which was distained with horrible and great blasphemies, being situated upon seven hills and having the command of ten kings.

XVII. 4 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:

And the Woman was very gorgeously set forth, in all manner of rich ornaments, that the earth or sea could afford and she had in her hand a golden cup, specious in shew, but full of error and abomination; which was that poisonous and intoxicating doctrine of heresy and idolatry, wherewith she hath seduced the people of the earth:

XVII. 5 And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH. And, in the open shew and carriage of her, any indifferent man might read thus much; This is that Mystical Babylon, the Great City of the World, the most Infamous Author and Pattern of all both Spiritual and Bodily Fornications, and all Outrageous Wickedness.

XVII. 6 And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.

And I saw the cruelty of this state and government such, as that it was even overlaid with the excess of that innocent blood of God's Saints and holy Martyrs, which it had causelessly shed: and when I saw this sight, I stood marvelling, with great astonishment and admiration.

XVII. 7 And the angel said unto me, Wherefore didst thou marvel? I will tell thee the mystery of the woman, and of the beast that carrieth her.

And the angel, seeing me thus amazed, said unto me, Why wert thou thus astonished at this sight? I will shew thee the true and plain meaning of this vision; and the signification, both of the Woman, and of the Beast that carrieth her.

XVII. 8 The beast that thou sawest was, and is not; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is.

The Beast, then, which thou sawest, is no other than the Roman Empire; the port and magnificence whereof was very great, in the days both of their former governors, and especially in the reign of their late emperors, Julius, Augustus, Tiberius, and Claudius: but now, in the following times of Nero, Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Domitian, is much abated of the former glory and greatness, and is now void by the death of the late governor; but shall be supplied again by much variety of usurpers, as it were out of hell itself; into which place of perdition they shall soon return and those, that do not belong to the election of God, nor are acquainted with the course of his providence, shall

wonder at the strange and uncouth alterations of this vast Monarchy; which was once so glorious and powerful, and now is not so great as it was, yet still hath an eminent being amongst men. XVII. 9 And here is the mind which hath wisdom. The seven heads are seven mountains, on which the woman sitteth.

This is the interpretation of this vision, according to true understanding and wisdom. The seven heads are seven hills, whereon that city is built.

XVII. 10 And there are seven kings: five are fallen, and one is, and the other is not yet come; and when he cometh, he must continue a short space.

And, withal, they signify seven forms of government or rule, which that state hath been and must be swayed by; viz. Kings, Consuls, Dictators, Decemviri, Tribunes, Emperors, Ecclesiastical Princes; whereof the five first are past and gone, and the sixth of them is now in being, and the seventh is not yet come; and, when it doth come, it shall not hold long, before it be wasted, and, for the time, suppressed, by the inundation of barbarous

nations.

XVII. 11 And the beast that was, and is not, even he is the eighth, and is of the seven, and goeth into perdition.

And that last form of government, which I said should be for a time suppressed, and yet is not come into being; even that is the eighth, in respect of that spiritual power and jurisdiction, which it shall challenge and usurp; and yet is one of the seven, in respect of this temporal dominion, which it claimeth; and shall in due time be destroyed.

XVII. 12 And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten kings, which have received no kingdom as yet; but receive power as kings one hour with the beast.

And the ten horns, which thou sawest, are ten several kings; but such as are not yet in being, nor have their kingdoms as yet erected; but shall be set up afterwards, even at the same time, that the Second Beast shall arise to greatness, out of the ruins of the Empire.

XVII. 13 These have one mind, and shall give their power and strength unto the beast.

These are all agreed, to give their utmost strength and assistance to that Second Beast, which is the False Prophet; and shall join both their counsels and forces, to that purpose.

XVII. 14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them.

These shall oppose the government and doctrine of Christ; and, at the last, the truth of the Gospel and the power of Christ shall overcome them.

XVII. 15 And he saith unto me, The waters which thou sawest, where the whore sitteth, are peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

And he saith unto me, The waters, which thou sawest, where this Antichristian State beareth rule, do signify people, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.

XVII. 16 And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire.

And the ten kingdoms, which thou sawest, represented by the ten horns, shall fall off from that Antichristian State; and shall hate it, and leave it utterly destitute and forsaken, and shall both profess and execute all manner of hostile violence against it.

XVII. 17 For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled.

For God hath so overruled them, by his secret and powerful Providence, as that they have unwittingly done that, which his most wise counsel had determined; in that they yielded up their kingdoms unto that Second Beast, until the time should come, wherein the decree of God should be accomplished.

XVII. 18 And the woman which thou sawest is that great city, which reigneth over the kings of the earth.

And that Woman, which thou sawest sitting as Sovereign in this Antichristian State, is that Great City, which is the mistress of the world, and reigneth over all the kings of the earth.

XVIII. 2 Babylon the great is fallen, is fallen, and is become the habitation of devils, and the hold of every foul spirit, and a cage of every unclean and hateful bird.

The Mystical Babylon, the great city and state, is fallen and utterly ruined; and is become a desert habitation of devils, a place haunted with unclean spirits, and a desolate wilderness, for screech-owls and other ominous birds to abide in.

XVIII. 3 For all nations have drunk of the wine of the wrath of her fornication, and the kings of the earth have committed forni cation with her, and the merchants of the earth are waxed rich through the abundance of her delicacies.

For she hath poisoned all nations, with the infections of her spiritual fornications; and hath, thereupon, drawn them into the partnership of her judgments: and the kings of the earth have been seduced by her, to her palpable idolatries; and the merchants of the earth, both spiritual and temporal, are grown rich through the traffic of her voluptuous and curious delicacies.

XVIII. 4 And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.

And I heard another voice from heaven, charging all that wish well to their souls, to depart from the superstitions and abominations of that city and state; and warning them to avoid the partaking of her sins, upon pain of partaking of her plagues.

XVIII. 7 For she saith in her heart, I sit a queen, and am no widow, and shall see no sorrow.

For she saith in the pride of her heart, as that type of her the old Chaldean Babylon did, Isaiah xlvii. 8, I sit as a queen over all the earth: I am not as a solitary widow, but am full of lovers: the great princes of the world are glad to court me, with their

best observances; neither is it possible that I should fail and miscarry of my greatness, or be in any danger of distress.

XVIII. 9 And the kings of the earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her, &c.

And those kings and princes of the earth, which have been drawn into the partnership of her idolatries, shall bewail her, &c. XVIII. 11 And the merchants of the earth shall weep and mourn over her; for &c.

And those spiritual and temporal merchants, which were wont to enrich themselves with the costly wares, appertaining to her glorious superstitions, shall weep and mourn; for &c. So verses 12 and 13 &c.

XVIII. 21 And a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great city Babylon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.

And a mighty angel, to represent unto me the irrecoverableness of this Mystical Babylon, took up a great stone, like a millstone, and cast it into the sea; saying, Look how impossible it is, that this weighty stone thus violently cast into the sea should rise up from the bottom thereof again; so impossible is it, that this Babylon, thus dejected by the just hand of God, should ever recover itself from this final confusion.

XVIII. 23 For thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.

Those, that traded in thy spiritual merchandises, were great and mighty men, and heaped up very great treasures by that traffic of theirs; for, by the enchantments of thy false doctrines and idolatries were all nations deceived.

XVIII. 24 And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth.

For she is found full of blood and cruelty, as being guilty of the effusion of the blood of God's faithful Prophets and Apostles, and of all his Saints and holy Martyrs upon earth.

XIX. 1 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, Alleluia; Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God.

And, after these things, I heard a very great applause in heaven, given by all the Saints and Angels; and a joyful acclamation of all the hosts thereof, praising God for the just destruction of this Mystical Babylon.

XIX. 3 And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.

And the smoke, which ariseth up from the fire of her destruction, shall ever ascend; and remain, as an assured witness of that her burning and utter consumption.

XIX. 7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.

Let us rejoice and be glad, and give glory to God: for, whereas Christ Jesus of old betrothed himself to the Spouse his Church,

now the marriage shall be fully solemnized and consummated; and the Bride, his Church, hath decked and trimmed herself, with those spiritual ornaments, that are fit for the Spouse of so glorious a Husband.

XIX. 8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints. And this her Heavenly Bridegroom hath granted to her, for that purpose, the shining and precious raiments of purity and integrity; which is the dress, that he hath prepared for the souls of his Saints.

XIX. 9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.

And the angel said unto me, Write thou, and make an everlasting record of this, which I shall now say unto thee; Blessed are they, which are effectually called by God, to be partakers of the marriage supper of Christ their Saviour, and are therein united unto him. And he said unto me, These things, which I have spoken unto thee, are the undoubted truths of God himself, and shall most certainly be fulfilled.

XIX. 10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.

And I, seeing the glory of that angel and hearing him to mention. the name of God, fell down to worship him. But he forbad this my adoration; and checked me for it, saying, Beware of offering any such kind of reverence to me: I am thy fellowcreature and thy fellowservant, and one of thy brethren in office; bearing, as thou dost, the testimony of Christ our Lord: worship thou God only; as for me, I am one of those ministering spirits, whom God doth use in the revealing of his mysteries to his prophets, that they may testify and declare them to men: and the office, of tes tifying Jesus to men is of the same rank with that, of revealing him by way of prophecy unto the teachers.

XIX. 11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.

And now, after these representations of the bloody oppositions which should be made to his Church, and the discomfiture of his proud enemies, I saw heaven opened: and there was shewed me a representation, both of the happy triumph of Christ Jesus and his blessed Gospel, and of a preparation for a further victory: and, behold, there was shewed to me a white horse; and a glorious rider sat upon him, whose Name was The Faithful and True God, who doth judge justly, and revengeth righteously:

XIX. 12 His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.

Whose eyes are as sharp and as searching as fire, making passage into the very innermost and deepest secrets of the heart; and