by his son Tagjudaulas A.C. 1113, & he by Lulus, Bulgar, Solyman, Balac, Assangar, Ezzodin, Sanguin, Nuroddin, {Malechsaler} Saladin, Dhaher-Gazi, Aziz, & Melec-Naser. Decac, the brother of Roduan, revolted from him & reigned at Damascus & was succeeded there by Ababacus or Doldequin, Tegel-melud & Meieredin. Vnder Assangar Ezzodin & Sanguin the Sultanies of Aleppo & Mosul were united & this union continued from A.C. 1124 to A.C. 1145. Then Nuroddin the younger son of Sanguin succeeded his father at Aleppo & nine years after took Damascus from Meieredin & after fourteen years more invaded Egypt. But Saladin A.C. 1193 left Syria divided between his sons Dhabar Gazi who reigned at Aleppo & Aphdal Saphaden or Saphradin who reigned at Damascus. And within three years < text from f 129r resumes > And within three years Adel Sultan of Miyapharekin & brother of Saladin invaded Damascus & Egypt & in his posterity Damascus & Egypt continued sometimes united sometimes divided till the Mamalukes A.C. 1250 expelled them. In the mean time the successors of Dhaher at Aleppo were his son Aziz & grandson Malec Naser, the last of which took Damascus with its territories from the Mamalukes A.C. 1250, & reigned over both Aleppo & Damascus to the end of his Sultany. At that time Haitain king of Armenia told the Tartars who were then going to invade Syria, that Aleppo was the capital city & {mistress} of all the kingdom of Syria, & if they first took that city, they would easily take all the rest. Haython. Hist. {orient.} c. 28.

The Sultany of Cappadocia was seated at Iconium, & was watered by the river Melas a large arm of Euphrates, & comprehended Cæsaria. Its Sultans were, j Sedijduddaulas or Cutlumish of the race of Saljuck, 2 Solyman, his son, 3 Kelui-Arslan or Tanisman the son of Solyman, 4 Masud, his son, 5 Kelij-Arslan or Clisastlan with his brothers the sons of Masud 6 Cai-Chasroes with his brothers the sons of Clisastlan 7 Ezoddin Caicaus the son of Cai {Chosroes}, 8 Aladin Caicobad the brother of Caicaus a powerful Prince. He reigned {26} years and died A. 1236 {illeg} A.C. 1244 & left three {young sons Ezzo}ddin, {{Rocknoddin}} & Aladin 9 Giyathoddin or {Iathatin} 10 Ezzodin his eldest son the last free Sultan. He was conquered by the Tartars A.C. {1261}. < insertion from f 128v > The sultany of Cappadocia was seated at Iconium & watered by the river Melas a large arm of Euphrates & comprehended Cæsarea. Its Sultans were 1 {Sedijduddalaulas} or Cutlumish of the race of Saljuck, 2 Soliman his son reigned 20 years 3. {Kelui}-Arslan or Tanisman the Son of Solyman 18 years, 4 Masud his son reigned 19 years 5 Kelij-Arslan or Clisastlan with his brothers the sons of Masud reigned 30 years. 6 Cai-Chosroes with his brothers the sons of Clisastlan reigned 24 years. 7 Ezzodin Caicaus the son of Cai Chosroes. He reigned but one year. 8 Aladin Caicobad the brother of Caicaus a powerful & warlike Prince. He brought this kingdom to its height, reigned 26 years & died A.C. 1236. 9. Giyathoddin or Iathatin Cai-Chosroes the son of Caicaus. He reigned eight years & died A.C. 1244: & left three young sons under age Ezzoddin, Rocknoddin & Aladin. 10 Ezzoddin reigned 17 years & was then conquered by the Tartars A.C. 1261.

< text from f 129r resumes > <130r>

In the year 1203 the supreme Empire of the Tattars or Tartars (a name not heard of before this time) was founded in great Tartary by Iingiz Chan, by whom among other eastern & northern regions Chorasan was subdued, & by his successors the kingdom of Armenia much afflicted & the Sultany of Iconium also (A.C. 1243), but not ruined. At length Mangaca Chan the fourth Emperor of the Tattars being converted to Christianity by means of Ayton King of some part of Armenia, sent his brother Hulacu (or Halaon) with a great army to invade the Turks & Saracens & root out their religion. Hulacu therefore advancing from the east, after he had staid some time in Persia & subdued it, came to Bagdad Ian.22, A.C. 1258, & in a day & a night compassed the city with a wall & a ditch & took it the 10th of February following & put an end to the Califate & therewith to the Empire of the Saracens. ffor the Saracens reigned at Bagdad during the last hundred years; but now Persia & Chaldea was in the hands of the Tattars, the regions upon Euphrates & Tigris above Chaldea in the hands of the Turks, Egypt in the hands of the Mamalukes, & Mauritania in the hands of the Moors. And therefore

One Wo is past, & behold there come two Woes more hereafter.

Sect. II.
The second Wo.

And the sixt Angel sounded & I [Iohn] heard a voice from the four horns of the golden Altar saying to the sixt Angel which had the Trumpet, Loose the four Angels which are bound in the great River Euphrates. These Angels are the Sultans or kings of the four Turkish kingdoms of Mesopotamia, Armenia, Syria & Cappadocia; which kingdoms stood in a quadrangle represented by the four horns of the golden Altar, & are the mystical bodies of their kings. For as a Beast with its horns represents a kingdom first united & then divided, so may the golden Altar with its horns represent the kingdom of the Turks upon Euphrates first united under Olub'Arslan & Malechsah & then divided into these four Sultanies. And the four Angels were loosed, which were prepared for an hour & a day & a month & a year for to slay the third part of men. After Hulacu had taken Bagdad & put an end to the Empire of the Saracens: he sent a part of his army to beseige Miyafarekin the same year. And in the year 1260 he invaded Syria with an army of 400000 <131r> and took Aleppo the metropolis & soon after Damascus & other towns of that kingdom, & slew Naser the last Sultan thereof, & while these things were doing, the forces which he sent against Miyafarekin took the town by famishing the beseiged & slew the inhabitants & brought Ashraf the last Sultan of that Sultany to Hulacu who slew him. And the next year A.C. 1261 the Tartars invaded the Sultanies of Mesopotamia & Cappadocia & took Mosul & Iconium with the cities under them & slew Saleh the Sultan of Mosul & made Azoddin or Azatines the Sultan of Iconium with his brother Rocknoddin Melec fly to the Greek Emperor Michael Palæologus. But the Sultan of Maredin submitting himself to Hulacu was treated honourably by him & restored to his dominions, & Aladin was made tributary Sultan of Iconium under the Tartars for a time

How violent & terrible this invasion was may appeare by Pope Alexander's writing at that time to all the Roman Catholic Princes to exhort them to advise with the Nobles & great men of their kingdoms about uniting all their powers for putting a stop to the imminent danger by the suddein & impetuous progress of the Tartars which then threatened all the world. His Letter to Henry III king of England dated 17 Novem. 1260, begins thus. Alexander Episcopus &c. Clamat in auribus omnium, eosque quos animorum torpor non hebetat, in attentionis vigilantiam excitat horrendi præconij tuba terribilis, quæ fide rerum attestantium invalescens adeo certo sono generalis cladis bella prænunciat, quibus flagellum iræ cœlestis in manu immanium Tartarorum, quasi ex abditis erumpentium inferi finibis, premit et contexit orbem terræ; ut jam non oporteat populum Christianum ad cognoscenda hæc quasi adhuc ambigua certiori relatu aures arrigere, sed eum, ut ingruenti et publice festinanti provide occurrat periculo, admonere. Cum enim ijdem Tartari dicentes quod totam terram eis obtinendam tradidit Deus cœli, quem utique non noverunt, jam omnibus Orientis partibus occupatis & populis conculcatis, jam Saracenorum duritia quæ multorum temporum bella tulit & intulit extrema pene desolatione concussa, jam principali eorum Civitate Baldach, Damasco atque Alapia cum plurimis alijs eorundem regionibus captis hostiliter et eversis, nec non et Calipho infidelitatis ipsorum Principe ac maxima populi ejus multitudine postquam eos, ut dicitur, in deditionem receperant interemptis ad Regni Ierosolimitani fines pervenerint eosque impetant invadendos; Christiano regno Armeniæ, Antiochia et Tripoli famosis Christianorum urbibus, proh pudor! suo nomine subjugatis, cumque a parte septentrionali per Vngariam atque Poloniam Imperio Romano conterminas, ubi, proh dolor! non parum Christiani sanguinis profuderunt valida in populis illarum partium cæde bacchati <132r> hostilem attemptent aditum in Europam ubi fortia Christianitatis capita conterere cogitant et Regum thronis eversis sedibusque potentium sibi totius Orbis ascribere Monarchatum: potius est contra incumbentia e vicino pericula de opportunis remedijs cogitandum, quam eorum certior et seriosior enunciatio expetenda. And a little after he adds that in such a time of universal necessity it seemed proper to call a general Council not only of Ecclesiastical but also of secular Princes & faithful people to consult of the common safety but the danger being pressing & the meeting of such a Council requiring time & long journey's which are troublesome, he had chosen this compendium that in every kingdom & province the faithfull should be admonished to consider of this matter. And then he advises the king to consult his Barons & great men about uniting the forces of Europe & to send him an account of the result against Iuly 6t next following, the danger admitting no delay.

By this violent inundation of the Tartars, the four Sultanies of the Turks upon Euphrates being in the years 1260 & 1261 at once, as it were at a given watchword, dissolved: the Turks from that time fled out of these Sultanies every where from the violence of the Tartars & crouded into the more western parts of Asia. And the reliques of ‡ < insertion from f 131v > ‡ of the Turks also within 30 years after (vizt A.C. 1289) were universally ejected hither out of the new Tartarian Empire. Their Princes lived under Aladin for a time but after his death shared his kingdom {among} themselves & to enlarge their seats made war upon the Romans & {began} to do so before the death of Aladin. Turci autem, saith Nicephorus, Satrapis illis < text from f 132r resumes > [92] Turci autem, saith Nicephorus, Satrapis illis variæ divisi, cum a Scythis pellerentur Romanos pellebant; et quam infirmi erant adversus Scythas tam fortes contra Romanos extiterunt, ut Scytharum incursio non calamitatis causa sed summæ fælicitatis occasio illis esset. Nam et e Paphlagonia et e Pamphilia irrubant, Romanasque Provincias populabantur. Tandem etiam ad bella & assiduas dimicationes ventum: e quibus unum prælium Romanos in omnia mala conjecit. This fight was before the reign of Pope Iohn the 20th & Bzovius in his Annals refers it to the year 1276.

[93] Vntill the aforesaid dissolution of the four Turkish Euphratean Sultanies, the Greeks had constantly possessed Asia strictly so called, Paphlagonia, Bythinia, Phrygia magna, Phrygia Pacatiana, Caria & part of Cilicia. And the rest of the Asian Provinces to Euphrates, namely Lycaonia, Galatia, Pamphylia, Armenia, minor, Hellenopontus, Pisidia & Lycia belonged to the Sultany of Cappadocia seated at Iconium. But from that time & chiefly after the battel newly mentioned, the Turkish Princes spreading by degrees into the Greek Provinces; Mantachia subdued the city Ephesus & the Province Caria; Atin conquered Lydia as far as Smyrna; Sarchan all Magnesia to Pergamus, together with the Province of the Magedi; Carmian all Phrygia; Carasses the other Phrygia between Hellespont & the City Asso; & Othman or Ottoman all Bythinia with part of Paphlagonia: the last of which growing more powerfull then the rest, at length (A.C. 1299) upon the fall of the power of the Tartars to which they had submitted took upon him the dignity & title of Sultan & by degrees became the universal Monarch of the Turks the rest of their Princes uniting under him. And by this union being rendred more powerfull they prevailed still more upon the Greeks & soon after invaded Europe, not ceasing to propagate their victories till at length A.C. 1453 they took <133r> Constantinople, overthrew the Greek Empire & upon its ruins raised a greater of their own. Thus they slew the third part of men, the four Angels being prepared thereunto from the time that they were bound in the great river Euphrates, & being loosed from thence by the Tartars to perform this execution. Togrulbec reigned over Persia , Chaldea & the Province of Bagdad regions without the bounds of the Roman Empire. His successors Olub'Arslan & Malechsah conquered the nations upon Euphrates & laid the foundation of the four kingdoms. Olubarslan began his reign A.C.1063 and from thence to the taking of Constantinople inclusively are 391 years , that is, a day & a month & a year, whereof about a month was spent in conquering & reigning over the nations upon Euphrates before the Conquest brake into the four kingdoms.

And the number of the army of the horsmen was two myriads of myriads [that is exceeding great. ffor thousands & myriads were frequently used by the Hebrews for great indefinite numbers especially if doubled, as in Num. 10.36. Deut. 1.11 & 32.30. Psal. 68.17. Dan. 7.10. And the Turks in erecting their Empire had very numerous armies. Bajazet brought into the feild against the Greeks an army of 300000 & against Tamerlan an army of 500000 & Mahomet II beseiged & took Constantinople with an army of 400000. And their armies were strong in horse; for the Turks delight in horsemanship. Turcæ plerique omnes ingenti equorum amore et studio tenentur. Lonicerus Chron. Turc. tom. 1. part. 3. cap. 5.

And thus I saw the horses in the vision & them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire & of jacinth & of brimstone [by reason of the flame & smoke through which they appeared] & the heads of the horses [appeared terrible through the smoke] as the heads of Lions; and [as it were] out of their mouths issued fire & smoke [of the colour of jacinth] & brimstone [by the discharge of fire arms wherewith they fought.] And by these three were the third part of men killed, by the fire & by the smoke & by the brimstone which issued out of their mouths [which are one in substance three in appearance, being first brimstone then fire & afterwards smoke.

For their power is in their mouth & in their tails [that is, in their horse & foot, the horse being the head of the army & the foot the taile] ffor their tails were like unto serpents [that is, strong & active & fit for fighting] and had heads [& therefore differed in life & sense from the heads of the horses, & by consequence signified a different part of the army] and with them they do hurt fighting with their tails as well as with their heads.

And the rest of men which were not killed by these plagues [the western nations whose kingdoms were not dissolved] yet repented not of the works of their hands that they should not worship Ghosts & Idols of gold & silver & brass & stone & wood <134r> which neither can see nor hear nor walk. What was called blasphemy in the 4th & 5th Vialls is here plainly called Idolatry. There they grew idolatrous, here they continue impenitent. They took no warning by this plague, but continued to worship dead men & images till the third Woe came upon them. Neither repented they of their murders [in killing men who will not worship fals Gods.] nor of their sorceries [in pretending to convert a wafer into the body of the supreme God, to scare away the Devil by the signe of the cross & by exorcisms & reliques & to do many other miracles by which they deceive the people as the heathen sorcerers did] nor of their fornication [even in a litteral sense] nor of their thefts: amongst which may be recconed their defrauding men by Pardons Dispensations, Indulgencies, Masses for the dead, pretended vertues of reliques, & such like artifices. For stealing is defrauding & all defrauding is against the eight commandment: the manner of the fact, whether it be by clandestine conveyance, or by any other deceitfull artifice making no material difference in the nature of the crime

Consonant to the Prophesy of this Trumpet is that of pouring out of the sixt Vial. And the sixt Angel poured out his Vial of Wrath upon the great river Euphrates, & the water thereof was dried up that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. And therefore the plague of this Vial fell upon the nations seated on Euphrates, & the sixt Trumpet sounded to the war of the Tartars upon the kingdoms of the Turks seated on that river as has been explained: by which war the people of those kingdoms here typified by the water of that river, was dried up & the way of the Turks from the east in several bodies under several Commanders was prepared that they might invade & destroy the Empire of the Greeks which in this Prophesy is called the third part of men.

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The third Wo

The third Wo is ushered in with a prophesy of measuring the three courts of the Temple & Altar & people that worship therein & leaving the outward court unmeasured because it is given to the gentiles. All which is a plain allusion to the Babylonian Captivity & the visions of Ezekiel thereupon. When the Babylonians had in some measure captivated the Iews & the destruction of the City & Temple was at hand Ezekiel saw in a vision a man sent out to mark all those who sighed & mourned for the wickedness of the people & then six other men sent forth to destroy the city. And after the destruction of the city & Temple he saw saw a man measure the Temple in another vision, which measuring signified that it should be rebuilt. And accordingly in the reign of Cyrus & Darius Hystaspis the House & its court & the court of the Altar & a third court for the people called the weomens court was built: but the outward Court was left unbuilt during all the reign of the Kingdom of Persia & at length when it was built (which came to pass in the reign of the Greeks & high Priesthood of Simeon Iustus) it was given to the Gentiles & called the Gentiles court, the kings of Syria being at the charge of building it. And In allusion to all this, at the opening of the sevent Seal, an Angel seals out of all Israel an hundred forty & four thousand with the seal of God before the four winds hurt the earth & sea, & another Angel commands Iohn to measure the Temple & Altar & them that worship therein to signify that the winds should ruin the first Temple & that the sealed servants of God should be preserved from the fury of the winds & out of them a new Temple be built up to God. The first Temple was represented by the woman in heaven cloathed with the Sun. By the division of the Roman Empire she fled into the Wilderness & became the Church of the Western Empire. And this Church by the blowing of the four winds & breaking of the western Empire into ten kingdoms under the barbarous nations which invaded it was shattered & broken in pieces & in a manner ruined as to its outward frame. And the people of God who would not invoke the Saints & worship dead men, but separated from the Saint worshippers, were rescued & protected by the barbarous nations from the great violence of the Roman laws & began again to meet for the worshipping of God , & by meeting apart beame the second Temple. ffor the Roman Laws were very severe against all persons whatsoever who met to worship God in any other assemblies then those of the Roman Catholicks, confiscating the Churches or houses where they met & either laying heavy penalties upon the persons who met or seizing their estates & banishing them from humane society & beginning in Afric to punish them with death & laying heavy punishments also upon the Iudges who did not put these laws in execution, & declaring all those to be hereticks who differed from the Catholick Church in any thing how light or small soever, all which may be seen in the Laws of Theodosius & his sons now extant in the Theodosian Code. But in the kingdoms <136r> erected by the barbarous nations these laws were laid asside & all people who were dissatisfied with Saint-worship or Cross-worship or with any other of the Roman superstitions had full liberty to separate from them & to meet apart, the barbarians being enemies to the Empire & for that reason favouring those who differed from it in religion.

So then as the Iews committed Idolatry & the Babylonians made war upon them for their sin & destroyed their Temple & afterwards gave leave to the remainder of them who feared God to build a second Temple: so the Barbarous nations invaded the Roman offenders & rent their Church assunder & gave leave to the residue who feared God to build a new one.

And as the second Temple of the Iews continued about 200 years without an outward court & then had an outward court erected for the Gentiles; so this new Temple of the Christians continued without an outward court till the ten kings were converted to the Roman Catholick faith & the Roman Church spreading it self over all the west & setting up the worship of images became Gentiles in all respects & trode down the holy city & had the outward court given to them. And henceforward the Whore of Babylon rode upon the ten horned Beast & the Beast acted & was worshipped by all whose names were not written in the book of life & the whore was fed in the wilderness by the Merchants of the earth & faired deliciously & the two witnesses (they that worship in the second Temple) put on sackcloth. And in this state the Western Empire continues a time times & half a time or 42 months or 1260 prophetic days. All this happens before the end of the second Wo, & by consequence before the fall of the Turkish Empire ffor after the death resurrection & ascention of the two Witnesses & fall of the tenth part of the great City it's added The second Wo is past & behold the third Wo cometh quickly. The second Wo is past that is the last act of hostility of the Turks against the Roman Empire is past. That act may be past at the fall of the tenth part of the great city: but the Turkish Empire it self may notwithstanding continue till the third Wo.

For when the sixt Viall is poured out upon the great {river} Eufrates that the way of the kings of the East may be prepared it's to be understood that their way is thereby prepared to the battel of the great day of God Almighty. For in the next words its added. And I saw three unclean spirits like Froggs [that is, three impudent noisy croaking prating sorts of people] come out of the mouth of the Dragon [which is now the Turkish Empire] & out of the mouth of the [ten-horned] Beast, & out of the mouth of the fals Prophet [or two-horned Beast, which is the Greek Church, the whore of Babylon being destroyed before] For they are spirits of Devils working miracles, which go forth to the kings of the earth [or east] & of the whole world [including all the Roman Empire], to gather them to the battel of the great day of God Almighty.

<137r>

ffor the better understanding of which I will recite & explain the whole prophesy of Daniel so far as it is synchronal to this prophesy of the Apocalyps. ffor after Daniel in his prophesy of the scripture of truth had described all the kings of Egypt & Syria down from the reign of Alexander the great to the reign of Antiochus Epiphanes in such a plain manner that all interpreters agree in the interpretation: He thus proceeds. And after him Arms shall stand up, [that is after Antiochius Epiphanes the Roman Empire shall stand up] & they shall pollute the sanctuary of strenth & shall take away the daily sacrifice [by making war upon the Iews in the reign of Nero & Vespasian & taking the city & burning the Temple] & shall place the abomination that maketh desolate [by killing an incredible multitude of the Iews in the reign of Trajan & Hadrian & banishing them from Iudea & giving the land to gentiles & setting up the statue of a swine over the gate of Ierusalem besides what was done afterwards in the Christian Churches.] And they that understand among the people shall instruct many [concerning the holy covenant] yet they shall fall by the sword & by flame by captivity & by spoile many days [being persecuted by the Roman heathen Empire.] Now when they shall fall they shall be holpen with a little help [by the conversion of the Empire to Christianity under Constantine the great] but many [heathens] shall cleave to them by flatteries [dissembling & pretending out of temporal ends to be Christians & filling the Church with Hypocrites of vitious lives & heathenish principles tending to idolatry by whose means the faithfull shall be again involved in trouble.] And some of them of understanding [those that will not worship the Image of the Beast] there shall [be killed] & fall to try them [& distinguish between the Hypocrites & the true Christians] & to purge & make them white even [from the time of this killing] to the time of the end, because it is yet for a time appointed [before the daily sacrif. be taken away]. And [while they are falling] a King [the Roman Empire from the time of opening the seventh seal] shall do according to his will & shall exalt & magnify himself above every God [so as to be obeyed & worshipped by all whose names are not written in the book of life] & [by his idolatrous edicts] shall speak marvellous things against the God of Gods & [in setting up the {abomination} of desolation] shall prosper till the indignation [against thy people the Iews] be accomplished [& their long captivity be ended.] for that that is [by the counsel & foreknowledge of God Almighty] determined shall be done. Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the [lawful] desire of weomen [in matrimony which God has blessed for the increase of mankind] nor regard any God: for he shall magnify himself above all [calling himself & his Priests & people the holy Catholick & Apostolick Church, & {under} that name imposing his opinions & dictates as the Catholick Apostolic faith & setting these laws above the laws of God Almighty revealed to us by his holy Prophets.] And in his seat together with God he shall honour Mahuzzims [munitions,, rocks, strong Protectors, trusty Patrons {tutelar Saints}] even with a god whom his Ancestors knew not shall he honour them <138r> with [Temples & Altars adorned with] gold & silver & with pretious stones & with pleasant things. And he shall make holds or Temples of Mahuzzims to the strange God whom he shall aknowlege & increase with Glory & shall cause them [the Mahuzzims] to rule over many [Saint Denis over France Saint George over England , &c] & shall distribute the earth [amongst these tutelar Deities] for a reward.

And at the time of the end [the time when those of understanding who laboured against this abomination are fallen & this abomination is set up with the time of the Woe-Trumpets] the king of the South [the southern Empire of the Arabians] shall push at him [but not overthrow him] & the king of the north [the northern Empire of the Turks] shall [afterwards] come against him like a whirlwind with chariots & with horsemen [the Euphratean horsmen] & with many ships [ ffor he beseiged Constantinople by Sea & land & had sometimes a fleet of 400 sail & above 100000 men] & he shall enter into the countries [of the Greeks] & [by conquering them] shall overflow & pass over. He shall also enter into [Palestine] the land of delight or holiness & many countries [in those parts as Syria & Mesopotamia & {illeg} part of Arabia shall be overthrown. But these shall escape out of his hands even Edom & Moab & the chief of the children of Ammon [that is, Arabia Petræa. This country has escaped being conquered by the Turk.] He shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: & the land of Egypt shall not escape; but he shall have power over the treasures of gold & silver & over all the pretious things of Egypt & the Libyans [westward along the Mediterranean] & Cushites [that is Ethiopic Arabians or Ethiopians above Egypt between the Nile & Red Sea shall be at his steps. Thus have you in this prophesy a distinct description of the several dominions of the Turkish Empire & in what order of time he conquered them. ffirst he conquered the Constantinopolitan Empire then Palestine & the countries in those parts, then Ægypt, afterwards Libya & lastly Æthiopia; which with his being called king of the north & succeeding the king of the south, is so particular & distinct a description of the Empire of the Turks that nothing more can be desired.

This Empire still continues & is to be in further action before it expires. ffor its added. But tidings out of the east & out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth with great fury to destroy & utterly to make away many [perhaps in the great tribulaton]. And he shall plant his tabernacle between the seas [the mediterranean & the dead sea] in the glorious holy mountain [in a place called Harmageddon]: Yet he shall come to his end [ in the battel of the great day of God Almighty] & none shall help him. For at that time, saith Daniel, there shall be a time of trouble such as never was since there was a nation till that same time, & at that time thy people [the Iews] shall be delivered - & many of them that sleep in the dust shall awake — & Daniel himself shall stand in his lot at the end of the days. And Matthew tells us that immediately after the great tribulation the Sun shall be smitten & the Moon shall not give her light & the stars shall fall from heaven & the powers of the heaven shall be shaken, that is, the kingdoms of this world in the battel of the great day shall be overthrown & become the kingdoms of our Lord. And Iohn saith that upon pouring out the sixt Vial upon Euphrates the water thereof was dried up that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared, that is, to the battel of the great day. ffor these are the kings of the Earth which together with the kings of the whole world are gathered to that battel by the three unclean spirits. These spirits come out of the mouth of the Dragon (which at present is the Turkish Empire, whose horsmen have Serpentine tails), & out of the mouth of the Beast & out of the mouth of the fals Prophet & the Beast & ffals Prophet were taken & being of the same religion received the same punishment being cast into the Lake of fire, but the remnant that is the kings of the Earth or East, were slain with the sword & the Dragon or Spirit of error was cast into the bottomless pit, which different punishment argues that the kings were of a different <138v> religion from the Beast & ffals Prophet.

However since its said, after the fall of the tenth part of the great City, that the second Wo is past, & behold the third Wo cometh quickly: I leave it to be decided by time, whether the Turkish empire come to its end before the sounding of the seventh Angel, or whether we are only to understand that its last hostile act against the Catholicks will be over at the fall of the tenth part of the great city or soon after, but the Empire it self not ruined before the sounding of the seventh Angel.

And at that time shall Michael stand up the great Prince which standeth for the Children of thy people [that Michael who overcame the Dragon, that great Prince of Israel whom Daniel calls the annointed Prince, the King of Kings & Lord of Lords who comes to the battell of the great day with an army on white horses & a two edged sword in his mouth.] And [when the king of the north goes forth with great fury to make away many] there shall be a time of trouble such as there never was since there was a nation till that same time. And at that time thy people [who are newly returned from the nations & dwell without walls having neither {illeg} nor {illeg} shall be delivered [from the army of Gog of the land of Magog & that come out of the great tribulation with palm branches in their {hand} every one who shall be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake some [who have been martyred or have not worshipped the Beast & his Image nor received his mark] to everlasting life & some to everlasting shame & contempt. And they that be wise |  teachers shall shine as the brightness of the firmanent & they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever & ever.

After this prophesy has thus in continual order of time been brought down to the first resurrection: the Angel being asked, How long shall be [the time of] the end of these wonders, sware by him that liveth for ever & ever that it shall be for a time times & an half, & when he shall have accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people [that is when he shall bring them back from their captivity & reestablish them in their land] all these things shall be finished. — And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, & the abomination that maketh desolate be set up [unto the return of the captivity ] there shall be 1290 days. Blessed is he that waiteth & cometh to the 1335 days [when thy people shall come out of the great tribulation with Palm branches in their hands & God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes & the dead shall arise] But go thou thy way Daniel for thou shalt rest & stand in thy lot at the end of the days. Which end is to be expected seven weeks of years after the going forth of the commandment to cause to return & to build Ierusalem.

The Gentiles trode down the Holy City 42 months & seem to have the name of Gentiles from their worshipping the abomination of desolation all that time. Whence the Beast (who is those Gentiles) is said to act 42 months & so long he carried the Whore of Babylon & was worshipped by all whose names are not written in the book of life.

< insertion from the right margin of f 137r >

Sect. III. The latter times & time of the end.

The time of the first & second Wo is by Daniel called the time of the end. And when the Angel tells Daniel that he was come to make him understan{d} what shall befall his people in the latter days by the latter days he means all the time of the Iewish captivity dated from the taking away of the daily sacrifice by the Romans And therefore Iohn tells us that when he wrote his Epistles it was the last time as he knew by the many Antichrists which then appeared. The last times began with the forerunners of Antichrist the time of the end with the reign of Antichrist himself.

< text from f 138v resumes > <137v>

Sect. III
The time of the end & Third Woe.

The Angel Gabriel who was sent to Daniel with the Prophesy of the scripture of truth [& afterwards appeared to Iohn in the same form with a fuller prophesy of the same kind]: told Daniel that he was come to make him understand what shall befall his people in the latter days & then described the times down from the reign of Cyrus to the resurrection of the dead, end of the Iewish captivity distinguishing them into successive periods. And first he describes the kings of Persia & Greece & enumerates the successors of Alexander in Egypt & Syria down to the invasion of Egypt & Iudea by Antiochus Epiphanes & there he begins to tell Daniel what should befall his people. And both these kings hearts shall be to do mischief & they shall speak lyes at one table [against the Iews & the holy covenant but it shall not prosper for yet the end [in which the abomination is to be placed] shall be at a time appointed. Then shall he return [out of Egypt through Iudea] into his land with great riches [the spoiles of the Iews [& his heart shall be against the holy covenant {illeg} thy mischief {illeg} by the two kings] & he shall act [against it] & return to his own land. And at the time appointed he {shall} return & come to the south; but it shall not be as the former or as the {latter} {illeg} the {illeg} of {Christian} Roman {Ebassadors}) shall come against him: Therefore he shall be grieved & return [from Egypt] & have indignation {against} the holy covenant. - - & [to the end of his reign] have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant. And after him. And after him arms shall stand up [the kingdom of Pergamus inherited by the Romans] & they shall pollute {the} Sanctuary of strength & take away the daily sacrifice &c. Here are two periods of time described, One till the reigne of Antiochus who attempted to take away the daily sacrifice, but without success, the next to the reign of Nero & Vespasian who succeeded in taking it away from the Iews, & now follows a third period synchronal to the six first seales of the Apocalyps in which he has a great struggle with the Christians

And [in the contention]. such as do wickedly against the Covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries [& cause them to apostatize] but the people that do know their God shall be strong & act. And they that understand among the people [the Apostles & their followers] shall instruct many: yet they shall fall by the sword & by flame & by captivity & by spoile many days [being persecuted by the heathen Roman Empire ]

And after him arms shall stand up [the kingdom of Pergamus descending to the Romans] & they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength & [gradually] take away the daily sacrifice & place the abomination which maketh desolate [beginning with the Iews in the reign of Nero & Vespasian] And [in the contention] such as do wickedly against the covenant shall he corrupt by flatteries [to worship the abomination] but the people that do know their God shall be strong & act [against it.] And they that understand among the people [the Apostles & their followers] shall instruct many: yet they shal fall by the sword & by flame & by captivity & by spoile many days [being persecuted by the heathen Roman Empire] Now when they shall fall they shall be holpen with a a little help [by the Christian Empire of Constantine the great] but many [heathens ] shall cleave to them by flatteries [pretending to be Christians whereby they shall be involved in new troubles] And of them of understanding there shall fall to try them [& distinguish them from the hypocrites] & to purge & make them white even to the time of the end, because it is yet for a time appointed [before the end commence ]

And [while they begin to fall] a King [the same Roman Empire in oppressing them & taking away the daily worship & [Antiochus did not succeed but he shall succeed and setting up the abomination] shall do according to his will & shall exalt & magnify himself [by his laws & Edicts above every God & shall speak marvellous things against the God of Gods, & [in doing this] shall prosper till the indignation [against thy people the Iews] be accomplished ffor that that is determined shall be done.

[1] This Chapter the same as Chapter 1st in the preceding Book.

[2] Apoc. XV

[3] Apoc.5:6

[4] a Maimon. Cult. Div. Tract. 2. c. 6. § 1, 5.

[5] a Eccl. 50.17. Maimon. de cultu divino, Tract. 6. cap. 6. sect. 7.

[6] b Maimon. de cultu div. Tr. 2. c. 5. s. 7. & Tr. 6. c. 6. s. 5 & Tr. 3. c. 2. s. 2.

[7] Isa. 8.16, & 29.11.

[8] The contents of this note are only visible in the diplomatic transcript because they were deleted on the original manuscript

[9] Ezek. 9 & 10.

[10] Apoc. 18.7, 9.

[11] Apoc. 17.18.

[12] Ezek.38.

[13] Vide Can. 2 Concil. Constantinop. & can 11 Concil Chalced. & Balsamon in hunc can & Donapatium ab Holstenis editum

[14] Themist. Orat. 5 ad Theodos

[15] Isa. 22.22.

[16] a Lib. 1, adv. Symmach

[17] a in calce Euseb. l.11. c.13.

[18] b in vita {Syricij}.

[19] c in Panegyr. ad Theodos

[20] d Zos. l. 4.

[21] a Ruffin & Platina supra

[22] b Hieronym. Epist. 3. Claudian de Bello Getico Prudentius in Symmachum lib. 2.

[23] a Theodoret. l. 5 c. 32 & 33

[24] b Sozom. l. 8, c. 4. Socr. l. 6 c. 6.

[25] b Sozom. l. 8, c. 4. Socr. l. 6 c. 6.

[26] a Iornandes {Get} ponit hunc {transitum} in Pannoniam Stilicone et Aureliano Coss.

[27] Baron. Annal. An. 403. Sec. 50 & 52. Gothofred in Chron. Cod. Theodos.

[28] c Marcellin

[29] d Oros. l. 7. c. 37.

[30] Zosim. l. 5

[31] i.e. Achaiam

[32] Baron. Annal. ad ann. 395. sec. 16 & 17

[33] Claud. in Ruffin. l. 2

[34] * Athenienses

[35] Epist 135 ad Fratrem.

[36] Claud. de bello Getico.

[37] a Apud Annal. Boiorum, l. 2, p. 127.

[38] Hieron. Epist. 30.

[39] Claudian. in Ruffin lib. 2.

[40] * Ruffinus scil.

[41] Claudian. de Ruffin. l. 1.

[42] * Ad Stiliconem de Ostrogothis loquitur.

[43] * Promoti.

[44] Zosim. l. 5

[45] Claudian in Eutropium, l. 2.

[46] Socr. Hist. l. 6.

[47] * sc Ostrogothorum

[48] a In Bibl. S. {Patre}

[49] b in vita Chrysostomi

[50] c in vitis S. Patrum c. 21, de Iacobo.

[51] a 6 Cod. Theod. Tit. 19. L. 1.

[52] Sozom. l. 8. c. 25

[53] Sozom. l. 9. c. 5.

[54] Oros. l. 7, c. 37

[55] Philostorg. l. 11. c. 8.

[56] * i.e. Austuriani.

[57] * Natolia

[58] Philostorg. lib. 11. c. 7.

[59] a Sozom. l. 9. c. 4, 6, 16.

[60] b Claudian in laudes Stiliconis lib. 1, & de bello Getico.

[61] a Apoc. 17.15

[62] Olympiodor. et Gothofredus in Philostorgium.

[63] Prosper in Prolog. lib. de Provid Dei

[64] Salvian. l. 6.

[65] Salvian. l. 6.

[66] Isa. 14. 12

[67] Baron. ad ann. 411 s. 6.

[68] Prosper in Chronico.

[69] Possidius, cap. 8.

[70] Prosper in Chron.

[71] Salvian. de Gubern. Dei, l. 6.

[72] * Magister utriusque militia et Patricius.

[73] a Apud Surium die 11 Decemb.

[74] *NB. Procopius tells us that they were 80 thousand fighting men; & Victor here confesses that this was the received opinion & that the Vandals reported it from the beginning that they might appear terrible. And a less number could not have conquered Afric & the Isles of the Mediterranean.

[75] Baron. Ann. {500} sec. 11.

[76] a Vide Historiam Wandalicam Procopij.

[77] Procop. Got. l. 1

[78] Grotius

[79] Procop. Got. l. 1

[80] b Hist. Miscel. l. 18.

[81] c Anastas. in vit. Ioan. 3.

[82] e Greg. Mag. epist 34. lib. 4.

[83] f Idem lib. 11, Epist. 45 ad Phocam Imp. Indict. 6. Edit. Rom.

[84] g Hom. in Luc. 21.

[85] h in Ezek. Hom. 18

[86] k Dialog. l. 3. c. 38.

[87] l Baron. An. 567. sect. 15, 16.

[88] Baron. ann. 591 num. 36.

[89] NB. The days of a king was a phrase for the age of a man, as I gather from the old Phenician historians who called the time from Cadmus to the rapture of Helena the days of a king. Tatian contra Græcos.

[90] Exod. 10.13. Deut. 28.38. 2 Chron. 7.13. Tavernieres Persian Travels l. 2. c. 3, 6.

[91] See their history in {Abulpharaj}

[92] Niceph.

[93] Ducæ Hist. Byzantin.

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