Book IV. M Y S T E R Y B A B Y L 0 N. this Woman, M yf\ery Babylon, is exprefsly faicl to be, Rev. xvii. 6. And I Jaw the fVo:~:an drunk ·-;vith tbe Blood of the Saints, and -with the Blood of the Martyrs of Jefus; mul I ·ocond<-rcd witb great Admiration. Now kt any Man ihew fuch Bloodlhed, Saints Blood!hed, by M ..tfacres and Martyrdom, for the profeffing of Chrillianity, which mull be, "if the Tn::t be anfwered in that Claule, Blood of the Martyrs of JejitS, by the '.Tt~rks, t'ither wid1in thc:ir Dominions, or wirhom, as ha£h been fhed bv a Generation nearer Home, and we !hall become like the Man without a Wedding-Ga'rment, wholly fpeech– kfs, and f.ty not a Word more about Baby/on. Ill. Now that Babylon in the Apocaiypfe, is Great Rome, thlt in former Times reio-ned, and in future Times !hall be deftroyed, is owned by fome of the Papifrs themf~lves, and is a!ferted by all Protell:ants; the Difference betwixt them il brought to this nar– row Point: The one wholly confines Babylon to Rome Heathen, and there totally to terminate; the other brings Babylon down lower, to Rome Antichriil:ian, or Papal Rome. Now that this Work may be to Edification, and more full Satisfaction in this areat Cafe, we !hall advance to the !aft and chief Secret that is to be opened and con• fidered, namely, Whether all Things in John's Vifion or Prophecy, that are applied to Myll:ery Ba~r!ou, did compleatly terminate in Rome Heathen, and come no further ! In anfwer to this great Enquiry,. we do, With the Body of Proteil:ants, in Oppofition to the Papiil:s, conclude the Negative, viz. that all Things in the Apoca!ypfe applied to Myil:ery Babylon, did not terminate in Rome Heathen. The Reafons of which Ne– gative are as followeth. 1. Becaufe the Beail: that Myftery Babylo;z rides on, is the eighth Heud, or !ail: Rulin"– Power of that City that is featcd upon feven Hills, which meat be Rome Papal, becaL{f-e the whole Race of Rome Heathen was gone of!; before the eighth Head came up.~ The fixth Head was in John's Time; the fevemh was ro come, and continue but a fuort Space, 'fhe Bwft that carries the Woman, viz. Babylon, is of the fe·ventb, but is the eighth, and jhall be the !aft ; for he goeth imo Perdition. .This being fo evident from the Letter of the Text, needs nothing more to confirm it. Now that Rome Hea. then was not the !ail: Parr of the Romi!h Power, is not only the full and joint Confent of all Writers upon this Subject, but is fo evident to all the Chriil:i"n \'!odd, that it would be Vanity itfdf to make a Show of Proof. The Ccnclc,fion then is this: lf the very !aft Part of the Roman Power carries the Woman Babylo11, and that the Heathen– State of Rome went ofF before, and was not the lalt; then BabyloJJ could not terminate in Rome HeathC"n, but mufl: come down w Rome Papal. .See Re·u. xyii. 3, 7, 9, 11. 2. If Baby/on be rorally terminated in R.o;ae Hear hen, then the Book of the Apoca– lypfe is of little ufe to the latter Ages of the Chriil:ian World : For if the whole Tranf– actions relating to the Perfecmion of the Church, and the Slaughter and Ddlruftion of God's Enemies, did end in Rome Heathe-n, then it ftrved only to give a characteriftical Account of a Bcail: and Whore that was grown old, and ready to go off the Stage; but bath wholly left us in the dark, and given us no Notice at all of rhat horrible Con– fufion, and bloody Perlecutions, which have reigned in the Chriil:ian \'Vorld for more than a thoufand Years Ja(t pail:; which for Length of Time, Numbers of Murders, and Manner of Cruelties, hath out-done all the Wickedncfs of Rome in its Heathen State. Which is not at all likely, that a Vifion fhould be given, and a Revelation made, and called la, about a State that was almoil: expired, and the moft o-reat and principal Part wholly left out, and faid nothing to. . Who ~an imagine, that"'a careful Savior Jbould be fo full in his Difcoveries to the Jewdh Church, concerning their Suf– ferin"s, and the Time under E![)pt, and Babylon literal; and be fo lhort and lean to his Gofpel-Church, tO leave them altogether without any written Profpect, or extra– ordinary Prophet, to inform them what fhould come to pafs in the World, from the going off of the Power of Rome Hearhen, to the End of all the Churches Troubles, which have already lafted above a thoufand Years? The Conceit of which is fit bm for two Ranks of Men to receive, viz. the Roman Catholics, and fuch .Proteil:ants as look for Antichrift to come at the End of the World, after uhe Reiloration of the Jews to their own Land, and buikhng a material Temple at Jerufa/em, where Antichrift ihall fit three Days and an half, or Years, to kill two Men called the two Witneffes. 3· If this !aft Babylo11 was wholly to terminate in Rome Heathen, then there was no Caufc of Wonderment 3nd great Admiration for a wile Man, to fee in a -Vifion an heatheniLh State, unr!er • diabolicd lnOuence, to perform Actions ftlitable to their · · · Star~,
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