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health, and life both; lo that he deceives the prieit both of his health, and money alfo, juft as the priest did him in the matter of his falvation.

And as for the lawyer, he cheats the doctor and the priest both, for they are both forced to make use of him, and they do the the like by him; for the lawyer he must have the priest for his minister to fave his foul, and, the doctor to be his phyfician; fo that they get pretty even one with another; but all people befides that deal with them, are fure to be deceived, and to lofe by them.

These three forts of men are esteemed by the world, the moft honourable men of all, but by the fpirit of faith, they are branded for the worst of all men, in that they are called frogs; for experience doth fhew that these three forts of men do overflow the earth, like croaking frogs in the water, on a hot fun-fhiny day; fo that hardly a man can efcape being perfecuted, or deceived or cheated by

them.

Thefe are those that are fent forth by those three unclean fpirits, which are called the fpirits of devils, which go forth to the kings of the earth, and of the whole world, to gather them together to the battle of that great day of God Almighty. That is, these three forts of men fhall incite and invite all ignorant kings of the earth, or head magiftrates, and all ignorant people to perfecute, and kill the innocent faints, who cannot fight with any other weapons, but faith and patience; and fuch fpiritual weapons as thefe, must destroy all the great army of the whole world, when they are gathered together, because this battle will be the laft battle that will be fought between the feed of faith, and the feed of reafon therefore called the great day of God Almighty; and the place where this great battle must be fought, where they were gathered together, it is called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon. That fignifies the whole world, or that great city myftery Babylon, the mother of harlots, who hath made all nations drink of the cup of the wine of the wrath of her fornications. When that city is destroyed, the whole world will be deftroyed alfo.

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But I fhall have occafion to fpeak more of that in the feventeenth chapter; fo that the reader may fee a little more clear what is meant by thofe three unclean fpirits like frogs, what they are, and from whom they did proceed. Also I have interpreted what followed upon the pouring out of the vial of the fixth angel, with many other things which may fatisfy the reader's fpirit, if understood. So I fhall pafs by a verfe or two, there being nothing of any great concernment in them, and fhall go on to verfe 17.

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CHA P. LVII.

ND the feventh angel poured his vial into the air, and there came a great voice out of the temple of heaven from the throne, faying, It is done. This feventh angel he poured out his vial into the air. Now this is to be minded, that the vials of God's wrath they are poured out upon the earth, and upon the fea, and upon the fun, and upon the feat of the beaft, &c. and now laft of all upon the air, fo that the wrath of God is poured out upon every thing, and place, that doth yield comfort and refreshment unto the heart of man. And air being

the

the geateft refreshment of life of any thing effe, elpecially when life is like to die; this experience doth fhew the truth of it. Alfo air is the laft refuge that life hath to fly unto, for many people will in fickness call for air, because for want of it they die; for air, is the life of nature, and when life is weak, and not ftrong enough, to take in air into it, then it doth die, for fo long as life can receive air into it, it doth live. So that this feventh and last vial of God's wrath, it is poured out upon the air; because the air is the laft, and greatest refreshment unto a natural life, and not only fo, but it is the conclufion of life the want of it. So that the laft vial of God's wrath, it is poured out into the air, only to fignify the anihilation of all natural life, which he created at the begining of this

world.

So now at the latter end of this world, his vial of wrath being poured out upon, or into the air, it will deftroy that natural life of man and beaft, and all other creatures that have life. Therefore it is that great voice out of the temple of heaven from the throne, faying, It is done; fignifying that the vial of God's wrath being poured into the air, is the conclufion and end of all God's plagues, upon natural life in this world. For though God had deftroyed the life of many thoufands and millions, more than can be numbered by those fix vials poured out before, as that of the earth, and of the fea, and of the fun, and of the feat of the beaft, as aforefaid; I fay, they are not to be numbered, the multitude thefe vials did destroy. Yet this vial poured out into the air, it deftroyeth more than all the reft, it being the laft, and the utter anihilation of all natural life, and the end of the world; therefore it is faid by the voice out of the temple in heaven, It is done; that is, all the vials of God's wrath are poured forth upon this wicked, unbelieving, idolatrous world; neither fhall there be any more vials of wrath, or plagues poured out upon men any more to eternity.

: For that voice John heard out of the temple in heaven from the throne, it was from no other but from God himself, faying, It is done. And immediately upon that voice, there were other voices, and thunders, and lightenings, and there was a great earthquake, fuch as was not fince men were upon the earth, so mighty an earthquake, and fo great, as you may fee verfe 18.

Thefe 18, 19, 20, 21. verfes have all of them relation to the end of the world, which thing will be done in the pouring out of the vial of the feventh angel; which seventh angel is now pouring out his vial of wrath upon the men of this world. For as the feventh and laft anti-angel, namely the Quakers ministry, doth found, and hath founded near upon twenty years, fo likewise the seventh vial hath been poured out these twenty years alfo; and it will last pouring out to the end of time, even as the seventh anti-angel's miniftry will last to the end of the world, as aforefaid. And, as I faid before, much like unto those plagues that Mofes brought unto Egypt, God will bring upon the earth, upon the sea, upon the fun, and upon the air, at the end of the world.

And as there was a great hail in Egypt, fo that the Egyptians blafphemed God, because of the plague of the hail; even fo will it be in the end of the world, when those great voices of the four and twenty elders, the four beafts, the holy angels, and faints fhall utter their voice in Allelujahs unto God their King and Redeemer,

Redeemer, it will be as the voice of thunders, and lightenings, and will cause a mighty great hail, every ftone the weight of a talent. That is, God will rain down fire and brimftone upon the earth, and fea, fun, and air, so that none of these four, which are the life of all creatures, fhall yield refreshment to the mind of man, but it shall rain ftones of fire mingled with brimftone, which cannot be diffolved. So that men fhall blafpheme God eternally, because of the hail, it being exceeding great. It must needs be exceeding great, because it is eternal, it being the last plague, or laft vial of God's wrath, it being the end of all time, there being now nothing but eternal mifery to remain. For there will fall every wicked man's foul, whofe name is not written in the book of life, such an hail ftone of fire and brimftone, that fhall weigh a talent. That is, it fhall weigh fo heavy upon his heart, that it fhall prefs his foul down into the fecond death, which is eternal. So much for the interpretation of the chief matters in the fixteenth chapter of John's Revelation.

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CHA P. LVIII.

upon

N the fixteenth chapter of John's Revelation, it doth prophefy of the feven laft plagues that God will pour out upon this wicked, unbelieving, idolatrous world, much like unto thofe plagues Mofes poured out upon Egypt, at the begining of his commiffion. So likewife will God pour out the vials of his wrath upon the earth, at the end of the world; which will be at the end of the commiffion of the fpirit. Now what these feven vials are, I have opend in chap. xvi. Now this feventeenth chapter it doth contain a prophefy of the downfall of the fpiritual Babylon, or myftery Babylon. It is compared by the fpirit in John, to a woman arrayed in fcarlet, to an adulterous woman, to a whore, to a great city. Now this is to be minded by the reader, that there are two Babylons fpoken of in fcripture, two forts of whores, two forts of fornication, two forts of cities, two forts of vials of God's wrath, to be poured out upon the earth. That is, there is a temporal Babylon, and a fpiritual Babylon, or Babylon in the hiftory, and Babylon in the mystery; or a natural fornication of the flesh with woman, and a fpiritual fornication in the foul and mind of man with idols. And fo the one is called a whore, or an adulterous woman in the temporal, and the other is called a whore in the fpiritual. So that there are two forts of whores, and two forts of fornications; likewife there are two forts of cities; that is, a temporal city, and a fpiritual city.

The temporal city is that which the reason of man hath built for its own glory, of wood, and stone, gilded with filver and gold; the fpiritual city is that which God hath built, which is the body of man. Therefore it is faid in fcripture, Your bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost; fo likewife the believing Jews and Gentiles, they are called by the fpirit the holy city, fo that there is a spiritual holy city, and there is a fpiritual unholy city; that is, there are true worshipers of God, and falfe worshipers of God; a mystery Babylon, a mystery of God's temporal plagues, and fpiritual plagues.

To fum up all the meaning of John's Revelation, is this, that all the true believers both Jews and Gentiles, that do worship God according to the tenour

of

of that commiffion they are under, whether it be the worlhip of the law of Mofes, or the worship of the gospel of Jefus, fet up by his apoftles, or the worship of the fpirit, fet up by the witneffes of the fpirit, these three being all commiffionated of God, fo that whoever doth truly believe in these three commiffions in their time, and place, when they were in being upon the earth, I say they are all counted by the spirit but one city, or one woman, as Revel. xii. 1. A woman cloathed with the fun, &c.

So on the contrary, all falfe worship that is fet up by non-commiffionated men, who do refemble or imitate the true worship fet up by true commiffionated men, I fay, those men having no commiffion from God fo to do, their worship is meer idolatry, and all thofe people who join in that worship fo fet up, they are all idolatrous people; and fo counted by the fpirit in John that great city Babylon, in oppofition to the holy city of God, as aforefaid.

So that this is to be minded by the reader, that there are but two cities; that is to fay, the city of faints, and the great city of devils. That is, all true worshipers are called the holy city, and all falfe worshipers are called by the fpirit, the great city Babylon, as aforefaid. So likewise they are all called but one woman, or one whore. So that you that have any true light in your understandings, you may fee that all the messengers of idolatry, and all idolatrous people, they are called by the fpirit but one whore, or one fornication. So that look what worship hath been fet up by a non-commiffionated man at the first, in that they did imitate Mofes in his worship, and fo afterwards did imitate the apostles worship, without a commiffion from God.

I fay, that the first brothers, or imitators of Mofes, and the apoftles worship, with all the adherents thereunto, and the multitudes of people that are deceived by them, who were the firft brothers of this idolatrous worship fet up by non-commiffionated men, I fay they are all counted by the spirit but a whore, in that they and all people who do join in worship with them, they do commit fornication in their fpirits with idols. So that whoever doth worship falfe gods, by the instigation of the falfe prophet, or false priest, he doth commit fornication or whoredom with idols. So that this is to be minded, that all opinions in worship that people are in, who have not a true commiffion from God to be a minifter, or preacher, he and they do all commit fornication with idols; for every opinion in religion that doth not worship the true God, they do commit fornication with idols; neither can they do otherwise, because their teachers are false; like priests, like people.

Alfo this is to be observed by the reader, that the revelation of the fpirit, it hath only relation to thofe people that do profefs and confefs the fcriptures. So that John's Revelation hath relation to all those that confess the law of Mofes, and the prophets, and the gofpel of Jefus, and the apoftles, and not relating to the heathen, who never heard of the fcriptures. So that all thofe falfe worshipers under the law of Mofes, and all thofe falfe worshipers under the gospel of Jefus, they are called by the spirit that great city Babylon, or mystery Babylon, or a fcarlet whore.

It is called mystrey Babylon, in relation to the myftrey of God, as aforefaid. Likewife

Likewife it may be called mystery Babylon, in relation to that Babel that men would have built, that fhould have reached up to heaven after Noah's flood, in refpect of the confufion there was in the building of it, fo that it all came to utter confufion and dectruction. So likewife there is fuch a confufion in all falfe worship and worfhipers, that at the last that Babylon they have built with idols, thinking to reach in that fuperftitious way up to heaven, but they fhall be confufed in their understandings, and in the true knowledge and worship of the true God; fo that they fhall be utterly deftroyed, both them and their Babel, that is their worship, with an eternal deftruction. But this is to be minded, that the first mention of this temporal Babel, Gen. xi. 4. where the fons of Noah faid, Go to, let us build us a city, and a tower, whofe top may reach unto heaven. And in verse 7. God confumed this tower by confounding their language.

So likewife the first rife of this mystery Babylon, it was amongst the Jews. That is, when the Jews would worship other gods, befides that God which Mofes did declare unto them, even the God of Abraham, Ifaac, and Jacob, to wit, the God of Ifrael; yet nevertheless thofe Jews who were the feed of the ferpent, they would have other gods, as the Amorites and the heathen had, to go before them.

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Therefore they would have a calf to be their God to worship, as Exod. chap. xxxii. 1. This calf was the first falfe god the people of the Jews did worship; though they murmured against God, and Mofes many times before, yet they never fell to worship idols, as gods, before. So that this was the firft begining of the fetting up, or the building of a falfe worship, in opposition to that worfhip that Mofes fet up, which was but a little before. So that as foon as ever God did fet up his worship by the hand of Moses, that the people might come to know the true God.

I fay the fpirit of reafon, which is the devil in man, he doth fet up his worship in like manner to worship gods of his own imagination, even the works of his own hands, even a calf; for this calf doth fignify all idols, or falfe worship whatsoever. For though the idols of men are many, and their forms of worship many, yet they all being falfe, not worshiping the true God, they do but worfhip a calf inftead of God.

And as thefe Jews who made this calf for a God, were the first that began to build up a Babel of falfe worship, this fpirit of idolatry did run through the line of the feed of the ferpent, until it got great power; for after Mofes and Joshua were gone, the feed of the ferpent grew in great power, and did punish those that would not bow down to Baal. For Baal fignifies all falfe worThip, or all falfe gods; fo that when the ferpent's feed got power to fet up his worship, as Mofes had power to fet up the worship of God; and as Mofes did plague and punish thofe ferpents for making that calf and worshiping it, or any other idols, in that many of them were deftroyed by death, fo hath the falfe worshipers ferved the prophets, and faints ever fince, that would not bow down to their falfe worship; witnefs Jeroboam the fon of Nebat, who made Ifrael to fin; and Ahab, Manaffes, with divers other wicked kings, and rulers, and head magiftrates in the time of the law, who perfecuted the prophets, and put

them

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