not say the same thing, & have not the fame object. For the first little book that appeareth sealed with seven seals, principally respects the affairs & the adventures of the first Period of the fourth Monarchy, viz. the temporal Roman Empire. And the second book contains the destinies of the Church corrupted during the fame ages, & the fame duration of time; this is what we call the Spiritual Roman Empire. I say, that the first' book contains properly the deftinies of the Empire; not but that those of the Church are included in it too. For that which God foretold should befall the Roman Empire, was always with respect to the Church, to its Persecutions, & the great Changes that befall it. So that to speak properly, the whole work respects the Church. But the second little book, which reaches from the 10th. Chapter to the end, respects the Church, & what was to befall it, much more particularly, yea & more clearly. ther the are Pro. The first thing that appears in the book whe of the Revelation is the seven Epistles to se-feven ven principal Churches of Afia, contained Epistles in the three first Chapters. Tis very much phetical question'd whether these Epistles are Prophetical or not. Some maintain that they are with a great deal of heat, & others deny it. As for me, I have nothing certain to say upon it. So that I would not raise a prejudice against any person or any opinion by my own; tho I am much more enclined to believe that there is nothing of prophecy in them, Ba Why the wrote but them, but that all that is said in these Epiftles, refers to things that had happened in those seven Churches. It is certain that the Revelation is nothing but an Epistle. This is elear by its beginning & end. Now it was not usuall with the Apostles to direct their Epiftles to the Universal Church in generall of all places & all times, as fome would have St. John here to have done. The Apoftles were wont in their Epistles to rank in the first place what they had which was dogmatical & Prophetical to write of; & afterward came that which respected what was moral. This is the method of St. Paul. St. John on the contrary in this Epistle sets that which is moral therein, before that which is Prophetical. The reason is because he little design'd to stay upon that which is moral, & his principal aim was to relate the vifions which God had given him. Therefore he dif patcheth in the beginning that which was to make the least part of his Epistle, & which was less important, that without diversion he mightstick to that which he principally intended therein. 4 I fee but one thing that seems mightily to Spirit favour the opinion of those that believe that to leven the seven Epistles are Prophetical. 'Tis the Churches. number of seven. Why did the H. Spirit write to no more than seven Churches ? Were there not many more in Afia? Were these the only ones in which there was any thing to be reproved, or to whom the H. Spirit had fomething to say? It seems therefore that the seven Churches are the Universal Church of all Ages divided into seven Periods. But this reason doth not appear strong enough to me. First, because the number of seven is evidently confecrated in the Revelation. The holy Spirit useth it in counting up all things, the seven Spirits, seven Lamps, seven Angels, &c. Surely whatever we understand hereby, 'tis certain that the number of Spirits, of Lamps & of Angells is not reduced to the number of seven. Not but that oftentimes the number of seven in the Revelation must be taken for a determinate number as in the seven Seals, in the seven Trumpets, & the seven Vialls; but that is when the division of time into Periods is treated of. Now this is that which is doubtful, that by these seven Churches are meant seven Periods. And we shall also see hereafter that what is said to these seven Churches doth not at all agree with the events, in what manner foever the times be divided. So that this only thing that the H. Spiritmaketh here feven Churches doth not prove that they are fo many Period's of the duration of the Church. 'Tis probable that by these he means all the other Churches of Afia, and if any will have it so, all those that were at that time in the world. And he chose among these seven the names of the principal ones, intending that the other leffer Churches should reckon that as spoken concerning their prefent eftate, which is spoken to the seven principal ones among them. B3 2dly. 2 dly, Who knows whether there were at that time more than seven considerable Churches in Asia? The other were so very much below these, for Dignity, Grandure & Excellency, that the H. Spirit judged it not proper to make any account of them, the Advertisements that he gives to these seven Churches being sufficient for the Disorders which might be in all the others, which Disorders were apparently the fame. For 'tis ufuall enough for little flocks to follow the examples of the greater ones. Lastly, it doth not appear that the holy Spirit, in what follows, hath divided the duration of the Church since J. Christ's time to the end of the world, or to the coming of Jesus Christ's Kingdom into seven Periods. For the seven seals, the seven Trumpets, the seven Vialls, do not each of them take up all time. They succeed one another. The seventh. seal brings forth seven Trumpets, & the fixth Trumpet is subdivided into seven Vialls. It had been very methodical in a Revelation, after having obscurely mark'd out the seven Periods of the Church by the seven Epistles, to describe the fame times by seven other Characters more observable & more distinct. This is indeed what some modern writers do believe that God hath done; pretending that the seven seals & the seven Trumpets are co-temporary, & divide the duration of the Chriftian Church into seven Periods, as the seven Epistles to the seven Churches do. But this opinion will not appear probable to those that that study the Prophecies & the events with any application of mind. I look on that as nothing that is faid to support the mystery of the seven Churches, viz. that we do not fee that fuch things happened in the seven Churches of Afia, which are there named, as have any resemblance with what the H. Spirit faith to them. How should we fee it, feeing we have not the particular Hiftory of those Churches in that time? Befides, tho we do not know the particulars of those events, yet there is nothing in the feven Epistles which doth not very well agree with the Estate of the Church that then was; without any neceffity to feek out events myftically meant in future ages. that are ods are The principal thing that hinders me from The apclosing with the opinion of the Prophetical plications sense of the Epistles, is that I do not find that made of the applications which are made of them to the seven Epistles the Ages that have past since the Apostles, to the ledo anfwer expectation. "Tis true, there are some ven Periplaces where the applications are not unhap- not hap py. But feeing this is not to be met with PY every where, I believe that they have hit luckily by chance. Otherwise the Prophecy should every where agree with the events. To the end one may better judge of the force of this last reason, I shall fet down two or three of the mystical interpretations that are given to these Epistles. This will please those who cannot or will not go to feek them in their Springs. I begin with that of Patrick Forbes a Scotch |