The temple opened, or, The great mystery of the millennium and the first resurrection revealed and found to be different from all the accounts that have been given thereof by any who have hitherto wrote on the same subject : more fully and plainly opening the nature of the death humbly presented to the King and Parliament by Thomas Brookhouse. Brookhouse, Thomas. 1696 Approx. 163 KB of XML-encoded text transcribed from 36 1-bit group-IV TIFF page images. Text Creation Partnership, Ann Arbor, MI ; Oxford (UK) : 2007-01 (EEBO-TCP Phase 1). A29711 Wing B4972 ESTC R18149 12395520 ocm 12395520 61150 This keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above is co-owned by the institutions providing financial support to the Early English Books Online Text Creation Partnership. This Phase I text is available for reuse, according to the terms of Creative Commons 0 1.0 Universal . The text can be copied, modified, distributed and performed, even for commercial purposes, all without asking permission. Early English books online. (EEBO-TCP ; phase 1, no. A29711) Transcribed from: (Early English Books Online ; image set 61150) Images scanned from microfilm: (Early English books, 1641-1700 ; 271:10) The temple opened, or, The great mystery of the millennium and the first resurrection revealed and found to be different from all the accounts that have been given thereof by any who have hitherto wrote on the same subject : more fully and plainly opening the nature of the death humbly presented to the King and Parliament by Thomas Brookhouse. Brookhouse, Thomas. [8], 73 [i.e. 63] p. Printed by George Larkin, Jun., and are to be sold at his house ... and by J. Whitlock ..., London : 1696. Reproduction of original in Bodleian Library. Created by converting TCP files to TEI P5 using tcp2tei.xsl, TEI @ Oxford. 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Resurrection. 2006-05 TCP Assigned for keying and markup 2006-05 Aptara Keyed and coded from ProQuest page images 2006-07 Judith Siefring Sampled and proofread 2006-07 Judith Siefring Text and markup reviewed and edited 2006-09 pfs Batch review (QC) and XML conversion The TEMPLE Opened : OR , THE GREAT MYSTERY OF THE Millennium , AND The First Resurrection , REVEALED : And Found to be Different from all the Accounts that have been given Thereof by Any who have hitherto wrote on the same Subject . More Fully and Plainly Opening the Nature of the Death and Resurrection of the Witnesses , AND The State of the NEW JERUSALEM , Than has ever yet been Done. Humbly Presented to the KING and PARLIAMENT , By THOMAS BROOKHOVSE . LONDON , Printed by George Larkin , Jun. And are to be Sold at his House over-against the Hat and Feather upon Addle-Hill ; And by J. Whitlock , near Stationers-Hall . 1696. To the King. Great Potentate , under the Administration of JESUS , THis Address at first may seem an Enthusiastical Strain , but upon farther perusal it will be found otherwise . Christ being Adult , or of Age , in his Church , in her Favour gives the Kingdoms of this World to whom he pleases . During His ( or Her ) Minority , SatanVsurped the Power , and Let his Whore a Lease thereof for 1260 Years . But these Expiring , All the Kingdoms of the World Devolved upon him , as Lord in Chief , Heir of All Things , and Head over All to the Church . The Time of this Grand Devolution , happened in the Time of our late Harvest , when He sent a * Bold Herald to Claim His Right , and to Demand of The Guardians or Two Old Anointed Ones , their Staves of Authority : These Staves are Power Spiritual and Temporal , called by the Prophet Beauty and Bands : These the Herald took and Cut in Sunder before all the People , thereby Cancelling the Old Covenant which God had made with them . This Publick Act was a most Solemn Act of Abolition , and Abrogated Representatively all the Powers in the World. The Old Cedar and Vine being thus Lopt , the immediate succeeding Powers were to be considered no otherwise but as Parents , or Adminicula to the Two New Branches , or Two New Anointed Ones , represented by the said Prophet by Two Olive Branches . The Power and Promises belong to These , who are to Minister or Stand before The LORD of the Whole Earth , under the Dispensation of a New Covenant : These are foretold by the Man whose Name is the Branch , and Joshua ; The One is to be a King on his Throne , and the Other is to be a Priest upon his Throne ; And the Counsel of Peace is to be betwixt them both . GREAT SIR , You are the Man whose Name is the BRANCH : The Tree of Monarchy was Planted in the East , but was Cut Down in the West , and You are the Branch that grows in its Room . The Lord of the Vniverse hath Preferred You before all the Kings of the Earth : His Ship run A-drift , and You are the First Pilot He has Chose to Steer It. Your Commission is to Drive the Wild Beasts out of His Forrest , that His Flocks may Feed , and lie Down in Safety ; And there is no Doubt but He will Assist You in it Now since He has Presented You with the First Staff , and Honour'd You with the First Fruits of Power , That he would also Honour You with the First Fruits of His Spirit , and Enable You to perform all His Good Pleasure , Is the Hearty Prayer of Your Faithful and Dutiful Subject , THO. BROOKHOUSE . To the Parliament . Wise Senators and Faithful Patriots , GOD having promised to make all things New , is now performing of it : Empire and the Gospel have finished their Voyage , and are now about to return from whence they first set out . You have many things of great moment before You , but that of Time justly challenges a place amongst the first . The Sands of a New Aera are now running , the last Glass of Time being turned : Empire has made us a Visit , and will stay some Time with us , and we shall measure out Law and Time to other Nations . We have long gone by a corrupt Reckoning , but all things are to become New ; Time and our Coin seem to be joynt Petitioners and beg to be Regulated together , that one may give Testimony to the other ? The Regulation is not only very Honourable and Profitable , but very Feasible ; The Royal Society would quickly perform it ; And when is it more suitable , than when a New Empire Commences ? This Noble Work would perpetuate your Memory till Time should be no longer . It would also be very Profitable , for there might be put what Price on the New Ephemeris You pleased ; and every Family throughout the Kingdom being obliged to take one , a vast Sum would be raised for the Kings Use . To say it would be very Troublesome , is no Argument ; an Old House was never pull'd down without trouble and dust : When things are made New , and the House new Built , all the labour and trouble is compensated . Caesar thought it worth his while to Correct it , and he took not his Aim amiss , for it has been a Faithful Register of his Fame : I could wish the King a Partner in the same Reputation . But whether the present Conjuncture will admit of it or no , I can assure you it will not be long before it be done : For there is a New Calendar Commenced in Heaven : Christs Reign is actually Commenced . The Head of the Image was in the East , the Feet are in the West ; and Here the Stone first falls upon them ; and this is the Reason of all our present Confusions ; which will continue till all the old Building is pulled down . Satan put his Metal four times in the Fire , and 't is yet but a Lump of Dross : But now the Son of God takes the work in hand , and has appointed You his chief Workmen . That He would give You the Spirit of Understanding to go thorow Your present Undertakings , is the Prayer of Your Devoted Servant , T. B. To the READER . Reader , THe Four Monarchies are but a Copy of the Four Elements , and all th Models of Power and Policy hitherto used , are no other but Transcript of the Divine Operations in the first Creation ; They answer one another at Face does Face in a Glass : For as then the WORD by a Fiat spake the Four Disagreeing Elements into that Beauty and Order we see them in : So Now , the same WORD ( His Name is called The WORD OF GOD ) comes to speak the Ataxy or Irregularities of the Four Monarchies into such an Harmonious Frame and Model that may Eccho to Nature , and keep time , as it were , with her , in all her Divine and most Excellent Administrations . The Four preceding Monarchies were rather Heaps than Buildings : Men piling up mollia cum duris , sine pondere , habentia pondus ; Things of a differing nature together , so that nothing less could be expected than their downfal ; the Dissimilarity and Disproportion of parts , to such a degree corroding and fretting the whole substance , as at last to undermine the Foundation , and to tumble down the whole Frame . But in this Monarchy or Consistency , Bone comes to its Bone , and Flesh to its Flesh , and all the Similar parts will be fitted and joyned together in such a due and wise Symmetry , that the Building will be as lasting as Nature her self , of which indeed it is but a Copy . Christ is the Way , the Truth , and the Life ; He is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , The Son or Word of God , the Right Reason and Beauty of the Creation : But Satan is the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , the Father of Lies , the Grand Patron of Injustice and Violence , the Chief Author of Confusion and Irregularity : These two have been at continual Was since the Creation : But at last the VVord gets the Victory , and the last Battel introduces the quiet and peaceable Reign of the Millennium : The Millennium Commences before , viz. At the Expiration of the Whores Lease , when all the Kingdoms of the World devolve on Christ ; but there is no Quietness to the State , though there is to his Church , till after the Great Battel ; And Christ , as all the other Monarchs have done , must Conquer the World before he can Enjoy it : He finds it over-run with wild Beasts , and his Flocks cannot feed quietly till He has expelled them ; He tells the Vsurpers He is Heir , but They reject and despise his Title ; They resolve to continue on the Premises till They be thrust off . He therefore prepares for War : But after a clear differing manner from all the other Months : For They made War in Wickedness , He in Righteousness ; They subdue it by Fire and Sword , He only by his Word : Their Followers were cloathed in Steel , and had their Swords in thier Hands ; but His only in Fine Linnen , with their Swords in their Mouths ; They Ride on Red Bloody Horses ; He and His Followers on White ones : His whole Equipage sufficiently declares what a sort of War He designs to make , in all the Circumstances thereof Intirely differing from the other . Satan thought himself of Ability to Rule in Gods Throne , but he has sufficiently discovered his Inability ; for he neither knew aright how to make Peace or War , how to pull down , or build up . But Christ will instruct the World in better Methods . The Text saith , In Righteousness he doth Judge ( minister Peace ) and make War : He uses not his Power , but his Spirit ; not his Sword , but his Word : And by This way He subdues the World , and tumbles down Satan from his Seat like Lightning , who by his ill Conduct had so miserably scorch'd the Earth . His way of Fighting is only Preaching , as the Sword in his Mouth doth sufficiently demonstrate . He designs to restore his Gospel by an Army of Predicators , Cloathed in the white Linnen of an holy Life . By these he ferments and levens the whole Earth , and pulls down all the Constitutions thereof . The Millennium is the Manhood of the World , and all the preceding Governments are but the Tossings and Tumblings of Childhood and Youth . Christ also being Adult , or come to his full Stature in his Body the Church , comes to claim the Government thereof . But this State is rather an Hierarchy than a Monarchy ; Jerusalem and the Bride through the whole Context being put in opposition to Babylon and the Whore : And the Text saith , They shall reign as Priests , which agrees very well with what our Saviour saith , That his Kingdom was not of this VVorld . And when thie Rough Work is over , She is to be Empress of the Vniverse , and the Kings of the Earth are to bring their Glory and Honour into her : As in the preceeding Monarchies They trampled upon her , casting Dirt in her Face , now they are her humble Servants , and bow down before her ; and this is because Christ her Husband Rules and Reigns over them , and they have a more immediate dependance on Him for their Titles and Soveraignties ; He Giving and Disposing of the Kingdoms of this World to whomsoever He pleases : And besure He will give no Power to those that Affront her . And though there is no mention made of any Kings Reigning with Christ during the Millennium , only the Saints ; yet without all doubt there is a Series of Good Kings running through the whole ; otherwise there would be none to bring their Glory into it . But this is certain , that good and holy Men , the Members of the True Regenerate Church , have the greatest Title to the Priviledges of the Millennium , because they are set in the Front of it , and are said to reign with Christ ; and all other Powers are to hold their Empire from the Church in Chief , as the Soveraign Spouse . Since Empire has been so fruitful in its first Voyage , we cannot suppose it absolutely barren in the Second : But its Children will be more Mansuete in their Return , participating of the Common Renewed Nature , and so exercise their Power to the service and good of Christ's Church . Farewel . The TEMPLE Opened : OR , The Great Mystery OF THE Millennium , AND The First Resurrection , REVEALED , &c. REV. XX. 5. But the rest of the Dead lived not Again until the Thousand Years were ended : This is the First Resurrection . BEFORE I can come at the above Words , I must speak something against Christs Personal Reign . and a Literal Resurrection of the Saints . John saith , I saw the Souls , &c. and THEY Lived an Reigned with Christ a Thousand Years : This is b● no means to be understood in a Literal Senc● but in a Civil ; for the Witnesses were never In their Grave and therefore cannot Rise Out of them : This is a Mathematical Demonstration , if I can prove these Souls , &c. to be the Witnesses , which from the preceding parts of the Revelations is plainly demonstrated they are . This , The Souls , &c. is nothing but a long complex Name for a complex Body , viz. The New-Risen Witnesses , or Church Regenerate : They are the same Specifick Body of the Numerus Sigillatus , in Chap 7. who running as it were under ground for 1260 miles , rise up again in Chap. 14. and stand upon Mount Sion , having their Fathers Name written in their Forehead , so are called Numerus Conscriptus . And what is this Name of their Father , but the distinct Character of their Sufferings , which in their passage they underwent through every Age ? This Name is the Characteristick by which they may be known to be the true Heirs of the Promises ; And therefore being now concerted into a New Body , they bear them in their Forehead , to shew their Legitimacy . Satan being overcome in a Great Battel , who had usurped upon their Rights , and palmed upon the World a Whorish Church for many Ages , The Whore being turned out of the Premises , the true Heiress comes to claim her Right ; And that she may be known to be the true Heiress , she puts on her Mothers Clothes : But putting on her Mothers Apparel , makes only an accidental , and not a substantial alteration ; there 's no such Virtue in these Garments as to transubstantiate the Daughter into the Mother . 'T is our great mistake therefore to suppose these to be the Old Witnesses risen from the Dead , in a literal sence ; they are only the New-risen Witnesses wearing the Livery of the Old ; and to shew that they are their Legitimate Off-spring , they bear the true Signatures of their Sufferings in their Foreheads , which they have suffered under the Usurpation of the Whore in every Age successively . And these Marks confirm and ratifie their Claim , and give then a Passo-porto to enter into the Millennium , which is the promised Land of the Christians . The Witnesses before stood in naked and unfinish'd Lines , in Chiar-oscuro , as the Italians call it : But here they receive their finishing Strokes , and stand all in their proper Colours , ranged in order successively in every Age , during the whole time of Satans Usurpation , who after his First great Defeat in Constantine's Time , Lived Again , and crept into Heaven in the Livery of the Church , transforming himself from a dark Angel into an Angel of Light. If what I have wrote be considered narrowly , 't will be deemed altogether as reasonable to expect that Abraham , Isaac , Jacob , Reuben , Simeon , Levi , &c. should all rise out of their Graves , and return with their Successors , the present surviving Jews , into their own Countrey , as that the suffering Saints in all Ages should rise out of their Graves , and reign Personally with Christ in the Millennium . When we give persons or things Names , the Name is usually adapted to the quality of the person or thing denominated : So here , the Old Church being brought to Bed of the New-risen Witnesses , they are baptized with a Name which has respect to the Quality of their suffering Natures . When the present Jews go into the promised Land , Abraham , Isaac and Jacob , Reuben , Simeon , Levi , &c. may be said to go into it , because They go into it , who are their true and legitimate Off-sping : So if the true legitimate Off-spring of the Old Church , the old suffering Saints or Witnesses , enter into and enjoy the Priviledges of the Millennium , they themselves may be truly said to enter and enjoy it . The Souls , &c. are but Patriarchal Names of the Christian suffering Tribes , and their Names in their Foreheads distinguishes them from the common Mass , and incorporates them into a Body or Nation ; which Sealed Nation have suffered as much amongst the Gentiles , nay more , than the Nation of the Jews ; and are and have been as much dispersed throughout the whole Gentile Body . These are the Sheep of another Fold , and tho' their Genealogies be not kept so strict as the Jews on Earth , so as to make them a distinct Nation , yet 't is better and more exactly kept in Heaven , where their Names are as well written , as the Name of their Fathers on their Forehead here on Earth ; And they may have as great Assurance of entering and enjoying the Priviledges of the Millennium , tho' at present scattered through the Gentile Body , as the more distinct Body of Jews , of entering into the promised Land ; For their Covenant is sure , having this Seal , The Lord knows who are his . And when he makes up his Jewels , he gives a Copy , as it were , of their Genealogies to the Angels , who going through the four parts of the Earth , look for the Seal of their Sufferings in their Forehead , and so pick up two of a Tribe , and one of a Family , the whole making the Regenerate Church , or sealed Nation ; which sealed Nation enjoying the Priviledges of the Millennium , as the true and legitimate Off-spring of the old suffering Church , The old suffering Church , or Witnesses themselves , may truly be said to enjoy them , they enjoying them in their true Off-spring ; As well as Abraham , Isaac , and Jacob , &c. may be said to go home to their own Countrey , their present surviving Successors and true Off-spring entering into the same . And tho' the Text saith They , yet this word They , imports no more than St. Paul's We , when he saith , WE shall not all dye , but shall all be changed , &c. 'T is plain that by We , he neither means himself , nor those he wrote to , but the Saints of the same Piece or Body , which should be alive at the time of the general Judgment . The Comparison is easie . And tho' I could say much more , in confirmation of this Head , in relation to the Consequences , and many Absurdities , which would arise from a literal Resurrection , yet I will forbear , thinking what I have said to be enough to convince any reasonable Man. The next thing to be enquired into , is the Nature of Christs Reign , which I deny to be Personal , since he said , when he was leaving the World , And lo I am with you always to the end of the World ; which is plain and manifest must be meant in a spiritual manner ; that we should have his influential , ministerial , or spiritual presence , but not his personal . And in the end of the Revelations , The Spirit and the Bride say , Come ; that is , they invite all to drink of the Waters , in allusion to the Prophet of old ; this plainly indicates that They were only in being at that time ; for had the Bridegroom been come , without all doubt he would have invited the Guests himself , and not the Bride . 'T is plain He was come only in Spirit , but not in Person ; for both before and after this , in the same Chapter , he saith , Lo I come quickly ; which would never have been said , had he been come already : And all this must be understood at the near expiring of the Jerusalem-state , according to the common Rule of Interpretation . That he was come by his Spirit influencing the Bride in the whole Conduct of her Administration , is very plain , since the Text joyns the Spirit and Bride together , saying , The Spirit and the Bride say , Come ; but that he was personally come , there is not the least appearance at all . Further , It being plainly proved that the Saints rise not literally , His Coming and Reigning , must be of a piece with their Rising , and therefore not literal . His Coming must certainly be after a spiritual manner , as is plainly hinted in that Text , God manifest in the Flesh , justified is the Spirit : Which Spirit will first be poured out on his New-risen Witnesses , or Church Regenerate , being his Body in the Scripture phrase . But to look a little farther into the Nature of Christs Reign , I must , with submission , look first into the Nature of Satan's Reign , who from the beginning of the Creation has usurped upon his Rights , and been his great Antagonist . Now I find Satan got into his Temple , and sat in , and defiled his Throne , That is , in the Heart of Man ; for 't is said , The Prince of this World rules IN THE HEARTS of the Children of Disobedience . Now Christ comes and throws him out of his Throne and Temple , and takes possession of Mans Heart , influencing all his Words , Thoughts and Actions , bringing every Thought into captivity and to his obedience : And where should the Remedy come , but where the Disease is ? Any Outward Application would be like brushing a Mans Clothes to cure him of the Collick ; the Plaister ought to be where the Sore is . The Wise Man saith , Out of the Heart proceed the Issues of Life : And a Wiser than Solomon told the Pharisees , That all Defilements proceeded from within : The Inward Powers being purified and set to rights , the Outward Powers fall in of course , and so the whole Creation quickly recovers its Native Beauty : Therefore the first Act of Soveraignty which Christ will exercise , will be to purifie the Heart ; there he begins his Reign of the Millennium . If he should come in Person , and be in the Air , accompanied with an innumerable Company of Saints and Angels , as some imagine , Alas , what would this sight do ? It would surprize us , and we should gape for a little while ; but it would quickly wear off , for we have the glorious Body of the Sun , Moon , and Stars , and all the Beauty of the Creation without us , but they have but little influence over us ; one small Ray of God in the Heart , is more than all the Outward Aypearances whatsoever . Satan therefore being a cunning Adversary , when he came to conquer the World , observed the Heart to be the chief Post , and made his first Attack upon it ; and having conquered it , and placed his Black Guards there , he quickly became Master of the whole World. But Christ comes to destroy the Works of the Devil , to heal where he has wounded , and to build up what he has pulled down , and to raise the Creation out of that confusion in which Satan by a long Mis-rule has put it : The first Act therefore of his Reign , is to regain the Heart , and that being secured , all the rest come into due subjection . And this consideration brings me to my Text. There has been a continual War fince the Creation , berwixt Christ and Satan ; but in this Book particular mention is made of Three Great Battels , ( if the last may be called one . ) In the first Satan is thrown out of Heaven , in the second he is thrown out of Heaven . Earth , taken Prisoner , and bound ; and in the last he is thrown into Hell : But this last is not so much a Battel , as a Siege or Assault ; Satan , in allusion to Ahaziah , sending some of his Captains of Fifty to attack the Saints Camp , and Fire comes own from Heaven , and destroys them all . At the First Battel , ( or at least at the Mustering and Raising his Soldiers ) Christ was 〈◊〉 a White Horse , and at the Second upon a White Horse , and 〈◊〉 White-Linnen-Followers ; and at or after the last , upon White Cloud . But before I proceed any further , I must note Christ's Wars are always of a two-fold Nature , by the Word and Sword ; the Word first proclaims them , and then retires into the Rear , and the Sword in the Van leads the Armies was Lieutenant : As for instance , in this Second Battel : First the Word gets upon the white Horse , and proclaims the War , raising an Army of white-Linnen-Followers , which are his own Peculiar Army ; And these are nothing else but Preachers , proclaiming a New Dispensation , as is self-evident by their Swords being in their Mouths instead of their Hands , and of being cloathed in Fine Linnen instead of Steel : And tho' the Word's Garments are dipt in Blood , 't is of the wicked Soldier 's , and not of he own drawing : These I say march at first in the Van , proclaim the War , and bid Defiance , and then draw off into the Bear ; then comes up the Sword or Lieutenant , or the Angel in the 〈◊〉 , who is the Champion or Goliah of the Word , who like him , having first summoned the Fowls of the Air to a Treat , presently fall on upon the Dragon or Satan and his Armies , and Totally Routs them ; and when he has Routed them , then comes up the Word in the Rear , and compleats the Victory , Preselyting the rest of the World by Preaching : for the Text saith , The Remnant were stain by the Sword of him that sat upon the Horse , whose Sword proceeded out of his Mouth : 'T is plain , the Angel in the Sun , or Constantine the second , doth the Rough Work , and is the Great Executioner ; He levels the Mountains , and forces open the City Gates , that the King of Glory may come in ; the VVord is nothing but the Word Preached ( and not a Person as some would have ) as is plain by the Sword in his Mouth , which is the Sword of the Spirit , Not by power or by might , but by my Spirit , saith the Lord of Hosts . Things standing thus , the Forces of Satan , who is Prince of this World , being Routed , and himself their Generalissimo , taken Prisoner ; he 's not ransomed or bailed ( since none will be accepted ) but sent to Prison for a Thousand Years : So All the World become the Kingdoms of the ord and his Christ ; who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords : The whole Earth is his now , as well by Conquest , as by Right of Inheritance ; all the Inhabitants of the Earth become his Vassals , and lie Civilly dead before him . The whole Race of Mankind are All concluded under Death ; their Power and Dominion which is their Life , not only devolved on him as of Right ( the Usurper being Expulsed ) but also by Conquest , by force being taken from them : Now the first thing this Mighty Conqueror doth ( as is the custom of Conquerors ) He has a respect to his own Trusty Followers and Servants , who assisted him in his Conquest ; to them therefore in the first place , he saith , Rise and Live ; That is , He Invests them first with Power , and they being the first of the Civilly Dead , which receive any Power , are said , first to Live and Rise ; and this is called , the First Resurrection ; which truly and really is so in a double sence , because they are the first Receivers of Power ; and because 't is the first time that ever Holy and Good Men were so Solemnly Advanced , they being to this time not much better than Civilly Dead , always labouring under the death of Perfection , Tribulation and Affliction . Now as to The Rest of the Dead , the Text saith , They lived not again , until the Thousand Years were ended ; That is , The 〈◊〉 of the Conquered , received no Power ( which is Life ) till the Thousand Years of Satans Imprisonment is ended : as the 〈◊〉 and Holy Men do Rise and Live in Christ , so the Wicked at dead in or with Satan , for Imprisonment is a Civil Death ; and Christ will let the defeated , vanquished , or dead crew of Satan , to have no Life or Power whilst his Saints Reign : and He gives his Saints , the Church Regenerate , or New Risen Witnesses , a Royal Lease or Pattent of Power for a Thousand Years ; and 〈◊〉 they may have no Rival , but be undisturbed all the time , 〈◊〉 their great Adversaries to their good behaviour , during 〈◊〉 time ; and here is the greatest reason for this immagi●●●● . For after his defeat in the last , ( or rather in the first ) 〈◊〉 by Constantine , this cunning Quack healed his Wounds , and 〈◊〉 Again , creeping into Heaven or the power of Empire , in 〈◊〉 of the Church , which Power he has Usurped for 1260 〈◊〉 therefore sufficient caution is now taken , by binding him , 〈◊〉 he Live not Again , as before , and that he may not palm upon the World any more Whores , laying them like changlings , in the Brides place ; and when Christ grants this Pattent of Power 〈◊〉 Bride , he seems to have respect to the time of the Whores 〈◊〉 , for though it is but for a Thousand Years certain , 〈◊〉 is a little season uncertain ; 't is very probable , this lit●●● season may be 260 years , to make up the Thousand 1260 , 〈◊〉 ballances the Lease Satan granted the Whore : and the 〈◊〉 is said to be loosed after the Thousand years were ended , it 〈◊〉 not follow it was just after , and this little season , seems to 〈◊〉 uncertain , that Men might always be on their watch 〈◊〉 prepared for the coming of the Great Judge : there is a 〈◊〉 Rom 5. 10 , 19. importing , That as by one mans disobedienoe , sin 〈◊〉 into the VVorld , and Death by sin ; so by the Obedience of one 〈◊〉 shall be made Righteons , which is directly applicable to 〈◊〉 case for as the world became dead by Satans Rebellion , so 〈◊〉 are raised to life ( not all ) by Christs Victory : All Rise 〈◊〉 for the Text saith , The Rest of the Dead Lived not again , &c. 〈◊〉 plain without all contradiction , that the Life and Death 〈◊〉 hinted , are of a Civil Nature ; and that it is only the Life 〈◊〉 Death of Power and Dominion : and this Daniel wonderfully confirms , saying , as to the Rest of the Beasts their Dominion was 〈◊〉 but their Lives were prolonged for a season and time : Satan and his crew are overcome , and their Dominion is taken a●●● but still , like the conquered Canaanites of old , they live for season . and time ; which plainly implies the Death is not Literal , this Rest of the Dead , answers to the Rest of the Beasts , exactly : All the world are supposed to be Dead , those that Rise , are said to Live , and those that rise not , are said still to be Dead : where Truths are weighty , and have long been hid , as this has , Tautologies and Repetitions are not only excusable , but necessary ; and therefore yet once more the Pencil shall go over it , least I should not make good the Title , fully explained : The Rest ( the other , or remaining part , or number of the Vanquished , Slain or Dead ) Lived not ( received no Power or Dominion ) Again ( after their Vanquishment or Death , or ) Again , ( received no power or dominion again , as formerly , after their death or defeat in the first battle in Constantines time ) but still lie dead without the life of Power and Dominion , during the space of a Thousand Years ; all which time Satan , their Generalission , lies in the Ineurabile , ( for , Non est medicabile vulnus , as formerly ) but when the Thousand Years are ended , They live Again ; then Satan being loosed , these dispersed Canaanites are headed by him , and attack the Israelites Camp , and the issue is , Fire comes down from Heaven and consumes them : These are plain words , as Truth always requires , and I hope easily to be understood ; In the Explaining of things , Eloquence and fine words are not so much to be consulted , as Perspecuity : When the Thousand Years are ended , the Wicked Satannical defeated Troops live Again , and receive Power with Satan for a little season ; but till then , They lie Dead : The Text saith , But the rest of the dead lived not AGAIN , until the Thousand Years were ended ; This is the First Resurrection : 'T is as plain as the Sun in the Firmament , that this Resurrection is of a Civil Nature ; being only a Resurrection of Power and Preferment ; and that it belongs to Gods Church , or Good and Holy Men , the Members of the Church Regenerate ; and yet in one sence it may seem to be Litteral ; for 't is a Ressurrection from a Bloody Violent and Vnnatural Death ; for the Dispensers of the Restorative Gospel , are not to be Martyred and Butchered by Persecuting Emperors : Those 〈◊〉 are drove off from the Stage , and a New Series of Nursing Fathers and Nursing Mothers arise in the going back of the Em●●● , which will be so far from Persecuting her , as the former , that they will assist the Church in all her Administrations ; and therfore dividing Death into two parts , Death Violent , and Death Natural ; the Church being free'd and delivered from the first , this Deliverance may very well be called , The First Resurrection ; the First Death , is Persecution , Deprivation of Power , and Death Violent ; from these the Church is Free'd , and therefore is said to have her First Resurrection : Death Natural , is the Seund Death ; and whosoever shall so Adorn himself with Holiness , to be a sharer in this First Resurrection , or to be admitted as a Member into the Church Regenerate , on him the Second Death shall have no power ; that is , the Grave shall have no power ever him , but he shall Rise to Life Eternal ; and in a good measure it may be understood in a Literal Sence , for whoever are ●ound True Members of this Church Regenerate , when Christ 〈◊〉 come to Judge the Quick and the Dead , they shall not Dye , but be Changed ; so in a literal sence , the Second Death has no power over them . Now should we enquire , How this Life of Power and Dominion now in Christs Possession , shall be Shared ? The Scriptures are plain ; the Text saith , And thou , O Tower of the Flock , to Thee it shall come , even the first Dominion ; the Kingdom shall come to the Daughter of Jerusalem : The rest of the Flock , or other Christian Nations , shall have Sister like shares ; but She as the Heiress , and Eldest Daughter , shall have the first Dominion : But it must not be forgot to be observed , That the Priviledges of the Millennium , are rather Priestly than Kingly ; and belong more to the Bride , or the Church , then the State : for the Text saith , They shall be Priests of God and of Christ , &c. and in another place , A Royal Priesthood , a Peculiar People , Zealous of good Works ; and 't is said , The Kings of the Earth shall bring their Glory and Honour into the New Jerusalem ; of whose particular way and method of Administration , I could be very large , but this sheet will not give me leave : As to single persons , if they would have any share in this Life or Dominion of the Millennium , they must get themselves cloathed in the White Linnen of Holiness ; for the Text saith , Blessed and Holy are they that have part in this Resurrection , &c. And as for Nations , They must first help to kill the Bear , and then they may share the Skin of his Power : and sure I am , at this moment the Ten Kings are just in a readiness to fall upon the Whore , to eat her flesh , and burn her with fire : the signal from Heaven is just ready to be given them : Come Lord Jesus , Come quickly . But some would willingly know , When the Millennium Commences : I 'll therefore tell them , It will begin with a Septenary-Day of Years , known to the Lord ( and to him that he shall reveagit ) in which it shall be neither Day nor Night : but in the Eveninit shall be Light : This Septenary-Day is betwixt Easter and Whitsontide , or betwixt the Resurrection of the Witnesses , and the pouring out of the Spirit from on High , which Invests them with Power , and is the great confirmation of the New Administration , or of Christs Reign : It really Commences at Their Resurrection ; for Christ after his Resurrection , said , He had received all Power both in Heaven and in Earth : but the Charter of Power is not Ratified and Sealed till the Septenary Day is ended , and that is at Pentecost , when the whole World will be fully satisfied , and ser to their seal that God is True : An Infant for the first week , is in a state betwixt Life and Death , as it were , almost as much Vegetative as Animal ; and that is the reason of this dark day mentioned by the Prophet ; for the Body and Life of Christ , is the grand pattern of all things , both in Heaven and in Earth ; the Regenerate Church , or New Resen Witnesses , are his Body , and they must be conformable to the Head : whatever circumstances attended the Single Birth in the East , will of necessity attend the Complex Birth , or New Risen Witnesses ( Inter Iberos ) in the VVest ; this I could make out in the east minute manner , but is not so much my present business : further confirmation of this dark Septenary Day , is the Cutting own the Tree of Monarchy ; seven times passed over Nebuchad●●●●er before he would acknowledge ( Lew is guarda ti ) that the God of Heaven was the only Soveraign Monarch , and disposes the Kingdoms of this World to whom he pleases : All this time , Monarchy was as a Beast in its Infantile State , rather Animal than Rational ; during this Septenary Day , there are bands of Iron and Brass upon the Stumps of the Monarchical Tree , that it shall not grow ; the seed is some time hid in the ground before the blade comes up : and these are the true reasons of the Darkness of our present day : But in the Evening it shall be Light : That is , Men may think , that the Corn being hid , is dead ; and that the Tree of Monarchy being cut down , will not sprout again ; but when they see the Blade Rise up , and the Branches sprout out , they are then of another mind ; this enlightens them and makes them acknowledge , that this Darkness was only the common effect of Nature , which conceives her Children in the dark ; the operations of the Womb , are always in the dark . But some may ask , Why should Monarchy Expire in the VVest , and there have a new Commencement , more than in any other place ? This is easily Answered ; Empire is Fellow Traveller with the Sun , and must return with him ; The whole Earth seems to have as great a right and title to Power , as it has to Light ; The Sun never stops till it comes to the VVest , and Empire accompanies him in all his Course : The Punicks , the Sons of Cham , put in a Caveat , and would have stopp'd this Traveller , inviting him to have lodg'd in Africa ; but they might as well have stopp'd the Sun , their Fathers Prophecy and Curse putting in a Bar , condemning them to perpetual Servility . The Gospel was published in the East , and is to be restored in the VVest ; otherwise the Sun goes down at Noon : There is to be a Repassage , or Return , both of Empire and the Gospel ; and after some Refreshments , they will set out very gloriously , and will also have other Companions of a Royal Family , The Kings of the East , I mean , who are to go back with them ; The Fulness of the Gentiles being come , they are to return home : For They both together , the Sheep of Both Folds , the Twelve Apostles and Twelve Tribes , will be concerned in the Administration of the New Jerusalem . But the pouring out of the Spirit at Pentecost , will be the Sign for them to return , for this took their Power away in the East , and was the Sign of Dispersion , and it will give it them again in the West , and be the Sign of their Reversion ( and Conversion too . ) The Blood reverts not till it comes to the Toes , and the Stone fell on the Feet of the Image , and so goes on regularly breaking to pieces all before it : When there is to be a general Renovation , the Extream Parts are the most proper to begin in . But it may easily be discovered through the whole Oeconomy of this World , God in all his Methods has a respect to Nature , which like himself is most perfect in all her Operations . Now Nature circulates , the Light and the Blood circulates , and so ought Empire and the Gospel : So following Nature , I cannot Err , and therefore do positively conclude that Empire and the Gospel will set , be cut down , and be dead as it were , and then rise again in the West And whatsoever things were acted in the East at the Publication of the Gospel at the Natural Birth , are to be re-acted in the West at the Restoration of it at the Spiritual Birth , the Birth of the Church Regenerate , or New-risen Witnesses ; because there ought to be a due Analogy betwixt the Head and the Body . The Birth of the Infant-Church occasions one Day to be neither clear nor dark , but a sort of Crepusculum ; But the Evening of this Septenary Day is approaching , and the Light shall break forth abundantly . I have in some private Letters to Friends , prov'd from uncontestable Arguments raised from the true and genuine nature of Death and Resurrection , That the Witnesses are already risen , and that the whole World have been mistaken in the Nature and Quality of this great Truth , which I am able to make good against all the Learning in the ●niverse , and design to do it in a little time publickly . I have little more to say as to the Subject of the Millennium at present , only this , This glorious Day dawns with the Loss of 〈◊〉 to the Wicked , for therein consists their Power , which must be taken from them , all Power and Dominion belonging to Jesus Christ . He that has Wisdom , let him calculate : Eight Days make up the Day of Circumcision , but Seven Days of Weeks betwixt the Pascha and Pentecost . What I have writ on this Subject is suited and adapted to the economy of This World ; and whoever calculates Prophecies , if they do not first state and calculate the Nature of This World , and fit one to the other , they do but reckon without their Host . God takes particular care to suit all his Changes and Dispensations to the State of This World : And a literal Resurrection hears too many Absurdities in the Front , to be consistent therewith . Many have been the Mistakes of Men about the Milleneium ; And at present the subject lies under such prejudices , that it the very sound of the Name , Men shrug up their Shoulders , and throw it aside , saying with the old Monks , Graecum est non parest legi : But this is unmanly , and discovers their Ignorance , Sloth , or Vice , more than any thing else : Men are unwilling to vex themselves by looking into a Doctrine which will turn the World upside down , and untwist all the Constitutions upon Earth : This is a dismal prospect to those that are at ease in their Possessions , and had rather things should run on in the old corrupt Account , than to have a New and Just Reckoning : But since these things must of necessity come to pass , ( for Gods Prophecies are not Poets Fables ) they may as well fend off the Blow by a due Provision , as to encrease their Misery by an unexpected stroke . The Ark is open , and they may enter in if they please , and prevent being destroyed by the Deluge . This Prophecy now no more remains a sealed Book ; God has opened a door , and no man shall shut it : This Mystery which has been hid from Ages , is no more a Mystery , being now clearly revealed ; and so it will stand to all Generations . Great and Marvellous are thy Works , Lord God Almighty ; Just and True are they Ways , thou King of Saints : Who shall not fear and glorifie they Name , for Thou only art Holy ? All Men shall come and worship before Thee , for they Works are made manifest . Of the Death and Resurrection of the WITNESSES . THe Death and Resurrection of the Witnesses , is a Truth almost of as great Importance as the Death and Resurrection of our Saviour : They being the Counter-part of that Great Scene : All the Empires in the World are interessed in this Great Truth ; 'T is the Pole-Star by which they ought to steer ; and in not observing it , they run great hazard of splitting their Vessels : I therefore take the liberty of addressing my Enquiry into this weighty Affair to our present Powers , as before ; which may give them much Light in all their Counsels and Consultations . 'T is well known what Alterations and Changes the Birth of our Saviour made throughout the World , how it overthrew all the then-existing Powers upon Earth , and what Method there was used to do it : This is but the same thing acted over again , in another part of the World ; That , by a simple Birth ; and This , by a complex Birth : The same Methods of Conquest will be used , viz. Nothing but Predication and Vociferation . And we that live at so great a distance , for us to have the same Scenes renewed , and the same Actions re-acted amongst us , is a singular kindness from Heaven : Hitherto we have taken things upon Credit and Hearsay ; But now we our selves shall see with our Eyes , and hear with our Ears the wonderful things of God : To have things brought to our own Home , is a wonderful Condescention , for which we cannot be too thankful to Heaven : And since we know on what Rock the Eastern Nations split ; This is a Blazing Beacon for us , and we shall be doubly guilty if we split on the same . I cannot err in my Enquiry , so long as I take Christ along with me for my Guide : For He is the Way , the Truth , and the Life ; The Grand Pattern of all things in Heaven and in Earth . These Witnesses are his Body , which ought to be conformable to their Head in all things . Christ saith , Except a Man be born again , he cannot enter into the Kingdom of Heaven : Now Christ is a Man , and to fulfil all Righteousness , He ought to be born again : But our Nicodemus's will say , How can that be ? He is in Heaven , and cannot enter a second time into the Womb of Mary : 'T is true ; but He has a Body here below , his Church , which is himself ; and this may be renewed or born again , and ought to be so , before it can enter into the Kingdom of Heaven , or the Millennium , which is a Shadow of it . We are to come from strength to strength , from an imperfect Dispensation to a more perfect , until we come to God in Zion . Christ Racks off his Truth from Vessel to Vessel , till it be perfect Spirits , till Man becomes an Angel , whose place he is to supply . Now what reason his Church has to be purified and made clean , is plain ; The Sun is coming to the Tropick , her Lord is to make her a Visit ; and she is but in a filthy pickle to recive Him : In her long Voyage from the East , she has contracted a great many Pollutions , passing through many polluted Cities and Countreys , over-whelmed with Superstion and Idolatry . There is the greatest reason imaginable that she should wash her self in the Waters of Purification , that being found without Spot or Wrinkle , or any such thing , her Lord may take delight to dwell with her . In the Scriptures there is mention made of The Times of Refreshing from the presence os the Lord , and of the Time of Restitution of all things ; which can only be meant of an Accidental Change , and not a Substantial , as some would have it . The Times of Restitution are Accomplished by Changing all things chengeable , by making every thing New , which can be Renewed ; or in the Scripture-phrase , by SHAKING those things which can be SHAKEN , that those things which cannot be shaken may REMAIN . Now before I can well proceed further , I ought to divide the things of this World into Two Classes , viz. of Changeable and Vnchangeable ; and this will tell me , not only When God has renewed all things according to his Promise , but How ; For his Work will of necessity fall in the Changeable Class , as it has done in every Dispensation hitherto . Christ in one place is said to come with the Clouds , which may very well be understood in the Changeable Class , in which all the Thunders and Tempests are formed ; But the Vnchangeable Class is the Firmament , which is to Remain , or not to be moved . And the Instruments He will use in changing all things changeable , will be the Church Regenerate , or New-Risen-Witnesses ; and this by a New Predication , as Soldiers of the WORD , with their Swords in their Mouth ; Predication and Vociferation are the only Artillery the Lamb uses to beat down the strong holds of Satan . But as to Those Two Classes , The Immutable I divide into Seven Heads , and the Mutable into Five , as follows . Things Immutable to Remain . 1. Religion , or the Worship of that God which made the World , being an indispensible Duty , is Immutable : Under this Head I mean the Christian Worship . 2. Truth , Being the Attributes of the Immutable God , are 3. Justice , both Immutable , and must remain to the end of the World. 4. Power or Government , without which the World would be a Chaos , and therefore Immutable . 5. Pleasure and Pain , Being the two great Wheels on which all Humane Actions run : And I can by no means consent to his opinion , who saith , Men must live without Pain in the Millennium . 6. The Common Effects of things Natural and Moral : As of the four Elements ; That Fire will burn , Water quench , &c. That Industry , Piety , and Frugality , will advance single Persons , Families , and Kingdoms ; and that Luxury , Sloth , and Profaneness , will always have the contrary Effects : What accidental Alterations , or differing Effects , the said Causes may at any time have , come not into this Account , 7. Eating and Drinking , Marrying and Giving in Marriage , Buying , Selling , Building and Planting , will continue to the End of the World , Necessity making them Immutable . These Seven , when the Great Shaking comes , must all Remain , and be of Use and Practice in the Millennium , whatsoever Dreams some may have to the contrary . Things Mutable to be Shaken . 1. The Will of Man , and every thing subject thereunto , or that has dependance thereon , has been , is , and ever will be Changeable . 2. The Opinions of Men , as to their differing Sentiments and Notions of things , have been , are , and ever will be Changeable . 3. The Differing Ways amd Modes of Eating , Drinking , Marrying , and Giving in Marriage , Buying , Selling , Building , Planting , &c. in all Ages have been , are , and ever will be Changeable . 4. The Outward Forms of Civil Government , and the Administration of Justice , are Changeable : Witness all Histories , and all the present Forms now in use . 5. Lastly , The Circumstantials in Religion , as to the Outward Administration , are Changeable ; of which there needs no proof . The World being at full Age , 't is time it should know its own Constitution . And that the whole Oeconomy thereof is comprehended under the above Two Classes , or Twelve Particulars , I think none that has had but a little converse therein , will deny me . These therefore allowed me for Authentick , I have some ground to stand upon . And if I can find a Body of Men upon Earth , which have made these Five Changes ; That is , Whose Wills are changed , whose Opinions are changed ; who have made a sober change in Eating , Drinking , Marrying , and Giving in Marriage , &c. and who have made an absolute and intire change in the Outward From of Civil and Religious Government ; I say , If I can find such a Body of Men in the whole Christian World , who have made all these Changes , I am in a fair way of finding my New-Risen-Witnesses ; for nothing else can be changed . And this will extort a Confession from me , That God has fulfilled his Promises , of making all things new , having changed all things that are changeable in this World. And it makes not much to have things in their Perfection ; if they are truly begun , and stand upon Perfect New Foundations , 't is enough . Good old Simeon sang the Nunc Dimittis , when he saw Christ only an Infant : Men cannot suppose that things should receive their Commencement and Perfection all at once . And the Nature and Progress of the Kingdom of Heaven , is all along to be observed in our Enquiry : It ought not to be forgotten , that 't is compared to a Grain of Mustard seed , to Leven , to a Stone out of the Mountain , and to Waters that at first rose no farther than the Ancles ; By all which the gradual Increase and Progression are plainly intimated . Christ , being a single Man , was the Grain of Mustard-seed ; He preached the Word , and empowered the Disciples , first the Twelve , then the Seventy , to preach the same through the Towns and Villages ; And in this nature , and after this manner , His Gospel by degrees was Published and Dispersed throughout the World. This is the Pattern , and after this manner the Gospel will be Restored . One single Man of the New-Risen-Witnesses will first begin to Preach , and so will be instrumental in Collecting and Raising a Body of Men , who tho' simple and ignorant , yet by the Assistance and Power of the Spirit of Life from God entering in them , will cast themselves into such an Exquisite Mold and Constitution , that the most refined Polititians in the World shall not be able to contrive the like . That the New-Risen-Witnesses will make their Appearance and Progress into the World after this nature , I think there is no Man will be so disingenuous as to deny me : because 't is so like Gods former Method , and because there is a Necessity the Body should be conformable to the Head in all things . And further , That these things ought to be so , 't is unanswerably proved by Him that sat upon the white Horse , followed by Armies cloathed in white Linnen , with their Swords in their Mouth , and whose Name was called , The Word of God. All the Divinity and Philosophy in the World can make nothing else of an Army so Equipped , but an Army of New Preachers sent forth to Proselite the World to the Doctrine of the Restoration : To think that any old Model should be pitched upon for a Pattern , when Christ said , He would make all things New , is a very inconsiderate and sensless thought : There 's no properer way can possibly be contrived , then to Raise a New Body of Men out of the mass of the Whole , who may Leven the whole Lump , and may be as a Pattern or Standard Lifted up for the Rest to Repair to : Nor is there a more proper way to raise such an Army , than by Beating up for Voluntiers , by a New Predication : This is that Righteous Way that Christ has pitched upon to make War in , in opposition to those inadequate and unrighteous ways of all the preceding Monarchies . I will therefore take it for granted that we have such a Body of Men amongst us , who have practised the same Method , and have changed all things changeable in this VVorld ; and are a Body perfectly New in Temporals and Spirituals , in their vvhole Rise coming up to the true and genuine Notion of a Resurrection : And I knovv not vvhy I may not call them the New-Risen-Witnesses , since they have so fair and just a Title thereto . And since I have given them this Title , I ought to deduce it regularly from the True Race of the Old Ones , who can only give them a Just Claim . It now therefore falls in my way to speak something of Them. By the Old Witnesses , I understand , not Two Men , or Two Books nor any single Church in any particular Nation , but the Body of true and faithful Christians in all Christian Nations , bearing their Testimony in all Ages , ( during the 1260 Years Apostacy ) against the Mystery of Iniquity , and the Usurpation of the Whore of Babylon , on their true Rights . Now the Text saith , When they shall have finished their Testimony , the Beast that ascends out of the Bottomless Pit shall make war against them , and overcome them , and kill them , and their Bodies shall lie in the street of the Great City , which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt , where also our Lord was crucified : And they of the People , and Kindred , and Tongues , and Nations , shall see their dead Bodies three Days and an half , and shall not suffer their dead Bodies to be put in GRAVES : And they that dwell upon the Earth shall rejoyce over them , and shall make merry , and shall send Gifts one to another , because these two Prophets tormented them that dwelt upon the Earth . And after three Days and an half , the Spirit of life from God entered into them , and they stood upon their Feet , and great fear fell upon them that saw them . And they heard a great voice from Heaven saying , Come up hither : And they ascended up to Heaven in a Cloud , and their Enemies beheld them : And the same hour there was a great Earthquake , and the Tenth part of the City fell ; and in the Earthquake were slain of Men seven Thousand , and the Remnant were afrighted , and gave Glory to the God of Heaven . Now though the Witnesses are already Risen ; which the more Judicious may easily discern , by the Characteristicks before hinted , and so my labour of Proof might seem to be spared , yet to satisfie others , and to make the Copy agree with the Original , I find my self obliged to compare them one with the other in the ensuing Explication : The Time of Harvest ( or of finishing their Testimony ) to cut down the whole Earth being Come ; There are Two Angels with Sickles , One is commanded to cut down the Harvest , the other the Vintage : Now the Corn is always Ripe before the Grapes ; and where should the Angel begin the Harvest but in a Corn Countrey ? We have only Corn England , Scotland and Ireland ; the Grapes are beyond Sea , where the Vintage is to be gathered : 'T is plain therefore , That 〈◊〉 Angel should begin his Harvest first in these parts : I think 〈◊〉 not mention when our Harvest was Gathered in England , there being now so many on the Premises who helped to get it in By Harvest , is meant Constitutions Civil and Ecclesiastical , and a Reaping is a Cutting them down : Now 'T is plain , they have been all Cut down in England ; as well the Vine of the Church , as the Cedar of the State : First Monarchy and Episcopacy were Cut down ; then they Returned , and Cut down the Republick and Presbytery , and all other Models growing on that Stock : These were but Pangs of a New Birth ; and though they now are both upon the Stage , and exist together , yet 't is but upon sufferance ; They are but Trespassers upon the Premises ; The Promises , the Power and Government belongs to the New Birth , the Heiress , of which they are at present but Guardians : An Infant that cannot go , must have some body to look after it , and who more proper than its own Parents , the Old Witnesses ? But they are certainly civilly extinct ; Their Cutting down , and being Reaped , is an undeniable Symbol of Rejection and Abolition : The Lease of Old Power being Expired , the Head of Monarchy was Cut off , and the Head of Episcopacy too ; and the Head of the Republick and Presbytery ( had they had any ) would have been cut off too ; for Heaven designed to shew some signal Tokens of Abolition ; The House of Power , and Symbol of the Old Dispensation , was Burned ; This was a true Type of the last Conflagration , but more particularly of the Expiration of the Old Dispensation : when the Harvest is Cut down , the Stubble is usually Burned . A New Aera Commencing , 't was fit there should be New Habitations ; and God himself designing to Visit the New Powers , 't was fit a Purgation by Fire should be used . There was an Harvest in our Saviours Time , which was nothing else but a Cutting down all the Constitutions of the World , as the effect has plainly declared : And this is the Second Harvest and will have the same effects ; This Harvest then being first got in , in these Countreys , there was reserved some of the Good and Best Wheat for Seed , to be thrown into the Ground to raise a New Crop. This has been done , and it comes up Green and Kindly , and is in a very Hopeful and Flourishing Condition ; not Rising BARE GRAIN , but with a New Body such as God has been pleased to give it ; but of this more hereafter . The Old Witnesses observing the time of the Beasts power Expiring , made an Attack upon the Whorish Retinue , and drove them out of all Power and Dominion ; This is THEIR DEATH , and they ought to Dye first , the Time of their end being Come ; but This Retinue returns with New Vigor , and again Assaults the Witnesses , driving THEM out of all Power and Dominion ; This is the Witnesses Death : and there is great Insulting and Rejoycing over them , because they had Tormented them so much before ; and many Gifts are sent , and much Rejoycing there is at their Re-settlement : but they who were their Friends , prevailed so much that they should not be Buryed , in hopes they would Revive ; the Text saith , They suffered them not to be put in their Graves ; this argues their Death was not Literal , and that the Tree was not pulled up by the Roots , only cut off by the Stumps , that there might be a new Ingrafting ; They lie thus Civilly Dead , expulsed out of all Employment and Power in the Streets of the Great City , which is Spiritually called Sodom and Egypt , where also our Lord was Crucified : This City can by no means be meant Rome , as some would have it , for it was never known that Jerusalem was called Rome , and 't is plain Jerusalem is meant hereby . Now Jerusalem was a Friendly City belonging to Christs Kindred and Nation , and so ought this City in which his Body or Witnesses are to be Slain ; and no City in the World can claim such a Title as Lond n ; being the very shadow of it in a Line directly drawn , as also doth answer the same in all other Respects of Kindred and Affinity to the Witnesses ; and though it be the Chief Protestant City , yet in a Spiritual Sence ( Rome almost in a Literal ) it may be called 〈◊〉 and Egypt , nothing hinders this : In this City therefore for Three Days and a Half , They lie Thrown out of all Power Spiritual and Temporal ; and some of them were really and Literally cast out into the Street ; this was in the last Persecution , just before the Declaration for Liberty of Conscience , when the Spirit of Life from God entered into them , and they stood upon their Feet , and Great Fear fell upon them which saw them : And they leard a Great Voice from Heaven saying , Come up hither ; and they Ascended up to Heaven in a Cloud , and their Enemies beheld them : This was a grievous sight to their Enemies ; they had taken all care imaginable , not only to kill them , but to keep them dead : But their Death was their Victory , as of old their Saviours was ; for now they rise again , to the Amazement of them all . Alas ! Their care extended no farther than to the Old Witnesses with whom they had fought , and who had tormented them so much : And when they see New Witnesses standing in the Court of Heaven , they stand amazed , as if they had seen a Spectrum : These we know , and These we know , say they ; But who are Ye ? These New Enemies they never dream'd of : There 's no Feeing the Soldiers to say they are not risen , for they are seen of all the World. These then , as soon as they appear , being the First Fruits of God and to the Lamb , all other old Fruit becomes intollerable to Prophecy ; A sudden Hurricane arises : And the Text saith , There was a great Earthquake , and the Tenth part of the City sell ; and in the Earthquake was slain of Men Seven Thousand . It should not be of Men , tho' this Version is so , this favours a literal Death too much : Other Versions have it , the Names of Men , or Men of Note : The Latin Version is , Capita Hominum Septies Mille ; which rendred right is , The Heads or Principals of Seven Thousand Men : But the Greek is nearer to the point , being 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 . The NAMES of Seven Thousand Men ; being 't is only a Name that is slain , it frees the Text from a literal interpretation : And every Name is a Captain , and has under him a Thousand Men. Any one that consults the Originals , will find these things true . And the rest ( but not these ) were afrighted , and gave glory to God. What a Disturbance and Earthquake there was , is well known ; caused chiefly by the Seven Patriarchs Falling ; and by their Fall , Seven Thousand of their Party . These represented the whole Body , as Julian the whole Papal Constitution : And 't is fit there should be a Specimen of all the Condemned and Rejected Powers , at the Rising of the Witnesses , that they might be Triumphed over , and all Fall together . The Rest gave Glory to God ; That is , they thanked God for their Deliverance , tho' others repined and murmured . In this curious Scene , the Wisdom of God cannot be enough admired . As Idolatrous Julian of old , was suffered on purpose to make a Three year and half 's Parenthesis in the Christian Empire , that the Jews might build their Temple , and so the Epoche of its Desolation might be the more Illustrious : So Papal Julian was admitted to make much the same intercalations , on purpose that the Epoche of the New-Risen-Witnesses might be the more conspicous . There was none to reach them an hand , or to call them to Heaven : So God made their greatest Enemies to do it , even Rome it self : And when he had done this , he had done the business for which he was raised , and presently flies away like a Whirlwind , being intollerable to Prophecy : For though the Lion and the Lamb may , the Whore and the Bride must not lie down together : These things I doubt not , but will be very satisfactory to many ; especially to those who seek for Truth , with a Resolution not to Reject it when they have Found it . The Scene lying so near , I know , is a great prejudice to Truth ; Things that lie Abroad , and a great way off , Men sooner believe , than what is done at Home . And therefore they had much rather these Witnesses should rise in Piedmont , Germany , or France , than in England : But this cannot be ; for the Gospel is the Blood of the World , which never reverts till it comes to the Toes ; and these Nations may be called the Feet or Toes of the Universe . And these New-Risen-Witnesses are to Convert and Proselyte the whole World , and therefore the Extream Parts are the most proper places to begin in . I know many would have the Witnesses Rise in Piedmont , Germany and France ; but they are under great Mistakes , as to the true and genuine Nature of Death and Resurrection , as I shall fully , and to the satisfaction of all the World , make appear , as follows . All who have wrote upon this Subject hitherto , have supposed a Wounding and a Healing , an Imprisonment and Releasing , a Deprivation and Restoration of Power , in the same Numerical and Identical Body of Men , to be a Death and Resurrection ; which , alas ! doth not rise up to the true nature thereof at all . Though the Witnesses Death and Resurrection are not natural and literal , yet they ought to hold a most exact and strict Analogy thereto , and this Analogy falls exceedingly short thereof . These are only accidental , and not substantial Mutations in the same Body ; and no accidental or circumstantial Mutation will do the business : No , a Transformation will not do the thing ; for no Man will say Nehuchadnezzar died and rose again . No Increase or Decrease , or any other accidental Alteration in one and the same subject , can possibly reach the Heighth of Death and Resurrection . A repairing an Old House makes it not a New One. There must be an absolute pulling down to make it Death ; and an intire New Building from the Foundations , to make it a Resurrection . Death makes a substantial Alteration : 'T is a total Dissolution of Parts , a melting down the Bullion , and not a sodering the piece . In the Resurrection there must be a substantial Newness . A Body that is said to rise again , must have nothing of the Old Body in it , but be absolutely New both in substance and circumstance . And a Body that is said properly and truly to be Dead , must be absolutely dissolved , and must undergo a circumstantial and substantial Mutation . A Truth of this weight cannot be made too plain . Now neither the Witnesses in Piedmont , Germany , France , or any other part of the World whatsoever , ( except in England ) have passed such a Test as this . The same Witnesses Persecuted , and then tollerated ; Wounded , and then Healed ; Depressed , and then Re-established ; does not come up to the Heighth of Death and Resurrection : Because these are only Alterations in the same Body , and the same Body ought not to be in the Resurrection . The Apostle saith , Thou Fool , thou sowest not that Body that shall be — The Body is to dye and to be dissolved , and receive an absolute New Body , New in substance and circumstance , before it can be said to have a Resurrection : If it rise with its Old Body , it may be said to be altered or changed , but not risen ; 't is only BARE GRAIN , an Old House repaired , a Piece sodered together , but nothing else : There is a vast difference betwixt Corn raised up , and Corn that is Risen ; one implying help , the other none ( the Stone comes out of the Mountain without hands ) The one is only Old Corn , tho' it be raised from the Ground ; but the other is absolutely New. Men have hitherto called accidental alterations in the same Subject to be a Resurrection , and so have made their Witnesses rise only BARE GRAIN ; but the Grain ought to rot in the Ground , and receive a New Form and Body , such as God shall please to give it , before it can be said to have a True Resurrection . This has been done in England to an Iota , and answered the true and genuine nature of Death and Resurrection in the most minute circumstances . For the Old Witnesses , and their Constitution , hath been killed , melted or cut down , like the Corn , and some of it has been cast into the Ground , and 't is risen up with a New Body , absolutely New , both in substance and circumstance ; there is nothing of the Old Way or Method in them ; but in Temporals & Spirituals , a Fundamentis , they have all things New ; And the Name of Witness is stamped all over upon them . All the Nation will witness what I say to be true . I lay stroke upon stroke , because Men have been miserably mistaken about this Great Truth ; and I had rather undergo some Reflections than not be plain , so weighty a Truth requiring it . If the French Protestants should be restored to their Lands and Livings , and be priviledged to exercise their Old Methods in Religion , this can never mount to a Resurrection ; and therefore the Learned Jurieu is much mistaken in this matter , and so are all others who have wrote on this Subject ; which the Reader must of necessity acknowledge , if he impartially peruse what I have wrote . The liveliest Emblem of Death & Resurrection , which I know of , is a Silk-Worm : In its first state 't is a crawling Worm of a greenish colour ; and the whole business of its Life ( which may instruct Christians ) is to prepare for Death ; for spinning a Noble Coffin , it dies , laying it self therein ; and after some time , it comes forth of this Mausoleum a perfect New Creature of Whitish colour , with Wings and Legs . The Death and Resurrection of the Witnesses ought to hold a due Conformity thereto : They ought to be in two differing States , in two differing distinct Bodies , attended with two clearly differing Circumstances . The Old Witnesses ought to have no Life , no Power , no Model or Form at all ; but their Constitution is to be absolutely dissolved , and lie dead , dead , dead : Then the Spirit of Life and Power is to enter into them , and give them a New Life , Model , and Constitution , perfectly New in substance and circumstance , in all points and respects differing from the former , This has not been done yet , in any part of the World , but in England , and here it has been done , and is lifted up as an Exemplar for all the World to copy after . What has been done in other places has been only a Field of Corn raised up , after it has been flatted by some boisterous wind of Persecution ; this amounts not to a Resurrection , it being the same Old Corn , not risen , but raised . But here our Harvest has been cut down , and our Wheat cast into the Ground for a New Crop , which we can say is not raised , but risen ; one implying help , the other none ; and it cannot be said that ever any one helped our New-Risen-Witnesses to Rise ; 'T is purely Gods Work , and is marvellous in our Eyes . England is reaped , but wo to the Vintage ! Wo to all the Constitutions of the Earth ! For the Angel with his Sickle will cut all down before him : And where he pulls down , there will he build ; and where he reaps , there he will sow : For the Doctrine of Restoration must be spread over all the World. God has promised he would make all things New , which He will not do but by pulling down the Old. Happy England , above all the Nations of the World , who art first visited by the God of Heaven ! England , Scotland and Ireland are the Reubenites , Gadites , and half Tribe of Manasseh , which first have their Lot in the promised Land on this side Jordan : But what they did , so must we ; We must pass over Jordan : and assist our Brethren to overthrow the Canaanites , before we can enjoy our Possessions . Reading the Revelations through , I observe the True Church or Witnesses to have several Appellations , and to wear several Suits of Apparel , fitted to the differing Ages and Circumstances they are in : In Chap. 7. they are The Sealed Number of one hundred forty four Thousand : In Chap. 11. the Two 〈…〉 in Sack-cloth : In Chap. 12. A Woman going into the 〈◊〉 . In Chap : 14. The same Number of one hundred forty four Thousand , with their Fathers Name written on their Forehead , standing on ●ount Sion , being delivered out of all their Calamities : And in Chap. 19. as an Army fighting under their General the Word : And lastly , in Chap. 20. Every one standing in their proper Colours concerted into a regular Body of the Church Regenerate , Landed safely in the Millennium . Thus — Si liccat parvis componere Magna . Caius goes to his Diversion , to the East End of an Oblong Pool , where he chooses several smooth Stones , and marks them with a particular mark , then slides them over the surface of the Water , where they dive many times by the way , but at last Land on the Western Shore ; where Julius going by , he calls to him aloud to throw him back his Stones , telling him they have such a particular mark ; the which he doth . And this is the state of the Church and Witnesses , before and during the Millennium : For in their passage they met with many Troubles and Perplexities by the Way ; but in their Return , they are free from all . OF THE NEW JERUSALEM . CHRIST taking Possession of the Kingdoms of this World , as Heir and Conqueror thereof , and the Church being brought to bed of the New-Risen-Witnesses , these things make such a great Alteration , that there is said to be a New Heaven , and a New Earth : All things in Church and State receive a New Face : And things are so turned up-side-down , that This State is called by the Apostle to the Hebrews , The World to come : But it is not well Translated , for the Original is not Cosmos , but Oceonimia , which is Dispensation , so ought to be rather Dispensation to come , of which we speak . The Millennium doth introduce a New Dispensation , but not a New Gospel ; by Dispensation , I understand a Publication of all New Discovered Truths , and an Errecting up a New Outward Administration suitable thereto . Light and Truth breaking forth , they ought to be Published ; and Children being Born , they must be Provided for : The New Bride must have a New House built for her ; and it was never known , that a King took the Field , but he had a Royal Tent pitched for him : 'T was the custome of the Warriers of old , as soon as their Armies were Mustered , to Erect a Pavilion for their General , called the Praetorian Tent ; which being pitched in the middle of their Camp , all Commissions and Orders were Issued out from thence ; and the whole Camp Addressed themselves thereto in all their Affairs of Concern and Moment . The WORD is in the Field , Riding upon his White Horse , and his Army of White Linnen Followers are Mustered ; but there is no Tent Erected for the Lamb ; there are Muster-Masters , but no Quarter-Masters , and every one bears his own charge in the War ; this ought not to be : the Apostle saith , No man goes to War at his own Charges ; 't is a shameful thing that the Generalissimo should lye out in the Field ; there was never any Army yet , but had some Head Quarters . In all the Dispensations that have hitherto happened , There was some principal place appointed for God and Religion . Moses built God a Tabernacle and Solomon a Temple , and it has been the confusion of the World , that Christianity has had none appointed for it in this last Dispensation . The Christian Dispensators , having no peculiar Lodgings appointed for Them , fell into the Baudy House of Rome ; and so She that was at First a Pure Virgin , became a Prostitute , and is now that great Whore of Babylon , which must be turned out of doors to make Room for the True Bride . This Great Neglect of not making due Provision for Gods Servants , will cost the World dear ; for all that Irregular Building , that Vile Mixture of the Sons of God with Men , is to be pulled down ; and Men must do what they ought to have done before : They must build a place for the Servants of God in each Nation , for the Dispensers of his Word to dwell in ; and it ought to be as our Saviours Sepulcher , in which 't is said Never yet Man lay . For had the Spouse layen in such an one before , She had had no occasion of Repentance , and had not now been called a Church Regenerate . So many Vile Idolators having lain in Rome , Corrupted her Manners and Conversation , and made her unfit for her Lords presence . What Irregularities and Confusions there have been in the last Dispensations , I think will be needless here to enumerate , they being so plain and self evident to the World , and that the principal cause and occasion of them , has been what I mentioned , I think is a like manifest . The Dispensation of Moses was much better than this Last ; for he appointed Thirteen Cities for the Priests , and Forty Eight for the Levites , through all the Tribes of Israel . The Servants of God were not left to scramble for their Livings , in such a precarious manner as ours ; but had their due Lot of Land allowed them for a Possession ; which indeed was the greatest Due and Justice in the World. And God appointed Moses to do it . And when they came into the promised Land , they applied themselves to Joshua and Eleazer : And they spake unto them at Shiloh in the Land of Canaan , saying , The Lord commanded by the hand of Moses , to give us Cities to dwell in , with the Suburbs thereof for our Cattel . The Lord commanding this thing , not only shews the Justice , but the Fitness and Properness of it . And I challenge all the Skill and Wisdom of the Universe , to propose a better Way and Method of Dispensing Gods Word , than what He here doth Himself in this Chapter of the New Jerusalem . There is a River of Life , and a Tree of Life , in the midst of this City ; which no Skill or Learning in the World can make any thing of , but must of Necessity allow it to be the Gospel , and the Preachers thereof : And to what purpose can the Twelve Gates serve , but that the Preachers may go out Twelve times a Years , or every Month , to heal the Nations ? 'T is said , The Tree yielded its Fruit every Month , and the Leaves of the Tree were for the Healing of the Nations , And the Kings of the Earth bring their Glory and Honour into it . This shews the Millennium to be rather an Hierarchy than a Monarchy , as I hinted before ; And this Constitution of Circular and Itinerant Predicants , doth confirm the same : The Inhabitants of the City are a Royal Priesthood , a peculiar People zealous of good Works . But some say , This New Jerusalem is Heaven , because it comes down from above . The Millennium is the Morning of an Eternal Day , and this Jerusalem-state is a Type of Heaven , but not Heaven it self , because the Text saith plainly it comes down from Heaven , and therefore cannot be Heaven it self . It is said to come out of Heaven , because of the Excellency of its Constitution , being contrived by God himself , and because 't is a Copy of the Heavenly Motions , answering it in all its Circular Revolutions . But if Men consider it right , 't is a very strange Opinion to make all the other Scenes through the whole Prophecy to be on Earth , and this to be in Heaven ; they may as well make Solomon's Temple in Heaven , as to make this City in Heaven : As his Temple was the Perfection of the Tabernacle , so this City is the Perfection of the last Tabernaculous Dispensation of Babylon : The Bride and the Whore are always put in opposition to one another ; and to make one upon Earth , and the other in Heaven , is to go against the whole current of Scripture-Analogy . This City can be taken no other way but in a Literal sence : And Men that only Gaze , and speak at Random , may be surprized ; But whoever doth soberly and seriously consider of the matter , must needs Vote for me in this Case : There is such a Torrent of Reason and Justice on my side , that I cannot well see how any one can withstand it . All Men will acknowledge that God made This World as a Theater to display his Glory upon ; the Five Empires are no other but Five Acts : And the Altar , Tabernacle , Temple , Mock City , and True City , are the Five Scenes . Jerusalem is but the Scene of the Fifth Act , which always is the best : And 't is usual in the Last Act to have all the Actors on the Stage at once ; For first , there are the New-Risen-Witnesses , or Church Regenerate , then the Jews , then the Whore and her Retinue , and lastly a Set of Idolaters throughout the World ; Every one are to be rewarded according to their Merit . The Witnesses are the principal Actors in this last Act , and are Risen , but as yet enter not publickly till The Scene of the New Jerusalem be Drawn ; when , The Stone which the Builders rejected , becomes the Head Stone of the Corner . But I spoke of the Reason and Justice of the thing ; Is it not a most Just thing , that the Lord in Chief , when He comes to visit the World , should be served with the best Furniture , and lie in the best Room in his own House ? He has had the First Fruits of our Flocks and our Herds , an Altar for the Earth , a Tabernacle for our Tents ; a Temple , for our Houses ; But he has had no City yet : And 't is fit he should be presented with the first Fruits of all the Compositums , as well as of the Simple and Natural Things on the Earth . The Kings of the Earth have built to themselves many stately Cities , and called them after their own Name : Saith one , Is not this Great Babylon which I have Built , for the House of the Kingdom , and for the Honour of my Majesty ? And this is the cause which makes the Earth mourn , and the Hail-stones of a Talent ( the Bombs ) ruine so many Cities . Men build their own Houses , and neglect Gods. David would not do so ; He would not lie in Cedar , when the Ark of God was in Tents . But now the WORD OF GOD is on his White Horse in the Fields , and like Jacob , must lay his Head upon a Stone : For He has no Tent at all . But 't is hoped ere long , this thing will be considered by our David , when the Wars are over , and when God shall give him Peace round about . Again , Nebuchadnezzar calls Babylon , The House of the Kingdom ; Every Kingdom is to have a House or Principal City in it . Now all the Kingdoms of the World are become Christs , and 't is the most reasonable thing in the World , that He should have a House in every Kingdom , as Lord in chief , and Proprietor of the Whole : This is but a very reasonable Sacrifice to Him , who can enter upon the whole Premises when He pleases . At this very time He is Soveraign Lord of the Universe , The King of Kings , and Lord of Lords ; and that by a Decree , ordained Him from Eternity : No Monarch in the World has a Foot of Ground or an Inch of Power , but what is given by him : He therefore who has received from him the First Fruits of Power and Empire in England , who has been preferred before all the Monarchs of the World , being constituted his First Delegate ; He , I say , who has Received First , ought to pay his Homage First ; and to Erect such a Monument of Gratitude , as may be a Pattern to other Nations to all Generations . I speak not so much of a Glorious City , as a Tent , Colledge , or Tabernacle , to shew the way , and make a beginning : And was it a City , the thing is very feasible ; for if every little Village can rear a Church , sure a whole Nation can quickly build a City . In this Tent , Colledge , Tabernacle , or City , let there be built , as for the Prophets of old , a little Apartment for each Prophet , putting a Bed , a Stool , a Table , and Candlestick there ; and a sufficient Number being Annually chose out of all the Counties by Lot , let them Twelve times a Year issue out , and heal the Nation : When this is done , Righteousness will quickly cover the Earth , as the Waters cover the Sea ; We shall have no dark Corners , or barren Mountains , but every thing will be full of Light , and every thing will flourish and be green , like the Paradice of God. Indeed the Advantages of this most Excellent Administration , are inexpressible , and is worthy of the Great Contriver , God Himself . Then we shall know what the New Moons and the Sabbaths mean ; for Earth will Eccho to Heaven , and we shall in a manner have a Sun , Moon , and Stars , here below ; keeping due time in their Motions and Circulations , with them above . What the Sun is in the Heavens , or the Heart in Mans Body , the same will this City be in every Nation . But Jerusalem in Palestine is to be the Head , for to Her the great Stream of Promises belong : The Text saith , And Thou , O Tower of the Flock , to Thee it shall come , even the First Dominion ; The Kingdom shall come to the Daughter of Jerusalem : Jerusalem will be the Royal Seat , or House of Christ Kingdom ; for , The Name of the City shall be , THE LORD IS THERE : That is , He will be there in a most Glorious manner , but not Personally ; His Name is called Wonderful Counseller : 'T is extreamly probable his Presence will be there after the manner he was in the Temple of old , viz. Oracularly . And since I am come to the City of Ezekiel , it will not be amiss to observe the position of it , and of the division of the whole Land , which is exactly like a Man : For there are the Lot of Five Tribes above , and Seven Tribes below , and the holy Portion for the Priests and Levites in the middle ; and this City in the upper part of the holy Portion answering the Heart exactly , the holy Portion below answers the Belly and Intrails , which are esteemed holy ; And the Princes Portion lies on both sides the holy Portion , East and West , like two Arms. to guard and defend it . And 't is said , They that serve the City shall serve it out of all the Tribes of Israel : This seem ; but Reasonable , for this City being the Heart , supplies the whole Body with Salutiferous Juyces . The Preachers do issue out Twelve times a year to heal them , and there is the greatest Reason in the World , that the whole Tribes should serve it ; by Administring such Conveniencies and Necessaries as are suitable . And that the Inhabitants of this City are Preachers , tho' the Text be silent , yet is a thing without all contradiction : For the Waters that issue out , first to the Ancles , then to the Knees , then to the Loyns , and at last to be like a River not be passed over ; these Waters , I say , do plainly manifest that the Gospel and Preaching is meant hereby ; and their Salutiferous Virtue does confirm the same . And another Prophet is more apposite to the thing ; saith he , In that Day , Living Waters shall go out of Jerusalem , half of them towards the former Sea , and half of them towards the hinder Sea ; in Summer and in Winter shall it be . Here is the exact Method and Administration pointed at , and the Continuance of the same , saying , In Summer and in Winter it shall be : Now 't is not possible to spell any thing out of this so clear an Expression , but the Gospel and Preaching . The Apostle to the Jews , levels the whole of his Discourse to this , New Dispensation ; for , as it were , rejecting the former , he saith , Leaving the Principles of the Doctrine of Christ , let us go on unto Perfection , not laying again the Foundation of Repentance from dead works , and of Faith towards God , of the Doctrine of Baptism , and of Laying on of Hands , and of the Resurrection of the Dead , and of Eternal Judgment : These all seem to be the matter of the last Dispensation , and therefore he leaves them , and designs to speak of something higher , implyed by the succeeding Verse , — And this we will do , if God permit . And he makes Christ to be the chief Administrator in it ; saying , For unto the Angels he hath not put in subjection the World ( Dispensation ) to come , of which we speak : And afterwards he tells them , But ye are come unto Mount Zion , and to the City of the Living God , the Heavenly Jerusalem , and to an innumerable Company of Angels : To the General Assembly , and Church of the First-born , whose Names are written in Heaven , and to God the Judge of all , and to the Spirits of Just Men made perfect : And to Jesus the Mediator of the New Covenant ; And to the Blood of Sprinkling , which speaketh better things than that of Abel . This City is of a Heavenly Nature , ministring in Spiritual things , in which the General Assembly of the New-Risen-Witnesses do convene ; The Latin Version is Conventum & Concionem , implying a General Assembly of Preachers ; and their Names being written in Heaven , answers to that Conscript Number which John mentions stood on Mount Zion , and we cannot suppose that Heaven is meant thereby . But this , as I have before intimated , for their Security , in opposition to the Jewish Genealogies which are kept so strictly on Earth : And for the Ministration of Angels , God has always used them to Minister to Those which shall be Heirs of Salvation : And no doubt but they will be imployed in a more especial manner in this most happy Dispensation . This New Jerusalem can by no means be Heaven ; for Isaiah after having brought in God making a New Heaven and a New Earth , he brings in the Children of Israel building Houses and inhabiting them , and planting Vineyards and eating the Fruit of them , which are things inconsistent with Heaven : And 't is said , The Kings of the Earth do bring their Glory into it , which they cannot do into Heaven ; For Heaven needs no Glow-Worms to enlighten it : And to represent any Church-state which is past , there 's too much Beauty and Symmetry in it for that : It must needs therefore presigure something to come . And if it be objected , It cannot be in a literal sence , because of the Inestimable Materials : This makes little ; for the Richness and Sumptuousness of the Materials , is not so much to be understood literally , as to set forth that most admirable Beauty and Harmony it will introduce , and to make it a more proper Representative of Heaven , of which it is really and truly a Type , and nothing else . John was set upon a Mountain to see this glorious sight , and he tells us , It came down from Heaven , and therefore cannot be Heaven it self . He might be set on a Mountain to see as far as Judea , he being in Patmos ; but I rather think it was to see as far as Britannia , where this happy State should first dawn , and where the First Pillar in this Temple of God , or of the New Jerusalem , should be erected ; which is a peculiar Promise to the Philadelphian Church , which we really and in truth have amongst us : Jerusalem in Palestine will be the Tower of the Flock , or the Cupola of this most Magnificent Structure ; and all other Cittadels will be as Pillars to support the Main Fabrick : It will be like St. Peters at Rome , and all the rest answering our Cathedral 〈◊〉 . Further , John saith , He saw no Temple in it ; which plainly sets forth the changing the Temple-Administration for that of a City : And how excellently is this Dispensation suited to the Age of the World ? The World is now Adult , and come to its Manhood ; and what more proper Scenes can we have than Cities , which are the Discretional and Political parts of her Furniture ? But further , The Body of Jesus Christ is the Grand Pattern of things in Heaven and in Earth , and were we but well-instructed in our own Frame , we might almost know any thing : The last expired Dispensation has been only a Fermentation in the Stomach , or a preparing of the Juyces to convert them into Blood , which this City-Heart disperses , and makes to circulate through all the Body . The Circulation of the Blood being found out , the Gospel ( which is the Blood of the World ) could not be long a Mystery ; and the Blood coming to the Extream Parts , reverts , as I hinted before , proving thereby the Church to be Re-born , or the Witnesses to have their Resurrection in the West . The Increment of Christs Natural Body is the Great Rule of all our Dispensation , or Cause of Alterations of all the Political Affairs in the World : As the Flesh grows , the Politicks of the World change ; The Flesh is the Incremental or Changeable Part , and the Spirit the Firmamental or Immoveable Part , being God himself . That common measure of Prophetick Time , of Time , Times , and Half a Time , has a peculiar respect to the Age of Christ . And the Three Grand Dispensations by Father , Son , and Holy Spirit , have a peculiar Regard to his Childhood , Youth , and Manhood : In the dark shadowy Dispensation of the Jews , He was growing in the Womb ; and to Constantine's time a Child ; and the last 1260 years , he was a Youth , ( and what Aestuations and Fermentations there are in Youth , is well known ; and 't is as well known how Youths are corrupted and imposed upon , who are Heirs to great Estates . ) But now he is Adult , and come to his Manhood , and therefore , as is usual for Heirs , makes claim to his Estate , which is no less than the whole World : Hitherto he has been as it were in his Nonage ; But Now , as the Apostle expresses it , his Body the Church is come to the Measure of the Fulness of his Stature ; which is not well Translated , for 't is Christi Adulti , in the Latin , which ought to be rendred of Christ come to his Manhood , or grown a Man. Before , Other Lords Ruled over his Heritage ; But Now , in the Millennium , being his Manhood , he will Rule Himself : He Now Claims all Power and Authority , and gives and bestows the Kingdoms of this World to whom he pleases . And whosoever henceforward Exercises any Power or Authority on Earth , if not delegated by him , 't is either Permission or Usurpation ; for all Power and Dominion belongs to Him. And when Kings come to their Kingdoms , 't is usual to prefer some City before others , for their Residence ; Therefore Jerusalem in Palestine is the place ; He will reside and put his Name there ; The Text saith , The Name of the City shall be , THE LORD IS THERE . 'T is also ( speaking Spiritually ) usual for Men who come to Age , to Marry , and take a House ; Jerusalem is this House , and the Church Regenerate is the Bride ; and blessed are those that are called to the Wedding : Saith John , Blessed are they which are called to the Marriage Supper of the Lamb : That is , Blessed are those that are Members of the Church regenerate ; Blessed are those that live in the times of this happy Administration of the New Jerusalem , for they ( if they be Holy ) shall be Sharers of the First Resurrection , or be invested with the First Fruits of his Power ; They shall enter into , and have the Priviledges of this Holy City , if they are cloathed in their Wedding Garments , the white Linnen of Holiness ; but if not , they must stand without : The Text saith , And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that Defileth , neither whatsoever worketh abomination , or maketh a Lye ; but they which are written in the Lambs Book of Life : And , Blessed are they that do his Commandments , that they may have right to the Tree of Life , and may enter in thorow the Gate into the City : For without are Dogs , and Sorcerors , and Whoremongers , and Murderers , and Idolators , and whosoever loveth and maketh a Lye : And all these things are to be understood in a Literal , as well as in a Spiritual sence ; No indigested crude stuff must come to the Heart , but pure and rarified Blood. And what can Men object against this most happy Administration ? I know they will say , It will make strange Alterations , and overturn all their Old Constitutions in the World : I allow this : 'T is said , Old things are passed away , and behold I make all things New. And Men may thank themselves for this ; for if they had not built with Wood , Hay , and Stubble , it had not been pulled down ; If they had made due Provision for the Infant Bride , she had not turned Prostitute , and so had now had no occasion to have been washed and purified ; she had been ready long ago , and had not now occasion to make her self ready . Christ set the World a Blessed Pattern , but they would not follow it . The Text saith , And it came to pass , that He went throughout every City and Village , preaching and shewing the Glad Tidings of the Kingdom of God ; and the Twelve were with him . And another saith , And Jesus went about all the Cities and Villages , teaching in their Synagogues , and preaching the Doctrine of the Kingdom . This was the way which our Saviour took , and had it been continued hitherto , there had been no need of a New Administration . The Way and Method a Doctrine was first planted , is the most proper way to preserve it . This way therefore being used at the Publication , ought to be used at the Restoration . The running Waters are living and wholesome , but the standing do putrifie . Christ is the Alpha and Omega ; The Throne mentioned in the first part of the Revelations , is nothing else but this New Jerusalem . This Book is the most exquisite piece of Paint in the World , and were the Painting-Art lost , it might be found here : The Son of God first draws the Design , then the heavenly Raphael 's and Michael Angelo 's go on , adding Line upon Line , and Stroke upon Stroke , guided by his Divine Hand , till at last they finish and shew this Incomparable Hierogliphick in its proper colours . By Throne nothing is meant but this City ; And the Prophet Jeremiah doth confirm the same , saying , At that time they shall call Jerusalem The THRONE of the Lord , and all Nations shall be gathered into it , to the Name of the Lord at Jerusalem . And when the Text saith , I saw Thrones , and they sat upon them , and Judgment was given unto them ; I know not how to understand any thing else but Cities , where places of Judicature are usually erected . Nor do I see any Inconvenience to let the Sword of Justice and the Sword of the Spirit , to make their Monthly Circuits together , that the Counsel of Peace may be betwixt them both . When the Prophet saith , And thou , O Tower of the Flock , this argues there must be many of them , else they could not be a Flock . And every holy City in each Nation sending annually their Representatives to pay their Homage , and receive Instructions there , these make in Council together The General Assembly of the First-Born , ( much greater than that at Nice . ) Thus saith the Lord of Hosts , It shall come to pass , that there shall come People , and the Inhabitants of many Cities . And the Inhabitants of one City shall go to another , saying , Let us go speedily to pray before the Lord , and to seek the Lord of Hosts ; I will go also : Yea many People and strong Nations shall come to seek the Lord of Hosts in Jerusalem , and to pray before the Lord. And another Text saith , That whosoever of all the Families of the Earth that shall not come up to Jerusalem , upon them there shall be no Rain . We cannot suppose that the whole Number should come to the Feast of Tabernacles , but some Representatives from the Regenerate City of each Nation ; and these being in a Body at the Feast of Tabernacles , make up the General Assembly of the First-Born . And the Prophet Isaiah saith , And it shall come to pass , from one New Moon to another , and from one Sabbath to another , shall all flesh come to worship before me , saith the Lord. This has a peculiar respect to this most excellent Oeconomy , in sending out Monthly Preachers out of each National Regenerate City , which will give birth to Weekly , Monthly , Quarterly , and Yearly Solemnities , so that this Prophecy will then be fulfilled to an Iota . These Circular Monthly Preachers , are plainly hinted at in the Texts following . I have set Watchmen on thy Walls , which shall never hold their peace day nor night . Thy Watchmen shall lift up the Voice , with the Voice together shall they sing , for they shall see Eye to Eye , when the Lord shall bring again Zion . And I will set Shepherds over them that shall feed them , and they shall fear no more , nor be dismayed , neither shall they be lacking , saith the Lord. And I will give you Pastors according to my heart , which shall feed you with Knowledge and Vnderstanding . Then he brought me , and caused me to return to the brink of the River : Now when I had returned , behold there were very many Trees on the one side and the other : Then said he unto me , These Waters issue out towards the East Countrey , and go down into the Desart , and go down into the Sea , which being brought forth into the Sea , the Waters shall be healed . And it shall come to pass , that every thing that liveth , that moveth , whithersoever the River shall come , shall live ; and there shall be a very great multitude of Fish , because these Waters ( these Preachers ) shall come thither , for they shall be healed ; and every thing shall be healed where the River cometh : And it shall come to pass , that the Fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi to Eneglaim : There shall be a place to spread forth Nets . There Fish shall be according to their kind , as the Fish of the Great Sea , exceeding many : But the Miry Places thereof , and the Marshes ( That is , those that will not hear , or admit of these Preachers ) shall not be healed , but given to Salt. And by the River on the Bank thereof , on this side and on that side , shall grow all Trees for meat , whose Leaf shall not fade , neither the Fruit thereof he consumed : ( That is , these Preachers shall never fail to make their Monthly Circuits out of the Cities ) it shall bring forth new Fruit according to its Months , because the Waters issued out of the Sanctuary : And the Fruit thereof shall be for Meat , and the Leaf thereof for Medicine . This is so full , that there will be no occasion of quoting that of John , which in a manner is a Repetition of it . Daniel saith in the end of his Prophecy , Many shall run to and fro , and Knowledge shall be increased : And Zacharia , We have walked to and fro thorow the Earth , and behold all the Earth sitteth still and is at Rest . Were but these things fixed , then might we very well say , How Beautiful upon the Mountains are the Feet of him that bringeth Glad Tidings , that Publisheth Peace , that bringeth Good Tidings of Good , that Publisheth Salvation , that saith unto Zion , Thy God reigneth . These things are to be performed and done in the time of Christ Reign . And these Preachers shall further say , Ho , every one that thirsteth , come ye to the Waters ; and he that hath no Money , come ye , buy and eat ; yea come , and buy Wine and Milk without Money and without Price . Many have paid very dear for a Draught of these Waters ; but old things are passed away , and all things are become New. The Spirit and the Bride say , Come ; and let him that heareth say , Come ; and let him that is athirst come ; and whoever will , let him take the Waters of Life freely . The Gospel then is to be as free as the Air , or the Sun Beams : Then will Righteousness cover the Earth as the Waters cover the Sea : For what dry Mountain will not this constant heavenly Rain fall upon ? What dark Corners can be hid from these ever-shining Lights ? Glorious things are spoken of Thee , O thou City of God! But when these things come to pass , Men shall say that the Prophets have not told them half of the Truth . That Pillar of Fire which led the Children of Israel out of Egypt , and all the former Glory in the Tabernacle and Temple Administration , were but first Fruits of the Glory which shall be revealed in this City-Administration : For God shall create upon every Dwelling-House of Mount Zion , and upon all her Assemblies , a Smoak of a Fire by Day , and the shining of a flaming Fire by Night ; and upon all the Glory there shall be a Defence . The Sun it self is to be ashamed , when God reigns in Zion before his Ancients gloriously . The Political part of this Worlds Oeconomy being screwed up to the Harmonious Pitch of the Natural , there 's a Non-plus-ultra , and we can go no further : Nature is the utmost Bounds , and is the Handmaid to that Eternal Bliss which is to be revealed in the presence of God for ever . The Prophets are so full in their Descriptions of the Glory of this Administration , that to come up to any tolerable measure of its Commendation , I must transcribe them all , and then fall far short of it too ; For to describe the Beauty of Nature , is in a manner to describe GOD Himself , who is the Fountain of it , which is impossible . But there is one of the Prophets put the Old Dispensation , and the New , in a Ballance ; his words are these : Before these Days , there was no hire for Man , nor any hire for Beast ; neither was there any Peace to him that went out or came in , because of Affliction : for I set all Men every one against his Neighbour . But now I will not be unto the Residue of this People as in the former Days , saith the Lord of Hosts : For the Seed shall be prosperous , the Vine shall give her Fruit , and the Ground shall give her Encrease , and the Heavens shall give their Dew ; And I will cause the Remnant of this People to enjoy all these things . This is a most gracious Promise ; and that God may be as good as his Word , he binds Satan up all the time of this Oeconomy ; for should he still be loosed , things would go on as formerly , nay worse ; but being overcome in this last Battel , God promises that neither he nor his crew shall Live Again , as formerly , when Defeated by Constantine ; but that they shall be as Drones without Stings , and lick up the Dust of the Earth , and lie prostrate at the Feet of the New Jerusalem , or Church Regenerate , for the whole time of this Dispensation . The Rest of the Dead lived not till the Thousand Years were ended : Then he and the rest of his impudent Dead Vassals will attack this City , and Fire comes down from Heaven , and destroys them . But during his Imprisonment , She Rules as a Queen , and as the Soveraign Empress of the whole Earth ; but in an Hierarchical and Spiritual manner , and not in an Imperial : For , Christ was a Priest for ever , after the Order of Melchisedeck . During this Reign , there will be no more Appeals to Rome , but to Jerusalem ; for there the Court of the General Assembly of the First Born , will be held ; every Regenerate City sending yearly their Members to serve in this Heavenly Parliament : God doth not abolish the Old Jewish Priesthood of Aaron , nor the Babylonish one at Rome , but puts a far better and more Excellent One in their room ; and this the Apostle hints all along in his Treatise or his Epistle on this Subject to the Jews ; he mentions , a Rest to the People of God , which is nothing else but the Millennium ; and HE the Heavenly Melchisedeck , is supream Administrator in it , as Aaron was in the Old Dispensation of the Jews : He makes a Comparison all along betwixt one and the other , and prefers one in a high degree before the other ; by all which it may be plainly understood , Christs Reign is after a Spiritual Priestly manner ; and if it had not , it had never been put so much in opposition against the Whore ; and as for the Temporal Power , He delegates that to whom He pleases , and disposes of it so thorough the whole time of the Millennium ; that no King or Potentate in the World , shall be able to disturb or hurt his True Church : The Bride has a Husband , invested with all Power in Heaven and in Earth , and is sufficient to maintain her against all Whorish , Beastly or Satannical Usurpations whatsoever ; and He will use all his power to Cherish and Caress her , to compensate her Sufferings under former Usurpations during his Minority : He disposes his Power so , that the Kings of the Earth bring their Glory and Honour , and lay it in her Lap ; this is but their Duty , and as I may say , a Tythe to this Royal Melchisedeck , who to requite their kind Protection and Kindness to his Spouse , Blesses them , as Melchisedeck of old did Abraham ; and this bringing their Glory and Honour into it , stands in direct opposition to that Evil Treatment and Barbarous Affronts , the Kings of the Earth of Old put upon her , who butchered her Servants as Sheep for the Slaughter ; for which vile Indignities , He now takes Revenge , and casts the Beast and the Whore into the Burning Lake . Men may raise many Mountains of Difficulties against this New Jerusalem : But hear what God saith , Who art thou , O great Mountain ? Before Zerubbabel thou shalt become a Plain ; And He shall bring forth the Head-Stone thereof with shouting , crying , Grace , Grace . Joshua is brought in by the Prophet standing before the Angel in filthy Garments , and Satan at his right Hand ; and the filthy Raiment is taken away , and he is cloathed with Priestly Raiments , and a Miter set upon his Head. Joshua here is the Representative of the Witnesses in Sackcloth , or the Suffering Church in the Old Dispensation : And Satan seems to be angry that she should be delivered from his Tyranny ; and stands by , and accuses her of all those Backslidings which he has tempted her to ; and , as it were , infers from thence that she is unworthy to be delivered ; But God rebukes him : The Lord rebuke thee , O Satan ; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee : Is not this a Brand pluck'd out of the fire ? This Rebuke , is that Great Battel fought by the WORD and Satan , in which Satan is Defeated , and the Virgin-Church Delivered out of his Clutches , and a Crown or Miter set upon her Head : The Text saith ; They Lived and Reigned as Priests with Christ a Thousand Years ; That is , all the time which Satan and his Accomplices lay under the Angels Rebuke . By this Pair of Witnesses , Zerubbabel and Joshua , is plainly hinted to us how the Millennium will Commence : Zerubbabel is to overthrow all the Powers or Mountains of Opposition , and so the Church Regenerate is Deliver'd , and he is to assist Joshua in the Establishment of her ; for it is said , The Counsel of Peace is betwixt them hoth . The Text saith , That The Man whose Name is The BRANCH , shall rise out of his Place and build the Temple ( or City : ) I know not how to make Christ come from Heaven Personally to build this Temple ; I know He is the Root and Off-spring of David , and so may be called a Branch , but all his Building is of a Spiritual Nature : he builds up his Church Spiritually , conferring Spiritual Gifts and Graces upon his Master-Builders , whom he employs in the Work : But it is plain , that this Building is to be Material , and therefore requires a Man upon Earth to do it . I am no Theologue , and if I should be mistaken , may be excused ; but I cannot remember that the NAME of Branch is attributed peculiarly to Christ any where else in the Bible : The Angel saith , His Name shall be called Jesus ; and in another place 't is said , His Name shall be called Emanuel , God with us ; and , Wonderful Counsellor , &c. This Text points directly to the Mans NAME , and to the Manner and Circumstance of his Rising : It saith , He shall rise out of his Place , implying an Ascent to Honour : David rose out of his Place , being but a Shepherd , and he overthrew the Philistines , and all the Enemies of God's Church round about : And Zerubbabel rose out of his Place , being but a Thresher , and he cast down Baal's Worship , and overthrew the Midianites , and settled the People of God in Peace . This Man the Branch , if he could be found , must be attended with the like Circumstances , because there is the same business to be done : The Baalitish or Babylonish Worship is to be thrown down , and the Philistines , and all other Enemies of God's Church , to be overcome ; The Kingdoms of this World becoming the Kingdoms of the Lord , and of his Christ . Christ finds the World in great Confusion , and his Church much oppressed , and therefore wants a Man to overturn his Enemies , and to Deliver his Church from Oppression : Therefore he raises some Man or other out of his Place , to perform this , as God did Zerubbabel and David of old . Now there is a Man risen out of his place , and is already performing this Great Work ; on Him Christ has delegated the First Fruits of his Power in his Millennian Kingdom : He also rose out of his Place , in another sence , being a Posthume : His Appellation is also from a thing that grows out of the Earth , or out of its place . And so it is ordained that He who should be the first Introducer of the Millennian Kingdom , should not have his Name from a Fierce Ravenous Creature , by which Beastly Emblems all the preceding Monarchies were represented , but from a Tree ; A Tree , next to the Olive Tree , the only Emblem of Peace and Prosperity in the World ; For the nature of it is such , that it has always Fruit upon it , either New or Old , and often both together : This happy Emblem is chosen to represent to us the most flourishing and happy State of the Millennium ; and possibly that this Nation shall never want one to sit upon his Throne . After the cutting down our Harvest , and the Termination of the Old Powers , Saul was our first King , who though under great Obligations did nothing ; the last , was only an Intercalation ; But this seems to be our David , that must do the Work. Now I have brought the Monarchy to a Tree , it will be needless to enlarge more upon the Name of Branch . The First Head of the Fifth or Western Monarchy , ought to be a great Hunter , to drive the wild Boar out of the Vineyard , and chace the Lions , the Leopards , and Bears , out of the Forrest , that the Flocks of God may feed and lie down in safety . Hitherto these Beasts of Prey have made sad Desolation and Havock vock amongst the Lords Heritage : Constantine once drove them out , but they came in Agatn : But Now the Promise is , They shall not live Again . Great God , when will this Great Battel come ? But come it certainly will , and then these Beasts shall be for ever driven out . Daniel saith , The rest of the Beasts had their DOMINION taken away ; That is , they were civilly kill'd . The last Tyrannical Scene of Lions , Leopards and Bears , being withdrawn , the next is , A Fair and Beautiful Forrest ; and this comes of course : There are now no Inhabitants in the Forrest of the World , but Trees ; the wild Beasts had driven out the Flocks before ; and now They Themselves being driven out , the Trees only are left . The Millennium enters of course , and a Beautiful Forrest is the first Scene . And then the first Tree that appears , which is to have the chief Dominion , is The Meinreb or Vitis ; The Second is , The Pomerancenbaum , or Malus Assyria ; one is to be the Adminiculum or Pedimentum to the other : This last with its Golden Fruit introduces the Golden Age. This in behalf of the Vine is made the first King of the Trees ; This has a preference to all the Trees in the Forrest , and has the First Commission of Power granted him from the Sovereign Lord in Chief , in the First Resurrection of Power . Which Tree may next be preferred , I cannot tell : All Power being Christs , He chooses whom he pleases . But this I can tell , The last in Succession , when Satan is loosed , must be some Vile Bramble , only fit to be burnt ; because , suggested by Satan , he attempts a Rape upon the Spouse of Christ , the beloved City ; So he and his fellow Brambles are all burn'd with Fire from Heaven . And in all probability this New and Last Aera will hold Analogy to the last Expired Monarchies ; We shall have the Best Trees first , and the worst at last , as is intimated by Nebuchadnezzar's Image ; Whose Head was of fine Gold , his Brest and his Arms of Silver , his Belly and his Thighs of Brass , his Legs of Iron , his Feet part of Iron , and part of Clay . And if Men should object against this New Emblem of Power , They ought to consider , the Old Tree of Monarchy being cut down , a New One ought to grow in its Room . The Beastly Monarchies Expiring , and the Kingdom of the Forrest Entering ; the Powers , Civil and Ecclesiastical , are no more to go under the Emblem of Beasts of Prey , but of Trees , whose Leaves are for Shade and Protection , and Fruit for Profit and Delight ; and therefore most proper to represent the most Glorious Reign of the Millennium , all whose Officers shall be Peace , and Exactors Righteousness . But the old Tree being cut down , and the Stump left in the Ground , there must be some time allowed for another Tree to grow up , and before it can be a Tree , it must first be a zweig , a Surculus , in English a Branch : The Old ( Vine , the Old Church , or Old Tree of Life and Power of the Gospel , has been cut down , as also the Old Tree of Power or Monarchy , and two New Branches sprouts out . These Two Branches grow up together , the latter being the support and strength of the former , which is tender , and weak , and needs Assistance ; All the World knows the Nature of a young Vine . And this leads me to the understanding of two Texts which has been hid from Ages , but now Revealed to the Glory of God in due time : Jer. 23. 5. Behold the Days come , saith the Lord , that I will raise unto David a Righteous BRANCH ; ( And a King shall reign and prosper , and shall execute Judgment and Justice upon Earth : In his Days Judah shall be saved , and Isreal shall dwell safely And this is his Name whereby he shall be called , The LORD our RIGHTEOVSNESS : Zach. 6. 12. Behold the Man whose Name is the BRANCH , and HE shall grow up out of his Place , And He shall build the Temple of the Lord , even HE ( because there is two ) shall build the Temple of the Lord , and He shall bear the Clory , and shall sit and rule upon his Throne ; And HE shall be a Priest upon his Throne ; And the Counsel of Peace shall be betwixt them BOTH . First there is a Righteous Branch born to David ; this is the Spiritual Birth of Christ in the Church Regenerate , or his New-Risen-Witnesses : This cannot be himself Personally , for he saith , I am the Vine , ye are the Branches . Then there is a King which shall reign and prosper , and execute Judgment and Justice upon the Earth ; And in His days Judah shall be saved , and Israel shall dwell safely : And this King shall give the Name , or be Godfather , as it were , to the Righteous Branch . And as if he should ask what Name ? The Spirit seems to make Answer , This is the Name whereby he shall be called , THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOVSNESS . Now nothing is more plain and evident , than that the Name of the Lord our Righteousness , is not the Name of the Man whose Name is the Branch , for they are plainly Two Names , one is called the Lord , and the other is called the Man. The Man whose Name is the Branch , is That King which shall reign and prosper , and execute Judgment and Justice upon Earth ; the Text levels directly at his Name Apellative : Now what King has such an Apellative Name , I leave to the World to Judge . But if Men shall say they are both one , they very much mistake , for the Text is plain and express to the contrary , making Two of them , saying , The Connsel of Peace shall be betwixt them both . The One shall build the Temple of the Lord , and shall bear the Glory , and sit and Rule upon his Throne ; and the Other shall be a Priest upon his Throne ; And the Counfel of Peace shall be betwixt them both . How the Translators have ordered it , I know not , but the thing is self-evident , that there is an Hic & Ille in the case , tho' they have render'd it He and He. God saith He will create a new thing upon Earth , A Woman shall compass a Man ; as this relates to a common birth , 't is no new thing : This compassing a Man , I know may very well be applied to the First Birth , but more particularly to this Second , this young tender Branch creeping round , or encircling its Pedimentum , expressed by the Counsel of Peace being betwixt them both ; the State being then the Husband or Guardian to the Church . But here is something farther intended by the Newness of this thing ; 'T is not customary for the Woman to caress the Man , for the Church to be above the State ; But in the Millennium the Church shall rather be uppermost , and therefore may be said to compass the Man. But that this King that shall reign and prosper , is not Augutus Caesar , nor the Righteous Branch , but purely He , the Man whose Name is the Branch , I have this further to offer : The Angel gave special order what the Name of the First Birth should be , saying , His Name shall be called JESVS ; Now we cannot suppose the same Birth to have Two Names , therefore the Name of The Lord our Righteousness , must of necessity be the Name of the Second Birth , the Birth Spiritual , or of his New-Risen-Body , the Church Regenerate . Again , The Name of Righteous , speaks so much Sanctity and Holiness , as cannot well be given to a Temporal Prince . And that This King which shall reign and prosper , is not Augustus Caesar , is plain , because it saith , In his Days Judah shall be saved , and Israel shall dwell safely : Now all the World knows that in the time of Augustus Caesar , and the First Birth , the Jews were far from dwelling safely , they were under Bondage , and after a little while utterly exterminated ; therefore This Name of the Lord our Righteousness must relate to a Second Birth , in a little time after which , the Jews shall be Saved and return home . To sum up the whole , Behold , the Days come , saith the Lord , that I will raise unto David , ( Christ ) a Righteous Branch ; And a King shall reign and prosper , and execute Judgment and Justice upon Earth ; and in HIS Days Judah shall be saved , and Israel shall dwell safely : This King , &c. seems to come in by a Parenthesis ; as if he should say , The time of the birth of the Righteous Branch shall be in the Days of such a Kings Reign , in whose Reign Judah shall be saved , and Israel shall dwell safely ; and then the Parenthesis is shut up , and the Childs Name given . And when 't is said that Kings shall be Nursing-Fathers , and Queens the Nursing-Mothers of Christs Church , this supposes Infancy and Childhood , and is more particularly applicable to the birth of the Church Regenerate ; for when the Old Jewish Church was brought to bed of the Christian , the Kings were so far from Nursing the Child , that they would have strangled it : And therefore this Promise must relate to the birth of the Church Regenerate , or none at all . This Child or Righteous Branch was born in the First Year of the Reign of the King that began to Reign and Prosper ; viz. Anno 1689. And the Time of its being baptized with the Spirit , or Power from on High , is just at hand , and He is to be its Nursing-Father and Royal God-Father , and to call it , The Lord our Righteousness ; And the Counsel of Peace shall be betwixt them both . And so this difficult Text is , by the Grace and Assistance of God , plainly solved ; and the Event thereof , will speedily confirm its Truth : And then Judah will be saved , and Israel will dwell safely ; for as the Former pouring out of the Spirit did disperse them , This will collect and gather them . The Text is plain . Isaiah tells the Jews how long they shall be under Tribulation and Misery , viz. Vntil the Spirit be poured on us from on High , and the Wilderness ( the Church in the Wilderness ) be a Fruitful Field ( be Regenerate ) and the Fruitful Field be counted for a Forrest . The Temporal Power is the Forrest , which incloses and guards the Fruitful Field of the Church . When this comes to pass , which is just at hand , it will confirm and sufficiently ratifie what I have asserted . The blessed Pentecost cannot be far off , it must needs be at the Door ; and I desire all good Men to prepare themselves for it , but especially the New-Risen-Witnesses , on whom the Great Descent will be . This will Arm all the World against the Wild Beasts of the Forrest , that the Arborical Reign may be Establish'd . The Church hitherto has been in the Wilderness , but when the Spirit descends , it will be a Fruitsul Field , and yet will be counted for a Forrest . The Great Descent opens the Fountain , which by a New Predication will quickly over-spread the World. This River shall receive no stop by the way , as the last . Satan being bound , it shall run over all the High Mountains . Isaiah saith , And there shall be upon every high Mountain , and upon every high Hill , Rivers and Streams of Waters , in the Day of the Grees Slaughter when the Towers fall . Christ saith , Every Plant which my Heavenly Father hath not planted , shall be rooted up ; and this is the time of rooting up . But God never pulls down , but he builds up ; & where he reaps , he sows : The falling of these Towers is nothing else but driving the wild Beasts out of the Forrest , an overthrowing the Babylonsh Kings , and their Buildings ; and this is done by the Sword : Then comes the Word , implied by these Waters , and instructs and informs them in the Ways of the New Dispensation . This is the last Dispensation , which hitherto was to come . The Text saith , We give Thee thanks , Lord God Almighty , who art , and wast , and at TO COME . This is that World or Dispensation to come , which the Apostle to the Hebrews speaks of . It therefore being now come , no more is to be expected . Four do not bear Record in Heaven , only Three , the Father , the Word , and the Spirit ; And God having applied himself to Reclaim Men by Three several Methods , they can in Reason expect nothing else : And therefore the Text saith , He that is filthy , let him be filthy still ; and he that is Holy , let him be Holy still ; implying thereby , that no more Attempts would be made to reclaim them . The first Approximation was by Angels , very Terrible , above them ; the Second , by Flesh , more Familiar and Kind , yet without them ; the Last , by his Spirit , comes nearest of all , even within them . This is a most Gracious Approach , and will leave the whole World without Excuse : Men need not step out of Doors for any thing , they have all things at home . In the Propagation of this last Dispensation , there will be no such Martyrdoms as before , the bloody Beasts are driven out , or chained up ; Old things are passed away , and all things are bcome New. The Martyrdom will lie inward , a renouncing Self , and the World , and a crucifying the Affections and Lusts . Nothing henceforward can hurt Gods True Church , for Christ presides over the Forrestial Kingdoms and makes Kings the Nursing Fathers , and Queens the Nursing-Mothers thereof : 'T is said , The Kings of the Earth shall bring their Glory and Honour into it . 'T is an amazing thing to observe how tenacious Men are of their Old Models , thinking that God will build so lasting an Empire as that of his Son , upon such rotten and weak Foundations ; Whereas he has publickly declared to all the World , that he would make all things New. Let them henceforward think of nothing else but of being broken to pieces by the Stone out of the Mountain . The whole Civil and Ecclesiastical World is now in the Crucible , and the Fire of Gods Wrath will quickly melt it down , and make it ready for a New Impression . The Angel has his Sword in his Hand , and only wants the Word to fall on . Christ has granted his Royal Pattent to his Church , it wants only the Sealing , and the Wax is just now a melting ; When 't is Sealed , when the Complex Birth is Circumcised , or the Child Regenerate Baptized ( with the Spirit I mean ) Then all the World shall know , That the Kingdoms of this World are become the Kingdoms of the Lord , and of his Christ . They are truly and really His now ; And never a Tree in the Forrest has any Legal Power , but One ; But this World knows not ; But then they shall ; And all the Rest shall be found to be Usurpers . Then wo to Herod ! Wo to Zebah and Zalmunnah ! For the Sword of the Lord and of Gideon shall do mighty things . Then the Kingdom of the Forest will enter , and every Man will be a Soldier to help to kill the wild Beasts : Every Man then shall understand what is meant by the Man whose Name is the Branch ; And shall confess that God has given him for a Witness to the People , a Leader and Commander to the People . I care not to perplex the Reader with Numbers : When the Sun is up , there is no occasion to ask when he Rises : Yet I could do it very exactly . But this is anothers Province . Before I Conclude , I must desire the following Writers to take particular notice of what I have wrote . The One is an Ingenious Man , but more a Philosopher than a Divine : He melts down the World Literally , instead of its Civil Frame : This is most Cruel and Inhospitable : There might have been some better Correction found out , than to burn Mens Houses about their Ears : and Some Better Entertainment , for wearied Guests and Strangers , than to fall on them and kill them in their Lodging ; 't is not customary to turn men off , before They have said their Prayers : The Millennium is the Repentance of the world : The Counterpart of a Voyage : The Reversion of an Estate after an others decease : But He cuts off the Entail ; Sinks the Vessel in the Harbour ; kills the weary Traveller , and allows the Penitent no Benifit of the Clergy . 'T is the custom of a Skilful Founder to Break his Metal before He casts it a new : The Stone out of the Mountain , is said to break the metal Image of the Four Monarchies to pieces : This Breaking to pieces , is nothing but the unravelling of all the Constitutions upon Earth : Now , Had He well considered This , I Believe He would have left us our Good Old world standing , during the Time of the Millennium : For there is no doubt but It would Last us much longer were the Heavy weight of Mens Iniquities Swept off . The Other is more a Divine than a Philosopher ; and would have Christ to come Personally and his Saints with him , and to Live and Rule with him in a Heavenly Court over us , in the Air , dureing a Thousand Years : and to have The Dead-Risen Saints to hold a Corespondence and Commerce with the Saints that remain alive below upon Earth ; as plainly appears by his Catichism and other of his writings . Now having so plainly and fully proved The First Resurrection not to be Literal , there needs no more to be said in Confutation . This Castle in the Air ( as He himselfe makes it ) will quickly vanish . The Man is a Pious and Good Man , and has Great Communications of Light , But , Humanum est Errare . 'T is much more probable , That Christ will appear in an ORACVLAR manner as in the Temple of old , rather than in a Personal : On This account He is called Wonderful COVNCELLOR , &c. And The Prophet Saith Men shall Say no more The BVRDEN of The Lord , But what hath The Lord ANSWERED . This plainly Implies That He is to be Sought to for Councel and Advice , And although The Name of The City be , The Lord is There , Yet an Oracular Presence is more Suitable to Reason , Scripture , and Gods former Methods , than a Personal . The Last , is ( if alive ) A Good Philosopher and Divine , But a Bad Mariner ( Though at Roterdam ) and a worse Husbandman . For He makes His Vessel to return back , before it comes to its ordained Port : Empire and The Gospel , ought to Sail to the Extreamest Parts before They Return . He makes also His Witnesses to Rise BARE GRAIN , Whereas 't is First to rot in the Ground and come up with a New Body as The Apostle plainly demonstrates . 'T is well known France is not the Extreamest Nation , The Witnesses therefore , could not Rise There : The Extrusion of the Poor Reffugies was only an Act of Secretion By Him who has his Fan in his hand , who being unwilling to have the Wheat and Chaff burned together , dispersed them abroad , not for their Ruine but their Safety ; Sodom could not be destroyed till These Lots were gone out . And Now The Fatal Day is approaching , The French Tyrant was Raised up , on purpose to be thrown down , and made Great , that Neighbour of his might be made Greater : But this runs me on another Subject . I Freely acknowledge , that what I have wrote on these Subjects is New , But this gives it a title to Truth , Since all who have hitherto wrote on the Same Points , have been mistaken . Now if Persons would but lay aside their Prejudices to Causes and Persons and consider of things sincerely , and impartially , I doubt not but they would confess , that I have made good The Title , and that These things will remain no longer a Mystery to all Generations . To God be the Praise and Glory , who hath hid these things from the Wise and Prudent , and Revealed them unto Babes . See! How The Heaven and Earthly Powers Run back , This World 's The Green , Jerusalem's The Jack , The Spirit is The Bias , and The NAME Of Him who is the BRANCH , Begins The Game . — Of Time being no Longer . ANd I saw another Mighty Angel come down from Heaven , &c. This Angel comes on a Solemn Embassy from the Mighty God , and therefore his Garb is very magnificent , He is clothed with a Cloud , has a Rainbow on his head , his face is like the Sun , and his feet as Pillars of Fire : The Great Business of his Embassy , is to instruct The World in the Great Concern of TIME , and to Commence a NEW Dispensation , Which is first to be Published throughout the world , and then TIME is to be no longer . This NEW Dispensation is plainly intimated in the Commission He gives to John , saying , Thou must Prophecy AGAIN Before Many People , &c. The Open Book in his hand , is The Book of the OLD Dispensation : and his Commanding John to eat it up , is the Cancelling of it , and The Commencing a New One. This Solemn Act of eating it up , lays it up in a safe place , that Man may come at it at all times , and so renders him inexcusable before the Great Judge . The King is come himself , The WORD is upon his White Horse , and though We may regard his Picture in his absence and call it The King , yet to call The Written Word so in his Presence is something unmannerly . I have a due value for The Written Word of God , But a much greater for The 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 , or The ETERNAL WORD , The One is The Original , The other is but The Copy . WORDS Printed or writen are but painted , And we have had a great many unhappy Artists , who have made The Copy very differing from The Original : Some of The Draughts look more like J — than Jesus . The True word is only Audible and not visible : No man yet ever saw words only heard them : Therefore what is written or Painted in our Books cannot be The True and Real word . Before The Marriage 'T is usual to send The Picture , But when The Bridegroom comes , 't is laid aside . If it be asked , how we shall distinguish ? I Answer , The Spirit is our Helper and The Bride knows Her Lord. But to Return to The Angel : His Drapery is all Hiroglyphick , and plainly declares , in what part of the world he delivers his Errand viz , in the West . 'T is the Setting Sun of the Gospel which sets under a Cloud : when The Sun is setting , 't is usual to see the Rayes dart down on the Sea and Earth like Pillars of Fire : Before , The Church was all-glorious without , but under This New Dispensation , She is all-glorious with in , Her State is now inverted : And This Angel coming to proclaim a New Dispensation and to usher in The Refreshing Times , is Clothed with a Cloud , which is a Symbol both of Change and Refreshment . The Eastern Sun of Righteousness shining on the Western Cloud makes The Rainbow , which is a very Comfortable Symbol , and assures us God is mindful of his Promise , which Promise He Performes by Renewing all The Old Eastern Images in the west : For the Death , Birth , Resurrection , Ascension , &c. of Christ are again Renewed in His Witnesses or Church Regenerate : And These Things being strange to The world are appointed to be Published : John Therefore is Commanded by The Angel to Prophecy AGAIN . And He cryed with a loud voice as when a Lyon roareth . He comes from the Lyon of the Tribe of Judah , and therefore speaks in his Masters Language ; But besides His Embassy being to all the World , should He not cry a loud He would not be heard . And when He had cryed , Seven Thunders uttered their Voices , &c. Since these Thunders are sealed , I will not be too busie with them , 't is probable they are the Seven years of the Seventh Angels sounding betwixt the Second and Third Woe , which are a Mystery till the Last Blast . And standing on The Sea and upon The Earth He lift up his hand and swore by Him That liveth for ever and ever , &c. I Never see The Sun Setting under a Cloud with his Feet like Pillars of Fire , but it puts me into a Fit of devotion , Thinking of The Most Solemn Oath of This Angel , which puts a dismal Catastrophe to The World. The Great God who is Just in all his ways , and Holy in all his works , is unwilling to surprise The world ; and therefore sends a special Message to Mankind by This Angel , to acquaint them , that after such a Time , TIME should be no longer ; And That He may be Believed , He Confirms it with an Oath , that which a more Tremendous and Solemn One was never sworn . Now since He has been so kind to send a Special Embassador , 'T is worth our while to hear , and consider well of his Message . His Oath is positive and Indefinite , That TIME should be no longer , BVT , &c. 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 . Here is no mention made of Time , Times , and half a Time , as by the Angel in Daniel , under The sounding of The Sixth Trumpet , But The Death of CRONOS , or TIME Indefinite , is positively Swore to ; and under CRONOS , All The Tempestates , or Species of Time what soever are comprehended : Having Swore his Death so solemnly , one would have thought The Angel would presently have fell upon The Aged Monster , But He gives him a little Respite , coming in with a BUT , or an Exception , which Semper firmat Regulam ; But , Saith He , In The Days of the voice of The Seveath Angel ( Reckoning These Days from the very Time ) when He shall Begin to sound , &c. Did I Say He gave him Respite ? He gave him none , but killed Him then , and Raised Him again to life : The Oath flew both Him and his Issue . TIME , here is of a Complex nature and may rather be suposed a She Monster , And being Pregnant , The Angel rips open the Belly and lets the Young live out all their DAYS , which had otherwise perished in The Womb of Their Parent : But Though These POST HUMES live , yet Their life is only a Reprieve after Condemnation , for They are not to propagate , Their Death being really swore to in the Death of their Parent : This BUT , limits their Life , which is during All The Days under the Sounding of the Seventh Angel. Some Pious Men amongst us , understand TIME here , in a Relative and Restrictive sense , affirming that The Angel means no more , than that some of the same quality or sort should be no longer , than the Beginning of the Angels sounding ; which Interpretation , though acidentally true , yet falls much short of The Angels Oath , being only a part of his plain indubitable sense : For nothing is more plain than that the Sense extends it self farther , even to the END of the Days , and consequently to The END of the world : The Text at the very entrance , confirms this , making The Hysteron , the Proteron , or Puting The Days before The Beginning , plainly implying thereby , That we are to include All The days under The Angels sounding , before his Oath of Time being no longer , can take place : We cannot suppose , that God would send so Extraordinary in Embassador to The world , on such a slight Errand , as to acquaint them , That when The Sixth Hour was past , it would be Seven a clock , or that The Time under The Sixth Trumpet , should last no longer than The Beginning of The Seventh ; Such a Message would be very unworthy so Great a Courtier ; And was his Business to tell us , That The Time in the sixth Hour would not be The same for quality , with That in The Seventh ; This would not add much to the Dignity of His Office. In short , TIME Ends not ( as is vulgarly supposed ) when The Angel BEGINS to Sound , But at the Expiration of the whole Days under his Sounding : And the Angels Chief Errand is to point out to Men The PERIOD of The world , And The END of Time : And Methinks I hear Him Speaking to The world after This manner . YE Sons of Men Take Notice , The Old Glass of Time ( viz. of 1260 ) is just run out ; And I Am Sent to Turn it , And I Here Turn it in The Presence of you All , And do Swear , By The Living God who Liveth for ever and ever , That It shall never be turnd more , But when The Sands are run out , or when The Days of the voice are Ended , ( Reckoning Them from the Beginning of his Sounding , or Tuning of his Trumpet ) Then , The Glass shall be broke , and TIME , ( of whatsoever Denomination ) shall never be Measured more , but be swallowed up , in the Great Ocean of Eternity . Two Things The Reader must Note . First , That That TIME which The Angel swears the Death of , is of a Simple and indefinite nature : and that The Time which He Excepts is of a Complex nature , Because there are Days in it . Secondly , That The Angel is Seven year in sounding viz , Betwixt The Second and Third Woe . These things being premised Though there may be so me seeming difficulty when to Commence The Excepted Time , and when it Ends , or Expires : Yet really , There will be none at all . : For We are to Begin These Excepted Days , Not when The Angel has sounded or done sounding , But when He Begins to sound : Not When The Clock has struck all , But at The very First stroke of Seven : The Text is , 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Quum futurum est ut Clangat : That is , When He shall First begin , or be about to begin to sound : The very Tuning his Trumpet , or his Preparing himself to sound , comes into The Account . 'T is usual to say , T' is Seven a Clock , when it has struck Seven ; But This is our Errour , For it was seven at the First stroke : at that very Instant , when The Sixth Hour Lapsed , or The Second Woe to The True Church Ended . The Reign of a King Commenceth , Not from the Time of his Proclamation ; But , From The Exact Time of His Predecessors Death . There is no Interregnum , Time being not discontinued : So The Reign of Christ Commenceth , from the very moment of the Angels Beginning to sound , which was in The Later part of 1688 , When The Witnesses Rose . The Spirit puts an Emphasis on The word beginning , God being unwilling that Men should be ignorant , of the Exact Epoche of Christs Reign : Because it is The Index , which points out The Final Day of Judgment . Now , In The second Place , How long These Excepted Dayes will Last , or when they will Expire , and Time be Finished , is alike plain , and manifest : For , The Sands In The upper part of the Glass , will be no longer in runing , than in the lower part : The Lease of The Bride , ( If The Indentures be compared ) will be found to be cut out of the Same sheet of Time , with that of the Whores : Now The Whores Lease , was for 1260 Years , or Time , Time , and halfe a Time ; under the Sounding of the Sixth Angel : And The Brides , under the Sounding of the Seventh , will be the Same , viz , 1000 , for The Millennium , and 260 , for The Little Season , In which , Satan shall be Loosed , which Ballances exactly . Then , Time shall be no longer . The Turning the Last Glass , or the Angels Begining to sound , Is the Finishing of time Inchoate , And Its vacuity , ( or Expiration of the 1260 Years , ) Is the Finishing of time Consummate . These things must needs be very plain . The Sounding of the Seventh Angel , Is the worlds Passing Bell : Judgment then begins , and They are Destroyed , which destroy the Earth ; and in the End are thrown into Hell , when the Quick and Dead will he judged . These Last 1260 Years being the Dawn of an Eternal Day to the Godly : But the Dire Crepusculum of an Eternall night to the Wicked . These Days Began in the Latter part of 1688 , But had no Solemn Commencement 'till An. 1689 ' when The Man , whose NAME is The Branch , was Crowned King. Now , would The Inquisitive know , what the Last Year of the Seventh Angels Sounding will Issue in : Let me tell them , T is , very probable 't will Terminate in a Most Glorious Appearance of Christ , Pouring down the Spirit from on High , at Pentecost : For , He is Now Considered under the Following Relations . viz , As the Son of A Great King , or an Heir Adult , Claiming All the Kingdoms of the Earth : As a Bridegroom , come to marry His Bride : As a Great General , come to Conquer the World , whose Name is called The WORD of God : As an High Priest , or Chief Administrator in His Millennian Kingdom , and Lastly , As a Young Infant in His Church Regenerate The Pouring out the Spirit ( so often promised ) may Refer to all These : As He is a King , 'T is the Great Proclamation : As a Bridegroom , 'T is The Marriage Supper : 'T is the Sealing His Commission as a Souldier : His Installment as He is an High Priest : As He is married , 't is the Sealing His Bride a Jointure of Power For a Thousand Years : and as He is an Infant , 't is his Babtizing : and Lastly 't is the TEMPLE OPENED , not of which The Plagues do Issue forth , with a Full Commission to Destroy all His Enimies , who would not have Him to Rule over them . No Sort of Christians will deny that God hath made to Men a Promise of a NEW COVENANT in the Latter Days : Obliging Himself thereby to write his Law in their HEARTS , &c. Now , He never makes a NEW Covenant but He Break The OLD one : Nor is it his Custom ever to Introduce a New , or Cancel an Old one , with out the Greatest Solemnnity . After what Manner , and with what Solemnity He Broke The old one ; I have plainly hinted in my Preface to the King. The Introduction of the New one ( there being Two SEDE VACANTES by Cancelling the Old one ) is but the Reverse of That : And That It will be Introduced with a Joyous Solemnity , is The Rational Expectation of all Good Men. THE END . Notes, typically marginal, from the original text Notes for div A29711-e130 * O. C. Notes for div A29711-e1330 T. Burnet . T. Beverly . M. Jurieu .