its wisdom whereby it hath deceived all the nations of the earth, and hath always persecuted and killed the saints, the beloved city of God, from the beginning of the world, even from the righteous Abel to the end of the world; I say this spirit of reason which is called by the spirit, Satan, a devil; this spirit who hath caused Gog and Magog, and all the nations of the earth to persecute the saints; this devil, with all the seed who hath fought under his banner, though in several forms and manner, he, and they, with the beast, and false prophet, with all their adherents, shall be cast into a lake of fire and brimstone, where they shall be tormented for ever and ever; and this fire and brimstone is that wrath of God that cometh down from heaven, which is called by the spirit fire that came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them, &c.

So that this chapter is but a rehearsal of what was said before in chapters xviii. and xix. both of the destruction of mystery Babylon, and of the glory of the saints. Yet I thought it something necessary to open the meaning of Gog and Magog, because I have not met with those words before, neither have I spoken of them in that book, aforesaid. But as for the rest of the matter in chap. xx. I have said as much as need to be said of it, in one place or other in this treatise, and in the Interpretation of the eleventh of the Revelation, and to repeat one thing twice over would be needless; and as for the chief heads contaned in chapters xxi. xxii. I have opened them in the said Interpretation of the the eleventh of the Revelation. So that I shall interpret a little

what

what is meant by those words of John's Revelation, in chap. xxii. and verses 18, 19, and so conclude this epistle.

TH

CHAP. LXXXI.

HESE words of John have been an occasion of many persecuting, and ignorant men and women's spirits, to persecute and rail against the purest truth that ever was declared, and against the true messengers whom God hath chosen and sent; whom he hath endued with the spirit of revelation, and interpretation of scriptures, more than all the men in the world besides, in that when things have been declared, and scriptures interpreted beyond the common sense that learned men have declared and interpreted, they have said with great anger and zeal, that we have either added to the word of God, or else we have diminished from it. Therefore to satisfy the reader, I shall open how a man may be said to add unto the prophesy of this book of John's Revelation, and how he may be said to diminish, or take away the words of this prophesy of this book.

The words of John are these, verse 18. For I testify unto every man that heareth the words of the prophesy of this book, if any man shall add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book. Verse 19. And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophesy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and

out

out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.

I would have the reader to mind, and he may know whether a man doth add unto this book, or take from it; for this is to be minded, that whoever doth undertake to be a minister of Christ without a commission from him, or shall undertake to give the interpretation of the scriptures, without having the gift of interpretation; which gift he cannot have except he have a commission from God, or from him that did receive it from God. For how is it possible that any man should give true interpretations of the scriptures, and of that book of the Revelation of St. John, and yet not know the true God, nor the right devil?

Therefore it is for certain, that all non-commissionated ministers and speakers whatsoever in all these seven churches in Europe, I say, it is they only that do add unto this book, and they only that do take from it. they may be said to add to it, because they give this, and that sense upon the words of this prophesy, even what their imaginations doth dictate unto them, they being uncertain in themselves that what they say to be true. So that whoever doth take upon him to be a minister of the gospel, and to interpret the scriptures without a commission from God, or that knowledge aforesaid, I say such men as those may be said to add unto the words of the prophecy of this book of the Revelation; and not only so, but to the whole book of the scriptures. For all men that do undertake to be ministers and preachers of Christ without a commission from him,

they

they not being sent by him, these men only are those that do add unto the prophesy of this book; that is, they add their own vain thoughts and conceivings of their own imaginations unto the truths of God. So that instead of the true meaning of the scriptures, the people have nothing else but the preachers thoughts and conceivings of the scriptures, and so are altogether unsatisfied in their spirits; and these are those men that do add unto the prophesy of this book of the Revelation, and to the book of the scriptures. So in like manuer will God add unto him, or them, the plagues that are written in this book.

Now what these plagues are, they are spoken of in this book. The plagues that shall be added unto them, are spiritual; that is to say, spiritual darkness upon the mind here, and the fear of the second death; so that the soul of man shall possess the second death, which shall burn as a lake of fire and brimstone in utter darkness, where is weeping and gnashing of teeth to eternity. These are those spiritual plagues that God will add to all those men that go to be preachers of his gospel, and were not seat by him; for they only do add unto the prophesy of this book. So that the reader may see, what a dangerous thing it is for a man to take upon him to prophesy, preach, or teach as a messenger of Christ, without a commission from him. For whoever doth so, he doth add his own vain thoughts and imaginations in the scriptures of those heavenly secrets, mysteries, and visions declared by holy men, who were inspired by the holy Ghost, or the revelation of faith, to write those things aforesaid;

yet

yet men by their own imaginations, by the gift of learning, and by the natural wisdom of reason, will undertake to interpret scriptures, and to be preachers to others, without a commission from God, and without any true knowledge of God. And so these men do come to add other interpretations of their own conceivings unto the scriptures, which is contrary to the mind of that spirit that writ them, and so they become capable to receive of those plagues that are written in this book, as aforesaid.

CHAP. LXXXII.

ALSO I would have the reader to know, that

the same men that do add their conceivings unto this book, the same sort of men do take away from the words of this book of this prophesy. They may be said to take away from it, in that they will not suffer any true interpreter to expound the meaning of the words of the prophesy of that book of the Revelation, or any other scriptures; only this, some men's minds are acted out one way, and some another; some men so they may be suffered to speak their own phantasies upon the scriptures, so as to please themselves and their hearers; that is, they care not how much they add to this book, not minding to take any thing from it. It is not their principles to take any thing from the scriptures, but their delight is altogether to add their vain conceptions, conceiving the meaning thus, and thus.

But he that taketh away from this book, is such a one that will not suffer the true interpretation of $ s the