<1r>

For the Emperor Valentinian left religion to the bishops & gave them leave to meet in Councils about it as they should think of fit, but Valens prohibited the deifying of the holy Ghost as polytheistical.

② Hilary acknowledged a Trinity in baptism but gave the name of God only to the father & the Son. I do not remember <2r> that he disputes for the Deity or worship of the holy Ghost in all his works. His opinion about this matter you may know by the end of his last book de Trinitate. The Council of Paris convened out of all France by the means of Hilary A.C. 361 in a large profession of their faith, contend only for the deity of the Son. Auxentius bishop of Millain ten years after the Councils of Millain Sirmium & Ariminum, that is A.C. 365 was vehemently accused of Arianism by Hilary, before the Emperor Valentinian who was that year at Millain till September, & defended himself about the deity of the Son without acknowledging the deity of the holy Ghost or being accused by Hilary of denying it, & was acquitted, as you may see in ~ Hilaries book against him & his defense annexed to it. . And therefore the controversy about the deity & worship of the holy Ghost was not yet begun in the west. It seems the western bishops were willing to let the deity of the holy Ghost alone till that of the Son was established.

But after the consubstantiality & coequal Deity of the Son was by the influence of the bishop of Rome & industry of Hilary, Eusebius Vercellensis & others sufficiently established in the west, Pope Damasus A.C. 373 called a Council of 93 Bishops at Rome, & this Council sent a letter to a Council convened at the same time in {Illyricum} in which letter they thus describe their faith. [1] When the evil of the hereticks began to be in vigor, as the blasphemy of the Arians is now especially, which God remove, the three hundred and eighteen select fathers treating of the matter at Nice erected this wall against the arms of the Devil & repelled the deadly poison with this antidote that the father & Son should be beleived of one essence one Godhead one vertue one power & one form. And we ought to beleive that the holy Ghost is of the same hypostasis & substance. And he that beleives otherwise we have decreed alien from our communion. Thus they reestablished the language of the Council of Serdica, & a little after the add: But we beleive that it will shortly come to pass that they who think otherwise will easily be removed from our communion & deprived of the name of bishops; that their people being freed from error may respire. For the error of the people cannot otherwise be corrected while they are under erring Bishops.

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+ faith in Christ

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When the Tabernacle or first temple is alluded unto, then in allusion to the Man who immediately before the Babylonian captivity came          out of the Temple & 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, Ezek. {9}{4} . there are 144000 sealed out of all the 12 tribes of Israel. & in allusion to the Mans taking coals of fire from between the Cherubins & scattering them over the city in token of the approaching war & captivity ( Ezek 10 ) the Angel fills a Censer with fire of the Altar & casts it unto the earth ( Apo. 8.5 ) & in allusion to the dedication of the Tabernacle & first Temple & the cloud which then filled the house, the Temple of the Tabernacle is dedicated with smoke from the glory of God, & this is done to signify a new State of the Church commencing with the sealing of the 144000 who stand on mount Sion with the Lamb & on the sea of glass & worship in the Temple of the Tabernacle. And whe{re}{n} the times of the Babylonian captivity & second Temple are alluded unto then in allusion to Ezekiels measuring the Temple ✝[2] Iohn is commanded to measur{e} the Temple & Altar & them that worship therein & the Gentiles take possesion of the outward court & tread under foot the holy city, & the Woman flees to Babylon seated in the wilderness upon the many waters of Euphrates.

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When the 144000 stand on mount Sion with the Lamb they are represented by the mystical body of the Lamb with seven horns. Whe{n} they stand on the sea of glass & sing the song of Moses & the Lamb in the Temple of the tabernacle they are fitly typified by the seven golden candlesticks which Moses placed in the Tabernacle; & to represent a new state of the Church this Temple or tabernacle is dedicated with smoke from the glory of God. When they worship in the inner court of the second Temple they are represented by the two candlesticks of olive tree in this temple & the inner courts of this Temple are measured to signify the rebuilding there . As they are the remainder of the mystical body of the Lamb with seven horns they are still, represented by seven Candlesticks & as they are the remainder of the Churches seated in the nations of the third & fourth Monarchies & of the mystical bodies of the son of Man with two leggs of fire & of the woman with two they are represented by two Candlesticks & for their testimony & sufferings are called the two witnesses. We are not to conceive that Iohn saw more Temples then one at once. All the visions appeared in one & the same Temple, but the scene of the visions varied in that Temple so as to make it represent either the Tabernacle or the first or second Temple as the nature of the visions required: & in whatever T{e}mple the visions appeared, the Church was fitly represented by the Candlesticks of that Temple: & wherever the Lamb or Son of man appeared the Church was fitly represented by his seven horns or two leggs.

In the Babylonian captivity when the first temple was destroyed the Iews rebuilt only the inner Court of a new one & left open the outward court to the Babylonian Gentiles & in allusion to this Iohn is commanded to to leave out the outwar{d} court & measure it not for it is given to the gentiles or nations, those gentiles who tread under foot the holy city that is {t}{s}o the Babylonians, they that worship the Beas{t} & his Image in the outward court & receive his mark. When the 144000 were numbred & sealed out of the 12 Tribes of Israel the rest were omitted & not numbred & when the court of those that were numbred was measured the court of the rest was left unmeasured. That court was there given to them that were left unnumbred & received the mark of the Beast. In that Court they worshipped the Beast & his Image while the 144000 worshipped God in the inner Court. The Beast acts in the streets of the great city & there kills the Witnesses & therefore is king of Babylon. The Woman flees through the wilderness of Arabia to the great City Babylon & becomes his Church. This great city is spiritually called Sodom because of the cup of fornication of the Whore with which she made the nations drunk. It is also called Egypt with relation to the Dragon the king of Egypt from whom the Woman after she had brought forth a Man child fled into the Wilderness . For the two horned Beast who is the Church of the Dragon caused the people of the Dragons kingdom to receive the mark of the Beast & worship his Image, so that all men whose names were not written in the Book of life wondred after the Beast. It is also called the City where our Lord was crucified, that is the city which makes war with the saints & overcomes them & is drunk with the blood of the martyrs of Iesus & kills his witnesses the city of the twelve Tribes who rebelled against Christ received the mark of the Beast, & crucified the Lord afresh, that is, the great Antichrist, for the ten kings make war with the Lamb. In the streets of this great City the two Witnesses prophesy in sackcloth against the nations who worship the Beast & Image & receive his mark, & these Witnesses are the holy city which is troden under foot by the nations, the Church of God represented by the two Candlesticks of Olive tree in the second Temple. For Candlesticks are churches Apoc. 1.20. The nations receive the mark of the Beast & worship his Image before the pouring out of the first Vial Apoc. 16.2. And at the pouring out of the seventh Vial great Babylon comes in remembrance before God to give unto her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath Apoc. 16.19. And therefore great Babylon reigns during all the time that the Angels sound the Trumpets & pour out the Vials of wrath. The Whore reigned till the ten kings ate her flesh & burnt her with fire & the Beast & fals Prophet till the sounding of the seventh Trumpet & pouring out of the seventh Vial & then they were cast into the lake of fire, & all these are great Babylon treading under foot the holy city & worshipping the Beast & his Image in the outward court, of the Temple from the time that the prophetick book is opened & the man of sin revealed till the sanctuary be cleansed.

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

& instead of the {illeg} the gentiles are placed in the outward court. For Zerubbabel b{illeg} courts of the Temple & Altar & new court {illeg} separate place & Priests court & weomens court & left the outward court unbuilt & open to the Babylonian Gentiles. When the twelve tribes represented by the four Beasts stand{ing} 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 which receives 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 are called Gentiles. And 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. {B}{b}ut they are really Babylonian Gentiles treading under foot the holy city. For as the Woman upon degenerating becomes the great city Babylon so the twelve tribes upon degenerating to the worship of her Beast become the Babylonian Gentiles treading under foot the holy city.

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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 which appear in the Temple are only changed. And in all cases the Church is represented by the candlesticks which appeare 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 repe{tition} or interpretation of this prophesy from the time the temple of God was opened in heaven & the Ark of his testament was seen {in} it until the seventh Vial 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 of them considered in the prophesy{ . } In this Tabernacle or Temple the Church is also represented by the four Beasts & by the seven horns of the Lamb whether he appears before the throne & opens the seals of the Book, or stands on mount Sion with the 144000. And at the opening of the seventh seal the great apostasy is represented by the distinction of the twelve tribes into the 144000 which are numbred & sealed with the name of God & the rest which are left unnumbred & receive the mark of the Beast, & by the dedication of the Temple of the Tabernacle with smoke from the glory of God & from his power 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 of olive tree which the Iews ( out of poverty ) placed in this temple upon their first return from captivity Zech. 4 & by the mystical body of the Son of man in the form of an Angel with feet as pillars of fire standing on the earth & sea. And the great Apostasy is represented by measuring the Temple & altar & & them that worship therein that is their courts, & leaving unmeasured the Court which is without the Temple because it is given to the Gentiles. this type signifying the same thing with sealing For instead of the four Beasts which appeared in the outward Court of the Tabernacle & first Temple & represented the twelve tribes of Israel, the Gentiles or Nations are placed in the outward court of the second Temple. And those Gentiles are nothing else then the twelve tribes of Israel represented by the four Beasts & left unsealed Out of the twelve Tribes represented by the four Beasts There are numbred 144000 & these are sealed with the name of God & the court of the Temple & Altar in which they worship is measured & the rest of the twelve tribes are left unnumbred & unsealed & their Court is left unmeasured, & because they worship the Beast & his Image in this court as the Gentiles worshipped their fals Gods, they are called Gentiles. While these worship in the outward unmeasured Court that is with an outward form of religion & Church government the 144000 worship in the inward measured court of the Temple & Altar, standing on Mount Sion with the Lamb & on the sea of glass. And these are in several respects the seven golden candlesticks & the two Candlesticks of olive tree. When the tabernacle or first Temple is alluded unto they are the seven golden candlesticks & seven Churches of Asia & seven horns of the Lamb, that is the remainder of them: When the second Temple is alluded unto they are the two candlesticks of olive tree & two Witnesses & two burning leggs of the Son of man. In respect of the seven churches of Asia which in the beginning of the prophesy were made ⊡ [ 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 the nations of the third & fourth Monarchies or Greeks & Latines through which the Church was diffused & of the division of the Roman Empire into two Empires whereby the Woman received two wings of an Eagle, the remainder of the Churches represented by those two Wings are typified by the two Candlesticks of olive tree & two leggs of Christ & for their sufferings & testimony called the two Witnesses. ] ............... & for their sufferings & testimony called the two witnesses.

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had the new Moon ( a symbol of the ceremonies of the Iews ) under her feet & upon her head a crown of twelve stars which are the twelve Apostles, & 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 & the Dragon goes from the Woman to make war upon the remnant of her seed . And the Woman is nourished in her place in the Wilderness for a time times & half a time from the face of the serpent. 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, 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; & this sep{ara}tion is signified by the womans flying from the Dragon: & the ten-ho{rne}d Beast rises out of the sea to succeed the Dragon in the western part of the Empire, & a two-horned beast rises out of the Earth to succeed the {W}oman in the eastern part thereof.

Every kingdom hath its Church, & the Churches of the Dragon & ten-horned Beast are the two-horned Beast & 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 reigns over the kings of the earth represented by the ten horns of the Beast. She is Babylon the great, the western Babylon which captivated the Iewish nation , the great City seated upon seven hills & by consequence the Church of Rome, & this Church is the Church catholic of the western kingdoms & nations into which the Latin Empire is 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 [Editorial Note 1]

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And after his death & resurrection the two horned Beast consecrated                      Him & caused an Image to be erected to him as a God & that he & his Image should be worshippe{d} & that all men should be initiated in the society of his worshippers. For to receive his mark or name or the number of his names is to {be} 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 {member}{number} of the name of th{at} God . to whose worship they were dedicated. And because they that were initiated in the religion & society of the worshippers of the Beast. & his Image were of the twelve tribes of Israel, & interdicted buying & selling to those that would not receive < insertion from higher up f 6r > the mark of the Beast the multitude < text from f 5v resumes > by this initiation they departed from the communion of those that were sealed with the seale of God & listed themselves in the communion of the synagoge of Satan, who say they are Iews & are not, by doing so made a very great alteration in the the Church in respect of her numbers & constitution. The external form of Church government went along with the Woman into the Wilderness, & was taken from the remnant of her seed by the war which the Dragon made upon them thos{e} being mystically killed the cas{t} who would not worship the Image of the Beast & all being excommunicated in the whole Empires who would not receive his mark . By which means the Church catholick was reduced to the Small member 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 Temple

For this Man of Sin is the Beast For all men with his worshippers. The Beast worshipped as a God 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 & made war with the saints & overcame them & all the world wondred after him whose names were not written in the book of life & the Man of Sin opposed & exalted himself above every thing that is called God or that is worshipped. The Beast reigned & made till the Word of God against him in the clouds of heaven with a two edged sword coming out of his mouth & caused him to be taken alive & cast into the lake of fire & the Man of sin continued till Christ destroyed him with the breath of his mouth & the brightness of his coming. The Beast made war with the Lamb & therefore is great Antichristian state & the Man of Sin opposed every thing that is called God. The Beast was revealed when he rose out of the sea & began to be worshipped as a God , & this was after the Dragon was cast down by Michael from his heathen throne: & the Heathen Roman Empire was to withhold the revelation of the man of Sin till it should be taken out of the way. When the Beast was revealed, the invocation of saints by means of a great outcry 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. When the Beast ascended out of the sea he separated from the communion of the 144000 & this separation is signified by sealing & marking the 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. They went out from us, saith the Apostle but they were not of us. For if they had been of us the 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 erron{i}{e}ous opinions concerning the objects of worship continued in communion with the Church the mystery of iniquity worked in them; & when they separated & went out from her communion then they were manifested or revealed to be Antichrists And from the days of the Apostles there arose many such Antichrists . And so it was with the great Antichrist Man of Sin{ . } The mystery of iniquity which was to produce him first worked in the Church & got ground secretly amongst those of her communion & at length caused a separation by which he was revealed; & this separation is here represented by all mens receiving the mark of the Beast & being thereby initiated in the communion of his worshippers except a few the 144000 sealed with the seal of God out of all the 12 tribes of Israel. And from this revelation of the great Antichrist & of the glory which was to succeed his reign the Apocalyps hath its name. For This revelation was made by opening the seals of the prophetick Book successively until the book was opened & upon opening the last seal the great Antichrist is revealed, that Antichrist who with his worhsippers was to make war with the Lamb.

And it is observable that the revelation whence the Apocalyps hath its name is made by opening the seals of the prophetic book successively until all the book be opened & that upon opening the last seal the Man of Sin is revealed. For then the Beast rises out of the sea & all receive his mark except the 144000 who are interdicted bying & selling for not receiving it, & from thence forward the nations worship him in the outward court of the Temple, that is in an outward form of religion & Church government < insertion from the bottom of f 6r > , the 144000 being excommunicated as hereticks & expelled {from}this outward Court < text from f 5v resumes >

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[Editorial Note 2] 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 fals miracles deceiveth them that dwell on the earth & for doing so is called the fals Prophet, & therefore is of an ecclesiastical kind, & 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 and 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 Synagogue of Satan is the Church of the Dragon.

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was dissolved as to its external form & constitution & separated into parties. The external form of government in the west went along with the Woman into the wilderness, & in the east was taken from the remnant of her seed by the war which the Dragon made upon them & in both Empires it was taken from all that would not receive the mark or name of the Beast or num{b}er of his name by forbidding them to buy or sell that is by excommunicating them. . And by the sealing of the 144000 with the name of God & Christ in their foreheads, the saints who had the testimony of Iesus being purged & separated from the multitude were consecrated apart & became the Church of God in a new form, like the 7000 which in the days of Iesabel had not bowed the knee to Baal. And all this is represented by measuring the second temple ...... & being succeeded in the Temple by the two witnesses, & by the rise of the two Beasts & deifying of the first Beast by the 2d & in Saint Pauls Epistles by the falling away & revelation of the Man of Sin. For the Man of Sin who opposeth & exalteth himself above every thing that is called God or that is worshipped so that he as God sitteth in the Temple of God shewing himself that he is a God, is the Beast with his worshippers in the outward court of the Temple which is given to the Gentiles. For this Beast made war with the saints & none were able to make war with him & all men wondred after him whose names were not written in the book of life, & thereby he opposed & exalted himself above every thing that is called God. And when he separated from the saints & quitted their communion then was this man of sin revealed. They went out from us, saith the Apostle{ ; } 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. There were many Antichrists in the Apostles days. For every heresy that separated from the communion of the Church was an Antichrist. And when they went out from the Church then they were made manifest that they were not of the Church but against her. For he that is not for Christ is against him & to be against him is to be antichristian. And in like manner when the Man of Sin the great Antichrist went out from the Church he was made manifest that he was not of her, & this manifestation is what the Apostle calls the revelation of the Man of Sin. And in relation to this manifestation the Apocalyps has its name. Christ opens the seals of the Book successively & upon opening the last seal the Man of Sin is revealed. For at that time the twelve tribes receive the mark of the Beast except the 144000 which are sealed with the seal of God.

Before the sealing of the twelve tribes

– to represent the 144000 alone. For then the Church represented by the woman becomes divided into two Churches: a true one which is sealed with the seale of God & a false one which is in communion with the Beast & receives his mark. Then the Empire becomes divided into two Empires represented by the Dragon & Beast, & the Church apostating becomes divided accordingly into two nation{al} churches represented by the Woman & two-horned Beast. And Gods church seated in the two Empires & hitherto included in the two wings of the Woman, still keeps the distinction which it borrowed from the two Empires & so soon as the Woman in flying into the Wilderness separates from the communion of the remnant of her seed & the Dragon begins to make war upon them they cease to be a part of her mystical body & are no longer represented by her two wings but begin to be represented by two Candlesticks of olive tree. And when the Image &c. ........ or Witnesses of Iesus. When the Dragon was cast down & began to persecute the Woman & she received two Wings of a great Eagle, these two Witnesses began to testify against him. But being now included in the Womans mystical body they are not yet represented apart. They are included in the Womans two wings till she separates from their communion & then they begin to be considered apart. Then they cease to be represented in common with the Woman by the seven golden Candlesticks & begin to be represented alone by the two Candlesticks. And by reason of their testimony from the time that the Dragon came down amongst the inhabitants of the earth & sea with great wrath & began to persecute the Woman, they are said to have the testimony of Iesus & called his Witnesses. But their testimony chiefly respects their sufferings from the time that the Dragon goes to make war upon them. The two Wings of a great Eagle .... have their Churches. But the two true Churches are but one, They were at first two Provinces of one & the same Church, the eastern Province governed by the Councils of the east & the Western governed by the Councils of the west & sometimes by the Pope & from this division the two Witnesses have their name & keep it even after they loos their forms of government . These are the people spoken of by Daniel who when they should fall should be holpen with a little help [ videlicet by the conversion of the Empire to the Christian religion ] & many [ coming over to them from the heathen religion out temporal ends ] should cleave to them with flatteries, but of those of understanding there should fall to make tryal by them & to purge & to make white till the time of the end.

<7r>

< insertion from the right margin of f 7r > a persecution of the saints by the flatterers which lasts till the time of end. The flatterers therefore now get uppermost & begin to persecute the saints. For Daniel adds in the next words Then shall a king do according to his will. We are therefore to begin this persecution with the reign of a new king

The Empire soon after its Honorius. The Greek empire is the king which doth according his will. For Daniel in this prophesy notes only what relates to the Greeks < text from f 7r resumes >

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Philopator being dead & his son Demetrius being a little before his death being sent hostage to Rome in the room of his Vnkle Antiochus Epiphanes & Antiochus being at Athens in his way from Rome: Heliodorus the Treasurer affected the kingdom. But Antiochus so managed his affairs with the Romans & their friends that the Romans kept Demetrius at Rome & their ally the king of Pergamus expelled Heliodorus & placed Antiochus Epiphanes in the throne of Syria & while Demetrius the right heir remained a hostage at Rome Antiochus by the friendship of the king of Pergamus reigned powerfully over Syria & the neighbouring nations Now Antiochus being made king carried himself with – – – – –> for a mad man & call him Antiochus ἐπιμένης . In the first year of his reign he deposed Onias the High Priest & sold the High Priesthood to Iason the younger brother of Onias. For Iason had promised the king to give him 440 talents of Silver for the High Priesthood & 150 more for a license to erect a place of exercise for the training up of youth in the fashions of the heathen: which licence was granted by the king & put in execution by Iason. Then the king sending one Apollonius into Egypt to the coronation of Ptolomeus Philometor the young son of Euergetes & Cleopatra, & knowing Philometor not to be well affected to his affair in Phenicia provided for his one safety in those parts & for that end came to Ioppa & Ierusalem where he was honourably received & from thence he went in like manner with his little army to the cities of Phenicia to establish himself against Egypt by courting the people & distributing extraordinary favours among them. All which is thus represented by Daniel And in his [ Philometer's ] seat shall stand up a vile person, to whom they [ the Syrians who set up Heliodorus ] shall not give the honour of the kingdom. Yet he shall come in peaceably & obtain the kingdo{m} by courtship & flatteries [ made principally to the king of Pergamus ] & the arms [ which in favour of Heliodorus oppose him ] shall be overflowed with a flood from before him & be broken: yea also the Prince of the covenant [ Onias the High Priest. ] And after friendship made with him [ that is with the king of Egypt by sending Apollonius to his coronation ] he shall work deceiptfully [ against the king of Egypt ] for he shall come up & become strong [ in Phœnicia ] with a small people. And he shall enter into the quiet & plentiful [ cities ] of the Province [ of Phenicia ] & [ to ingratiate himself with the Iews of Phœnica & Egypt & with their friends ] he shall do that which his fathers have not done nor his fathers fathers. He shall scatter among them the prey & the spoile & the riches [ exacted from other places ] & shall forecast his devices against the strong holds [ of Egypt ] even for a time.

These things were done in the first year of Antiochus anno Philip 149. & three years after, that is in the 4th year of his reign, Menelaus bought the High Priesthood from Iason, but not paying the price was sent for by the king, & the king before he could hear the cause went into Cilicia to appease a sedition there & left Andronicus his deputy at Antioch & then the brother of Menelaus to make up the money conveyed severel vessels of gold out of the Temple selling some at Tyre & sending theirs to Andronicus & Menelaus being reproved for this by Onias caused Onias to be slain by Andronicus: for which fact the king at his return from Cilicia caused Andronicus to be put to death . And then prepared his second voiage against Egypt which he performed in the sixt year of his reign An. Philip. 154 For upon the death of Cleopatra the governours of the young king of Egypt claimed Phenicia & Cæsyria from Antiochus as her doury & to recover those countries raised a great army And Antiochus considering that his father had not quitted the possession of those countries [ 2 Macab. 3.5, 8, & 4.4 ] denied that they were her dowry & with another great army met & fought the Egyptians in the border of Egypt between Pelusium & the mountain Casius an. Philip 154 & when he might have destroyed the army of the Egyptians rode up & down commanding his soldiers not to kill them but to take them alive. By which humanity he gained Pelusium & soon after all Egypt, entring it <8r> – he marched to Memphys laying the whole blame of the war upon the kings governour Eulœus, & pretending friendship to the young {king} & that he would order & set right his affairs with a great multitude of foot & chariots & Elephants & horsemen & a great navy & seized the cities of Egypt he marched to Memphys pretending freindship to the young king & that he would order his affairs & making peace with him & laying the whole blame of the affair upon the kings governors Eulœus & Lenæus. . In the mean time a report being spread in Phenicia that Antiochus was dead Iason to recover the High Priesthood assaulted Ierusalem with above 1000 men & took the city. Whereupon Antiochus thinking that Iudea had revolted came out of Egypt in a furious manner, took the City slew 40000 of the people took as many prisoners & sold them to raise money went into the Temple & spoiled it of its treasures ornaments utensils & vessels of gold & silver amounting to 1800 talents & carried all away to Antioch This was done in the year of Philip 154 ✝[3] & is thus described by Daniel

.

All which is thus described by Daniel. And he shall forecast devices against the strong holds even for a time And [ at length ] he shall stir up his power & his courage against the king of the south with a great army & the king of the south shall be stirred up to battel with a very great & mighty army but he shall not stand: for they [ the friends of Antiochus ] shall forecast devices against him. Yea they that feed of the portion of his own meat shall destroy him [ by treachery ] & his army shall be overthrown & many shall fall down slain. And [ upon the news of the commotion at Ierusalem ] both these kings hearts shall be to do mischief. & they [ being reconciled ] shall speak lyes at one table [ against the Iews & the holy covenant ] but it shall not prosper: for yet the end [ in which the setting up of the abomination is to prosper ] shall be at the time appointed. Then shall he return into his land with great riches & his heart shall be against the holy Covenant & he shall act [ against it by spoiling the Temple ] & return into his own land.

The Egyptians of Alexandria seing Philometor educated in luxury by the Eunuch Eulœus & now in the hands of Antiochus gave the kingdom to Euergetes the younger brother of Philometor. Whereupon Antiochus pretending to restore Philometor made war upon Euergetes beat him at sea & beseiged him & his sister Cleopatra in Alexandria, & then the <8v> besieged Princes sent to Rome to implore the assistance of the senate. Antiochus finding himself unable to take the city that year returned in autumn into Syria leaving Philometor at Memphys to govern Egypt in his absence . But Philometor soon made friendship with his brother & And Antiochus as he was returning the next spring an. Philip 156 to besige both the brothers in Alexandria, was met in the way by the Roman Ambassadors Popillius Lœnas, C. Decimius & C. Hostilius, & offered them his hand to kiss, but Popillius delivering to him the Tables wherein the message of the Senate was written bad him read those first. When he had read them he replied that he would consider with his friends what was fit to be done. But Popillius drawing a circle about the king bad him answer before he went out of the circle. At which blunt & unusual imperiousness the king being astonished made answer that he would do what the Romans commanded. And then Popillius gave the king his hand to kiss, & the king returned with his army into Syria & the same year ( an. Philip 156 ) spoiled & slaughtered the Iews prophaned the Temple & set up the worship of the heathen Gods in Iudea & began to persecute & make war upon those who would not worship them. Which actions {are} thus described by Daniel At the time appointed he shall come [ again ] towards the south but the latter shall not be as the former. For the ships of Chittin shall come [ with an Embassy from Rome ] against him. Therefore he shall be grieved & return & have indignation against the holy covenant. So shall he do, he shall even return & have intelligence with them that forsake the holy covenant.

In the same year that Antiochus by the command of the Romans retired out of Ægypt, & set up the worship of the Greeks in Iudea the Romans conquered the kingdom of Macedon & reduced it into a Province, & 35 years after by the last will & testament of Attalus the last king of Pergamus they inherited that rich & flourishing kingdom, that is, all Asia on this side the mountain Taurus ; & 69 years after they conquered the kingdom of Syria & reduced it into a Province & 34 years after they did the like to Egypt & not long after they made war upon the Iews burnt their Temple destroyed their City & dispersed the people into all nations . All which Daniel comprehends in these words. And after him arms shall stand up. & they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength & take away the daily sacrifice & place the abomination of desolation. For thus Christ himself understands this prophesy: When the therefore shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel, stand in the holy place ( who so readeth let him understand ) then let them which be in Iudea fly into the mountains. Mat. 24.15. Arms are every where in this prophesy put for the military power of a kingdom They stand up when they conquer . And as תתלב a Rege signifies after the king Dan 11.8 so מהנ{ן}{ו} ab illo may here signify after him. After him arms shall stand up, that is they shal stand up over his kingdom. Daniel had been hitherto speaking of the kings of the north & south & therefore these arms are to stand up over those kingdoms by conquest after the days of Antiochus. For before they stand up over Iudea they cannot pollute the sanctuary of strength & take away the daily sacrifice. They stood up over the Greeks of Macedon Asia Syria & Egypt by steps. & the whole progress of their standing up over the Greeks is comprehended in these few words; And after him arms shall stand up. Daniel had mentioned the Romans twice before in this Prophesy & therefore we need not wonder if he understands them here.. Yet they are to be understood here only with respect to the affairs of the Greeks: For this prophesy answering to that of the Ram & He-Goat relates only to the affairs of the Persian & Greek Empires.

<9r>

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 Idols to be thrown down & land 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 became Christians. But Iulian opened the Temples & restored the heathen worship & Valentinian & Valens tolerated it all their reign. And therefore the prophesy of the sixt seal was not fully accomplished before the reign of their successors Gratian & Theodosius. It was the custome of the heathen Priests in the beginning of the reign of any sovereign Emperor to offer him the dignity & habit of Pontifex maximus. This dignity all Emperors had hitherto accepted of, but Gratian rejected it & in the west threw down the Idols, interdicted the sacrifices & took away the revenues of the sacrifices & the salaries & authority of the Priests. And Theodosius followed his example in the third year of his reign A.C. 380 began to do the like in the east . And after this Heathenism recovered itself no more. but decreased so fast that Prudentius about 24 years after called the heathens vix pauca ingenia & pars hominum {rarissima. } Prud. l. 1. ado. Symmach. Thus was there a great earthquake in the heathen world & the sun of the Heathens became black & the Moon as blood & the stars fell unto the earth & heaven departed as a scrowl & every mountain of the earth & Island of the sea were moved out of their places & all men hid themselves & said to the rocks of the sea & mountains of the earth , Fall on us & hide us: for the days of Gods wrath is come. And thus ended the whole frame of the old heathen world.

The seventh Seal opened, or The servants of God sealed in their Foreheads.

While the heathen Empire stood it was impossible for the Man of Sin to get upermost so as to exalt himself above all that is called God, or that is wors{h}{k}ipped but that which letted being now taken out of the way we may expect to see the Man of Sin revealed who is to continue till the Lord shall destroy him with the breath of his mouth ( or two edged sword ) & with the brightness of his coming: even him whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power & signes & lying wonders & with all deceivableness of unrighteousness. The mystery of iniquity began to worked in the days of the Apostles & the Apostle Paul tells us that it should continue to work till the Man of Sin should be revealed. For While the heathen Empire stood the Church was not only kept under as to power but also preserved from corruption by persecutions & a{ff}lictions which purged her from hypocrites & bad men so that the sincere part of Christians were always the most numerous, & prevailed over the mystery of iniquity: But after the Empire became Christian the heathens flowed into the Church in great numbers making an outward profession of Christianity for temporal ends without receiving the love of the truth & in these the mystery of iniquity worked till by their numbers it prevailed against the truth. For these new converts being used before their conversion to worship dead men & ascribe great power to their souls & images were easily induced to change the names of their Gods & set up the worship of Christian Divi instead of heathen. And the superstitious part of the Christians, for facilitating the conversion of the heathens

<9v>

The

<10r>

were forward to comply with the heathen opinions & practises under a christian name so that the Christian religion hence forward became a mixture of Heathenism & Christianity together. For as the worship of the heathen Gods decreased, the invocation of Saints & other heathen superstitions came in among the Christians being introduced by ascribing supernatural powers to the souls of the saints & to their reliques & Shrines & to certain ceremonies of the same kind with the heathen superstitions such as were signing with a cross, in nomine ✝ Patris & ✝ filij et ✝ spiritus sancti sprinkling with Holy water & annoynting with consecrated oyle & these superstitions were much propagated by writing Legends of the miracles pretended to be done by them & ordering the Legends to be read in churches for the instruction of the people.

In the reign of Constantine & his sons the Christians by an unwary zeal began to use the signe of the cross with too much superstition & in honour to the Martyrs to pray at the tombs of the martyrs & to translate the bodies of the Martyrs into their churches turning the Christian Churches into sepulchres of the saints as the heathen temples were the sepulchres houses of their Gods.

In the reign of Constantius some began to tell stories of the souls of dead men appearing to them & of miracles done by the signe of the cross & in Egypt they began to keep the bodies of the Martyrs & good men unburied upon beds in their houses . In the reign of Iulian the Apostate there began to be a rumour of miracles done by the reliques of the Martyrs & in the reign of Valentinian & Valens those miracles were every where preached up & reliques were sent into all the Empire from Egypt & Syria where the mischief began, & the invocation of the saints was at the same time set on foot by Oratorical flourishes between jeast & earnest, & by stories of the good effects of such devotion, untill the doctrine that the saints did hear & help was brought into the Churches & the oratorical flourishes ended in direct & positive prayers: so that in the reign of Theodosius this heathen doctrine that the Saints did hear & help us, & the idolatrous practise of praying to them overspread as well the western as the eastern churches, & before his death or at the furthest in the reign of his sons was generaly received & fully established in all the Roman Empire, the whole world ringing with the noise of the miracles said to be done every where at the shrines of the saints. And in setting up this new religion the the Monks were very active who feigning miracles & pretending by extraordinary dreams & revelations to discover where the bodies of the saints & martyrs were buried, dug up the bones of the dead & carried them up & down the Empire & did it so very much that some recconed this to be the first resurrection spoken of in the Apocalyps & that the Emperors at length forbad these shameful practises by publick edicts. They set up Altars also in the fields & by the sides of the high ways over the { ~ }{} graves of such pretended Saints for the devotion of travellers. [ And thus was Saint Pauls Prophesy fullfilled that in the latter times [ or times of the great Apostacy ] τωες a sort of men shall depart from the faith giving heed to [ men of ] seducing spirits & to doctrines of Dæmons [ or dead mens souls, ] through the hypocrisy of lyars who have their consciences seared with a hot iron, who forbidd to marry [ & command ] to abstein from meats, which God hath created to be received with thanksgiving of them which beleive & know the truth. By their abstinence from marriage & meats you know that the Lyars, whose consciences are seared with a hot iron & by whose hypocrisy the rest are deceived, are the Monks. ]

To presecute this matter fully would require a large discourse. I shall content my self with some testimonies about the

<11r>

was three months before his death, he sent for his son Honorius to reign in the west & by his last will & testament gave the western Empire to him. This was at the very beginning of the times of the seven Trumpets when the seven Angels prepared themselves to sound. And thirteen years after, when the second Angel sounded, A.C. 408, the western Empire became at once divided into ten kingdoms which makes good the prophesy of the ten horns. The ten horn which thou sawest are ten kings which have received no kingdom as yet [ id est in the time of the sixt head ] but receive power as kings the same hour with the Beast or in a very short time, as it were with in an hour, after the Beast 's receiving the throne of the Dragon. Thus did the Beast after he was wounded to death, recover & arrive to his perfect state by degrees. First he revived, then he rose out of the sea, then he received his throne from the Dragon who stood upon the sea-shore & then became divided into the ten kingdoms represented by his horns.

And all the world wondered after the Beast, or, as is afterwards exprest, all they that dwell on the earth whose names are not written in the book of life. They all had this holy Catholick Beast in great admiration. And they worshipped the Dragon which gave power to the Beast that is, they worshipped his Gods. For as the idolatry of Iudah & Israel is represented ( in Ezekiel [4] ) by Samaria & Ierusalem's committing whoredom with the great men of Assyria Egypt & Babylonia, & by the great men are meant the Gods of those nations: so here worshipping the Dragon is put for worshipping the Gods of the Dragon. And they worshipped the Beast [ that is the Gods of the Beast ] saying who is like unto the Beast [ in power? ] & who is able to make war [ or contend with him. ]

And there was given him a mouth [ or legislative power ] speaking great things & blasphemies [ against the God of Gods in setting up the worship of other Gods & their images ] & power was given him to continue [ in this manner of acting ] forty & two months. & [ all this time ] he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God to blaspheme his name & his tabernacle & them that dwell in heaven The 42 months are not the whole time of his continuing but the time only of his blaspheming after he is arrived to the height of impiety. The woman must arrive in the wilderness to her place upon his back or dignity of reigning over him before the 42 months begin.

And it was given unto him to make war with the saints & to overcome them & power was given him over all kindreds & tongues & nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him whose names are not written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who was slain. That is all men except the saints shall take him for the Church Catholick & submit to his authority & worship his Gods & by the sword & captivity he shall overcome the saints themselves. If any man hath an ear let him hear. He that leadth into captivity shall go into captivity: he that killeth with the sword must be killed with the sword. Here is the patience of the saints.

And Iohn beheld another Beast coming up out of the earth [ that is out of the nations of the Eastern Empire ] & he had two horns like the Lamb, & therefore he was an ecclesiastical body composed of two churches as the Lamb with his seven horns was an

<12r>

ecclesiastical body composed of the seven Churches of Asia. For this Beast is afterward called the fals Prophet & he rises in the Eastern Empire to succeed the Woman who flyes thence into the western. and his two horns are two great bodies of Monks arising the one in Egypt under the conduct of Antony, the other in Syria under the conduct of Hilarion. They rose first in desert places, of Egypt & Syria but afterwards came into towns & divers of them became clergy men & divers of the clergy became Monks. They rose at the same time that the Woman fled into the wilderness, for they began to grow numerous in the reign of Constantius & to overspread the east in the reign of Valens, & all the Greek Empire in the reign of Theodosius. but yet continued much more numerous in Egypt & Syria than in any other part of the Empire. These Monks with so many of the clergy as admired & befriended them & were within the Greek Empire I refer to the body of the Two-horned Beast & after Monkery spread into the western Empire I refer the Moncks of this Empire to the body of the whore of Babylon. These at the Host which was given to the little horn of Daniels He-Goat against the dayly sacrifice. Dan. 8.12 These Moncks were most certainly an innovation in religion & all innovations not commanded are erroneous.

And he spake as the Dragon. For they were both of the same religion & worshipped the same fals Gods. For this Beast was the Church of the Kingdom represented by the Dragon.

And he exerciseth all the power of the first Beast in his sight, [ not within him but before his eyes ] & causeth the earth & them that worship therein [ the people of the eastern Empire ] to worship [ the Gods of ] the first Beast whose deadly wound was healed, & who by the like power causeth the people of the western Empire to worship the same Gods.

And he doth great wonders so that he maketh fire come down from heaven upon Earth in the sight of men, as Elijah did to destroy his enemies. For he destroys them by excommunications, which are performed by the ceremony of swinging down a torch in the sight of the congregation as it were from heaven to the earth

And he deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he hath power to do in the sight of the Beast, saying to them that dwell on the earth, [ the inhabitants of the Eastern Empire ] that they should make an image to the beast which had the wound by a sword & did {live} , & he had power to give breath to the Image of the Beast, that the image of the Beast should both speak [ like one of the ancient heathen Oracles of the Greeks ] and [ by his dictates ] cause that as many as would not worship [ the Gods of this Oracle ] the Image of the Beast should be [ mystically ] killed, that is, that their congregations for worshipping the true God should be interdicted & dissolved. As the heathen Priests set up Oracles to false Gods, by which they deceived the world & promoted the worship of those Gods: so this Fals Prophet sets up an Oracle to the Beast.

And [ at the same time that the servants of God are sealed in their foreheads ] he causeth all both small & great rich & poor, free

[1] Extat apud Sozom. l. 6. c. 23 & Theod. l. 2 c. 22.

[2] & Zerubbabels rebuilding it

[Editorial Note 1] The main text continues on f.6r.

[Editorial Note 2] Continued from f5r.

[3] an. Abr. 1831.

[4] Ezek. 23.

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