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For dating see Westfall, Never at Rest, 349, n. 49, and (for the first section) Shapiro, 'Dating Game', 196. Early pages (ff. I-VI) have the same watermark (horn + HG/LL) as a manuscript page from the Opticks of the late 1680s or very early 1690s, and pp. 1-6 share a watermark with a manuscript portion of the Principia of 1687.
Despite the somewhat confusing pagination and apparently logical chapter sequence (both of which are presumably the result of misguided post-Newtonian re-ordering), it seems that ff. I-VI and pp. 1-6 constitute two drafts of one work written c. mid-1680s, while the rest of the document is a separate production of c. 1705-10 (see Westfall, Never at Rest, 349, n. 49). Text of 'Synopsis of the Prophetic Figures', together with all the subsequent chapter headings, printed in McLachlan, Theological Manuscripts, 119-26 (the whole manuscript being regarded as a single document).
a) 'The First Book Concerning the Language of the Prophets' (two drafts of Chapter One). On the front cover, in Thomas Pellet's hand: 'No. 8'. The initial series of 6 folios is written on both sides with the following headings:
f. I: 'Chap 1 A synopsis of the Prophetick ffigures'
f. VI: 'Chap 2 Of the world, Heaven & Earth
Chapter Two breaks off after one page. Then follows a second draft of Chapter One, pp. 1-6.
b) Chapters II-IX of another treatise on interpreting history in terms of the prophecies in Revelation:
p. 7 'Chap. II The dayly worship described.'
p. 11 'Chap. III The Prophesy of opening the sealed Book
p. 19 'Chap. IV The Prophesy of the eaten Book described.'
p. 29 'Chap V Of the Kingdoms and Churches, wch are the subject of sacred Prophesy.'
p. 29 'Sect. I Of the Dragon & ten horned Beast.'
p. 34 'Sect. II Of the Woman & two-horned Beast.'
p. 37 'Sect. III Of the division of Empire & Church into two Empires & two Churches.'
p. 44 'Sect .IV A further account of the division of the Roman Empire.'
p. 50 'Sect. V Of the seven heads & ten horns of the Dragon and Beast'
p. 56A 'Chap. VI The Prophesy of the Epistles to the seven Churches explained.'
p. 57 'Sect. I th its Candlesticks representing
p. 64 'Chap. VII The Prophesy of opening the first six Seales explained.'
p. 64 'Sect. I The first seal opened.'
p. 64 'Sect. II The second seal opened.'
p. 65 'Sect. III The third Seal opened'
p. 67 'Sect. IV The fourth seal opened'
p. 68 'The Plague of the Beasts of the earth.'
p. 69 'The plague of the Sword.'
p. 70 'The plagues of ffamine & Pestilence.'
p. 71 'Sect. V The fift Seale opened.'
p. 72 'Sect. VI The sixt Seale opened.'
p. 75 'Sect. VII The holding of the four winds explained.'
p. 78 'Chap. VIII The Prophesy of opening the seventh Seal explained.'
p. 78 'The first trumpet'
p. 92 'The second Trumpet'
p. 98 'The third Trumpet.'
p. 111 'The fourth Trumpet.'
p. 122 'Chap. IX The Prophecy of the three Woes at the voices of the three last Trumpets explained'
p. 122 'Sect. I. The first Wo.'
p. 130 'Sect. II. The second Wo.'
p. 135 'The third Wo'
p. 137 'Sect III. The
p. 137v 'Sect III The time of the end & Third Woe.'
in English with Latin citations
Bought at the Sotheby sale by Maggs Brothers for £170 and sold to Keynes for the sale price plus 20%.
The first 12 pages, numbered I-VI and 1-6, are two drafts of a work written circa mid-1680s, while the rest of the document (despite the confusing post-Newtonian pagination) is another work probably written around 1705-10.
He that would understand a book written in a strange language
must first learn e
stand it well he must learn it
was that wherein the Pro
skill in that language is the main reason why they are so
little understood. Iohn did not write in one language, Daniel in
another, Isaiah in
selves; but they all wrote in one & the same mystical language eeeePriests. to their Priests.chof as certain certain & definite in
its signification as is the vulgar language of any nation
whatsoever: And in this language
preters so frequently make turn its
what ever their ffansies & Hypotheses lead them to. He there
fore that would understand eendeavour do) must language
the beginning of his studies. The Something in this kind has been
done by former writers, e
discourse to carry on e
will bring it to more perfection. method
followed has been fr to compare e
where e
that phrase as agrees se places, received
then one be necessary can be be proved necessaryechmight se chto admit of no e
as Criticks for understanding the Hebrew consult alsoother
Languages of ealso consulted not feared
sultInterpreters of the mystical languages ofeastern expositors of theirEastern Inter
preters of dreams) & follr Mede & some oth other late writers. ffor the language of ewas being & therefore wase
now in the west. But that wch has given me most light in
this search has been ee
word politi& theire respective ffor the mystical language
was founded in this analogy & therefore will be best understood ee
gives you a short draught of their analogy it as follows, m particulars.
1. The whole world natural consisting of heaven & earth &
whole world politi& their
in e& the parts of the & qualities of the former
signify the analogous parts & qualities of e& qualities of in that former latter
the things therein signify the honours
the earth with the things therein the inferior people. Whence
towards heaven & descending to the earth is put for rising
in honour & power. Rising out of the earth or waters
into them, of resolving of the same into that & unhappyfor translation from one office dignity or dominion to another
quakes & the shaking of heaven & earth for e
as to overthrow them: creating earth & theirchof heaven and earth
away of es or kingdoms signified thereby.
2. Now in heaven the Sun & Moon are by Interpret
put for the persons of Kings & Queens, but in sacred Proph
not single persons the sun is put for the whole species &
in anyethe Moon for sh
regall power & glory; the Moon either for eee
sidered as the Kings wife areinferior subordinate inferior subordi
nate Kings Princes & great men, or for Bishops & re
God when the Sun is Christ; Light for the glory judgment truth
knowledge wherewith great men shine & illuminate others; dar
for obscurity of condition & for error & ignorance; darkning smiting
or setting of e
for ee
Sun turning ee
New Moons for e
or ecclesiastithe scorching heat of wars e
persecutions & troubles inflicted by the King &
b
fire of the whole earth or turning a country into a lake of firething
ation of a conquered people under e
Clouds whether in heaven or on earth for
on the clouds for reigning over much people: covering the Sun th
a cloud or the
an enemy: Winds Tempestuous is, the motion of Clouds)e
tude: A storm of thunder lighting hail & overflowing rain for
a tempest of war descending from the politi heavens & clouds
& living water for the graces and doctrine of the spirit; & the
defect of rain for spiritual barrenness.
4. In earth the dry land & congregated waters, (as a sea
a river a flood) are put for the peoples of several regions nations
& dominions: a Wilderness for a desolate nation
for great affliction of the people by war & persecution: turning them
their dissolution. The overflowing of a sea or r
invasion of e
Drying up of waters for the conquest of their
by the earth. ffountains of waters for cities the perma
nent heads of rivers politie
cities of epoliti & sea politi
ries & dominions. Dens & Rocks of mountains for the Tem
ples of Cities & the hiding of men in those Dens
& rocks for the shutting up of Idols in the caverns of
their temples. Houses & Ships for families assemblies &
towns in the earth & Sea politi
for an army of the kingdom signified by the sea.
people of several regions & conditions: & particularly metalls & stones according to their qualities for trees hearbs & land
& other
animals for ee
fishes for those of e
those of the political heavens & earth.
6. If the world politi
consists of many kingdoms they are represented by as
many parts of the world natural: as the noblest by the
celestial frame & then the Moon & Clouds are put
for the common people, the less noble by the earth
sea & rivers & by the animals &
in & then the greater & more powerfull animals
& taller trees are put for Kings & Princes. And be
cause the whole kingdom is the body politi
therefore the Sun or a Tree or a Beast or Man whereby
the King is represented is put
several animals as a Lyon a Goat a Dragon a Whore
a Frogg a Cherubin according to their qualities are put
for several Kingdoms & bodies politi
Vegetables & Animals are by certain epithites or circum
stances restrained
called the tree of life or of knowledge & a beast when
called the old serpent or worshipped.
7. When a Beast or Man is put for a Kingdom
his parts & qualities are put for the analogous parts &
qualities of the kingdom: as the Head of a Beast for the great
men who precede & govern the tail for the inferior people
the number of capital parts dynasties or dominions in the
kingdom whether collateral or successive with respect to
the civil government. The horns on any head
of kingdoms in that head whether collateral or successive
with respect to the&
eyes for men of understanding & policy & in matters of
religion for Bishops.
whether civil or sacred. The loudness of e
might & power the faintness thereof for weakness. Eating
& drinking for acquiring what is signified by the things
the feathers of a bird for people. The wings for
people spread abroad into distant regions. The arm
of a man for his power or for any people wherein
his strength & power consists. His feet for the lowest of
the people. The feet nails & teeth of a Beast of
prey for armies & squadrons of armies. The bones
for fortified Cities & strong& The flesh for riches
& possessions & the days of their continuing or acting
for years.
8 When a Man is taken in a mystical sense his
qualities are often signified by the circumstances of things
about him. So a King is signified by his being crowned
A Ruler by his riding on a Beast. A warrior & conqueror
by a sword & Bow. A Iudge by weights & measures
purple or scarlet. Righteousness by white robes. Disho
nour shame or filthiness by nakedness. & Error &
misery by a cup of wine & or name in e
wound of Man or Beast is put for overthrow in
war. A sore & pain for a durable plague of war.
Pain in travail of a manchild for the affliction of
war or persecution ch
to bring forth a new kingdom. The birth of a child
for the birth of a new kingdom, & the death of Man
or Beast for the dissolution of the body politie
by drinking a cup of wine. e
by committing adultery thgreat men ir
Images & receiving their mark or name or e
forehead in token of servitude & by blaspheming God having them in admira
tion & blaspheming God. Making a gain of religion by trafick &
merchandise. Preaching by Teaching the truth by & witnes
prophesying & witnessing & having the testimony of Iesus.ch
from comparing the world politie
there are divers others either more obvious or to be explain
ed in their proper places.
9 In the Apocalyps the world natural is represented by the
Temple of Ierusalem & the parts of this world by the analogous
parts of the Temple: as heaven by the house of the Temple; the
highest heaven by the most holy; the Throne of God in heaven by
the Ark; the Sun by the bright flame of the fire of the Altar,
or by the face of the Son of Man shining through it
Sun in his strength; the Moon by the burning coals upon the Altar
convex above & flat below like an half Moon; the stars by
the Lamps; thunder by the song of the Temple & lightning
by the flashing of the fire of the Altar; the earth by
the Area of the courts & the sea by the great brazen
Laver. And hence the parts of the Temple have the
same signification th
Tis a familiar figure to understand the whole kingdom
by the name of the Metropolis & then e
& streets of the City signify as do ehorns heads
body of a beast, & the eIewels
otherwise is put for the
Now the harmony of all these interpretations is such that
if only some of them were proved by scripture the & e
Interpreters, the rest would be proved by the relation they have
to these. I shall go over them in order.
Nothing is more frequent in scripture then to put the world for a
great body of people, as in these places. Augustus Cæsar taxed all the world Luk. 2.1. All the world wondred after the Beast Apoc 13.2 The great Dragon was cast out which deceiveth the whole world Apoc 12.9 These have turned the world upside down Acts 17.6. Ye are the light of the world Mat. 5.14 The world is gone after him Iohn 12.19 The world lyeth in wickedness 1 Iohn 5.19. The sins of the world
Iohn 1.The saviour of the world Iohn 4.42. The wisdom of this world 1 Cor. 3.19. The Prince of this world Iohn 14.30. And in the
same sense is The end of the world sometimes used as we shall see
hereafter.
Now that use of the phrase had its rise from the comparison of the world naturall
the world naturall for elike compari putting the
son of their partslike parts of the world natural, heaven &
earth for the analogous parts of the world politi
the new founding - - - -
The comparison of the world politie
natural may appear out of Isa 51.16, where the new
founding of the politi
exprest by planting the heavens & laying the foundations
of the earth. I have put my words in thy mouth & have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand that I may plant the heavens & lay the foundations of the earth: & say into Zion thou art my people: that is, saith e
Chalde Paraphrase, I have put the words of my pro
phesy in thy mouth & protected thee in the shadow of
my power that I might raise up the people of whom
tis said they shall be multiplied as the stars of
heaven, & that I may found the congregation of whom
tis said that it shall be multiplied as the dust of e
earth, & say to the inhabitants of Zion ye are my
people. And so in Isa. 65.17 Behold I create new heavens & a new earth, & the former shall not be remembred — ffor behold I create Ierusalem a rejoycing & her people a joy. And in Haggai: Yet once more I will shake y. Which is e
afterward by the Prophet interpreted of Kingdoms I will shake, saith he, the heavens & the earth & I
will overthrow the throne of kingdoms, a
the Apostle Paul. This yet once more, saith he, signifieth the removing of those things w &c. Heb. 12.26, 27. And hence the overthrow chch
of the kingdom of Babylon is represented by shaking the
He that would understand a book written in a strange lan
guage, must first learn the language & if he would understand
it well he must learn the language perfectly. Such a language
was that wherein the Prophets wrote, & the want of suffici
ent skill in that language is the main reason why they are so
little understood. Iohn did not write in one language, Daniel
in another, Isaiah in a third & the rest in others peculiar
to themselves; but they all wrote in one & the same mystical
language, as well known th
phets as the Hieroglyphick language of the Egyptians to their
Priests. And this language so far as I can find was as certain
& definite in its signification as is the vulgar language of any
nation whatsoever: so that it is only
that Interpreters so frequently turn the Prophetick types &
phrases to signify whatever their ffansies & Hypotheses lead
them to. He therefore that would understand the old Pro
phets (as all Divines ought to do) must fix the significations
of their types & phrases in the beginning of his studies. Some
thing in this kind has been done by former writers: & as I
have endeavoured in the following discourse to carry on the
designe further, so I hope others will bring to it more
perfection. The Rule I have followed has been to compare
the several mystical places of scripture where the same pro
phetick phrase or type is used & to fix such a significa
tion to that phrase as agrees best with all the places: & if
stances by ch
phrase is taken in any place: & when I had found the
necessary significations, to reject all others as the ofspring
of luxuriant fansy. ffor no more significations are to be
admitted for true ones then can be proved. And as Criticks
for understanding the Hebrew consult also other oriental
languages of the same
sometimes to call in to my assistance the eastern expo
sitors of their mystical writers (I mean the Chalde Pa
raphrast & the Interpreters of dreams) following herein
the example of Mr Mede & other late writers. ffor
the language of the Prophets being Hieroglyphical, had
affinity with that of the Egyptian Priests & Eastern wise
men & therefore was anciently much better understood in
the East then it is now in the west. I received also much
light in this search by the analogy between the world na
tural & the world politi
was founded in this analogy & will be best understood by
considering its original. That you may therefore see more
clearly how this analogy stands I shall here give you
a short draught of it as follows before I proceed to e
proof of the particulars.
1. The whole world natural consisting of heaven
& earth signifies the whole world politi
thrones & people, or so much of it as is considered
in the prophesy: & the things in that world signify
the analogous things in this. ffor the Heavens th
things therein signify thrones & dignities & those that
enjoy them & the earth th
ferior people,
ing to the earth or into it
& power & the lower parts of the earth called Hades or Hell
into them, for the rising to any dominion or dignity out
of the inferior state of people or falling from the same
into that inferior state. Descending into the lower parts
of the earth called Hades or Hell, for descending to a very
low & unhappy
another for translation from one office dignity or dominion
to another. Great Earthquakes & the shaking of heaven &
earth for e
The creating a heaven & earth & their passing away, or, which
ruin of the body politick signified thereby.
2. Now in heaven the Sun & Moon are by Interpreters of
dreames put for the persons of Kings & Queens, but in sacred
Prophesy which regards not single persons, the Sun is put for
the whole species & race of Kings in e
of the world politick shining th
Moon for e
wife: the stars for subordinate Kings Princes & great men
or for Bishops & Rulers of the people of God when the
Sun is Christ: l
great & good men shine & illuminate others: darkness for ob
scurity of condition & for error & ignorance: darkning, smiting
or setting of ee
or for the desolation thereof proportional to the darkness:
darkning the Sun turning the Moon into blood & falling of
the stars for the same. New Moons for e
a dispersed people into a body politi
3 ffire & Meteors refer to both heaven & earth &
signify as follows. Burning any thing by fire is put
for the consumption thereof by war: a conflagration of
the earth or turning a country into a lake of fire
for the consumption of a kingdom by war:
up of the smoak of any burning thing for ever & ever
for the continuation of a conquered people under the
misery of perpetual subjection & slavery: being in a
heat of the Sun for vexatious wars persecutions & troubles
inflicted by the king. Clouds whether in heaven or on
earth for multitudes of men: r
reigning over much people: cth
cloud or with smoak for oppression of the king by
the armies of an enemy: Tempestuous winds (that is, the motion
of clouds) for wars: Thunder (that is, the voice of a cloud)
for the voice of a multitude: a
lightning hail & overflowing rain for a tempest of
war descending from e
heads of their enemies: Rain if not immoderate, &
dew & living water for the graces & doctrine of the
spirit: & the defect of rain for spiritual barrenness.
4. In earth the dry land & congregated waters (as
a Sea, a River, a fflood) are put for the peoples of
several regions nations & dominions: a wilderness for a desolate people: embittering of waters for great
affliction of the people by war & persecution: turning
that is, for their dissolution. The overflowing of a Sea
or r
people of the waters. Drying up of waters for the con
quest of their regions by the earth. ffountains of water
for cities the permanent heads of rivers politi
& Islands for the cities of the earth & sea politi
with their territories & dominions. Dens & Rocks of
mountains for the Temples of Cities & the hiding of men
in those Dens & Rocks for the shutting up of Idols in
their temples. or burying them in Houses & Ships for families
assemblies & towns in the earth & Sea politi
of war-ships for an army of the kingdom signified by
the Sea.
5. Also Animals Vegetables & Minerals are put for
people of several regions & conditions; & particularly trees
hearbs & land animals for the people of the earth
politi
politi
& earth, a fforest for a Kingdom, Paradise for a very flourishing & peace
able Kingdom, & Wilderness for a desolate
6. If the world politi
of many kingdoms, they are represented by as many parts
of the world natural: as the noblest by the celestial
frame, & then the Moon & clouds are put for the
common people; the less noble by the earth sea & rivers
& by the animals or vegetables
greater & more powerfull animals & taller trees are
put for Kings & Princes. And because the whole king
dom is the body politick of the king, therefore the
Sun or a Tree or a Beast
King is represented is put in a large signification
for the whole kingdom, & several animals as a Lion a Lamb
according to their qualities are put for severall
kingdoms & bodies politi
Animals are by certain epithites or circumstances ex
tended to other significations, as a Tree when called
the tree of life or of knowledge & a Beast when
called the old Serpent or worshipped.
7 When a Beast or Man is put for a kingdome
his parts & qualities are put for the analogous parts &
qualities of the kingdom: as the head of a Beast for the e
people who follow & are governed the heads if more then
one for the number of capital parts dynasties or dominions
in the kingdom whether collateral or successive th
to the civil government: the horns on any head for the
number of kingdoms in that head th
power: seing for understanding & e
understanding & policy & in matters of religion for
Bishops: speaking for making laws & e
a lawgiver whether civil or sacred: the loudness of
the voice for might & power; the faintness thereof for
weakness: eating & drinking for acquiring what is sig
nified by the things eaten & drunken: the hairs of a
Beast or Man for & the feathers of a b
the wings for people the branches of a people spread abroad
by conquest over other nations. the arm of a man for his
power or for any people wherein his strength & power
consists: his feet for the lowest of the people
nails and teeth of a Beast of prey for armies & squadrons
of armies: the bones for
& possessions, & the days of their continuing or acting
for years. the cloathing of a man & the food of a
8. When a man is taken in a mystical sense, his
qualities are often signified by his actions & by the cir
cumstances of things about him. So a Ruler is signified
by his riding on a Beast: a Warrior & Conqueror by his
having a sword & bow:
a sentence of absolution or condemnation by a white or
black stone: a new dignity by a new name: moral
& civil qualifications by garments: honour & glory by
splendid apparel: royal dignity by purple or scarlet or by
a crown: righteousness by white robes & clean robes: wick
edness by spotted & filthy garments: affliction mourning
& humiliation by cloathing in sackcloth: dishonour shame
& want of good works by nakedness: error & misery by
drinking a cup of his or her wine who causes it: teaching : propagating
the truth by prophesying & witnessingthe
for gain by exercising trafick & merchandise th
whose religion it is: Worshipping or serving the fals Gods
of any nation by committing adultery with their Princes or
by receiving their mark or name or the number thereof
in the hand or forehead in token of servitude: Overthrow
in war by a wound of Man or Beast: a durable plague
of war by a sore & pain: the affliction or persecution ch
a people suffers in labouring to bring forth a new kingdom
by pain in travail of a man-child: the birth of a new
kingdom by the birth of a man-child: the dissolution of
a body politick or ecclesiastick by the death of Man or Beast,
& the revival of a dissolved dominion by the resurrection of
the dead. And these are the principal types & figures ch
arise from comparing the world politi
natural
9
by the Temple of Ierusalem & the parts of this world by
the analogous parts of the Temple: as heaven by the house
of the Temple & the highest heaven by the most holy; the
throne of God in heaven by the Ark; the Sun by the
bright flame of the fire of the Altar, or by the face
of the Son of man shining through this flame like
the Sun in his strength; the Moon by the burning
coals upon the Altar convex above & flat below like
an half moon; the stars by the Lamps; thunder by the
song of the Temple & lightning by the flashing of the
fire of the Altar; the Earth by the area of the
Courts & the Sea by the great brazen l
the parts of the Temple have the same signification
with the analogous parts of the world
9 Sometimes a body politick - - -
9 Sometimes a body politick is represented by the b
Temple: & then the gates eesignify of e
cityth
an Beast; & the regular & elegant
& the glorious ornaments of gold, pearls; pretious stones & other things of value are put fo denote e& a Temple has
the same signification th
trived to represent the frame of e
the great God. Heaven is represented by the Holy place or main body of the
edifice, the highest heaven by the most Holy or Adytum, the throne of
God by the Ark, the Sun by the bright flame of the fire of the Altar
or by the face of the Son of man shining in this through this flame
like e
Altar convex above & flat below like an half moon, the starrs
by the lamps, thunder by the song of the Temple, the lightning by
the flashing of the fire of the Altar, the Angels or inhabitants of
heaven by Cherubins carved round e
laver, the earth by the area of the Courts & the bottomles pit or
lower parts of the earth called Hades & Hell by the sink ch
down into the earth from eAltar great Altar & was covered th
stone to open & shut. And all these parts of the Temple have e
same signification thch
And in allusion to echeastward
of Ierusalem & flowed thence eastward & was by the Iewish
Doctors accounted a type of the spirit, a River of life flowing
eastward from the throne of God th
banks thereof is put for the Law of God going out from the
Throne of the kingdom to the Nations, the es e
that spiritual meat & drink ch
& by the bread & wine in the Eucharist; These ch
by the spiritual rock of water & by the Tab
Table of Shew bread & seven lamps in the Temple.
The Iewish service began every morning with the
sounding of Trumpets, opening of the Temple & killing of
the morning sacrifice together, & dressing of the Lamps
immediately after. The Lamps were drest by the Priests in
their lots & on the fast of the seventh month & seven days
before by the High Priest. And in allusion to this Iohn hears
a great voice as of a Trumpet, & turning to e
like the Son of man in the High Priests habit among the
seven branches of the golden candlestick dressing the Lamps
so that they appeared like a rod of seven stars in his
right hand. And his countenance being seen through e
bright flame of the Altar appeared as the Sun shineth
in his strength & his eyes like flames of fire, & his
feet like ambar as if they burned in a furnace. The
Lamps he dresses successively by dictating seven prophetic ex
hortations to the seven Angels of the Churches. For the
seven Angels are represented by the seven stars & seven
lamps chor chief Officers
of the Temple
& officers of like & equal honour & authority, & next in
dignity to the High Priest & his deputy& the two Amarcelim representing Lamb son of Manthey
the keys of the seven gates of the Temple, & those also
of the Treasuries, & the direction appointment & oversight
of all things in the Temple. And the seven Angels were
also chief Priests because they came out of the Temple
where none but chief Priests enter, & were cloathed in
pure & white linnen & had their breasts guirded with
golden girdles ch
fices poured out seven Vials or drink offerings & sounded
seven trumpets. And as they are Priests so they are said
to be before the throne or Adytum of the Temple & are
considered in the Apocalyps as next in dignity to the great having the oversight of all things, being
High Priest & as
called
of God sent forth into all the earth, that is, the seven
messengers of God. Angels signify messengers & are put in
quence the seven chief Angels for the seven chief Officers. These After this, saith Iohn, that is, after the dressing of eI looked & behold a door [the
but already] opened in heaven, & I heard the first voice as the voice of a trumpet talking with me & saying, Come up hither & I will shew thee things w. This voice ch
being the second sounding of the Trumpet called the Prophet th
visions in the Temple as prefigured things to come. For the
Trumpets sounded every day thrice: first at the opening of the
gates of the Temple, then at the morning & lastly at the evening
sacrifice. In the Epistles to the seven churches Iohn was bid to write things
past present & to come but here he is shewn only things to come & there
fore all interpretations are erroneous which apply any part of the fol
lowing prophesy to things done before the prophesy was written. And immediately I was in the spirit & behold a throne was set in heaven & one sat on the throne. Iohn was in the spirit by the power of the
Angel who was sent to shew him these things & standing at the open door
saw the Adytum of the Temple & God sitting in it above the Ark
between the Cherubims. And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper & a sardine stone; that is of an olive colour this being
the complexion of the natives of Iudeath
dius intermixed; this being the complexion of the natives of Iudea. And there was a rainbow round about the throne in sight like unto an Emerald: ch
it was the time of morning sacrifice. And round about the throne were four & twenty seats & upon the seats I saw four & twenty Elders sitting, cloathed in white raiment; & they had on their heads crowns of gold. These Elders are the Priests & Levites divided into
24 courses under 24 Princes who had 24 chambers about the
Temple, twelve on one side of the Priests court & twelve on the
other side thereof. Every Elder comprehends in his mystical body
the Prince Priests & Levites of one course. ffor every single per
son in this prophesy is put for a multitude: And every elder has a
viol of incense as a Priest & a harp as a Levite for the musick of
the Temple. And out of the throne proceeded lightnings & thundrings & voices.
saw the flames of the altar like lightnings & heard the Temple-
music like like thundrings & voices, as if they proceeded out of
the throne. And so
throne like fiery flames & a fiery stream issuing forth from be
fore him, it may be conceived that Daniel saw him as it were
through the flames of the altar. And there were seven lamps of fire burning [in the before the throne, w [lamps] chare the seven spirits of God. And before the throne [in the Priests' court, between the altar & the Porch of the temple] there was a sea of glass like unto crystal [the great brazen laver.] And in the midst of the throne & circuit of the throne were four Beasts
that is over against the midst of it & on either hand, were four Beasts Animals or Seraphims full of eyes before and behind, and
also within or under their wings. These Beasts Animals by their
many eyes signify the people of Israel in the four sides of the chAnd the first was like a Lyon, the second like a calf, the third had the face of a man & y. The e
people in the wilderness encamped round the Tabernacle. On
the east were three tribes under the standard of Iudah, on the
west were three tribes under the standard of Epraim, on the
south were three tribes under the standard of Reuben, & on
the north were three tribes under the standard of Dan. Num. 2.
And the standard of Iudah was a Lyon, that of Ephraim an
Ox, that of Reuben a man & that of Dan an eagle as the
Iews affirm. Whence were framed the Hieroglyphicks of
Cherubims & Seraphims to represent the people of Israel,
a Cherubim having one body with the four faces of a
Lyon, Ox, Man & Eagle looking to the four winds of heaven
without turning about & four Seraphims having the same
four faces with four bodies, one face to every body. Con
ceive therefore that the first Beast stands on the east
side of the Temple with the head of a Lyon, the se
cond on the west side with the head of a Calf, the
third on the south side with the head of a Man, &
the fourth on the north side with the head of an
eagle: & that these four signify all the twelve
tribes of Israel, those tribes out of ch
forty & four thousand were sealed, Apoc. 7.4. And they had each of them six wings, two wings to a tribe, in all
24. And they rest not day & night saying Holy, holy, holy
[that is morning & evening at the sacrifices] saying Holy,
holy, holy Lord
of the Priests people of Israel answering to e
of the Priests. ffora
fices were offered for all the people & they whose sa
crifices were offered were obliged to be present in the
Temple, the people had their representatives distinguished
into four & twenty stations or courses to attend each
their week in order, & each station had its President
called the President of the station. And they rest not day & night [that is morning & evening at the sacri
fices] saying Holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty which was & is & is to come. These animals are therefore the
Seraphims ch
the Apocalyps. For there also the Lord sat on a throne
in the Temple & the Seraphims each th
Holy, holy, holy Lord of hosts. And when those Animals give glory & honour & thanks to him that sat on the throne who liveth for ever & ever, the four & twenty elders fall down before him that sat on the throne & worship him that liveth for ever & ever & cast their crowns before the throne saying, Thou artart worthy, O Lord, to receive glory & honour & power: for thou hast created all things, & for thy pleasure they are & were created. At the morning
& evening sacrifices so soon as the sacrifice was laid upon the Altar, & e
offering began to be poured out the trumpets sounded & the Levites sang
by course three times, & every time when the trumpets sounded a
people fell down & worshipped. Three times therefore did the people
worship, to express which number the Beasts cry Holy, holy, holy; & the
song being ended, the people prayed standing till the solemnity was ended,
& in the mean time the Priests b
down & before him that sat on the throne & worshipped.
And I saw in the right hand of him that sat upon the throne a book written within & on the backside & sealed with seven seales. This alludes to the book
of the Law ch
side of the Ark & so appeared to Iohn as it were in the right hand of him that
sat upon the throne. The book of the Law the Iews distinguish into sections
& call some of these section open others shut up. So the last section of
Genesis wherein Iacob in blessing his sons, predicts the actions captivities
& returns of their posterity & the coming of Shiloh they note for a
section shut up. And in the same sense the songs & prophetic speeches
things to come, are shut up &
Book. So Isaiah:Bind up the testimony, seal the Law among my disciples. And
again: the Lord hath poured out upon . rrch
So Daniel whose visions concern the things prefigured in the Law is bid to
shut up the vision of the Ram & Goat. And in his last vision when the
Angel comes to shew him what is noted in the Scripture of truth he is bid
to shut up the
till the time of the end, & then knowledge shall be encreased. This book of
the scripture of truth thus sealed up is the book in the right hand of him
that sat upon the throne. For understanding how it was written within & on
the backside & sealed, conceive that the prophesies of the first six seals
being short & single were written on the first six leaves within & that that
of the seventh seal was times of the seventh seale being long & variously
repeated was written on the seventh leaf within & on the backside & also on
the first page of the eighth leaf, & that the book was composed of these
eight leaves & sealed either with seven seales put in between the leaves or by
tacking every two leaves together by a label & sealing the seven labels, or in
any other manner so that by opening the seales in order
might be opened in order. Now this book was of so great consequence that Iohn saith I saw a strong Angel proclaiming with a loud voice, Who is worthy to open the book & to loose the seales thereof? And none in heaven nor in earth neither under the earth was able to open the book neither to look thereon. And I wept much because no man was found worthy to open & to read the book neither to look thereon. And one of the Elders said unto me, Weep not: behold the Lion of the tribe of Iudah, the root of David hath prevailed to open the book & to loose the seven seales thereof And I beheld, & lo, in the midst [that is, at the foot of the Altar over against the midst of the throne] & in the midst of the four Beast Animals & of the Elders stood a Lamb as it had been slain [that is, at the morning sacrifice] & he came & took the book out of y eAnd when he had taken the book, the four Animals & four & twenty Elders fell down before the Lamb, having every one of them Harps & golden Vials full of odours w. Whence its manifest that the Animals & Elders are Christians of all nations. chr
And I beheld & I heard the voice of many Angels round about the throne & [round
about the Beasts ten thousand & thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice: Worthy is y Because he humbled himself & became obedient eto
death, even the death of the cross, therefore God hath highly exalted him &
given him a name ch
every knee should bow, of things in heaven & things in earth & things under
the earth; & that every tongue should confess that Iesus Christ is Lord
to the glory of God the Father. And every creature w.ch
Thiis the worship who described
the Son, whilst others deny them by worshipping the Beast & his Image.
For the Beast & his Image are
the first is to forsake
31.16: Iosh. 24.15, 16, 20, 27. Iob. 31.28. Isa. 65.
In this Vision of the daily worship you have also the scene of e
following visions described.
It was the custome for thee
Fast of the seventh month to continue constantly in the Temple & study
the Book of the Law that he might be perfect in it against the day
of expiation
Conceive
book was opened be
of the first six Seales were predicted in the
single pagesthosee
seventh by writing namely oret
leaf & the first page of the eight, once upon every page
in all, three times& that when the Lamb had opened the first
six seales & their visions were past, he viewed the writing on
the outside or first page of the seventh leaf while the winds
hurt the earth and sea, then opened the seventh seal & viewed
the writing on the inside of the same leaf while the Trumpets
sounded, then transformed himself into
with the book open in his hand, & again viewed the inside of
the seventh leaf
then having cast his eye upon the eighth leaf gis Iohn
the book to eat, & while Iohn i
sied to him by memory out of the eigthth leaf untill the
seventh Trumpet sounded: and that Iohn being now inspired
anew by eating & digesting the book prophesied again out of
it to the end of the Apocalyps repeating the whole prophesy
beginning with these words And the Temple of God was opened in heaven & repeating the whole prophesy in the same order as
before, but under other forms of visions.
It was the custome for the High Priest seven days before
the ffast of the seventh month to continue constantly in the
Temple & study the book of the Law that he might be perfect
in it against the day of expiration, wherein the service ch
was various & intricate was wholy to be performed by
himself, of ch
to the people. And to promote his studying it, there were
certain Priests appointed by the Sanhedrim to be with him
those seven days in one of his chambers in the Temple
& there to discourse with him about the Law & read it
to him & put him in mind of reading & studying it him
self. And this his & studying the law those seven
days is alluded unto in the Lambs opening the seven seales.
Conceive that the seven days begin in the evening & that the
solemnity of the ffast begins in
The seventh seal was therefore opened on the day of Ex
piation & then there was silence in heaven for half an hour & an Angel (the high Priest) stood at the Altar having a golden censer & there was given him much incense that he should offer it w. The custome was thch
on other days for one of the Priests to take fire from the
great Altar in a silver censer, but on this day for the
High Priest to take fire from the great Altar in a Golden
censer, & when he was come down from the great altar
he took incense from one of the Priests that brought it
to him & went with it to the golden Altar, & while he
offered the incense the people prayed without in silence ch
the High Priest had laid the incense on the Altar he
carried a censer of it burning in his hand into the
most Holy place before the Ark. And the smoke of the incense with the prayers of the saints ascended up before God out of the Angel's hand. On other days there was
a certain measure of incense for the golden Altar: on
this day there was a greater quantity & for the Altar
& the most Holy, & therefore it is called much incense
After this the Angel took the censer & filled it w (great) thAltar & cast it to the earth, that is,
by the hands of the Priests who belong to his mystical body
he cast it to the earth without the Temple for burning
the Goat ch
tant sacrifices untill the evening sacrifice was ended, there were voices & thundrings & lightnings & an earthquake, that
is, the voice of the High Priest reading the Law to the people
& other voices & thundrings of the trumpets & temple-musick
at the sacrifices & lightnings of the fire of the Altar.
The solemnity of the day of Expiation being finished
fices of the seven days of the feast of Tabernacles, & at the
same sacrifices the seven Thunders utter their voices ch
soundings of the Trumpets, & the seven Angels pour out
their Viols of wrath ch
Before the Lamb opened the seventh seal & looked
on the prophesy on the inside of the seventh leaf, you are
to conceive that he viewed the synchronal prophesy on
the outside of the same leaf. And upon his viewing it
Iohn saith: And after these things [that is, after the visions
of the sixt seal] I saw four Angels standing on the four corners of the earth holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth nor on the sea nor on any tree. And I saw another Angel ascending from the east having the seal of the living God; & he cried w. ✝ thof our God in their foreheads. ✝ This sealing alludes to a tradition
of the Iews that upon the day of Expiation all the people of
Israel are sealed up in the books of life & death.
Iews in their Talmud tell us that in the beginning of every
new year or first day of the Month Tisri, three books ch
of those are written who are perfectly just, the book of
death in ch
atheists or very wicked & a third book of those whose
judgment is suspended till the day of expiation & whose
names are not written in the books of life & death before
that day. The first ten days of this month they call
the penitential days, & all these days they fast & pray
much & are very devout that on the tenth day their
sins may be remitted & their names may be written in the
book of life, ch
ation. And upon this tenth day in returning home from their
synagogues they say to one another, God the creator seal you to a good year. For they conceive that the books are
now sealed up, & that the sentence of God remains unchanged
henceforward to the end of the year. And the same thing is sig
nified by the two Goats upon whose foreheads the High Priest
yearly in the day of Expiation lays the two lots inscribed. For God & For Azazel, Gods Goat signifying the people who are
sealed in their forehead with the name of God in their foreheads.
The servants of God being therefore sealed in the day
of Expiation, conceive that the four Angels which hold the four
winds were the first four of the seven Angels chupon holding
the blustering noisy winds there was silence in heaven for
the four Angels were the first four of the seven Angels ch
their holding the blustering noisy winds there was silence
in heaven for half an hour, & that while
of God, were sealing, the Angel with the golden censer
offered their prayers with incense upon the golden Altar.
& that so soon as they were sealed the winds hurt the
earth at the sounding of the first Trumpet & the sea
at the sounding of the second, these winds being the wars
of the first four Trumpets. For as the first four seals
are distinguished from the three last by the appearance of
four horsmen towards the four winds of heaven, so
the
last by representing these by the four
others by three great Woes. In one of Ezekiel's visions,thth
side, is commanded to go through the midst of Ierusalem,
& set a mark upon the foreheads of the men who sigh
& cry for
& then all other six men (like the Angels of the first
six Trumpets) are commanded to slay those who are
not marked, & after them the man cloathed in linnen
(a seventh) scatters over the city coals of fire to con
sume it. These visions have relation to one another, & the six
first men with the slaughter weapons answer to the six first
Angels with the trumpets & the seventh man with the writers
inkhorn to the seventh Angel. Whence it may be understood
that the Angel who ascended from the east with the seal of
the living God, was the seventh Angel, & that the servants then gr kept
the feast of tabernacles & then grew into a greater by the
preaching of the everlasting Gospel grew into an innume
rable multitude of all nations & on the seventh day of the
feast
solemnity of the great Hosannah; coming out of the great
tribulation with palm branches in their hands & crying, Sal
vation (that is Hosannah) to r
great Hosannah was kept upon the seventh day the great
day of the ffeast, & e
are symbols of a great victory, that victory by which at the sound
ing of the seventh trumpet the mystery of God is finished &
the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of r
& his Christ who reign for ever & ever. For after they come
out of the great tribulation they are before the throne of god & serve him day & night in his Temple, & he that sitteth upon the throne shall [thence forward] dwell among them They shall hunger no more neither thirst any more neither shall the [scorching] Sun light on them nor any heat. For y echth
the fruits of e& lead them unto living fountains of waters And therefore they are the everlasting kingdom of our
Lord & his Christ che
is set up & is afterwards called the new Ierusalem coming down
from heaven, the Bride, the Lambs wife, of whom its said. Behold the tabernacle of God is with men & he will dwell among them - - & wipe away all .ech
After six men of the Angels answering to the six men th
slaughter weapons, had sounded their Trumpets; the Lamb changes in the
his shape into the form of a
form of a mighty Angel came down from heaven cloathed with a cloud & a rainbow upon his head & his face was as it were the Sun & his feet as pillars of fire [the shape in ch
Christ appeared in the beginning of this prophesy] & he had in his hand a little book open, the book which he had newly opened.
ffor he received but one book from him that sitteth upon the
throne, & he alone was worthy to open & look on this book. And he set his right foot on the earth sea & his left foot on y.e
that he continues to look on the inside of the seventh leaf
which he was viewing before in the shape of a Lamb, & thereby
repeats the prophesy of that page. And he set his right foot on the earth sea & his left foot on the earth & cried w. It was the custome for the
place in the peoples court at the eastern gate of the Temple peoples
Court & read the law to the people while the Heifer & Goat ch
him standing in such a manner that his right foot might appear
to Iohn as it were standing on the in cryinghe read out of the book to the he cried with an
people with a
articulate voice, reading out of the book to the peop with a
loud voice as of a roaring Lion & that this his crying th
a loud voice is a repetition of the prophesy of the voices
to the Angels filling the golden censer th
& casting it to e
Priest & his reading the law was a part of those voices. And when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. Thunders are the voices of a cloud & a cloud signifies
a multitude. Conceive these thunders to be the voices of the
cloud wherewith the Angel is cloathed & that this cloud signifies
the Levites standing upon the steps of the eastern gate of the Priests
court behind the high Priest & appearing round the Angel about
him & with harps & other musical instruments playing & sing
ing aloud as it were with voices of thunder, at the sacrifices of
the seven days of the feast of Tabernacles when the seven
Trumpets sounded. For the Levit trumpets sounded & the Levites
sang alternately three times at every sacrifice & therefore
the seven thunders are nothing else then a repetition of the
prophesy of the seven Trumpets in another form. And I heard a voice from heaven saying, Seale up those things w. For they being ch
a repetition of the prophesy of the seven trumpets it was
unnecessary to write them here. And the Angel w ch
[after the seven thunders there should be time no longer, but in the days of the voice of the seventh Trumpet Angel when he shall begin to sound [& the seventh the mystery of God shall b should be finished as he hath declared to his servants the Prophets.
And the voice w ch[& ch
[saying, seale up those things chspake to me again & said, Go & take the little book &c And I took the little book out of the Angels hand & ate it up & it was in my mouth sweet as honey & as soon as I had eaten it my belly was bitter. And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples & nations & tongues & kings. This is an introduction to a new prophesy, by eat
repetition of the prophesy of the whole book, & alludes to Eze
kiel's eating a boo roll or book spread open before him & written
within & without & full of lamentations & mourning & wo,
but sweet in his mouth. Eating & drinking signify acquiring &
possessing. So eating flesh is put for acquiring riches Dan. 7.5, 23.
Eating Christ's b flesh & drinking his blood for beleiving on him
& receiving his doctrine (Iohn 6,) & the leaven of the Pharisees is
their doctrine (Mat. 16.12) & the tree of life & water of life are wisdom
& understanding (Prov. 3.18 & 15.4, & 13.14 & 14.27 & 16.22.) And drinking the
water of life is receiving the spirit (Iohn 7.39.) And so eating the book is
becoming inspired with the prophesy conteined in it. It implies a being
inspired in a vigorous & extraordinary manner with the prophesy of the
& begins not till the first prophesy, that of the seals & trumpets
It was sweet in Iohn's mouth & bitter in his belly & therefore begins not
with the bitter prophesy of the gentiles bein Babylonian captivity & the gentiles
being in the outward court & treading down the holy city & the prophe
sying of the two witnesses in sackcloth & their smiting the earth with
all plagues & being killed by the Beast; nor ends with the sweet
prophesy of the witnesses ascending up to heaven in a cloud & the
but so soon as the prophesy of the Trumpets is ended it begins with
the sweet prophesy of the glorious woman in heaven & the victory of
Michael over the Dragon & after that it is bitter in Iohn's belly by the large description of the times of the great Apostacy. Conceive
therefore that the Angel, before he gave Iohn the book to
eat, viewed the writing on the first page of the eighth leafe, & t
when Iohn had eaten the book & in order to a new prophesy
was digesting it, the Angel described the times of the seventh seal
once more by memory out of that eighth page in the manner
following.
* And the Angel stood [upon the earth & sea saying, Rise & measure the Temple of God & the Altar & them that worship therin, [that
is their courts with the buildings thereon, vizt the square court
of the Temple called the separate place & the
Altar called the Priests court, & the court of them that worship therein the Temple called the new court] but the [great] Court which is without the Temple leave out & measure it not for it is given to the Gentiles & the holy city shall they tread under foot forty & two months. The visions had hitherto appeared in the first Temple,
& those of sealing the saints sounding the Trumpets & uttering the
thunders had alluded unto the fast & feast of the seventh month celebrated
in this Temple. The Angel still appears in the same Temple untill the
sounding of the seventh Trumpet on the last day of that feast: but in
prophesying out of a new leaf of the book alludes unto the describes the
times
second Temple. This Temple is not shewed unto Iohn, but the Angel
commands him to measure the inner Courts of the first Temple to signi
fy that not be rebuilt for the worship of the people of God
& to leave the outward court of this Temple unmeasured to signify
that they it should not be rebuilt but be given to the Gentiles, those
Gentiles whom captivate the holy city & tread it under foot, that is to the
Babylonians, the Whore of Babylon & her Beast & those that worship
him. For measuring is a type of building (Zech. 2 & Ezek. 40) &
the outward court of the Temple was not rebuilt by Zerubbabel but
left open to the Babylonians & called the court of the Gentiles. Measur
ing is alsoAnd the Angel stood saying, Rise & measure, [the temple of God & [the court of] the Altar & [the court of] them that worship therein [called the ‡ [that is, their courts, vizt the
& the court of the Altar called the Priests court & the eastern border of this court of them
court called the court of Israel] but the great court
that worship in the Temple called the new court] but the
great court &c.but the court w. This is an allusion to the Babylonian captivity & building of ch
a second Temple after the first had been destroyed. For measu
ring is a type of building (Zech. 2 e
second Temple only that the Gentiles trode down the holy city &
that the outward Court was called the court of the Gentiles.
Hitherto the visions had appeared in Solomon's Temple in the
outward court of ch
of Israel in the four sides of that court: but now upon prophe
sying out of a
visions appear in
distinguishing thchch
red or from that ch
dent by Davids measuring Moab with a line, even with two lines
to put to death & with one full line to keep alive (2 Sam. 8.) a
therefore in this prophesy the measuring a part of the temple for
the saints & leaving out the rest for the gentiles, signifies the
same thing with numbering & sealing the servants of God in
their foreheads & leaving the rest of the 12 tribes unsealed or
marking them with the mark of the Beast. For the servants of
God by being sealed numbred & sealed out of the 12 tribes, are, as lively
stones, built up a new spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up
spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Iesus Christ 1 Pet. 2.5. And I will give power unto my two Witnesses & they shall prophesy 1260 days,
that is all the time that the Gentiles tread the holy City underfoot. These are the two olive trees & the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth. In the ch
were seven candlesticks representing the seven churches of Asia: in
the
the two witnesses. And as the seven Churches These are called two Prophets are joyntly & severally are put
in general for all the churches, so are the two churches a definite num
ber for an indefinite.th
Zechary who prophesied at the building of e
witnesses because it is the business of prophets to testify against wicked men (2
Chron. 24.19.) & olive trees thch
describes in the second temple (Zech 4.) And 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: that is,
they have the power of Elijah & Elisha, & are persecuted by the woman in the wil
derness as the prophets were by Iezabel in a dry & barren season. And they have power to turn the waters into blood & to smite the earth with all plagues as often as they will.
At the sounding of the first Trumpet they consume their enemies the
of the second they turn the waters
the earth with all plagues. For they continue till the seventh Trumpet sounds, whereby an
end is put to the prophesy of the seals & trumpets. And when they shall be finishing their testimony, the Beast wchandand and kill themovercome them & kill them, or dissolve their bodies ecclesiasticall. And their dead bodies shall lye in the street [or Province] of the great city w [Babylon] chwhere [or in whose
street] our Lord was crucified. Sodom for it spiritual whoredome &
uncleanness, Ægypt for
& treading under foot the holy city Temple second Temple
an image to be worshipped by all people nations & languages upon pain of
death. These are the Gentiles in the outward court of the Temple
to heaven in a cloud [or multitude] & a tenth part of the great city falls ch
an end to the second wo After ch
to the prophesy of the seales & Trumpets.
in the Temple, the candlesticks must be conceived to resemble
the candlesticks in the Temple. In the Tabernacle there was one
golden candlestick with seven branches & seven lamps upon the
branches, & in the Temple of Solomon there were ten such can
dlesticks; but in the Apocalyps there were but seven lamps &
therefore but one candlestick with seven branches, ch
are called the seven golden candlesticks. One branch was in the
middle & three on either side (Exod. 25.32) & thereby the
lamps were in a right line so as to appear to Iohn like
a rod of seven stars in the right hand of the Son of Man. The
seven candlesticks signify seven churches & all seven are
but one sevenfold Church & so are most fitly represented
by one sevenfold candlestick. The seven lamps enlighten
the Temple, & the Temple represents the Church catholick.
These lamps are the seven spirits
seven spirits are sent forth into all the earth (Apoc. 5.6.)
& Zech 4.10) & therefore the lamps are the light of the
Church catholick & the sevenfold candlestick is a symbol
of the Church catholick. And the same thing is signified by
the Lamb with his seven horns & seven eyes. His mystical
body is the Church catholick, his eyes are the seven spirits
of God & his horns the seven churches. Before the writing
of this Prophesy the light of the gospel came to all nations from
Ierusalem. Vpon the Iewish war the Apostles with the Church
of Ierusalem fled from that city & Christ by the seven epistles
instructed the seven Churches of Asia that they might in
struct others, & dressed their lamps that they might shine bright,
& Iohn presiding there long after the death of the twelve
Apostles & instructing them left a race of disciples ch
those churches the great light of the Church catholick in
the first ages of the Christian religion untill the Woman fled
(with an outward form of Church government) fled from the
Temple into the wilderness & ceased to be illuminated any
longer by the light of these lamps. And then in allusion to
the times of the Babylonian captivity a second Temple
is built for the worship of those who remain in Iudea
& in the holy City now troden under foot by the Babylo
nian Gentiles: & the outward court of this Temple is
left open & unbuilt & given to those Gentiles.
In the second Temple there was a Candlestick with
seven lamps whose form is thus described in the visions of
Zechary ch 4. The lamps were joyned to a golden bowle
by seven golden pipes through which the oyle ran into them
& the bowle stood upon a golden candlestick & was joyned
to two vessels of oyle on either side by two golden pipes through
which the oyle ran into it, & the two vessels were supported by
two Olive trees, not living trees growing upon a root & flourishing
with branches & leaves, but shafts of Olive wood. These two
Olive trees
are alluded unto in the Apocalyps, the name of candlestick ch
branches, being in this Prophesy given to each of the branches.
Now Candlesticks signify churches as above & so do Olive trees Rom. 11.17, 24.
& since the two Candlesticks support the golden bowle with all the seven
lamps, & the two Olive trees supply them with oyle for illuminating the
whole Temple of God, they must represent the whole Church of God distin-
describes in the second Temple. Zech. 4. The visions being in
the Temple, the candlesticks must be conceived to resemble the
candlesticks in the Temple. In the Tabernacle there was one golden
candlestick with seven branches & seven lamps upon the branches &
in the temple of Solomon there were ten such candlesticks, but in
the Apocalyps there were but seven lamps & therefore but one
candlestick with seven branches, ch
golden candlesticks. One branch was in the middle & three on either
side (Exod 25.32) & thereby the lamps were in a right line so
as to appear to Iohn like a rod of seven stars in the right
hand of the son of man. The seven Chandlesticks signify seven
churches & all seven are but one sevenfold Church & so are
most fitly represented by one sevenfold candlestick. The seven
Lamps enlighten the Temple & the Temple represents the
Church catholick. These lamps are the seven spirits of
God (Apoc. 4.5) & the seven spirits are sent forth into
all the earth (Apoc. 5.6 & Zech 4.10) & therefore the lamps
are the light of the Church catholick & the sevenfold
candlestick is a symbol of the Church catholick. [And as
the horns of a Beast signify the powers or dominions
presiding over the people represented by the body of the
Beast so the seven branches of the candlestick signify the seven powers or dominions set over the Church catho
lick to instruct it & illuminate it by their light. ffor
this end he sent seven epistles to the seven Churches &
dressed their Lamps. Before the writing of this prophesy
the light of the Gospel came to all nations from Ierusalem. I
Ierusalem fled from that city & Christ by the seven
epistles instructed the seven churches of Asia that they
might instruct others, & dressed their lamps that they might
shine bright, & Iohn presiding there long after de the death
of the rest of the Apostles & instructing them left a race of
disciples which made those Churches the great light of the
church catholick in the first ages of the Christian religion.]These have power, like Elijah & Elisha in the reign of Ierto shut heaven that it rai gn not in the days of their prophesy.
horns & seven eyes. His mystical body is the Church catholick,
his eyes are the seven spirits of God & his horns the seven
churches.
Now this vision of the sevenfold candlestick & of the Lamb
with seven horns continues while the Lamb is opening the seven
seals: but upon opening the seventh seal the Lamb changes
his shape & appears in the form of the high Priest with a
golden censer to offer the prayers of the saints upon the
golden altar. I say he changes his shape: for he never
appears in two shapes at once. And at the same time, instead
of the seven candlesticks of gold there are two Candlesticks
of olive tree. And hence forward the Church catholick is re
presented by the mystical body of Christ in the form of an high
cutions, & by two candlesticks called Olive trees in allusion to the vision
of Zechary. In that vision the seven lamps were joyned to a golden
bowle by seven golden pipes through which the oyle ran into them, &
the bowle stood upon a golden candlestick & was joyned to two
vessels of oyle on either side by two golden pipes though ch
ran into it, & the two vessels were supported by two olive trees,
not living trees growing upon a root & flourishing with branches &
leaves, but shafts of olive wood. In the Apocalyps the two olive
trees are called two candlesticks, & therefore you are to
that in the visions as they appeared to Iohn, the whole golden
frame of the lamps & bowle & two vessels of oyle are supported
by two candlesticks of olive tree standing under the two vessels
of oyle, without the golden candlestick under the bowle, there being
no mention of this golden candlestick in the visions of Iohn.
Christ threatened to remove the Candlestick of Ephesus out of its
place & to spew the Church of Laodicea out of his mouth. These being
two branches of the sevenfold
Conceive therefore that at the opening of the seventh seale, when
the Lamb with seven horns changes his shape into that of the high
Priest or Angel standing at the golden altar & as it were on the
earth & sea, the sevenfold golden candlestick is removed & the
two candlesticks of olive wood come into its place; & that the
Angel continues standing with right foot
sea all the time of this vision of the two candlesticks of olive
wood supporting the seven lamps: & that the Church catholick
which had been hitherto represented by the sevenfold golden
candlestick & by the mystical body of Christ in the form of a
Lamb with seven horns is henceforward represented by the two
candlesticks of olive wood & by the mystical body of Christ standing
with his right foot on the earth & his left foot on the sea. ffor
Candlesticks signify Churches, & the two candlesticks which support
all the seven lamps can signify nothing less then the Church
catholick. As Nebuchadnezzars image by its ten toes represented
the division of the fourth monarchy into ten kingdoms: & by its two leggs : so Christ by his two leggs standing
the division of it into two Empires
on the earth & sea represents the Church catholick seated in the
two empires of the earth & sea, & these are the two Candlesticks &
the two Witnesses ch
And if any man will hurt them fire procedeth out of their mouth & devoureth their enemies: These have power to shut heaven that it rain not in the days of their prophesy: that is, they have the power of Elijah & Elisha & are
persecuted by the woman in the wilderness as the prophets were by Iezabel
in a dry & barren season. And they have power to turn the waters into blood & to smite the earth with all plagues as oft h en as they will
At the sounding of the first Trumpet they consume their enemies with fire
cast on the earth, at the sounding of the second they turn the waters of
the sea into blood, & in the following Trumpets & the seven Vials of wrath called
the seven last plagues they smite the earth with all plagues. as often For they
continue till the seventh Trumpet sounds. And when they shall be finishing their testimony the Beast w [or sea] chshall make war against them and shall overcome them & kill them, or dissolve their bodies
ecclesiastical. And their dead bodies shall lye in the street of the [or province] of the great city w [Babylon] chwhere [or in
whose street] our Lord was crucified. Sodom for its spiritual whoredome or unclean
ness, Ægypt for its persecution, & Babylon for its captivating & treading under foot
the holy city, destroying the first Temple & invading the outward court of the second
Temple, & worshipping its kings & setting up an image to be worshipped by all people nations
& languages upon pain of death. Afterwards these Witnesses rise again, affright their
enemies & ascend up to heaven in a cloud [or multitude] & a tenth part of the great city falls ch
to the prophesy of the seals & Trumpets.
guished into two Churg
presented by the son of Man appearing in the beginning of the
Prophesy with two flaming eyes & two feet burning as it were in
a furnace. His mystical body represents the Church catholick & his
eyes & leggs denote the division of this Church into two parts, the churches
of the Greeks & Latines diffused through the nations of the Greek &
Latin Empires. And
an Angel comes down from heaven with feet as pillars of fire &
sets his right foot upon the sea & his left foot upon the earth his mystical . He
has a little book open in his hand to signify that this last vision
relates to the times which follow the opening of all the seales. He
stands in this posture all the time of the seven thunders & all the that he is prophesying concerning the second Temple & two
time
Witnesses. And therefore the two Witnesses being represented by the
two Candlesticks & two Olive trees in this Temple & so being the
Churches of Christ ch
churches with those represented by his two leggs
diffused through the nations of earth & sea. the Churches
of the Greeks & Latines.
This Temple appears not in the visions. t
prophesies to Iohn concerning it & its Candlesticks without shewing to them to him. Iohn measures the inner Courts of the first Temple to signify that they should be
All the visions appear in the first Temple till the sounding of
the seventh Trumpet. When the times of the seventh seale are
represented by the day of Expiation & feast of the seventh month
Iohn sees in this Temple the sealing of Angels which were to hurt
the earth & sea & the sealing of 144000 out of all the twelve tribes
of Israel inhabiting the earth & sea in th in the day of expiation &
the celebration of the seven days of the feast with soundings of Trumpets
& musick like thunders at the sacrifices whereby the inhabitants of
the earth & sea who received the mark of the Beast were hurt.
But when the times of this seale are represented by allusions to
the Babylonian captivity: the Angel only tells the Allusions to Iohn
without shewing him any new visions.
In allusion to the prophesying of the prophets Haggai & Zechary at
the building of the second Temple, the two Witnesses of Christ
phesy in sackcloth while the Babylonian gentiles tread
city under foot. And if any man will hurt them fire proceedeth out of their mouth & devoureth their enemies. These have power
[like Elijah & Elisha to shut heaven that it rain not in the days of their prophesy And [like Moses & Aaron in Egypt] they have power to turn the waters into blood & to smite the earth with all plagues as often as they will. For these seven lap
are the seven spirits or Angels ch
of God & sound the
plagues or Vials of wrath. At the sounding of the first Trumpet
they consume their enemies with fire cast on the earth, at the sounding
of the second they turn the waters of the sea into blood & in the f
Trumpets & the Vialls of wrath called the seven last plagues they smite
the earth with all plagues. For they continue till the seventh Trumpet
sounds. And when they shall be finishing their testimony, the Beast which ascends out of the abyss [or Sea] shall make war against them & shall overcome them & kill them or dissolve their bodies ecclesiastical. And their dead bodies shall lye in the street of the great city which is spiritually called Sodom & Egypt & [Babylon] where [or
in whose Province street] our Lord was crucified. Sodom for its spiritual whoredom
Egypt for
City, destroying the first Temple & tread invading the outward Court of the
Temple & worshipping its kings & setting up an Image to be worshipped by all people
nations & languages upon pain of death. Afterwards these witnesses rise again, affright
their enemies & ascend up to heaven in a cloud [or multitude] & a tenth part of the
great city falls, ch
quickly & puts an end to the prophesy of the Seals & Trumpets.
As several visions in Daniel have interpretations annexed to them
so hath Iohn's prophesy of the seales & trumpets, & this interpretation is
a repetition of the prophesy of the whole book in the same order as
before & in a manner more full & sensible,
eating the little & digesting the book & thereby becoming inspired with the
whole prophesy anew more fully & intimately & perfectly then before when
he only saw the book at a distance: The repetition begins thus.
And the Temple of God was opened in heaven & there was seen in his Temple the Ark of his testament. As the former
prophesy began with a door opened in heaven so doth this And the
temple here opened
temple of the tabernacle tha as it is afterwards called, that is
the tabernacle & e
no Ark.
And there were lightnings & voices & thunderings & an earthquake & great hail: a short representation of the
wars of the four horsmen ch
four seals.
And there appeared a great wonder in [the Temple of] heaven, a woman cloathed with the Sun & the Moon under her feet. Conceive her appearing through the
Altar th
an half moon, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars re
presenting the twelve Apostles. She is therefore the church from
the days of the twelve Apostles: for her seed keep the command
ments of God & have the testimony of Iesus. ch
And she being with child cried travelling in birth & pained to be delivered: ch
by the great persecution there described
And there appeared another wonder in heaven, & behold a great red Dragon [the Roman heathen Empire] having seven heads & ten horns & seven crowns upon this heads. This Dragon being
the old serpent called the Devil & Satan, is that Devil who
hath his seat in Pergamus, that is the Greek empire in the reign
of the last horn of Daniel's hch
but not in his own power but in the power of the Romans
as
or dynasties of kings or successive reigns, such as the kingdom
was distinguished into by the opening of the seven seales.
For the first
with armies & standards & a crown is given to the first of them
horsman to shew that he is a king, &
seven are of a kind. The reign of the Dragon therefore so far
as it is considered in this prophesy begins th
the first seale.
And the great Dragon was cast out [of heaven] — & his Angels werewere cast out with him, as is represented by the smiting of the
sun moon & stars & the passing away of heaven at the open
ing of the sixt seale.
‡ he came down to the inhabiters of the earth & sea, the earth & sea which
were hurt at the sounding of the two first Trumpets, the earth & sea upon which
the son of man right f left
& sea the Dragon came down with great wrath, And he persecuted the Woman w. chSbein great eagle denotes the Roman Empire & by the
division of this Empire into the Empires of the earth & sea or Greeks &
Latines, the Woman or Church catholick diffused through this Empire, re
ceives two wings of a great Eagle.
And the woman fled into the wilderness, & left remnant of her seed who keep the commandments of God & have the testimony of Iesus Christ. Conceive that this division of the Church
into the woman in the wilderness
opening of the seventh seale when the sevenfold candlestick was remo
out of all the twelve tribes of Israel
flying from
to the city Babylon seated on the many waters of Eufrates where
she commits spiritual fornication with the great men of Babylon
in worshipping Dæmons or dead mens souls & images of ch
✝
of the sea the other out of the earth. The first Beast had seven heads & a
mortal wound in one of them & his wound was healed & he revived before he
arose. And in allusion to the custome of the Heathens of deifying & worshipping their
kings after death & erecting Temples & Images &
worshippers: the second Beast acts the part of a Priest & maketh all the power of the first Beast before him, that is, he deifies this Hero, this Man of sin & makes him
of divine authority among the people. And he causeth the earth & them that dwell therein to worship this first Beast whose deadly wound was healed. About the same time that the woman fled there arose up two
Beasts one out of the Sea the other out of the earth & the second Beast causeth the earth & all that dwell therein to worship the first Beast & to make an Image to him & worship thehe maketh fire come down from heaven on the earth in the sight of men for sacrificing the saints on his altars. that they should make an Image to the Beast w And cheall gave breath to the Image that the Image shold both speak like one of the & [by dictating] cause that as may as would not worship the Image should be killed. And he causeth all both small & great, rich & poor, free & bond to receive a ma, that is all who are not at the same time sealed with the seale of
the living God. For all that dwell upon the earth worship this beast whose names are not written in the book of life, that is all who are not sealed. And after this marking & Iohn
sealinglooked & lo a Lamb stood on mount Sion & with him an hundred & forty four thousand having his name & his fathers name written in their foreheads. Conceive that between the opening of the seventh seal &
sounding of the seventh Trumpet first Trumpet
divided into two parties one of chth
with the mark of the Beast & that so soon as this sealing & marking was
finished, that is, at
Sion th
About the same time that the woman fled there arose up
two Beasts, one out of the earth sea the other out of the s earth, and all men small & great rich & poor bond & freereceived the mark of the first Beast Lamb stood on mount Sion with the 144000 having his name & his fathers name on there foreheads. Conceive that between the open
ing of the seventh seal & sounding of the seco first Trumpet the
twelve tribes became divided into two parties one of ch
& sealed with the seale of God, the other
of the Beast & that so soon as this sealing & marking was finished
that is, at the sounding of the first Trumpet, the Lamb stood on
mount Sion with the 144000 who were newly sealed.
This marking & sealing alludes to a custome of the heathens
of marking servants with the mark or name of their masters
souldiers with the mark or name of their king & worshippers
of a God with the mark or name of the God, as by marking
the worshippers of Bacchus with the figure of an ivy leaf
or with any of the names of Bacchus or with the number made
up of the numeral letters of his name. And such marks or
names or numbers were usually set upon the forehead or
neck or right hand or arm or breast of the person marked
& were made sometimes by burning & sometimes by pricking
& colouring the flesh. So Lucian tells us that all the worshippers of the Dea Syria were marked some in the palm of their hand others in their neck & that from thence it came to pass that all the Assyrians appeared with marks upon them, that is all
those whom he there calls Assyrians, including the Syrians &
Babylonians. And this custome was very ancient being interdicted
by Moses: Ye shall not print any mark upon you I am the Lord your God Levit. 19.28.
In the solemnity of the great ffast of the seventh month
the attonement for the sins of the people was made by two Goats
the one God's lot, the other Azazel's that is the Devil's. Which of
the two Goats should be God's was determined by lot. The lots were
of gold one with the inscription For God, the other with the inscrip
tion For Azazel. These lots were put into a box & shaken &
the High Priest, one of the Goats being set at his right hand & the
other at his left, put both his hands together into the box, took
out the lots, & laid the right hand lot on the head of the right
hand Goat & the left hand lot on the head of the left hand Goat
And then Gods lot was sacrificed as a sin offering to cleanse the
sanctuary from the sins of the people, & Azazel's lot had the
sins of the people confest over him & put upon his head, & so loaden
Goats was signified a separation of the people into two parties with the
names of God & Azazel upon their foreheads. And in allusion to this
ceremony there are numbered & sealed the
forty & four thousand out of the twelve tribes of Israel & the rest are
marked with the
who signifies the church of God or twelve tribes of Israel
with sins & flys into the wilderness with a name on her forehead, Mystery, Babylon the great the mother of harlots & abominations of the earth: & the remnant of her seed keep the commandments of &
have the testimony of Iesus & the name of God
are mystically killed or sacrificed for not worshipping the Image of the
Beast, being the first fruits unto God in respect of the following harvest.
And I heard a voice from [the temple of] heaven as the voice of many waters [or much people] & as the voice of a great thunder; & I heard the voice of harpers harping with their harps: & they sing as it were a new song before the throne & before the four Beasts & the elders [& by consequence in the midst of the Tabernacle or first Tem
ple] ch& no man could learn that song but the hundred & forty four thousand.
& singing to be the witnes to be the temple musick perfo
at the eastern gate of the Priests court
of the six first days of the feast of Tabernacles & to be
intermixt with the soundings of the six first Trumpets
at those Sacrifices, &in the time of sacrificing the Goat ch
Image of the Beast.all this time
on mount Sion with the Lamb
learn this
ceive also that in some considerable part of this time the
Gentiles tread down the holy city 42 months, the two
witnesses prophesy in sackcloth 1260 days, the woman is
fed in the wilderness 1260 days & a time times & half a
time & the Beast speaks great things & blasphemies 42 months
ffor all these things are of a length & make but one agree
in the nature of the things & therefore
of time
These are they w. opposed to them who committ fornication with the great chth
whore. These are they which follow the Lamb whethersoever he goeth,
in obeying his commandments, while all the rest wonder after the Beast These were redeemed from among men being the first fruits unto God & to the Lamb with respect to the following harvest. And in their mouth was found no lye prophets
testimony of Iesus, & their song is a true prophesy, the prophesy of the
two Witnesses.
And [when the times of the great Apostacy or first six Trumpets
were expiring]I saw an Angel fly in the midst of heaven having the everlasting Gospel [the scripture of truth now opened by the event of things] to preach [instead of th
the Beast ofworship him who made heaven & earth & the sea & the fountains of waters. . Conceive that when
the times of the great Apostacy or first six Trumpets are expiring
pel & the
And a third Angel followed them saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the Beast & his Image & receive his mark in his forehead or in his hand [vizt in the time of the great tribulation or
innumerable multitude] the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God w. - chthHere is the patience of the saints here are they that keep the commandments of God & the faith of Iesus. And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, w Write, Blessed are the dead w. All ch
this is introductory to the great tribulation & now follows the tribulation it
self. And I looked & behold a white cloud & upon the cloud one sat like the son of man having on his head a golden crown & in his hand a sharp sickle. And another Angel came out of the Temple crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud: Thrust in thy sickle & reap for the harvest of the earth is ripe. And he that sat on the cloud thrust in his sickle on the earth & the earth was reaped. Conceive this harvest to be of the
martyrs in the great tribulation. In the persecution described at the
opening of the fift seale the martyrs who lay slain at the foot of the
altar, cried with a loud voice saying; How long, O Lord, holy & true dost
thou not judge & avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth
& it was said unto them that they should rest yet for a little season
untill their fellow servants also & their brethren
as they were should be fulfilled. A little season & a short space
are in this prophesy phrases for the duration of the great Apostacy
as where 'tis said that the Dragon hath great wrath knowing that he
hath but a short time and that the seventh head of the Beast must
continue a short space. The martyrs were to rest during this little season
in the end of chch
calls a time of trouble such as there never was since there was a nation
& Christ in Matthew's Gospel a great tribulation such as was not since
the beginning of the world & in the Apocalyps 'tis called the great tribu
lation out of che
earth chth
thren of the martyrs were to be killed as they had been in Dioclesians
persecution, & so soon as this harvest is reaped Christ re
blood of the martyrs on their persecutors by
vine of the earth in the winepress of God's wrath with
Vine of the earth with a sharp sickle at the sounding of the last
Trumpet
And another Angel came out of from the Altar w. - It was the custome for the chth
Priests who were to perform any part of the service of the Temple not to
do it till the Officer who had the direction of the service called to
them to do it. And in allusion to this custome an Angel coming out
from the Temple calls to him that sat on the cloud to thrust in his
sickle & reap; & an Angel coming out from the Altar who had
power over the fire, that is an Officer who had the charge of the
Altar & direction of the sacrifices calls to the sacrificer who came
out of the Temple thsaying to thrust in his sickle
& gather the clusters of the Vine of the earth. And the Angel thrust
in his sickle into the earth & gathered the vine of the earth & cast it into the great wine press of the wrath of God & the wine-press was troden without the city [by the Word of God & his army upon white
horses,] and blood came out of the Wine-press, even unto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousand & six hundred furlongs, that is
all over Iudea. ffor 1600 furlongs was
Iohn hatof
& the first page of the seventh leaf of the eaten book & now
proceeds to prophesy of out of the second page of the seventh leaf
And I saw another signe in heaven great & marvellous seven Angels having the seven last plagues for in them is filled up the wrath of God. They are called the seven last plages to
signify that they are thch
& ch
are the plagues of the seven thunders. For
there is time no longer but the mystery of God is finished &
the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of r
Christ & they reign for ever. These plagues
those of the first six seales & first six Trumpets
they are called the last. They because they .
were left unwritten before
And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire & them that gotten the victory over the Beast & over his Image & over his mark & over the number of his name [that is, the
hundred & forty four thousand who had been newly sealed th
the name of God in their foreheads] stand on the sea of glass mingled with fire. Conceive them standing above the steps
at the eastern gate of the Priests court so that they might
appear to Iohn as it were standing on the sea of glass
mingled th
And they sing the song of Moses the servant of God & the song of the Lamb, saying, Great & marvellous are thy works, Lord God Almighty, just & true are thy ways, &c.
the Lamb is the song ch
thousand sang
the four beasts & the elders where these Victors now stand.
This was a song of victory & therefore the victory was a spiri
tual one such as was gained by the La in all the epistles to
the seven churches is called overcoming. For such was the
victory of the Lamb & the 144000. Both Victors gained a spiritual victory over the Beast & over his Image & over his
mark & name & for this victory sang the same song in the
same place th
This song is also called the song of Moses, & thereby is
insinuated an allusion to the victory of Moses over the Egypti
ans. ffor in the Prophesy of the woman & Dragon, the Dragon
is Egypt, the woman crowned th
pained in travel is the Church of the Hebrews in bondage
& affliction & the manchild with the rod of iron is Moses
with his rod. The Dragon Pharaoh stood ready to devour the
Manchild so soon as it was born. The child was preserved
and caught up to the throne of the Hebrews, the magicians &
the wilderness upon Eagles wings & there Balaam taught Balac
to entice them to fornication & idolatry by weomen. A Dragon or
Crocodile was the ancient type of Egypt Pharaoh. So Ezekiel calls
Pharoah the great Dragon that lyeth in the midst of the waters
his rivers, & the Dragon that troubleth the waters with his feet
And Isaiah thus describes the coming of Israel out of Egypt. Art not thou he that hath cut Rahab Rahab (that is Egypt) in pieces & wounded the Dragon? Art not thou he who dried the sea —– for the ransomed to pass over. And in the Psalms the
coming of the Church out of Egypt & making a prey of the
drowned Egyptians is thus exprest. Thou didst divide the
sea by thy strength. Thou breakest the heads of the Dragons in the waters, thou breakest the heads of Leviathan in pieces & gavest him to be meat to thy people inhabiting the wilderness. To this many headed dragon Leviathan, the seven-
headed Dragon alludes: for the great City (the throne ch
the Dragon relinquished to the Beast) is spiritually called
Egypt. Apoc 11. Conceive therefore that by reason of this allusion
to the history of Moses, the new song ch
the Lamb upon mount Sion & now sing upon the sea of glass,
is called the song of Moses. Conceive also that the 144000
victors sing this song at the end of the half hours silence
when the Angel with the golden Censer cast fire on the
earth & Iohn heard voices & thundrings, & that these voices
& thundrings are the song it self. For they sing it for
the victory ch
to God with much incense by the Angel at the golden
Altar in the time of that silence: ch
overcome the temptation of that time & prevail to be
sealed with the name of God in their foreheads while
the rest of the twelve tribes were overcome by the
temptation & carried away with the multitude to worship
the Beast & his Image & receive his mark. ffor a
victory over the mark of the Beast & over the number
of his name can be nothing else then a victory whereby
the Victors escaped the receiving that mark & num
ber & prevailed to receive the seale
over the Beast & over his Image, that is over their
worship, is escaping that worship & persevering in the
worship of God.
And after that I looked & behold the temple of the tabernacle of the testimony was opened in heaven & the seven Angels came out of the temple having the seven plagues, cloathed in pure & white linen & having their breasts girded with golden girdles, that is, being in the
habit of priests. And one of the four Beasts gave unto the seven Angels seven golden Vials full of the wrath of God who liveth for ever & ever. And the temple was filled with smokesmoke from the glory of God & from his power & no man was able to enter into the temple till the seven plagues of the seven Angels were fulfilled. By this filling of the temple of the tabernacle of
the testimony with smoke the dedications of the tabernacle & first
temple are alluded unto: ffor the second temple had no testimony
in it. After Moses had led Israel
over the Egyptians at the red sea represented here by the sea of
glass, he set up the tabernacle & dedicated it, & from thence for
ward it was covered with a cloud during all the stay of the woman
in the wilderness. e
upon the feast of the seventh month chth day
of the month & when the Priests had brought in the Ark & were
come out of the holy place & the Levites arrayed in white
linnen having cymbals & psalteries & harps stood at the east
end of the Altar & with them an hundred & twenty Priests sound
ing with trumpets –
cymbals & instruments & praised the Lord, saying, For he is good,
for his mercy endureth for ever, then the house was filled th
a cloud, even the house of the Lord so that the Priests could not
stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of God
the Lord had filled the house of God. 2 Chron. 5. This dedication
continued seven days, that is, all the days of the feast of Taber
nacles, & was kept th
sacrifices of the ffeast. ffor Solomon sacrificed 22000 Oxen &
120000 sheep. Conceive that the drink offerings of these sacri
fices are alluded unto in the seven Vials of wrath, & that etrumpets & singing with
sacrifices are alluded unto in the seven Trumpets & seven Thun
ders. ffor upon pouring out the drink offerings of the sacrifices
the Priests sounded their trumpets & the Levites plaid upon musi
cal instruments & sang till the service was ended. Ecclesiastic. c. 50.
So then the seven trumpets & seven thunders are but several names
of one & the same temple-music & are synchronal to the
seven vials of wrath, as may also appear by their being the pro
phesy of one & the same page of the sealed book, & also by the
following comparison of the seven trumpets th
In these Prophesies the same things are called the whole
& the third part in different respects, & so it is in different
respects that the sun is darkened in the fourth Trumpet &
yet scorches men with heat in the fourth vial.
Hitherto the Prophesys of the first seven leaves of the Book
have been repeated & described in in other forms of visions then
before & enlarged, and now follows a supplemental repetition
of the prophesy of the eighth leaf. There Iohn saw & mea
sured the second
therein & was told that the outward court was given to the
Gentiles who should tread down the holy city 42 months; all ch
is a plain allusion to the Babylonian captivity: here Iohn is
carried from the Temple into the wilderness of Arabia & saw
a woman sitting upon the many waters of Euphrates ch
is called Babylon & the great city & the great Whore, the last
name being given her for her for idolatry & uncleaneness. For
old Babylon was infamous for the multitude of her idols & also for
her whoredoms in a litteral sense. These
the Beast ch
against the two Witnesses & kill them, & their dead bodies shall
lye in the street of the great city ch
Egypt, where also ralsoth
where r
of saints. This is that blasphemous Beast ch
of the sea with seven heads & ten horns & a mortal wound in
one of this heads, & that woman who fled from the Dragon into
the wilderness to her place; ch
that is, to reign over him. Her place is her state & dignity &
her dignity is to sit a Queen & live deliciously with the kings
of the earth:ch
kings of the earth.
rished by the merchants of the earth 1260 prophetic days ch
are so many years. Her Beast was & is not & shall ascend out of the abyss [or sea] & go into perdition Beast was & is not & shall ascend out of the abyss & go into perdition & they that dwell on the earth s hall wonder (whose they names are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world) when they behold the Beast w. Which is as much to say, chthe
& shall ascend out of Hades & go alive into perdition in the lake of fire
& after his resurrection they that dwell on the earth whose names are not written
in the book of life shall idolize & adore him as a God with great admiration
For this is that Beast chth
of the sea or abyss from the shades below
from the dead was consecrated & deified by the ffals Prophet who causeth
the earth & them that dwell therein to worship him. And all the world
wonder after him; & all that dwell upon the earth worship him whose names
are not written in the book of life of the slain Lamb from the foundation
of the world. These two Beasts are perfectly the same: both are blasphe
mousb
from the dead,
are not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, &
upon them the names of blasphemy, that is, the names of fals gods. Prophesy
is of things future & the first thing spoken of as future in this prophesy
of the eighth leaf of the book, is the ascent of the Beast out of the abyss, &
therefore the prophesy of the eighth leaf begins the
a description of his reign from the time of his resurrection, & for that
reason takes a survey of him from the times next preceding when he lay
dead of his wound. He was before he was wounded &c& hence he is named, . He was before he was wounded to death with a sword, The Beast w Prophesy is of things future & therefore ch
this prophesy of the eighth leaf begins with his ascent out
of the abyss
He is not while he lies dead of his wound, & after he returns
he ascends out of the sea or abyss & goes into perdition in the
lake of fire
fell before he was slain th
them was when he lay dead of his wound & the seventh was
not then come & therefore the mortal wound of the Beast
was in his sixt head. One side of his head was not chopt off but
the wound was in his head & therefore he revived before the
time of his sixt head expired. He revived before he ascended out
of the sea & [ascended out of the sea before the Dragon gave
him his throne]H
head & [his receiving the throne of the Dragon an eighth for]
the Beast chis of the seven,
that is, the Conceive the heads
to be seven successive reigns beginning at the opening of
the seven seales as was said of the heads of the Dragon,
& that the seventh head begins at the opening of the
seventh seal, & chch
ffor this period is the most remarkable
the seventh seale into two successive parts.He & the Dragon being The eight heads answer to eche
horns of the Beast are ten kingdoms charise together th
agree & give their kingdom to compose the Beast untill the
words of God be fulfilled & then hate the whore & eat her
flesh & burn her with fire & then
Lamb & are overcome & the Beast & ffals Prophet are taken
& cast alive into the lake of fire. & the rest are slain with
the two edged sword, & the Dragon is shut up in the bottomless pit.
This is ch
kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of r
Christ.
At the sounding of the fift Trumpet, the bottomless pit th
be not the open abyss or sea out of ch
deep sink of the temple ch
foot of the altar into the heart of the mountain of the house & from
thence out of the side of the mountain into the brook Kidron to convey
away the blood of the sacrifices & the drink offerings & filth of the
temple. Conceive also that this pit was set open at the sounding of
the fift Trumpet & continued open to let out the smoaky kingdom of
darkness represented by e
smoke, & that it continued open till the sounding of the seventh
Trumpet. And that when the Beast & fals Prophet were cast into the
lake of fire an Angel came down from heaven having the key
of this pit & bound the Dragon that old serpent ch
& Satan a thousand years & cast him into this pit & shut him
up & set a seale upon him that he should deceive the nations
no more till the thousand years should be fulfilled: after ch
is loosed, deceives the nations again Gog & Magog to assemble them
to battel against the beloved city & is taken & cast into e
fire where the Beast & fals Prophet were before.
At the sounding of the seventh Trumpet it is said that the
kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of r
Christ & he shall reign for ever & ever, & that his wrath is come & the
time of the dead that they should be judged & that God should give
rewards unto his servants the Prophets & to the saints & to them that
fear his name small & great & should destroy them ch
& in the repetition of that prophesy the fowles of the heaven (the blessed
of the Lord) are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb & there is
war between the host of heaven on white horses & the kings who destroy the
earth, & the Beast & ffals Prophet are taken & destroyed in the Lake of
fire & the rest are slain with the two edged sword & all the fowls are
filled with their flesh at the supper of the great God, that is
kingdom. And Iohn saw thrones & they sat upon them & judgment was given
unto them, and the martyrs & they that had not worshipped the Beast
nor his Image nor received his mark rose again from the dead & reigned
with Christ a thousand years till the battel of God
ever & ever: but the rest of the dead lived not again till the thousand
years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed is he that
hath part in the first resurrection on such the second death hath
no power.
with mortals unless when he thought fit to appear to his disciples
for manifesting the truth of his resurrection: so when the saints
& martyrs rise from the dead it is to be conceived that they
converse only with one another, & appear not to mortals unless
perhaps upon very extraordinary occasions. ffor the children of the
resurrection are as the Angels in heaven. They have power over the
nations & rule them with a rod of iron, but in a manner invisi
ble to mortals, as the Angels have done hitherto. And after the
thousand years are expired the rest of the dead live again small & great
& the books are opened & all the dead are judged according to their works
& whoever wa
of fire. This is the second death. And when God sits in judgment the earth beginning of the day of judgment, when the ancient of days sits on a great white throne (Dan. 7. 9,10. Apoc. 20.11, 12.)
& heaven flee away & there appears a new heaven & new earth & God makes
all things new & a new Ierusalem comes down from God out of heaven ch
for its power & dominion & glory & righteousness is compared to a city of gemms
& the nations do bring their glory into it, & they reign for ages of ages.
The Iews & the nations by ch
ticularly the nations within the bounds of the four Monarchies are the
subject of sacred prophesy in the old Testament, & the nations through
which the Christian religion was to be propagated are the subject of
sacred prophesy in the new, & especially of the Apocalyps. For
this Prophesy being given by Christ is a Revelation of such things
as principally concern the Christian religion & therefore relate
chiefly to those kingdoms in ch
most. And so far as the new Testament has relation to the old,
the two last of the four monarchies are the principal subject
of this Prophesy. For they composed the old Roman Empire &
the Christian religion has been propagated into all the Roman
Empire [ on this side Tigris. And from thence it has spread also
into all the nations of the north side of the Empire, Dacia, Ger
many, Denmark, Sweden, Poland. Dacia being conquered by
Trajan received the Christian religion very early, sent its Pa
triarch to the Council of Nice,
before its inhabitants the Goths & Vandals
Irenæus lets us know that the Christian religion was in a flo
rishing state in Germany in the middle of the second century.
Afterwards Charles the great propagated the Roman Catholic
religion into all Germany by conquest, & from thence it began
at the same time to spread into Denmark Swedeland & Poland.condition state in Germany in
religion into all Germany by conquest, & from thence it began at the same time to
spread into Danemark Swedeland & Poland. Dacia being conquered by Trajan received e
Christian religion very early, sent its Patriarch to the Council of Nice & was ge
converted before its inhabitants the Goths & Vandals invaded the Empire. The Christi
ans who fled from the Churches of Pontus Asia & Thrace in the times of Persecution
& chiefly in the persecutions of Decius Dioclesian & Maximinus, propagated the
Christian religion amongst the Scythians & conti with their disciples continued in
subjection to the churches from whence they fled,
them
of Pontus & those in Russia & Chersonesus from the Metropolitan of Thrace
untill the times of the Council of Constantinople & all of them after those
times from the Patriarch of Constantinople. And the Primate of Russia
continued to be ordeined by the Patriarch of Constantinople till about the
year 1588 when Hieronymus coming Patriarch of Constantinople coming to
Moscow resigned his Patriarchal dignity to the metropolitan of that city
So then the Christian world ch
three parts or Tribes: the third monarchy or Greek Empire, the fourth monarchy or
Latine Empire & the ch
sists of three parts or Tribes: the third Monarchy or Greek Empire,
the fourth Monarchy or Latine Empire, & the northern nations
of Europe. And these parts being almost equal, you may know
by this division that the third part of the earth sea rivers sun moon
& stars is the third part of this Christian world. And this unfolds
to us the mystery of counting the number of the Beast. For the
name & number of the Beast is opposed to the name of God &
to the number of his servants who stand on mount Sion th
his name on their foreheads. And in that respect the number
of the Beast 666 is to be counted in such manner as the num
ber of Gods servants 144000 was counted. This number was
counted by multiplying 12000 by its divisor 12 the number of
the Tribes of Israel (Apoc. 7) & therefore 666 is to be counted
by multiplying some number by a divisor of that number. And
there is but one way of counting it in this manner, ch
multiplying 222 by
them that worship the Beast. ]
The four Monarchies are st Beasts representing the four
were prolonged after their dominions were taken away, & they con
tinue till a stone cut out of
in pieces at once all the four parts of Nebuchadnezzars Image, the
gold the silver the brass & the iron. And since all Daniels Beasts
were alive in Iohn's days & still continue alive & therefore are
synchronal to Iohn's Beasts, & Iohn's prophesy was given by the same
Holy Ghost with Daniel's & is very full of allusions to the pro
phesies of the old testament, we may expect to find Daniel's Monar
chies in Iohn's prophesies so far as they relate to the Christian
religion. And therefore we ought to compare the prophesies of
Daniel & Iohn & agree them together so far as they can be made to
agree without straining. For there is no better way of interpreting
scripture then by comparing the parts of it & reconciling all the
synchronall & all the analogous parts of prophesy ch
conciled without force. Tis certain that the same things are
described again and again in prophesy: a
one & the same thing must be conjoyned that they may interpret
one another & supply one anothers defects & joyntly make one
complete description ch
interpretations are always to be preferred ch
of scripture to the greatest consent & harmony. Daniel has
described the same Monarchies again & again in four seve
rall prophesies, & yet the words were shut up & sealed till the
time of the end. Iohn's Prophesy is a Revelation of what was
shut up & sealed before, & therefore must be compared th
Daniel's that all may be understood.
The people of the first & second Monarchy& the river Tigris
The third Monarchy founded by Alexander the great, was propa
gated
Latines was seated at Constantinople & is represented in the Apo now under the dominion of the Turks.
calyps by the great red Drago
This was the principal seat of the Christian religion in the primi
tive times, & is represented in Daniel first by the brazen belly &
thighs of Nebuchadnezzar's Image, then more particularly by the
Leopard, & still more particularly by the He-Goat, & in Iohn still
more particularly by the great red Dragon. The fourth Monarchy
being founded by the Latines, conquered the Greeks, then separa
ted from them & breaking into ten kingdoms has ever since con
tinued in a divided form. This received the Christian religion
from the Greeks in the primitive times & is represented in Da
niel first by the iron leggs & feet of Nebuchadnezzars image,
& then more particularly by the fourth Beast ch
full & terrible & strong exceedingly & had ten horns, & in Iohn
still more particularly by the blasphemous Beast ch
of the sea with seven heads & ten horns. And as Daniel's third
& fourth Beasts are sometimes united & sometimes divided so it is
in Iohn. The Leopard Goat & Dragon signify properly the nations over chBabylonia Media & Persia, & the
fourth Beast & seven-headed Beast signify properly the nations of
the Latine Empire, but when the Greeks & Latines were united in
one Empire the whole is represented by them all. For in Daniel the
& the fourth Beast devoured the whole earth, & therefore both
hended the whole Roman Empire in a general sense while the Empire con
tinued united,
& the fourth Beast to the Latines, & when e
rate, the Goat relates only to the Greeks & the fourth Beast only to e
Latines. And so in Daniel Iohn, when the Greeks & Latines are united
in one Empire the whole is both Dragon & Beast, but when they are
divided the Greek Empire is the Dragon & the Latin is the Beast.
The Dragon at his first appearance in heaven signifies the whole
Roman Empire but chiefly with respect to the Greeks, & the Beast
is latent in him: but when the Empire becomes divided, the Dragon is restrained into the east from the west
out of the inhabitants of the Sea in a distinct & separate form to
signify the Latin
& great authority.
Many of the ancient Mend heathens & especially the Men
desians in Egypt, represented their Gods in the shape of Goats. Such
Gods were Pan, Faunus, Silvanus, Silenus, the Satyrs & Ægipans. So
Selden: Qui solemnia Sagarum Conciliabula ap periunt, ij Dæmonum principem præ qui præsidet, hirci figuram præ se ferre tradunt.
Diodorus: The Egyptians attributed divinity to the Goat & initiated their Priests to this God in the first place. And Majmonides: E Zabijs quidam fuerunt qui dæmones colebant & eos existimabant habere formam hircorum. Vnde etiam Dæmones Seirim, hoc est, hircos appellabant. Hæc opinio Mosis ævo jam longe late.to Goats in
Egypt to goats & Moses forbids them doing it any more. So by
Goats or Satyrs in Isa. 31.21 & 34.14 interpreters understand De
vils. And hence it is that we still paint Devils in the form of
Satyrs. So then as the Dragon is the old Serpent called the Devil
& Satan, so the He-Goat in Daniel is a type of the same sig
nification & therefore fitly applied to signify the same Empire
with the Dragon. This Empire was to place the abomination
& therefore is represented by the same types with the Devil.
In the armies of the Roman Empire both before & after
the Empire became Christian, a flying Eagle was the standart
of a Legion & a Dragon the standard of a company, & in every
Legion there were ten companies & by consequence ten Dragons.
These Dragons were of a purple colour & so fastened to the top
of a long pike as like weathercocks to turn their tailes from
the wind & to hiss by means of the wind blowing into their open
jaws. The bearers of these two sorts of standarts were called
Aquiliferi & Draconarij. And from these badges of the Roman
Empire, this Empire is represented in the second book of Esdras
by an Eagle & in this prophesy by a great Eagle whose two wings
were given to the Woman that she might fly into the wilderness
& by a great red Dragon who persecutes her. And to represent
the idolatrous religion & large extent of the Empire, this Dragon
is called the Devil & Satan who deceives the whole world. e
The seven-headed Beast by the number of his horns & other
Beast. Both had ten horns & by consequence were divided into
ten kingdoms ch
els Beast had an elventh horn, chth
the Church of Rome & so answers to the Woman riding upon
Iohns Beast. This Beast was like a Leopard & had feet as
the feet of a Beare & a mouth as the mouth of a Lion
Apoc. XIII.2: which is the description of Daniels fourth Beast.
ffor that Beast was dreadful & terrible as a Leopard is, & fought
& stamped th
wherewith he
Daniel's three first Beasts are here named backwards &
Iohn's is named in the room of the fourth to signify that
he is the fourth, & is also described of like shape. And as
Daniel's fourth Beast reigned in his little horn a time
times & half a time, or three years & an half, so
Iohn's reigned 42 months ch
an half. And lastly as Daniels fourth Beast has Rome for
its Metropolis so has Iohn's. ffor Iohn's Beast succeeds the Dra
gon in his throne, & the heads of Iohn's Beast are called
seven hills where the Woman sitteth, ch
say that the head city or Metropolis of the Beast is the
seven-hilled City over ch
sits on the Beast, that is, reigns over him, & therefor
is his Metropolis. She is also called the great City ch
reigneth over the kings of the earth & Babylon the great
city: chch
the Metropolis of a great Empire & beseiged Ierusalem
burnt the Temple & captivated the Iews as B old Baby
lon had done before. And therefore Peter writing from
Rome in the time of that siege & alluding in many things
to the Apocalyps, calls Rome by the name of Babylon.
For all antiquity agree that Peter wrote his Epistles from
Rome & by Babylon understood that city.
The Greeks called themselves Romans & gave the
name of Romania to the Region about Constantinople
& distinguished themselves from those of the western
Empire by the names of Greeks & Latines. Whence
the word
Empire. This name is the proper name of a man &
the number of this name is 666 & this is the number
of the name of the Beast.
The nations of the Roman Empire are also distin
guished into two parts by the names of the earth & sea: as
where the first plague falls upon on the earth, the second
on the sea, & where the Devil comes down to the inhabitants
of the earth & sea, & where the ten horned Beast rises out
distinction seems occasioned by the language of the Iews who
called those countries the earth to ch
& those the Isles of the sea & Isles of the Gentiles to ch
they went by sea. And according to this language, the sea
in Iohn's days was Europe & the Earth was Asia & Egypt
Afric, & the mountains & islands are the reigning cities of this
earth & sea. And because the Eastern Empire was seated
chiefly in the earth & the western chiefly in the sea: by e
earth & sea we may sometimes understand these Empires.
And since the ten-horned Beast rises out of the sea, you
may know also by that character that he reigns in Europe &
is the western Empire.
The Dragon has crowns upon his heads & the Beast has
crowns upon his horns & the heads & horns are called kings
& the Dragon gave the Beast his throne & power & great autho
rity & by all these characters the Dragon & Beast are kingdoms.
The Dragon is that old serpent called the Devil & Satan who
deceiveth the whole world, & all the world wondred after
the Beast & worshipped him, & therefore they are very
kingdoms. The Dragon is that Satan who had his throne in
Pergamus & dwelt there (Apoc. 2.13) & this is all one as to
call him the kingdom of Pergamus, & we shewed above
that this kingdom is the little horn of the He-Goat which
waxed exceeding great. As this horn of the Goat cast down the
stars of heaven to the grownd & stamped upon them, so the Dragon's
tail drew the stars of heaven & cast them to the earth. These actions
are of like signification: for the horn of e
Dragon are their fighting members & signify their
powers or armies commanded by their kings. By the agreement
of their actions you may know that they are one & the same
kingdom. The Dragon therefore at his first appearance in heaven
when he stands before the Woman to devour her child signifies
the whole Roman Empire but chiefly with respect to the Greeks &
the b
have common heads & common horns. But when the Roman Empire
becomes divided, the Dragon retires from the western nations to signi
fy only the Greek Empire & the Beast rises out of the isles of e
sea in a distinct & separate form to signify the Latine empire, &
the Dragon gives the Beast his throne & power & great authority & perhaps only as a horn of the Beast
For the Dragon did not cease at the rise of the Beast. After the
Beast was risen they worshipped the Dragon & Beast together (Apoc. XIII.4)
& at length three unclean spirits like froggs came out of the mouths of
the Dragon Beast & ffals Prophet (Apoc. XVII.13) & in the end when the
Beast is cast into the Lake of fire the Dragon is cast into the bottom
less pit (Apoc. XX.2.) The Dragon & Beast therefore after the divi
sion of the Roman Empire continue in being together
signify the eastern & western or Greek & Latine Empires.
The Dragon has crowns upon
Dragon reigns
sequence that the Dragon reigned only in the heads over the whole Roman
Empire untill the Beast with his horns rose out of that part of the
Empire called the sea or Isles of the sea & received from the
Dragon the throne of that part of the Empire. As Daniels three
first Beasts remained alive after their dominions were taken
away, so Iohn's was alive before he rose out of the sea; & being
till that time a part of the Dragon's kingdom he has the same horns
apart before he rose out of the sea & received the Dragon's throne.
And while the Dragon & Beast were united in one kingdom
common heads so they had common horns, the Dragon comprehend
ing in his body politich
length arose, but the Dragons horns were without crowns because
the ten kingdoms received no kingdom while he reigned over the
whole, but afterwards when the Beast arose & received the
Dragon's throne, they received power as kings at the same
time with the Beast. Conceive therefore that the Dragon
reigned in his heads over the whole Roman Empire untill the
Empire became divided into the Greek & Latin Empires, ch
was a little before the end of the fourth Century, & that the
Dragon
the Latine, Conceive also that the Latine Empire brake
& that the ten horns are the ten kingdoms into which the Latine
Empire brake in the beginning of the fift Century, A.C. 408, 409
& 410.
can answer to these things.
In this Prophesy the scene of the visions is the Temple
& the worship of Christians is described in the Temple under the
form of the Iewish worship as we shewed above. And hence the Chris
tian Churches are represented in this prophesy by the twelve tribes of
Israel, & when some are numbered out of the twelve Tribes & sealed
with the seale of God, the rest of the Tribes who are not sealed become
the Synagogue of Satan who say they are Iews & are not, that is, who
profess themselves Christians but are the Curch of the Devil. ffor
all men whose names are not written in the book of life, that
is, all who are not sealed with the seale of God, wonder after the
Beast & worship him & his Image & receive his mark. When the
saints are sealed out of the twelve Tribes, the rest of the Tribes
receive the mark of the Beast & become the Synagogue of Satan,
& therefore they that have the mark of the Beast & worship
him & his Image, are Christians in outward profession.
And as the Tribes of Israel & Iudah are in the old Testa
ment represented by weomen, so the Church of Christ signified by those
Tribes is here represented by the Lamb's wife & by the glorious Woman in
heaven. For this Woman was cloathed with the Sun of righteousness &
her king represented by the Sun. She has under her feet the common people represented by the Moonhadby having the sun Moon & stars about her is represented thhad the
Iews) under her feet, & upon her head a crown of
twelve stars, which are the twelve Apostles
keep the commandments of God & have the testimony of
Iesus, & therefore she is the Church. In the first ages
of Christianity she is the true
through the whole Roman Empire represented by the
Dragon: but upon the division of the Empire into two
Empires represented by the Dragon & ten-horned Beast
the visible Church degenerates & becomes divided into
two Churches represented by the Woman & two-horned
Beast. For upon this division of the Empire the Woman
& Dragon part from one another. She flies from the
Dragon into the western Empire called a wilderness
for its spiritual barrenness & desolation, & the Dragon goes is nourished in her place in the
from the Woman to make war upon the remnant of her
seed. And the Woman
Wilderness for a time times & half a time from the face
of the Serpent:
of the Sea to succeed the Dragon in the western Empire
so the two horned Beast rises out of the Earth to succeed
the Woman in the eastern Empire. While the Empire
continues undivided the Dragon signifies the whole Empire
& the Woman the whole Church thereof: but upon the
division of the Empire the Dragon is restrained to signify
the eastern part thereof & the Woman to signify the Church
of the western part: And this separation is represented by
the Womans flying from the Dragon
Beast rises out of the sea to succeed the Dragon in the
western part of the Empire, & the two-horned Beast out
of the Earth to succeed the Woman in the eastern part
thereof.
Every kingdom hath its Church, & the Churches of the
Dragon & ten-horned Beast are the two-horned Beast
and the Woman in the Wilderness. For when she fled
into the Wilderness she fled from the Dragon, & therefore
ceased to be in his kingdom. She was afterwards found in the
Wilderness sitting upon the ten-horned Beast, that is, reigning
over him, & therefore became his Church. She is the great
City which reigneth over the kings of the earth represented by
the ten horns of the Beast. She is Babylon the great, the
the great city seated upon seven hills & by consequence
the Church of Rome. And this Church is the Church
catholick of the western nations & kingdoms into which
the Latine Empire becomes now divided.
And the two-horned Beast rose out of the earth
or nations of the eastern Empire, & therefore is
seated in that Empire. It hath two horns like the
Lamb, that is, two churches like the seven churches
of Asia signified by the seven horns of the
Lamb, & therefore is an ecclesiastical body. It speaks
as the Dragon & therefore is of the Dragon's religion.
And a Church in the eastern Empire of the Dragon's
language & religion is the Greek church. This Beast
by means of fals miracles deceiveth them that dwell
on the earth & for doing so is called the fals Pro
phet, & therefore is of an ecclesiastical kind,
and this fals Prophet survives the Whore of
Babylon being cast alive into the lake of fire
after the ten kings have eaten the flesh of the
Whore & burnt her with fire, & therefore this
Prophet differs from the Whore & signifies another
idolatrous Church, & by consequence the Greek
Church or Church of the Greek Empire. This
Church is also called the synagogue of Satan. For
the Dragon is that old Serpent called the Devil &
Satan, & therefore the synangogue of Satan is the
Church of the Dragon.
When the Temple was opened in heaven for Iohn to see the
visions in it, he saw there the Ark of the Testament, & the child-bear
ing Woman & the Dragon standing by her & how her child was caught up
to the throne of God above the Ark, & the Dragon was cast out of this
Temple of heaven by Michael into the outward court or court of the
people ch
sea, & how the Woman (in allusion to the Babylonian captivity) fled from
this Temple though the Wilderness of Arabia to serve
& stone, & became seated in the great city Babylon ch
the kings of the earth & left a remnant of her seed th
in the outward court of the Temple. There he saw the two Beasts
rise out of the earth sea & earth & the second Beast deify the first
& cause men to erect an Image to him & to worship the Image.
There the Dragon by the dictates of the speaking Image (before he
gave his throne to the Beast) made war upon the Womans seed
& mystically killed all that would not worship the Image: & there
all men received the mark or name of the Beast or number
of his name except the 144000 who were sealed with the name
of God & being forbid to buy or sell & by consequence interdicted
society by excommunication, retire from the multitude in the
outward court of the Temple & stand on mount Sion with the
Lamb & sing a new song before the throne & the four Beasts &
the Elders & by consequence in the
border thereof called the Court of Israel. ffor there the singing
used to be performed. And when the Dragon had mystically killed those
that would not worship the Image of the Beast in the outward Court
& interdicted communion to those that would not worship his Image receive
his mark, he there gave the Beast his throne & power & great authority
And all the world wondred after the Beast, & power was given
all kindreds & tongues & nations, & all that dwell upon earth worship
him [& his Image] whose names are not written in the book of life.
In the beginning of the visions in the Temple ch
heaven the Ark was seen in it, & therefore it was the Tabernacle or
first Temple or Temple of the Tabernacle as it is afterwards called.
Now they that worshipped in the Tabernacle & first temple were
the twelve tribes of Israel, & the Woman ch
Temple had upon her head a crown of twelve stars to represent
these tribes, & out of all these tribes the 144000 were numbred &
sealed, & twelve tribes being all Israel represent the Church catho
lick; & this church inhabited the earth & sea because the Angel who
had the seal of God cried with a loud voice saying: Hurt not the earth
& sea till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads.
These tribes are the inhabiters of the earth & sea to whom the
Dragon came down from his heathen throne with great wrath,
the earth chth
open in his hand, the earth out of ch
& on ch
out of chch
of the second Tru
inhabitants are the subject of this prophesy. The Church catholick
therefore by the sealing of 144000 out of the twelve tribes & rejection
the rest suffers a great alteration & becomes divided into two parties. The
name & continue in the outward court of the Temple where
they used to worship & there worship the Beast & his Image & receive & the 144000 are sealed with the name of God & being
his mark
excommunicated by the multitude retire into the Court of Israel in
the eastern border of the Priests courts.
The Beast was slain with a sword & revived before he
rose out of the sea with the wound healed in one of his heads,
And after his death & resurrection the two horned Beast conse
crated him a God & caused an Image to be erected to him as his Oracle
& that he & his Image should be worshipped & all men be initiated
in the society of his worshippers. For the receiving his mark or
name or the number of his name is being initiated in the worship
of him & his Image at
ship of their Gods by being marked in the arm or neck th
mark or name or number of the name of the God to whose
worship they were dedicated. And because those that were ini
tiated in the religion & society of the worshippers of the Beast
& his Image were of the twelve Tribes of Israel & all were
initiated except 144000 & excommunicated, those that would not
be initiated in the worship of his new God its manifiest that the
Church catholick at this time suffered a very great alteration in
respect of her numbers & constitution. The external form of
Church government
ness & was taken from the remnant of her seed by killing those
in the east who would not worship the image of the Beast
& excommunicating those in all the Empire who would not
receive his mark. By this means the Church catholick was
reduced to the small number of 144000 sealed out of all
the
of persecution & affliction under the persecuting Dragon
& Beast like the 7000 who had not bowed the knee to Baal
in the days of Ahab & Iezabel.
And this great change is further represented by
measuring the Temple second [the the
court of
time of the Babylonian captivity by Ezekiel, & by placing two
candlesticks of
candlestick to represent the Church, & by changing the shape of
the Lamb th
that of the High-priest & his coming down from heaven with the
book open in his hand & standing upon the earth & sea with two his two burning leggs, & by the dedication of a new Temple
signified by the smoke thchTabernacle of the
Temple was of the Tabernacle was filled from the glory of God
& in Paul's Epistles by the falling away & the revelation of
the Man of Sin. For the Beast th
For the apostasy of to e
wondred after him whose names were not written in the book of life
&
the outward court of the Temple ch
for this worship: & the Man of Sin sits in the Temple of God shewing
himself that he is a God. The Beast received the Dragons throne
opposed & exalted himself above every thing that is called God
or that is worshipped. The Beast rose out of the sea after the
fall of the heathen Roman Empire & reigned till the Word of God
came against him in the clouds of heaven with a two edged
sword coming out of his mouth & caused him to be taken alive & cast alive into the lake of fire; & the Man of sin was
to be revealed after the heathen Roman Empire ch
should be taken out of the way & to continue till Christ should
destroy him with the breath of his mouth & the brightness of his
coming. When the Beast rose out of the sea & began to be wor
shipped, the invocation of Saints by meanes of a great noise of
miracles pretended to be done by the dead Saints & their reliques
overspread the Empire, & th
all signes & lying wonders in them that perish. At that time the
Beast & his worshippers separated from the communion of the
144000 as is signified by sealing & marking
the one th
the Beast: & the revelation of the Man of sin was in like manner
made by his separating from the Church of God.
of the great Antichrist & his forerunners, saith: As ye have heard that Antichrist shall come, even now there are many Antichrists, whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us: for if they had been of us they would have continued with us: but they went out that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us. While those
of erroneous opinions concerning the objects of worship continued
in communion th
in them & where any of them separated & went out from her
communion, then they were made manifest to be
such a manifestation of the great Antichrist Iohn calls the coming
of
mystery of iniquity began to work in the Apostles days & produced
many separations from the Churche all ch
the Apostles were Antichrists; & was to continue working till
it should produce the great separation called by the Apostles
the Antichrist & represented in the Apocalyps by sealing only 144000 out of the twelve tribes of Israel while
all the rest received the mark of the Beast & wondered after him.
And it is observable that the revelation from whence the Apocalyps
hath its name, is made by opening the seals of the propphetick book
successively untill all the book be opened, & that upon opening the
last seal the Man of sin is revealed. ffor then e
of the sea & all receive his mark except the 144000 who are
interdicted buying & selling for not receiving it; & from thenceforward
the Gentiles or nations worship him & his Image in the outward
court of the Temple, that is, in an outward form of religion &
Church government;
pelled that Court & retire into the inner part of the Temple untill
the sanctuary shall be cleansed.
While the twelve tribes continue united in one communion, the
whole is represented by the mystical body of Christ & by the Candlesticks
in the Temple & by the Woman in heaven; breceding from flying into the Wilderness recedes from the communion of
the remnant of her seed & the multitude of her communi of her
communion
of Christs mystical body & of the Church represented by the Candle
sticks in the Temple; & those that are sealed with the name of
& both parties begin to be represented apart by proper types. The
mystical body of Christ & the Candlesticks in the Temple hencefor
ward signify only those that are sealed with the name of God &
the Woman & two Beasts & Dragon signify only those who
wonder after the Beast & receive his mark. And this distinction
begins when the two Beasts rise out of the sea & earth & the
second deifies the first & makes
rity before him, & causeth the earth & them that dwell therin
to worship him, & br doth great miracles so as to bring down the
fire of excommunication from heaven upon earth in the sight
of men against those that will not worship him & causes
an image to be made to him & worshipped, & the Dragon by
the influence of that Beast begins the war upon the remnant
of the womans seed & kills all that will not worship the Image i
or name
except the 144000 who at the same time are sealed with the
seale of God. And this marking & sealing was between the opening
of the seventh Seal & sounding of the seventh
& 16.2.
The Temple being the scene of the visions I conceive
that it remains the same from the beginning to the end, & that
in allusion to the times of the Tabernacle or first Temple or
those of the second for representing the various states of the
Church the things that appear in the Temple are only changed. And
in all cases the Church is represented by the Candlesticks ch
in the Temple & by the mystical body of Christ in what form soever
he appears & by the four Beasts whenever they appear. In the
beginning of the Prophesy untill the seventh Trumpet is ready to
sound, & again in the repetition or interpretation of this prophesy
from the time that the Temple of God was opened in heaven
& the Ark of his testament was seen in it untill the seventh Viall
be poured out, the times of the first Tabernacle & first Temple
are alluded unto. And in all these visions the Church of God is
represented by the golden Candlestick th
was placed in the Tabernacle & first Temple. Solomon placed
ten such candlesticks in the first Temple, but each of them
being sufficient to represent the Church, there is but one th
its seven branches considered in the prophesy. In this Taber
nacle or Temple the Church is also represented by the
four Beasts & by the Lamb with seven horns whether he
appears before the throne & opens the seales of the Book or
stands on mount Sion with the 144000. In the latter part of
the prophesy from the time that the mighty Angel comes down
from heaven with the Book open in his hand untill the sounding
of the seventh Trumpet, & again in the repetition or interpre
tation of this part of the prophesy when one of the seven Angels
carries Iohn into the wilderness to see the great whore sitting upon
her Beast, the times of the Babylonian captivity & second Temple are
alluded unto, & the Church of God is represented by the two Candlesticks
& ch
upon their first return from captivity Zech. 4, & by the mystical th
four Beasts the Gentiles are placed in the outward Court.
ffor Zerubbabel built only the courts of the Temple &
Altar & the
left the outward court unbuilt & open to the Gentiles. When
the twelve tribes of Israel represented by the four Beasts
standing in the outward court, became divided into two parties
one of ch
the mark of the Beast: the multitude of Israel ch
the mark of the Beast still continue in the outward
court & for their idolatry in worshipping the Beast &
his Image as the heathens worshipped their fals Gods &
Idols, are called Gentiles. These are the synagogue of
Satan who say they are Iews & are not. They have an
outward form of religion & church government & therefore
are said to worship in the outward court, but under this form
of religion & church government they worship the Beast & his
Image & therefore a
ward court of the Temple they tread under foot the holy city
& therefore are Babylonian gentiles. As the Woman upon de
generating becomes the great city Babylon, so the four Beasts upon in the outward court representing the twelve tribes of Israel
upon revolting from the worship of God to the worship of the
Beast & his Image become the Babylonian Gentiles treading
under foot the holy city & worshipping in the outward court
of the Temple. When the Tabernacle or first Temple is
alluded unto there are 144000 sealed out of all the twelve
tribes of Israel
times of the first Temple when just before the Babylonian
captivity when a man was commanded to go through the midst
of Ierusalem & set a mark upon the foreheads of the men
that sighed & cried for all the abominations done in the midst
thereof, & to take coals of fire from between the Cherubims
& scatter them over the city. When the second Baylo times of
the Babylonian captivity & second temple are alluded unto Iohn is
commanded to measure the temple & altar & the court of them that
worship therin & this is in allusion to Ezekiels measuring the Tem
ple & altar th
captivity. When the Tabernacle & first Temple is alluded unto
the 144000 who are sealed & get the victory over the mark of e
Beast stand on mount Sion with the Lamb & sing a new song before
the throne & before the four Beasts & the Elders.
they stand on the sea of glass & sing the song of Moses & the
Lamb & the temple of the Tabernacle was filled with smoke
from the glory of God & from his power so that no man was able
to enter into ed
the Tabernacle & Solomons Temple & signifies a new state of
the Church commencing with the
get the victory over the mark of the Beast & worship in this
temple. And when the second temple is alluded unto the same
thing is signified by measuring the Temple & Altar in token
of rebuilding them with their courts for those that worship
therein: ffor measuring is a type of building Zech. 2.2, 4. And
because in the tabernacle & first Temple there was a golden
two Candlesticks of
applied to the Church when the fir tabernacle or first
Temple is alluded unto & the binary when the second.
In respect of the seven churches of Asia ch
beginning of the prophesy were made a type of the
Church catholick the church in all ages is represented
by the seven
golden Candlesticks, & in respect of the division of
the Roman Empire into two Empires whereby the
Woman received two Wings of a great Eagle the
sincere part of the Churches represented by those
two wings are typified by the two burning leggs
of Christ & by the two candlesticks of
& for their sufferings & testimony called the two
witnesses. When the Temple of the Tabernacle is alluded
unto, the Angels of the seven Churches
pets & one of the four Beasts gives the seven Angels seven
Vialls of wrath to pour out upon the apostates: & when the
second Temple is alluded unto the two Witnesses execute the
seven plagues. If any will hurt them fire proceedeth out of their mouth & devoureth their enemies. — These have power t over the waters to turn them to blood & to smite the earth with all plagues as often as they will; that is with all the seven
plagues.
It is further to be 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 only the eastern part thereof. And
by consequence when the Woman flyes from the Dragon & from this
temple into the wilderness, & ceases to be a part of Christs mystical
body, & so is no longer represented by the seven horns of the Lamb nor
by the seven candlesticks: the Temple of the tabernacle
restrained to signify the remnant of the Womans seed ch
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
politick (or dissolved their 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 the western wilderness
the Church of this Beast: then a new Temple is built with two
Candlesticks of
part of the Empire & represent the Church of God within
kingdom of the Beast in opposition to the Woman, that is, to repre
sent the people of God or as many of them as are sealed with
the seal of God. ffor by the same figure that the Dragon with
his ten horns at first signifies the whole Roman Empire & isafterwardsafterwards restrained to signify only the eastern part thereof
& that the Woman with her two eagles wings represented at first
the Church of God throughout the whole Roman Empire & is afterwards
restrained to signify the Church of the Western Empire in a state
of apostasy: 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 from
the time that the Woman separates from them & from the remnant
of her seed. When the Dragon began their testimony to persecute the
Woman, they began their testimony against him & against the remnant flood chthe Dragon cast out of his mouth, & when the
Beast revived & rose out of the sea & began to be worshipped
& to persecute the saints & the Woman separated from them they
began their testimony against the Beast & the Woman. They
are derived from the Womans two wings & opposed to her, & where
she reigns they prophesy against her corruptions. And these are
the saints thth
the Beast makes war & whom he overcomes. & kills They have
power to shut heaven
they prophesy in a dry barren region, the Wilderness where Iohn
saw the Woman sitting upon the Beast. And when these two wit
nesses shall have finished their testimony, the Beast makes war
against them & overcomes them & kills them in the streets of
the great city Babylon, & therefore they prophesy in his kingdom
I do not suppose that Iohn saw two Temples at once. All the
visions, as I said, appear 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 Beast; & accordingly as the Dragon & Beast are taken
for the whole Empire or restrained to a part thereof, the
temple with its 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 Nebuchadnezzar's 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
Churches both fals & true; the Dragon,
Churches of Asia in the east & the ten horned Beast, the Woman &
the two Witnesses in the west.
When the Dragon signifies the whole Roman Empire the Woman signifies
the whole Church untill by the persecution of the Dragons she separates in
communion from the remnant of her seed who keep the commandments of God
& have the testimony of Iesus, & then she signifies a Church in a state
of defection schism & apostasy from that remnant, & the remnant signifies
the whole true church of God. And when two Beasts arise, one out of
the inhabitants of the Sea the other out of the inhabitants of the earth,
& the Dragon retiring to the shore gives the Beast his throne in the sea
the empire becomes divided into two Empires the empires of the earth
& sea or east and west, & the Woman retires into the west from
the face of the Serpent & sitting upon the first Beast becomes his
church, & the second Beast succeeds the Woman in the earth &
becomes the Church of the Dragon. ffor the
ecclesiastical horns & speaks as the Dragon & therefore is a Church
of the Dragons religion. And the r
as many of them as in the war ch
sealed out of all the twelve tribes of Israel, continue to be the true
Church of God persecuted by the inhabitants of the earth & sea &
testifying against the fals Prophet & the Woman, & called the two Wit
nesses with relation to those inhabitants & to the two wings of the Woman whose
seed they are. Thus the Empire becomes divided into two Empires with their
Churches fals & true: the Dragon the two-horned Beast & one witness
in the earth; the ten horned Beast the Woman & the other witness
in the sea. But yet God having but one Witness in Church & one
Temple, the two Witnesses are but one Church & one double Candlestick
in that Temple, distinguished into the Churches of the earth & sea but
not divided from one another. And the name of two Witnesses being
now the name of the Church catholick of God; he that hurts any
considerable part of this Church, hurts the two Witnesses. And altho
the Beast is now the name of the Western Empire, yet since
by the influence of the two horned Beast he is deified & worship
ped in the earth, & all men receive his mark, & power was
given him over all kindreds & tongues & nations, & all that dwell
upon the earth worship him whose names are not written in the book
of life & all the world wonders after him: he may be sometimes
taken in a larger sense so as to include all his worshippers, especi
ally when the Witnesses are considered as prophesying against him
or he is considered as making war upon them.
Iohn tells us that before the Beast ascended out of the
abyss five of the kings represented by his heads were fallen
& the sixt was then in being. ffor before he ascended he was
latent in the Dragons mystical body & therefore partakes
of all his heads. ffor he was the water which the Dragon cast
out of his mouth as a flood after the Woman to cause her
to be carried away of the flood. ffor waters are peoples &
nations & multitudes & tongues, & an aggregate of waters
as a stream a river a flood or sea is an aggregate of men,
a body politick or ecclesiastick, a kingdom or a Church.
The waters ch
ecclesiastick, the Church of Laodicea, first united to Christ's
mystical body as a part thereof & afterwards in a state of separation
or schism: & in like manner the waters which the Dragon casts
out of his mouth must signify a body politick first united
to the Dragons body as a part thereof & afterwards divided
from it. And the western Empire hath a particular relation
to the watry element. For the Beast rises out of the sea &
the Woman sits upon many waters: which waters signify the peoples
nations multitudes & tongues over whom the Woman reigneth,
& which compose the horns & body of the Beast on whom she
sitteth. Her floating upon the flood & sitting upon many waters
& upon the Beast are types of one & the same signification
& represent her reigning over the flood in her way into e
& over the many waters & the Beast in the Wilderness. She fled from
the Dragon westward to reign at Rome the great city Babylon the city
upon seven hills, & therefore the flood ch
his mouth after her is a western kingdom.
And as the flowing of the flood out of the Dragon's mouth signi
fies a division of the empire into two Empires one of ch
division is represented by the Dragon & the other by the flood so the
flying of the Woman from the remnant of her seed signifies the di
vision of the Church into two Churches one of che
the remnant of her seed. When she receives two wings of a great
eagle she becomes distinguished into two Churches in communion th
one another. Vpon these wings she fled into a spiritually barren kingdom
represented by the wilderness. When she began to fly the Dragon cast
out water as a flood after her that he might cause her to be carried
away of the flood, that is, that by the division of the Empire he might
promote the division of the Church & cause the Woman to separate from
the remnant of her seed. The earth helps her & prevents the se
paration for a time by swallowing up the flood, but at length she
separates & escapes into the barren wilderness, & the Dragon goes
to make war with the remnant of her seed who keep the
commandments of God. And henceforward none are permitted to buy
& sell, that is to be in communion with her & the Dragon & two Beasts
but those that are initiated in their religion by receiving the mark
or name of the Beast or the number of his name. The Dragon
multitude degenerates, becomes spiritually barren & receives the mark
of the Beast, except the 144000 who have the testimony of Iesus
& are sealed with the name of God in their forehead, & in whose
mouth there was found no lye. These are Gods true witnesses, &
being the seed of the Woman with two wings are thence called
the two Witnesses. When the Dragon began to persecute the Woman
they began their testimony against him; & at the same time two
wings of a great were given her to fly from him, & from this division
made in the beginning of their prophesy testimony
after called the two Witnesses. We are not to look for two Churches ch
first division while they were yet in communion with the Woman &
made a part of her mystical body ch
horns & the other Beast two horns & the Lamb seven horns (the
seven Churches of Asia) & the Leopard four heads & four
wings, have
wings but because that was their first number: so the Witnesses
are called two from their first number represented by the two
wings of the Woman while they were a part of her mystical
body. And by the same figure that the Woman may be conceived
to keep her two wings after she is separated from the remnant witnesses & retired into the Western Empire, the saints after that
separation may keep the name of two Witnesses in either Empire
or in any part of the world.
given them while they were a part of the Womans body they
retain it ever after without further regard to forms of go
vernment or places of aboad. These are the martyrs who are
mystically killed by the Dragon for not worshipping the Image of
the Beast, the first fruits unto God, the saints who worship in the
inner court of the Temple & on mount Sion & on the sea of glass,
who by their testimony get the victory over the Beast & over his
Image & over his mark & over the number of his name, the holy
city troden under foot by the Gentiles, the Saints th
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.
The occasion of the division of the Empire into two
parts was was the building of Constantinople by Constantine
the great. ingit with a Senate & privileges
like those at Rome, & makingit the metropolis of all the
eastern part of the Empire as Rome had hitherto been of
all the Empire & was henceforward of all the western part
thereof. By this division of the Empire between two
imperial cities the Woman received two wings of a great
eagle that she might fly into the Wilderness & then the
two Witnesses began their testimony. At the death of
Constantine the great A.C. 337 the Dragon cast out of
his mouth water as a flood after the Woman to cause
her to be carried away of the flood. ffor the Empire at
that time became divided between the sons of Constan
tine, his second son Constantius reigning over the
east & his other two sons Constantine & Constans reigning in the
west. But Constantine was quickly slain & then his brother Constans
reigned over all the west, making Rome his imperial seat as Con
stantinople was the imperial seat of
Bishop of Rome began now to claim the universal bishopric & his claim
was submitted unto by the western Churches & supported by the western
Empire against the eastern Churches & almost made a schism between
them. For in the year 341 this Bishop began to receive appeals from
the Councils of the Greek Church & proudly summoned the Bishops
of that Church to appear before him in a Council at Rome, but
was stoutly opposed & reprimanded by those Bishops for his ambition.
Then by the favour of the western Emperor Constans he prevailed
to have a Council summoned by Imperial authority out of both
Empires to meet at Serdica in the year 347. About eighty eastern
bishops came to Serdica, but finding that matters were prejudged
by the western bishops in favour of the pretended authority of the
Bishop of Rome, & that they could not come to the Council
without communicating th
them, they went back, & the remaining part of the Council de
creed appeals from all the Churches to the Bishop of Rome, &
thereby gave him the supremacy over all the west. For the
western churches submitted to that decree. And these proceedings
almost made a schism between the Churches of the two Empires
the people of the western Churches beginning now to avoid
the communion of the of the eastern but those of the eastern not yet
avoiding the communion of the western. And this tendency to a
schism is represented by the endeavour of the flood to carry away
the Woman, & her new dominion in the west is represented by
her floting upon the waters. Thus did the Woman soon after
she had received two wings of a great Eagle, begin to fly into
the wilderness. For the western Churches headed by the Church of
Rome are the Woman reigning there.
But the force of the flood to carry away the Woman was
but of short continuance. For Magnentius slew Constans & suc
ceeded him in the West A.C. 350, & within a year or two was
conquered by Magnentius Constantius. And by that victory of the
eastern Empire over the western, the earth or eastern Empire
opened her mouth & swallowed up the flood & thereby retarded
her flight for a time. For by the union of the two Empires a
stop was put to the impending schism, & the Woman with her
two eagles wings continued to represent the undivided Church
of the whole Empire for some time longer, & the new
dominion of the Bishop of Rome was suspended during that time,
the western Bishops being forced to allow the authority of the
eastern Churches
without appeal to the Bishop of Rome.
By the same victory of Constantius over Magnentius
the Beast was wounded to death with a sword & ceased to be
till he revived & ascended out of the abyss, both Empires becoming
united under Constantius & his successors Iulian & Iovian till the
reign of Valentinian & Valens. Between them the Empire became
again divided A.C. 364, & by this division the deadly wound was
healed & the Beast revived & soon after rose out of the sea, & the
Woman by a tendency to a new schism continued her flight into the
Wilderness
again under Gratian the successor of Valentinian for about five
months, & by the next division ch
A.C. 378, the Dragon went from the flying Woman to make war with
the remnant of her seed
to succeed them in the east e
of Rome recovered the universal Bishopric over all the west &
began to govern the Churches of the Western Empire by Vicars
& to write decretal Epistles; & by this dominion she began
to sit upon the Beast & to change times & laws. And in those days
the invocation of saints overspread all the Churches, & thereby she
became the Whore of Babylon.
Theodosius reigned in the east & Gratian th
Valentinian in the west. Maximus compassed the death of Gratian
& made Valentinian fly into the east & succeed
A.C. 388 conquered Maximus & restored Valentinian & reigned
with the
391. Eugenius A.C. 392 compassed the death of Valentinian
& succeeded him in the western Empire, but Theodosius made
his younger son Honorius Emperor of the West in the room
of Valentinian, conquered Eugenius A.C. 394, died three or
four months after; & by his last will & testament left the
Empire divided between his two sons Arcadius & Honorius.
After which the two Empires were united no more. By con
quering the West & resigning the conquest to Honorius the
Dragon gave the Beast his power & throne. The Beast revived
before he could ascend out of the sea & ascended before
the Dragon who stood upon the land could give him his
power & throne. These were three distinct successive acts
& imply three successive divisions of the Empire & can
agree to no other then the three last divisions, those three
to ch
imus reigned over both Empires, over the east with Arcadius
& over the West with Valentinian & Honorius. Thus the
Empire was united under him in the last seven years of
his reign & yet at the same
dius who was Emperor of the East & Valentinian & Hono
rius who were successive Emperors of the West. The Dragon
therefore in some respect reigned over the whole Empire
even after the Beast was risen, & this reign is to be re
ferred to his seventh head. And when Theodosius by his
last will & testament left the Empire divided between his
sons & was succeeded in the eastern Empire by his eldest
son Arcadius, the Dragon gave the Beast his western throne
& power. And now the Beast being revived & risen out of
the abyss & having received the Dragons ancient throne
we are to expect the reign of the ten horns. For they
were to receive power as kings at the same time with the Beast,
that is, at the same time that the Dragon gave the Beast his
power & throne & great authority. And accordingly the Western
Empire became divided into ten kingdoms in the reign of the
Emperors Arcadius & Honorius, as we shewed in our commen
tary upon Daniels fourth Beast.
Before the Woman received two wings of a great Eagle there was war in heaven. Michael & his Angels fought against the Dragon, & the Dragon fought & his Angels & prevailed not, neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great Dragon was cast out, that old Serpent called the Devil & Satan which deceiveth the whole world, he was cast out into the earth & his Angels were cast out with him. And Iohn heard a loud voice saying in heaven, Now is come salvation & strength & the kingdome of our God & the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast down who accused them before our God day & night. And they overcameovercame him by the blood of the Lamb & by the word of their testimony, & they loved not their lives unto the death. This is a very
plain description of a great conflict between the Roman heathen
Empire & the army of Christ. For Michael & his Angels are Christ
& his army, such an army as was accused by the Dragon day & night
& loved not their lives unto the death, such an army as overcame
the Dragon by the blood of the Lamb, & by the word of their testi
mony; that is, an army of martyrs & confessors. And this war
between Michael & the Dragon
part by accusing & persecuting the Christians & putting them to
death for their religion, & on the Christians part by confessing
& testifying the truth of their religion & persisting in their
confession & testimony without fearing to lose their lives for
the same. And by this conflict the Dragon that old Ser
pent called the Devil & Satan, that is, the heathen Roman
Empire in respect of its religion, was overcome & cast out of
heaven to the earth & was succeeded in the throne by a new
kingdom called the kingdom of God. ffor the conflict ended
with a voice from heaven saying: Now is come salvation & strength & the KINGDOM OF OUR GOD, for the accuser of our brethren is cast down. And all this can agree to nothing
else then the last of the heathen persecutions ch
the reign of Dioclesian A.C. 302 & lasted almost two years
over all the Roman Empire & ten years together with great
violence over all the eastern part thereof & was greater
then all the former persecutions taken together, & which
ended in the ruin of the heathen Roman Empire & the
setting up of a Christian Empire in its room under Constan
tine the great.
The same revolution is predicted also by the Vision of
the Woman who being great with child cried travelling in birth & pained to be delivered, & by the Dragon's drawing the third part of the stars of heaven with his tail & casting them to the earth, and standing before the Woman ready to be delivered for to devour her child so soon as it was born, & by her bringing forth a Man-child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron & was caught up unto God & his throne from the jaws of the Dragon. ffor since this
Parable ends with the flight of the Woman into the Wilder
ness, & that of the war between Michael & the Dragon ends
also with the same flight, both the Parables ending at the
same time must be synchronal & concerne the same revolution
of the Empire. ffor describing & pointing out this grand revolution
more clearly & fully the description is repeated. The Woman
travelling in birth & pained to be delivered signifies the Church
in affliction by a great persecution ch
a Christian kingdom, & therefore was Dioclesian's persecution.
And the same persecution is signified by the Dragons drawing
the third part of the stars of heaven & casting them to the
earth. This act shews that the Dragon is the persecutor, &
the other of the Womans being pained in child-birth, that
she is the person persecuted. The third part of the stars of
heaven, or stars of the third part of the Christian world, are
martyrs & confessors of the provinces of the Greek Empire where
gether, being carried on by Dioclesian Galerius & Maximi
nus successively, besides what the Christians of that part of
the Empire suffered afterwards under Licinius. For in the
western part of the Empire where Herculius Constantius &
Constantine reigned successively the persecution lasted scarce
two full years being stopt by Constantius, & the Martyrs
& Confessors were so few & made so small an appearance
that before the end of two years there were pillars set up
by the heathens in several parts of Spain, with inscriptions
signifying that the superstition of Christ & name of Christi
ans were every where extinguished. In Dacia & such other
Provinces as had newly revolted from the Roman Empire &
make another third part, there was no persecution at
all. The Man-child which the Woman brought forth
is not a single person but a kingdom as Isaias interprets
the type. ffor the Woman is a body polytick & the child
must be a body of the same kind with the mother. And
this kingdom was Christian because it was the son of the
Woman & was to rule all nations with a rod of iron, ch
in this prophesy is the scepter of Christ's kingdom. The perse
cution began by an Edict for demolishing the Churches &
burning the sacred books throughout the Empire A.C. 302,
& the Man-child was born in the western part of the
Empire by the victory of Constantine the great over
Maxentius in the end of the persecution A.C. 312. And
six years after by the victory of Constantine over Licinius a hea
then persecuting Emperor who reigned in the east, the Man-child
was caught up to the throne of the whole Empire. And the
Dragon at the same time being cast out of heaven by
Michael began to come down among the inhabitants of the earth
& sea with great wrath knowing that he hath but a short
time; that is, the heathens being cast out of their old throne
flowed into the Christian Churches of the earth & sea, making
an outw
temporal ends but retaining their vicious lives & heathen
principles & inclinations to superstition, & thereby they filled it
soon corrupted the Christian religion & filled it full of the
vices & superstitions of the heathens, making hast to do this
because the Dragon had but a short time to reign among
the Christians before
pit. And all the short time of the Dragons wrath, the saints
testify against him. ffor in all persecutions the saints have the
testimony of Iesus. They begin their testimony therefore when
he begins to persecute the Woman & two wings are given her
to fly to the gr into the wilderness. And when she separates from
them & flyes to the great city Babylon, they are sealed & measured
& begin to prophesy in the second Temple, & are there represented by
two Candlesticks of olive-tree, & worship in the inner Court upon
mount Sion & upon the Sea of glass, singing there a new song, that is
prophesying in a new state of the Church, while the nations tread under
foot the holy City & set up the abomination of the Wilderness in the outward
court instead of the daily worship, which by killing those that would not re worship the Image of the Beast & excommunicating those
ceive his mark
that would not receive his mark was now
make room for e
form of Church government.
The Dragon & Beast being the subject of the Prophesy & signifying
the Roman Empire sometimes united & sometimes divided & the relation
which they have to one another & to the Empire with its parts being under
stood, it will not be difficult to describe their heads. The four first
are the four horsmen ch
four winds of heaven call Iohn to come & see, & which therefore
stood in the regions of the Beasts, the first horsman to the east
the second to the west the third to the south & the fourth to
the north. Riding signifies reigning & the four Beasts with
their faces of a Lion, an Ox, a Man & an Eagle allude to the
armies of Israel encamped about the tabernacle in the wilderness
in four bodies under their several banners; the tribes of Iudah
Issachar & Zabulon being on the east side under the standard of
a Lion, those of Reuben Simeon & Gad on the south side under
the standard of a Man, those of Ephraim Manasseh & Benjamin
on the west side under the standard of an Ox, & those of Dan
Asher & Naphtali on the north side under the standard of
an Eagle. The encampment is described in the book of Numbers
& the Iews keep a tradition of the forms of the four standards.
Every horsman therefore with the horse he rides upon & the Beast
fit embleme of an Emperor with his Empire & his army under
its standard. And thus the four horsmen with their Beasts
very fitly represent four reigns or dynasties of Emperors.
The first Emperors were Italians called the twelve
Cæsars. Of these there were two Dynasties, the first of the
family of Iulius Cæsar ch
the next of the family of Vespasian which lasted till the
death of Domitian the last of the twelve Cæsars. The Apoca
lyps was written in the end of the first Dynasty & is of
things future & therefore we are to begin with the next.
Of this dynasty there were only three Emperors, Vespasian
and his two sons Titus
created Emperor in the east in the time of the Iewish
war. And there being then a rumour in all the east of a prophesy
that a great monarch should arise about that time in Iudea, the
Romans interpreted it of him. P r ercrebuerat Oriente toto vetus et constans opinio, esse in fatis ut eo tempore Iudæa profecti rerum potirentur. Id de Imperatore Romano quantum eventu postea patuit, prædictum Iudæi ad se trahentes rebellarunt. Sue
tonius in Vespatiano. Pluribus persua t sio inerat antiquis sacerdotum literis contineri eo ipso tempore fore ut valesceret Oriens, profecti Tacitus. Hist. l. 5. Quod Iudæas ad bellam maxime excitaveratexcita vevera nt responsum erat ambiguum itidem in sacris libris inventum, quod eo tempore quidam esset ex eorum finibus, orbis terræ habiturus Imperium. Id enim illi quidem quasi proprium acciperunt, multi. Ioseph. de bello Iud. l.7. c.12.
The second Dynasty was a western family of
Spaniards, Trajan, Hadrian, Antoninus, Marcus &
Commodus. Trajanus homo Hispanus nec Italus erat nec Italicus; ante eum nemo alterius nationis imperium Romanum obtinuerat, (Dion.) Natus Italicæ in Hispania (Victor de Cæsar.) Hadriani origo posterior ab Hispaniensibus manat. Ejus pater Ælius Hadrianus consobrinus Trajani Imperatoris, mater Gadibus orta (Spar
tian. in Hadriano) Ipse Trajani municeps et nepos
(Spartian. in Severo) natus Italicæ in Hispania (Victor
et Euseb. Chro
ὑπ᾽ ἀυτου, γένους θ᾽ ὁι ἐκοινώνει, καὶ ἀδελφιδην ἀυτου ἐγε
γαμήκει, τὸ τε σύμπαν συνην ἀυτω καὶ συνδιητατοHispania Principum mater est: hæc Trajanum hæc deinceps Hadrianum misit Imperio (Pacatus Paneg. ad Theodos.) Antoninus Pius, cui paternum genus e Gallia transalpina, Naumasense scilicet (Capitolinus) ab Adriano in filium adoptatus cujus gener fuerat (S. Aur. Victor Epitome) ea tamen lege ut is Marcum fratris uxor a is suæ filium similiter adoptaret (Capitolin.) Marcus Hadriani consanguineus
(Dion in Hadriano) et Antoni gener (Eutrop.) filius (Dion. Capitolin. Euseb. Hist. l.4. c.14) Ipse Adri
anum vocat avum suum & Trajanum proavum (Spartian.
in Piscen. nigro.). Ejus amita Galeria Faustina Antonini uxor, Proavus paternus Annius Verus ex succubitano Mancipio ex Hispania factus Senator (Capitolin.) Vnde The
mistius
vocat Trajanum & Marcum et Antoninum
ἀρχήτας αυτος
Marci filius (Capitolinus alij
The third Dynasty was a southern family of
Africanus, Severus, Antoninus
Heliogabalus, & Alexander, the three Gordians & Philip. eSeverus oriundus ex Africa, Provincia Tripolitana, oppido Lepti, solus omni memoria et ante et post ex Africa Imperator fuit (Eutrop.) nativitate scilicet et genere proximo. Ipso cano Capite et crispo Afrum quiddam us sonanssonans (Spartian.) Caracalla Severi filius (Spartian.) Macrinus natione Maurus e Cæsarea Stifensi obscuris natus est parentibus. Habuit enim præter cætera alteram aurem perforatam ut est Maurorum consuetudo (Dion.) Sub Commodo relegatus in Africam ubi ut infamiam damnationis legeret fertur lectioni operam dedisse, egisse causulas, declamasse, jus postremo dixisse; deinceps advocatum fuisse fisci ex quo offici a o ad amplissima quæ (Capitolin.) Heliogabalus Caracallæ filius (S.
Aur. Victor. et Euseb. Chron.) Et Alexander consobrinus
ejus & filius adoptivus ex familia Severi etiam prog
natus (Lamprid. Zosim. l.1) Iulia uti
sororem habuit Mæsam cui duæ erant filiæ, Soænis et
Mammæa. Hæc Alexandrum, illa a Caracalla compressa
Heliogabalum edidit. Maximinus Thracia oriundus in
Gallia salutatus Imperator ex corpore militari primus
ad Imperium accessit sola militum voluntate cum
nulla Senatus intercessisset authoritas nec ipse Senator
esset (Eutrop. Capitolin. Euseb. Oros.) Contra eum Gor
dianus pater Proconsul Africæ una cum filio Gordiano
in Africa salutati Imperatores et a Senatu confirmati
damnato Maximino ut hoste reipublicæ. Iam
anum Africanum appellarunt (Capitolin. Herodian. Zo
simus.) Hic post annum et dimidium in Africa trans
actum, Carthagini perijt una cum filio et mox tertius
Gordianus sive ex filio sive ex filia Gordiani senioris
natus in imperium a senatu sufficitur, & Maximinus
deinde post triennium invasæ tyrannidis occiditur. (Capi
tolin.) Gordiano tertia successit Philipus Arabs Vostris
Arabiæ urbe obscuris parentibus natus (Pompon. Læt.)In this race of southern Emperors the family of Severus
lasted till the death of Alexander. Amongst them reigned
Macrinus of another southern family, & to Macrinus I
add the three Gordians & Philip as Emperors of the same
kind, & neglect Maximinus as a Tyrant contemporary
to the Gordians.
The fourth Dynasty was of many northern
short lived Emperors, Decius, Gallus with his son Volusian,
Valerian with his son Gallienus, Claudius, Aurelian,
Tacitus, Probus & Carus with his sons Numerian & Carinus. Decius e Pannonia inferiore Bubulæ natus (Aurelian. Victor,
alijin Pannonia etiam Imperator factus (Zosim.) Valerianus natus Romæ sed in Rhætia et Norico agens factus est Imperator (Euseb. Eutrop. Iornand.) Claudius Dalmatia oriundusoriundus (Treb. Pollio) Aurelianus ortius Sirmij in Pannonia inferiori parentibus obscuris: ut nonnulli Dacia Ripensi.
(Vopisc.) Tacitus Italus imperavit menses tantum sex. Carus aut Naronæ in Illyrico (Aurel. Victor, & Cerilianus apud
Vopiscum) aut Romæ sed Illyricis natus est parentibus
(Onesimus apud Vopiscum.)
The fift Dynasty was of several Emperors reigning together
& sharing the Empire amongst them by common consent. It
began with the reign of Dioclesian & Herculeus. Dioclesian
Galerius
of the Empire & Herculeus Constantius & Constantine the great
over the western, & these Emperors had for the most part
two
tinguished from the reigns of the former Emperors by dating
from the beginning of it an Æra called the Æra of Diocle
sian & the Æra of the Martyrs. For this Æra commenced
with the reign of Dioclesian A.C. 284 Aug. 29, & was in use
till the Æra of Dionysius prevailed, that is, about 250
years. Scaliger saith it is still in use among the Christi
ans of Africk & Æthiopia. This Æra I consider as a suffici
ent argument of the beginning of a new Dynasty, the
Romans looking upon Dioclesian as the restorer of their
Empire. ffor in the fourth Dynasty it was in great danger
of falling but was restored by Dioclesian & his colleagues
to its former greatness & tranquility & enlarged by the
addition of Assyria & the five Provinces beyond Tigris.
The sixt Dynasty began with the victory of Constantine
the great over Licinius whereby the Empire was again divided
reduced to a monarchical form. This Dynasty continued in
the family of Constantine the great till the death of Iulian
the apostate, after whom reigned Iovian seven months, &
then the Empire became divided by degrees into the Greek &
Latin Empires, ch
In the four first Dynasties the Roman Emperors represented
by four horsmen th
warrs, all which are represented in the beginning of the repetition of
the Prophesy at the opening of the Temple in heaven, represented
by lightnings & voices & thundrings & an earthquake & great hail.
The chief character of the fift Dynasty was Dioclesians perse
cution from whence his Æra was called the Æra of the Martyrs, &
this is represented at the opening of the fift seal by the souls
of the Martyrs under the altar & in the repetition of the
Prophesy by the pains of a woman in travail & by the Dragons
tail drawing the third part of the stars of heaven (or stars of
the Greek Empire) & casting them to the earth. The chief character
of the sixt Dynasty was the dethroning of heathenism & en
throning of Christianity. And this is represented at the opening
of the sixt seale by a description of the end of the heathen
world, & in the repetition of the Prophesy by the casting of the
Dragon that old Serpent out heaven & exalting the Man-child up
of the fift Dynasty, & then came down & began a new reign
amongst the inhabitants of the earth & sea, ch
is the sixt Dynasty & lasted
sea & received the Dragons throne.
In this sixt reign the Empire became divided between
the sons of Constantine the great into the eastern & western
Empires, but after a few years the western Empire was
conquered & mystically slain by the sword of the eastern,
& ceased untill the reign of Valentinian & Valens. And
in respect of the time when the western Empire represented
by the Beast was extinct it
& shall ascend out of the abyss & go into perdition
five kings are fallen & one is & the other is not
He revived by the division of the Empire between Valentinian &
Valens, & being now alive he ascended out of the abyss or sea at
the next division of the Empire ch
dosius, & at the last division ch
odosius he received the Dragons throne & power & became the
eighth & of the seven. ffrom the time of his ascending out of the
abyss
space & this was his seventh reign or Dynasty, & after he was
ascended the Dragon gave him his throne & power & great
authority & this act began a new reign ch
of the seventh & is therefore called the eighth & of the
seven. The seven reigns begin with the opening of the seven
seales & the eighth with the sounding of the Trumpets. ffor
by these periods the Roman Empire is divided into Dynasties; & the
period of the Trumpets is the eighth & of the seven being continued
in the period of the seventh seale.
This eighth period is by the sounding of the seven Trumpets
subdivided into six intervalls of time, but these make not changes in
the reign of the Dragon & Beast common to them both before the
sounding of the last Trumpet, & therefore there are no more
common Dynasties then eight. At the sounding of e
an end is put to the reign of them both: for the mighty Angel sware that there should be time no longer but in the voice of the seventh Angel when he shall begin to sound the mystery of God shall be finished, & when he sounds the kingdoms of this world become the kingdoms of o. He sounds to the battel between the army on white r
horses in heaven & the army of the Beast & kings of the earth
in which battel the Beast & ffals Prophet are taken & cast alive
into the lake of fire & the Dragon into the bottomless pit: &
here ends the reign of the eighth king. His reign is therefore by
the sounding of the
of time, & these intervalls being thrice repeated, once by the
sounding of the seven Trumpets, once by the voices of the seven
thunders & once by the pouring out of the seven vials of wrath,
answer to the mysterious number of the Beast 666. What
& the kingdom of heaven, is to be conceived not sealed
up under any of the seven seals but written on
the backside of the book.
In the time of the sixt reign or head, when the
Beast had been & was not & was to ascend out of the
abyss, the ten kings had received no kingdom but were
to receive power as kings about the same time with the
Beast. This Beast received the Dragons throne at the
death of Theodosius A.C. 395 Ian. 13, & therefore the
ten horns were now to receive power as kings. And
accordingly the western Empire began presently to break
into ten kingdoms. The Visigoths under the conduct of For so soon as the Emperor was
Alaric rose from their
dead, Ruffin invited the barbarous nations on both sides the
Danube to invade the Romans, & the Visigoths thereupon
rose from their seats in Thrace & the Vandals from theirs
in Pannonia & the Hunns Alans & Ostrogoths came over
the frozen Danube the next winter, & the Suevians in
vaded Rhætia, & after various wars, the Visigoths invaded
Italy & went thence into Gallia, the Hunns seated themselves
in Pannonia th
Alans in two bodies, the Suevians & the Burgundians invaded
Gallia & Spain & there erected five kingdoms. And upon these
commotions the Salian Franks rose up in arms & founded
the present kingdom of France, & the Britains separated
from the Empire & set up a government of their own,
& the remainder of the western Empire made up the
number of ten kings. Most of these kings received power
as kings upon the death of Theodosius & all of them
within the space of 12 or 13 years after, the Empire
breaking into these ten kingdoms by one continued series
of war ch
& shifted from east to west at the sounding of the second. And these are the kingdoms e
fountains of water. at the sounding of the third. As the
Leopard which rose out of the sea with four heads & four
wings represents the Greek Empire ch
chical & then brake into four great kingdoms, so the Beast ch
western Empire first in a monarchical form & presently
after divided into
& wings of the Leopard & four horns of the He-goat ch
divided whether more or fewer then four, the number four
represent the kingdoms into ch
time divided be they more or fewer then ten, the number ten
respecting only the first division. They became of one mind And for this reason they are called the ten
that is, of one religion
horns even after the little horn of Daniel's fourth Beast had rooted
up three of them. They became of one mind that is of one
religion & by uniting in religion & submitting to the Womans
ecclesiastical authority they agreed & gave their kingdom to
compose the Beast.
And because the kingdoms over ch
may be considered either as the ten kings in respect of their first
rise or as the seven ch
rooted up, they are also represented by the seven mountains on ch
ble signification. They are seven mountains on ch
sitteth, that is seven dominions over ch
are also seven [successive] kings five of ch
fore she began her reign.
Some have recconed the Greek Empire amongst the
horns of the Beast. For as the ten horns are ten kings ch
& give the power & strength to the Beast so the Dragon gave
the Beast his power & throne & all the
power was given him over all kindreds & tongues & nations
& all that dwell on the earth worshipped him whose names
were not written in the book of life. But its to be observed
that after it was said that the Dragon gave the Beast his
power & throne & that all the world wondred after him, it
is added in the next words that they worshipped the Dragon w? For by these words the Dragon & Beast, ch
or Greek & Latine Empires, are atill distinguished & con
sidered apart. Yet the power of the Beast became uni
versal in respect of his worship. ffor after his
woundresurrection
became his Priest, consecrated him a God, & caused the eastern
nations to make an image to him, & to worship him & his
image, & wonder after him, but gave him no temporal
dominion over them.
The Prophesy of the Apocalypse neare the beginning thereof
relates chiefly to the first ages of Christianity & neare the end
to the last. This
times preceding the great Apostasy & the five next treat
largely of the reign of that Apostasy & briefly of its fall.
Then follows a repetition of the whole & the twelft chapter
treats briefly of its rise, the five next treat largely of its reign
the two next very largely of its fall & the three last as
largely of the times after its fall. And according to this method
of the Prophesy the Epistles to the seven Churches must respect
the first ages of Christianity.
These Churches are literally the particular churches in Ephesus,
Smyrna, Pergamus, Thyatira, Sardius, Philadelphia & Laodicea, & the
Epistles written to them as particular churches
a litteral sense concerning such things as happened to them in
the first ages. The false Apostles in Ephesus are
others as taught false doctrines there. The Nicolaitans may be thdisciples of Nicolas one of the seven Deacons who in the age of the
Apostles taught fornication in a litteral sensech
zabel may be one of the weomen of Montanus who pretended to
the spirit of prophesy & spread his doctrine in Thyatira
Antipas may be some eminent Christian who was slain in Pergamus
before Iohn received this prophesy. But in a mystical sense the seven
Churches
Catholick, & signify the same thing with the seven Candlesticks in
the Temple & with the seven horns of the Lamb. As the lamps of the
Candlesticks illuminate the whole Temple, so the Angels or teachers
of these Churches illuminate the Church catholick. They were chosen
to be joyntly the Metropolis of the Church catholick from whence
the light of the gospel went forth into all the earth above thirty
years together under the government & teaching of Iohn & a long
time after under
& their successors. And Epistles directed to the Angels or teachers of
the Metropolis may respect the whole Church. And as the seven heads
of the Beast relate to seven successive periods of the Roman Empire
so the
of the Church catholic under that Metropolis.
For the church catholick is in this prophesy represented by the
her feet & a crown of twelve stars upon her head. And
the seven Churches are her first Metropolis & continue to
be her Metropolis till she flies into the Wilderness
the Whore of Babylon. And the seven epistles relate
successive states ch
Metropolis
perors during the lightnings voices & thundrings (Apoc. 11.19)
untill she appeared in travail; in her second state during
her travail; in her third state between the birth of the
Man-child & her receiving two wings of a great Eagle; in
her fourth state when she floated in the water ch
gon cast out of his mouth after her; in her fift state
when the earth had swallowed up the water; ch
in her sixt state when the Dragon was wroth with the woman
her; & in her seventh state when the Dragon ceased to per
secute her & went to make war with the remnant of her
seed, by which war the seven churches fell in outward
During these seven periods of time the Church had a
great struggle with the mystery of iniquity. For this mys
tery began to work in the Apostles days, & was to continue
working till the man of Sin should be revealed, being the
mystery of spiritual fornication written on the Whore's fore
head.
therefore Christ admonishes her in these Epistles to contend
against the professors of this mystery calling them Nicolaitans
or spiritual fornicators, Balaam the fals Prophet & Iezabel
the fals Prophetess who teach & seduce to eat things sacrificed
to Idols, & the synagogue of Satan which say they are Iews
& are not. These are the Antichrist ch
come & whose forerunners began to appear in his days, &
from whose appearance he concludes it was the last time. His
meaning is that the time of the end spoken of by Daniel in ch
commenced because his forerunners began to appear & once
appearing were not to cease before his coming. These false
teachers & their followers being therefore of such dangerous
consequence, the Epistles to the Churches are chiefly for encoura
ging the Churches of the first ages to contend against them.
The first Epistle directed to the Church of Ephesus relates
to the times
of the Church under the heathen Emperors from the Apostles'
days untill the 10th persecution. ffor in this Epistle Christ saith
that the Church of Ephesus cannot bear them ch
& hath tried them ch
found them lyars: both ch
Apostles, agree best with the primitive times. The false Apostles are
the fals teachers of the first ages, such as were Simon Magus,
Menander, Cerinthus, Basilides, Carpocrates, Valentinus, Marcion, Montanus,
Tatian, Sabellius, Paul of Samosat &c che
vering them. These are also the Nicolati
of Ephesus hated, they being the spiritual fornicators who denyed the
father & the son, as the Apostles Peter & Pa Iohn describe in their
Epistles. But yet this Church notwithstanding these her good qualities
had left her first love. She was much perfected in the beginning
& had been decaying ever since the Apostles days, and therefore
Christ admonishes her to remember from whence she was fallen
& repent & do the
remove her candlestick out of its place. How this Church a
little before the 10 tenth persecution had left her first love &
inclined to æmulation, dissimulation, contention, wrangling backbiting
& faction, Eusebius in the beginning of the eighth book of his Eccle
siastical History describes at large, & how instead of repenting she
grew worse & worse untill the persecution overtook her. For when
she repented not, Christ brought on this persecution to purge her from
evil men & in the beginning of the persecution removed her can
dlestick out of its place, by causing her churches to be thrown
down throughout all the Empire & her assemblies to be interdicted,
as Eusebius describes.
The second Epistle relates manifestly to this persecution, as may
appear by these words. And unto the Angel of the Church of Smy rna write, These things saith . . . . . he which was dead & is alive; I know thy works & tribulation & poverty, but thou art [spiritually] rich, & I know the blasphemy of them w: [that is, I know the chblasphem idolatry
of the disciples of the false Apostles ch
& ch
Satan:] fear none of those things w [the great red Dragon] chshall cast some of you into prison & that ye may be tried & ye shall have tribulation ten days [that is, persecution ten years.] Be thou faithful unto death & I will give thee a crown of life. . . . . . . He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death. By the length of the
persecution you may certainly know that it was Dio the tenth
persecution, that of Dioclesian.
The third Epistle relates to the times next after the tenth
persecution, as is manifest by the words: To the Angel of the Church in Pergamus write . . . . . . I know thy works & where thou dwellest, even [in [Pergamus] where Satan's throne is [that is, in
the Greek Empire descended from the kingdom of Pergamus &
represented in this Prophesy by the great red Dragon that old
Serpent called the Devil & Satan] & thou holdest fast my name
[during the present
peror Licinius] & hast not denied my faith even in those days wherein Antipas was my faithfull martyr who was slain amongst you where Satan dwelleth [that is in the days of the tenth per
secution wherein my faithfull martyrs represented by Antipas
were slain in the Greek Empire where the Dragon reigneth &
where the persecution was sharpest & lasted ten years.] But I have a few things against thee because thou hast there [in the
Greek Empire] them that hold the doctrine of Balaam [the fals
Prophet or aggregate of fals teachers] who taught Balac [the king] to cast a stumbling block before the children of Israel [to cause them] to eat things sacrificed to Idols & to commit fornication: so hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, w. chRepentRepent or else I will come unto thee quickly & will fight against them with the sword of my mouth. The Nicolaitans were there
fore such as taught the doctrine of Balaam for seducing the
people of God to idolatry, a generation of false teachers th
their churches lasting from the days of the Apostles to the
time that Christ comes with the sword of his mouth against
his enemies; the whole body of Antichrist in all ages.
The fourth Epistle relates to the division of the Em
pire between Rome & Constantinople & between the sons of
Constantine the great, & to the Woman growing proud, ambi
tious & potent & claiming appech
the universal bishopric, & thereby beginning to set up Popery
The words run thus. And to the Church in Thyatira write, These things saith the son of God who hath eyes like unto a flame of fire & his feet like fine brass [the types of the
eastern & western Churches or two wings of the great Eagle] I know thy works & charity &c. Notwithstanding I have a few things against thee because thou sufferest that woman Iezabel who calleth her self a prophetess [& is tainted with the
doctrine of the Nicolaitans] to teach & to seduce my servants to commit [spiritual] fornication & to eat things sacrificed to Idols. And I have given her space to repent of her fornication & she will not repent. Behold I will cast her into a bed [of torment] & them that commit fornication with her into great tribulation [in the lake of fire] except they repent.
The fift Epistle respects the Church reunited under
Constantius, at ch
& grandeur & with multitudes of people, & made an outward
profession of faith under the truth against the innovations of
Arius & the Pope & others, but
& was much decayed in piety & vertue, & had but few good
Christians. For the Epistle runs thus. And unto the Angel of the Church in Sardis write: These things saith he that hath the seven spirits of God & the seven stars [the type of the
Angels of the whole united Church] I know thy works that thou hast a name that thou livest & art dead. Be watchful & strengthen the things that are ready to dye: for I have not found thy works perfect before God. . . . . . . Thou hast a few names even in Sardis w.chth
The sixt Epistle respects the Church in affliction during the
reign of Iulian the Apostate a heathen Emperor; as is manifest by
the words. And to the Angel of the Church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true he that hath the key of David [the key of the Temple ch
calls the key of the house of David] he that openeth [to the throne
of God] & no man shutteth & shutteth [from the throne] & no man openeth: I know thy works: Behold I have set before thee an open door [to the throne from whence thou art at present excluded] & no man can shut it [to hinder thee from entring in again.] For thou hast a little strength & [in this time of persecution] hast notnot denied my name. Behold I will make them of the synagogue of Satan w [the Nicolaitans chch
Christians] & are not, but do lye; behold I will make them to come & worship before thy feet, & to know that I have loved thee. Because [in the reign of the Emperor Iulian] thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep from the hour of temptation which [by false miracles] shall come upon all the world
[to set up the invocation of Saints & e
by] to try them that dwell upon the earth.
The seventh Epistle relates to the Church in the reign of
& splendid & abounded in wealth but abated in vertue & piety till
Christ spewed her out of his mouth. I know thy works, saith he, that thou art neither cold not hot: I would thou wert cold nor hot. So then because thou art luke warm & neither cold not hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth: because thou sayest I am rich & increased with goods; & knowest not that thou art wretched & miserable & poor & blind & naked. This Church
was spewed out of Christs mouth at the opening of the seventh
seal. ffor then the twelve tribes of Israel, ch
mitive Church Catholick represented by the Woman, were re
jected & received the mark of the Beast except the 144000
which were sealed with the seale of God in their forehead.
Then the first beast rose out of the Sea & began to be worshipped & his
mark to be received by all men. Then the woman had
ness & began to commit fornication th
room,
seed which keep the commandments of God & have the testimony of
Iesus Christ. All these things are of a kind & began at once &
brought in a new scene of things
In the beginning of the visions of the Woman & Dragon
the Temple of God was opened in heaven that Iohn might see
those visions therein: & therefore when the Woman fled from the
Dragon into the wilderness it is to be conceived that she fled from
this Temple & left in it the remnant of her seed ch
commandments of God & have the testimony of Iesus, & that the
Dragon turning from the Woman made war upon the remnan
this Temple while she was flying through the wilderness of
Arabia to Babylon, & that the seven candlesticks in this Temple now represent the remnant as they did the Woman before her
flight except the
Olive-tree.ty separates from theirmother & her & thFor then she ceases to be a part of the mystical body of the Lamb the
with an external form of Church government flyes into a spiritu state of spiritual barrennes & becomes the
alWhore splendid
whore of Babylon. For then she is spewed out of Christs
mouth & becomes her candlestick is removed out of its place.
Then she ceases to be illuminated by the seven lamps, &
to be represented by the seven golden candlesticks, Before the opening of the seventh Seal the Dragon went from her
to make war with the remnant of her seed, but did not yet
begin the war. By that separation the Empire became dis
tinguished into two Empires, the Dragon & the Beast, &
the Church into two Churches, the Woman & her seed. But
this distinction was imperfect, for the Beast was now revived
but not yet risen out of the sea, & the woman was distinguish
ed but not yet divided in communion from the remnant of
her seed. At the opening of the seventh Seal the separation
becomes perfect, the Empire becomes divided into the Dragon
which ch
rises out of the Sea; & the apostatizing Woman
Woman who now horned Beast ch
then Christ ceases to write any more epistles unto her. The
epistles were for admonishing her to be zealous in contending
against the mystery of iniquity ch
overcame her. After it had
any more
It is further to be conceived that this Temple being the
Temple of Ierusalem on mount Sion, was the same Temple
with that on mount Sion in ch
Lamb before the throne & before the four a
the Elders, & that the 144000 are they that worship God in
this Temple, & by consequence the remnant of the Woman's
seed, or so many of them as were sealed. For they were
sealed out of all the twelve Tribes of Israel, & those Tribes
worshipped in the Temple of Ierusalem on mount Sion where
And therefore when all are killed who will not worship
the Image of the Beast & none are suffered to buy & sell
except those who have the mark or name or number of
the name of the Beast: we are to conceive that this is
done by a persecution of the remnant of the Womans seed
& that this persecution is the war which the Dragon
went to make upon this remnant. ffirst the Dragon per
secuted the Woman & made her fly into the wilderness &
so soon as she escaped from him, he turned from her & went
to make war upon the remnant of her seed & in this war
he killed those who would not worship the Image of the
Beast & interdicted buying & selling to all who had not the
mark or name or number of that Beast. And thereupon
all receive that mark or name or number except the
144000 who by persisting in the truth get the victory &
are sealed with the name of God in their foreheads &
stand on mount Sion with the Lamb.
It is further to be conceived that this persecution
was raised by the influence of the second Beast. He
spake as the Dragon & was the Dragon's Church, & there
fore the Dragon acted by his advice in matters of reli
gion. He declared what ought to be done in those matters,
& the Dragon was the temporal power ch
execution. When the first Beast had been slain & revi
ved & rose out of the sea, the second Beast deified
him & caused men (the subjects of the Dragon) to erect an
image to him & worship it & to receive the mark of e
deified Beast upon pain of being interdicted buying &
selling. He had power to bring down fire from heaven
upon earth in the sight of men, that is, to bring down
war & persecution upon those that would not worship the
Beast & his Image. ffirst he excommunicated them & in
pronouncing the excommunication brought down a lighted
torch (as a custome is in excommunications) from above
his head, which is bringing down fire from heaven in a
literal sense & then he delivered them up to the temporal
power to be killed or interdicted buying & selling.
The 144000 being thus interdicted the society of the
twelve Tribes, retire from the Court of the people to
into the inward court where the Lamb is, & standing with
the Lamb before the throne & before the Elders & the four Ani
mals, suppose at the eastern gate of that court where the Levites
used to sing, they sing a new song at the seven sacrifices while on of the He Goat on the ffast or atsacrifice of
their Angels represented by the seven Lamps sound the seven
Trumpets & pour out the seven Vials at the same sacrifices.
& the Image of the Beast in their own Court, the outward
Court of the Temple, till the seven plagues be fulfilled
For they are the synagogue of Satan which say they are
Iews & are not, & the inhabitants of the earth & sea
convened in the outward Court of the Temple, where
the Dragon came down to them when he was cast out
of heaven by Michael, came down to them with great wrath,
knowing that he hath but a short time amongst them untill
he shall be cast into the bottomless pit.
The first seven leaves of the prophetic Book contein
the history of the seven
successive Dynasties of the Roman Empire ch
heads of the Dragon & Beast: & these leaves are opened by
opening the
first Beast ch
to come & see & he saw & behold a white horse & he that sat on him had a bow & a crown was given him unto him & he went forth conquering & to conquer. By the crown the hors
men are kings & by the bow this king is a conqueror & by the
white horse he is a very good man & by
first Beast eastward he was an eastern Emperor. All ch
true of Vespasian the first Emperor of the first dynasty of
kings who reigned next after the writing of the Prophesy.
He was created Emperor in Iudæa ch
Rome & was an excellent Emperor, & at that time there
was a rumour in all the east occasioned by the prophesy
of Daniels weeks that there should arise a great king in
Iudæa, & this the heathens recconed accomplished in Vespa
sian. He went forth conquering the Iewish nation, dissolved their
polity, burnt Ierusalem & the Temple, slew captivated &
dispersed the people & sold the country: things of that consequence
in religion that they deserved to be taken notice of in this
Prophesy. In destroying Christ's enemies the Iews, he may be
recconed the Minister of Christ.
At the opening of the second seal the second Beast ch
like an Ox the type of slaughter & stood westward from the
throne called Iohn to come & look westward: and there went forth another horse w. All chch
agrees to Trajan the first Emperor of the second Dynasty.
This Dynasty was of Spaniards a people westward from Rome & the Empire was died with blood as is represented by the red colour & Trajan was the greatest conqueror of all the Roman
of the horse
Emperors. The Empire was almost dissolved by the defections seditions
& defections in Nero's reign & something repaired by Vespasian
& again made to totter by Domitian. Trajan not only resetled
it but enlarged it by forreign conquests more then ever did
any other Emperor; insomuch that historians reccon the
of the Empire to have been in his reign, and that the Emperor
Marcus & Constantine as the five gallantest of all the Roman
Emperors to compare with Alexander the great, calls Iulius,
Octavius & Trajan the most warlike & in conclusion allots
Trajan to keep company with Alexander. He was the first
that propagated the Empire beyond the Danube & having
conquered & almost depopulated Dacia by war he repeopled
it th
He gave a king to the Albani & received those of Iberia
& Colchos & the Cimmerian Bosphori & Sauromatæ. He
seized the regions of the Sauromatæ regio Saracens &
Arabians & reduced Arabia into the form of a Province.
He recovered Armenia from the Parthians & conquered
Mesopotamia & Assyria reducing them into the form of
Provinces, & was the first that extended the Empire beyond
Euphrates. He subdued the Cordueni & Mardomedi & Seleu
cia & Ctesiphon & Babylonia & made the king of Parthia
give him hostages, & went as far as India & built a Navy
in the Persian gulph to invade the Indians. In his letters
to the Senate he gave them account of so many conquered
nations that they neither knew them all nor could number
them & therefore besides other honours, they erected to him
a triumphal arch in the market place of Rome & decreed
that he might triumph of as many nations as he pleased
But when he was upon the sea the conquered nations
revolted & slew the garrisons: upon which followed great
confusion & slaughters on both sides. The Iews also in
Libya & Cyrene & Egypt & Thebais & Cyprus revolted
& slew great multitudes of the Romans & Greeks putting
them to various deaths & eating their flesh. Dion reccons
about 200000 slain about Cyrene & 240000 in Cyprus
& the like slaughter in Egypt. Whereupon Trajan sent
captains against them who slew vast multitudes of them. And
because they were very numerous in Mesopotamia he com
manded that they should be all slain & rooted out of that
Province; & accordingly great numbers of them were slain
there. And by all these conquests & mutual slaughters
the Empire was died with blood as is represented by the
red colour of his horse.
At the opening of the third Seal the third Beast ch
a humane face & stood southward from the throne called
Iohn to come & look southward. And lo, a black horse, & he that sat on him had a pair of ballances in his hand, & Iohn heardheard a voice in the midst of the four Beasts say, A chœnix of wheat for a penny & three Chœnixes of Barley for a penny & see thou hurt not the oyle & the wine. All ch
exact character of Severus the founder of the southern
dynasty of Emperors. A pair of ballances denotes a Iudge
just or unjust accordinly as the ballance is true or false
sincere or bruised, & such was Severus. In his childhood
he used no other play then of walking th
axes before him & of sitting th
acting the Iudge. At the age of 32 years he was designed
Prætor by the Emperor Marcus. When he came to be
Emperor he heard causes all the morning till noon, was
severely just, & inexorable against criminals, made ex
cellent laws, left his Deputy Iudge when the war required
him to lead the army & instituted his sons in the law, &
from him that study took such encouragement that I know
not any other age of the Empire where a greater number
of famous lawyers are recorded then that ch
his reign most of ch
special favourite. The voice in the midst of the four
Beasts respects Rome the center of the Empire. And
there the measure by ch
granaries was dispensed was for the sustenance of the
people was a Chœnix. The proclamation, A Chœnix
for a penny denotes plenty; & Severus was the first
who increased the corn in the publick store houses of
Rome & so far as I can find he was the first that
gave them oyle & gave it gratis. When Severus
had newly conquered Albinus, in writing an angry letter
to the Senate he thus commemorates his benefactions &
upbraids them for their ingratitude.
detuli, ego multa bella pro
mano tantum olei detuli quantum rerum natura
vix habuit; ego interfecto P. Nigro vos a malis tyran
nis liberavi: Magnam sane mihi reddidistis vicem,
magnam gratiam.
quam minimam repererat ita consuluit, ut excedens
vita septem annorum c
linqueret, ita ut quotidiana septuagena quina millia
modiorum expendi possent, olei verò tantum ut per
quinquennium non solum Vrbis usibus sed et totius
Italiæ quæ oleo egeret, sufficeret.
by recconing eight Chœnixes to a bushel collects that
there were 600000 persons in the
city, ch
horse is a type of funerals of great men such whose fune
rals then used & still use to be solemnized in this mourn
ing colour. And for the slaughter of such his reign was so
infamous as much to transcend the reigns of the worst Ty
rants Nero Domitian & Commodus. When he
nuis Niger in Syria he shewed much cruelty by ch
the austerity of his manners (for he was against his
enemies very cruel & inexorable) the Senate & Citizens
of Rome became so disaffected to him as in his war th
to death great multitudes of men & weomen of the best
quality in Spain & Gallia where Albinus reigned &
was conquered, & afterwards into Italy
thither; & confiscating their estates gave more to the
soldiers & left more to his sons then any other Emperor.
Amongst the rest he slew very many of the Senators,
the letters ch
Spartian names 41 Senators whom he put to death th
hearing them, and then adds:
tam illustrium virorum (nam multi in his Consultares,
multi Prætorij, omnes certè summi viri fuere) inter
fector, ab Afris ut Deus habebatur. - - - Damnabantur
autem pleri
cur plera
verè sui nominis verè Pertinax vere Severus. Multos
insuper quasi Chaldæos aut vates de sua salute consu
luissent interemit præcipue suspectans unumquen
um imperio. - - Infinita multorum cæde crudelior
habitus. Spartian in Severo. Innumeros Senatores inter
emit, et ab alijs Scyllæ Punici, ab alijs Marij nomen
accepit. Spartian. in Piscen. Nigro. Omnes Senatus Prin
cipes & singularum Provinciarum nobilissimos et
ditissimos quos
ut fortitudinem vinceret avi
Cædibus illustrium virorum adeo infamis ut Punicas clades
in toga cæsorum civium Romanorum sanguine rependeret.
Egnatius in Severo.
At the opening of the fourth seal the fourth Beast ch
northward from the throne, called Iohn to come & look northward, and Iohn looked & behold a pale horse & his name that sat on him was death & the grave Hades followed next him, & power was given unto theim over the fourth part of the earth to kill with the sword & with hunger & with death & with the Beasts of the earth. This character agrees fully to Decius the
first Emperor of the northern Dynasty. His name was Death &
he rode on a horse of a pale colour the colour usually ascribed
to death: & this was thus fulfilled. The Scythians from Tanais
invading Thrace, Decius beat them at first, but pursuing them but pursuing
to the banks of Thrace, Decius beat them at first,
them to the Banks of Tanais & there endeavouring to attack
them through a lake; he stuck fast & perished with his son
& his whole army.
It is not to be expected
Dynasty should be of one & the same sort & character; all of the
first Dynasty conquerors & good men, all of the second very great
warriors & disturbers of the peace of the earth,
eminent Iudges
the horsmen only to the first Emperor of every Dynasty, &
accordingly have interpreted the fourth horsman of Decius
alone. But this Horsman was followed by Hades, the king of
the dead, who had power over the fourth part of the earth
(that is, over the Roman Empire ch
fourth part of the habitable world then known) to kill
with the sword & with hunger & with death & with the beasts of the earth, that is with civil wars, with famin,
with pestilence & with forreign kingdoms or nations
invading the Empire. And therefore we are further to
shew how Hades after the reign of Decius afflicted the
Empire with these four plagues.
Vpon the death of Decius & his army, the barbarous
nations began to invade the Empire on all sides. The Scythians
invaded both Europe & Asia; the Goths Borani Carpi and
Vrugundi invaded Europe, the Persians invaded Mesopotamia
& Syria & took Antioch. T
of Gallus the successor of Decius. In Valerian's reign the
Scythians invaded Greece Illyricum Italy & Asia; the Mar
comans & others invaded other places; the Goths Borani Carpi
& Vrugundi over-ran all Italy & Illyricum & some of them
passed into Asia, the Germans infested Gallia & were opposed
by Gallienus, & the Persians over-ran the east & took
Valerian captive. And after all this the state of the Em
pire grew still worse.
Germani Ravennam usl
Gallijs in Italiam transiere; Græcia, Macedonia, Pontus, Asia
depopulatæ per Gothos; Quadi & Sarmatæ Pannonias occupaverunt;
Germanis Hispanias obtinentibus Tar
Eutrop. l.9. Francorum gentes direpta Gallia Hispaniam possederunt
vastato ac pene direpto Tarraconensium oppido; nactis
navigijs pars in us
duodecim annis fere sub barbaris laboravit regnante Gallieno: Oros
l. 7. c 41. Claudius Gothos jam per quindecim annos (i.e. a morte
Decij) Illyricum Macedoniam
strage delevit: Iornand. l. 1. de Regn. success. Delevimus trecenta
& viginti millia Gothorum, duo millia navium
Claudius Imp. apud Pollionem.
slew 30000 Francks at Ments & in his own reign vanquished
the Marcomans & Sueves a terrible enemy in Italy & his succes
sor Probus having beaten the Franks & Alemanns in Gallia
wrote this to the Senate:
Nam et quadringenta millia hostium cæsa sunt et sedecim
millia armatorum nobis oblata & septuaginta urbes nobilissi
mæ captivitate hostium
Galliæ liberatæ.
that Probus after this supprest the Sarmatæ & other nations
in Illyricum the Goths Vandals & Gepidæ in Thrace & the Par
thians & others in the east. And after all this Dioclesian &
his Colleagues had great & lasting wars with the barbarous
nations before they could quiet the empire.
Vpon the death of Decius the Empire fell into disorder
as well by civil wars as by barbarian invasions, so that between
Decius & Dioclesian, that is, within the space of 33 years, of
about 21 legitimate Emperors & Cæsars (besides seven tyranni
cal ones who perished all by the sword) there died only Licinian
& Claudius by the pestilence & Carus by lightning & three more
were slain by the publick enemy, & all the rest fell by the
sword of one another or of their own soldiers. And besides all
these, within the fifteen years reign of Gallienus who was one of
the one & twenty, there arose no less then 29 or 30 others
Tyrannical Emperors some of ch
enus himself, & all these also fell by the sword except three
or four who had their lives given them by their conquerors
What slaughters followed upon the civil wars between so many
Emperors & Tyrants may easily be imagined. I shall con
tent my self with one instance. Vpon conquering
Ingenuus who was saluted Emperor by the Legions of Mœsia
Gallienus was so cruel towards both soldiers & inhabitants of
Mœsia as to leave many cities void of Males. His cruelty
may be understood by this Epistle to Verianus.
ano. Non mihi satis facies si tantum armatos occideris quos
et fors belli perimere potuisset: perimendus est omnis sexus
virilis, si et senes at
occidi possint. Occidendus est quicun
est quicunc
contra tot principum patrem et fratrum Ingenuus factus est
gere potes: mea mente irascere qui hæc manu mea scripsi.
In the first year of Gallus the successor of Decius a vehement
plague began from Ethiopia & went through all the Roman Pro
vinces exhausting them wonderfully till after the death of Claudius,
that is for about fifteen years together.
incolentium exhausit, plera
Per omnia Romani regni ab Oriente in Occidentem spatia, cùm
omne propemodum genus hominum & pecudum neci dedit, tum
etiam corripuit lacus et infecit pabula tabo: Oros. l. 7. c. 27.
Nec alia unquam major lues mihi lecta spatio temporum
sive
with this plague a famin also began ch
the plague, the wars hindring agriculture & wasting the
old stores. In Gallus's reign Dionysius Alexandrinus
thus mentions it in his epistle to the brethren.
(that is, after the persecution of Decius)
fames secula sunt, quæ una cum ethnicis pertulimus.
- - - At ubi cùm nos tum ipsi respiraveramus invasit lues
ista, res illis quovis terrore terribilior & calamitate
quacun
ratio nullis reliquis inferior.
an thus mentions both:
quod bella crebrius surgant quod Lues quod ffames
sæviant, quod
dant.
tells us that a body of Barbarians in Macedonia perished
by famin with their cattel: and Pollio that a multitude
of barbarians in Thrace laboured so much under famin
& pestilence that Claudius sleighted them. And in Aure
lian's reign Zosimus mentions how a body of Scythans
in Pannonia were prest th
So terrible were these plagues of wars pestilence & famin
that Cyprian who lived in that age, concluded from them that
the end of the world was at hand, as you may understand by
his Tract de Mortalitate & yet he was martyred before the
reign of Gallienus when they were at the height.
You have now the interpretation of the four horsmen;
and as there is nothing in the Prophesy ch
title been fulfilled, so the Prophesy had omitted nothing
remarkable enough to be a convenient character of the thing
designed to be characterised. For what was there in Trajan's
reign very singular besides his victories & the ensuing killing
one another? What in Severus's besides his acting the Iudge, killing
What in Decius's but his perishing with his whole army?
And what was there in the times immediately following him,
worth being taken notice of in comparison of the four plagues?
I say what was there singular? For as for Trajan's humanity,
Severus's wars, & the like, they were things common to them
with divers other Emperors: whereas the prophesy (as was
fit) takes notice of nothing but what was most remarka
ble in the kind. You may find other conquerors besides
Trajan, other killing one another besides that in the
Iewish war, other Iudges & killers of great men besides
Severus, & others perishing fatally besides Decius; but
all the Roman History will not afford others so eminent
in the kind as these, nor which are combined with one
another after the same manner. And as for the quater
nary of plagues, I know nothing like it. So that the
Prophesy & History do not only fit, but are not otherwise
to be fitted.
The four horsmen being the first four heads Dynasties of e
Empire or heads of the Dragon & appearing upon opening the first four
seales we may expect that the fift head or Dynasty is the subject of
the fift leaf of the prophetick book & appears upon opening the fift
Seal. The first Dynasties were monarchical, this is of several
Emperors reigning togeth at the same time & sharing the Empire
between them by consent. It began th
his Colleagues & lasted till Constantine the great, by conquering Lici
nius reduced the Empire back into a monarchical form, as was said
above. It is also distinguished from the former Dynasties by the
Æra of the Empire dated from its beginning & called the Æra of
Dioclesian & the Æra of the Martyrs. ffor after the Empire by
the four plagues of the last Dynasty was almost dissolved &
ruined, it was restored & as it were new founded by Dioclesian &
his Colleagues & brought to a very flourishing state. Its character
is a great persecution of the Christians. For when the Lamb had opened the fift seale Iohn saw under the Altar the souls . This chr
is a very plain description of agreat as was said, & answers perfectly to Dioclesian's persecution & to
that alone. For that Persecution was notably sharp & great
above all the former persecutions & seems to have exceeded
them all put together, & to have been the only persecution ch
was universal, so that in respect of this the former deserve
accounted the greatest being much more sharp & general then
the rest & yet that was not universal nor lasted above one year
& three months; whereas this continued with unexpressible violence at least ten years together over
all the east beyond Italy, & almost the two first of those years
over all the west but th
ing fewer Martyrs & Confessors. This is the Tribulation of ten days ch
303 & was so vehement that in about thirty days were slain
17000. And yet it was sharper in the second year then in the
first, & after it ceased in the west it grew notably sharper in under Maximinus in the east & did not begin to mi
the west
tigate before the end of the seventh year. In Egypt alone
were slain (saith Ignatius of Antioch) 144000, and seventy
thousand banished. And if you peruse the description ch
sebius gives of it you will scarce find it milder in other Pro
vinces. From this persecution the Æra of Dioclesian was
called the Æra of Martyrs. These Martyrs are represented
as sacrifices lying under the Altar, that is, on the pave
ment at the foot of the Altar where the sacrifices used
to be slain, & they are told that they must rest for a little
season untill the sufferings of their brethren who should be
killed as they were should be accomplished; that is, untill the
end of the great tribulation, or untill the times of the seventh
seal should be expired. For the little season is the reign of
the seventh head or king called a short space Apoc. 17.10, &
a short time Apoc 12. And as the Tribulation of ten days came
in the end of the reign of the heathen Empire & was followed
by a victory of the Christians ch
the heathensempire so the great Tribulation is to come in the
end of the Empire of the great Antichrist & is to be followed
immediately followed by a victory of the saints ch
end to the reign of the Antichristians. And then God will judge
& avenge the blood of the Martyrs on them that dwell on
the earth.
And when he had opened the sixt seal there was a great earthquake [or shaking of the kingdom so as to remove it. Heb.
12.26, 27, 28] and the Sun [of the Empire] became black as sackcloth of hair, & the whole Moon [the Empire the Emperors
wife] became as blood [being polytically slain & the stars of heaven fell unto the earth as a fig-tree casteth her green figgs when she is shaken of a mighty wind, & the heaven departed as a [that is, the
the kingdom fell down by the sword from their places of honour
& the throne & dominion thereof fled away Isa. 34.4 Nahum 3.
12] and every mountain & island were moved out of their places
[that is the cities of the earth & sea changed their dominions: Dan.
9.16, 20. Ier. 51.24, 25.] And the kings of the earth & the great men & the mighty men & every bond man & every free man hidhid themselves in the dens & in the rocks of the mountains [or
buildings of the Cities or Temples] & said to the mountains & rocks Fall on us & hide us [in rubbish] from the face of him that sitteth on the throne & from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of his wrath is come & who shall be able to stand. What this means
may be understood by comparing it with the following places. Enter into
the rock & hide thee in the dust for the fear of the Lord & for the
glory of his Majesty — ffor the day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon
every one that is proud - & upon all the high mountains — & the Idols
he shall utterly abolish, & they shall go into the holes of the rocks
& into the caves of the earth for fear of the Lord & for the glory
of the earth his majesty when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.
In that day a man shall cast his Idols of silver & his idols of gold ch
the bats to go into the tops of the ragged rocks for fear of the
Lord & for the glory of his majesty when he ariseth to shake
terribly the earth: Isa. 2. The High places of Aven the sin of
Israel shall be destroyed: the thorn & the thistle shall come upon
their altar, & they shall say to the mountains, Cover us, & to
the hills, ffall on us: Hosea. 10.8. Men are here put for Idols
as in divers other places of Scripture. Thou hast played the
harlot th
- She commited adultery with stones & with stocks: Ier. 3.1, 9.
So Baalim are called the lovers of Israel: Hosea 2.12, 13. &
the Idols of Egypt Assyria & Babylonia are called Egyptians
Assyrians & Babylonians wherewith Israel & Iudah commit
fornication: Ezek. 16 & 23. The men therefore who hid them
selves in dens & rocks of the mountains & said to the rocks
ffall on us & hide us, are Idols of all sorts ch
aside in private places of the Cities or Temples untill the
buildings fell on them & covered them in rubbish.
So then at the opening of the sixt Seal is predicted the
shaking, eclipsing, dissolving, falling departing & vanishing
of the whole heathen Roman world, & the abolishing of their
Idols. And this came to pass in the reign of Constantine
the great & his successors & can be applied to no other
period of time. Constantine a Christian overcame the heathen
Emperor Licinius, applied the donaria of the heathen Temples
to the building of Constantinople, caused the Idols to be thrown
down & laid aside & great numbers of them to be brought to Con
stantinople & there exposed to the derision of the people; & he
& his sons interdicted the worship shut up the Temples & threw
down the Altars & the porches & roofs of some of the Temples
& let the rest go out of repair. And by this means the heathen
religion decayed so fast, that before the reign of their successor
Iulian the Apostate one half of the people of the Empire were
become Christians. But Iulian opened the Temples & restored
the heathen worship & Valentinian & Valens tolerated it all their
reign. And therefore the prophesy of the
accomplished before the reign of their successor Gratian. It was the
custome of the heathen Priests, in the beginning of the reign of
every soveraign Emperor to offer him the dignity & habit of Pontifex
Maximus. This dignity all Emperors had hitherto accepted of: but
Gratian rejected it, & threw down the Idols, interdicted the sacrifices,
of the Priests. And Theodosius followed his example. And Heathenish
afterward recovered it self no more, but decreased so fast that aa Lib. 1, adv. Symmach
dentius about ten years after the death of Theodosius called the
heathens vix pauca ingenia & pars hominum rarissimaPrudentius For when the Dragon that old Serpent called the
lib. 1 adv. Symmach.
Devil & Satan, the spirit of the heathen religion, was cast out of
the Roman throne, he came down among the Christian inhabitants
of the earth & sea th
in great numbers out of temporal ends to profess the christian religion
bringing in among the Christians the vices of & superstitions of
the heathen religion: & thereby the conversion of the rest of
the heathens became more e
ceased. And at the same time a new sort of Christian religion was
set up ch
is called worshipping the Beast & his Image & receving his mark &
committing fornication with the whore of Babylon, & in Daniel the
transgression chch
For this is that wilderness into ch
saw her sitting upon the Beast.
This Beast ththe Dragon its his worshipperswho opposeth & exalteth himself above every one that is called God a God or object of worship that he may sit in the temple of God shewing himself that he is a God, & continues untill and whom the Lord shall destroy him consume with the breath of his mouth & shall destroy . For this th
is exactly the character ch
lyps. He is slain, revives, is deifed, has an Image set up to him
& with his Image is worshipped by all men whose names are
not written in the book of life, & is at length taken and destroyed
in the lake of fire by the Lord at his coming. And now ye know,
saith the Apostle Paul, what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work, only that w. That chch
ancient Christians affirmed by tradition, that is, the heathen Em
pire then standing. ffor till the heathen Empire was taken out
of the way it was impossible for a Christian dominion to rise up
in its room ch
pire was taken out of the way at the opening of the sixt seal
as we have newly explained: & at the opening of the seventh
seal the Man of sin was revealed. whose coming was with
all signes & lying wonders for setting up the worship of the dead
Saints as you have heard above. This Prophesy is called the
Revelation of Iesus Christ & this revelation was performed
by opening the seales in order & the opening of the last seal
was the revelation of the man of sin. This Prophesy is made by
This Prophesy is called The Revelation of Iesus Christ & the revelation
is made by opening the seals in order untill the Man of sin be re
vealed, whose coming th
the worship of dead men as you have heard above. The Apostle tells except there come a falling away first & that Man of sin be revealed the Son of perdition.
There came a generall falling away by the setting up of Saint-
worship & therefore the Man of sin was then revealed. The time
is best determined by the holding of the four winds.
At the opening of the fourth seal the Empire was invaded
on all hands by barbarous nations so as to bee in great danger
of falling: but Dioclesian & his colleagues repulsed the invaders
& restored the Empire to a flourishing & formidable estate &
the great & his sons. Some wars Constantius had with the
Persians & Alemans but not great & rather with advantage
& glory then danger to the Empire, so that his Empire
equalled that of his father, as you may learn out of Gre
gory Nazianzen's first Oration against Iulian written
immediately after Iulian's death, where he thus expos
tulates with Constantius for making Iulian Emperor. Quodnam hoc consilium suscepisti qui omnes non tuæ solum sed etiam superioris memoriæ Imperatores animi solertia et acumine longe antecellebas? Qui barbaras nationes per gyrum repurgabas tyrannos
of the Empire till the Persians beat & slew Iulian the
successor of Constantius: after which shock the Empire was
quickly invaded on all hand sides. Hoc temporevelut per universum orbem Romanum bellicum canentibus buccinis, excitæ gentes sævissimæ limites sibi proximos pessultabant: Gallias Rhætias.
And whilst the Emperors were busy in repulsing these enemies
the Huns Alans & Goths passed the Danube in two bodies, over
came & slew Valens & made so great a slaughter of the were busy in repulsing these enemies the Goths mixed with some the Hunns Alans & Goths passed the Danube in two bodies, overcame & slew Valens & made so great a slaughter of the
Roman Army that Ammianus saith: nec ulla Annalibus præter Cannensem ita ad internecionem res legitur gesta
the beginning of the calamities & ruin of the Empire. So Ruffin aQuæ pugna initium mali Romano Imperio tunc et deinceps fuitbHæc clades Romani Imperij ac totius Italiæ exitium fuit. Hoc ergo fuit cum Thracias tenuissent licenter Romanorum vastabant provincias: P. Diac. Hist miscel. l. 12. c 14.
in the year 378, & new the Goths freely depopulated all Thrace
& the neighbouring Provinces from the walls of Constantinople to e
Alps. And at the same time Gratian laboured under a difficult
war with the Alemans in Gallia & Rhætia, so that the Empire
was in danger of falling.
new Emperor Theodosius & their captains by many
checkt the Barbarians & quieted the Empire & reduced it to an
universal peace
statum videret, — Theodosium Orientis præfecit imperio, qui Alanos Hunnos
et Gothos incunctanter aggressus magnis multis
tinopolin victor intravit Oros. l. 7. c. 34. Hinc igitur militibus animorum
ipso
nunciatæ
Proximo anno (A.C. 380) Gratiano 5 et Theodosio Aug. Coss. victoriæ nunciatæ
sunt amborum Augustorum. Et ipso Anno [post bellum confectum] ingressus est
Theodosius Constantinopolidd Zos. l. 4.
had described the same war, he adds:
Theodosio quidam alij quo
permistos Hunnis ultus est et prelio superatos Istrum trajicere suas
repetere compulit. Hinc igitur militibus animorum fi
lulum
et agricolis exercendarum aperarum suarum quidem Imperator in
hunc modum acceptis detrimentis mederi visus est.
writes Claudian de 4to Consulatu Honorij:
To the same purpose speake Ierome, Prosper, Marcelline, Victor, Gregory Nazianzen,
Socrates, & Sozomen. And how the wars ended with the Scots in Britain,
& Austorians in Afric & Cyrenaica & the Isauri in Asia &
& Quadi in Pannonia were ended before the year 380 you may see in Ammi
anus, & also how
stopt by Gratian. Iornandes mentions also an incursion of the Vandals Gallia supprest by Gratian when Theodosius lay sick at Thessalonica chch
held before econtinued quiet t ceased till the death of The
odosius & then brake loose again to hurt the earth & the sea. By the
winds I understand not civil wars but invasions. The invaders were chekt
for a time but seating themselves upon the borders of the Empire &
some of them having seats granted within the Empire they were quiet lay ready till the death of Theodosius for an opportunity
for a time &
to invade the Empire anew.
Gallia supprest by Gratian when Theodosius lay sick at Thessalonica ch
was in the year 380. ffor before the end of this year the empire was
quieted in all places & thenceforward remained quiet from invasions till e
death of Theodosius, this warlike & victorious Emperor continuing all his reign
to check & keep out the barbarous nations by force; as Pacatus in his
Panegyric above mentioned chthis E this Emperor himself
a little after his victory over Maximus, A.C. 388, thus describes.
ne in urbibus tuis et a populis tuis te videri, quem fere nulla in solo
suo natio externa non vidit, id
vultus i
tutis tuæ fulmen exceperint nominis terrore permulsi et velut afflati
quiescant. Tua enim Imperator auspicia non
tremunt quas ab orbe nostro sylvarum intervalla vel flumina
montesve distinguunt: sed quas æternis ardoribus inaccessas aut conti
nua hyeme separatas aut interfusis æquoribus abjunctas natura
determinat. Non Oceano Iudus, non frigore Bosphoranus, non Arabs
medio sole securus est. Et quo vix pervenerat nomen ante Roman
accedit Imperium. Dicamne ergo receptos ad servitium Gothos, castris
tuis militem, terris sufficere cultorem? Dicam a rebellibus sa
pœnas polluti fœderis expetitas? Dicam interdictum Scythis Tanaim?
imbellis arcus esse fugientis Allani? Quæcun
robore ferocia, numero gravis unquam nobis fuit, aut boni con
sulit, aut quiescit, aut lætatur, quasi amica si servi
far Pacatus. And as Theodosius kept the Empire quiet so he left
it quiet at his death.
apud Mediolanum constitutus diem obijt: Oros. l. 5. c. 35. Omnibus
inimicis Theodosius superatis in pace rebus humanis Mediolanum
excessit: Iornandes de Regn. Success. Theodosius filijs Imperium nullis
seditionibus turbatum
l. 11. c. 22. In pace rebus humanis, annum agens quinquagesimum apud
Mediolanum excessit: utram
Honorio quietam relinquens: S. Aurel. Victor.
being succeeded by children & leaving his elder son Arcadius Emperor
of the east under the tuition of Ruffin & his younger son Honorius
Emperor of e
assistance to gain the
into the eastern empire the barbarous nations who lay next it, & they
harrassed all that empire for about 11 or 12 years together & shook it
with incredible violence: & then Stilico called into the Western Em
pire the rest of the barbarous nations who ruined that Empire &
brake it into ten kingdoms. And these wars the Romans a
upon as the effect
Valens perished, & b
that war th
a full end to that war but only restrained it by force during his
warlike reign, the barbarous nations lying ready to pursue their
hostilities so soon as the restraint should be taken off. Which I note
because it is the character of the winds. ffor the winds were held by
force that they should not hurt the earth & sea (or Eastern & Western
Empires) till after a certain time, & continued ready to break out &
blow upon them so soon as the restraint should be taken off. By these
winds I understand, not civil wars but forrein invasions, such winds as
were held at the four corners of the earth or borders of the Empire &
blew upon it from thence, the armies of forreign nations a third part of the things in the earth & sea the earth &
Sea, or, as is afterwards represented, a third part of the things in things in Earth Sea rivers sun Moon &
the earth sea rivers Sun
stars, or as is afterward or
in this prophesy. One third part is the Greek Empire stricktly called
the earth. Another third part is the Sea Latine Empire stricktly
called the Sea, & another third part is the winds ch
that is the nations ch
more especially the nations of Dacia. For Dacia being conquered
by Trajan remained a Province of the Roman Empire for many
years, & at length the empire brake into three principal parts
the kingdom of Dacia, the Greek Empire & the Latine Empire. And
the kingdom of Dacia in the reign of Dioclesian & Constantine the
great & his sons
in the reign of Ermaneric its last king Ermaneric to equal
& Germany together. And out of this kingdom came the nations ch
invaded the Empire on the four sides of Rome & thereby composed
the four winds cht the nations of the
Ostrogoths, Visigoths, Vandals, Alans, Chatti, Burgundians, Gepides, Lombards,
Heruli, Rugi, Sarmatæ,
granted seats in Dacia to Catualda king of the Marcomans; & the
Marcomans & Quades & Sarmatæ
invaded them Greek Empire in the reign of Arcadius. The Hunns also
seated themselves in Dacia & from thence invaded the Romans. The
Salian Francks were a part of the western Empire
till the winds began to blow hurt the earth & Sea.
We shewed above that the prophesy of the sixt Seal
extended to the death of Valens, & the next thing is the
holding of the four winds. They began to be held in e
379 & were fully checkt & ceased in the year 380, & at the
same time all noise ceased & there was silence in heaven about
the space of half an hour. This silence was made by
ing of the winds: for noise denotes war & silence peace. With
the holding of the winds & ceasing of all noise the times of
the seventh seal began. During
hundred & forty four thousand servants of God sealed out of all e
twelve tribes of Israel & the rest received the mark of the Beast while are sealing
upon the golden Altar, that is, war, to the earth, &
quake that is battels & shaking of dominions, ch
not of the lasting & pernicious wars of forreign invaders, but of
represented by the winds, but of the civil wars between Theo
dosius & the Tyrants Maximus & Eugenius, ch
in battels & in the overthrow of the Tyrants without harassing
& wasting the Empire.ch
themselves to sound their trumpets to seven great wars, the
four first of chch
four corners of the earth & were to hurt the earth & the
sea & the trees. These winds respect the city Rome as the center
in the center & blow in the same order that the four Beasts
appeared, the first being chiefly an eastern, the second chiefly
a western, the third chiefly a southern & the fourth chiefly
a northern wind; & they hurt the earth, the sea, the trees, the
ships, the mountains, the rivers & the sun moon & stars, that
is, the whole frame of the Roman Empire; & extinguishing
the old dominion of Rome make way for a new dominion
of that city. These winds being the wars of forreign invaders
who were checkt & restrained for a time by Gratian & Theo
dosius, must be understood to break out a fresh & to begin
to hurt the earth & sea when those forreigners begin
again to invade & harrase the Empire with great & lasting
violence, ch
& division of the Empire between his sons.
The first of the four winds is an eastern wind and ch
two horned Beast arose. For at the sounding of the first
Angel there followed hail & fire mingled with blood
[that is a bloody fiery violent tempest of war] & they were cast upon the earth & the third part of the earth was burnt up & the third part of the trees were burnt up [the earth & trees of that eastern Empire ch
of the three parts of the subject of sacred prophesy] & all green grass was burnt up: that is, the people of the
Greek Empire great & small signified by trees & grass,
were t
war. And so the first Vial was poured out upon the earth & there followed a noisome & grievous sore [or painful
tedious war] upon the men who [by the influence of the
two horned Beast] had the mark of the [other] Beast & worshipped his Image. For Theodosius who had checkt
the barbarous nations died in Ianuary A.C. 395. And from
that time
pire was invaded & most grievously afflicted by barbarous nati
ons, besides what it suffered by pestilence famin & other disasters
For so soon as Theodosius was dead Ruffin to whom he left the
tuition of his eldest son Arcadius the eastern Emperor, thinking
to get that Empire to himself, called in the nations of the north.
And first Alaric th
rians, the very same year, rising out of Thrace where the
Emperor
towns nor men, & going thence by Thessaly into Achaia
he rased almost the whole country, & amongst other
cities Thebes & Athens. Then rushing into Peloponnesus
he laid wast Corinth Argos & Sparta with many other
cities & from thence betook himself into Epire where he
continued the same devastations depopulations. And the next
year going out of Epire he over-ran Achaia & for four
years together continued to wast it & Epire & the neigh
bouring Provinces with fire & sword.
At the same time that
A.C. 395, there brake into Thrace & Pannonia from beyond
the
of Huns Alans Ostrogoths Sarmatans Quades & Marcomans,
who harassed those & the adjacent regions for some years
together, but chiefly Thrace. And in the same yeare
also
another great inundation of Huns from the regions of
Cilicia. And besides all this, ab
very much under the depopulations caused by Gainas a Goth who being one of Arcadius's Generals & turning Traitor b
of Ostrogoths & conspired with Tribigildus (or Targibilus)
another Goth who being set over some bands of Barbarians
in Asia, withdrew his obedience & fell to depopulate Phrygia,
Pamphylia, Lydia, & the adjacent regions. And after them
spread first Armenia Cilicia Mesopotamia & both Syrias
& then all the lesser Asia to the very Hellespont, together
with the Island Cyprus: dividing themselves into many
little troops, that they might by overrunning all at once,
do the more mischief. Whence they were compared to
thieves. Nor did Egypt, Libya Cyrenaica, Pentapolis
& the neighbouring parts of Afric suffer less by the
invading Mazaces & Auxorians Austurians or Saturians
whose incursions began A.C. 396 & were at the height
about seven years after.
In the mean while when Alaric had for five years
together harassed the regions of the Greeks, he determined
to invade the western Empire, & passing out of Macedon into
Dalmatia Ila
those regions & then brake through Noricum into Rhætia
& from thence came over the Alps
& in a short time made himself master of the cities there
& beseiged the Emperor Honorius at Hasta, so that every
one began to think of leaving their seats in Italy. But
Stilico the next Spring b
with a difficult but notable victory & then again at Verona.
And whilst these things were doing Radagaisus a Pagan & king
of another dynasty of the Goths prepared a far greater army
then that of Alaric consisting of Goths Sarmatans & Germans
to the number of four hundred thousand if we may believe
Zosimus or according to the least accounts c
thousand & d
of Venetia & having wasted many cities in the way beseiged
Florence, but was there beaten & his army ruined by Stilico.
The grassation of Alaric in Greece is thus described by
Zosimus.
Thessaliam
aditu per Thermopylas in *
um progrediebantur, viros quidem cujusvis ætatis interriment
autem et mulierculas gregatim una cum opibus universis ceu partam
prædam abigentes. Ac Boætia quidem tota cæteræ
nes, quascuntransibant Thermo
pylarum transibant Barbari, plane jacebant; et eversionem
suam hodie
partim ob urbis munitionem, partim quod Alaricus Athenas
capere properans, earum obsidioni non inhæsisset. — Sed
Atheniensium civitas hoc tempore in extremum conjecta
periculum evasit. Alaricus autem Attica tota vastationis
experta relicta, in Megaridem transibat, & oppido primo im
petu capto, Peloponnesum itinere continenti petebat obstaculum
nullum expertus. Cum
fecisset omnes ab eo deinceps urbes citra laborem et pugnam
capi poterant quod nullis essent munitæ mœnibus propter eam se
curitatem quam Istmus eis præstabat. Ita
rinthus cum finitimis oppidis vi capiebantur & secundum hanc
Argos una cum ijs locis quæ inter hanc et Lacedæmonem inter
jacerent. Ipsa quo
Zosimus here writes that Attica & the cities of Thebes &
Athens escaped these flames but Baronius
& Eunapius proves the contrary. The passage of Claudian
In the passage of Eunapius besides are these words:
et inexplicabiles clades non multo post exundarunt (quas in his
toriæ spatiosis campis diffusius narravimus —) quando Alaricus
cum Barbaris per Thermopylarum fauces pervasit, non secus
quam per apertum stadium aut campum liberum et equorum
cursui patentem.
nomina. Ac velut ex hostia consumpta sola pellis superest, ani
malis quod olim aliquando fuerat indicium: sic inde deducta Philo
sophia, restat ut oberrando Academiam ac Lycæum mireris. –
– Athenæ quondam civitas fuit, domicilium Philosophorum: nunc
eam mellatores celebrant.
The following depopulations of the west by the same Alaric
is thus hinted by Socrates:
ad Occidentis partes transgressus est, cum
late cuncta vastari cœpit. Porro transeunti obstiterunt Thessali
circa ostia Peni fluminis — commissa
millia ex ejus exercitu perimerunt. Posthac barbari qui cum
illo erant quicquid obviam fuit igne ferro
Nor were these regions depopulated by Alaric only but by
other barbarians before him as is to be collected out of Claudians
poem de bello Gildonico written A.C. 398 where he speaks thus
of the western Empire.
Where note that Illyricum is to be taken not in a strict sense
for Dalmatia & Liburnia only, but also for Pannonia & Noricum.
ffor so largely was the word then used, as tou may see in Notitia
Imperij Romani: And by Ierom's information Pannonia suffered
in this storm as well as Dalmatia, & probably more sha
nearer the barbarians
Again Vindelicia & Noricum after they had felt the
fury of Alaric were invaded by another army of Barbari
ans from beyond the Danube whilst Alaric was harrassing
Italy: of ch
Also after the repulse of Alaric nations
further desolations by Radagaisus & others, all cha
in another place written when the wars of this trumpet
were ceased in a manner ceased & those of the next newly
begun, has thus endeavoured to express.
hominibus
quo
testis Thracia, testis in quo ortus sum solum (i.e. Dalma
tia) ubi præter cœlum et terram et crescentes vepres
et condensa sylvarum, cuncta perierunt. Iram quippe Dei
optimi maximi etiam bruta sentiunt animalia. Quid multis
opus verbis? Romanus corruit Orbis. Occidens in Germani
am translatus est.
The irruption of the Huns into Armenia & e
provinces, Ierome who was then in the east describes thus:
subito discurrentibus nuncijs Oriens totus intremuit. Ab ultima
Mæotide inter glacialem Tanaim et Massagetarum imma
nes populos, ubi Caucasi rupibus feras gentes Alexandri
claustra cohibent, erupisse Hunnorum
pernicibus equis huc illuc
cuncta complerent. Aberat tunc Romanus exercitus et
bellis civilibus in Italia tenebatur. Insperanti ubi
et famam celeritate vincentes, non religioni, non dignitatibus,
Cogebantur mori qui nondum vivere cœperant, et nescientes
malum suum inter hostium manus ac tela ridebant. Consonus
inter omnes rumor petere eos Hierosolymam, et ob nimiam
auri cupiditatem ad hanc urbem percurrere. Muri neglecti
pacis incuria sarciebantur. Antiochia obsidebatur. Tyrus
se volens a terra abrumpere insulam quærebat antiquam.
Tunc et nos compulsi sumus parare naves, esse in littore,
adventum hostium præcavere, et sævientibus ventis magis
Barbaros metuere quam naufragium.
And in his third Epistle, written I suppose in the second or
of the irruption (A.C. 396 or 397) the same Ierome
laments the afflicted estate of the Empire on both sides e
eo amplius anni sunt cum inter Constantinopolim et Alpes
Iulias quotidie Romanus sanguis effunditur. Scythiam, Thraciam,
Macedoniam, Dardanian, Daciam, Thessaliam, Achaiam, Epiros,
Dalmatiam, cunctas
lanus, Hunni, Vandali, Marcomanni vastant, trahunt, rapiunt.
Quot matronæ, quot virgines Dei et ingenua nobilia
ra his belluis fuere ludibrio? Capti Episcopi, interfecti
Presbyteri et diversorum officia clericorum; eversæ Eccle
siæ, et ad altaria Christi stabulati equi; martyrum effossæ
reliquiæ: Vbi
Romanus orbis ruit, et tamen cervix nostra non flectitur.
Quid putas animi nunc habere Corinthios, Athenienses,
Lacedœmonios, Arcadas cunctam
Barbari? Et ecce paucas urbes nominavi in quibus olim non modica fuere regna non modica. Immunis ab his malis
videbatur Oriens & tantum nuncijs consternatus. Ecce tibi
anno præterito ex ultimis Caucasi rupibus immissi in nos
jam non Arabiæ sed Septentrionis lupi tantas brevi
Provincias percurrerunt. Quot monasteria capta? Quantæ
fluviorum aquæ humano cruore mutatæ sunt? Obsessa
Antiochia, et urbes reliquæ quas Halys, Cydnus, Orontes,
Eufrates
Phœnice Palestina Ægyptus timore captivæ. Non mihi si
linguæ centum sint ora
pœnarum percurrere nomina possim. Ne
proposui scribere sed nostras breviter flere miserias.
a little after he adds:
dibus, plus pene bella civilia quam hostilis mucro consumpsit.
— Xerxes cum de sublimi loco innumerabilem vidisset exer
citum, flevisse dicitur quod post centum annos nullus eorum
superfuturus esset. O si possemus in talem ascendere speculam
de qua universam terram sub nostris pedibus cerneremus jam
tibi ostenderem totius Orbis ruinas, gentes gentibus et regnis regna
alios ad servitutem trahi — et non Xerxis tantum ex
ercitium, sed totius mundi homines qui nunc vivunt in
brevi spatio defuturos. Vincitur sermo rei magnitudine,
et minus est omne quod diximus.
Claudian also who was equally an eye-witness &
sufferer in the tempest, describes it very elegantly in a
poemt about e
soon after) comparing it to the relaxation of a wind as
if he meant to be an interpreter.
The beginning of these miseries on this side of the Hellespont
the Poet a little before describes more particularly, speaking
thus of the traytor Ruffin
And a little after:
The grassation of Tribigildus you have thus described in Zosi
mus:
subsistere jussis præerat — Assumptis autem Barbaris in quos
habebat imperium, quicquid erat in medio situm invadebat,
nec aut virorum aut mulierum aut puerorum cædibus absti
nens & obvia quæ
coegit multitudinem mancipiorum aliarum
narum ut Asiam totam in extremum periculum con
jiceret. Nam et Lydia plena variæ perturbationis erat
omnibus prope dixerim ad loca maritima confugientibus,
cum
Asia mari finitima periculum se quantum alias nunquam
— Tribigildus dein omni vastata Phrygia, Pisidas adortus
est — et factum ut obsistente nemine quævis oppida per
vim caperentur, omnes illorum incolæ cum ipsis militibus
inficerentur, nemo deni
After this the Historian declares how when the forces of
Tribigildus were diminished & his confederate Gainas sent
him new supplies, he raged more then before for a time
& consumed one of the Roman armies ch
him. But let us hear Claudian's description of these desolations
Gainas also who secretly set Tribigildus on work at first, pretend
ing then to go against him, when he came there committed the
same depopulations, whereof Socrates makes this mention:
Gothus Magister utrius
versam ex sedibus suis accivit. Et contra Tribigildum Phrygiam
vastantem profectus est ducens secum Gothorum barbarorum max
imam multitudinem. Qui cum Phrygiam esset ingressus, cuncta
cœpit subvertere. Romanis verò gravis subitò invasit trepidatio
tum ob ingentem numerum Barbarorum qui cum Gaina erant,
tum quod oppulentissimis Orientis Provincijs ad omnia opportu
nis grave periculum imminebat.
The incursions of the Isauri are expressed briefly in Mar
celline's Chronicle thus:
(i.e. A.C. 405) Isauri per montem Tauri discursantes ingens
dispendium reip. importarunt.
Istrum transgressi Thraciam vastants percurrerunt, Huldam
ducem habentes. Et Isauri quidam prædones perquam feri ingenti
coacta multitudine, Phœniciam at
sitæ sunt urbes excursionibus extremisaa In Bibl. S.
this short mention of it:
Latino sermone translatum librum tuum remitterem multa
in medio impedimenta fecerunt; Isaurorum repentina irruptio,
Phœnices Galilææ
Hierosolymæ, et nequaquam librorum sed murorum extructio.
So Chrysostom in th
ment A.C. 404:
nos affertur Isauros cum infinita hominum manu Cæsariensem
regionem populari et magnum quoddam
nia:
Isauris nimirum cuncta ferro at
69:
nunc in Vrbibus, nunc in terræ faucibus & sylvis commorati sumus
ab Isauris in nos impetum facientibus omni ex parte vexati et exagi
tati, —— et præter id quod singulos in dies, ut ita dicam, pro foribus
nostris mors est, Isauris videlicet omnia invadentibus, at
ferro tum corpora tum ædificia delentibus, famem etiam, quam loci
angustia et eorum qui huc confugiunt multitudo minatur, perti
mescimus.b
Theodoret c
And Zosimus: Superiore anno (sc. anno 404) Isauros in Pamphiliam
Dum familiares Principis de vastatis [Constantinopoleos] ædificijs
instaurandis cogitabant, al
Isaurorum multitudinem, quæ supra Pamphyliam Ciliciam
semper in asperrimis et inaccessis Tauri montibus degit, in
latronum manipulos divisam regionem subjectam invadere. Ac
oppida quidem munita tentare non poterant, vicos autem mœ
nibus destitutos et obvia quævis irruendo vexabant, quos in
cursus id ipsis faciliores reddebat quod istæc regio paulo
ante fuisset ab hostibus capta, Tribigildo cum barbaris suis
rebellionem molito. His nunciatis Arbazacius [or
Dux mittitur qui laborantibus Pamphyliæ rebus succurreret
&c.
lia & Cilicia: but out of Philostorgius who lived in those
times it appears that they were of much greater extent.
Further the lapsed state of Phœnicia
The desolation of Libya under the invading Austurians Syne
sius laments in many of his Epistles (as Epist, 57, 73, 78, 93, 103, 122,
124, 125) but chiefly in his Catastasis a discourse written in
the seventh year of the invasion when the enemy after some
conflicts with the Roman soldiers had mastered all opposition
& newly rased Pentapolis.
lamitatibus dici oporteat quæ in oculis omnium versantur.
—— Pentapolitanæ res heri ac nudius tertius in Romanorum
potestate manserant, qui deinceps amissa ea gente in recensendis
Præfecturis suis illam præteribunt. Prorsus nunc de Pentapoli
actum est; funditus inquam illa concidit: quæ varijs quidem ærum
nis annum jam septimum conflictari cœperat. Sed quemadmodum
cogebat at
annum ad illius tempus adjecit, cum clypeis quidem omnium,
Vnegardorum verò manibus opportunè uteretur. Ita
nonnihil dilata calamitas est. Neque enim confertis copijs
regionem pervagati sunt; ad latrocinia sese converterunt,
fugientes identidem at
instructa acis præliati consilium mutarunt, nunc campos
longe latemi- lites
tempore malum accidit, nec utiles sibi invicem esse possunt
quod non collecti in unum at
hostium res luculentæ et prosperæ sunt. Qui enim superiore
anno velites erant et ad fugam expediti, nunc oppugnatores
urbium sunt. Nunc postquam Pagorum muros everterunt, oppida
ipsa justo exercitu circundant. Quid enim non illis successit?
Ausuriani Thracum equitum loricas induerunt, non quod ijs
opus habent sed ut ornatum at
Marcomannorum clypeis usi sunt. Ad velites at
Romanorum Legio redacta est, qui quidem miseratione hosti
um salutem consecuti sunt. — O veteres illos Romanorum
spiritus! qui ubi
tinentes trophæis suis conjunxerunt: nunc ab infelici dis
persa
Græcas urbes etiam Africanas, ipsam
est Alexandriam amittant. — Proh audaciam illam qua
freti velut retibus universam Provinciam amplexi sunt!
Nullus ijs
ca
perscrutati sunt, ætatem
Olim ex historicum numero ita scribentem nescio quem
audio, Fæminas et puerulos excidiorum ac subversionum
argumento relinquebant. Sed longe aliud Pentapoli con
tigit. Quæ enim Ausuriano possessio commodior muliercula
et infan
locis pepercerunt? Nonne in multis agri Barcæi locis se
pulchra recentia effoderunt? Nonne ab ijsdem ipsis per uni
versam Ampelitidem, quæ quidem sub nostra potestate est,
ecclesiæ omnes succensæ sunt at
dactæ? Nonne sacras mensas perinde ac profanas ad divi
dendas carnes apposuerunt? Mystica porro vasa quibus
ad publicas sacras
dæmonum libationes cæremonias in hostilem regionem trans
lata sunt? Quidnam horum religiosis auribus tollerabile est?
Nam qui commemorare velit quot castella demoliti sunt, quantum
utensilium ac supellectilis avexerint, boves item oves
quæ quidem e Barbarorum præda servatæ reliquiæ in præruptis
montium et cavernis abditæ fuerant: is in tantis malis, non
sine vitio aliquo minutis persequendis nimium anxius videa
tur, quanquam quin
dicuntur, numero autem triplo majore vedeunt, accessione
captivorum tanto plures effecti. Periere, extinctæ sunt Penta
politanæ res, ad exitum venerunt, confectæ sunt occiderunt:
enim Imperatoris ea possessio dici potest, e qua nihil utilitatis
reportet. Ecquis verò fructus ex derto colligere ullus po
Ne
inopia facit ut nondum in alto navigem et ad insulam
aliquam appellam. Nam Ægypto diffido propterea quod eo quo
Camelus pervenire potest Austurianum militem gestans.
In insulis ita
cive ignobilior &c.By this you may understand the miserable
condition of the Libyans of Cyrene & Pentapolis in this &
the following years: but before this, even in the first year
of the Ausurian irruption their afflictions were great enough.
The Ausurians
as is mentioned above & then were quieted till the death of Theo
dosius, & in the year 396 (as Gothofredus in his commentary on
the cha
determins) made a new irruption ch
of his Catastasis calls
in his 129th Epistle the written that same year, thus laments:
frustra speratos
consevimus. Plæris
mentis camelorum, in gregalibus equis: periere omnia, omnia
abacta. Sentio me præ dolore non esse mei compotem, verum
ignosce quæso: mœnibus enim septus sum, & obsessus hæc scribo.
— equorum ungulis pulsantur omnia, omnem
hostes obtinent.
measure checkt by the Roman soldiers as the Emperor
Arcadius mentions in the said Edict dated Theodoro V.C. Const.
that is, A.C. 399. But after this they beat the Roman soldiers
in several battels, destroyed the country of Pentapolis, & made
incursions eastward into Cyrene & Egypt & westward into
Africa as Philostorgius informs us.
The irruption of the Huns under Vldin is thus mentioned by
Sozomen.
fuit, A.C. 404) – Hunni trajecto Istro Thraciam vastarunt. Latrones
quo
Cariam et Phœnicem interjacent una cum vicis populati sunt.
And a little after:
Regulus cum ingenti exercitu amnem transgressus in finibus
Thraciæ castramentatus fuerat, cum
Martis dicitur proditione cœpisset inde in reliquam Thraciam
excursiones faciebat. Nec fadus cum Romanis facere præ superbia
dignabatur.
The terrible invasion of Radagaisus is thus mentioned by
Orosius:
immanissimus repentino impetu totam inundavit Italiam. Nam fuisse
in populo ejus plusquam ducenta millia Gothorum ferunt. Hic supra
hanc incredibilem multitudinem indomitam
Scytha fuit erat: qui ut mos est barbaris hujusmodi gentibus) omnem
Romani generis sanguinem Dijs suis propinare devoverat.
of his invasion is thus set down by Prosper:
norij sæva Italiæ barbarici motus tempestas incubuit: siquidem Rada-
Anno undecimo multis antea vastatis urbibus Radagaisus occubuit.
Marcellin refers his death to the following year A.C. 406, and
so doth Gothofredus out of e
Having run over the particulars I shall now subjoyn
the description ch
of these times as a compendium of what we have hitherto collected
out of various authors. This Photinus has thus contracted:
gius Hunnos qui Scythiæ sunt intra Istrum, cum prius multum
terræ occupassent devastassent
stricto, confertim Romanum imperium adortos, per
am diffusos totam Europam deprædatos. Qui vero ad solem orientem
sunt fluvio Tanai transito & in Orientem effusi per Armeniam
majorem in Melitenam, quæ vocatur, irruperunt: exinde Ephra
tensi incubuerunt et ad Syriam Cœlem us
Ciliciam
Ne
Libyam et Afros habitant) juxta Orientalem eorum plagam
Libyam incursarunt, ne
tarunt. Afros vero incursantes juxta solem occidentem vicina
populati sunt. Adhæc Tribigildus vir Scytha — manum barba
ricam habens et in *a
norem gerens, ex amicitia in inimicitiam versus Romanorum
versus, ab ipsa Nacolia exorsus plurimas Phrygiæ civitates occupavit
magnam
qui et ipse barbarus erat, victoriam prodidit, paria et ipse adversus
Romanos agere cogitans. Exinde Tribigildus quasi Gainam fugiens,
Pisidiam et Pamphiliam invadens deprædatus est. Postea multis
et ipse tum miserijs tum Isauricis pugnis attritus vires suas in
Hellespontum servavit, et in Thraciam transfretans, non multo
post interfectus fuit. Gainas verò post proditionem Ducis ha
bitu Constantinopolim reversus eam sibi subjicere in animum
induxit. Cœlestis verò vis quædam armata visa ijs qui eam
capere cogitabant in ipso actu terrefactis, urbem quidem incendio
liberavit, illos verò deprehensos humano judicio dedidit, multa
cædes eorum fluxit. Gainas vero in tantem metum conjectus
fuit uti — fugeret urbe. Quoniam vero Thracia vastata erat,
neque necessarium quicquam præbere poterat, ne
ferre, Gainas Chersonesum transfretavit ratibus cogitans in
Asiam trajicere, &c. — Præter dicta mala, et Isaurorum
gens varias clades intulit: ad solem quippe orientem Ciliciam
percursarunt et conterminam Syriam non Cœlem modo sed
et alteram ad Persas tendentem. Post patrata autem ibi
incredunda et Thraciam et Pamphyliam aggressi sunt, &
Lycios vastarunt, Cypruno Insulam everterunt, Lycaonas
& Pisidas in captivitatem abduxerunt et Cappacocas, Pontum
us
captivos hi fecerunt. —— Ait etiam Philostorgius quod circa
prædicta tempora Alaricus Gothus genere, circa superiores
Thraciæ partes vires colligens Græciam ingressus sit, et Athenas
sit et Italiam Illyricum, Alpibus
place comprehends all this within the ten years next after the
death of Theodosius.
Besides what the Romans suffered by these wars they were also
much afflicted th
violent & destructive wars. This Photius tells us out of Philos
torgius.
talitas incesserit quantam nulla ætas ab omni sæculo cognovit: et
hanc verò Xiphian astrum portendisse. Ne
sicut olim superioribus bellis, interiere, ne
terræ partem mala hæc constitere, verum omnia hominum genera
periere, omnis verò perijt. Europa, Asiæ haud exigua portio simul
attrita fuit, sed et Libyæ pars magna et maxime quæcun
Romanis paret: Nam et barbaricus ensis magnum numerum confecit
& pestes fames
frequentes urbes domos
exitium dedere, et hiatus terræ alicubi sub habitatoribus ruptæ
sepulchra erant præsentanea. Illuviones item aquarum ex aere
et alibi spicula flammea. Est et ubi turbines ignei
intollerabilem labem intulere. Imò et grando manuali lapide
major plurimum terræ vastavit, ad octo quippe librarum quas vo
cant ponderis us
immanitas quos alia plaga non corripuit hos corripiens vita privavit.
Et hæc manifeste divinam nunciarunt iram quam sigillatim recen
sere supra humanam vim fuerit.ch
this comment.
Theodosio juniore scil.) casibus majoribus divinæ
Xiphian astrum [anno 390 visum] portendisse ait Philostorgius, est
hoc caput. Quod quidem excribit Nicephorus lib. 13, c. 36, ubi in
gentem hominum ubi
rat, tum a barbaris, tum a peste fame
terræ illuvionibus aquarum, spiculis flammeis, turbinibus igneis,
grandine nivibus frigore. Quæ omnia vera sunt et apud alios
scriptores passim occurrunt: in Marcellini Chronico, et Chronico
Alexandrino ubi casus hi per singulos pene annos ab sub Arca
dio et Theodosio juniore jun. memorantur: vide ann: 394, 396, e
Arcadius died in spring A.C. 408 & at that time the wars of
this Trumpet a
the second Trumpet in the west; the regions of Gallia Spain &
Britain continuing quiet b
eastern Empire continuing quiet all the reign of Theodosius jun. &
for a long time after.
And the second Angel sounded and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was cast into the sea [that is, a great
city consuming by war,
dignity & dominion & sunk in the sea whose waters are a
& multitudes & nations & tongues, the great sea out of ch
els four Beasts arose] & the third part of the sea [that smaller
sea out of chchbecame blood [the type of
slaughter & death] & the third part of the creatures w [by a dissolution of their body politich
& & the third part of the ships were destroyed [that is, the habitable [shipwrackt
places of the
in this great tempest of war & sunk down in the sea like the
great mountain The history is as follows.
In the end of the year 407 a great body of barbarous
nations, namely Goths, Vandals, Alans, Burgundians, Suevians
Alemans, Quades, Gepides, Herules &c being invited from their
seats in Germany pass by the treacherous Stilico, passed the
Rhene & from that time invaded first Gallia & then Spain th
revolted & called in other Franks from beyond the Rhene,
& the Visigoths under Alaric leaving their seats in Pan
nonia to the Hunns came into Noricum A.C. 408 & there
hearing of the death of Stilico who for conspiring with
them was slain A.C the same year 10 Kal. Sept. they
went into Italy & besieged Rome & took it twice
years & by famin sword & captivity emptied it of
inhabitants & harassed Italy & thence invaded Gallia
& Spain. And the Picts & Scots invaded Britain. And the
Barbarous nations overpowering the Empire formed
kingdoms on their conquests.
Alaric first beseiged Rome in the year 408, took e
Gate by chth
the siege till many perished by famin, & by eating one another
& by a pestilence arising from the steams of dead carcasses
& A.C. 409
things raised the siege & afterwards treated also th
norius about peace. But the Emperor & those about him having sworn
to have no peace with him refused his proposals tho judged very moderate
& thereupon Alaric returned to Rome & demanded the assistance of
the citizens against the Emperor. They at first refused & he beseiged
the city again & took the gate where their provisions were laid up
& when they were prest with famin the Senate consented & made
Attalus (who was then Prefect of the City) their Emperor, & Attalus
making Alaric
new disgusts
a third time, & after a new famin & pestilence wherein great
multitudes perished took the city in the night Aug 23, A.C. 410,
put some to the sword sparing those who fled to churches, per
mitted his army to plunder the houses, burnt part of the city,
& captivated & disperst the miserable citizens who had escaped
the famin pestilence & sword so that the city continued three
or four years without inhabitants & was afterwards repeo
pled by degrees.
In describing the first of these sieges Zosimus tells us: Famem (ceu consentaneum erat) pestis comitabatur, omnia
plena
cadaveribus erant. Quum
cadavera, quod omnes ex urbe vias hostes obsiderent; urbs
ipsa mortuorum sepulchrum erat
quin etiam in urbe solitudo; ac, si maxime nulla fuisset
alimentorum penuria, vel exhalans e cadaveribus fætor, ad
interficienda corrumpenda
And Ierome:
nare, imò ne pugnare quidem sed auro et cuncta supellectile
vitam redimere: Hieron. Epist. 11.
perit antequam gladio, et vix pauci qui caperentur inventi
sunt ad nefandos cibos erupit esurientium rabies et sua invicem
membra laniarunt: dum mater non parcit lactanti infanti et suo
recipit utero quem paulo ante effuderat: Hieron. Epist. 16. Proh
nefas! Orbis terrarum ruittook the city
citizens to purchase their lives th
goods & by their consent saluted Attalus Emperor of
the West & with Attalus beseiged Honorius at Ravenna
but being there repelled & soon after refused the Emperors
friendship, he returned to Rome in anger & beseiged it again,
& after a new famin & pestilence wherein many perishedtooktook the City a second time Aug. 23, A.C. 410, put the fled to Churches, permitted his army City
he sword except such as
to plunder the houses, burnt part of the city, & captivated
& disperst the miserable Citizens who had escaped the
famin pestilence & sword so that the city continued three
or four years without inhabitants & was afterwards re
peopled by degrees.
pauci reperti sunt qui caperentur inventi sunt. Ad nefandos
cibos erupit esurientium rabies & sua invicem membra
laniarunt: dum mater non parcit lactanti infanti et
suo recipit utero quem paulo ante effuderat: Hieron. Epist.
16.Hence it became a proverb:
nibus,
taneum erat) pestis comitabatur, omnia
bus erant. Cum
vera quod omnem exitum hostes observarent, urbs ipsa
mortuorum sepulchrum erat: adeo quidem ut alioqui
etiam solitudo in urbe foret:
torum penuria, vel exhalans e cadaveribus odor ad inter
ficienda corrumpenda
ruunt. V
hausta est incendio. Nulla est regio quæ non exules Ro
manos habeat: Hieron. ad Gaudentium Epist. 12. Quis
crederet ut totius Orbis extructa victorijs Roma corrueret
ut ipsa suis populis et mater fieret et sepulchrum, ut
tota Orientis Ægypti Africæ littora olim dominatricis
urbis serv
ut quotidie sancta Bethlehem nobiles quondam utrius
at
Quibus quoniam opem ferre non possumus condolemus
et lachrymas lachrymis jungimus: Hieron. Proœm. in
Ezek. 3. Occidentalium fuga et sanctorum locorum con
stipatio nuditate at
ferat barbarorum quos abs
non possumus: Hieron. Proœm. in Ezek. 7. Barbari qui
cum Alarico erant quicquid obviam fuit igne
vastantes ad extremum Romam quo
maximam
consumpserunt: Socr. l. 7. c. 10. Alarico Romam ingresso
cum intra et extra urbem cædes agerent, omnibus in
dultum est qui ad sanctorum limina confugerunt: Idatius.
portum Vrbis Romæ tanquam hostis infestis signis
Romam versus contendit. Exinde verò tantæ gloria
magnitudinem ac potentiam famam externus ignis et
hostilis gladius et barbarica captivitas quasi sortito inter
se diviserunt. Dum Vrbs Roma in ruderibus esset Alari
cus Campaniam deprædatus est, at
successit, qui Placidiam Honorij sororem quam Alaricus
captivam ab urbe Roma secum abduxerat, sponsam acce
pit — nec multo post – interficitur. Exinde Barbari fœdus
cum Honorio percusserunt et Placidiam sororem reddide
runt — cum prius partem Galliarum ad agros excolendos
accepissent. Posthæc autem [i.e. post annum 416 quo
Adaulphus cæsus est & Placidia Imperatori tradita] Roma
a gravissimis malis paululum respirans, incolis frequen
tari cœpit. Et Imperator cum eo advenisset manu si
mul et lingua ædificationem Vrbis comprobavit: Philo
storg. lib. 12. c. 3. 3, 4, 5.
C. 412, & its probable that Rome began soon after to be repeopled.
the Emperor for a further allowance of corn by reason of the
increase of the citizens & added that in one day the new comers
were computed fourteen thousand.
Thus at the sounding of the second Trumpet a great Moun
tain, the Metropolis of the Roman Empire was set on flames by war
& thrown
& dominion & sunk
& multitudes & nations & tongues, the citizens who survived the
siege being thrown out dispersed & scattered into all the Empire
& sinking in the Roman waters into the lowest of dishonour
poverty & misery. And tho the city was afterwards peopled again
yet it was but thinly peopled & recovered it's temporal greatness
no more but was made subject to Ravenna ch
became the Metropolis of this Empire. The sacking of old
Babylon by the Medes is in Ie
citie's being
its
from the evil ch) 64.) And the fall of e
great city Babylon in the Apocalyps is also represented by burning
her with fire (Apoc 18.8) & by casting a great stone like a millstone
into the sea, saying, Thus shall with violence shall the great city
Babylon be thrown down & shall be found no more at all (v. 21.)
And a figure of the very same kind is the casting a great moun
tain burning with fire into the sea. This figure was certainly
taken from Ieremie's prophesy, & alludes unto it, & signifies here
as well as there the great city Babylon burning & sinking. There
it was the old Babylon & here it is the new. There were many
other cities sackt & taken in this war but all these are represented
in general by the third part of the ships ch
great mountain is the great city & the great city in this prophesy is
nent then the rest, the Metropolis of the whole. For this
Prophesy takes notice of nothing in particular but what is
most eminent in the kind. Otherwise the interpretation would
be uncertain. In all the Roman history I meet with nothing be
sides the sacking & sinking ch
burning & sinking mountain can be so well applied; & in all this
prophesy there is nothing besides this figure to represent
the ruin of that city; an event so very considerable as to deserve
to be represented.
As for the wars in other parts of Italy & in Pannonia
Noricum Gallia & Spain I described them above where I shewed
the breaking of the western Empire into ten kingdoms, and
shall only subjoyn here a few passages by which you may
understand their violence. Ierome in his 11th Epistle ad
Gerontium written
raging in Gallia.
ligimus Antichristum appropinquare. Innumerabiles &
ferocissimæ gentes nationes universal
Quicquid inter Alpes & Pyrenæum est quod Oceano et
Rheno includitur Quadus, Vandalus, Sarmata, Alanus,
Gepides, Heruli, Saxones, Burgundiones Alemanni et
(O lugenda respublica!) hostes Pannonij vastarunt.
Etenim Assur venit cum illis. Maguntiacum capta
at
trucidata. Vangiones longa obsidione deleti, Rhemorum
urbs præpotens, Ambiani, Attrebates, extremi
num Morini, Tornacus, Nemete, Argentoratus translati
in Germaniam. Aquitaniæ novem
nensis & Narbonensis Provinciæ præter paucas urbes po
pulata sunt cuncta, quas et ipsas foris gladius, intus
vastat fames. Non possum abshrymis Tolosæ facere
mentionem quæ ut hucus
Exuperij merita præstiterunt. Ipsæ Hispaniæ jam jam
perituræ quotidie contremescunt, recordantes irruptionis
Cimbricæ, et quicquid alij semel passi sunt illi semper
timore patiuntur. a
digno sermone comprehendent? Romam in gremio suo
non pro gloria sed pro salute pugnare, imò ne pugnare
quidem sed auro et cuncta supellectile vitam redimere?
The like miserable devastation of Spain the next year is
thus described by Isidorus in his Vandalic history:
Alani et Suevi Spanias occupantes, neces vastationes
entis decursibus faciunt, urbes incendunt substantiam di
reptam exhauriunt ita ut humanæ carnes vi famis devo
rarentur a populis. Edebant filios suos matres. Bestiæ quo
morientium gladio fame ac peste caveribus adsuetæ, etiam in
omnem Spaniam sævientibus divinæ iracundiæ per prophetas
inscripta olim prænunciato adimpletur.
Idacius refers to the year 16th year of Honorius A.C. 410. And
Prosper who lived in those times & wrote in the year 417 or 418
thus laments the
general
This complaint of the Romans against Gods providence for suffer for suffering them to be thus
ing them to be invaded & subdued by
afflicted is mentioned also by Cassian in his sixt Collation & by Austin
of Hippo in his epistle to Victorianus & occasioned the Book of Salvian
de Gubernatione Dei ch
that the Romans were more wicked then any of those nations ch
invaded them & deserved what they suffered. And here in making
some mention of their sufferings Salvian gives this description of
what he had seen himself at the taking of Trevirs; ch
down as an instance of their sufferings at the taking of other
cities.
omnis civitas bustum esset, malis et post excidia crescentibus. Nam
quos hostis in exidio non occiderat post excidium calamitas ob
ruebat: cum id quod excidio evaserat morti, post excidium non
longis mortibus necabant, alios ambustos hostium flammis,
etiam post flammas pœna torquebat. Alij interibant fame
alij nuditate, alij tabescentes, alij rigentes: ac sic in unum
exitum mortis per diversa morientium genera corruebant. Et
quid plura? Excidio unius urbis affligebantur quo
tates. Iacebant siquidem passim, quod ipse vidi at
utrius
avibus canibus
mortuorum: mors de morte exhalabatur; ac sic etiam qui
excidijs supradictæ urbis non interfuerant mala alieni
excidij perferebant.
He describes also how in general how the Romans by the
condition & remained so till the time of his writing.
fuerant aut ablata aut immutata sunt, sola tantum vitia creve
runt. Nihil nobis de pace et prosperitate pristina reliquuum
est, nisi sola omninò crimina quæ prosperitatem non esse
fecerunt. Vbi nam
dignitates? Fortissimi quondam Romani erant, nunc sine
viribus. Timebantur Romani veteres, nos timemus. Vectigalia
illis solvebant populi barbarorum, nos vectigales barbaris
sumus. Vendunt nobis hostes lucis usuram. Tota admodum
salus nostra commertium est. O infelicitates nostras! ad
quid devenimus? et pro hoc gratias agimus barbaris a quibus
nos ipsos pretio comparamus. Quid potest esse nobis abjectius
vel miserius; et vivere nos post ista credimus quibis vita
sic constat? Insuper etiam ridiculos ipsi nos esse facimus:
aurum quod pendimus, munera vocamus. Dicimus donum esse
quod pretium est et quidem petium conditionis durissimæ ac
miserrimæ. Nos semper redimimur et numquam liberi
sumus. Illorum more dominorum nobiscum barbari agunt,
qui macipia obsequijs suis non necessaria, mercedibus
dependendis locant. Similiter enim non unquam ab hac
sumus liberi functione quam pendemus. Ad hoc quippe
mercedes jugiter solvimus ut sine cessatione solvamus.
The wars of this Trumpet upon granting seats to the
Barbarians in Gallia Spain & Pannonia abated & by the coming
of the Goths out of Italy into Gallia & Spain & other new occa
sions increased & continued with more or less violence continued
almost without intermission untill the year 427 when peace
was concluded between the Goths & Romans, and the Vandals
having slain that same year almost 20 twenty thousand Romans
in battel passed into Afric & began the wars of the next Trumpet.
The wars to ch
Tr
politinext wars ch
of water or e
western empire was divided before the sounding of that Trumpet
And the third Angel sounded & there fell a great star from heaven burning as it were a lamp [the Emperor of the
west & it fell upon the third part of the rivers
[ch
subject of sacred prophesy] & upon the fountains of waters [the
head cities of those kingdoms.] And the name of the star is called wormwood [bitterness of affliction] & the third part of the waters became wormwood, & many men died of the waters because they were made bitter [i.e. the nations of the third part
ction, & many died a death politit
The figure of a great star burning as it were a
lamp & falling
that of the e
sea. The only difference is that the mountain signifies
a reigning City & the star a king with his body politi
This figure is taken from Isaiah's prophesy against the
king of Babylon, where he thus compares that king
to the morning star falling from heaven.How art thou fallen from heaven o Lucifer son of the morning How art thou cut down to the grownd who didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God, I will sit upon the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north, I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the most High: yet thou shalt be brought down to Hell, to the sides of the pit. As the old Prophets represent the fall of old Babylon
by the falling of a burning mountain & the fall of its king
by the falling of the bright morning star: so Iohn
represents the fall of new Babylon & that of its king
by the falling of a great burning mountain & by that
of a great star burning like a lamp. Certainly this
star cannot be applied to any thing more properly then
to the western Emperor. For tho several kingdoms
were now rent from him yet he retained still a great
dominion reigning over all Afric, Italy, Rhætia, Noricum,
Istria, Illyricum & part of Gallia & Spain. And even Afric
alone was as big or almost as big as Gallia & Spain together
For Baronius
Donatists & disputed by the Catholicks. But upon the sounding of the
third Trumpet this Empire became involved in new th
it wasted & fell gradually for almost fifty years together &
then sunk & vanished.
ffor in the year 427 the Vandals mixt with Alans & others
sailed out of Spain into Afric, invaded Mauritania, approached
more & more into the country, wasted all places, beat the Roman
army under the command of Boniface,
A.C. ch
turned to Rome & Aspar to Constantinople & Trig
them in Afric & opposed the Vandals with various success till
both being weary they made peace
Possidius Bishop of Af Callama who was present to these miseries,
thus laments in his oration upon the death of Austin Bishop
of Hippoye month of e
nit ut manus ingens diversis telis armata et bellis exercitata
immanium hostium Wandalorum, et Alanorum commixtam
secum habens Gothorum gentem aliarum
um personas ex Hispaniæ partibus transmarinis navibus Africæ
influxisset & irruisset, universa
etiam ad alias nostras trajiciens provincias & regiones, omni
sæviens crudelitate et atrocitate cuncta quæ potuit expo
liatione, cædibus, diversis
innumerabilibus et infandis malis depopulata est, nulli
sexui, nulli parcens ætati nec ipsis Dei sacerdotibus
vel ministris, nec ipsis ecclesiarum ornamentis seu
instrumentis vel ædificijs. Et hanc ferocissimam hos
tium grassationem et vastationem, ille homo Dei et
factam fuisse et fieri non ut cæteri homines sentiebat
et cogitabat: sed altius et profundius ea considerans &
in his animarum præcipue vel pericula vel mortes præ
videns; solito amplius fuerunt ei lacrymæ panes die ac nocte, amarissimam
bat vitam. Videbat enim ille homo Dei civitates
excidio perditas pariter cum ædificijs, villarum
tatores, alios hostili nece extinctos, alios effugatos at
dispersos:
virgines
et in his alios defecisse tormentis, alios gladio interemptos
esse,
integritate ac fidei) malo more ac duro hostibus deservi
re. Cernebat etiam hymnos Dei et laudes de ecclesijs
deperisse, ædificia ecclesiarum quam plurimis in locis
ignibus concremata esse, solemnia quo
vel non quæri, vel quærenti qui tradat non facile inve reperiri: in ipsas montium sylvas et cavernas petra
niri
rum et speluncas confugientes, vel ad quascun
fuisse expugnatos & interfectos, alios necessarijs sustantaculis
evolutos at
ecclesiarum præpositos & clericos, qui forte Dei beneficio
vel eos non incurrerant, vel incurrentes evaserant, rebus
omnibus expoliatos at
nec eis omnibus ad omnia quibus fulciendi essent, sub
veniri posse. Vix tres superstites videbat ex innume
rabilibus ecclesijs, hoc est Carthaginensem, Hipponensem
et Cirtensem quæ Dei beneficio excisæ non sunt, et
earum perman
præsidio; licet post ejus obitum urbs Hipponensis incolis
destituta, ab hostibus fuerit concremata.
During the peace between the Emperor & the Vandals, Geise
ric their king molested the Catholick Clergy of Afric, removing and
banishing many of them upon pretenses of their reflecting upon him
in their sermons & killing some of them:
A.C. 437 infested the mediterran sea with piracy & the next year
wasted many Islands & chiefly Sicily. And Geiseric the year follow
ing invaded the Romans again by land & took Carthage the richest
& most populous & potent city in
Senators, seized the wealth of the city, & subdued the Province &
made Carthage the seat of his kingdom. And the next year A.C.
440 he invaded Sicily wasting all places there as he had done in
Afric. Then the Greek Emperor A.C. 441 sent against him a fleet
of sixty ships ch
success, & the year following a peace was made with him by both
Emperors. Of what consequence these
Empire, Salvian hE
Geiseric married his son Hunneric to the daughter of
Theodoric king of the Visigoths, & upon suspicion of her pre
paring poison for him, cut off her nose & sent her back
to her father & to prevent revenge sent to Attila king
of the Hunns
deric. Whereupon Attila with an army of five hundred
thousand Hunns, Ostrogoths, Gepids, Herules, & other barbarians
A.C. 451, passed the Rhene, entred Gallia, wa & wasted
many cities, but was beaten by the united force of the
western Emperor & the barbarous kings of Gallia, & re
tired into Scythia th
the next year A.C. 452, having got up a bigger army
winter & marched thence in spring into Italy to revenge himself on
the western Emperor for assisting the Visigoths, & beseiged Aquileia.
The city held out till his army began to grow weary but at length
was taken. Thence Attila marched towards Millain & Pavia plun
dering the cities as he went & the next winter passed the Po &
directed his course towards Rome, but was opposed by Ætius th
made peace with the Romans, retired into Pannonia with many
captives & died the next year, A.C. 454, & the kings of the Ostro
goths, Gepids & other nations under him revolted from his sons.
Before the end of this year
contrived the death first of Ætius & then of the Emperor Valen
tinian & invaded the western thone. And thereupon the Em
press Eudoxia the widdow of Valentinian, invited Geiseric
king of the Vandals to come to her assitance against
Maximus: & Geiseric the next
fleet of three hundred thousand Vandals & Moors invaded
Italy, took & plundered Rome & many other cities &
carried thence the wealth of the cities & flower of the
people into Afric.
digna lac
vacuam Geisericus obtinuit, — et per quatuordecim dies
continuos
opibus suis Roma vacuata est, multa
vorum prout quis
cum regina [Eudoxia] & filiabus ejus Carthaginem ab
ducti sunt. Prosper apud Euseb. l. 1. Paul. Diac. l. 15.
Exinde regum multorum divitias cum populis captivavit.
Quæ dum multitudo captivitatis Africanum attingeret
littus, divendentibus Vandalis et Mauris ingentem populi
quantitatem ut moris est barbaris, mariti ab uxoribus,
liberi a parentibus separabantur. Victor de persec. Vandal.
l. 1. Gazam omnem Imperatoriam in
secum in Africam tulit: ac siqua erant Romæ decora,
item
partem dimidiam abripuit. Vnam vero ex his navibus ubi
statuæ fuerant tempestate perijsse dicunt, cæteras inco
lumes in Africam delatas. Procop. de bello Vand. l. 1.Amongst other things were the vessels of the Temple of
Ierusalem ch
avidus prædæ in Campaniam incursat, Capuam evertit
Neapolim expugnat, Nolam obsidet, urbes reliquas
diripit - - - onustus præda cum ingenti captivorum nume
ro Africam repetit. Aventinus in Annal. Boi. et Pompon. Læt.
The next year A.C. 456 they invaded & conquered
Afric from the Empire. And then they
dinia Majorca Minorca & several other Isles of the Medi
terranean & infested the seacoasts of Italy & all Europe th
yearly incursions till & depredations till the western Em
pire fell. n
Africæ ambitum obtinuit nec non et insulas maximas
Sardiniam Siciliam Corsicam Eubusum Majorcam Minor
cam et alias multas sub
Victor de Vand. Pers. l. 1. Post mortem Valentiniani,
aliquot annos veris initio continuò longas fecit prædando
et populando incursiones, nunc in Siciliam, nunc in Italiam
civitates insuper partim diripiendo partim solo æquando:
ubi vero omnia delevit, ad Orientis conversus Imperium
Illyricum omne simul et Peloponnesum, his
insulas cum reliqua Græcia invadit. Ad Italiam rursum
Siciliam
de bello Vandal. l. 1. Quæ verò Geisericus in Hispania
Italia Dalmatia Calabria Apulia Sicilia Sardinia Brutijs
Lucania Epiro vel Hellada gesserit, melius ibi ipsi qui
passi sunt miserabiliter lugenda narrabunt. Victor Hist.
Vand. lib. 1 in fin
mius, speaking of the short reign of the Emperors after
Valentinian saith
Alexandria etiam fuerit timore concussa. Etenim hæc habent a
Gentes manavit Gensericum regem Wandalorum bellum
gerere adversus Romanos magno apparatu & majori
audacia, et quod magna manu pervenit Alexandriam,
eam sibi volens belli facere
angebatur magistratus et ipse Imperator." Baronius ad
Ann. 465 sect. 33.
When the Romans had lost Afric the Emperor Majoranus
prepared great forces against the Vandals to recover their loss
& sailing to Afric laid seige to Carthage A.C. 458; but fell sick
& was forced by the Vandals to retire without success. And the
Vandals thenceforward continuing very troublesome to both Empires
the Greek Emperor Leo A.C. 468 sent against them a navy of a thou
sand one hundred & thirteen ships & an hundred thousand men &
recovered Sardinia & Tripolis: but his fleet in sailing towards
Carthage was met by the fleet of the Vandals & put to flight
with
of the Greeks beat the fleet of the Vandals upon the coast of
Sicily & forced them to fly to Carthage. Then Ricimer falling
out th
A.C. 472, & after the city had suffered
it & gave his soldiers the plunder. This was the third time that
Rome was taken & plundered. In the mean time Geiseric
to recover him self, sollicited the Ostrogoths to invade both
empires; ch
Glycerius bought off those who entered Italy & perswa
ded them to go into Gallia & joyn themselves with those
of their own nation who would the Visigoths, who would
give them seats. But t
much strengthened thereby made war upon the Romans
& drove them out of Gallia. And now Odoacer king of Herules
& Turcilings, nations ch
ing that the western Empire was grown small & poor &
weak & disturbed & unable to defend it self, came th
an army over the Danube into
476, beseiged & took the Roman army in Pavia, marched
thence against the Emperor Augustulus, took Ravenna &
Rome, & in one year put an end to the western Empire.
All which is related by Sigonius in his book De Occidentali
Imperio.
Thus did this great Star fall by degrees flaming th
burning like a lamp & sinking in the midst of the many rivers
of water into ch
And this his fall was effected by Geiseric king of the Vandals who
from the time that he invaded Afric made war upon the Romans
about fifty years together almost without intermission & upon the
ruins of the western empire erected a very potent kingdom in Afric
& the Isles of the Mediterranean, & also occasioned the wars of the
Hunns & the losse of all Gallia & Spain to e
powerfull fleet by yearly invasions & rapines took away the wealth
& people of Italy till this Empire became too weak to support it
self any longer. This was the effect of the southern wind.
But because this Star is called wormwood & the waters became
wormwood & many men died of the waters because they were made
bitter: that you may understand how much the Roman waters were
embittered by the
wars & devastations written by Victor an African Bishop ten years
annus ex quo populus ille crudelis ac sævus Vandalicæ Gentius A
fricæ miserabilis attigit fines, transvadens facili transitu per angustias
maris qua inter Hispaniam Africam
bissenis millibus angusto se limite coartavit. Transiens igitur
quantitas universa, caliditate Geiserici ducis, ut famam terribilem
suæ faceret Gentis, ilico statuit omnem multitudinem numerari
us
Qui reperti suntmen fit to bear arms eBut Victor out of enmity to eed the number
parvúli, servi vel domini, octaginta
millia numerati. Quæ opinio divul
gata us
armatorum tantus numerus æstimatur,
cum sit nunc exiguus et infirmus.
Invenientes agitur pacatam quie
tam
totius terræ florentis, quaquaversum
impietatis agminibus impendebant,
devastando depopulabantur, incendio
at
nino parcebant, ne forte quos antra montium aut prærupta terra
rum, vel seclusa quæ
illis pabulis nutrirentur: et sic eadem at
furentibus, ab eorum contagione nullus remansit locus immunis.
Præsertim in ecclesijs basilicis
sceleratius sæviebant —— Quanti tunc ab eis præ
pontifices et nobiles sacerdotes diversis pœnarum generi
bus extincti sunt, ut traderent siquid auri vel argenti
proprium vel ecclesiasticum haberent. Et dum hæc quæ
erant, urgentibus pœnis facilius proderentur, iterum crude
libus tormentis oblatores urgebant autumantes quandem par
tem non totum esse oblatum; et qu
plius quempiam habere credebant. Alijs palorum vectibus ora
reserantes, fœtidum cænum ob confessionem pecuniæ fauci
bus ingerebant. Nonnullos in frontibus & tibijs nervis re
mugientibus torquendo cruciabant. Pleris
alijs acetum, amurcam, liquamen
crudelia tanquam utribus imbutis ori impositis sine miseri
cordia peri porrigebant. Non infirmior sexus, non conside
ratio nobilitatis, non reverentia sacerdotalis crudeles animos
mitigabat: quinimmo ibi aggerebatur ira furoris, ubi hono
rem conspexerant. Quantis sacerdotibus, quantis
bus onera ingentia ut camelis vel alijs generibus jumento
rum, imposuerint nequeo enarrare, quos stimulis ferreis
ad ambulandum urgebant, quorum nonnulli sub fascibus
miserabiliter animas emisere. Senilis maturitas at
randa canicies, quæ cæsariem capitis ut lanam candidam
dealbarat, nullam sibi ab hospitibus misericordiam vindicabat.
Sed etiam parvulos ab uberibus rapiens maternis Barba
rus furor, insontem infantiam elidebat ad terram. Alij par
vulum pedibus tenentes, a meatu prorsus naturali us
arcem capitis dissipabant. —— In ædificijs nonnullis magna
rat, tectis admodum despicatis pulchritudinem parietum solo
æquabant, ut nunc antiqua illa speciositas civitatum, nec
qui
aut raris aut nullis habitatoribus incoluntur. Nam et ho
die siqua supersunt, subinde desolantur, sicut ubi Car
thagineo dignam theatro ædem Momoriæ, et viam quam
Cœlestis voc
munitiones aliquæ videbantur, quas hostilitas barbarici
furoris oppugnare nequiret, congregatis in circuitu
castrorum innumerabilibus turbis, gladijs feralibus
cruciabant, ut putrefactis cadaveribus, quos adire non
poterant arcente murorum defensione, corporum
liquescentium enecarent fœtore. Quanti et quam
numerosi tunc ab eis cruciati sunt sacerdotes ex
plicare quis poterit? Tunc e
venerabilis Papinianus antistes, candentis ferri la
minis toto adustus est corpore. Similiter et Man
suetus Vricitanus in porta incensus est Fornitana
qua tempestate Hipponeregiorum obsessa est civitas
quam omni laude dignus beatus Augustinus librorum
multorum confector, pontifex gubernabat. —— Quid
multa? Post has trucis impietates insaniæ, ipsam urbem
maximam Carthaginem Geisericus tenuit et intravit,
et antiquam illam ingenuam ac nobilem libertatem
in servitutem redegit. Nam et senatorum urbis non
parvam multitudinem
decretum et unusquis
vestimentorum
et ita in brevi avitas at
abstulit rapax. Disponens quo
vincias, sibi Byzacenam, Abaritanam, at
am et partem Numidiæ reservavit exercitui vero
Zeugitanam vel proconsularem funiculo hæredita
tis divisit. Valentiniano adhuc Imperatore reliquas
licet jam exterminatas provincias defendente. Post
cujus mortem totius Africæ ambitum obtinuit, nec no
et insulas maximas Sardiniam, Siciliam, Corsicam, Ebu
sum, Majorcam, Minorcam vel alias multa superbia
sibi consueta defendit. Quarum unam illarum id
est Siciliam Odoacro Italiæ regi postmodum tributario
jure concessit, ex qua eis Odoacer singulis quibus
poribus, ut dominis, tributa dependit, aliquam sibi
tamen reservantibus partem. Præterea præcipere nequa
quam cunctatus est Vandalis ut episcopos at
nobiles de suis ecclesijs
rent. Quod si optione proposita exire tardarent, servi
tos enim episcopos et laicos claros at
esse novimus Vandalorum.
After the fall of the western Empire, I meet the Vandals made war upon their neighbours th
other new memo
for many years tho not th
I meet with not other lasting & more memorable wars before
that ch
nations in Italy, & therefore I still refer the wars of the
Vandals to the third wind. For the Vandals continued to
vex Italy & the neighbouring regions with piratical
their fleet some years after the fall of the western Em
pire; Baronius saith till the marriage of Trasamund king
of the Vandals with Amalafrida sister of Theodoric
king of the Ostragoths; & this marriage he refers to e
year 500, Sigonius to the year 512. The words of Baro
nius are:
canos et Italos cum sanxivisset fœdus Rex Theodoricus
cum Wandalorum rege, a quo hactenus frequentes fiebant
in solum Italicum incursiones. Stabilita est enim inter
eos pax fœdere nuptiarum, data ei [sc. Trasamundo] in
matrimonium Amalafrida. De qua inita inter eos concor
dia hæc Ennodius in Panegyrico Theoderici: "Quid casti
gatas Wandalorum, ventis parentibus, eloquar deprædatio
nes, quibus pro annua pensione satis est amicitia tua?
Evagari ultra possibilitatem nesciunt, Duce sapientia: affines
esse meruerunt quia obedire non abnuunt."
And besides these wars by sea they had others by land
with the Moors. We told you that at the sounding of this Trum
pet when the Vandals entered
also rose up in arms & invaded the Romans. After Geiseric had
erected the kingdom of the Vandals in Afric the Moors grew quiet
& continued quiet all his reign being afraid of him
his death, ch
the taking of Carthage, that is, in Ianuary A.C. 477, a
made war upon up in armsthe Vanda his
son & successor Huneric & the following kings of the Vandals,
mischief from them.
ric they fought many battels. They warred also with Trasa
mund the successor of Gundamund & in the end of his reign
gave him a total rout whereby he lost almost all his army.
After ch
war with bad success, & was therefore deposed & succeeded
by Gilimer. For ch
being a friend to Hilderic sent an army into Afric under
the conduct of Belisarius, who in two
That ch
sented by the waters becoming wormwood is at the pouring
out of third Vial of wrath represented by their becoming
blood. When they be By their becoming wormwood it is
to be understood that they were only tinged with wormwood
& became bitter: & so by their becoming blood it is to be
understood that they were only bloodied or tinged with
blood. And
people of the western Empire here signified by the
waters were in bitter affliction through the wars & ch
pet. Ieremy in lamenting the desolation of Iudah by Nebu
chadnezzar, uses the like expressions: The ways of Zion do mourn because none come to the solemn feasts. All her gates are desolate, her Priests sigh, her virgins are afflicted and she is in BITTERNESS. Lament. 1.4. He hath filled me w ththRemember mine affliction, the . v. 19
This bitterness of affliction represented here by wormwood
& gall was arose from the desolation of Iudah by war: & e
desolation of Afric by the wars of this Trumpet was as
great or greater & is as much lamented by Victor. Adveniant omnes qui mecum angustæ viæ carpunt iter, et propter verba labiorum Dei vias custodiunt duras, et videant si est dolor sicut dolor meus. Quoniam vindemiata sum in die furoris Domini. Aperuerunt super me ossuum omnes inimici mei. Sibularunt et fremuerunt dentibus: dixerunt, Devoravimus eam. En ista est dies quam expectavimus, invenimus, vidimus. Adestote Angeli Dei mei — et videte Africam totam dudum tantarum ecclesiarum eccleijs fultam cuneis fultam, nunc ab omnibus desolatam; tantis ordinibus sacerdotum ornatam, in in capitibus omnium platearum sed etiam in locis squalidis metallorum. — Quæsivit a patribus Orientis qui simul contristaretur, et non fuit; consolantem et non invenit: dum manducaret in esca sua fel, & in siti sua potaretur aceto
& the rest of the Apostles & Saints, & then concludes his
history with this prayer Dicatur Angelo percutienti, sufficit: jam cohibe manum tuam. Quis igno
which the Roman Catholicks were punished by these plagues
& yet the more they were punished the more they worshipped
them: Or, as is exprest in the two next Vials of wrath, They
blasphemed God because of their pains & repented not. But
this was not the only crime for ch
nished, they were guilty also of shedding the blood of saints.
And I heard the Angel of the waters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, which wast, & art, & shalt be, because thou hast judged thus: For they have shed the blood of saints & prophets,
When Attalus was made Emperor, Honorius fearing least the Dona
tists in Afric should side with him, repealed the laws which he had
made against them ch
blood. Whereupon a Council of African Bishops ch
thage 14 Iun. A.C. 410 sent four of the Bishops in their name to
the Emperor to procure a revocation of that repeal: & the
Emperor not only revoked that repeal but ma
ment capital by this Edict.
Oraculo penitus remoto quo ad ritus suos hæreticæ superstitionis obrepserant, sciant omnes sanctæ legis inimici plectendos se pœna et proscriptionis et sanguinis si ultra convenire per publicum, exceranda sceleris sui temeritate temptaverint. Dat. VIII Kal. Sept. Varane V.C. Cons. (A.C. 410.)
And five years after, when Heraclianus was dead & his acts abro
gated, to remove all disputes about the validity of this law &
shew that the laws of the Empire did not depend upon
the lives
enforced the former edict with this
Sciant cuncti qui ad ritus suos hæresis superstitionibus obrepserant sacrosanctæ legis inimici, plectendos se pœnæ et proscriptiones et sanguinis si ultra convenire per publicum exercendiexercendi sceleris sui temeritate temptaverint: nequa vera divina. [A.C. 415.]
These Edicts being directed to the governour of Afric were in
force only in Afric & comprehended the Donatists & all others who
separated from the Roman Catholick Church & met apart to wor
ship God. For the Donatists are expresly called Hereticks in
former laws Edicts, and when a question was moved whether
one Euresius was a Luciferan Bishop was comprehended within
the laws against hereticks the Emperors explained the word
by this Edict.
Hæreticorum vocabulo continentur, et latis adversus eos sanctionibus debent succumbere, Qui vel levi argumento a judicio Catholicæ religionis & tramite detecti fuerint deviare: ideo. [A.C. 395]
By this Edict it is manifest that all sectaries or Separatists were
Hereticks in the sense of the Roman Laws. And therefore by
the laws above recited it was made a capital crime in
Afric to separate from the Roman Catholick & meet
apart for divine worship upon any pretence whatever. The
Roman Catholicks by their worshipping dead men, their magical
use of the signe of the cross, their spirit of persecution
manifested in these & former laws & the great load of heathen
superstitions & other humane inventions with which their
worship was soiled, gave sufficient cause of separation, & yet
by these laws made it death to separate. This is killing
men for not being of the Roman Catholick communion. This
is that sort of persecution by ch
the saints & overcame them, that sort of persecution by ch
the Whore of Babylon became drunken th
& of the martyrs of Iesus. Theodosius indeed put forth a law
for punishing the Enclch
a very ill president; but those laws respected only two or
three particular sorts of ill men, these were against all men
who were not of
they were the first laws of this this kind & gave a beginning to
that sort of persecution ch
the blood of Saints & prophets, the crime of the Africans was
the greater & the punishment was suitable. For when
the Vandals first invaded Afric that country was very
populous & in a very flourishing condition, consisting of about
seven hundred bishopricks, ch
Spain & Italy together: but by the wars between the
Vandals Romans & Moors it was depopulated to that
degree, that in the reign of Iustinian who overthrew the
for a travellour to see a man. Procopius endeavours to
make Iustinian guilty of this devastation.
patentem ita perdidit
hominem conspicere rarum sit ac miraculo propinquum
Atqui Vandalorum qui arma ferrent fuerant ibi millia
octoginta. Mulierum puerorum servitiorum nunierum quis
dixerit? Iam Afrorum tum urbes habitantium tum agros
colentium tum mari viventium tanta erat (nam ipse
vidi) multitudo ut ab homine nullo exprimi possit. His
autem plures multo Mauri. Omnes illi cum fæminis
ac sobole stirpitus interiere. Tum verò et Romanorum
militum & qui eos Byzantio secuti fuerant, magnam
partem ea terra sepelit. Quare siquis dixerit interijsse
in Africa quinquies decies centena hominum millia,
minus, opinor, vero dixerit.
by the wars of Iustinian & how far by former wars during
all the reign of
to
secutions together it was wonderfully dispeopled & left
almost destitute of inhabitants,: so that in Iustinians reign God pouring out
it was rare for a travellour to see a man
this Vial of wrath upon the Africans with so great se
verity, because they shed the blood of his saints &
foot those bloody persecutions ch
Catholic Church to this day.
Odoacer reigned over Italy about 14 years. In the mean
timeth
king of the Ostrogoths, gave him seats in Dacia Ripensis & part of
Mœsia, adopted him to be his son, made him Master of the horse,
Patricius & Consul of Constantinople, & to divert the Ostrogoths
from invading the eastern Empire gave him the kingdom of
the West, recommending to him the Roman people & Senate.
Theoderic thereupon led his nation into Italy, conquered Odo
acer & extended his dominion over Italy, Sicily, Rhetia,
Noricum, Dalmatia, Liburnia, Istria, & part of Suavia, Pan
nonia & Gallia. Whence Ennodis in a Panegyric to Theo
dead limitem suum Romana regna remeasse.
doric reigned th
the Romans with singular benevolence, governed
own laws & restored their Empire under their Senate & c
absteining from the title. præf parentibus præfuit
saith Procopius,
ipsi abesset. Iustitiæ magnus ei cultus, legum
custodia. Terras a vicinis barbaris servavit intactas, soler
tiæ fortitudinis
nec afficiebat ipse, nec affici ab alijs sinebat, dempto
quod partem agrorum quam Odacri milites possederant,
inter se Gothi partiti sunt. Verbo igitur I
Imperator & clarissimis quibus id nomen obtigerat
nulla parte minor, multum a Gothis, æque ab Italis
amabatur, more scilicet humani ingenij, quo fit ut
cum in imperio gerendo alij alia sequantur instituta,
statim placeat regimen, quibus res e voto eveniunt: grave
sit illis quibus non e sententia res cadunt. Adeptæ po
tentiæ post annos septem et triginta vivendi fecit finem,
tam hostibus semper formidatus quam ingens sui desi
derium subditis relinquens.
Hypatio Coss [A.C. 500] DN. Rex Theodoricus Romam cunctorum
votis expetitus, advenit: et Senatum suum mira affabilitate
tractans, Romanæ plebi donavit annonas; at
randis mœnibus, deputata per annos singulos maxima pe
cuniæ quantitate, subvenit: sub cujus felici imperio
plurimæ renovantur urbes, munitissima castella con
duntur, consurgunt admiranda palatia, magnis
bus antiqua miracula superantur.D.N. gloriosissimus at.
after the fall of the western Cæsars revive & flourish forty
& two years together under Theodoricus & his successor Atha
laricus, so that Evagrius the historian calls them Administra
tors of the western Empire & others write that the western
Empire was translated to them, & Procopius an eye-witness, introduces th
Romanis Italiam eripuere Gothi. Odoacer eam Imperatoris cum
cæde raptam, cum alter Imperator Orientem obtinens Zeno,
ulcisci interfectum, Italiam servitio eximere quærens, sed
virium quas Odoacro opponeret, non satis apud se reperiens,
Theuderichum principem nostrum, qui ipsi tum Zenoni obsidium
minabatur, permovit ut inimicitiam recentem condonaret
memoriæ dignitatum a se acceptarum (et Patricius quippe
et Consul Romanus fuerat) de Odoacri autem in Augustu
lum scelere pœnas sumeret, Italiam
in po
liæ imperium, legem statum
minus quam Imperatorum qui maxime. Theuderichi et eo
rum qui in Gothorum principatum ei successere, nullæ leges
extant, non scriptæ, non moribus constitutæ. Quæ Dei cultum
credita
mus, ut Italorum nemo seu volens sive invitus sententi
am mutaverit, Gothis qui mutavere idem fuerit innoxium
Ipsas quo
colimus: nemo unquam qui ad ea perfugit mali vel
minimum perpessus est. Publicos honores indigenæ tenent,
nemine Gotho participe. Si mentior, sit qui arguat. Ad
dere et hoc licet, permissu Gothorum, Romanos quotannis
Consulatum, dante Orientis Imperatore, accipere. Hæc cum
ita se habe
Odoacer et Barbari decem totos annos vexant, expilant
nunc verò eos qui jure tenent per injuriam invaditis.
Now the four winds signifying four great & durable
wars between the Romans & Barbarians & the fourth being
a northern wind in respect of Rome, & there being no such
war after the fall of the western Cæsars during all the
reign of Odaocer Theodomir & Athalaric: we may reccon
that the fourth wind, or war to which the fourth Trumpet
sounded, did not begin before Iustinian sent an army under
Belisarius & other captains against the Ostragoths, & put an
end to the peaceable & happy times of the Romans under that
the characters of the fourth wind. It began A.C. 435, which was
the year after Iustinian had conquered the Vandals in Afric &
thereby put an end to the third wind. It was waged almost wholy
in Dalmatia, Liburnia, Venetia, Lumbardy, Tuscia & the other
parts of the Empire of the Goths ch
It was very lasting: for it continued about seventy years;
twenty years between the Romans & Ostragoths & fifty years
more between the Romans & other barbarous nations. And it
was very violent & destructive. Procopius an eye witness
reccons that some millions of men perished in the war
between the Romans & Ostrogoths. In taking Millain alone
the Goths slew all the males young & old amounting
(as Procopius reccons) to three hundred thousand, & sent the
weomen captives into Gallia to their allies the Burgundians.
And how many were slain or captivated in other sieges & in Battels &
inrodes or perished by famin & pestilence the consequence of great wars,
is difficult to estimate. Rome her self was taken & retaken
several times & thereby her people were thinned, her old govern
ment by a Senate & Consuls ceased, her Nobles were ruined &
all her glory was extinct, & after a war of seventeen years
continuance the kingdom of the Ostragoths
her husband & her Sun. Thus at the sounding of the fourth Angel the third part of the Sun was smitten & the third part of the Moon & the third part of the stars so as the third part of them was darkned: & the day shone not for a third part of it & the night likewise: that is, the Sun Moon & Stars of the
third part were darkned.
After the ruin of the Gothick Empire ch
552, the a remainder of the Goths & an army of Germans ch
they had called in to their assistance continued the war three
or four years longer: & then ensued the b
who, as cperimebant cunctam Italiam
all Italy. And after that the war of the Lombards the
fiercest of all the barbarians continued from the year 568
for 38 years together, facta tali cladequalem a sæculo nullus meminit
A.C. 605 by a lasting peace then made with the Lombards.
Eleven years before it ended, Gregory the great then Bishop of
Rome thus mentions it: ee Greg. Mag. Viginti jam et septem annos ducimus quod in hac Vrbe inter Longobardorum gladios vivimus.
three years before it ended he mentions it thus. ff Idem lib. 11, Epist. 45 ad Phocam Imp. Indict. 6. Edit. Rom.Qualiter enim et quotidianis gladijs et quantis Longobardorum incursionibus, ecce jam per triginta quin.g
consumption of the Romans by these wars: Ex illa plebe in- numerabiliinnumerabili quanti remanseritis aspicitis et tamen adhuc quotidie flagellæ urgent, repentini casus opprimunt novæ res et improvisæ clades affligunt.h
lationsof Destructæ urbes, eversa sunt castra, depopulati agri in solitudinem terra redacta est. Nullus in agris incola, pene nullus in urbibus habitator remansit. Et tamen ipsæ parvæ generis humani reliquiæ, adhuc quotidie et sine cessatione feriuntur, & finem non habent flagella cœlestis justitiæ. Ipsa autem quæ aliquando mundi Domina esse videbatur qualis remansit Roma conspicimus innumeris doloribus multipliciter attrita, desolatione civium, impressione hostium, frequentia ruinarum. —— Ecce jam de illa omnes hujus sæculi potentes ablati sunt. —— Ecce populi defecerunt. — Vbi enim Senatus? ubi jam populus? contabuerunt osse, consumptæ sunt carnes, omnis enim sæcularium dignitatum ordo extinctus est, et tamen ipsos nos paucos qui remansimus adhuc quotidie gladij adhuc quotidie innumeræ tribulationes premunt. — Vacua jam ardet Roma. Quid autem ista de hominibus dicimus? Cum ruinis crebrescentibus ipsa quo.
were witness of the truth. And the same Gregory tells us in
his k
the Lombards there was a Revelation made to one Redemptus
a Bishop in these words. Finis venit universæ carnis. Finis venit universæ carnis. Finis venit universæ carnis.
revelation Gregory understood of the end of the world &
expounded it after this manner.
illa terribilia in cælum signa secuta sunt, ut hastæ at
igneæ ab aquilonis parte viderentur. Mox effera Longobardorum
gens de vagina sua habitationis educta, in nostram cervicem
grassata est; at
multitudine quasi spissæ segitis more surrexerat, succisum aruit.
Nam depopulatæ urbes, eversa castra, concrematæ ecclesiæ, destru
cta monasteria virorum et fæminarum, desolata ab hominibus
prædia, at
nullus hanc possessor inhabitat, occuparunt bestiæ quæ prius
multitudo hominem tenebat et quid in alijs mundi partibus
agitur ignoro: nam in hac terra in qua nos vivimus finem suum
non nunciat sed ostendit.ll Baron. An. 567. sect. 15, 16.At nequis putet mendax fuisse Oraculum de fine universæ carnis prædictum: sciat his verbis non sæculi consummationem significatam sed gentis Italicæ cladem: sicut olim Deum per suum Prophetam comminatum fuisse constat, ubi ait; Hæc dicit Dominus Deus terræ Israel: Finis venit: Finis venit super quatuor plagas terræ: Nunc finis super te &c Sicut ergo finem universæ carnis minitate Propheta, non mundi est demonstratus interritus, sed imminentes tantum clades præfiguratæ fuere; ita pariter eadem quæ prædicta sunt Redempto, accipienda erunt. Certe quidem finis ROMANI OCCIDENTALIS IM
PERII cum Longobardi Italiam invadentes rerum potiti sunt. Etenim post paucos Exarchas Constantinopoli ab Imperatoribus in Italiam missos qui Ravennæ considere consuevere, ijsdem diu prævalentibus Longobardis, Occidentis Imperium penitus collapsum est, ne.
And thus did the Sun, that is, the kings of the barbarous
nations, scorch & principaly those of the Lombards, scorch men
with great heat, as is exprest at the pouring out of the
fourth Vial, that is, with great heat of war. And men were scorched with great heat & blasphemed the name of God who had power over these plagues & they repented not to give him glory. Blasphemy is in all this prophesy put for idolatry,
& the names of blasphemy for the names of idol fals Gods.
Men blasphemed the name of God because of the heat & re
pented not: that is they invoked & worshipped their fals Gods
because of their affliction & were so far from repenting
that the more they were in affliction the more they wor
shipped
They invoked the saints before, but now they worshipped them
with more devotion & ceremony. Now they began to invoke
them in their publick supplications or Litanies for averting
where the supplications were to be made. Now they began to carry
the Pictures & Images of
moting their veneration to pretend that they were ancient reliques.
of Pictures & Images in churches or demolished those ch
there placed then at those men who worshipped them. And now
they began also to say Masses for souls in Purgatory. And these things
were set on foot by the devotion of
being a Monk was much inclinded to superstition, For he new &
being learned & very diligent & well skilled in business he new
modelled the Roman service & ceremonies & by his preaching
writing visible humility
cles gained such a reputation among the people clergy &
people as gave credit & authority to his institutions, so that
they were received & followed in after ages & still continue
book of the sacraments, his Kyrie eleisons & Antiphonies & his
institution of Litanies & Stations, subjoyns.
sanctissimo viro commemorem? cum omnis institutio eccle
siastica
bata: quem quidem ordinem utinam sequeremur. Non
abhorrerent hodie a lectione officij viri docti, quemadmo
dum faciunt propter barbariem nescio quam illi latini
tati et compositioni additam.
Litanies called the greater supplications with a sevenfold
procession to the Church of the Virgin Mary, & they tell
us that in making those processions upon Easter day A.C.
591 t
was carried before him, & an Angel was heard speaking
to the holy Virgin & saying Regina cœli lætare, Allelujah, quia quem meruisti portare, Allelujah, resurrexit sicut dixit, Allelujah.
Gregory, he presently by divine inspiration completed it
after this manner, Ora pro nobis Deum Allelujah.
soon after
the scabbard, at the sight of ch
told the people that God's wrath was appeased & the
raging plague was at an end. And accordingly from
that time the plague abated. And henceforward, saith
Sigonius, the solemn Antiphony of the Church continued
as an argument of joy at the resurrection. These things
are affirmed by Sigonius who saith that he related them
as they are written in the Rituals of the Roman Church
And now by this great miracle the solemn Antiphony of
worship, it has not only continued in use ever since yearly upon Easter
day & from thence to Trinity Sunday, but has been a president for
inserting other invocations of the Virgin Mary & the rest of the
Roman Saints into the publick worship of that Church
is no ch
them by some prayer, vow, or hymn
saying Ave Marys to the Virgin as
to God Almighty.
And as Gregory had the Image of the Virgin carried before him in
procession so Austin the Monck when he was sent by Gregory into England
went singing of Litanies th
carried before him. And about the same time
commanders
wars ch
was called
spected & venerated as a very sacred relique. And when Serenus
Bishop of Marseils seing some Images set up & worshipped
by some of the people brake the Images: Pope Gregory
reprehended him for it, saying,
torum quicun
extra ecclesiam propter amorem Dei & Sanctorum ejus
adorare vero eas nequaquam cogimus. Frangere vel destruere
eas etiam siquis voluerit non permittimus.
gory erected statues in the Oratory of his Monastery & he
raised a dead man to life prostrated themselves before the Ima
ges in prayer to God, &, saith Pope Hadrian, they were heard. He
erected Images also in Churches & sent them as presents to his friends.
And about six years after his death, Pope Boniface IV by the consent
of the Emperor Phocas (whom Gregory had
of the Virgin Mary & all the Martyrs in the place of the Images of
Cybele & all the heathen Gods in the Pantheon at Rome & in their
honour instituted the annual feast of all saints.
the Pantheon Sigonius refers to the year
Boniface convened a Council at Rome as Beda relates. In the Office
for this ffestival there is this Angeli, Archangeli, Throni et Dominationes, Principatus et Potestates, Virtutes Cœlorum, Cherubim atPlacare, Christe, servulis, Quibus Patris clementiam, t Tuæ ad tribunal gratiæ, Patrona Virgo postulat. Et vos beata per novem Distincta gyros agmina, Antiqua cum præsentibus Futura damna pellite. Apostoli cum vatibus apud severum judicem, vVeris reorum fletibus Exposcite indulgentiam. Vos purpurati Martyres, vos candidati præmio confessionis, exules vocate nos in patriam. Chorea casta virginum, Et quos eremus incolas Transmisit astris, cœlitum locate nos in sedibus. Auferte
Ovile nos Pastor regat.
These prayers & hymns you may find in the Roman Breviarys
From all which it appears that after Pope Gregory began to
recommend the invocation of saints & use of images & to intro
duce them by miracles into the publick worship of the Roman
Church, this sort of devotion increased very fast so as
the space of 18 or 20 years all the saints began to be
solemnly invoked & all their images erected & venerated
in the Churches at Rome from whence this worship by the
Popes authority was soon
Men begain to invoke the Martyrs in their private
devotions & to paint the Martyries with the histories of
their passions soon after the reign of Iulian the Apostate
as I gather from the writers of that age Basil, Epiphani
us, Basil Gregory Nyssen, Paulinus of Nola, Prudentius, Austin
of Hippo & Euodius the earliest writers who mention the
painting of Martyries & Churches. And about seventy
years after the reign of Iulian they began to place
images in t
erecting of images became common the superstition was
checkt for a time by the wars of the barbarous nations
who differed in religion from the Roman Catholicks & for
the most part reigned over the city of Rome. But after
the kingdom of the Ostrogoths fell & Rome came into the
hand of the Exarchs of Ravenna who were Catholicks, &
Agilulphus king of the Lombards by means of his Queen Theo
delinda became also a Roman Catholick (ch
the year
advance their gainful superstitions of invoking the saints
& honouring their reliques & images, & at the same time
gaining the universal Bishopric became more able to
propagate it then before.
Vpon the death of Constantine the great the Pope began
to claim appeals from all the world & was supported in
his claim by the western bishops, & stifly opposed by the
eastern. This difference between the Eastern &
subduing them, was
the wilderness. But she was humbled for a time first by the con
quest of the western Empire by the eastern in the reign of Constan
tius & then by the sacking of Rome & division of the western
Empire into ten kingdoms, eight or nine of ch
northern Barbarians differed from the Catholicks in religion. This
oppression of the western Roman Catholicks made them unite more
firmly into one body under the Pope for strengthning themselves,
so that after a few years the acknowledgement of the Pope's
authority became
Catholicks, & to be converted to this religion implied the acknowledg
ment of the union of the Churches under him,& therefore
ten kings upon their conversion to the catholick faith con united under the Pope as the common Bish
sented to this union
op of all their churches. And first the Francks submitted to
it upon the conversion of Clodoveus their king A.C. 496,
Remigius bishop of Rhemes being ma
bishop over France.
of Reccarede A.C. 59
the reign of Agilulf king of the Lombards & Brittain begat
to submit A.C. 596 by the preaching of the Austin the
monck to the Saxons, & the Exarchate of Greek
Empire submitted by the grant of the Emperor Phocas A.C. 606.
Thus the ten kings began to be of one mind & to agree & give
their power & strength & kingdom to the Beast. And hence
forward by the Popes universal authority Images began
to be erected every where in churches after the example
of what was done in the Pantheon & other churches at
Rome. And because the Church of Rome began now to
reign over the ten kings & enticed them to this idolatrous
religion & thereby became rich & potent, she is hence forward
with gemms, who lives deliciously & se
mountains & upon the ten horned Beast in a spiritualy barren
wilderness & commits fornication with the kings of the
earth & makes the nations drunk with the wine of her
fornication & abounds with gold & silver & pretious stones &
pearles & fine linnen & purple & silk & scarlet & all things
of price & enriches the merchants of the earth with her
costliness: & in the prophesies of Isaiah she is elegantly
represented by the merchandizing city of Tyre in these words
Howl, ye ships of Tarshish for your strength is laid wast. And it shall come to pass in that day, that Tyre shall be forgotten seventy years according to the days of one king.The days of a king was a phrase for the age of a man, as I gather fre
After the end of seventy years shall Tyre sing as an har
lot. Take an harp, go about the city, thou harlot that hast
been forgotten, make sweet melody sing many songs that thoumayestmayest be remembred. And it shall come to pass after the end of seventy years, that the Lord will visit Tyre & she shall turn to her hire, & shall commit fornication with all the kingdoms of the world upon the face of the earth; & her merchandise & her hire shall be holiness to the Lord. It shall not be treasured nor laid up; for her merchandise shall be for them that dwell before the Lord, to eat sufficiently, & for old-fashioned cloathing. This prophesy cannot be applyed to the old
city Tyre in a litteral sence. For a whore is in sacred prophesies
put for the Church of God in a state of idolatry. God is her
husband & by idolatry she forsakes him & goes a whoring
after other Gods, & commits fornication with the nations
& kingdoms whose Gods she worships: and there is no other
city besides the great city represented by the Whore of Ba
bylon, ch
of the world upon the face of the earth, or as is exprest
in the Apocalyps, which hath made all nations drunk with
the wine of her fornication. Her merchandise is not like
the merchandise of old Tyre. It is the hire of her for
nication. It is holiness to the Lord. It is for them that
dwell before the Lord, that is, for the Priests. It is for
them to eat sufficiently & to wear ancient or old-fashioned
cloathing suitable to the Priesthood, that is, it is for the
maintenance of the Priests. And I do not see how all these
things can agree to any other merchandising city then the
Whore of Babylon that great city who enriched the merchants
of the earth with her delicacies. To this City & to this alone
all these things agree perfectly. Before She began before
the times of the fourth Trumpet to play the harlot worshipping
dead men & setting up some Images. She began also before that
time to sing as an harlot, her Bishops living sumptuously & claim
the Council of Chalcedon & head of all the Churches by the
Emperor Iustinian. But in the times of the fourth Trumpet
she was thrown down & forgotten seventy years that is, during all ch
A.C. 535 & in Italy A.C. 536 & ended A.C. in the end
of that yeare Rome opened her gates to
following was besieged by an army of 150000 Goths & her Bishop
deposed & banished by Belisarius:A
seige Rome was eclipsed & darkned losing her senate &
Consuls & almost all her people & becoming an ignoble
dukedome subject to Ravenna & her buildings falling for want
of inhabitants as was explained above, & the Patriarch of Constan
tinople now claiming the universal bishopric as if Rome
were extinct & forgotten. And in this obscurity she remained
till the end of the war A.C. 603 & further till she recovered e
universal bishopric by the grant of the Emperor Phocas A.C. 606,
At the end of this time she turned to her hire & began
to sing as an harlot & commit fornication with all the
kingdoms of the [Roman] world upon the face of the earth.
next year, as I reccon by allowing two or three years
for cleansing & repairing the Pantheon & preparing Ima
ges to be set up it
Images in this & other Churches she propagated her
idolatrous religion into all kingdoms by means of her
universal bishoprick, & by this religion grew very
rich & lived deliciously.
And now the wickedness of the Roman Catholicks
growing greater then before, their punishment is propor
tionaly increased. ffor an Angel (or, as some Manuscripts
have it, an Eagle) flyes through the midst of heaven
saying with a loud voice; Wo, Wo, Wo to the inhabitants
of the earth by reason of the other voices of the
Trumpet of the three Angels ch
And the fift Angel sounded and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth [the Prophet Mahomet] and to him was given the key of the bottomless pit, & he opened the bottomless pit [by false
prophesy] & there arose a smoke out of the bottomless pit as the smoke of a great furnase [a very thick & black cloud of disciples] & the Sun & the air were darkned by reason of the smoke of the pit.
As the casting the Dragon into the bottomless pit & locking him
up that he should deceive the nations no more for a thousand
years & then letting him out to deceive the nations again, signifies
the putting an end to a false religion whereby the Devil had
deceived the nations & the rise of a new false religion whereby he
should deceive them again: so here, the opening of the bottomless
pit & letting o (the sink of the Temple) & letting out a thick
black smoke ch
new false religion, a kingdom of darkness.
And there came out of the smoke Locusts upon the earth
[a numerous armed multitude of Arabians, for Locusts are
a numerous southern insect abounding in Arabia,were carried by an east wind into Egypt, Exod. 10.13
are a numerous people, & their army was of old compared to
Locusts for multitude. Iudg. 6.5 & 7.12.] and unto them was given power as the [to torment men
by war as thAnd it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth neither any green thing neither any tree [as real Locusts do] but only those men who have not the seale of God in their foreheads, [that is,
those men who have the mark of the Beast.] And to them it was given that they should not kill them [by dissolving their bodies
politic & subverting their kingdoms] but that they should be tormented [by inroads invasions & various wars] five months. And their torment was [sharp] as the torment of a scorpion when he striketh a man. And the shape of the Locusts were like unto horses [or horsmen] prepared to the battel, & on their heads were [Turbants] as it were crowns of gold, & their faces were as the faces of men [for they were men] & they had long hair as the hair of weomen. [For the Arabians cut their hair
like weomen & put up under a Quoif or Turbant] & their teeth of lions [were as the teeth of Lions [large & strong for devouring like Daniels fourth
Beast] & they had breast plates as it were breast plates of iron & the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of many horses running to battel [that being & they had tails [or Battalions
of foot] like unto Scorpions [thick & strong] & stings in their tails [their foot being armed with bows & arrows, & striking
men with their arrows And their power was to hurt men five months. And they had a king over them who is the Angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Greek tongu Hebrew tongue is Abbadon, but in the Greek tongue his name is Apollyon, that is, the
P
Califs were their king as well as their Prophet; &
by the wars & victories of this king, his name was made
known to both Hebrews & Greeks. To the Greeks he was
Apollyon a destroyer, & to those of Palestine over whom
he reigned, he was Abbadon ch
& seems to allude to the kings of the Nabatean Arabians who were
seated along the eastern side of the Rea Sea from Petra to Albus
Pagus a great market of the Nabatæans & by consequence from Mecha to
Medina where the Mahometan religion had its rise & Mahomet reigned
in the beginning. For this region was called Oboda & all the kings
thereof were called Obodas from Obodas the first king who
was buried there & deified by the natives, that is from Nabai
oth the son of Ismael by softening & at length omitting the
first letter of the name. ffor he was the first king & founder of the
nation. As the Roman Emperors were called Cæsars from Cæsar
& the kings of Egypt Pharaoh & Ptolomy, those of the Parthians
Arsasæ, & those of the people Arabia Petræa
Aretæ: so the kings of the Nabateans were called Obodas &
in this Prophesy Abaddon. And under this king the Locusts were
to torment men five months.
Mahomet pretended to be called to the Office of a
Prophet in the 40th year of his reign age A.C. 609 & began
then to make disciples privately, & in the 44th year of his
age he began to manifest his vocation at Mecha & set open
the bottomless pit, & in the 14th year of his vocation A.
C. 622 he fled from Mecha to Medina & began to arm
his followers, that is, to bring Locusts out of the smoke.
He reigned ten years at Medina in ch
veral battels & took Mecha & other cities of Arabia, & after
his death the Saracens entered Syria & began to make war
upon the Romans A.C. 694 & the next year in september took
Damascus & made it the seat of their empire. They had two races
of Califs the first of ch
at Damascus the second were of the family of the Abasides &
A.C. 762 gave commandment for the building of Bagdad &reignedch
Syria, but before they took it he died at Medina in August
A.C. 634. The next year his successor Omar sent fresh forces
into Syria ch
seige took Damascus, & the year following they won several
battels & beseiged Ierusalem.
Hitherto the Califs reigned at Medina, but the next
year, A.C. 637 they translated the seat of their kingdom from
Arabia into Syria. ffor Omar made his son Governour of
Mede
Phœnicia & sent a great army to invade Egypt. And the same
year they took also the royal city of the king of Persia th
his Treasures & Crown & conquered a considerable part of
Persia putting the Persians to flight. Which sucesses may be
recconed the beginning of their Empire. Before this year
they were only kings of Arabia but now they began to be Empe
rors of the East, having conquered Phœnicia, Syria Damascena, Chaldea,
part of Persia & some part of Egypt, &
their Empire, & Omar being the first Calif to whom they gave the
title of
yearly under one Prince in the month Ramedan, & who used the
The next year (A.C. 638) he took Antioch with all Syria,
& the year following his forces became masters of Gran Cairo
in Egypt & beseiged Alexandria, & after 14 months seige
they took Alexandria A.C. 641, & in a year or two more carried
on their conquest into Libya as far as Barca. And while these
things were doing westward his armies extended their conquests eastward
over Mesopotamia Assyria & Persia as far as Bactria. All this was
done in the ten years reign of Omar. And his successors conquered to
southward over Thebais Æthiopia & Nubia & westward over all Barba
ry to the Ocean, & then invaded
Asia minor & all the sea coasts of Europe, vexing Europe with fre
quent incursions & beseiging Constantinople several times.
While they reigned at Damascus the Monarchy rose up
to its full growth & flourished in its vigour. At length Almansor
A.C. after this city &
Damascus remained only the Metropolis of the upper Syria, its
walls being pulled down before. Bagdad was founded at a time
agreed on by Astronomers. In what year I know not, nor in what
year it was finished, nor whether Almanser reigned there. He
near Meccha A.C. 775, & his son Mahadis was then made Calif
at Bagdat & reigned there, & the Monarchy flourished under
that Metropolis till about the year 870 & then began to be shaken
with some intestine broiles but overcame them & continued almost
entire till about the year 900, & then began to fall in pieces. The
governours of Egypt revolted A.C. 882, but was reduced A.C. 905.
& Petræa. The ffatamids revolted under the Conduct of Mahadis A.
C.
ded by there by his son Caijmus. The Dailamites revolted A.C. 927 &
within four years extended their kingdom over a great part of Media
& Hycania & in three or four years more under the conduct of Mar
dawigus & Amaduddaulas took from the Calif Chorasan & all Persia
The Calif A.C. 930 granted Mesopotamia & Miafarekin to Nasiruddaulas
the grandson of Hamedan for an annual tribute, & A.C. 933 he made
Abubecre Achsijd Prefect of Egypt & then deposing him made one
Ahmed Prefect in his room. But Achsijd having obteined Syria invaded
Egypt in August A.C. 935 & set up a new dominion over both regi
ons ch
being broken into many kingdoms & divided amongst temporal
Princes & the remaining dominion of the Califs at Bagdad being
disturbed & small & in danger of falling: the Calif sent for Ma
humet the son of Rajici from Wasitum a city of Chaldea where
he reigned, & made he came to Bagdad in November A.C. 8 936
& the Calif made him Emperor of Emperors & surrendred to
him the army & treasur
Califate, as is related by the Arabic Historians. For Abul Elma
ray
Novemb. 30. A.C. 935] ad se venire jussit Califa Arradis Billa
Imperatorem Muhamedem filium Rajici qui Wasiti erat & ibi
dominabatur; cogente ad id eum necessitate, propter pertur
bationem Imperij, & ineptitudinem Consiliarij ad eam dignitatem.
Venit ita
Imperatorem Imperatorum, commisit
regni i
Venit autem Bagdadum vicessimo quinto Dulhiggiæ [i.e. Novemb.
13 A.C. 936]
Consiliarij. At
obsolevit, neP
cessit Imperatoribus qui rerum potiebantur. At
donec florere desierunt Salgjuki [i.e. Turcarum Imperatores]
Bagdadi. Ineunte ita
mundus in manibus erat Principum, qui Imperio se ingesserant, et
Reges terræ erant. Quicun
Regem se ejus nominabat, alios omnes arcens. Era
situm & Ahwaza in manu Abu Abdallæ Baridæi, & fratrum
ejus; Pe
Diarrebia et Diarbecra in manu filiorum Hamadani; Ægyptus et
Syria in manu Muhammedis Achsijdi
Caijmi
manu Nas
mansit in manu Chalifæ & filij Rajici quicquam præter Bagdadum. Et abolita sunt telonia regni: unde et potentia Chalifatus diminuta est, & debilitatum regnum, & rapinæ viguerunt. Pecunia autem omnis portata est in gazophylacia Imperatorum, qui, pro lubitu suo de ea disponebant et impensas imperiales omnes faciebant.Atque hic Arradis multas res ultimus inter Chalifas præstitit. Nam ultimus egregios fecit versus; ultimus sua solius auctoritate de ex ercitibus & pecunijs disposuit; ultimus concionatus est, [i.e. ad A.
C. 1160 circiter,] eos scito nihil habuisse in Iraca at.
Abul-Pharajius another Arabic historian. Anno [Hegiræ] trecentesimo vicesimo quarto impulit necessitas Al Radium ut Abu Becrum Mohammedem filium Rayeki imperatorem exercitus crearet. Eum ergo Imperatorem Imperatorum constituens, vectigalibus et tributis & curijs per omnes regiones præfecit, jussit.
Within less then two years after this change Bagdad (as
Elmacinus writes) came was taken from Muhammed by one
Iahcamus a Turk, & from that time often taken & retaken
being in the hands sometimes of the Turks & sometimes of the
Arabians or Saracens untill at length Togrulbec took it &
established it to the Turks. And these reigns of the Turks put a
fuller period to the monarchy of the Saracens under the Chalif.
Now since the Chalifs reigned at Medina as kings of Arabia
or some part thereof till the year 637, & in that year translated
the seat of their kingdom into Syria & began to enlarge it
into a great Empire by taking Ierusalem & conquering all
Palestine & part of Persia & Egypt: if we date their empire
from that year (for by naming their king a destroyer in the
languages of the Hebrews & Greeks is implied that he should
receive his name as king from destroying their countries;) & if we
extend the reign of this monarchy under the Angel of the bottom
less pit, from that year inclusively to the end of the year 936.
in ch
ment the Romans: the whole duration of this great Mo
narchy will be just 300 years,
because there were two successive dynasties of this monarchy
the one at Damascus in Syria the other at Bagdad in Chaldea
& because the monarchy is represented by Locusts & the nature
of Locusts is to live only five months, they being hatched an
nually
their eggs & dying about the autumnal Equinox: the Prophet
for the decorum of the type divides the whole
months & five months: saying twice, that the Locusts tor
mented men five months; that is in all ten months. ffor
the repetition is not without a meaning. In this Prophesy
there is nothing superfluous. They reigned something less
then five months at Damascus & something more at Bag
dad; five months at each place more or less; in both
places together ten months.
Elmacinus
three successive Dynasties, the first comprehending its rise & increase
during the reign of the Orthodox Chalifs at Damascus Medina & Damas
cus, the second conteining its decrease during the reign of the
at Bagdat untill they subjected themselves to temporal Princes (ch
Dynasties together, neglecting the small kingdom at Medina), interpreted
to be the twice five months reign of the Locusts under their king the
Angel of the bottomless pit:) & the third Dynasty is the further con
tinuance of this Empire after its distraction & division into several
kingdoms most of ch
Turks. And this Dynasty, according to the Saracen Historians ended th
the year 1258. For Abulpharajius, who divides his History into
so many Dynasties as there had been supreme Empires since
the creation & reccons this Empire of the Saracens in the ninth
place, extends this Empire from the time of their Prophet
Mahomet to the taking of Bagdad by the Tartars, & there
concludes it, making the short
then founded upon the ruins of the Saracens & Turks by Hulacu
to be the tenth Dynasty or supreme Empire & their common
period to be the year 1258.
How much the Romans Catholicks both Greeks & Latins
were tormented by the Saracens during all these three Dynas
ties is sufficiently related in the histories of those times. For
this plague fell upon both Greeks & Latins: upon the Greeks
because it fell upon the men who had not the mark
in their foreheads that is upon those who by the influence
of the two-horned Beast received the mark of the other
Beast; & upon the Latines because the fift Angel poured out his Vial upon the seat of the Beast. And they gnawed their tongues for pain & blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains & sores & repented not of their deeds
This plague was inflicted upon the Romans for their idolatry
their false Gods & Idols: ch
blaspheming God. ffor after the use of Images in Churches was
defended by Pope Gregory & the Images of the Virgin Mary & the
Martyrs were by the authority of Pope Boniface & the Greek
Emperor set up in the Pantheon at Rome: such Images were set set up by degrees in all Churches being consecrated & called
holy Images, & the Catholicks grew more & more superstitious
towards them till many of the people worshipped them with
such a worship as others took for Idolatry. Whereupon the
Greek Emperor Leo Isaurus A.C. 726 ordered all Images to be
demolished & forbad the invocation of saints & was excommu
nicated for it by the Pope. And after a long & sharp controversy,
in chthe
length got the victory. And the canonizing of Saints & doctrine of
transubstantiation came in about the same time. And before the times
of this Trumpet expired the idolatry of the Roman Catholicks
arrived to the height.
While the Empire of the Saracens continued divided into
many kingdoms, the Turks other
called also Togra, Dogrissa, Tangrolipix & Sadoc) qu conquered Cho
rasan & Persia, & A.C. 1055 added Bagdad to their Empire & made
that city the seat thereof, the Chalif sending for Togrulbec & crown
ing him there. Afterwards Togrulbec had several wars for establish
ing himself in his kingdom & conquering Iraca
was succeeded by his brothers son Melech, Olub'Arslan
Melecha the third Sultan of this new Empire
Asan,
added Mesopotamia to his empire taking part of it from the Romans
but left it in the hands of the former kings as Viceroy, & the next
year took the Emperor Diogenes Ramanus prisoner & was slain in De
cember following & in A.C. 1071
Melicsjah or Melecla the third Sultan of this new Empire
invaded Syria &
winning many battels extended his dominion from the
borders of the Turks to Ierusalem & the bounds of Arabia fælix.
He took Damascus A.C. 1080 by the conduct of his brother Tag
juddaulas T
conduct of Sedijduddaulas
& soon after Iconium from the Romans.
Empire of the Turks being arrived to its year 1090 & then upon the death of Melichseh being A.C. 1092
& then being left to his son Mahmed a child six years old, brake
into several smaller kingdoms or Sultanies of the Turks, the elder
till about the year 1160 & then returned into the hands of the Chalif of were the Sultany of Mesopotamia, the
Sultany of Armenia, the Sultany of Syria & the Sultany of Cap
adocia; all of them seated upon the great river Euphrates,
The Sultany of Mesopotamia was seated at Mosul a city on
the western banks of Tygris a day or twos
After the death of Malechsah it had the sixteen following Sultans
in continual order:
Ezzodin, Zengius or Sanguin, Gaza, Cotbodin, Gazi, Ezzoddin, Nuroddin,
Ezzodin, Nuroddin, Naseroddin, Badroddin & Saleh, the last of ch
till the end of this Sultany.
The Sultany of Armenia was seated at Miyapharekin,
Magarkin or Martyropolis a city of the greater Armenia a days
journey eastward from the lake Thospites through ch
Euphrates & Tigris run before they part from one another, &
two days journey north from Ameda. This Sultany
united to & sometimes divided from the Sultany of Maredin
Mirdin or Marde a city of Mesopotamia six or seven days journey
from Euphrates. Its sultans were *, Gazi
Saladin, Adel, Nojmoddin, Modhaffer
The Sultany of Syria was seated at s
werefirst Tagjuddaulas by the assistance of Artoc one of who
over all Syria He was succeeded by his Son Roduan A.C. 1095, But And he by Nuroddin left Syri A.C. 11After his death (A.C. 1099) Syria became divided
between his sons
cus the other at Aleppo. But
this younger son of Tagjudaulus revolted from his brother & reigned
two sons & Dhaher Gazi who reigned at Aleppo.
times divided between those two cities. Its first absolute Sultan was Tagjuddaulas
the Son of Olub
Mahmet
A.C. 1095, & Roduan by his son Tagjudaulas A.C. 1113, & he by Lulus, Bulgar,
Solyman, Balac, Assangar, Ezzodin, Sanguin, Nuroddin,
Aziz, & Melec-Naser. Decac, the brother of Roduan, revolted from him & was reigned at Damascus & was succeeded there by Ababacus or Doldequin,
Sultanies of Aleppo & Mosul were united & this union continued from
A.C. 1124 to A.C. 1145. Then Nuroddin Sanguin at Aleppo
& nine years after took Damascus from Meieredin & after fourteen years
more invaded Egypt. But Saladin
Gazi who reigned at Aleppo & As
reigned at Damascus. And within three years
within three years Adel Sultan of Miyapharekin & brother
of Saladin invaded Damascus & Egypt & in his posterity Da
mascus & Egypt continued sometimes united sometimes divided
till the Mamalukes A.C. 1250 expelled them. In the mean
time the successors of Dhaher at Aleppo were his sons Aziz & grandson chth
its territories from the Mamalukes A.C. 1250, & reigned over
both & Aleppo to the end of his Sultany. Syria the kingdom of Syria, & if they first took that city, they would easily take all the rest. Haython. Hist.
The Sultany of Cappadocia was seated at Iconium, &
was watered by the river Melas a large arm of Euphrates,
Its Sultans were, j Sedijduddaulas or Cutlumish of the race of
Saljuck, 2 Solyman, th
with his brothers e
10 Ezzodin with his brothers Rocknoddin & Aladin
a large arm of Euphrates & comprehended Cæsarea. Its Sultans were 1
or Cutlumish of the race of Saljuck, 2 Soliman his son
man the Son of Solyman
brothers the sons of
sons of Clisastlan
8 Aladin Caicobad the brother of Caicaus a powerful & warlike Prince. He brought
this kingdom to its height, reigned 26 years & died A.C. 1236. 9. Giyathoddin or Iathatin
Cai-Chosroes the son of Caicaus. He
young sons
conquered by the Tartars A.C. 1261.
In the year 1203 the supreme Empire of the
not heard of before this time) was founded in great Tartary by
Iingiz Chan, by whom among other eastern & northern regions
Chorasan was subdued, & by his successors the kingdom of Arme
nia much afflicted & the Sultany of Iconium also (A.C. 1243),
but not ruined. At length Mangaca Chan the fourth Emperor
of the Tattars being converted to Christianity by means of
Ayton King of some part of Armenia, sent his brother Hulacu
(or Halaon) th
& root out their religion. Hulacu therefore advancing from the
east, after he had staid some time in Persia & subdued it,
came to Bagdad Ian.22, A.C. 1258, & in a day & a night
compassed the city thth of
February following & put an end to the Califate & therewith to
the Empire of the Saracens. ffor the Saracens had reigned at
Bagdat
dea was in the hands of the Tattars, the regions upon Euphra
tes & Tigris above Chaldea in the hands of the Turks, Egypt
in the hands of the Mamalukes, & Mauritania in the hands of
the Moors. And therefore
One Wo is past, & behold there come two Woes more hereafter.
And the sixt Angel sounded & I [Iohn] heard a voice from the four horns of the golden Altar saying to the sixt Angel w. These Angels are the Sultans or kings of chch
the four Turkish kingdoms of Mesopotamia, Armenia, Syria
& Cappadocia; which
four horns of the golden Altar, & are the mystical bodies of their
kings. For as a Beast with its horns represents a kingdom first
united & then divided, so may the golden Altar with its horns
represent the kingdom of the Turks upon Euphrates first
united under Olub'Arslan & Malechsah & then divided into
these four Sultanies. And the four Angels were loosed, w. After Hulacu had ch
taken Bagdad & put an end to the Empire of the Saracens: he
sent a part of his army to beseige Miyafarekin the same year.
And in the year 1260 he invaded Syria with an army of 400000 Aleppo & other towns of that kingdom, &
slew Naser the last Sultan thereof, & while these things were
doing, the forces which he sent against Miyafarekin
town by famishing the beseiged & slew the inhabitants &
brought Ashraf the last Sultan of that Sultany to Hulacu
who slew him. And the next year A.C. 1261 the Tartars
invaded the Sultanies of Mesopotamia & Cappadocia & took
Mosul & Iconium & sl
& made Azoddin or Azatines the last Sultan of Iconium th
his brother son Rocknoddin (or son Melec) Melec
But the Sultan of Maredin submitting himself to Hulacu
was treated honourably by him & restored to his dominions,
How violent & terrible this invasion was may appeare by
Pope Alexander's writing at that time to all the Roman Catholic
Princes to exhort them to consult advise with the Nobles & great
men of their kingdoms about uniting all their powers for putting
a stop to e
the Tartars ch
Henry III king of England dated 17 Novem. 1260, begins thus.
der Episcopus &c. Clamat in omnibus auribus omnium, eos
animorum torpor non hebetat, in attentionis vigilantiam excitat
horrendi præconij tuba terribilis, quæ fide rerum attestantium
invalescens adeo certo sono generalis cladis bella prænunciat,
quibus flagellum iræ cœlestis in manu immanium Tartarorum,
quasi ex abditis erumpentium inferi finibis, premit et contexit
orbem terræ; ut jam non oporteat populum Christianum ad
cognoscenda hæc quasi adhuc ambigua certiori relatu aures
arrigere, sed eum, ut ingruenti et publice festinanti provide
occurrat periculo, admonere. Cum enim ijdem Tartari dicentes
quod totam terram eis obtinendam tradidit Deus cœli, quem
uti
& populis conculcatis, jam Saracenorum
multorum temporum bella tulit & intulit extrema pene
desolatione concussa, jam principali eorum Civitate Baldach,
Damasco at
captis hostiliter et eversis, nec non et Calipho infidelitatis
ipsorum Principe ac maxima populi ejus multitudine postquam
eos, ut dicitur, in deditionem receperant interemptis ad Regni
Ierosolimitani fines pervenerint eos
Christiano regno Armeniæ, Antiochia et Tripoli famosis Christi
anorum urbibus, proh pudor! suo nomine subjugatis, cum
septentrionali per Vngariam at
mano conterminas, ubi, proh dolor! non parum Christiani sanguinis
profuderunt valida in populis illarum partium cæde bacchati
conterere cogitant et Regum thronis eversis sedibus
sibi totius Orbis ads ascribere Monarchatum:
cumbentia e vicino pericula de opportunis remedijs cogitandum,
quam eorum certior et seriosior enunciatio expetenda.
a little after he adds that in such a time of universal necessity it seemed
proper to
secular Princes & faithful people to consult of the common safety
but the danger being pressing & the meeting of such a Council requiring
time & long journey's ch
that in every kingdom & province the faithfull should be admonished to
consider of this matter. And then he advised
& great men about uniting the forces of Europe & to send him an ac
count of the result against Iuly 6t next following, the danger admitting
no delay.
By this violent inundation of the Tartars, the four Sultanies of
the Turks upon Euphrates being in the years 1260 & 1261 at once,
as it were at a
out of these Sultanies every where from the violence of the Tartars
& crouded into the more western parts of Asia. And the reliques of ‡ t A.C. 1289) were universally
ejected hither out of the new Tartarian Empire. Their Princes lived
under Aladin for a time but after his death shared his kingdom
themselves & to enlarge their seats made war upon the Romans &
to do so before the death of Aladin. also about 30 years after (viz t A.C. 1289 were universally ejected hither
out of the new Tartarian Empire. In the mean time to obtein
new seats their several Princes or heads of families under whose
conduct they fled hither made war upon the Romans every one
what he could for himself& reigned his brother Azadin for a time, but after their deaths shared the kingdom amonst themselves & to enlarge their seats made war upon the Romans, & began to do so even before the death of Aladain. Turci autemSatrapis illis variæ divisi, cum a Scythis pellerentur Romanos pellebant; et quam infirmi erant adversus Scythas tam fortes contra Romanos extiterunt, ut Scytharum incursio non calamitatis causa sed summæ fælicitatis occasio illis esset. Nam et e Paphlagonia et e Pamphilia irrubant, Romanas.eth & Bzovius in his Annals refers it to the year 1276.
Sultanies
Euphratean Sultanies, the Greeks had constantly possessed Asia strictly
so called, Paphlagonia, Bythinia, Phrygia magna, Phrygia Pacatiana,
Caria & part of Cilicia. And the rest of the Asian Provinces to
Euphrates, namely Lycaonia, Galatia, Pamphylia, Armenia, Hellespontus
Hellenopontus, Pisidia & Lycia belonged to the Sultany of Iconium. But
Cappadocia seated at Iconium. But from that time & chiefly after
the battel newly mentioned, the Turkish Princes spreading by degrees
into the Greek Provinces; Mantachia subdued the city Ephesus & the
Province Caria; Atin conquered Lydia as far as Smyrna; Sarchan all
Magnesia to Pergamus, together with the Province of the Magedi; Carmian
& the City Asso; & Othman or Ottoman all Bythinia with part of
Paphlagonia: the last of which growing more powerfull then the
rest, at length (A.C. 1299) ch
& by degrees became the universal Monarch of the Turks the rest of their
Princes uniting under him. And by this union being rendred more powerfull
they prevailed still more upon the Greeks & soon after invaded Europe, not
ceasing to propagate their victories till at length A.C. 1453 they took
a great
Angels up in Euphrates by the from thence
by the Tartars to perform this execution. Togrulbec reigned over
Persia &t
His two successors Olub'Arslan & Malechsah conquered the nations
upon Euphrates & laid the foundation of the four kingdoms. Olubarslan
began his reign A.C.1063 and from thence to the taking of Constan
tinople inclusively are 391 years
month & a year, whereof about a month was spent in conquering
& reigning over the nations upon Euphrates before the Conquest
brake into the four kingdoms.
And the number of the army of the horsmen was two myriads of myriads
[that is exceeding great. ffor thousands & thousands of & myriads
thousands& myriads of myriads were
for great indefinite numbers especially if doubled, as in Num. 10.36.
Deut. 1.11 & 32.30. Psal. 68.17. Dan. 7.10. And the Turks in erecting
their Empire had very numerous armies. Bajazet brought into
the feild against the Greeks an army of
Tamerlan an army of 500000 & Mahomet II beseiged & took
Constantinople with an army of 400000. And their armies were
strong in horse; for the Turks delight in
omnes ingenti equorum amore et studio tenentur. Lonicerus Chron.
Turc. tom. 1. part. 3. cap. 5.
And thus I saw the horses in the vision & them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire & of jacinth & of brimstone
[by reason of the flame & smoke through ch& the heads of the horses [appeared terrible through the smoke] as the heads of Lions; and [as it were] out of their mouths issued fire & smoke [of the colour of jacinth] & brimstone [by the
discharge of fire arms wherewith they fought.] And by these three were the third part of men killed, by the fire & by the smoke & by the brimstone w [chch
stone then fire & afterwards smoke.
For their power is in their mouth & in their tails
[that is, in their horse & foot, the horse being the head of
the army & the foot the taile] ffor their tails were like unto serpents [that is, strong & active & fit for fighting] and had heads [& therefore differed in life & sense from the heads
of the horses, & by consequence signified a different
part of the army] and with them they do hurt fighting th
their tails as well as with their heads.
And the rest of men which were not killed by these plagues
[the western nations whose kingdoms were not dissolved] yet re
pented not of the works of their hands that they should not
worship Ghosts & Idols of gold & silver & brass & stone & wood ch
phemy in the 4th & 5th Vialls is here plainly called Idolatry. There
they grew idolatrous, here they continue impenitent. They took
no warning by this plague, but continued to worship dead men &
images till the third Woe came upon them. Neither repented they of their murders [in killing men who will not worship fals
Gods.] nor of their sorceries [in pretending to convert a wafer
into the body of the supreme God, to scare away the Devil by the
signe of the cross & by exorcisms & reliques & to do many other
miracles by ch
rers did] nor of their fornication [even in a litteral sense] amongst chnor of their thefts: amongst chfamilies men by p
Dispensations, Indulgencies, Masses for the dead, pretended ver
tues of reliques, false miracles & such like artifices. For
stealing is defrauding & all defrauding is against the eight
commandment: the manner of the fact, whether it be by
clandestine conveyance, or by any other deceitfull artifice
making no material difference in the nature of the crime
Consonant to the Prophesy of this Trumpet
of pouring out of the sixt Vial. And the sixt Angel poured out his Vial of Wrath upon the great river Euphrates, & the water thereof was dried up that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared. And therefore the plague of this
Vial fell upon the nations seated on Euphrates, & the sixt
Trumpet sounded to the war of the Tartars upon the kingdoms
of the Turks seated on that river as has been explained: by
which war the people of those kingdoms here typified by the
water of that river, was dried up & the way of the Turks
from the east in several bodies under several Commanders
was prepared that they might invade & destroy the Empire of
the Greeks ch
The third Wo is ushered in th
of the Temple & Altar & them
court unmeasured because it is given to the gentiles. This ch
allusion to e
the Babylonians had made steps to measure captivated the Iews & the de
struction of the City & Temple was at hand Ezekiel saw in a vision an Angel
a man sent out to mark all those who sighed & mourned for the wickedness
of the people & then six other men sent forth to consume t destroy the city. And
after the destruction of the city & Temple he in another vision a man in awas commanded to e
Temple ch
in the reign of Cyrus & Darius Hystaspis the Hous House & its court & the court
of the Altar & a third court for the people called the weomens court was
built: but the outward Court was left unbuilt all the during all the reign
of the Kingdom of Persia & was afterwards
was built (chreign eit was Iustus) it
was given to the Gentiles & called the Gentiles court, & probably was built at th the kings of Syria being at the charge of building it. This
In allusion to all this, when the four winds at the opening of the sevent
Seal, an Angel seals out of all Israel an hundred forty & four thousand ththat is & another Angel commands Iohn to
before thehurt measure the Temple &
Altar & them that worship therein to signify that e
the first Temple &
be preserved from the fury of the winds & out of them a new Temple be built
up to God. This The first Temple was represented by the
heaven cloathed thWestern
Empire she fled into the Wilderness & became the
Western Empire. And this Church by the blowing of the four winds or inrodes of barbarous newas shattered
under the barbarous nations ch
in pieces & in a manner ruined finally being
lence of the Roman laws & began again to meet for the worshipping
of God again
Roman Laws were very severe against all persons whatsoever who
met in any to worship God in any other assemblies then those of the
Roman Catholicks, confiscating the Churches whe or houses where they
met & &
& banishing them from humane society & punish beginning in Afric to
punish them with death & laying heavy punishin
Iudges who favoured the did not put the
claring all those to be hereticks who in any thing from from the Catholick Church in any thing how
the Catholsmall s
light or small soever, all ch
& his sons now extant in the Theodosian Code. But in the kingdoms
people who were dissatisfied thwith Cross-worship
or with any other of the Roman superstitions had full liberty to
separate from them & to meet apart, the barbarians being
to the Roman Catholicks Empire & for that reason
those who differed from it in religion.
So then as the Iews committed Idolatry & the Babylonians made war
upon them for their sin & destroyed their Temple & afterwards gave them leave to
Temple: so the Barbarous nations invaded the Roman Catholicks from their
& destroyed spoiled rente
a new one. And this
And as the second Temple of e
without an outward court & then had an outward court erected for the
Gentiles; so this new Temple of the Christians continued without an outward
court till the ten kings were converted to the Roman Catholick faith &
the Roman became the
& setting up the worship of images became the Gentiles in the outward
court whoto whome was
given to them. Whereupon And henceforward the Whore of Babylon rode
upon the ten horned Beast &
were not written in the book of life & the
by the Merchants of the earth condition d
or 1260 days prophetic days. [Then the ten kings hate the whore & All this happens before the end of the second Wo,
eat her flesh & burn her th
hand. ffor the words Babylon is fallen is fallen imply that she falls twice
& lived deliciously with her, bewail her & lament
for fear of her torment & saying Alas alas that great city Babylon &
therefore her second fall is by another hand then that of the ten kings.]ffor after & by consequence before the fall of the Turkish Empire
the deat
ffor after the death resurrection & ascention of the two Witnesses
& fall of the tenth part of the great City it's added The second Wo is past [ & behold the third Wo cometh quickly. The second Wo is past
that is the last act of hostility of the Turks against the Roman
Empire is pastbut the Turkish Empire may That act may be
past at the fall of the tenth part of the great city: but the
it self may
For when the sixt Viall a
Eufrates that e
it's to be understood that their way is thereby prepared to the battel of
the great day of God Almighty. For in the next words its added. And
I saw three unclean spirits like Froggs [that is, three prat
prating sorts of people] come out of the mouth of the Dragon [ch
now the Turkish Empire] & out of the mouth of the Beast [ten-horned]
Beast, & out of the mouth of the fals Prophet [or two-horned Beast, ch
is the Greek Church], the whore of Babylon being destroyed before] For they
are spirits of Devils working miracles, ch
east] & of the whole world a
A This Empire of the Turks is also described very plainly by Daniel
under the name of the king of the north.ch
will recite his pro the prophesy & explain the whole prophesy
it is synchronal to thehad described the p in his prophesy of e
to e
interpreters agree in the interpretation: He thus proceeds. And after him Arms shall stand up, [that is after Antiochius Epiphanes the Roman Empire
shall stand up] & they shall pollute the sanctuary of strenth & shall take away the daily sacrifice [by making war upon the Iews in the reign
of Nero & Vespasian & & shall place the abomination that maketh desolate [by banishing the Iews
killing an incredible multitude of the Iews in the reign of Trajan
& Hadrian & banishing them from Iudea & setting giving the placing
giving the land to gentiles & setting up the statue of a swine over e
gate of Ierusalem And they that understand among the people shall [Christian Christian people shall instruct many [concerning the Messiah yet they shall fall by the sword & by flame & by captivity & by spoile many days [being persecuted by the Roman heathen Empire.] Now when they shall fall they shall be holpen with a little help [by the
conversion of the Empire to Christianity under Constantine the great] but many shall cle [heathens] shall cleave to them by flatteries [dissem
bling & pretending out , & filling the Church th[& evil ] tending to idolatry [And by
[divisions chAndthose of some of them of understanding shall fall to try them [& distinguish between the
Hypocrites & the true Christians] & to purge & make white them white even to y; those that fall being killed for not worshipping the Image e
of the Beast because it is yet for a time appointed[being killed for not worshipping the image of the Beast]
not worship the Image of the Beast] fall [be killed] & fall to try them [& distinguish between the Hypocrites & the true Christians] & to purge & make white them white even to [from time offall killing] to the time of the end, because it is yet for a n time appointed [after [while they are falling]
they begin to fall, a King [the Roman ] from the time of opening the seventh sealshall do according to his will & [in making land & shall exalt himself & magnify himself above every God [so as
not written in the book of life] & sh [by his idolatrous edicts] shall speak marvellous things against the God of Gods & prosper till the indignation [against theIews people the Iews] be accomplished [& their long
captivity be ended.] for that that is [by the counsel & foreknowledge of
God Almighty] determined shall be done. Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire [lawful] desire of weomen [in
matrimony chnor regard any God: for he shall magnify himself above all [calling himself the
lick & Apostolick Church, & faith of this Church of Gods without Churches & being Apostolic faith & setting these
laws above the laws of God Almighty required revealed to us by his holy Prophets.] And in his estate he shall honour with [forts, strong Protectors,
trusty Patrons even w thwith [Temples & Altars gold & silver & with pretious stones & with pleasant things. Thus shall he do And he shall make holds or Temples of Mahuzzims to the strange God whom he shall aknowlege & [the Mahuzzims] thto rule over many [ttt& shall distribute the earth [amongst these Saints for a reward.
And at the time of the end [ththe king of the South [the shall push at him [but not
overthrow him] & the king of the north [the northern Empire of the
Turks] shall come against him like a whi l rlwind with horses chariots & with horsemen [the Euphratean horsmen] & with many ships [beseiging & he shall enter into the countries [of the Greeks] & [by conquestshall overflow & pass over. He shall also enter into the land of delight or holiness & many countries [in those parts shall be overthrown. But these shall escape out of his hands even Edom & Moab & the chief of the children of Ammon [that is, Arabia
Petræa. chHe shall stretch forth his hand also upon the countries: & the land of Egypt shall not escape; but he shall have power over the treasures of gold & silver & over all the pretious things of Egypt & the Libyans [& [or Arabian Ethiopans above Egypt, that is [that is Ethiopic Arabians above Egypt
that is on eshall be at his steps. Thus
have you in this prophesy a distinct description of the several dominions of the Turkish
Empire & in what order of time he conquered them. ffirst he conquered the Constantino
politan Empire then Palestine & the countries in those parts, then Ægypt, afterwards
Libya & lastly Æthiopia; chth
succeeding the king of the south, is so particular & distinct a description of ekingdom beyond it desired.
This Empire still continues but & is to be in great animation
expires. ffor its added. But tidings out of the east & out of the north shall trouble him: therefore he shall go forth w thAnd he shall plant his tabernacle between the seas [the
mediterranean & the sea of Tiberias or Mare mortum dead sea] in the glorious holy mountain : Yet he shall come to his end perhaps in the battel of the great day of God Almighty]& none shall help him. But before he comes to his end the tenth part of the great City must
fall: for after the fall of that city its added: The second Wo is past & behold the third Wo cometh quickly.Which seems to be meant of For e
battel of eat that time, saith Daniel, there shall be a time of trouble such as never was till since there was a nation till that same time, & at that time thy people [the Iews] shall be delivered - & many of them that sleep in the dust shall awake
Daniel himself shall stand in his lot at the end of the days. And Matthew
tells us that immediately after the great tribulation the Sun shall be smitten
& the Moon shall not give her light & the stars shall fall from
heaven & the powers of the heaven shall be shaken, that is, the kingdoms
of this world t
the kingdoms of r& they s And Iohn saith that upon pouring out the f sixt Vial upon Euphrates the water thereof was dried up that the way
of the kings of the east might be prepared, [ that is, to the battel of the great
day. ffor these are the kings of the Earth chth
world are gathered to that battel by the three spirits unclean spirits. These
spirits come out of the mouth of the Dragon (chrsente
Empire,
& the Beast & ffals Prophet were taken & being of the same religion were cast
same punishment being cast into the Lake of fire, but the Beast Dragonth
into the bottomless pit, che
However since its said, after the fall of the tenth part of the great City,
that e
decided by time, whether the Turkish empire come to its end before the sounding
of the seventh Angel, or whether we are
act against the Catholicks will be over soon after the
city fell or soon after, but the Empire it self not ruined before the fall of the sounding of the seventh Angel.
tenth p
And at that time shall Michael stand up [that Michael who fought th
the great Prince ch
the Dragon, that Messiah the of & Lord of Lords who comes to ehis
& a two edged sword in his mouth.] And [when the king of eth
fury to make away many] there shall be a time of trouble such as there never was
since there was a nation till that same time. And at that time thy people shall be [who are newly returned from the nations
delivered] & dwell o & dwell without walls
every one who shall
be found written in the book. And many of them that sleep in ee
awake some [who have been martyred or have not worshipped the Beast & his Image nor re
ceived his mark] to everlasting life & some to everlasting shame & contempt. And they that
be
ness as the stars for ever & ever. Thus Daniel brings down this Prophesy to the first re
surrection.
After this prophesy has thus in continual order of time been brought down to e
resurrection: the Angel being asked, How long shall be [the
wonders, replied
accomplished to scatter the power of the holy people [that is to when he shall bring
them back from their captivity
that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, & the abomination that maketh desolate [or
be set up [unto the return of the captivity & cleansing of the sanctuary] there shall
be 1290 days. Blessed is he that waitheth & cometh to ebe come out of etribul great tribulation with Palm branches in their hands]
shall arise] But go thou thy way Daniel for thou shalt rest & stand in thy lot at
the end of the days.
These numbers relating to ee
nation in that time, they seem to me to begin either with that time A.C. 609 & or perhaps a little later. suppose ffor many ofeth century &
beginning of the ninth opposed the worship of
opposition was over, ch
Council of Nice A.C. 788 or rather not till the reign of the Empress Theodo
ra & her son A.AC. 841 & Council of Constantinople for setting up this worship
the year following.
The little horn of Daniel's fourth beast was
first kings ch
laws were given into his hand for a time times & half a time. The three kings
were not rooted up before A.C.
ral estate e
rest of e
gience to him & A.C.
earth & that
the same time he took upon him to create c
The Gentiles trode down e
name of Gentiles from their worshipping the abomination of desolation all that
time. Whence the Beast (who is those Gentiles) is said to act 42 months & so long woman & Whore of Babylon & was
The time of the first & second Wo is by Daniel called the time of the end. And when the Angel tells Daniel that he was come to make him understan
what shall befall his people in the latter days
And therefore Iohn tells us that when he wrote his Epistles it was the last time as he knew by the many Antichrists ch
The last times began with the forerunners of Antichrist the time of the end with the reign of Antichrist himself.
The Angel Gabriel who was sent to Daniel with the Prophesy of the scripture
of truth [& afterwards appeared to Iohn in eth
was come to make him understand what shall befall his people in the latter
days & then
guishing them into four successive periods the following succes successive periods. And
first he describes the kings of Persia & Greece & enumerates the
ander & in Egypt & Persia reign invasion of Egypt
& there he begins to tell Daniel what should befall his people. Both And both these
kings hearts shall be to do mischief & they shall speak lyes at one table
[against
but it shall not prosper for yet the end ch
shall he return [out of Egypt through Iudea] into his land th
of the Iews [& his heart shall be against the holy covenant &c eto the south & come to the south; but it shall not be as the former or as the tth[
arms shall stand up [the kingdom of Pergamus inherited by the Romans] & they shall
pollute e
of time described, One till the reigne of Antiochus who attempted to take away the daily
sacrifice, but without success, the next to the reign of Nero & Vespasian who succeeded
in taking it away ee
the Apocalyps in chthe
And cause to dissemble by f corrupt by
flatteries [& cause them to apostatize] but the people that
& act. And they that understand among the people [the Apostles & their followers] shall instruct
many: yet they shall fall by the sword & by flame & by captivity & by spoile many days [being
persecuted by the heathen Roman Empire
And after him [the Roman Empire with& they shall [gradually pollute e
[gradually] take away the daily sacrifice & place the abomination chthe
Iews in e
shall he corrupt by flatteries but the people [to worship the abomination] but the people that do
know their God shall be strong & act [against it.] And they that understand among the people [the
Apostles & their followers] shall instruct many: yet they shal fall by the sword & by flame & by
captivity & by spoile many days [being persecuted by the heathen Roman Empire] till the days of Constantin Now when they shall fall they shall be holpen the Great]theconversion
Constantine eto Ch but many [heathens pretending to be christians[pretending to [pretending to be Christians whereby they shall be involved in new troubles] And of them
be Christians
of understanding there shall fall to try them [& distinguish them from the hypocrites] & to purge
& make them white even to the time of the end, because it is yet for a time appointed
[before the time of the end commence& the abomination fully
And [whare falling
& by his laws & edicts[so as to be obeyed & worshipped & shall speak marvellous things against th
the God of Gods, &
Iews] be accomplished [Antiochus in attempting to oppress the Iews & ffor that that is determined shall be done.set up take away their daily sacri
fice
be obeyed till the end of this prophesy.]