The Accomplishment of the Prophecies, Chapter 3
THE PROPHECIE CONtained in the 12. Chapter of the Apocalyps. CHAP. 3.
1 AND there appeared a great wonder in heaven: a woman clothed with the sunne, and the moone was vnderunder her feet, and vponupon her head a crowne of 12. starres.
2 And shee was with child, and cried travailing in birth, and was pained ready to be delivered.
3 And there appeared another wonder in heaven: for behold a great red dragon hauing 7. heads, and 10. hornes, & 7 crownes vponupon his heads:
4 And his taile drew the third part of the starres of heaven, and cast them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to bee delivered, to devoure her child, when shee had brought it forth.
5 So she brought forth a man child, which should rule all nations with a rod of iron: and that her child was taken vp vntounto God, and to his throne.
6 And the woman fled into the wildernesse, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand, two hundreth, and three score daies.
7 And there was a great battaile in heaven, Michael and his Angels fought against the Dragon, and the Dragon fought and his Angels;
8 But they prevailed not, neither was their place any more found in heaven.
9 And the great Dragon, that olde serpent, called the divell and Satan, was cast out, which deceiveth all the world; hee was even cast into the earth, and his Angels were cast out with him.
10 Then I heard a lowd voice in heaven, saying, Now is salvation, and strength, and the kingdome of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of our brethren is cast downe, which accused them before our God day and night.
11 But they overcame him by that blood of the Lambe, and by the word of their testimonie, and they loued not their liues vntounto the death.
12 Therefore reioice yee heavens, and yee that dwell in them. Wo to the inhabitants of the earth, and of the sea: for the divell is come down vntounto you, which hath great wrath knowing that he hath but a short time.
13 And when the Dragon saw that he was cast vntounto the earth, he persecuted the woman, which had brought forth the man child.
14 But to the woman were given two wings of a great Eagle, that she might fly into the wildernesse, into her place where she is nourished for a time, and times, and halfe a time, from the presence of the serpent.
15 And the serpent cast out of his mouth water after the woman like a flood, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood
16 But the earth holpe the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, & swallowed vp the floud which the Dragon had cast out of his mouth.
17 Then the Dragon was wroth with the woman, and went and made war with the remnant of her seed, which keepe the commandements of God, and hauehave the testimonie of Iesus Christ
18 And I stood on the sea sand.
The Exposition of this Prophecie.
1 A Great signe appeared in heaven, to wit, a woman which was the type of the Church of Israell. And this Church was illightned with the brightnesse of the knoweledge of God and did tread vnderunder her feet the mutable instabilitie of worldly things, which is like to the change of the moone. And was crowned with a douzen starrs, which are the twelue Patriarchs, the fathers of the twelue tribes of Israell.
2 And of this Church must there a child be borne, to wit, the Messias, in expectation of whome she did suffer, and was in anguish, looking for the manifestation of this Messias.
3 But behold on the other side the divel like a red dragon, hauing 7 heads, and tenne hornes, and 7 crowns vponupon his heads.
4 Whose venemous temptations hauehave vsed to make the third part of those that are in the visible Church, to fall away, whom he turneth aside from heauenly things to earthly. And this divell did watch with all diligence for the time when Iesus Christ should be born of the Church of Israel, that he might make him to perish as soone as ever hee was borne, having raised vp a persecution against him in his cradle, then when Herod would hauehave put him to death.
5 Now of this Church of Israel was a man-child borne, to wit, Iesus Christ, which must rule all the world with a strong & mightie scepter. And this Iesus was lifted vp from earth to heaven by his ascension.
6 And after the ascensiō of Iesus Christ Satan hauing raised vp a persecutiō against the Iewes, so to enwrap the Christian Iewish Church in the same ruine, this Church did retire aside into a place called Pella, where she lay hid 1260. daies, which are three years and a halfe.
7 Now after this ascension, there was a great battaile fought in heaven, Iesus Christ and his Angels fighting against the Prince of the divels, and the wicked spirits that took his part.
8 But Satan was overcome, & cast out of heaven.
9 So was this old serpent, called the divell and satan (which thought to hauehave seduced all men) put to flight; And was throwne downe from heaven to earth, and all wicked spirits together with him.
10 Then I heard a great voice in heaven, saying; Now by the ascension of Iesus Christ (vvhichwhich hath taken possession of the kingdōe of God, being sate at his right hand) is salvation purchased vntounto the Church, and the mightie kingdome of our God is established, and the power of his Christ. For the divell vvhichwhich did accuse the faithful incessantly before God, is cast out of heaven, and put by from his trade of accusation.
11 But in vertue of the death of Iesus Christ, which by his death hath subdued him that had the power over death, to vvit, the divell, they hauehave overcome him, being armed vvith the vvord of the Gospell, to vvhichwhich they hauehave geuen testimony by their suffrings, & by their preaching, hauing vvillingly exposed their liues to the death, for the iustifying of their faith in Iesus Christ.
12 Wherefore reioice O yee Saints which dwell in heauen, but tremble yee inhabitants of the earth, which dwell in the continent, & in the Ilands; for the divell is come downe vntounto you, for to vvreake his anger vponupon you, knowing that he shall ere long be cast into the bottomlesse pit, and that all his povver to doe hurt, shall shortly be taken away from him.
13 When the divell therefore savv that he vvas casseered of his kingdome, & that he vvas throwne out of heauen, hee did set himselfe to persecute the Church of vvhichwhich Iesus Christ was borne, that is, the Church of the faithfull Iewes, amongst vvhom vvere the Apostles, and Disciples of Iesus.
14 But God shewd this Church a vvay to escape the persecution vvhichwhich the divell had raised, by flying away, & hiding herselfe in the aboue named towne of Pella, on this side Iordan, vvhere God did nourish and defend her, for a yeare, two yeares, and a halfe an yeare; that is, for three yeares and a halfe.
15 This persecution then of the Christian Church, being no vvaies advantagious to Satan, he mooved Pagan & heathen people to rise vp against the Church of the Apostles, and their Disciples, so to oppresse them and vvorke their ouerthrowe.
16 But these people stirred vp by Satan vvere swallowed vp in the bottomelesse pit, and vvere cast downe into hell.
17 Satan therefore being enraged that hee could not vvorke the overthrowe of the Christian Iewish Church, laboured by all means to persecute the Churches of the Gentiles, vvhichwhich the Church of the Iewes had planted and begotten, vvhichwhich Churches of the Gentiles doe keepe the Commandements of God, and lay vp the doctrine of the Gospell in their hearts.
18 And in this vision that I saw I was not transported out of my body, but, being only ravished in spirit, I remained on the sea shore.
The cleering of this prophecie, togither with the proofe of this exposition.
ALbeit this chapter make no mention of the bishop of Rome, yet I must of necessity expound it, because it serues for the vnfolding of the chapters following, and because they depend vponupon this. Now the exposition which I giuegive of it is so cleere & naturall, that it may be thought a labour spent in vaine to goe about to proue it.
By this woman I vnderstand the church of Israel, after Abraham & the patriarches, which were the fathers of the 12 tribes of Israell, till the Iewish church began to bee mixed togither with that of the Gentils, which came to passe presently vponupon the time of the Apostles. This is the reason, that (although the church of the Iewes before the preaching of the gospel, and before the ascension of Iesus Christ be the selfe same Church with that of the faithfull Iewes, which from the Apostles time did beleeue in Iesus Christ) yet so it is, that for the more perspicuities sake I cal the church of the Iews after the ascension of our Saviour Iesus Christ the Iewish-Christian church, for to distinguish it from the Iewes that were the enimies of the gospell: & yet notwithstanding it is still the Church of Israell.
There be 2 reasons that enforce me not to vnderstād the church in generall by this woman, but only the church of Israell. The first is because Iesus Christ is borne of the church here mentioned. For least any man should vnderstand this of a metaphoricall birth, the holy Ghost doth there make expresse mention of a birth that goeth before his ascension: which cannot agree to regeneration, whereby Christ is formed a new in vsus. The second reason is because in the 17. verse this church is manifestly distinguished from that of the Gētils; as the mother from the daughter. Besides the whole course of the chapter sheweth vsus that this is the meaning.
In the third verse the diuell is represented in the forme of a beast having 7. heads and ten hornes, which is the forme vnderunder which the Roman Empire is represented in the 7. of Daniell: and in the 1. verse of the chapter which wee come next to handle; where we will examin the reason why the Empire is described in this manner. And the diuell and the Empire are both represented vnderunder the same forme, because the diuell did as then make vse of this mightie Empire for to persecute the church.
In the 4. verse their revolting, which held some place in the Church, is compared to the falling of starres throwne down from heauen vponupon earth. For as the church is often called the kingdome of heaven, so by the same reason they which are placed therein are compared to starres: whose apostacie is as the falling of one from heavē to earth, both because they are shut out of heauen, as also because they deiect & debase their desires and affections from heavenly to earthly things. Which will also serue vsus to expound the 10. verse of the 8. chapter of this booke, where it is said that a great star fell from heauen, which did infect the thirde part of the waters of the earth, the meaning whereof is nothing els, but that a great man of note in the Church should fal from the faith, and by his example corrupt many others.
That which is said in the fifth verse, that the child (which is the Messias) shall governe all nations with a scepter of yron, is taken out of the 2. Psalme, ver. 9. Thou shalt crush them with a scepter of yron, that is to say, thou shalt keepe them vnderunder with a mighty scepter, and with a powerfull dominion: in which Psalme the extent of the absolute Empire of Christ Iesus is described vntounto us.
The flight and retiring of the Iewish church, and the three yeares and an halfe wherein shee lay hid, as it is in the 6. & 14. verses, are proved to be true by history. Eusebius in the 2. booke of his history, and 5. chapter saith; The people of the church of Ierusalem were before the warre began by an oracle revealed to some of the chiefe amongest them, commanded to depart out of that citty, and to dwell in a towne on this side Iordano called Pella, whether as many as beleeved in Iesus Christ fled hauing left Ierusalem. Now this warre lasted 3. years and a halfe, as we may gather out of Dion, and Iosephus, from the third booke of his Iudaicall historie to the 6. In the 67. yeare of our Lord, in the month of Aprill, 4. moneths after the death of Nero, Vespasian sent at first by Nero began to lay his siedge to Gadara, and Iotapata, and to subdue Galilee. In the 70. year of our Lord on the 8. of December Titus the sonne of Vespasian tooke Ierusalem, & razed it to the ground, afterward departed thence to triumph at Rome, leauing some few forces to finish that which he had left vndone, which was effected with little or no resistance.
The Prince of the Angels Michaell which is spoken of in the 7. verse, is Iesus Christ our Lord. For this is he which is the head of the Angels; this is *Heb. 2.14. Col 2.15. Ps. 68.19. Eph. 4.8.he which hath overcome the diuell; this is he to whom alone the name of Michael agreeth, which signifieth, Who is as God? for hee hath thought it no robbery to be equal to God his father. Phil. 2.6.
Now the battel that was fought in heaven must bee vnderstoode to hauehave beene fought after the death or ascension of our Lord, and not after the retiring aside of the Iewes into Pella, although there be mention made of this before the fighting of the battaile in heauen: for S. Iohn hauing first related what befell the church vponupon earth, mounts vp againe to the things that were done in heauen: and indeed in the 14. this very flight of the church is set after the fighting of the battaile in heaven: which I doe not thinke was so in effect, but that hereby God did in a visiō represent to S. Iohn, that Satan was cast out of heauen by Iesus Christ.
To this purpose wee are to note that in the 1. of Iob, the 6. verse, it is said, that the children of God (which are the Angels) came and stood before the Lord, and that Satan also thrust in amongst them. And in the 22. chapt. of the 1. of Kings 21. verse, it is said, that a wicked spirit came and stood before the Lord, offring his service to seduce the Prophets, and to be a lying spirit in their mouths. By which places it appeares, that Satan in that time had as yet free accesse into heauen, and that he was found amongst the Angels. But in the 10. chap. of S. Luke, and 18. verse, Iesus speaketh thus, I saw Satan like lightning fall downe from heaven. And in this 12. chapter of the Apocalyps, Satan is described vntounto vsus falling from heauen to earth presentlie after the ascensiō of Iesus Christ. By which passages of scripture it seemeth that the ascension of our Lord did wholly exclude Satan out of heaven, and barred him al entrance there again for ever after that time, tumbling him downe into this lower region. Wherevpon S. Paul also in the 2. chapt. to the Ephesians, calleth the wicked spirits, the powers that rule in the aire, & the prince of the diuels, the Prince of the powers that rule in the aire. Which region of the aire is in infinite places of holy writ called by the name of heauen: in which sense I am perswaded that must be vnderstoode which the same Apostle speaketh in the 6. chap. of the same epistle, where he saith, that the spirituall wickednesses are in the high, or heauenly places.
Now that Satan being in heauen did accuse and calumniate the faithful to God, it appeareth by the example of Iob, whom he accused to God, as if al his zeale and innocencie had beene mercenary, and led by profit. Wherefore also hee is called the divell, that is to say, a slanderer.
The waters which Satan did powre out after the church for to hurt her, are the people, and nations. The meaning whereof would hauehave been hard for vsus to hauehave foūd out, if the holy Ghost himselfe had not expounded it in the 15. verse of the 17. chap. The waters which thou sawest, are people, and multitudes, and nations.