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Ch. 12. &

cation.

This is the Epitome of the whole Hiftory of the Church, & the fenfe of the 11th Chapter.

After this general idea of the History of its expli. the Church, the Prophet enters upon the particulars. In the 12th. Ch. God fhews him the vifion of the Woman that was with child, & deliver'd of a Son, & perfecuted by the Red Dragon, who fain would devour the Child of the Woman. Afterwards there is a battle fought by Michael & his Angells, against the Dragon. The Dragon is overcome and caft to the Earth; but as much overcome as he was, he ceaseth not to perfecute the Woman. She is forced to escape into the Wilderness where fhe is nourisht 1260 Days. The Dragon not being able to reach her, vomited out a flood after her; but the Earth open'd, & fwallow'd up the flood, & faved the Woman. This Woman is the Apoftolical Church; this Child of which the is deliver'd, is pure & holy Christianity. The Dragon is the Devil, who by the authority of the Roman Empire, would devour & extinguish Chriftianing in its birth. Michael & his Angells are Jefus Chrift & his Minifters celeftial as well as terreftrial, The combat of the Red Dragon & Michael is the combat of 300 Years that was between God & the Devil, during the ten perfecutions, of the Roman Heathen Emperours; The. Devil endeavouring on one hand to destroy the Chriftian Church by the cruelty of the Emperours; & God on the other hand defending it by his Martyrs, & Teachers. The

victory

victory gotten over the Red Dragon is the cafting down of Heatbenifm, which falls to the Earth & is caft from Heaven i. e. 'tis tumbled down from the throne by Conftantine & his fucceffors to the reign of Theodofius. The great flood which the Red Dragon cafts after the Woman, when he was thrown down on the Earth, is thofe inundations of Herefies, that Arrianifm, that cover'd the Chriftian World immediatly after the fall of Heathenifm under Conftantine. The Earth swallowed up this flood in favour of the Woman; thefe Herefies were destroyed & fwallowed up as in a moment & the Church remained deliver'd from them by a kind of miracle. But the Dragon doth not yield for all that, but goes to make war with the remnant of the feed of the Woman, i. e. he endeavours to caufe to be brought forth an Antichriftian Empire for the ruin of the Church; the thing which he will further explain in the following Chapter. We have therfore in this the History of the Church to the end of the fourth Century or the beginning of the fifth. For it is in the space of thefe 400 Tears that the Apoftolique Church did bring forth Chriftianity, that Christianity was perfecuted by the Emperours, that 7. Chrift did miraculously preferve it, that it remained victorious under Conftantine, that the Church was almoft ruin'd by Arrianifm, & that the faw her felf happily deliver'd from it.

St. John fpends but one Chapter about the first Period of the Church of 400 Years, because the great events were defign'd to be in the following Periods.

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The 13th Chapter according to the most exact c.13.3. rules of method begins where the 12th, ended. 3. &

H

We

An Epi.

tome of

ry foretold

in the

13th, Ch.

We have in the 13th. Chapter the birth of the the Hifto- Babylonish Empire, which is grafted on the Roman Empire: this is the firft Beast that arifeth out of the Sea, having feven Heads & ten Horns; the seventh of these Heads is laden with ten Horns, each of which is adorned with a Crown, to fignify that these were fo many Kings. These ten Kings are the continuation of the Roman Empire under the feventh Head, which is that of Antichrift. These ten Kings are fubject to this seventh Head, & together with it compose one Empire. A fecond Beaft arifes out of the Earth; it is the fame Empire & the fame Beaft, or rather 'tis the feventh Head of the firft Beaft. This Empire of Antichrift,that was reprefented in the first vifion as one of the Heads, is reprefented in the fecond vifion as a new Beaft; because it is the ancient Empire of Rome, & yet nevertheless 'tis a New one. 'Tis the continuation of the Roman Empire, having the fame feat, viz. the City of Rome, & extending it felf very near over the very felffame Provinces. It is a New Empire, because it is in another form, & under another name, & is called the Empire of the Church, & an Ecclefiaftical Empire. These two Beafts therfore fill up but one & the fame Period, in which the Head of the Emperors, that was mortally wounded, is healed again by Antichrift, in which Period ways of worshipping and doctrines full of impiety & blafphemy are advanced in the Church. In which Period the Saints are overcome, & the Truth is buried; in which all the inhabitants of the Earth worship the Beast, & fubmit themfelves to the Babylonish Empire; in which Antichrift, whofe name contains the Number 666. makes an image of the firft Roman Empire, &

caufeth

caufeth it to be worshipped; laftly, in which all liberty to buy, & fell, & live is taken away, unless men will bear the Image of the Beast. All this is the Hiftory of the 1260 Tears, that begin about the time that the 400 Years of the firft Period do end. This is according to the rules of History.

The 14th. Ch. begins alfo where the 13th. Aplication ends. It contains the Prophecy of the fall of that of the 14th. Babylonifh Empire reprefented by the two Beafts Chap. of the 13th. Chap. "Tis no longer a Beaft with feven Heads & ten Horns; 'tis no longer the Beast with two Horns; 'tis Spiritual Babylon. But this Babylon is the very fame thing as the firft & the fecond Beaft. She is fallen, fhe is fallen, Babylon that great City great City, because the bath made the nations drunk with the wine of her for

nication.

V. &

The feven foregoing verfes are a preparation for this great fall; & the following ones to the end of the Chapter are a description of the ruin of Babel. The Man that fits on the white cloud, .14 is fefus Chrift. The fickle that is put in first among the corn to mow it down, and afterwards into the vintage to cut down the grapes, are the two degrees of Babylons fall, which we fhall afterwards explain. This is the Analyfis of the 14th Chap.

The H. Ghoft thought it not enough to have Chap. 1s foretold the fall of the Babylonifh Empire in general, he will also inftruct us in the steps by which it muft pafs in falling. And as this is a great affair, the vifion of the 15th. Chapter is employed to prepare mens Spirits for it. The feven Vialls of the wrath and vengeance of God that must overwhelm the Babylonish Empire, are diftributed

Chap, 16.

Chap. 17.

Chap. 18,

to seven distinct Angels, to pour them out at diffe

rent times.

The 16. Chap. contains the pouring forth of thefe Vialls, which are the feveral punishments by which the Empire of the Beaft is afflicted, till it be entirely brought to nothing. And these feven Vials contain all the time of the fall of the Babylonifh Empire: Of this we will treat in a particular Chapter by it felf afterwards. It is enough to know that this Chapter leads the afflicted Church to the very point of her deliverance. And thus you have the whole Hiftory of the Church during the 1260 Tears.

But because these things had been expreffed in figurative terms, and prophetical fymbols of Beafts, Horns, Harvest, Vintage & Vialls, God will explain these things in terms lefs figurative & more intelligible. Therfore the 17th. Ch. is fpent in explaining the Visions of the two Beafts, to give us to underftand, that the Beasts fignify an Empire, that the ten Horns are ten Kings; that these ten Kings out of weakness and complaifance would give their power to the Beast, and that at laft they would ruin him, & take away that power they had formerly given him.

As in the 17th, Ch. the H. Ghoft declares the eftablishment & the progrefs of the Babylonif Empire in a more clear and lefs figurative manner than he had done in the 13th. Chap. in the likė manner in the 18th. Chap. he gives us the particulars of the ruin of this Babylon, more largely & more clearly; more largely I fay, & more clearly than he had done in the 14th. Chap. This hath no need of proof. In the process of this discourse we shall explain the circumftances of this fall.

The

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