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1 

Ex  Libris 
C.  K.  OGDEN 

THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 

OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


'f/ 


A 

TREATISE 

OF  THE 

THREE   EVILS 

OF 

The  Last  Times : 

I.  The  SwoRD^ 

II.  The  Pestilence^ 

III.  The  Famine  ; 

And  of  their 

Natural  and  Moral  Causes. 

As  also  of  the  ensuing 

Coming  of  ANTICHRIST; 

According  to  the 

Notion  of  the  Ancient  Fathers. 

Originally  published  in  171  ]. 

LONDON: 

Printed  for  Hatchard  and  Son,  Piccadilly ; 
L.  B.  Seeley,  Fleet-Street;  and  James 
Duncan,  37,  Paternoster- Row,  1826. 

Price  8s. 


MERCHANT,    PniNTKIt,    INO  RAM-COU  RT,    LONBON. 


THE  CONTENTS. 


Page 

The  Introduction     1 

PART  I. 

§  1.  The  SWORD  the  proper  Punishment  of  the 

Lust  of  the  Eye • 8 

§  2.  That  this  Judgment  shall  surely  come     10 

§  3.  An  Objection  answered 17 

§  4.  A  second  Objection  answered 18 

§  5.  The  End  or  Design  of  those  Desolations     •  •  •  •  21 
§  6.  The  Region   or  Quarter  where  this  Judgment 

shall  begin   23 

§  7.  A  Remnant  saved 28 

§  8.  The  Manner  of  their  Preservation  considered  ••  32 

§  9.  A  Recapitulation  of  this  whole  First  Part..*  •  37 


PART  II. 

The  PESTILENCE 42 

§  1.  The  Pride  of  Life 43 

§  2.  The  Pride  of  Life  further  considered    44 

§  3.  That  this  Sin  will  be  very  rife  in  the  last  Days  47 

§  4.  That  there  shall  be  sore  Diseases  in  the  last  Days  50 


/ 


THE  CONTENTS. 

Page 

§  5.  That  these  Diseases  are  the  proper  Punishments 

of  the  Pride  of  Life 54 

§  6.  The  material  or  instrumental  Causes  of  them  •  •        59 

§  7.  That   there  shall   be  a  Concurrence  of  these 

Causes  in  the  latter  Days • QQ 

§  8.  Who  they  are  that  shall  escape  this  Evil     •  •  •  •       69 


PART  III. 

§  1.  The  FAMINE  the  proper  Punishment  of  the 

Lust  of  the  Flesh    ' 73 

§  2.  This  Branch  of  Sin  more  particularly  considered  75 

§  3.  That  this  Sin  does  usually  produce  this  Punish- 
ment  • 77 

§  4.  That  there  shall  be  great  and  universal  Famines  81 

§  5.  The  Causes  of  this  Evil  excessive  Heat.     This 

proved  from  Scripture     • 8(> 

BHghts,  Mildews,  &c.  imputed  to  Heat 88 

Devouring  Insects  produced  by  Heat 92 

§  6.  A  Recapitulation  of  these  three  Evils     ih. 

§  7.  A  Remnant  saved 94 

§  8.  The  Manner  considered     97 

§  9.  An  Address   to  those  vpho   are  unqualified  for 

Preservation    98 

§  10.  Of  the  other  lesser  Evils  that  shall  prevail  at 

that  time • <>•> lOO 


PART  IV. 

§  1.  The  Word  ANTICHRIST  considered 107 

§  2.  The    State    of    the    Controversy  concerning  a 

personal  Antichrist 109 

§  3.  Of  the  mystical  and  natural   Body  of  our  Lord  110 

§  4.  Of  the  mystical  and  natural  Body  of  Antichrist  111 
§  5.  That  the  Charge  of  Antichristianism  cannot  be 

appropriated  to  the  Church  of  Rome    117 


THE  CONTENTS. 

Page 

§  6.  The  Authorities  for  the  Proof  of  a  personal 

Antichrist     119 

I.  From  Scripture ih. 

Two  Objections  answered 121 

II.  From  the  ancient  Fathers  of  the  Church  123 

III.  From  the  Jews   124 

§  7.  The  Types  of  Antichrist •  •  •  ih. 

§  8.  His  Birth  and  Parentage     129 

§  9.  That  he  shall  come  out  of  the  Tribe  of  Dan  .  •  132 

§  10.  Of  his  Infancy 133 

§  11.  Of  the  Region  where  he  shall  first  appear     •  •  134 

§  12.  His  first  Appearance  and  Conquest  of  the  Ten 

Kings    135 

§  13.  Of  the  Eastern  Beast,  or  False  Prophet  •  •  •  •  138 

§  14.  The   Opposition  that  shall   be   made   by  the 

Church 140 

§  15.  A  Digression  concerning  the  Restitution  of 
Spiritual  Gifts  and  Miraculous  Powers  to 

the  Church 143 

I.  From  Scriptures 144 

II.  From  the  Ancients • 146 

§  16.  The   Opposition    between   the   Christian    and 

Antichristian  Characters     148 

§  17.  Antichrist's  invading  the  East,  and  the  Pro- 
phecy of  Joel  explained  in  this  Sense  •  •  •  •  149 

§  18.  Of  his  taking  Jerusalem • 155 

§  19.  Some  Personal  Characters  attributed  to  Anti- 
christ in  Scripture,  viz. 158 

His  Blasphemy • ib. 

Not  regarding  the  Desire  of  Women   159 

His  Worshipping  the  God  Maozzim     ih. 

His  doing  Wonders    160 

§  20.  The  State  of  the  World  at  that  Time  considered  163 
§  21.  Some  Observations  upon  the  preceding  Quota- 
tions and  concerning  the  Mark  of  the  Beast  170 

§  22.  Of  the  Two  Witnesses    174 


viii  THE  CONTENTS. 

Page 

§  23.  The  Death  of  the  Witnesses,  and  the  End  of 

the  Beast's  Reign    181 

§  24.  Places  of  Holy  Scripture  alluding  to  the  Reign 

of  Antichrist 184 

§  25.  The  Destruction  of  Antichrist  by  the  Effusion 

of  the  Seven  Vials 188 

The  Seven  Vials  distinctly  considered   190 

The  Seventh  Vial  more  distinctly  considered; 
as  comprising  under  it  Two  great  Events : 
viz.    • 

I.  The  Great  Earthquake  which  shall  destroy 
Rome  and  Jerusalem 197 

II.  The  Battle  of  Armageddon    198 

§  2G.  Antichrist  and  the  False  Prophet  taken  and 

cast  into  the  Bottomless  Pit  ♦ 200 


THE 

PREFACE. 


THE  following  Treatise,  especially  that 
Part  of  it  which  conceryieth  The  Antichrist, 
being  founded  on  Priticiples  entirely  different 
from  the  Modern  Opinions  upon  that  Subject, 
must  not  be  sent  into  the  World  without  a  short 
Preface,  to  engage  the  Favour  and  obviate  the 
Prejudices  of  the  generality  of  Readers ;  ivho 
will  be  apt  to  condemn  at  first  sight  any  thing, 
that  shall  contradict  the  current  Opinions,  though 
never  so  agreeable  to  the  Traditions  of  the  first 
and  purest  Ages  of  the  Church.  This  is  evident 
from  the  general  Contempt  thrown  upon  the 
Ancient  Fathers  and  Lights  of  the  Church, 
particularly  as  to  their  Notions  of  Catholic 
Communion,  Church  Censures,  and  the  Holy 
Eucharist,  concerning  all  which  they  delivered 
their  Opinions  as  plain  as  Words  could  make 
them ;  yet  they  are  now  forced  to  give  way  to 
the  inconsistent  Schemes  of  giddy  Innovators. 
That  most  contemptibly  dull  Projector,  the 
Author  of  The  Rights  of  the  Christian  Church, 
has  his  Admirers,  who  set  him  up  in  opposition 
to  the  old  fashioned  Doctrines  of  Jesus  Christ 
and  his  Apostles,  as  they  were  understood  by 
Ignatius,  Justin,  Irenseus,  Tertullian,  Cyprian, 
and  other  Primitive  Writers  upoti  those  Sub- 
jects. 


xii  THE  PREFACE. 

I.  FAR  be  it  from  ?ne  that  I  should  draw  a 
Parallel  hetivixt  those  a?id  the  Case  in  hand,  or 
set  those  Controversies  on  the  same  foot  with  the 
Subject  of  this  Discourse  ;  either  side  of  this 
Question  being  at  least  Innocent,  and  having  no 
relation  to  the  Essentials  of  Christianity :  Where- 
as, the  Design  of  those  is  to  destroy.  Root  and 
Branch,  the  very  Principles  of  Revealed  Reli- 
gion. JBut  this,  I  must  say,  that  I  could  never 
yet  conceive  what  Service  it  could  do  to  the 
Reformed  Cause,  to  assert  the  Pope,  or  Church 
of  Rome,  to  be  The  Great  Antichrist,  in  Oppo- 
sition to  the  constant  Doctrines  of  the  Ancient 
Church ;  ivhereas  I  think,  as  on  the  one  hand, 
the  acknowledging  the  Church  of  Rome  to  be  a 
most  corrupt  Church,  and  by  consequence  in  that 
Sense  Antichristian,  (as  from  my  Heart  I  firmly 
believe  it  is,)  is  sufficient  to  justify  our  Separa- 
tion from  her :  So,  on  the  other  hand,  the  desert- 
ing the  Traditions  of  the  Ancient  Church,  with- 
out any  Necessity  Jor  so  doing,  must  needs  have 
prejudiced  many  a  Learned  arid  Judicious  Man; 
who  might  thence  be  tempted  to  conclude,  that 
the  Reformers,  in  other  Cases  as  well  as  that, 
despised  the  Doctrines  of  Antiquity,  and  were 
for  setting  up  new  Lights  and  7iew  Interpreta- 
tions of  Scriptures,  in  Oppositio7i  to  those  old 
ones,  which  the  most  primitive  Ages  had  esteemed 
Orthodox. 

II.  St.  Paul  writing  to  the  Thessalonians, 
2  Epist.  Chap.  2.  concerning  this  Man  of  Sin, 
or  the  Great  Antichrist,  gives  them  a  special 
Charge,  v.  15.  Therefore,  Brethren,  stand  fast, 
and  hold  the  Traditions,  which  ye  have  been 
taught  either  by  our  Word  or  Epistle;  meaning. 


THE  PREFACE.  xiii 

no  doubt,   especially  the   Traditions   about  the 
Personal  Antichrist.     For   that   this  was  St. 
Paul's  Meaning,  I  have  two  very  good  Reasons 
to  believe.     1 .  I  presume  it  will  puzzle  a  Learned 
Man  to  explain  that   Chapter  of  the  Pope  or 
Church  q/'Rome  so  consistently  as  to  satisfy  his 
own  Mind.     2dly,  Which  is  to  me  no  contempti- 
ble Authority,  that  all  the  Writers  upon  that 
Subject,  through  every  Age  of  the  Church  till 
the  Times  of  the  Reformation,  (begimiing  with 
the  Waldenses  and  Albigenses,)  understood  it  in 
the  same  Sense,  applying  it  (if  not,  in  the  same 
that  I  do,  to  a  Person  yet  to  come)  to  some  indi- 
vidual Person  to  whom  those  Characters  should 
most  properly  belong.     Atid  how  caji  we  other- 
wise account  for  the  concurrent  Testimonies  of 
the  Ancients  about  that  matter,  than  by  supposing 
that  this  was  the  Tradition  of  the  Apostles,  par- 
ticularly of  St.  Paul,  to  which  he  refers,  v.  5. 
Remember  ye  not  that  when  I  was  yet  with 
vou,  I  told  you  these  things.     Arid  that  from 
!iim  and  the  other  Apostles  this  Tradition  was 
conveyed  down  to  after  Ages ;  particularly  con- 
'Idering  that  the  most  early  Writers  speak  ex- 
pressly  in   this  Sense.     Jrenseus,  who  ivas  the 
Disciple  of  Poly  carp,  and  by  consequence  but 
one  remove  from  the  teaching  of  St.  John,  Hip- 
polytus    the    Disciple    of   Irenseus,    Cyprian, 
Origen,  and  Cyril  o/' Jerusalem,  are  no  incompe- 
tent Wit7iesses  of  an  Apostolical  Tradition,  and 
are  so  appealed  to  in  other  Cases ;  and  ivhy  in 
this  particular   Case  we  should  be  iviser  than 
they,  I  confess  I  am  at  a  loss  to  explain. 

111.  AND  here  I  cannot  but  take  notice  of 
an  Objection  raised  by  the  Judicious  and  Learned 


xiv  THE  PREFACE. 

Mr.  Mede,  and  since  revived  hy  Mr.  Wbiston 
in  his  Essay  upon  the  Revelations,  p.  239. 
That  the  Authority  of  the  Fathers  in  this  Case 
is  not  to  be  regarded,  because  the  particular  Time 
for  the  Explication  of  the  Doctrines  concerning 
Antichrist  was  not  till  these  two  last  Centuries, 
so  famous  for  the  Improvements  of  Learning  ; 
grounding  their  Opinion  on  those  Words  of  the 
Angel  to  the  Prophet  Daniel,  Chap.  12.  v.  4. 
But  thou,  O  Daniel,  shut  up  the  Words,  and 
seal  the  Book,  even  to  the  time  of  the  End. 
Many  shall  run  to  and  fro,  and  Wisdom  shall 
be  increased.  Unde  consequitur,  (saith  Mr. 
Mede)  Patrura  Authoritatem  in  Negotio  Anti- 
christi,  et  novissimorum  temporum  (utut  in  aliis 
multum  iis  tribuendum  sit)  omnino  nullam 
esse,  utpote  quorum  setate  Mysterium  illud 
juxta  Angeli  Prophetiam  adhuc  clausum  et 
obsignatum  foret.  Non  igitur  esse  cur  hie 
Patrum  opinationibus  tantopere  movearaur  ut 
nonnulli  solent.     Vid.  App.  p.  733. 

TO  this  I  ansiver,  1st.  That  it  may  very  well 
bear  a  Question,  whether  The  Increase  of  Know- 
ledge, mentioned  by  Daniel  in  this  Place,  be 
meant  of  the  Improvements  of  Mathematical, 
Philosophical,  and  Philological  Learning,  for 
which  these  two  last  Centuries  have  been  more  re- 
markably famous  ;  which  cannot  very  properly  be 
supposed  to  co7itribute  to  the  Understanding  the 
Mysteries  of  the  Kingdom  of  God.  May  not 
then  the  Words  Knowledge  and  Wisdom,  the 
increase  ivhereof  is  foretold  in  this  Prophecy, 
signify  more  emphatically  a  Divine,  Extraordi- 
nary Light  and  Knowledge  more  fully  to  be 
cominmiicated  in  succeeding  Times,  whereof'  that 
rational  Leatming  may  be  a  Forerunner. 


THE  PREFACE.  xv 

2clly,  IF  it  prove  that  these  31ysteries  could 
not  be  known  till  these  last  Centuries^  then  it 
will  follow  that  none  of  the  Ancients  kneiv  them; 
and  by  consequence  St.  Paul  and  St.  John,  luho 
wrote  professedly  of  these  things,  talked  of  ivhat 
they  did  not  understand:  for  if  they  understood 
them,  why  might  they  not  convey  them  down  to 
after  Ages ;  as  we  have  good  reason  to  believe 
they  did. 

3dly,  /  am  rather  of  the  Opitiion  of  Mr. 
AVhiston  in  this  Point,  ivho  makes  the  great 
Article  of  these  Prophecies,  whereof  the  Ancients 
were  ignorant,  to  be  the  understanding  of  the 
Prophetical  Numbers,  and  the  adjusting  the 
Times  of  their  Completion;  and  then  though  ive 
grant  that  the  Apostles  and  Ancient  Fathers 
knew  not  the  precise  Time  of  their  Completion, 
yet  it  does  not  thence  follow,  that  they  knew  not 
whether  Antichrist  was  to  be  a  single  Perso?i, 
or  a  collective  Body.  Let  it  then  be  grarited 
that  the  Ancients  knew  not  the  Time  of  the 
Completion  of  these  Prophecies,  because  the  Time 
was  not  yet  com£ ;  would  not  an  unwary  Reader 
be  hence  tempted  to  conclude,  that  the  Time  for 
the  understanding  of  them  is  7iot  yet  come,  be- 
cause so  many  unsuccessful  Attempts  have  been 
made  to  fix  every  Event  to  a  particular  Time  ? 
And  TYiay  it  not  possibly  happen  that  even  Mr. 
Whiston  himself  may  in  time  be  convinced,  that 
he  knows  as  little  of  the  Matter  as  St.  Paul 
himself  did?  I  know  not  what  use  Mr.  Mede 
might  make  of  the  above-cited  Observation.  His 
singular  Modesty  and  Humility,  as  well  as 
great  Judgment,  persuade  me  that  he  could  not 
Tumke  a  bad  one ;  but  whether  others  who  pretend 


THE  PREFACE. 

to  tread  in  his  steps,  may  not  hence  be  encouraged 
to  desert  the  Doctrines,  and  despise  the  Fathers, 
of  the  Primitive  Church,  to  set  up  new  Opinions, 
and  to  be  wise  above  that  which  is  written,  ought 
carefully  to  be  consideied  by  those  whom  it  may 
concern. 

IV.  I  do  not  here  take  upon  me  to  censure  the 
Learned  Labours  of  the  many  Great  Men,  who 
have  written  in  Defence  of  the  contrary  Doc- 
trine; much  less  am  I  able  to  unravel  their 
Schemes  of  Apocalyptical  Interpretation.  My 
business  in  this  place  is  only  to  revive  the  Ancient 
Doctrines  of  the  Primitive  Church,  which  I 
cannot  easily  part  with,  though  I  am  not  able  to 
reconcile  every  part  of  the  Apocalypse  so  as  to 
draw  a  coherent  System  of  Prophecy.  JBut  if' 
the  Doctrine  here  contended  for  shall  appear  to 
the  Learned  World  a  true  and  justifiable  Doc- 
trine, it  may  be  improved  and  set  in  a  clearer 
Light  by  some  more  able  Hand. 

V.  THE  Reader,  I  hope,  will  not  be  offend- 
ed, if  he  find  up  and  down  in  this  Essay  several 
Mystical  Interpretations  of  Scripture,  for  most 
of  which  lam  not  without  great  and  good  Autho- 
rities. Hoiv  justifiable  such  Allegorical  Inter- 
pretations of  Scripture  are  in  general,  to  pass 
over  the  Gospels  and  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles, 
may  appear  from  St.  Paul's  Allegory  of  the  two 
Covenants,  answering  to  Mount  Agar  and  Mount 
Sinai,  Galatians  4.  and  in  his  Epistle  to  the 
Hebrews,  wherein  he  expoundeth  a  great  part  of 
the  Levitical  Law  in  a  Mystical  and  Spiritual 
Sense;  7iot  to  say  that  the  Hellenestic  Philoso- 
phy, ivhich  ivas  that  of  the  New  Testament,  ivas 


THE  PREFACE.  xvii 

chiefly  of  this  sort,  ivhich  ivas  closely  folloived  by 
several  of  the  most  Aiicient  Writers,  as  by 
Origen,  Eusebius,  and  Athanasius,  in  their 
Commentaries  on  the  Psalms  a?id  other  Scrip- 
tures. Whereas  I  have  also  in  several  places 
offered  at  a  7nore  particular  Explication  of  the 
Modes  of  some  Events.  The  Reader,  I  hope, 
will  not  censure  me  as  Dogmatical,  since  I  only 
propose  them  as  things  probable  according  to 
the  Analogy  of  Scripture  and  Nature,  not  lay- 
ing any  stress  upon  them,  much  less  proposing 
them  as  undoubted  Truths. 

VI.  HOJV  seasonable  a  Discourse  of  this 
nature  may  be  at  present,  is  but  too  evident  to 
any  one  that  ivill  but  observe  the  prodigious  in- 
crease of  Antichristian  Principles,  more  parti- 
cularly in  this  siiful  Nation.  For  ivhat  are  all 
those  execrable  Clubs  and  Societies,  of  Atheists, 
Deists,  and  Freethinkers,  which  noiv  swarm 
amongst  us,  but  Antichristian  Spirits  banded 
toget/ier  in  a  Diabolical  Confederacy,  to  propa- 
gate Infidelity,  and  subvert  (if  it  be  possible) 
the  very  Principles  of  Religion!  For  this  is 
Antichrist  (saith  St.  Jolm)  that  denieth  the 
Father  and  the  Son,  and  whosoever  denieth 
the  Son,  the  same  hath  not  the  Father.  ]  Ep. 
Chap.  2.  V.  22,  23.  And  this  is  done  without 
Fear  or  Restraint  by  the  Scoffers  of  this  Dege- 
nerate Age,  who  Elaspheme  the  God  of  Heaven, 
Contemn  and  Deride  the  Person  and  Doctrines 
of  the  Blessed  Jesus,  and  that  in  such  a  manner, 
and  ivith  such  Circumstances,  as  would  not  even 
in  a  Mahometan  Coimtry  be  suffered  with  Im- 
punity. Rut  because  he  is  out  of  their  reach 
they  assault  him  in  his  Priests,  and  in  his  Spouse 

h 


xviii  THE  PREFACE. 

the  Church,  whom  ivith  the  most  implacable 
Malice  they  endeavour  to  Vilify  and  Destroy ; 
by  despising  and  affronting  her  Governors  and 
their  Orders,  and  profaning  her  most  Sacred 
Institutions.  These  being  Contemners  of  Reli- 
gion, and  owning  no  Obligations  of  ConsciencCy 
a?-e  by  consequence  presumptuous,  selfwilled,  de- 
spise Government,  and  are  not  afraid  to  speak 
Evil  of  Dignities.  But  let  them  know,  that 
though  they  speak  great  swelling  Words  against 
God,  and  their  Superiors  in  Church  and  State, 
beguiling  unstable  Souls,  and  promising  them 
Liberty  from  Priestcrcft  and  Slavery,  they  them- 
selves are  but  the  wretched  Slaves  of  Con^uption ; 
and  the  vilest  Advocates  and  Propagators  of  the 
Antichristian  Kingdom.  And  I  pray  God  for- 
give me  if  I  am  uncharitable  in  thinking  that 
these  are  the  o»  ^Airoxxif/.ivoi  mentioned  by  St. 
Paul. 


A    SERMON 

OR 

HOMILY 

CONCERNING 

ANTICHRIST, 

AND   THE    END    OF   THE    WORLD. 


POSTSCRIPT. 

INCE  this  was  ivritten,  and  just  going  to  the 
Press,  there  is  come  to  hand  the  Oxford 
Edition  of  I^phraim  Syrns  printed  from  the 
Greek  Bodleian  MSS.  a  Thing  so  much  desired, 
and  so  long  wished  for  by  several  Learned  31eny 
{particularly  by  our  Learned  Countryman  Dr. 
Cave,  that  Great  Assertor  of  Primitive  Anti- 
quity) for  which  the  Church  and  Learned  World 
are  indebted  to  Dr.  Milles,  a  late  eminent  Orna- 
ment of  that  University ;  whom  for  his  Noble 
Work  upon  the  JSew  Testament,  Posterity  will 
knoiv  how  to  honour:  Ey  luhose  Copy  left  behind 
him  after  his  Death,  which  he  at  his  own  Charge 
had  caused  to  be  transcribed  with  all  Exactness 
from  the  said  Manuscripts,  this  Impression  is 
made.  In  which  there  is  a  Pathetic  Homily  or 
Discourse  of  the  End  of  the  World  and  the  Coming 
of  Antichrist,  which  I  am  encouraged  by  some 
Learned  Friends  who  had  the  Revisal  of  these 
Papers,  to  translate  into  our  oivn  Language, 
and  add  to  this  Discourse  as  a  most  solemn  and 
Authentic  Testimony  of  the  Oriental  Church, 
(which  ive  are  told  had  so  high  a  Veneration  for 
the  Writings  of  this  Holy  Father,  as  even  to 
read  the  same  together  ivith  the  Scriptures  in 
their  sacred  Assemblies,)  in  Co?i/irmation  of  the 
Doctrines  advanced,  or  rather  revived,  in  this 
Essay. 


XXI 


A  Sermon  or  Homily  concerning 
Antichrist,  and  the  E^id  of  the 
World, 


HOW  shall  I  Ephraim  the  meanest  of  the  Pag.  359. 
Servants  of  God,  a  Sinner  laden  with 
Iniquities ;  How  shall  I  be  able  to  instruct  you 
in  Things  that  are  above  my  Capacity.  But 
as  our  Blessed  Saviour  was  pleased  in  mere 
Mercy  to  instruct  his  illiterate  Disciples  in  the 
Mysteries  of  Wisdom,  and  by  them  to  con- 
vey Divine  Light  to  all  the  Faithful :  So  he 
will  without  Grudging  bless  me  with  the  Gift 
of  Utterance,  to  the  Comfort  and  Edification 
both  of  me  who  am  to  speak,  and  all  you  that 
are  to  hear.  But  I  cannot  preach  to  you  with- 
out Sighs,  nor  speak  without  Tears  of  the 
approaching  Consummation  of  all  Things,  and 
of  that  most  blasphemous  and  terrible  Serpent, 
who  shall  put  the  wliole  Earth  in  Confusion, 
and  shall  infuse  Cowardice,  Negligence,  and 
Infidelity  into  the  Hearts  of  Men,  and  do  Signs, 
work  Wonders  and  dreadful  Sights,  *  insomuch  *  Mat.  21. 
that  if  it  tuere  possible  he  should  deceive  the  24. 
very  Electa  and  seduce  all  Mankind  by  lying 
Wonders  and  miraculous  Appearances  that 
shall   be  wrought  by   him.     For   by  the  Per- 

b2 


xxii  ^7:  EPHREM  SYRUS 

mission  of  the  Righteous  God  he  hath  Power 
to  deceive  the  World,  because  the  Measure 
of  their  Iniquities  is  fdled  up,  and  all  Places 
are  full  of  all  Kinds  of  Abomination.  And 
for  this  Cause  the  Holy  God  will  suffer  the 
World  to  be  tempted  by  the  Spirit  of  Error 
because  of  their  Iniquities,  because  Men  have 
forsaken  the  God  of  Truth,  and  loved  a  Lie. 
My  Brethren,  great  will  be  the  Tribulation  of 
the  last  Days,  especially  to  the  Faithful.  When 
Signs  and  Wonders  shall  be  wrought  by  this 
Old  Serpent  with  great  Power.  When  he 
shall  again  show  himself,  as  if  he  were  God, 
in  dreadful  Operations,  (a)  flying  to  and  fro 
in  the  Air  with  Legions  of  evil  Spirits,  accom- 
panying him  as  ministering  Angels  to  this  ter- 
rible Tyrant.      For  he  roareth   mightily,  ap- 


(a)  Even  as  Simon  Magus,  a'  Type  and  Forerunner 
of  hiuQ,  is  represented  flying  in  the  Air,  and  thereby  op- 
posing- the  Gospel  of  Ciirist,  as  preached  by  St.  Peter : 
And  as  the  same  is'  also  reported  concerning  Apollonius, 
another  Representative  of  him,  and  other  dark  Ma- 
gicians, Ancient  and  Modern.  Whence  one  of  our 
Modern  Pseudo-Prophets  was,  it  seems,  not  vpell  ad- 
vised by  the  Spirit  which  acted  him,  not  to  content 
himself  with  the  Power  of  walking  upon  the  Water,  as 
Christ;  but  to  lay  claim  likewise  to  a  Promise  o( fly- 
ing in  the  Air,  according  to  the  express  Characteristic 
of  Antichrist  and  his  Apostles.  This  is  very  agreeable 
to  the  Devil,  being  called  in  Scripture  the  Prince  of  the 
Air,  and  to  his  Transportation  of  our  Blessed  Lord, 
when  tempted  by  him,  from  the  Wilderness  to  the  Pinacle 
of  the  Temple  in  Jerusalem;  if  that  were  a  Real  and 
External  Transaction,  as  commonly  is  supposed,  and  not 
merely  transacted  in  Spirit. 


OF  THE  END  OF  THE  WOULD.  xxiii 

pearing  in  Variety  of  Forms,  to  the  unspeak- 
able Amazement  of  all  Mankind.  Who,  my 
Brethren,  will  then  be  found  standing  bold  and 
unshaken,  having  the  (b)  Seal  in  his   Heart, 


(b)  There  is  a  twofold  Seal :  viz.  The  Seal  in  the 
Heart,  and  the  Seal  in  the  Forehead.  The  former  pre- 
cedes the  latter,  and  is  the  Cause  of  it.  The  latter 
follows  this,  and  is  the  external  visible  Sign  thereof; 
which  is  to  be  imprinted  by  an  Angelical  Power  in  the 
last  Days  upon  ail  the  true  Followers  of  Christ,  to 
distinguish  them,  even  outwardly,  from  the  Follow- 
ers of  Antichrist.  Of  the  former  St.  Paul  has  made 
sufficient  mention,  2  Cor.  i.  22,  saying,  Who  hath  SEALED 
us,  and  given  the  Earnest  of  the  Spirit  in  our  Hearts  : 
and  again,  Eph.  i.  13.  Iti  whom  (i.  e.  Christ)  tje  were 
SEALED  ivith  that  holy  Spirit  of  Promise.  And  iv. 
Grieve  not  the  holy  Spirit  of  God  whereby  ye  are  SEAL- 
ED, unto  the  Day  of  Redemption.  And  of  the  latter  St. 
John  has  made  like  mention,  calling  it  emphatically  the 
Seal  of  the  living  God ;  and  that  with  a  particular  respect 
had  to  the  Time  of  Antichrist.  See  Rev.  vii.  2,  3-9,  and 
ix,  4.  Now  as  for  the  outward  and  visible  Seal,  where- 
with Baptized  Christians  were  at  Confirmation  anciently 
sealed,  and  which  was  for  a  sensible  Sign  oi'  the  inward 
and  invisible  Seal  of  the  Heart;  it  was  certainly  no 
other  than  the  Sign  itself  of  the  Son  of  Man,  or  of 
Christ  considered  in  his  Humanity,  being  as  a  Coun- 
terpart to  the  said  Seal  of  the  living  God,  or  of  the 
same  Christ  considered  in  his  Deity.  Thus  the  First 
Sealing  was  to  be  chiefly  into  the  Merit  of  Christ's  Death  ; 
but  the  Second  is  to  be  into  the  Power  of  his  Resurrec- 
tion. Accordingly  the  visible  '£(p^ct.yU  of  Cliristianity 
which  was  given  in  the  Primitive  Church,  by  the 
Ministry  of  the  Ecclesiastical  Angels,  was  the  anoint- 
ing the  Forehead  with  Oil,  and  making  therewith  the 
Sign  of  the  Cross  thereupon.  Whence  o-^p^ayifw  and 
i7(p^a.y\^o^on  are  thus  used  in  Ecclesiastical  Authors; 
and   even    St.  Paul  himself  may  possibly    allude    hereto 


xxiv  ST.  EPHREM  SYRUS 

the   Holy  Appearance  of  the  Only  Begotten 
Son  of   God !     When   he   shall   see   that  mi- 


in  that  remarkable  Passage,  Rom.  xv.  28.  And  it  is  very 
observable  that  Christ  Himself  is  the  First  of  the  Sealed 
Ones,  according  to  his  own  Word,  TStoi/  y«p  o  Tlo[{n^ 
i(T(p^a,yKjiv,  0  0EO{,  Joh.  vi.  27.  Whence  by  this 
Divine  Sealing,  and  Powerful  Inauguration,  he  may 
with  respect  even  to  his  Mediatory  Office,  no  less  than 
to  his  Divine  Nature,  as  He  is  the  Only  Begotten  of 
the  Father,  be  called  Xa^otiilyip  t??  vvocrlua-eu^  ocvtS  :  And 
it  is  the  holy  Appearance  of  this  Only  Begotten  Son  of 
God  in  the  Heart,  which  is  the  Secret  and  Invisible 
Seal  wherewith  we  first  must  be  sealed ;  that  so  we 
may  be  fitted  for  the  second  Sealing,  viz.  that  on  the 
Forehead,  against  his  second  Coming  and  glorious  Ap- 
pearance from  Heaven,  Outwardly  to  all  the  World. 
Wherefore  by  the  First  we  are  Sealed  to  be  as  the 
express  Image  of  His  Person,  even  as  He  is  of  the  Father's 
Person,  through  the  impressed  Character  of  his  Nature 
and  Life  in  us  :  And  to  as  many  as  shall  attain  this, 
and  thereby  overcome  the  Power  of  Satan,  it  re- 
mains that  Christ,  whom  they  are  made  to  represent, 
and  of  whom  they  are  living  Images,  should  fulfil  the 
Promise  which  he  has  made  to  his  conquering  Saints, 
Rev.  iii.  12.  Which  is  to  be  effected  by  that  Eastern 
Angel,  to  whom  the  i:<p^a.y]q  ©ea  ^mli^  shall  for 
that  End  be  by  Him  committed;  and  which,  not  without 
a  wonderful  Propriety  of  Speech,  He  calls  the  Inscrip- 
tion of  the  Name  of  HIS  GOD,  and  of  the  Name  of  the 
CITY  of  His  God:  For  he  speaks  this  in  his  Human 
Capacity,  and  as  raised  from  the  Dead:  And  in  the 
Words  there  is  an  evident  Relation  to  the  State  of  the 
First  and  Blessed  Resurrection.  But  however  tliis  may 
be  now  esteemed,  it  was  no  such  strange  thing  in  the 
earliest  Days  of  Christianity;  and  particularly  among 
the  Oriental  Christians,  in  the  midst  of  whom  this  Holy 
Father  was  a  Bright  Star  in  his  Day  :  And  both  the  First 
and  Second  ^e'dVinrr  iif  ^^rjv  ocIu^hov  were  most  significantly 
expressed  by  the  Ancient  Forms  of  Confirmation,  as  may 
bt  seen. 


OF  THE  END  OF  THE  WORLD.  xxv 

speakable  Tribulation  that  shall  come  upon 
every  Soul,  without  any  Prospect  of  Rest  or 
Consolation  either  by  Land  or  Sea  ;  When  he 
shall  see  the  whole  World  in  Confusion,  and 
every  one  shall  be  fleeing  to  the  Mountains  for 
Shelter,  when  he  shall  see  some  perishing  w  ith 
Hunger,  and  others  melting  like  Wax  at 
the  great  Tribulation,  and  none  to  pity 
them.  When  he  shall  see  all  Faces  cover- 
ed with  Tears,  and  asking  with  great 
Earnestness,  Is  there  any  (c)  Word  of 
God  upon  Earth?  and  it  shall  be  answer- 
ed, No.  Who  shall  be  able  to  bear  those 
Days,  who  shall  stand  under  this  insup- 
portable Affliction  ?  When  he  shall  see 
the    confused    Multitudes    coming    from    the 


(c)  See  this  general  Famine  of  the  World  ultimate- 
ly prophesied  of  Amos  viii.  11,  12,  Nevertheless  here 
by  Earth  is  not  to  be  understood  the  whole  Terrestrial 
Globe,  but  the  Kingdom  of  Antichrist  only,  or  the  whole 
Extent  of  his  Empire,  which  in  the  Prophetical  Lan- 
guage is  called  Earth,  as  in  opposition  to  the  Kingdom 
of  Christ,  wheresoever  that  may  be.  either  in  Heaven 
or  upon  Earth,  being  in  the  same  Language  generally 
called  Heaven.  For  thus  the  Apocalyptical  Interpreters 
commonly  understood  the  Church  to  be  symbolised 
by  Heaven,  even  while  it  remains  upon  Earth,  ac- 
cording to  the  Rules  of  Hieroglyphical  Literature.  And 
thus,  not  without  good  Reason,  is  a  Wo  so  solemnly 
proclaimed  against  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Earth;  that  is, 
all  those  that  live  under  the  Antichristian  Empire,  Rev. 
viii.  13,  which  Empire  not  improbably  may  be  included 
within  the  Limits  of  the  old  Roman  Empire,  or  there- 
abouts ;  and  v.'hich  was  also  called  oixajiAsvj),  by  our  Tran- 
slators rendered  the  World.  See  Luke  ii.  1.  Acts  xi.  28. 
Rev.  xvi.  14. 


ST.  EPHREM  SYRUS 

Ends  to  behold  this  Tyrant,  and  many 
worshipping  before  him,  and  crying  out 
with  Amazement,  Thou  art  our  Saviour. 
The  Sea  roareth,  the  Earth  is  burnt  up, 
the  Heavens  do  not  rain,  and  the  Fruits 
of  the  Earth  wither!  Then  they  that  are 
in  the  East  shall  flee  into  the  West,  and 
they  of  the  West  shall  run  with  Terror 
into  the  East  to  escape  the  Evils!  Then 
shall  this  Blasphemer  exert  his  Power, 
and  send  his  (d)  evil  Spirits  into  all  Na- 
tions, to  make  public  Proclamation, 
saying,  A  Great  King  hath  appeared  in  glory^ 
come  and  see  him.  Who  then  will  have  a 
Heart  so  hard,  as  to  be  able  to  bear  up 
with    Courage     against    so    great    Abomina- 


( d)  That  is,  in  like  manner  as  Christ  did  send  his 
holy  Spirit,  which  is  One,  out  into  all  Lands,  as  the 
same  did  rest  upon,  and  was  transfused  through  his 
Apostles ;  even  so  shall  this  Deceiver  send  forth  his 
Evil  Spirits,  which  are  many,  to  make  every  where 
loud  Proclamation  of  his  Kingdt)m  and  Glory,  by 
possessing  chosen  Instruments  for  his  Purpose,  and 
speaking  through  them  as  his  Oracles,  Apostles,  and 
Ambassadors.  By  these  Spirits  therefore  we  are  here 
to  understand  the  Inspired  by  them,  or  the  Pseudo- 
Prophets  and  Pseudo-Apostles ;  of  whom  fair  warn- 
ing is  given  us  both  by  Christ  and  his  Apostles.  They 
are  called  the  Spii'its  of  Devils,  or  of  Demons;  and  are 
represented  by  our  great  Evangelical  Prophet,  as  be- 
ing of  three  different  Kinds  ;  but  to  show  that  theie  is 
to  be  a  sort  of  Egyptian  Magic,  whereby  their  Minis- 
tration shall  chiefly  display  itself  in  Public,  he  gives 
a  most  fit  resemblance  of  them  under  the  Figure 
of  Frogs,  as  if  they  were  generated  out  of  the  Mud  of 
Nilus. 


OF  THE  END  OF  THE  WORLD.  xxvii 

tions?      Who  is  that  Man  (as  I  said  before) 
that  all  the  Angels  of  God  may  bless    him? 
For    I     (my     Brethren,    Lovers     of    Christ, 
and   (e)  perfect)    tremble    at    the    Thoughts 
of  this    Deceiver,    when  I  but    think    within 
myself    of    the    Tribulations    of    these    last 
Times.      For     howsoever     mischievous     and 
cruel  this  Old   Dragon    may  be  to  all  Man-|/ 
kmd,    yet  will    he    be    more    furious    against  a^rS,  i.  e. 
the  Saints,    who    shall    be  able  to    overcome  Spectra, 
t  his    Terrors.       For    there   shall    be    many  ^'^^  *^'^"" 
found  at  that  Day,    who   being  dear  to  God  j"  ^^"i 
shall      be     preserved     in     Mountains,      and  xi'v.  26. 
Hills,      and     desert     Places,     *  because     of  ^/«r.  vi.49. 
their      many     Prayers     and     terrible     Com-  ^ppariti- 
plaints.        For     the     Holy     God     beholding  f!*'     , 
their     inexpressible     Mourmngs,      and     Sin-;^^^^^- 
cerity  of    their    Faith,    will    show    Compas-  7is-s<Tt,  &c. 
sion     towards    them,     as    a    tender    Father, 


(e)  By  Perfect  is  here  to  be  understood  an  Order 
among  the  Primitive  Christians,  not  that  was  wholly 
excepted  from  every  Spot  of  Sin  (as  some  of  our  Modern 
Perfectists  do  understand  the  Word)  but  that  was  ad- 
mitted to  the  most  perfect  and  highest  Degree  of  the 
Communio7i  of  Saints,  in  the  Church  of  Christ ;  and 
that  was  not  only  instructed  in  the  first  Rudiments  and 
Elements  of  Christianity,  which  were  sufficient  for  Sal- 
vation, but  were  initiated  also  into  the  Mysteries  atid 
Arcana  oi  our  most  Holy  Religion,  Among  the  Number 
of  these  Mysteries  I  reckon  this  Doctrine  concerning 
Antichrist  and  his  Kingdom  to  be  one :  And  hence  we 
may  infer,  that  this  was  not  at  first  to  be  promiscuously 
communicated  to  all  Christians,  but  only  to  those  of  the 
most  perfect  Order  and  Rank  in  the  Church.  And  to 
such  as  these  this  Discourse  of  St.  Ephrem  seems  prin- 
cipally to  be  addressed. 


xxviii  ST.  EPHREM  SYRUS 

and  will  preserve  them  where  they  have 
been  hidden.  For  this  Accursed  One 
shall  be  continually  searching  after  these 
Holy  Souls  by  Land  and  Sea,  reckoning 
that  he  has  now  established  his  Domi- 
nions over  the  whole  Earth,  and  brought 
all  the  Inhabitants  thereof  into  Subjection 
under  him.  Nor  does  he  question  with 
himself  but  that  he  shall  be  able  to  with- 
stand that  dreadful  Hour,  when  the  Lord 
shall  descend  from  Heaven,  not  consider- 
ing his  own  Weakness  and  Pride  by  which 
he  at  first  fell.  Then  shall  he  disturb  the 
World,  and  strike  an  universal  Terror 
by  the  lying  Wonders  of  his  false  Magic. 
In  his  time  there  shall  be  no  Rest  upon 
Earth!  But  great  Tribulation,  Trouble, 
and  Confusion,  Pestilences,  and  Famines 
to  all  the  Ends  of  the  Earth.  For  thus 
Mat.  xxiv.  saith  the  Lord,  There  has  not  been  the  like 
Vj  ...  Ji'om  the  beginning  of  the  Creation.  And  how 
^g  '"■  shall  we  sinful  Wretches  explain  the  ex- 
ceeding Terrors  of  that  Time,  which  the 
Lord  himself  hath  told  us  are  inexpressi- 
ble? Let  every  one  therefore  fix  his  mind 
stedfastly  upon  the  Holy  Scriptures  of  our 
Lord  and  Saviour,  knowing  that  of  his 
Mercy  towards  us,  because  of  the  exceed- 
ing Danger  and  Trouble,  he  will  shorten 
the  Days  of  this  Affliction.  For  thus  he 
Mat.  xxiv.  warns  us  all,  saying,  Praij  that  your  flight 
20.  Luke  jjQ  ^qi  Iji  iiiQ  njifiter,  nor  on  the  Sabbath-dau : 
and  agam,  Watch  and  pray  always,  that  ye 
may  be  thought  tvorthy  to  escape  this  Tribula- 
tion, and  to  stand  before    the  Son    of    Man. 


OF  THE  END  OF  THE  WORLD.  xxix 

For  the  (f)  Time  is  at  hand,  and  we  all 
stand  in  the  (g)  Antichristian  Spirit,  and 
believe  it  not.  Let  us  pray  earnestly  with 
Tears    and    Supplications,    Night    and   Day, 


(f)  By  the  Time  being  at  hand  we  are  to  understand 
no  more,  tlian  that  the  Mystery  of  Antichristianism  was 
then  already  at  work  in  the  Lifetime  of  this  Holy  Father  ; 
and  that  by  the  working  of  this  Mystery,  it  was  highly 
probable  that  the  Personal  Revelation  of  Antichrist 
would  soon  follow  the  Spiritual.  But  he  not  knowing 
how  long  the  Spiritnal  Revelation  of  Antichrist  was  to 
endure,  might  easily  apprehend  that  the  Personal  could 
not  be  far  off,  since  the  other  was  actually  present,  and 
clearly  discernible.  Moreover,  if  there  was  a  Mistake 
in  the  Anticipation  of  the  Time,  it  is  no  more  than  what 
was  in  the  very  Days  of  the  Apostles;  and  wherein  they 
themselves  might  also  be  in  part  overtaken,  without  the 
least  Prejudice  thereby  to  the  Divine  Authority  of  their 
Inspirations,  so  far  as  they  concern  the  Doctrine  itself. 
See  the  Commentators  upon  1  Thess.  iv.  15,  17.  2  Thess. 
ii.  2. 

(g)  Hence  it  manifestly  appears,  that  according  to 
our  Author's  Sense,  there  must  be  a  Spiritual  as  well 
as  a  Bodily  Manifestation  of  Antichrist,  whereof  that 
ought  to  precede  and  make  way  for  this ;  since  even 
in  his  time  he  was  convinced  that  the  generality  of 
Christians  had  apostatized  from  their  first  Love,  and  did 
stand  in  an  Antichristian  Spirit,  though  at  the  same  time 
they  could  7iot  believe  if,  but  did  look  on  themselves 
as  good  Christians.  For  his  plain  meaning  is,  that 
there  was  a  Mystery  of  Antichristianism  then  actually 
working  in  the  Professors  of  the  Christian  F'aith,  the 
Operation  whereof  was  so  secret,  as  to  be  hidden  from 
themselves ;  and  which  was  Preparatory  to  the  Last 
and  Greatest  Manifestation  of  the  Power  of  the  Devil 
in  the  Person  of  Antichrist,  his  Seed  and  Image,  as  that 
Man  of  Sin,  and  the  Perfection  of  that  Diabolical  Mystery 
in  the  Flesh. 


XXX  Sr.  EPHREM  SYRUS 

falling  down  before  God,  that  we  Sinners 
may  be  saved  in  that  Day.  Whosoever 
therefore  has  the  Gift  of  Tears  and  godly 
Sorrow,  let  him  beseech  the  Lord,  that  we 
may  be  delivered  from  this  Distress  wiiich 
is  coming  upon  the  whole  Earth  !  That 
he  may  neither  see  this  terrible  Beast,  nor 
hear  his  Terrors.  For  there  shall  be  Fa- 
mines, and  Earthquakes,  and  Variety  of 
Diseases  over  all  the  Earth.  Then  will 
it  show  a  courageous  Spirit  to  make  even 
Life  itself  supportable  in  the  midst 
of  these  Distresses.  For  if  a  Man  be 
found  never  so  little  remiss,  he  will  be 
easily  assaulted,  and  carried  away  captive 
by  the  lying  Wonders  of  this  wicked 
deceiving  Serpent.  Such  a  one  shall  not 
be  forgiven  in  the  Day  of  Judgement. 
For    his   (h)  Face   shall    discover,     that    be 


(h)  The  Face  is  very  often  an  Index  of  the  Mind, 
even  in  this  present  cloudi/  State  wherein  we  live ;  and 
therefore  it  ought  not  to  appear  so  strange,  what  seems 
here  supposed  by  our  Author,  that  in  the  Day  of 
Judgement,  when  all  Things  shall  be  nakedly  exposed 
as  they  in  truth  are,  that  the  whole  Inwanl  State  of 
the  Soul  shall  most  clearly  display  itself  in  the  Coun- 
tenance :  So  that  the  Disciples  and  Followers  of  Anti- 
christ shall  palpably  discover  themselves  by  their 
very  Looks:  And  it  shall  be  then  clearly  discernible, 
who  have  taken  the  due  Precautions,  and  who  have 
not,  in  trying  the  Spirits  which  go  forth  in  the  Name 
of  Christ,  and  with  the  highest  Pretences  set  up  them- 
selves in  the  Temple  of  God  ;  both  by  the  darkness  of 
their  Aspect,  and  by  the  outward  Mark  and  Character 
also   of  the  Seat  of  Antichrist  diabolically  imprinted   on 


OF  THE  END  OF  THE  WORLD.  xxxi 

willingly  believed  the  Deceiver.  Belo- 
ved, we  have  need  of  many  Prayers  and 
Tears,  that  any  of  us  may  stand  stedfast 
in  the  Day  of  Temptation.  For  many 
are  the  wonderful  Works  that  shall  be 
wrought  by  this  Beast !  For  he,  being  the 
Enemy  of  God,  will  endeavour  to  accom- 
plish an  universal  Destruction.  For  this 
End  he  will  endeavour  to  make  all  Men 
receive  his    (i)    Mark,    when    he    comes    in 


their  Faces,  in  the  most  eminent  Part  thereof.  This 
Antichristian  Mark,  with  the  gloomy  Saturnine  Cloud 
sitting  upon  their  Brow;  whereby  their  express  Com- 
pact with  Satan,  and  his  Vicegerent  Antichrist,  is  de- 
noted and  testified  to  the  World ;  must  be  undoubt- 
edly such  an  Infallible  Mark  of  Discrimination  in  the 
last  Days,  as  it  shall  not  be  possible  for  the  Faithful, 
elected  out  of  the  World,  and  having  the  Seal  of  Faith, 
to  be  deceived  even  with  all  the  deceivableness  of  Un- 
righteousness in  the  Appearance  of  Antichrist  and  his 
Apostles. 

(ij  Concerning  this  Antichristian  Mark  there  is  no 
suflScient  Keason  alleged  why  it  may  not  be  an  exter- 
nal and  visible  Mark  or  Character,  or  why  we  should 
here  recede  from  the  Literal  to  a  Metaphorical  Sense, 
when  there  is  not  the  least  Inconvenience  following 
the  former ;  and  this  latter  is  so  strained,  and  attended 
with  so  many  Difficulties,  as  will  presently  appear  to 
every  Impartial,  Considerer.  This  external  and  visi- 
ble Character  of  the  Antic hristians,  as  the  Sign  of  the 
internal  and  invisible  Seal  of  the  Spirit  of  Antichrist 
in  their  Hearts,  is  to  be  imprinted  not  once,  but  twice, 
for  the  more  firm  Binding  of  the  Subjects,  on  whom  the 
Impression  thereof  is  made.  The  two  Impressions  are 
upon  the  Hand  and  the  Forehead,  Rev.  xiii.  16.  The 
Military  Mark  of  Antichrist  is  the  first  of  these,  accord- 
ing to  the  Ancient  Custom  of  stigmatizing  Soldiers  in  the 


xxxii  ST.  EPHREM  SYRUS 

his    appointed    Time    to   deceive  the   World 

by    his    Miracles,    till    the    Number    of    his 

tnSvElJo^    Days  shall  be  accomplished.      That  so  they 

XuaTant  "^^y  "^"y  ^<'^^'  ^"^  t  the  Pleasures  of 
form  or  Life.  And  the  Rulers  of  the  People  do  ac- 
Image.  It  complish  his  Design.  My  Brethren,  be- 
waShowo/^are  of  the  *  Exaltation  of  this  Beast! 
rJther7han  ^^^  ^^^  Artifices  are  Diabolical.  Observe 
Pleasure  ii-  ^ow  he  begins  with  the  Belly ;  that  when 
self;  and  a  Man  is  pinched  for  want  of  Food,  he 
theRepre-  jQ^y  be  Compelled  to  receive  his  Mark: 
sentation  0/ jy^^  as  it  miffht  be  upon  every  Member 
rather  than  of  his  Body,  but  in  his  (i)  right  Hand, 
theThing it- and    upo'n    his  (k)  Forehead,    shall    he    re- 

self.     From 
whence  is 

Erasm  in  1 

Cor.  viii.  4  Hand.  Hence  Aetius  the  Physician,  having  occasion  to 
Simula-  make  mention  of  such  sort  of  Marks  in  the  Flesh,  hath 
cnrum  est  these  Words  :  Erty/AaT*  xa?v5<ri  ra,  IttI  tuv  'mq^avuicH,  h  aXAa 
vox  Jjatma  a -j-jy^j  f*epa?  twv  cwftaro?  Itny^ocipo^ivoi,,  olct  tov  aT^cclevoj/.ivav  iv 
Simtilando ;  tS.i<;  xepsi.  And  Radulplms  Flaviacensis  in  his  14th 
Idolon  Book  upon  Leviticus,  explaining  that  Precept  of  the  Lave, 

Graeca,  ab  Ye  shall  not  print  any  MARKS  upon  you:  I  am  the 
ils(^,  Spe-  LORD ;  Lev.  xix.  28,  gives  hereof  this  Reason,  Stigmata 
cies,  quod  dicebantur  qucedam  Signa,  quce  in  MAN  I  BUS  Militum 
speciem  &  Jlehant ;  ut  de  militia  Imperatoris  esse  cognoscereniur. 
iraaginera  Prohihet  ergo  ne  hujusmodi  Characteres  facerent  sibi,  qtii- 
manem,  prw  bus  hnmanam  videantur  profiteri  subjectionem,  qui  divinam 
se  lerat,  professi  sunt  potius  servitutem.  And  hence  was  also  the 
quum  absit  Constitution  of  Gregory  the  Great,  Ne  quis  MANU 
Veritas.  Signatus,  ante  expletam  Militiam  in  Monasteriis  recipere- 
TiJ"  tur.     Whence  likewise   in   the  Notitia  utriusque  Imperii, 

ij-jt\^Qo-Knv,  2  we  have  the  Names  of  the  Honorians,  the  Theodosians, 
Cor.  IV.  7,  the  Conslantians,  and  others,  who  were  such  Soldiers  as 
I''  had  received  in  their  Hand,  or  in  their  Arm,  the  Mark  of 

that  Emperor  under  whom  they  served. 

(k)  The  Servile  IMark  of  Antichrist  is   that  upon   the 
Forehead ;  whicli   is    to    he    distinguished   from   the   fore- 


OF  THE  END  OF  THE  WORLD.  xxxiii 

ceive  this  Hellish  Mark,  that  he  may 
not  be  able  with  his  right  Hand  to 
make    the  (k)    Sign    of  the   Cross,    nor    im- 


going,  as  implying  a  great  deal  more  than  it :  The  one 
of  these  Marks  is  less  visible,  the  other  is  to  be  seen  of 
all ;  the  one  is  the  Badge  of  a  Warfare  that  is  to  have 
an  End  at  a  certain  Period,  but  the  other  of  perpetual 
Servitude,  of  a  Slavery  never  to  have  End ;  and  the  one, 
I  think,  may  hence  be  called  a  deliable,  but  the  other  an 
indeliable  Character.  To  which  may  be  well  applied  that 
of  Suidas,  speaking  of  the  Father  of  Sion,  who  had  been 
a  Slave,  Ov  'mgoawKov,  aXKa.  a-vyy^afpriti  Itt*  tuv  'W^oaru/Tra,  rn;  ruv 
^Eo-Tz-ora  •E7ix^i«?  crvfxQo>^ov.  Voc.  'EvjaQ,  And  Petronius 
speaking  of  Eumolpus,  says  agreeably,  Implevit  FRON- 
TED! utriusque  ingentibus  Literis,  Whence  a  Slave 
bearing  such  a  Mark  in  his  Forehead,  is  called  Literatus 
by  Plautus,  in  his  Casin.  Act  II.  Sc.  6,  and  FRONTE 
notatus  by  the  Epigrammatist.  Mart,  Lib,  3.  Also  FRON- 
TES  Literati  by  Apuleius,  after  the  same  manner  as 
Literarum  nota  per  summam  ORIS  contumeliam  inusti,  by 
Valerius  Maximus,  are  thus  applied  to  denote  the  deplo- 
rable Estate  of  those  condemned  Bondslaves  who  are 
stigmatized  in  the  Face  or  Forehead.  To  which  also 
Clemens  Alexandrinus  and  Chrysostom  do  allude  :  And 
Cardinal  Cajetan,  according  to  them,  thus  explains  St. 
Paul ;  Ad  similitudinem  servorum  gestantium  in  FACIE 
impressam  noiam  Dominorum  inustione  ferri  factamf  descri- 
bit  se  Paulus  portare  manifeste  in  corpore  suo,  non  unam, 
sed  multas  impressas  notas  Domini  Jesu.  Comra.  in  Gal. 
vi.  17.  Wherefore  the  Difference  betwixt  this  tivqfold 
Mark  of  Antichrist,  viz.  in  the  Hand  and  the  Forehead,  or 
Military  and  Servile,  may  deserve  well  to  be  heeded. 
For  they  that  receive  his  Mark  but  in  the  Hand  only,  are 
not  thereby  absolutely  out  of  all  possibility  of  being  reco- 
vered again :  but  they  that  shall  be  so  unhappy  as  to  re- 
ceive it  in  their  Forehead  also,  will  thereby  be  sealed  to 
Destruction  together  with  him,  without  the  least  possibili- 
ty of  an  Escape  remaining  ior  them.  What  manner  of 
Diabolical  Mark  this  shall  be  in   the  Flesh  of  these  Anti- 


xxxiv  ST.tlPHREMSYRUS 

press  on  his  Forehead  the  Holy  Name  of 
the  Lord,  or  the  Glorious  and  Venerable 
Cross  of  Christ  our  Saviour.  For  the 
Deceiver  knoweth,  that  the  (I)  Sign  of 
the    Cross,    if    it    be    made,    destroyeth    all 


christians,  either  in  the  Hand  or  in  the  Face,  to  distinguish 
them  from  Christians  at  the  first  sight,  we  cannot  be 
certain  :  But  most  probable  it  is,  that  there  shall  be  some- 
what of  Darkness  and  Deformity  in  it  not  to  be  dissem- 
bled, with  something  suited  to  express  their  highest  Con- 
tempt of  the  Cross  of  Christ,  and  Abjuration  of  his  Name 
and  Doctrine, 

(I)  This  seems  to  have  been  a  sort  of  Social  Tessera 
and  Characteristic  among  the  First  Christians,  whereby 
they  could  all  know  one  another,  without  discovering 
themselves  to  the  Heathens,  in  whose  Company  they 
might  be ;  and  could  also  undiscovered  silence  their 
Demons  in  their  Temples,  put  a  stop  to  their  Sacrificial 
OflSces,  loose  such  as  were  Bound  by  Satan,  and  after 
several  manners  destroy  and  frustrate  the  Works  of  the 
Devil,  looking  earnestly  through  Faith  at  the  same  time 
up  to  JESUS,  as  treading  upon  the  Serpent's  Head  by 
his  Death  for  Man  on  the  Cross  :  Who,  according  to  the 
African  Father, 

Serpentis  Spolium,  devicto  Principe  Mundi, 
Affijcit  Ligno,  refugarum  immane  Tropeum. 

See  Tertullian  against  Marcion,  and  his  Apology;  with 
what  Justin  Martyr  and  Minucius  Foelix  have  said  hereof, 
in  their  Apologies  for  Christianity  :  As  also  what  Origen 
in  his  Commentaries,  St.  Cyril  in  his  Catechise,  St.  Basil 
in  his  Treatise  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  St.  Chrysostom  upon 
St.  Matthew,  the  Ancient  Book  of  the  Ecclesiastical 
Hierarchy,  under  the  Name  of  St.  Dionysius  ;  and  what 
the  Apologists  of  the  Church  of  England  for  the  Use  of 
the  Cross  in  Baptism  have  produced  in  Honour  of  this 
Sacred  Sign. 


OF  THE  END  OF  TH^  WORLD. 


XXXV 


his  Power. 
Mark 


on 


and    therefore 
the    (m)     right 


he    will    set    his 
Hand ;     for     by 


(m)  The  Reason  which  is  here  twice  given  for  the 
Impression  of  a  Diabolical  Mark  upon  the  Right  Hand 
deserves  not  to  be  slighted  :  But  there  is  also  another 
•which  is  coincident  with  it,  and  may  be  as  Old  as  the 
Days  of  Samuel  at  least,  and  that  is,  that  this  Hand  is 
the  Symbol  of  Power,  and  consequently  of  Victory  also, 
whence  the  Sign  thereof  was  anciently  used  both  by 
Jews  and  Heathens  for  a  Trophy,  or  for  a  Monument  of 
good  Success,  as  appears  from  the  Sacred  Writer  of 
the  First  Book  of  Samuel,  and  from  David  also  in  seve- 
ral of  his  undoubted  Psalms,  with  respect  to  the  former; 
and  for  the  latter  Lipsius  may  be  consulted,  and  Sfewe- 
chius  upon  Vegetius,  with  other  Learned  Critics  that  have 
written  De  Re  Militari.  Particularly  it  is  observable, 
that  the  Monument  or  Trophy  which  King  Saul  erected 
for  his  Victory  over  the  Amalekitcs,  was  set  up  upon  this 
very  Supposition,  and  took  thence  also  its  Denomination, 
as  you  may  see  in  1  Sam.  xv.  12,  where  in  our  Version  it 
is,  He  set  him  up  a  Place,  and  in  the  Vulgar  Latin, 
Erexisset  sibi  forniceni  triumphalem ;  but  in  the  Original 
it  is  n»  ffw  Hand,  and  the  LXXII  have  accordingly  ren- 
dered the  Place  u.viaTa.y.tv  uvTu  xsifa  :  And  that  this  also 
was  no  other  than  the  Right  Hand,  is  pretty  plain,  upon 
an  Allusion  thereto  of  David,  upon  his  Victory  over  the 
Edomites,  in  Ps.  Ix.  4,  5,  6.  See  likewise  for  this,  Ps. 
cvi.  2t»,  Isa.  xlix.  22,  Ezek.  xvi.  27,  xxi.  22,  and  Zach. 
ii.  9.  And  compare  Ps.  cix.  6,  with  Zach.  iii.  1,  which 
bear  an  express  Relation  to  this  Satanical  Power.  The 
Mark  of  which  Power  received  in  the  Right  Hand  is 
probably  to  be  a  Bloody  Mark,  being  no  other  than  a 
Diabolical  Consecration,  and  therefore  not  without  sprink- 
ling of  Blood,  1  think,  if  no  more.  Consider  Exod.  xxix. 
10,  Lev.  viii.  23,  24,  and  xiv.  14,  17.  Perhaps  also  it 
may  be  on  the  Thumb  of  that  Hand  for  the  same  Reason; 
as  likewise  for  that  other  which  is  here  given.  Moreover, 
it  is  an  Observation  ai  Servius,  that  the  Right  Hand  was 
of  Old    consecrated   to    the    Goddess   Fides,    as    all   the 

C 


xxxvi  ST.  EPHREM  SYRUS 

that  we  make  Impressions  on  any  Part  of 
our  Bodies :  So  also  our  Forehead  bears 
aloft  the  Mark  of  our  Blessed  Saviour, 
like  a  bright  Candle  set  up  upon  a  Can- 
dlestick. In  short,  my  Brethren,  it  will 
be  a  terrible  Trial  to  all  sincere  Lovers 
of  Christ,  to  persevere  resolutely  to  the 
Hour  of  Death,  and  not  stand  in  suspense, 
when  this  Evil  Serpent  is  sealing  with  his 
Mark,  instead  of  the  Cross  of  our  Saviour. 
For  thus  will  he  endeavour  that  the  (n) 
Name  of  Christ  may  not  be  so  much  as 
named  at  that  Time.  For,  being  weak 
himself,  he  does  this  out  of  Fear  and  Dread 
of  the  Holy  Power  of  our  Saviour.  If  a 
Man  receive  not  his  Mark,  he  is  free  from 
his  Power:  Such  a  one  the  Lord  will  not 
forsake,  but  enlighten  him,  and  draw  him 
to  himself.  My  Brethren,  we  must  care- 
fully observe,  that  the  Operations  of  this 
Enemy    are    cruel    and    unmerciful ;    where- 


Members  of  the  Human  Body  were  appropriated  to  some 
particular  Deity  or  other,  Ad  Lib.  3,  JEneid.  And  this 
is  taken  notice  of  by  the  late  Baron  Spanheim  in  his  lid 
Dissertation,  De  Freest.  S^  Usu  Numism.  and  may  afford 
not  a  little  Light  to  this  Antichristian  Sacrament,  if  well 
weighed. 

(n)  The  Ground  of  this  Prohibition  is  to  be  found 
in  Mar.  xvi.  17,  and  Phil,  ii,  9,  10.  For  there  is  in 
the  very  Name  of  Christ  when  uttered,  as  well  as  in 
the  Sign  of  Christ  when  made  by  Faith,  a  certain  irresis- 
tible Force  too  strong  for  the  Gates  of  Hell  to  oppose. 
Wherefore  the  Sealing  of  Antichrist  with  his  Mark,  is  on 
purpose  to  prevent,  if  possible,  what  is  feared  by  biin 
from  this  Holy  Name  and  Sign. 


OF  THE  END  OF  THE  WORLD.  xxxvii 

as  the  Spirit  of  God  comes  to  us  in  a  (o) 
calm  and  gentle  Manner,  to  oppose,  throngh 
us,  the  Artifices  of  the  Serpent.  If  we 
preserve  an  unshaken  Faith  in  the  Lord 
Jesiis,  we  shall  destroy  the  Power  of  the 
Enemy,  we  shall  preserve  a  stedfast  Re- 
solution and  Constancy,  and  he  shall  grow 
weak,  and  depart  from  us,  not  being  able 
to  hurt  us.  I,  who  am  the  meanest  of 
you  all,  beseech  you,  Brethren  and  Lo- 
vers of  Christ,  that  ye  be  not  faint-hearted, 
but  be  more  and  more  strengthened  in 
the  Power  of  the  Cross.  Unavoidable 
Affliction  is  at  the  Door.  Let  us  all  take 
the  Shield  of  Faith.  Be  ye  all  ready  as 
faithful  Members  of  Christ's  Family,  that 
ye  may  receive  no  other  Master.  For 
seeing  this  Thief,  the  Accursed  One,  this 
Tyrant  will  come  before  the  Appearance 
of  the  Blessed  Jesus  in  Glory,  intending 
to  plunder,  to  kill,  and  to  destroy  the 
chosen   Flock    of  the    true    Shepherd  Christ 


(o)  There  cannot  be  a  truer  and  juster  Observation 
than  this,  that  whereas  the  Evil  Spirit  did  fall  upon  the 
Person  possessed  generally  in  a  fierce  and  violent  manner, 
and  often  did  express  something  that  was  very  Savage  and 
Unmerciful,  as  well  as  Extravagant,  and  Preposterous, 
both  in  the  Manner  of  the  Delivery,  and  in  the  Oracle 
itself;  it  was  quite  otherwise  with  the  good  Spirit,  whose 
Inspirations  are  calm  and  gentle,  as  the  Dove,  Maimoni- 
des  in  his  More  Nevochim,  and  Cardinal  Bona  in  his 
Book  De  Discretione  Spirituum,  have  very  useful  Re- 
marks upon  this  Subject.  See  The  History  of  Montanism, 
Art.  II.  Sect.  4,  and  Art.  IV.  and  VII. 

C2 


xxxviii  ST.  EPHREM  SYRUS 

Jesus;  Let  us  be  instructed,  my  Friends, 
in  what  Manner  this  shameless  Serpent 
shall  appear  amongst  us.  For  as  our 
Blessed  Saviour  designing  to  save  Man- 
kind, was  born  of  a  Virgin,  and  in  our 
Human  Nature  beat  down  our  Enemy 
by  the  Holy  Power  of  his  Divinity: 
So  the  Enemy  has  contrived  to  assume  his 
Manner  of  Appearance,  and  deceive  us. 
Our  Lord  shall  descend  in  bright  Clouds, 
like  a  terrible  Flash  of  Lightning,  upon 
the  Earth :  But  the  Deceiver  after  an- 
other Fashion.  For  he  is  an  Apostate. 
The  Organical  Body  in  which  he  shall 
act,  shall  be  exquisitely  formed  out  of  the 
Womb    of   some  (p)  accursed    young    Har- 


Cp)  As  Christ  was  conceived  in  the  Womb  of  a  pure 
immaculate  Virgin,  and  was  born  a  True  Man  of  the 
Seed  of  the  Woman;  so  the  Father  thinks  that  Antichrist 
shall  be  conceived  in  the  Womb  of  a  most  impure  and 
abominable  Strumpet,  or  of  some  accursed  Witch  ;  and 
that  when  he  shall  be  born  of  her  he  shall  be  a  very  Devil 
Incarnate,  as  born  of  the  Seed  of  the  Serpent ;  yet  not 
incarnated  in  a  strict  and  proper  Sense,  as  having  more  in 
him  of  the  Devil  than  of  the  Man.  Whereby  we  are  to 
understand,  that  since  Christ  really  took  upon  him  the 
Human  Nature,  and  was  in  the  most  proper  Sense  Incar- 
nated in  our  Mortal  Flesh,  Antichrist  must  herein  fall 
short  of  Christ,  as  not  being  able  to  assume  that  Nature 
Hypostatically,  which  did  now  of  right  belong  to  Christ 
only  by  virtue  of  his  Assumption  of  it.  It  seems  there- 
fore to  be  his  Opinion,  that  Antichrist  shall  have  indeed 
a  Real  and  Organical  Body,  and  shall  appear  in  all 
Things  like  unto  others  in  the  Form  of  Man  ;  but  that  the 
Dragon,  or  Serpent,  which  giveth  Power  unto  him,  and 
liveth  and  worketh  in  him  with  all  deceivableness  of  Un~ 


OF  THE  END  OF  THE  WORLD. 

lot.       Yet     shall    he    not    be    in    a    proper 
Sense     (p)     Incarnate.        In     this     Manner 


righteousness,  shall  actuate  this  Organized  Human  Body 
by  way  of  Obsession,  rather  than  of  true  Impersonation. 
Why  he  and  some  others  will  not  have  it  to  be  a  strict  and 
real  [mpersonation,  or  an  Hypostatical  Union  of  the  Two 
Natures,  viz.  Diabolical  and  Human,  in  One  Numerical 
Person  ;  is  because  they  do  not  think  that  this  Deceiver 
can  properly  assume  to  him  the  tvkole  Human  Nature,  of 
a  Reasonable  Soul  and  Human  Flesh  subsisting,  but  that 
the  Diabolical  Spirit  shall  in  him  Operate  after  the  same 
manner,  as  ordinarily  in  Demoniacs,  or  Energumens,  ia 
whom  the  Human  Soul  (or  at  least  its  Superior  Faculties) 
seems  to  be  perfectly  bound  up,  during  the  whole  Terra 
of  the  Possession  by  the  Demon  ;  and  as  in  the  Traitor 
Judas  and  Simon  Magus,  Two  of  his  Forerunners  and 
Representatives :  And  will  thereby  act  upon  the  Body 
whereto  he  shall  have  united  himself,  xctr  ivipretav,  accord- 
ing to  the  Energy  or  In-working  of  Satan,  2  T/iess.  ii.  9,. 
as  we  find  it  was  actually  so,  both  in  the  Traitor  and  the 
Sorcerer  afore-named :  Who  were  not  only,  it  seems, 
Acted  by  a  Diabolical  Inspiration,  to  Do  what  they  Did; 
but  were,  moreover,  made  expressly  the  Organs  of  the 
Diabolical  Spirit  entering  into  them,  and  filling  them. 
Hence  one  of  these  is  called  by  Christ  a  Devil ;  and  the 
other  by  the  Ancient  Christian  Writers  the  Son  of  the 
Devil,  and  the  First-born  of  the  Devil.  And  some  have 
well  observed,  that  as  siion  as  ever  it  entered  into  the 
Heart  of  Judas  to  betray  his  Lord,  this  was  properly  a 
Diabolical  Inspiration :  but  that  immediately  after  his  re- 
ceiving the  Sop,  this  became  a  Diabolical  Possession  ;  and 
the  Devil  from  that  time  forth  acted  in  Judas,  as  in  an 
Organ  or  Body  prepared  for  him.  So  that  it  seems  agree- 
able to  the  Notion  of  the  Fathers  concerning  Antichrist, 
that  the  Devil  shall  not  properly  Incarnate  himself  in  the 
Person  of  Antichrist,  as  the  Word  was  made  Flesh,  or  as 
God  did  properly  Incarnate  himself  in  the  Person  of 
Christ;  but  ouXy  seemingly,  and  to  nM  Appearance :  But 
that  he  shall  Act  in  him  as  in  a  Vessel  of  Wrath,  and  in  an 


xl  ST.  EPHREM  SYR  US 

shall  this  Accursed  One  come  as  a  Thief 
to  deceive  all  the  World.  He  shall  show 
himself  humble,  meek,  proclaim  him- 
self an  Enemy  to  Injustice,  abhorring 
Idols,  reverencing  Piety  ;  good,  chari- 
table, and  he  shall  be  extremely  beauti- 
ful, courageous,  affable  to  all  Men,  show- 
ing a  most  particular  Respect  to  the  Na- 
tion of  the  (q)  Jens  ;  for  they  expect  his 
Coming.  In  the  midst  of  all  these  things 
he  shall  show  Signs  and  Wonders,  and 
dreadful  Sights  with  great  Power.  He 
shall  craftily  endeavour  to  please  all  Men, 
that  he  may  quickly  get  the  Love  of  many. 
He    shall   refuse   Gifts,    he   shall    not   speak 


Organ  every  way  fitted  for  his  Use,  as  if  he  were  really 
and  indeed  Incarnated  in  the  Human  Nature ;  and  that 
for  this  Purpose  he  shall  have  a  Body  prepared  from  the 
very  Womb  for  him,  being  most  exquisitely  adapted  and 
framed  for  the  Manifestation  of  all  the  Evil  Properties 
which  are  in  Fallen  Nature,  and  for  all  his  abominable 
Designs  and  lying  Wonders,  which  shall  successively  be 
wrought  forth  through  that  Body  :  Wherefore  this  must 
not  be  a  Phantastical  Body,  as  some  would  understand 
the  Fathers,  since  it  is  to  be  properly  Organical :  But 
this  Organical  Human  Body,  by  the  habitual  Possession 
and  Impregnation  of  the  Spirit  of  the  Dragon  is  suppo- 
sed to  be  made  capable  for  Diabolical  Transfiguration,  or 
to  appear  at  least  in  sundry  Forms  and  Figures,  according 
as  he  may  have  occasion  to  work  his  Cheating  Wonders. 

(q)  That  the  coming  of  Antichrist  must  be  Ji7'st  to 
the  Jews,  was  generally  the  Opinion  of  the  Ancients  : 
Or  at  least  in  whatever  Part  of  the  World  his  first  Ap- 
pearance might  be,  they  thought  these  should  be  the  First 
to  join  him,  and  to  offer  to  make  him  their  King.  Fid. 
Par.  IV.  p.  135. 


OF  THE  END  OF  THE  WORLD. 

with   Anger,    but    shall   put    on    a    Show    of 
great    Modesty,    and     by     this    Appearance 
of    Virtue     and     Regularity,     he    shall     de- 
ceive  the  World,    till    they  make    him    their 
King.      When    therefore    many    People    and 
Nations  shall    see  these  Virtues  and  Powers 
in  him,    They    shall    all    come   together  with 
one  Consent,  and  proclaim    him   their    King 
with    great   Joy,     saying     one     to     another, 
Can    we    any    where    find    such  a  Man    as 
this,    so    good    and    so    just?     and  immedi- 
ately    his    Dominion    shall     be    established, 
and  in  his  Wrath  he  shall  smite  down  three 
mighty    Kings.      Then    shall    this    (r)   Dra- 
gon    lift     up     his     Heart,     and     vomit     out 
his     Serpentine     Poison.         He     shall     dis- 
turb   the    World,     and     put     all    the    Ends 
of    the     Earth     into    Confusion,     oppressing 
their     Bodies,     and     polluting    their     Souls. 
Then     shall     he     lay     aside     his    pretended 
Piety,     and     show     himself     severe,     cruel, 


(r)  Notwithstanding  that  the  Dragon  be  as  distinct 
from  the  Beast,  who  is  Antichrist,  as  one  Person  can  be 
from  another,  yet  is  he  here  and  elsewhere  properly 
enough  called  the  Dragon,  or  the  Serpent,  that  is,  the 
Devil ;  as  having  his  Father's  Name  written  upon  him, 
and  subsisting  in  his  Father's  Nature,  even  more  properly 
than  in  that  which  he  Outwardly  carries  about  him. 
Whence  both  the  Dragon  that  has  given  Power  to  the 
Beast,  and  the  Beast  that  Acts  in  all  Things  by  the 
Power  of  this  Old  Dragon,  may  very  fitly  be  called  by 
the  same  Name,  by  reason  of  this  most  strict  Union 
betwixt  them,  and  Communication  of  Properties  by  the 
Inhabitation  of  this  Serpentine  Spirit  in  the  Body  of 
Antichrist. 


ST.  EPHREM  SYRUS 

wrathful,  passionate,  unmerciful,  uncon- 
stant,  terrible,  defonned,  hateful,  abo- 
minable, haughty,  accursed,  blasphemous, 
endeavouring  to  precipitate  all  Man- 
kind into  the  Depdi  of  Iniquity.  He 
shall  show  (s)  false  Miracles  in  great 
Abundance.  And  when  many  People 
are  standing  by  h™,  and  magnifying 
him  for  the  great  Wonders  which  they 
shall  behold,  he  shall  proclaim  aloud  with 
a  mighty  Voice,,  which  shall  (t)  shake 
the  Place  where  they  are  gathered  toge- 
ther, saying,  Behold,  all  people,  my  poiver 
and  my  might.      Then  shall  he  (u)  seem  to 


(s)  Consider  Mat.  xxiv.  ^,  compared  with  2  Thess.  ii. 
9,  and  Joseph.  Antiq.  Jud.  Lib.  XX.  c.  6,  and  De  Bello 
Judaice,  Lib.  II.  c.  23.  Lib.  VII.  c.  30. 

(tj  This  shaking  of  the  Place  where  Antichrist  is  sup- 
posed, in  the  presence  of  a  great  Multitude  met  together 
at  the  noise  of  his  Wonderful  Appearance,  to  make  Pro- 
clamation of  his  pretended  Universal  Kingdom^  is  plainly 
nothing  else  but  the  Counterfeit  of  the  Miraculous  Descent 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  the  Apostles  at  Pentecost,  when 
by  a  rushing  mighty  Wind  the  Place  wherein  they  were 
sitting  did  seem  to  move.  For  it  is  neither  impossible, 
nor  improbable,  by  the  Ministry  of  Spirits  both  Good 
and  Evil,  as  well  as  by  the  Concurrence  of  Natural 
Causes,  for  great  and  extraordinary  Winds  sometimes  to 
be  produced,  yet  still  under  the  Conduct  of  the  God  of 
Nature.  See  and  consider  Gen.  viii.  1.  1  King.  xix.  11. 
2  King.  ii.  1.  Job  xxxviii.  1.  Psal.  cxxxv.  7.  Je7:  x.  13, 
xxiii.  19,  XXV.  32.  Ezek.  xxxvii.  9.  Jon.  i.  4.  Nah.  i.  3. 
and  Rev.  vii.  1, 

(uj  The  pretence  of  Kemoving  of  Mountains,  and 
casting  them  in  the  midst  of  the  Sea,  and  of  commanding 
New  Islands  at  a  Words  speaking  to  rise  up  suddenly  out 


OF  THE  END  OF  THE  WORLD.  xliii 

remove  Mountains,  and  make  Islands 
arise  out  of  the  Sea  in  the  Sight  of  the 
People,  not  that  he  shall  really  do  such 
mighty  Works,  but  shall  impose  upon  the 
Spectators  by  false  Appearances.  Thus 
shall  he  deceive  and  delude  the  World, 
and  many  shall  believe  in  him,  and  .glo- 
rify   him    as    the    (w)  mighty    God.       Then 


of  the  Sea,  may  in  the  Person  of  Antichrist  meet  with 
Credit  from  the  Multitude  of  his  Followers,  though  nothing 
hereof  be  really  done,  by  the  Contagion  of  a  Spiritual 
Fascination  in  all  them  that  shall  have  fitted  themselves  to 
receive  his  Mark,  while  he  shall  by  his  Devilish  Art  im- 
pose upon  the  Spectators  with  Phantasms  and  lying  Ap- 
pearances, called  Ti^ara  ij/su^a?,  by  the  Apostle,  2  Thess. 
ii.  9.  that  he  may  mock  at  them.  Since  for  as  much  as  all 
Power  belongs  only  to  God,  and  God  has  committed  it  all 
to  Christ  for  the  Exercise  thereof;  there  remains  no 
Power,  which  is  properly  such,  for  the  Devil,  or  for  this 
his  Son,  to  put  forth  :  But  all  is  barely  a  Semblance  of 
Power,  a  false  Appearance  without  any  Reality,  a  Diabo- 
lical Dream,  and  an  Hellish  Cheat.  For  the  Dragon's 
Power  infused  into  this  deceitful  Beast,  is  nothing  else 
at  the  utmost  but  the  Prevarication  and  Abuse  of  the 
Powers  of  ISature,  which  are  made  subject  to  Vanity  till 
the  Times  of  Restitution.  Wherefore  nothing  can  be 
more  unreasonable  and  absurd  than  to  be  afraid  of  his 
Power,  which  in  Effect  is  none  at  all ;  neither  is  there 
a  greater  Infatuation  than  to  rob  God  of  his  Power,  or 
Glory,  by  allowing  but  the  least  Part  thereof  to  the 
Devil,  or  to  any  of  his  Prime- Ministers. 

(w)  But  by  these  and  such  like  strong  Delusions  the 
Sealed  Number  of  the  Beast,  or  Antichrist,  which  is 
opposed  to  the  Sealed  Number  of  the  Lamb,  or  Christ, 
shall  be  even  so  far  infatuated  as  to  worship  him  not 
only  for  a  Divine  Person,  or  for  one  made  Partaker  of 
the  Divine  Nature  in  the  most  eminent  Degree,  but  even 
for  the  Mighty  God,  that  is,  for   the  Father  Almighty. 


xliv  ST.  EPHREM  SYRUS 

shall  every  Soul  mourn  bitterly,  and  be 
afflicted.  Then  shall  all  see  themselves 
in  continual  Affliction  Day  and  Night 
without  a  Glimpse  of  Comfort,  not  know- 
ing where  to  find  Bread  to  satisfy  their 
Hunger.  For  Merciless  Governors  shall 
be  set  over  all  Places ;  and  if  a  man  bring 
with  him  the  Mark  of  the  Beast  in  his 
right  Hand  or  on  his  Forehead,  he  shall 
presently  buy  such  Food  as  they  can  get. 
Then  shall  the  Children  faint  in  the  Mo- 
ther's Bosom,  and  the  Mother  shall  die 
upon  her  Children,  and  the  Father  with 
his  Wife  and  Children  shall  perish  in  the 
Streets,  and  there  shall  be  none  to  bury 
them.  From  the  Multitude  of  dead  Car- 
cases lying  in  the  Streets  shall  a  grievous 
Stink  arise,  that  shall  be  noisome  and  in- 
tolerable to  the  Livino-.  In  the  Morning 
they  shall  say  with  Tears  and  bitter  La- 
mentation,   When    will    it    be   Evening,  that 


And  I  know  some  that  have  been  let  deeply  into  this 
Mystery  of  Iniquity,  and  that  have  been  prepared  for 
many  Years  to  receive  a  Manifestation  of  this  Nature,  as 
having  drawn  up  a  certain  System  concerning  the  Incarna- 
tion of  the  FATHER,  as  somewhat  much  greater  yet  to 
be  than  the  Incarnation  of  the  SON  was  in  the  Person  of 
Jesus  Christ.  Innumerable  are  the  Devices  and  Strata- 
gems of  Satan  for  the  Subverting  the  Great  Mystery  of 
Christianity ;  but  perhaps  among  all  these,  nothing  is 
more  cunningly  contrived  and  accommodated  for  the 
pleasing  both  of  Jews  and  Christians,  and  even  of  Maho- 
metans too,  than  the  Scheme  hereof  which  I  have  seen, 
and  was  communicated  to  me  by  a  Learned  flaud  that  had 
been  himself  infected  with  it  for  some  time. 


OF  THE  END  OF  THE  WORLD.  xlv 

we  may  take  a  little  Rest?  And  when  it 
is  Evening,  They  shall  speak  one  to  an- 
other with  bitter  Tears,  When  will  it  be 
Mornino:^  that  we  may  fly  from  this 
dreadful  Affliction?  And  there  shall  be  no 
Place  for  them  to  fly  unto  for  Protection, 
for  all  Things  shall  be  in  Confusion,  both 
the  Sea,  and  the  dry  Land.  Therefore 
thus  saith  the  Lord,  *  Watch,  and  pray  *  Mat.  xxir. 
always,  that  ye  may  escape  this  tribulation.  ^^^[^  ^'!'* 
There  is  a  noisome  Smell  at  Sea,  and  a  ^^  ^  ^^'* 
dreadful  Stink  by  Land,  Famines,  and 
Earthquakes,  Confusion  upon  the  Earth, 
Terrors  at  Sea,  and  Terrors  at  Land. 
Their  Silver  and  their  Gold,  and  their 
sumptuous  Clothes  shall  not  profit  in  that 
Day  of  Wrath.  But  the  Living  shall 
say,  Happy  are  the  Dead  that  are 
departed  this  Life  before  the  coming  of 
this  great  Desolation !  Their  Gold  and 
their  Silver  shall  be  cast  forth  into  the 
Streets,  and  no  Man  ^hall  touch  them, 
but  look  upon  them  with  Abhorrence, 
and  they  shall  all  seek  for  Shelter  and 
Protection,  but  shall  not  find  it.  More- 
over because  of  the  Famine,  and  Tribu- 
lation, and  Terror,  the  wild  Beast  and 
devouring  Insects  shall  rove  about  de- 
vouring all  that  they  can  meet  with. 
Within  is  Fear,  and  without  is  Trembling. 
Night  and  Day  shall  the  Carcases  lie  in 
the  Streets  ;  in  the  Streets  shall  be  a  noisome 
Smell,  within  Doors  an  intolerable  Stink! 
Hunger  and  Thirst  in  the  Streets,  and 
Hunger    and    Thirst    in    the    Houses.      The 


xlvi  ST.  EPHREM  SYRUS 

Voice  of  Mourning  in  the  Streets,  La- 
mentation in  the  Streets,  Lamentation  in 
the  Houses.  They  shall  meet  one  another 
in  Tears,  the  Father  the  Son,  and  the 
Son  the  Father,  and  the  Mother  the 
Daughter.  Friends  and  Brethren  shall 
meet  one  another  in  the  Streets,  and  sink 
down  dead  with  Astonishment  at  their 
mutual  Miseries.  The  Beauty  of  all  Flesh 
is  withered ;  their  once  charming  Fea- 
tures are  become  like  those  of  a  dead 
Man,  The  Beauty  of  Women  is  become 
hateful  and  abominable.  All  flesh  shall 
decay,  and  the  Desire  of  Men  shall  perish. 
Then  all  that  have  believed  the  dreadful 
Beast,  and  received  his  (x)  Seal,  and  his 
accursed  (cc)  Mark,  shall  run  to  him,  and 
say  with  Lamentation,  Give  us  Meat  and 
Drink,  we  are  ready  to  perish  with  Hun- 
ger, and  drive  away  from  us  the  destroy- 
ing Beasts.  Then  shall  he  be  perplexed, 
and  answer  them  very  roughly,  saying, 
Where  shall  1  find  Meat  and  Drink  to 
give    you  ?       The     Heaven     will     not     give 


Cx)  The  visible  Seal  and  Mark  of  Antichrist,  I  con- 
ceive may  be  thus  distinguished  ;  that  the  latter  is  to  be  a 
Sign,  either  on  the  Right  Hand  or  the  Forehead,  and 
may  respect  both  the  Orders  of  Antichristians  which  have 
been  hinted  at;  but  that  the  former  is  to  be  a  Sign  properly 
on  the  Forehead,  and  visible  to  all  the  World,  even  as 
the  Horns  of  Glory  were  upon  the  Face  of  Moses,  when 
he  descended  from  conversing  with  God  and  his  Holy 
Angels  in  the  Mount;  and  that  this  doth  chiefly  respect 
the  Antichristians  of  the  Higher  Order,  who  are  past  all 
Recovery  and  have  sinned  the  Sin  unto  Death. 


OF  THE  END  OF  THE  WORLD,  xWn 

you  Rain,  and  the  Earth  will  not  bring 
forth  Harvest  or  Fruit.  When  the  Peo- 
ple shall  hear  this  they  shall  weep  and 
lament,  having  no  Comfort  in  their  Af- 
flictions. But  one  Misery  shall  come 
upon  the  Neck  of  another,  because  they 
so  readily  believed  this  Tyrannical  De- 
ceiver. For  he  shall  not  be  able  to  help 
himself,  how  then  shall  he  show  Mercy 
to  them?  In  those  Days  shall  the  Tribu- 
lation be  very  great  from  the  Oppressions 
of  Antichrist,  from  the  Terror,  the 
Earthquake,  the  Roaring  of  the  Sea,  the 
Famine,  the  Drought,  and  the  Bitings  of 
wild  Beasts.  But  all  they  that  have  re- 
ceived the  Seal  of  Antichrist,  and  wor- 
shipped him  as  the  Great  God,  shall  have 
no  Portion  in  the  Kingdom  of  Christ,  but 
shall  be  cast  with  the  Dragon  into  Hell. 
Blessed  is  he  that  shall  be  found  Holy 
and  Upright  in  that  Day,  having  his 
Heart  entirely  fixed  upon  God  !  He  shall 
valiantly  break  through  all  his  Tempta- 
tions, despising  all  his  Snares  and  trea- 
cherous Designs.  But  before  these  things 
come  to  pass,  the  Lord  shall  send  (i/)  Elias  Rev.  x\.  3, 

4. 

Mai.  iv.  5. 


(t/J  This  Passage  is  cited  Part  IV.  §  22,  p.  174,  as 
from  the  Latin  Copy  of  this  Father,  which  was  then  only 
extant  when  the  following  Treatise  was  written  :  And  it  is 
here  observable,  that  the  Name  of  Tishbite  is  for  greater 
Distinction's  sake  of  the  very  Elias,  from  any  one  arising 
and  ministering  in  his  Spirit,  added  in  conformity  with  the 
Septuagint  Version  of  Malachy. 


ST.  EPHREM  SYRUS 

the  Tishhite  and  Enoch,  out  of  his  abun- 
dant Mercy,  that  they  may  preach  Righ- 
teousness to  all  Mankind;  and  boldly 
publish  the  true  Knowledge  of  God  to 
all  Men,  that  they  may  not  through 
Fear  believe  this  Tyrant.  They  shall  pro- 
claim aloud  and  say,  "  O  Men,  this  is  the 
"  Deceiver,  let  no  Man  believe  him, 
"  nor  obey  this  Enemy  of  God.  Let 
"  none  of  you  be  afraid,  for  he  shall  soon 
*'  be  destroyed.  Behold  the  Righteous 
"  Lord  is  descending  from  Heaven  to 
"  judge  all  those  that  give  heed  to  the 
"  Antichristian  Signs."  But  there  will 
be  few  that  will  regard  or  believe  the 
Preaching  of  these  Prophets.  But  this 
will  our  blessed  Saviour  do  to  manifest 
his  exceeding  great  Love  towards  us, 
that  Mankind  even  at  that  Time  may 
not  be  left  without  Witnesses  of  the 
Truth,  and  that  the  Disobedient  may  be 
without  Excuse  in  the  Day  of  Judgement. 
Then  as  many  of  the  Saints  as  shall  be 
found  at  the  Coming  of  this  wicked  One, 
shall  pour  out  Rivers  of  Tears  and  Sighs 
innumerable  to  the  Holy  God,  that  they 
may  be  delivered  from  the  Power  of  the 
Dragon.  They  shall  fly  with  great  Fear 
and     Speed    into    (z)    desert     Places,     and 


(z)  Under  the  Persecution  of  the  Church  by  Anti- 
christ, and  the  General  Apostacy  of  the  Nominal  Chris- 
tians, the  Real  Christians  will  be  obliged,  for  the  short 
Season  of  its  Duration,  to  take  their  flight  into  Desert  and 


OF  THE  END  OF  THE  WORLD.  xlix 

hide  themselves  in  Mountains  and  Caves 
of  the  Earth.  They  shall  put  Dust  and 
Ashes  upon  their  Heads,  praying  Wight 
and  Day  with  great  Humiliation.  And 
this  shall  be  the  Privilege  granted  them 
by  the  Righteous  God,  He  shall  lead  them 
by  his  Mercy  into  appointed  Places,  and 
they  shall  be  securely  hidden  in  Dens  and 
Caves  of  the  Earth,  and  shall  not  see 
the  Signs  and  Terrors  of  Antichrist.  For 
to  them  that  have  Understanding,  his 
Coming  will  be  easily  known,  but  he 
shall  come  unawares  upon  them  whose 
Hearts  are  set  upon  the  Affairs  of  this 
Life,  and  their  Desires  upon  the  Things 
of  this  World ;  for  he  whose  Heart  has 
l^een  long  bound  up  in  Things  of  the 
World,  though  he  hear,  yet  will  he  not 
believe,  but  revile  those  that  would  in- 
struct him.  And  for  this  Cause  the  Saints 
are  mighty  in  Strength  to  oppose  him, 
because  they  have  cast  off  f  all  Concern  t  nSa-a*  twi- 
for  this  temporal  and  transitory  Life.  Vsc*""**  i^i" 
Then    shall    all    the     Earth     and     the     Sea '^^^'f*^*'"'^'' 


Uninhabited  Places  ;  perhaps  into  America,  which  may 
not  unfitly  deserve  to  be  called  the  Great  Wilderness. 
And  whether  the  Wisdom  of  God  may  not  have  some 
greater  Design  in  View  to  bring  about  in  that  vast  Tract  of 
Land,  which  has  been  brought  under  the  Subjection  of 
European  Princes,  than  doth  hitherto  appear  by  those 
Temporal  Advantages  and  Disadvantages  which  have 
hitherto  been  made  thereby  ;  may,  I  think,  be  not  alto- 
gether unworthy  of  the  serious  Consideration  of  as  many 
as  are  looking  after  the  Signs  of  the  Times. 


1  ST.  EPHREM  SYRUS 

mourn.  The  Air  shall  mourn  with  the 
Beasts  of  the  Field,  and  the  Fowls  of  the 
Air.  The  Mountains  and  Hills  shall  la- 
ment, and  all  the  Trees  of  the  Field. 
The  Stars  of  Heaven  shall  take  up  a  La- 
mentation for  Mankind,  for  they  have 
departed  from  the  Righteous  God,  and 
believed  a  Deceiver,  and  received  tlie 
Mark  of  the  accursed  Enemy  of  God, 
instead  of  the  quickening  Cross  of  Christ 
our  Saviour.  The  Earth  and  the  Sea 
mourneth,  for  the  Singing  of  Psalms, 
and  the  Voice  of  Prayer  is  no  longer 
heard  among  Men.  All  the  Churches  of 
Christ  lament  with  bitter  Lamentations, 
*  Dan.  vi.  because  of  the  Cessation  of  the  *  Daily 
25.  Sacrifice     and     Oblation.       When     therefore 

^^^'i^u'  ^^^  shall  have  exercised  his  Tyranny  Three 
PmpitiaV  ^^^^^  ^^^  ^  Half,  and  when  the  Desola- 
ry  Oblation  tions  of  the  whole  Earth  shall  be  accom- 
in  the  Holy  plished,  then  as  the  Lord  himself  has 
Eucharist,  gaifj^  The  Holy,  Pure,  Terrible,  and  Glo- 
^c.Prmted^^          Ood    shall    descend    like    a    Flash   of 

tor  J.  max-    ,  .    ,       .  /»     n  •  i        • 

phew,  1710.  Lightnmg  out  oi  Heaven,  with  mexpres- 
sible  Majesty,  with  Legions  of  Angels 
and  Arch-angels,  all  in  bright  Flames  of 
pire,  and  a  roaring  Stream  of  Fire  running 
before  him.  Cherubims  with  their  Eyes 
cast  down,  and  Seraphims  flying  and  hi- 
ding their  Faces  and  Feet  with  their  fiery 
Wings,  crying  out,  in  a  dreadful  Manner, 
Awake  ye  that  sleep,  behold  the  Bridegroom 
Cometh.  The  Graves  shall  open,  and  in 
the  Twinkling  of  an  Eye  shall  all  the  Na- 
tions of  the  Earth  arise,  and  look  upon  the 


OF  THE  END  OF  THE  WORLD.  li 

resplendent  Beauty  of  the  Bridegroom. 
The  innumerable  Armies  of  Angels  and 
Arch-angels  shall  triumph  with  great  Joy, 
and  the  Just  and  the  Righteous  that  have 
not  received  the  Mark  of  the  Beast  shall 
rejoice.  Then  shall  the  Tyrant  and  all 
the  Unrighteous  and  Ungodly  that  have 
received  his  Mark  be  led  bound  to  the 
Tribunal  of  the  Righteous  Judge,  Who 
shall  pronounce  their  Sentence  of  Eter- 
nal Condemnation  to  unquenchable  Fire : 
Whilst  all  they  that  have  not  received 
the  Mark  of  Antichrist,  and  all  that  have 
been  hidden  in  secret  Places,  shall  rejoice 
with  the  Bridegroom  in  the  Eternal  and 
Heavenly  Rest  with  all  the  Saints  for  ever 
and  ever.     Amen. 

N.B.  I  have  not  in  this  Translation  strictly 
followed  the  Letter  of  the  Text.,  hut  have  through- 
out taken  such  Liberties  as  1  thought  most  pro- 
per to  accommodate  it  to  the  English  Idiom,  and 
make  it  more  serviceable  to  the  common  Reader. 
For  the  Stile  of  this  Author  being  short  and 
sententious,  I  have  sometimes  cast  two  or  three 
Sentences  of  the  same  Import  into  one,  by  Way 
of   Explication;   sometimes   have  illustrated  a 
Difficulty  by  Way  of  Paraphrase ;  and  where 
the  literal  Sense  is  something  unintelligible  by 
antique  Words  and  Phrases,  I  have  endeavoured 
to  give  it  such  a  Turn  as  might  be  most  agreeable 
to  our    common  Expressions  and   Notions  of 
Things. 


THE 

INTRODUCTION. 


Dan.  12.  1 .  And  there  shall  he  a  time  of  Trouble, 
such  as  never  was  smce  there  ivas  a  Nation, 
even  to  that  same  time. 

Or,  as  it  is  expressed  by 

St.  Matth.  24.  2 1 .  For  then  shall  he  great  Tribu- 
lation, such  as  was  not  since  the  beginning  of 
the  World  to  this  time,  no  nor  ever  shall  be. 

Or,  by 

St.  Mark  13.  19.  For  in  those  Days  shall  he  Af- 
fliction, such  as  ivas  not  from  the  beginnitig  of 
the  Creation,  which  God  created,  u7ito  this  time, 
neither  shall  be. 

THIS  PROPHECY  thus  differently  ex- 
pressed, contains  a  Solemn  Denuncia- 
tion of  the  dreadful  Judgments  that  shall  come 
upon  the  World  in  the  last  Times,  which  will 
display  themselves  in  two  sorts  of  Evils. 

1.  Natural. 

2.  Supernatural. 

1.  By  the  Natural  Evils  I  understand 
principally,  The  Sword,  the  Pestilence,  and 
the  Famine. 


INTRODUCTION. 

2.  By  the  Supernatural,  The  Afflictions 
which  the  Church  of  God,  and  the  whole 
World,  shall  undergo  in  the  Reign  of  Anti- 
christ, who  is  the  Consummation  of  the 
Curse. 

The  Reasons  why  I  imagine  these  Na- 
tural Evils  to  be  the  Sword,  Pestilence,  and 
Famine,  are  these: 

1.  Because  these  (with  that  of  the  noi- 
som  Beasts)  are  called  God's  Sore  Judgments ; 
or,  as  it  is  in  the  Original,  his  (emphati- 
cally) Evil  Judgments^  Ezek.  14.  21  ;  and 
though,  indeed,  in  this  and  one  or  two  other 
Places,  we  find  the  noisom  Beasts,  and 
sometimes  the  Earthquakes  joined  with  them ; 
yet,  generally  speaking,  these  Three  are  in 
most  of  the  Prophets  put  together,  as  the  Sum 
or  Completion  of  all  the  Natural  Evils  that 
can  befall  a  People. 

2.  Because  they  correspond  to,  and  are 
the  Natural  Fruits  and  Productions  of  the 
Three  great  Divisions  of  Sin,  mentioned  by 
St.  John,  1  Ep.  2.  16.  1.  The  Lust  of  the  Flesh; 
2.  The  Lust  of  the  Eye;  3.  And  the  Pride  of 
Life;  which  he  calls  all  that  is  in  the  World ; 
meaning,  that  all  other  Instances  of  Sin,  may 
(generally  speaking)  be  reduced  to  these 
Three  Heads. 

These  shall  ravage  up  and  down  in  the 
World,  in  different  Places  and  Degrees,  ac- 
cordingly as  Persons,  Places,  or  Nations, 
may  be  more  or  less  ripe  for  Vengeance; 
and  are  not  only  intended  as  a  Punishment 
for  the  Sufferers,  but  as  Warnings  for  those 
that  shall  escape  them,  that  greater  Evils 
are  at  hand  ;  For  so  saith  our  Blessed  Lord, 


INTRODUCTION.  3 

Matth.  24.  7,  8;  Mark  13.9.  Nation  shall  rise 
against  Nation,  and  Kingdom  against  Kingdom : 
And  there  shall  be  Families,  and  Pestilences,  and 
Earthquakes  in  divers  Places ;  and  immediate- 
ly subjoins,  All  these  are  the  beginnings  of  Sor- 
rows. Where  the  Original  Word,*  which  *  '^^"'' 
we  translate  Sorrows,  signifies  particularly 
the  Pains  of  a  travailing  Woman,  and  seems 
to  be  most  emphatically  used  in  this  place, 
to  represent  to  us,  that  these  shall  be,  as  it 
were,  the  Throes  and  Pangs  of  the  King- 
dom of  Darkness,  or  Hellish  Principle,  la- 
bouring to  bring  forth  Antichrist,  who  is 
to  be  the  Head  and  Completion  of  the 
Apostacy,  the  Top-Fruit  of  the  Mystery  of 
Iniquity,  in  whom  shall  dwell  the  Fullness 
of  Diabolical  Deceit  and  Wickedness,  in 
opposition  to  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  in 
■whom  dwelt  the  Fullness  of  Grace  and 
Truth;  yea,  of  the  Godhead  bodily. 

Before  I  proceed  to  a  distinct  Conside-  Theprece- 
ration  of  the  several  Parts,  I  shall  premise  ^^"^  .^^""" 
one  Thing;  That  seeing  there  are  in  ^c^ip- cZjirmed. 
ture  many  terrible  Denunciations  of  great 
Judgments,  which  have  not  yet  been  fulfilled, 
at  least  in  their  utmost  Extent  and  Meaning  ; 
it  is  natural  to  imagine,  that  they  do  ulti- 
mately respect  those  latter  Times,  according 
to  what  our  Blessed  Lord  tells  us  of  them, 
Luke  21.  22.  That  these  are  the  Days  of 
Vengeance,  that  all  Things  that  are  written 
might  be  fulfilled:  i.  e.  These  are  the  Last 
and  Great  Days  of  Vengeance,  in  which  shall 
be  ultimately  fulfilled  all  those  heavy  Denun- 
ciations of  Judgment,  which  God,  by  the 
Mouth  of  his  Holy  Prophets,  ever  since  the 

b2 


4  INTRODUCTION. 

World  began,   has  threatened  to  the  Enemies 
of  his  Church,  which  is  now  beginning  to  lift 
up  her  Head,   and  triumph  over  the  Opposi- 
tions of  all  her  Enemies.     The  times  of  her 
refreshing  are  about  to  commence  ;  she  shall 
pass  securely  through  this  Deluge   of  Afflic- 
tion,  and  shall  come  forth    gloriously.     This 
hath  been  represented   to   us,    as   it  were,  in 
miniature,   by  divers  lesser  Manifestations  of 
the    Divine    Justice   and    Mercy :    Thus    the 
Apostle   St.   Peler   tells   us,    2  Ep.   Chap.  2. 
That  the  Destruction  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah 
was,  as  it  were,  a  little  Sketch  and  Represen- 
tation of  this  last  dreadful  Scene:   The  De- 
struction of  the  City  and  Temple  of  Jerusalem 
is  likewise  described  in  such  a  Manner,  and 
with  such  Characters,  as  plainly  shows  it  to 
be  typical  of  that  more  dreadful  Destruction, 
that  shall  come  upon  the  Apostate  World  in 
the    latter    Days :     Thus    the     Crimes     and 
Punishments    charged    upon    Babylon,    Tyre, 
Edom,  &c.  in  the  prophetical  Books,  though 
they  were,  in  some  measure,  verified  according 
to  the  Letter  in  the  Type ;  yet  it  is  clear  to 
any   that  are  acquainted    with    History,   that 
they   were   very   far  from  being   entirely   ful- 
filled,  but  are  rather  Types  and   Figures  of 
the  Antichristian  World,  as  standing  in  some 
eminent   Property  or   Character,   whence  we 
see  they  are  transcribed  by  the  Divine  Author 
of  the  Revelations,    Ch.  17.   18.   and   applied 
to  the  Mystical  Babylon,  or  Apostate  Chris- 
*  See  Dr.  tendom.     So,  lastly,   to  go    yet  further,   the* 
c*^— /  V      Ancient  Prophecy   of  Enoch  did,   no   doubt, 
l^'p  344       '"   '^^    "^^^^   obvious  and  immediate   Design, 


INTR  OD  UCTION. 

point  at  the  State  and  Inhabitants  of  the  old 
World,  before  the  Fk)od  in  ^\'hich  he  hved, 
warning  them  of  the  sad  Deij;eneraey  of  Man- 
kind, and  the  terrible  Punishments  that  would 
ensue  upon  it:  Yet  the  Aposthi  St.  Jude, 
V.  14.  expressly  says,  that  Enoch  prophecyed 
of  the  Antichristian  Members  of  the  Church 
which  were  m  his  Days,  but  more  parti- 
cularly of  those  that  were  to  come  in  the 
last  Periods  of  the  Church,  v.  17.  18.  All 
which  Instances  do  help  to  confirm  this 
Hypothesis,  that  all  those  great  and  signal 
Punishments,  denounced  by  the  Holy  Pro- 
phets against  a  People  or  Nation  ;  those 
particularly  which  seem  to  run  in  General 
and  Universal  Terms,  did  ultimately  and 
finally  refer  to  this  last  terrible  Catastrophe, 
when  Vengeance  shall  be  poured  out  to 
the  full,  corresponding  to  the  full  Measure 
of  Iniquity :  For  the  Judgments  never  take 
place,  till  the  Sins  of  a  Nation  are  filled 
up.  So  God  did  not  bring  the  Flood  upon 
the  old  World,  till  the  Earth  was  Jilled  with 
Violence,  as  he  himself  complains,  Gen.  6. 
So  also  God  tells  Abraham,  Gen.  15.  Id  that 
he  could  not  yet  possess  the  Land,  which 
he  had  promised  to  him  and  his  Seed,  he- 
cause  their  Sins  were  7iot  yet  full.  So  then  in 
the  latter  Days,  when  the  Measure  of  the 
Iniquities  of  Mankind  shall  be  filled  up, 
their  Judgments  and  Punishments  shall  be 
so  likewise :  This  Last  and  Great  Desola- 
tion being  the  Forerunner  and  Introduction 
to  the  blessed  Millennial  Kingdom  of  our 
Lord   Jesus    Christ,    was    what   the    Prophets 


INTRODUCTION. 

and   Holy  Men  of   old    had    continually   in 
their   Eye;    it  was,    as  it  were,   the  Burden 
of  their   Prophecies ;    and   whensoever    they 
were    denouncing    the    Judgments    of    God 
against    a    Nation    or    People,    they   (or   ra- 
ther that  Holy  Spirit  that  guided  them)   did 
ever  and  anon,  for  wise  Ends  and  Reasons  of 
Providence,    drop    something   too   great   and 
illustrious   to    be  applied   to    any  Thing  less 
than  this  last  Vengeance,  which  shall  be,  as 
it   were,    a   Recapitulation    of    all   the   Evils 
and   Miseries   that   were  ever  sent    upon  the 
Earth.     For,    as   in   a   Drama   or   Play,    all 
the  preceding   Acts  and   Scenes  are  only  in 
order  to  introduce  the   last,    and    are,    as  it 
were,  summed  up  in  it;  so  that  in  this  Sense 
the  latter    End    (being    First    and    Principal 
in  the  Intention  of  the  Agent)  is  more  Glorious 
than    the    beginning,    as   the    wise   Preacher 
tells  us,  EccL  7.  8.  the  Beauties  and  Graces 
of   the    whole    Transaction    appearing    more 
gloriously  in  the   Catastrophe:    So   also    the 
whole  Scriptures,  as  well   Historical  as   Pro- 
phetical, (which  are  nothing  else  but  a  vision- 
ary  Representation  of    all   the   great   Events 
and  Transactions   relating  to  the  Church  of 
Christ,  since  the  first  Commencement  of  his 
mediatorial  Kingdom,  till  the  last  Delivery  of 
it  up  to  God  the  Father,)   have  the  End  and 
Design  of  the  whole  Economy,  which  is  the 
conquering  of  Satan,  and  the  introducing  the 
Glorious   Millennial   Kingdom  continually  in 
their  Eye :    This   being   the   chief  Action  or 
End  of  the  whole  Dispensation,  to  which  all 
the    other    Actions    are    subservient,    serving 


INTRODUCTION. 

either  to  represent  the  Thing  to  us  in  little, 
or  to  give  us  Hints  to  be  improved  by  Medi- 
tation to  the  Glory  of  God,  in  clearing  up 
the  Grand  Mystery.  And  having  thus  cleared 
the  Way,  1  shall  proceed  to  consider  each  of 
these  afore-mentioned  Evils  in  their  ])roper 
Place  distinctly. 


PART  I. 


OF  THE  SWORD. 

Isa.  34.  2.  The  Indignation  of  the  Lord  is  upon 
all  Nations,  and  his  Fury  upon  all  their  Ar- 
mies: He  hath  utterly  destroyed  them,  he  hath 
delivered  them  to  the  Slaughter. 

1.  The      §  l.'T^HE  First  Evil   to   be   considered,   is, 
Sword,  the  JL    the  Sword  or  War,  which  our  Bles- 

The'^Lmtof  When  ye  shall  hear  of  Wars  and  Commotions , 
the  Eye.  be  not  terrified,  for  these  things  must  first  come 
to  pass.  And  so  we  find  it  generally  reckon- 
ed by  the  Prophets  as  the  beginning  of  Ven- 
geance. This  being  (if  I  may  so  express 
it)  a  more  circumferential  Evil,  may  be  an 
Alarm  to  the  rest  of  the  World,  that  other 
and  greater  Evils  are  following.  For  though 
indeed  War  be  a  very  great  Mischief  to  a 
Nation,  yet  it  cannot  properly  be  called  an 
universal  One  in  the  Sense  here  meant,  as 
not  affecting  every  particular  Member  of  the 
offending  guilty  Nation,  unless  in  their  Fears 
and  Apprehensions,  or  at  most  in  their 
Estates,  not  their  Persons,  which  are  the 
only,  or  properly,  the  capable  Subjects  of 
Punishment  or  Amendment.  Wars  then  are 
as  the  gathering  of  the  Clouds,  which  are  the 
forerunning  Signs  of  an  approaching  Storm, 


OF  THE  SWORD.  9 

and  will  be  to  the  wise-hearted  a  warning  to 
shift    for    themselves,    and    prepare    them   a 
Shelter    from     the    subsequent    Showers    of 
Wrath.     These  are  the  proper  Punishment  of 
that  great  Branch  of  Sin,    The   Lust   of  the 
Eye,  to  which   they  owe  their  Original,   and 
from  whence  they  proceed  as  their  proper  and 
immediate   Cause    or    Principle.       For  from 
whence  come   Wars    and    Fightings    amongst 
you?   (saith   St.  James,  c.  4.  v.  1,  2,   3.)  come 
they  not  hence,  even  of  your  Lusts,  that  war  in 
your  Members  ?  Ye  lust,  and  have  not :  Ye  kill 
and  desire  to  have,  and  caiinot  obtain :   Ye  fight 
and  war,  yet  ye  have  not  because  ye  ask  not :   Ye 
ask  and  receive  not,  because  ye  ask  amiss,  that 
ye  may  consume  it  upon  your  Lusts.     This  is  the 
predominant  Vice  of  those,  who  having  given 
themselves    over    to    a    boundless   Ambition, 
make  it  their  whole  Concern  and  Business  to 
grasp  and  seize  all  the  Riches,  Estates,  Pre- 
ferments,   and    Kingdoms,    that    either  their 
Power    or    Interest    can    bring    within    their 
reach ;   who  (as   the  Prophet  Mabakkuk,  2.  5. 
expresses  it)  enlarge  their  Desire  as  Hell,  and 
are  as   Death,    and  cannot   be  satisfied;     but 
gather  unto  them  all  People,  and  heap  unto  them 
all  Nations.     This  is  the  Sin  to  which  Satan 
tempted  our  Blessed  Saviour,  when  he  showed 
him  all  the  Kingdoms  of  the  World,  and  the 
Glory  of  them,   all  which  he  promised  to  be- 
stow upon  him,    if  he   would  fall   down  and 
worship  him,    3Iatthew  4.   8,   9.      Whosoever 
are  in  this  covetous  and  wrathful   Spirit,  are 
properly  the  Subjects  and  Children  of  Wrath  ; 
and  according  as  they  are  Persons  of  more  or 
less  Authority  in  the  Earth,  may  more  or  less 


10  OF  THE  SWORD. 

spread  and  dilate  this  Fire  of  Contention; 
which,  when  it  comes  to  its  heighth,  produces 
always  bloody  Wars  and  Desolations.  Un- 
der this  Signature  or  Form,  Babylon  seemed 
to  stand  among  the  Ancient  Prophets,  as 
*  J«-.49.50.  may  be  seen  at  large;*  as  did  also,  in  a 
Jsa.  13. 14.  legs  degree,  Assyria  and  the  Philistines,  Egypt 
and  Syria.  These,  like  so  many  Fires  break- 
ing out  in  different  Quarters  of  a  City,  did 
ever  now  and  then  set  the  World  in  a  Blaze, 
and  put  all  the  neighbouring  Nations  into 
Confusion;  whose  End  was  this,  that  when 
they  had  sufficiently  executed  the  wise  Coun- 
sels of  God  (who  often  turas  the  Fierceness 
of  Men  to  his  own  Praise  and  Glory)  they 
quickly  fell  by  the  same  Fate;  so  saith  the 
Lord  to  the  King  of  Assyria  by  the  Prophet, 
Isaiah  10.  12.  Wheri  the  Lord  shall  have 
pejformed  his  whole  Work  uj}o?i  Mount  Zion 
and  Jerusalem^  I  will  punish  the  Fruit  of  the 
stout  Heart  of  the  King  of  Assyria,  and  the 
Glory  of  his  high  Looks.  And  so  in  this 
Sense  also,  they  that  drew  the  Sword  perished 
by  the  Sword,  even  as  the  Prophet  Hahakkuk 
assures  us  in  the  afore-cited  Chapter,  v.  7.  8. 
That  there  shall  arise  up  suddeiily  those  that 
shall  bite  them,  and  awake  that  shall  vex  them, 
and  they  shall  be  for  Booties  unto  them ;  and, 
because  they  have  spoiled  many  Nations,  all  the 
Remnafit  of  the  People  shall  spoil  them. 
2.  That  §  2.  That  this  Judgment  of  the  Sword 
ihisJudg-  sliall  be  more  General  and  Universal  in  the 
ment  shall    j^^j^^,  j)  -^^  plainly  foretold    by    the    An- 

*  cient  Prophets,  as  also  by  our  Lord  and 
his  Apostles;  by  our  Lord  particularly  in 
the   above-mentioned    place   of    St.  Matthew 


OF  THE  SWORD.  11 

and   St.  Luke;    and    by  the    Holy   Apostles, 
when  they    Prophecy  of  the   perilous  Times 
that   shall  come  in   the   latter  Days  ;   where 
they  tell   us,   that   Men   shall   abound   in   all 
those    evil    Qualities,    which,    as    we    before 
observed,  are  the  Seeds  and  Fuel  of  all  the 
Strife,   War,    and    Bloodshed,    that   so   often 
disturb  the  Peace  of  Mankind,  and  put  the 
World    in    Confusion.       Thus    St.    Paul    to 
Timothy,   2  Ep.  3.  3,  4.  tells  us,  that  in   the 
last  Days,   Men  shall  be  lovers  of  themselves, 
covetous,  proud,  disobedient,  truce-breakers,  false 
accusers;    or  (as  the  Margin  reads  it)  make- 
bates,  fierce,  traiterous,  headstrong,  and  high- 
minded.     Such  are  the  Scoffers  walking  after 
their  own  Lusts,   whom   St.  Peter,  2  Ep.  3. 
prophecies  of;  and  the  Mockers,  Murmurers, 
and    Complainers,    of    St.   Jude  16.    18.     By 
which  I  understand,  that  these  Vices  were  to 
be  more  common  and  prevailing  in  the  Times 
here   prophecyed   of,   than  usual  ;    otherwise 
it   were   no    great   wonder    if   it    were    only 
meant  that  there  should  be   some  such  Per- 
sons  in  the   World ;    for  that    hath  been  in 
every   Age   and    Period   of    it.      And    when- 
soever   Mankind   shall    be     thus    corrupted ; 
when    Men   shall   be  discontented  with  their 
Conditions,   and    covet    what    does    not   be- 
long to  them  ;  when  Men  shall  despise  and 
disobey  their  Superiors,   violate   their   Oaths 
and    Promises,    delight    in    railing    Accusa- 
tions, and  slanderous   Stories,    be   rebellious, 
stubborn,    and  headstrong,    what  can  be  the 
Consequence,    but     War,     Contention,    Vio- 
lence,   and   Desolation  ?     The  Circumstances 


12  OF  THE  SWORD. 

of  which  must  differ,  according  to  the  Quahty 
and  Authority  of  the  first  Movers,  and  the 
Grounds  and  Principles  upon  which  they 
act.  Thus  some  Quarrels  shall  be  only  Do- 
mestic or  economical,  confined  to  one  or 
more  Families,  dividing  the  Members  or 
Relatives  of  the  same  House;  as  when  the 
Father  is  divided  against  the  Son,  and  the 
Son  against  the  Father;  the  31other  against 
the  Daughter,  and  the  Daughter  against  the 
Mother  ;  the  Mother-in-laiv  against  the  Daugh- 
ter-in-law, and  the  Daughter-in-law  against 
the  Mother-in-law,  Matthew  10.  34.  Luke  12. 
51.  Others  shall  be  Political,  betwixt  Mem- 
bers of  the  same  Society  or  Body  Politic,  or 
betwixt  the  Members  and  the  Head :  Such 
are  the  bold  Insults  of  Traitors  and  Rebels. 
The  Last  is  National,  when  Kingdom  shall 
7'ise  up  against  Kingdotn,  and  Nation  against 
Nation,  which  in  this  place  we  particularly 
regard. 
3.  That  it  ^  3.  That  this  latter  Kind  shall  be  Uni- 
shallbe  Uni-  ^^,,^^1   -j^   ^j^^    j^^^^g^.   jy  -       j    jjjjnk     abun- 

dantly  foretold  by  the  Prophets,  who  do  m 
many  places  tell  us  of  Universal  Desola- 
tions by  the  Sword,  which  shall  come  up- 
on all  the  Earth  ;  which,  though  some  Inter- 
preters do  understand  only  of  the  Land  of 
Judea,  and  so  confine  it  to  that  Destruction 
which  was  brought  upon  the  Land  by  the 
Chaldeans,  Babylon,  or  the  Romans,  rendering 
b'2  *  the  Words    *not   all   the   Earth,   but  all  the 

^f'^J^^•  Land,  or  the  whole  Land :  Yet  I  believe 
it  is  possible  to  produce  some  Prophecies, 
that  are   utterly  incapable   of    such    a   Limi- 


OF  THE  SWORD.  13 

tation,    and    must    by  consequence    be  taken 
in   a   greater  Latitude ;     in   many   of  which, 
I    doubt    not,    but    the    Holy    Prophets    did 
principally    and     chiefly    intend     a     general 
and  universal  War  in  the  Last  Days,  which 
should    engage    all    Nations,    and    of  which 
all  the  lesser  Desolations  brought  upon  any 
People,   but  especially  Judea,   by  the  Sword 
of    an    Enemy,    were   Types   and    Prefigura- 
tions.     The   first   of    this   Kind   that   I   shall 
mention,   shall  be  the  25th  Chapter  of  Jere- 
miah, V.  15.  where  God  commands  the  Prophet 
to  take  the  Wine- cup  of  his  Fury,  and  cause  all 
the    Nations    (whom    he    afterwards   enume- 
rates) to  drink  of  it.     And  he  is  commanded 
to  begin  at  Jerusalem  and  the  Cities  of  Judah, 
to  make  them  a  Desolation,  an  Astonishment, 
an  Hissing  aiid  a  Curse,  v.  18.     Thence  he  is 
ordered  to  proceed  to  Egypt,  v.  19.     To  all 
the  mingled  People  (*that  is,  the  Arabians)  to     *  From 
all  the  Kings  of  the  Land  of  Uz,  (probably  con-  ^*^^ 
jectured  to   be   that  Tract  of  Land  that  lay  miscuit. 
South  of  Damascus,  comprehending  Palestine, 
the    lower   Parts   of  Ccelesyria,   and  the    ad- 
joining Borders  of  Arabia  Petrcea,   and  De- 
serta)   and  all  the   Kings  of  the  Philistines, 
(supposed  to  inhabit  the  Western  Parts  of  the 
Land  of  Canaan,  bordering  upon  the  Medi- 
terranean), V.  20.     Then  to  Edom,  Moab,  and 
Ammon,  (lying  East  of  Judea)   v.  21.     The 
Kings  of  Tyre  and  Sidon,   (lying  North,  or     t  ^o  the 
rather    North- West    of    Jerusalem)    and    the}^!^^l 
Kings  of  the  Isles  that  arcf  beyond  (or  besides)  ^"  • 
the  Sea;   that  is,  the  Great  Sea  or  Mediter- ^•'- 
ranean.      If   it    be    the   former,    it    must    be  ^j^^"  ®^*" 
understood     of    the    Western    or    European  j^xxwiay  / 

rendered. 


TTOK  at;Ta. 


14  OF  THE  SWORD. 

Continent  and  Islands ;  if  the  latter,  it 
may  not  improbably  be  meant  of  the  lesser 
Asia  or  JEgean  Isles,  which  may  be  proper- 
ly said  to  lie  beside,  or  on  one  side  of  the 
Sea,  V.  22.  Thence  to  Dedan,  Tema,  and 
Suz^  and  all  that  are  in  the  utmost  Corners; 
^1^1^|5  *  or,  as  the  Words  *  may  be  rendered,  and  as 
HKD  the  LXX  understood  it,t  that  have  the  Cor- 
t  war  wij- ners  of  their  Head  polled  or  shaven;  who 
gixExapxii'oi'  are  supposed  to  be  the  Arabians,  i.  e.  The 
xaTa-axpoVw-  Jshmaelites,  Madianites,  and  Amalekites,  who 
inhabited  great  part  of  Arabia,  especial- 
ly Deserta  and  Petrcsa.  Which  is  expressed 
again  in  the  next  Verse,  by  all  the  Kings  of 
Arabia,  and  all  the  Kings  of  the  mingled 
People  that  dwell  in  the  Desert,  v.  23,  24. 
Then  all  the  Kings  of  Zimri,  or  the  Zamareni, 
a  base  ignoble  People  mentioned  by  Pliny; 
and  which  may  be  mentioned  to  show  us,  that 
there  is  no  Nation  or  People,  however  lit- 
tle, mean,  or  contemptible,  but  shall  be  of 
some  Account  at  that  time,  and  shall  ac- 
cordingly bear  their  Part  in  that  last  dread- 
ful Scene.  Then  the  Kings  of  Elam,  i.  e. 
Persia,  and  the  Kings  of  the  Medes,  v.  25. 
Thus  far  all  seems  pretty  agreeable  to  the 
fore-mentioned  Hypothesis,  That  this  Judg- 
ment doth  only  intend  the  Destruction 
brought  upon  these  Countries  by  the  King 
of  Babylon,  who  conquered  all  or  most  of 
them.  But  let  us  look  further  to  the  two 
next  Verses,  which  are  these ;  And  all  the 
Kings  of  the  North  far  and  near,  and  all  the 
Kingdoms  of  the  World,  which  are  upon  the 
Pace  of  the  Earth ;  and  the  King  of  Sheshach 
shall  dri.ik  after  them.     Therefore  thou  shalt  say 


OF  THE  SWORD.  15 

unto  them,  Thus  saith  the  Lord  God  of  Israel, 
Drink  ye  a7id  be  drunken,  and  spue  and  fall, 
and  rise  no  more,  because  of  the  Sword  which  I 
send  amo7ig  you,  v.  26,  27.  Which  two  Verses, 
(with  the  following)  do,  I  think,  plainly  ex- 
press that  this  War  or  Judgment  of  the  Sword 
shall  be  Universal,  even  upon  all  the  King- 
doms of  the  World,  that  are  upon  the  Face  of 
the  Earth. 

This  Interpretation  may  be  abundantly 
confirmed,  by  comparing  this  with  many 
other  Places  of  Holy  Scriptures,  of  which 
I  shall  take  notice  only  of  two  or  three 
that  are  most  remarkable.  The  first  shall 
be  the  24th  Chapter  of  Isaiah,  where  the  Holy 
Prophet  does  in  lofty  Expressions,  foretel 
the  utter  Desolation  of  the  whole  Earth. 
Sehold  (saith  he)  v.  1.  the  Lord  maketh  the 
Earth  empty,  and  maketh  it  waste,  and  turneth 
it  upside  down,  and  scattereth  abroad  all  the 
Inhabitants  thereof,  &c.  Now,  that  some  of 
the  Ancients  understood  this  Chapter  in  the 
Sense  here  intended,  will  appear  by  com- 
paring the  13th  Verse  of  this  Chapter,  and 
V.  6,  of  the  17th,  with  the  16th  of  the  Se- 
cond Book  of  Esdras,  for  that  Scarcity  of 
Men  which  Isaiah  speaks  of  as  the  conse- 
quence of  this  great  Desolation ;  so  that  they 
shall  appear  like  the  two  or  three  Olives  that 
are  left  after  the  shaking  of  an  Olive-tree,  or  the 
gleaning  Grapes  when  the  Vintage  is  done : 
the  same  is  mentioned  by  Esdras,  as  not  con- 
fined or  limited  to  any  one  People  or  Nation, 
but  in  the  most  general  and  universal  Sense,  as 
denounced  against  the  v*^hole  World,  which 
does  most  plainly  appear  by  many  Passages 


16  OF  THE  SWORD. 

of  that  Chapter,  notwithstanding  it  begins 
with  a  woe  to  Babylon,  and  Asia,  Egypt  and 
Syria.  And  if  it  be  but  allowed  that  this 
Book  is  Ancient,  though  written  by  a  Chris- 
tian, it  shows  however,  that  the  Chris- 
tians of  that  Age  understood  it  in  this 
Sense. 

A  Second  Argument  shall  be  drawn  from 
the  30th  Verse  of  tlJs  25th  Chapter  of  Jere- 
miah, compared  with  the  3d  Chapter  of  the 
Prophet  Joel,  and  the  14th  Chapter  of  the 
Revelations.  Jeremiah  says.  The  Lord  shall 
roar  from  on  high,  and  utter  his  Voice  from  his 
Holy  Habitation ;  he  shall  give  a  shout  as  them 
that  tread  the  Grapes,  against  all  the  Inhabi- 
tants of  the  Earth.  So  the  English  Bible 
reads  it :  But  the  Original  seems  more  expres- 
n^y*  *  sive,  saying  *  it  shall  be  heard,  or  answered 
by,  or  it  shall  sound  to  all  the  Ends  of  the 
Earth.  The  Prophet  Joel  speaks  of  the  roar- 
ing, V.  16.  and  v.  13.  he  bids  them  put  in 
the  Sickle,  for  the  Harvest  is  ripe,  the  Press 
is  full,  the  Fats  overflow,  their  Wickedness  is 
t  'jTiv^.ii-  great;  or,  as  the  LXX f  understood  it,  their 
^"Z'"*' I* ''«- Iniquities  are  full.  This  overflowing  of  the 
HOC  avrcoK  Pa^g^  ^ud  fulucss  of  the  Press,  answers 
to  tlie  treading  of  the  Grapes  afore-men- 
tioned. In  the  Apocalypse,  Chapter  14.  v. 
1 8.  l^ie  Angel  that  had  the  sharp  Sickle,  was 
commanded  to  thrust  it  in,  and  gather  the  Clus- 
ters of  the  Vine  of  the  Earth,  and  cast  it  into 
the  Wine-press  of  the  Wrath  of  God;  a7id, 
V.  20.  the  Wine-press  ivas  trodden,  &c.  Now 
that  these  three  Prophecies  are  of  the  same 
Design  and  Extent,  will,  I  presume,  be  dis- 
puted   by    none    that    are    acquainted    with 


OF  THE  SWORD.  17 

the  Idea  and  Genius  of  Proplietical  Scrip- 
ture. The  Vine  then  that  is  mentioned  to 
be  trodden,  is  the  wicked  and  antichristian 
Church,  which  is  the  earthly  Vine,  whose 
Clusters  and  Grapes  are  bitter,  like  the  Vine 
of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  Deuteronomy  32. 
32,  33.  as  the  true  Church,  and  Holy  Mem- 
bers of  it,  are  called  the  Vine  of  the  Lord 
and  of  Christ,  Isaiah  5.  Psalm  80.  John  15. 
And  as  the  reaping  of  the  Harvest  signifies 
the  gathering  of  the  Saints  at  the  first  Re- 
surrection, as  our  Lord  tells  us,  Matthew  13. 
24.  so  the  gathering  of  the  Vintage,  the 
gathering  together  of  the  Wicked  to  Destruc- 
tion. 

§  4.  Against  the  Universality  of  this  Judg-  .  4.  AnOh- 
ment,    as    proved   from   the  former  place  of-^^^J.^^ '''*■ 
Jeremy,  there  are  two  main  Objections. 

I.  The  First  is.  That  in  the  beginning 
of  the  Chapter,  the  Holy  Ghost  has,  as  it 
were,  given  us  a  Key  for  the  understanding 
of  the  whole,  in  a  more  narrow  and  limit- 
ed sense;  telling  us,  v.  1.  That  the  Word 
(or  Prophecy  following)  was  concerning  the 
Land  of  Judah.  In  answer  to  which,  I 
think  it  is  plain  that  this  Chapter  consists 
of  two  Parts,  from  the  Beginning  to  v.  15. 
and  thence  to  the  End,  of  a  quite  distinct 
Argument  and  Design.  The  former  Part 
respecting  the  Jews,  the  Inhabitants  of  Ju- 
dah, and  threatening  them  with  the  long- 
Seventy  Years  Captivity  to  be  brought  up- 
on them  by  the  King  of  Babylon,  whom  he 
says,  V.  12.  that  he  will  punish  with  the 
Chaldeans  with  utter  Desolation,  after  the 
Accomplishment    of    the    Captivity.      From 


18  OF  THE  SWORD. 

hence  the  Prophet  takes  a  very  natural 
Hint,  and  raises  his  Thoughts  to  the  Con- 
templation of  the  great  Afflictions  or  Judg- 
ments that  were  to  come  upon  the  whole 
World  in  the  latter  Days,  of  which  that  of 
the  Jews  was  a  little  Sketch  or  Representa- 
tion; that  Nation  in  the  prophetical  Books 
often  standing  for  the  whole  World.  Thus 
in  like  manner  the  Holy  Prophet  David, 
whose  Psalms  are  almost  nothing  else  but  a 
continued  Description  of  the  Glories  and 
Beauties  of  the  Messiah's  Kingdom,  begins 
very  often  with  the  Thoughts  of  his  Suc- 
*  See  his  cessor  Solomoji,  intendmg  (*  says  the  Learned 
riniversal  Bishop  of  Meaux)  to  celebrate  the  Glory  of 
2/3^'  ^***  aS'oti,  when  on  a  sudden  he  is  transported 
beyond  himself,  and  carried  far  aivay,  contem- 
plating him  ivho  was  greater  than  Solomon  both 
in  Glory  and  Wisdom.  It  was  this  inspired 
him  with  that  inimitable  Eloquence,  to  sing 
the  triumphant  Praises  of  our  dear  Redeemer, 
and  the  Glory  of  that  Virgin  Church  which 
he  should  constitute  upon  the  Earth  at  his 
Second  Coming ;  to  which  (as  I  have  before 
showed)  it  chiefly  had  respect,  and  which 
was  most  beautifully  shadowed  out,  and  re- 
presented to  us,  by  the  Theocratical  Economy 
of  the  Jewish  Church  under  that  Illustrious 
Monarch. 
A  2d  Ob-  II.  The  Second  Objection  is,  That  this 
Jection  an-  is  an  hyperbolical  lofty  way  of  Speaking, 
swered.  j^^ch  in  use  amongst  the  Oriental  Writers, 
who  did  often  express  particular  Things  in 
very  copious  extensive  Terms,  and  with  an 
Air  of  Universality.  In  answer  to  this,  I 
must  own  I  am  very   cautious   of  admitting 


OF  THE  SWORD.  19 

Hyperboles    in   Scripture,    where    the    literal 
Sense  is   not  impossible   in  Nature.     I  con- 
sider, that  as  God's  Thoughts  are  7iot  as  our 
Thoughts,  so  neither  are  his  ways  of  Expres- 
sion like  our  ways.     And  though  it  must  be 
acknowledged,    that    as    God    made    use    of 
weak    Instruments    to    declare    his    Will    to 
Mankind,   so    He  left  a  great  deal  to  them 
as  to   the  manner  of  expressing   or  delivery 
of   it ;     from     whence    proceeds     that    great 
Variety  of   Style   that   appears   amongst    the 
Holy    Writers.     Yet    I    make    no    question, 
but  that  the  Holy  Spirit,    under  whose   Go- 
vernment   and     Direction     they    were,     did 
take  care  so  to  direct  them,  that  the  Prophe- 
cy,   Reproof,    Exhortation,   or  whatever   else 
was   the  Subject  of   their   Discourse,    might 
not  be  more  obscured  than  the  Nature  and 
Design    of   the    Thing    did    require ;    which 
it    must    necessarily  be,    if   this    latitude    of 
Expression  be  allowed.     It  must  also  be  ac- 
knowledged,   that  there    are    many   Expres- 
sions   purely   Hyperbolical,    of  which   many 
Instances     might     be    produced ;     yet    they 
may   easily   be    distinguished,    by  being  un- 
capable    of    a    literal    Meaning,    which    can 
never  be  said   of   the    Case    before  us ;    for- 
asmuch as  the  Holy  Spirit  has,  in  the  afore- 
cited   25th    Chapter  of  Jeremiah,    been  very 
exact   in   a   particular    Enumeration    of  Na- 
tions  and   People,    even   of  all   the   Nations 
that  are  upon  the  Face   of  the  Earth.      So 
then,    in    answer    to    those    who   fancy   that 
the   sublime   Expressions   of  the   Prophetical 
Writers,    was  entirely  owing   to  the  warmth 
of  their  Fancy  and  Imagination,   or  to  some 

c  2 


•20  OF  THE  SWORD. 

peculiar  Advantage  of  their  Language;  I 
must  own,  I  cannot  but  think  that  the  An- 
cient Learning,  in  the  Schools  of  the  Pro- 
phets, was  very  different  from  ours ;  and 
that  the  Literati  among  them  had  their  No- 
tions and  Ideas  of  Things  very  different 
from  ours.  I  cannot  think  that  their 
Learning  consisted  so  much  in  barren  Theo- 
ries, logical  INiceties,  and  barren  Specula- 
tions ;  which  are  so  far  from  being  Truth 
itself,  that  they  are  very  often  at  the 
most  remote  distance  from  it.  I  cannot 
think  that  the  Modern  Learning  of  the 
Schools,  was  even  that  celebrated  Egyptian 
Learning,  which  was  so  much  sought  after, 
and  admired  by  the  better  and  wiser  part 
of  Mankind  ;  in  the  search  of  which  Py- 
thagoras spent  so  many  Years ;  and  at  last 
travelled  into  Egypt,  and  submitted  to  the 
pamful  Rite  of  Circumcision,  rather  than 
be  disappointed  in  his  Expectations ;  and 
the  result  of  this  Labour  and  Travel  was, 
that  he  attained  to  a  very  great  Degree  of 
Natural  and  Divine  Knowledge.  This  was 
that  Knowledge  in  which  Moses  was  said 
to  be  learned,  whilst  he  was  educated  in 
PharaoJis  Court,  and  which  made  him 
Mighty  both  in  Word  and  Deed,  Acts  7.  22. 
*  Isq;  li-*  I  rather  think  that  the  Knowledge  of  the 
cH  Coeli  re-  Holy  Prophets,  or  Seers,  consisted  in  a 
^^^"^j^^™°' more  deep  and  intimate  Knowledge  of  God 
Deosadiit,  ^^^  Nature,  in  surh  Degrees  as  they  were 
etquae  Natu- capable    of    receiving    them,     or     God    was 

ra  negavit     pleased     to    communicate     them :     They    in 
Vis.bus  hu-  ji^g     gi   jj^     ^f     Q^j,^     g    .j..^  jj^^^      ^^^ 

mams,  oculis  r\      ^\  c    ^\        t-,    •  •        i     tt?     i  ■         ^ 

ea pectoris     l^epths    ot    the    Spiritual    World;    they    saw 

hausit.  Ovid. 


OF  THE  SWORD.  21 

into  the  Great  End,  Purpose,  and  Design 
of  the  Eternal  Love,  which  as  a  chie  gui- 
ded them  through  all  those  inscrutable  la- 
byrinths of  Providence,  in  which  so  many 
weak  and  ignorant  Searchers  have  been 
baffled  and  lost.  They  saw  that  wonderful 
Harmony,  that  surprising  Correspondence, 
that  is  betwixt  all  the  Dispensations  and 
Revelations  of  God  ;  and  how  the  lesser, 
and  seemingly  •  contemptible  Occurrences 
in  the  Church,  throughout  all  Ages,  did 
(like  the  lesser  Wheels  in  EzekieVs  Cha- 
riot, Chapter  1.)  move  in  a  perfect  Union 
and  Concurrence  with  the  greater,  accord- 
ing to  the  Will  and  Direction  of  the  Great 
Mover  and  Director;  which  Consideration 
may  be  also  not  a  little  confirmed  by  Tes- 
timonies of  many  eminent  Heathen  Wri- 
ters, who  had  a  traditional  Knowledge  of 
many  great  and  surprising  Truths  and  Doc- 
trines of  this  Nature :  See  particularly  the 
Learned  Mr.  DodweUs  Dissertation  of  the 
TahulcB  Cceli  of  the  Ancients.*  Instead  *  Dr. 
then  of  rejecting  the  plain  and  literal  Grabe's 
Meaning  of  the  Holy  Writers,  under  pre- V'^^^^^- 
tence  of  their  being  Figurative  and  Hy-  "  -  -P- 
perbolical,  we  should  rather  endeavour  to 
search  into  the  Depths  which  they  designed, 
and  so  not  cramp  the  spirit  of  Prophecy,  by 
measuring  with  our  own  Line,  which  is  indeed 
much  too  short :  No  Man  knoiueth  the  Things 
of  a  Man,  hut  the  Spirit  of  a  Man  that  is  in 
him,  &c. 

§  5.  There  shall  be  then  Wars  and  5.  TheEnd 
Fightings;  and  those  General  and  Univer-<'^^^*^S'«<i/' 
sal.     over    all    the    Kingdoms    and    Nations'/,''?'^''*''' 


22  OF  THE  SWORD. 

that  are  upon  the  Face  of  the  Earth,  which 
shall  begin  the  Accomplishment  of  those 
many  Prophecies,  which  foretel  the  utter 
Destruction  of  the  Wicked,  the  rooting  out 
of  their  Seed,  and  the  planting  in  of  the 
Meek  and  the  Righteous  in  their  stead. 
This  seems  to  be  the  great  Meaning  of  the 
37th  Psalm;  where  the  Prophet  persuades 
the  Church  of  God,  in  some  eminently  pe- 
rilous time,  when  the  Wicked  prosper  and 
are  mighty,  and  plot  the  Destruction  of 
the  Righteous,  to  he  patient  and  wait  on  the 
Lord ;  and  not  to  fret  at  their  Prosperity,  nor 
to  he  afraid  of  their  Devices,  v.  7,  adding,  that 
in  a  little  time.  The  Wicked  shall  tiot  be,  and 
the  Evil-doers  shall  be  cut  off;  but  that  tlie 
Meek,  and  they  that  wait  upon  the  Lord,  shall 
inherit  the  Earth,  and  shall  he  refreshed  in  the 
multitude  of  Peace,  v.  9,  10,  11.  Which  Psalm, 
however  some  have  confined  it  to  some  par- 
ticular Affliction  of  the  Prophet  David,  making- 
it  to  be  rather  an  Act  of  Hope  and  Confi- 
dence, than  a  Prophecy ;  yet  our  Blessed 
Lord  himself  seems  to  have  determined  it 
against  them,  having  quoted,  verse  11.  as 
*  Matth.  a  Prophecy  yet  to  be  accomplished  *  in  the 
*•  S-  last    times    of   refreshing,    when    Righteous- 

ness and  Truth  shall  flourish  in  the  Earth, 
in  opposition  to  the  present  World,  which 
(St.  John  1  Ep.  5.  19.  says)  lieth  in  Evil. 
This  I  own  is  ultimately  to  be  understood 
of  the  great  Destruction  of  Antichrist;  yet 
not  exclusively  of  these  lesser  Desolations, 
which  the  Princes  and  Rulers  of  the  Earth 
shall  bring  upon  themselves ;  till  finally,  by 
the  just  Vengeance  of  God,  the  Wicked  shall 


OF  THE  SWORD.  23 

he  shaken  out  of  the  Earthy  as  that  ancient 
Writer  Joh  expresses  it,    Chapter  38.    12.  to 
make  way  for  a  Kingdom   of  Righteousness 
and  Peace,    which    must   at   last  take   place 
upon   the  Earth.     And  as  these  Desolations 
are  by  our  Blessed  Lord  reckoned   amongst 
the  Signs  that  shall  precede  the  Coming  of 
Antichrist ;  so  are  they  by  the  Holy  Fathers 
counted   as  the  very  Means  that  shall  intro- 
duce him.     So  says  St.  Cyril  of  Jerusalem;*     *  Cat.i5. 
The  second  Sign  of  the  Coming  of  Antichrist  is,  p-  209. 
when  ye  shall  hear  of  Wars  arid  Rumours  of^"^^^'  ^''<^"' 
Wars ;  and  even  now  are  the  Persians  and  Ro- 
mans at  war  about  Macedonia.     And  a  little 
after  ;  The  Cojitentions  between  Erethren  make 
way  for  Antichrist;    and  the  Devil  shall  sow 
Discord betiveen  Nations;  that  the  Enemy  (viz. 
Antichrist)  may  with  more  ease  overcome  them. 
All  which  is  largely  attested  by  Lactantius;1[     t  P.  647. 
The  whole  Earth  shall  be  in  Confusion  ;  Wars  ^'^'*' ^ ''''''• 
shall  rage  in  every  Place ;  All  Nations  shall  be 
in  Arms  against  each  other,  &c. 

§  6.  The  Quarter  from  whence  this  bloody    ?•  '^^^  ^^' 
Desolation     shall     first     arise,     is    expressly  C*''".^*. 
asserted  to  be  the  North,  or  the  Sides  of  the  u^here  this 
Earth.     So  saitli  the  Prophet  Jeremiah,  Chap.  Judgment 
25.  V.  32.      Thus    saith    the   Lord   of   Hosts,  shall  begin. 
Eehold  Evil  shall  go  forth  from  Nation  to  Na- 
tion, and  a  great  Whirlwind  shall  be  raised  up 
from  the  Sides  or  Coasts  of  the  Earth:  Which  is 
also  largely  attested  by  many  other  Places  of 
Holy  Scripture.f     Besides  which,  there  is  ano-   X  See  Chap. 
ther  not  contemptible  Argument,  (especially  to  ^-  22.  50, 
some  men,)   fetched  from  the   Contemplation 
of  the  Harmonious  Providence  of  God,  who 
in   the    economy  of  the    Moral,    as    well    as 


24  OF  THE  SWORD. 

Natural  World,  so  fitly  orders  and  disposes 
all  Occurrences,  that  even  the  least  and 
most  contemptible,  do  to  those  who  are 
disposed  to  receive  them,  discover  in  the 
Spirit  and  Mystery  of  them  great  and  sur- 
prising Truths.  An  Instance  of  which, 
the  whole  Story  of  the  Destruction  of  Ju- 
dea  by  the  King  of  JBabylon^  and  of  Sahylon 
by  the  Medes  and  Persians,  has  been  thought 
to  be  by  many,  both  Ancients  and  Mo- 
derns; whose,  both  Crimes  and  Punish- 
ments (as  I  before  observed)  are  transcri- 
bed and  applied  to  Apostate  Christendom, 
by  the  Divine  Author  of  the  Apocalypse. 
Many  of  the  most  minute  Circumstances 
of  which  are  not  slightly  to  be  passed  by 
or  neglected ;  but  this  more  particularly, 
that  the  Judgment  is  so  often  threatened  to 
*  Compare  them  both  from  the  North,*  which  was 
ha  13, 14.  certainly  mentioned  for  some  good  Reason. 
Zf,mdb\  T^^.  ^^^^  t  which  we  translate  the  North, 
Chapters,  signifies  properly  a  f  Place  of  Darkness,  be- 
15V  t  cause  (say  the  latter  Rabbins)  of  its  great 
from]p)i  X  distance  from  the  Sun,  and  enjoying  so 
Obnubilavit.  very  little  of  its  Light.  Whether  it  be  up- 
on this  or  some  other  Accounts  largely  in- 
sisted upon  by  the  Cabbalistical  Writers,  1 
cannot  determine:  But  the  North  has  been 
generally  used  to  express  the  Place  of  Dark- 
ness, of  the  Curse  or  Vengeance;  as  may 
be  seen  at  large  in  the  afore-cited  Places  of 
the  Holy  Prophets.  And  this  I  conjecture 
to  be  the  Reason  why  the  Destruction  of 
Judea  by  the  Babylonians,  and  of  Babylon  by 
the  Persians,  is  so  often  said  to  come  out  of 
the   North ;     though    Babylon,    in   respect  of 


OF  THE  SWORD.  25 

Judea,  and  Persia  from  Babylon,  seem  rather 
to  lie  North-East.  For  the  Destruction  of 
Babylon  having  a  doable  End  and  Design ; 
the  one  of  Mercy,  in  delivering  the  Jewish 
Captivity ;  and  the  other  of  Vengeance, 
in  destroying  the  Enemies  and  Oppressors 
of  the  Church  ;  so  there  is  a  different  Stile 
appropriated  to  each  Part  of  the  Design. 
For  when  the  Prophets  speak  by  way  of 
Denunciation  of  Judgment,  they  always 
say  it  comes  out  of  the  North,  as  may  be 
seen  at  large ;  but  when  they  speak  by  way 
of  Comfort  and  Encouragement  to  the 
Jewish  Captives,  they  then  change  their 
Stile  from  the  North  to  the  East.  Thus 
Jeremiah,  Chapter  50.  9.  says,  That  God  will 
cause  to  C07ne  up  against  Babyloti,  an  Assembly 
of  great  Nations  from  the  North-Country : 
which  he  confirms,  «;.  41.  saying,  A  People 
shall  come  from,  the  North;  meaning,  no  doubt, 
Cyrus  with  his  3Iedes  and  Persians.  Never- 
theless the  Prophet  Isaiah,  comforting  the 
People  of  God  with  the  Promises  of  Deliver- 
ance, upon  the  Destruction  of  Babylon  by  the 
same  Cyrus,  says  twice,  that  God  calls  him 
from  the  East,  Chapter  41.  2.  46.  11.  Cyrus 
being  an  Eminent  Type  of  our  Blessed  Saviour, 
who  is  called  The  Morning,  Job  38.  12. 
Light,  Isa.  8.  20.  The  Day-Spring,  Luke  1 .  78. 
The  Day-Star,  2  Ep.  Peter  1.  19.  and  Rev. 
22.  16.  he  says  of  himself,  I  am.  the  Morning- 
Star.  And  to  show  how  both  these  Designs 
were  united  in  him,  he  is  said  in  the  self- 
same Verse  to  come  from  the  North  and 
from  the  East  too,  Chapter  41.  v.  25.  1  have 
raised  up  one  from  the  North ;  from  the  rising 


20  OF  THE  SWORD. 

of  the  Sun  shall  he  call  upon  my  Name,  And 
as  from  this  Quarter  of  the  World  the  Judg- 
ments came  upon  the  Jewish  Church  of  the 
two  Tribes,  so  did  they  also  upon  the 
Western  Christian  Church  by  the  Goths, 
Huns,  Vandals,  and  other  Barbarous  Nations: 
Which  Western  Church  was  understood,  by 
*Vid.Com.ihe  highly  Illuminated  Abbot  Joachim,^' 
in  Jer,  to   be   expressed  to   us   in  the  Type,  by  the 

^-'aiT^"  Jewish  Church  properly  so  called,  or  the 
^^ '  ^  *  two  Tribes.  So  also  it  will  be  again ;  and 
out  of  the  North  shall  come  that  terrible 
Army  upon  Christendom,  so  dreadfully  de- 
scribed by  the  Prophet  Joel  2.  20.  Such  as 
there  hath  never  been  the  like,  tior  ever  shall  be, 
to  the  Years  of  many  Generations.  And  as  the 
Apostle  St.  Peter  (1  Ep.  4.  17.)  tells  us,  that 
Judgment  must  begin  at  the  House  of  God ; 
and  the  Prophet  Jeremiah,  that  the  Destruc- 
tion must  begin  at  Jerusalem,  Chap.  25.  29. 
I  understand  by  it,  that  the  Desolation  must 
begin  in  the  Northern  Parts  of  Christendom 
or  Europe;  which  (as  I  may  say)  are  the 
principal  Parts  of  the  Holy  Catholic 
Church,  for  whose  Purgation  and  conse- 
quent Glorification,  all  these  Punishments 
are  designed.  So  then  the  Scourge  shall 
first  light  upon  the  Western  or  European 
Church,  and  probably  for  the  same  Rea- 
sons on  the  most  corrupt  Parts  of  it,  to 
bring  them  to  a  Sense  of  their  sad  Condi- 
tion, to  put  them  in  mind  of  their  abomi- 
nable Deviations,  and  lamentable  Apostacy 
from  their  first  Love  and  Zeal,  which  were 
once  stronger  than  Death ;  but  now,  through 
the   miserable   abundance   of    Iniquity,    quite 


OF  THE  SWORD.  27 

cold    and   dead.     And  as  a  raging  Fire  ari- 
sing in  one  Corner  of  a  City,  often  wrestles 
and   spreads   itself,    in    spite    of   Opposition, 
to   the   consuming   of   the   whole :    So    shall 
the   Northern   Princes   kindle   a   Flame   that 
shall  not  be   quenched,    till   it   have  accom- 
plished the  End  for  which  it  is  sent.     Their 
Disputes     and     Contentions     shall    influence 
and     engage     their     Neighbours,     either    by 
Virtue   of  Leagues    and    Alliances,    or  upon 
the   Account   of    Public    Safety,    by   keeping 
the    Balance;     or    of    Politic     Interest,     by 
promoting    their    Divisions,    with    a    Design 
to    make     an     Advantage     thereby ;     or    by 
some    more    secret    contagious    Influence    of 
the  Enemy  of  Peace,   the  Author  and   Spi- 
rit  of  Confusion ;     till    at    last    all    shall   be 
involved  in  War  and  Bloodshed,  though  per- 
haps  not   at  the   same   Point   of   Time,    nor 
upon   the   same    Interests    and    Pretensions. 
By  this  God   will  break  to    Pieces    and  de- 
stroy the  Antichristian  Powers  of  the  Earth, 
and    prepare    a    way   for    the   Establishment 
of    the    true    Primitive     Evangelical     Spirit, 
which  shall   at   last  take   root    and    flourish 
as    out    of   the    Earth,     notwithstanding    all 
the   Opposition   that   either    Men    or    Devils 
can    make    against   it.      Here   then    we    see 
the  Wrath  of  God  gone  forth,  and  his  Sword 
drawn    against    the    Antichristian     Nations ; 
a   Spirit  of  Drunkenness  and  Fury  is  upon 
them;    so    that    Ammou    and    Moab   shall  he 
divided  against  Mount  Seir,  and  at  last  shall 
help  to  destroy  each  other;  as  in  the  Day  of 
Jehoshaphat,    2  Chronicles    19.  23.  or  as  the 
Philistines,   1  Samuel  14.  16,  20.  and  the  Mi- 


•28  OF  THE  SWORD. 

dianiies,  Judges  7.  22.     Every  one  shall  help 
to  destroy  his  Brother,  and  every  Mans  Sword 
shall  be  against  his  Felloiv.     Which  the  Pro- 
phet foretold  should  happen  again  at  the  times 
of  the  Messiah,   Isaiah  9.  4.      For  as  Christ 
at  his  first  Coming,  though  ushered   in  by  a 
most  profound   Peace,  yet  came  to  kindle  a 
Fire;    and   as  he  himself  said,  Luke  12.  51. 
to  bring  Division;    to  set  the  Father  against 
the  Son,  and  the  Son  against  the  Father:  So 
also  in  these  last  Days,  when  he  is  coming  to 
settle   and   reconcile   the   whole   Creation    to 
the   Creator,    and   to   ascend    his    Throne  in 
Peace,   his   rising   in  Spirit  is  ushered  in  by 
hot  burning  Wars,    and   bloody   Revolutions 
through   the   whole    Earth  :     And    the    Man 
of  Blood  must  introduce  the  King  of  Peace, 
and   precede   and   prepare  the  Way   for    the 
glorious  Building  of  the  Temple,   I  Chronicles, 
28.  .3,4. 
7.  A  Rem-     ^  7.    BuT  in  the  midst  of  these   Destruc- 
nant  saved,   tions  God    will   preserve   a    Remnant ;    who, 
as  they   have  by   his   Grace  escaped  the  In- 
fection   and   Contagion    of   the  Antichristian 
Spirit,    so    shall   they   also   escape  their  Pu- 
nishments.    This  is  the  Promise  to  the  Church 
of  Philadelphia,    Rev.  3.   10.      Because   thou 
hast  kept  the    Word  of  my   Patience,   I  also 
ivill  keep  thee  from  the  Hour  of  Temptation^ 
ivhich  shall  come  upon  all  the   World,  to  try 
them  that  dwell  upon   the  earth.     These   are 
Men  who,  though  living  in  the  World,  and  in 
an  Apostate  Antichristian  Church,  yet  were 
not  of  it ;   i.  e.  of  its  Spirit  as  Corrupt  and 
Antichristian;     who,     though    rejected     and 
disallowed    of    Men,     yet    are    precious     in 


OF  THE  SWORD.  29 

the  Sight  of  God ;  whose  Righteousness 
consists  not  in  Word  and  Name,  but  is  sub- 
stantial, sincere,  and  powerful,  in  the  Heart 
and  Spirit,  whose  Praise  is  not  of  Men  but 
of  God;  who  shall  accordingly  testifj'^  to 
all  the  World  his  Approbation  of  it,  by 
setting  his  Mark  and  Seal  upon  them,  and 
so  preserve  them  from  the  Great  Desola- 
tion. Thus  under  the  sounding  of  the  Seven 
Trumpets,  Revelations  7.  God  took  special 
Care  for  the  Protection  and  Preservation 
of  his  Servants ;  giving  a  particular  Com- 
mand to  the  four  Angels,  to  whom  it  was 
given  to  hurt  the  Earth  and  the  Sea,  v.  3. 
Saying,  Hurt  not  the  Earth,  neither  the  Sea, 
nor  the  Trees,  till  we  have  sealed  the  Servants 
of, God  in  their  Foreheads.  Accordingly  they 
were  sealed  and  preserved  from  the  Judg- 
ments, which  upon  the  sounding  of  the 
Trumpets  fell  heavy  upon  the  rest  of  the 
World.  Which  Mark  or  Seal,  though  like 
the  New  Name  or  Nature,  Revelations^.  17. 
No  Man  knoweth  (perfectly)  but  he  that  hath 
received  it:  Yet  it  hath  pleased  God  to  give 
us  such  Intimations  of  it  in  his  Holy  Word, 
that  even  we  who  have  but  the  very  First- 
Fruits  of  the  Spirit  may  be  able,  with  God's 
Assistance,  to  improve  to  some  imperfect 
Degrees  of  Light  and  Knowledge.  The  Use 
of  a  Seal  most  commonly  referred  to  in 
Scripture,  is  to  set  a  Mark  or  Character 
upon  Wares  and  Commodities,  to  denote 
the  Owner's  Right  and  Property,  and  to 
distinguish  them  from  the  Goods  of  others. 
Now  the  Church  of  Christ,  or  the  New 
Peculium,    is   in    innumerable    Places  of   the 


.30  OF  THE  SWORD. 

New  Testament  said  to  be  bought  or  re- 
deemed as  a  Property.  So  1  Corinthians  Q.  20. 
Ye  are  bought  with  a  Price;  which  is  again 
repeated  Chapter  7.  23.  So  the  Apostle  St. 
Peter,  1  Ep.  1.  18,  19.  Ye  luere  not  redeemed 
with  corruptible  Things,  as  Silver  and  Gold, 
but  with  the  precious  Blood  of  Christ.  And  in 
this  Sense  our  Blessed  Lord  is  called  the  Lord 
that  bought  them,  2  Ep.  2.  1.  meaning,  that 
he  hath  redeemed  us  from  the  Bondage  of 
Corruption,  and  made  us  his  Sons  by  Adop- 
tion and  Grace.  This  Redemption  and  Adop- 
tion is  twofold ;  the  First  inchoate,  or  in 
its  first  Principles,  which  is  meant  by  the 
first  sealing  in  Baptism,  answering  to  the 
First-Fruits  of  the  Spirit:  The  Second, 
which  is  the  End  and  Consequence  of  the 
First,  is  the  fulness  of  the  Spirit,  the  com- 
plete Adoption  and  Redemption.  So  saith 
the  Holy  Apostle  St.  Paul,  Rom.  8.  23.  We 
that  have  the  First- Fruits  of  the  Spirit  (which 
is  the  first  sealing)  eveti  ive  ourselves,  groati 
within  ourselves,  waiting  for  the  (complete) 
Adoption,  even  the  Redemption  of  our  Body, 
Which  plainly  shows  that  the  Adoption 
here  meant  is  distinct  from  the  First-Fruits 
of  the  Spirit,  because  they  which  had 
these,  yet  waited  for  that ;  and  what  a  Man 
seeth  (or  hath)  why  doth  he  yet  hope  for?  As 
the  same  Apostle  says,  v.  24.  And  as  the 
Redemption  of  the  Natural  Body  is  the  last 
completing  Act  of  the  perfect  Redemp- 
tion, it  will  follow  that  the  internal  Work 
must  be  first  finished,  and  so  the  Redemption 
to  which  we  ivere  sealed  by  the  (First-Fruits  of 
the)  Spirit,  as   the  same  Apostle  witnesseth, 


OF  THE  SWORD.  31 

Ephesians  4.  30.  must  be  the  Restitution  of  the 
whole  Man,  Body,  Soul,  and  Spirit,  from 
the  Bondage  of  Sin  and  Corruption,  by 
the  overshadowing  Power  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  producing  in  us  the  New  Birth  or 
Nature,  which  is  from  Heaven;  being  not 
born  of  corruptible  Seed,  or  of  Blood,  nor 
of  the  Will  of  Flesh,  nor  of  the  Will  of 
Man,  but  of  God.  These  therefore  hav- 
ing passed  through  the  Cross,  and  by 
Faith  overcome  the  Spirit  of  this  World, 
and  the  Corruption  of  their  Natures,  have 
by  consequence  overcome  Death  and  the 
Curse,  and  are  out  of  the  reach  of  both : 
I  do  not  mean  in  such  a  Manner  and  De- 
gree, as  they  shall  be  when  they  shall  have 
put  on  their  Resurrection-Body,  and  are 
come  to  that  State  of  Impassibility  which 
is  the  Privilege  of  the  perfect  Renova- 
tion ;  but  that  they  shall  be  in  such  a  State 
or  Principle  that  God  shall  interpose  his 
Providence,  perhaps  in  a  miraculous  Way, 
for  their  Preservation,  with  some  faint 
Appearances  of  the  afore-mentioned  super- 
natural State,  hinted  to  us  Revelations  15.  by 
their  being  upon  Mount  Sion.  This  is  what 
the  Prophet  Joel  tells  us.  Chapter  2.  v.  32. 
Whosoever  shall  call  upon  the  Name  of  the 
Lordf  shall  be  saved.  The  Reason  of  which  is 
given  in  the  following  Words ;  For  (or  be- 
cause) m  Mount  Sio?i  and  Jerusalem  shall  he 
Deliverance;  (saith  the  English  Translation) 
or,  as  it  is  in  the  Hebrew,*  a  saved  Remnant  pito^^Q  * 
or  Company.  Which  is  confirmed  by  t^^G  p^^t  for  the 
Prophet  Obadiah,  v.  1 7.  Upon  Mount  Sion  shall  Adjecf^x 
be  a  Deliverance ;  or  (as  it  is  in   the  Margin)  D'tO vB 


32  OF  THE  SWORD. 

they   that    escape;    who    are,    v.  21.    called 
Cy^K^D  *  Saviours  (or  the  saved)  *  upon  Mount  Sion; 
'Ava.ffu?j>^ivQi  (or  as  the  LXXII  understood  it,  from  Mount 
LXXll.^      Sion-\)    expressing   those  who   are   preserved 
t  E|opa?  fj.Qjjj  ^j^g  Judgments   and  Vengeance,  by  be- 
ing in  the  Spirit  of  the  Heavenly  Kingdom ; 
who    by    the    Faith    and    Patience     of    the 
Cross   have   fitted    and    disposed    themselves 
for   the   Reception   (^f  their   Influences.     For 
nothing  hinders  those    heavenly  Worlds,    or 
Principles,     from     opening     and     displaying 
themselves    in    our    Souls,    seeing    we    have 
in  us   the   Seeds    of  them   all,    but   our   un- 
fitness to  receive  them ;    such  as   these  shall 
be  preserved  from  the   Power  of  the   Swordy 
Job  5.  20.     And  whilst  the  rest  of  the  World 
are   groaning   under   the    Miseries   and    Con- 
fusions of  Battle,   They  shall  divell  in  peace- 
able Habitations,   in  sure   Dwellings^    and  in 
quiet  resting  Places,  Isaiah  32.   18. 
8.  The  ^  8.    The    Manner    of    this    Preservation, 

Manner  of  ^y  wherein  it  shall  consist,  is  hard  to  deter- 
serration.  ^^^^  '•  Whether  they  shall  be,  like  the  Is- 
raelites in  the  midst  of  the  Plagues  oi  Egypt ^ 
preserved  secure,  not  only  in  their  Persons, 
but  also  in  their  Estates  and  Possessions, 
God  making  a  miraculous  Distinction  be- 
twixt the  one  and  the  other ;  or  whether 
it  shall  be  only  of  their  Persons;  but  the 
latter  is  most  probable,  viz.  That  God 
shall  suffer  them  to  be  robbed  and  stripped 
of  their  Estates  and  Possessions,  but  shall 
save  their  Lives  by  a  wonderful  Delive- 
rance ;  that  they  shall  survive  those  dread- 
ful Times  of  Vengeance,  and  when  they 
are  ended  shall  come  forth  with  Songs  of  Praise, 


OF  THE  SWORD.  33 

and  everlasting  Joy  shall  be  upon  their  Heads, 
and  Sorroiv  and  Sighing  shall Jiee  away,  Isaiah 
35.  10.  and  51.  li.  They  shall  lift  up  their 
Voice  ;*  they  shall  sing  for  the  3Iajesty  of  the  "'■  or  kcctu- 
Lord.  Wherefore  praise  the  Lord  in  Urim,  ^•^"P^f''^?  ^t' 
even  the  Name  of  the  Lord  God  of  Israel,  from  lxx/i 
the  Isles  of  the  Sea,  Isaiah  24.  14,  15.  mean- 
ing the  Western  Islands,  not  improbably  our 
own  Country,  called  in  the  next  Verse,  the 
Wing  of  the  Earth,  from  whence  Songs  of 
Praise,  or  (as  the  LXXII  ■\  seem  to  under-  t  T£>«t« 
stand  it)  wondrous  Things  were  heard  ;  which  wacra^/.E?. 
may  possibly  be  a  place  of  Refuge  in  that 
Day.  But  to  return ;  the  Holy  Scriptures 
seem  plainly  to  favour  this  Opinion,  That  the 
Preservation  of  the  Righteous  shall  be  only 
of  their  Persons  (unless  perhaps  also  of  their 
near  Friends  for  their  sakes)  as  it  was  in  the 
Case  of  Lot;  for  whose  Sake  even  his  Sons- 
in-Law  (who  it  plainly  appears  by  the  Se- 
quel of  the  Story  were  not  personally  qua- 
lified) might  have  been  preserved  if  they 
would,  Genesis  19.  14.  But  by  no  means  of 
their  Estates  and  Possessions.  For,  alas ! 
these  they  have  long  ago  forsaken  in  their 
Hearts :  They  are  the  poor  in  Spirit,  and 
the  Meek  of  the  Earth,  to  whom  this  Deli- 
verance is  promised  ;  such  as  have  forsaken 
the  World,  have  forgotten  themselves  and 
their  Father's  House,  and  are  seeking  after 
a  better  House,  even  that  is  not  made  with 
Hands ;  and  an  abiding  City,  even  an  hea- 
venly. They  are  dead  to  tlie  World,  with 
the  Pleasures  and  Profits  of  it,  esteeming 
the  Reproach  of  Christ  greater  Riches  than 
all  the  Treasures  of  Egypt  or  l^abylon;    for 

D 


34  OF  THE  SWORD. 

their   Hearts   as    well  as  their   Treasures  are 
in  Heaven,   out  of  the  reach  of  Disappoint- 
ment   and    Loss,    where    neither    Moth    nor 
Rust    do     corrupt,    and    where    Thieves    do 
not    break    through    and     steal :     The    only 
Use    they    made    of   their    Riches,    was     to 
please  God  and  accomplish  his  Will,  in  mi- 
nistring    to    the    Necessities    of    the    Saints, 
and    relieving    their    needy    Brethren.      And 
they  know  that  the  Will   of  God  is  perhaps 
better  obeyed  by  a  cheerful  submission  and 
Resignation  to    the  disposals  of  Providence, 
than  by   all   the    most    costly   Offerings  that 
a   charitable   Soul   can  make.     Finally,   they 
desire   nothing  but  to    be   fixed    in  God,    to 
be   clear   and  void    of  all   Creatures,    and  to 
maintain    in    themselves     a     holy    Quiet,     a 
divine    Peace;     enjoying    in     their    Poverty 
great   Riches;    in   their   Miseries   great   Con- 
tent ;     in    their    Afflictions     exceeding    Joy ; 
and    in    their   continual    Labours    great  Rest 
and    Peace.     Hence    are    those  Admonitions 
to    the   Servants   of   God,    in    order    to   pre- 
pare  them   for   that  time,    to    sit   loose  from 
the  Things  of  the  World,   and  to  seek  prin- 
cipally the  Kingdom  of  God,   and  its  Righ- 
teousness, and  not  to  be  seeking  great  Things 
for  ourselves  (i.  e.  Honours,  Estates,  and  Pre- 
ferments) at  a  time  ivhen  God  is  about  to  break 
down  what  he  has  builded  up,  and  to  pluck  uj) 
ivhatsoever  he  hath  planted ;  and  our  Lives  only 
shall  be  given  us  for  a  Prey,  in  all  Places  whi- 
thersoever we  shall  go ;   as  the  Prophet  Jere- 
">  miah  tells  Baruch,  Chap.  45.  5.     So  also  that 
of  Esdras,  O  my  People,  hear  my  Word:  Make 
you  ready  to  the  Battle ;  and  in  those  Evils  be 


OF  THE  SWORD.  35 

even  as  Pilgrims  upon  the  Earth.  He  that  selleth, 
let  him  he  as  him  that  jiecth  away  ;  and  he  that 
buyeth,  as  one  that  shall  lose :  He  that  occupieth 
Merchandize,  as  he  that  hath  no  Profit  by  it  : 
And  he  that  buildeth,  as  he  that  shall  not  dwell 
therein :  He  that  sotveth,  as  if  he  shotdd  not 
reap :  So  also  he  that  j)l(it^teth  the  Vineyard,  as 
he  that  shall  riot  gather  the  Grapes :  They  that 
marry,  as  though  they  shoidd  get  no  Children  ; 
and  they  that  marry  not,  as  the  JVidotvers :  And 
therefore  they  that  labour,  labour  in  vain,  2  Esd. 
16.  40.  Hence  also  our  Blessed  Saviour, 
Matthew  2, A.  16*.  warns  his  Disciples,  and  in 
them  all  Christians,  that  when  they  shall  see 
the  Abomination  of  Desolation  in  the  Holy 
Place:  That  is,  in  its  complete  and  ultimate 
Meaning,  Antichrist ;  but  in  a  more  lax  and 
open  Sense,  Sin  and  Error  patronized  and 
justified  in  those  Places,  and  by  those  Per- 
sons where,  and  amongst  whom,  nothing  but 
Truth  and  Holiness  ought  to  be  found ; 
that  then,  in  Expectation  of  the  approach- 
ing Judgments,  They  that  are  in  Judea  should 
flee  unto  the  Mountains:  Which  Words,  though 
in  their  first  and  literal  Signification  they 
did  imply,  that  the  Jews,  when  they  saw 
Jerusalem  compassed  about  with  Armies, 
should  take  that  for  a  Signal  to  escape  to  the 
Hill-Countries  of  Judea,  that  so  they  might 
be  more  out  of  the  reach  of  the  Roman  Ar- 
mies :  Yet  in  a  mystical  Sense,  the  same 
may  be  applied  to  all  Christians :  under- 
standing by  the  Hills,  the  Everlasting  Hills, 
the  Heavenly  Mountains  of  Virtue  and 
Contemplation,  from  whence  alone  we  must 
expect  Help  and  Protection.     Psalm  121.  v.  L 

d2 


30  OF  THE  SWORD. 

Then  he  that  is  upon  the  House-top ;  that  is, 
advanced  in  the  Spiritual  Life,  let  him  not 
come  down  to  take  any  thing  out  of  his  House ; 
i.  e.  let  him  not  condescend  to  intermix 
with  the  impertinent  and  trifling  Concerns 
of  this  World.  And  let  not  him  that  is  in  the 
Field;  i.  e.  working  in  God's  Vineyard,  re- 
turn to  take  away  his  Clothes ;  i.  e.  return  to 
his  old  clothing  which  was  not  of  God's  Spirit , 
Isaiah  30.  1 .  and  which  must  be  taken  off,  to 
discover  the  nakedness  of  those  who  are  not 
clothed  with  the  true  clothing,  which  is  the 
Righteoustiess  of  the  Saints,  Rev.  3.  18.  19.  8. 
and  so  on ;  teaching  us  thereby,  the  Ne- 
cessity of  withdrawing  our  Affections  from 
those  Pleasures  and  Enjoyments  which  must 
be  forsaken,  when  we  shall  be  forced  to  leave 
all,  and  shift  for  ourselves.  For  it  is  pro- 
bable, that  as  God  hath  generally  dealt 
with  his  Servants  at  such  times,  so  he  will 
deal  with  them  then,  i.  e.  by  some  secret 
means  or  other,  warn  them  to  escape  out 
of  those  Places  which  are  in  danger.  So 
God  did  to  Lot  in  the  Destruction  of  Sodom 
and  Gomorrah  ;  and  so  (to  mention  no  more) 
Ecclesiastical  History  informs  us,  that  he 
did  to  the  Christians  in  Jerusalem,  a  little 
before  its  Destruction,  warning  them  to 
escape  to  Pella,  a  little  Ancient  City  of  Pa- 
lestitie,  not  far  off.  So  it  is  probable  God 
will  deal  with  his  Servants  again,  even  so 
many  of  us,  as  have,  in  the  Faith  and  Ex- 
pectation of  this  time  of  trial,  waited  pa- 
tiently  in  the  way  of  the  Cross,  for  that 
Spirit  of  Adoption  and  Sealing,  which  shall 
baptize   us  into   that   living  Communion   and 


OF  THE  SWORD.  37 

Fellowship  of  Love,  where  tliose  Virgin- 
Souls,  in  whatever  Kingdom,  Country,  or 
Nation,  they  are  hidden,  scattered,  and  dis- 
persed, shall  be  united  in  the  Spirit  and 
Centre  of  Unity,  which  is  the  true  Com- 
munion of  Saints,  John  17.  2].  Eph.  1.  10. 
4.  13.  to  whom  the  Glory  of  the  Mount 
Sion  Kingdom  shall  come,  consisting  in  a 
perfect  Security  from  the  Curse,  where  Dark- 
ness, Sin,  and  Death,  are  perfectly  swallowed 
up  in  Victory. 

§  9.  The   Sum  of  what  is  here   advanced     9.  A  JRe- 
seems    to     be     elegantly    comprised    in    the  capitulation 
9th    Chapter    of   the    Prophecy    of    Ezekiel.  ^*    ^^^  ^  ^' 
In    the    preceding    Chapter   God   shows    the 
Prophet  in  a  Vision,  the  Abomination  in  the 
Holy  Place,  which  provokes  him  to  Jealousy, 
and   to    bring    Ruin   and   Desolation    on    the 
Church    and   Nation   of  the   Jews.     Thus  he 
speaks,  v.  17,    18.     Hast  thou  seen  this?  (i.  e. 
The    various    kinds    of    Idolatry    afore-men- 
tioned)   Is   it   a  light   thing  to   the  House  of 
Judah,    that    they    commit    the    Abominations 
which  they  commit  here  J    For  they  have  Jilled 
the  Land  ivith  Violence,  and  have  returned  to 
provoke  7ne  to  Anger ;    and  lo !    they  put  the 
Branch  to  their  Nose :  Therefore  ivill  I  also  deal 
in  Fury :  Mine  Eye  also  shall  not  spare :  Nei- 
ther will  I  have  pity :  And  though  they  cry  in 
mine  Ears  with  a  loud  Voice,  I  ivill  7iot  hear 
them.     By  the  Jewish  Church  in  this  Place, 
which    was    then    the    Peculium    or   Visible 
Church,    we  may   understand,    in  a   mystical 
Sense,    the    Christian;    whose    Abominations 
when  they  are  come  to  the  heighth,  call  for 
the  same  Vengeance  and  Judgments  as  theirs 


38  OF  THE  SWORD, 

did.     And   accordingly  in  Chapter  9.  he  be- 
gins to  show   how  the  Vengeance   is    execu- 
ted.    The  first  Thing  remarkable  is,  a  great 
Cry    to    them    that    had    the   Charge  of  the 
City,    to   come  near  every   Man  with   his   de- 
stroying  Weapon  in   his  Hand.     Which   may 
answer  to* the  Cry  and    Roaring   afore-men- 
tioned, out  of  the  Prophet  Joel  and  the  Reve- 
lations ;    And  behold  six  3Ien  came  from  the 
ivay  of  the  higher  Gate,  which  lieth  toward  the 
North,  and  every  3Ian  a  slaughter  (or  break- 
ing) Weapon  in  his  Hand:    By  the  Number 
Six  we   are    to    understand    destroying    (and 
probably  evil)    Angels,    the   Executioners  of 
the  Divine   Vengeance,    to   whom   the    Num- 
*  Hence    ber*  Six   is    most   fitly    applied  ;    expressing 
this  Number  ^Ym^    they    have     not    yet     attained     to    the 
peatedi?tthe^^^^^^^    Septenary  of    Harmony  and    Peace, 
Character-     where  all  Discord   and  Strife  are  done  away, 
istic  o/Anti-  being   swallowed    up  in   the   Universal  Prin- 
chrtst,  Rev.  (>jp|g   Qf  Rest   and   Love.      The   next   Thinsi: 

xiii    18  •  • 

observable  is,  that  they  came  Jrom  the  North  ; 
that  being,  as  was  before  observed,  the 
Region  of  the  Curse  and  of  Vengeance.  And 
one  Man  among  (or  in  the  midst  of)  them, 
was  clothed  with  Linen,  with  a  Writer  s  Ink- 
horn  by  his  side,  v.  2.  In  the  midst  of  these 
six  Destroyers  is  a  seventh  Person,  coming 
in  the  Spirit  of  Peace  and  Mercy,  figured 
by  the  Number  Seven ;  he  is  clothed  with 
Linen,  signifying  Evangelical  Righteousness, 
Revelations  19.  8.  And  the  Glory  of  the  God  of 
Israel  ivas  gone  up  from  the  Cherub  whereupon 
he  was,  to  the  Threshold  of  the  House.  The 
\r\^'0  t  Word  t  which  we  translate  Threshold,  seems 
to    have   been   otherwise    imderstood    by   the 


OF  THE  SWORD.  .'J9 

LXX  in  this  Place,  having  translated  it 
afOpioi/,  as  they  have  also  in  three  other 
Places  of  this  Prophecy ;  a  Word  signify- 
ing the  open  Air,  or  the  Door-place,  as  it 
is  used  in  three  Places  of  the  40th  Chapter 
of  this  Prophecy  ;  it  has  also  been  nsed  to 
signify  the  Covering  or  Roof  of  a  House ; 
whence  'Aae^ohG^joi/  in  Sophocles,  is  rendered 
by  the  Scholiasts  Qs^^ov  v.ocra.'n-ira.C^fj^oi ;  all  im- 
porting the  departure  of  the  Skecinah,  or 
Glorious  Presence,  from  the  Cherubims  to 
the  Door,  the  Roof  or  Covering  of  the 
House;  by  all  vi^hich  we  are  to  understand 
God's  forsaking  his  Church,  because  of  the 
full  Measure  of  their  Iniquities.  And  he 
called  to  the  Man  clothed  with  Linen,  that  had 
the  Writers  Inkhorn  by  his  side,  v.  3.  And 
the  Lord  said  wdo  hitn,  Go  through  the  midst 
of  the  City,  through  the  midst  of  Jerusalem, 
and  set  a  Mark  upon  the  Foreheads  of  the  Men 
that  sigh,  and  that  cry  for  all  the  Abominations 
that  be  done  in  the  midst  thereof,  v.  4.  Here 
we  see  God's  first  and  princijial  Care  is  to 
show  Mercy  to  his  chosen  Children  and  Ser- 
vants, by  marking  them  as  his  peculiar 
Property,  as  Persons  on  whom  the  Curse 
can  have  no  Power ;  and  so  we  find  in 
Holy  Scripture,  that  Vengeance  cannot  be 
poured  out  till  the  Servants  of  God  are  safe 
and  out  of  Danger.  So  the  Angel  that  was 
commissioned  to  destroy  Sodom  and  Gomor- 
rah, advises  Lot  to  make  haste  to  escape  to 
his  little  City  of  Refuge ;  For  (saith  he,  Gen. 
19.  22.)  /  cannot  do  any  thing  till  thou  be 
come  thither.  So  Revelations  7.  3.  The 
Angels  are  commanded.  Hurt  not  the  Earth, 


40  OF  THE  SWORD. 

fieither  the  Sea,  nor  the  Trees,  till  we  have 
sealed  the  Servants  of  our  God  in  their  Fore- 
heads. They  being  like  the  Twelve  Priests  in 
the  River  Jordan,  Joshua  3.  who  stopped  the 
Floods  from  overflowing  till  they  were  clean 
got  over.  And  when  this  Sealing  of  the  Righ- 
teous was  finished,  an  audible  Voice  came 
to  the  six  Destroyers,  saying,  Go  ye  after 
him  through  the  City;  and  smite:  Let  not  your 
Eye  spare ;  neither  have  pity.  Slay  utterly  Old 
and  Young,  both  Maids,  and  little  Children, 
and  Women ;  but  come  not  near  any  Man,  on 
whom  is  the  Mark  ;  and  begin  at  my  Sanctuary. 
It  is  to  be  an  utter  Destruction,  and  to  begin 
at  the  Sanctuary  or  House  of  God ;  that, 
when  it  is  corrupt,  being  the  Source  and 
Spring  of  all  Abominations ;  Religion,  when 
it  is  corrupted,  of  the  best  Thing  is  become 
*  Corrup-  the  worst.*  Then  they  began  at  the  ancient 
tio  optimi  Men  ivhich  ivere  before  the  House.  By  the  an- 
pessima.  ^^^^^  3Ien  which  were  before  the  House,  may 
be  understood,  those  ancient  Levites,  who 
being  for  their  Age  discharged  from  the 
difficult  and  laborious  Services  of  their 
Functions,  were  said  to  be  free,  as  it  is  ex- 
pressed, 1  Chronicles  9.  33.  who  are  said  also 
to  be  the  chief  of  the  Fathers,  or  ancient  Men; 
and  who  might  properly  be  said  to  be  before 
the  House,  their  Charge  being  to  lodge  round 
about  the  House  of  God,  and  to  open  it  every 
Morning,  v.  27.  And  thereby  may  possibly 
be  meant  the  Heads  of  the  Apostate  Chinch, 
in  whose  Guilt  they  cannot  but  be  deeply 
involved,  they  being  constituted  Overseers 
and  Watchmen,  to  take  charge  of  the  Flock 
antl    Church    of   God,    and    put    a   stop    to 


OF  THE  SWORD.  41 

every  the  least  beginning  of  Corrnption ;  and 
these  being  first  in  the  Guilt,  are  to  be  first  in 
the  Punishment.  And  he  said  wito  them,  De- 
Jile  the  House,  and  Jill  the  Courts  ivith  the 
slain ;  Go  ye  forth.  These  last  Words,  Go  ye 
forth,  seem  to  be  the  last  Charge  or  Instruc- 
tion given  to  these  Six  Executioners,  which  it 
is  said  in  the  next  Words  they  punctually  ob- 
served :  They  went  forth  arid  slew  in  the  City, 
V.  7.  as  the  Seventh  Man,  who  had  the  Writer's 
Inkhorn,  did  his;  for  it  is  said,  v.  W.  Behold 
the  Man  clothed  with  Linen,  which  had  the 
Writer  s  Inkhorn  hy  his  side,  reported  the  mat- 
ter; sayin'^,  I  have  done  as  thou  hast  command- 
ed me.  All  which  the  Lord  will  hasten  in  his 
time. 


PART  II. 

OF  THE  PESTILENCE. 


Jerem.  ix.  21,  22. 


2 1 .  Death  is  come  up  into  our  Witidows,  and  is 
entered  into  our  Palaces,  to  cut  off  the  Chil- 
dren from  ivithout,  and  the  young-  Men  from 
the  Streets. 

22.  Speak,  thus  saith  the  Lord,  even  the  Car- 
cases of  Men  shall  fall  as  Dung  upon  the  open 
Fields,  and  as  the  hatidful  after  the  Harvest- 
man,  and  none  shall  gather  them. 

The  Pesti-     rTT^HE    next     Instance     of    Judgment     to 
lence.  J^     be    considered,    is    the  Plague  or  Pes- 

tilence ;  which,  as  being  one  of  the  Sore 
Judgments  that  God  inflicts  upon  a  guilty 
Nation,  Ezekiel  14.  21.  must  also  bear  its 
Part  in  that  Great  Day  of  Trouble,  as  our 
Lord  tells  us.  For  Nation  shall  rise  against 
Nation,  and  Kitigdom  against  Ki7igdom;  and 
there  shall  he  Famines,  and  Pestilences,  and 
Earthquakes,  in  divers  places,  Matthew  24.  7. 
And  this  indeed  seems  to  be  a  deeper  and 
more  internal  Manifestation  of  the  Curse  or 
Wrath  of  God  in  external  Nature :  For 
whereas  the  former  seemed  to  be  a  more 
general  and  circumferential  Evil,  in  re- 
spect of  particular  Persons,  who  cannot  be 
supposed  (at  least  a  great  Part  of  them) 
any   otherwise    to    suffer,    than    in   their    In- 


OF  THE  PESTILENCE.  43 

terests  and  Estates ;  this  does  affect  every 
particular  Person  that  draws  in  the  com- 
mon Air  of  the  Country  or  Nation  thus 
infected ;  that  very  Air  which  is  the  natu- 
ral Medium  of  Life  and  Vegetation,  be- 
coming to  us  a  Vehicle  of  Corruption  and 
Death. 

§  1.  With  this  God  will  chastise  and  mor-    The  Pride 
tify  that   other   grand    Division    of  Sin,   The  of  Life. 
Pride    of  Life,    which    consists   in   a   perfect 
Opposition  to  the  Humility  and  Self-Abase- 
ment   of  the   Cross ;    as  the  other,  viz.    The 
Lust  of  the  Eye,  to  the  Love,  and  Meekness, 
and    Poverty    of    the    Christian    Spirit;    ma- 
nifesting   thereby,    their    Antichristian    Root 
and    Original.      But    that    we    may   be    able 
more    perfectly   to    discover  its   ISature    and 
Properties,    it   will   be   necessary   to   trace  it 
to    its    first    Principles,    viz.      The    Birth    or 
Rising   of   the   corrupt   or  bestial    Image   in 
Man,    upon    his    withdrawing    himself  from 
his    Depend ance    upon    God.      The    Conse- 
quence   whereof    was    the    withdrawing    the 
chaste   Virgin  of  God's   Wisdom,   wherewith 
Man   was    clothed   and   illustrated,    both    in- 
ternally  and    externally ;     instead    of   which 
came    Ignorance,    Infirmity,    Darkness,    and 
Death :    His  Soul  that  was  before  all  Light, 
Harmony,      and      Beauty,     being     estranged 
from    the    Light    of    God,     became     full    of 
Darkness  and   Sin.     His  Passions,  that  were 
before    in    perfect    Subordination   to    the  ru- 
ling Principle,   viz.     The    Spirit   within   him, 
run    into     Confusion    and    Rebellion.       His 
Body   which   was  before   Paradisiacal,  Holy, 
Pure,    and   Immortal,   became   weak,    heavy. 


44  OP  THE  PESTILENCE. 

and  infirm.  He  is  subject  and  exposed  io 
the  evil  Influences  and  divided  Properties 
of  the  Elements,  which  have  Power  to 
impose  on  him  the  Necessity  of  Pain,  Sick- 
ness, Want,  Hunger,  Mortality,  and  Pu- 
trifaction.  So  that,  in  short,  his  Light  is 
become  Darkness ;  his  Strength  is  Weak- 
ness ;  his  Beauty  is  Deformity ;  his  Wisdom 
is  Folly ;  and  he  thai  was  created  in  the 
Image  of  God,  bears  now  in  his  degenerate 
State  the  Image  of  the  Devil. 
The  same       ^  2.    Now    the    Consideration    of   so    glo- 

further  con-  ^,-^  ^  ^idle  as  we  have  forfeited  by  our 
Transgressions,  and  the  deplorable  Condi- 
tion into  which  we  are  fallen,  ought  to  have 
this  good  Effect  upon  us,  viz.  to  keep  us 
constant  in  HumiHty  and  Self-Abasement : 
It  should  teach  us  to  despise  this  vile  bestial 
Image,  and  to  mortify  our  corrupt  animal 
Life,  refreshing  and  feasting  ourselves  with 
the  Contemplation  of  the  glorious  ever- 
lasting Inheritance,  out  of  which  we  have 
been  so  long  driven;  but  which  is  re- 
deemed for  us  by  the  promised  Seed,  the 
Lord  Jesus  Christ ;  even  for  so  many  of  us  as 
shall  follow  him  in  the  dying  Process  of  his 
Cross,  that  we  may  be  raised  up  with  him 
in  Newness  of  Life,  as  we  are  told  by  the 
Holy  Apostle ;  Jf  we  be  dead  with  him,  we 
shall  also  live  with  him.  If  we  suffer,  we  shall 
also  reign  ivith  him,  2  Tim.  2.  11,  12.  But 
*  /?o»i.  8.  notwithstanding  all  this,  *  though  the  Church 

'■^-  of   God   has  for   many   Ages  been    groaning 

and  travelling  together  in  Pain,  for  the 
complete  Adoption,  viz.  the  Redemption 
or   Restitution   of  the  first  pure   paradisiacal 


OF  THE  PESTILENCE.  46 

State  or  Body,  and  the  wliole  Creation; 
nay,  and  the  Spirit  of  God  himself  lias 
been  assisting  and  interceding  with  Groans 
unutterable,  v.  26.  yet  (it  is  sad  to  see, 
how)  the  greater  part  of  Mankind  do  neg- 
lect and  disregard  so  glorious  an  Inheri- 
tance, thereby  doing  Despite  to  the  Spirit 
of  Grace,  and  to  the  Blood  of  the  Cove- 
nant ;  by  the  Virtue  and  Efficacy  whereof, 
we  may  (as  Prisoners  of  Hope,  Zech.  9.  12.) 
be  redeemed  and  set  free  from  our  Capti- 
vity :  Instead  of  which,  we,  like  the  Israel- 
ites in  Egyptian  Slavery,  or  the  miserable 
Remains  of  the  once  celebrated  Greek  Na- 
tions, have  been  Slaves  so  long,  as  to  lose 
(if  not  the  very  Name,  yet)  the  Idea  of 
Liberty  and  Dominion,  being  not  only 
contented  with,  but  proud  of  our  Chains ; 
and  who,  therefore,  instead  of  putting  our- 
selves into  the  way  of  the  Cross,  in  the 
Spirit  of  Mortification  and  Obedience,  that 
so  we  may  return  to  our  long  forfeited  Pos- 
session, after  the  Revolution  of  a  perfect 
Septenary  in  the  great  Jubilee,  Leviticus  25.  8. 
do  confine  our  Hopes  and  Prospects  to  this 
external  Principle  or  animal  Life ;  placing 
that  Love  and  Complacency,  which  God 
that  made  us  for  himself,  has  the  only 
Right  or  Title  to,  on  those  imaginary  Per- 
fections which  our  deluded  Fancies  repre- 
sent to  be  in  ourselves.  Such  are  Beauty, 
Strength,  Wisdom,  &c.  And  this  irregu- 
lar Complacency  or  Love,  is  truly  and 
properly  The  Pride  of  Life*  To  which  also  *  ^A^ctiit- 
may  be  reduced  that  other  Species  of  Pride,  "e**  tS  /Sia. 
called   particularly   Spiritual  :    Which  (though 


46  OF  THE  PESTILENCE. 

appearing  to  be  of  a  distinct  Nature)  is 
plainly  founded  on  the  same  Ground,  and 
ariseth  from  the  same  corrupt  Root  and 
Original,  viz.  degenerate  Nature  being 
chiefly  visible  in  them ;  who  being  Stran- 
gers to  the  true  internal  Ground  of  Reli- 
gion, which  is  the  internal  Conformity  of 
our  Will  and  Understanding  to  the  Light 
and  Will  of  God,  place  it  all  in  the  Outside 
and  Appearance,  making  it  to  consist  of 
a  few  mechanical  Actions,  graced  with  an 
Air  of  Severity  and  Seriousness.  These, 
like  Day-flowers,  make  the  greatest  Show, 
and  are  under  the  greatest  Temptations  to 
Pride  and  Self-Conceit.  These  are  they 
whom  the  Apostle  mentions,  2  Timothy  3.  5. 
Having  a  Form  of  Godliness,  but  denying  the 
Power  of  it.  That  Esteem,  therefore,  or 
Love,  which  each  of  those  may  have  for 
his  imaginary  Excellencies,  which  may  any 
way  lessen  or  destroy  his  Humility  and 
Love  towards  God,  is  this  Pride  of  Life.  But 
alas !  Why  is  Earth  and  Ashes  Proud  ?  For 
such  a  one  selleth  his  Soul  to  Sale ;  because 
while  he  liveth,  he  casteth  away  his  Bowels. 
The  Physician  cutteth  ofl'  a  long  Disease ; 
and  he  that  is  to  Day  a  King,  to  Morrow 
shall  die :  For  when  a  Man  is  dead,  he 
shall  inherit  creeping  Things,  Beasts,  and 
Worms.  The  beginning  of  Pride  is,  when 
one  departeth  from  God,  and  his  Heart  is 
turned  away  from  his  Maker.  For  Pride  is 
the  beginning  of  Sin ;  and  he  that  hath  it 
shall  pour  out  Abomination:  And  therefore 
the  Lord  brought  upon  them  strange  Cala- 
mities, and  overthrew  them  utterly.     TheLoi'd 


OF  THE  PESTILENCE.  47 

hath  cast  doivn  the  Thrones  of  proud  Princes, 
and  set  up  the  meek  in  their  stead.  The  Lord 
hath  plucked  up  the  Roots  of  proud  Nations,  and 
planted  the  lowly  in  their  place.  So  that  Pride 
was  not  made  for  Men,  Ecclus.  10.  9 — 19. 

§  3.    That    this    Branch    of    Sin    will    be     That  this 
eminently    prevailing    in     the     latter     Days,  ^"^  "''/jf  *5 
will   appear.   First,   from    what  has   been  ob-  Yhf latter  "^ 
served   in   the   former  Part,  p.   1 .  concerning  Dai/s. 
the    Universal   Increase  of  the   whole   Body 
of  Sin.     And  if  the  whole  Body  be  arrived 
at   its    complete    Stature,  this    (which    is    so 
considerable  a  part  of  it)  must  be  likewise. 
And  as   the   former  sort  were  so  deeply  in- 
fected   in    the    Malice    and    Cruelty    of   the 
dark    World,    as    to    delight    themselves    in 
Blood    and    Rapine :    So    those   who    are    in 
the  Pride  of  Life,  shall  forget  the  God  that 
made   them,    and    idolize   their   own  fancied 
Perfections,  inverting  that  grand   Precept  of 
the  everlasting  Gospel ;    *  Thou  shall  love  the     *  Maith. 
Lord  thy  God,  ivith  all  thy  Heart,  and  with  22.  37. 
all  thy  Soul,  Sfc.  and  transferring  it  to  them- 
selves ;    being  themselves  the  Centre  of  their 
own    Happiness,    and    setting   up   their    own 
impotent  and  corrupt  Nature  in  the  place  and 
stead  of  God. 

This  is  also  particularly  and  expressly  fore- 
told by  St.  Paul ;  In  the  last  Days,  perilous 
Times  shall  come;  for  Men  shall  be  lovers  of 
their  ownselves,  covetous,  boasters,  proud,^  bias-  t  'AXa^««?. 
phemers,  disobedient  to  Parents ;  unthankful, 
unholy,  ivithout  natural  Affection,  heady,  high- 
minded  ;  having  a  Form  of  Godliness,  but  deny- 
ing the  Power  thereof,  2  Tim.  .3.  1,  2,  3,  4. 
Which  Places,  compared  with  2  Peter  3.  3.  and 


48  OF  THE  PESTILENCE. 

Jiide  18.  do  express  a  sort  of  Men,   who,  in 
Opposition  to  the  SimpUcity  and    Obedience 
of  the  Cross,  (the  peculiar  Badge  and  Charac- 
teristic of  the  real  Christian,)  do  acknowledge 
no    other    Law    or    Obligation     than     what 
their    brutish    Appetite,    or    (at    most)    their 
own  weak  and  benighted   Reason  shall  sug- 
gest   or    approve :     And    who    consequently 
shall    think    it   their    greatest    Concern,    and 
spend    the  greatest    Part   of   their   Time    to 
accomplish    themselves    according     to    their 
own  Ideas  of  Perfection ;    and   (as  they  call 
it)    make    a    Figure    in    the    World.      They 
have  no   notion    of   those    Christian    Duties, 
of  Meekness,    Poverty   of  Spirit,   Self-denial, 
and     Mortification,  •    so      earnestly      recom- 
mended by  our  Blessed  Lord.     The  Beauty 
of   Holiness    doth    not    affect   them    half  so 
much,    as   that   of  their   own   Persons ;    and 
the    Praise    of    Men,    in    their    Opinion,    is 
every  way  preferable  to  the  Praise  of  God : 
And    the    Wisdom    of    God    himself,    if   it 
seems   to   interfere   with,    or   contradict  their 
Oracles  of  Reason,   must  be  decried  as  Un- 
reasonable, foolish,   and  contradictory.     Now 
if  these   are  the    Persons   comprehended  un- 
der this  grand  Division  of  Sin,   The  Pride  of 
Life,    as    it   seems    plain    to    me    they    are, 
then    we    need    not    multiply   Arguments    to 
prove    the    future    Increase    of    these    Men : 
Since   we   ourselves   (upon   whom    the    Ends 
of   the    World    are    surely    come)    do    every 
Day    see    such    prodigious    Excess    of    this 
kind,    as  ought  to  excite  our  most  generous 
Compassion    for    them,     and     most    diligent 
Watchfulness    for     ourselves,     that     we    fall 


OF  THE  PESTILENCE.  49 

not  under  the  same  Condemnation.  In  the 
Proof  of  which  we  need  not  be  very  par- 
ticular, but  only  appeal  to  the  daily  Ob- 
servation of  every  impartial  Spectator.  Do 
not  we  see  how  the  Men  of  Power  and 
Fortune,  which  God  that  gave  them  will 
exact  a  severe  Account  of,  do  very  often, 
instead  of  applying  them  to  the  End  for 
which  they  were  designed,  only  make  use 
of  them  to  aggrandize  themselves,  and  sup- 
port them  in  their  extravagant  and  luxuri- 
ous Pleasures  ?  Do  we  not  see  how  the  mo- 
dern Pretenders  to  Wit  and  Sense,  set  it 
up  in  Opposition  to  what  is  Good  and  Sa- 
cred, making  it  the  grand  Concern  of  their 
Lives,  to  deserve  that  Character?  To  go 
yet  further;  Do  we  not  see  the  Great  Pa- 
trons of  rational  and  philosophical  Truth, 
some  of  them  expressly  denying  the  very 
Being  and  Existence  of  a  God ;  others 
granting  this,  yet  denying  the  Necessity  or 
Possibility  of  having  any  Revelation  or 
Discovery  made  of  Himself  or  his  Will? 
And  all  for  no  other  Reason,  but  because 
they  cannot  comprehend  the  Manner  or 
Reasons  of  God's  acting  with  Men;  nor 
exactly  reconcile  every  Difficulty  which 
their  darkened  Understanding  may  meet 
with,  and  very  often  themselves  make: 
Whilst  a  third  sort,  admitting  what  the 
others  deny,  yet  are  so  in  love  with  their 
own  darling  Opinions  and  Prejudices,  as  to 
make  them  the  Standards  of  Divine  Truth ; 
to  which  the  very  Scriptures  themselves 
must  be  reduced,  and  made  to  speak  their 
Language,  though   never   so   contrary,  before 

E 


50  OF  THE  PESTILENCE. 

they  shall  pass  for  such.  So  also  amongst 
the  divided  and  subdivided  Parties,  into 
which  our  modern  Christendom  is  rent  and 
crumbled,  how  few  are  there  that  follow 
their  Saviour  Christ  Jesus,  in  the  Spirit  of 
Humility,  Resignation,  and  bearing  the 
Cross.  Do  they  not  rather  every  one 
pride  himself  in  the  Rags  of  his  own  filthy 
Covering,  instead  of  the  Covering  of  God's 
*/««. 30. 1.  Spirit?  *They  have  forsaken  the  Fountain  of 
living  Waters,  and  have  hewn  out  for  them- 
selves broken  Cisterns  that  will  hold  no  Water, 
Jer.  2.  13.  And  rather  than  they  will  walk 
in  the  dark  and  disconsolate  Path  of  the 
Cross,  they  will  kindle  a  false  Fire  of  their  own, 
and  ericompass  themselves  with  Sparks  of  their 
own  kindling ;  hut  their  End  must  he  that  they 
shall  lay  down  in  Soitow,  Isaiah  50.  11.  That 
is,  All  those  Persons,  whose  Love,  whose 
Happiness,  and  whose  Religion  is  founded 
no  deeper  than  the  Flesh,  or  outward  Man, 
shall  be  punished  in  a  more  remarkable  and 
exemplary  Manner,  by  Plagues  and  Diseases, 
which  shall  blast  and  destroy  that  Life  or 
Principle,  on  which  they  have  bestowed  all 
their  Care  and  Pain,  and  in  which  they  have 
put  their  Trust. 
That  there  ^  4.  That  there  shall  be  t  Pestilences  or 
shall  he  sore  Diseases  in  the  last  Days,  more  remarkably 
Diseases  in    _„         •  n      xi  •  i      />       ^   i  i 

the  last        ^^  universally  than  ever,  is  expressly  foretold 

Days.  by  our  Lord.     There  shall  he  Famines,  Pesti- 

t  Aoi/Aoi.  lences,  and  Earthquakes  in  divers  Places,  Mat. 
24.  7.  Luke^\.  11.  (to  omit  several  Places 
in  the  Prophetical  Writings  which  undoubtedly 
belong  to  the  same  time)  by  which,  as  I 
principally  understand    that   Species  of  Dis- 


OF  THE  PESTILENCE.  51 

eases,  commonly  called  by  us  the  Plague  and 
Pestilence,  so  also  in  a  more  general  Sense  all 
sorts  of  Diseases  incident  to  lumian  Bodies, 
those  more  particularly  that  arise  from  im- 
moderate Heat,  such  as  are  all  sorts  and  de- 
grees of  Fevers,  Inflammations,  &c.  and  the 
Holy  Writers  understood  the  Word  in  this 
more  general  and  comprehensive  Significa- 
tion, does  appear  from  many  Places  of  Holy 
Scripture,  whereof  I  shall  only  mention  one 
or  two. 

(1.)  All  those  Maladies  and  Diseases 
which  are  called  Terror,  or,  (as  the  *Word  *  'A7rop{<». 
used  by  the  LXXH  seems  rather  to  import) 
extreme  Melancholy  or  Dejection  of  Spirit; 
Consumption,  Burning  Ague,  or  (f  as  the  t  'iKTeg*. 
LXXH  understood  it)  the  King's  Evil,  (which 
also  seems  to  be  implied  by  its  Predicate, 
viz.  that  shall  consume  the  Eyes)  as  also  what 
is  called,  Deut.  28.  22.  The  Consumption, 
Fever,  Infiammatiori,  extreme  Eurning,  Elast- 
ing  (or  Blight),  and  Mildew,  as  also  v.  28. 
Madness  and  Elindness,  v.  27.  the  Eotch  of 
Egypt  and  the  Emerods,  the  Scab,  and  the  incu- 
rable Itch,  and  v,  59,  60,  61.  All  the  great 
Plagues  and  sore  Sicktiesses,  and  all  the  Diseases 
of  Egypt,  and  every  Sickness,  arid  every  Plague 
that  is  not  ivritten  in  the  Eook  of  the  Laiv.  All 
these,  I  say,  are  briefly  comprehended  in  the 
one  \  Word  which  we  translate  Pestilence.  *l5![f  ^ 
When  ye  are  gathered  together  within  your 
Cities,  I  ivill  send  the  Pestilence  among  you, 
Levit.  26.  25.  The  Lord  shall  make  the  Pesti- 
lence cleave  unto  thee,  until  he  have  consumed 
thee  from  off  the  Land,  whither  thou  goest  to 
possess  it.  Deut.  28.  21.     In  the  latter  of  which 

E  2 


52  OF  THE  PESTILENCE. 

Places  it  is  observable  that  God  threatens  to 
smite  them  with  this  Pestilence,  till  it  have 
consumed  them  (utterly,  or  perfectly  consumed 
IV  *  them,*  as  the  Words  signify)  from  the  Face  of 
-jiL^  the  Earth  or  Land,  &c.  which  if  it  were  meant 
-  precisely  of  that  Species  of  Distempers  so 
commonly  called,  it  cannot  be  easily  con- 
ceived what  occasion  there  should  be  for 
those  other  Evils  mentioned  in  the  very  next 
Verse.  We  are,  therefore,  rather  to  under- 
stand by  it  the  whole  Complex  or  Body  of 
Diseases,  in  which  Sense  it  is  commonly 
used  by  the  latter  Prophets,  whensoever  they 
had  occasion  to  threaten  the  Jews  with 
those  Judgments  which  God  had  before  in 
this  Place  so  solemnly  denounced  against 
their  Disobedience :  So  also  it  is  used  by 
the  latter  Rabbins;  as  appears  particularly 
from  the  Book  of  R.  Jacob,  intituled  Sepher 
Abehoth  Roc/tel,  which  treats  of  the  last 
Times,  and  of  the  Signs  and  Tokens  that 
shall  precede  the  Coming  of  the  Messiah^ 
where  Lib.  1.  Pait  1.  there  are  these  Words, 
speaking  of  the  second  Sign.  *  God  shall 
'  send  upon  the  World  an  excessive  Heat 
'  from  the  Sun,  with  Consumption  and 
'  Burning  Fevers,    and    other  bad   Diseases, 

*  the  Pestilence  also,  and  other  Plagues, 
'  which  shall  destroy  daily  thousands  of 
'  People,    and   so   shall    all   the   Wicked    in 

*  Israel  perish.'  All  of  them  understanding 
no  more  by  all  these  various  kinds  of  Dis- 
eases, than  what  is   comprehended,    by  that 

*^5?^one  Word  t  Pestilence,  Ezekiel  14.  21.  and 
other  Places  of  the  Prophetical  Writings, 
where   undoubtedly  it  was  meant  to   signify 


OF  THE  PESTILENCE. 

more  than  the  Plague  or  Pestilence  precisely 
so  called. 

(2.)  This  may  also  be  proved  by  the 
common  use  of  this  Word  by  the  LXXII, 
who  have  only  in  three  Places  of  the  Old 
Testament  translated  it  by  Aoj|Uo?,  but  no 
less  than  thirty-five  times  (by  QcHuxlo?,  by 
which  Word  we  understand  Death)  as  it  is 
particularly  used  Leviticus  26.  25.  both  by  the 
LXXII,  Chaldee  Paraphrast,  and  Vulgar  La- 
tin. So  even  the  Word  Aoj|ao?  itselfj  both 
in  Matthew  24.  7.  and  Luke  21.  11.  is  by  the 
Syriac  Interpreter  rendered  Mors.  And  lastly, 
the  Word  Jl^p  though  in  almost  innume- 
rable Places  it  be  translated  ©avalo?,  and 
never  by  Aoi/Ao?,  yet  it  is  plain,  that  in  many 
Places  it  must  be  understood  by  the  latter ; 
to  instance  only  in  two  or  three  Places. 
Death,  Qdvoclog,  is  come  up  into  our  Windows^ 
&c.  Jer,  9.  21.  and  c.  18.  v.  21.  Deliver  up 
their  Children  to  the  Famine,  and  pour  out  their 
Elood  by  the  Force  of  the  Sword,  and  let  their 
Wives  be  bereaved  of  their  Children  and  be 
Widows,  and  let  their  Men  be  put  to  Death 
(&ccva,Too)  and  let  their  Young  Men  be  slain  with 
the  Sword  in  Battle.  And  Eccles.  39.  29.  Fire, 
and  Hail,  and  Famine,  and  Death,  (©avalo? )  all 
these  were  created  for  the  Day  of  Vengeance. 
All  which  Places  compared  together,  do  show 
that  the  Word  15?  is  promiscuously  used 
with  nip,  Qxvoilog,  and  Aoif^U,  all  expressing 
that  infinite  variety  of  Diseases,  Infirmi- 
ties, and  Sicknesses,  which  are  the  com- 
mon and  ordinary  Means  of  our  Natural 
Death :  Perhaps  for  this  Reason,  because 
the  Evils  of  all  other  Distempers  are,  as  it 


54  OF  THE  PESTILENCE. 

were,  summed  up  in  that  one.  So  then  it 
appears  from  Scripture,  that  there  shall  be 
a  strange  Variety  of  great  Sicknesses  and 
Diseases  in  the  last  Days ;  which  might 
also  be  further  confirmed  by  many  probable 
Arguments,  drawn  from  Scripture  and  the 
Nature  of  Things :  But  all  these  falling 
more  properly  under  the  Third  Head,  I 
shall  at  present  omit  them,  and  proceed  to 
show : 
That  these  ^  5.  That  these  shall  be  the  proper  and 
Diseases  are  pgcuhar  Punishments  of  that  great  Branch 
vumshihe  ^^  ^^"^  afore- mentioned,  viz.  The  Pride  of 
Pride  of  Life.  Life^  which  can  be  shown  no  other  way, 
than  by  making  it  appear,  that  whereso- 
ever in  the  Holy  Scriptures  God  has  either 
punished,  or  threatened  to  punish  this  Sin, 
he  has  always  done  it  in  this  manner,  as  I 
shall  endeavour  to  show  in  four  or  five  In- 
stances. 

(1.)  The  First  Instance  of  this  kind  shall 
be  that  of  David  numbering  the  Tribes  of 
Judah  and  Israel,  whose  Sin  is  commonly 
supposed  to  consist  in  the  Pride  and  Con- 
fidence that  he  reposed  in  the  Strength  of 
his  Armies,  and  the  Number  of  his  Sub- 
jects ;  upon  the  Commission  of  which  Sin, 
the  Prophet  Gad  comes  unto  him,  and  in 
the  Name  of  God  proposes  to  him  these 
three  Plagues,  the  Sword,  the  Famine,  and 
the  Pestilence  ;  and  bids  him  choose  for  him- 
self which  of  them  he  had  rather  suffer. 
In  answer  to  which,  he  prays  that  he  may 
fall  into  the  Hands  of  God,  rather  than 
into  the  Hands  of  Men,  2  Samuel  24.  Not 
(as   it    is    commonly   thought)    that    he    pre- 


OF  THE  PESTILENCE.  I 

ferred  or  chose  the  latter,  which  is  not  at 
all  implied  in  the  Text ;  since  he  that  pe- 
rishes by  the  Famine,  doth  equally  fall  into 
the  Hands  of  God  with  him  that  dies  by 
the  Pestilence;  but  he  prays  that  God 
would  turn  away  the  Sword  from  him,  and 
then  punish  him  as  it  should  please  him; 
Whereupon  God  proportioning^  his  Punish- 
ment to  the  Quality  of  his  Sin,  sent  upon 
him  the  Pestilence,  to  destroy  and  blast  that 
Arm  of  Flesh,  in  which  he  had  so  vainly 
put  his  Trust. 

(2.)  The  Second  Instance  that  I  shall 
mention,  shall  be  that  solemn  Denuncia- 
tion of  Judgment,  Isaiah  3.  16.  against  the 
Pride  of  the  Daughters  of  Jerusalem.  He 
says,  V.  17.  God  shall  smite  with  a  Scab  the 
Crown  of  their  Head:  So  the  Word*  was  un-  jlDti^  * 
derstood  by  Vatablus,  Piscator,  Junius,  and 
Tremellius,  rendering  it  by  Lepra  vel  Scabie 
inficiet;  and  after  he  had  threatened  them, 
V.  18,  19,  20,  21,  22,  23.  to  take  away  their 
Ornaments  in  which  they  so  prided  them- 
selves, he  adds,  v.  24.  that  God  would  in- 
stead of  a  sweet  Smell  punish  them  with  a  Stink; 
or  (as  the  Wordf  seems  rather  to  import)  pD  t 
with  Rottenness :  So  it  was  understood  by 
MontanuSy  Piscator,  Junius,  and  Tremellius; 
and  so  its|  radix  (because  the  Word  itself  'p'pt^  X 
is  found  but  in  one  other  Place  throughout 
the  whole  Scripture)  is  rendered  Psalm  37.  5. 
Zech.  14.  12.  by  rmm,  (rnVw,  and  puEw,  in  the 
LXXn.  And  instead  of  a  Girdle,  there  shall 
he  a  Rent  (as  we  render  it);  or  (as  §the  Word  ^^"^^  § 
may  be  rather  understood)  a  rotting  or 
decaying    in    the    Parts   of   the    Body ;     for 


OF  THE  PESTILENCE. 

though  the  Word  itself  occurs  no  where  else 
in    the    whole    Scriptures,    yet    such    is    the 
Signification   of   its   radix   ^j^J    importing,    to 
break  or  shake  a  thing,  till  its  Parts  be  sepa- 
rated   one    from    another ;     in  which    Sense 
it  is  particularly  used,  Isaiah  24.  13.  expres- 
sing the  shaking  of  an  Olive-Tree,   in  order 
to     shake     off    his     Fruit:      Not     meaning 
(as   is    commonly   thought)    a  Rent  of    their 
Clothes,    but    the   breaking    and    consuming 
of  their  Bodies ;    which  it  is   very   probable 
must   proceed    from    Ulcers    and    corrupted 
Sores,    from   whence    proceed     Putrefactions 
and  Gangreens,   which  must  be  followed  by 
Excision  of  the   Flesh    or    Members   of   the 
Body,  God  punishing  them  in  the  Destruc- 
tion   of   that    Flesh    or    Body,    which    they 
had   so   inordinately  loved.     It  is  an  ingeni- 
ous  Conjecture   of  a  learned   Man,    that  by 
these  Expressions,  a  Stink,  and  a  Scab,  v.  17. 
and   24.    are   emphatically    meant    the    Lues 
Venerea ;  and  that  it  seems  peculiarly  adapted 
to   the   Word   p^   when   complicated  with    a 
Consumption,  which  is  thence  by  some  Wri- 
ters called  the  Venereal  Consumption ;  a  Dis- 
temper, which,  though  it  be  the  Natural  Effect 
and  Punishment  of  The  Lust  of  the  Flesh,  and 
therefore    may    be    thought     more     properly 
reducible   to   that   Head ;     yet  may  not  im- 
properly be  taken    notice   of   in   this   Place, 
as  being  by  its  noisomeness  and  filth  a  pro- 
per Punishment  of  The  Pride  of  Life.     This 
(as  the  Learned  too   well    knew)  is   at   this 
time  commonly  complicated  with  other  Dis- 
eases ;     as    Scurvy,     malignant     and     hectic 
Fevers,    Vertigo,   Falling-Sickness,    Catarrhs, 


OF  THE  PESTILENCE.  57 

Fluxes,  Ulcers,  and  other  cutaneous  Distem- 
pers. 

(3.)  The  Third  Instance  shall  be  that  of 
Antiochus  Epiphanes,  2  Mace.  9.  who  in  the 
Pride  of  his  Heart  (Aia  -rnv  i-m^  oIv^^uttov  ocXa- 
^oviocv  i.  e.  so  proud  was  he  above  the  Con- 
dition of  a  Man)  threatened  that  he  would 
come  to  Jerusalem,  and  make  it  a  common 
burying  Place  for  the  Jeivs;  but  v.  5.  The 
Lord  God  Almighty,  the  God  of  Israel,  smote 
him  with  a7i  invisible  and  incurable  Plague ;  for 
a  Pain  in  the  Eowels,  ivhich  was  remediless, 
came  upon  him,  arid  sore  Torments  of  the  inward 
Parts ;  so  that  he  ivho  a  little  before  thought  he 
might  comma7id  the  Waves  of  the  Sea,  and  lueigh 
the  high  Mountains  in  a  Halance,  was  noiv  cast 
on  the  Ground,  and  carried  in  a  Horse-litter ; 
showing  forth  unto  all,  the  manifest  Power  of 
God.  So  that  the  Worms  rose  up  out  of  the 
3ody  of  this  wicked  Man  ;  and  whilst  he  lived 
iti  Sorrow  and  Pain,  his  Flesh  fell  away,  and 
the filthiness  of  his  Smell  was  noisome  to  all  his 
Army:  And  the  Man  that  had  thought  a  little 
before,  that  he  could  reach  to  the  Stars  of 
Heaven,  no  Man  could  endure  to  carry  for  his 
intolerable  Stink,  2  Mace.  9.  5,  8,  9,  10,  11. 
The  consideration  whereof,  brought  him  at 
length  to  this  pertinent  Reflection,  v.  12.  It  is 
meet  to  be  subject  unto  God ;  and  that  a  Man 
that  is  Mortal,  should  not  proudly  think  of  him- 
self, as  if  he  were  God. 

(4.)  The  Fourth  Instance  shall  be  that 
of  Herod,  Acts  12.  haranguing  the  People, 
whereupon  they  cried  out.  That  it  was  the 
Voice  of  a  God,  and  not  of  a  Man ;  and 
immediately  the  Angel  of  the  Lord  smote  him^ 


58  OF  THE  PESTILENCE. 

V.  23.    because    he    prided   himself   in    their 
*  'av9'  uv   blasphemous    Flattery,*'    and    gave  not    God 
^K  ^hiiBjnv     ^/^g  Glori/  ;  and  being  eaten  up  of  Worms ^  he 
^»'|«v  rZ  0'?-^,^^g  ^^p  ^/^g  Ghost.     God  convincing  him  here- 
by of  his  Folly  and  Madness,  in  arrogating  to 
himself  the   Perfections   of  God,    who  could 
not  preserve  himself  from  being  a  Prey  to  such 
mean  Insects  as  the  Worms  that  arose  out  of 
his  own  Body. 

And  to  show  (Fifthly)  how  natural  a 
Connexion  there  is  between  this  Sin,  and 
this  Punishment ;  the  Prophet  Jeremiah,  Chap. 
9.  threatening  the  Jeivs  with  dreadful  Deso- 
lations by  the  means  of  a  Pestilence  (as  it 
appears  plain  to  me,  notwithstanding  what 
Grotius  and  others  have  said  to  the  contrary ; 
compare  v.  10,  12,  21,  22.  of  which  more  here- 
after. For  the  Mountains  ivill  I  take  up  a 
weeping  and  ivailing,  and  for  the  Inhabitants 
of  the  Wilderness  a  Lamentation,  because  they 
are  burnt  up,  so  that  none  can  pass  through 
them,  neither  can  Men  hear  the  Voice  of  the 
Cattle,  both  the  Fowl  of  the  Heavens,  and  the 
Eeast  are  fied,  they  are  gone.  V.  12.  Who  is 
the  wise  Man  thai  may  understand  this,  and 
ivho  is  he  to  whom  the  Mouth  of  the  Lord  has 
spoken,  that  he  may  declare  it,  for  what  the 
Land  perisheth,  and  is  burnt  up  like  a  Wilder- 
ness that  none  passeth  through?  And  v.  21. 
Death  is  come  up  into  our  Windows,  and  is  en- 
tered into  our  Palaces,  to  cut  off  the  Children 
from  without,  and  the  young  Men  from  the 
Streets.  V.  22.  Speak,  thussaith  the  Lord,  even 
the  Carcasses  of  Men  shall  fall  as  Dung  upon  the 
open  Fields,  and  as  the  handfid  after  the  Harvest- 
man,  and  none  shall  gather  them.)    The  Prophet, 


OF  THE  PESTILENCE.  69 

I  say,  after  he  had  threatened  them  with  the 
dreadful  Effects  of  this  Pestilence,  he  comes, 
V.  23  and  24.  as  it  were,  to  point  out  the 
Cause  of  it,  and  to  show  them  how  they  should 
escape  it  Thus  saith  the  Lord,  let  7iot  the 
tvise  Mmi  glory  in  his  Wisdom,  Jior  let  the 
mighty  Man  glory  in  his  Might,  let  not  the  rich 
Man  glory  in  his  Riches.  But  let  him  that 
glorieth,  glory  in  this,  that  he  understandeth  and 
knoweth  me,  ^c.  Plainly  intimating',  that  as 
their  excessive  Pride  and  Self-love  had  brought 
those  Calamities  upon  them,  so  there  was  no 
ways  to  escape  them,  but  by  Repentance,  Self- 
denial,  and  Humility. 

§  6.    The    Reader    will,    I    hope,    pardon     The  mate- 
my  dwelling  longer  than   ordinary  upon  the  »*«^  <'»'  *"- 
next    Head,     considerino^    that    the    present  ^Jj^'""*^"'^^ 

•  •        .       (Joiiscs  of 

commonness  of  the  Distemper,  may  justify  ^/j^^g  Dig- 
my  being  more  particular  upon  the  com-  tempers. 
mon  and  ordinary  Causes  of  all  infectious 
and  pestilential  Diseases ;  which  may,  in 
general,  be  reduced  to  these  two:  1.  The 
evil  Influences  of  the  heavenly  Bodies,  and 
the  Irregularities  of  Seasons.  2.  Noxious 
and  hurtful  Exhalations  from  the  Body  of 
the  Earth.  The  former  sort  were  called 
by  the  Greeks  NoVot  '"EinhiJ^ixoi,  as  being  of  a 
more  universal  Contagion  than  the  other ; 
as  we  may  conceive  the  Influences  darted 
from  those  Bodies,  (specially  when  their 
Positions  are  so,  as  that  many  of  them  con- 
cur in  the  same  Influences  and  Operations) 
to  be  of  a  greater  and  more  extensive  Force, 
than  any  Halitus,  or  Vapours,  arising  from 
the  Earth ;  because  the  Heat  of  these  hea- 
venly Bodies,  which  is  the  Medium  whereby 


r 


60  OF  THE  PESTILENCE. 

they  are  generally  supposed  to  act,  must 
affect  our  Air  and  Atmosphere  much  more 
powerfully  by  its  direct  darting  upon  us, 
than  those  Exhalations  which  arise  from 
the  Earth,  and  which  a  very  moderate  de- 
gree of  Heat  will  easily  extract;  and  that 
too,  after  it  is  weakened  by  Reflexion,  can 
be  supposed  to  do:  Supposing  still,  that 
there  is  not  generally  a  Concurrence  of 
both  these  Causes;  which,  notwithstand- 
ing what  has  been  said  to  justify  this  Dis- 
tinction, I  am  very  inclinable  to  believe.  The 
second  sort  were  called  simply,  Morhi  Lethales 
and  Pestes ;  as  being,  though  fatal  to  the  Per- 
sons infected,  yet  not  accounted  so  universally 
Contagious  as  the  other. 

(1.)  As  to  the  First  of  these  Causes, 
viz.  The  Influences  of  the  heavenly  Bodies, 
that  they  do  act  upon  us,  is  indisputable; 
but  what  particular  Bodies  these  are  that 
have  this  Power,  and  by  what  Virtues  or 
Qualities,  or  through  what  Mediums  they  act, 
is  not  so  easy  to  determine :  Whether  it  be 
some  secret  innate  Power;  or,  as  the  Ari- 
stotelians call  it,  by  their  substantial  Forms : 
Whether  they  act  by  Effluviums,  or  some 
more  subtle  and  powerful  Energy ;  or,  whe- 
ther they  vary  their  Influences  with  their 
Aspects  and  Positions  (as  the  Crisis  of  some 
Distempers  depends  upon  the  Change  or 
Full  of  the  Moon.)  Or,  2dly,  Whether  they 
do  not  act  simply  by  their  Heat,  which  may 
at  some  times  be  more  Intense,  by  a  more 
strong  and  vigorous  Fomentation  of  the 
subtle  Fire  of  which  they  are  composed, 
which   may   also   depend   upon   other   secret 


OF  THE  PESTILENCE.  61 

and  unknown  Causes,  Natural  or  Superna- 
tural. These  (I  say)  are  Questions  that 
cannot  be  fully  answered,  till  this  Veil  of 
Darkness,  that  separates  betwixt  us  and 
pure  Nature,  shall  be  fully  taken  away. 
But  the  most  common  and  plausible  Opi- 
nion is,  that  of  the  Planets,  only  some 
have  this  Power,  which  they  never  exert, 
but  in  some  particular  Positions  or  Conjunc- 
tions ;  and  that  Comets  also  (which,  con- 
trary to  the  common  Opinion,  are  sup- 
posed to  be  solid  fiery  Bodies  in  an  eccen- 
tric Motion,  not  Exhalations  only)  have 
this  Power  in  a  more  eminent  Degree ; 
as  also  fiery  Meteors  of  all  sorts :  That  all 
these  act  by  subtle  Effiuviums^  which  first  of 
all  affect  our  Air,  and  thereby  corrupt  not 
only  our  Bodies  immediately,  but  also  all 
those  Plants  and  Bodies  that  we  feed  upon ; 
which  Particles,  or  EJfluviums,  are  supposed 
to  be  hot  in  such  a  Degree,  as  to  destroy 
the  natural  Temperature  of  our  Bodies.  Thus 
(Edipus  in  Seneca,  lamenting  the  sad  Pesti- 
lence that  was  at  Thebes. 

Ignes  auget  cBstiferi  canis  (Edip. 


Titan,  Leonis  terga  Nemcei  premens  ^^*'  '•  ^'  ^^» 

Deseruit  amnes  humor  atque  herhas  calor, 

Denegat  Jructum  Ceres 

Adulta,  et  altisjiava  cum  spicis  cremat. 

With  many  other  Places  to  the  same  Pur- 
pose in  that  Tragedy.  These  Influences  of 
the  heavenly  Bodies,  as  producing  Diseases 
and  Distempers  upon  Mankind,  are  largely 
attested  both  by  the  Ancients  and  Moderns. 


62  OF  THE  PESTILENCE. 

Hippocrates,  de  Flatibus,  p.  197.  Edit.  Focsii, 
observes,  that  most  of  the  Distempers  in- 
cident to  Mankind,  did  arise  from  the  Air 
we  breathe ;  and  that,  therefore,  all  sudden 
and  violent  Changes  in  it  were  dangerous. 
Upon  which  Account  the  latter  Physicians 
acknowledge,  that  the  Solstices,  especially 
the  Summer ;  and  the  Equinoctials,  espe- 
cially the  Autumnal,  were  very  dangerous 
Seasons.  And  the  great  Sydenham  himself, 
Prcefat.  ad  Opera,  Edit.  Lond.  1685.  confesses 
that  Quartan  Agues  are  almost  peculiar  to 
the  latter.  That  great  Man  owns  further, 
that  Epidemical  Distempers,  and  the  Pes- 
tilence itself,  do  proceed  from  a  corrupt 
and  poisonous  Disposition  of  the  Air,  but 
such  as  is  secret  and  unaccountable ;  ac- 
knowledging, that  they  are  very  different 
in  their  Nature  and  Properties,  according 
to  the  different  Constitution  of  Air;  and 
that  besides  those  which  manifestly  depend 
upon  the  Qualities  of  the  Year,  there  are 
some  whose  Cause  is  perfectly  hidden  and 
unknown;  and  others  that  are  perfectly  re- 
gular and  returning  every  Year.  Many  and 
excellent  Reasons  may  be  seen  at  large  in 
Dr.  Goad's  Astro-meteorologia  Sana,  Cap.  de 
Morb.  Epidem.  p.  13.3,  4,  5,  6.  built  upon  the 
Authority  of  Aristotle,  Hippocrates,  Ptolemy, 
Kepler,  6fc.  showing  also  what  Positions  of 
the  heavenly  Bodies  they  are  that  produce 
* Raymun- these  pestilential  Dispositions.  And  an* 
us- vinano.  gjjjjjjgjjl-  physician,  who  wrote  an  histori- 
cal Account  of  Four  several  Pestilences  that 
had  been  in  his  time,  observes,  that  just 
before    the     first,     which    happened    in    the 


OF  THE  PESTILENCE. 

Year  1345,  there  was  a  Conjunction  of  Sa- 
turn.  Mars,  and  Jupiter,  in  the  19th  Degree 
oi Aquarius,  in  the  Month  of  March;  which 
Conjunction  (says  he)  was  always  looked 
upon  to  be  of  fatal  Consequence  to  Man- 
kind ;  and  accordingly  he  says,  it  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  strange  Alteration  in  the  Air, 
which  produced  a  most  grievous  Pestilence, 
which  lasted  a  long  while  by  fits ;  stopping 
sometimes  upon  a  brisk  Frost,  or  refreshing 
Shower  of  Rain ;  but  breaking  out  afresh 
upon  very  little  Occasion  :  Such  as  an 
Eclipse  of  the  Sun,  the  rising  of  a  Meteor, 
or  such  like.  The  second  happened  in  the 
Year  1361,  just  before  which  Saturn  and 
Mars  were  in  such  an  Opposition,  as  was 
foretold  would  be  fatal  to  the  World.  The 
third  happened  in  the  Year  1373,  when 
Mars  and  Jupiter  were  in  Conjunction.  The 
fourth  happened  in  the  Year  1382,  before 
which  31ars  and  Jiipiter  were  in  Opposition. 
And  the  same  Year  there  appeared  a  dread- 
ful Comet,  seeming  to  be  Twenty  Ells 
in  Length.  The  Year  following,  for  two 
Months  together,  viz.  August  and  September, 
there  flew  about  in  the  Air,  a  fiery  Body 
which  the  Astronomers  call  Draco,  of  a  very 
great  Length.  The  Stars  (as  we  call  it) 
shot  frequently,  the  Sky  was  of  a  deep  Red, 
or  Purple  Colour,  with  a  very  great  Chasm, 
(or  Vorago,  as  he  calls  it)  appearing  in 
one  part.  AH  these  were  followed  by  Abor- 
tions in  Women ;  Pains  in  the  Bladder, 
Sides,  and  Privy  Parts ;  especially  in  the 
Country  which  lay  under  his  Tail,  or  un- 
der those   Signs  which  were  aflfected  by  it, 


64  OF  THE  PESTILENCE. 

viz.  Westward  and  Northward.  The  Blood 
and  Choler  began  to  ferment  violently,  and 
corrupt.  The  whole  Year  was  exceeding 
Dry  and  Hot,  and  all  People  grew  Melan- 
choly ;  which  Hippocrates  says,  always  fol- 
low these  Appearances,  Aphor.  7.  lih.  2. 
Upon  this  followed  the  Pestilence,  which 
breaking  out  first  at  Avignon  in  France,  spread 
itself  over  all  that  Country,  Switzerlafid, 
Italy,  Greece,  Germany,  Britain,  Spain,  and 
Portugal:  In  all  these  Countries,  more  or 
less,  according  as  they  were  more  or  less 
disposed  to  receive  it.  Thus  far  that  learn- 
ed Physician ;  who,  through  the  whole  Ac- 
count, seems  to  insinuate,  that  all  these 
Maladies  and  Distempers  were  principally 
owing  to  these  Appearances  in  the  Hea- 
vens, as  their  immediate  Causes.  Lastly, 
This  Doctrine  hath  received  no  small  Con- 
firmation, by  the  learned  Dr.  Mead's  excel- 
lent Essay,  De  infiuxu  Solis  et  LuncB,  who 
begins  his  Book  with  this  Assertion,  That 
all  the  Ancients  did  believe,  that  the  rise 
and  progress  of  some  Distempers  did  de- 
pend upon  the  Influence  of  the  Moon : 
And  others  (says  he)  they  have  affirmed 
to  be  entirely  owing  to  the  Influences  of 
the  Stars:  And  the  earliest  Accounts  we 
have  of  Epidemical  Diseases,  talk  largely 
of  the  Motions  and  Influences  of  the  hea- 
venly Bodies ;  therefore  (as  he  goes  on) 
Hippocrates,  in  his  Epistle  to  his  Son  Thes- 
salus,  advises  him  to  apply  himself  principally 
to  the  Study  of  Arithmetic  and  Geometry ; 
because  in  Distempers  much  depends  upon 
the  rising  and  setting  of  the  heavenly  Bodies. 


OF  THE  PESTILENCE. 

The  Truth  of  which  Position  of  Hippocrates, 
this  learned  Gentleman  doth  largely  confirm 
in  the  progress  of  his  Book,  by  many  excel- 
lent Reasons,  founded  upon  clear  Observation 
and  Experience. 

(2.)  The  Second  general  Cause  is,  nox- 
ious Exhalations  from  the  Earth,  which  may 
proceed  from  various  Causes,  such  as  are  in 
some  particular  Places ;  stinking  Marshes, 
or  standing  Waters ;  the  Smells  of  Sinks, 
or  common  Sewers ;  the  Stink  of  dead  Bo- 
dies unburied  ;  Earthquakes,  or  fiery  Erup- 
tions from  the  Body  of  the  Earth.  A  re- 
markable Instance  of  Diseases  proceeding 
from  both  these  Causes,  is  that  mentioned 
by  the  learned  Dr.  Geo.  JBaglivi,  in  his  Ap- 
pendix to  his  Practice  of  Physic ;  which 
was  an  Apoplexy,  that  in  the  Year  1694 
and  1695,  was  almost  Epidemical  at  Rome, 
and  all  over  Italy ;  which  he  imputes  first 
and  principally  to  the  unusual  Constitution 
of  the  Weather.  The  Summer  in  1693  was 
extreme  hot  and  scorching,  which  was  fol- 
lowed by  nipping  cold  Weather  in  the  be- 
ginning of  1694 ;  and,  contrary  to  the  Cus- 
tom of  Italy,  with  a  rigid  Frost,  Snow,  and 
Ice.  The  Campania  di  Roma  and  Piiglia, 
which  are  seldom  subject  to  Snow,  were  then 
covered  with  it  to  the  height  of  a  Cubit.  The 
Summer  after  that  was  much  hotter  than 
the  former;  insomuch  that  for  five  Months 
together  there  was  no  Rain.  About  the 
beginning  of  October,  it  began  to  be  wet 
Weather ;  and  continued  such,  with  a  south- 
erly Wind,  to  April  1695,  to  such  a  de- 
gree,  that   so   much    Rain   was  not    seen   to 

F 


06  OF  THE  PESTILENCE. 

fall  at  one  time  within  the  Memory  of  Man. 
After    fifteen    Days    of    a    continued    Rain, 
perhaps   they  had   two  Days  clear  Weather, 
which  were  followed  by  heavier  Rains  than 
what    went    before.      The    second    Cause    to 
which    he    imputes     it,    was    the    malignant 
Steams   raised    by   so    many   Earthquakes    as 
Jtali/  had    felt  since   the   Year    1687,  to  the 
Year  1695,  in  which  he  wrote.     And  Seneca, 
Nat.    Qucest.  cap.   27.    says,    That  such   sub- 
terraneous   Vapours     do    cause    Apoplexies. 
One  Ex|)ression  more  of  his  I   cannot  omit ; 
which,   though  impertinent  to  the  immediate 
Design    of    this    Quotation,    yet    shows    the 
Author's   Thoughts   not   much   different  from 
mine.     '  Perhaps,'  says  he,  '  some  part  of  the 

*  Epidemical  Illness  was   owing  to   the  uni- 

*  versal  Grief  and  domestic  Care  occasioned 
'  by  such  calamitous  Times.'  All  Europe  be- 
ing at  the  same  time  engaged  in  a  sharp  War, 
the  like  of  which  has  scarce  been  heard  ever 
since  the  Foundation  of  the  Universe  ivas  laid; 
so  many  Cities  rased  and  burnt ;  so  many 
Thousands  of  Men  slain ;  all  Commerce  dis- 
turbed, and  the  Avenues  of  Peace  blocked  up, 
that  the  strongest  Hearts  can  scarce  bear  the 
Thoughts  of  it. 

That  there  ^  7.  Now  it  is  SO  highly  probable,  that 
shall  be  a  in  the  last  Days  there  shall  be  a  Concur- 
Comurrenct  ^.^^^^^  ^^  ^]j  ^j^^^^  Causes.     As  to  the  supe- 

the  last         ^'i^^    Causes,    which    are    the    heavenly    In- 
Days.  fluences,   by    which  we   understand  not  only 

the  Operations  of  the  Planets  or  fixed 
Stars,  but  also  all  Appearances  of  Meteors, 
Comets,  &c.  we  have  great  Reasons  to  ex- 
pect them.     Thus  the  Prophet  Isaiah,  Chap. 


OF  THE  PESTILENCE.  67 

.14.  4.  tells  us,  that  in  the  Day  of  the  Lord's 
Vengeance,  in  the  Year  of  his  Recompen- 
ses, for  the  Controversy  of  Sion,  v.  8.  that 
all  the  Host  of  Heaven  shall*  he  dissolved^  ^pDJ  * 
rot.m(Tovroi,i  say  the  LXXII,  which  I  have  ex- 
plained before,  to  signify  a  decay  or  breaking 
away  of  the  Parts  of  any  Body  ;  whereby  per- 
haps may  be  signified,  that  many  other  of 
the  heavenly  Bodies  shall  suffer  a  Dissolu- 
tion (perhaps  by  Fire)  like  our  Earth.  And 
the  Heaven  shall  he  rolled  together  as  a  Scroll^ 
and  all  their  Host  {iravltx.  "Arpa,  say  the  LXXII) 
shall  fall  doivn  as  the  Leaf  falleth  from  the 
Vine,  and  as  a  falling  Fig  from  the  Fig-tree. 
Whereby  possibly  may  be  understood,  that 
those  Bodies  thus  on  fire,  may  be  torn  from 
their  proper  Centres,  and  have  an  eccentric 
indeterminate  Motion,  through  the  vast  j3^ther 
in  which  they  move.  The  same  Thing  is  fore- 
told also  by  our  Blessed  Lord,  Matthew 
24.  29.  Immediately  after  the  Tribulation  of 
those  Days  shall  the  Suti  he  darkened,  and  the 
Moon  shall  not  give  her  light,  and  the  Stars 
shall  fall  from  Heaven,  and  the  Poivers  of  the 
Heavens  shall  he  shaken.  Where,  indeed,  it 
must  be  confessed,  that  these  Appearances  are 
to  be  after  the  Afflictions  of  these  Days  of 
which  we  are  treating,  i.  e.  as  to  its  Fulness, 
as  I  understand  it;  but  that  there  shall  be 
some preludia  or  forerunning  Appearances  long 
before,  is  not  at  all  disagreeable  to  the  Ana- 
logy of  Things ;  and  these  possibly  may  be 
what  St.  Luke,  Chap.  21.  v.  11.  caWs  fearful 
Sights  and  great  Signs  in  Heaven :  And  v.  25. 
Signs  ifi  the  Stars;  when  Mens  Hearts  shall 
fail  them  for  fear,  and  for  looking  after  those 

F  2 


OF  THE  PESTILENCE. 

things  that  are  coming  upon  the  Earth,  v.  2G, 
And  these  may  serve  to  scatter  the  many  Ob- 
jections that  some  Commentators  have  raised 
to  themselves,  about  the  falling  of  the  Stars, 
who  could  not  imagine  whither  they  should 
fall,  understanding  as  if  they  were  to  fall 
upon  our  Earth,  which  they  could  not  re- 
concile with  their  Philosophy,  as  knowing 
some  of  the  Planets,  and  most  of  the  fixed 
Stars,  to  be  vastly  larger  than  our  Earth. 
But  why  may  they  not  be  imagined  to 
swim,  or  fly  to  and  fro,  in  that  infinite 
Abyss  or  Space  in  which  they  have  hitherto 
moved  more  regularly?  Which  may  pos- 
sibly be  proved  to  be  necessary  upon  some 
natural  Accounts,  and  also  for  wise  Ends 
and  Reasons  of  Providence.  And  we  know 
that  it  is  thought  probable  by  some  of  our 
modern  Theorists,  that  when  our  Earth 
shall  be  gradually  prepared  and  disposed  for 
a  Conflagration,  one  of  those  Stars  or  Co- 
mets shall  finish  the  Work,  by  flying  through 
its  Vortex,  and  so  setting  it  on  fire :  But 
however  that  may  be,  this  is  generally  be- 
lieved, that  there  will  be  more  frequent 
Appearances  of  Comets  and  other  fiery  Bo- 
dies at  that  time,  than  ever  has  been : 
Which  must  needs  have  a  mighty  Influence 
upon  us,  by  those  prodigious  Degrees  of 
Heat  which  they  must  produce  in  our  Air; 
thereby  destroying  its  Humidity,  which  is 
the  principal  Instrument  of  Vegetation,  and 
which  by  consequence  must  produce  in  us 
a  great  Variety  of  Distempers.  And  for 
the  inferior  Causes,  hot  and  dry  Exhala- 
tions  from    the    Earth,    they   must   certainly 


OF  THE  PESTILENCE,  69 

be  produced  first  by  the  afore-mentioned 
Phenomenas,  and  also  by  the  gradual  Ap- 
proaches of  the  central  Fire  in  the  Earth 
to  the  Superficies,  in  order  to  dispose  it  for 
a  Conflagration,  which  is  supposed  by  most 
of  the  modern  Writers  upon  that  Subject ; 
and  which,  by  how  much  the  nearer  it  ap- 
proaches, though  perhaps  at  a  considerable 
distance,  must  drive  out  a  yet  greater  Quan- 
tity of  Vapours ;  all  w  hich  must  partake 
deeply  of  the  Nature  of  the  Element,  which 
by  insinuating  itself  into  the  Pores  of  the 
Earth,  hath  forced  them  upwards. 

§  8.    But   even    in    this    Desolation    shall     Who  they 
the   Mercy  of  God  interpose  to  preserve  \^\^^^^th(,tsfmll 
^  •*!  r  1  c'  X  1        1       •  1    *i  I    ^'^ccpe  this 

laithiul  (Servants,   who  having  passed   through  e^h^ 

the  Cross,  are  dead  to  this  animal  Life,  and 
to  the  Pleasures  of  it,  living  in  constant 
Humility,  Abstraction,  and  Mortification ; 
not  priding  themselves  in  their  own  fancied 
Perfections,  whether  of  the  Body  or  Mind, 
but  in  deep  Simplicity,  sacrificing  all  that 
they  have  or  are,  to  that  God  that  made 
them,  and  who  has  the  only  Right  to  their 
Love  and  Service.  These,  as  being  living 
Members  of  the  mystical  Body  of  Christ, 
and  having  by  Faith  triumphed  over  the 
Spirit  of  this  World,  and  the  Corruptions 
of  Nature,  shall  be  in  a  State  of  Security 
an€l  Peace.  These,  as  true  Denizens  and 
Inhabitants  of  the  Spiritual  Kingdom  of 
Mount  Sion,  though  conversing  visibly  in  Bo- 
dies of  Flesh,  shall  be  really  and  truly  in- 
stated in  all  tlie  Privileges  and  Immunities 
of  that  State,  and  shall  no  longer  be  subject 
to   the   Powers   and   evil   Influences    of    this 


70  OF  THE  PESTILENCE. 

*  Psalm  90,  Astral  World  or  Principle.     *  Thei/  shall  dwell 
under  the  Defence  of  the  Most  High,  and  shall 
abide  under  the  Shadow  of  the  Almighty ;  he 
shall  deliver  them  from  the  noisome  Pestilence,  he 
shall  defend  them  under  his  Wings  and  they  shall 
he  safe  under  his  Feathers,  so  that  they  shall  not 
be  afraid  for  the  Terror  by  Night,  nor  for  the 
Arrow  that  flieth  by  Hay,  nor  for  the  Pesti- 
lence that  walketh  in  Jjarkness,  nor  for  the  He- 
struction  that  wasteth  at  Noon-day.     A  Thou- 
sand shall  fall  at  their  side,  and  Ten  Thousands 
at  their  right-hand,  but  it  shall  not  come  nigh 
them,  only  with  their  Eyes  they  shall  behold  and 
see    the   Reivard  of  the    Wicked,   but    as    for 
themselves   there   shall  no    Evil  befall    them, 
neither  shall  any  Plague  come  nigh  their  Hwel- 
lings,  for  the  Lord  has  set  his  Love  upon  them, 
therefore  ivill  he  deliver  them,   he  tvill  satisfy 
them  with  long  Life,  a?id  show  them  his  Sal- 
vation ;    i.  e.    They  shall   survive  the  Afflic- 
tions  of  those  Days,   and  come  forth  trium- 
phantly  in   the   Glories    and    Powers  of  the 
New  World.     /  have  ivaited  for  thy  Salva- 
tion, O  God,  Genesis  49.  ]  8.     Behold  the  Lord 
has  proclaimed  unto  the   End  of  the    World, 
say  ye  to  the  Haughter  of  Sion,  Behold  thy  Sal- 
vation Cometh,  behold  his  Reward  is  with  him, 
and  his  Work  before  him,  Isaiah  62.  11.  Rejoice 
greatly,  O  Haughter  of  Sion ;  Shout,  O  Daugh- 
ter of  Jerusalem:  Behold  thy  King  comet  h  unto 
thee,    he    is  Just  and  having   Salvation,   SfC. 
Zech.  9.  9.     And  as  the  Mercies  of  God  are 
over  all  his  Works,    and  his  Judgments  are 
sent,  not  for  the  Destruction  but  Reformation 
of  Mankind,  so  shall  it  be  manifested  towards 
all  those  who  are  in   the  Beginnings   of  the 


OF  THE  PESTILENCE. 

New  Birth,  though  with  much  Weakness 
and  Infirmity.  He  will  not  quench  the 
smoking-  Flax,  nor  break  the  bruised 
Reed ;  and  though  they  may  suffer  with 
the  World,  yet  they  shall  not  be  condem- 
ned with  the  World  ;  their  Sufferings  shall 
only  serve  to  purify  them.  And  as  for 
others,  who  are  yet  in  the  Spirit  of  this 
World,  and  Strangers  to  the  Life  of  God  ; 
even  they  also,  as  they  shall  be  found  obe- 
dient to  the  Calls  and  Chastisements  of  the 
Divine  Mercy,  shall  be  admitted  into  this 
State  of  Blessed  Security,  whose  Gates 
stand  open  Day  and  Night  to  receive  all 
those  that  are  willing  to  enter  in  through 
the  Path  and  Way  of  the  Cross.  I  shall 
conclude  this  Part,  with  that  Rabbinical 
Observation  in  Sepher  Abkath  Rokel,  Part  I. 
Lib.  i.  upon  the  Second  Sign,  which  is 
the  Pestilence.  '  Here  (says  he)  you  will 
'  ask,  How  shall  the  Righteous  be  preser- 
*  ved  in  this  terrible  Pestilence  ?  He  an- 
swers, That  '  God  shall  provide  them  a 
'  Remedy  against  this  Heat,  which  was 
'  foretold  by  the  Prophet,  Malac.  4.  2.  But 
'  to  you  that  fear  my  Name,  shall  the  Sun  of 
'  Riohteousness  arise  with  Healing  i7i  his 
'  Wings'  Which  Place  plainly  refers  to  the 
last  Times :  (see  the  whole  Chapter) :  And 
the  Rising  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness 
with  Healing  in  his  Wings,  doth  seem  to 
express  the  sublime  state  of  those,  who 
being  regenerated  in  the  Spirit  of  Jesiis 
Christ,  the  true  Son  of  Righteousness,  are 
secure   and    safe  from   all    evil    Influences  of 


72  OF  THE  PESTILENCE. 

the  Astral  World,  represented  by  the  Sun, 
the  great  Luminary  of  our  Vortex,  and 
the  Parent  and  Fountain  of  Natural  Heat. 
O  may  that  Sun  of  Righteousness  be  our 
Protection  and  Defence  in  that  evil  Day, 
that  we  may  be  thought  worthy  to  escape  it. 


PART  III. 

OF  THE  FAMINE. 


Amos  4.  7.  /  have  ivithholden  the  Rain  from 
you,  when  there  is  yet  three  3Ionths  to  the 
Harvest,  and  I  caused  it  to  rain  upon  one  City, 
and  caused  it  not  to  rain  upon  another  City : 
One  piece  was  rained  upon,  and  the  piece  where- 
upon it  rained  not  withered. 

V.  9.  I  have  smitten  you  ivith  Blastijig  a7id  Mil-    *  Began  to 
dew :  when  iiour  Gardens,  and  Vineiiards,  and  1^^  '  ^'  ^^^ 

ri.         ^  ,  A,.  V  7*  Blossoms,  or 

your  Tig-trees,  and  your  (Jtive-trees  increased,^  Fruit  more 
the  Palmer-worm  devoured  them.  properly. 

§  1.   ^  I  ^HE    next    Instance    of    Judgment,  The  Famine 
JL     which    God    will    bring    upon    the  ^^^^^  *^  '^^ 
impenitent  World    in    the   latter   Days,    will  ^""//^Tsf 
be   the   Famine ;     which    (according    to   our  of  the  Flesh. 
Blessed    Lord's    Prediction,    Matthew  24.  7. 
Mark    13.    8.)     shall    be    one    of   the    great 
Afflictions  of  those  Days,  and  which  seems 
as   if  it   were   peculiarly  intended  to  punish 
the  last  great  Branch  of  Sin,  the  Lust  of  the 
Flesh:    Which   is   such   a   degree  of  brutish 
Degeneracy,    as   to   set  a   Man   almost  upon 
the  Level  with  the  Beasts  that  perish ;    and 
those   Persons   who   are  in    Captivity  to   this 
Sin,   are  not  only  Strangers  to  the  Life  and 
Light  of  God,  but  are  so  miserably  blinded, 
as  not  to  be  able  to  receive  the  dim  Light 
of    Reason     itself,     which     (if    they    would 


74  OF  THE  FA3IINE. 

but  open  their  Eyes)  would  reprove  and 
condemn  those  beastly  and  luxurious  Plea- 
sures, which  they  so  inconsiderately  indulge 
themselves  in.  These  are  they  that  put  far 
aivay  to  the  evil  Day^  and  cause  the  Seat  of 
Violence  to  come  near ;  They  lie  upon  JBeds  of 
Ivory,  and  stretch  themselves  upon  Couches,  and 
eat  the  Lambs  out  of  the  Flock,  and  the  Calves 
out  of  the  midst  of  the  Stall ;  they  chaunt  to  the 
sound  of  the  Viol,  and  invent  to  themselves  In- 
struments of  Music ;  They  drink  Wine  out  of 
Boivls,  and  anoint  themselves  ivith  the  chief 
Ointments,  Amos  the  6th,  ?;.  34,  56.  They  rise 
up  early  in  the  Morning  that  they  mayfolloio 
strong  Drink,  and  continue  until  Night,  till 
Wine  inflame  them ;  and  the  Harp,  and  the  Viol, 
and  the  Pipe,  and  Wine  aix  in  their  Feasts, 
Isaiah  5.  11,12.  Hut  they  regard  viot  the  Works 
of  the  Lord,  nor  the  Operation  of  his  Hands : 
Nay,  though  the  Hand  of  God  be  lifted  up  over 
them  they  ivill  not  see,  Isaiah  26.  1 1 .  But  in 
their  impetuous  Pursuit  of  new  Pleasures  and 
fresh  Enjoyments,  they  despise  and  overlook 
all  manner  of  Obligations,  whether  of  Civility 
or  Religion  ;  and  rather  than  want  what  they 
desire,  they  will  stick  at  no  manner  of  Vio- 
lence or  Injustice.  They  will  even  remove 
Land-marks,  and  violently  drive  away  the  Flocks 
of  the  Poor,  and  feed  thereof;  They  drive  away 
the  Ass  of  the  Fatherless,  and  take  the  Widow's 
Ox  for  a  Pledge ;  They  turn  the  Needy  out 
of  the  way,  and  make  the  Poor  of  the  Earth 
hide  themselves  together ;  They  cause  the  Naked 
to  lodge  ivithout  Clothing,  that  they  have  7io 
Covering  in  the  cold ;  They  pluck  the  Fatherless 
from  the  Ureas t,  and  take  a  Pledge  of  the  Poor; 


OF  THE  FAMINE.  75 

They  cause  him  to  go  Naked,  and  take  away  the 
Sheaf  from  the  Hungry,  who  though  they  make 
Oil  within  their  Walls,  and  tread  their  Wine- 
presses, yet  are  forced  to  siiffer  Thirst,  Job  24. 
They  ivill  not  give  Water  to  the  Weary  to  drink, 
and  they  ivithhold  J3read  from  the  Hungry ; 
They  send  the  Widoivs  away  empty,  and  break 
the  Arms  of  the  Fatherless.  Whilst  themselves 
are  mighty  and  possess  the  Earth,  Job  2*2.  Their 
Seed  is  established  in  their  sight,  and  their  Houses 
aj'e  safe  from  fear,  neither  is  the  Mod  of  God 
upon  them  ;  They  send  forth  their  little  Ones  like 
a  Flock,  and  their  Children  dance;  They  take  the 
Timbrel  and  Harp,  and  rejoice  at  the  sound  of 
the  Organ,  Job  21.  They  are  not  in  Troidile 
like  other  Folks,  neither  are  they  plagued  like 
other  Men;  their  Eyes  stand  out  with  fatness, 
and  they  have  more  than  Heart  can  wish  ;  These 
are  they  that  prosper  in  the  World,  and  these 
have  Riches  in  abundance.  Psalm  73. 

"§  2.  These  seem  to  me  to  be  the  Persons     This 
pointed   at  by  the  Holy  Spirit,   as  eminently  ^.'''^"'^^''/ 
and  peculiarly  comprehended  under  this  ^^^^^  JarUmlarly 
Branch  of  Sin,   The  Lust  of  the  Flesh.     Now  considered. 
this    Sin   may   be    considered    divers    ways ; 
I.  In   General ;    as   it   consists   in    a    perfect 
Opposition    to    that    Mortification    and    Ab- 
stinence,   so     earnestly    recommended     both 
by  the  Examples  and  Precepts  of  our  Bles- 
sed Lord  and  all  his  faithful  Followers,  and 
so  it  expresses  a  fixed  Resolution,  or  rather 
a  blind  Impetus  or  Inclination  to  all  sorts  of 
Pleasure,    though    never   so   brutish,    or   op- 
posite to  the  Purity  and  Dignity  of  Human 
Nature,    or   the  Will   of  God :     And   at  the 
same    time    (which     is    necessarily    implied) 


76  OF  THE  FAMINE. 

a  fixed  Aversion  to  all  sorts  of  Crosses  and 
Sufferings,     though     never    so    Salutary,     or 
for    never    so     good    Reasons,    yea,    though 
it   were  to  gain  an  infinity  of  Happiness   in 
Reversion;    but,  like  the  Beasts  that  perish, 
the   Man   of    Pleasure    is   aflfected   with   no- 
thing   but   what  can   for  the    present   gratify 
the    furious    Appetites    of  the    Animal   Life, 
to    which    he    is    intimately    wedded ;     that 
being  the   only   Principle   that    is    awakened 
in   him,    and   in  which   he  may   be  properly 
said   to   be    swallowed    up,      II.  It   may    be 
considered    in    its    several    Branches,    as    it 
may    be    diversified    in    the    Gratification    of 
each    particular    Sense ;    such    are   the  grati- 
fying   the    Palate   with    delicious   and    luxu- 
rious Meats  and  Drinks,   solely  for  the  sake 
of  Pleasure;    the   Ear  with  Jovial   Songs  or 
Dissolute   Tunes,    which   can    have  no  other 
Effect,   than  to   stir  up  and    soothe  the  Ani- 
mal   Inclinations,    &c.      And    so    of    others, 
even   those   which    are   particularly  and    em- 
phatically called  The  Lusts  of  the  Flesh.     III. 
It  may  be  also  considered  in  its  Efiects  and 
Consequences ;    such   as   are   the  strengthen- 
ing    our     Self-love,     the     great     Root     and 
Fountain    of    Iniquity    in    us,    and    the    De- 
struction   of    Christian     Charity ;      inasmuch 
as   this    prompts    a    Man    to    all    manner   of 
Violence,     in     order    to     obtain    whatsoever 
his   Soul  lusteth    after;     whether   his    Neigh- 
bours Wife,  Goods  or  Estate,   if  he  can  but 
do   it    securely  from    the    Judgment    of   this 
World  ;    and   at  the  same  time   hardens   his 
Heart    against  the    Afflictions   of    his  _  needy 
Brother,    whom    he    neglects    and    despises, 


OF  THE  FAMINE.  77 

lest  it  should  disturb  his  Rest,  or  sour  liis 
Enjoyments;  or  because  he  is  sure  he  shall 
get  nothing  by  him.  Under  this  Head 
may  also  be  comprehended  that  Sin  of 
theirs,  who  being  Strangers  to  tlie  Life  of 
Faith,  believe  that  Man  can  live  no  other 
way  than  by  Bread  alone,  notwithstanding 
what  the  Scriptures  have  told  us,  Dent.  8.  3. 
JSIatthew  4.  4.  Evke  4.  4.  that  Man  doth  not 
live  hy  Bread  alone,  but  by  every  JVord  that 
proceedeth  out  of  the  31outh  of  God ;  i.  e.  God 
can,  notwithstanding  the  want  of  all  external 
visible  Means  of  Subsistence,  supernaturally 
provide  for  us,  either  by  procuring  for 
us  necessary  Food,  or  supporting  us  with- 
out ;  of  both  which  we  have  frequent  In- 
stances in  the  Holy  Scriptures :  Of  this 
sort  were  the  Israelites  in  the  Wilderness, 
who  murmured  against  God,  for  having 
brought  them  into  the  Wilderness,  where 
he  was  not  able  to  support  them,  Exodus  16. 
As  also  the  unbelieving  Lord,  2  Kings  7. 
And  those  Gentiles  of  whom  our  Saviour 
speaks,  31atthew  6.  who  were  perpetually 
carking  and  caring  for  their  Subsistence  in 
this  Life,  without  one  Grain  of  Faith,  to 
believe  that  God  knew  their  Wants  and 
Necessities,  and  would  infallibly  supply 
them,  if  they  had  but  Faith  to  believe  in 
him.  But  these  latter  seem  not  to  be  so 
deeply  immersed  in  the  East  of  the  Flesh  as 
the  other. 

§  3.    This    seems    to    be    the    Portraiture     That  this 
of    the   grand    Branch   of    Sin,    which   is   at  '^'"  "J!^^ 
this    Day    so    very    prevailing    amongst     all  ^„^^  /jj^ 
Sorts    and    Degrees    of    Men,    in    some    In-  Punishment. 


78  OF  THE  FAMINE. 

stance  or  other ;  insomuch  that  Lewdness 
and  Debauchery  triumph  in  the  World,  in 
spite  of  all  Opposition ;  Charity  is  waxed 
cold,  yea  frozen  and  dead ;  and  vast  Mul- 
titudes are  there  in  the  World,  whose  God 
Philip.  3.  is  their  Belly,  and  who  glory  in  their  Shame ; 
and  who  (in  the  most  literal  Sense)  mind 
nothing  but  earthly  Things.  And  this  is 
that  'A-x^^tioriq,  (that  useless  and  unprofitable 
Temper,  when  Men  live  only  to  devour 
the  good  Things  of  the  World,  without 
doing  any  Good  to  themselves  or  their 
Neighbours) ;  which,  as  good  Old  Tobit 
tells  his  Son,  Tohit  the  4th  and  13th,  is  the 
Mother  of  Famine :  Which  seems  indeed  to 
be  the  first  Punishment  for  that  Sin,  viz. 
That  God  should  punish  the  Abuse  of  his 
good  Creatures,  by  taking  them  from  us. 
And  this  is  the  Punishment  which  in  divers 
Places  of  Scriptures  he  has  denounced 
against  this  Sin.  Thus  God,  by  the  Pro- 
phet Hosea,  Chapter  2.  threatens  the  Jewish 
Nation  for  their  Idolatries  and  Forgetfulness 
of  him,  who  had  given  them  Plenty  and 
Increase  of  all  good  Things.  Let  her,  says 
he,  Verse  2.  put  aivay  her  Whoredoms  out  of 
her  sight,  and  her  Adulteries  from  between  her 
Ereasts,  lest  I  strip  her  naked,  and  set  her  as  in 
the  Day  that  she  tvas  born,  and  make  her  as  a 
Wilderness,  and  set  her  like  a  dry  Land,  and  slay 
her  with  Thirst.  V.  3.  For  she  said,  I  iv ill  go 
after  my  Lovers,  that  give  me  my  Eread  and  my 
Water,  my  Wool  and  my  Flax,  my  Oil  and  my 
Drink.  V.  5.  For  she  did  9iot  know  that  I 
gave  her  Corn,  and  Wine,  and  Oil,  and  midtiplied 
her  Silver  and  Gold.     V.  8.   Therefore  I  ivill 


OF  THE  FAMINE.  79 

return  and  take  away  my  Corn  in  the  time  thereof, 
and  my  Wine  in  the  season  thereof.     V.  9.  And 
I  will  destroy   her    Vines   and  her  Fig-trees, 
whereof  she  hath  said.  These  are  my  Rewards, 
that  my  Lovers  have  given  me ;  and  1  will  make 
them  a  Forest,  and  the  Eeasts  of  the  Field  shall 
eat  them.     The  same  Judgment  is  threatened, 
Chap.  4.  for  their  want  of  Mercy  and  Truth. 
The  Lord  hath  a  Controversy  ivith  the  Itihabi- 
tants  of  the  Land,  because  there  is  no  Truth, 
nor  Mercy,  nor  Knowledge  of  God  in  the  Laud, 
V.  1.     JBy  swearing,  and  lying,  and  killing,  and 
stealing,  and  committing  Adultery,  they  break 
out,  and  Stood  toucheth  JBlood,  v,  3.    Therefore 
shall  the  Land  mourn,  and  every  one  that  divell- 
eth  therein  shall  languish,  with  the  Seasts  of 
the  Field,  and  ivith  the  Fowls  of  Heaven,  yea 
the  Fishes  of  the  Sea  also  shall  be  taken  aivay. 
Intimating  the  Destruction  of  those  Creatures, 
which   are  the   common  Food  of  Mankind  ; 
either  for  want  of  the  Fruits  of  the  Earth  to 
nourish  them,  or  that  those  Fruits  if  they  do 
grow,    shall   be    so    cursed    as    to    lose  their 
nutritive    Quality ;    which    seems   to  be  hint- 
ed, V.  10.     For   they  shall  eat,   and  not  have 
enough. 

So  also  the  Prophet  Amos,  in  Chapter  4, 
5,  6.  reproves  the  Luxury  and  Uncharitable- 
ness  of  his  Nation.  Hear  this  Word,  ye  that 
oppress  the  Poor,  which  crush  the  Needy,  Chap. 
4.  V.  1.  /  have  given  you  cleanness  of  Teeth 
in  all  your  Cities,  and  ivant  of  JBread  in  all 
your  Places  ;  yet  have  ye  not  returned  unto  me, 
saith  the  Lord,  v.  6.  And  I  have  also  ivith- 
holden  the  Rain  from  you,  v.  7.  So  two  or  three 
Cities  wandered  to  one  City  to  drink  Water,  but 


80  OF  THE  FAMINE. 

they  were  not  satisfied,  v.  8.     I  have  smitten  you 

with  Blasting  and  31ildew,  SfC.     So  Chap  5. 

V.  W.     Forasmuch  as  your  treading  is  upon  the 

Poor,  and  ye  take  from  him  Eurdens  of  Wheat ; 

ye  have  built  Houses  of  hewn  Stone,  but  ye  shall 

not  dwell  in  them:    Ye  have  pla?ited  jjleasant 

Vineyards,  but  ye  shall  ?iot  drink  Wine  of  them. 

Foi  I  know  your  manifold  Transgressions,  and 

your  mighty  Sins:    They  cifflict  the  Just,  they 

take  a  Eribe,  they  turn  aside  the  Poor  in  the 

Gate  for  their  Might,  v.  12.    Therefore  the  Lord 

God  of  Hosts,  the  Lord  saith  thus.  Wailing  shall 

be  in  all  Streets,  and  they  shall  say  in  all  the 

Highways,  Alas!  alas!  and  they  shall  call  the 

Husbandman  to  mournino' :    And  such  as  are 

skilful  of  Lamentation  to  ivailing,  v.  1 6.     And 

in  all  Vineyards  shall  be  ivailing  ;  for  I  will  pass 

through  thee,  saith  the  Lord,  v.  17. 

The  Prophet  Micah  likewise  threatens  the 
same  Sins  with  the  same  Punishment,  Chap.  6. 
V.  10.  Are  there  yet  the  Treasures  of  Wicked- 
ness in  (he  House  of  the  Wicked,  and  the  scant 
Measure  that  is  abominable  ?  Shall  I  count  them 
pure  ivith  the  ivicked  Ealances,  and  ivith  the 
Eag  of  deceitful  Weights  ?  For  the  rich  Men 
thereof  are  fdl  of  Violence,  and  the  hihabitants 
thereof  have  spoken  Lies,  and  their  Tongue  is 
deceitful  hi  their  Mouth.  Therefore  also  will  1 
make  thee  sick  in  smitinfr  thee,  in  makino-  thee 
desolate  because  of  thy  Sins.  Thou  shall  eat, 
but  not  be  satisfied ;  thou  shalt  sow,  but  thou 
shall  not  reajj ;  thou  shalt  tread  the  Olives,  but 
thou  shalt  not  anoint  thee  with  Oil,  and  sweet 
Wine,  but  slialt  not  drink  Wine.  And  accord- 
ingly* whensoever  this  Branch  of  Sin  shall  be 
come  to  its  complete    State   or   perfect  Ful- 


OF  THE  FAMINE.  81 

ness,  in  any  Place,  Country,  or  Nation, 
then  also  may  we  expect  to  see  this  Plague 
more  common,  xara  ^o^r^q,  i.  e.  in  divers  Places, 
as  it  is  expressed,  Matthew  24.  7.  before 
it  become  strictly  Universal,  which  must 
be  afterwards.  We  need  not,  T  think,  look 
far  for  Arguments  to  prove  the  future  In- 
crease of  this  Sin,  which  is  at  this  Day  so 
very  rife  in  the  World ;  and  is  so  far  from 
being  checked  by  those  other  Evils,  of  War 
and  Poverty,  under  which  we  groan,  that 
we  have  just  Reason  to  fear,  that  it  is  grow- 
ing to  its  Perfection,  and  will  proportionably 
bring  upon  us  this  fearful  Scourge  before  we 
are  aware. 

§  4.    Now    that    there    shall    be    Famines     That  there 
thus   General  and   Universal,    seems    plainly  *  ''^"/^ 
intimated   in    divers   Places    of   Holy   Scrip-  universal 
tures  ;  besides  those  other  Arguments  (\r3.wn  Famines. 
from  the  Analogy  and   Proportion  that  God 
observes    in    the    Distribution    of    his    Ven- 
geance,     according      to     the     Degree     and 
Quality   of  the   Sin;    and   those   others   that 
may   be    drawn    from    the   Nature    and   Ne- 
cessity   of    the    Causes    that    shall    produce 
them. 

I.  The  First  Proof  that  I  shall  insist  on 
from  Scripture  (besides  what  I  have  just 
touched  upon  in  the  beginning,  from  the 
Words  of  our  Blessed  Lord,  Matthew  24.  7. 
Mark  13.  8.)  shall  be  from  Isaiah  24.  where 
the  Holy  Prophet,  in  lofty  and  sublime 
Expressions,  foretels  and  describes  the 
Punishments  that  God  would  bring  upon 
the  Earth  in  the  latter  Days,  for  the  Ful- 
ness   of    their    Iniquities.      That    this    Pro- 

G 


82  OF  THE  FAMINE. 

phecy  belongs   to  the  whole  Earth  in  gene- 
ral,   and   not    to    Judea  in  particular,    seems 
very    plain;    because.    Chapter   22.   the  Pro- 
phet had  been  very  particular  in  his  Denun- 
ciations against  Jerusalem  and  Judea;  as  also, 
Chapter  23.    against    Tyrus ;     and   it  is    not 
likely  that  the  Prophet  should  so  soon  return 
again    to    the  Jews^    of  whom   he  had  been 
lately    speaking    so    particularly,     especially 
considering    withal,     the    Prophecy    runs    in 
the    most    general    Terms,    without  any  par- 
ticular Marks  or  Characters,  that  may  war- 
rant   so    particular     an    Application.       And 
therefore  says  he,  v.  5.     The  Earth  is  defiled, 
nQ)T^  *  or    profaned    (as    the    Word  *    rather   signi- 
fies ;    which    is    by    the    LXXII    translated 
^voiJi-na-s)  under  its  Inhabitants  ;  A»a  tou?  ivoixxvloig 
say    the    LXXII ;    signifying,    as    if  Nature 
were    out    of   Course,    and    the    Earth    were 
barren  or  irregular   in    her   Productions  and 
Operations,     because     of    the     Iniquities    of 
those    that   inhabited    it:    Because   they  have 
transgressed  the   Law    (of  God,)  changed  the 
(or  his)  Ordinance,  and  broken  the  everlasting 
Covenant;    which    is    the    Law   or   Covenant 
of   Love,    which    may  be    in   the    most   pro- 
per Sense  styled  Everlasting ;    this  being,  as 
our  Blessed  Saviour  witnesseth,  Mattheiv  22. 
38.  not   only  the   great   but  the    first   Com- 
mandment,   being    indeed    coeval   with    God 
himself,  whose  Nature  and  Essence  is  Love, 
1  Joh.  4.  8.     From  whence   also   it   follows, 
that    it   must   be    Everlasting,    a  parte  post, 
according  to  which  we  are  told,  1  Cor.  13.  8. 
That  Charity  never  faileth.     Because  therefore 
of   the    Transgressions    of   this    Everlasting 


OF  THE  FAMINE.  83 

Covenant    (or    Law,    as    the  Word   (rnn^) 
is    sometimes    rendered    by   the    LXXII)    of 
Love,    which   is    in   a   more  peculiar  manner 
the  Character  of  this  Branch  of  Sin,    as  we 
have  before   observed.      The  Curse  hath  (or, 
according    to    the    Prophetic    Idiom,    shall) 
devour  the  Ground,  mid  they  that  dtvell  therein 
are  desolate.     Thence  he  proceeds  to  a  more 
particular  Account  of  the  Causes  and  Effects 
of  a  Famine,   which  is  to    be   at  that  time. 
V.  7.    The  new    Wine  languisheth,    the    Vine 
mourneth,  and  all  the  merry-hearted  sigh ;  The 
mirth  of  Tahrets  ceaseth,  the  noise  of  them  that 
rejoice  endeth,   the  joy  of  the   Harp  ceaseth ; 
They  shall  not  drink  Wine  with  a  Song,  strong 
Drink  shall  be  bitter  to  them  that  drink  it. 
There  is  a  citing  for  Wine  in  the  Streets,  all 
joy  is  darkened,  the  mirth  of  the  Land  is  gone^ 
Sfc.    All  expressing  a  State  of  great  Affliction, 
or  Trouble,  to   be   brought  upon  the  World 
in  the  last   Days,    to    punish  their  enormous 
Deviations    from    the    Love     of    God,     and 
which    shall    be  effected  by  some  great  Dis- 
orders in  inferior  Nature ;   so  that  the  Earth 
shall  not  bring  forth  her  Fruits,  and  Mankind 
shall  be  in  want  of  the  common  Necessaries 
of   human    Life,    expressed    by    Bread    and 
Wine. 

II.  The  next  Place  that  I  shall  mention, 
shall  be  that  Prophetical  Description  of  a 
dreadful  Famine  in  the  Prophecy  of  Joel, 
Chap.  \.  which,  though  in  its  ultimate  and 
complete  Sense  it  refers  to  the  Times  of  the 
Great  Antichrist,  as  I  shall  show  more  at 
large  upon  that  Head,  yet  I  think  it  may 
not    improperly    be    touched    upon     in    this 

G  2 


84  OF  THE  FAMINE. 

Place;  because  the  Prophet  does  plainly 
point  out  the  natural  Causes  of  that  Plague ; 
which,  though  ultimately  referring  to  the 
Grand  Divisions  of  the  Antichristian  Army, 
yet  in  its  Beginnings  or  first  Principles  may 
be  placed  much  nearer.  He  begins,  there- 
fore, Chap.  1.  V.  4.  with  a  Description  of 
the  first  and  natural  Causes  of  a  Famine ; 
such  were  the  Palmer-worm ;  the  Locust 
^^l'^^?  *  (or  Grasshopper,  as  the  Word  *  may  be 
sometimes  rendered)  ;  the  Canker  -  Worm  ; 
and  the  Caterpillar ;  all  being  generally 
reputed  very  mischievous  Creatures  to  green 
Corn  and  other  Fruits  of  the  Earth  ;  and 
these,  he  says,  shall  succeed  one  another 
in  such  a  manner,  as  that  the  latter  shall 
still  destroy  what  the  former  left.  Now 
all  these  Creatures  are  generally  produced 
by  excessive  Drought  and  Heat,  which 
shall  be  the  prevailing  natural  Cause,  as 
may  be  proved  at  large  from  many  Ex- 
pressions, not  only  in  this  Place,  but  many 
-  others ;  of  which  more  hereafter.  Now 
if  this  Prophecy  be  capable  of  a  literal 
Sense,  not  excluding  the  Interpretation 
which  I  understand  to  be  couched  under 
it,  as  referring  to  the  Reign  of  Antichrist, 
as  I  think  it  fairly  may,  then  it  will  be 
difficult  to  prove,  that  it  has  ever  been  ac- 
complished ;  the  Historical  Part  of  Scrip- 
ture having  made  no  mention  of  any  such 
Thing :  And  if  it  be  not  accomplished,  to 
what  fitter  Time  can  we  assign  it,  than 
that  Great  and  Terrible  Day  of  Vengeance, 
to  which  the  Prophet  in  this  whole  Pro- 
phecy   seems    chiefly   to    have    respect,    and 


OF  THE  FAMINE.  85 

of  which  we  have  been  hitherto  treating 
so  far  as  it  relates  to  natural  Evils?  For 
this  we  need  look  no  further  than  that 
solemn  and  pompous  Preface,  wherewith 
he  ushers  it  in,  as  a  Matter  or  Subject  of 
the  greatest  Importance  to  all  succeeding 
Generations.  V.  3.  Tell  ye  your  Children  of 
it,  and  let  your  Children  tell  their  Childreny 
and  their  Children  the  next  Generation ;  which 
may  be  very  fairly  so  interpreted,  as  not  to  be 
limited  to  that,  but  to  be  still  propagated 
from  one  Generation  to  another,  till  the 
very  Times  of  its  Completion  should  come. 
From  thence  he  proceeds,  v.  5.  as  it  were 
to  point  out  the  sins  that  had  particularly 
deserved  this  heavy  Judgment,  and  to  warn 
and  awaken  the  Committers  of  them  to 
look  about  them,  and  prepare  themselves 
for    the    approaching   Vengeance.      '  Awake 

*  ye   Drunkards  and  weep,    and   hoivl  all  ye 

*  drinkers  of  Wine,  because  of  the  new  Wine ; 

*  for  it  is  cut  off  from  your  Mouth.  By 
Drunkards  and  drinkers  of  Wine,  are  under- 
stood all  sorts  of  luxurious  Persons,  which 
is  frequent  in  Scripture,  that  being  the 
most  scandalous,  open,  and  visible  Instance 
of  it ;  and  so,  as  the  Learned  Dr.  Pocock 
observes,  Abarhenel  has  explained  the  Place. 
Ye,  says  he,  who  are  drunken  with  the  Vanities 
of  the  World,  and  the  Delights  of  Meat  and 
Drink  all  the  Day,  and  do  7iot  regard  the  Work 
of  the  Lord,  awake  from  your  Drunkenness,  and 
weep  and  howl  for  the  Destruction  of  your 
Land :  For  the  Wine  and  Must  being  of  the 
delightful  Things  of  the  Products  of  the  Earth, 
tvhich  ye  did  eat  and  drink,  are  now  cut  off 


86  OF  THE  FAMINE. 

from  your  Mouth.     An  Expression  that  seems 
to  intimate  the  sudden  and  unexpected  coming 
of   this   Judgment ;     as   if    the    Fruits    were 
all   destroyed,  just  in   the   midst  of  a  great 
Plenty,    when   they   were    all    ripe,    and  the 
People    preparing    to    enjoy    them,    and    as 
it  were  ready  to  taste  them.      Which  brings 
to  my  Mind  those  Words    of  the   Apochry- 
phal    Author    of    Esdras,     referring    to    this 
time,  used  Part  1.  2  Esdras  16.  21.     Behold 
Victuals  shall  he  so  good  cheap  upon  Earthy 
that  they  shall  think  themselves  in  good  Case., 
and  even  then    shall   Evils  grow   upon   them^ 
Sword,   Famine,  and  great  Confusion.     From 
hence  the  Prophet  proceeds,  in  the  following 
Verses    of    this    Chapter,    to     give    a    more 
particular     Account      of     the     Nature     and 
Causes    of   this    great    Evil ;     of    which    we 
shall  make  a  more  particular  Use  when  we 
come    to    the   next    Head.      There    are,    be- 
sides   these,    several    other    Places    up    and 
down    in    the     Holy    Scriptures,     especially 
the  Book  of  Psalms,  and  the  Prophets,  that 
may    not    unfairly    be     interpreted     of    this 
Time ;    but    because    they    seem    to    have    a 
further    Intent   and    Meaning   in   the   Times 
of  Antichrist,    we    shall   omit  them    for   the 
present,  and  consider  them  more  fully  under 
that    Head ;    and    proceed    to    inquire   what 
shall   be  the  natural   Causes   of   this   heavy 
Judgment. 
The  Causes     ^5     And   these    are    probably    presumed 
fJ^l^J^'^'^'to   he  the   same  with   the  former,    viz.    The 
Heat.  6vil    Influences    of    the     Heavenly    Bodies, 

operating  particularly  by  the   Means    of    ex- 
cessive Heat.     What  I  have  said  in  the  fore- 


OF  THE  FAMINE.  87 

going;  Part,  concernino'  the  Natures  and  Ope- 
rations of  those  Bodies,  may  suffice  for  this 
Place:  And  1  shall  proceed  to  point  out  the 
Reasons  that  move  me  to  attribute  these 
Effects  to  the  same  Cause.  And  these  are. 
First  and  chiefly,  the  Expressions  which  the 
Holy  Scriptures  make  use  of  upon  these 
Occasions.  2r%,  That  according  to  the  com- 
mon Philosophy,  all  the  other  usual  Causes 
of  Famines  are  reducible  to  the  afore-men- 
tioned, and  may  not  improperly  be  said  to  be 
the  Effects  of  them. 

I.  In  that  particular  Place  of  Isaiah's  This  proved 
Prophecy,  Chap.  24.  which  I  have  before {^^^^ '^^^^^■ 
quoted,  as  relating  to  this  heavy  Judgment, 
there  are  several  Expressions  up  and  down 
that  Chapter,  which  being  intended  to 
describe  the  Nature  and  Effects  of  this 
Evil,  do  plainly  point  out  and  discover  its 
Causes  also.  Of  which  sort  are  Verses  the 
6th  and  7th.  ^  Therefore  hath  the  Curse  de- 
voured the  Earth,  and  they  that  dwell  therein 
are  desolate;  therefore  the  Inhabitants  of  the 
Earth  are  burned,  (y^'^)  and  there  are  few  Men 
left :  Which  Burning,  or  Heat,  no  doubt  is  the 
Cause  also  of  those  other  Evils  mentioned 
in  the  following  Verse ;  The  new  Wine  mourn- 
eth,  the  Vine  languisheth,  all  the  merry-hearted 
do  sigh,  SfC.  and  by  consequence  of  that 
great  Want  or  sore  Famine  so  pathetically 
described  in  the  following  Verses.  So  also 
in  the  Prophecy  of  Joel,  Chap.  1.  there  are 
plain  Indications  of  the  same  Thing :  The 
Field  is  wasted,  the  Land  mourneth,  the  Corn 
is  wasted,  the  ?iew  Wine  is  dried  up,  the  Oil 
languisheth,  v.  10.     Again,  The  Vine  is  dried 


88  OF  THE  FAMINE. 

up,  Sfc.  V.  12.     And   plainer  yet,  v.   19  and 
20.     O  Lord,  to  thee  will  I  cry,  for  the  Fire 
hath  destroyed  the  Pastures  of  the  Wilderness, 
and  the  Flame  hath  burnt  all  the  Trees  of  the 
Field :    The  Beasts  of  the  Field  cry  also  unto 
thee,  for  the  Rivers  of  Water  are  dried  up,  and 
the  Fire  hath  devoured  the  Pastures  of  the  Wil- 
derness.    All  which  Expressions  seem  plainly 
to  show,  that  this  heavy   Judgment  shall  be 
effected  particularly  by  excessive  and  preter- 
natural Heats,   occasioned   either  by  a  more 
frequent  appearance  and  descent  of  Meteors  ; 
or  from   a   more  vigorous    and    intense    Fer- 
mentation,   in   those   Bodies    which    are    the 
ordinary   Instruments    of  Light  and  Heat  to 
us ;     or   else    from    some    Disorders    in    the 
Body  of  the  Earth,  occasioned  by  Eruptions 
of   its    central    Fire ;    or    at    least    by    some 
nearer    approaches    of   it   to    its  Superficies, 
which   about  this  time   may  be  expected,  as 
we    observed   before;    or   else  ^perhaps  from 
the  Concurrence    of  both    these    Causes    to- 
gether. 
Blights  and     H.  The  Second    Reason   is.  That  all  the 
Mildews,      other  usual  Causes   of  Famines  are   reduci- 
£fc.  imputed  i^\q     ^^     ^[jg    afore- mentioned.      These     are 
^    ^" '       Blights,     Mildews,     and    devouring    Insects, 
viz.  The  Palmer- Worm,  Grasshopper,  Cater- 
pillar,   &c.    mentioned    in    the    afore-quoted 
Place   of  Joel;  all   which   are   certainly  oc- 
casioned   and    produced   by   Heat.      As    for 
Blights,     &c.     not    to    mention    the    Names 
used  to   express    them   by  both  Greeks    and 
Latins  (such  are  Uredo,  KauO/x-o?,  &c.)     Every 
Season   furnishes    us    with    sensible   Demon- 
strations   of   their    hot    and    burning    Quali- 


OF  THE  FAMINE.  89 

ties ;  such  as  may  be  discerned  by  the  Look, 
Touch,  and  Smell  of  Fruits,  Leaves,  or  Herbs, 
that  have  been  touched  by  them :  What 
may  be  the  primary  and  original  Cause  of 
these  Meteors,  (for  so  1  am  forced  to  call 
them,  not  knowing  to  what  Class  of  Na- 
ture to  reduce  them,)  or  wherein  those 
burning  Qualities  do  consist,  is  hard  to  say; 
but  it  is  very  probable,  that  they  are  no- 
thing else  but  condensed  Vapours,  deeply 
impregnated  with  hot  and  dry  Effluviums, 
proceeding  from  some  of  the  Heavenly 
Bodies.  Which  may  probably  be  further 
illustrated  (not  to  say  confirmed)  by  con- 
sidering the  Seasons  in  which  they  happen, 
and  which  of  the  Heavenly  Bodies  are  pre- 
dominant in  that  Season.  Now  there  were 
some  critical  Seasons  observed  by  the  An- 
cients, in  which  Blights,  &c.  were  more 
common  and  ordinary :  Such  were  parti- 
cularly the  Calends  of  May,  on  the  VHth 
of  which,  i.  e.  April  the  25th  New  Stile, 
the  Romans  observed  a  Festival,  called  Robi- 
galia,  instituted  to  implore  the  Blessing  of 
their  God  Rohigus  (whom  they  supposed  to 
preside  over  the  Fruits  of  the  Earth)  that 
their  Corn  might  be  preserved  from  Blights. 
See  Pliny  18.  29.  From  whence,  in  after- 
times,  the  Christians  took  an  Occasion  of 
instituting  Solemn  Fasts  and  Processions, 
called  to  this  Day  Rogatioti-Week ;  by  the 
Old  Britains,  Gang-Week;  in  Latin,  Amhar- 
valia;  because  then  the  Bishop  or  Presby- 
ter, with  the  People,  did  use  to  walk  to 
and  fro  in  the  Fields,  with  the  Host  or 
consecrated    Elements,    and    beg  a  Blessing 


90  OF  THE  FAMINE. 

upon  the  Fruits  of  the  Earth.  At  that 
time,  according  to  the  Computation  then 
in  use,  the  Sun  was  between  10  and  14 
Degrees  of  Taurus  «.  And  the  true  Cause 
of  keeping  that  Festival  upon  that  parti- 
cular Time,  Rosinus  (Lib.  4.  Cap.  7.)  says 
was  this  :  That  19  Degrees  after  the  Venial 
Equinox,  for  four  Days  together,  accord- 
ing to  the  Observation  of  divers  Nations, 
a  hot,  dry,  and  angry  Constellation,  called 
Canis  Major,  or  the  Great  Dog,  was  used 
to  set  (achronically  I  suppose  he  means, 
as  it  appears  by  rectifying  the  Globe  to 
the  Latitude  of  Rome).  But  Goad,  in  his 
Astrometeorol.  Sana,  p.  92.  says.  It  was  not 
only  upon  that  Account,  but  because  about 
that  time  there  did  Arise  and  Set  with  the 
Sun  an  illustrious  Company  of  Stars ;  mean- 
ing the  Hyades  and  Pleiades,  upon  the  Neck 
and  Head  of  Taurus:  Which  Stars,  as  in- 
deed the  whole  Asterism  of  Taurus,  he  says 
(upon  Ptolornys  Authority)  have  both  Qua- 
lities, hot  and  cold,  in  them.  And  though 
they  (especially  the  former)  have  been  dis- 
tinguished by  their  watery  Qualities,  from 
whence  they  have  their  Denomination, 
u-nro  t5  ufii/,  yet  he  says,  page  90.  That  those 
Parts  of  Taurus  about  the  Pleiades,  occa- 
sion Earthquakes,  Clouds,  and  Wind  ;  those 
about  the  Hyades  are  of  a  fiery  Nature,  and 
produce  Thunder  and  Lightning,  for  which 
he  alleges  many  Reasons ;  (see  the  place.) 
Now  every  one  knows,  that  those  Meteors 
are  produced  by  great  Quantities  of  Nitro- 
sulphurious  Particles,  which  must  be  either 
exhaled     from     the     Body     of    the     Earth, 


OF  THE  FAMINE.  91 

by  the  excessive  Heat   of  these  Bodies;    or 
emitted     immediately     from     these      Bodies 
themselves ;      which     may     not     improbably 
descend  in  a  watery  Vehicle.     Be  it   which 
way   it   will,    it   seems   to    amount    to   some 
Proof,    that    the    grand    instrumental    Cause 
of   these    Appearances    is    excessive    Heat : 
And   how   much   more    do   we    think    those 
Effects    should    be    produced;     if,    besides 
these   common    and   ordinary   Causes,    there 
should  be   at  the  same  time   a  concurrence 
of  some  accidental  Disorders  in  those  Bodies, 
which    should    render    their    natural    Quali- 
ties   more    intense    and    piercing.      I    would 
not  here  be  supposed  to  think,  that  Blights, 
Mildews,    &c.    are    so    appropriated   to    this 
Season,    which    I    have    been    speaking    of, 
as    not    to    fall    also    at    other   times :     But 
this   Season   is    particularly   remarkable,    be- 
cause   of  the    Condition   of   the    Corn    and 
other   Fruits ;    as   being,  if  not   in   Blossom, 
yet   of    so   tender  a   consistency,    as    to    be 
affected    by  any  the   least   touch    of   malign 
Influences.      But  to  return,   this  same  thing 
seems    to    be     hinted    by    the     Apocryphal 
Author  of  the  2d  Book  of  Esdras,    Chapter 
15.   where   speaking,   v.  5.   of  the  last    sore 
Plagues,    the   Sword,    Famine,    Death,    and 
Destruction,  (or  Pestilence,)  which  God  would 
bring  upon  the  World ;    when  (v.  6.)  Wick- 
edness shall  have  exceedingly  polluted  the  ivhole 
Earthy   and  the   Measure  of  their   Iniquities 
shall  be  filled  up.      He   says  (v.  12.)  Egypt 
(i.  e.  Mystical  Egypt,  or  the  whole  Earth,  this 
World  in  which  God's  Children  are  kept  in 
Bondage  or  Slavery,  compare  v.  6,  7,  8,  9,  10, 


92  OF  THE  FAMINE. 

11,  12,  13,  14.)  shall  mount,  and  the  Founda- 
tion of  it  shall  be  smitten  with  the  Plague  and 
Punishment  thai  God  shall  bring  upon  it.    V.  13. 
They  that  till  the  Ground  shall  mourn,  for  their 
Seeds  shall  fail,  through  the  Elasting  and  Hail, 
and  tvith  a  fearful  Constellation. 
Thatdevour-      ju     ^g    fo,,  t^g   Second    Sort  of  Causes, 
^"f^,"J^J*^  devouring  Insects,    that    they    are   produced 
by  Heat.      by    Heat,    we    have    a    strong    Presumption 
from   an   Observation   common    amongst   us, 
that  they  abound  most  in  hot  and  dry  Sea- 
sons ;   besides  what  Eochartus  has  observed, 
Zuograph.  Sancta,  Lib.  4.  Cap.  6.  and  Cap.  4. 
in  both   which   Places   he   expressly  asserts, 
That  Drought  is  the  Cause  of  Locusts  and 
other  devouring  Insects.     But  as  to  the  pre- 
cise manner  of  their  Production,  whether  it  be 
equivocal,    i.  e.    by    some    latent    Seeds    in 
the  Superficies  of  the  Earth,    which  are  im- 
pregnated by  the    Sun,    or    other    astral    In- 
fluences ;  or  univocally,  by  the  common  con- 
currence  of    Male   and   Female,    is    hard  to 
determine.      However,    the    former    Opinion 
seems  more   probable,   because  it  is  difficult 
to  conceive  how  the  Heat  can  be  any  way 
instrumental  in  the  latter  way  ;  much  less  how 
it  can  be  said  to  be  a  Cause,  as  Eochart  and 
others   have  asserted  upon  the  Authority  of 
the  Ancients. 
A  Recapitu-     ^  Q,  WiTH  this  threefold  Evil,  viz.  Sword, 
a  ton  of      Pestilence,    and   Famine,   will   God   chastise 
Evils.  ^be    iVpostate    Antichristian    World    in     the 

latter  Days,  2  Esdras  15.  14.  Woe  to  the 
World  and  them  that  dwell  therein,  a  Fire  is 
kindled  and  shall  not  be  put  out,  till  it  consume 
the  Foundations  of  the  Earth.     Eehold  Famine, 


OF  THE  FAMINE.  93 

mid  Plague,  and  Tribulation,  and  Anguish  are 
sent  as  Scourges  for  amendment,  but  for  all  this 
they  shall  oiot  turn  from  their  Wickedness.  One 
People  shall  stand  up  against  another  with  Sivords 
in  their  Hands :  There  shall  be  Sedition  amongst 
Men,  and  invading  one  another;  they  shall  not 
regard  their  Kings,  nor  their  Princes,  and  the 
Course  of  their  Actions  shall  stand  in  their  Power. 
A  Man  shall  desire  to  go  into  a  Oity,  and  shall 
not  be  able;  for  because  of  their  Pride  the 
Cities  shall  be  troubled,  the  Houses  shall  be  de- 
stroyed, and  Men  shall  be  afraid :  A  Man  shall 
have  no  pity  upon  his  Neighbour,  but  shall  de- 
stroy their  Houses  with  the  Sword,  and  spoil 
their  Goods,  because  of  the  lack  of  Eread,  and 
for  great  Tribulation.  The  Cities  shall  be  broken 
down,  and  the  People  shall  perish  with  the  Sword 
in  the  Field.  They  that  be  in  the  3Iountains 
shall  die  of  Hunger,  and  eat  their  own  Flesh, 
and  drink  their  own  Elood,  for  very  hunger  of 
Eread,  and  thirst  of  Water.  The  Dead  shall 
be  cast  out  as  Dung,  and  there  shall  be  no  3Ian 
to  comfort  them ;  for  the  Earth  shall  be  tvasted, 
and  the  Cities  shall  be  cast  down.  There  shall 
he  no  Man  left  to  till  the  Earth  and  to  sow  it. 
The  Trees  shall  give  Fruit,  and  who  shall  ga- 
ther them  ?  The  Grapes  shall  ripen,  and  ivho  shall 
tread  them  ?  For  all  places  shall  be  desolate  of 
Men ;  so  that  one  Man  shall  desire  to  see  another, 
and  to  hear  his  Voice.  For  of  a  City  there 
shall  be  ten  left,  and  two  of  a  Field,  which  shall 
hide  themselves  in  the  thick  Groves,  and  in  the 
Clefts  of  the  Rocks.  As  in  an  Orchard  of  Olives, 
upon  every  Tree  there  are  left  three  or  four 
Olives,  or  as  when  a  Vineyard  is  gathered,  there 
are  left  some  Clusters  of  them  that  diligently 


94  OF  THE  FAMINE. 

seek  through  the  Vineyard;  even  so  in  those 
Days  there  shall  be  three  or  four  left  by  them 
that  search  their  Houses  ivith  the  Sword.  The 
Virgins  shall  mourn,  having  no  Eridegroom; 
the  Women  shall  mown,  having  no  Husbands  ; 
their  Daughters  shall  mourn,  having  no  Helpers. 
In  the  Wars  shall  their  Bridegrooms  be  de- 
stroyed, and  their  Husbands  shall  perish  of 
Famine.  Compare  2  Esdras  15  and  16.  with 
Isaiah  17,  24,  33  Chapters, 
A  Remnant  ^  7.  BuT  in  this  great  Destruction  God 
saved.  will   preserve   a   Remnant,    even    the    sealed 

Number  upon  Mount  Sion.  These  are  they 
who  by  a  Holy  Severity  have  been  conti- 
nually dying  to  the  animal  sensitive  Life ; 
who,  though  willingly  submitting  to  the 
Necessities  of  Nature,  yet  made  no  Provi- 
sion for  the  Flesh,  to  fulfil  the  Lusts  of  it ; 
but  their  Meat  and  Drink  was  to  do  the 
AVill  of  their  Father  which  is  in  Heaven. 
They  laboured  not  so  much  for  the  Meat  that 
perisheth,  as  for  that  Eread  which  came  down 
from  Heaven ;  even  that  spiritual  Meat  and 
Drink  which  sustained  the  Fathers  in  the  Wil- 
derness, 1  Cor.  10.  and  which  our  Blessed 
Lord  gave  his  Disciples  in  the  Institution 
of  his  last  Supper,  which  has  in  all  Ages 
been  the  Spiritual  Food  of  the  inward  new 
Man ;  and  of  which  (we  are  told  by  Christ 
himself,  Joh.  Q.  53.)  that  They  which  do  not 
eat  and  drink,  have  no  Life  in  them.  They 
had  thoroughly  learned  that  Divine  Lesson 
of  St.  Paul,  Phil.  4.  1 1,  12.  To  be  content  in 
every  State ;  They  know  both  how  to  be  abased 
and  how  to  abound,  to  be  full  and  to  be  hungry, 
to  aboimd  and  to  suffer  need.     And  accord- 


OF  THE  FAMINE.  95 

ingly,  whensoever  it  pleased  God  to  lay  his 
afflicting    Hand    either   upon  their    Persons, 
Families,    or    Countries,    by    reducing    them 
to    the    Necessities    of  Want   and    Poverty, 
they  still  offered    up   their    Souls    to    him  in 
deep    Resignation,    being    satisfied    that    he 
that    knew   their    Necessities,    would    infalli- 
bly relieve  them  in  his   due  time :    Nay,  so 
firm    was    their    Confidence,    as    that     they 
hoped   even   against   Hope,   i.  e.  when  there 
was  no  visible  Means  of  Escape  left;    con- 
tentedly submitting  all   to  the  Will  of  God, 
whether  he  would  please  to  be  glorified  by 
their     Life,    or    their    Death;     making    that 
indeed  their  only   Aim   and   End,    that  God 
might    be    glorified,    and    his   Will    be    done 
in  Earth,   as  it  is  in  Heaven.     This  Divine 
Temper   was,    as  it  were,  the  Soul   of  their 
Souls ;    which,   like   an   Holy   Ferment,    im- 
parted   a  Sacred  Warmth  and  Vigour  to  all 
their    Actions ;     flaming     out,     upon     every 
Occasion,     in     heroic    Acts    of    Charity    to 
all   their   Brethren :     So   that  whensoever  it 
pleased     their     Heavenly     Father     to     bless 
them    with    plenty    of   this    World's    Goods, 
they  took   special   Care   not  to   abuse   them 
to    Luxury   and    Intemperance,    but   employ 
them    to    relieve    the     Necessities     of    their 
Brethren.     They  liberally  dealt  their  Bread 
to   the    Hungry,   and    satisfied   the   Souls    of 
the   Afflicted  :    They  brought  the  Strangers, 
and    them    that    were    cast    out,    into    their 
Houses ;    and  whomsoever  they  saw  naked, 
they  covered  with  Garments,  Isaiah  58.    They 
never    withheld     the     Poor    from    their    de- 
sire,  or  caused   the  Eyes  of  the  Widow  to 


96  OF  THE  FAMINE. 

fail ;    they  never  eat  their  Morsel  by  them- 
selves   alone,    withont   saftfering  the   Father- 
less   to    partake    with    them.      They    could 
never  endure  to   see  any  perish  for  vs^ant  of 
Clothing,    or    any    Poor    without    Covering, 
but  warmed   them   with   the  Fleece   of  their 
Sheep,   Joh  31.      They   were  none  of  those 
who  made   any  trifling  Excuse  serve  to  jus- 
tify    their     love     of    Mammon,      and     who 
thought  to  relieve  the  Wants  of  the  Needy 
with   Compliments  and  fine   Words ;    but  as 
living   Members   of   Christ's   mystical    Body, 
they  thought    themselves    obliged    to    mourn 
with     every     one     that     mourned,     and     to 
rejoice      with      those      that      rejoiced,      viz. 
with    so    strong   a    Sympathy,    as    to    make 
the    Sufferings    of  others    their  own,    and  to 
endeavour  by   comfortable   Words,  generous 
Alms,  and   affectionate  Prayers    to  God,    to 
procure   them   Relief  and    Comfort    in    their 
Johb.       Afflictions.      Such   was   the  Charity  of  Job, 
David,  Elijah,    Tohit,    Cornelius,    and    other 
great   Saints    and    Servants    of  God.      Such 
as  these  shall  be  delivered  in  six  Troubles, 
yea    in    seven     there    shall    no    Evil    touch 
them ;    in    the    time    of    Famine    God    shall 
redeem     them     from     Death,     and    in    War 
from  the  Power  of  the  Sword  ;    at  Destruc- 
tion    and     Famine    they    shall     laugh,     yea 
they  shall   lift   up   their   Faces  without  spot. 
Psalm  33  They  shall  be  steadfast  and  shall  not  fear : 
andM.        p^j.  ^|jg  Eygg    of  the  Lord    are    upon   them 
to  deliver   their   Souls   from    Death,    and  to 
keep   them    alive   in   Famine :     Though    the 
greedy   Lions    should    lack  and    suffer  Hun- 
ger,   yet  such  as  these  shall   want   no  man- 


OF  THE  FA3IINE.  97 

ner  of  thing  that  is  good.  The  Lord  shall 
guide  them  continually,  and  shall  satisfy 
their  Soul  in  Drought,  or  in  the  great 
Droughts  ( rmn^^nV^ )  says  the  Hebrew ; 
which  may,  I  think,  not  unfairly  be  un- 
derstood in  the  Sense  before  us  ;  though  I 
freely  acknowledge,  that  the  LXXII  un- 
derstood it  of  Spiritual  Hunger  and  Thirst, 
rendering  it  kx^uttb^  i-7n^v[xs7  n  ^^v^n  o-S,  Isaiah 
58.  11.  which  may  very  well  be  reconciled, 
that  being  indeed  the  most  deep  and  inti- 
mate Sense  of  the  Place,  of  which  the  other 
is  only  a  Type  or  Shadow.  Compare  it  with 
Psalm  42.   1. 

§  8.  As  to  the  Manner  how,  or  the  The  Man- 
Means  whereby  it  will  please  Almighty  ^"' ^*''"'' 
God  to  interpose  for  their  Preservation, 
the  Scriptures  are  silent ;  saving  that  they 
show  us  how  God  has  dealt  with  many  of 
his  Servants  in  the  Days  of  Old  ;  how^  when 
the  Famine  has  been  sore  in  one  Land,  he 
has  moved  them  to  fly  to  another ;  and  has 
commanded  others  to  sustain  them  there. 
So  by  a  strange  Series  of  providential  Occur- 
rences, Joseph  was  advanced  fi'om  being  a 
Prisoner  to  be  Viceroy  of  Egypt,  only  for 
this  Reason,  as  he  himself  tells  his  Brethren, 
Genesis  45.  5,  7,  8.  and  50.  20.  that  he  might 
make  a  Provision  for  his  Father  and  his 
Family,  who  were  at  that  time  the  Peculiuniy 
the  Heirs  of  the  Promises,  out  of  whose  Loins 
all  the  Families  of  the  Earth  were  to  be  Bless- 
ed. He  being  instructed  by  the  Spirit  of  the 
Most  High  God  that  was  in  him,  to  foretel 
to  Pharoah  what  was  coming  upon  his  Coun- 

H 


98  OF  THE  FAMINE. 

try,  and  the  Means  to  prevent  the  fatal  Con- 
sequences of  such  a  Calamity.     So  (to  men- 
tion no  more)   in  that  great  Famine  foretold 
by   the   Prophet   Elijah,    1   Kings    17.     God 
Almighty  provided    for    him    in   a   particular 
Manner,    having  first  of  all  commanded  the 
Ravens  to  supply  him  with  Bread  and  Flesh 
Morning   and    Evening,    till  the   Brook   that 
supplied  him  with  Water  w^as  dried  up :   After 
which    he   expressly  orders  him   to   repair  to 
the  Widow  of  Zarephath,  whom  he  had  com- 
manded   to     sustain    him ;     which    she   was 
enabled   to  do,    by   a  miraculous    supply   of 
Necessaries,    till    God    sent   Rain   upon    the 
Earth.     Whether  it  may  be  by  this,  or  by  any 
other  Means,  yet  we  may  rest  satisfied,  that 
God  knoweth  how  to  deliver  the  Godly  out  of 
Temptations,  (or  Trials,  as  'U  ts^sj^ ao-jw-S  may  be 
better  rendered,)  even  as  he  delivered  just  Lot, 
vexed  with  the  Conversation  of  the  Wicked,  out 
of  the  Flames  that  consumed  the  Ungodly  ;  and 
saved  Noah,  a  Preacher  of  Righteousness,  from 
the  Great  Deluge  that  came  upon  the  Disobe- 
dient World,  2  Peter  2. 
An  Address      ^  9.  To  those  therefore  who  are  yet  Stran- 
to  those  who  ^^^.^   ^.^   ^l^|g   State,    and   to   these    Promises, 

sers  to  this  ^^   ^^^^^    ^^^  ^^   amiss    to   apply   the   Advice 
State.  given  by  the  Prophet  Da7iiel  to  King  Nebu- 

chadnezzar, Daniel  4.  27.  That  they  break 
off  their  Sins  by  Righteousness,  and  their 
Iniquities  by  showing  Mercy  to  the  Poor ; 
it  may  be  a  lengthening  of  their  Tranquil- 
lity, or  a  deferring  of  their  Punishment. 
As  also  that  Passage  of  St.  Hermas,  in  the 
Third    Vision    of    the     First     Book,    which 


OF  THE  FAMINE.  99 

relates  to  the  glorious  Building  of  the  Tri- 
umphant Church,  and  the  various  Sorts  of 
Reprobates,  (Vide  Locum,  Edit.  Cotel.)  which 
by  many  Passages  plainly  refers  to  these 
Times  ;  as  also  by  the  Title  of  the  Chapter 
immediately  following.  (De  Tentatione  et 
Tribtdatione,  Sfc.)  Where,  when  the  Woman 
had  shown  him  the  Mystery  of  the  Build- 
ing, and  the  various  Sorts  and  Orders  of 
Men  that  should  be  rejected,  she  comes  at 
last  (§  9.)  to  put  him,  and  in  him  the  whole 
Church  (to  whom  these  Truths  were  to  be 
committed.  See  the  End  of  the  preceding 
Chapter.)  in  mind  of  some  Duties,  the  prac- 
tice of  which  would  be  extremely  necessary, 
in  order  to  secure  their  Part  in  this  Spiritual 
Building ;  amongst  which  she  gives  this  as 
the  chief.  Abundatitius  aiitem  inspertite  egen- 
tihus,  Sfc.  i.  e.     '  But  give  liberally  to  them 

*  that  be  in  need  ;  for  some  by  too  free  Feed- 

*  ing,  contract  an  Infirmity  in  their  Flesh,  and 

*  do    Injury    to    their    Bodies ;     whilst     the 

*  Flesh  of  others,  who  have  not  Food,  wi- 
'  thers  away,  because  they  want  suffi- 
'  cient   Nourishment,    and    their    Bodies  are 

*  consumed.  Wherefore  this  Intemperance 
'  is  hurtful  to  you  who  have,  and  do  not 
'  communicate  to  them  that  want.  Pre- 
'  pare   for    the    Judgment   that    is    about   to 

*  come  upon  you  ;  ye  that  are  the  more 
'  Eminent,  search    out   those   that  are   Hun- 

*  gry,  whilst  the  Tower  is  yet  unfinish- 
'  ed.  For  when  the  Tower  is  finished,  ye 
'  shall   be   willing    to    do   Good,    and    shall 

*  not  find   any   Place   for  it.     See  therefore 

H  2 


100  OF  THE  FAMINE. 

*  ye  that  glory  in  your  Riches,  lest  perhaps 
'  they  groan  who  are  in  want,  and  their 
'  sighing  come  up  unto  God,  and  ye  be  shut 
'  out  with  your  Goods  without  the  Gate  of 
'  the  Tower.  Those  therefore  who  have  ex- 
'  ercised  themselves  in  Abstinence  and  Alms- 

*  Deeds,  shall  be  wrought  into  this  Tower :' 
i.  e.  Be  living  Members  of  Christ's  Mystical 
Body,  and  by  consequence  shall  Escape  those 
Evils  and  Punishments,  which  in  the  End  of 
the  following  Chapter  are  foretold,  as  coming 
upon  those  who  are  shut  out.  Agreeable 
to  which  is  that  Declaration  of  our  Blessed 
Lord,  31attheiv  25.  35.  That  in  his  Judg- 
ment of  Men,  he  chiefly  regards  these 
Virtues,  telling  those  Holy  Souls  whom  he 
admitted  into  his  Kingdom,  that  it  was  for 
(or  because)  they  had  fed  him  (in  his  Mem- 
bers) when  he  was  hungry,  and  given  him 
Drink  when  he  was  thirsty,  took  him  in 
when  he  was  a  Stranger,  and  visited  him 
in  Prison.  Such  as  these  shall  dwell  on 
high^  their  place  of  Defence  (in  the  Day  of 
Evil)  shall  he  the  Munition  of  Rocks ;  (even 
the  Rock  of  Ages,  upon  whom  the  whole 
Spiritual  Building  is  founded,  Jesus  Christ 
himself  being  the  Head-corner  Stone)  ;  Bread 
shall  be  givcfi  them,  their  Waters  shall  he  sure^ 

^  ,     ,        Isaiah  33.   16. 

Other  lesser       r-iz-wT'  i  tj  j    i.         • 

Evils  shall        ^  ^^'    ^^us   have   1   endeavoured   to   give 

prevail  at     ^n    Account    of   those    Three    Great    Evils, 

that  time.     viz.  Of  the  Sword,  Pestilence,  and  Famine  ; 

which    shall   be,    as  it   were,    the   great   and 

principal   Strokes   of  that   great  Destruction, 

whereby    God     will     punish     the     Apostate 


OF  THE  FAMINE. 

World,  when  their  Iniquities  are  come  to  the 
height.  Besides  which,  we  may  imagine 
several  other  lesser  Manifestations  of  Judg- 
ment and  Terror  ever  now  and  then,  flash- 
ing forth  in  a  dreadful  Variety,  representing 
as  well  as  punishing  that  vast  Variety  of 
Iniquities,  in  which  the  Body  of  Sin  displays 
itself,  though  it  be  briefly  expressed  by  that 
threefold  Division,  The  Lust  of  the  Flesh, 
the  Lust  of  the  Eye,  and  the  Pride  of  Life. 
Such  may  be  particularly,  First,  Strange  Ap- 
pearances in  the  Heavens,  as  Comets,  &c. 
expressed  in  St.  Luke  21.  25.  Ei/  Signs  in 
the  Sun,  ajid  in  the  Moon,  and  in  the  Stars. 
Ey  fearful  Sights  and  great  Signs,  v,  11. 
^dly.  Earthquakes,  foretold  also  by  our  Bles- 
sed Lord,  Matthew  24.  7.  St.  Mark  13.  8. 
St.  Luke  21.  10.  These  have  been  lately 
felt  in  a  dreadful  manner  in  America,  and 
since  that  in  Italy  more  than  usual :  As  also 
in  our  own  Country,  which  has  been  all  along 
reputed  to  be  less  subject  to  them  than 
many  other  Countries,  we  have  had  seve- 
ral warning  Shocks,  ^dly,  Tempestuous  and 
Stormy  Winds ;  such  was  that  never-to- 
be-forgotten-one,  in  1703,  which  made  so 
many  Widows  and  Orphans  in  this  Nation  ; 
and  which,  like  a  Besom  of  Destruction, 
swept  through  the  Length  of  Europe,  from 
the  Shores  of  the  Atlantic  Ocean  to  the 
North  of  Moscovy.  Athly,  Inundations  ;  such 
was  (not  to  mention  those  occasioned  by 
the  aforesaid  Tempest)  that  dismal  one 
which  lately  happened  in  Italy,  in  the  Vene- 
tian Territories,   which  overflowed  vast  Tracts 


102  OF  THE  FAMINE. 

of  Land,  and  a  very  great  Number  of  People 
and  Cattle,     bthly.  Fiery  Eruptions  out  of  the 
Bowels  of  the  Earth  ;    such  have  been  very 
lately  in  the  Canary  Islands,  breaking  out  in 
different  Places,  where  many  of  the  Inhabi- 
tants perished,    either    by  the  Flames   or  by 
the  Terror.     So   says   the   Apochryphal  Au- 
thor of  the  Second  Book  of  Esdras,  Chapter 
15.    speaking   of  the   Destruction   of    Mysti- 
cal  JBahylon,  v.  38.     There  shall  come  great 
Storms  from   the  South,   and  the  North,  and 
another  part  from  the  West,  and  strong  Winds 
shall  arise  from  the  East,  6fc.     Fire,  and  Hail, 
and  flying  Swords,  and  many  Waters,  that  all 
Fields   may  he  full,    and  all  Rivers  ivith  the 
abundance  of  great  Waters.     And  they  shall 
break  doivn  the  Cities  and   Walls,   Mountains 
and  Hills,   Trees  of  the   Wood,  and  Grass  of 
the  31eadows,  and  their  Corn,     (ythly.  Terrible 
Thunders  and  Lightnings ;  such  as  we  have 
often  experienced  in  most  dreadful  and  fatal 
Instances ;     of    which    one    Phcenomenon    in 
particular,   our  Modern  Mechanical  Philoso- 
phers have  put  us  off  with  very  trifling  Ac- 
counts,   the  most   probable    of  which    would 
be  easily  confounded,  only  by  asking  two  or 
three  Questions.     But  Job,  who  may  be  pre- 
sumed to  have  known  as  much  of  the  Philo- 
sophy  of   Nature   as   any   of  them,    calls    it 
(^t,-j  »jji^)  the   angry   Voice   of  God,   Chapter 

37.  2.  Which,  though  our  English  Transla- 
tion reads  (the  Noise  of  his  Voice)  so  making 
the  Word   (»ji^)  signify  no  more  than  Souitus 

or  Cotnmotio,  as  some  render  it ;  yet  LXXII 


OF  THE  FA3nNE.  103 

render  it  by  ('O^yrl)  Wrath  or  Answer,  as  they 
have  also  in  Chapter  3.  v.  '2Q.  Chapter  14. 
V.  1.  Chapter  39.  v,  24.  and  Habakkiik  3, 
v.\.  so  caUing  it  the  Voice  of  his  Anger; 
and  he  says  it  was  so  terrible  to  him,  (though 
we  may  suppose  hini  to  be  too  good  and  too 
wise  a  Man  to  be  frighted  at  Trifles)  that  his 
Heart  trembled  at  it,  and  was  moved  out  of 
its  place.  Lastly,  Fires  in  divers  Places, 
which  shall  devour  Towns  and  Cities,  and 
all  the  other  Instruments  of  Vengeance,  which 
God  has  reserved  in  liis  secret  Treasures 
against  the  time  of  Trouble,  against  the  Day 
of  War,  and  Battle,  and  Destruction  of  the 
Ungodly.  By  all  these  various  Tokens  of  his 
Indignation,  is  our  Good  God  at  this  Day 
alarming  and  awakening  the  impenitent  World, 
and  warning  them  to  flee  from  the  Wrath  to 
come ;  which  is  now  ready  to  be  poured 
out  to  the  full  in  the  Height  of  the  Anti- 
christian  Kingdom,  when  that  Man  of  Sin 
shall  be  revealed,  who  is  the  Perfection  of 
the  Apostacy,  the  Top-Fruit  of  the  Mystery 
of  Iniquity,  whose  coming  will  be  after  the 
Energy  of  the  Devil,  with  all  Power,  mid 
Signs,  and  lying  JVonders,  and  ivith  all  de- 
ceivahleness  of  Unrighteousness,  in  (or  among) 
them  that  perish ;  or  (as  the  W  ord  dTroXXvfAivoig 
rather  signifies)  that  are  already  lost  or  re- 
probate, i.  e.  whose  Measure  of  Inic^uity  is 
full,  because  they  ivould  not  receive  the  Love  of 
the  Truth  that  they  might  be  saved,  2  Thess. 
2.  10.  I  shall  conclude  this  with  these  re- 
markable Words oiHippolitus,  page  10.  (Edit. 
Par.  per  Morellium,  1561.)  De  consum. 
Mundi  el  de  Antichristo,  ^c.     '  These  Tilings 


104 


OF  THE  FAMINE. 


have  we  told  you  before,  that  ye  may  know 
the  Trouble  and  Affliction  that  shall  come 
in  the  last  Days,  and  the  Envy,  Hatred, 
and  Strife,  that  shall  be  at  that  time  rife 
among'  Mankind ;  the  neglect  of  the  Clergy 
towards  their  Flocks,  and  the  Contempt  of 
the  People  to  their  Pastors  :  The  Children 
shall  lay  Hands  on  their  Parents ;  the  Wife 
shall  deliver  up  the  Husband  to  Death,  and 
the  Husband  tlie  Wife.  Masters  shall  be 
cruel  to  their  Servants,  and  Servants  shall 
be  disobedient  to  their  Masters :  None  shall 
reverence  the  grey  Hairs  of  the  Ancient,  or 
pity  the  Beauty  of  Youth  ;  Churches  shall 
be  as  Common  Houses,  and  in  many  places 
shall  be  destroyed  :  The  Scriptures  shall  be 
despised,  and  profane  Songs  shall  be  sung 
up  and  down  :  Out  of  those  who  call  them- 
selves Christians,  shall  arise  false  Prophets 
and  false  Apostles,  Deceivers,  Corrupters, 
Evil-Doers,  Liars,  Adulterers,  Unclean, 
Greedy,  Covetous,  False-Swearers,  Slan- 
derers. The  Shepherds  shall  be  as  Wolves  ; 
the  Priests  shall  embrace  a  Lie  :  Those  who 
have  dedicated  themselves  to  God  (Movx-xoi 
vox  meritd  suspecta)  shall  covet  the  Things 
of  this  World.  The  Rich  shall  be  unmer- 
ciful to  the  Poor ;  Great  Men  shall  cast  off 
all  Compassion;  Magistrates  shall  be  un- 
just, and  for  Bribes  shall  pervert  the  Truth. 
The  Elements  also  shall  be  confounded,  and 
become  irregular  in  their  Motions :  There 
shall  be  Earthquakes  in  divers  Places,  and 
Pestilences  in  every  City  ;  Thunders,  Winds, 
terrible  Lightnings  that  shall  burn  up  Houses 
and    Fields :     Tempestuous    Winds    which 


OF  THE  FAMINE.  105 

*  shall  do  unspeakable  Mischief  both  by  Land 
'  and  Sea.     The  Earth  shall  be  barren ;  the 

*  Sea   shall    roar ;    and    there  shall  be  great 

*  IVouble  for  the  Destruction  of  so  many 
'  Men :    There  shall  be  Signs  in  the  Sun,  and 

*  in  the  Moon,  and  the  Stars  shall  be  irregular 

*  in  their  Courses  :    There  shall  be  Distress  of 

*  Nations;  the  Air  shall  lose  its  Tenipera- 
'  ture  ;  grievous  Hail ;  insupportable  Winters; 

*  unusual   sorts   of  Ice ;    intolerable    Heats  ; 

*  sudden  Lightnings  ;  unexpected  Fires  ;  and, 

*  in  a  Word,  unspeakable  Afflictions  over  all 

*  the  Earth.'  All  which,  according  to  this 
Blessed  Author,  are  to  precede  the  coming 
of  Antichrist,  in  whose  time  they  shall  be 
completely  fulfilled. 


PART  IV. 

OF  ANTICHRIST. 


Zech.  11.  16.  Lo,  I  ivill  raise  up  a  Shepherd 
in  the  Landj  which  shall  7iot  visit  those  that 
he  cut  off,  neither  shall  seek  the  young  Ones, 
nor  heal  that  that  is  hrokeii,  nor  feed  that 
which  standeth  still:  13ut  he  shall  eat  the 
Flesh  of  the  Fat,  and  tear  their  Claws  in 
pieces. 

V.  17.  Wo  to  the  Idle  Shepherd  that  leaveth  the 
Flock :  The  Sword  shall  be  upon  his  Arm 
and  upon  his  right  Eye  :  His  Arm  shall  be 
clean  dried  up,  and  his  right  Eye  shall  he 
utterly  darkened. 

ALL  the  afore-mentioned  Evils,  of  which 
I  have  been  treating,  shall  be  ulti- 
mately and  completely  accomplished  in  the 
Reign  of  Antichrist;  the  different  Notions 
and  Doctrines  concerning  whom,  I  shall  en- 
deavour to  set  in  their  true  Light.  The  Terms 
of  Antichrist,  and  Antichristianism,  have  been 
so  liberally  bestowed  upon  each  other,  by 
the  differing  Parties  of  Christendom,  each  of 
them  casting  it  upon  their  Adversaries,  and 
disclaiming  it  themselves,  that  he  who  at- 
tempts  to  lix    it,    if  he    act    counter   to  the 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  107 

commonly  received  Schemes,  and  does  not 
set  himself  to  vindicate  one  of  the  con- 
tending- Parties,  and  make  all  the  rest  Mem- 
bers of  Antichrist,  will  certainly  be  looked 
upon  as  a  Traitor  to  that  Church  in  the  Com- 
munion of  which  he  lives,  and  a  Man  of 
Latitude  and  Comprehension  towards  all  the 
rest.  Notwithstanding  all  which  Discourage- 
ments, I  shall  endeavour  (in  the  Fear  of  God) 
to  speak  my  Thoughts  freely  and  impartially 
upon  so  momentous  a  Subject. 

§  1.    The     Word    Antichrist    expresses    a     The  Word 
Principle,  Spirit,   or  Person,  standing  in  Op-  Antichrist 
position    to    our    Blessed    Saviour,    the  Lord  ^''"''*^^^^^* 
Jesus    Christ ;    which    Term    being    original- 
ly   Scriptural,    is    certainly    intended    to   ex- 
press  the    most    perfect    Opposition,    accord- 
ing   to    the    Analogy    of    Nature,    and    the 
plain    import   of  the   Word.     The    Passages 
of    the   prophetical   Scriptures    relating   here- 
to,   were   by  most    of  the    Ancient   Fathers 
(as    1    shall    show    at    large)    interpreted    of 
one   particular   Person,    who    should  empha- 
tically   and    especially    deserve    that     Title, 
which  in  a  more  lax  and  open  Sense  should 
be    applied    to    many    others.      This    Sense 
of  the   Primitive   Church    was    generally   re- 
tained   without    public    Opposition,    till    the 
Times  of  the  Reformation;    upon   the   dawn 
of    which,    many    of    those    who    had    long 
groaned   under   the   Tyranny   and   Idolatries 
of   the    Church    of    Rome,    and    considered 
how    opposite    she   was,    both    in    her   Prin- 
ciples  and   Practices,    to   the   true   Spirit    of 
Jesus  Christ ;  and  withal,  how  agreeable  some 


108  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

of  the  great  Antichristian  Characters  were  to 
the    Pope,    as   Visible   Head   thereof,    began 
to   assert   openly,    that    the    Pope   was    that 
Great  Antichrist,  or  Man  of  Sin,  concerning 
whom    the    Holy    Spirit     witnessed    by    the 
Mouths  of  his  Servants  the  Prophets ;  which 
some  others  understood  not  so  much  of  the 
Pope,    as   of   the   whole   Rommi   Hierarchy. 
And  amongst  most  of  the  Reformed  Churches, 
*  Notwith- i\^\^    has    been    the*    current    and    common 
standing  it    Doctrine  ever   since ;    and   it   must   be   con- 
muchTppo-   fessed,  that  this  Charge  has  been  very  learn- 
sed  hy  some   edly   defended    by   many   eminent  Protestant 
particular     Divines.    See  particularly  Doctor  Henry  Mores 
Writers,^    Mystery  of  Iniquity.     To  obviate  this,  several 
H^^I"^' .  ^*  of  the  Romanists,  that  they  might  at  the  same 
Thorndyke,  time  defend  and  support  that  absurd  Position 
&c.  of  the  Commencement  of  the  Millennial  Glo- 

rious Visibility  of  the  Church  at  the  Reign 
of  Consta7itine  the  Great,  asserted  that  Hea- 
then Rome  was  the  Seat  of  Antichrist,  and 
that  the  Roman  Emperors  before  Constantine, 
or  Nero  in  particular,  was  that  very  Son  of 
Perdition  who  was  to  precede  the  Millen- 
nial Reign,  but  sure  at  a  great  distance ; 
whilst  others,  with  no  better  Success,  ap- 
plied it  to  Julian  the  Apostate.  Now  it 
must  be  owned,  that  both  these  Emperors 
were  very  remarkable  Types  of  him  in 
some  respects  or  other ;  but  it  is  as  plain, 
that  neither  of  these  were  that  very  Per- 
son intended  by  that  Appellation.  How- 
ever, these  Opinions  have  been  long  de- 
fended by  many  of  the  Learned  of  the 
Roman  Communion;    whilst  some  very  few 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  109 

have  stuck  to  the  Old  Primitive  Doctrine. 
The  weakness  of  the  two  former  Opinions 
has  been  very  solidly  exposed  and  baffled 
by  the  Learned  Reformers ;  who,  though  they 
did  not  set  themselves  professedly  to  oppose 
the  latter  Opinion,  yet  thought  it  must  of 
Necessity  fall  to  the  Ground,  if  they  could 
once  prove  their  grand  Position,  viz.  That 
the  Pope  was  Antichrist,  which  upon  the 
Grounds  afore- mentioned  most  of  them  as- 
serted . 

§  2.    I    SHALL   not   here  presume  to    enter     The  State 
into  a  Detail  of  the  several  Arguments  where-  of  the  Con- 
with    these    Learned    Writers     have    ^^^^^-  cerm^ngT"' 
voured    to    support   their   different   Opinions,  personal  yin- 
but  shall   only  say,   that  whilst  Men   do  not  tichrist. 
seek   the  Truth  sincerely  and   impartially,  it 
generally  happens,    that  each   Party   finding 
what   makes  for   her  Turn,    runs  away   with 
that,   not   regarding  the  rest;    and   thus   not 
rightly  dividing  the  Word  of  Truth,  they  make 
Distinctions  where   there    is    no    Difference; 
and   set  those  Truths  in  Opposition  to  each 
other,    which,    if    rightly    understood,    would 
serve   mutually   to    explain,    strengthen,    and 
support  each  other.     This  (I  cannot  but  think) 
has   been  the  Case  between  the  Roman  and 
Reformed    Churches     in    this     Controversy : 
The   one    finding  that   the   Holy    Scriptures, 
and  the  Doctrines  of  the  purer  Ages  of  the 
Church,     seemed     to    understand    by    Anti- 
christ,    one    particular    Person    that    should 
arise    in   the   latter  Times,    viz.    in  the  End 
of  the  Roman  Empire,  justified   and   defend- 
ed this  Doctrine  in  Opposition  to  that  Charge 
of  Antichristianism    which    was    justly    cast 


no  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

upon  them  by  the  Reformers  ;  fondly  ima- 
gining, that  if  one  were  true,  the  other 
must  be  false ;  whilst,  on  the  other  Hand, 
the  Reformers,  to  make  good  their  Charge, 
without  regarding  that  Doctrine  which  they 
were  forced  to  allow  was  Ancient,  plied  them 
only  with  those  Arguments  which  were  pro- 
per to  the  Case  in  Hand ;  without  doubt 
iDelieving,  that  since  they  had  proved  the 
Pope  to  be  Antichrist,  they  were  to  look 
no  further.  Whereas  it  appears  to  me,  not 
at  all  disagreeable  to  that  perfect  Oppo- 
sition that  shall  be  between  Antichrist  and 
the  Blessed  Jesus  ;  that  as  our  Lord  Christ 
has  his  Mystical,  as  well  as  his  Natural 
Body,  so  Antichrist  should  have  likewise. 
Of  the  Mys-  §  3.  The  Mystical  Body  of  our  Lord 
tical  and  Christ  is  that  Company  of  Believers  through- 
S"o/-oMr^"^  the  World,  united  in  the  Blessed  Cen- 
Lord.  ^^^    ^^    Unity  in   the   Spirit  of    Christ,   who 

is  the  great  Spring  and  Foundation  of  the 
Spiritual  Life  in  them,  and  which  does  so 
truly  unite  those  who  partake  of  its  Ful- 
ness, as  to  make  them  one  in  themselves, 
and  one  in  God,  even  as  the  ever  Blessed 
Trinity  are  one  themselves,  John  17.  21. 
and  these  are  properly  said  to  be  Mem- 
bers of  Christ,  because  he  is  their  Head, 
and  from  his  Fulness  of  Life  and  Strength, 
they  all  receive,  in  their  several  Measures 
and  Proportions ;  and  from  him  the  whole 
Mody  fitly  joined  together,  and  compacted 
by  that  which  every  Joint  supplieth,  accord- 
ing to  the  effectual  working  in  the  Measure 
of  every  part,  making  increase  of  the  I^ody  unto 
the  edifying   of  itself  in   Love,    Ephesians  4. 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  1 1 1 

16.     The   Members   of   this    Mystical    Body 
have  been,  in  all  Ages,  labouring  in  the  deep 
Resignation    and    Simplicity    of    Love,    and 
in   patient   bearing   of   the   Cross,    to    fill  up 
that  which   is  yet   behind    of   the   Sufferings 
of  Christ  (ra  vfi^iixoi]ot,*  &c.)  and   to  accom-  *  Col.  i.  24. 
plish  that  Measure  of  Sufferings,  which  shall 
put   a  glorious  Period   to   the  suffering  Eco- 
nomy, by  which  we  are  wrought  up  to  Per- 
fection, Hebrews  2.   10.     Till  ive  all  come  in 
the  Unity  of  the  Faith,  and  of  the  Knowledge 
of  the  Son  of  God  unto  a  jjerfect  Man,  unto 
the  measure   of  the  stature  of  the  Fulness  of 
Christ,  Ephesians  4.    13.      Which  Perfection 
and  Fulness,  when  it  shall  be  obtained  by  a 
select   Number,    determined   by  God,   in   the 
spiritual  Kingdom  of  Mount  Sion ;  upon  these, 
as  the  First-fruits  of  his  Kingdom,  shall  Christ 
appear  in  his   gloritied  Person,   to  fulfil  the 
Joy  of  his  Saints,  and  to  confound  his  Op- 
posers;     where   he   shall  reign  as  the  visible 
Head   of  his   Church  :    And  so  his  glorified 
Person,  or  natural  Body  (if  I  may  so  express 
it)  shall  be  as  it  were  the  head-covering  of  his 
mystical  Body,  which  is  the  Church,  Colossians 
1.  18. 

§  4.    Now   I    see   no    absurdity  in   suppo-  Ofthemys- 
sing,   that  the  workings   of  Antichrist  in  the  ['^fj^ody 
Powers    and    Centre    of    Darkness    may    be  ^y  j^^j. 
something    analogous    to    this    Economy    oichrist. 
the  Blessed  Lord  Jesus,    whose   Designs  for 
the   Restitution   of   the    lapsed    Creation,    he 
endeavours    to     counteract     and    overthrow. 
The   Devil,    that  grand    Deceiver    and   Ene- 
my  of    Mankind,    has    ever    since    the    Fall 


112  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

of  our  first  Parents,   been  plotting  and  con- 
triving to   plunge    us    deeper    into    Destruc- 
tion,   and    to    make   our    Fall   irrecoverable. 
In  order  to  this,  he  has  endeavoured  to  ape 
and  imitate  the  Dispensations  of  God,  and  to 
assimilate,  as  near  as  might  be,  the  Spirit  of 
Error  to  the  Spirit  of  Truth.     Thus  without 
doubt  he  acted  even  in  the  Patriarchal  Times: 
He  had,  we  find,  his  Magicians  in  Egypt  to 
oppose  the   Finger    of   God   in   his   Servants 
Moses  and  Aaron ;  so  after  the  giving  of  the 
Law,  as  God  had  his  consecrated  Places  for 
holy  Worship,   his  Altars,   Priests,   Festivals, 
&c.  so  had  the  Devil  his  likewise,  as  appears 
at  large  not  only  from  Scriptures,   but  Hea- 
then Antiquity.     So  in  like  manner  this  same 
Spirit  of  Delusion,  ever  since  the  Ascension  of 
our  Blessed   Lord  into    Heaven,    set  himself 
to  oppose  and  undermine  that  Spiritual  Dis- 
pensation,    whereby    God     is    preparing    for 
himself   a    peculiar    People,    a    royal   Priest- 
hood,   a    Church    without    spot    or    wrinkle, 
or    any    such    Thing.      Thus    he    stirred    up 
Simon   Magus,    under   the    Preaching   of  St. 
Philip  at  Samaria,  to  exalt  himself,  and  give 
*  Tiva /A£y«v.  out,  that  hc  was  some  great  Person  ;*  which 
the   People    explain,    saying.    This    Man   is 
the  great   Power    of    God,   i.  e.    the  Christ ; 
for  by  that  Name  he  is  called,   1  Corinthians 
1.  24.     Upon   which   Account  this  may  not 
improperly  be  called  the  Head  or  Beginning 
of  that   Opposition ;    which  in  regard  of  its 
being   peculiarly    intended    against    the    Per- 
son  and    Offices    of   Christ,    is   emphatically 
called    Antic hristian.      And    St.  John    in  his 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  113 

first  Epistle  brings  it  as  an  Argument  to 
prove  that  they  were  in  the  last  Times,  or 
under  the  Dispensation  of  the  Messiah,  He- 
breivs  1,  2.  because  the  Mystery  of  Antichris- 
tianism  was  then  working,  and  there  were 
many  that  denied  that  Jesus  Christ  was  come 
in  the  Flesh,  1  Ephesians  1.  18,  22,  23,  and 
Chapter  4.  1,  2,  3.  This  is  Antichrist  that 
denieth  the  Father  atid  the  Son ;  He  that  de- 
nieth  the  Sou,  hath  not  the  Father,  i.  e.  doth 
not  believe  in  the  Father.  Which  denying,  or 
not  Confessing,  the  Son,  (I  believe,)  doth 
express  a  denying  that  Christ  had  appeared 
in  the  Flesh ;  notwithstanding  what  some 
Learned  Men  have  said  to  prove  that  this 
Text  was  levelled  at  the  Gnostics,  amongst 
whom  it  was  a  received  Principle,  that  they 
might  lawfully  deny  Christ  in  time  of  Perse- 
cution, if  at  other  times  of  Freedom  and  Secu- 
rity they  professed  him ;  forasmuch  as  that 
absolute  denying  Christ's  Appearance  in  the 
Flesh,  was  much  more  fatal  to  the  Interests 
of  Christianity,  and  consequently  much  more 
Antichristian  than  the  other.  For  if  Christ 
were  not  come,  then  by  consequence  all  the 
Obligations  to  strict  Obedience,  Mortifica- 
tion, and  the  Cross,  drawn  from  his  Life 
and  Doctrines,  are  null  and  void  ;  and,  2^%, 
They  must  be  forced  to  look  for  another, 
who  should  appear  in  a  State  more  agreea- 
ble to  their  Prejudices  concerning  him,  which 
was  a  fatal  Step  to  Delusion,  John  5.  43. 
2  Thessalonians  2.  10,  1 1,  12.  And  those  very 
Persons  who.  Chapter  4.  3.  are  said  to  be  in 
the  Spirit  of  Antichrist,  are  for  that  reason, 
Chapter  2.  18.  called  Antichrists.      (Even  as 

I 


114  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

They  that  are  led  by  the  Spirit  of  God,  are 
the  Sons  of  God.     Romans  8.  14.  and  they  to 
whom  the  Xoyog  came,  or  who  were  Partakers 
of  the  Xoyog,   were  called  Gods,  John  10.  35. 
and  Partakers  of  the  Divine  Nature,  2  Peter  1 . 
4.)     But   ever   since  the  Doctrines  of  Chris- 
tianity have  been  clearly  vindicated,  and  the 
same  Antichristian  Spirit  has  been  settled  in 
different  Forms  and  Measures  in  such  Chil- 
dren of  Darkness,  who  sheltering  themselves 
under  the   Name   and    Profession    of    Chris- 
tianity, have  either  by  their  Doctrines  or  Prac- 
tices, or  both,  endeavoured  to  undermine  and 
overthrow    that    very    Religion    which    they 
profess.     And  Antichristianism  was  not  such 
a  professed  Enmity  as  was  that  of  the  Jews 
and  Heathens,   but,   generally  speaking,  they 
were    false    Brethren,    who    either    broached 
pernicious  Doctrines  in  the  Church,  or  lived 
very   scandalous   Lives,   to   the   Reproach  of 
their  Religion;  who,  when  they  were  at  last 
discovered  by  the  Illuminated  Governors    or 
the  Church,  were   ejected  out  of  it,  of  which 
we  have  many  Instances  in  St.  PauVs  Epis- 
tles,   and   from  that   time    did    commence   a 
professed     Opposition.      These    were    called 
Heretics,  such  as  went  out  from  the  Church, 
hut  were  not  of  it;  for  if  they  had  been  of 
it,  no  doubt  they  ivould  have  continued  in  it; 
but  they  went  forth  that  they  might  be  made 
manifest,    1  John  2.    19.     And    in    the    pro- 
gress   of    the    great    Apostacy,    the    Poison 
sunk   yet   deeper,    and   discovered  itself  not 
so  much  in  any  Opposition  to  the  Received 
Doctrines    of    Christianity,    as    to    the   great 
End   and  Design  of  it,  viz.   The  Restitution 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  1 1 5 

of  Mankind  to  that  Love  of  God  from  whicli 
they  were  fallen,  by  Humility,  Mortification, 
and  bearins:  the  Cross.  For  when  the  Em- 
perors  embraced  Christianity,  and  the  Church 
began  to  enjoy  the  Favour  and  Protection 
of  the  Secular  Powers,  that  Primitive  Love 
and  Fervour  which  shone  so  visibly  amongst 
them  in  the  hottest  Persecutions  and  Oppo- 
sitions of  their  Enemies  began  sensibly  to 
cool  and  languish,  and  more  carnal  Inclina- 
tions to  start  up  in  their  room.  The  distin- 
guishing Marks  of  Favour  and  Honour  which 
were  put  upon  the  Governors  of  the  Church 
began  sensibly  to  soften  and  corrupt  that 
Holy  Severity  that  had  so  long  flourished 
amongst  them ;  they  began  much  more  to 
aspire  after  Honours,  Riches,  and  Authority, 
and  the  Church  itself  was  early  beginning 
to  be  modelled  according  to  the  Form  of  the 
Civil  Government  in  the  Empire,  which  was 
one  chief  Occasion  of  the  many  Quarrels 
amongst  the  Bishops  about  their  Sees;  and  of 
their  aspiring  to  a  worldly  Dignity  suitable  to 
the  Places  of  their  Residence.  This  Ambi- 
tion and  Strife  of  the  Clergy  produced  also 
a  fatal  Degeneracy  in  their  Manners,  much 
complained  of  by  Ancient  Writers  ;  having 
entertained  wrong  Notions  of  their  Power 
of  binding  and  loosing,  inflicting  of  Cen- 
sures, distributing  the  Charity  of  the  Peo- 
ple, and  determining  of  Controversies  in 
Civil  Matters  voluntarily  referred  to  them 
according  to  the  Apostle's  Advice,  they 
laid  the  early  Foundations  of  the  Antichris- 
tian  Pre-eminence  now  visible  in  the  Papacy, 

I  2 


116  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

*  Ep.  203.  St.  Austhi  *  inveiglis  severely  against  the 
worldly  Pomp  of  Ecclesiastics  in  his  Time, 
and  accordingly,  in  conjunction  with  the  rest 
of  the  African  Bishops  assembled  in  Council, 
passed  their  Censure  upon  it.  As  did  also 
\ha''\  cln  ^^-  -^^^"^^^^t  -and  St.  Basil,l  so  did  also  St. 
16  Clirysostom,^  but  particularly  St.  Beryiard,  in 

X  See  Soz.  his  Memorable  Sermon  de  mails  Pastoi'ibus. 
Lib.G.  Cap.'Yhe  Church  in  short  became  too  like  a 
^^'  „  Worldly  Kingdom,  even  in  the  worst  respects, 
Mat.  10. 10.  especially  when  Kings  and  Emperors  became 
i7i  1  Tim.  over  lavish  in  their  Liberality  to  purchase 
Horn.  50.  Pardons  for  their  Sins  ;  whereupon  a  Learned 
Man  observed,  that  the  Discipline  of  the 
Church  was  very  much  relaxed,  in  recom- 
pense, as  it  were,  for  the  large  Endowments 
received  from  them.  This  Prospect  of  Riches, 
Honours,  and  the  Good  Things  of  the  World, 
was  an  Encouragement  to  Men  of  worldly 
and  corrupt  Minds  to  get  themselves  into 
Places  of  Trust  and  Authority  in  the  Church, 
■where  resolving  to  enjoy  them  to  the  Height, 
they  quickly  sought  out  such  Glosses  and 
Expositions  of  those  places  of  Holy  Scrip- 
tures which  witnessed  against  their  Corrup- 
tion, as  might  reconcile  their  Religion  with 
their  Inclinations,  so  verily  making  the  Word 
of  God  of  non-effect  by  their  Traditions, 
which  were  so  effectually  conveyed  to  Pos- 
terity, both  by  Precept  and  Example,  that 
at  length  the  Face  of  Religion  was  quite 
changed,  and  under  the  Name  and  Pro- 
fession of  Christianity,  the  very  Design  of 
it,  (viz.  the  Restoring  Mankind  to  the  Love 
of  God,   by  the  Mortification   of  themselves) 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  117 

Was  utterly  undermined  and  subverted,  till 
it  pleased  God,  about  the  beginning  of  the 
fifteenth  Century,  to  raise  up  some  who 
boldly  and  resolutely  bore  their  Testimony 
against  many  Corruptions,  and  began  such 
a  Reformation,  as  would  (if  the  Primitive 
Standard  had  been  closely  observed)  have 
been  most  glorious. 

§  5.    Now    all   these   Corruptions   were   no     That  the 
doubt  Antichristian,    and    so    far  as  the  Ro-  ^.^"^'.^.^  ¥ 
mish    Church    abetted    and    maintained    ^^^'<^^  tianismls 
Idolatry  and   Superstition,    that  insolent  and  not  appro- 
blasphemous    Usurpation    of  a  God-like   Su-priatedto 
premacy,    in    opposition    to    the    Supremacy  *^/  Church 
of    Christ    and    the    Civil    Magistrate,    that  ^-^  ^''°'^- 
bloody     and     persecuting     Temper     towards 
those    that    witnessed     against    her    Corrup- 
tions,   which    are    the    plain  and  distinguish- 
ing   Characters    of    Antichrist,*    so    far    she   *  See  Dan. 
might  properly  be   called   Antichristian,  and  ^^-  p7-39. 
the  Pope   as  the  Visible  Head   of  the  Apes-  ^_^'"'  ^^^ 
tacy,    might  (according   to   what   was   before  7, 3*21, 20* 
laid    down)    be    properly   called    Antichrist ;  25.  8. 9-14, 
which   has    been    learnedly  defended   by  Mr.  23,  24,  25. 
Mede,    Dr.  More,    &c.      But  that   Antichris- "•  ^^-     ^ 
tianisra    should    be    so    far    confined    to    the 
Church  of  Rome,  as  to  exempt  all  the  other 
difi^erent    Communions   of  Christendom    from 
that  Charge,    is  hardly  justifiable.     It    might 
be  reckoned  an  invidious  Design  to  ofter  to 
expose  and  lay  open  the  Failures  and  Defi- 
ciencies   of   the    Reformed    Churches    as   to 
their    Constitution    and    Discipline,    many  of 
which  we  lament,   and   wish  to  reform ;    but 
the  Iniquity  of  the  Times  will  not  suffer  it. 
Whilst    Policy    and    worldly    Wisdom    make 


118 


OF  ANTICHRIST. 


That  the 
Spirit  of 
Antichrist 
reigns  also 
in  the  re- 
formed 
Churches. 


Men  unreasonably  afraid  of  giving  Scandal 
by  the  Restitution  of  that  Discipline,  which 
others  were  not  afraid  to  give  by  abolishing 
it.  However,  this  may  with  too  much  Jus- 
tice be  said,  and  is  too  evident  to  be  de- 
nied, That  the  Spirit  of  Antichristianism 
reigns  at  this  Day  far  and  wide  amongst 
much  the  greater  part  of  the  Members,  even 
of  the  best  constituted  and  purest  Church, 
and  other  Congregations  of  the  Reforma- 
tion. For  the  Antichristian  Spirit  of  Error 
and  Delusion  has  so  far  insinuated  itself 
into  almost  all  sorts  of  Professions,  that  under 
the  cover  and  pretext  of  Religion,  and  the 
Cause  of  God,  they  stand  in  direct  Oppo- 
sition to  the  Great  End  and  Design  of  Reli- 
gion ;  depending  in  the  mean  time  upon 
their  Blind  Zeal  for  each  of  their  particular 
Schemes  and  Discipline,  and  (that  Grand 
Idol  of  the  Reformation)  hearing  of  Sermons, 
which  one  part  is  come  to  that  abuse  at 
this  day,  as  to  justle  out  an  essential  part  of 
Christian  Worship,  the  Celebration  of  the 
Holy  Eucharist,  without  which  the  Service 
of  the  Church  is  imperfect,  (as  hath  been 
learnedly  proved)  and  which  doth  too  appo- 
sitely fall  in  with  one  of  the  Characters  of 
Antichrist,  viz.  the  taking  away  of  the  daily 
Sacrifice  or  Oblation.  Thouii;h  at  the  same 
time  it  must  be  confessed,  to  our  Grief 
and  Shame,  that  even  that  most  Sacred 
Symbol  of  Christianity  is  as  capable  of  be- 
ing abused  as  any  of  the  other,  and  actually 
is  so.  With  these  outward  Duties  and  Forms 
(as  they  make  them)  of  Christianity  (though 
few  do  observe  even  these)  Men  are  amused. 


OF  ANTICHRIST,  119 

and  made  to  C  believe  that  they  are  good 
Christians,  though  really  in  their  Hearts 
they  have  not  one  of  the  Qualities  of  the 
Spirit  of  Jesus  Christ.  This  is  a  Truth 
too  melancholy  to  be  insistf^d  upon,  and  too 
plain  to  be  denied.  And  all  those  Persons 
who  are  in  this  Spirit,  who  either  practice, 
encourage,  or  support  these  Corruptions,  are 
properly  Members  of  the  mystical  Body  of 
Antichrist,  of  whom  when  a  (perhaps  deter- 
mined) number  shall  have  filled  up  the  Mea- 
sure of  their  Iniquities,  they  shall  produce 
as  the  Genuine  Fruit  of  their  complete  Apos- 
tacy,  an  embodied  or  Personal  Antichrist, 
who  shall  be  the  Reverse  or  Opposite  of 
the  Blessed  Jesus ;  so  that  as  the  Perfection 
of  Goodness  was  lodged  in  the  Person  of 
our  Lord  Jesus  Christ;  so  the  Perfection  of 
Evil  should  be  in  him  who  is  called  Anti- 
christ; and  as  the  One  is  the  Son  of  God, 
so  the  other  is  the  Son  of  Satan.  So  Origen*  *  Lib.Q.p. 
tells  Celsus.  306.    Edit. 

§  6.  Now  this  Opinion  of  a  Personal  An-  ^^^^'j^^ff^g. 
tichrist  is  (I.)  plainly  the  Doctrine  of  Scrip-  ritiesfor  a 
ture,  in  some  places  whereof  there  is  an  in-  Proof  of  a 
disputable   clearness,    and   others    (that  have?«^«fnfl/ 
been  controverted,  and  by  the  Modern  Writers  Antichrist. 
upon  that  Subject  have  been  applied  to  the 
Papacy)    have   been    so    understood    by    the 
Ancients.     11.  It  was  the  uncontroverted  Doc- 
trine of  the   Primitive  Church.     III.  It  was 
a  common  Doctrine  amongst  the  Jews,  which 
is  to  this  Day  retained  by  those  among  them 
who  treat  of  this  Subject. 

I.  The  Remarkably  singular  Epithets  given  From  Scrip- 
in   Scripture  do   plainly   point    out    a    parti-  '"'^* 


OF  ANTICHRIST. 

cular  Person,  such  are,  1.  'O  'Avrix^n-og,  or 
the  Antichrist,  by  way  of  Eminence.  2. 
The  Man  of  Sin,  the  chief  Author  and  Ser- 
vant of  Sin,  the  Head  of  the  Apostacy.  3. 
The  Son  of  Perdition.  4.  'O  'Ai/lixst/Asvo?,  or 
the  Diabolical  Adversary.  5.  'O  'T7r£^aipojM,£i'Of, 
the  Blasphemous  Usurper  of  the  place  of 
God.  6.  'O  "Avofjt.og.  The  Lawless  one,  who 
pretends  to  be  above  all  Laws,  and  violates 
all  both  Human  and  Divine :  Whosoever, 
1  say,  will  observe  these  Titles  and  Charac- 
ters, must  needs  think  them  sufficient  Argu- 
ments of  the  Truth  I  am  pleading  for ;  but 
there  is  yet  another  Place  that  will,  I  think, 
put  the  Matter  beyond  all  doubt,  and  that 
is  the  remarkable  Declaration  of  our  Bles- 
sed Saviour  to  the  Jetvs,  John  5.  43.  (who 
sought  to  kill  him  for  asserting  his  Divine 
Mission,  v.  18.)  /  mn  come,  says  he,  iti  my 
Father  s  Nafne,  and  ye  receive  me  not,  if 
another  shall  come  in  his  oivn  Name,  him 
ye  will  receive.  Which  Words  are  a  Prophe- 
tical Denunciation  (notwithstanding  what  some 
have  objected  from  the  conditional  Parti- 
cle iocv,  which  they  understand  to  include 
a  degree  of  Doubt  and  Uncertainty)  of  the 
just  Judgment  of  God  upon  their  Infidelity, 
that  forasmuch  as  they  had  rejected  the  Lord 
of  Life  and  Glory,  coming  in  the  Name, 
and  doing  the  Works  of  his  Father,  there- 
fore, by  the  Permission  of  God,  there  should 
arise  one  in  the  last  Days,  who  should 
come  in  his  own  Name,  and  glorify  himself, 
exalting  himself  in  the  place  and  stead  of 
God,  whom  by  reason  of  die  Darkness  and 
Blindness  of  their  Understandings,  they  should 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  1 2 1 

receive  as  the  Christ.  Now  can  any  Ex- 
pression in  Nature  be  conceived  more  plainly 
to  point  out  Personality  than  these!  How 
can  we  else  understand  the  Opposition  be- 
tween /  and  Another ;  between  coming  in  his 
Fathers  Name,  and  coming  in  his  own  Name? 
Besides,  is  it  to  be  imagined  that  the  Jews, 
who  did  from  the  Beginning,  and  do  to  this 
Day  expect  their  Redeemer  to  come  as  a 
Deliverer  and  a  Prince,  clothed  with  all 
the  Majesty  and  Splendour  of  an  Everlast- 
ing Kingdom,  should  ever  believe  any  Civil 
or  Ecclesiastical  Society,  especially  that  are 
now  in  being,  to  be  their  Messiah?  Much 
less  can  we  imagine,  that  they  will  ever 
fix  upon  the  Bishop  of  Rome,  or  look  for 
Deliverance  from  his  Hands  ?  This  can  hardly 
be  conceived.  There  are  moreover,  many 
Places  in  the  Prophetical  Scriptures,  which 
by  the  Ancient  Fathers  were  generally  ap- 
plied to  the  same  Person  ;  as  Isaiah  14.  and 
17.  was  by  St.  Cyprian,*  with  many  others,*  Lib.  2.  ad 
which  falling  more  properly  under  another  ^""■^"^'^'"' 
Head,  I  shall  at  present  omit,  and  endea- 
vour to  give  a  brief  Answer  to  Two  or 
Three  little  Objections  which  have  been  made 
by  the  Reformed  against  this  Doctrine.  The 
First  was  that  Assertion  of  St.  Paul,  2  Thes-  t^,o  Objec 
salonians  2.  7.  that  the  Mystery  of  Iniquity  tions  an- 
did  even  then  ivork;  and  that  of  St.  John,^^^^^^- 
1  Ep.  Chap.  2.  V.  18.  that  there  luere  then 
many  Antichrists ;  and  Chap.  4.  v.  3.  that  the 
Spirit  of  Antichrist  ivas  then  in  the  World. 
All  which  Assertions  amount  to  no  more  than 
this,  that  the  Antichristian  Spirit  was  actually 


OF  ANTICHRIST. 

operating  at  that  time  in  the  Beginnings  of 
the  Apostacy ;  and  that  there  were  many 
engaged  therein,  who,  according  to  what  I 
have  laid  down,  p.  113.  are  therefore  called 
Antichrists,  but  do  by  no  means  weaken 
the  Truth  contended  for;  but  (as  I  have 
there  shown)  are  very  consistent  with  it. 
The  other  Objection  is  taken  from  the  Pro- 
phecy of  Daniel,  who.  Chapter  7.  saw  the 
Vision  of  the  Four  Beasts,  and  the  Ten 
Horns  of  the  fourth  Beast,  and  the  little 
Horn  that  arose  out  of  the  midst  of  them. 
Now  (say  the  Objectors)  the  Four  Beasts 
are  explained,  v.  17.  to  be  Four  Kings,  i.  e. 
Monarchies  or  Kingdoms,  as  it  is  explained, 
V.  23.  and  if  by  the  Ten  Horns  of  the  fourth 
Beast  be  to  be  understood  Ten  Kingdoms, 
into  which  the  fourth  Monarchy  shall  be 
divided  ;  then  by  the  same  Rule  of  Inter- 
pretation, by  the  little  Horn  arising  out  of 
the  Ten,  if  it  be  applied  to  Antichrist,  which 
is  generally  owned  by  the  Ancients,  must  be 
understood  not  a  Person,  but  an  Antichris- 
tian  Society,  Church,  State,  Monarchy,  or 
Kingdom.  To  this  1  answer,  First,  That  1 
see  no  reason  why  we  should  understand  by 
the  Four  Beasts  Four  Kingdoms,  and  not 
Four  Kings,  as  the  Letter  of  the  17th  Verse 
expresses  it;  that  is,  the  Founders  of  the 
Four  Kingdoms  or  Empires ;  and  so  the  call- 
ing the  fourth  Beast  the  fourth  Kingdom,  may 
be  easily  reconciled  to  the  common  way  of 
speaking  in  Scripture,  where  not  only  Fa- 
milies and  Cities,  but  even  Countries  and 
Kingdoms    are   expressed    by,    and    compre- 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  123 

hended  under  their  Founders  and  Gover- 
nors ;  and  of  this  Opinion  are  not  only  St. 
Jerome,  among  the  Ancients,  but  even  Va- 
tahlus,  PereriuSy  &c.  among  the  Moderns. 
2dii/,  Though  we  should  grant,  that  Four 
Monarchies  are  to  be  understood  by  the  Four 
Beasts,  and  by  consequence  a  long  Suc- 
cession of  Princes,  yet  will  it  not  from  thence 
follow,  that  Antichristian  Kingdom  (precisely 
taken)  must  be  so  too.  For  the  long  Dura- 
tion and  Continuance  of  the  Four  made  such 
a  Succession  necessary ;  but  the  short  Reign 
of  Antichrist  being  limited  to  Three  Years 
Six  Months,  must  necessarily  terminate  in 
one  single  Person ;  who,  by  being  called  a 
little  Horn,  Chapter  7.  20.  must  be  explained 
of  one  Person,  as  the  Ten  Horns  are  asserted 
to  be  Ten  Kings,  v.  24.  and  (says  St.  Jerome 
upon  Daniel  7.)  shall  arise  from  among  the 
Ten  Kings,  who  shall  destroy  the  Roman 
Empire,  and  divide  it  between  them  ;  (and 
a  little  after)  who  shall  not  be  as  some 
imagine,  the  Devil  himself,  but  a  Man  in 
whom  the  Devil  shall  dwell  corporeally. 

II.  This  was  also  H.  The  uncontroverted  i^^'om  the 
Doctrine  of  the  Primitive  Church  ;  by  which  f^^^chjL 
I  do  not  mean,  that  it  was  ever  established 
by  the  Authority  of  Councils,  much  less  made 
an  Article  of  Faith  :  But  that  all  the  Fathers 
who  wrote  about  Antichrist,  who  were  neither 
few  in  Number,  nor  of  the  least  Repute  in 
the  Church,  nor  at  great  distance  from  the 
Apostolical  Age,  were  of  this  Opinion. 
Amongst  whom  were  (to  mention  no  more) 
St.  IreriiBUSf    Cyril  of  Jerusalem,   Hippolytus, 


124  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

Origefiy  the  Author  of  those  Writings  com- 
monly attributed  to  Lactantius,  Methodius 
Patarensis,  Ephrem  Syrus^  Sulpitius  Severus, 
&c.  nor  do  we  find  that  they  were  ever  blamed, 
much  less  censured  for  this  Doctrine.  And 
their  Authority  must  certainly  weigh  with 
those  who  have  any  Reverence  for  Primitive 
Antiquity,  and  will  judge  impartially  of  the 
Truth  of  Things.  It  will  be  here  needless 
to  quote  the  particular  Passages  of  these 
Writers,  which  favour  this  Opinion,  because 
we  shall  be  forced  frequently  to  have  re- 
course to  them  upon  the  following  Heads. 
From  the       HI.  This  was  also,   and  still  is,   III.    The 

Jews.  Opinion    of   the    Jewish    Writers    upon   this 

Subject,  particularly  Rabbi  Jacob,  in  his  Book 
intituled,  Ahchoth  Rochel,  published  by  Hul- 
sius,  under  the  Name  of  Theologia  Judaica ; 
as  also  Rabbi  A  ben  Ezra,  Rabbi  Solo7nou 
and  Kimchi,  upon  the  Psalms  and  Prophets; 
and  the  Hebrew  Chronicon,  intituled  Seder 
Olam.  In  all  which  you  meet  with  abun- 
dance of  fabulous  Stories  concerning  his 
Parentage,  Birth,  Education,  Size,  &c.  which 
we  are  no  otherwise  concerned  with,  than  as 
they  prove  the  Opinion  of  the  Jews  to  have 
been,  that  the  Antichrist  which  they  expected 
was  to  be  a  single  Person,  not  a  Society, 
Church,  or  Monarchy.  To  which  also  may 
be  added,  the  many  remarkable  Testimonies 
of  the  Sybilline  Oracles,  which  are  full  of  this 
Doctrine. 

The  Types  of     ^  7^    Xhe    coming    of   this    Man  of   Sin 

^4  ft  it  ch  VI  st      ^  1  • 

has   been   variously   prefigured    and    typified 
both  under  the  Law  and  the  Gospel   (even 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  125 

as  our  Blessed  Lord  also  was)  by  many 
diabolical  Opposers  of  the  Truth  and  People 
of  God  ;  such  were  Antiochus  Epiphanes,  He- 
rod the  Son  of  Antipater,  Simon  31agiis,  NerOy 
Julian  the  Apostate,  and  Mahomet,  &c.  In 
the  History  of  the  Lives  of  most  of  the 
afore-mentioned  Persons,  are  to  be  found 
such  Circumstances,  and  as  it  were  Marks 
of  Antichristian  Opposition,  as  may  war- 
rant such  a  Persuasion.  The  fierce  Perse- 
cutions raised  by  Antiochus  Epiplumes  against 
the  Jews,  who  were  at  that  time  the  P ecu- 
Hum,  or  Visible  Church  ;  as  also  his  Pro- 
fanation of  the  Sanctuary  and  Temple  of 
God,  related  at  large  I  Maccabees  1.  were 
such  as  have  made  many  of  the  Modern 
Expositors,  who  were  prejudiced  against  the 
Doctrine  of  a  personal  Antichrist,  apply  all 
those  Places  of  the  Prophet  Daniel  to  him, 
which  were  by  the  Ancients  applied  to 
Antichrist.  And  who  is  moreover  distin- 
guished by  the  Author  of  that  History,  with 
this  remarkable  Epithet,  'Ai^x^uKoq  'ViC^oc ;  Words 
deeply  emphatical,  and  that  express  a  very 
great  degree  of  Corruption.  The  History 
of  Herod  is  full  of  Antichristian  Charac- 
ters ;  as  First,  his  setting  himself  up  for 
the  Christ,  or  at  least  assenting  to  those 
that  did,  falsely  applying  to  him  that  Pro- 
phecy of  Jacob,  Genesis  49.  10.  That  the 
Sceptre  should  not  depart  frotn  Judah,  nor  a 
Lawgiver  from  betiveen  his  Feet,  till  Shiloh 
should  come;  finding  that  the  Sceptre  was 
taken  from  Judah,  and  translated  to  him. 
These  were  they  who  were  called  Herodians, 


126  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

not  as  Origen  and  some  others  imagined, 
upon  a  Civil  Account,  but  as  St.  Jerom, 
Epiphanius,  and  Theophilact  asserted,  because 
they  held  Herod  to  be  the  Messiah.  Which 
also  our  Blessed  Lord  seems  to  hint  at,  Mark 
8.  15.  bidding  his  Disciples  to  beware  of  the 
Leaven  of  Herod;  by  which  the  Disciples 
understood,  Matthew  16.  12.  the  Doctrine, 
&c.  Secondly,  (not  to  mention  his  Cruelties 
to  his  own  Friends,  largely  described  by 
Josephus)  his  murdering  Forty  young  Men, 
with  their  Masters  Judas  and  Matthias,  who, 
in  their  Zeal  to  the  Worship  and  Honour  of 
God,  pulled  down  the  golden  Eagle,  which 
he  in  Contempt  of  Religion  had  set  up  upon 
the  Porch  of  the  Temple,  Recorded  by  Jose- 
*  Ant.  lib.phus*  Lastly,  His  diaboHcal  Design  to  mur- 
17.  cap.  12.  der  the  Blessed  Infant,  whom  he  looked  upon 
as  the  Rival  of  his  Hopes  and  Kingdom; 
which  Cruelty  extended  so  far,  as  to  murder 
(if  what  is  Recorded  by  the  Ethiopic  Liturgy, 
and  Greek  Menology  be  true)  Fourteen  Thou- 
sand Infants ;  and  amongst  the  rest  his 
own  Son,  as  the  Historians  of  those  Times 
attest.  What  we  have  before  observed  of 
Simon  Magus,  setting  himself  up  as  God,  is 
sufficient  to  justify  our  making  him  one  of 
the  Antichristian  Types ;  (not  to  mention 
his  dark  Magical  Power  and  Knowledge, 
whereby  he  deceived  and  bewitched  the 
People  of  Samaria,  who  looked  upon  his 
mighty  Works  to  be  Proofs  of  his  Divinity, 
Acts  8.  11.)  which  blasphemous  Exaltation 
of  himself,  because  it  may  seem  to  some 
not   to    be    fairly    proved    by   that   Text    of 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  127 

Scripture  which  I  have  before  produced,   p. 
112.   I  shall  mention  a  Passage  or  two  out 
of  some  of  the  early  Christian  Writers,  who 
lived  not  long  after  his  own  Times.     St.  Jus- 
tin Martyr'^  tells  the  Emperor,  that  this  Simon    *  ^p- 1-  § 
Magus  had  been  esteemed  as  a  God,  ^ven^f- P*^^* 
in  his  own  Imperial  City  of  Rome;  mention- 
ing also   an   Inscription  which   he  had  seen 
upon  a  Statue,  which  he  took  to  be  his,  with 
this   Inscription,    2j/aoh  Aew  o-afrw.     The  same 
has    been    related    upon    his    Authority,    by 
Irenceus,  Tertullian,  and  other  later  Writers. 
Which,   though    Valesius  in  his   Notes   upon 
Eusebius-\  has  endeavoured  to  invalidate,  fan-     t  EccL 
eying  it  to  have  been  a  Mistake  in  that  Holy  ^'*''  ^^J^ 
Father,  proceeding  from  his  not  understanding    '      ^' 
Latin ;  alleging,  that  the  Statue  mentioned  by 
him  was  lately  dug  up,  with  this  Inscription, 
SEMONI  SANGO  DEO  fIDIO.    Yet  he 
has   been   clearly  answered   by  the   Learned 
Church    Critic    'TiUemont,\   and   so   has    Mr.    X  Vid.  Til- 

Le  Clerk,  under  the  borrowed  Name  of  The-  f"'"!'^'  5.T 

'  ,  T7-  /     •         lensio  a.  Au- 

reponus,  who  asserted  the  same  as    valesius ;    ^^^   adver- 

and  since    by  our  Learned  Countryman   Dr.  sus  phere- 

Jenkins.      Origen^  understands  that  Expres-  pon:  ani- 

sion  of  his  being  called  the  great  Power  ^J!fg  *  ^* 

God,    of   his    being   called   the   Christ,    as   I     (^  Cont. 

have   explained   it,   p.  96.      And  further,  the  Celsum. 

Fragments    of   his    own   Writings   testify    as  Lib.  VI.  p. 

much ;     amongst  which  is   that  particularly,  ?^^'^'    ^"■^*' 

quoted    by   St.  Jerom,    in    his    Commentary 

upon  these  Words,  in  the  24th  of  St.  Matthew, 

Many  shall  come  in  my   Name.      Simon   the 

Samaritan  (says  he)  whom  we  read  of  in  the 

Acts  of  the  Apostles,  has  left  us  this  Testi- 


1 28  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

mony  of  himself,  among  many  others.  Ego  sum 
Sermo  Dei,  Ego  sum  speciosus,  Ego  Paracle- 
tus.  Ego  Omnipotens,  Ego  omnia  Dei.  Be- 
sides those  blasphemous  Assertions  of  his, 
which  are  quoted  by  Moses  Bar-Cephas,  a 
Syrian  Bishop,  in  the  Third  Part  of  his  Com- 
mentaries upon  Paradise,  which  you  may  see 
in  the  End  of  Dr.  Grabes  First  Volume  of  his 
Spicilegium.  As  is  also  that  of  Nero,  in  which 
I  shall  only  observe,  that  his  Apostatizing  (if 
I  may  so  speak)  from  his  happy  Beginnings  in 
his  Quinquennium,  observed  by  almost  all  the 
Historians  that  speak  of  him,  does  most  ex- 
actly answer  to  the  Opinions  of  the  Fathers 
concerning  Antichrist;  as  doth  also  the  Apos- 
tacy  of  Julian.  For  thus  saith  Hippolytus 
concerning  him,  in  his  Oration  de  Consumma- 
tione  Mu7idi,  published  in  the  Bibliotheca 
Patrum,  Tom.  II.    p.    13   and    14.     '  In    his 

*  Beginnings  he  shall  be  Merciful,  Mild,  Reli- 
'  gious,  and  Peaceable;   he  shall   punish  In- 

*  justice;    he   shall   not   suffer   Idolatry;    he 

*  shall  love  the  Scriptures  ;  he  shall  reverence 
'  the  Priests :  After  this  he  shall  cleanse  the 
'  Lepers ;  he  shalK  heal  the  Paralytic ;  he 
'  shall    cast    out    Devils ;     he    shall    foretel 

*  Things  to  come ;  he  shall  raise  the  Dead ; 
'  he  shall  support  the  Widows  and  Fatherless; 

*  he  shall  reconcile  Differences.     Then  all  the 

*  People,  especially  the  Nation  of  the  Jeius, 

*  shall  meet  together  to  make  him  King  :    At 

*  first  he  shall  craftily  refuse  this  Honour; 
'  but  they  persisting  in  their  Intentions,  shall 
'  make  him  King :    Then  shall  he  lift  up  his 

*  Heart,  and  change  his  Manners ;  he  shall 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  129 

*  become  fierce,  unmerciful,  unjust,  proud,' 
&c.  agreeable  to  what  is  foretold  by  the 
Prophet  Daniel  concerning  him,  Chapter  11. 
V.  21.  that  thei/  shall  not  give  him  the  Honour 
of'  the  Kingdom,  (i.  e.)  by  a  usual  Hebraism, 
The  Honour  of  a  Kingdom  shall  not  be 
given  him;  meaning  that  he  shall  have  no 
Right  nor  Title  to  it  before  this  flattering 
Usurpation,  (or  else  it  contradicts  what  fol- 
lows) but  he  shall  come  in  peaceably,  and  obtain 
the   Kingdom  by    Flatteries;  (^^pL,-jL,pj^)  by 

insidious   treacherous   Dealings.      The    Story 

of  Mahomet  is  well  known  and  the  Parallel 

very  easy  and  Natural ;  besides  whom  there 

have   been   many  others,    who  have  in  some 

Respects   or   other   typified    this    Mystery    of 

Iniquity. 

§  8.    The    Man   of  Sin   then   whom    these  Of  the  Birth 

have  represented   shall  certainly  arise  in  the  ^^^^  Paren- 

latter  Erid  of  the  Kingdoms,  i.  e.  of  the  fourth  '?^/  f^.^'*" 

■^  '^,^        .         *    ,        '  f^  tichrist. 

or   Koman    Jimpu'e,    ivhen   the    Transgressors 

shall  be  come  to  the  full,   or  (as  the  LXXII 

read  it  7rX7\oii[ji.ivuv  rm  a,[ji.cic,fliu)v  dvloov)  when  the 

Measure    of    the    Iniquities    of    the    World 

(or  perhaps  Christendom)  shall  be  filled  up, 

as    we   are   told    Daniel  8.   23.      Hippolytus 

supposes  (Page  30.  Edit.  Paris.)  that  he  shall 

be  the  Devil   himself,    who  shall   take  upon 

him   the  appearance   of  Human   Flesh,    and 

shall  falsely  appear  to  be  born  of  a  Virgin, 

(which    he    expressly    asserts)    not   knowing 

otherwise    how   to    reconcile  to  his   Opinion 

that  place  of  Moses,  Exodus  13  and  2.     That 

ivhatsoever  openeth  the  Womb  is  the  Lord's,  or 

K 


]M)  OF  ANTICHRIST, 

as  the  Vulgar  Latin  lias  it,  Sanctum  vocahitur 
Doinino.     Which  Opinion  seems  to  have  been 
y,, .    J  A     transcrihed   from    him    by   Epiirem   Syrus  in 
counts hcreof^^^'^  Sermon  concerning  Antichrist.     But  this 
by  some        is  a  contrivance  to  salve  an  Hypothesis  which 
Writers.        Jg  §0  far  from  being  necessary,    that  it  con- 
tradicts  the  very   Letter  of  the   Holy   Scrip- 
tures,  2  Thessalonians  2.   3.  (where  he  is  ex- 
pressly called   The  Man  of  Sin,  6fC,)   as  well 
as    the    common   Sentiments   of    most    other 
Writers.      Others  have   been  of  Opinion  that 
he  shall   be   an    Incarnate   Devil,    which    St. 
Hilary  asserts  in  his  Comment  on  the  afore- 
cited Place  of  the  Thessalonians.     This  Opi- 
nion   (notwithstanding    what    has   been   said 
to  justify  the   Possibility   of  the   Incarnation 
*  Dfi  Curti.  of  Angels  by  Tertidlian*  and  Origen-\)  is,  as 
Chrisil,  cap.  upon  many  Accounts   unreasonable,   so  con- 
Rlltfi  ^''"  ^I'atlicted  by  Damascene,  Lib.  4.  Cap.  27.  Chry- 
t  Tom.  2.  sostom    and     Theophylact    upon    the    Second 
in  Joh.         Epistle  to   the    Thessalonians.     Others  are  of 
Opinion  that  he  shall  be  born  of  a  very  im- 
pure unclean   Woman,    and   begotten   by   an 
Incubus,  or  Evil  Spirit.     Whether  such  Pro- 
creation be  possible,   and  whether  the  Tradi- 
tions of  the  Ancients  concerning  such  Births 
be  true,  (as  that  of  Remus  and  Romulus,  and 
Servius  Tullius,  recorded  by  Dionysius  Hali- 
carnassceus.  Lib.  1 .  that  of  Plato,  by  Diogenes 
Laertius;    of  Alexander   the  Great,    by   Plu- 
tarch, (S^x.)   I  shall  not  here   determine;    but 
The  most   shall  Only  say,  that  it  appears  to  me  probable, 
probable.      that   his   Generation    shall    be    according   to 
the    ordinary    natural    course,    between    two 
Persons  who  shall  have  tilled  up  the  measure 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  131 

of   their    Iniquities,    the    Devil    so   magically 
co-operating  with    them,    as    to    take  posses- 
sion of  him    in    the   very  Womb,    and  make 
him    throughout   as    completely  diabolical    as 
it  is   possible  for  a  Man  to  be.     This  is  the 
Opinion   of  Rabaniis  Maurus  (to   whom   the 
later    Critics     attribute     that    little    Treatise 
(le  Antichristo,    published    at  the  end  of  the 
Ninth   Volume   of  St.   Atistitis  Works,*)    he     *  /^.  2.59. 
shall  be  born  (says  he)  like  other  Men,  not  ^'''''  '*^'"'^- 
of  a  Virgin,   as  some  affirm  ;    in   the  begin- 
ning  of  his   Conception  the  Devil  shall    en- 
ter into  his  Mother's  Womb,  and  there  shall 
cherish  and  defend  him.     So  St.  Cpil  of  Jeru- 
salem  says,t    The    Devil    shall    use   him    as +^'''i^§^'' 
an   Organ,    or    Instrument  through  which  he 
shall   act.      For  so  he  understands  that  Ex- 
pression of  his   coming   yiotl'    ivi^ynxv   Tou   loijavac, 

2  Thessalonians  2.  9.     His  Parents,   as   most 
Writers   imagine,   shall    be  Jews;    but   I  ra- 
ther believe  a  Jew  and  an  Apostate  Christian^ 
such  mixed    Births   having  been  observed  to 
be   fatal.      Such   were   the   Rebel-Giants,  be- 
gotten  between   the    Sons   of    God    and   the 
Daughters   of  Men  (whether  by  the  Sons  of 
God  we  understand  only  the  Spiritual  Seed 
of  Seth,  or  the  'Ey^^'yopof,  as  in  the  Prophecy 
of  Enoch\) ;    such    was   rebellious   Absaloin,     \  SynceUi 
the   Son   of  Maachah,   the   Daughter  of  the  ^''^rmo^r 
King  of  Geshar ;   and  such,  it  is  commonly  yA^-^'  ^^'^^ 
thought,  was  Adonijahy  the  Son  of  Haggith, 
whose  Country  indeed  the  Scripture  takes  no 
notice  of. 


K  2 


132  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

Thatheshall     ^  Q.    His    Extraction   by  the   Jewish   Side 

Dau.'  ^       nerally  asserted  by  Hippolytus,^  by  Iren(eus,'\ 
*  P.  12.   who  in  a  mystical  Sense  interprets  that  Pas- 
t  Lib.  5.  sage   of    Jeremiah,    Chapter  8.    v.    16.      The 
Cap.  30.        snorting  oj'  his  Horses  ivere  heard  from  Dan  (or 
as   the    LXXII   read    it,    oi•A^<To^i^cc,    we   shall 
hear,  Sfc.)  of  the  coming  of  Antichrist.     By 
these   Words    (saith   he)    Jeremiah   shoivs  out 
of  what  Trihe  he  shall  arise ;  adding  withal, 
That  this  is  the  Reason  why  Dan  is  omitted 
amongst  the  Tribes  that  are  sealed.     Apoc.  7. 
St.  Ambrose  also,  de  Sened  Patriarch,  asserts 
the  same  from  these  Words,    Genesis  49.   16. 
Dan  shall  judge  his  People   (viz.  the  Jews) 
as  one  of  the  Tribes  of  Israel  (or  as  the  one 
single  Tribe  of  Israel,  to  whom  the  Govern- 
ment is  given,   i.  e.   Judah) ;    speaking  thus, 
Chapter  7.   Sampson  indeed  came  out  of  the 
Tribe   of  Dan,   who   judged   Israel  Twenty 
Years,    but    the    Prophecy    pointed    not    at 
him,  but   at  Antichrist,   who  shall  arise    out 
of   that    Tribe,    a    severe    Judge    and    cruel 
i  QuiBst.  Tyrant.      Theodoret\  asserts  the  same  thing; 
109.  m  Gen.  jj^^ij^g.   ^it^^l^    T^^t    as    the   Sceptre    given 
to    Judah,     did     principally    point    out    our 
Lord,    who   arose   out   of  that  Tribe,   so  the 
promising  a  sort  of  Rule  or  Government  to 
Dan,    did  point  out  Antichrist,   who  should 
usurp    the    Government   of    Christendom    in 
the  later  Days.      The  same    is   asserted    by 
.§  ^^Jj.^'  Prosper.  Aquitanicus,\  in  these  Words  :    It  is 
Duaci.^  67.  P^^^^  ^^^^   Antichrist   shall   arise   out   of  the 
■  Tribe  of  Da7i,  which  is  now  in  Persia,  ac- 
cording to    the  Prediction   of  the    Patriarch, 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  133 

Genesis  49.     So  does  also  Anastasms  Smaita*   *  Ham.io. 
St.  Gregoiy,-\  mentioning  that  afore-cited  Ge-  ^"^  Hexaem. 
nesis  49.    says,    That   Antichrist   shall    come  j^i^Hqiji 
out  of  the  Tribe  of  Dan;  for  which  reason,  Patrum. 
says   he,    in   the    Division    of   the   Camp    of  Tom.  I. 
Israel,   Dati  pitched  first  towards  the  North,  .  ^  ■^'*' ^'• 
thereby  to  signify  him  who  said  in  his  Heart,  ^^  ^  '    ^^' 
I  will  ascend  into   the   Sides  of   the   North, 
I  will  he  like  the  3Iost  High,  Isaiah  14.  13.  of 
whom  also   another    Prophet   spake,    saying, 
The  snorting  of  his   Horses    shall    be    heard 
from  Dan,  Jeremiah  8.  16.     And  this  I  think 
is  fairly  hinted    in    the   Prophecy   of  Jacob, 
Genesis  49.  17.   Dari  is  a  Serpent  in  the  ivay, 
biting  the  Horses'  Heels,  that  the  Rider  shall 
fall  backward;    which,    when    he    had    said, 
pointing   at   Antichrist,   he   adds,  by  way   of 
Confidence  in    the  Promises  and  Mercies  of 
God,  I  have  waited  for  thy  Salvatio?i,  O  Lord! 
i.  e.  The  Coming  of  the  Messiah,  Luke  2.  30, 
as  if  he  had  said,  Dari,  out  of  thee  shall  arise 
the  last  and  greatest  Enemy  of  the  Church 
of  God ;  but  this  is  my  Consolation,  that  the 
Messiah   shall  come  upon  thee  and   destroy 
thee,    and    bring   Salvation   unto    Israel,   and 
unto  the  Ends  of  the  Earth.     And  this  the 
Jews  are  so  fully  persuaded  of,  that  Ben-Dan, 
or  a  Son  of  Dan,  is  a  proverbial  Expression 
amongst  them,  to  signify  a  notorious  Villain, 
or  Murderer,  as  David  de  Pomis  observes  in 
his  Lexicon  upon  the  Word  Dan. 

§  10.  As  for  the  Stature,  Shape,  and  Fea-     OJhisIn- 
tures    of   his   Person,    his    Education   in  his^"^^' 
Infancy,    &c.    which    have    been    with    great 
Confidence  described  by  some  Writers  of  the 


,34  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

middle  and    later  Ages,    I    shall   omit   them 
as    things    that    have    no    footsteps  in  Scrip- 
ture  (excepting    only   Daniel  8.    23.    capable 
of  divers  Constructions)  nor  Primitive  Anti- 
quity; and  shall   only  observe,    that    as  it  is 
recorded  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  Luke  2. 
52.    that    from  his  Childhood  he  increased  in 
Wisdom,  and  Stature,   and  Favour,  both  with 
God  and  Man;  so  it  is  highly  probable  that 
Antichrist,  during  his  Minority,  shall  be  con- 
tinually    improving    in     Magical    Diabolical 
Arts,    and    converse    with    Evil    Spirits,    by 
which    he   shall    be    accomplished    and  fully 
instructed    for    the    great  Work  which   he   is 
to  do. 
T/ie  Region      §  11.  As  for  the  Place  of  his  Birth,  there 
where  he       ^^^    Reasons  (though  not  equally  convincing 
tppem-'^      to  all)  why  we  may  think    he   shall  be  born 
in   the    East,    though    his    first    Appearance 
may   be   in   the  West.     But    that   not    being 
very  clear,  we  shall  pass  on  to  consider  what 
St.  Johfi  says  of  him,  Apoc.  Chapter  13.  that 
he  shall    arise    out   of  the    Sea,    (for  of  him 
*  Lib.  5.  that    Place    is    interpreted    by  Irenceus,*)  by 
Cap.  28.       which,    upon  a  twofold  Account,    we  are  to 
understand  the  West.     First,  Because  the  Sea, 
and    the    Isles    of  the    Sea,    have  been  con- 
stantly  so   understood    by    the  Jeivs :     And, 
2dly,    Because   it    agrees  with   the  Prophecy 
of  Daniel,  that  he  shall  arise  out  of  the  Ten 
Horns  of  the  fourth  Beast ;  that  is,  the  Ro- 
man   or    Western   Empire.     The    Region   of 
the  Western   Empire,    from  whence    he    shall 
come,    is    the  North;   as  appears  by  compa- 
ring Jeremiah  4.  6.  and  Joel  2.  20.  Joel  1.2; 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  135 

2.  2;  3Iatt/ieiv  2i.  21.  not  to  mention  many 
other  Places,  for  the  same  Reasons  probably 
that  were  mentioned  Part  I.  that  Region 
being  more  particularly  expressive  of  the  Ven- 
geance and  Judgment  of  God. 

§    12.    At    his    first    Appearance     in    the     His  first 
World,    he    shall    (as    we    observed    before)  ^Ippearancr 
seem    to    be    very   lleligious,    Wise,    Tempe- ;^';J/';^^^^'^''^'' 
rate,  and  Peaceable,  so  says  Cyril  f  by  ^^^^^  quest  of  the 
counterfeit    Virtues,    jomed     with    the    great  Ten  Kings. 
Powers  of  Magical  Knowledge,  he  shall  (says  *^«'-^5.  §5. 
he)   deceive   the  World,  especially  the  Jews, 
(who,    according    to  the  line  of  Time,    shall 
then    begin    to    expect     their    Messiah    and 
Redeemer,)    into    an    Opinion   that  he  is  the 
very  Christ.     Upon   which    (says    Hippolytus 
aforecited)    they    shall    offer    to    make    him 
their   King,    which    he    shall    craftily    refuse, 
but  they  shall  force  him  to  accept  it.     Here 
then  we    find    him    invested    in   the   Royalty 
and   Majesty  of  a    Kingdom,    to    whom,    by 
degrees,    shall    be    gathered    from    all    parts 
those  whose  Iniquities  are  full,  and  who  are 
qualified  for  a  nearer  converse  with  him,  by 
partaking    of  his    Magical  Power,    which  he 
(in    imitation    of   our    Blessed    Lord's    shed- 
ding   forth    his    Spirit    upon    his    Disciples) 
shall    probably    impart    to    some    select  Fol- 
lowers,   as  the   First   Fruits,    to  be  as  Head 
Powers    and    Rulers    of   his    Magical  Army, 
described    by    Joel,    Nahum,    &c.    as  I  shall 
prove,    of  which  they  shall  all  be    in    a  less 
degree  Partakers.      Now  it   is   probable  that 
the  first  Act  of  Power  that  he  shall  perform, 
shall  be  revenging  upon  Rome,  (which  is  Ba- 


1.36  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

hylon,  say  the  Reformed   Commentators)  the 
Ancient  Ruins  of  Jerusalem,   at  the  Instiga- 
tion of  the  Jews  his  Followers.     This  is  the 
*  P.  439.  Opinion  of  Irenceus^    and  Hippolytus,    §  56. 
1.  23.  449.  ajjjj  to  tl^ig  bQj}^  of  tijej^^  apply  the  Parable 

^'    "  of   the    unjust    Judge   that    feared    not  God, 

neither  regarded  man,  to  whom  the  Widow, 
that  is,  the  Earthly  Jerusalem  applied  her- 
self, entreating  him  to  avenge  her  of  her 
Adversary,  meaning  Rome,  which  he  accord- 
ingly did.  The  Manner,  in  which  he  shall 
punish  her,  is  thought  to  be  that  he  shall 
invade  the  ten  Kings,  into  whose  Hands 
the  broken  and  divided  Power  of  the  Ro- 
man Empire  shall  be  delivered.  These  had 
not  received  a  Kingdom  at  the  writing  of  this 
Prophecy.  Revelations  17.  12.  hut  shall  re- 
ceive Power  as  Kings  one  hour  (or  in  the 
same  hour  or  time)  with  the  Beast.  We 
are  not,  therefore,  to  imagine  that  by  the 
Roman  Empire  is  to  be  understood  the  Em- 
pire as  it  was  then,  or  as  it  is  now,  but  as 
it  shall  be  at  that  time  when  the  Beast  or 
Antichrist  shall  arise,  plainly  also  intima- 
ted to  be  the  last  Kings  by  being  called  Toes, 
Daniel  2.  41.  Three  of  these  Kings  Anti- 
christ shall  set  upon  and  overcome,  and  they 
shall  submit  to  him,  Daniel  7.  24.  And  the 
rest  being  affrighted  shall  give  up  their  King- 
doms and  Authority  to  him.  Whence  St. 
John  says  of  them  all,  that  they  have  one 
mind,  and  give  their  Strength  and  Power  to 
the  Beast,  Revelations  17.  13.  Because  the  first 
three  submitted  by  Force,  the  other  seven 
through  Fear :    These  he  shall  make  his  Exe- 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  137 

cutioners  to  punish  the  Romans  l)y  making 
them  Slaves  and  Vassals,  and  destroying 
their  Polity,  and  bringing  them  into  so  se- 
vere a  Condition,  as  may  be  understood  by 
making  her  desolate  and  naked,  and  eating 
her  Flesh  and  burning  her  with  Fire.  *  Which  *  Vid.  Ibid. 
Expression  of  burning  her  ivitli  Fire  may, 
perhaps,  have  a  particular  regard  to  the 
Manner  of  besieging  her,  viz.  by  bombard- 
ing her.  Revelations  17.  16.  Which  is  not  to 
be  understood  of  the  utter  Destruction  of  the 
City,  for  that  is  to  continue  till  the  pour- 
ing forth  of  the  last  Vial,  when  it  will  pe- 
rish in  the  great  Earthquake  that  precedes 
or  accompanies  the  Destruction  of  \\\X\- 
christ;  and  so  far  even  the  Roman  Catho- 
lic Writers  agree,  that  Antichrist  shall  de- 
stroy Rome,  though  none  of  them  say  he 
shall  do  it  in  Person.  Which,  when  he  has 
done,  it  is  not  improbable  that  he  shall  re- 
ceive Divine  Homage  and  Worship,  perhaps 
in  the  very  Cathedral  of  St.  Peter.  Even 
as  Mahomet  II.  when  he  had  taken  Constan- 
tinople and  entered  it  in  Triumph,  placed 
himself  blasphemously  upon  the  Altar  of 
St.  Sophia,  to  receive  a  sort  of  Divine  Wor- 
ship from  his  military  Slaves.  And  this  will 
seem  more  likely  when  we  shall  consider 
what  Effects  such  a  Conquest  will  have  up- 
on the  Minds  of  his  Followers,  who  shall 
see  him  Triumphant  in  that  City  where 
once  Religion  flourished  gloriously,  and  in 
which,  at  this  time,  there  is  more  of  the 
Pomp  and  external  Grandeur  of  the  (so 
called)    Christian    Church    to    be    seen    than 


138  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

any  where  else,  they  must  needs  look  upon 
this  to  be  no  less  than  a  vanquishing  of  Chris- 
tianity and  triumphing  over  its   Holy  Author, 
and  by  consequence  to  be  a  firm  Proof  of  his 
own  Divinity. 
i)f  the  East-     §   13.    Whilst  these  Things   are  transact- 
ern  Beast,  or  \^^\t^  the  West,  St.  Johi  sees  another  Beast 
False  Pro-    ^^jgjj^o,    qjj^   ^f   i\^q    East,    expressed    by  the 
Earth,    m    opposition    to    the    .Sea,    which  is 
*  Lib.  5.  the  West.    This  is  his  false  Prophet.    IrencBus* 
]).  444.         calls   him  his   Armiger  (or   uVao-Trirri?,   as  the 
t  5'«;rt.  13  Word  is  preserved  by  Andreas  Ccesariensis'\ ) 
in  Ajwc.  p.  ^jjj]  J  cannot  but  think  that  this  is  the  same 
that  is  mentioned  by  Lactatitius,   p.  652.    as 
arising  in  the  Power   of  the    Evil  Spirit  out 
of  Syria,    distinct    from  Antichrist  whom  he 
mentions,    p.  650.   as  coming  out  of  the  far- 
t  2.  D/rt/ r/V  thest  parts  of  the  North.     Sulpitius  Severus\ 
Vda  Mar-    .^^^^  counts   two   Antichrists,    one    arising  in 
ini,   ap.  -.  ^j^^  East,   and  the  other  in  the   West,  though 
it    must    be    confessed    in    an    order    which 
is  the  Reverse  of  ours,  supposing  that  Nero 
shall    rise    again    in     the    West,    and    Anti- 
§  Dt  Pro- ch  list  in  the  East.     And  Prosper^  asserts  the 
miss.p.Gif.    game,     understanding     the     40th     and     41st 
Chapters   of  Job,    concerning  Eehemoth    and 
Lemathaii,     one    arising    out    of    the    Earth 
and    the    other    out    of  the  Deep  or  Sea,  of 
these  two.     This  Eastern  Antichrist,  or  false 
Prophet,    shall    be    to    the    Western,    as    the 
Moon  to  the  Sun,  his  reflex  Image  or  Light, 
whom   in    his    own    Region   he  shall  preach 
up  as  the  Messiah,    that    shall   shortly  come 
and  take    Possession    of   his    Kingdom.     So 
it    is    observable    in    History,    that    Mahomet 


OF  ANTIC HR  1ST.  1 3J) 

arose    in    the    East    very    near    that    notable 
Era  of  Antichristianism  600,  when  Boniface 
111.  was  declared  Universal  Bishop  by  P/iocas 
the    Emperor    of   Constantinople*    the    Anti-   *  yifi  //t/. 
christian    Spirit    aiming,    as    it    were,    to    op- i/oms.  p.  ion. 
press  both  Regions  at  once,  to  be  as  a  faint 
Representation    of   the    Universal    Monarchy 
he    asserts,    and    to    observe    the    growth    of 
any  Enemy  that  may  arise  in  either  Region. 
Even  so  the   Angel    that    limited    the    Dura- 
tion   of    the    Antichristian    Times    is    repre- 
sented   as    setting   one    foot  upon  the  Earth 
or  East,    and    the   other   upon  the  Water  or 
West,  Revelations  10.  2-  thereby,  perhaps,  sym- 
bolically  representing   as    well    as   foretelling 
the  ntter  abolition  of  the  Antichristian  Power 
out  of  the  Church,  both  in  Body  and  Soul  (if 
1  may  so  express  it);  for  even  that  also  is,  1 
believe,    hinted    in   the    Distinction  of   Earth 
and  Water.     But   to    return,    this    false  Pro- 
phet shall  exercise  all  the  Power  of  the  first 
or  Western    Beast,    as    his    Deputy  or   Vice- 
roy,  Revelations  13.   12.  but  not  so  eminently 
or  Universally  till    after   the    Western    Beast 
shall  have   received   his   deadly  Wound,  and 
been  healed  of  it,  v.  12  and  13.     This  deadly 
Wound    shall     be     probably    that    he    shall 
seem   to    die    (perhaps  to  be  slain)    and  rise 
again    in    imitation    of    our    Blessed    Lord's 
Death  and  Resurrection,  1   say  seem  to  die, 
for  so  the  expression  cJ?  i(r<p(x.yiJ^iVY\v,  v.  3.  seems 
plainly  to  import,   after  which    sham    Resur- 
rection   he   shall   impower  the  false  Prophet 
to    do    great  Wonders    in    his    Name,    v.  13, 
14,  15.  (probably  in  imitation  of  our  Blessed 


140  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

Lord,  who,  after  his  Resurrection  and  Ascen- 
sion,   sent    his    Spirit   upon    his   Holy  Apos- 
tles,   giving    them    thereby  a  Commission    to 
preach  his  Gospel,    and    do    Miracles  in  his 
Name).      He    shall    cause    to    be    made    an 
Image  of  the  first  Beast  who  had  the  deadly 
Wound,    and    by  his    great    Magical    Power 
shall  make  it  live    and  speak,    i.  e.  perhaps 
cause    some    Evil    Spirit    to    inhabit    it    and 
give    Oracles   from   it ;    who   shall  command 
all    that    will    not  worship    it    to    be    put  to 
Death,    v.    15.     This    Image  might  probably 
be  in  this  respect  represented  by  the  Image 
which  was  set    up  by  the  King  of  JBabyloriy 
Daniel  3.    as    Irenceus    asserts   it   was   upon 
another,    viz.    the    Number,    it    being    sixty 
Cubits  high,  and  six  broad.     Iiencsus,  Lib.  5. 
Cap.  29. 
The  Oppo-      §    14.    And    as    the    Mystery    of   Iniquity 
sitionthat     shall    thus    work,    so    it    is    probable    there 
fy'lhe^'^'^''^^^^^   be    a    proportionable   Opposition  made 
Church.        ^y  some  who  sliall  be  anointed  to  be  as  tlie 
First-fruits   of  the    Kingdom    of   the    Lamb, 
and  who    before  they  are  gathered   into   one 
Body,     as     they    shall    be    afterwards,    may 
bear    their    Testimony    in    both     these     Re- 
gions (perhaps  in  the  two  Cities   of  Babylon 
or   Rome,   and   Jerusalem)    against  the  Blas- 
phemous   Usurpations    of    the    Antichristian 
Beasts.      These    shall    be    such   who   having 
been  long   exercised    in   the    Discipline   and 
Patience  of  the  Cross,  shall   before  the  Ap- 
pearance of  Antichrist  be  so  perfected,  as  to 
be  qualified  to  receive  the  Everlasting  Gos- 
pel, which  shall  be  preached  to  all  Nations. 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  1 4 1 

This  we  are  to  understand,  Revelations  12.  1. 
By  the  Woman  clothed  with  the  Sun,  crying 
out,  travailing  in  birth,  and  being  in  pain 
to  be  delivered.  That  is,  the  Church  labour- 
ing in  pain  to  perfect  Christians  and  con- 
vert the  Nations,  to  bring  into  herself  a 
perfect  Number  known  to  God  before  the 
great  Antichristian  Persecution.  And  it  is 
not  improbable  that  there  shall  be  at  that 
time  a  very  great  Efflux  of  Grace,  which 
may  stir  up  some  pious  Souls  to  a  more 
frequent  and  devout  Celebration  of  the  Holy 
Eucharist,  and  accompany  the  Celebration 
of  it,  which  may  be  the  visible  Medium 
whereby  their  Perfection  may  be  wrought 
out ;  answering  to  that  great  and  notable 
Passover  instituted  by  good  Josiah  a  little 
before  the  Sabylonish  Captivity,  and  that  of 
Hezekiah  not  long  before,  of  which  the  Scrip- 
ture witnesseth,  2  Chronicles  30.  2(3.  that  the 
like  had  not  been  kept  in  Jerusalem  since  the 
days  of  Solomon  the  Soti  of'  David  King  of 
Israel.  For  the  reason  of  that  so  solemn 
Institution  given  by  Hezekiah  himself  was. 
Chapter  29.  v.  10.  that  the  fierce  Wrath  of 
the  Lord  might  turn  away  from  them,  and 
that  God  might  be  merciful  to  their  brethren 
that  were  gone  into  Captivity,  Chapter  30.  9. 
i.  e.  the  Ten  Tribes  carried  away  by  the 
King  of  Assyria,  v.  6.  Those  then  that 
shall  be  thus  perfected  shall  go  forth  preach- 
ing the  Kingdom  of  God,  and  foretelling 
the  sudden  coming  of  Antichrist.  So  says 
Abbot  Joachim.*     The   Persons   whom  God  *  ^**-  '?•  o.e 


shall  design  for  this  High  Office,    and  qua- 


Tribulat. 
p.  5. 


142  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

lify  to  bear  it,  shall  probably  be  chosen 
here  and  there  one  out  of  all  Nations  and 
People  whom  the  Spirit  of  Wisdom  shall 
instruct  and  teach,  enter  into  them,  and 
fully  possess  them,  making  them  thereby 
Friends  of  God,  and  Prophets,  Wisdoms  7. 
14,  27.  at  first  she  will  walk  with  them  by 
crooked  ways,  and  bring  Fear  and  Dread 
upon  them,  and  torment  them  with  her 
Discipline,  imtil  she  may  trust  their  Souls, 
and  try  them  by  her  Laws ;  then  will  she 
return  the  straight  way  unto  them,  and  show 
them  her  Secrets.  Ecclesiastes  4.  17,  18. 
And  from  this  Divine  Teaching  and  Wis- 
dom these  Persons  are  frequently,  in  the 
Prophet  Daniel,  called  the  Wise,  and  Men 
of  Understanding,  and  those  that  know  their 
God,  Daniel  n.  35;  12.3,  10;  11.32.  and 
as  they  shall  go  forth  in  the  Spirit  of  Wis- 
dom, so  shall  they  also  in  the  Spirit  of 
Power,  being  accomplished  with  the  higl» 
graduated  Gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  For 
to  them  also  does  the  Great  Charter  of 
the  Apostles  extend,  3Iark  16.  17,  18.  that 
thei/  shall  cast  out  Devils,  they  shall  speak 
ivith  New  Tongues,  they  shall  take  up  Ser- 
pents, and  if  they  drink  any  deadly  Thing 
it  shall  not  hurt  them,  ^x.  For  it  is  not 
said  that  these  Signs  should  follow  the  Apos- 
tles, but  in  general  all  them  that  believe,  i.  e. 
who  have  the  same  Faith  that  they  had, 
according  to  what  is  said  Matthew  21.21,  22. 
Mark  11.  22,  23,  24.  that  all  things  are 
possible  to  them  that  believe.  So  also  St. 
Peter  declares.  Acts  2.  39.  that  the  Promise^ 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  143 

viz.  of  the  Spirit,  loas  not  to  themselves 
and  that  Generation  only,  but  to  their  Chil- 
dren also,  and  to  all  that  ivere  afar  off,  even 
to  as  many  as  the  Lord  God  shoidd  call. 
Thus  accomphshed  and  completed  in  the 
New  Birth,  which  is  nothing  else  but  Faith 
working  by  Love,  Galatians  5.  6;  6.  15^  they 
cannot  be  supposed  to  want  those  Virtues 
and  Powers,  which  our  Lord  hath  promised 
shall  always  accompany  Faith,  though  no 
greater  than  a  Grain  of  Mustard-Seed,  which, 
as  himself  says,  is  the  least  of  all  Seeds,  Luke 
17.  6;  Matthew  13.  31,  32. 

§  15.  This  is   a   Doctrine   that   will  never    A  Digres- 
go    down    with    those   who    are   wedded    to  sjon  concern- 
the    commonly    received     Opinion,    that    the  '"fffjfllj^  Jf 
miraculous   Powers    and    Gifts   of    the    Holy  Spiritual 
Ghost    were    appropriated    to    the    Apostles,  Gifis,  (md 
or   the   next   succeeding   Age,   looking   upon  Miraculous 
them  indeed  to  be  no  better  than  the  Infant  ,/"J^!*A 
Supports   01   a   rising   Church,    things   proper 
to  gain  Respect  and  Authority  to  new  Doc- 
trines and  the  Preachers  of  a  new  Religion, 
but  not  at  all  necessary  for  times  of  greater 
Perfection  and    Improvement,  such  as  came 
afterwards,    when  the  Truths  of  Christianity 
were    sufficiently  settled,    and    generally   be- 
lieved ;  much  less  can  they  be  necessary  for 
these   Days   of    Light   and   Wisdom,    for   us 
who  live  under  such  a  Dispensation,  which, 
some  would  have   us   believe  to  be  as   Per- 
fect, both  as  to  Doctrine  and  Discipline,   as 
any  thing  can  be  on  this  side  Heaven.     This 
is  a  common  and  prevailing  Opinion,   which 
deserves  a  very  particular  Examination,  too 


144  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

long  for  this  Place;  I  shall,  therefore,  only 
make  two  or  three  Remarks  upon  it,  and 
return  to  my  Subject. 
From  the  I.  St.  Paul,  Ephesians  4.  8,  9,  10,  11,  12. 
Scriptures,  asserts  that  the  various  Gifts  and  Dispensa- 
tions of  the  Spirit  given  by  our  Lord  after 
his  Ascension,  which  were  those  before  men- 
tioned out  of  St.  Mark  16.  17.  with  the 
other,  whereby  they  were  distinguished  into 
Apostles,  Prophets,  Evangelists,  Pastors,  and 
Teachers,  were  given,  for  the  Perfecting  of 
the  Saints,  for  the  Work  of  the  Ministry/, 
for  the  edifying  of  the  Body  of  Christ,  till  we 
all  come  in  the  Unity  of  the  Faith,  and  of  the 
Knowledge  of  the  Son  of  God,  unto  a  Perfect 
Man,  unto  the  Measure  of  the  Stature  of  the 
Fulness  of  Christ,  6fc.  i.  e.  as  the  succeeding 
Verses  explain  it.  The  End  of  these  Gifts 
and  Powers  was  the  gathering  and  com- 
pleting a  perfect  Church  upon  Earth  ;  which 
is  a  Doctrine  of  Scripture  of  singular  use 
in  things  of  this  Nature.  Now  can  any 
one  show  me  when  this  End  was  attained  ? 
When  and  where  was  this  Perfection  of 
the  Saints  ?  When  did  all  come  in  the 
Unity  of  the  Faith  and  Knowledge  of  the 
Son  of  God  unto  a  Perfect  Man?  and 
yet  it  has  pleased  God  to  suspend  these 
Means,  these  Powers  are  ceased.  What 
shall  we  say  then?  that  God  determined 
an  End  which  he  could  not  accomplish, 
or  pitched  upon  Means  disproportionable 
to  the  End  proposed?  God  forbid!  The 
Early  Apostatizing  of  the  Church  from  her 
iirst    Love,     and    the    gradual    Progress    of 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  i45 

that  Apostacy,  made  God  abhor  his  Sanc- 
tuary, and  withdraw  those  visible  Tokens 
of  his  Presence;  and  among-  the  Jews  the 
suspension  of  these  miraculous  Powers  was 
constantly  looked  upon  as  a  Mark  of  the 
Divine  Displeasure.  Thus  Exodus  33.  3,  5. 
God  refuses  to  go  up  with  the  People  be- 
cause of  their  Iniquities,  which  cannot  be 
understood  of  his  general  Presence,  who  is 
every  where,  and  fiUeth  all  Things,  but  of 
his  special  miraculous  Care  and  Protection 
of  them.  So  when  Joshua  humbled  him- 
self before  God,  for  the  Defeat  of  Israel 
by  the  Men  of  Ai,  Joshua  7.  12.  God  tells 
him  the  Reason,  and  threatens  him  to  be 
with  them  no  more,  unless  they  did  de- 
stroy the  Accursed  Thing  from  among  them. 
To  mention  no  more,  when  the  Angel  of 
the  Lord  appeared  to  Gideon  in  his  Thresh- 
ing-floor with  this  Salutation,  The  Lord  is 
with  thee ;  Thou  mighty  Man  of  Valour, 
Judges  6.  12.  His  Ansiver  ivas.  Oh  my  Lord! 
if  the  Lord  be  with  us,  why  is  all  this  befal- 
len us,  (viz.  the  Oppression  of  the  Midian- 
ites?)  and  where  are  all  his  Miracles  which 
our  Fathers  told  us  of,  such  as  the  Deliver- 
ance out  of  Egypt  ?  &c.  As  if  he  had  said, 
the  suspending  his  wonted  miraculous  Pro- 
tection of  us,  is  a  sufficient  Mark  of  his 
Indignation.  And  I  cannot  but  think  that 
the  wise  Compilers  of  our  Excellent  Li- 
turgy had  this  in  their  Tlioughts,  when 
after  those  moving  words.  Psalm  44.  1.  O 
God,  we  have  heard  with  our  Ears,  &c. 
The    Church    devoutly     achls,     by    way     of 

L 


\4(i  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

Confidence   in   the   former    Mercies    of  God, 
O   Lord  arise,  help,   and  deliver  ns  for  thine 
Honour. 
From  the       II,    It  was   the   Opinion  of  many   of  the 
Ancients.      Fathers,  (not  to  say  the  Doctrine  of  the  Ca- 
thoHc  Church,   which  the  Learned  Mr.  Dod- 
well  asserts,   Dissert.    Cyprian,    p.   12.  §   10.) 
that    Miracles,    or    the    Gifts    of   the    Holy 
Ghost,    would    always    accompany    the    Ca- 
tholic   Church,     and    l)y    consequence    were 
never  to   cease,   unless  (which  was  hinted  by 
many  of  their  Expressions)  there  should   be 
wanting  fit    Persons   to   receive   and   execute 
*  Lib.'d,   those  great   Commissions.      Irenceus,^   speak- 
cont.  Hceres.  \^^   of   the   Gifts   of  the    Spirit,    says,    They 
^' "'   '         were    a   Treasure    deposited    by    God    in   the 
Church  ;  which  Spirit,    he  says,   is  the   Prin- 
ciple   of    Divine    Life    and    Energy    in    the 
Church,    even    as    the   Soul   to   the   Natural 
Body;     adding,    '  God    has    placed    in    the 
'  Church   Apostles,   Prophets,  Teachers,  and 
'  all  the  other  Gifts  of  the   Spirit,   which  all 
*  they   are    not    Partakers    of    who   are   out 
'  of  its  Communion ;'  (plainly  intimating,  that 
the  Faithful  were  Partakers :)    '  For  (a  little 
'  after)   where    the    Church   is,    there   is   the 
'  Spirit   of  God  ;    and    where    the    Spirit    of 
'  God  is,  there  is  the  Church,  and  all  Graces 
'  (or  Spiritual  Gifts,  as  the  Word  signifies'). 
t  Lib.  7.  Origen  also,!    speaking    of    the  Jews,    says, 

f!l'    oo^    '  They  had   no   Prophets   amons;   them   after 
sura,  p.337.  <   .1       'ri        •  r  di  ^    §     •  t7 

the  Commg   of  our   Blessed   Saviour,     ror 

'  they    were    forsaken    by    God,    after    they 

'  had   rejected   him  whom  the  Prophets  fore- 

'  told  :    But  these  Powers,    revived   again  at 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  147 

*  the    Pleaching    of  Jesus,    and    much  more 

*  after  his  Assumption  ;  then  they  decreased 

*  again :  But  there  are  still  some  Foot- 
'  steps    of    them    remaining    among    a    few 

*  Persons,  whose  Souls  are  purified  by  the 
'  Word    of    God,    and    whose    Actions    are 

*  conformable.'  For  (as  he  goes  on)  The 
Holy  Spirit  of  Discipline  will  Jlee  Deceit, 
and  remove  from   Thoughts   that  are  without 

Undcf  standing,  yS'lsdoms  1.  5.  JEusebius,^  dis-  *  Eccl. 
puting  against  the  Montanists,  has  this  Pas-  ^'*^'  ^**-  ^• 
sage  :  If  (as  the  Montanists  tell  us)  after  ^^P'  ^'" 
Quadratus  and  Ammianus  Philadelphus,  these 
Women  of  Montanus  succeeded  in  the  Gift 
of  Prophecy  ;  let  them  show  us  who  shall 
succeed  them,  for  the  Apostle  teaches  us, 
that  the  Gift  of  Prophecy  must  continue 
in  the  Church  till  the  Second  Coming  of 
our  Lord  ;  which,  lest  any  should  interpret 
only  of  the  ordinary  ministerial  Succession, 
as  it  has  been  expounded,  1  shall  produce 
another  Passage,  (Lib.  5.  Cap,  7 J  where, 
after  he  had  quoted  a  Passage  out  of  Irenceus, 
concerning  the  continuance  of  Miracles  to 
his  time,  adds.  That  these  different  ^oc^i<r[xoilx 
(a  very  comprehensive  Word)  were  exer- 
cised even  in  his  own  times  Tra^a  tok  aH»°'?> 
by  those  that  were  worthy  to  receive  them. 
Many  other  Testimonies  might  be  produ- 
ced, which  I  shall  omit,  excepting  only 
one  out  of  Cardinal  Cajetans  Commentary 
upon  Aquinas.-\  Speaking  of  the  graticB  t  '^da.  Ida. 
gratis  datcB,  he  puts  a  Question,  why  the  Gift  Q"^*^  ^'^^' 
of  Tongues  is  not  continued  in  the  Church  ? 
To   this,   says    he,    1.   St.   Augtistin  answers, 

L  2 


148  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

That  the  Gospel  hath  been  preached  among 
all  Nations.  This  Answer  he  rejects  as  un- 
satisfactory, and  contrary  to  the  Know- 
ledge and  Experience  of  that  time.  2.  That 
being-  of  the  Number  of  the  grati(B  gratis 
dates,  which  were  l)y  them  conceived  to  be 
given  to  Men  without  any  regard  to  the 
moral  or  natural  Disposition  of  the  Recei- 
vers, it  must  be  resolved  entirely  into  the 
arbitrary  Pleasure  of  God,  who  divides 
them  severally  to  every  Man,  according  to 
his  good  Pleasure :  But  neither  does  this 
Answer  satisfy  him.  He  adds,  The  chief 
and  great  Reason  seems  to  be  our  luke- 
warmness,  and  neglecting  to  fLdtil  that  Com- 
mand of  our  Lord,  of  praying  the  Lord 
of  the  Harvest  to  send  more  Labourers  into 
his  Harvest.  To  which,  says  he,  may  be 
added,  the  want  of  Piety,  particularly  in  the 
Prelates,  or  Governors  of  the  Church,  whose 
Iniquities  make  them  uncapable  of  receiving 
those  Graces ;  for  it  is  plain,  that  those 
Graces  are  not  regularly  bestowed  on  those 
who  unqualify  themselves  for  the  receiving 
them,  though  they  are  not  given  upon  the 
Score  of  Merit.  So  the  Marriage  Conver- 
sation rendered  even  the  Prophets  them- 
selves uncapable  of  receiving  the  Influences 
of  the  Spirit.  Thus  far  this  Great  Man.  But 
to  return  to  our  Subject  from  whence  we 
have  made  this  (1  hope  not  unprofitable) 
Digression. 
The  Opposi-  §  16.  Let  us  here  contemplate  a  little 
flTcA^'T'*  ^'^^  Opposition  that  tlie  Holy  Scripture  seems 
andAnti"^^^  "^^'^^  between  the  Antichristian  Company 

christian 
(Characters. 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  149 

and  the  Followers  of  the  Lamb,  according- 
to  the  different  Characters  and  Denomina- 
tions by  which  they  are  distinguished  to 
us.  First  then,  answerable  to  Babylon  in 
the  West,  the  great  Whore,  the  Mother  of 
Harlots,  Revelations  17.  1,  5.  is  the  Wofnan 
in  the  Wilderness,  bringing  forth  the  Man- 
child,  that  luas  to  ride  all  Nations  with  the 
Rod  of  Iron,  Revelations  12.  as  the  being  in 
the  Wilderness  or  Solitude,  is  opposed  to 
being  in  the  City.  Answerable  to  the  Wor- 
shippers of  the  Image  of  the  Beast  in  the 
East,  Revelations  13.  15.  are  those  that  wor- 
ship in  the  Temple,  Revelations  \\.  1.  The 
Beast  and  False  Prophet  are  opposed  by  the 
Two  Witnesses,  Revelations  11.3.  The  Hun- 
dred Forty  and  Four  Thousand  that  receive 
the  Mark  of  the  Lamb  upon  31ount  Sion, 
Revelations  14.  stand  in  Opposition  to  those 
who  receive  the  Mark  of  the  Beast,  Revela- 
tions 13.  16.  And  all  these,  no  doubt,  with  a 
peculiar  regard  to  some  particular  Marks  and 
Signatures,  according  to  the  arch-typal  or 
mystical  Order  of  Scripture  Names  and  Cha- 
racters ;  all  which  we  must  be  content  to  be 
ignorant  of,  till  the  Spirit  that  searcheth  the 
deep  Things  of  God,  shall  be  pleased  to  reveal 
them  to  us. 

§  17.  Our  last  View  of  Anticln'ist  was.  Antichrist 
as  triumphing  at  Rotne ;  we  see  him  next '"^'^'^'"^'^^ 
with  his  Magical  Army  marching  to  invade  p,'J' J",^'^} 
the  East.  This  Translation  of  his  Govern- joeipx;;/am- 
ment  is  attested  by  Ireneeus  ;*  as  also  by  ed  in  this 
Lactantius,-\  in  these  remarkable  Words:  The;^^«f-^ 
Government    shall    again    return    into   ^*«« ;  3^  *„  ^449^ ' 

t  P.  647. 


150  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

the   East   shall    govern,   and   the    West  shall 
obey   (speaking  of  Antichrist).      The  terrible 
and  dreadful   Pomp   of  this  Army  is  largely 
described  by  the  Prophet  Joel  and   Nahum, 
and  some  small   touches  of  it  in  Hahakkuk, 
Zephaniali,   Daniel,   and  Zachary ;  which,  be- 
cause  it   may    appear   to  be  a  new  and  un- 
warrantable Assertion,    I    shall  endeavour  to 
strengthen   by   two    or   three   Considerations. 
The  Prophecy  then  of  Joel  has  not  been  yet 
perfectly  fulfilled,  either  in  the  Destruction  of 
the  City  and   People  of  the  Jews,   by  Nebu- 
chadnezzar,   or    in   that   by    Titus    Vespasian. 
Now  this  Expression  is  much  like  that  of  our 
Saviour,  Mark  13.    19.      In   those  Days  shall 
he  Aifflictions,  such  as  was  not  from  the  Begin- 
ning of  the  Creation  which  God  created,  even  to 
this  time,  7ior  ever  shall  be.     Which  Words,  as 
they  relate  indeed  to  the  Destruction  of  Jeru- 
salem by  the  Romans,  yet  are  ultimately  to  be 
completed  at  the  End  of  the  World  :    So  like- 
wise those  of  the  Prophet  Joel.     For  in  v.  2. 
a  Day  which  is  called  The  Day  oj'  the  Lord, 
is   described   as  a   Day  of  Darkness,  and  of 
Gloominess,  of  Clouds,  and  of  thick  Darkness : 
And  this  shall  herein  consist,   that  a  mighty 
and  a  strojig  People,    of  ivhotn  there  has  not 
been  ever  the  like,  neither  shall  be  any  more  to 
all  Eternity,  shall  come  upon  Jerusalem  as  the 
Morning   spread  upon   the   Mountains.      2dly, 
From  the   12th  to  the   16th  Verse  of  the  2d 
Chapter,  the  Prophet  gives  Counsel  how  the 
Inhabitants    of    Jerusalem    ought    to    behave 
themselves,    and   what   they   ought   to   do  to 
be     exempted     from     the     Calamity,     which 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  151 

does  not  so  properly  agree  to  the  Babylonish 
Expedition,  because  it  was  known  out  of 
the  Prophet,  that  not  only  at  that  time 
there  would  be  no  Remedy ;  but  that  the 
Jews  were  bound,  according  to  God's  Will, 
to  surrender  themselves  up  to  the  Babylo- 
nians;  which,  when  they  refused  to  do,  the 
King,  together  with  the  Nobles,  made  their 
Misery  fall  heavier  upon  themselves,  their 
City,  and  their  People,  Jeremiah  21.  9; 
38.  2;  52.  7,  8,  9,  10,  11.  Further,  in  the 
17th  Verse,  Joel  prosecutes  the  Counsel  by 
advising  the  Priests  to  weep  between  the 
Porch  and  the  Altar,  and  to  say,  Spare  thy 
People,  O  Lord!  &c.  whereupon  follows  in 
the  18th  Verse  to  the  27th,  the  Answer  of 
this  Prayer,  viz.  that  God  luould  be  jealous 
for  his  Land,  and  pity  his  People.  Now  it 
is  not  found  that  either  the  Priests  did  then 
make  such  a  Prayer,  or  that  the  promised 
Answer  followed  ;  the  Temple,  City,  and 
whole  Land  being  utterly  destroyed  and 
made  desolate.  Neither  did  this  at  all 
come  to  pass  in  the  Destruction  from  the 
Romans ;  for  the  Temple  was  destroyed  some 
Weeks  before  the  City,  and  then  no  Relief 
followed,  but  such  a  Desolation  as  conti- 
nueth  to  this  very  Day.  3f%,  If  the  Promise 
of  the  Effusion  of  the  Spirit  upon  all  Flesh, 
V.  28.  be  accomplished  fully  and  ultimate- 
ly (as  some  contend)  at  Pentecost,  then  it 
was  accomplished  full  Forty  Years  before 
the  Desolation ;  which  nevertheless  the  Pro- 
phet says  must  come  after.  This  Prophecy 
then   is    yet    to    be    fulfilled ;    and  what  can 


OF  ANTICHRIST. 

be  meant    by  this    great    and    terrible   Army, 
but  that  of   Antichrist,    who   is  the  Consum- 
mation   of  the    Curse,    and  who  by  the  Ma- 
gical Power   of  his  Spirit  shall  unite  all  his 
Followers    in    the    Principle    and    Powers  of 
Hell ;    to    which    also    we    may    reasonably 
refer    all    those    great    Things    in    Prophecy, 
which    cannot    with    any    Congruity    be    ap- 
plied  to    any  other    notable    Period    of   His- 
tory.    The    Prophet   Joel   begins    in    such    a 
manner,    as    plainly  to  point    out   to    us    the 
last    and    great     Affliction    of    the    Church. 
Compare  Chapter  1.  v.  2.  Chapter  2.   2.  with 
Daniel  12.    1.    Matthew  24.   21.     In  the  4th 
Verse  of  the  first  Chapter,    he  nameth  Four 
grand   Causes  of   the  great  Desolation.      The 
Palmer-tvonn,  Locust,  Canker-worm,  and  Ca- 
terpillar:     By    which    Four    Species    of    In- 
sects, which  are  frequently  the  natural  Causes 
of   a    Famine,    he    does    probably   point    out 
to    us    Four    grand    Divisions    of  the    Anti- 
christian    Army.     The    Three    last    of   these 
being  applied    in  Scripture  by  way  of  Com- 
parison   to    Men,     we    need    not  doubt   but 
that    the    first    bears    the    same    Relation    in 
this  Place.     These  Four  Divisions  may  march 
under    Antichrist   their    Head,    at  some  Dis- 
tance   from    each    other;    the    Second    plun- 
dering   what    was    left    by    the    First ;     the 
Third    what    was    left    by   the  Second ;    and 
the    Fourth    utterly  consuming  what  was  left 
by  the  Third.     These  may  properly  be  typi- 
fied by    the    Four    Angels,    mentioned   Reve- 
lations 9.   14,   15.    and    may   really  be  under 
the  Influence   of  the  Four  dark  Hieiarchies, 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  ir>.) 

mentioned  Ephesians  6.  12.  Moreover,  v.  9. 
The  3Ie((t' Offering,  and  the  Drink- Offering 
is  cut  off  from  the  House  of  the  Lord.  This 
may  be  upon  a  double  Account.  First,  In 
respect  of  the  Famine,  and  decay  of  the 
Fruits  of  the  Earth,  so  that  there  will  not 
be  Corn  and  Wine  enough  for  the  Conti- 
nuation of  such  Offerings.  And,  2d/i/,  In 
respect  of  Antichrist,  who  will  not  suffer 
such  Oblations  to  be  made,  but  take  away 
the  daili/  Sacrifice,  according  to  Daniel,  Chap- 
ter 8.  11,  12.  Which  is  another  Argument 
that  the  Vermin,  v.  4.  and  the  strong  and 
innumerable  Nation,  v.  d.  is  the  Army  of  Anti- 
christ; as  the  31eat-Offering  and  Drink-Offer- 
ing is  the  Sacrament  of  the  Body  and  Blood 
of  Christ.  V.  11,  12.  saith  Joel,  Be  ye 
ashamed  ye  Husbandmen,  howl  O  ye  Vine- dres- 
sers, 4^c.  because  the  Harvest  of  the  Field  is 
perished,  the  Vine  is  dried  up.  Whence  it 
appears,  that  this  Antichristian  overflow  will 
be  in  Autumn;  which  is  also  confirmed  by 
Jeremiah  8.  13,  16,  20.  Mystically  it  ex- 
presses the  last  Times,  when  the  Fulness  of 
Blessings  (expressed  by  Harvest  or  Autumn) 
is  expected.  Chapter  2.  v,  1.  Blow  the  Trum- 
pet, sound  an  Alarm;  the  first  gathers  the 
Congregation  together,  and  the  latter  sounds 
an  Alarm  against  the  Enemy,  Numbers  10. 
7,  9.  and  serve  both  here  to  advise  of  the 
coming  of  the  Enemy,  and  to  gather  the  Con- 
gregation to  the  Temple  to  afflict  their  Souls. 
This  great.  Sounding  before  the  Day  of 
Affliction,  answers  to  the  Feast  of  Trum- 
pets on  the  first  Day  of  the  Seventh   Month, 


1 54  OF  A NTICHRIST. 

which  precedes  the  great  Day  of  Humilia- 
tion on  the  Tenth  ;  and  shows  that  a  Minis- 
try will  go  forth  to  convince  the  World 
of  Sin,  Isaiah  58.  1.  call  them  to  a  solemn 
Repentance  and  Humiliation,  and  forewarn 
them  and  prepare  them  against  the  coming 
of  Antichrist,  that  they  may  be  ready  to 
oppose  him.  V.  2.  A  Day  of  Darkness,  &c. 
See  Zephaniah  1.  15.  A  Fire  devour eth  before 
them,  and  behind  them  a  Flame  biirneth. 
Hence  it  appears,  that  they  are  the  same 
with  the  Judgments  mentioned  before,  Chap- 
ter 1.  V.  4.  otherwise  the  Land  devoured 
by  those,  could  not  have  been  as  Eden  before 
the  Face  of  these.  The  Fire  may  be  ©ai/olo?, 
and  the  Flame  "Ah;,  which  are  represented 
marching  together  in  the  Northern  Army, 
Revelatio7is  6.  8.  compared  with  Zechariah  6. 
3,6;  Isaiah 'IQ.  15,  18.  It  is  observable  in 
the  same  Place  of  the  Revelations,  that  ©acalo? 
and  "Ah<;,  or  the  Northern  Army,  destroy  by 
I'our  Means,  iv  pcc[ji.(pocio(,,  Iv  Xif/Lcc,  Iv  3'ai/aTw,  and 
uTTo  Tuv  ^ripiocv  rrig  yyig,  which,  as  they  are  the 
same  mentioned  Ezekiel  14.  21.  so  may  they 
very  well  correspond  to  the  Four  Kinds  of 
Evils  enumerated  Joel,  Chapter  1.  4.  it  being 
certain  that  Antichrist,  the  End  and  Accom- 
plishment of  the  Four  Beasts,  contains  in  him- 
self, and  comes  in  the  Properties  of  all  the 
Four,  Revelations  13.  2. 

V.  4.  The  Appearance  of  them  is  as  the  Ap- 
pearance of  Horses,  Jeremiah  6.  23 ;  8.  16. 
As  Horsemen  so  shall  they  run,  Ezekiel  28.  4, 
15;  Hahakkuk  1.  8.  Expressions  denoting 
their  Strengtli  and  Agility. 


OF  ANTICHRIST. 


•JO 


V.  5.  He  says,  They  shall  he  like  the  Noise 
of  the  Flame  of  Fire  that  devoureth  the  Stubble, 
The  Prophet  Nahum.  says,  they  shall  seem 
like  Torches,  they  shall  run  like  Lightning', 
Chapter  2.  4.  Fire,  Flame,  Lightnings,  6fC. 
being  common  Metaphors  in  Scripture,  to 
express  the  Powers  of  both  the  light  and  dark 

World.*  *  ^'*^^  Isaiah 

V.  7,  8.   They  shall  run   like  mighty  3/ew ;  ^- ['j  |^^'^^' 
They  shall  climb  the   Wall  like  Men  of  War,  ^\    Zi(^ji,2, 
&c.     Here  is  an  Account  of  their  assaulting  5.  ;)/<//.  :j. 2. 
and  taking-  Jerusalem  :  under  which  also  mav  F.cffus.  3.  0, 
be  comprehended   and   understood   the  other  '•    ,   I  ,^' 
Cities    belonging    to    the    Church    of   Christ,  ^q 
There   is,    v.   8.    one    very    remarkable    Ex- 
pression   which    doth    strongly  express    their 
Magical    Power,    that   tvhen    they  fall    upon 
the  Sword  (or  Dart)  they  shall  not  be  icouuded. 
Something    like    that    Privilege    granted    by 
our  Lord  to  his  Apostles,  Luke  10.  19.     That 
nothing    should     by    any    means    hint    them. 
Mark  16.  18.     If  they   should   drink   Poison, 
it   should    not    hurt    them.      That   Jerusalem 
shall  be  taken   in  this   last  and    great   Inva- 
sion, is  evident  from  Zechariah  14.  2.    Reve- 
lations 11.  2. 

§  18.  If  Jerusalem  is  to  be  taken,  it  must     of  the 
be   re-^ored,    and   the  Temple   rebuilt  before '^/^'w^"  "i 
this  Invasion,    and  be  inhabited  by   convert-  J*^^' »'''''*■'"' 
ed    Jeivs,    as    will    appear    by    the  sequel  of 
this   Prophecy.     Now   the  Fathers   who  talk 
of  Antichrist's   sitting    Blasphemously  in   the 
Temple    at    Jerusalem,    as    if  he  were    God, 
do   generally   agree    that    both    Tem|)le    and 
City    should    be    rebuilt    by    Antichrist    him- 


156  OF  AyriCIIRJST. 

self,    Vid.  Snip.  Sev.  Dial.   2°.    Cyril  Hieros. 
Cat.   15.    §  7.   Hippolytvs  de   Consum.  p.   12. 
Edit.  BibUoth.  Patrum,  &c.     Upon  what  Au- 
thority   this    Opinion    was    grounded,     I    am 
not    able    to  determine  ;    but  that   it  is   erro- 
neous   I    am    verily    persuaded,    particularly 
by  this  Exposition  of  the  Prophecy  of  Joel, 
which  I  believe    the    more    it    is    considered, 
the    more    reasonable    it    will    appear.      For 
thereby   it    is    plain,    that    the    Temple    shall 
be  standing,    and    the   true   Worshippers    as- 
sembled   in    it    at    the    Approach    of    Anti- 
christ, Chapter  1.  v.  18.     Unless,  perhaps,  the 
afore  -  mentioned    Writers     meant    by    Anti- 
christ,    the    Eastern     false    Prophet    (whom 
some    of    them   call    by    that    Name)    as    he 
that  should    rebuild    the    Temple,    and  place 
the  Image  of  the  Western  Beast  in  it,  which 
is   the   Opinion   of  some.      But  for  my   Part 
I   think    it    more    probable,    that    both    shall 
be    rebuilt    by    the    Jews    themselves,    many 
of  whom    no    doubt   shall    be    converted    by 
the    Ministiy    that    shall    go    forth    with    the 
Everlasting   Gospel    a  little   before  the  great 
Desolation,    they    being    instructed    in    some 
of  those   great   Truths   that    have    long  been 
hidden     under     the     covering     of    Darkness 
and    Error,    and    iinding   how    far    Jerusalem 
shall  be    concerned    in    the    great    approach- 
ing    Ilevolution,     shall      retire     thither     and 
build   up  the  City  and  Temple    (the  Turkish 
Empire    being    peihaps    at    an    End,    or    at 
least  some    of   those    Parts  in  the  Hands  of 
the    Christians)    where     the    Christian    Wor- 
ship may  be  Celebrated  in  great  Purity  and 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  157 

Exactness,  as  may  be  in  a  great  Measure 
collected,  Daniel  11.  31.  where  mention  is 
made  of  the  Daily  Sacrifice,  (viz.)  of  the 
Body  and  Blood  of  Chiist,  whicii  shall  he 
then  counted  as  an  Essential  Part  of  the 
Daily  Worship,  without  which  (as  I  be- 
fore observed)  the  Service  of  the  Church 
is  Imperfect.  (See  Mr.  Mecles  Christian  Sa- 
crifice.) Upon  the  Approach  of  the  Anti- 
christian  Army  an  Alarm  is  Sounded,  and 
Advice  is  given  upon  the  Cessation  of  the 
Daily  Sacrifice  by  reason  of  the  Scarceness 
of  Provisions  occasioned  by  the  Multitude 
of  the  Armies,  and  perhaps  by  a  Curse 
flowing  from  these  Magicians  on  all  sides ; 
upon  this  (1  say)  advice  is  given,  Chapter  1. 
V.  1.3.  to  the  Priests  to  gird  themselves  and 
Lament,  to  lie  all  Night  (or  Day  and 
Night)  in  Sackcloth,  to  Sanctify  a  Fast, 
to  call  a  solemn  Assembly,  to  gather  the  Elders, 
and  all  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Land,  &c.  i.  e. 
to  humble  themselves,  that  they  may  be 
worthy  to  escape  this  Curse,  and  enjoy  the 
following  Blessings,  v.  14.  See  Zephaniah  2. 
3.  From  v.  14.  it  plainly  appears,  that  upon 
the  beginning  of  the  Invasion,  before  the 
City  shall  be  taken,  the  Daily  Sacrifice  shall 
be  cut  off,  that  being  the  Signal  for  the 
great  Humiliation.  Chapter  1.  9,  13,  &c. 
The  Fruit  of  this  great  Humiliation  is  v.  18. 
of  the  Second  Chapter,  that  God  will  be  jealous 
for  his  Land,  and  pity  his  People,  By  which 
it  cannot  be  supposed  to  be  meant  that  God 
will  immediately  oblige  the  Enemy  to  re- 
tire   from    Jerusalem;    no,    the  City  shall  be 


15« 


OF  ANTICHRIST. 


taken,  as  v/as  observed  before,  and  the  Tem- 
ple, 2  Thessalonians  2.  4.  or  rather  the  out- 
ward Court  of  the  Temple,  Revelations  11.2. 
will  be  in  the  Hands  of  Antichrist,  where  he 
will  sit  as  God,  to  receive  Divine  Worship. 
What  then  is  the  Advantage  of  this  Humi- 
liation, if  it  delivers  neither  the  City  nor 
Temple?  Why  it  is  this,  that  all  they  that 
obey  and  repent,  shall  deliver  their  own 
Souls,  and  he  hid  iu  the  Day  of  the  Lord's 
Anger,  Zephaniah  2.  3.  How  God  shall  de- 
liver them,  is  hard  to  determine ;  it  may  be 
most  probably  by  giving  them  notice  lo  de- 
part, before  tiie  City  is  invested,  and  hiding 
them  in  the  Deserts  or  Mountains,  where 
the  Enemy  cannot  find  them,  as  the  Prophets 
were  hidden,  during  Ahab's  Apostacy,  (a 
Type  of  these  Times,)  1  Kings  18.  4.  Thus 
Jehoash,  the  Heir  of  the  Kingdom  of  Judah, 
was  preserved  in  the  House  of  the  Lord  from 
the  Massacre  of  Athaliah,  during  the  whole 
six  Years  (the  Number  of  Affliction)  of  her 
Usurpation.  2  Kings  1 1 . 
So)ne  Per-  §  19.  Here  then  we  see  Jerusalem  taken 
isonal  Clia-    by   the    Antichristian    Army,    and    Antichrist 

■buted  to  An-     .      .  .       '^  ,  ••?  • 

lichrist  in  ^ifying  himself  as  if  he  ivere  God,  speaking 
Scripture,  marvellous  things  against  the  God  of  Gods, 
viz.his  Bias- skoicing  iiimself  that  he  is  God,  according  to 
re'ardhr*  what  was  foretold,  Daniel  11.  36.  2  Thessa- 
t he  Desire  lonians  2.  4.  This  is  no  doubt  the  ultimate 
of  Women;  meaning  of  the  Abomination  of  Desolation 
his  Worship-^  standing  in  the  Holy  Place.  For  what  can  be 
^i"* '^'/^''^a  o-reater  i\bomination  to  the  Divine  Nature, 
liisdoin"-       ^^^^^^   Antichrist,    his   very   Opposite   and    Ke- 

IVotidcrs. 


OF  A NTICHRJST.  1 69 

verse?  Let  us  here  view  him  in  all  those  Cha- 
racters and  distingnishing-  Marks  whereby  the 
Holy  Scriptures  point  him  out  in  his  Complete 
and  Perfect  State,   which  1   presume  he  must 
have  attained  when  he  is  come  to  this  Period. 
Both   the    Prophet   Daniel,   Chapter   11.   and 
also    St.  Paul,   2   Epistle    Tkessalonians  2.  4. 
and   St.  John,  Revelations  13.  foretell  that  he 
shall  Blasphemously  exalt  himself  above  every 
thing-  that  is  called  God,  sitting  in  the  Temple, 
and    commanding  himself  to  be  Worsiiipped 
as  God.     Daniel  says,  that  he  shall  not  regard 
the  desire  of  Women,  by  which   I   understand 
(notwithstanding   all   that  Dust  that   Exposi- 
tors have   raised    about  it)  that  he  shall  not 
marry   himself,    and    shall    discourage    it    in 
others,  (and,  perhaps,    it  was  with  a  peculiar 
Regard   to  this  that  St.  Paid,   1    Timothy  4. 
1,  3.   calls  the  forbidding  to  marry  a  Doctrine 
of  Devils,  as  the  place  is  commonly  under- 
stood,) thereby  giving  Encouragement  to  For- 
nication, and  a  promiscuous  use  of  ^Vomen. 
The  next  thing  that   Daniel  says  of  him  is, 
that  he  shall  not  regard  the  God  of  his  Fathers, 
but  in  his  Estate  he  shall  Worship  the  God  of 
3Iaozzim.     Concerning  this  there  are  various />^/«.ii.  3>?, 
Conjectures  of  Learned  Men,  some  taking  it 
for    Mars,    others    for    Hercules,    others    for 
Jupiter  Olympius  the  Abomination  of  Antio- 
chus,  others  applying  it  to  the  Papacy  make 
it  to  be  the  Saints  and  Angels  which  the  Ro- 
manists  Worship  with  Divine  Honom-s,  others  . 
make  it  to  be  the   Mass  itself.     The   Learn- 
ed Seldeti,    after    the    most    diligent    Inquiry, 
chooses   rather   to    be   silent,    as    lindiuu"   no- 


1(J0  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

Wmyy  among  the  Eastern  Gods,   to   uliich  he 
could   vvitli    any   pmbabiUty    affix   the    Name 

Maozzim.      Deuni    Mnozzim prcelenni- 

simus,    tit  plane    ignolum    alifer   ac   locus    ills 
unicus    S.    HistoricE   indicat.      De   Dijs   Syr. 
Synt.  11.  c.  17.     It  is  no  improbable  Conjec- 
ture that  it  is  the  Devil   himself,   represented 
by  the  Dragon,   the  Author  and  Giver  of  all 
that  Diabolical  Power  which  is   exercised  by 
both   the  Beast   and   False   Prophet,    Revela- 
tions 1.3,  2.     In  the  mean  time  (says  a  Learned 
Man)    1    am    inclined    to    believe     that     his 
Name  may    have  in   it   some   magical   mean- 
ing,   and   that  it  may  ultimately  refer  to  the 
Forces  and   Powers  of  Nature,  as  awakened 
by  those  that  are  skilled  in  the  natural  and 
ceremonial   Parts  of  that  secret  Art,   and  as 
particularly  applied  to  the  Principle  of  Dark- 
ness   and    Wrath,    and    alienated    from    that 
of  Light    and    Love.      Besides    this,    Daniel 
observes    that    he    shall    be  a  Man    of  great 
Craft  and  Cunning,  that  he  shall   understand 
dark    Sentences,    all    the   Difficulties  of   Arts 
and  Scitnces,   which   will   be  an   accomplish- 
ment  very  necessary   for   the   great    Business 
he  undertakes.      But   the   great  and   remark- 
able Observation   that   all   of  them   make   is, 
that  he  shall   be    wonderfully   skilled    in    the 
dark  Magic,  and  thereby  do  strange  Wonders 
to   deceive  and  delude  Mankind.     Thus  our 
Blessed   Saviour,    3Iatt/ieiv  24.  24.    says  that 
,  the  false  Christs   and  false  Prophets  (and  no 
doubt  chiefly  the  last  false  Christ   and  false 
Prophet)  shall  s/iotv  great  Signs  and  Wonders, 
insomuch  that  if  it  were  possible  they  should  de- 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  J  61 

ceive  the  very  Elect,  much  more  shall  the 
Prince  and  Ruler  of  them,  Antichrist  him- 
self. St.  Paul,  2  Thessalonians  2.  9,  10.  says, 
that  his  comiiio;  shall  he  after  the  ivorkins!-  of 
Aatan,  with  all  Power,  and  Signs,  and  lying 
Wonders,  &c.  St.  John,  Revelations  13.  13, 
14.  is  so  particular  as  to  tell  us  what  sort  of 
Wonders  he  shall  perform,  viz.  that  he  shall 
make  Fire  come  doivn  from  Heaven  on  Earth 
in  the  sight  of  3Ien;  i.  e.  the  Earth-bred 
Beast  or  False  Prophet  by  his  Power.  Be- 
sides his  healing  the  deadly  Wound,  and 
making-  the  Image  of  the  Beast  speak  and 
deliver  Oracles,  as  we  have  mentioned  before. 
These  are  the  most  remarkable  personal 
Qualities  attributed  to  him  in  Scripture.  The 
last  of  these,  viz.  his  doing  wonderful  and 
miraculous  Works  is  largely  attested  by  the 
Holy  Fathers.  The  Sybilline  Oracles,  Lib.  3. 
speak  largely  to  this  purpose,  that  Antichrist 
shall  remove  Mountains,  stop  the  Courses  of 
the  Sun  and  Moon,  raise  the  Dead,  &c.  St. 
Hippolytus,  p.  30.  Edit.  Morell.  says,  *  He 
'  shall  remove  Mountains  in  the  Sight  of 
'  Men,  he  shall  pass  through  the  Sea  dry- 
'  shod,  he  shall  call  down  Fire  from  Heaven, 
'  he  shall  change  Day  into  Night  and  INight 

*  into  Day,  and  alter  the  Course  of  the 
'  Sun  at  his  Pleasure.  (And  elsewhere)  He 
'  shall  make  his   attendant   dark   Spirits  ap- 

*  pear    like    glorious    Angels    of    Light;    he 

*  shall  bring  with    him    innumerable    Legions 

*  of  Spirits,  and  in  the  Sight  of  all  Men  shall 
'  seem  to  be  taken  up  into  Heaven,  with  the 

*  Sound    of  Trumpets    and    Shoutings  of   his 

M 


162  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

*  Followers,    he    shall   fly  to    and   fro  in  the 

*  Air,   and    descend   again  upon   Earth   with 

*  great  Glory,'  &c.  Ephrem  Sp^us,  in  his 
*  Edit.  Co-  Discourse  de  Antichristo*  gives  a  particular 
Ion.  1603.  Description  of  his  removing  Mountains; 
P'  ^^^'         adding,    that    he    shall   seem   to    remove   an 

Island  out  of  the  Sea  to  the  dry  Land,  that 
he  shall  gather  together  an  innumerable 
Company  of  Serpents,  and  ravenous  Birds, 
that  he  shall  walk  upon  the  Sea  as  upon  dry 
Land,  &c.  To  these  might  be  added  the 
Testimonies  of  Lactantius  and  others,  which 
I  omit  as  being  nothing  else  but  Repetitions 
of  the  same  Things.  One  Thing  I  cannot 
pass  by  upon  this  Head  without  a  particular 
Remark,  which  is  that  St.  John  mentions 
particularly,  the  Miracle  of  bringing  down 
Fire  from  Heaven,  which  was  no  doubt 
for  some  particular  Reason.  It  is  to  be  no- 
ted then  that  all  Sorts  of  miraculous  Ope- 
rations were  comprehended  under  these  two 
Denominations,  viz.  Signs  in  the  Heights 
above,  and  Signs  in  the  Depths  helow,  Isaiah  7. 
11.  Now  it  was  (and  no  doubt  still  is)  the 
Opinion  of  the  Jews,  that  to  work  Signs 
in  the  Heights  above  was  a  true  Proof  of 
Divine  Power  and  Authority,  therefore  they 
desired  of  our  Blessed  Lord  to  show  them 
a  Sign  from.  Heaven,  or  the  Heights  above, 
Matthew  10.  1.  as  a  Proof  of  his  Divinity.  At 
which  Request  of  theirs,  St.  Mark  8.  12. 
says,  our  Lord  sighed  deeply  in  Spirit,  no  doubt 
bewailing  the  Hardness  of  their  Hearts  (and 
probably  considering  within  himself  how 
fatal    to    them     that     Persuasion     of    theirs 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  163 

would  be  hereafter,  when  by  that  Means 
Antichrist  should  deceive  them).  And  St. 
Luke,  Chapter  11.  v.  29.  says,  our  Lord  was 
so  far  from  gratifying  them,  that  he  assured 
them  710  Sig7i  skoiild  he  given  them  but  the  Sign 
of  Jonas  the  Prophet,  which  we  know  was  in 
the  Depths  below.  And  the  Holy  Spirit 
foreseeing  that  this  Opinion  would  again 
prevail  in  the  World,  tells  us,  by  Way  of 
Caution,  that  that  Deceiver  Antichrist  should 
be  able  to  bring  down  Fire  from  Heaven; 
i.  e.  the  Heights  above,  that  so  when  he  shall 
show  that  Sign,  it  may  be  so  far  from  de- 
ceiving us  into  an  Opinion  of  his  being  the 
Messiah,  that  it  shall  be  to  us  a  sure  Token 
that  he  is  the  Antichrist. 

§  20.  Now  what  a  State  must  we  imagine  The  State 
the  World  to  be  in,  when  God  shall  suffer  of  the  World 
them  to  be  governed  by  such  a  Ruler  ^^otthatTime, 
this,  when  the  Powers  of  Darkness  shall  be 
thus  let  loose,  and  the  Devil  himself  shall 
reign  corporally,  himself  ruling  in  chief, 
and  sending  forth  on  all  sides  innumerable 
Persons  impregnated  with  his  own  diabo- 
lical Spirit,  Blasphemers  of  God  and  Haters 
of  good  Men,  mighty  in  the  Powers  of 
Darkness,  to  be  as  his  Deputies  and  Vice- 
roys to  rule  and  domineer  in  distant  Pro- 
vinces and  Countries.  I  tremble  to  read 
the  dismal  and  terrible  Account  that  both 
the  Holy  Scriptures  and  Ancient  Writers 
give  of  those  Times ;  this  will  most  cer- 
tainly be  that  Time  of  Trouble,  such  as 
never  was  since  God  made  Man  upon  Earth, 
nor  ever   shall   be  afterwards  :    For  the  very 

M  2 


164  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

Foundations  of  the  Natural,  Moral,  and  Poli- 
tical World  shall  be  destroyed  and  cast 
down.  His  Conquest  of  the  Kings  and 
Nations  of  the  Eastern  and  Western  Empire 
we  have  already  considered ;  besides  which, 
the  Prophet  Daniel  assures  us,  that  he  shall 
stretch  forth  his  Hand  upon  other  Countries; 
that  he  shall  have  Power  over  the  Treasures  of 
Gold  and  Silver,  and  over  all  the  precious 
Things  of  Egypt ;  and  the  Lyhians  and  Ethio- 
pians shall  he  at  his  steps.  His  horrible  Con- 
tempt of  God  and  Profanation  of  Religion  we 
have  seen,  setting  himself  in  the  Temple  of 
God,  and  not  suffering  the  daily  Sacrifice, 
nor  any  Christian  Solemnities  to  be  ob- 
served. As  to  the  Natural  World,  we  know 
that  the  Devil  is  emphatically  styled  The 
Prince  of  the  Power  of  the  Air,  Ephesians  2.  1. 
and  as  such  has,  no  doubt,  by  the  Permission 
of  God,  a  Power  of  raising  Disorders  and 
Commotions  there ;  and  especially  at  this 
Time,  when  by  the  Divine  Nemesis  this 
whole  visible  Sphere  of  Nature  will  be 
abandoned  and  delivered  over  to  the  over- 
flowings of  the  Curse.  Antichrist,  there- 
fore, and  his  magical  Attendants  and  Fol- 
lowers, shall  make  strange  Confusions  and 
Alterations  in  external  Nature ;  terrible 
Earthquakes,  Storms,  Thunders,  Lightnings, 
&c.  and,  according  to  their  exact  Know- 
ledge of  the  active  and  passive  Qualities 
of  Nature,  may,  according  to  some  secret 
Rules  of  their  diabolical  Art,  so  temper 
them,  as  to  raise  poisonous  malignant 
Ferments     in     the    Air,     Earth,     or    Water, 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  165 

so    as    to    spread    pestilential    Influences    all 
round,    to   ravage   not   only   a   Town,    but   a 
Country  or  a  Kingdom.      Such   dark    Magi- 
cians there  are  already  some  in  the  World  ; 
but   (God   be   praised)  we  are  not  yet  aban- 
doned   to   their  Fury.     The   Measure  of  our 
Iniquities    is    not     as     yet    quite    full ;     but 
that    we     are    not    very    far    off    from    that 
fatal  Period,  we  have  but  too   much  Reason 
to    fear.      Whilst    the    Powers    of   Darkness 
are   thus    afflicting    the    Church,    i.  e.    those 
Christians    who     have    not    so    far    wrought 
out    their    Salvation,    as   to    be    out    of    the 
reach    of    the    Enemy,    as    it   is   plain   some 
shall   be  ;     the   Vengeance   of  God   shall    by 
his  Instruments,  the  two  Witnesses,  vex  and 
torment   the   Antichristian   Company.     These 
two    Witnesses    (of     whom    more    hereafter) 
being    endued   with   Power    to    devour    their 
Enemies,    with   Fire  proceeding  out  of  their 
Mouths.     These    have    also    Power    to    shut 
Heaven  that  it  rain  not  in  the  Days  of  their 
Prophecy,   Revelations   11.    5,  6.   that  is,   for 
three  Years  and  a  half:  Even  as  it  was  done 
by  Elijah  in  the  Days  of  that  wicked  Prince 
Ahab,  which  were  no  doubt  a  Type  of  these 
Times.     Compare   i  Kings  \1.   1.  w'\i\i  James 
5.  17.     So  that  from  hence  must  proceed  great 
Famine  and   want   of  Provisions ;    to   which 
the  following  Quotations  do  frequently  allude. 
Hear  the  dismal  Account  St.  Hippolytus  gives 
of  those   Days.      '  Hear,'   saith   he,  '  ye  that 
'  love   God,     what    Affliction   there    shall   be 
'  in  those  Days.     That  evil  One  (viz.  Anti- 
*  Christ)    shall    gather    together    evil    Spirits 


166  OF  ANTICHRIST, 

*  in    human    Shapes,    and    shall    mock    and 

*  insult  over  the  Jews  who  have  made  him 
'  their  King,  and  shall  set  Devils  to  be 
'  Princes  over  them.  And  when  the  Famine 
'  shall  be  sore  upon  them,  the  Heavens 
'  being  shut  up,  then  (says  he)  he  shall 
'  send   forth  his  Messengers,   both   Men  and 

*  evil  Spirits,  saying,  There  is  a  great  King 

*  risen  upon  the  Ei.rth,  come  ye  and  wor- 
'  ship  him,  and  behold  his  Power,  he  shall 
'  give  you  Bread  to  eat,  and  Wine  to  drink, 
'  with   great  Riches    and    Honours.      Again, 

*  Then  (says  he)  shall  he  send  forth  Le- 
'  gions    of   evil   Spirits  into   the    Mountains, 

*  and    Dens,    and    Caves    of    the    Earth,    to 

*  search   out  them  that  have  hid  themselves 

*  from  him,  and  shall  bring  them  to  wor- 
'  ship  him ;  and  those  that  obey  him,  he 
'  shall  Seal  with  his  Marl^ ;  but  those  that 
'  refuse,    shall    he    punish    with   unheard    of 

*  Torments.  Then  they  that  have  received 
'  his  Mark,  and  cannot  find  either  Bread 
'  or  Water,  shall  come  to  him,  and  with  a 
'  sorrowful  Voice  shall  say.  Give  us  Meat 
'  and  Drink,  we  languish  for  Hunger  and 
'  Thirst,  command  the  Heavens  to  give  us 
'  Rain,    and   drive   away  from   us   the  rave- 

*  nous  Beasts.  Then  shall  he  mock  them 
'  and   say,   The   Heavens   refuse  to   give   us 

*  Rain,  the  Earth  will  not  bring  forth 
'  Fruit,   Whence  shall  I  supply  you?    When 

*  they  hear  this  Answer,  then  shall  they 
'  lament  and  bewail  their    Misery,    and  with 

*  Sighs  and  Tears  shall  call  upon  that 
'  merciful   God   that   shall   deliver   them    out 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  167 

of  his  Hands,  and  l)y  an  invisible  Power 
protect  those  that  call  upon  him  wor- 
thily. So  great  shall  be  the  Trouble  of 
that  Time,  that  in  the  Morning  they 
shall  wish  for  Evening ;  and  as  soon  as 
the  Darkness  of  the  Night  shall  cover 
them,  they  shall  be  so  terrified  with 
Earthquakes,  Storms,  and  Tempests,  that 
they  shall  long  for  Morning.  The  whole 
Earth  shall  bewail  a  Life  so  full  of  Mise- 
ries. The  Sea  shall  mourn ;  the  Earth 
shall  mourn ;  the  Sun  in  the  Firmament 
of  Heaven,  the  Beasts  of  the  Earth,  the 
Fowls  of  Heaven,  the  very  Mountains 
and  Hills  shall  mourn  for  the  Miseries 
of  Mankind,  because  all  have  forsaken 
their  God.  The  Churches  shall  mourn 
with  great  Lamentation,  for  there  shall 
be  neither  Offering  nor  Holy  Worship  in 
those  Days :  Churches  shall  be  as  Stables ; 
nor  shall  the  precious  Sacrifice  of  the 
Body  and  Blood  of  Christ  be  celebrated 
in  those  Days  :  There  shall  be  no  Pray- 
ers, no  singing  of  Psalms,  nor  shall  the 
Scriptures  be  read.  (A  little  after.)  With- 
out shall  be  Fear,  within  Trembling ; 
both  at  Home  and  Abroad  dreadful  Scenes 
of  Horroi-,  Hunger  and  Thirst,  Lamen- 
tation and  Sighing.  The  fine  Faces  shall 
languish.  Paleness  shall  cover  the  beau- 
tiful Countenances.  The  Charms  of  Women 
shall  vanish.'     And  in  many  other  Instances 

does   he  describe   the   Horrors  of  that   time. 

So  also  Lactantius:*     '  Then  shall  the  Cities     *  Lib.  7. 

p.  650. 


168 


OF  ANTICHRIST. 


'  be  utterly  ruined  and  destroyed,  by  Fire, 
'  Sword,  Earthquakes,  Inundations,  Famines, 

*  and    Pestilences.      The    Air    shall   be   cor- 

*  riipted  and  pestilential ;  sometimes  there 
'  shall    be    scorching    Heats,    then   pinching 

*  Cold,    &c.    so    that    the    Earth     shall    not 

*  bring  forth  Fruit;  the  Corn  shall  be  blight- 

*  ed  ;  the  Trees  and  Vines  shall  fail.  The 
'  Springs  and  Rivers  shall  be  dried  up ;    so 

*  that  the  Beasts  shall  die  upon  the  Earth, 
'  the  Fowls  in  the  Air,  and  the  Fishes  in 
'  the  Sea.'  A  little  after  he  speaks  of  the 
False  Prophet ;  how  that  he  shall  seal  those 
that  obey  him  ;  shall  burn  the  Holy  Scrip- 
tures, and  make  the  World  desolate  for 
forty-two  Months,  &c.  St.  Cyril  of  Jeru- 
salem^ Cat.  15.  after  he  had  spoken  largely 
of   Antichrist,     adds,     '  This     is    the    cruel 

Beast,  the  great  Dragon,  fighting  against 
Mankind,  being  ready  to  devour  them ; 
therefore  the  Lord  knowing  the  Power 
of  the  Adversary,  commanded  the  Chris- 
tians that  should  live  in  those  Days,  to 
flee  to  the  Mountains,  Matthew  24.  16.  But 
if  any  one  knoweth  that  he  hath  Strength 
enough  to  resist  the  Devil,  let  him  stay ; 
for  I  do  not  despair  of  the  Strength  of 
the  Church:  But  let  the  fearful  take 
heed  to  themselves,  for  then  shall  be  Tri- 
bulation, such  as  never  was  since  the 
Beginning  of  the  Creation  to  this  pre- 
sent Time,  nor  never  shall  be.'  '  My  dear 
Brethren,'  (says  Ephrem  Syrus,  Serm.  de 
Antichristo,    p.  222.)    '  then    shall    there    be 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  169 

a  great  Trial  upon  all  Men,  but  especially 
the  Faithful  and  the  Saints,  and  great 
Tribulation  shall  there  be  in  those  Days, 
when  great  Signs  and  Wonders  shall  be 
wrought  by  the  Power  of  that  hellish 
Beast,  Antichrist.'  (A  little  after.)  '  Who, 
my  Brethren,  amongst  you  all,  shall  be 
found  at  that  Day  so  completely  armed 
with  the  Shield  of  Faith,  as  to  be  fully 
persuaded  in  his  Mind,  that  the  Coming 
of  the  Son  of  God  is  nigh,  when  he  shall 
see  this  inexpressible  Tribulation  upon 
every  Soul  of  Man,  without  any  Allay 
of  Rest  or  Comfort ;  when  thou  shalt 
see  the  whole  World  in  Confusion  (for 
every  one  shall  flee  to  the  Mountains  for 
shelter);  when  thou  shalt  see  some  pe- 
rishing for  Hunger,  others  languishing  with 
intolerable  Thirst,  and  none  to  pity  them?' 

(A  little  after.)  '  There  shall  be  at  that 
time  no  Rest  upon  the  Earth,  but  great 
Tribulation,  Trouble  and  Confusion,  Fa- 
mine and  Death,  in  all  the  Corners  of 
the  Earth.  Then  shall  the  Saints  shed 
Rivers  of  Tears,  and  flee  to  the  Deserts. 
They  shall  hide  themselves  in  the  Moun- 
tains, and  in  the  Valleys,  covering  their 
Heads  with  Dust  and  Ashes,  praying  to 
be  delivered  from  the  Beast.  The  Moun- 
tains, the  Hills,  and  Trees  of  the  World 
shall  mourn.  The  Lights  of  Heaven  shall 
mourn,  because  Men  have  forsaken  their 
God,  and  believed  the  Deceiver,  &c.'     And 

in  many   other  Instances   does  likewise  this 


170  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

Holy   Father    elegantly   bewail   the    Miseries 
of  that  Time :    As  does   also   St.   Augustiuy 
Lib.  20.  Cap.  8.     St.  Jerom  in  the   11th   and 
12th  Chapters  of  Daniel,  St.  Cyril,  Lib.   11. 
in  Genesis.     St.  Gregory,  Lib.  14.  Moral,  and 
Lib.  32.  Cap.  12. 
Some  Oh-     §    21.    Upon    the     aforegoing    Quotations 
servations     \    cannot    but    observe,    I.  That   Hippolylus 
p^ecedin       ^sserts,  that  the  Mei^ns  whereby  the  Church 
Quotations,  (^^   Christians  of   that   time,    which   are  not 
and  concern- counted  worthy  to  escape)  shall  be  deceived 
tng  the         by  Antichrist,    will  be  by   his   offering  them 
^"Jj/'^'^'Food   in  that    great   Famine.     Which    same 
thing  is  attested  by  Anastasius  Sinaita  (Con- 
tempi,    in    Hexaemer.    Tom.    I.     Hib.    Patr. 
p.  327.)  in  these  Words :    '  God  said  to  the 
'  Serpent,  He  shall  bruise  thy  head,  and  thou 

*  shalt  bruise  his  heel;  i.  e.  The  extreme 
'  Parts  of  the  Body  of  Christ,  which  is  his 
'  Church ;     so    that    the    Heel   shall   be   the 

*  Presence  of  Antichrist  in  the  last  Times  ; 
'  and   the   evil   Serpent  waits  for  that  Time, 

*  when  he  may  again  supplant  the  Church 
'  by  offering  them  Food,  when  there  shall 
'  be  a  great  Famine.'  So  that  they  who 
have  not  Faith  to  believe  that  Man  doth 
not  live  by  JBread  alone,  but  by  every  Word 
that  proceedeth  out  of  the  Mouth  of  God,  shall 
not  have  Patience  to  expect  God's  Accom- 
plishment of  his  Promises,  that  God  will 
at  last  be  Jealous  for  his  Land,  and  pity  his 
People,  and  send  them  Corn,  and  Wine, 
and  Oil,  to  satisfy  them  therewith,  Joel 
2.  18,    19.      They,   I   say,   that   will   not   for 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  J7J 

this    wait    upon    God,    shall    transo;ress    the 
Law    of    their    God,    and   poUute   the   Holy 
One,    for  handfuls   of  Barley   and    pieces   of 
Bread,   Ezekiel  13.    19.     II.  That  those  who 
thus  Apostatize  and  go  over  to  the  Enemy, 
shall  be  sealed  with  the  Mark  of  the  Beast; 
concerning    which   the   Holy   Scriptures   and 
Fathers  speak  expressly,   only  with  this  dif- 
ference,  that  as   the   Scripture  attributes  this 
Sealing  to  the  Eastern  Beast,  or  False  Pro- 
phet,  Revelations  13.   16.     The  Fathers  attri- 
bute it  to  Antichrist  himself;  understanding, 
I   suppose,   the   False   Prophet,    as   being   in 
the  Spirit  of  Antichrist,  to  be  as  the  Instru- 
ment  by  which   he  Seals  them   (even  as  we 
are  sealed  by  the  Spirit  of  God  to  the  Day 
of  Redemption,    Ephesians  4.  30.)     That  the 
Impression  of  this  Seal,  and  the  Number  of 
the   Beast,    are   both    one,   is   generally   sup- 
posed by  Ancient  Writers,  (as  may  be  seen 
at    large,)    who    therefore   use   them   promis- 
cuously.     But    what    that    Seal,    Mark,    or 
Number  is,    or  wherein   it   consists,   is   hard 
to    determine.      Most    of   the   Ancients   sup- 
posed that  it  was  to  be  a  Name  composed 
of  the  numeral  Letters  which  compose  QQQ. 
Of    which    sort    many  are   reckoned    up  by 
Hippolytus,  IrencBus,  and  others,  to  the  Num- 
ber of  Sixteen  or  Seventeen,   many  of  which 
are  most   violently  drawn  in ;    and  there   is 
indeed  so  great  a    Latitude  in  that   way  of 
Interpretation,  that  some  of  the  later  Writers 
of  the  Church   of  Rome   have  made  Luther 
and   Calvin  bear   the   Name    of   the   Beast : 


172  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

And   when  Monsieur  Jurieu,  Minister  of  the 
French  Church  at  Rotterdam,  upon  the  Autho- 
rity   of   Irenceus,    had    asserted    that    AalsiVo? 
was  it,  his  Adversaries  found  that  Rotterdam 
was   comprised   in    the    same    Number,    and 
asserted  that  to  be  the  Name  of  the  Beast. 
In   short,    by  this   way   we    may  make   any 
thing  out  of  any  thing;  for  which  very  Rea- 
son Hippolytus,  p.  39.  owns  he  does  not  un- 
derstand  it.      A   very    probable     Hypothesis 
was   that   of   the   Learned   Dr.   Potter,    who 
asserted  that   the   counting  of  it  consists  in 
extracting  the  Root  of  it,   which  is  25,  that 
being  the  only  Number,  which,  by  being  mul- 
tiplied into  itself,  makes  the  Square  Number 
QQQ,  when  the  Fraction  (which  is  41   in  this 
Operation)  is  added  to  it,   which   is  what  is 
meant   by   the    Square   Root    of   a   Number. 
And  this,  as  for  many  other  Reasons  reck- 
oned up  by  that  excellent   Writer,  so  espe- 
cially for  this,  that  the  Number  25  has  always 
been  esteemed  by  Sacred  and  Profane  Wri- 
ters, who  had  never  thought  of  Antichrist  or 
his  Kingdom,  to  be  mysteriously   Evil;    and 
to   be  an   Hieroglyphical  Character  of  some 
unhappy,  desperate,  deplorable,   and  apostate 
State  of  the  Church,  because  it  is  an  oddly 
uneven  Number,  which  is  unevenly  measured 
by  an  odd   Number,  so  uneven  indeed,   that 
no   square   perfect   Number  can  arise  out  of 
it,  but  wliat  is  made  up  of  fractional  Addi- 
tions.    Whereas,  on  the  contrary,  the  Num- 
ber 12,  the  Root  of  the  Pure  Church,  is  an 
even    Number    making    144,000,    its    Square 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  1 73 

perfectly  and  entirely,  to  show  the  Perfec- 
tion, Entireness,  and  Agreeableness  of  its 
Foundation  and  Structure.  And  this  way 
of  counting  or  calculating  this  Number  (a 
venerable  Piece  of  the  Ancient  Oriental 
Learning)  is  certainly  much  more  agreeable 
to  the  sublime  Style  of  this  Mysterious  Book, 
than  the  forming  technical  Words  out  of 
numeral  Letters,  which  is  a  Piece  of  Wisdom 
not  so  profound  as  that  which  I  believe  is 
referred  to,  Revelations  13.  18.  But  the  most 
probable  Opinion  is,  that  as  the  Number 
Seven  is  the  Number  of  Rest  and  Perfec- 
tion, as  may  be  largely  seen  in  Holy  Scrip- 
tures ;  so  the  Number  Six  signifies  Labour, 
Affliction,  and  Persecution:  Six  being  the 
Days  of  Labour  preceding  the  Seventh  Day 
of  Rest  and  Refreshment.  So  we  have  seen, 
Ezekiel  9.  there  were  Six  Persons  appointed 
to  execute  Vengeance  upon  the  Apostate 
Church,  whereas  the  Business  of  the  Seventh 
was  to  set  the  Mark  of  Deliverance  upon 
those  that  were  to  be  preserved  from  De- 
struction. So  as  we  before  observed,  the 
Usurpation  of  Athaliah  lasted  six  Years, 
when  in  the  seventh  Year  Jehoiada  the  Priest 
made  a  Covenant  with  the  Rulers  of  the 
Army,  and  destroyed  that  wicked  Woman, 
and  Jelioash  was  established  on  his  Throne. 
Many  other  Instances  might  be  produced  to 
strengthen  this  Observation,  but  these  shall 
suffice :  This  Number  then  thrice  repeated, 
may  express  the  most  desperate  and  deplora- 
ble State  of  the  Church. 


174  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

Of  the  two  ^  22.  Whilst  Antichrist  shall  be  thus 
Witnesses,  domineering  and  lording  it  over  the  Earth, 
God  hath  promised  to  send  forth  his  Two 
Witnesses,  who  shall  prophecy  and  bear  their 
Testimony  against  him ;  and  not  only  that, 
but  torment  him  and  his  Followers  for  the 
space  of  1260  Days,  or  42  Months,  the 
whole  Space  of  the  Antichristian  Kingdom, 
Revelations  1 1 .  That  by  these  Two  Witnesses 
are  meant  Enoch  and  Elias,  who  never  saw 
Death,  but  were  translated  alive,  was  a  com- 
mon Opinion  of  the  Fathers :  Of  Hippolytus 
in  these  Words,  '  As  John  the  Baptist  was 
'  the  Forerunner  of  our  Blessed  Lord's  First 
'  Coming,  so  shall  Enoch  and  Elias  be  of 
*  Lih.  de '  his  Second.'  Tertullian,*  '  Enoch  and  Elias 
Anima,  Cap.  <  ^gj-e  translated  and  never  saw  Death,  but 
'  are  reserved  to  the  time  of  the  End,   that 

*  they  may  destroy  Antichrist  by  their  Blood.' 
St.  Cyprian,   in   his    Tract,   de   Montib.   Sion 

t  P.  36.  et  Sina;'f  *  Enoch  was  translated  alive  to  a 
opusc.  Edit.  <  certain  Place  known  to  God,  and  shall 
Oxon.  i  come  from  thence  to  oppose  and  confound 

'  Antichrist.'  Ephrem  Syrus,  Serm.  de  Anti- 
christo ;  '  The  merciful  God  shall  send  Enoch 
'  and  Elias,  who  shall  preach  to  the  Peo- 
'  pie,   and   warn  them   not  to   believe   Anti- 

*  Christ,  boldly  crying  out  and  saying.  This 
'  is  Antichrist  the  Deceiver,  the  Son  of  Per- 

*  dition ;  O  ye  Men,  let  none  of  you  believe 
'  him,    or    hearken    to    this   Tyrant   fighting 

*  against  God :  Be  not  afraid  of  him,  for  he 
'  shall  soon  be  destroyed,  and  his  Power 
'  broken.'  St.  Ambrose  upon  that  Passage, 
1  Corinthians  4.    9.     /  think  that   God  hath 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  176 

set  forth  us   the  Apostles,    SfC.    says,    '  Thus 

*  Enoch  and   Elias,  that  shall  be  the  Apos- 

*  ties  of   the   last  Times,    must  suffer  many 

*  Persecutions  and  Afflictions,  for  they  must 
'  be   sent   before   to   prepare   the    People    of 

*  God,  and  to  strengthen  the  Churches.'     St. 
Jerom;*  *  We  shall  say  nothing  in  this  Place  *  Ep.  148. 
'  concerning  Enoch  and   Ellas,  of  whom  St.  J"^  Marcel- 

'  John  in  his  Revelation  witnesseth,  that  they  ^^' 

*  shall    come    again    upon    Earth    and    die.' 
The  same  (in  short)  is  affirmed  by  St.  Angus- 
tin,  Lib.  9.  de   Gen.   Cap.  6.  by  Prosper,  de 
dimid.    Temp.    Cap.   13.    by   St.    Gregory,    in 
Job,    Lib.  9.    Cap.  4.    by   Damascen,    de  Jide 
Orthodoxd,   Lib.  4.    Cap.  27.   Aretas   CcBsari- 
ensis,  in  11  Apoc.  &c.     And  as  for  the  Coming 
of  Elias,  the  Holy  Scriptures  themselves  seem 
plainly  to  assert  it.     For  thus  saith  God  by 
the  Prophet  Malachi,  Chapter  4.  5.  Behold  I 
will   send  you   Elias  the   Prophet    before   the 
great  and  terrible  Day  of  the  Lord  come,  he 
shall  turn   the   Heart  of  the    Fathers    to   the 
Children,   and  the  Heart  of  the  Children   to 
the  Fathers,  lest  I  come  and  smite  the  Earth 
with  a  Curse.     In  which   Place  the  Expres- 
sions  of  the  great   and  terrible   Day  of  the 
Lord,  and  of  smiting  the  Earth  with  a  Curse, 
do,   I  think,  chiefly  (if  not  only)  relate  to  his 
Second  Coming;   for  that  his  First  Appear- 
ance, in  the  Form  of  a  Servant,  cannot  with 
any   tolerable   Congruity   be  called  Great   or 
Terrible;   and  he  came  not  then  to  perform 
any    Judicial    Acts,    but    what  were    purely 
Spiritual,  the  Judging  of  the  Earth  being  the 
grand   Design   of  his   Second   Coming.     To 


170  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

this  it  is  objected,  that  our  Blessed  Lord  ex- 
pressly asserted,  that  Elias  there  meant  was 
already  come,  Matthew  17.  12.  To  which  I 
answer,  That  our  Lord  meant  no  more  than 
that  John  the  Baptist,  the  Poiver  and  Spirit  of 
Elias,  or  Elias  in  the  Spirit  was  come,  but 
not  in  the  Body  ;  in  which  that  he  was  yet  to 
appear  before  his  Second  Coming,  our  Saviour 
himself  doth  not  deny,  but  rather  plainly 
assert.  For  when  the  Disciples  taking  our 
Saviour's  Words  in  too  large  a  Sense,  asked 
him,  How  then  say  the  Scribes  that  Elias  must 
first  come?  Our  Lord  answers,  that  Elias 
shall  come,  and  shall  restore  all  Things  ;  which 
Words  being  spoken  in  the  future  Tense,  can- 
not be  applied  to  John  the  Baptist,  who  was 
already  come,  but  had  not  restored  all  Things, 
which  is  still  reserved  to  the  Couiing  of  Elias 
in  Person  at  the  End  of  the  World,  or  the 
times  of  Restitution  of  all  Things,  which  God 
has  spoken  by  the  Mouth  of  all  his  Prophets 
since  the  World  began,  Acts  3.  21.  And  the 
Author  of  the  Book  of  Ecclus.  48.  10.  seems 
plainly  to  understand  the  Prophecy  of  Malachiy 
concerning  the  Person  of  Elias,  of  whom 
he  had  been  speaking,  saying,  that  he  was 
ordained  for  Reproofs  in  their  times,  to  pacify 
the  Wrath  of  the  Lord's  Judgement,  before  it 
break  forth  into  Fury ;  and  to  turn  the  Heart 
of  the  Father  to  the  So7i,  and  to  restore  the 
Tribes  of  Israel. —  These  then  are  the  two  Olive- 
Trees,  atid  the  two  Candlesticks,  standing  be- 
fore the  God  of  the  Eai^th,  Revelations  11.  4. 
Zechariah  4.  3.  called  Olive-Trees  from  the 
Divine  Unction,  as  being  anointed  Kings  and 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  1 7  7 

Priests  in  Christ's  Kini2:dom ;  and  Candle- 
sticks, as  bearing  in  them  the  burning  and 
shining  Light  of  the  Spirit  of  Truth,  who  is 
the  Light  of  the  World ;  in  which  Sense  the 
Seven  Churches,  Kevelations  1.  20.  are  also 
called  Candlesticks.  And  whereas  Grotius 
upon  the  Place,  has  brought  it  as  an  Argu- 
ment to  prove,  that  hereby  are  not  meant 
Two  Persons,  but  Two  Churches,  because 
they  are  called  Candlesticks,  which  the  Angel 
interprets  to  be  Churches,  Revelations  1.  20. 
we  have,  I  think,  as  good  a  Reason  to  con- 
clude they  are  Persons,  because  they  are 
called  Olive-Trees,  which  Zechariah  4.  14. 
are  interpreted  of  Two  Persons,  Joshnah  and 
Zeruhbabel.  Many  Scripture  Characters  of  par- 
ticular Persons  being  applicable  to  Churches, 
(as  may  be  shown  at  large,)  and  vice  versa. 
But  to  proceed,  in  St.  Johns  Account  of  these 
Two  Witnesses,  If  any  Man  ivill  hurt  these 
(Revelations  11.  5.)  i.e.  make  any  Attempt 
upon  their  Persons,  either  by  natural  or  magi- 
cal Violence,  Fire  proceedeth  out  of  their 
Mouth  (a  plain  Allusion  to  what  Elijah  did, 
2  Kin^s  1 .)  and  devourelh  their  Enemies ;  and 
if  any  Man  will  hurt  them,  he  must  in  this 
manner  be  killed.  V.  6.  These  have  Poiver  to 
shut  Heaven  that  it  rain  not  in  the  Hays  of 
their  Prophecy;  (plainly  alluding  to  what 
Elijah  did,  1  Kings  17.  1;  18.  1,  41.  as  in 
the  following  Words  to  Moses  turning  the 
Waters  into  Blood.  Exodus  1.  17.)  and  have 
Power  over  Waters  to  turn  them  into  Elood, 
and  to  smite  the  Earth  with  all  Plagues  as 
often    as   they  will.      Which   Words   may,     I 

N 


178  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

think,  fairly  be  understood  in  a  literal  Sense, 
without  any  Violence  to  the  Text  or  the 
Nature  of  Things.  V.  7.  And  ivhen  they  shall 
have  finished  their  Testimony,  the  Beast  that 
ascends  out  of  the  bottomless  Pit  (i.  e.  Anti- 
christ) shall  make  War  against  them,  (with 
more  Violence  than  before,)  and  shall  over- 
come them  and  kill  them.  V.  8.  And  their  dead 
Bodies  shall  lie  in  the  Streets  (i.  e.  in  one  of 
the  Streets,  by  an  usual  Hebraism)  of  the 
great  City  which  spiritually  is  called  Sodom 
and  Egypt,  where  also  our  Lord  luas  crucified. 
This  great  City  is  unquestionably  Jerusalem, 
called  Sodom,  Isaiah  1.  10.  and  may  possibly 
be  meant  by  Egypt  in  many  Places  of  pro- 
phetical Scripture.  But  that  which  puts  it 
beyond  all  doubt  is,  that  distinguishing  Cha- 
racter of  being  the  Place  ivhere  our  Lord  was 
crucified,  which  has  been  most  violently  wrest- 
ed by  our  Modern  Expositors  to  signify 
Rome,  or  Christendom.  V.  9.  And  they  of  the 
People  and  Kindreds,  and  Tongues  and  Na- 
tions, shall  see  their  dead  Bodies  three  Days 
and  half,  and  shall  not  suffer  their  dead  Bodies 
to  be  put  in  Graves.  God  in  this  respect 
making  their  Madness  subservient  to  his  Glory. 
For  by  being  thus  exposed  in  the  open  Street, 
their  Resurrection  and  Ascension  shall  be  the 
more  visible  and  conspicuous  to  all  that 
behold  them.  V.  10.  And  they  that  dwell 
upon  the  Earth  (i.  e.  the  Antichristian  Com- 
pany) shall  rejoice  over  them,  and  shall  make 
merry  and  send  Gifts  to  one  another,  (as  in 
time  of  public  Joy,  Esther  9.  19,  22.  Nehe- 
miah  8.    10-12.)    because   these   two   Prophets 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  179 

tormented  them  that  dwell  on  the  Earth;  (as 
the  Prophets,  and  particularly  Elijah,  were 
said  to  trouble  wicked  Kings  and  People, 
1  Kings  18.  17,  18;  21.  '10.)  V.  11.  And 
after  three  Days  atid  half,  the  Spirit  of  Life 
from  God  entered  into  them,  and  they  stood 
Kpon  their  Feet,  and  great  Fear  fell  ujjon  all 
them  that  saw  them.  V.  12.  And  they  heard 
a  Voice  from  Heaven,  saying  unto  them.  Come 
up  hither;  and  they  ascended  up  to  Heaven  in  a 
Cloud,  and  their  Enemies  beheld  them.  V.  13. 
And  the  same  Hour  teas  there  a  great  Earth- 
quake, and  the  tenth  part  of  the  City  fell ;  and 
in  the  Earthqtiake  icere  slain  of  3Ien  Seven 
Thousand,  and  the  Remnant  were  affrighted, 
and  gave  Glory  to  God.  By  Seven  Thousand 
Names,  as  it  is  in  the  Original,  may  be  meant 
Seven  Thousand,  or  perhaps  an  indefinite 
great  Number,  of  the  Chief*  or  Principal  *  That  is, 
Members  of  the  Antichristian  Kin2,dom,  Gene-  ^;^" 

T   7   «^  rrti  1    Trr         •  ^    -Name,  or 

SIS  6.  4  ;  J 00  30.  8.    I  he  second   rvoe  is  past,  Henown ; 
the  third  cometh  quickly.   Revelations  1 1.   14.  opposed  to 
But  here  it  may  be  objected,  If  the  Witnesses  Men  of  no 
Prophecy  1260  Days,   and  the  Times  of  the  ^^J^j^^J^^S" 
Beast  are   42    Months,    which   are  the  same  „^^  ^„oj^„  j„ 
space  of  time  differently  expressed,   for  thsit  the  World  bj/ 
in  42  Months,   or  three' Years  and  half,   1 2()0  their  Acts. 
Days  are  comprehended  ;   then  the  Destruc- 
tion of  Antichrist  must  synchronize  with  the 
Death  of  the  Witnesses,  which  cannot  be,  be- 
cause the  Death  of  the  Witnesses  is  the  End 
of  the  second  Woe,  and  then  what  time  shall 
we   allot  to   the   third   Woe,    or  the  pouring 
out   of  the   Seven  Vials,   which   is   all  trans- 
acted  within  the   times    of  Antichrist,    since 

N   2 


180  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

he  is  to  live  till  the  pouring  out  of  the  last 
Vial,  when  Rome  or  BabylofL  shall  be  de- 
stroyed by  the  Earthquake,  and  the  Beast 
and  False  Prophet  being  taken  at  the  Battle 
of  Armageddoyi,  shall  be  cast  into  the  Lake 
burning  with  Fire  and  Brimstone,  Revelations 
11.  14;  19.  20.  To  this  several  Answers 
have  been  given.  Some  suppose  that  by  the 
42  Months,  whereby  the  Times  of  the  Beast 
are  measured,  are  meant  Lunar  Months 
(the  Moon  being  the  Regent  and  Gover- 
ness of  the  Night  or  Darkness,  a  proper 
Emblem  of  Antichristianism,  1  Thessalonians  5. 
5;  Proverbs  4.  19;  Epiiesians  5.  11,  &c.) 
which  do  not  amount  to  three  Solar  Years  and 
a  half,  by  the  space  of  about  twenty  Days, 
which  they  allot  to  the  third  Woe;  and  be- 
sides that,  the  shortness  of  the  Time  allotted 
for  its  Completion  is  hinted  at  by  the  Expres- 
sion of  coming  quickly,  or  speedily,  Revela- 
tions 11.  14.  Others,  with  greater  probability, 
would  even  truly  suppose,  that  the  Witnesses 
shall  begin  their  Testimony  before  the  Beast's 
Reign,  and  shall  by  their  Preaching  pre- 
pare the  World  against  his  Coming ;  and 
that,  though  they  should  both  be  the  same 
space,  yet  the  one  commencing  before  the 
other,  must  by  consequence  end  before  it; 
and  so  the  void  space  of  the  latter  Period 
may  be  allotted  to  the  third  Woe,  or  last 
Vials.  And  better  Accounts  may  probably 
be  given  by  those  who  are  more  exercised 
in  the  Knowledge  of  adjusting  Times  and 
Seasons,    which    1   am   not   much   concerned 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  181 

about,   as  being  not  essential    to   the   Truths 
I  am  contending  for. 

§  23.  The  Death   of  the  Witnesses  seems    The  Death 
to  be  the  last  Instance  or  Act  of  Antichris- 'J/''''^  "  jj- 
tian  Cruelty,  and  seems  to  determine  a  cer-l'll^^^Hllr 

4.    •      n     •     1  •         1  ■    1       1       /^-(i  1     •  f  ,    the  t.na  of 

tarn  Period  m  which  the  Church  is  perfected,  the  Beast's 
and  fixed  in  a  State   of  Triumph  and  Secu-  Reign. 
rity,  represented    by  a  Sea  of  Glass  mingled 
ivith    Fire,     ivliereupon    'were    staiidifii{    those 
that   had  gotten   the   Victory  over  the   Beast, 
and  over  his  Image,  and  over  his  3Tark,  and 
over   the   Number  of  his    Name,    having    the 
Harps    of    God,    and    singing    the    Song    of 
Moses   the  Servant  of  God,   and  the  Song  of 
the   Lamb:*     As    on    the   other   hand    those     *  Rev.lb. 
that  had  worshipped  the  Beast  and  received  *^'  3. 
his  Mark,  seem  to  be  perfected  in  the  Mys- 
tery of  Iniquity,  and   are  accordingly  repre- 
sented  as   ripe    for   Vengeance,   and  the  full 
Measure  of  the  Wrath  of  God  poured  out  of 
the    Seven   Vials,    Revelations   15.    1  ;    10.   1. 
And  I  cannot  but  think  that  the  serious  Con- 
templation of  this  notable  Period  will  afford 
us  a  more    effectual  Solution   of  the   above- 
mentioned    Difficulty  (viz.  the  Times  of  the 
Third   Woe)   than   any   nice   Disquisitions  in 
Chronology.     I.  Then  the  Forty-two  Months 
of  the  Beast,  Revelations  1.3.  5.  do  not  seem  to 
limit  his  duration  or  Continuance   under  the 
Notion  and  Character  of  a  temporal   Prince 
or  Governor,  but  as  he  is  more  emphatically 
Antichrist,  an  Opposer  of  God  and  Persecu- 
tor of  his  Church  ;  and  this  seems  to  be  the 
true  Import  of  the  Word  Troj^Vfi  in  the  Ori- 
ginal ;  (i.  e.)  he  shall  act  in  his  Antichristian 


182  OF  ANTICHRIST, 

Spirit  and  Power,  opposing  and  persecuting 
the   Church.      And   so   the   Marginal    Read- 
ings of  the  English  Bible  render  it,  he  shall 
make  War.     So  then  when  the  Church  shall 
be  delivered  and  his  Persecution  shall  be  at 
an  end,  as  it  is  Revelations  15.  2,  3.     He  may 
then  be  properly  said  h  ttouTv,  and  his  Forty- 
two   Months  be  expired;    and  so  the   short- 
ening of  the  Time  observed  by  the  Evange- 
lists, is  with  a  peculiar   Regard   to  the  Vio- 
lence of  the  Persecution,  Matthew  24.  21,  22. 
3Iark  13.    19,    20.    which    Persecution    must 
end,    and   the   Church   be    in    Peace   before 
the  pouring  out  of  the  Vials,  though  he  him- 
self  must    continue   till   the   Effusion   of  the 
last,   as  was  before  observed.     II.  The  Pro- 
phecy ing  of  the   Witnesses    1260  Days,    and 
the    Church's    being   fed    in   the  Wilderness, 
for  a  Time,    Times,    and   half  a  Time,    i.  e. 
Three    Years    and    an   half,    as    it   is   gene- 
rally interpreted,   Revelations  12.   14.  may  be 
fairly   supposed   to   synchronize  and  run  pa- 
rallel   to    the    Forty-two    Months    as    before 
interpreted.      And   III.    There  is   no    Neces- 
sity  that   the   Effusion    of  the   Vials    should 
belong  to  any  part  of  the  Forty-two  Months, 
but     to    begin    upon     their    Expiration,     as 
being  the   gradual   Steps  whereby    God    (by 
the    Hands    of    some    of    his    Servants    that 
had    stood    out    their  Time   of    Trial    under 
him,  and  were  now  in  a  State  of  Triumph, 
and    represented    as   Angels    coming    out   of 
the    Temple,    probably  the   inward    Court   in 
which  the   Righteous  were  shut  up)  will  de- 
stroy Antichrist  and  all  his  Followers. 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  183 

By  this  Period  of  Time  thus  differently 
expressed,  I  cannot  but  think  are  meant 
Natural  Days,  Months,  and  Years,  as  find- 
ing no  Reason  to  the  contrary ;  besides 
that  I  have  the  Authority  of  almost  all  the 
Ancients  upon  this  Head,  whom  I  have 
occasionally  referred  to.  However,  far  be 
it  from  me  that  1  should  depreciate  the 
Learned  Labours  of  those  who  have  endea- 
voured to  prove  the  contrary,  viz.  that 
thereby  are  to  be  understood  Days  and 
Months  of  Years,  &c.  if  they  have  proved 
their  Point,  applying  it  to  the  Duration 
of  the  Antichristian  Church  or  Mystical 
Body  of  Antichrist ;  yet  that  will  not  at  all 
weaken  my  Assertion,  that  by  the  same  are 
to  be  understood  Natural  Days,  as  1  apply 
them  to  the  Person  of  Antichrist,  but  will 
only  help  to  make  the  Correspondence  be- 
tween the  Mystical  and  Natural  Body  of 
Antichrist  the  more  remarkable  and  mys- 
terious ;  if  the  Duration  of  the  Spiritual 
Tyranny  of  his  Mystical  Body  be  limited 
to  the  same  number  of  Years,  as  that  of  his 
Person  or  Natural  Body  is  of  Days  ;  though 
even  these  must  acknowledge  that  if  by  the 
Times  of  Antichristian  Persecution  be  meant 
1260  Years,  it  will  be  something  difficult, 
if  not  impossible,  to  give  an  Account  how 
that  Time  should  be  called  a  short  Time. 
Revelations  12.  12.  as  our  Blessed  Lord  pro- 
mises, Matthew  24.  2J,  22.  Mark  13.  19, 
20. 


J  84  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

Places  of  ^  24.  This  Grand  Crisis  of  the  Church 
Holy  Scrip-  ^^Il(^er  the  Workings  of  this  Mystery  of  Ini- 
(Hn/to^this  quity  hath  been  variously  pointed  at  by  the 
Reign  of  Prophets  of  the  Old  Testament.  St.  Jerome 
Antichrist,  has  maintained  that  All  the  Prophets  have 
spoken  of  Antichrist,  in  which  (says  the 
Learned  Dr.  Allix  in  his  Preface  upon  the 
Psalms,  p.  12.)  there  is  no  Exa2:geration ;  for 
it  was  impossible  for  the  Prophets  to  speak 
of  the  Messiah's  Kingdom,  without  speak- 
ing of  that  Enemy  who  was  to  invade  his 
Spiritual  Kingdom,  and  without  the  De- 
struction of  which  he  cannot  obtain  his 
Universal  Empire  over  the  Israelites,  and 
afterwards  over  all  Nations.  Though  it  must 
be  acknowledged  that  the  Doctor  means 
no  more  by  Antichrist,  than  an  Antichris- 
tian  Kingdom  or  Church,  notwitlistanding 
his  quoting  St.  Jerome,  whom  he  could  not 
but  know  to  be  a  Friend  to  the  Hypothesis 
of  a  Personal  Antichrist.  I  shall  not  pre- 
tend to  be  so  particular  as  to  point  out  all 
the  Remarkable  Passages  of  Holy  Scripture 
that  refer  to  him,  but  only  to  some  few  that 
may  be  useful  for  the  clearer  understanding 
of  this  Theory.  May  not  this  be  the  Time 
that  the  Prophet  Isaiah  principally  intends, 
Chapter  5.  14.  Therefore  Hell  hath  enlarged 
herself,  and  opened  her  Mouth  without  mea- 
sure, when  the  Honourable  Men  are  famished, 
and  their  Multitude  dried  up  with  Thirst, 
and  the  Glory,  and  the  Multitude,  and  the 
Pomp  of  the  careless  Rejoicers  (mentioned  i;.  1 1 , 
12.)  shall  descend  into  the  Pit.  Does  he  not 
mean  the  Antichristian  Army,  v.  26,  27,  28, 


OF  ANTICHRIST,  185 

29,  30.  hy  a  People  that  shall  come  with  speed 
upon  the  Church,  none  shall  be  weary  nor  stum- 
ble amongst  them,  none  shall  slumber  rior  sleep, 
their  Arrows  are  sharp  and  all  their  Boivs  bent, 
their  Horses  Hoofs  shall  be  counted  as  Flint, 
and  their  Wheels  as  a  Whirlwind,  that  because 
of  them  the  Land  shall  be  full  of  Darkness  and 
Sorrow,  and  the  Light  shall  be  darkened  in  the 
Heavens  thereof  Is  it  not  of  the  Times  of  his 
Reign  that  we  are  to  understand  the  Tempta- 
tion that  the  Church  shall  be  under,  Chap.  8. 
V.  19.  to  have  recourse  to  Familiar  Spirits  and 
Wizards,  which  they  are  warned  against,  and 
advised  to  seek  unto  their  God,  at  a  Time 
"when  the  Antichristian  Company  shall  be 
hardly  bestead  and  Hungry,  and  when  they  shall 
be  hungry  they  shall  fret  themselves  and  curse 
their  God  and  their  King,  and  look  upivards, 
and  they  shall  look  unto  the  Earth,  and  behold 
Trouble  and  Darkness,  Di^nness  of  Anguish, 
and  they  shall  be  driven  to  Darkness.  Do  not 
the  Prophecies  against  the  King  of  Babylon, 
Isaiah  14.  refer  ultimately  to  Antichrist  ?  Is 
not  he  that  Leviathan  the  piercing  Serpent, 
even  Leviathan  that  crooked  Serpent,  (who  is 
a  King  over  all  the  Children  of  Pride,  Job  41. 
34.)  that  for  the  sake  of  his  Vineyard  (or 
Church)  God  ivill  punish  with  his  sore  and 
great  and  strong  Sword,  Isaiah  27.  Is  not  this 
that  Time  to  which  we  must  refer  Isaiah  65. 
13.  My  Servants  shall  eat,  but  ye  (viz.  the 
Antichristian  Company)  shall  be  hungry;  be- 
hold my  Servants  shall  drink,  but  ye  shall  be 
thirsty:  My  Servants  shall  rejoice,  but  ye  shall 
be  ashamed.     V.  14.  My  Servants  shall  sing  for 


J  86  OF  ANTICHRIST, 

joy  of  Heart,  but  ye  shall  cry  for  sorroiv  of 
Heart,  and  shall  howl  for  vexation  of  Spirit. 
This  I  understand  to  be  that  day  of  trouble 
which  Habakkuk  mentions,  Chapter  3.  and 
which  he  prays  to  be  delivered  from,  v.  16. 
which  he  calls  being  at  Rest  in  the  Day  of 
Trouble;  the  Contemplation  of  which  draws 
from  him  this  generous  and  heroic  Resolution, 
that  though  the  Fig-tree  should  not  blossom,  nor 
the  Fruit  should  be  in  the  Vines,  (as  at  that 
time  it  will  not,)  though  the  labour  of  the  Olive 
should  fail,  and  the  Fields  shall  yield  no  3Ieat, 
though  the  Flocks  should  be  cut  off  from  the 
Folds,  and  there  should  be  no  Herd  in  the  Stalls, 
that  he  will  nevertheless  rejoice  in  the  Lord, 
and  joy  in  the  God  of  his  Salvation.  It  would 
be  endless  to  refer  to  the  many  Passages 
concerning  him  in  the  Prophets,  but  particu- 
larly in  the  Psalms,  in  which  Sense  Dr.  Allix 
explains  many  of  them,  though  meaning  indeed 
nothing  else  by  Antichrist,  but  the  Pope  of 
Rome.  Lastly,  (to  mention  no  more)  to  him 
I  apply  that  Prophecy  of  Jeremiah,  Chap.  49. 
19.  that  he  shall  come  up  like  a  Lion  from  the 
swellings  of  Jordan,  and  the  same  Chap.  50. 
44.  to  which  he  also  alludes,  Chap.  12.  5. 
where,  after  he  had  talked  of  the  miserable 
Effects  of  the  Apostacy  of  the  Church  in  that 
dreadful  Day,  he  expostulates  with  them.  If 
thou  hast  run  with  the  Footmen,  and  they  have 
wearied  thee,  then  how  canst  thou  contend  with 
Horses?  if  in  the  Land  of  Peace  wherein  thou 
trustedest  they  have  wearied  thee,  (or  as  the 
Original  seems  rather  to  express  it,  if  thou 
trustedest   in  the  Land   of  Peace,   i.  e.   been 


OF  ANTICHRIST. 

secure   in  the    Prosperity  of  thy  Land)  how 
tvilt  thou  do  in  the  Swellings  of  Jordan  ?  i.  e. 
how  wilt   thou  be  prepared  to  bear  the  last 
and  great  Conflict  of  the  Church?    For  the 
better  understanding  of  which  we  will  observe, 
T.  That   Lactantius  asserts,  p.  645   and  646, 
that  the   last   Deliverance  of  the  Church  or 
Children    of    God    out    of    the   Antichristian 
Earth,   was  typified  by  the  Deliverance  of  the 
Children  of  Israel  out  of  Egypt,  as  were  the 
Plagues  that  shall  be  sent  upon  the  Antichris- 
tian  Company,  by  the  Judgments  sent  upon 
Pharaoh   and   the   Egyptians.      II.  That   the 
Scriptures  themselves  call   their  taking  Pos- 
session of  the  Land  of  Carman  their  entering 
into  Rest,  Psalm  95.  11.     Hebreivs  3.  18;   and 
accordingly  the  Author  to  the  Hebrews  makes 
that   Rest  to  be  a  Figure  and  Type  of  that 
great   Sabbatism,    that  the    Church   shall   en- 
joy in   the   latter   Times   after    the    Destruc- 
tion of  Antichrist,  Hebrews  4.   19.     So  that, 
III.  by    consequence  the  last  and  great  Af- 
fliction of  the  Church,    may  be   aptly  repre- 
sented by  the  Overflowings  of  Jordan,  which 
does  constantly  overflow  its  Banks  in   Har- 
vest  or    Autumn,    (at   which   Season   of  the 
Year  Antichrist  shall  also  come,  as  we  before 
observed  out  of  the  Prophet  Joel,)  and  that 
does  seem  to  be  the  completing  Act  of  the 
suffering  Economy  of  the  Jeivs.     For  as  soon 
as  they  were  got  over.  Circumcision  was  com- 
manded anew  for  those  who  had   escaped  it 
during  their  Forty  Years  travel  in  the  Wil- 
derness,   which   is   called    the   removing   the 
Reproach    from    Israel,    i.   e.    the    Reproach 


188  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

of  the  Cross  or  Suffering  Period,  upon  which 
the  Passover    was    observed    in    Commemo- 
ration  of  their  complete   Deliverance  out  of 
Egypt;   as  may  be  seen  at  large,  Joshua  3. 
4,  5. 
The  De-        §  25.    Now    when   this    Man  of  Sin  shall 
structionof  have  finished  his  Time,   and   the   Number  of 
Antichrist     j^jg   j)ays   shall  be   accomplished,   then  shall 
swn  of  Uie    ^^^   ^'i^*^  upon   him   the   Afflictions    of    his 
Seven  Vials.  People,  He  shall  break  the  Staff  of  the  Wicked, 
and  the  Sceptre  of  the  Rulers ;    he  that  smote 
the  People  in  Wrath  with  a  continual  Stroke, 
he  that  ruled  the  Nation  in  anger,  shall  be  per- 
secuted, and  none  shall  hinder.     Isaiah  14.  5,  6. 
So  he  that  said  in  his  Heart  I  will  ascend  into 
Heaven,  I  ivill  exalt  my  Throne  above  the  Stars 
of  God,  I  will  sit  also  upon  the  Mount  of  the 
Congregation,  in  the  sides  of  the  North.     J  will 
ascend  above  the  Heights  of  the  Clouds,  I  ivill 
be  like  the   Most  Hisrh.     He  that  made  the 
Earth  to  tremble  and  destroyed  Kingdoms,  that 
made  the  World  a  Wilderness,  and  destroyed  the 
Cities  thereof,  shall  be  brought  down  to  Hell  to 
the  sides  of  the  Pit;    v.  13,    14,    15,   16,   17. 
This  God  will  accomplish  by  various  and  gra- 
dual Steps,  first,  to  magnify  the  Greatness  of 
his  Power,  and  that  every  Act  and  Instance 
of  Vengeance  may  have  time  to  produce  its 
designed    Effect ;     i.  e.    reclaim    those    who 
are   within   the    possibility    of    Mercy.      The 
grand   Pomp   of    this   Destruction   is   largely 
described  to  us  by  the  Author  of  the  Apoca- 
lypse; who  having  described  to  us.  Chap.  15. 
the    Joy    and    Triumph    of   those    who   had 
gotten  the  Victory  over  the  Beast,   &c.  tells 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  189 

us,  V.  6.   of  that  Chapter,   that  he  saw  Seven 
Angels    coming    out    of   the    Temple    having 
the  Seven  Plagues,  clothed  in  Pwe  and  White 
Linen,  and  their  Breasts  girded  with   Golden 
Girdles.     By  the  Seven  Angels  may  possibly 
be   meant,    either   literally    Seven   Spirits,    or 
Seven  Men  of  those  who  had  been  shut  up 
during    the    Beast's    Reign,    or    perhaps    the 
Souls   of  Righteous   Men   departed    commis- 
sioned   by   God    to    execute   his   Vengeance, 
of  which  more   hereafter.     They  came   forth 
clothed  in  the  Habits  of  Priests  and  Kings, 
to   show   the    Royal    Priesthood    of    Christ's 
Kingdom   and    Heavenly  Temple    or  Taber- 
nacle,   out   of    which    these   Judgments   pro- 
ceed, V.   7.   and  one  of  the  four   Beasts,   (or 
living    Creatures,)    that   were    the    Represen- 
tatives of  the  Apostolical   Church,  gave  unto 
the  Seven   Angels   Seven  Vials   (or   Bowls,  2 
Chronicles  4.  22.   Revelations  5.  8.)  full  of  the 
Wrath  of  God  who  liveth  for  ever  and  ever, 
V.  8.     And  the  Temple  ivas  filled  with  Smoke 
from  the  Glory  of  God  and  from  his  Power, 
and  no  Man  was  able  to  enter  into  the  Temple 
till  the   Seven  Plagues   of  the  Seven  Angels 
were  fulfilled.     The  filling  of  the  Temple  with 
God's  Glory  is  a  Phrase  expressing  his  dwell- 
ing in  the  midst  of  his  People,    Ezekiel  43. 
5,  7,  9.    whereby   is   signified  the    Approach 
of  the  New  Jerusalem  Sabbatism.     The  Smoke 
appearing   with    it    does   intimate   to   us    the 
Glory   of  God,    who  dwells   in   thick  Dark- 
ness, or  Light  inaccessible,  Isaiah  6.  4.     And 
2%,    By   the    Impossibility   of  entering  into 
the   Temple    till   the   Vials   are    poured   out, 


OF  ANTICHRIST. 

may  be  signified,  that  none  of  the  Anti- 
christian  Company,  though  drawn  to  Re- 
pentance by  some  of  the  preceding  Judg- 
ments, shall  be  received  into  the  Favour 
and  Participation  of  the  Kingdom,  till  they 
have  undergone  the  full  Vengeance  of  God. 

And  now  follows  the  Effusion  of  these 
Vials  of  Wrath  upon  the  Antichristian  World, 
by  the  Command  of  a  great  Voice  out  of 
the  Temple,  saying  to  the  Seven  Angels, 
Go  your  way,  arid  pour  out  the  Vials  of  the 
Wrath  of  God  upon  the  Earth,  Revelations 
16.  1. 

I.  THE  First  Angel  ivent  and  poured  out 
his  Vial  upon  the  Earth,  and  there  fell  a 
noisome  grievous  Soi'e  upon  the  Men  which  had 
the  Mark  of  the  Beast,  and  upon  them  that  ivor- 
shipped  his  Image.  Tliis  does  seem  to  be 
much  the  same  Judgment  with  that  inflicted 
by  Moses  on  the  Egyptians,  (from  whence  the 
Expressions  concerning  this  Plague  are  taken.) 
3Ioses  took  hot  Ashes  of  the  Furnace,  Exodus 
9.  8,  11.  which  became  small  Dtist  in  all  the 
Land  of  Egypt,  and  was  a  Eile  on  Man  and 
Eeast.  And  accordingly  in  this  Plague  it 
may  by  the  like  Congruity  be  supposed,  that 
many  hot  and  fiery  Particles  and  Exhalations 
will  be  poured  forth  from  these  Vials  upon 
the  Earth ;  which  shall  produce  an  extraor- 
dinary Heat  and  Drought,  and  be  the  Cause 
of  the  Sores  here  mentioned,  which  are 
wont  to  break  out  upon  Men's  Bodies  in 
hot  and  dry  Seasons ;  such  a  Sore  was  that 
"Eaxo?,  or  Ulcer,  that  fell  on  Job  and  the 
Egyptians,  such  as  Thucydides  observes,  Lib. 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  191 

2.  p.  112.  appeared  upon  the  Bodies  of  the 
Athenians  in  the  height  of  their  Distem- 
per. 

II.  THE  Second  Angel  poured  out  his  Vial 
upon  the  Sea,  and  it  became  as  the  Blood  of  a 
dead  Man,  and  every  living  Soul  died  in  the 
Sea,  i.  e.  The  Waters  of  the  Sea  stagnated 
and  became  hke  the  Blood  of  a  dead  Carcass, 
if  not  quite  in  all  the  Natural  Qualities,  yet  at 
least  in  Colour. 

III.  THE  Third  Angel  poured  out  of  his 
Vial  upon  the  Rivers  and  Fountains  of  Waters, 
and  they  also  became  Elood.  The  Rivers  are 
represented  as  stagnating  after  the  Sea,  be- 
cause they  depend  upon  it,  as  their  Cause  and 
Original,  and  therefore  by  a  Necessity  of 
Nature  partaking  of  the  same  Fate,  this  is 
a  very  dismal  Judgment,  depriving  them  of 
the  Necessaries  of  Life,  their  Fish  dying, 
and  their  Water  which  should  have  quench- 
ed their  Thirst  in  the  great  Heat  and  Drought, 
being  corrupted  and  unfit  for  use ;  accord- 
ing to  what  God  inflicted  on  Egypt,  Exodus 
7.  14-25.  when  the  River  Nile  and  all  their 
Water  stank,  so  that  they  could  not  drink 
of  them,  arid  their  Fish  died.  Besides  that  this 
Destruction  upon  the  Rivers,  joined  with 
the  Effects  of  the  First  Vial  upon  the  Earth, 
must  needs  have  a  fatal  Influence  upon  the 
Fruits  of  the  Earth,  and  by  consequence 
deprive  them  of  all  necessary  Food.  Upon 
the  pouring  out  of  this  Vial,  St.  John,  v.  5. 
heard  the  Angel  that  was  commissioned  to 
pour  out  these  Plagues  upon  the  Waters 
praising  God  for  this  just  Retaliation  upon 


192  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

the  Antichristian  Company.  For,  saith  he, 
V.  6.  they  have  shed  the  Blood  of  Saints  and 
Prophets,  and  thou  hast  given  them  Blood  to 
drink,  for  they  are  worthy.  To  which  it  was 
echoed  back,  v.  1 .  by  an  Angel  out  of  the 
Altar,  (i.  e.  in  the  Name  of  the  Saints  and 
Martyrs  that  lay  vmder  it,  ChajD.  6.  9.  that  is, 
a  Place  of  Safety  and  Refuge,  as  the  Altar 
was  under  the  Old  Law;)  Even  so  Lord  God 
Almighty,  True  and  Righteous  are  thy  Judg- 
ments, (in  giving  them  Blood  to  drink  for  the 
Blood  they  have  shed). 

IV.  AND  the  Fourth  (who  had  Power 
over  the  Fire,  Chap.  14.  18.)  poured  out  his 
Vial  upon  the  Sun,  and  Power  was  given  unto 
him  to  scorch  Men  with  Fire.  As  the  Light 
of  the  Sun  may  be  multiplied  by  Parhelia,  and 
other  Natural  Causes,  to  which  the  Prophet 
alludes,  Isaiah  30.  26.  so  it  is  not  difficult  to 
conceive  that  its  Heat  may  be  naturally 
augmented  by  the  Dissolution  or  Dissipa- 
tion of  its  MaculcE ;  upon  the  increase  and 
breaking  forth  of  those  fluctuating  Vortexes 
of  Fire,  which  are  in  the  Body  of  that 
Planet,  and  are  stronger  and  clearer  at  its 
Centre,  than  near  its  Circumference ;  and 
by  other  Natural  Causes,  not  unknown  to 
the  Learned  ;  and  if  the  Heat  of  the  Sun 
may  be  increased  by  Natural  Causes,  how 
much  more  by  Supernatural  Ones,  ordering 
and  conducting  them,  and  adding  new  ones? 
V.  9.  A7id  men  were  scorched  with  great 
Heat,  and  blasphemed  the  Name  of  God, 
which  had  Power  over  these  Plagues,  and  they 
repented  not  to  give  him  Glory.     This  seems  to 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  1J)3 

he  an  Allusion  to  the  violent,  scorching,  and 
suffocating  Heats  of  the  Sun,  and  the  burning 
Heat  of  the  East  Wind  which  afflicted  Jonah, 
Jonah  4.  8,  9.  and  which  usually  accompany 
one  another  in  the  Eastern  Climates,  pro- 
ducing much  Trouble  and  Grief  as  well  in 
Mind  as  in  Body. 

V.  AND  the  Fifth  Angel  poured  out  his 
Vial  upon  the  Seat  of  the  Beast,  (i.  e.  Jerusa- 
lem,) and  his  Kingdom  ivas  full  of  Darkness 
(alluding  to  the  Darkness  that  overspread  the 
Land  of  Egypt)  and  they  gnawed  their  Tongues 

for  pain,  and  v.  ]  J .  blasphemed  the  God  of 
Heaven,  because  of  their  pains  and  their  sores, 
and  repented  not  of  their  Deeds,  i.  e.  The  Ter- 
rors of  their  Minds  and  Consciences  made 
them  blaspheme  God  and  gnaw  their  Tongues, 
as  in  the  greatest  Rage  imaginable,  even  as  the 
Egyptians  were  vexed  and  tormented  during 
the  Darkness  that  covered  them,  with  the 
Terrors  of  their  own  affrighted  Consciences, 
and  the  Evil  Angels,  as  the  Hook  of  Wisdom 
testifieth.  Chap.  17,  18. 

VI.  AND  the  Sixth  Angel  poured  out  his 
Vial  upon  the  great  River  Euphrates,  and  the 
Waters  thereof  were  dried  up,  that  the  Way  of 
the  Kings  of  the  East  might  be  prepared.  The 
drying  of  Euphrates  is  unquestionably  an  Allu- 
sion to  the  Exploit  of  Cyrus,  who  drained  it, 
when  he  took  Babylon,  as  was  literally  fore- 
told by  the  Prophet  Jeremiah  50.  38.  51.  .32, 
36.  and  to  those  Passages  of  the  Prophets 
where  the  Return  of  the  Jews  into  their  own 
Land  is  described  in  the  like  Expressions, 
Isaiah  11.  15.  Zech.  10.    II.     Now  Euphrates, 

o 


194  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

which  was  one  of  the  Branches  into  which 
the  River  that  watered  Paradise  was  divided 
after  it  had  passed  through  it,  was  also  the 
Eastern  Boundary  of  the  Land  of  Promise, 
to  which  David  and  Solomon  extended  their 
Conquests,  and  upon  this  River  was  seated 
Sabylo7i,  the  Enemy  and  Oppressor  of  God's 
Church,  and  a  Type  of  Antichristianism, 
over  which  River  the  Jews  were  carried 
captive  for  their  Iniquities  into  the  Assyrian 
and  Sabylonish  Countries.  The  Expression 
of  the  Kings  of  the  East  is  undoubtedly  an 
Allusion  to  the  Story  of  Cyrus,  of  whom  the 
Prophet  Isaiah  speaks,  Chapter  41.  2.  that 
God  raised  him  up  from  the  East,  and  v.  25. 
that  he  shall  come  from  the  Rising  of  the  Sun 
to  proclaim  the  Name  of  the  Lord;  so  then  in 
allusion  to  his  Personal  Character  may  be 
meant  some  great  Persons,  perhaps  of  the 
Ten  Tribes,  who  shall  come  from  the  East 
to  the  Glory  of  the  Kingdom,  See  the  4th 
Book  of  Esdras,  Chap.  13.  v.  42,  43,  &c.  or 
else  as  Cyrus  was  a  Type  of  our  Blessed  Lord, 
by  the  Kings  of  the  East  may  be  meant  those 
*  Cfl/Zerffl/so  Saints,  who,  as  so  many  Inferior  Messiahs,* 
by  Obadiah  ^nd  Divinely  Anointed  Kings  and  Priests, 
^amours,  q^^  which  Name  Cyrus  is  called  in  Scrip- 
ture,) are  to  reign  with  Christ,  who  is  called 
the  East,  the  Morning,  the  Morning  Star, 
&c.  as  was  before  observed.  So  then  by 
the  drying  up  of  Euphrates  I  understand 
literally,  the  drying  up  its  Waters  to  make 
way  for  some  great  Persons  of  the  East,  per- 
haps some  remains  of  the  Assyrian  and  Baby- 
lonish Captivity.      And   as   this   Vial  makes 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  196 

soiiae    Preparations    or    Dispositions   for   the 
Kingdom  of  the   Messiali   by   the  drying  np 
of  Euphrates,   so   does  it  in  the   next  Verse 
begin   to   prepare  for  the   Destruction  of  the 
Antichristian  Powers.     For  v.  13.    Three  un- 
clean Spirits,  like  Frogs,  came  out  of  t lie  Mouth 
of  the  Dragon,   (i.  e.  the  Devil,)  and  out  of  the 
Mouth  of  the  Beast,  (i.  e.  Antichrist,)  and  of 
the  False  Prophet;  v.  14.     And  they  are  the 
Spirits  of  Devils  (or  Diabolical  Spirits)  ivork- 
ing  Miracles,  which  go  forth  unto  the  Kings  of 
the  Earth,  and  of  the  whole  World,  to  gather 
them  to  the  Eattle  of  that  great  Day  of  God 
Almighty.     By  which  is  signified  some  strong 
Magical   Influence  diversified  by  the  Opera- 
tions of  Satan,  Antichrist,  and  the  False  Pro- 
phet,   to   excite   the   Kings   of  the   Earth,  or 
Antichristian    Powers,    to    meet    together    to 
oppose  the  Kingdom  of  the  Lamb,  who  was 
then   beginning  to   overcome   the    Beast,  and 
that  in  the   place  (called  Armageddon,  v.  10.) 
where  God   had   appointed  to  destroy  them; 
as   is  shown  imder   the  Seventh   Vial.     Now 
the  word  Armageddon  in  the  Hebrew  Tongue 
signifies  the  Hill  of  Blegiddo,  called  Megiddon 
by  the  Prophet,  Zechariah  12.   11.   yyr]>^j2    '^n 
Mxyia^u,  LXXII.  a   Royal  City  in  the  Tribe 
of     Issachar,     but     belonging    to     Manasseh, 
which  the  Canaanites  possessed  in  despite  of 
them.     Joshua  17.  11,  12.  and  this  City  was 
famous  in   Scripture  for  the  Miraculous  De- 
feat  of  Sisera   and  the   Kings  of  Canaan   (a 
Type  of  the  Kings  of  the  Earth)  by  Barak 
and    the    Israelites    who    came    down    from 
Mount   Tabor  (which   was  not  far  from  tliat 

()  2 


wa  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

place,)  and   discomfited  them   at  the  Waters 
of  Megiddo,   in   the  Hilly  and  Mountainous 
Parts    of   that    Place,    as    Grotius   upon   the 
Place   conjectures.     It  was    also   famous   for 
the   Death   of  Ahaziali,    2   Kings  9.   27.  but 
especially  of  Josiah,  who  received  his  deadly 
Wound  with  a  great  Slaughter  in  the  Valley 
of  Megiddo,  2  Kings  23.  29,  30.     2  Chronicles, 
35.  20-27.    where  he   was    bewailed  with    so 
great    a    Lamentation,    that    the    Mournings 
of   that   Valley   is    used    by   way   of  a  Pro- 
verbial   Speech    by    the     Prophet   Zechariah, 
Chap.  12.   11.  and  Megiddo  is  interpreted  by 
the    LXXIl,    the    Valley    of    the    Slain,    or 
cut   off,    as   if  it   signified   a   Place   of  great 
Grief  and   Slaughter;    and    3Iegiddo  may  be 
chosen   to   be    a    Type   and    Symbol    of  the 
Place   of  this   Valley   of  Decision,    to    show 
that  as  the   Nation    of   the  Jews   did   yearly 
bewail  the    Death   of  Josiah   in  that    Place, 
so   they  should   likewise  bemoan  him  whose 
Type   Josiah  was,    and   was    slain   near  that 
Place  just  when  he  had   prepared  the  Tem- 
ple   of    God,     which    was    the    Emblem    of 
Christ's  Kingdom.     8ee  Zechariah  12.  11.     It 
may  also  signify  {2dli/)  that  God,  who   over- 
rules Evil   Designs  for  Good,   and   who   de- 
clares,  Judges  4.  7.  (the   Place  here   alluded 
to)    that   he   drew    Sisera  and   his  Multitude 
together,     had     ordained     that    these    Kings 
should    be   totally  overthrown   as   the  Kings 
of  Canaaji  were   at   Megiddo ;    and  that  the 
Lamb  and  his  Company  should  triumph  over 
them   and   bless  God   for   the  great  Victory, 
as  Jehoshaphat  and  the   Israelites  did  in   the 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  197 

Valley  of  Beracha  for  the  defeat  of  that 
great  Multitude  of  wicked  People  that  con- 
federated against  Israel,  2  Cluonicles  *20. 
26. 

VII.  And  now  the  Seventh  Angel  pours  out     Tin- Gvrat 
his  Vial,  v.  17.  into  the  Air,  and  there  came  a  l'^<"ff'<j""f<e 
great  Voice  out  of  the  Temple  of  Heaven  saij-  ^Seventh"' 
ing.    It  is  clone,    i.  e.    This    is   the   last  com-  yiai. 
pleting   Act    of    Vengeance    npon   the    Anti- 
christian  World,  in  order  to  make  way  for  the 
Kingdom  of  Christ.     Under  this  Vial  are  com- 
prised and  effected  Two  notable  Events.     The 
First  is  the  Destruction  of  Babylon,  i.  e.  the 
Antichristian  City  Rome ;    and    of  the  great 
City  Jerusalem.     The  Second  is  the  Destruc- 
tion of  the  Great  Antichristian  Army  at  Arma- 
geddon. 

I.  That  the  Great  City,  the  Destruction 
whereof  is  so  pompously  described,  Chapter 
17.  18,  19.  is  Rome,  has  been  (I  think)  plainly 
and  fully  proved  by  Dr.  More,  Mr.  Mede, 
and  all  the  Reformed  Commentators.  Aud 
this  City  is  to  be  destroyed  under  this  Vial, 
npon  the  Effusion  whereof.  Chapter  16.  v.  18. 
There  were  Voices,  and  Thunders,  and  Light- 
nings, and  a  Great  Earthquake,  such  as  was 
not  since  Men  ivere  upon  the  Earth  ;  so  mighty 
and  so  great.  Upon  which  the  Great  City 
(viz.  Jerusalem)  was  divided  into  three  parts, 
and  the  Cities  of  the  Nations  fell,  and  Great 
Babylon  came  into  remembrance  before  God, 
to  give  unto  her  the  Cup  of  the  Wine  of  the 
Fierceness  of  his  Wrath.  And  the  Islands,  and 
the  Mountains  fled  away,  and  a  great  Hail  fell 
from  Heaven  %ipon  the  Men  that  survived,  which 


OF  ANTICHRIST. 

Hail  ivas  exceeding  Great.  It  may  possibly 
be  this  Hail  that  Job  means  by  the  treasures  of 
Hail,  which  God  hath  reserved  for  the  Time  of 
Trouble,  against  the  Day  of  Battle  and  War, 
Job  38.  22.  This  being  indeed  the  Great 
Day  of  Battle  and  Destruction  of  the  Anti- 
christian  Powers  out  of  the  whole  Earth,  to 
\vhich  that  Ancient  Writer  frequently  re- 
fers. 

II.  The  Second  Great  Transaction,  and 
which  more  immediately  concerns  this  dis- 
course, is  the  Destruction  of  Antichrist  and 
his  Great  Army  at  the  Battle  of  Armageddon. 
It  is  the  Opinion  of  some,  that  the  Prophecy 
of  Ezekiel,  Chapter  39.  concerning  Gog  and 
Magog  is  to  be  understood  of  Antichrist  and 
his  Army ;  though  all  know  very  well  that 
by  Gog  and  Magog,  Revelations  20.  is  to  be 
understood  that  vast  Diabolical  Multitude 
that  shall  encompass  the  Holy  City  after  the 
Millennium.  How  true  this  Opinion  may 
be,  I  shall  not  presume  to  say,  but  must  ac- 
knowledge, that  it  seems  to  be  favoured  by 
several  Circumstances  of  that  Prophecy.  1. 
The  same  Invitation  is  made  to  the  Fowls 
of  Heaven,  Ezekiel  .39.  v.  17-21.  as  is 
made,  Revelations  19.  v.  17,  18.  for  the  Slain 
of  the  Battle  of  Armageddon.  2.  The  Gog 
and  Magog,  mentioned  in  the  Revelations,  are 
to  be  devoured  by  Fire,  and  consequently  not 
left  to  be  eaten  by  the  Fowls  of  Heaven. 
3.  The  Destruction  of  the  last  Gog  by  Fire 
in  the  Revelations  is  said  to  be  immediately 
followed  by  the  Great  and  last  Judgment. 
Whereas  in  Ezekiel,  the  Destruction  of  Gog 


OF  ANTICHRIST. 

is  mentioned  with  no  such  Consequences, 
but  rather  with  a  happy  Succession  of  Peace 
and  Repose  to  the  Church  in  the  very  same 
Earth ;  mention  being'  made  of  buryinj:^  the 
Dead,  burning  the  Weapons,  and  a  Dura- 
tion of  Seven  Years  of  Strans^ers  travelhnsr 
that  way,  and  of  the  Heathens  glorifying 
God  upon  the  Account  of  his  Judgments, 
which  may  be  understood  of  their  Conver- 
sion, even  as  we  believe  that  the  Millennial 
Glory  will  follow  after  the  Destruction  of 
Antichrist.  Before  this  Battle  of  Armaged- 
don, there  is  an  Invitation  to  the  Fowls  of 
Heaven  made  by  an  Angel  standing  in  the 
Sun,  Revelations,  Chapter  19.  v.  17,  18.  say- 
ing, Come  and  gather  yourselves  together  to  the 
Supper  of  the  Great  God,  that  ye  may  eat  the 
Flesh  of  Kings,  and  the  Flesh  of  Captains,  and 
the  Flesh  of  Mighty  Men,  and  the  Flesh  of 
Horses,  and  of  them  that  sit  thereon,  and  the 
Flesh  of  all  Men  (i.  e.  all  sorts  of  Men)  both 
free  and  bond,  both  small  avid  great.  As  it  is 
also  Ezekiel  39.  17,  18,  \9.  Many  different 
Opinions  there  are  about  this  Place  among 
the  Commentators.  Those  of  them  who  inter- 
pret it  in  an  Allegorical  and  Mystical  Sense, 
insist  upon  the  Incongruity  of  setting  an  Angel 
in  the  Literal  Sense  to  invite  all  the  Fowls 
of  the  Air  to  a  Banquet.  But  suppose  we 
should  grant  that  this  part  may  be  nothing 
more  than  an  Oriental  Form  of  Speech ;  who 
attributed  every  thing,  especially  in  Pro- 
phetical Writings,  to  the  Ministry  of  An- 
gels, yet  I  see  no  reason  why  we  may  not 
understand    the  other  Part    literally,  that  is, 


200  OF  ANTICHRIST. 

if  this  Antichristian  Army  be  to  be  destroy- 
ed  or  slain   in    a    literal    Sense,    then    their 
Bodies  will   be  literally  dead,   and   when  so 
are    proper    Food    for   ravenous    Birds,    and 
wild  Beasts  of  the  Earth,   and  why  then  may 
it  not  express,  that  there  shall  be  such  great 
Multitudes   of   them    destroyed,    that   all   the 
Fowls  of  Heaven  may  come  and  feast  upon 
their   Bodies  ?    Though  I   must  acknowledge 
that  there   are   good    Reasons   given   by  Dr. 
More  in   the    last    of    his   Divine   Dialogues 
to    prove    that    this     cannot    be    understood 
otherwise   than   in   a    Mystical   and    Spiritual 
Sense. 
Antichrist      §  26.  And  now  foilov.'s  the  Grand  Catas- 
takenand     trophe.     Whilst   the   Antichristian   Army   are 
Bottom/cIl^  thus   gathered   together.    Behold  the  Heavens 
Plf  ivere  opened,  Revelations  19.    11.  and  a  white 

Horse,  avid  he  that  sat  upon  him  ivas  called 
Faithful  and  True,  and  in  Righteousness  he 
doth  Judge  and  make  War.  By  the  ivhite 
Horse  may  be  signified  Christ's  Royalty  and 
Glory  from  his  Resurrection  to  his  Second 
Coming  in  his  Kingdom.  The  Rider  is  said 
to  be  Faithfid  and  True;  because  of  his  ap- 
pearing in  his  Kingdom,  according  to  his  Pro- 
mise, which  Atheists,  Deists,  and  they  of  the 
Antichristian  Party  had  called  in  Question, 
asking,  Where  is  the  promise  of  his  coming? 
These  Unbelievers  he  will  in  his  Righteousness 
judge  and  destroy. 

V.  12.  This  Rider  is  described.  His  Eyes 
were  as  a  Flame  of  Fire  (penetrating  and 
judging  all  things  in  a  quick  and  terrible 
manner)  and  on  his  Head  ivere  many  Crowns. 


OF  ANTJCHIUST.  201 

(denotinj^  the  Amplitude  of  his  Dominion). 
And  he  had  a  Name  ivritteu  which  ito  Man 
knew  hut  himself.  By  Name  in  Scripture  is 
often  signified  Nature,  and  so  this  Mysterious 
Name  may  be  something  expressing  tlie 
Hypostatic  Union  of  the  Two  Natures  in 
our  Blessed  Lord ;  which  as  it  does  infi- 
nitely transcend  the  short  limited  Capacity 
of  Human  Nature  to  comprehend,  so  it 
will  appear  now  more  Illustrious  and  Glorious 
than  ever. 

V.  1 3.  HE  was  clothed  ivith  a  Vesture  dip- 
ped in  blood,  (expressing  his  Triumph  through 
the  Blood  of  his  Cross,)  and  his  Name  is 
called  (or  he  is)  the  Word  of  God,  i.  e.  He  is 
the  Eternal  word  of  God,  the  Second  Person 
in  the  Ever-Blessed-Trinity,  the  Word  by 
whom  God  spake  when  he  made  the  World; 
and  spake  also  to  our  Forefathers  under 
the  Old  Testament,  and  to  us  in  the  Gos- 
pel. 

V.  14.  Are  described  his  Companions  and 
Attendants.  The  Armies  which  icere  in  Hea- 
ven, (i.  e.  the  Angels  and  Saints,  whether 
dead  or  living,  in  whom  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven  is  perfected)  followed  him  upon  while 
Horses,  Companions  and  Partakers  with  Cln*ist 
in  his  Glory  and  Kingdom,  clothed  in  fine 
Linen  white  and  clean.  Their  Robes  or  Righ- 
teousness having  been  washed  and  made  white 
in  the  Blood  of  him  who  is  clothed  with  the 
Bloody  Garment. 

V.  15.  AND  out  of  his  Moidh  goelh  a 
sharp  Sword,  (viz.  his  Word,  which  is  sharper 
tJian  any  two-edged  Sword,    Hebrews  4.   12.) 


OF  ANTICHRIST. 

that  with  it  he  may  smite  the  Nations  of  the 
Earth,  and  rule  them  with  a  Rod  of  Iron, 
(during  the  continuance  of  his  Glorious  King- 
dom,) a7id  he  treadeth  the  Wine-press  of  the 
fierceness  and  Wrath  of  Almighty  God  (as  he 
once  trod  it  by  himself  alone  when  in  his  own 
Body  he  bore  upon  the  Cross  the  Iniquities  of 
us  all,  Isaiah  63.  3.)  So  will  he  now  tread 
down  the  wicked  who  are  the  accursed  Vine 
of  Sodom,  or  rather,  to  speak  in  the  Language 
of  Isaiah  in  the  afore-cited  Place,  make  them 
tread  it  themselves  whilst  they  suffer  that  Ven- 
geance which  he  inflicts  upon  them. 

V,  1 6.  AND  he  had  upon  his  Vesture,  arid 
upon  his  Thigh  a  Name  written  KING  of 
KINGS,  and  LORD  of  LORDS.  (He 
wore  and  discovered  Glorious  and  Illustrious 
Symbols  and  Characters  of  his  Supreme  Uni- 
versal Monarchy).  Some  think  that  as  his 
former  Name  mentioned,  v.  13.  denoted  his 
Divinity  ;  so  this  may  denote  his  Kingdom  as 
Son  of  Man,  therefore  he  wears  a  Title  on  his 
Vesture,  as  Kings  do  their  Royal  Cognizances, 
by  which  they  are  distinguished  and  made 
known. 

With  this  Glory,  this  Might,  and  Autho- 
rity, he  scatters  and  confounds  the  Diabolical 
Army,  that  are  said,  v.  19.  to  be  gathered 
together  to  make  War  against  him.  They  fall 
before  him  as  the  shades  of  Darkness  before 
the  Rising  Sun.  See  how  the  Lightnings  flash 
in  their  Faces,  how  they  tremble  and  are 
amazed,  they  reel,  and  stagger,  and  are  at 
their  Wits  end,  and  in  this  confusion  they  shall 
as  in  the  Day  of  Midian,  Joshua  7.  22.  turn 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  203 

their  Hands  against  each  other,  and  like  as  the 
Moahites,  Ammonites,  and  the  Children  of 
Monnt  Seir,  2  Chronicles  20.  23.  helped  to  de- 
stroy one  another,  so  shall  these  lift  up  every 
one  his  Hand  against  his  Brother,  and  turn 
his  Sword  against  his  Fellow.  Even  as  the 
Lord  hath  said,  Ezekiel  38.  21.  1  will  call 
for  a  Sword  against  him  throughout  all  my 
Mountains,  every  Man's  Sicord  shall  be  against 
his  JBrother.  And  I  will  •plead  against  him 
with  Pestilence  and  with  Slood,  and  I  will  rain 
upon  him  and  upon  his  JBands,  and  upon  the 
many  People  that  are  tvith  him,  an  overflowing 
Rain,  and  great  Hailstones,  Fire,  and  Brim- 
stone. And  (Revelation  19.  20.)  the  Beast,  and 
False  Prophet  that  ivrought  Miracles  before 
him,  with  which  he  had  deceived  them  that  had 
received  the  Mark  of  the  Beast,  and  them  that 
worship  his  Image,  ivere  both  of  them  taken 
and  cast  alive  into  the  Lake  burning  with  Fire 
and  Brimstone.  And  the  Remnant  (v.  21.) 
were  slain  with  the  Sword  of  .him  that  sat  upon 
the  Horse,  which  proceedeth  out  of  his  Mouth, 
and  all  the  Fowls  were  filled  with  their  Flesh. 
This  is  what  St.  Paul  foretold  concerning  this 
Lying  Deceiver,  2  Thessalonians  2.  8.  That 
the  Lord  shall  consume  him  ivith  the  Breath  of 
his  3Iouth,  and  destroy  him  with  the  Brightness 
of  his  Coming.  When  he  shall  descend  with 
the  Power  and  Majesty  of  an  Everlasting 
Kingdom,  which  shall  descend  with  him  upon 
the  Earth,  then  shall  all  the  Glorious  Promises 
made  to  the  Church  be  plentifully  fulfilled ; 
then  shall  the  Sons  and  Disciples  of  the  Cross 
receive  double  at  the   Lord's   Hand    for   the 


204  OF  ANTICHRIST 

Shame  which  they  have  suffered  for  his  sake, 
and  instead  of  Confusion  they  shall  rejoice  in 
their  Portion,  and  in  their  Land  they  shall 
possess  the  double.  He  will  give  them  Beauty 
for  Ashes,  the  Oil  of  Joy  for  Mourning,  the 
Garment  of  Praise  for  the  Spirit  of  Heaviness. 
Everlasting  Joy  shall  be  upon  them.  Yea  the 
*  See  the  Lord  shall  send  forth  his  Spirit*  and  renew 
Original.  ^/^^  j^^^.^  ^y-  ^^g  Earth.  Psalms  104.  30.  which 
is  that  Restitution  of  all  things  which  God  hath 
spoken  by  the  Mouth  of  all  his  Holy  Prophets 
ever  since  the  World  began.  Acts  3.  21. 


205 


The  Conclusion. 


AJND     now    perhaps    it    may    be    asked,  TAcCo«f/i/. 
as    the  Disciples     asked     our    Blessed  **'^"'  »*''''* 
Lord,  3Iat.  24.  3.    tell  us;    when  shall   these 'r^^^^^^f^^^ 
Things  be?      To    which   Question  our  Lord  concerning- 
has  upon  another  Occasion,  Acts  1.  7.  ^\\e\\  the  Signs  of 
us  this  short  Answer,  that  it  is  not  for  us  to  '''^  ^""'*- 
Jctiow   the  Times  and  the   Seasons,  which  the 
Father  hath  put  in  his  oivn  Poicer.     And  it 
must  be  acknowledged,  that  no  one  thing  has 
given  so  fatal  an  Advantage  to  the  Enemies 
of  Prophetical  Truth,  as  the  vast   Presump- 
tion  of  some    Men,  who   upon   very  slender 
Grounds  have  dared   as  in  the  Name  of  the 
Lord  to  confine  the  Completion  of  some  very 
great  Revolutions  to  a  very  narrow  Compass 
of  Time,  and  that  with  as  much  Confidence, 
as  if  their  Comments  had  been  as  Divine  and 
Authentic  as  the  Prophecies  themselves  which 
they  pretended  to  explain. 

Now  though  our  Blessed  Saviour  condemns 
a  too  positive  Curiosity  in  things  of  this  nature, 
yet  does  he  by  no  means  discourage  the  modest 
and  humble  Inquirer,  having  himself  vouch- 
safed. Mat.  24.  3Iark  13.  and  Luke  21.  to 
give  us  some  Marks  and  tokens  whereby  to 
judge  of  the  near  approach  of  that  Time;  at 
least  with  as  much  certainty  as  we  can  judge 
of  the  near  approach  of  Summer,  when 
we  see  the  tender  Branches  of  the  Fig-tree 
begin  to  bud  and  put  forth  its  Leaves,  or 
judge  of  the  Weather  by  the  appearance  of  the 

p2 


OF  ANTICHRIST. 

Sky.  Learn  (saith  he  to  his  Disciples,  Mat. 
21.  32,  33)  a  Parable  of  the  Fig-tree :  ivhen 
his  Branch  is  yet  tender,  and  putteth  forth  his 
Leaves,  ye  know  that  Summer  is  nigh :  So  like- 
ivise  ye  when  ye  shall  see  all  these  things  (mean- 
ing the  Signs  and  Tokens  afore-mentioned) 
knoiv  that  it  (the  great  Desolation)  is  near,  even 
at  the  doors.  So  Mat.  16.  2,  3.  When  it  is 
Evening,  ye  say  it  will  be  Fair  Weather :  For 
the  Sky  is  Red.  And  in  the  Morning  it  will  be 
Foul  Weather  to  Day:  for  the  Sky  is  Red  and 
Lowring.  O  ye  Hypocrites,  ye  can  discern  the 
Face  of  the  Sky,  but  cannot  ye  discern  the  Signs 
of  the  Times?  Omitting  therefore  all  Chrono- 
logical Disquisitions,  which  at  the  best  are 
attended  with  infinite  Uncertainties,  we  will 
take  a  short  view  of  those  Criteria,  or  Tokens, 
which  our  Blessed  Lord  has  given  us. 

The  first  is  Mat.  24.  6.  Ye  shall  hear  of 
Wars,  and  Rumours  of  Wars,  Nation  shall 
rise  against  Nation,  and  Kingdom  against 
Kingdom,  there  shall  be  Famines  and  Pestilen- 
ces and  Earthquakes  in  divers  Places. 

Another  Sign  is,  v.  11,  Many  False  Pro- 
phets shall  arise,  and  shall  deceive  many. 

The  next  Sign  is  v.  12.     That  because  of  the 

abundance  of  iniquity,  the  love  of  many  shall 

ivax  cold.     Upon  this   saith  St.    Cyril,  Ibid. 

'  Can  any  here  present  say,  that  he  does  in  all 

'  Respects  love  his  Neighbour  with  Sincerity  ? 

*  Are  not  our  Words  very  often  friendly,  our 

'  Countenances  smiling,  and- our  Eyes  cheer- 

'  ful,  whilst  the  Heart  contrives  Deceit,  and 

'  he  that  speaks  Peace,  has  War  in  his  Heart?" 

(A  little  after)  "  The  want  of  brotherly  Love 


OF  ANTICHRIST  "  207 

"  will  make  Way  for  Antichrist.  The  Devil 
"  makes  Divisions  and  Strife  amongst  Men, 
"  that  the  Enemy  (viz.  Antichrist)  may  be 
"  more  easily  let  in."  The  same  Account  is 
given  by  Laclantius  of  the  Times  preceding' 
the  Reign  of  Antichrist,  pag.  646.  "  There 
"  shall  be  so  little  Righteousness  in  the  World, 
"  and  such  Abundance  of  Covetousness,  Im- 
"  piety,  and  Lust,  that  the  few  good  Men 
"  that  shall  be  left  shall  become  a  Prey  to  the 
"  Wicked.  They  shall  live  in  Plenty,  whilst 
"  the  Righteous  shall  labour  under  Contempt 
"  and  Poverty ;  Right  shall  be  oppressed,  the 
"  Laws  shall  lose  their  Force,  there  shall  be 
"  neither  Sincerity,  nor  Peace,  nor  common 
"  Civility,  nor  Truth  among  Men."  The  same 
Account  is  given  by  Methodius  Patarensis, 
*And  alas  !  who  is  there  at  this  day  that  may  *  P.  S96. 
not  take  up  JeremiaJis  Lamentation,  chap.  9.  Orthodox. 
and  wish  in  the  Bitterness  of  his  Soul  for  a  ^''''- ^^^''• 
Lodging  of  ivay-faring  3Ien,  in  the  silent  re- 
tirement of  a  wilderness,  that  he  might  leave  his 
people  and  go  from  them.  For  they  be  all  Adul- 
terers (loving  the  World,  and  the  Riches  and 
Pleasures  of  it  more  than  God)  Jam.  4.  4. 
An  Assembly  of  treacherous  men,  and  they  bend 
their  tongues  like  their  bow  for  lies,  but  they  are 
not  valia?itfor  the  truth  upon  the  Earth.  Take 
ye  heed  every  one  of  his  neighbour,  and  trust  ye 
not  in  any  brother,  for  every  brother  will  utterly 
supplant,  and  evei^  neighbour  ivill  walk  with 
slanders,  and  they  icill  deceive  every  one  his 
neighbour,  and  will  not  speak  the  truth ;  they 
have  taught  their  tongue  to  speak  lies,  and  weary 
themselves  to  commit  iniquity  ;  their  tongue  is  as 


OF  ANTICHRIST. 

an  arrow  shot  out,  it  speaketh  deceit ;  one  speak- 
eth  peaceably  to  his  Neighbour  with  his  mouth, 
hut  in  heart  he  layeth  his  wait,  v.  2,  3,  4,  8. 

But  you  will  say,  if  these  be  the  infallible 
Tokens,  whereby  we  are  to  judge  of  the  near 
approach  of  that  Time  ;  How  comes  it  to  pass 
that  so  many  Holy  and  Good  Men  have  been 
mistaken  in  their  Judgements  about  it?     Since 
so  many   of  the  Ancient  Fathers,  who  have 
written  about  these  Matters,  have  taken  Pains 
to  apply  them  all  to  their  own  Times,  and  to 
persuade  themselves  and  others,  that  the  Day 
of  the  Lord  was  at  hand  ?     To  this  I  answer. 
That  the  Illustrious  Ideas  which  the  Ancients 
had  received  from  the  Holy  Scriptures  as  then 
understood,  and  from  the  Traditions  of  their 
Venerable  Predecessors  in  the  Faith,  concern- 
ing  the  Glorious   Kingdom   of  the   Messiah, 
and   the  Restitution  of  Nature  (which  will  be 
the  Consequences  of  the  Great  Affliction)  were 
so  transporting  and  ravishing,  that  their  infla- 
med Affections  could   not  choose  but  outrun, 
or  at  least  lay  a  strong  Bias  upon  their  Judge- 
ments, and  make  them  often  believe,  that  what 
they  wished  to  be  so  near  at  hand,  could  not 
be  far  off.     So  even  the  Disciples  themselves, 
as  soon  as  ever  our  Lord  was  Risen  from   the 
Dead,    could  not  choose  but  think  that   the 
Kingdom  should  immediately   be  restored  to 
Israel,  Acts  1 .  6.     But  if  we,  upon  whom  the 
Ends  of  the  World  are   come,  have  not   the 
same  longing  Expectation   that  they  had,   to 
see  the  return  of  our  Dear  Redeemer,  to  see 
his  Church  triumphant,  and    all  his  Enemies 
put   under   his  Feet;    yet   let  us  however  be 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  209 

driven  by  the  Terrors  of  the  Lord,  and  not 
put  far  from  us  the  Evil  Day,  considering  that 
whatever  Reasons  our  Fore-fathers  had  for 
judging  the  Consummation  to  be  at  hand, 
ought  more  closely  to  affect  us,  who  at  this 
distance  of  time  are  so  much  nearer  to  it  than 
they.  So  then  if  we  do  in  good  earnest  watch 
for  that  Day,  in  Abstraction  from  the  Dark- 
ness of  this  World,  and  standing  in  the  Spirit 
of  Light  and  Truth,  we  shall  as  Children  of 
the  Light  and  of  the  Day  see  ivhen  Evil  cometh, 
so  that  that  Day  shall  not  overtake  us  as  a 
Thief  1  Thess.  5.  4,  5.  So  says  Hippolytus, 
\  50.  "  But  let  us,  having  the  Mystery  of 
"  God  in  our  Hearts,  faithfully  attend  to  those 
"  Things  that  have  been  spoken  by  the  Holy 
*'  Prophets,  that  we  knowing  them  before- 
**  hand,  may  not  be  deceived ;  for  in  the  Ful- 
"  ness  of  Times  He,  concerning  whom  these 
"  Things  are  spoken  (viz.  Antichrist)  shall 
"  surely  be  made  manifest."  Whilst  on  the 
other  hand  they  that  neither  love  nor  believe 
the  Truth,  hut  take  pleasure  in  Unrighteousness, 
upon  them  God  shall  send  f  the  Energy  (or  t 'e«'?ti.«v 
strength)  of  Error  (viz.  Antichrist)  that  they '"^'''^^' 
shall  believe  a  Lie  to  their  Condemnation,  2 
Thess.  2.  11,  12. 

But  whether  we  regard  it  or  not,  whether 
we  be  provided  or  not,  that  Day  will  surely 
come,  the  Times  are  ripening  apace ;  God 
hath  begun  to  shake  the  Heavens  and  the 
Earth ;  An  Alarm  is  sounded  to  the  Ends  of 
the  Earth  ;  The  Day  does  already  dawn  upon 
the  tops  of  the  Mountains.  And  the  Spirit  of 
Love  and    Peace  is    descending   in   |)lentifnl 


OF  ANTICHRIST. 

Showers,  like  the  latter  Rain  upon  the  Earth, 

to  unite,  strengthen,  and  prepare  for  himself, 

a  peculiar  People  to  be  the  First-Fruits  of  the 

Kingdom  of  the  Lamb.     Even  so,  Lord  Jesus, 

come  quickly  !     Turn  Thee,  O  Thou  Beloved 

of  our  Souls,  and  come  swiftly  as  a  Roe,  or  a 

young  Hart  over  the  Mountains  of  ( Bether) 

Division  (even  the  Divisions  and  Distractions 

of  the  Christian  Church)   till  the   Day  (even 

Thy  Day)   break   forth,  and    the  Shadows  of 

Darkness  be   perfectly  dissipated.     O  !  That 

Thou  wouldest  rend  the  Heavens,  that  Thou 

wouldest   come   down,    that    the   Mountains 

might  flow  down,  and  melt  at  thy  Presence ! 

Lord  pity   the  Stones  of  Zion!     It  is  Time 

that  thou  have  Mercy  upon  her,  yea  the  Time 

is  come.     Thine  Holy  Cities  are  a  Wilderness, 

Zion  is  a  Wilderness,  Jerusalem  a  Desolation. 

Our   Holy    and    Beautiful    House   where  our 

Fathers   praised  Thee   is  burnt  up  with  (the) 

Fire   (of   Contention  and   uncharitable   Zeal). 

We  see   not   our  Tokens,    there  is   not    one 

Prophet  more,  there  is  none   amongst  us  that 

knoweth  how  long.     Wilt  thou  refrain  thyself 

for  these  Things?      O   God!    Where   is  thy 

Zeal  and   thy  Strength,  the  Sounding  of  thy 

Bowels,  and  of  thy  Mercies  towards  us  ;  are 

they  restrained  ?     Arise,  and  let  thine  Enemies 

be  scattered,  and  let  them  that  hate  Thee  flee 

before  Thee.     Send  Thy    Fear  upon  all  the 

Nations  that  seek  not  after  Thee.     Show  new 

Signs,     and    make    other   strange   Wonders : 

Glorify  thy  Hand  and  thy  right  Arm,  that  they 

may  set  forth   thy  wondrous   Works.     Make 

the    Time    short,     remember    the     Covenant, 


OF  ANTICHRIST.  2 1 1 

gather  all  the  Tribes  of  Jacob  together,  and 
inherit  Thou  them  as  from  the  Beginning.  O 
be  merciful  to  Jerusalem  thy  Holy  City.  Fill 
Sion  with  thy  unspeakable  Oracles,  and  thy 
People  with  thy  Glory.  Give  Testimony  to 
those  whom  Thou  hast  possessed  from  the 
Beginning,  and  raise  up  Prophets  such  as 
have  been  in  thy  Name. 

O  Lord  hear  the  Prayer  of  thy  Servant,  ac- 
cording to  the  JBlessings  of  Aaron,  yea  of  our 
everlasting  High  Priest  Christ  Jesus  over  thy 
People,  that  all  they  which  dwell  upon  the 
Earth,  may  knoiv,  that  Thou  art  the  Lord,  the 
Eternal  God.     Amen. 


AN 


INDEX 


OF  THE 


Passages    of  Scripture    explained    or 
illustrated  in  this  Essay. 


N.B.  Where  this  Mark  *  occurs,  the  Passages  are  more 
fully  explained:  When  this  t,  they  are  not  expressly 
cited,  but  illustrated  only.  E.  signifies  the  Discourse 
of  Ephraim  Syrus.  Note  also.  That  the  Verses  are 
here  expressed,  where  they  are  not  in  the  Sook  itself 


G 

ENESIS. 

Exodus. 

Chap. 

Vers. 

Part. 

Pag. 

Chap. 

Vers. 

Part. 

Pag. 

vi 

4 

4 

179 

vii 

17 

4 

177 

11 

1 

5 

14^sqg. 

4 

191 

13 

1 

ib. 

25 

4 

ib. 

viii 

1 

E. 

42 

ix 

8 

4 

190 

tx 

10 

4 

194 

11 

4 

ib. 

XV 

16 

1 

5 

xiii 

2 

4 

129 

xix 

4 

1 

15 

xvi 

2 

3 

77 

14 

1 

33 

xxi 

4 

E. 

44 

22 

1 

39 

xxvi 

25 

2 

51 

xiv 

5 

3 

97 

xxxiii 

3 

4 

145 

7 

3 

ib. 

5 

4 

ib. 

8 

3 

ib. 

xlix 

10 

4 

125 

Leviticus. 

IG 

4 

132 

17 

4 

133 

i 

11 

1 

23, 24 

18 

2 

70 

viii 

23,24 

E. 

35 

1 

20 

3 

97 

xiv 

14 

E. 

ib. 

THE  INDEX. 


Chap. 

Vers. 

Part. 

Pag. 

2 

Samuel. 

xiv 

17 

E. 

35 

Chap. 

Vers. 

Part. 

Pag. 

XXV 

8 

2 

45 

xxiv 

12 

2 

54 

xxvi 

5 

2 

53 

16 

2 

51 

1  Kings. 

25 

2 

ih. 

xvii 

1 

4 

165,177 

Numbers. 

6 

3 

98 

xviii 

1 

4 

177 

X 

7 

4 

153 

ih. 

4 

4 

158 

9 

4 

17 

4 

179 

Deuteronomy. 

18 

4 

ib. 

41 

4 

Ill 

viii 

3 

3 

77 

xix 

2 

E. 

42 

xxviii 

21 
22 

2 
2 

51 

ib. 

XX  i 

20 

4 

179 

27 

2 

ih. 

2  Kings. 

28 

2 

ih. 

10 

4 

177 

59 

2 

ih. 

12 

4 

ib. 

60 

2 

ih. 

ii 

1 

E. 

42 

61 

2 

ih. 

vii 

2 

3 

77 

xxxii 

32 

1 

17 

ix 

27 

4 

196 

33 

1 

ib. 

txi 

3 

4 

158 

Joshua. 

xxiii 

29 

4 

196 

30 

4 

ib. 

iii 

4 

4 

188 

5 

4 

ih. 

1  Chronicles. 

17 

1 

40 

ix 

27 

1 

40 

vii 

12 

4 

145 

33 

1 

ib. 

22 

4 

203 

xxviii 

3 

1 

28 

tx 

3 

4 

171 

4 

1 

«6. 

xvii 

11 

4 

105 

12 

4 

ih. 

2  Chronicles. 

iv 

22 

4 

189 

Judges. 

xix 

23 

1 

27 

iv 

7 

4 

196 

XX 

23 

4 

203 

vi 

12 

4 

145 

26 

4 

197 

vii 

22 

1 

28 

xxix 

10 

4 

141 

1 

Samuel. 

XXX 

9 
26 

4 
4 

ib. 
ib. 

tiv 

19 

1 

3 

XXXV 

20  to '21    4 

196 

tv 

4 

1 

39 

xiv 

16 

1 

27 

Nehemiah. 

20 

1 

ih. 

viii 

10 

4 

178 

XV 

12 

E. 

35 

12 

4 

ib. 

THE  INDEX. 


Hester. 
Chap.  Vers.       Part. 

Pag. 

Chap, 
xci 

Vers.       ] 
Isqq. 

Part. 
2 

Pag. 
70 

ix 

19 

4 

178 

xcv 

11 

4 

187 

22 

4 

ib. 

civ 

30 

4 

204 

cvi 

26 

E. 

35 

Job. 

cix 

6 

E. 

ib. 

iii 

26 

3 

103 

cxxi 

1 

1 

35 

V 

Isqq. 

3 

96 

fcxxvi 

4 

1 

23 

5 

1 

32 

cxxxv 

7 

E. 

42 

xiv 

20 

1 

1 
3 

ib. 
103 

Proverbs. 

xxi 

12 

3 

75 

iv 

19 

4 

180 

xxii 

9 

3 

ib. 

xvii 

24 

4 

155 

xxiv 

2  sqq. 

3 

74 

ECCLESIASTES. 

XXX 

8 

4 

179 

xxxi 

20 

3 

96 

vii 

8 

1 

6 

xxxvii 

2 

3 

102 

fviii 

1 

4 

155 

Isqq. 

1 

22 

Isaiah. 

tl7 

1 

23 

xxxviii 

1 

£. 

42 

i 

10 

4 

178 

12 

1 

23,25 

iii 

16  sqq. 

2 

55 

22 

4 

198 

24 

2 

ib.  56 

xxxix 

24 

3 

103 

*iv 

4 

1 

22 

xl 

Wsqq. 

20  sqq. 

Isqq. 

4 

138 

t4 

157 

4 

ib. 

V 

tl 

1 

13 

xli 

4 

ib. 

11 

3 

74 

M.  J. 

34 

4 

185 

12 

4 
3 

184 
74 

Psalms. 

4 

184 

xxxiii 

1 

3 

96 

14 

4 

ib. 

xxxiv 

1 

3 

ib. 

25  sqq. 

4 

ib. 

*xxxvii     1  sqq. 

1 

22 

29 

2 

56 

5 

2 

55 

vi 

4 

4 

189 

11 

1 

22 

vii 

11 

4 

162 

22 

1 

ib. 

viii 

tl6 

4 

133 

xlii 

1 

3 

97 

19 

4 

185 

fxliii 

3 

1 

32 

20 

1 

25 

*xliv 

1 

4 

145,  &c. 

ix 

4 

1 

28 

fxlviii 

6 

1 

3 

5 

4 

155 

Ix 

4  sqq. 

E. 

35 

18 

4 

ib. 

flxxii 

8 

4 

194 

X 

7 

1 

70 

flxxiv 

8,9 

4 

210 

12 

1 

10 

flxxvi 

10 

1 

10 

17 

4 

155 

Ixxx 

9 

1 

17 

xi 

15 

4 

193 

THE  INDEX. 


Chap. 

Vers. 

Part. 

Pag. 

Chap. 

Vers. 

Part. 

Pag. 

xiii 

\sqq. 

1 

10,24 

xxxiv 

t2 

1 

8 

8 

4 

154 

4 

2 

66 

17 

1 

24 

8 

2 

67 

xiv 

Isqq. 

1 

10,24 

XXXV 

10 

1 

33 

4 

4 

185 

xli 

2 

1 

25 

5 

4 

188 

4 

194 

6 

4 

ih. 

til 

1 

22 

13 

1 

25 

25 

1 

25 

14 

4 

133 

4 

194 

17 

4 

188 

xlvi 

11 

1 

25 

xvii 

t6 

1 

15,28,32 

xlix 

22 

E. 

35 

3 

94 

1 

10,11 

2 

50 

xxiii 

13 

1 

15 

11 

4 

155 

xxiv 

*1 

1 

15 

li 

11 

1 

33 

2 

81 

Iviii 

1 

4 

154 

\sqq. 

3 

94 

17 

3 

95 

*3 

3 

79 

fll 

3 

96 

5 

3 

82 

Ixii 

11 

2 

70 

6 

3 

83 

Ixiii 

3 

4 

202 

Isqq. 

3 

ih.  87 

Ixv 

13 

4 

185 

13 

1 
2 

15 
56 

14 

4 

ih.       , 

3 

94 

Jeremiah. 

*14, 15 

1 

33 

ii 

13 

2 

50 

16 

1 

ih. 

iv 

6 

4 

134 

17 

2 

56 

vi 

\sqq. 

1 

24 

24 

2 

ih. 

22 

1 

23 

xxvi 

11 

3 

74 

23 

4 

154 

20 

4 

157 

viii 

13 

4 

153 

xxvii 

1 

4 

185 

16 

4 

132,133, 

xxviii 

15 

4 

154 

ix 

t4 

4 

203  [154 

18 

4 

ih. 

10 

2 

58 

XXX 

1 

1 

50 

12 

2 

ih. 

t2 

47 

*21 

2 

42,53,58 

16 

3 

94 

*22  sq. 

2 

42,58 

26 

4 

192 

x 

13 

E. 

42 

xxxii 

17 

1 

32 

xii 

5 

4 

186 

18 

1 

ih. 

xvi 

20 

4 

151, 152 

4 

157 

xviii 

21 

2 

53 

xxxiii 

19 

1 

31 ,  32 

xxi 

9 

4 

151 

\sqq. 

3 

94 

xxiii 

19 

E. 

42 

8 

3 

*xxv 

\sqq. 

1 

17 

16 

3 

100 

12 

1 

ih. 

THE  INDEX. 


Chap. 

Vers. 

Part. 

Pag. 

Chap. 

Vers. 

Part. 

Pag. 

XXV 

15 

1 

13 

xiv 

21 

1 

2 

22  sqq. 

1 

14,15 

2 

42,52 

26 

1 

41 

4 

154 

27 

1 

ih. 

+22 

1 

28,31 

29 

1 

26 

+23 

1 

31 

30 

1 

16 

xvi 

27 

E. 

35 

*xxv 

32 

1 

23 

xxi 

22 

E. 

ib. 

E. 

42 

xxviii 

4 

4 

154 

XXX 

Id 

1 

31 

15 

4 

ib. 

xxxviii 

2 

4 

151 

xxxvii 

9 

E. 

42 

xlv 

5 

1 

34 

xxxviii 

21 

4 

203 

xlvi 

10 

1 

3 

xxxix 

Isqq. 

4 

198 

xlix 

Isqq. 

1 

10 

4 

4 

ib. 

19 

4 

186 

5 

4 

ib. 

1 

Isqq. 

1 

10,24 

17 

4 

199 

*9 

1 

25 

18 

4 

ib. 

38 

4 

193 

21*^5'. 

4 

198 

41 

1 

23,25 

xl 

4 

1 

39 

44 

4 

186 

6 

1 

ib. 

li 

\sqq. 

1 

24 

11 

1 

ib. 

32 

4 

193 

14 

1 

ib. 

36 

4 

lb. 

xliii 

5 

4 

189 

41 

1 

'2b 

7 

4 

ib. 

48 

1 

ib. 

9 

4 

ib. 

lii 

Isqq. 
11 

4 
4 

151 

ib. 

Daniel. 

ii 

41 

4 

136 

EZKKIEL. 

iii 

1 

4 

140 

i 

16 

21 

iv 

27 

3 

96 

fvii 

10 

35,37 

vi 

25 

E. 

50 

43 

vii 

8 

4 

117 

11 

37 

10 

4 

ib. 

15 

40 

11 

4 

ib. 

viii 

3 

35 

17 

4 

122 

17 

37 

20 

4 

117,123 

*ix 

2 

38 

21 

4 

117 

101 

23 

4 

122 

3 

39 

24 

4 

136 

4 

ib. 

25 

4 

117 

5 

40 

viii 

9 

4 

ib. 

7 

41 

11 

4 

153 

11 

ib. 

12 

4 

ib. 

xiii 

19 

4 

171 

13 

1 

37 

THE  INDEX. 


Chap. 

Vers 

. 

Part. 

Pag, 

Chap 

.Vers. 

Part. 

Pag. 

14 

4 

117 

5 

4 

155 

23  sqq. 

4 

117,129 

7 

4 

150,155 

xi 

21 

4 

129 

8 

4 

155 

31 

1 

37 

9 

4 

153 

14 

157 

,11 

1 

38 

t32 

4 

142, 143 

4 

150 

35 

4 

142 

\1sqq. 

4 

150, 153 

*36 

4 

117, 158 

\Qsqq. 

4 

151, 157 

38 

4 

159 

19 

4 

170 

*1 

1 

1 

20 

1 

26 

xii 

1 

4 

152 

4 

134 

3 

4 

142 

32 

31 

10 

4 

ih. 

Hi 

2 
9 

12  sqq. 
197 

HOSEA. 

10 

15 

ii 

^sqq. 

3 

78 

11 

ih. 

9 

3 

79 

12 

ih. 

iv 

Isqq. 

3 

ih. 

196  . 

10 

3 

ih. 

13 

16 

vi 

3 

4 

204 

14 

15,16 
196 

Joel. 

15 

15 

•i 

2 

4 

134,152 

16 

16,38 

3 

3 

85 

17 

15 

4 

3 

84 

Amos. 

4 

153, 154 

5 

3 

85, 155 

iv 

1 

3 

79 

6 

4 

153 

6 

3 

ih. 

7, 

8 

4 

155 

*iy 

3 

73,  79 

9 

4 

153 

9 

3 

73 

10 

3 

87 

V 

11 

3 

80 

11 

4 

153 

12 

3 

ih. 

12 

3 

87 

16 

3 

ih. 

4 

153 

17 

3 

ih. 

13 

4 

157 

vi 

3 

3 

74,79 

14 

4 

ih. 

4 

3 

ih. 

18 

4 

210 

5 

3 

74 

19 

3   ' 

88 

6 

3 

ih. 

20 

3 

ih. 

viii 

11 

E. 

25 

*ii 

1 

4 

153 

Obadiah. 

t2 

1 

24 

17 

1 

31 

4 

150,154 

*21 

1 

32 

4 

4 

154 

4 

194 

THE  INDEX. 


Jonah. 

Chap. 

Vers. 

Part. 

Pao. 

Chap. 

Vers. 

Part. 

Pag. 

xiv 

2 

4 

155,156 

i 

4 

E. 

42 

12 

2 

55 

iv 

8 

4 

193 

9 

4 

ib. 

Malachi. 

MiCAK. 

i 

2 

E. 

50 

iii 

2 

4 

155 

vi 

10 

3 

80 

16 

1 

33,  34 

11  sq^. 

3 

ib. 

iv 

2 

2 

71 

Nahum. 

5 

4 

175 

E. 

47 

i 

3 

E. 

42 

7 

1 

33,34 

2   ESDRAS. 

ii 

4 

4 

135 

xiii 

42  sgq. 

4 

194 

Habakkuk. 

XV 

5 

3 

91 

6  sqq. 

3 

ib. 

i 

8 

154 

12 

3 

ib. 

ii 

5 

9 

13 

3 

92 

7 

10 

14  sqq. 

3 

92,93 

8 

ib. 

38 

3 

102 

iii 

2 

39,40 

xvi 

21 

3 

86 

16 

4 

186 

24 

3 

93 

Zephaniah. 

28 

1 

15 

i 

9 

1 

39 

29*^^. 
30 

1 
3 

ib. 
93 

15 

4 

154 

40 

1 

35 

ii 

3 

1 

33 

4 

157, 158 

TOBIT. 

iii 

18 

1 

33 

iv 

13 

3 

78 

Zechariah. 

Wisdom. 

ii 

5 

4 

155 

9 

E. 

35 

i 

5 

4 

147 

iii 

1 

E. 

ib. 

vii 

14 

4 

142 

iv 

3 

4 

176 

27 

4 

ib. 

14 

4 

177 

xvii 

18 

4 

193 

vi 

3 

4 

154 

xviii 

19 

4 

ib. 

ix 

6 
9 

4 
2 

ib. 

70 

ECCLESIASTICUS. 

12 

2 

45 

iii 

6 

4 

155 

X 

11 

4 

193 

7 

4 

ib. 

*xi 

16 

4 

106 

iv 

17 

4 

142 

xii 

11 

4 

195, 196 

18 

4 

ib. 

xiii 

9 

1 

33 

ix 

9  sqg. 

2 

47 

THE  INDEX. 


Chap, 
xxxix 
xlviii 

Vers.      Part. 
29            2 
10             4 

1  Maccabees 

Pag. 

53 

176 

Chap, 
xxiv 

Vers. 
21 
12 
22 
24 

Part. 

*1 

4 

4 

E. 

Pag. 
1 
131,152, 
182  (182 
21,42 

i 

37 

4 

125 

4 

160 

2  Maccabees 

. 

29 
32,33 

2 

4 

67 
206 

is 

5 

2 

57 

49 

E. 

45 

8 

2 

ih. 

XXV 

35 

3 

100 

12 

2 

ib. 

Mark. 

Matthew. 

vi 

42 

E. 

27 

iii 

11 

4 

155 

viii 

15 

4 

125 

iv 

4 

3 

77 

xi 

22,23 

4 

142 

8 

1 

9 

•    24 

4 

ib. 

V 

vi 

5 
32 

1 
3 

22 
77 

xiii 

1  sqq. 
8 

4 
3 

206 
81,  111 

X 

IQ 

4 

116 

9 

1 

3 

34 

1 

12 

14 

1 

35 

xiii 

31 

4 

143 

18 

E. 

28 

32 

4 

ib. 

*19 

1 

1 

xiv 

26 

£. 

27 

4 

150 

xvi 

1 

4 

162 

20 

4 

152 

2 

4 

206 

35 

E. 

45 

12 

4 

126 

xvi 

17 

4 

142,144 

xvii 

12 

4 

176 

E. 

36 

xxi 

7 

2 

42 

18 

4 

142,155 

21 
22 

4 
4 

142 

ib. 

Luke. 

xxii 

37 

2 

47 

i 

17 

4 

176 

38 

3 

82 

78 

1 

25 

xxiv 

3 

4 

205 

ii 

1 

E. 

ib. 

t6 

1 

26 

30 

4 

133 

4 

217 

52 

4 

134 

7 

1 

3, 

11 

iv 

4 

3 

77 

2 

50, 

53 

X 

19 

4 

155 

3 

73,81 

xi 

18 

4 

ib. 

8 

1 

3, 

11 

29 

4 

163 

12 

4 

210 

xii 

29 

4 

23 

15 

1 

35 

51 

1 

12 

16 

1 

ib. 

56 

4 

206 

17 

1 

36 

xvii 

6 

4 

143 

21 

E. 

28 

xxi 

9 

1 

8 

THE   INDEX. 


Chap. 

Vers 

.      Part. 

Pag 

Cliap. 

Vers. 

Part. 

Pag 

xxi 

9 

4 

206 

vi 

20 

1 

30 

10 

1 

13 

vii 

23 

I 

ib. 

3 

101 

viii 

4 

E. 

32 

11 

2 

50,53,67 

X 

4 

3 

94 

19 

1 

8 

xiii 

8 

3 

82 

20 

1 

16 

22 

1 

3, 

11 

2  Corinthians. 

25 

2 

67 

i 

22 

E. 

23 

3 

101 

iv 

7 

E. 

32 

26 

2 

68 

til 

4 

151 

28 

1 

33 

17 

E. 

32 

36 

E. 

28, 

45 

xxiii 

30 

1 

35 

Galatians. 

V 

6 

4 

143 

John. 

vi 

15 

4 

ib. 

V 

18 
*43 

4 
4 

120 
113, 

120 

17 

E. 

33 

vi 

27 

E. 

26 

Ephesians. 

53 

3 

94 

i 

10 

1 

37 

X 

35 

4 

114 

13 

E. 

23 

XV 

I 

1 

17 

ii 

1 

4 

164 

xvii 

21 

1 

Acts. 

37 

18 
22 

4 
4 

113 

ib. 

i 
ii 

7 
39 

4 
4 

205 
143 

iv 

Isqq. 
8sqq. 
13 

4 
4 
1 

ib. 
144 
37 

iii 

21 

4 

176, 

204 

4 

110 

vii 

22 

1 

20 

J6 

4 

111 

viii 

11 

4 

126 

30 

1 

31 

xi 

28 

E. 

25 

4 

171 

xii 

23 

2 

57 

vi 

11 

4 

180 

Romans. 

19 

1 

18 

12 

4 

153 

viii 

14 

4 

114 

15 

1 

13 

Philippians 

23 

1 

30 

2 

44 

ii 

9,10 

E. 

36 

24 

1 

30 

iii 
iv 

19 
11 

3 
3 

78 
94 

1  Corinthians. 

12 

3 

ib. 

24 

4 

112 

ii 

11 

1 

21 

COLOSSIANS. 

iv 

9 

4 

28 

i 

19 

1 

3 

THE  INDEX. 


Chap. 

Vers, 

Part.     Pag. 

Hebrews. 

i 
ii 

24 
9 

4          111 
1             3 

Chap, 
i 

Vers. 
2 
3 

Part. 
4 
E. 

Pag. 

113 

32 

1  Thessalonians.            j 

ii 

10 

4 

111 

iv 

V 

15,17 

t3 
4 

E.         29 
1             5,6 

4         204, 209 

iii 
iv 

18 
12 
19 

4 
4 
4 

187 
201 
187 

5 

4          180, 209 

James. 

2  Thessalonians. 

*iv 

1 

1 

9 

2 

1 

ih. 

ii 

2 

E.         29 

3 

1 

ib. 

3 

1           35 

4 

4 

113 

4         130 

V 

17 

4 

165 

4 

4         117, 158 

7 

4         127 

1  Peter. 

8- 

4         203 

9 

4         161 

i 

18 

1 

30 

10  s^^. 

3  103 

4  161 

iv 

17 

1 

26 

11 

4          113 

2  Peter. 

12 

4         113,209 

i 

4 

4 

114 

15 

4         i&, 
P.          ii 

19 

1 

25 

ii 

1 

1 

30 

1  Timothy. 

6 

1 

4 

7 

1 

34 

iv 

Isqq 

.      4         117,159 

3 

98 

3 

4         159 

8 
9 

1 
1 

34 

ib. 

2  Timothy. 

10 

1 

ib. 

iii 

3 

1 

11 

ii 

11 
12 

2           44 
2         ?6. 

2 

47 

26 

2            45 

1 

John. 

iii 

1 

1            11 

2           47 

ii 

*16 

1 

2 

2 

2            /6. 

2 

43 

3 

1            11 

3 

73,75 

2           47 

18 

4 

113, 121 

4 

1           11 

19 

4 

114 

2           47 

22 

4 

113,120 

5 

2           46 

23 

4 

113 

THE  INDEX. 


Chap, 

Vers. 

Part. 

Pag. 

Chap. 

Vers. 

Part. 

Pag. 

iv 

1 

4 

113 

*xi 

14 

4 

179, 180 

2 

4 

ib. 

xii 

1 

4 

141 

3 

4 

113,121 

5 

4 

149 

8 

3 

82 

6 

E. 

48,49 

V 

19 

1 

22 

12 
14 

4 
4 

183 
182 

JUDE. 

*xiii 

1 

4 

134 

14 

1 

5 

2 

4 

154, 16d 

16 

1 

11 

3 

4 

139 

17 

1 

5 

5 

4 

159 

18 

1 

5,11 

12 

4 

139 

2 

47 

\^sqq. 

4 

139, 160 

14 

4 

160, 161 

Revelation 

16 

4 
E. 

149 
31 

20 

4 

177 

4 

170, 173 

ii 

17 

1 

29 

18 

1 

38 

iii 

*10 

1 

28 

4 

171 

12 

E. 

24 

xiv 

1 

1 

28,31 

18 

1 

36 

4 

149 

20 

1 

28 

18 

1 

16 

V 

8 

4 

154 

4 

192 

vi 

9 

4 

192 

19 

1 

\6 

*vii 

1 

E. 

42 

20 

1 

ib. 

2 

1 

29 

XV 

1 

1 

31 

E. 

23 

4 

181 

3 

1 

29,39 

2 

4 

ib. 

bsqq. 

4 

132 

3 

4 

ib. 

E. 

23 

6*^^. 

4 

189 

viii 

23 

E. 

24 

*xvi 

1 

4 

190 

ix 

14 

4 

152 

*2 

4 

ib. 

15 

4 

ih. 

5 

4 

191 

X 

2 

4 

139 

6 

4 

192 

*xi 

2 

4 

154.158 

9 

4 

ib. 

1 

4 

149 

10 

4 

193 

3 

4 

ib. 

12 

4 

ib. 

E. 

47 

13 

4 

195 

3 

4 

174 

14 

4 

ib. 

4 

4 

176 

E. 

25 

5 

4 

165,  177 

16 

4 

195 

6 

4 

177 

17 

4 

197 

7 

4 

178 

18 

4 

ib. 

9sqq 

4 

ib. 

19 

4 

ib. 

THE  INDEX. 


Chap.  Vers.      Part.    Pag. 
xvii  '^sqq.     4         145,197 


xvin 
*xix 


5 
12 
13 
15 
16 

\sqq. 

Isqq. 

8 


149 
136 
ib. 
149 
136 
197 
ib. 
36 


Chap.  Vers. 
*xix   11 


XX 

xxii 


12 

13  sqq. 
17 
18 
20 
21 
8 
16 


Part.  Pag. 
4    200 


ib. 
201 
198, 199 

ib. 
203 
ib. 
198 

25 


THE  END. 


MARCHANT,    PRINTER,    I>rOEAM-eO  V  RT,   LONDON. 


'^"'i'^r^ad  Word. 


THE  INDEX. 


Chap.  Vers.      Part.     Pag. 

\sqq.     4         145,197 


xvii 


XVllI 

*xix 


5 
12 
13 
15 
16 

Isqq. 

Isgq. 
8 


4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
4 
I 


Chap.  Vers.       Part.     Pag 


'^xix 


149 
136 
ib. 
149 
136 
197 
ib. 
36 


XX 

xxii 


11 
12 

13  sqq. 
17 
18 
20 
21 
8 
16 


200 

ib. 
201 
198, 199 

ib. 

203 

ib. 

198 

25 


MAHCH..T,  P„:k.,„,  X>,OB.„-eo.aT,  .o.nON.   , 


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