<1r>

Sect II
The second Temple with its Candlesticks representing the two Witnesses.

When the Woman fled into the Wilderness she fled from the Temple on mount Sion through the Wilderness of Arabia to the great city Babylon & by this flight changed her Metropolis. Her first Metropolis was the seven cities of Asia represented by the seven Candlesticks:, her second was the great City seated on seven mountains in the wilderness called the seven heads of the Beast. These mountains are literaly the seven hills on which Rome was seated: mystically they are seven head cities highly exalted in dominion, the head cities of the seven kingdoms which remained after three of the first ten, horns of Daniel's fourth Beast fell before the little horn. Mountains are put in second prophesy for cities, & as the four heads of the Leopard signify the four kingdoms into which the Greek Empire after the reign of Alexander the great became divided & which are also represented by the four horns of the He-goat; so the seven heads of the Beast in being called Mountains are the reigning cities of the seven contemporary kingdoms represented by the seven remaining horns of the Beast. From their first number they are called the ten horns & ten kings & from their last the seven heads & seven mountains. The Woman in flying from the Temple on mount Sion, fled from the seven Candlesticks in that Temple which are the seven Churches of Asia & ceased to be illuminated by their Lamps, & became the seven Churches of the Cities represented by the seven mountains & her people arriving at this new metropolis worshipped the king of Babylon & his golden Image & a new Temple is built for those of the captivity who separate from the Idolaters & come out of great Babylon to worship the God of Israel, the building of which Temple is thus described.

Rise & measure the Temple of God & the Altar & them that worship therein [that is their courts] but the court which is without the Temple leave out & measure it not for it is given unto the Gentiles & the holy city shall they tread under foot forty & two months. And I will give power unto my two Witnesses & they shall prophesy 1260 days cloathed in sackcloth. These are the two Olive trees & the two Candlesticks standing before the God of the Earth. All which is an allusion to Ezekiel's measuring the Temple in the time of the Babylonian captivity to signify that it should be rebuilt & to Zerubbabel's building the second Temple with its courts the court of the Temple, & Altar & the court of them that worship therein called the Weomens court & leaving unbuilt the outward Court which in Solomon's Temple had been the people's court & during all the reign of the Persians which was 200 years continued unbuilt & was given to the Gentiles, so that when the Greeks rebuilt it, it was called the Gentiles court. And it alludes also to the prophesying of Haggai & Zechary at the building of the second Temple & to the two Olive trees which in the prophesy of Zechary[1] empty them <2r> selves into the Candlestick of the Temple. Only instead of one Candlestick here are two to represent two Churches. For they are the two Witnesses & these witnesses in being called two Candlesticks & two Olive trees are two Churches. For Candlesticks signify Churches (Apoc. 1. 20) & so do Olive trees (Rom 11. 17, 24.) And these are the Churches of the Western Roman Empire & of the Empire of Germany as above. These Witnesses prophesy in the kingdom of the Beast because they are slain by him & lye dead in the streets of the great City which for its spiritual fornication & uncleanness is called Sodom & for its oppression & cruelty Ægypt & for its bloodshed of the saints the great city where or in whose dominion our Lord was crucified that is Rome.

Before the division of the Roman Empire the whole was represented by the Dragon, & the Church of the whole by the twelve Tribes of Israel in the form of a Woman in the first Temple whose seven candlesticks with their lamps illuminating the whole Temple represent the seven Churches of Asia as the mother-churches from whence the light of the Gospel went forth into the Church Catholick of the primitive times during the long life of the Apostle Iohn & the lives of his disciples. But when the Empire becomes divided into the Greek & Latine Empires: that both Empires with their Churches fals & true may be distinctly represented, a Beast with ten horns rises out of the sea, another Beast with two horns rises out of the earth & a new Temple is built with two candlesticks. And henceforward the eastern Empire with its Churches false & true are represented by the Dragon, the twohorned Beast & the 144000 worshipping in the first Temple; & the Latine Empire with its Churches false & true are represented by the ten-horned Beast the Woman & the two Witnesses worshipping in the second Temple. And in each Temple the people of God worship in the inner Court & the Apostates in the Court without.

In the first Temple the 144000 worship in the inner Court standing with the Lamb on mount Sion before the throne & before the Elders, as it were upon the sea of glass & singing with harps at the sacrifices. And the people of the Dragon & two horned Beast worship in the outward Court of this Temple being the seduced inhabitants of the earth & sea to whom the Dragon came down when he was cast out of heaven that is out of the upper court, the court of the Temple & Altar in which the throne of God is placed. When he was cast out of that Court he came down into the outward court, the court of the people, the Christian people called the inhabitants of the earth & sea. By seducing these inhabitants he made the Woman fly into a spiritually barren Wilderness in the Latin Empire & the two horned Beast rise out of the Earth in the Greek Empire; & then by the instigation of that Beast he made war upon the remnant of the twelve Tribes of Israel in the Greek Empire called the remnant of the womans seed, untill all were either killed or had received the mark or name of the other Beast, except the 144000, who being sealed out of the twelve tribes of Israel with the seale or name of God in their foreheads, & being interdicted buying & selling among the inha <3r> bitants of the earth & sea, retired from them into the inner Court.

In like manner the two Churches called the Witnesses worship in the inner court of the second Temple, & the people of the ten-horned Beast & Woman worship in the outward court thereof as is plainly exprest by saying, Measure the temple & altar & them that worship therein but the court which is without the Temple leave out & measure it not for it is given to the Gentiles.

The two Temples are sufficiently distinguished from one another by the different number of their candlesticks & different characters of their worshippers: but the worship is alike in them both. For the Beast & his Image are worshipped & his mark received by all the world, the fals Prophet & Dragon setting up that worship in the outward court of the first Temple: & therefore the worship in the outward courts of both Temples is alike. And the worship in the inner courts of both Temples is also alike, the worshippers being of one & the same religion & members of one & the same mystical body of Christ. As those in the second Temple are called Witnesses & Prophets so those in the first Temple are also Witnesses & Prophets. For they have the testimony of Iesus (Apoc. 12. 17) & are mystically killed for not worshipping the Image of the Beast (ch. 13. 15) & in respect of the great harvest of martyrs (ch. 14. 15) are called the first fruits unto God (v. 4) & therefore they are martyrs or witnesses. And they sing a new song with harps & in that respect are Prophets. For singing with musical instruments is prophesying (1 Chron. 25. 1, 2, 3. 2 King. 3. 15. 1 Sam. 10. 5.) And in their mouth was found no lye (Apoc. 14. 5) & therefore they are true Witnesses & true Prophets. And as these Prophesy in the inner court of the first Temple by singing with harps at the sacrifices offered in that Temple so it is to be conceived that the two Witnesses prophesy in the inner court of the second Temple by singing with harps at the sacrifices offered in this Temple. For they have power to smite the earth with all plagues as often as they will, that is, with the plagues of the seven wars represented by the sacrifices at which the seven trumpets sound. They consume their enemies with fire in the first war & turn the waters unto blood in the second, & therefore prophesy all the time of those sacrifices. They are one of the two leggs of the son of Man who in the form of an Angel stands with his right foot on the sea & his left foot on the earth as was said above. They are part of his mystical body & of the cloud with which he is cloathed, & their voice is the voice of that cloud uttering the seven thunders, which thunders, as <4r> was explained above are the thundering voices of the Levites singing with harps & other musical instruments at the seven sacrifices while the Priests sound the Trumpets alternately three times at every sacrifice & pour out the drink-offerings called the seven vials of wrath. And in respect of the seven stars in the right hand of the son of man, the 144000 may be also comprehended in his mystical body & in the cloud with which he is cloathed & be one of his leggs, & their voice of singing at the like sacrifices, may be also comprehended in the voices of the seven thunders. So then the worship in both Temples is one & the same in form, & has one & the same signification.

But tho the two Witnesses prophesy during all the seven sacrifices, yet it is not to be conceived that they prophesy all this time in sackcloth. When the idolatry of the Wilderness called by Daniel the Abomination of desolation is completely set up then the two Witnesses put on sackcloth. When the worshipping of Images of gold & silver & brass & wood & stone which can neither see nor hear nor walk is completely set up & established, then the Gentiles to whom the outward court is given, begin to be Gentiles properly so called. And from that time the Gentiles tread under foot the holy City 42 months; from that time the Witnesses prophesy in sackcloth 1260 days; from that time the Woman is fed & nourished by the merchants of the earth in her place of honour in the Wilderness, and fares deliciously a time times & half a time & 1260 days; from that time the ten kings have one mind & agree & give their kingdom to the Beast, & the Beast acts 42 months with the Woman upon his back, which dominion & dignity is her place where she is fed; from that time the little horn of Daniels fourth Beast, having rooted up three of the ten horns which hindred his rise, & brought all the rest to submission, has times & laws given into his hand untill a time times & half a time. At first the ten kings are of different religions both from the Woman & from one another, whereby the two Witnesses have liberty of conscience for a time. These kings must all agree in religion & become of one mind & submit to the Womans dominion, & she must begin to trade with the kings & great men of the earth by helping one another to Empires & Kingdoms & Principalities & Cardinals caps & Bishopricks & Abbies & Titles of honour & Privileges & Lands & Rents & Taxes & Pardons & Dispensations & Indulgences & Oaths & Allegiance & Masses & Reliques of saints & Sermons for supporting this profitable religion: & by means of this trade she must begin to be fed & nourished by Peter's Patrimony & Church lands & Tyths &c and then the two Witnesses begin to prophesy in sackcloth. When the Pope was threatened by the Lombards & wanted the assistance of the Franks he deposed Childeric a sloathfull Prince & gave the kingdom of France to Pipin: and Pipin & his son Charles the great in recompence gave Peter's Patrimony & other rich presents to the Pope; & Charles compelled his subjects also to receive the Roman Liturgy & gave tyths to the Roman Clergy throughout his kingdom, & upon a commotion raised at Rome against the Pope went thither to resettle him, & when the Popes adversaries expected to have been heard, the Pope was declared above all humane judicature & in recompence made Charles Emperor of the West & Charles made the Popes new subjects in Peter's patrimony swear allegiance to him as their Lord & at his coronation took this oath to the Pope. In nomine Christi spondeo atque polliceor Ego N. Imperator coram Deo [2] & beato Petro Apostolo, me protectorem ac defensorem fore hujus sanctæ Romanæ Ecclesiæ in omnibus utilitatibus quatenus divino fultus fuero adjutorio prout sciero poteroque. Such was the trade & commerce by which the merchants of the earth were made rich & the Woman was nourished & the Kings of the earth lived deliciously with the great Whore.

<5r>

and bond to receive a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads: & that [all others being excommunicated] no man might buy or sell save he that had the mark or the name of the Beast or the number of his name. Here is wisdome. Let him that hath understanding count the number [of the name] of the Beast: for it is the number [of the name] of a man: & his number is 666. It was customary among the heathens to mark soldiers with the name or symbol of their kings or Commanders, servants with the name or symbol of their masters, & the worshipping of the heathen Gods with the name or symbol of the God whom they worshipped or with the name abbreviated or couched under the number made up of the numeral letters. And these marks were made in the forehead or neck or breast or hand or arm sometimes by burning sometimes by making coloured punctures in the flesh & sometimes only by staining the flesh with a colour. And in opposition to this custome Moses commanded the Israelites that they should not print any mark upon themselves Levit. 19.28. so that the custome was very ancient. Such a mark was the figure of an ivy leaf imprest upon the worshippers of Bacchus & such another mark is the signe of the cross when used in a superstitious manner in nomine ✝ Patris & ✝ Filij & ✝ spiritus sancti to scare away the Devil or to cure diseases or to sanctify a man or fortify him against harm. And such another symbol is the number 666. For this is the number of the name ΛΑΤΕΙΝΟΣ which is the name of a man & the most proper name of the Beast, he being the Latine & the Dragon the Greek Empire, & the Churches of these Empires being distinguished by the names of the Latine & Greek Churches. And of the same kind are the names of blasphemy upon the heads of the Beast. To express the distinction made at this time between the servants of God & the worshippers of the Beast, the one are said to be sealed with the seal of God the other marked with the mark or name or number of the Beast. || Now as soon as this sealing & marking was finished & the seven Angels with the Trumpets were ready to sound Iohn looked & lo a Lamb stood on the mount Sion & with him an hundred forty & four thousand having his name & his fathers name written in their foreheads. These are the remnant of the Womans seed whom the Dragon went to persecute. These are the 144000 who were sealed in their foreheads out of the 12 tribes of Israel with the seale of God, which seal is here explained to be the name of the Lamb & the name of his father. They are therefore the Church of Christ during the sounding of the Trumpets, & the objects of their worship are the Lamb and his father. Some Greek copies of the Apocalyps omit the Lamb but other very old ones have it, & that very truly. For in the beginning of this Prophesy where the true worship is delineated, they first worship God for creating them saying Holy, holy, holy Lord God almighty which was & is & is to come – Thou art worthy, O Lord to receive glory & honour & power: for thou hast created all things and for thy pleasure they are & were created. And then the Lamb appears & upon his receiving the Prophesy of this Book from God they fall down before the Lamb & worship him for redeeming them, saying Thou art worthy to take the book & to open the seales thereof: for thou wast slain & hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred & tongue & people & nation. And again, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power & riches & wisdom & strength & honour & glory & blessing. And again, blessing & honour & glory & power be unto him that sitteth upon the throne & unto the Lamb for ever & ever.

And Iohn heard a voice [of singing] from heaven as the voice of many waters [or much people] & as the voice of a great thunder & he heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: & they sung as it were a new song before the throne & before the four Beasts & the Elders [& by consequence in the middle of the Temple] & no man could learn that son but the 144000 which were redeemed from the earth This singing was therefore that music of the thundring & harping Temple & by consequence was <6r> performed at the sacrifices of the seven Trumpets & answers to the voices of the seven thunders.

These are they who are not defiled with weomen, like the rest who have the mark of the Beast & commit fornication with the Whore of Babylon. These are they which follow the Lamb whether soever he goeth, that is, they follow his doctrine & walk in the light. These were redeemed from among men being the first fruits unto God & to the Lamb, that is, in respect of the harvest which the Son of Man afterwards reaps with a sharp sickle. And in their mouth was found no lye [as in the mouth of the false Prophet] for they are [true Prophets] without fault.


The Second Book & second Temple

As there was a first & second Temple in Ierusalem so there is a first & second Temple in the Apocalyps. & as Zerubbabels Temple was built without an outward Court, so was the second Temple in the Apocalyps: For measuring is a type of building (Zech. 1. 16 & 2. 2, 4) & Ioh{n} is bidden to leave out the outward Court & measure it not The first Temple stands during the prophesy of the first book which was sealed & which the Lamb opens the second stands during the prophesy of the second book which was open & is called a little book. The four Beasts representing the twelve tribes worship in the outward Court of the first Temple, the Gentiles in the outwards court of the second. In the first are seven lamps burning in seven golden Candlesticks, in the second are only two. The seven Candlesticks are a type of the seven Churches of Asia & those Churches joyntly & severally are a type of all the Churches of Christ within the compass of the prophesy of the first book that is of all those who worship in the first Temple: The two Candlesticks are a type of two churches called two Prophets & two Witnesses these two prophets joyntly & severally are a type of all those that worship in the second Temple. that is to say of all those who in the prophesy of the first Book were sealed out of the twelve tribes of Israel in the day of Expiation, & in the interpretation of that Prophesy stood upon Mount Sion with the Lamb. The prophesy of the first Temple is the subject of the first book which was sealed & whose seales were opened by the Lamb: & the prophesy of the second Temple is the subject of the second Book which is called a little book & appeared open in the Angels hand. And as the Prophesy of the first book in the time of the 7th seal was as double one, conteining first the prophesy of the sealed saints & the Palm-bearing multitude & the then the synchronal prophesy of the seven Trumpets; so the prophesy of the second book is a double one conteining first the prophesy of the seven thunders & then the synchronal prophesy of the measured saints, & these

[1] Zech. 4

[2] Sigon. de Regno Ital. l. 4. Arc. 801.

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