132 ~n ExPOS ITI ON ~'being luch whofe Form and Frame. was not for tliis Building, nor capable of th;t ~· mea{itte which was now to be apphed. All thele things argue ro me, that this Vilion and Work appointed John here, relpeCted not Anteriour Times, but the Fnce of that Church, the Times where– of he then rlood in, and the Work of that Age about it. Whereas (accord– ing to their Interpretation) the Outward Court mu(\ have exifled at the begin– ning of the Times of Antiehrift; for they fuppole the 011tward Co11rt (that is) the Face of the Church poileiTed by Amiehrirt 42 Months, even from the beginning. There is a Third Interpretation, which to me leems more probable than either of thele (and which I exclude not in this of mine) ; and that is, That this meajitring theTemple, &c. il10uld be that firfl Reform.ltion and cretling of Chur– ches, with that Separation made from Popery by our Wonbics, they ca(\ing out that Catholick Romilh Church as not agrcemg with the Rule. And fo that Re– formation and Separation. falling out tOgether with (or not long after) the Turf<! poildiing the Eaflern Empire, (which is the fixth Trumpet, chap. 9·) This uthChapter begmmng wtth that Reformatton of the Church, fhould thereby orderly continue the Story of the fixth Trumpet, without any Chaji11a or void !pace of Time between the 9th and I Ith Chapters. Whereas, to draw it down to our Time, leaves an interim or vacuity of an hundred Years. But, I. I conceive the Scope of the Angel here nor to be lo much to make up a compleat Story continued to the other, chap. 9· For the former Story ofrhe Trumpets, having contained only the Fates of the Empire, it therefore fui– tcd not his Scope to annex this Reformation of the Church thereunro, as any homogeneal part of one continued Story, although in Time immediately fucceeding it: For that more properly belonged to the Book-Prophecy that tol– lows, and is at large let forth, chap. I 4, I 5, and I 6. Bur his Scope feems rather to be, to give a compUtation of the Times of Amichrif'c, and a fignal of their ending,by the Occurrences of the Age jufl afore ; fingling out to that end luch particular Pailages, (that otherwile belonged to the Book-Prophecy) about the Church in that lafl Age, as fhould be mof'c eminent, and likewile defignarory of the ending of thole Times, being luch allo as fhould fall out before the expiring of the lixth Trumpet, or lccond Wo. And if thele Occurrences have any affinity with the fixth Trumpet, it rather lies in this, that whereas the fifth and lixth Trumpets had conrait.cd two Woes on the Chrillian World in the Eafl, (for their Idolatry) from the T11ri{f and Sa– racem; T his contains a like Wo on the Churches of the Reformation in the Weft, by the Papifls over· running their Outward Court, os a punifhmenr of their Carnal-Golpclling. Which added to thole Woes brought upon rhole Gre– cian Churches by the Turks, fuould make the Woof the fix rh Trump<t cam– pleat. And lo, the treadi11g the Wim-preji witho11t the City, (in Q,,."'""l ) cbap. I4· !hould be reduced to the lixth Trumpet, as a part of it, rather than to any of the Vials. The Vials being upon the Turk and Pope only, bur tliefe other Woes upon thole other ProfeiTors of Chrifl, and his Name, after a flcfhly way, both Grecians and Proteflams; the one by the Turk, chap. 9· the other by the Papifls here in this I Itb Chapter. And then, 2 . The main eminent Bulinefs of the firfl Reformers from Popery, being chiefly about Matters of DoCtrine corrupted by the ]lapills, and about the ldolatries of Rome ; therefore both in chap. I 4, in the Voicesof thole three Angels; and in chap. I 5· in their Song there, Matters of DoCtrine only are mentioned. And though they laid the Foundation of the Building of all Churches, yet that was not -rO lpfv, that very Work unto which they did lo lpe– cially attend. It was not lo much the right meaji~ring and conflitution of Chur– ches, and of the Materials of them; as here (you fee that) that is made rhe main thing imended, even to meajitre the Temple, A/tat, &c. and indeed is, and hath been eminently, and peculiarly the Work in hand now in this la([ Age. 3· Let it be confidered, that the Popilli Party in this Allufion, cannot lo properly be called the OH/ward Co11rt; but they are rather intended by Gemiles here:
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=