the secret providence of God, from going forth to battle to kill and slay men; for they had prepared themselves with such a mighty army, thinking to destroy and slay the third part of men, that should come against them, in an hour; if not in an hour, then in a day; if not in a day, then in a month; if not in a month, then in a year. So that these four angels were prepared to accomplish all this their design in a year's time; but these four angels were bound some certain time before they could do this. The time they were bound, it was so long as from the sounding of the fifth angel, to the sounding of the sixth angel. For there were great plagues at the sounding of every angel, as I have shewed before. And now at the sounding of the sixth angel, these four angels that were bound are loosed. And when they were loosed, you may see what effect they wrought.

The meaning is this, when the sixth angel sounded, there was leave given to those four angels that were bound before, the time being not come to go forth. Now they were loosed to slay the third part of men, as they would willingly have done before; and for that purpose they muster up their army, as in verse 16. John saw the number of the army of the horsemen, and they were two hundred thousand thousand. And in verse 17. John saw the horses in the vision, and them that sate on them, having breast plates of fire and brimstone, and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions, and out of their mouths issued fire, and smoak, and brimstone; by his great army was the third part of men killed, as in verse 18.

That

That is, by the fire, and the smoke, and the brimstone, that issued out of their mouths. And as for their horses heads, being like the heads of lions, it was only to signify the strength and dreadfulness of them; because men are more afraid of lions, than they are of horses; and as for the fire, smoke, and brimstone, that issued out of the riders mouths, it signifies a three-fold destruction of men. As thus, when a man is burnt with fire alone. Secondly, a man may be smothered with smoke, so that he die. And if a man be burnt with brimstone, that is a more terrible death than the other two.

Now by one of these three were the third part of men killed, only to signify that some died a more cruel death than other some. That is, there issued out of their mouths, a more cruel usage or sentence of death to some, than to others; so that they had a three-fold way to put them to death. But all of them issued out of their mouths only to signify they had a commission to kill three several ways.

So in verse 19.

CHAP. XXIX.

in verse 19. For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails, for their tails were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt.

So that the power of this great army, to kill with fire, and smoke, and brimstone, it was in their mouths and in their tails. That is, there issued out of their mouths, fire, smoke, and brimstone, that many men were killed of these three, as I have shewed before.

But why is it said, They had tails like serpents, and had heads, and with them they did hurt? They may be said to have tails like serpents, because the most be wise and most moderate men in reason, were the hindmost part of the army, and the most lion-like men in the fore front; so that the fore front of men were so dreadful, their horses being so numerous and so pampered, that they seemed more like unto the heads of so many lions rather than horses, they were so dreadful; and the horsemen that sate upon them came with such fire, wrath, and vengeance, which issued out of their mouths, which became like unto fire, smoke, and brimstone; and these were in the fore front of the army, and did act as if they had been lions, and as if there had been nothing else in their mouths but fire, smoke, and brimstone. But the tail or hinder part of the army, did act more like subtle serpents; for the tail of the army had heads, and they had stings in their heads. That is, they had a commission to act like serpents, and to sting and hurt men as the fore front had which had breast plates of fire. So that the fourth part, or head of this great army, were to act like lions, and the tail or hinder part of this great army, were to act like serpents; they having commission so to do from these four angels, which were loosed by the great river Euphrates; and in this sense it may be said that the power was in the mouth, and in their tails. For whosoever did escape the mouth or fore front of fire, smoke, and brimstone, they were sure to be stung with the tail; for the tails had heads and stings in them. So that if the mouths of the lions

did not kill them, the heads of the serpents that were in the tails, would.

So that what with the mouths and what with the tails, the third part of men were killed. For the sting of serpents lieth in the head, but the sting of scorpions lieth in the tail. Therefore it is that John doth say, the tail of this army were like unto serpents, and had heads, and with them they do hurt. For take a serpent by the head and he can do no hurt, though his tail be at liberty. But the heads of these serpents were at liberty, therefore it was they did hurt in killing of men.

This is to be minded, that this great army were heathen men, and those upon whom these great plagues fell were heathen men, wicked, idolatrous people, who worshiped wood and stone guilded over with gold, even the works of their own hands.

They make a god with their own hands; and fall down and worship it, as David saith, Psal. cxv. 4, 5, 6, 7. Their idols are silver, and gold even the work of men's hands; they have mouths and speak not ; eyes have they, and see not; noses have they, and smell not; hands, and handle not, feet, but walk not; neither do they speak thorow the throat, as that which hath life doth. So Psal. cxxxv. 15. The images of the heathen are silver and gold, &c.

So that these plagues which John saw in the vision, it was upon the heathen Gentiles that had no faith in the gospel of Jesus, neither did they repent ever the more of their idolatry and worshiping of devils. That is, those men that were not killed by those

plagues, did not leave off worshiping of devils, in that they did still worship idols of silver and of gold, and of brass, and of stone, and of wood, which neither can hear, nor see, nor walk.

So, in the last verse of this chapter, as they did not repent of their wicked idolatry, neither did they repent of their other wicked sins which nature is addicted to. That is to say, their murders, nor of their sorceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts. But there needeth no further opening of the two last verses of this chapter, for they are easy to be understood; therefore I shall say no more as to the interpretation of the ninth chapter.

CHAP. XXX.

NOW I have given the interpretation of all the

chief things of concernment in all the nine chapters of the Revelation of St. John, and I have shewed in some measure what plagues and judg ments did proceed upon the sounding of the trumpet of every one of the six angels.

And as for the seventh angel sounding, it sounds in the eleventh chapter of the Revelation, which chapter I have interpreted already in that treatise called The Interpretation of the eleventh chapter of the Revelation.

And as for the chief things in the tenth chapter, I have spoken of them in that book also; only the seven thunders, what they did utter, I have not written concerning it; because John would have writ

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