Part 2. 'Tis not neceffary

that the Kingdom

of Anti

The wine-prefs was trodden without the City, and blood came out of the wine-prefs, even unto the horses bridles, by the space of a thousand fix bundred furlongs. 'Tis a great question whether the Antichriftian Kingdom thall be destroy'd by fword, should be fire, and bloodfhed. I fee nothing in the whole with great Revelation, which obliges us to believe fo for shedding though in this and feveral other paffages,the ruin of

chrift

deftroyed

papery is painted out, in expreffions borrowed from war, flaughter, and bloodshed; yea, in the most terrible and high expreffions; nevertheless, this may very well be understood figuratively; for the deftruction of Paganifme is painted out in' almoft the fame expreffions by the Prophets, though it was brought to pafs without bloodshed. As the Kingdom of the Beast was formed without war, by the fottifh complaifance of the Kings of the Earth, who fuffered their power to be fnatcht from them, or rather did voluntarily furrender it; fo this Antichriftian Kingdom may perifh without weapon, by a word of two Letters. The Princes of the Earth need onely fay NO, and the tyranny of Antichrift will fall to the ground. And as for Idolatry, which is the other part of Antichriftianifm, the word and grace of God muft destroy it. Neverthelefs, I am willing to fubmit to the general confent of Interpreters of both Communions, who unanimously hold, that in the ruin of the Antichriftian Kingdom, there fhall be a great effufion of blood, and that Babylon, the capital City of that Kingdom, fhall be laid in afhes. I am willing therefore to believe, that there fhall be fome bloodshed, not for any paffages in the Revelation, but for these two Rome mut Reafons. 1. The first, that 'tis not probable that be mifera- the Pope and his Partifans will yield without refiftance; they will ftand out, and in defending them

bly defroyed.

felves will attaque; in which attaque they fhall Part 2. perifh. 2. The fecond, it feems agreeable to the Divine juftice, that the City of Rome, that for two thousand years is the Mistress of the World, the tyrant of the univerfe, which hath fhed fo much blood, and has bin delug'd with fo many impurities, fhould be overwhelmed and the World be avenged. Kerufalem who was not guilty of fuch excefs,is ruined by a dreadful destiny.'Tisnot probable,that God makes ready a lefs deftruction for the City of Rome.

1:

If this be fo, this paffage without doubt is one Here the laft lacking of thofe that foretell this bloody Tragedy. The of Rome is City which is fpoken of here, without the City,muft fore-told, be Rome. But we have faid before, and fhall hereaf ter prove,that this word ought to be taken only for Rome, in conjunction with her Empire. Here'tis Rome alone, and not her Empire. Tis true, but the reafon is, that when the fhall be laid waste (in the manner that is mention'd here) fhe fhall have no more any Empire, all her Provinces fhall be revolted, the fhall be left alone of her whole party, fo that in this place the ought to appear all alone." And the City cannot fignify any more then the City of Rome; because the fhall have no more any dependent Provinces, excepting that which is called the patrimony of St. Peter, which fofeph Mede believes, is meant by these thoufand fix hundred furlongs. For he faith, that the Countrey that reaches from the walls of Rome unto the river Po contains 200 Italian miles, which make exactly 1600 furlongs. If this conjecture be true, (as 'tis probable) this fignifies, that all the forces which the. Pope fhall be able to get together, fhall be wholly defroy'd without the City, i. e. without Rome, in that part of the Country which lyes betwixt Rome and the River Po.

Part 2.

CHAP.

XII

The explication of that part of the eleventh Chapter, where the last perfecution made by Antichrift is fore-told, which is the prefent perfecution in France, The death of the two witneffes, who shall not be buried, by means of the fuccour brought by the enemies of France.

Tthe ruin of antichriftianifm is fore-fold, is

firft Chapter in the Revelation, where

the eleventh. We paffed over it, for the reasons above mention'd. We come again to it at prefent, and place it the laft, that we may place it according to the order of events, We have obferved, that there is found in it an Epitome, or fhort draught of the whole Hiftory of the Church, from the refurrection of Jefus Chrift, untill his coming into the World to erect his Kingdom there. The pure Church of the three firft ages is hid under thefe words, measure the Temple and the Altar, and those that worship therein; And the corrupted Antichriftian one under the Gentiles, who must tread under foot the holy City forty and two months. That is, the outward Court; but the Court that is without the Temple, leave out, and measure it not, for it is given to the Gentiles. This outward Court, as Usher hath divinely explain'd it in his Prophecy, fignifies Chriftians in appearance, whofe Religion confifts in the performance of fome external duties of Christianity, without having the inward life, or the

true

true Faith, which should unite them to Jefus Chrift. Part 2. But those who worship in the Temple, and before the Altar, are those who fincerely worship God in fpirit and truth, whofe fouls are his Temples, in which he is adored and honoured with the most inward thoughts of their hearts, and who offer unto him a conftant facrifice, not onely of their lusts, but of their whole felves. Thus this holy man fpeaks, and I confefs, that I fee in his words the Character of the fpirit of God. Thefe are the true worshippers, whom God does meafure, and whom he makes account of, and these are those who poffeffed the Church, during the three or four firft ages. But afterward, the Church became an outward Court, was filled with feigned worshippers, who made Christianity to confiit in an appearance of piety, and in external Ceremonies. Then God pronounc'd concerning this Court, let it be given to the Gentiles for forty and two moneths Then Paganism, Idolatry, the worship of fubordinate Gods, Mediators, and a thoufand heathenish Ceremonies were introduced into Chriftianity. And this outward Court,these formal outfide worshippers, were given up to a spirit of error and fuperftition, to begin Antichriftianifm, and make it continue twelve hundred and fixty years. We have alfo in this Chapter the Church under the Cross, perfecuted, and hid in Babylon, in the two Witnesses, who prophefied, cloathed in fackcloth, a thousand two hundred and fixty days. We have in it the found of the last Trumpet, and the thousand years reign of Jefus Chrift and the Church: For at the found of the feventh Trumpet, the Kingdoms of the Earth become Gods and his Chrifts. Lastly, we have in it a remarkable event, which must come to pass at the end of the reign of Antichriftian popery, and 'tis expreffed in these terms.

V.7.

Part 2.

4

The Wito

prophecy

are the

V.7. And when they shall have finisht their teftimony, the Beast that afcendeth out of the bottomlefs pit, shall make war against them,and shall overcomethem, and kill them.

V.8. And their dead bodies shall lye in the freet of the great City, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where alfo our Lord was crucified.

V.9. And they of the people, and kindreds, and tongues, and nations, shall fee their dead bodies three dayes and a half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put into graves.

V.10. And they that dwell upon the Earth shall rejoyce over them, and make merry, and fend gifts one to another, because these two Prophets tormented them that dwelt upon the Earth.

V. 11. And after three days and an half, the spirit of life from God entred into them, and they food upon their feet; and great fear fell upon them whick faw them.

V. 12. And they heard a great voyce from heaven, faying unto them: Come up hither; and they afcended up to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies beheld them.

V.13. And the fame hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the City fell, and in the earth quake were flain of men feven thousand, and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to

God.

As to what concerns thefe two witneffes, i.e. neffes who what is fignified by them. I have not changed cloathed in my opinion fince I wrote the book intitled, Lawfackcloth, full prejudices against popery. Though as to all the faithful, reft, the ftudious attention which I have used in who preach reading thefe Prophecies, hath given me quite difCrofs. ferent apprehenfions; I do therefore still believe, that these two Wineffes, who must prophesy 1260

under the

days,