PART I.

SYNCHRONISM I.

Of the Woman driven into the Wilderness.

Of the Seven-Headed Beast restored.

Of the Outer Court trodden down by the Gentiles.

Of the Witnesses on Earth prophesying in Sackcloth.

IT is from hence that I begin, and my first synchronism shall be that of the remarkable quaternion of prophecies displayed in equal intervals of time. First, Of the woman living in the wilderness for a time, times, and a half, or (as it is there more fully expressed) for 1260 days. Secondly, Of the seven-headed beast restored, and endued with power for forty-two months. Thirdly, Of the exterior court (or of the holy City) trodden down by the Gentiles for the same number of months. Fourthly, and lastly, Of the witnesses prophesying in sackcloth for 1260 days.

The truth of this synchronism is almost evident of itself, and seems capable of being confirmed, as it generally is, by the very equality of the periods; for a time, times, and half a time, i. e. three years and a half (as appears from the collation of the 6th verse with the 14th of chapter xii), make up forty-two months, and forty- two months 1260 days.

But because it, does not necessarily follow, (though in visions presented at the same time it is extremely probable) that equal times are also synchronic, since equality does not prevent some things being prior, and some subsequent to theirs, the character of equality will not be adapted to compel reluctant assent; I will search, therefore, for characters elsewhere, from which I may put an end to the matter by clear it and irrefragable demonstration.

Of the Beast and the Woman.

The times of the beast and of the woman residing in the wilderness, begin from one and the same point; namely, from the red dragon's being conquered, and cast out on the earth. As therefore they are equal, they must of necessity run together through the whole period,and at length complete their course together. That the times of each commence from the same point or terminus, is evident from the 12th chapter; since as soon as the dragon is cast out by Michael, the woman flees from his face into the wilderness, and the dragon being angry, that he had in vain attempted to overwhelm her, as she was departing thither, went to make war on the remnant of her seed, with those whom she was about to bring forth in the wilderness*, and standing on the sand of the sea, he delivered to the ten horned beast ascending from thence, his power, and his throne, and great authority.

Of the Beast and the Prophecy of the Witnesses.

The times of the beast and of the prophecy of the witnesses being also equal, finish together at the end of the sixth trumpet. It is manifest that they began together, and were contemporary through the whole intervening space.

*Query.

Now that the times of the beast, and of the witnesses of God prophesying in sackcloth* finish at the end of the sixth trumpet, is clear from v. 14. c. xi., where not only both the ascent of the witnesses into heaven (which is the termination of this mourning prophecy), but the great earthquake (by which the royal city is thrown down, and the kingdom of the beast destroyed), is marked out by the point of time at which the second woe (or sixth trumpet) is past, and the third woe (or seventh trumpet) is immediately about to commence. For in that moment of time, the witnesses, whom the beast risen out of the abyss had killed, as they were just about to finish their testimony , being divinely revived, ascended into heaven. And in the same hour there was a great earthquake, and the tenth, part of the city fell, and then it came to pass, at the sound of the seventh trumpet, that the kingdoms of this world became the kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ.

* Sacco et cilicio, in sackcloth and haircloth.

Of the Witnesses and Court (or Holy City) occupied by the Gentiles.

It is plain that the times of the witnesses and of the court (or Holy City) occupied by the Gentiles, are contemporary, from the meaning of the text, c. xi. v. 2, 3. as from the wrath of the Gentiles, who are thrust out at the beginning of the seventh trumpet; that is, at the end of the sixth, when the days of the witnesses likewise expire, as has just been shown. For the nations or Gentiles, who at v. 18. are said to be inflamed with anger at the sound of the seventh trumpet, are no other than those, who for the whole forty- two months had trodden down the outer court of the temple; that is, the Holy City, and who are now, on that account, about to be destroyed by the wrath of God.

This synchronism is not wont to be called in question by any one that I know or recollect.

Of the Witnesses, Court, Beast, and Woman.

If the treading down of the court and Holy City be contemporary with the prophecy of the witnesses, it will be contemporary likewise with the beast with whom the witnesses contemporize, and therefore with the woman in the wilderness also, with whom the beast contemporizes. So that the woman in the wilderness, the dominion of the beast, the conculcation of the Holy City, and the prophecy of the witnesses, all synchronize with one another.

SYNCHRONISM II.

Of the Two-Horned Beast (who is also the False Prophet), with the Ten-Horned Beast (who is likewise called the Image of the Beast).

The two-horned beast is the founder, or re establisher of the seven-headed beast, crowned a with a diadem of ten horns, which, in fact, after his deadly wound, he restored to the image of his former state, to the great detriment of the saints, and who became possessed of power for forty-two months. Having done which, he, exercises all his power before him, and shows forth, or performs, great wonders in his sight. But at length,this same two-horned beast (which John otherwise calls the false prophet), together with the other beast, in whose sight he wrought miracles, are taken as inseparable companions, and are both cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone. Since, therefore, the ten-horned beast (for so I may be permitted to call the seven-headed beast when reinstated, for the sake of perspicuity), and the two-horned false prophet are not separated from each other either in their origin or destruction ; but the one administers the power of the other, Fvcnnov aurou;that is, in his presence; who does not perceive that they are necessarily contemporary through their whole period of time? But that the whole matter may be rightly understood, we ought to be aware that no other state of the seven-headed beast is described in the 13th chapter, than that of his restoration, or last head, in which he became ten horned, as the whole series of the description evinces. For whatever mischief the beast is said to have perpetrated, whatever worship and adoration was paid to him by the inhabitants of the earth, is all reported as leaving been done after his re-establishment, or the cure of his wound. Moreover, it is manifest from the interpretation of the angel, c. xvii., that the ten horns belong to the last head or state of the beast, which is the state of his restoration; since at that time, after five heads had fallen, that is, had fulfilled their parts, the sixth was even then performing this in the age of John, and yet in the time of the horns" is said to be " not yet come." Therefore they must necessarily belong to the seventh or last head.

APPENDIX.

Of the alternate Use of the Names of the Beast and False Prophet ; cps also of the Beast and Image of the Beast.

The title of the synchronism reminds us of both. And first, Ireneus has observed, that, from the most ancient writers on the Apocalypse, the bi horned beast and the false prophet are the same; which, from the comparison of v. 13, 14, 15, 16, of c. xiii. with v. 20 of c. xix., is so clear and manifest, that it requires no farther confirmation. But what the title sets forth in addition, that the ten-horned beast is otherwise accustomed to be denoted by the name of the image of the beast, is less apparent, and would not perhaps be suspected by a reader who was not very attentive: Yet, that it is so, I am persuaded I have not rashly remarked; and therefore, wherever the beast occurs with the false prophet, (which I find it does three times) then by the name of the beast, the ten-horned beast is alone to be understood; since, by the false prophet, it is sufficiently clear that the two-horned beast is designated. On the other hand, when you find the beast compared with the image of the beast there, by the beast the false prophet is to be understood; but by his image, the ten-horned beast, or the seven-horned beast restored : for, since the latter acknowledges the false prophet as his restorer, and suffers himself to be wholly guided by his will, as by that of a supreme lord, he is not improperly called his image; not, indeed, the image of one whose similitude he bears, as if the genitive were used passively, (for, in that respect, he is the image of another, perhaps of the seven-headed dragon, or of the state in which he flourished before his wound, in resemblance of whom he blasphemes God anew, and wages war against the Saints) but an image, of whose restoration that two-horned and dragon-speaking beast was the author, and whom he claimed as his own ; the genitive denoting the agent and possessor, as, in the same passage, the mark of the beast is not a mark impressed an the beast itself, but one with which the beast brands his worshippers.

And that what I have said is the right interpretation of the image of the beast, the first proof I would bring is, that it is said, c. xiii. v. 15, that the very image of the beast, which the false prophet had just animated, caused that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be slain; nay, in other places, (that you may acknowledge the beast) it is generally subjoined to a word expressive of worship, or as something to which worship is suited. Since, therefore, the Apocalypse describes two beasts only, and not more, this wicked majesty, with an equal power of commanding or compelling, cannot but belong to one or the other of them. Moreover, when the beast is present at the same time as the false prophet, the image of the beast does not occur in the same sentence, as if then, in fact, the appellation of beast supphed its place.

Lastly, it is said to be the image of the beast, of which there is a number and a name; but the name and number of no other beast seem to be mentioned than that of the two-horned. Of the same, then, (as of a maker and lord) he is justly said to be the image. But this image, whether it be or not the ten-horned beast, is of no consequence to our system; for the synchronism of the beasts does not rest on this hypothesis.

SYNCHRONISM III.

Of the great Harlot, or Mystic Babylon, with the same Seven-headed and Ten-horned Beast.

  1. 1. The time of the beast is the time of the wilderness. (Syn. i. s. 1) Now, the harlot is seen by John in the wilderness; but this description is not of much force.

  2. 2. The ten-horned beast carries the harlot or adulteress, and the harlot sits on the beast therefore, both exist at one and the same time.

  3. 3. The ten horns of the beast (which, in truth, spring from its highest and last head) and under whose dominion alone the harlot manages the beast, and the beast carries the harlot, (the times of the other heads having been previously completed after it revived as from a deadly wound); these ten horns, I say, "are ten kings which receive their authority as kings for one hour with the beast;" viz. with the reinstated beast, which carries the adulteress, and is now ten-horned; that is, exercising the office of the last head. These, when the time has been fulfilled, during which " they were to deliver up their power to the beast; " that is, when the connection with the beast is just ready to be dissolved, It will hate the harlot, render her desolate and naked, and at length burn her with fire." So then the beast, which in its ten-horned state (the only state in which it is prophetically contemplated by John) first commenced with the harlot or adulteress, will not survive her, nor will the harlot survive the beast. The harlot and beast, therefore, universally and exactly synchronize, which was the object to be proved.

SYNCHRONISM IV.

Of the Hundred and Forty-four Thousand Sealed, who were Virgins, with the Babylonian Harlot and the Beast.

  1. 1. In the first place, they are called virgins, and are praised on that account, because they had not defiled themselves with meretricious embraces. They coincide, therefore, with the meretricious times of the Babylonian harlot, "with whom the kings and inhabitants of the earth committed fornication."

  2. 2. Out of this virgin choir proceed those who denounce the ruin of Babylon, and who deter men from all communion with the beast, his image, and mark. Therefore, the virgin assembly is contemporary with Babylon and the beast.

  3. 3. These, lastly, are those that are called the chosen and faithful attendants on the Lamb, accompanied by whom, he wages war with the kings, or horns, of the Babylonian beast, and who, under his auspices, (as King of kings and Lord of lords) will at length obtain the victory. For those words, relative to the Lord of lords and King of kings, ought, I think, to be read in a parenthesis, where the angel says, "These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them, (for he is Lord of lords and King of kings) and they who are with him, are called, and chosen, and faithful;" that is, the Lamb, and those who are with him, called, and elect, and faithful, shall overcome the Babylonish kings.

  4. 4. But these observations are not sufficient for the firm establishment of a complete contemporary agreement; for all these things may be consistent with partial contemporation. I therefore proceed, in the following manner, to demonstrate that the assembly of the sealed attendants on the Lamb are universally and exactly contemporary with the beast. That assembly of the sealed ones is an Avftarotxov, or, opposite state, coeval with the beast, or the whole company of the followers of the beast; that is, the forces of those holy soldiers remaining still in the faith of the Lamb, when the other inhabitants of the world, as deserters and rebels, have received the mark of the beast. This is obvious from the text: whence, as formerly, by ancient custom, slaves and soldiers were wont to be distinguished by the mark,and inscribed by the name of him to whom they lead pledged their faith, so these are said to bear" the name of the Lamb and his rather on their foreheads. "Since this is the case, it follows that the duration of the one is commensurate with that of the other, and agrees with it altogether, during the same interval of time: for the mode of this sort of opposition requires that the assembly of the sealed followers of the Lamb, as far as it is pointed out by the vision, should be understood in a manner wholly opposite to that of the beast; beyond which opposition, agreeably to the intention of the vision, it has no meaning, and therefore it begins where that begins, and ends where that ends.

  5. 5. Moreover, with respect to the close of the contemporary period, that may be proved from the description in c. vii.; because the palm bearing multitude is the limit both of the tyranny of the beast, and of the company of those who were sealed; of the beast, because it is there said, "These are they who have come out of great tribulation; "but out of what tribulation, except that of the beast persecuting the saints ? Therefore, they left behind the tyranny of the beast. Of the sealed company, because the palm bearing multitude immediately follows, as is manifest from that transition, "After these things I saw," &c.

SYNCHRONISM V.

A Corollary of the General Synchronism of all the circumstances previously enumerated.

It follows that the revived, or ten-horned beast is contemporary with the woman in the wilderness, with the conculcation of the Holy City, and with the lamentation of the witnesses, during the same period, Synch. I. The two horned beast with the ten- horned beast, Synch. II. The harlot with both, Synch. III. The virgin company of those who are sealed with the harlot and the beast, Synch. IV. Therefore all synchronize with each other.

SYNCHRONISM VI.

Of the measure of the Interior Court by the Reed of God, with the Snares of the Seven-headed Dragon, and his Battle with Michael concerning the Birth of the Child.

These are the nearest antecedents of contemporary events; the battle of the dragon and the birth of the child, with the habitation of the woman in the wilderness, and the rise of the ten-horned beast. The interior court, (for what is said of the temple of God, of the altar of incense, and of the priests worshipping there according to custom, is a periphrasis of this expression) to the exterior court, or that of the people, where the nations are represented to have been unjustly and unlawfully housed as in a stable.

To prove this: In the first place, both the delivery of the woman, and the battle of the dragon with Michael, impinge on the same termination, viz. the flight of the woman into the wilderness, which is said to have followed next to the act of both : For the woman, as soon as she had brought forth a son, "fled into the wilderness," there to be nourished for 1260 days. In like manner, when the dragon was cast out, the woman "fled into the wilderness, there to be nourished from the face of the serpent, for a time, and times, and half a time." These two things, therefore, as you see, the title of the synchronism combines into one, as visions of the same time and subject, completely connected, and which it is unnecessary to separate in this investigation. Moreover, that battle in which Michael conquered the dragon, immediately preceded the restoration of the seven-headed or ten-horned beast; for the dragon, as soon as he was cast out into the earth, "standing on the sand of the sea shore, delivers up for the future leis office, that is, his authority, his throne, and great power, to the beast emerging from thence;" and (as the Complutensian edition renders it, together with Ireneus) "one of his heads, as it were, wounded to death, whose wounds being cured, all the world followed the beast, wondering."

And thus far the matter is plain and obvious; but of the antecedence of the interior to the outer court, (which alone remains to the completion of the synchronism) the mode of proof is a little more difficult, because the subject has long been otherwise understood, and is therefore impeded by prejudices.

The inner court, in consequence of the structure of the temple, precedes the outer court in situation and order, as being nearest to the throne of God, the head of the whole structure. Therefore, if things should be significant of different times, (for it is not a novelty that order of situation should denote order of time, as in the statue which Nebuchadnezzar dreamt he saw) then it is agreeable to reason that the indicated time of the interior court should be prior to the indicated time of the exterior.

Now that there is an indication of different times relative to the courts, and consequently that the indication of the interior court is more ancient, and prior to the other, I thus farther demonstrate. Because this vision of the measurement of the court of the temple and altar, or of the inner court, is the beginning of a repeated prophecy, which, indeed, (as will soon be more fully shown) rehearses from the beginning, and as it were above, the times of the prophecy of the seals, whose commencement no one can have doubted, must be sought for from that epoch of the apocalyptical period. "You must prophesy" (says he) "again," (thus he explains the symbol of the eaten book) " before many people, and nations, and tongues, and kings." " IIaatv," that is, in a renewed order of the times of which he had before prophesied. But he begins from the measurement of the temple and altar of incense, and of those who worshipped there. If, then, the vision concerning the delivery of the woman, and the battle of the dragon, (which is itself a part of this repeated prophecy), ascend to the very commencement of the period or apocalyptical time, even so far, that the Apocalypse has nothing more ancient, or that deduces its origin from a higher source, (and this will appear, both from the nature of the circumstance, the birth of a child, and from synchronisms already confirmed, and to be still farther confirmed) why should not the beginning of the same prophecy and the first of all the visions, with still greater probability, be presumed to ascend as far ? But the months of the outer court cannot reach so high, as they are wholly contemporary with the ten-horned beast: therefore, it is very evident to me, that the times of the inner and measured court not only precede the months of the outer and unmeasured one, but ought to be derived from the origin of the repeated prophecy, as well as the vision of the birth of the child, and of the dragon.

Now, these three events--the habitation of the woman in the wilderness, the ten-horned beast, and the outer court trodden down by the Gentiles, appear to be contemporary from the first synchronism: therefore the times of the inner court measured, and the delivery of the woman, together with the whes of the dragon, and the battle with Michael, being the nearest antecedents of those contemporary events, must contemporize with one another. Q. F. D.

SYNCHRONISM VII.

Of the Seven Phials; with the Beast and Babylon declining to their Fall.

The effusion of the phials brings ruin and destruction on the beast, as is manifest from the text. For the conquerors of the beast sing the song of Moses, irwiKCOV, or the song of victory. c. xv. v. 2, 3. And it ahhc.irs especially, from the first phial, c. xvi. v. 2, which sends the plague of an ulcer "on the men who had the mark of the beast, and on those who adore his image;" from the fifth, which is poured " on the throne of the beast," and which renders his kingdom dark; and also from the last, on the pouring out of which Babylon is wholly overthrown. Therefore, the effusion of the phials is contemporary with the concluding scenes of the beast and Babylon.

PART II.

I have completed the First Part in Seven Synchronisms : The other Part, that of the Seals, follows, in which I will demonstrate the connection of all the prophecies which have been hitherto recited; and if there are any besides,of those likewise with the seals, in as many other synchronisms: Whence it will plainly appear, (and it may be adduced as a matter very worthy of observation, and, unless I am deceived, of no small consequence in the subsequent interpretation) that the whole Apocalypse, from the fourth chapter, (for I introduce nothing now about the seven churches) is divided into two principal prophecies, of which each commences from the same epoch, and, as it were, from one barrier, and ends at the same goal. The first is that of the seals, and in them of the trumpets, for the seventh seal is the seal of the trumpets, which I take every where for granted, from the grammatical sense of the context. For it is not to be supposed that the order of sense is preserved in all the other seals, but is unsuitable to the seventh alone, as what is submitted to view on the opening of a seal, that is, ro ,spa-ypa, the subject of the seal. Now, the vision of the seven angels with the seven trumpets follows the unclosing of the seventh seal. The other prophecy (or, if you will, the system of prophetic visions) is that of the open book, which, commencing from the same beginning of apocalyptical time, retraces the times of the former prophecy, namely, that of the seals, from the. 8th verse of the loth chapter to the end of the book. And this repetition of the prophecy is indicated by that transition in the 11th verse of the same chapter, where the angel says to John, "Thou must prophesy again before many people, and nations, and tongues,and kings."

Moreover, it will not perhaps be unworthy of the reader's attention, that at the beginning of each of those visions, as well of the first of all the visions, that of the seven churches, as of three entire prophecies, the commencement is proclaimed by " the voice, as it were, of a trumpet talking with St. John;" as if the Holy Spirit meant to distinguish them by this mark from other prophecies, which are parts of these principal ones, in which you will see nothing of a similar nature.

Now, these are the beginnings of the prophecies to which I allude. Of the vision of the seven churches, in these words : "I was in the spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard a great voice behind me, as of a trumpet, saying," &c.

Of the prophecy of the seals, in this manner "And the first voice which I heard was as it were of a trumpet talking with me," &c. Lastly, of the prophecy of the little book: "And the voice which I had heard from heaven" (i. e. as of a trumpet speaking) �It spake again unto me, and said," &c.

Thus far is prefatory, and, as I hope, not foreign from. the subject of which we are treating. The Synchronisms now follow.

THE CARDINAL POINT OF THE SYNCHRONISMS;

OR, THE SYNCHRONISM

Of the Seventh Seal, which relates to the first Six Trumpets; with the Ten-horned and Two-horned Beast, and other contemporary matters.

And first, the beginning of the beast is contemporary with the beginning of the seventh seal, which is that of the trumpets.

Since the assembly of those who were sealed, as the antithesis or opposite of the reign of the beast, synchronizes rightly and exactly with the beast; and since the same assembly begins with the opening of the seventh seal, or that of the trumpets, it follows clearly that the beast also must begin with the same seventh seal, or that of the trumpets.

Now, it has been already shown by Synch.IV. Part I. that the assembly of the sealed must be altogether and exactly contemporary with the beast. That the same assembly begins with the seventh seal, is plain from the seventh chapter, where the act of sealing immediately follows the sixth seal ; since, as soon as the vision of the sixth seal is finished, and when the seventh, which is that of the trumpets, is just about to open, attention is paid to the elect servants of God by the impression of a seal, that they might not be destroyed by the storm of calamities which was brooding over the earthly globe.

Now, the four angels who presided over the four quarters of the world, were just ready to let loose the winds (which they had hitherto restrained), at the sound of the trumpets. Attention must likewise be paid to the sound of the fifth trumpet, c. ix. v. 4. that you may understand, even from that indication, that the sealing belongs to the times of the trumpets. It is beyond all doubt that the conclusion and termination of the sixth seal is the beginning of the seventh, since the series of the seals with respect to each other, cannot and ought not to be interrupted. Therefore, it is necessary that the assembly of the 144,000 who are sealed, which follows the close of the sixth seal, should begin with the seventh, which succeeds not less immediately to the sixth. And so, with wonderful judgment (as I conceive), the Holy Spirit has pointed out to us beforehand, by this act of sealing, the connection between the beginning of the beast, and the commencement of the seventh seal, since no other reason can be given why the series of the seals, which is not otherwise to be interrupted, should be disturbed by this vision of the sealed ones interposed in chap. vii. Secondly, the end of the beast is contemporary with the close of the sixth trumpet.

For since the 1260 days of the witnesses' mourning in sackcloth finish at the end of the sixth trumpet, or the beginning of the seventh, there also must the forty-two months of the beast finish, and by consequence, the tyranny of the beast is comprised within the compass of the six first trumpets. Q. E. D.

Now it has just been demonstrated, Part I.Synch. I. s. 3. that the forty-two months of the beast, in the same manner as the 1260 days of the mourning of the witnesses, contemporary with them, must finish at the close of the sixth trumpet, as it is shown from the 11th chapter, when the witnesses, after three days' death, being again restored to life, and carried tip into heaven, had completed the days of their sorrowful prophecy, "a great convulsion of the earth having taken place at the same hour or time," the great city suffered destruction, and the beast, the cruel enemy of the witnesses, in consequence of the defeat which he then underwent, breathed his last. That we might know at what period of the seals and trumpets this happened, the Spirit has immediately subjoined, " The second woe (that is, the sixth trumpet) is now past, and the third woe (the seventh trumpet) cometh quickly." Which character I believe to be inserted here as another index of this great synchronism, or principally for this purpose, that it might be another of the hinges on which that great and universal frame of the prophecy of the little book and the seals might turn.

Since otherwise, both this notice and the sound of the seventh trumpet, which immediately follows, would have been placed in right and natural order, at the end of the prophecy of the seals, chap. x. But the Holy Spirit, by the mystery of the seventh trumpet in that place pre signified, in the manner of a proclamation briefly only, and as much as appeared sufficient at that time, (namely, that it would come to pass when that was sounding, " that the mystery of God should be finished as he had declared by the prophets,") wishes to suspend and postpone the tittering of that sound, and the full disclosure of the mystery for a little while, (and without doubt for some important purpose) until, having made a transition to the new prophecy of the little book, he might bring the first vision, when it had run its apocalyptic course, to the same conclusion of events. For I would wish the reader very attentively to remark, that in this one vision of the 11th charter, as the first of the renewed prophecy, the all wise Spirit runs through the whole period of the sealed prophecy, as a warp through a woof, and connects the same with the seventh trumpet as with a sort of clasp, for the sake of directing the time to the series of the seals. But for what purpose, except that to the first vision thus fixed and compared with the seals, the remaining prophecies of the little book which succeed, being connected also by their own characters, the whole system of the renewed prophecy with the seals might be dexterously accommodated?

Moreover, lest a scruple should occur to any one, that those things which are related in the text, of the consternation of the beast, of the ruin of the city, and of the slaughter of men occasioned by the earthquake, by no means appear as if they ought to be understood of the total abolition of the beast ; I say that this is not requisite for that synchronism of which we have been treating; but that they should be taken at least of the concluding time of his power and kingdom, which is determined in forty-two months, and which, the synchronism of the beast and witnesses being acknowledged, must end at the same time with the days of the witnesses. But whatever shall survive of the beast for a little while, will therefore, as may here be collected, be under an appearance dissimilar from the former, so that it cannot be reckoned under the same description ; but is likewise not long after to be wholly destroyed and abolished under the seventh trumpet, when " the kingdoms of this world shall become the kingdoms of the Lord, and of his Christ."

And so it will be manifest, that by this cardinal synchronism well established,the rest play be easily deduced from it and connected with the seals.

SYNCHRONISM II.

Of the contemporary tern of the Interior Court,and the Battle between the Dragon and Michael concerning the plan Child, with the first Six Seals.

Because they are the events next antecedent to the contemporary ones which succeed them ; for the six first seals are the nearest antecedents of the seventh. The inner court and the battle of Michael with the dragon are the nearest antecedents of the beast, and of the assembly of the 144,000 sealed ones. Now the seventh seal (or what is nearly the same thing), the six first trumpets, are contemporaneous with the assembly of the sealed and the beast, as was down by the former synchronism.

SYNCHRONISM III.

Of the Phials with the Sixth Trumpet.

The seven phials of the last wrath of God,since they are so many gradations of the ruin and fall of the beast, must necessarily begin from the commencement of this ruin and fall. But the kingdom of the beast, when the sixth trumpet was yet sounding, had so far begun to be undermined, and had proceeded to such an extent of ruin, that at the end of the same trumpet the power which was given it to exercise dominion, and to overcome the saints for forty-two months, was finished. But the beast could not have fallen to such a state of ruin and fatal calamity before the fifth phial at least was poured out, for then it appears at length that his seat was shaken, and his kingdom darkened. Therefore five, at least, of the phials are poured out before the sound of the sixth trumpet has ceased: I believe even the sixth, but the seventh phial, which is the phial of consummation, will therefore concur with, the beginning of the seventh trumpet, which is also the trumpet of consummation.

SYNCHRONISM IV.

Of the Thousand Years in which the Dragon or Satan is bound, with the Seventh Trumpet, or the Interval from the Destruction of the Beast.

That this account of the binding of Satan may be better understood, it must be premised for a demonstration that it is said in the text, Satan was not only cast into the abyss, but shut up there, and that the angel set a seal upon him, that he might no longer seduce the nations until the 1000 years were completed. For it was the custom of the Hebrews and neighboring nations, when they wished to have a door filmily secured and barred up, to affix a seal to it.

Thus king Darius sealed with his signet and the signet of leis nobles, the stone which was placed over the den of lions into which Daniel was cast. In the story in the Apocrypha, the servants of Daniel shut the doors of the Temple of Bel, and sealed them with the king's seal. In like manner the Jews secured the sepulchre of our Saviour, sealing the stone and setting a watch;" or made it sure by sealing the stone, where it is to be observed that the Greek words "Q~aaiZEtv and Q�a7f~av mutually explain each other. It is one thing then, and far different to be cast down from heaven, (which many accommodate to this place), and another to be bound,shut up in an abyss, and sealed. The former did not deprive him of his power of wandering about and doing mischief, the latter does not suffer him by any means to come out of his prison. Nay, I dare to affirm that not one of those things which are related in the 20th chapter is to be found in the 12tH, nor, on the other hand, is there one word to be found in the 20th of what is related in the 12th. So far from truth is the supposition that the same event is represented on both occasions. Let us, however, examine a little. In the 20th chapter four things are related of the dragon: first, that he was seized by the angel who descended from heaven ; secondly, that he was bound ; thirdly, that he was cast into the abyss; fourthly, that he was shut up and sealed there.

You will find none of these things in the 12th. On the other hand, of what alone is narrated in the 12th chapter of the casting down the dragon from heaven to earth, not even a trace is to be found in the 20th. Nay, from the very context it is easy to collect that no such transaction then took place. For there it is said, that the angel who came to bind the dragon, came down from heaven. Therefore the dragon was already on earth; for otherwise why should the angel have descended to lay hold of him? Hence, Michael did not descend from heaven, but had an engagement with the Devil in heaven itself. These things being premised, let us proceed to the exposition of the synchronism.

Argument 1.---Under the first six seals the dragon, or Satan, was free and at large, and also under the first six trumpets of the seventh seal. It follows, therefore, that the 1000 years for which Satan is bound, are brought within the seventh trumpet. That Satan or the dragon was not bound when the first six seals were yet running their course, is plain from this circumstance, that in all that interval, as a red dragon with his seven heads and crowns, he was contending with Michael about the offspring of the woman, as was just now demonstrated. But neither did this take place under the first six trumpets of the following seal; for this is the period of the woman in the wilderness, and of the domination of the ten horned beast, as appears from Synch. I. of this Part. In truth, when the woman was living in the wilderness, it was very unlikely that the dragon could be considered as bound, who, when free and precipitated from heaven, in the first place attempted to overwhelm her with a flood of waters which he cast out of his mouth, as she was preparing to depart; and afterwards, when this attempt did not succeed according to his intention, (the earth having absorbed the flood, and the woman having withdrawn into the wilderness) inflamed with wrath and fury, he went to make war with the remnant of her seed which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ. Are these proofs of Satan's being bound? But let us see likewise (what is said of him) respecting the beast, and hear how the dragon was bound under his reign: , Namely, the dragon gave him his power and his throne, and great authority, and all the world wondered after the beast, and worshipped the dragon which gave power to the beast. But could Satan perform all these acts when he was in prison?

Certainly in one shut up and sealed it was not possible. But that there may be no room for subterfuge, and that it may clearly appear how far the dragon was still free, and at, liberty to perform such deeds, from those into whose custody he is said to be committed, in order to be restrained, behold his other pupil, the false prophet, the inseparable , companion of the ten-horned beast, and the minister of the bestial power, of whom you have it written expressly, that he should perform great wonders, and deceive the, inhabitants of the earth by the miracles which it was given him to perform. Now, who can readily Believe that when these beasts were in possession of au- thority, the dragon, or Satan, was cast into the abyss, and a seal put upon him, that he might not deceive the nations any more? But from the trumpets themselves, (of the intermediate time at least) there is not wanting an argument of the devil's being free and unbound. For is not that king of the locusts of the fifth trumpet, ,vho is called the angel of the abyss, to whom the Hebrew name of Abaddon is applied, and the Greek of Apollyon, and whom John points out as him who had long since fallen to the earth, that very dragon himself and Satan whom Michael, before the trumpets had begun to sound, had cast down from heaven to earth?

For in the whole Apocalypse, I do not remember to have read of any other besides him who fell to the earth, nor do I know any one else to whom those titles of the angel of the abyss and Abaddon could apply. However that may be, Satan was certainly not bound at that time; the bottomless pit (as it is there called) was not closed upon him and sealed, but open to that degree, that the smoke arose out of it, like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and air were darkened by the smoke: And lastly, the liberty of the dragon, or Satan, to deceive the nations, must have continued to the very ruin of the beast, and was therefore entirely coeval with the six first trumpets, which I think it impossible for any one to doubt, who has sufficiently attended to what is said to be done after the effusion of the sixth phial, that when the seventh, which is the last phial, is just about to be poured out, and therefore the last day of the beast was just at hand. Out of the mouth of the dragon and his vicars, the beast, and the false prophet, three unclean spirits of demons working miracles go forth unto the kings of the earth, and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty."

So the thousand years of Satan's bondage, in order that he might no longer deceive the nations, cannot be placed under the first six seals, nor under the first six trumpets. They must consequently be referred to the seventh trumpet.

Argument 2. Afterwards, when the thousand years are finished, and Satan, having been loosed from his prison for a short time, had excited new commotions, the rabble of deceived nations which he had collected having been consumed by fire sent down from heaven, he himself being taken as a deceiver, is said to be cast into a lake of fire and sulphur, where the beast and false pro- phet were. Observe here, reader, the mark of the time by which it is intimated that this event, whatever it is, of Satan's captivity and con- demnation, after his renewed deliverance, succeeds as well in order of relation, as also in time of action, to the vision of the former chapter concerning the beast and false prophet being vanquished, captured, and in like manner cast into a lake of fire burning with sulphur, by him who sat on the white horse. For it would not otherwise be said that Satan was cast into the place where the beast and the false prophet were, unless the beast and the false prophet had been previously sent there.

Nor let, any shrewd person say, by way of evasion, that there is no difference between this war of the 20th chapter, after the one thousand years, and that of the former chapter; since not only the character displayed, but all the circumstances likewise, on both sides, are in direct contradiction to it the parties, kind of battle, and mode of destruction. There by the sword; here by fire ; nay, the event of each battle is also dis- similar, as will presently appear by demonstration. In that instance, it was the binding of Satan for a time ; but in this, it is his condemnation to eternal fire.

Since the war then in which the beast and the false prophet, when captured, are cast into a lake of fire, is different from the last, to which Satan, who was to be finally cast into the same lake, had excited the nations immediately after his liberation, it must have been waged either within the thousand years, or before they began. But within the thousand years it could not be waged, because so long Satan is said to have been shut up in the abyss, that he might. not deceive the nations any longer until the thousand years were completed; c. xx. v. 3. . But in the war in which victory was at length obtained over the beast, the false prophet, .and their associates, (if ever otherwise) he was most free and at perfect liberty to deceive, as is apparent from what we have justly alleged from the 16th chapter, of the preparation for this war; namely, that after the effusion of the sixth phial, when the seventh, by which the beast was utterly destroyed, was just ready to be poured out, "from the mouth of the dragon, and from the mouth of the beast, and the false prophet, three impure spirits, like frogs, being the spirits of demons working miracles, went forth to the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of the great day of God Almighty." Since then the period of the thousand years by no means admits of these disturbances and satanic commotions, it follows that this war of the beast preceded them in time. And thus at length the thousand years of Satan's bondage will contemporize with the interval from the destruction of the beast. Q. E. D.

Argument 3. Lastly, since, during the thousand years in which Satan is detained in custody, Christ may be said to have reigned with his followers over that august and magnificent kingdom, therefore, by the same arguments and marks by which the synchronism of the one is established, that of the other will be confirmed. That this august kingdom of Christ then begins with the seventh trumpet, or from the destruction of the beast, it is now our business to show.

SYNCHRONISM V.

Of the Thousand Years of the august Kingdom of Christ, and of the Seventh Trumpet, or the Interval from the Destruction of the Beast.

That extraordinary and august kingdom of Christ, repeatedly mentioned in the Apocalypse, and of whose approach the chorus of animated beings and elders rejoicing together, are wont to sing hymns and doxologies to God, everywhere succeeds to the beast and Babylon, subdued and led in triumph. For, first, in the 20th chapter, where this reign of a thousand years is expressly treated of, in the number of those who reign with Christ, are they who have not worshipped the beast, nor his image, nor received his mark upon their foreheads or in their hands. Do not these words sufficiently show that this reign of Christ succeeded the reign of the beast, his image, and his marks? For why should this eulogium be bestowed on the children of the kingdom, that they had not adored the beast, &c. unless the beast had preceded it ? For the good desert is certainly antecedent to the remuneration and reward. But this kingdom, (as the series of the narration points out) is bestowed on the saints as a reward of their faith and constancy, their cause having been first heard in solemn judgment; the assembly of which is described in these words, " And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them;" that is, the power of judging facts &c. Therefore the time in which, when the beast was reigning, the saints approved their faith and their constancy to God, preceded the judgment. The remuneration follows the decree then established.

2. The same likewise farther appears from the paean of the elders and living creatures, which was sung at the fall of Babylon: v. 7. Let us rejoice, and exult, and give glory to him ; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife bath made herself ready." For that the kingdom in both cases is the same, I cannot entertain a doubt.

3. But most clearly of all does it appear, from c. xi. v. 15, 16, &c. when, at the sound of the seventh trumpet, the days of the witnesses, and the months of the beast, and the Gentiles being concluded, there was that exclamation in heaven.

The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign for ever and ever. And the four and twenty elders who sat on their thrones before God, fell on their faces and worshipped God, saying, We give thanks, O Lord God Almighty, who art, and who wast, and who art to come, because Thou hast taken to Thee thy great power, and hast reigned."

This is that consummation of the mystery of God, proclaimed by the prophets, which, at the sounding of the seventh trumpet, the angel had before predicted should come to pass ; when neither the months of the beast, nor the days of the witnesses in mourning, nor any part of the period of " a time, and times, and half a time," should remain to be completed, precisely accord- ing to the prediction of Daniel, c. vii. v. 25, 26. concerning the oecumenieal dominion of Christ, or the reign of the saints, which was to take place after the same times and the same sessions of judgment. Likewise where the same angel who here addresses John, in the same gesture, manner, and (what is chiefly to be remarked) under the same form of swearing, is said to have asseverated that the interval of a time, and times, and half a time, being completed, the dispersion of the holy people, and with it, the last of wonderful events, should be consummated.

Whoever desires a farther confirmation, let him apply the characters of the foregoing synchronism to the present; for they afford, as I have said, mutual corroboration to each other.

SYNCHRONISM VI.

Of the New Jerusalem, the Spouse of the Lamb, with the Seventh Trumpet, or the Period from the Destruction of the Beast.

The marriage of the Lamb, and the august kingdom of the Lord God Omnipotent, both begin from the fall of Babylon, from whence the seventh trumpet begins. This appears from the hymn of the elders and living creatures, which are quoted in the former synchronism, c. xix.- v. 6, 7. "Alleluia! for our Lord God Omnipotent has begun to reign. Let us be glad, and rejoice, and give glory to Him; for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife bath made herself ready." But the " new Jerusalem is the spouse of the Lamb, adorned and prepared for her husband," c. xxi. v. 2. "And I saw," says he, "the Holy City, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, as a wife adorned for her husband;" and, v. 9, "Come, and I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife." Therefore, it will both begin and be contemporary with the seventh trumpet.

2. New Jerusalem is the beloved city; but that beloved city, as soon as the thousand years are finished, is said to be compassed out by the last forces of Satan, then set at liberty. c. xx. v. 9. " And they compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city." Therefore it must have existed before, when Satan was bound. To these two arguments, either for the sake of confirmation, or of illustration and ornament, two others seem proper to be subjoined.

3. As soon as the seventh phial has been poured out, " a great voice proceeded from the Throne, saying, TFyove, It is done, c. xvi. 19. In like manner, c. xxi. v. 5, 6. " He who sat on the Throne" said to John, as he saw the New Jerusalem descending from heaven, " Behold, I make all things new. It is done. I am A and 0, the Beginning and the End:' Therefore the new Jerusalem, the wife of the Lamb, begins from the final termination of the phials: "It is done," the harlot being now extinct, and so is contemporary with the interval from the destruction of the beast.

4. One of the angels of the phials, c. xvii. showed John the judgment of the harlot, when the phials were pouring out, and which was to be effected by one of them at least; and the same angel of the phials, c. xxi. v. 10. shows the same John the bride of the Lamb, the great and holy city Jerusalem; because it was to become conspicuous when the phials were discharged, that is, when the beast and Babylon were extinct.

SYNCHRONISM VII.

Of the Palm-bearing Multitude of Persons innumerable, rejoicing in triumph, out of all nations, and kindreds, and peoples, and tongues; with the Seventh Trumpet, or Period after the Destruction of the Beast.

I. The palm-bearing multitude immediately succeeds the company of a hundred and forty four thousand sealed ; but that company which is to be considered as the opposite to the beast, with which it is contemporary, both in meaning and duration, completed its period likewise with the beast. (Synch. IV. Part. I) Therefore the palm-bearing multitude follows both, and consequently falls in with the seventh trumpet, which is the interval from the downfall of the beast.

The palm-bearing multitude are citizens of the new Jerusalem; for of both it is said, "that they shall not hunger any more, nor thirst any more; that the Lamb shall feed them, and lead them to living fountains of waters; and that God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes."

Now, the new Jerusalem is contemporary with the seventh trumpet, and therefore the palm bearing multitude is so likewise.

THE EPOCH OF THE APOCALYPSE.

The epoch of the Apocalypse, as far as it is a prophecy of the future, whether you are inclined to consider it as commencing from the beginning of Christianity, or from the ruin of the Jewish polity and church, or from the moment of time in which the revelation was made to St. John, or in whatever way it may be understood, (for I will not act as an interpreter, when I recollect my design) I think no one will be inclined to doubt but that the beginning of the seals, which relates to things to be transacted therein, must be deduced from thence. But from the same epoch must be derived also the beginning of the second prophecy, or of the Little Book, if those words of the context, about the repetition of the Prophecy, and what we leave besides treated of above in Synch. VI. Part I. and in the Introduction to Part II. have not been sufficiently convincing to any individual, he will be compelled at length to acknowledge, from the necessity of the synchronism, when he shall have attempted to place the several prophecies in order and method according to the explanations which have ,just been made.

THE CLOSE OF THE SYNCHRONISMS AND. OF THE APOCALYPSE.

The universal resurrection of the dead, and the last judgment with Gehenna follow the thousand years of the kingdom and the condemnation of Satan, c. xx. from verse 11 to the end.

Paradise follows the description of New Jerusalem, through which runs a river like Eden, winds about here and there, having in the midst the tree of life. For so I understand the words. "In the midst of the street or breadth thereof, and of the river which ran on each side, was the tree of life." And this is the end of the world and of the Apocalypse.

As to what remains, Reader, behold the order and series of all the prophecies in the Apocalypse, according to the events delineated for your inspection in this scheme, and to be seen at one glance, which I have constructed according to the rule of the synchronisms just demonstrated, for my own use ; and if you will allow it, for yours also.

May God open our mental eyes, that we may discover his wonderful works. Amen

A COROLLARY ON THE USE OR THE KEY.

1. From what has been already said, I think it is evident that the Apocalypse was constructed not only to be regarded according to the letter, as if it were some naked history of events, but also a prophecy involved in mystic allegories and types, with signs and characters of the same kind inserted by the Holy Spirit, throughout the whole narration, that thence the legitimate series, order, and synchronisms of all the visions may be extracted, compared, and demonstrated, with the supposition and assistance of any given interpretation.

2. Then, besides, as it is the custom in historical works, that many different transactions which took place together and at the same time, with many other transactions, cannot, notwithstanding, be related together, but separately and in succession; so likewise it is usual, in the case of these prophecies and visions of things performed, (but displayed in the most commodious and wisest order) that they would be altogether in the wrong who would proceed to interpret the Apocalypse in such a manner, as if the events succeeded each other always in the same order and series as the visions.

3. By successfully examining the meaning of the Apocalyptical visions, the series and connexion in the chief of them among each other, according to the events, being investigated by remarkable characters and marks, and demonstrated by internal arguments, is to be constituted as the basis and foundation of all solid and legitimate interpretation. For the order itself is to be confirmed, not according to the will of the interpreter, (as we see unadvisedly done by many) on account of some congruity of the interpretation, but every interpretation is to be tried by the characters of the synchronisms, according to the already constructed idea of this chronic order, as by a rule and standard. For without a foundation of this kind, it is scarcely possible that you should extract any thing from the Apocalypse which can solidly give an assurance of its interpretation and application, and which may rely on Divine authority, and not on assumed principles and mere conjectures. But, on the contrary, if this foundation be admitted, since even the bounds of time and order will not permit the application to wander at licence and at will, you will be surprised, out of so many varying and even contending interpretations, how many are almost entirely rclnovcd, few doubtful places, upon the whole, being left, and those generally of small consequence, in which the intention yet remains doubtful, at least as to its general application ; so that from this book henceforth, as well as from the other books of the New Testament, arguments may be obtained, even on the subject of prophecy, secure of inter- pretation, and on which reliance may be placed as on the oracles of the Holy Spirit, and not merely on the inventions of the human understanding.

5. Now, O Reader, such an Apocalyptical key, or Compass, (if you prefer calling it so) according to the measure of intelligence with which a good and beneficent God has favoured me, an unworthy sinner, in the investigation of these mysteries, I demonstrate to the best of my power in the above synchronisms, and propose to your view in the accbmpanying scheme, as ill a brief and easy compendium ; in which, (that you may not be ignorant of its use) if you have once made up your mind about the sense of some principal prophecy, and of the times in which it was fulfilled, you will then have a method pointed out, from which, by the clew of the synchronisms, and the order of the whole, you will be able to investigate, nay, even to demonstrate, the meaning of the other visions; since those other prophecies which are contemporary with that known prophecy of yours, are without doubt to be applied to the same times; but those which precede are only to be interpreted of preceding, those which succeed in like manner, only of subsequent events.

6. And lest you should be inclined to doubt whether there is any one of all the visions in the Apocalypse to be found on which you can safely fix your foot, in the manner I have pointed out, and from thence, as from some station or watch-tower, measure the rest of the Apocalypse, lo! on this very point a discovery has been made by the Holy Spirit, in that illustrious vision of the great harlot ; in truth, the only one of all the visions which the angel, contrary to custom, explains to John. But for what purpose unless that by it an approach may be opened to the rest, which would be otherwise inaccessible ?

What would you wish for more? Here then, having invoked the Father of Lights, enter; and having entered, apply the key to unlock the remainder. Make a trial; and when you have tried, you will confess that this prophecy is most admirable, and that when the subject is thoroughly investigated, there is none of the Old Testament, not even that of Daniel, (so it be comes the Gospel) which can be compared with it for certainty, either in the singular con- trivance of its manifestation, or in the mode and manner of discovering its interpretation.

Lastly, I will intreat of you, O Reader, who may meet with this work, that if you shall perceive any thing perchance to have been revealed to me, whhe an attentive observer, which may be of service to yourself or others, in the understanding of these mysteries, you would refer it wholly to the mercy of God, bestowed upon me; to whom I likewise shall never cease to return my grateful thanks for the slenderest raylet of His wisdom; but whatever may be erroneous, that I beseech you to impute to myself-alone, a man of very little ability, and by no means fitted of myself (of which I am fully conscious? to such an undertaking.

Blessing, and Honour, and glory be unto Him that sitteth on the Throne, and to the Lamb, for ever and ever!