3 The ten hornes of the Beast (with which his last and newest head is branched [marke it well] under the courses of which alone (in which likewise it revived after its deadly wound, the courses of the first heads being now before fulfilled, the harlot doth ride the Beast, and the Beast doth beare the harlot:) these ten hornes, I say, are ten Kings, who take their authoritie as Kings at one houre with the Beast, to wit, with that Beast which was restored, and di beare the whore, and now was become ten horned, that is, exercising the course of the last head. These, the time being fulfilled wherein they should deliver their authoritie to the Beast, [ver. 13.17.] that is, when the frame and body of the Beast came to be dissolved, they hate the harlot, and make her desolate and naked, and at length burne her with fire, [ver. 16.] So therefore the Beast, which in the state of ten hornes (in which onely Iohn did prophetically consider [Page 8] her) first began with the harlot, that is, with the whore, and shall not survive the harlot, nor the harlot him: therefore, the harlot and that Beast doe synchronize universally and exactly, which was the thing to be proved. [...]
Now let us look into the event. And surely never since the seals began, did these three joyntly and in so notable a manner rage. I will begin at slaughter, and I omit the things which this age suffered from a [...]orraine enemy, truely most grievous things; the Of the sword. Barbarians with rapines and murders wasting almost the whole Empyre, under the Emperours Gallus and Volusianus. But those things come not [...]n to this reckoning; we look after intestine and Domestique. Ten therefore more or lesse Emperours and C [...]sars, Chap. 6. which are counted lawfull, in the compa [...]e of this seal, that is, the space of three and thirty yeeres or few more did the sword, not of their enemies, but their own Subjects take away. In the same space, under the Empyre of Gallienus alone, those thirty tyrants which Pollio mentioneth, or perhaps one or two lesse, rose up in divers parts of the Romane Empire: and almost all these slain either by their own, or by another, or were put to death by the lawfull Emperours So that Orosius said not without cause of this plague that it was made famous not by the slaughter of the common The sword. people, but by the woundes and deathes of princes.
Prince one night alone live rar
DOWNLOAD: https://shoxet.com/2vKfru
For the Candlestick there of seven lights, did signifie the Temple, and in the type thereof the Church of that time: whose restoring and preservation those two anoynted ones should procure, not by power, not by strength or by any humane helps, but by the power of God alone, working after a certaine invisible and wonderfull manner. Even as those two olive trees standing on each side the Candlestick, did supply the lights thereof with oyle, in a certaine way extraordinary and not perceiveable.
And there was, saith he, warre in heaven, &c. To wit, while the woman was in travell; not after she was delivered, as many take it. For it is certaine out of the 14. Vers. that this warre was waged before the flight of the woman into the wildernesse. But the woman fled not into the wildernesse, before she was delivered, and her sonne caught up to the throne of Majestie. Vers. 5, 6. Michael and his Angels fought with the Dragon not alone, but taking with them the Martyrs and Confessours of Christ their King, for whose cause they fought. Concerning whom therefore a little after it shall be sung in the triumphant song, that they overcame him by the blood of the Lambe, and by the word of their testimony, and they loved not their lives unto the death: which cannot be spoken of bare and sole Angels. And the Dragon fought and his Angels, that is, the Devils taking with them likewise the Romane tyrants, and their ministers which worship them. But thou wilt demand who is this Michael? Not, I suppose, Christ himself, but as in Daniel, unlesse I be deceived, is manifest, one, yea even the chiefest, of the chiefe Princes, or seven Archangels, Chap. 10. 13. to wit, that great Angel, who in the same is said, to stand for the children of God. Chap. 12. 1. and whom Christ that great chiefe Generall, and consequently, King of Angels and men, hath so opposed against Sathan and his black guard raging against his Saints. For the Angels are sent forth, for the safetie of them who are heires of salvation, Hebr. 1. 14. and they protect and defend them, according to their hidden and invisible manner of working, against evill spirits, which worke in men, that are enemies of God and his Christ; although they appeare not in a visible shape. So that in this warre (we have in hand) of the Primitive Church of Christ against the Romane worshippers of the Dragon, the Angels under Michael their Captaine acted their parts; as well by strengthening the holy Martyrs and Confessours of Christ against the threats of tyrants, and violence of torments, and mittigating their pains in agonies, and sometime taking away plainly the feeling of any paine; as also by breaking and weakening the force of the adverse spirits, sometime on a sudden casting lets and impediments in the way of the persecutors who were [Page 41] led by their instinct, frustrating their purposes, sometimes by casting Chap. 12. terrours and other distractions into the minde, so that thereupon desisting from their project, they have granted, even against their will unto the Church truce and space of breathing: untill at length, after three hundred yeers warre, when as it seemed to Christ to have now enough exercised his, and was pleased to bestow a full victory upon his Angels; the childe of the woman, Christians prevailing, being placed in the Emperiall throne, the kingdome of the Devill being conquered suffered a wonderfull great fall. For this is that which he saith: The Dragon prevailed not, neither was his place found any more in heaven, that is, being conquered and put to flight with all his forces he was deprived of heaven. (In the saying, prevailed not, there is an Hebraisme of which afterward).
Which words, as they are most cleere, and spoken without any obscurity of allegory; so are they the key for interpreting the whole vision. For hence it may plainly be perceived, as well what that lifting up of the childe of the woman to the throne of God may be, to wit, an introduction of salvation, strength, and the kingdom of God, and the power of his Christ into the Romane throne; as also by the vanquishing of what enemy he came to the kingdom, to wit, by the throwing down [...], or of that Accuser who day and night accuseth the brethren, and traduceth them before God; to conclude what manner of forces Michael and his Angels used with him in that battell against the Dragon and his guard, to wit, the holy Martyrs and Confessours, who overcame him by the blood of the Lambe, and by the word of their testimoni [...], because they loved not their lives unto the death, that is, they freely yeelded their lives unto the death. And surely it is altogether unpossible, that the lifting up of the childe of the woman, the [Page 43] throwing down of the Dragon, and the introduction of the kingdom Chap. 12. of God and Christ should not levell at one and the same event of things; since the flight of the woman into the wildernesse, beginneth from them all as it were from one certaine terme of things, Vers. 6. and 14.
There was given to him, saith he, a mouth speaking great things; those words (a mouth speaking great things) are out of Daniel; but here those great words are expounded by blasphemies: by which name, as by and by shall be said, Idol worship is signified, a matter indeed of the highest contumely against God. Further he saith, that the Beast should so blaspheme forti [...] two moneths, to wit, annall moneths; during the very same space of time, wherein the Gentiles should trample the ou [...]er Court of the Temple, or the holy Citie; and not without cause: for since that prophanation of the Gentiles doth altogether tend to the same impietie, whereunto the blasphemie of the Beast doth; each of them may signifie the dominion of the power of darknesse and of the night, and therefore measured not by yeers or dayes, according to the motion of the Sun, but by moneths after the motion of the Moon, which ruleth the night. And surely, unlesse the holy Ghost would have the specifying of the time to be referred to the blasphemie; to what end hath he brought it in in this place presently after the mentioning of blasphemie? Therefore the moneths of the Beast are not to be measured from the beginning of his cruelty or warre against the Saints, but of his blasphemy. So that if the word of doing should signifie [...]e certaine act or state of the authoritie of the Beast (some such thing some may imagine is meant here by the power of acting or doing) that should be altogether referred to the act of blaspheming. But [...] seemeth rather to be used in the signification of continuing or abiding, as otherwhere it is wont being joyned with words of time. For so Acts 15. 33. [...] after they had tarried there a space: and 18. 23. [...], when he had spent some time, or some while: and 20. 3. [...], there abode three moneths. 2 Cor. 11. 25. [...], a night and a day I have been in the deepe. Adde Jam's 4. 13. To day or to morrow we will goe into such a citie, [...] and continue there a yeere. Where Drusius noteth [...] to be so used, [...]ccles 6. 14. and facere in the Latine tongue, Seneca epist. 67. Quamvis pa [...] cissimos unà fecerimus dies, although we tarried but a few dayes. In tabella [...]ar [...]orea. [...]n the ma [...]ble table; Cum qua fecit annos 9. with whom he dwelt nine yeers. Apud A senum 1. c. Is servus fugerat & annum [Page 57] à suga fecerat i. egerat, manserat, finierat, transegerat. That servant Chap. 13. fled and continued (that is) he dwelt, he abode, he ended, he spent, a yeere in flight. These things being thus, why may not these words, (Bestia fecit menses quadraginta du [...]s) have this construction, the Beast lived, remained, continued blaspheming fourtie two moneths? The force of which speech those that understood not, seeme to have inserted into the text that word [...] warre which is extant in some coppies. 2ff7e9595c
Comments