Part 2. Why God places these three unclean This time is called the day of God Almighty, be- Thefe Kings of the Earth are gather'd together in Armageddon. The place Armageddon, is the place from whence the thunderbolts of excommunications and curfes do come forth; i. e. the See of Rome, and of the Pope or the Vatican, whofe thunderbolts have fo often confumed whole Countries. All the Kings who are fubject to the Popedom, are gather'd, leagued and united, in this place, and by this place. Seeing the Prophet had represented the papal Laws as Ipirits and perfons, he ought in the fame manner to reprefent the Excommunication or Curfe, as a place which unites and gathers together the men who are contain❜d init. Behold, I come as a thief, blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his garments, left he walk naked, and they fee his shame. This is a Parenthefis, which hath relation to the battel, that the papal laws; cenfures, interdicts, anathema's, decifions and Papifts do fight against the Truth and the Faith, to admonifh the faithfull, that they be upon their guard against fo many affaults, and fo many lying Oracles, which deceive the minds and hearts of men. There remains only one difficulty, and that is, to know why the Holy Ghoft places these papal spifpirits of rits or Laws under the fixth viol: but the reasons are evident enough. Popery under the fixth viol. First rea This fixth viol begins its period in the year 1390. ágn. when the Turks began to pass over the Archipel and and the Bosphorus, they went ftill forward, untill Part 2. the year 1526. when they ceafed to gain ground upon the Weft. Now'twas at this time, that the body of the papal Laws, (ftyl'd the Canon Law) was compleated; the Clementines had been publifht by John XXII. about the year 1320. he likewise publifht the Extravagants. But the Common, or the common Extravagants appeared not, nor were compiled till the end of the fifteenth Century: So that, 'tis properly in this fixth period of the viols, that this work of darkness was wholly finifht. Now 'tis natural, when fomething is to be brought upon a great Theatre, that it may be shown, to stay till it be finifht; and therefore the Prophet ought not to speak fooner of these papal Laws. The 15th of Excom Befides, there never had been any age, or time, second wherein there were more Armageddons, Anathe- reafon. ma's and Excommunications, then in this period. Cenfury The Popes at Rome and Avignon did excommuni- was an Age cate one another. Within this period, the Councils municati of Pifa, Conftance, Bafil, Florence, and the Lateran ons. under Julius II. and Leo X. were held; and it was nothing but anathema's, excommunications, canons, decifions, cenfures, either against Popes or pretended bereticks, as the Wickliffites, Bohemians, Taborites, and lastly against Luther, &c. Lastly,thefe fpirits are most fitly placed under the Third Read period of the fixth viol,because then the Bulls,deci- fon, fions, decrees of the Church of Rome, gathered the Kings of the Earth to battel against the Bohemians. And Zifca having gain'd fuch fignal victories, that they might well be called the battels of the great day of God Almighty; a Croisade was publisht against him, and all those who stood for the Truth in Bobemia, and the neighbouring Countries. Part 2. It is done, chriẞ. CHAP. X. The feventh plague is the preaching of Luther, and other Reformers, by which the Latin Church was divided into three parts, Papists, Luthe rans, and Reformed. A Nd thus behold, we are come to the seventh and laft viol. V. 17. And the feventh Angel pour'd out his viol into the air, and there came a great voyce out of the Temple of Heaven from the Throne, faying, It is done. This expreffion, It is done, hath deceived all the does not Interpreters; who have confounded this moment final ruin or fpace of time, with that of the feventh trumpei, of Anti- when it must be proclaim'd, It is done, the Kingdoms are brought under our Lord Jefus Chrift; The great Babylon is wholly deftroyed, &c. They have believed, that this expreffion, It is done, fignified the total deftruction of the Antichriftian Kingdom, at that very moment. But certainly, they are miftaken. It is done, is nothing elfe, but It is The viols done with the viols; this is the laft, this is the lat hend and period of the Antichriftian Kingdom, and which fignify pe- Thall comprehend its total ruin. We have remarkt compre riods of fome length. already, that every period contained in every viol, took in a confiderable fpace of time, a hundred, a hundred and forty, a hundred and fifty years, and more. Therefore, there is no reafon not to allow fome length of time to this feventh viol, it ought to have as much at leaft as the others; yea, more, be caufe 'tis the laft; and confequently it must have about about two hundred years allowed to it. And this Part 2. is the period that comprehends the total ruin of Antichrift; which ruin (as we fhall fee anon) is divided into two parts, the harvest and the vintage; the harvest hath been in the age laft paft, the vintage must be at the end of this, and the beginning of the next age. This laft viol begins exactly at the preaching of Luther, and as an hour-glaß muft run untill the total deftruction of popery: And I hope none will doubt of this, when we fhall have made out, how exactly all that follows in the Prophecy, agrees with the times and things which have been feen fince the Reformation. This feventh viol is pour'd not upon the Earth, or the Sea, or the Sun, or the Seat of the Beaft, as the others were; but on the air, which is the feat of the voyce of founds, and thunders, and we fhall prefently give you the reafons. venth viol Preachers, ruin of V. 18. And there were voyces, and thunders, and lightning, and there was a great Earthquake, fuch as was not fince men were upon the Earth, fo mighty an Earthquake and fo great. Thefe voyces, thefe The fe lightnings, and thefe thunders, are the voyces of raifeth Preachers, who labour'd in Reforming the Church: we fhall afterward fee, that there are three ways for the of Reforming the Church, the way of Inspiration, Antichri?. the way of Authority, the way of Preaching this laft is fignified by voyces and thunders: And 'twas this way that God ufed, to reform the Church in the laft age. Thefe voyces glittered like lightnings, and paffed with a prodigious fwiftnefs from one end of the Antichriftian Kingdom to the other. All men faw them, and would fee them, men ftudied Religion. The very Grandees of the World (perfons who defpife knowledge) were concerned in thefe affairs. Henry VIII. wrote a book against Luther Hh.3 Partz. Luther, Charles the fifth made Laws about Religion now on the account of thefe lightnings, i. e. the voyces of Preachers, this feventh viol is faid to be poured on the air; for the air is the feat and vehicle of the voyce. There was a great Earthquake. In the Prophetick ftyle, this fignifies a change of the face of the World: the Earth plainly fignifies here the frame and face of the Antichriftian Kingdom. We have already seen, and shall afterward have occafion to fee, that Earthquakes in the figurative style of the Prophets, always fignify a change of the face of the World: because Earthquakes do overturn not only Cities, but Mountains, Forrefts, hilly Countries and Vallies: they fet Mountains where Vallies stood, and Vallies where Mountains ftood; in fo much that the face of a whole Country is changed. Now all know what a change the reformation made in the face of popery. It took away from it at one clap feveral Kingdoms, and a great number of Soveraign States. And this Earthquake i. e. this change of affairs was fo great, that there had not been fuch fince men were upon the Earth. This may be truly spoken without any exaggeration. For we muft obferve, that this laft period comprehending the harvest and the vintage, the first and laft deftruction of Antichrift; 'tis undoubted, that the face of the World was never fo changed, as it fhall be changed after the total ruin of Antichrift, the time of the first establishing of Christianity not excepted. For at that time, there were great numbers of men converted, up and down among the Nations: But at the time we fpeak of, all the Nations and whole Nations fhall fubmit themfelves to the Faith. And thus, this period fhall make greater changes |