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they were immoderately ravenous and cruel; by strong hand in vading the dominions and inheritances of their opposites.

IX. 9 And they had breastplates, as it were breastplates of iro and the sound of their wings was as the sound of chariots of mas horses running to battle.

And they were strongly defenced against all hostile attempts the Eastern locusts, by their own conquests; the Western, br that hand which they had got over the kings and princes of the earth, which were ready prest for their maintenance and suppor tation and when they were provoked, their preparations and threats were great and terrible, like to the rattling of many cha riots, and neighing of horses to the war.

IX. 10 And they had tails like unto scorpions, and there wer stings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. And these hellish locusts, besides their ordinary effect of wasting and spoiling the earth, had dangerous venom in them, and deadly stings in their tails, which were like to those of scorpions; and had permission from God, to torment and impoison those with whom they had to deal, for the space of the forenamed hundred and fifty years.

IX. 11 And they had a king over them, which is the angel of the bottomless pit, whose name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon.

And they ranged themselves under one kingdom or government; the Eastern locusts, under their Mahomet; the Western, under their universal head; both of them under Satan, the Prince of Darkness, who, being a man-slayer from the beginning, hath his name from Destruction.

IX. 12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hercafter.

One great calamity and misery to the Church is already fore shewed; which is in the joint endeavours of the Eastern and Western locusts; and, behold, there are two more and more grievous afflictions yet remaining.

IX. 13, 14 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four anges which are bound in the great river Euphrates.

And the Sixth Angel sounded; and, as the temple on earth resembles heaven, and the golden altar in the temple, being near seated to the Holy of Holies and the Propitiatory, signifies and imports a near approach to the throne of God, I heard a voice coming as it were from the four corners of that golden altar which is before God, Saying to that Angel, which had the charge to sound the sixth trumpet, Hitherto the evil spirits have been restrained from the extremity of their machinations against my Church, which is in the Eastern parts, about the great river Euphrates; but now I do, in my infinite justice and wisdom, see it to be time to let them loose, to inflict their greatest mischiefs upon those coasts.

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IX. 15 And the four angels were loosed, which were prepared or an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to slay the hird part of men.

And those four evil angels, which were to be executioners of God's wrath, were let loose; which, howsoever they were restrained before, yet were ever forward and eagerly prest to do mischief, according to the proportion of the time limited them: if they were allowed but one hour's liberty, they were ready prepared to do their utmost hurt for that hour: if for a day, or a month, or a year, they were accordingly addressed for their execution upon the third part of the inhabitants; by the sword of the Turks, and those bloody wars which should be raised by their :instigation.

IX. 16 And the number of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. And the number of those Turkish armies shall be exceeding great, above the proportion of all those Christian forces which shall oppose them.

IX. 17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone. And then I saw their horses, and the riders on them, in my vision; armed strongly, and set forth in a terrible fashion ; their breastplates and targets representing nothing but fire and fury against their enemies; and their horses were fierce and lion-like; and the riders of them were furnished with such engines of death, as carried sulphur, and fire, and smoke in the mouths of them.

IX. 18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.

And by these instruments of death a great part of the Europeans were slain; the main force of the Turks consisting in their troops of horses, and the military preparations of this kind.

IX. 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.

Such power and success shall they have in their battles and open assaults: but, withal, they shall underhand work much secret mischief, by their serpentine plots and devices; whereby they shall withdraw many from their Christian religion to accursed Mahometanism.

IX. 20 And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not worship devils, and idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood, which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk. And the rest of those European Christians and neighbouring nations, which have yet escaped those plagues of Turkish cruelty, have not been warned by so severe a hand of God to repent of

their wicked works, and especially of their idolatry; wherein they have, under a pretence of holy devotion, worshipped the Devil, and fallen down before idols of gold, and silver, and brass, and stone, and of wood, which neither can see, nor hear, nor walk.

X. 1 And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:

Now, that in the midst of these broils and miseries which should befal the world, it might appear that God had special respect to his Church; behold, the great Angel of the Covenant, even Christ the Son of God, appeared, as coming down from heaven, in a very glorious fashion; having, as it were, a bright rainbow upon his head, shining with variety of excellent colours: and his face was resplendent and beamy, like to the sun; and his feet were as pillars of fire, to shew the certain and powerful revenge that he will take of his enemies :

X. 2, 3 And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth; And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.

And he had in his hand a little book, open: whether to signify that abundance of knowledge of God's word, which should be after the barbarisms of superstition and Turkish ignorance; or whether to signify the clearness of those few prophecies, which yet remained after these fore-mentioned events, to be fulfilled: and he put one of his feet upon the sea, and the other upon the earth; to signify that he had the power and command of both, and that the things which he was to speak concerned all, both continent and islands, and all that lived either on sea or land: And he spake aloud, with a strong and mighty and dreadful voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had spoken that which he would say, seven thunders, as the echo of that speech of his, were heard to resound with a very fearful noise, expressing what he had delivered.

X. 4 And when the seven thunders had uttered their voices, I was about to write and I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Seal up those things which the seven thunders uttered, and write them not.

And when the seven thunders had finished their sound, I was about to write that which was delivered by them; but, presently, I heard a voice from heaven, charging me to the contrary, saying, Keep unto thyself those things which the seven thunders have uttered, and do not publish them to the world.

X. 5, 6 And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hands to heaven, And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein, that there should be time no longer. And this glorious Angel of the Covenant, whom I saw stand upon

the sea with one foot and on the land with the other, did, in the solemn form of an oath, lift up his hand to heaven, as calling God the Father and the Holy Ghost to record of that serious truth which he would speak, And swore, by that eternal and infinite God, who created heaven and all that is therein, and the earth with all the things that are in and upon it, and the sea and all the things therein, that the time and world were now drawing to an end, and, after these things should be fulfilled, should be no more.

X. 7 But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the mystery of God should be finished, as he hath declared to his servants the prophets.

But, that, in the days of the sound of the seventh trumpet, by which the seventh Angel should blow forth the plague of God's last wrath, Antichrist should be destroyed, the kingdom of Christ should be erected, and the mystery of God's final judgment, wherein all prophecies shall end, should be accomplished and performed. X. 8 And the voice which I heard from heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and upon the earth. Then the voice, which I heard from heaven, spake unto me again; and charged me, that I should go and receive the full and clear instructions of those mysteries, contained in that book, which was open in the hand of Christ,

X. 9 And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book, And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be in thy mouth sweet as honey.

And I went unto Christ the Mediator, and humbly besought him, that he would be pleased to give me the clear and perfect understanding of the mysteries therein contained; who, graciously condescending to my request, did not only give me the book, but power to comprehend it; charging me to take in and speedily to digest the contents of it; and, withal, fore-admonished me, that the matter comprised therein, howsoever it should be very sweet and pleasant to me in the knowledge thereof, yet, in regard of the trouble and opposition which will follow upon the publishing thereof and conveying of it forth to the use of others, it should be found very bitter and unpleasing. So also verse 10.

X. 11 And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

And he said unto me, As I have, under these former visions, shewed thee the state of my Church, and revealed it unto thee for the further manifestation thereof to others; so do I now again renew unto thee the representation of the same truths, under other forms of expression: thou therefore, having taken in and digested the contents of this book, must prophesy again of the same things, before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings.

XI. 1 And there was given me a reed like unto a rod; and the

angel stood, saying, Rise, and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein.

And now, to express the state of the Church under the first opening of those Seven Seals, there was given unto me a reed like unto a rod, wherewith to measure the temple and the altar; signifying in effect, that I was enjoined to take full notice of the condition of the Church of God under the Gospel, and those that did faithfully and truly make profession thereof.

XI. 2 But the court which is without the temple leave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles: and the holy city shall they tread under foot forty and two months.

But I was commanded to neglect and pass over the measure of the outer court; in token, that I should make no reckoning of those that did falsely and unjustly challenge to themselves the title of a Christian profession; for that they should, in God's just judgment, be given over to heretics and mis-believers in opinion, and men superstitious and profane in practice; who should prevail against the more sincere and sound part of the Church, and hold them under their tyranny, for the space of one thousand, two hundred, and sixty years.

XI. 3 And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and three score days, clothed in sackcloth.

Yet, in the mean time, I will raise up some few faithful witnesses against them, and for my oppressed truth; and they shall, in their several successions, continue to speak against the errors and corruptions of the times, for that whole space of a thousand, two hundred, and threescore years; howsoever with much opposition on the part of their enemies, and trouble and sorrow on their part.

XI. 4 These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.

These are they, whom I will raise up, as the noble and profitable instruments and means of much grace, illumination, holiness to my Church; in a continued succession of times.

XI. 5 And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies: and if any man will hurt them, he must in this manner be killed.

And, if any heretic or profane person shall rise up against them and oppose their holy doctrine, the power and evidence of that Spirit, which is in these messengers of God, shall convince them and shall bring judgments upon them.

XI. 6 These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not in the days of their prophecy: and have power over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will.

These holy men shall prevail so far with God, as that, upon their prayers, so as it was in the case of Elijah, the heavens shall be shut up, that no rain shall fall upon the earth during the time of their interdiction: and, according to the power given unto Moses, they

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