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chiefly with relation to those ten persecutions in the time of the apostles commission.

And as for the beast that was, and is not, and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition. The meaning is this, that the same spirit of reason, that was in the dragon, who was that beast that was, and is not.

I say the same spirit of persecution shall ascend out of the bottomless pit of the imagination of reason; that is, in the other beast that succeeded the dragon; for all wicked beasts were, and are guided by one spirit, even the spirit of the devil, which devil is no other but the spirit of reason in man; and the imagination that floweth from this spirit of reason, it is that bottomless pit; so that this beast that did ascend out of the bottomless pit, it was no other but the spirit of reason that did ascend out of the hearts of those seven beasts aforesaid; which caused them to exercise the power of the dragon, in persecuting and shedding the blood of the saints, and so at the end of the world they go into perdition. For this is to be minded, that when a wicked man doth go into perdition, he doth never return again, because it is an eternal perdition.

This is to be minded also, that the bottomless pit is one thing, and perdition is another; for almost all men are in the bottomless pit of their own imaginations, only those that know truth; yet men's spirits of reason may ascend out of the bottomless pit of their vain imaginations, and come to know truth, but after the spirit of a man goeth into perdition, there is no possibility ever to ascend out of that, because it is eternal. Again

Again it is said, And they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life, from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is. That is, the ignorant and idolatrous people on the earth' shall wonder, when they behold the spirit of the dragon acting itself forth in idolatry and persecution, for not worshiping his image, as the dragon did; so that it did seem to ignorant people to be the same beast, and that the dragon-beast was risen again, which made them to wonder to behold that beast that was, and is not, and yet is; when as it was no other but the dragon's spirit, in the seed which acted itself forth in the person of another beast, much like unto the dragon, or beast that

was not.

So that those ignorant people that dwell on the earth, they look upon spirits going out of the body, and assuming other bodies; but there is no such thing. But most people on the earth then, and at this day, do believe such things, which doth cause their vain imaginations to wonder, taking one thing for another. But the elect seed, whose names are written in the book of life, from the foundation of the world, these I say never do wonder at any such thing; for they know that spirits cannot slip out of the bodies, and assume other bodies, but that spirit must die with the body. Only there is a spirit remaineth in the seed, that is in another, that may act cruelties like his, or worse, but not in the same person; so was it with this beast, that was, and is not, and yet is, and so forth. L1 2

CHAP.

CHAP. LXII.

VERSE 9. And here is the mind which hath wis

dom, the seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.

This verse is a beginning of the interpretation of John's vision, and of the beast, and of the woman, and so the interpretation goeth to the end of the chapter. For this must be minded, that John saw these things by vision and revelation, when he was in the isle of Patmos, a banished man, before these things were acted upon this earth, which maketh his writings the more hard to understand, and much more hard to interpret. So that it must needs be true wisdom to know the mind of the spirit in these mystical sayings of his. Yet the revelation of faith hath understood, and given the interpretation of most of the chief things of concernment in the book of John's Revelation.

These seven heads are called by the spirit seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth. These seven mountains are those seven beasts spoken of before, though called here seven mountains. And as for the woman, I have shewed what is meant by it before, to wit, all spiritual power in relation to the worshiping of false gods, it being set up by noncommissionated men, and all false worshipers they' are called by the spirit a woman, or the great city Babylon.

So that those chief men who have set up forms of worship without a commission from God, they are

called

called the woman that sitteth on seven mountains. She may be said to sit upon them, because her spiritual, idolatrous power is above their temporal power. For, as I said before, the temporal magistrate is commonly subject to the priest, especially in matters of religion, so that in this regard the woman may be said to sit upon seven mountains; for she had power over all these seven beasts, to cause them to commit spiritual fornication, and spiritual whoredom with her in worshiping of false gods, and in shedding the blood of saints.

Verse 10. And there are seven kings, five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come, and when he cometh, he must continue a short space. The meaning is this, that John saw in his vision, that five of these seven persecuting beasts were fallen. And he, that one, is in present being in the time of the apostles commission, and that was the sixth.

And the other that was not yet come, he was to come after the commission of the apostles was extirpated out of the world, and when he is come he shall continue a short space: That is, he shall not continue to the end of the world, for no man knoweth what the spirit doth mean by a short space? but the spirit of the beast that was, and is not, and he shall continue to the end of the world, as in verse 11, and the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition, The meaning is this, that the spirit of the dragon Herod, the beast who is the eighth, though of the seven wicked beasts, because they all acted by his wicked spirit of reason, the devil,

So

So that the spirit of the dragon, it shall run through the loins of all persecuting kings and head magistrates, even to the end of the world. Hath not the spirit of persecution run through the loins of many Papist kings, by the power of the Popes spiritual fornication, since the worship of the gospel was set up by him all over Europe?

Hath not the spirit of spiritual fornication to worship false gods, run through the loins of the Papists, Protestant, presbytery, Independent, Baptist, Ranter and Quaker, all over Europe, or as we call it Christendom?

So that this spiritual fornication all opinions do commit with idols, or in worshiping of false gods. So that they all make up but one woman, or one whore, who commiteth spiritual fornication, or one great city Babylon. So likewise there hath many Papist kings, since the Pope had this spiritual power, that have been guilty of shedding the blood of martyrs, more than can well be numbered. Neither can all protestant kings be excused in this point, nor Presbytery, neither would the other four be excusable, if they were in power.

So that the spirit of the dragon it doth, and hath run through the loins of all these beasts that have been since the Roman Catholic religion was set up. So that all the persecution that hath been for conscience sake, all the blood that hath been shed for religion sake, it hath been acted from the spirit of the whore aforesaid, in the priests, and from the spirit of the dragon in the head magistrate, who are called beasts. And this spirit hath reigned, and

doth

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