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no longer kept Secret from the World: till which time Providence will take care, as it has done thro' former Ages, that they fhall conftantly be hid from Men, and referv'd for the proper Seafons of their Difcovery. For certainly the Unfolding thefe Secrets of Providence to any Age, as well as their Original Revealing to St. John, is one of thofe things which the Father has put in his own power; and which, for wife Reasons, he Conceals from fome, and Discovers to other Ages by unfeen me-. thods of his Providence. But to proceed to our Business.

The PREFACE to the OPEN CODICIL.

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ND I Saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, Apoc.x. 1-12. clothed with a cloud, and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the fun, and his feet as pillars of fire. 2. And he had in his hand a little book open: and he fet his right foot upon the fea, and his left foot on the earth,

3. And cryed with a loud voice, as when a lion roreth: and when he had cryed, feven thunders uttered their voices.

4. And when the feven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write and I heard a voice from heaven, faying unto me, Seal up thofe things which the feven thunders uttered, and write them not.

5. And the angel which I faw ftand upon the fea, and upon the earth, lifted up his hand to heaven,

6. And fware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who create ed heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the fea and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer.

7. But in the days of the voice of the feventh angel, when he fhall begin to found, the mystery of God (hould be finished, as he. bath declared to his fervants the prophets.

8. And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and faid, Go, and take the little book which is open in the. band of the angel which ftandeth upon the fea, and upon the earth..

9. And I went unto the angel, and faid unto him, Give me the

little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up and it Jhall make thy belly butter,but it fall be in thy mouth fweet as honey.

10. And I took the little book out of the Angels band, and are it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey: and as foon as I bad eaten it, my belly was bitter.

11. And he faid unto me, Thou must prophecy again before many people, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

Inthis Preface to the fecond great System of the Apocalyptick Vifions, the Angel of the Covenant, Chrift our Lord, the fame that open'd the Sealed Book, comes again in a Glorious Appearance to Introduce this Open Codicil alfo. And he fets his right foot on the fea, and his left foot on the earth, in token of his being the rightful Owner, and Poffeffor, and Lord of all the world. He has in his hand a little book open, or fmall Codicil, containing feveral new Prophecies relating to the future State of his Church, to be annex'd to the larger Series of the Sealed Book: and being fo far from the Obfcurity and Abftrufenefs of the former, that they are all plain and explicit; and the Codicil it felf open for all Readers. He begins his Errand with crying with a loud voice, as when a lion roreth, perhaps to procure Silence and Attention to the Meffage he was to deliver, or perhaps uses that Solemn Oath which is mention'd presently: and as foon as he had thus cry'd,he is interrupted, or fucceeded by feven thunders utterring their voices. But thofe feven Thunders being forbidden to be written, are quickly over, and fo make no great Interruption. This great Angel therefore, having procur'd an awful Attention to his Meffage, fwears moft folemnly by the eternal God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, and the Sea, and of all things that are in them, That altho' he now comes to introduce a new System of Visions of another nature from those in the Sealed Book; and that in the Interval between the fixth and seventh Trumpet, before all the Seals are fully over: (viz. because these new Visions are, in the main, to be over and concluded, before that feventh Trumpet begins :) Yet that he does not thereby intend to alter, or fufpend the Accomplishment of the full Series of the former Prophecy; but that ftill God is refolv'd to obferve punctually the great Aim and Tenor of that Sealed Book; and to begin his Son's Kingdom on the Diffolation of

the

the Tyrannical Power of thefour Monarchies,precifely at the first found of the feventh Trumpet, or rather fomewhat before it begins to found; as being the conclufion of that great Period, which he had fo long ago fix'd for thofe Idolatrous Empires by his Servants the Old Prophets of the Jews; and which he would inviolably obferve accordingly. Now by this Solemn Oath of our Saviour, (exactly parallel to one in Daniel, and Dan.xij. 7. about the very fame Events;) who alone has the privilege from God of Revealing all thefe Myfteries, in what manner, and by what method he pleafes, care is taken that the prefent omiffion of the founding of the feventh Trumpet now immediately after the fixth, as the natural Order of thefe Vifions feem'd to require, might not be thought an Indication of an Interruption or Delay about it: but that when it comes afterward to found in the Open Codicil; and when its particular Vials come on after the Open Codicil is over, every one may ftill own it as a part of the Sealed Book going on in order, and without interruption as to its Events, altho' for a great reafon, al- Lem.15.priusready confider'd, the account of it be thus broken off, and delay'd in the Revelation. This remarkable Preface being thus over, the Angel gives this little open Book to St. John: and in imitation of a like action in Ezekiel, he commands him to eat Ezek. ij. 8. & the Book; and as there, tells him before-hand that this Codicil, iij. 1,2, 3. how fmal! fo ever it was, would be fweet indeed in his mouth, but fufficiently bitter upon his ftomach afterward; either as containing only a fhort State of Purity and Holynefs in the Church at first, but a long State of Idolatry and Wickedness afterwards: or rather, according to the parallel Scheme in Ezekiel, because the prefent knowledge of Things Future, would feem at firft very fweet and grateful, where yet the fadContents themselves, could not but foon fpoil all that fudden pleasure, and make the Prophet very uneafy and dissatisfy'd at the unwelcome fear and profpect of them. And indeed this reprefentation is very fitly confin'd to this Open Codicil, and omitted in the Sealed Book Because, tho' the Sealed Book takes in the fad Times of Antichrift, as well as this Open Codicil; yet that alfo takes in, and concludes with the glorious and moft happy State of theChurch after all the Miseries of Antichrift are over : whereas this Open

Codicil

Codicil goes not fo far, but concludes with the Antichriftian State, without the leaft intimation of the Glorious Times that were to fucceed: which might well make the Apoftle's Belly bitter, by the fad Confideration of the woful Condition of the Chriftian Church during the greatest part of the times refer'd to, and defcrib'd therein. When this is over, our Saviour af fures St. John, that he having now eaten and digefted this Open Codicil, he muft, befides his former Task, enter on a new one ; and must go and declare the Purport of this little Book, as well as the former, to the World. He must begin again to Prophecy, and that very publickly alfo: because a great part of the World was to be deeply concern'd in it, as the last words plainly imply, Thou must prophecy again before many people, and nations, and tongues, and kings. Upon which laft words take Dr. Allix's Judicious Obfervation before we go any farther; They fhew, fays he, that it is not spoken of the Heathen Empire when there were not feveral Kings, but of the Beftian Kings afterwards, under the times of Antichrift.

Apoc. xj. 1, 2.

See Lemma 13. prius.

Ezek. Chap. xl to xliv.

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VISION I.

The two Courts of the Temple.

ND there was given me a reed like unto a rod, and the angel food faying, Rife and measure the temple of God, and · the altar, and them that worship therein.

2. But the court which is without the temple caft out, and meafure it not for it is given unto the Gentiles. And the holy City fhall they tread under foot forty and two months.

In this first Vifion of the Open Codicil, we have the future State of the Church, from St. John's days diftinguish'd into two parts, answering to the two Courts of Ezekiels Temple. The firft State of the Church, reprefented by the Inner Court, wherein was the Temple or Nas it felf; the Altar of Burntofferings, and the Priests, who always worshipped God there; was to be fo Pure and Regular, that it was to be meafur'd by

St.

St. John; and diftinguish'd from Profane to Sacred ufes: or look'd upon as regular, holy, and fanctified for 360 Prophetick Days. The latter State of the Church, reprefented by the Outer Court, was not to be meafur'd, or fet apart as holy; but caft out and rejected as unholy and profane; as indeed being to be given to the Gentiles to tread it down and pollute it. So that where the Holy City, or Nation of the Ifraelites, ufed alone to appear to worship before God, now the polluted Gentiles were to inhabit, and trample it under their feet: and that for 42 Prophetick Months, or 1260 Days together. i. e. The Church of Chrift fhould continue comparatively Pure, and Innocent, and Holy, and free from Idolatry and Perfecution, for 360 years from the feeing of these Visions by St. John, A. D. 96. or till A.D.456. and after that, Antichriftian Idolatry, and Perfecution, and Impurity fhould infect it, and prevail over it, for 1260 years together; or till A. D. 1716. the grand Period of thefe Vifions contain'd in this Open Codicil, and the time juft preceding the commencing of Chrift's glorious Kingdom. And if we look into the Annals of the Church, we fhall find the event has hitherto anfwered and therefore we have no reafon to fear, but what yet future, will as certainly be fulfilled in its feafon alfo hereafter. For, as to the most Primitive Ages of the Gofpel, and the Extraordinary Purity, Holiness, and undefil'd Religion which then obtain'd, both as to the Faith, and Practice, and Difcipline of the Church, it is too well known to need any proof here and those who are not willing to be at the trouble of a perufal of the Ancient Writers of thofe times themfelves, may find an excellent account of it in Dr. Cave's Primitive Christianity; a Book well worthy the perufal of all Chriftians; not only to fatisfy them of the truth of the prefent affertion, but alfo to infpire them with Zeal and Diligence, in all fuch means, as are any way fit to restore, and re-eftablifh that ancient degree of Primitive Chriftianity amongst us again. Which as it is the duty of all good Men, in all ages; fo fhould it at this time be more especially attempted, in order to comply with the Divine Providence and Promifes, which now feem to point at a fudden exaltation of Chrift's Kingdom; or

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