THE SEVENTH AND LAST VIAL OPENED. Revel. 16. 17,18,19,20,21. And the feventh Angel poured out bis Vial into the Ayre, and there came a great voyce out of the Temple of heaven from the Throne, faying, It is done. And there were voyces, and thunders, and lightnings; and there was a great earthquake, fuch as was not since men were upon the earth, so mightie an earthquake, and so great. And the great Citie was divided into three parts, and the Cities of the nations fell : and great Babylon came into remembrance before God to give unto her the cup of the fierceneffe of his wrath. And every Inland fled away, and the mountaines were not found. And there fell upon men a great haile out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent, and men blafphemed God because of the plague of the haile, for the plague thereof was exceeding great. Hefe words defcribe unto us the pouring out of the seventh Vial, by the feventh Angel; and fet T forth it is by a threefold Argument. 1. First by the fubject upon which it fell, it fell upon the Ayre It is tranflated[into the Ayre] but the fame word in the third and fourth Verfes is tranflated upon (the Sea) and upon (the Rivers and fountaines of water:) Aaa water:) fo it fell upon the Ayre, otherwise to say, into the Ayre, might feeme to looke at fome further fubject, whereupon it fell, but that is not the meaning. Secondly, by an adjunct accompanying the fame,to wit A great vorce out of the Temple of heaven, &c.] for I cannot call it an effect, but an adjunct it was. Thirdly, by the effects, and they are threefold. First, of Terrour and Horrour. [There were voyces, and thundring, and lightnings] all which doe ftrike Terrour and Hor rour into the hearts of men, Second effect was changes, and alterations of states [And there was a great earthquake] amplified by an argument taken from the leffe [Such as was not fince men were upon the earth] fo great for amplitude,fo mighty for power. Third effect was,the work ing of distracting, and destroying ca lamities upon three severall forts of fubjects, First upon Cities, and among them, First, the great City was divided into three parts, which (with leave of Interpreters that take it to be a diftinc City from Babilon) I take to be meant of Babilon, which now came up into remembrance bef. re God, and that is rendred as a reafon how fhee came to be destroyed, for fhe came up into remembrance before God,to give her the wine, first of distraction, secondly of destru&tion. Secondly, the cities of the Nations fell, the great Citie was deftroyed, it fell to ruine. The second sort of fubjects upon which this distraction fell, were [Every Island, and every mountaine] the Islands fled away, the mountaines were not found. The third fort, was the fonnes of men, and the plague that fell upon them was a great haile out of heaven, which is amplified. 1. By the measure or weight of it [every stone about the weight of a Talent] 2. By the effect it wrought in men, [They blafphemed the God of heaven fet forth by the caufe of their blafpheming againe repeated,because of the plague of the haile, for the plague thereof was exceeding great, Let us firft open the words, and then fumme them up into fome doctrinall obfervations. 1. What 1. What (in the first place) is here meant by Ayre]doubtlesse not the element of ayre that wee breath in: for all the Vials are Vials of wrath, & therefore poured upon fubjects of Gods difpleafure:Now God is not offended with the ayre, which is his creature, but as you reade in the first verfe of the Chapter. All these Angels received a commandement to poure out their Vials upon the earth, and that is meant of the earthly Antichriftian Church, and they all fulfill this Commandement upon whatsoever they poure out their Vials; it is ftill upon the Antichristian state: nor are the messengers of Gods wrath (which come out of the Temple, and have theirloynes girded with golden girdles)provoked against the Ayre, which themselves due breath in; nor couid a plague be upon the Ayre,but it would fall upon Chriftian Churches as well as Popish. Others doe interpret it (with much more probabilitie) to be upon the kingdome of Sathan, for he is called the Prince that ruleth in the ayre, Eph.2 2. he also rayfeth up ftormes in the ayre,and fiery meteors therein, Jab 1.16. So they conclude that wherefoever the Devill hath to due, whether it be in Popery or Paganisme this Viall is poured upon all his kingdome. I thinke the doctrine is truly gathered from this place, that the holy Ghoft intendeth to poure out a judgement upon all his kingdome: yet I cannot say that the words doe fo properly hold forth a judgement upon the Element of ayre: for all the Vials are to be poured upon the earth, the Antichriftian Church, called earth in oppofition to the heavenly and pure Church mentioned Revel.15. 5. there being in it the whole Fabricke and Syfteme of the world: there is an earth,and that is the lowest and baseft common fort of Catholickes in that world; and there is a Sea, their corrupt Religion; there be Rivers, and fountaines of water, thofe that derived their corruptions into all countries (l'riefts and Monkes &c.) there is a Sunne in this world, the great light thereof: the family of Austria in the common wealth, and the Popes fupremacy in the Church: there is the throne of the beast, the forme of their government, and manner of judicature: Afterwards comes in Euphrates, the streame of all thofe corruptions that make glad the Citie of Rome: Therefore this Ayre feeeth to be the Ayre of that Antichriftian Church: Looke therefore what you can conceive to be the Ayre, which this Antichriftian Church doth breath in, and that is the fubject whereupon this Viall is poured: And although Aaa 2 indeed indeed Mahumetry, and Paganisme come to be afflicted here by it; yet is it but an effect of pouring out this Vial upon the Ayre. Now if you looke into Chap.9.1,2. of this booke you fhall finde that the Ayre of this worldly Church is the fmoake which arofe out of the bottomleffe pit,and darkned the Ayre,fo that you could not fee the Sunne, much leffe the Moone and Starres: and what was that fmoake out of the bottomleffe pit, but the darkenesse of ignorance from whence fprung all thofe Locufts, and that King over them,verf.11. the angel of the bottomleffe pit, whofe name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, he deftroyeth the hope of the conver fion of the Jewes: and in the Greek tongue hath his name Apollyon, hedeftroyeth them also,and sprung out of this ignorance. There is a double use of Ayre, and this darkeneffe corrupted both. 1. There is an use of it for fight; for through the Ayre, if it bec cleare, you see all the heavenly lights, and by their help, all inferiour bodies. 2. It is the breath of life, which maintaineth the life of men, and is the fupportance of their vitals. And in both these things doth it fitly refemble heavenly, and faving knowledge, by which, I. In the first place, we fee Jefus Chrift the Sun of righteoufnesse to our juftification; by which we fee the Moon, that is, the true state of Churches according to the Gofpell; by which we fee the Stars, the people of God, and who indeed are his people, that shine like lights in the world: And hereby they fee all things here below, and judge rightly of them. And 2. by the fame faving knowledge doe we breathe in our vitals (that we may so speak Jour fpiritual life; By his knowledge shall my righteous fervant justifie many, Efay 53. 11. And this is life eternall to know thee the only true God, and Jefus Chrift whom thou hast fent, John 17.3. Now if this Ayre be choaked, you can neither fee Jefus Chrift to your justification, nor breath in any ordinance of his to your falvation, nor can you fee what is the true Church, nor who are the true Saints of God; you can rightly difcerne of nothing, if once the Sun, and the whole body of the ayre be darkened; but if now there come an Angel that shall poure out his Vial upon this smoke of the ayre, and dispell thereby the clouds of darknesse, and ignorance; then fhall you clearly fee Jefus Christ, and the true state of his Church, and of all vifible Saints, then fhall you draw in true and lively breath from every ordinance of God. This is therefore the ayre whereupon this Vial shall be poured, and that will be the difpelling of the dark neffe |