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In setting up this dominion the Bishops of Rome made grea{t} use of the authority of the Council of Nice, as may be seen their decretal Epistles. The Nicene Decree was this: Antiqua consuetudo servetur per Ægyptum Libyam et Pentaplim, ita ut Alexandrinus Episcopus horum omnium habeat potestatem quia et urbis Romæ Episcopo paribis mos est: Similiter autem et apud Antiochiam cæterasque Provincias, sius privilegia serventur Ecclasÿs. Illud autem generaliter clarum est quod siquis præter sententiam Metropolitani fuerit factus episcopus, hunc magna synodus definivit episcopum esse non oportere. Now it is observable that this Canon relates only to Provinces & their metropolitans. For after the Bishops of Rome & Alexandria with their Churches were named the Council adds: similiter apud Antiochiam cæterasque provincias. Here is no mention of Patriarchs superior to Metropolitans of Provinces. The Council only ordeins that the Metropolitans of every Province should have power over the bishops of his Province, the bishop of Rome over the bishops of the Province of Rome, the Bishop of Alexandria over the Province of Ægypt & Libya, the bishop of Antioch over the Province of Antioch, the bishop of Cæsarea of Cappadocia over the Province of Pontus, this Bishop of Ephesus over the Province of Asia, the bishop of Carthage over the Province of Afric the bishops of Thessalonica Simium Aquileia & Millain over the Provinces of those cities & so of the rest{.} Wherein this power of the Metropolitans over the bishops of their several provinces consisted the Councel defined in the two Canons next preceding, namely that a Bishop should be ordeined by all the bishops of the Province (that is by a Provincial Council) or at least by three of them with the consent of the rest in writing, & the firmness of the ordination should depend upon the Metropolitan in every Province. And that in every Province a Council of the bishops of the Province should also be celebrated every spring & autum. To the power of the metropolitan over Ordination, & his presiding in provincial Councils & convening them upon Ordinations & such like extraordinary occasions, the Council seem to refer in saying Antiqua consuetudo servetur per Ægyptum Libyam & Pentapolim ita ut Alexandrinus Episcopus horum omnium habeat potestatem quia at Vrbis Romæ parilis mos est. For by this Canon the power of ordeining without the consent of the Bishop of Alexandria was taken away from the Meletians throughout Ægypt Libya & Pentapolis, & the bishops of all these regions (including Thebais) met together in provincial Councils at Alexandria as is manifest by the Councils of about 90 bishops which met at Alexandria out of all these regions A.C. 341 & 369. without the Imperial authority. [Athanas epist         et ad Afrop p.        As therefore all the Bishops under the power of the Bishop of Alexandria composed but of which he was President for the government of the whole Province one Pro{v}incial Council, so when the Council of Nice established this power of the bishop of Alexandria quia et Vrbis Romæ parilis mos est, they understood the power of the Bishop of Rome over those bishops only who met every spring & autumn in a provincial council at Rome for governing the Pro. & at other times for ordening Bishops of which he was Presiden{t}. And therefore Ruffin was not mistaken when he interpreted the Nicene Canon in these words: ut apud Alexandriam et in urb{illeg} Roma, vetusta consuetudo servetur ut vel ille Ægypti vel hic suburbicariarum ecclesiarum sollicitudinem gerat, meaning by suburbicarian Churches the churches which sent bishops annually to the provincial Cou{ncil} of Rome according to the Nicene decree, & whose Bishops were not ordeined without his consent that is the churches of the suburbicarian provinces or ten provinces under the Vicar of Rome. <1v>

And this is further manifest by the second Canon of the second general Council the Council of Constantinople which was convened A.C. 381. The Canon is this. Episcopi qui extra diœcesi{um}{m} sunt . . . . . dinoscitur. By this Canon there were five metropolitan bishops in all the Greek Empire, each of which had the care of his own diocess for ordinations & the ordering of affairs by a Council of the bishops of the diocess meeting every half year. The bishop of Alexandria governed Egypt Thebais Libya & Pentapolis by a Council of the Bishops of all these regions. The Bishop of Antioch governed the east that is Palestine, Phœnicia, Syria, Cilicia, Oshroena Meospotamia, , Isauria, Arabia, Cyprus, by a council of bishops out of all these regions. The bishop of Cæsarea of Cappadocia governed the Province or diocess of Pontus conteining Bithynia, Paphlagonia, Galatia prima & secunda, Honorias, Cappadocia, Pontus, Hellenopontus, Armenia prima & secunda. This diocess had its rise from the kingdoms of Mithridates & Ariobarzanes reduced into a Province by the Romans The bishop of Ephesus governed the diocess of Asia conteining Asia Proconsularis, Hellespontus, Pamphylia Lydia, Pisidia, Lycaonia, Phrygia Pacatiana, Phrygiasalutaris, Lycia, Caria & the Islands adjacent: & this Diocess had its rise from the kingdom of Pergamus reduced into a Province by the Romans. The bishop of Heraclea governed the Province of Thrace conteining Europa, Thrace, Hæmimons, Rhodopes, Mœsia secunda & Scythia. Europa was the principal part of Thrace & conteined Heraclea & Constinople And these five Metropolitans had each of them by the Canons of the Council of Nice their proper Council convened out all the Diocess [proper Councils of the bishops of {t}h{at} Diocess] convened annually for governing the Diocess,] & were independent of one another, & forbidden by this Canon of the Council of Constantinople to intermeddle with one anothers affairs. The Nicene decree therefore, as it is interpreted by the Council of Constantinople, gave power to every metropolitan to ordein Bishops & govern his diocess by a Council of the Bishops thereof & his power extended no farther then the Diocess which sent bishops to his Council. The Bishops of Rome, Carthage, Aquiléia, Millain, Thessalomica, Arles      &c had each of them their Provincial Councils & the power of each by the Nicene Decree extended only over those churches which sent bishops to his Council. And this power was not in the Metropolitan alone but in him & the Council of the Diocess together, He was authorized only to act as President of the Council & had a negative vote in Ordinations. Seing therefore that the provincial Council of the Bishop of Rome extended not into the eastern ( Empire for the bishops of the eastern churches had councils of their own & industriously avoided coming to Rome); not into Afric (for the bishops of Afric met in Councils at Carthage; not into the diocess of Millain for this diocess had its own council & so had the Diocess of Aquileia & that of Arles & that of Arminum: & seing the designe & end of the Council of every diocess or Province with its President or Metropolitan, was to take care of the affairs of the Diocess & particularly of the ordinations of the Bishops thereof: its manifest that the authority of the Bishop of Rome for ordeining Bishops & regulating ecclesiastical affairs extended no further by the Nicene decree then the Diocess of Rome. It extended no further then the authority of the <2r> Council of the Diocess of this bishop extended, & the authority of this Council with its President the Bishop of Rome extended no further then the Diocess which sent bishops to the Council, & this Diocess extended not into the Diocess of Aquileia Millain or Ariminum but comprehended only the southern parts of Italy with the Islands adjacent or ten suburbicarian regions above mentioned The Council of Nice set up no Patriarchal authority. They only declare{d} Rome the first Metropo{litan} of the Empire, Alexandria the second, Antioch the 3d &c & that every Metropolitan with his Council shoul{d} have power over his own Diocess. Patriarchs were of a later date.

And therefore when the Bishop of Rome upon an appeal of Apiarus from the Bishops of Afric sent to them to receive him into communion & & for his doing so pretended the authority of the Council of Nice [for his excercising this authority over them cited the words of the Council of Serdica for a Canon of the Council of Nice, the Bishops of Afric were in the right to send for the Acts of the Council of Nice & upon consulting them, to tell him that he was mistaken.

And when Pope Iulius summoned the Eastern bishops to appear before him in a Council at Rome: those bishops (some of which had been in the Council of Nice) were in the right to let him know that he acted without authority & to reprehend him very sharply for his arrogance & threaten to excommunicate him if he did not forbear this illegal hostility.

So then the Bishop of Rome in the times of the Council of Nice was only Metropolitan of the suburbicarian Churches that is, bishop of their Metropolis & President of their Council{,}{.} And tho he endeavoured soon after to extend his authority over the Councils of other diocesses, yet he was checkt by the eastern bishops & baffled by the Emperor Constantius & forced to be content with his own Diocess till the reign of the Emperor Gratian by whose Edict for Appeals he becam{e} Patriarch of the west.

At the same time that the patriarchal dominion of this Bishop was set up over all the west, the like patriarchal dominion of the Bishop of Constantinople was set up over a great part of the Eastern Empire. Before the building of Constantinople by Constantine the great & for some time after he was subordinate to the bishop of Heraclea the Metropolitan of Thrace. The Council of Constantinople A.C. 381, gave him the honour of the second Bishop of the Roman Empire by this Canon. Constantinopolitanæ civitatis Episcopum habere oportet Primatus honorem post Romanum Episcopum propetrea quod sit nova Roma. [Can. 3] And after he had gained the honour of this primacy he assumed to himself the right of ordeining the Metropolitans of the Diocesses of Thrace Asia & Pontus, & thereb{y} gained a power over them & being got into possession was establish{ed} Patriarch over those Diocesses by this Canon of the Council of Act 16. Chalcedon Sedi senioris R{illeg} propter imperium civitatis illius Patres [Nicæni] consequenter privile{illeg} reddiderunt; et eadem intentione permoti centum quinquaginta Dei <2v> amantissimi Episopi æqua sanctissimæ Sedi novæ Romæ privilegia tribuerunt, rationabiliter judicantes Imperio et Senatu urbem ornatam æquis senioris Romæ privilegÿs frui, et in Ecclesiasticis, sicut illam, majestatem habere negotÿs & secundam post illam existere: et his qui de Ponto sunt et de Asia & Thracia diœcesibus, Metropolitanos solos; rursus autem et qui inter Barbaros sunt, Episcopos præfatorum diœcese{w}n ordinari a prædictæ sanctissimæ Constantinopolitanæ sedis sanctissima Ecclesia: (Quippe ut unusquisque Metropolita præfatarum Diœcesewn cum Episcopis suæ Provinciæ ordinet suæ regionis episcopos, sicut divinis Canonibus est præceptum:) ordinari autem (sicut dictum est) metropolitas præfatarum diœcese{w}n a Constinopolitano Archiepiscopo, electionibus consonis secundum morem factis & ad eum relatis. Here the honour & authority granted to the bishops of Rome & Constantinople is plainly ascribed by the Council to the dignity & grandure of the cities. But whereas the Council of Chalcedon ascribes this grant to the Councils of Nice & Constantinople those Councils granted no ordinations of forreign Metropolitans, no ordinations of Bishops forreign to the anniversary Councils of the bishops who ordeined them. Such ordinations were incroached afterwards by the Bishops of Rome & Constantinople. In all the Diocess of Alexandria no bishop could be ordeined without the consent of the bishop of Alexandria & those of his Council & so of the Diocess of Antioch, & all the bishops ordeined by them attended their anniversary Councils. But the Bishops of Rome & Constantinople ordeined Metropolitans of Diocesses forrein to their Councils without claiming a right to ordein the bishops under those Metropolitans. Non enim, saith Pope Leo I, nobis ordinationes vestrarum Provinciarum defendimus, We do not arrogate to our selves a power of ordeining in your Provinces. This power of Ordeining all the inferior bishops in their several diocesses the forreign Metopolitans preserved to themselves for many ages: but at length the Pope wrested this power also from them. First, Pope Nicholas I A.C. 861 wrested it from the obnoxious Bishop of Ravenna by this sentence in a Council at Rome A.C. 861{,}{.} [1] Episcopos per Æmiliam ne consecrato, nisi a clero populoque electos et literis super ea re a Pontifice missis. Eosdem Episcopos, quotiescunque ad apostolicum sedem venire voluerint, ne prohibeto: And afterwards other Popes wrested it from other metropolitans.

By the {C}anons of the Councils of Constantinople & Chalcedon it appears that the authority of the Patriarch of Constantinople extended also over the Churches of several barbarous nations or nations without the bounds of the Roman Empire. Nilus Doxapatrius (who lived in the 11th century) in his book partly published by Leo Allatius tells us that this Bishop was over the Churches of the barbarians in Chersonesus [Taurica] & Chazaria & Chaldia & Gothia & Abasgia & Iberia & Alania [a large country upon the river Tanais] & great Russia, & sent them metropolitans; & Balsamon [in Can 18 Concil. Chalc. saith that Alania (a larg{e} country upon the river Tanais northward of mount Cancasus) was under the Diocess of Pontus & Russia under that of Thrace. Whence it may be gathered that the Power of the Bishop of Constantinople extended northward over all Churches among the barbarous nations in the regions between Dacia & the river Volga, the Christian religion being propagated into those regions by the Christians of the Greek Empire who fled thither in times of persecution, & chiefly in the persecutions of Decius Dioclesian & Maximinus, & they & their disciples continuing in obedience to the Churches from whence they fled. The Patriarchate of Constantinople was therefore as large as th{at} of the Bishop of Rome.

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but at length she separates & escapes into the wilderness, while the rest fall away to the worship of the Beast & his Image. And none are permitted to buy or 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 persecutes first the Woman & then the remnant of her seed, & the multitude that comply receive the mark of the Beast & worship his Image but those that persevere in the persecutions are said to have the testimony of Iesus & to receive the seal of God in their forehead & that in their mouth there was found no lye. There are Gods witneses & from the first division of the Church represented by the two wings of the Woman they are called the two Witnesses. These are the saints with whom the Beast makes war & the martyrs of Iesus with whose blood the Whore is made drunken, & the first fruits unto God in respect of the following harvest. They are sealed out of all the twelve tribes of Israel & therefore are the true Church Catholick of C{hri}st in a state of affliction & dispersion. {.} And tho they are called two Witnesses yet we are not to conceive that they always continue distinguished into two bodies It suffices that they are descended from the Woman with two wings & kept the testimony of Iesus when she degenerated From their first rise the name of two witnesses is henceforward given to the whole Church Catholic in affliction & to every considerable part hereof much after the same manner that the ten horned Beast & two horned Beast are so called from the first number of their horns & keep those names notwithstanding that the number might afterwards vary , & that the seven Churches of Asia are put for the Church catholick in all ages in respect of their first number.

The occasion of the division of the Empire was the building on Constantinople

– persecutes first the Woman & then the remnant of her seed & the multitude degenerates, becom{e} 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 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 to the Woman & from that division of the Church made in the beginning of their testimony 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 primitive number. 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 not because they always have 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 after the name is once given them it may signify the people of God or any considerable part of his people seated in any part of the world at any time after she is separated from them. These are the saints who worship in the inner court of the Temple & upon the sea of glass, 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 in the Wilderness, & the first fruits unto God in respect of the harvest which was to follow in the great tribulation

And as the Woman with her two Wings after her separation from the Witnesses & flight into the Wilderness is put for the Church of the western Empire alone notwithstanding her two wings so the two Witnesses after the same separation may signify Gods people or any considerable part of them in either Empire or in any part of the world. 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 [Editorial Note 1] 3 saints who worship in the inner court of the Temple, & on mount Sion who set the victory by their testimony, & on the sea of glass, the 4 holy city troden underfoot by the Gentiles, the 1 martyrs who are mysically killed for not worshipping the Image of the Beast, the 5 saints with whom the Beast makes war & whom he overcomes & kills in the streets of the great city. & the 6 martyrs of Iesus with whose blood the Whore is drunken & the 2 first fruits unto God

And so also the Iews in their Cabbala turned the attributes of God into persons which they called Sephiras, having perhaps learnt this sort of philosophy from the heathens in the time of their captivity. ⊕ < insertion from the bottom of the page > [⊕ And the primitive hereticks did the like For being instructed in the heathen philosophy & theology before they became Christians, they were apt to wrest the scriptures to their notions. Whence came the Æons of the Gnosticks. & the opinion that the Son was the λόγος ἐνδιάθι{γο}ς the inherent reason wisdom & understanding of the father without which the father would be ἄσοφος & ἄλογος void of wisdom & understanding <3r> For this was the doctrine of Valentinius Baribides & the Gnosticks, of Tatian & the Encratites, {illeg} Proculus Æschines Tertullian & the Montanists, of Praxeas Hermogenes Artemas Paul of Sam{osata} Sabellius & the Patripassians & of Theophilus & Eustathius bishops of Antioch, Athenagoras & Clemens Alexand{er} masters of the school at Alexandria & some others of note in communion with {illeg} Christian religion, And And now this spirit of error the old serpent which had hitherto reigned in the throne of the heathen Empire being cast out came down among the inhabitants of the earth & sea with great wrath. For now great multitudes of heathen, flocking into the churches for temporal ends readily imbraced this sort of Theology, teaching that Christ was the inherent wisdom of the father. Constantine the great & some Bishops about him lapsed into this opinion & so did the Council of Serdica as I gather from their Letter published intire by Theodoret. < text from f 3v resumes > The Dragon in respect of this spirit of error & idolatry is c{a}lled that old serpent the Devil & Satan who deceiveth the whole world.

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[2] But Gods witnesses prophesied against this opinion & the earth also helped the Woman . For when Constantius came against Magnentius.

& all the short time that this old serpent rages amongst the Christian inhabitants of the earth & sea & persecutes the saints they testify against him begin{nin}g their testimony when the Woman begins to be persecuted & received two wings of a great Eagle to fly into the wilderness. For in all persecutions the saints have the testimony of Iesus. And from the division of the Church at that time when they beg{a}{i}n their testimony & were in communion with the woman they are called the two witnesses as was said above & to denote their suffering under persecution they are represented by the two flaming eyes & two burning leggs of the son of Man standing upon the earth & sea.

– And all the short time of the Dragons wrath the saints testify against him For in all persecutions the saints have the testimony of Iesus. They begin their testimony therefore when he begin{s} 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 they against the abomination of the wildern{ess} are there represented by two candlesticks of olive tree, & to express their sufferings under persecution they are represented also by the flaming eyes & burning leggs of the son of man standing upon the earth & sea, [& 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. For his coming was with all signes & lying wonders pretended to be done by the saints & their reliques for setting up the doctrine of Demons & the worship of the dead in that Court. For the Gentiles in the outward Court are the man of sin sitting in the temple of God, with an outward form of Church government & a publick worship of his own Gods{,} set up {there} by himself under a form of Godliness to deceive the people while the saints are in a state of persecution & captivity represented by the flaming eyes & burning leggs {illeg} the son of man, & worship God in secret.

{illeg}sun moon & stars she is represented {a} God politic. She was {illeg} th{illeg} power represented by the sun & had the people represented by the Moon under {illeg} cr{ow}n of twelve stars upon her head.

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[Editorial Note 2]

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1. 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 [& particularly all the nations within the Roman Empire] are the subject of sacr{e}d Prophesy in the new especially of the Apocalypse which was given by Christ himself. Now The Christian religion has been propagated through all the Roman Empire & through all {t}         the northern nations bordering upon it, & the Roman Empire was almost about double to the northern nations & has consisted of two Empires about equal to one another, the Greek Empire & the Latine. The Greek Empire comprehended Greece Asia Georgia Armenia Mesopotamia Syria Arab. Pen. Egypt & Cyrene & past erected by Alexander the great, The Latine Empire comprehended Italy, Sicily Barbary Spain France Britain Rhætia Noricum Pannonia & Illyricum. The northern nations are < insertion from f 4r > The northern nations are Walachia Moldavia Transylvania, the Vpper Hungary Germany, Denmark, Swedeland Poland moscovy{.} The northern nations next the Empire received the Christian religion early especialy those neare Greece: for Dacia comprehending Walachia Moldavia Transylvania & upper hungary were conquered by Trajan & continued long under the dominion of the Romans & the Ostrogoths & Visigoths who inhabited Dacia sent their chief Bishop to the Council of Nice & were generally Christians in the fourth & fift centuries when they invaded the Empire, & Irenæus 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 religion into all Germany by conquest & from thence it began at the same time to spread into Denmark Swedeland & Poland. The great Duke of Russia embraced the religion of the Greek Church about the year of Christ 989: but the Christian religion was spread there among the common people before. And now all the northern part of Europe two fesses Christianity & has done so some hundreds of years. The Christian religion has been propagated also from Egypt into Ethiopia above Egypt. But the Churches of those Ethiopians acknowledge themselves under the Church of Alexandria & receive their Bishops from thence & are some of them under the Turks & in that respect may referred to Ægypt, at least so far as they are considered in this Prophesy especially s{in}{m}. So then the Christian world which is the subject of this Prophesy consists of three parts, pretty equal to one another the Greek Empire, the Latine Empire & the northern nations. And by this division you may know that by the third part of the earth sea rivers Sun Moon & stars is meant the third part of this Christian world, or the earth sea rivers Sun Moon & stars of one of these three parts. As Israel is divided into twelve Tribes, so the Christian world which apostatises to the worship of the Beast & his Image is divided into these three parts or Tribes. 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 the same manner as the number of God's 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 3 the number of the tribes of them that worship the Beast.

The Empire of the Greeks was founded by Alexander the great & represented by Daniels Leopard & also by his Hee Goat in the reign of the great horn & in that of the four succeeding horns as Daniel himself interprets both in the prophesy of this Goat & in that of the Scripture of truth. In the reign of the little horn which succeeded them the Goat grew greater then ever but not in his own power. The power under which he grew mighty was that of the Romans. This horn waxed exceeding great towards the south & towards the east & therefore was a north west horn, the kingdom of Pergamus inherited by the Romans. From henceforward the Goat is the whole united Empire of Greeks & Latines untill they separate. And this separation begins with the division of the empire between Dioclesian & Maximianus, is advanced by the building of Constantinople for the Metropolis of the Greek Empire & finished by the dividing of the Empire between Valentinian & Valens, Gratian & Theodosius, Honorius & Arcadius reigning at Rome & Constantinople. And by this division the Nations through which the Christians world was diffused became resolved into three parts the two Empires & the northern nations as above.

The lives of Daniel's three first Beasts were prolongued after their dominion was taken away & all the four Beasts continued together alive untill a stone cut out of a mountain without hands fell upon the toes of Nebuchadnezzars Image & brake in pieces the whole Image, the gold the silver the brass & the iron representing the same four Monarchies with the Beasts . And therefore all the four Beasts are now in being. The first & second beyond the river Tigris are not yet converted to Christianity. The third is the Greek Empire erected by Alexander M. propagated through the Roman Empire, & afterwards separated & seated at Constantinople & now under the dominion of the Turks. The fourth is the Latin Empire first subduing devouring & breaking into ten kingdoms & still reigning in . And the two last Empires being Christian are represented by Iohns Dragon & ten horned Beast & described by Iohn under those types so far as Daniels prophesies remained to be fulfilled after Iohns days. <4v> Iohns Dragon is the third Monarchy & his tenhorned Beast the fourth. When the two Empires are united & considered as one monarchy they are represented in Daniel either by the fourth beast devouring & breaking & in pieces & stamping upon the nations of the third or by the He Goat growing greater then ever in the reign of his last horn, but not in his own power This horn being higher & greater then the first horn, includes both Empires, that of the Greeks which grew mighty & that of the Latines in whose power the Greeks grew mighty But after the Greeks & Latines separated the Latines ceased to belong to the body of the Goat. And in like manner the Dragon signifies both Empires together when they are united & considered as one, but when they are divided the Dragon signifies only the Greek empire. And therefore upon the division of the Empire a ten horned Beast rises out of the sea to respresent the Empire of the Latines. This is Daniels fourth Beast, & was in being before he rose out of the sea: for at his first rise he had all the Dragons heads & yet five of them were fallen & one of them was wounded to death with a sword & the mortal wound was healed before he rose. But the two Empires being united when Iohn wrote & Iohn takes no notice of the first rise of the Beast but considers him as latent in the Dragons body untill by a new division of the Empire he rises out of the sea; & receives the Dragons old throne.

Dacia being conquered by Trajan received the Christian religion very early sent its Bishops to the Council & was generally converted before its inhabitants the Goths & Vandals invaded the Empire. < text from f 5v resumes > The nations of these two Empires are represented severally by Daniel's third & fourth beasts & joyntly by his H{e}{ee} Goat. This Goat represented the Greek Empire alone till the Latine Empire arises & then it represented both together while they continue united And hence arises a division of the subject of the sacred prophesy of the new Testament into three parts, the nations of the Greek Empire the nations of the Latine Empire & the northern nations of Moscovy, Transylvania, Poland, Germany Swedelan{d} Denmark Christian nations without the bounds of both Empires: all which together compose the body of the Christian world. This division into three parts became visible at may be recconed to the division of the Empire between Dioclesian & his Collegue Maximianus, & more visible at the building of Constantinople for the Metropolis of the Eastern Empire & was completed by the division of the Empire between Valentinian & Valens, Gratian & Theodosius, Honorius & Arcadius. And by this division you may know that the third part of the earth, sea, Rivers, Sun Moon & stars signifies the earth, sea, Rivers Sun Moon & Stars of the third part of the Christian world, that is, of one of the three parts above mentioned. As Israel is divide{d} into twelve Tribes so the people who worship the Beast & his Image is divided into three parts of Tribes.

3. The Latine Empire being the fourth Beast of Daniel or 4th Monarchy stricktly so called, was to stand till the judgement should sit & the son of Man should come in the clouds to the ancient of days & the saints should take the kingdom. The Greek Empire being the third monarchy or third Beast is still in being. For the three first beasts or monarchies had their lives prolongued after their dominion was taken away, & all four continued together in being untill a stone cut out of the mountain without hands fell upon the toes of the Image & brake the whole image to pieces. This third Monarchy comprehending the nations of Greece Asia Syria & Egypt was represented at first – – – – – – reigning at Constantinople till the Turks subdued it, & is still alive under the dominion of the Turks. And while Daniels Beasts are still alive & the Prophesies of Daniel & Iohn were given by one & the same Holy Ghost: we may conclude that the Beasts in Iohn's Prophesy have relation to the Beasts in Daniel's prophesies & that as Daniel has in several Prophesies represented the same monarchies under several types & described them again & again in several manners so that the several prophesies being compared together may illustrate one another & be taken joyntly as one Prophesy several times repeated: so Iohn has represented the same monarchies under new types & described them again after a new manner so far as they remained to be fulfilled when Iohn wrote, so that the prophesies of Daniel & Iohn being compared together may illustrate one another & be taken joyntly as one complete prophesy. For even Iohn has described the same things again & again in various manners, & his descriptions wherever they synchronise must be compared together that they may illustrate one another & make one complete prophesy. These repeated descriptions of the same things in various manners by Daniel & Iohn & the other Prophets were designed to obscure the prophesies <5r> till the time of the end, & then to make the interpretation plane & sure And therefore Interpreters are to compare the prophesies one with another as far as they can be compared & to reconcile them & adjust them to one another as far as they can be adjusted without straining, & to find out their meaning by comparing reconciling & adjusting them together; & those Interpretations are always to be preferred which are best supported by the analogy of scripture & without straining reduce the prophesies to the greatest harmony & simplicity. For the Apocalyps is very full of Allusions to the prophesies of the old Testament & these allusions are to direct interpreters to compare the prophesies in order to interpret them

In this prophesy the same – – – – – – is the number of the name of the Beast

At length the Emperor Constantius having built a new Temple at Constantinople, & the custome of praying in the Martyries & building them splendidly being by long use grown into repute, the bodies of
were translated from their sepulchres into this Church by the Emperors order A.C. 359, & from that time it grew customary to dedicate new churches with the bodies of Martyrs buried in them. They buried in churches & Church yards at first only the reliques or pretended reliques of Martyrs, afterwards great men & at length all sorts of people as at this day. And even before this act of Constantius the Egyptians kept the bodies of their martyrs & saints unburied upon beds in their private houses.

– the Emperor Constantius beginning this practise about the year 359 by causing the bodies of Andrew the Apostle & Luke & Timothy{r} to be translated to Constanti{us} into a ⊕ new Church at Constantinople. And before this Act of Constantius the

I shall content my self with noting the time of the corruption. Sigonius tells us that the city Rome the people spending their time in taverns, & theatres & {illeg} & gaming & feasting & in the reign of Dioclesian was grown very luxurious through prosperity & then adds Atque hi quidem mores licet posteriores aliquot Imperatores emendare conati sunt tamen indies corruptiores deterioresque effecti sunt quousque tota Italia ocio marcescente ac diuturno prope languore torpente, barbari imperium ex omni parte debile invaserunt ac sævissime distraxerunt. Sigon. de Occid. Imp. l. 1. an. 302. And Zosimus refers the <4v> greatest decay of morals to the reign of Theodosius.

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Let us conceive therefore that when the Dragon goes to make war with the remnant of the womans seed he leaves the Woman flying into the wilderness & that the Beast which was wounded to death revives at the same time, & thereby, the Empire becomes distinguished but not yet fully divided into two Empires the Dragon in the east & Beast in the west & the Church becomes distinguished into two Churches the Woman in the west & the remnant of her seed in the east ready to break communion with one another. Let us further conceive That at the opening of the seventh Seal the first Beast by a {further new division &}{new division & further} separation rises out of the sea to succeed the Dragon in the west & that the second Beast rises out of the earth to succeed the Woman in the east & there sets up the worship of the first Beast & causes an Image to be erected to him & worshipped & that all men should be initiated in this new religion by receiving the mark or name of the first Beast or number of his name. The Woman flyes voluntarily into the spiritually barren wilderness, but the remnant of her seed keep the commandments of God untill the Dragon by the influence of the two horned Beast & the speaking Image of the other Beast, makes war upon them & mystically kills them dissolving their government & po{lyty} & taking away their dayly worship in the outward court & in the room thereof setting up the abomination of the wilderness, & all men are excommunicated & forbidden to buy & sell throughout the whole Empire who will not be initiated in this new religion. And now the twelve tribes of Israel, the inhabitants of the earth & sea to whom the Dragon came down, are initiated in this new religion by receiving the mark or name of the Beast or the number of his name, except the 144000 who are sealed with the name of God in their foreheads. And this is done in the whole Empire of both earth & sea between the opening of the seventh seale & the sounding of the first Trumpet because the four Angels were not to be hurt the earth & sea till the servants of God should be sealed out of all the twelve tribes of Israel & upon pouring out the first Vial there fell a noisome sore upon the men who had the mark of the Beast & who had. Thus the Empire became divided into two Empires represented by the Dragon & Beast & the Church of the Empire apostatized to the worship of the Beast & his Image & under an outward form of religion & Church government became divided into two fals Churches represented by the Woman & two horned Beast, & the true Church of God represented by the seven golden candlesticks & seven horns of the Lamb became reduced to the small number of 144000, & these whenever the times of the tabernacle & first temple are alluded unto are considered as the seed of the seven Churches of Asia & are still represented by the seven golden candlesticks & seven horns of the Lamb: but when the times of the Babylonian captivity & second temple are alluded unto, they are considered as the seed of the Woman with two Wings & represented by the two candlesticks of Olive-tree & two burning leggs of the son of Man & in opposition to the two fals Churches of the Dragon & Beast are called the two Witnesses of Iesus Christ. It is not necessary that they should always continue two distinct Churches: they have the name of two witnesses from their number when the name was first imposed. For they were the witnesses of Iesus Christ from the time that the Woman began to be persecuted by the Dragon & received two Wings of a great Eagle that she might fly from the persecutor.

Dacia being conquered by Trajan . . . . . . . . . time will discover. <6v>

At present it may be further observed that the seven Churches of Asia being seated in the Dragons kingdom & in the eastern part of the Roman Empire the first Temple with its golden candlesticks may be taken to represent the Church of God within the Dragons kingdom from the beginning to the end of the prophesy whether that kingdom be the whole Roman empire or the eastern part thereof. And by consequence when the Woman flies from the Dragon & from this Temple {in to}{into} the wilderness & ceases to be a part of Christs mystical body & so is no longer represented by the seven horn{e}{s} of the Lamb nor by the seven Candlesticks, the Temple of the Tabernacle with its seven candlesticks becomes restrained to signify the remnant of the womans seed which she leaves behind her in this Temple & in the kingdom of the Dragon who came down to the inhabitants of the earth & sea in the outward court of this Temple. And when the Dragon has made war with the remnant of the Womans seed & mystically killed their bodies polytick ( or dissolved their particular churches ) then this temple with its seven Candlesticks is restrained to signify the remnant of that remnant, those within the Dragons kingdom who persist in the testimony of Iesus & are sealed with the seal of God. And when the ten horned Beast is risen out of the Sea to succeed the Dragon in the west & the Woman with her two wings is fled into this western wilderness & become the Church of this Beast then a new Temple is built with two candlesticks of olive-tree to succeed the first Temple in the western part of the Empire & represent the Church of God within the kingdom of {the} Beast in opposition to the Woman, that is, to represent the people of God within the western Empire or as many of them as are sealed with the seale of God. For by the same figure that [Editorial Note 3] ② the Woman with her two Eagles wings at first represented the Church of God throughout the whole Roman Empire & was afterward restrained to signify the Church of the western Empire in a state of Apostasy; & that ① the Dragon with his ten horns at first signified the Whole Roman Empire & was afterward restrained to signify only the eastern part thereof: ③ the two Witnesses may at first signify all Gods sincere people in the whole Roman Empire from the time that the Woman received two wings of a great eagle & afterwards be restrained to signify all his sincere people in the western part thereof. When the Dragon began to persecute the Woman they began their testimony against him & against the flood which he cast out of his mouth & whe{n} the woman separated from them & her Beast revived & rose out of the sea & began to be worshipped & to persecute the saints they began their testimony against her & her Beast. They are derived from the Womans two wings & opposed to her & where she reignes they prophesy against her corruptions. And these are the saints with whose blood she is drunken, the Saints with whom the Beast makes war & whom he overcomes They have power to shut heaven that it rain not in the days of their prophesy & therefore they prophesy in a dry barren regim the wilderness where Iohn saw the Woman sitting upon her Beast. And when . . . . . . & when these two Witnesses shall have finished their testimony against the great city Babylon the Beast makes war against them & overcomes them & kills them in the streets of this great city & therefore they prophesy in his kingdom. I do not understand that Iohn saw two Temples at once. All the visions, as I said, appeare in one & the same Temple & this Temple with its Candlesticks represents the whole Church: but when the times of the Tabernacle & first Temple are alluded unto it represents the people of God within the kingdom of the Dragon & when the times of the second Temple are alluded unto it represents the people of God within the kingdom of the Beast; & accordingly as the Dragon & Beast are taken <7r> for the whole Empire or restrained to a part thereof the temple with {illeg} candlesticks is taken for all the sincere people of God within the whole Empire or restrained to a part thereof. And by the same figure that the Dragon keeps his ten horns & the Woman her two wings after they are separated from one another, the Witnesses may keep the name of two witnesses after they are separated both from the Dragon & from the Woman. And also {by} the same figure that several parts of the Image in Nebuchadnezzars dream are put for several Monarchies & several horns of a Beast are put for several dominions the several members of Christs mystical body may signify several parts of the Church. When the Dragon & Beast with common heads & horns are taken each of them for the whole Empire the mystical body of Christ whether in the form of a man or in that of a Lamb, may be taken for all the people of God in the whole Empire. And when the Dragon & Beast are restrained to several parts thereof, the horns of the Lamb may be restrained to the people of God within the Dragons kingdom & the leggs of the son of man to those within the kingdom of the Beast. And thus the Roman Empire will become divided into two Empires each with its Church both false & true: the Dragon the Beast with two horns & the seven Churches of Asia in the east, & the Beast with ten horns, the Woman with two wings & the two Witnesses in the West.

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✝ Let us conceive
therefore that the
Dragon

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 Vials of wrath to pour out upon the apostates: & when the second Temple is alluded unto the two Witnesses execute the seven plagues. If any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth & devoureth their enemies. These have power to shut heaven that it rain not in the days of their prophesy, & have power over waters to turn them to blood & to smite the earth with all plague as often as they will.

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To worship in the outward court is to worship in an outward form of religion & church government, {&} there to worship the Beast & his Image is to serve the Gods which they set up & to keep their laws above the laws of God.

Vntill the sealing & marking of the twelve Tribes the Whole is represented by {the} Woman & by the sevenfold golden Candlestick, & the 144000 are included in these representations; but when the multitude of the twelve tribes falls away is spread out of Christs mouth receives the mark of the Beast & becomes the Man of sin, the 144000 begin to be represented apart, & from their sufferings & testimony & their being the remainder of the Womans two Wings are called the two Witnesses{. } And at the same time the sevenfold golden candlestick ceasing to represent the Woman & the Worshippers of the Beast is removed out of its place & two candlesticks of olive-tree succeed to represent the remaining 144000. And at the same time the worshippers of the Beast < insertion from above the line of f 8v > by the division of the Empire into two Empires <9r> with their Churches, the Woman who flyes into the w. & separates from the remnant of her seed < text from f 8v resumes > become distinguished into four bodies, The Beast who rises out of the sea, & soon after receives the Dragons throne the Dragon who makes war with that remnant & mystically kills those that will not worship the Image of the Beast, & the two horned Beast] the Beast who rises out of the sea & is deified the Woman who separates from the remnant of her seed, & becomes his Church, the Dragon who makes war upon the remnant & the two horned beast who deifies the other Beast & by whose influence the Dragon mysticall{y} kills those that would not worship his Image.

The Temple being the scene of the Visions, I conceive that it remains the same.

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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 receedes from the communion of the remnant of her seed & the multitude receive the mark of her 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 God cease to be a part of the Womans mystical body & both parties begin to be represented apart by proper types. The mystical body of Christ & the Candlesticks in the Temple henceforth 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 first Beast rises out of the sea & the other Beast deifies him & causes all men to worship his image & receive his mark.

<8v>

& them [the 144000] who worship therein is measured to signify the building of a second Temple, & in this Temple those that were sealed are represented by two Candlesticks of Olivetree, in respect of their sufferings & testimony they are called the two witnesses of Christ. As they are the remnant of the mystical body of the Lamb with seven horns they are represented by the seven golden candlesticks in the Temple of the tabernacle & as they are the remnant of the mystical body of Christ with two flaming eyes & two burning leggs & of the mystical body of the woman with two wings they are represented by two candlesticks of olive tree in the second Temple & called two witnesses. We are not to conceive that two Temples appeared together in the visions. All the visions appeared in one & the same Temple, but in allusion to several states of the Iewish nation the scene is changed in this Temple so that it may represent either the tabernacle or the first or second Temple according to the nature of the visions.

when the woman after the Dragon goes from her to make war with the remnant of her seed, separate in communion from that remnant & the two Beasts rise out of the sea & earth & the second deifies the first & makes all his power as a God before & causeth the earth to worship him & caused an image{o} to be made to him & worshipped & makes the fire of excommunication against the remnant of the womans seed some down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men, & 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 will not receive his mark, & all the twelve tribes of Israel receive his mark except the 144000 who at the same time are sealed with the seale of God.

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✝For the better understanding

While the twelve Tribes continue entire the whole is represented by the Woman in heaven & by the sevenfold golden Candlestick & by the mystical body of Christ. But when the multitude separates & receives the mark of the Beast these cease to be represented by the by the ho Candlesticks in the Temple & by the mystical body of Christ & b & the rest that are sealed with the seale of God cease to be represented by the Woman & each begin to have their distinct types. Those that are sealed are still represented by the mystical body of Christ & by Candlesticks in the Temple & t are considered either as worshipping in the Temple of the tabernacle & then they may continue to be represented by the sevenfold golden candlestick which was placed in the Tabernacle & first Temple; & to signify a new state of the Church the Temple of the Tabernacle is dedicated with smoke from the glory of God. Or else they are considered as worshipping in the second Temple & then they are represented by the two Candlesticks of Olivetree which were placed in that Temple, Zech. 4. In the first case they are considered as the remnant of the seven Churches, represented by the seven candlesticks & the seven horns{,} in the second of the Lamb; in the second as the remnant of the woman with two Wings & of the mystical body of Christ with two flaming eyes & two burning leg{gs}{s}. In the first case they are called the 144000 in the second the two Witnesses. With allusion to various types they have various names But whether they be represented by the golden candlesticks in the Tabernacle or by the candlesticks of Olivetree in the second Temple, the Church catholick is typified by the Candlest{ick}{icks} & this Church catholick is one & the same in both cases. And as for those that receive the mark of the Beast, they are distinguished into two kingdoms each with its Church, as was said above For the worship of the Beast is universal. All men wonder after him whose names are not written in the book of life the subjects of the Dragon as well as the subjects of the Beast. And these are the Gentiles or nations in the outward court. They have a form of godliness an outward form of religion & Church government & therefore are said to worship in the outward court They tread under foot the holy city & therefore are the Babylonian gentiles. For in this part of the prophesy the Babylonian captivity is alluded unto. By the sealing a few out of the 12 tribes & rejecting the rest the first Temple is destroyed. And the same thing is signified by measuring the inward court & leaving the outward court unmeasured & giving it to the gentiles. Measuring is a type of building & in the Babylonian captivity the inward court was rebuilt for the worship of God & the outward court left unbuilt & called the gentiles court & left open to the Babylonians. These Gentiles are also called the Beast which ascendeth out of the abyss that is the Beast on which the whore of Babylon sitteth, & this Beast acts in the streets of the great City, that is in the provinces of the great city Babylon which reigneth over the kings of the earth, & this city is spiritually called Sodom in relation to the fornication which the kings of the earth commit with the great Whore, & Egypt in relation to the Dragon. For the two-horned Beast deified the other Beast & caused the people of the Dragons kingdom to worship the Image of that Beast & receive his mark. It is also called the city where our Lord was crucified, or the great Antichrist{,}{;} the city of the twelve tribes in a state of apostasy rebellion & enmity against Christ, the city which was drunken with the blood of the martyrs of Iesus, not the holy city but the city of the synagogue of Satan who say they are Iews & are not & tread underfoot the holy city & worship the Beast & his Image in the outward court of the Temple, & crucify the Lord afresh.

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When the Empire became Christian {&} the Emperors (Constantine & his sons) began to reign over the Church as the head thereof then the little horn magnified it self to the Prince of the host. beginning to sit in the Temple of God & to magnify himself above eve{ry}{n} God And it took away the daily worship & cast down the place of his sanctuary. that is of the sanctuary of his people the Christians. For the Prince of the host is Iesus Christ. ground. –This it did by persecuting the Church & especially in the vehement & lasting persecution of Dioclesian. Then it magnified it self to the Prince of the host, or throne of Iesus Christ . When the Empire became Christian – – – – – – host is Iesus Christ. And an Host or Church [the Church represented in the Apocalyps by the two horned Beast ] was given it by means of transgression



Dioclesian: as is represented also in the Apocalyps by the Dragons drawing the third part of the stars of heaven with his tail & casting them to the earth. Then it magnified it self to the Prince of the host – –

It is observable also that the war of the Romans upon the Iews whereby the daily sacrifice of the Iews was taken away commenced in spring A.C. 67 & the doctrine of transubstantiation (which completed the setting up of the abomin{a}tion of desolation) was established

The Atlantides (according to Diodorus l 3 c 4) related that Vranus was their first King & reduced them from a savage course of life & caused them to dwell in towns & cities & use & lay up the fruits of the earth & to do many other things usefull to life & that he reigned over a great part of the world & by his wife Titǽa had eighteen children among which were Hyperion & Basilea the parents of Helio & Selene, that the brothers of Hyperion slew him & drowned Helio in the Nile & divided the Kingdom amongst themselves, & that the country bordering upon the ocean fell by lot to Atlas from whom the people were called Atlantides. By Vranus, Hyperion & Helio I understand Ammon, Osiris & Orus, & by the sharing of the kingdom of Hypereon amongst his brothers I understand that division of the earth among the Gods mentioned in the Poem of Solon

The Oriental nations reccon, the kingdom of Pischdadians to be the oldest of all the kingdoms in Persia. They tell us that there were seven successive kings in this kingdome some of which lived a thousand years a piece, & that in the reign of the last of them called Nodar, Persia was invaded conquered & slain by Afrasiab king of Turquestan or Scythia beyond the river Oxus. But Afrasiab was repulsed & beaten back beyond that river by Zab or Zoub a Prince of the race of the former kings of Persia & after a while returned with a potent army from Turquestan & overcame Gustasp the son of Zab & conquered all Persia, & put an end to the reign of the Pischdadiens. But after a few years was driven out again by the assistance of the Medes, but returning with a fresh army was routed & slain in the mountains of Med{i}a. The name of Afrasiab or Farsiab, they say, was given him from his conquering Persia. He seems to be the Madyes or Medus of Herodotus & Iustin       or rather a contemporary Prince of the Scythians who from the river Oxus invaded the eastern parts of Persia while Madyes from the western side of the Caspian invaded the Medes & Assyrians. For these Pischdian kings seem to have reigned in the north-eastern parts of Persia bordering upon the river Oxus or Iaxartes while the kings of Assyria reigned at Nineveh,

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– many years. But if you should think that the Senate & people of Rome who made Charles their Emperor. were at that time too mean a dominion to be recconed one of the ten horns or that the Romans & their new Emperor ought to be considered as one dominion which was rather exalted then depressed by this change: or that the Pope was not yet risen up to his greatness so as to reign over the (for the new Emperor was his superior.): you may cansider this dominion of the Romans now headed by the western Emperors as the horn which remained to be humbled & brought into subjection by the Pope. For these new Emperors continued superior to the Pope till the days of Pope Gregory VII But this Pope Excommunicated the Emperor Henry the fourth, with all his adherents & deposed him absolving his subjects from their allegiance, & when he had taken off the first excommunication he excommunicated him a second time & forbad all all temporal Princes to meddle with investitures . For these new Emperors continued superior to the Popes till the days of Pope Gregory VII. But this Pope A.C. 1076 I{n}{u}dict 14 Excommunicated & deposed the Emperor Henry IV & absolved his subjects from their allegiance{.} And two years after in other Councils he excommunicated many that opposed him & decreed that none of the Clergy should receive investitures of Bishoprics, Abbies, or Churches from Emperors or Kings or any of the laity under pain of excommunication. And the next year, A.C. 1079 he decreed the doctrine of transubstantiation. While these things were doing the Germans had elected a new Emperor Rudolphus, & the Pope meeting the Emperor Henry in Lombardy had taken off the excommunication but not restored him to the Empire. But the next year A.C. 1080 the Pope in another Council at Rome excommunicated him with all his adherents & deposed him & absolved his subjects from their allegiance a second time & established Rodolphus in the throne of the Empire & granted to all that should adhere to him absolution from all their sins & benediction both in this life & in that which is to come & concluded the sentence with these words. Agite nunc quæso Patres & Principes sanctissimi ut omnis mundus intelligat et cognoscat, quia sicut potestas in {cælo}{cœlo} ligare et solvere, potestis in terra Imperia Regna Principatus Ducatus Marchias Comitatus & omnium hominum possessiones pro meritis tollere unicuique & concedere. And henceforward the bishop of Rome had a look more stout then his followers.

After Daniel – – –

And the said Master or his Deputy shall pay unto such Officers or Workmen that shall be employed in making of the several gold & silver pieces round before they are sized & for the marking the edges of them with letters & grainings & for the keeping in repair all the Rollers & Instruments to cut flatten make round & size the pieces & to mark the edges of the moneys with letters & grainings & all other Tools Engines & Instruments, such allowance from time to time as shall be directed by the High Treasurer or Commissioner of the Treasury for the time being not exceeding the summ of six pence for every pound weight Troy of gold moneys & the summ of three half pence for every pound weight Troy of gold moneys & the summ of three half pence for every pound weight Troy of the said Silver moneys as also for the making labour & expences therein.

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Rome was governed by a Duke under the exarch of Ravenna till the reign of the Emperor Philippicus A.C. 711. This Emperor for declaring against the worship of Images which had been long overspreading the Greek Empire was excommunicate{d} by Pope Constantine & the people of Rome being stirred up , the Pope with their consent & by their command decreed that neither the Emperors letters nor his money should be received, nor his statue as was the custome should be brought into the Church, nor his name be proclai{m}ed in sacred solemnities because he was a heretick within the Dutchy. Whereupon the City of Ravenna also revolted & slew Iohn the Exarch & all Italy was in expectation of a revolution. The next year one Peter came from the Emperor Philippicus to be Duke of Rome & advanced with an armed force but was met by a body of the Romans & beaten back. But the next year Philippicus being dead, Peter was received into Rome upon an oath that he would consult their welfare. After this in the year 726 the Emperor Leo Isaurus to put a stop to the worship of Images called a meeting of Councellours & Bishops in his Palace & by their advice put out an edict against that worship & wrote to Pope Gregory the second that a general Council might be called. But the Pope thereupon calling a Council at Rome confirmed the worship of Images excommunicated the Greek Emperor & absolved his subjects in Italy from their allegiance & absolved the people of Italy from their allegiance & forbad them to pay tribute or otherwise to be obedient to him & the people of Rome & Campania & Ravenna & the Pentapolitans revolted & laid violent hands upon their magistrates, killing the Exarch Paul at Ravenna, & blinding Peter at Rome, & when Exhileratus Duke of Campania incited the people against the Pope the Romans invaded Campania & slew him with his son Hadrian. Then a new Exarch Eutychius coming to Naples sent some secretly to take away the lives of the Pope & the nobles of Rome but the plot being discovered the Romans revolted absolutely from the Emperor & took a oath to preserve the life of the Pope & to defend their state & be obedient to its authority in all things. Thus Rome with its Dutchy including part of Tuscia & campania revolted & became a free state under the government of the Senate of the City. [The towns which revolted & became subject to this state were Rome, with its castels towns & villages in the parts of Tuscia videlicet Postus, Circumcellæ, Cæræ, Bleda, Manturanum, Sutrium, Nepet, Castellum Gallesij, Orta, Polimartium Ameria Tuter Perusia Harnia, & Ocriculi, & in the parts of Latium Signia, Anagnia, Ferentinum Alatrium Patricum Frusino & Tibur & in the region of Campania Sora Arces Aquinum Teanum & Capua.] At that time the Lombards also being zealous for the worship of Images & pretending to favour the cause of the Pope invaded the cities of the Exarchate.

At length Pope Zechary . . . . . . . . . . And this the second kingdom which fell before the little horn.

In the year 796 Leo III being made Pope, notified his election to Charles the great by this Legates sending to him for a present the golden keys of the confession of Saint Peter & the banner of the City & desired Charles to send some of his Princes to Rome who might subject the Roman people to him & bind them to this subjection by oath, as is mentioned by Sigonius & by an anonymous Poet published by Boeclerus at Strasburg. The words of the Poet are

Admonuitque pijs precibus, qui nuttere vellet

Ex proprijs aliquos primoribus ac sibi plebem

Subdere Romanam, servandaque fœdera cogens

Hanc fidei sacramentis promittere magnis.

[For it seems the Romans at this time {,} looked upon themselves as a free & soveraing people like old Romans under there Senate, & upon the Pope not as their lawful Prince but as the bishop of their city who was asurping an unjust power over them. For about two or three years after they raised so great tumults against him as gave occasion to a new state of things in all the west. For some of the Clergy accused him of certain crimes, & betraye him to an armed force of the Romans which seized him, stript him of his sacerdotal habit & imprisoned him in a monastery. But by the assistance of some friends he made his escape & fled into Germany to Charles the great & complained of the Romans for acting against him out of a design of throwing off the authority of the Church & recovering their ancient liberty. And the Romans who accused him seized his possessions with an armed force & sent the accusation into France to Charles, & before the end of the yeare Charles sent the Pope back to Rome And the Nobles & Bishops of France who accompanied the Pope examined {th}e chief of the accusers & sent them into France in custody. And the next year Charles himself went to Rome & upon a day appointed presided in a Council of Italian & French Bishops to hear both parties. But when the Popes adversaries expected to be heard the Council declared that he who was the su <11v> preme judge of all men was above being judged by any other then himself. And thereupon the Pope made a solemn declaration of his innocense. And a few days after the people of Rome looking upon themselves with their senate as a free people to whom the ancient rights of the Romans were legally descended, voted Charles their Emperor & subjected themselves to him in such a manner as the old Romans with their senate were subject to the old Roman Emperors, & the Pope crowned him & him annointed him & worshipped him after the manner of adoring the old Roman Emperors, as the said Poet thus mentions

Post laudes igitur dictus & summus eundem

Præsul adoravit, sicut mos debitus olim

Principibus fuit antiquis.

And the Emperor mutually took the following oath to the Pope ....... December A.C. 800. The Emperor was also made Consul ② of Rome & his son Pipin king of the Romans. And henceforward ① And henceforward &c the Emperors effigies was put upon the Coins of Rome & the election of the Pope was to be approved by the Emperor as in the times of the old Roman Empire & ① the Emperor stiled himself Carolus serenissimus Augustus a Deo coronatus, magnus, pacificus, Romæ gubernans imperium & was prayed for in the Churches at Rome. ③ Hitherto the right of the Roman Empire had been in the Greek Emperors but now by this act was translated to the kings of France. A few days after this act the enemies of the Pope were sentenced to death & those of the Clergy were pardoned at the intercession of the Pope & only banished, into France, e[3] but three hundred of the Romans were beheaded in one day in the Later{in} field. And after this Charles spent the winter in ordering the affairs of Rome & the Apostolic sea & all Italy, both civil & ecclesiastical & in making new laws for them & returned the next summer into France; & hearing that his new laws were not observed by the Iudges in declaring the law nor by the people in hearing it & that the great men took servants from free men & from the Churches & monasteries to labour in their vineyards & fields & pastures & houses & continued to exact cattel & wine of them & to oppress those that served the churches, wrote to his son Pipin who was then made king of the Romans under him to remedy these abuses take care of the Church & see that his laws be executed. And thus the Romans who were conspiring to assert their ancient liberty & property & to bring the bishop of Rome into subjection & by consequence to invade his possessions as belonging to the senate & people of Rome by ancient right were overcome by the Pope & forced to subject themselves to the kings of France as their Emperor & to receive his laws. And this commonw{e}alth of the Romans I take to be the third king which was overcome by the little horn. For the old Roman Empire was a king in the sense of Daniels prophesies as well when it was in the form of a commonwealth as when it was reduced to a monarchical form of government under its Emperors. And tho it was not so great dominion as that of the Exarchate or that of the Lombards, yet it was in some respects as considerable. It claimed the right & authority of the ancient senate & people of Rome which was the power of the fourth Beast. It was allowed by its enemies the Pope & Emperor to have the power of making an Emperor: which was a greater power then that of the other kingdoms. It was very lasting: for its government by a senate continued first under the western Emperors then under the Ostrogoths, afterwards under the Exarch & then in a free state till the Pope subjected it to Charles the great after which time the senate & people of Rome maintained their civil rights in some measure against the Pope till the year 1460 or longer. It was the dominion of the city in which the little horn was to reign & which was therefore to be subdued by the little horn. And the victory of the little horn over this king is was attended with greater consequences then the victories over either of the other two horns & finished the work which those two victories had begun. For it set up the western Empire which continues to this day; it secured Peter's patrimony to the Pope, which Patrimony was the kingdom of the little horn: & it set up the Pope above all humane judicature, & gave him a look more stout then his fellows. When the Pope in favour of Saint worship revolted from the Greek Emperor & began to set up for himself, in rising up he overcame these three kings who stood in {the} way & opposed him, & by overcoming them he rose up & became a temporal kingdom & by consequence a horn of the Beast. And in token that he is a king as well a bishop he wears the crowns of three kingdoms upon his head in for{m} of a triple crown & carries the keys of the cities of the two first kingdoms in his hand. And being exalted above kings & declared by a Council above all humans judicature & the supreme judge of all men he has reigned ever since with a peculiar soul & a look more stout then his fellows, & by setting up the worship of images the abomination of desolation he has changed times & laws.

His kingdom they call Peters patrimony . . . . . . . . . . . should serve him.

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The Popes effigy was also set upon the reverse of the Roman coins & some say that the custome for kings & Emperors to kiss the Pope{'s} feet began in the eight century &

A few days after this act the enemies of the Pope were sentenced to death. These were 300 noble Romans & two or three of the Clergy. At the intercession of the Pope the Clergy were pardoned & banished into France & some say that the 300 Romans were beheaded in one day in the Lateran field.

And its further observable that the custome of kissing the Popes feet began about this time. There are some instances of it in the eighth century. And Platin{a}{æ} tells us that the feet of Pope Leo IIII were kissed according to ancient custome by all that come to him. {H}is reign began A.C. 847. And some say that Leo III pretending that his hand was infected by the kiss of a woman, began the custome of kissing his feet.

It elected the Pope & the Emperor & in electing the Emperor was acknowledged to be the remainder of the old Roman Empire represented in this prophesy by the Beast, & by consequence a little Empire. It remained under the government of its Senate till the year 1460 or longer. It was the dominion of the city . . . . then his fellows

– from the king of the Lombards. One of his crowns was given him by Clodovæus king of the Franks as above. This crown has no relation to the Exarchate or kingdom of Lombardy. It was given him as Prince or Bishop of Rome & after his subduing that city he deserved to weare it as a king For his effigies stampe{d} upon the Roman coins denotes him a king of that city. The other two crowns came to him with the two golden keys upon the conquest of the Exarchate & kingdom of Lombardy.

When Charles was made Emperor the Empire comprehended France Italy Pannonia Germany & part of Spain & continued entire about 40 or 42 years & the{n} brake in pieces

After the death of Charles the great his son & successor Ludovicus Pius at the request of the Pope a[4] confirmed the donation of his Grandfather & father to the See of Rome; naming in the first place Rome with its Dutchy extending into Tuscia & Campania, & in the next place the Exarchate of Ravenna with Pentapolis & in the third place what was taken from the Lombards, to hold them of the Emperor for the use of the Church sub integritate intirely without the Emperors intermedling therewith or with the jurisdiction or power of the Pope therin unless called thereunto in certain cases. This ratification the Emperor made in writing under an oath. And by vertue of these Grants the Popes in their co imitated the Kings of the Ostragoths {.} who For acknowledging that they held of the {last} Emperor coyned money with the head of that Emperor on one side & their own on the other, For the Pope made the like acknowledgement to the western Emperors

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In the year 536 Belisarius made war upon the Goths in Italy & in three years conquered them, but being recalled by the Greek Emperor the Goths took up arms again & revived the war for a time & in this contention Rome was almost dispeopled & laid in ruins. And the Lombards A.C. 568 invading Italy, took from the Pope the Alpes Cottiæ & restored them not till the reign of Pope Iohn VI A.C. 704. In the year 569 the Greek Emperor sent an Exarch to reside at Ravenna & govern his dominions in Italy & oppose the Lombards. And henceforward Rome with its territoris was governed by a Duke under the Exarch till the year 711, & the Pope had nothing to do with the city or Dukedom in temporal affairs. But the senate of the city continued under the Duke as it had done formerly under its Emperors.

In the year 711 the Greek Emperor Philippicus for declaring –

The first was an acknowledgement of the Popes holding the cities of the Exarchate & Lombardy by the grant of Charles, the latter was a signification that Charles should subdue the Council & people of Rome as he had done the Exarchate & the kingdom of the Lumbards. For the Pope at the same time desired Charles to send some of his Princes to Rome who might subject

{} who had hitherto elected their bishop, & recconned that they & their Senate inherited the rights of the ancient Romans & their Senate, voted Charles their Emperor

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Before the rise of the ten horns the Bishop of Rome began to rise up over the western Empire as a Bishop or High Priest & endeavoured by Decretal Epistles to gain the power of changing times & laws, but had not yet a kingdom. The imperial city in which he resided & acted as High Priest was not yet his own. And when the ten kings rose up they were almost all of them of a different religion from himself & did not submit to his authority in matters of religion till many years after their rise. Nor did he begin to rise up as a horn of the Beast till be began to aquire a temporal dominion or kingdom distinct from those of the other ten horns, & this was not before he rose up with a temporal dominion, {,} the city & country where he reigned became his own, he rose up above all humane judicature & times & laws were thenceforwards given into his hand, & he was to reign in this prosperity a time, two times, & half a time, before they should begin to take away his dominion. For his dominion is to be taken away by degrees & consumed unto the end.

This period of a time times & half a time is the same with that of the reign of the woman in the Apocalyps. She was nourished in her place in the wilderness a time times & half a time, & this period is there put equal to 1260 days. It is also the same with that of her Beast who continued 42 months, & with that of the Gentiles who trode under foot the holy city & the outward Court of the second Temple 42 months, & with that of the two Witnesses prophesying in sackcloth 1260 days. These Witnesses are called two Candlesticks to signify that they are two of the seven golden Candlesticks. For the first Temple (representing the primitive Church catholick) was illuminated with seven lamps in seven <13v> golden Candlesticks ✝ < insertion from the top of f 14r > ✝ which appeared like a rod of seven starrs in the right hand of our great High Priest while he dressed them. These Lamps were kindled by the preaching of the Apostles, & while they continued to shine bright there was no need of dressing them. And thiswas during the opening of the first four Seales. So long the temporal affairs of the Empire are only described. The Empire continued between Dioclesian & Maximianus: & then the Church began to lose her first love & grow luke warm, as is described by Eusebius in his Ecclesiastical History L   c.      And when the Church began to decline Christ dressed the lamps that they might shine brighter & this he did by sending admonitiory Epistles to the Angels of the seven Churches. Five of the Churches are admonished to repent & for not repenting were to be removed out of their places & spewed out of Christ{'s} mouth, & received the mark of the Beast The other two (videlicet the Churches of Smyrna & Philadelphia) which had represented the primitive Church in times of affliction & persecution & were faultless, & continue to worship in the second Temple & prophe in Sackcloth, being the remnant of the womans seed which were to be preserved from the hour of temptation which was to come upon all the world to try them that dwell upon the earth, & to be sealed with the seale of God in their foreheads. Vntill this division the whole Church of God is represented by seven golden candlesticks in the first Temple, & by the glorious woman in heaven. Vpon this division the Woman flyes from the Temple on Mount Sion into the Wilderness of Arabia & at length arrives at her place of riches & honour & dominion in the great city Babylon seated on seven hills & thence forward continues to reign 1260 days cloathed in scarlet. And when she flyes into the wilderness she leaves a remnant of her seed upon mount Sion who keep the commandments of God & have the testimony of Iesus. And these are the 144000 who stand on mount Sion with the Lamb of God & on the sea of glass & are measured in the second temple where they worship & are called the two witnesses & the two Olive Trees & two Candlesticks, videlicet those two which remained after the woman fled into the wilderness & by her flight the other five were removed out of their places. < text from f 13v resumes > , & when she began to decline she was admonished under the type of Epistles to the Angels of five of the Churches represented by five of the Candlesticks, to repent; & for not repenting those Candlesticks upon the fall of the first Temple were removed out of their places, & the other two Candlesticks which had represented the primitive Church in times of affliction & persecution & fault they remained with their lamps to illuminate the second temple, & are called two Witnesses two Prophets & two Candlesticks from their first number. So then the time times & half a time are 42 months or 1260 days or three years & an half; recconing twelve months to a yeare & 30 days to a month as was done in the Calendar of the primitive year. And the days of short lived Beasts being put for the years of lived kingdoms, the period of 1260 days, if dated from the complete conquest of the three kings A.C. 800, will end A.C. 2060. It may end later, but I see no reason for its ending sooner. This I mention not to assert when the time of the end shall be, but to put a stop to the rash conjectures of fansifull men who are frequently predicting the time of the end, & by doing so bring the sacred prophesies into discredit as often as their predictions fail. Christ comes as a thief in the night, & it is not for us to know the times & seasons which God hath put into his own breast.

The second & third Empire represented by the Bear & Leopard are again represented by the Ram & He Goat: but with this difference that the Ram represents the kingdom of the Medes & Persians from the beginning of the four Empires & the Goat represents the Kingdom of the Greeks to the end of those four Empires. And by this means under Empires are again described. I lifted up mine eyes, saith Daniel, & saw, & behold there stood

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assisted him in subduing the City & Dutchy of Rome. By the conversion of the barbarous nations to the Roman religion the Pope only enlarged his spirituall dominion & did not yet rise up as a horn of the Beast. It was his temporal kingdom which made him one of the horns. And this kingdom he acquired in the latter half of the eighth century by subduing three of the former horns as above. And now being arrived at a power above all humane judicature, times & laws were given into his hand during three times & an half or 1260 years. After which the Iudgement is to sit & they shall take away his dominion (not at once but by degrees) to consume & to destroy it unto the end. And the kingdom & dominion & the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven shall (by degrees) be given unto the people of the saints of the most High whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, & all dominions shall serve & obey him.

The time times & half a time are in the Apocalyps called forty & two months & 1260 days putting a day for a year. At the end of this period the ten kings hate the great whore & eat her flesh & burn her with fire & the two Witnesses rise from the dead & stand on their feet & ascend up to heaven in a cloud (or great multitude) with the everlasting Gospel to preach to all nations, admonishing them to worship God who made the heaven & earth & forbear worshipping the Beast & his Image. And then the tenth part of the great City falls (or chief of the ten kings) & an Angel proclaims Babylon is fallen . And then the seventh Trumpet sounds to the battel of the great day, & the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of Christ & the Iews are converted & return into their own land & receive dominion over the nations of the four Monarchies & the time of the dead is come that they should begin to rise again & be judged, & judgment begins at the house of God invisibly to morals , & after a thousand years Gog & Magog are subdued & the rest of the dead begin to rise again & be judged. For Christ must judge both the quick who continue on earth in mortal bodies & the dead who are raised again to life, & must raign till he hath put all enemies under his feet.

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– we are to look for a power which rose up out of one of the four horns & was less then any of them, & continued so till [the dominion of the Goat should be taken away] he should rise up & grow mightier then any of them & grow mighty by another power then that of the Goat by a forreign power which should reign over him & over all the nations represented by him after he was grown great, that is by the body of the Goat in the reign of this his last horn, & that by consequence by the power which took away the dominion of the Goat. And this points at the power of the Romans.

Now because he was a horn of the Goat & rose up out of one of his four horns we are to look for him among the nations which composed the body of the Goat, & because he was a little horn we are to look for a kingdom which at his first rise was less then any of the four horns. And because he grew mighty towards the south & towards the east & towards the land of delight: we are to look for a kingdom which rose up in the north west of the Greek Empire & grew mighty by extending his dominion over Egypt & Syria & Iudæa, & because he grew mighty but not by his own power we are to look for a power under which he conquered all th{ose} nations & this was the power of the Romans. The Leopard reigned in his four heads & four wings till his dominion was taken away, & when his dominion was taken away his life was prolonged. The He Goat reigned in his four horns till his dominion was taken away: for these horns signify the same kingdoms with the heads of the Leopard. When The little horn rose up in the latter time of the kingdom of the four, & when he grew mighty towards the south & towards the east & towards the pleasant land, then was the dominion of the other four horns taken away & this not by the power of the little horn but by another power which assisted him the power by which he grew mighty towards the south & towards the east & towards the pleasant land, the power which took away the dominion of the four <15r> horns & set up the dominion of this horn in the room of them; & that was the power of the Romans. The little horn was therefore to grow mighty by the power of the Romans. And such a horn was the kingdom of Pergamus. [Editorial Note 4] 2 He grew mighty toward the south & toward the east & toward the pleasant land & therefore he rose up in the north west quarter of those nations & conquered Egypt Syria & Iudæa.



1 Within those nations he is to rise 3 The Leopard reigned in his four heads till his dominion was taken away & then reigned the fourth Beast The He Goat, & so did the He Goat in his four horns. And in the latter time of their kingdom when the transgressors were come to the full this horn grew mighty [toward the south by conquering Egypt & toward the east by conquering Syria & toward the pleasant land by conquering Iudea. For because it was a horn of the Goat it grew mighty within the nations which composed the body of the Goat. This horn therefore] & took away the dominion of the other horns but not by its own power. It was assisted by a forreign power, a power superior to it self the power which took away the dominion of the third Beast, the power of the Romans And such a horn was the kingdom of Pergamus. By the revolt of Philetærus It came out of one of the four horns the northwest horn the kingdom of Thrace. It was very little at its first rise: But at length by the assistance of the Romans it took from Antiochus the great all Asia minor on this side mount Taurus{.} It assisted the Romans in conquering the kingdom of Macedon{.} the first of the four kingdoms which fell: & thereby the latter time of their kingdom commenced{.} It came under the dominion of the Romans by the Legacy of Attalus

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Book printed at Paris 16{5}9 {printe}d twice at full length {Sea} for {See} of Rome Temple of Jupiter olympius built at Jerusalem + after said of Jupiter – {illeg}



Sir Jos. Jekyll –

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When the Dragon signifies the whole Empire, the Woman signifies the whole Church the true Church untill she separates in communion from the remnant of her seed & then the fals Church. And when the Empire becomes divided into the Empires of the earth & sea or east & west, & the Beast rises out of the sea & receives the Dragons throne in the west & the Dragon reigns only in the east the Woman retires into the west from the face of the serpent & becomes the Church of the Beast, & a two horned beast rises out of the earth & becomes the Church of the Dragon, & the remnant of the Womans seed which keep the commandments of God or as many of them as in the war which the Dragon makes upon them are sealed are his true Church diffused through the earth & sea & are called the two Witnesses. And thus the Empire becomes divided into two Empires with their Churches false & true; the Dragon, the two-horned Beast & one Witness in the earth: the Beast, the Woman & the other Witness in the Sea. But yet God havng but one Church & one Temple, the two Witnesses are but one Church distinguished into the Churches of the earth & Sea but not divided from one another. & the name of two witnesses becomes the name of this one true Church Catholick of God. And he that hurts any considerable part of the true Church hurts the two Witnesses. And the Beast when opposed to the two witnesses may be taken in a large sence so as to include all his worshippers, that is, all whose names are not written in the book of life.

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 & who have the testimony of Iesus, & then she signifys a Church in a state of defection schism & apostasy from that remnant & the remnant of her seed signify the whole true Church of God [who keep the commandments of God & have the testimony of Iesus. ] And when the Empire becomes divided into the Empires of the earth & sea or east & west, & the ten horned Beast rises out of the sea & receives the Dragons throne in the west & the Dragon reigns only in the east, the Woman retires into the west from the face of the Serpent & becomes the Church of the Beast, for she sits upon him in the wilderness: & a two horned Beast rises out of the earth & becomes the Church of the Dragon, for he speaks as the Dragon & the remnant of the Woman{'s} seed, or as many of them as in the war which the Dragon makes upon them, are sealed with the name of God, in their foreheads continue to be the true Church of God diffused through though those kingdoms, persecuted by them & testifying against them. And because they are the remnant of the Churches in the earth & sea represented by the two wings of a greate Eagle given to the Woman, they are called the two Witnesses of Iesus. Thus the Empire becomes divided into two Empires with their Churches false & true: the Dragon, the two horned Beast & one Witness in the earth; the Beast the Woman & another 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 these two Witnesses being now the name of the true Church catholick of God he that hurts any considerable part of this Church hurts the two Witnesses.

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& then she signifies a church as before in outward form of government but now in a state of defection schism & apostasy, & the remnant of her seed signifies the true Church of God

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 east & all men receive his mark & power was given him over all kindreds & tongues & nations & all that dwell on 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 & killing them.

The two horned beast speaks as the Dragon & therefore was of the same religion & so is his church. And The woman after her flight into the Wilderness is found sitting upon the Beast, that is, reigning over him; & thereby he is placed in the West within the dominion of the Woman that great city which reigneth over the kings of the earth. And yet, since by the influence of the two horned Beast he is deified & worshipped in the east & all men receive his mark

Clemens Alexandrinus, Eusebius & Theodoret relate that Nicolas the Deacon having a beautiful wide & being chid by the Apostles for jealousy, produced her before them & said that he permitted any man to marry her that would, & this act & a saying of his that every man must abuse his own flesh being misinterpreted by the Nicolaitans gave occasion to them to fall into all manner of unchastity & adultery, while Nicolas himself & his children lived chastly. And if this be so, the word Nicolaitans might originaly signify all those hereticks who taught the use of Weomen in common & justified their doctrine by the act & saying of Nicolas & so might comprehend the sects of Simon Saturnilis Basilides Carpocrates & all the Gnosticks.

And this helps us to understand the meaning of the Latiran Council of 412 Bishops, A.C. 1215. 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 & west, & the Woman retires into the West & from the face of the serpent becomes the Church of the first Beast (for she sitts upon him the wilderness & reigns over him) & the {} second Beast succeeds the Woman in the earth & become the church of the Dragon . (For he is a fals prophet & has ecclesiastical horns & speaks as the Dragon & therefore is a Church of the Dragons religion) & 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 them; for they have the testimony of Iesus. And because

The Nicolaitans maybe those of the mystery of iniquity who besides their pretensions to supernatural knowledge falsly so called, taught the dissolution of marriage & the common use of weomen, pretending the authority of Nicolas one of first seven Deacons. & made the Eucharist an abominable sacrifice to fals Gods such as were Simon & Helena It was founded in in metaphysical mysteries or supernatural knowledge falsly so called.

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The kingdom of the four horns (so called from their first number) lasts so long as the Greeks reign over them [till the Romans begin to conquer the Greeks.] And so long Daniel describes the particular actions of two of those kingdoms bordering upon Iudea, by the names of the kings of the North & South. Hitherto the He-Goat reigned by his own power. But after his dominion began to be taken away by the Romans, Daniel describes the affairs of the Greeks by long intervalls of time in a few general words. And these intervalls make up the days of the last horn of the Goat which was to be mighty but not by his own power. In the latter time of the kingdom of the four horns when the transgressors were come to the full the little horn called a king of fierce countenance was to stand up. The transgressors came to the full in the days of Antiochus Epiphanes. For then the High-Priesthood was bought & the vessels of the Temple were sold to pay for the purchase, & the High Priest with some of the Iews – – – – the heathen religion in all Iudea. Hitherto the nations which composed the body of the Goat continued under the dominion of the Greeks, but now they began to be conquered by the Romans: & therefore this is the latter time of their kingdom, And the little horn called a king of fierce countenance was now to stand up. And we are now to look for the little horn of the Goat which was to succeed the kingdom of the four horns & grow mighty but not by his own power.

Now because he was a horn of the Goat – – – – that he is the last horn of the Goat.

Sect III.
Of the last horn of the He-Goat.

In the latter time of the kingdom of the four horns – – – heathen religion in all Iudea. Hitherto – – – was now to stand up. Daniel distinguishes the times by describing the actions of two of the four kingdoms bordering upon Iudea very particularly untill the Romans began to conquer the Greeks; & thenceforward only touching upon the main revolutions within com{p}as of the nations represented by the Goat. And in this latter period of time the little horn was to grow mighty but not by his own power.

Now because he was a horn of the Goat – – – – that he is the last horn of the Goat.

– it separated from the Latines & continued alone but yet under Roman Princes & with King who did according to his will untill the Sarracens pushed at him & the Turks

This Monument gives the title of king to Charles & was therefore erected before he was Emperor. It was erected when the Pope desired the Pallium & sent the Banner of the city to Charles. The words above videlicet Sanctissimus Dominus noster Leo Papa Domino nostri Carulo Regi relate to the message, & the words before videlicet Beato Petre dona vitam Leoni Papæ & victoriam Carolo regi are a prayer that in this undertaking God would preserve the life of the Pope & give victory to the king over the Romans. The three keys in the lap of Peter –

Ac de Montano quidem eludi si placet quæ dicat [Apollonius Ecclesiasticus scriptor.] Sed quisnam est novus ille doctor? Opera eius et doctrina satis aperte produnt. Hic est qui nuptiarum dissidia docuit, qui jujumorum leges imposuit, &c. Euseb. Hist. E. l 5. c 18.              S{ed} et Apollonius Ecclesiasticus scriptor supradictam Cataphygarū heresim adhuc sua ætate vigentem refutare agressus, peculiare adversus eos volumen condidit Ac de Montano quidem audi si placet quæ dicat. Sed quisnam est novus ille doctor? Opera – – – {l}eges imposuit, &c. Euseb. Hist. Eccl. l 5. c. 18.

Præ cæteris vero Constantinus eos maxime honorabat qui se totos divinæ philosophiæ addixissant. Ipsum quidem sanctissimum perpetuarum Dei Virginum cœtum tantum non venerabatur, cum ipsum cui se consecraverant Deum, in earum mentibus habitare pro certo haberet. Euseb. vit. Const. L. 4. c. 28.

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In the latter end of the kingdom of the four horns of the He Goat the transgressors were to come to the height. And this came to pass in the days of Antiochus Epiphanes. For then the High Priesthood was bought & sold, & the Vessels of the Temple were sold to raise the money, & the High Priest with some of the Iews procured a licence from the king to do after the ordinances of the heathen & set up a school at Ierusalem for teaching those ordinances, & Antiochus took Ierusalem with an armed force, slew 40000 Iews, took as many prisoners & sold them, spoiled the Temple interdicted the worship, of Moses commanded his law to be burnt & set up the heathen religion in all Iudea. Hitherto the nations which composed the body of the He-Goat continued under the dominion of the Greeks but now began to be conquered by the Romans & therefore this {is} the latter time of the kingdom of the Greeks when the transgressors were come to the full: & we are not to look for the appearing of the little horn of the Goat which was to succeed the kingdom of the four & grow mighty but not by his own power.

Now because he was a horn of the Goat, we are to look for him among the nations which composed the body of the Goat; & because he was to grow mighty but not by his own power, we are to look for him after the dominion of the Goat should be taken away. And this points to the power of the Romans which took away the dominion of the Greeks. He was therefore to grow mighty by the power of the Romans: And such a little horn was the kingdom of Pergamus. It became a horn of the Goat by the conquest of Asia minor before the Romans began to take away the dominion of the Goat. It assisted them in conquering Macedon. It came under the power of the Romans by the legacy of Attalus its last king: & by their power grew mighty conquering Syria Phœnicia & Egypt, & continued in this mighty state under the Romans till the reign of Constantin{e} the great & his sons. And then by the division of the Roman Empire became the Greek empire still under the power of the Romans, & continued under their power till the Saracens pushed at him & the Turks conquered him . And at present he is under the power of the Turks. For all the four Beasts are still alive tho the dominion of {the} three first be taken away. And the Goat still reigns in his last horn tho not by his own power.

The last horn of the Goat is by some taken for Antiochus Epiphanes, but not very judiciously. A horn of a Beast is never taken for a single person. A new horn always signifies a new kingdom & the kingdom of Aniochus was an old one. Antiochus reigned over one of the four horns, & the little horn was a fift under its proper kings. This horn was at first a little one & waxed exceeding great, & so did not Antiochus. It is described great above all the former horns & so was not Antiochus. His kingdome on the contrary was weak & tributary to the Romans & he did not enlarge it. The horn was a king of fierce countenance & destroyed wonderfully, & prospered in his practises against the holy people, but Antiochus was frighted out of Egypt by a mere message of the Romans, & afterwards routed & baffled by the Iews. The horn was mighty by anothers power, Antiochus acted by his own. The horn cast down the sanctuary to the grownd & so did not Antiochus. The sanctuary & host were trampled under foot 2300 days, & in Daniels prophesies days are put for years{.} These things were to last till the last end of the Indignation against the Iews, & this Indignation is not yet at an end. The Goat in the days of his last horn is represented in the Apocalyps by the great red Dragon. The Dragon is there called Satan, & Satan is there said to have his throne in Pergamus to denote that he is the kingdom of Pergamus represented by the last horn of the Goat.

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Now as the separation of the flood from the Dragon signifies a division of the whole Empire into two Empires so the{r} flying of the woman into the wilderness & leaving behind her a remnant of her seed signifies a division of the whole Church into two Churches, the Churches of two Empires. And the endeavour of the flood to carry away the woman from the remnant of her seed signifies the endeavour of the western empire to carry away the western Churches from the eastern, that is, to make a schism between them, & to separate them into two Churches one of which should be represented by the woman in the Wilderness the other by the remnant of her seed. She flyes from the Dragon that is she flies of his kingdom. She flies into the kingdom of the Beast because she is afterwards found sitting upon him in the wilderness, The Dragon goes from her to make war with the remnant of her seed & therefore they remain in his kingdom, after she is fled out of it. She flies into the wilderness that they should feed & nourish her there that is, from the face of the serpent that is she renounces her state of spiritual baptismal vow of forsaking the desire of riches & honour & flies into a state of spiritualbarrannes to live deliciously{.} For she is afterwards found in the wilderness sitting upon the Beast, that is, reigning over him, & there lives deliciously with the kings of the earth & is fed with all manner of delicacies by the merchants of the earth. When therefore she became rich in this world & increased with goods & power & glory she became wretched & miserally & poor & blind & naked & fled into a state of spiritual barrenness represented by the wilderness. And this state she began to enter into upon the division of the Empire between the sons of Constantine. For then the Bishop of Rome became universall bishop over the churches of the western empire.

For in the year 341 he received appeals from Councils of the Greek church & proudly summoned the Bishops of that Church to appear before him in a Council at Rome [ by which act he claimed appeals from all the Churches & made himself universal Bishop ] but was stotly opposed & reprimanded by those bishops for his ambition Then he prevailed to have a Council summoned by Imperial authority out of both Empires to meet at Serdica in the year 347. About 80 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, they went back; & then the remaining part of the Council composed of western & Egyptian bishops 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 churches of the two Empires the people of the western churches beginning now to avoid the communion 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. ⊕ And as the dominion of the Church of Rome in the wilderness is represented by her sitting upon many waters so in her way into the wilderness it is represented by her floating upon the flood. 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 Pope are the woman in the wilderness

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 helped the woman & opened her mouth & swallowed up the flood, & thereby retarded her flight for a time. For by the reunion of the Empires a stop was put to the impending schism or division of her mystical body & {sac} womā with two 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 the union, the western bishops being forced to allow the authority of the eastern Councils over the members of their Churches in matters judicial without appeal to the Bishop of Rome.

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By the same victory of Constantius over Magnentius the Beast was wounded to death with a sword & ceased to be for a time, both Empires becoming united under Constantius & his successors Iulian & Iovian till the reign of Valentinian & Valens, between whom the Empire became again divided A.C. 364 & by this division the deadly wound was healed, & the Beast revived. & the woman by a new schism commencing continued her flight into the wilderness. [At that time she set up the worship of three coordinate & equal sub] for the sake of recovering the universal bishopric 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 Dragon went from the Woman to make war with the remnant of her seed & the ten horned Beast which was to carry her rose out of the Sea & the two horned Beast rose out of the earth to succeed her in the Dragons kingdom, & there set up the{r} worship of the Beast & his Image.

At that time the Bishop of Rome recovered the universal bishopric over all the west, & [the invocation of saints was set up with the adoration of the Holy Ghost as the supreme God equal & coordinate to the father, & the heresy of the Encratites prevailed, & the Pope] began to govern the churches of the western Empire Provinces by Vicars & decretal Epistles had power to decree what he pleased, or in the language of the scripture

Theodosius reigned in the east & Gratian with his young brother Valentinian in the west. Maximus – – – – – at the same time with the Beast.

And this division of the Empire tended to make the like division of the Church about dominion For the Bishop of Rome began now to claim the universal Bishopric & this dominion 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 received appeals from the Councils of the Greek Church & proudly summoned

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And as the flowing of the flood out of the Dragons mouth signifies a division of the empire into two empires one of which is represented by the Dragon during the division & the other by the {fl{illeg}} so the flying of the woman from the remnant of her seed signifies a division of the Church into two churches one of which is represented by the woman during the division. & the other by 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 flies into a state of spiritual barrenness represented by the wilderness, & at length leaves the remnant of her seed behind her by breach of communion. She flies from the Dragon to sit upon the Beast in the wilderness & therefore when she separates & the from the remnant of her seed she quits the Dragons kingdom At the same time the Dragon goes from her to make war upon that remnant & therefore she leaves them in his kingdom. When she begins to fly upon her two wings, the Dragon casts water as a flood after her that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood, that is, that he might by the division of the Empire promote the division of the Church & cause the woman to separate from the remnant of her seed: These keep the commandments of God & have the testimony of Iesus under the persecuting Dragon while she flyes into a state of spiritual barrenness & becomes the Whore of Babylon. & therefore she flyes from them by quitting their communion & from thence forward ceases to be the Church of God. They went out from us saith the Apostle because they were not off us For had they been of us they would have continued with us. And this is the revelation of the man of Sin whose coming was to be with all power & signes & lying wonders. For at that time the invocation of saints which is the abomination of desolation overspread all the Churches in communion with the church of Rome & that by means of fals miracles which the Moncks every where feigned & reported to be done by the saints & their reliques.

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I have seen Mr Hutchinsons Watch, & all that I can say of it without experience is that the contrivance is ingenious & deserves encouragement.

In a copy I have seen of the Bill now before you the Invention is recommended from the hopes of determining the Longitude at sea thereby. I doubt whether any Watch-work will ever be brought to that degree of perfection & see not how any thing of that kind can yet be presumed without without danger of a reflexion in case it should not succeed, & therefore humbly propose the reconsidering of that clause whether it shall stand or be amended or struck out as not necessary to the Bill.

As the Church of Laodicea is represented by waters & those waters before they are spewed out of Christs mouth represent a part of his mystical body, but after they are spewed out cease to be a part of his body & become a schismatical Church a synagogue of Satan: so the waters while they are in the Dragons belly signify a part of his body politique but when they are cast out of his mouth cease to be a part of his body & become a separate body politick.



The waters which Christ spewed out of his mouth signify a body ecclesiastique the Church of Laodicea first united to Chirsts mystical body as a part thereof & afterwards in a state of separation or schism {:}& so 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 . . . . many waters

which waters signify the peoples nations multitudes & tongues over whom the woman reigneth & which compose the body & horns of the Beast on whom she sitteth. Her floting 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 wildernes & over the many waters & the Beast in the wilderness. As the woman was flying westward to reign at Rome the Dragon cast this flood after her & therefore the flood is a western kingdom She had upon two wings of a great Eagle & those wings represent the churches of the Roman Empire divided into two Empires. & therefore she fled by a division of the Empire, which division is represented by the Dragon & the flood She fled from the Dragon & from the remnant of her seed Provinces to reign over the Beast in the Wilderness & therefore she fled out of the eastern Empire to reign in the western alone in a state of spiritual barrenness. She fled from the remnant of her seed & therefore in her flight <21v> separated from them & left{e} them behind her in the Dragons kingdom. For so soon as s{he} was fled the Dragon went from her to make war upon this remnant. Her flight therefore upon two wings signifies a division of the Church upon two wings signifies a diviion of the Church into two provinces. While the Churches of the two Empires remain united they are both represented by the woman with two wings. Vpon these wings she flies towards the wilderness. And the Dragon promotes her flight by casting waters as a flood after her to cause her to be carried away of the flood that is by casting the western empire out of his belly to cause her to be carried away from him & from the remnant of her seed which remain with him in the eastern Empire, that she may reign over the Beast alone in the wilderness.

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And therefore this Article is either to be retained in this sense or to be rejected. And if it be retained, or to be rejected as a {new} article For a new sence makes it a new article it must be understood of the generation of the son with relation to the spiritual body which he had before his incarnation. For the generation of all things which have a body is a generation of the body. The Council of Sirmium which condemned Photinus & the Council of Antioch which condemned Paul of Samosat & the rest of the primitive fathers tell us that Christ moved from place to place walked in paradise came down to see the city & tower of Babel & the wickedness of Sodom & was seen & heard & touched by the Patriarchs & therefore they believed that he had a spiritual body, For they never spake of him as a being purely incorporeal.

– till they began (with Saturninus, Basilides, Valentinus, Marcion, Montanus, Paul of Samosat, Sabellius, Eustathius, Marcellus, Photinus & the Phatonists) to take him for the λογος ἐνδιάθετος ἢ προφοριζὸς. Nor do the scriptures any where speak of him as a being purely incorporeal. When they read in scripture that he came down from heaven to do his fathers will, & what if The Apostles tell us that God created all thing by Christ & that Christ was with the Church in the Wilderness & came down from heaven to do his fathers will & rose from the dead in a spiritual body & in that body ascended up to heaven where he was before, & that he is now in that glory with the father which he had with him befor{e} the word began. The Council of Sirmium which condemned Photinus, & the Council of Antioch which condemned Paul of Samosat & others the primitive fathers tell us that Christ before his incarnation moved from place to place, walked in paradise, came down to see the city & tower of Babel & the wickedness of Sodom & was seen & heard & touched by the Patriarchs & led the people thro{ugh} the wilderness: & <22v> therefore they believed that he had a spiritual body. For they never spake of him as a being purely incorporeal till they began (with Saturnius, Basilides, Valentinus, Marcion, Montanus, Paul of Samosat, Sabellius, Eustathius, Marcellus Photinus & the Platonists) to take the Word which was incarnate, for the λόγος ἐνδιάθετος ἢ προφοριζὸς. And if he had a spiritual body before his incarnation, his antemundane generation will be best understood with relation to that spiritual body. For the generation of all things which have a body is a generation of the body. But I do not find that such a generation was originally taught in order to baptism

I do not say that it is false. For the spiritual body by means of which the Lord appeared to Adam & the Patriarchs & Moses & wrastled with Iacob might be generated before the world began, & in this sense he might be called the first born of every creature: but this antemundane generation was not preached by the Apostles as necessary to be believed in order to baptism, nor is it clearely revealed in scripture. It may be strong meat for men of riper years if rightly understood, but not milk for babes. And it must not be understood of an eternal generation of the λόγος ἐνδιάθετος nor of an antemundane generation of a λόγος προφοριζος For the first opinion was no older the{n} Alexander bishop of Alexandria, the second came from the the Gnostics & both were rejected in Photinus. All men allow that God hath a λόγος ἐνδιάθετος but they do not say with Alexander that his attributes are his children by an eternal generation or with the Gnosticks & Montanists that they were at any time emitted out of him as a {vene} as sounding breath is emitted from a man, light from the Sun or a stream from a river, or a branch from a root. This language came from the School of Montanus. Its enough for us to know that he is called the Word of God with relation to his Office, & had a spirituall body when he walked in Paradise & talked with Adam. For thence it may be understood that he had such a body in the beginning when he was with God & when all things were made by him, In such a body he was to be glorified after the resurrection with the glory which he had with the father before the world was. And therefore if he is called the first begotten of every creature with relation to an antemundane generation, it is best to understand it of the origination of his spiritual body. For all generation of things which have a body, is a generation of the body.

For so they understood the words of the Septuagint: Dominus creavit me initium viarum suarum in opera sua & et ante Luciferum genui te, & those of the Apostle The first born of every creature. And if this was the primitive meaning of the article, & continued to be the meaning of it till Alexander gave it another sense. {t}

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[Editorial Note 5]② Ctesias that Arbaces upon this night revolted with the Medes & conquered him & caused him to burn himself with his palace. ① Duris & many others wrote that Arbaces a Mede being admitted to see him in his Palace living voluptuously amongst his weomen, shew himself. ③ Cleitarchus {t}hat Sardanapalus died of old age after he had lost his dominion over Syria. Herodotus that the Me{d}es & other nations revolted from the Assyrians without conquering {t}hem, & that the Medes when they first revolted had no king but soon afte{r} set up Dejoces over them, whose grandson conquered the Assyrians. The Scythians

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Whether Saosduchinus & Chiniladon were the same kings with Belesis & Nebuchadnezzar or Satrapas under them I do not find. By Nebuchadnezzar I understand here that King of Assyria who.



– In the first way of recconing the years of Nebuchadonosor & Chiniladon will agree.

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ancient hereticks came from both. For the Gnosticks like the Heathens & Cabbalists derived many Emissions Æons or Deities male & female successively from the first God by generation & Arch-angels & Angels from these Æons & the world (the lowest of beings) not from the first God immediately, but {rat}her from the Angels or from one or more of the Æons. And the first God whom they unbegotten God the unknown father, Propator Proarche Bythos & Abraxas they placed in the eighth or highest heaven together with his wife whom they called Ennœa, Prunicus, Barbelo, Chæris & Sige, & in the seven inferior orbs they placed seven chief Æons with Angels under their dominion & the world under them & the first of those Æons they called Ἀρχὴ, Νοῦ{ς}, Πατὴρ, Ialdabaoth the superior Christ & by other names & said that he alone knew the first God.

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12,48018=2,1600=320/3.9.104=31239= 351dwt00 7020dwt 421∟20dwt . 8424gr in 104 pieces.  421,2 004,05 421,20 20,25 441∟45

10.762. 43∟4. 3.72515. 45+9

21)84400000(410 2300000(410

21,1712,45=lb=21,14=004

21,78,24=21,21

And tho they said that he was created yet they ment not that he was produced out of nothing

And whereas they said that he was created, before all things they meant not that he was produced out {of} nothing but that he formed with spiritual body without the emission of his fathers substance. For God the father has not bodily substance to emit, & therefore in the litteral sense of the word generates nothing with a body. But had they been asked whether Christ was the first begotten of every creature, that is, the first begotten of every thing produced without the emission of Gods substance, I question not but that they would have granted it.

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In this new state the Church of Rome was supported for a time by Charles the great & his successors till her right to Tiths & Peter pence became established by custome. And then the Pope began to contend with kings & Emperors & to excommunicate them & give their kingdoms to whom he pleased, as may be seen in the history of the Emperors Henry IV, Henry V, Fridericus Barbarossa, Otto III, Frederic II, & Conrade IV. & in that of Iohn king of England. And this was his look more stout then his fellows.

Pope Leo III going into Germany consecrated             a Saint in Germany & by this act he gave a beginning to the canonizing of Saint & to the granting of Indulgences.

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And if two plates of glass plane & well polished, about twenty or 24 inches long & two or three inches broad, be placed together so as to meet at one end, & be distant from one another about the 12th part of an inch at the other end & by consequence to contein an angle of about 13′. And if a drop of oyle of Oranges be dropt upon the lower glass & then the upper glass be laid down in the position above described so as to touch the drop: the drop will run along the glasses towards their other end where they meet in the angle aforesaid. And the nearer it comes to that end of the glasses the faster it will run. But the glasses should be first moistened with oyle of Oranges on the {entier} sides to make the drop move easily. For which end they may be rubbed with a cloth moistened with the oyle. And it is

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Mr Shelford of Lincoln Inn

And in the same sense the songs & prophetic voices of Moses & the whole book of the Law, so far as its sacrifices festivals & ceremonies are types of things to come, is a book sealed up; & [so are the writings of the old Prophets] is considered by the old prophets as a sealed book. For understanding how this book was written within & on the back side & sealed conceive that The prophesies of the first six seales being very short & single were written within the first six leaves of the Book & that of the seventh being long & variously repeated was written within the seventh leaf & on the back side of it & also on the first page of the eighth leaf & that these eight leaves being sealed to one another by seven seales put in between the leaves, & rolled up, composed the Book. Or you may conceive that every two leaves were tackt together by a label & the seven labels sealed: or that the book was sealed in any other manner so that by opening the seales in order the leaves might be opened in order / & that the the book was composed of these eight lieaves & rolled up & sealed either by 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.

All prophesy is originally in the breast of him that sitteth upon the throne. He communicates it immediately to none but the Lamb For the Testimony of Iesus is the spirit of Prophesy. & The Lamb sends it by the spirit of truth to the Prophets For the spirit of truth speaks not of himself but whatsoever he shal here saith saith Christ that he shal speake & will shew you things to come & shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine & shall shew it unto you. The comforter whome the father will send in my name he shall teach you all things Iohn 14. And when the Comforter is come whom I will send unto you from the father, even the spirit of truth who proceedeth from the father, he shall testify of me, & ye also shall <26v> bear witness because ye have been with me from the beginning. – If I go not away the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart I will send him unto you. Iohn 14 & 15 & 16.

Nothing could be said more emphatically to represent the great importance of this Prophesy.

insomuch that before the death of Constantius they began in Egypt to ascribe great & frequent miracles to the signe of the Cross & not only to bare the bodies of the martyrs to keep them unburied upon beds in their private houses & to tell stories of their souls appearing after death.

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And the first of them are the nations of Assyria or Babylon which after the dissolution of their Empire composed the Province of Babylonia & was the third part of the Persian Empire as Herodotus relates & according to Strabo extended eastward to Susiana Elymais & Paretica inclusively, northward to Media & Armenia exclusively & westward to Mesopotamia & the Arabes Scenitæ inclusively. For Cilicia Syria Phœnicia Moab Ammon & Egypt were the auxiliary nations (as Herodotus calls them) which in the wars with the Medes revolted from the Assyrians as was explained above & therefore are not recconed by Strabo among the nations belonging to that Province.

The silver Breast of the Statue & the Bear which is the second Beast signifies to this day the nations of the Medes & Persians who reigned in the second place. It stood up on one side to signify that one of those two nations was above the other. He held three ribs in his mouth. The ribs are Sardes Babylon & Memphys the three strong imperial cities of the Kingdoms of the Lydians, Assyrians & Egyptians. He hold

In like manner the Leopard which is the third Beast, & the brazen belly & thighs of the statue signify to this day the nations of the Greeks who reigned in the third place. This Leopard had four wings of a fowl & four heads to signify four capital dominions into which this Empire should extend it self, Greece, Asia minor, Syria & Egypt: all which nations <27r> together compose the Leopard & are still signified by it. the same nations & dominions are also w signified by the Hee Goat & his four horns which came up towards the four winds of heaven. The rough Goat saith Daniel is the King of Grecia & the great horn between his eyes is the first king, [that is the first kingdom] Now that being broken, whereas four [horns] stood up for it, four kingdoms shall stand up out of the nation but not in his power. These four kingdoms stand up not for the person of Alexander the great but for his kingdom & therefore the first horn or king signifies not Alexander's person but the first kingdom, & the breaking of this horn signifies the breaking of this kingdom by Alexanders death so that four others came up in the room of it towards the 4 winds of heaven. This is further thus explained by Daniel in another place. There shall stand up yet three Kings in Persia [Cyrus Cambyses & Darius] & the fourth [Xerxes] shall be far richer then they all – – – & a mighty King [Alexander the great] shall stand up that shall rule with great dominion – – – – besides those. Then Daniel proceeds to describe the actions between two of those horns or kings which he calls kings of the South & north & names Egypt for the land of the King of the South & by the King of the north understands the King of Asia minor & Syria as all interpreters agree. Whence before the union of Asia & Syria, the King of the north must respect Asia & there remain Syria & Grecia for the Kings of the East & west.

[1] Sigonius de Regno Italiæ l. 5. Et Platina in Papa Nic{holas}

[Editorial Note 1] The order of the following passages has been changed, as indicated by numbers 1 through 6.

[2] Theodoret.

[Editorial Note 2] From this point to the end of the addSpan, and continued on 5v, arguments are reordered with numbers 1 through 3.

[Editorial Note 3] The following text has been reordered; new order according to circled numbers 1–3.

[3] e Chron. Abbais Vrspergens.

[4] a Confirmationem recitat Sigonius lib 4 de Regno Italiæ ad ann. 817.

[Editorial Note 4] Text on this folio re-ordered using numbers 1 through 3; 1 and 3 found in the following upside-down portion.

[Editorial Note 5] Text re-ordered using circled numerals 1 through 3.

© 2024 The Newton Project

Professor Rob Iliffe
Director, AHRC Newton Papers Project

Scott Mandelbrote,
Fellow & Perne librarian, Peterhouse, Cambridge

Faculty of History, George Street, Oxford, OX1 2RL - newtonproject@history.ox.ac.uk

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