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minds that they had shed the blood of saints, and the blood of prophets and apostles; for that is called by the spirit, eating and drinking.

So likewise now the great God hath by the sword that goeth out of his mouth, destroyed with a final and eternal destruction, those kings, captains, and great men aforesaid; now the great God and all his army of saints, who are the fowls of heaven, shall sup with the flesh of these men, aforesaid. That is, they shall eat their flesh, not with their teeth, but their spirits shall feed upon their eternal damnation with joy and delight, so that their souls shall be satisfied, or filled with their flesh. For the fowls of heaven shall feed upon their eternal damnation in their minds, even as men do upon the tenderest flesh that is eaten with their teeth; and their spirits will be as well satisfied with their destruction, as men's hungry stomachs are with sweet flesh.

So that there is a spiritual eating of the flesh of kings, and captains, and the flesh of mighty men in their destruction, as there is a spiritual eating of the flesh of Christ, and drinking his blood to their eternal joy and happiness.

And this kind of supper are the saints invited unto, that they may sup with the great God, for they shall have the same flesh to eat as he hath, and as he is satisfied in eating their flesh, so shall they.

CHAP. LXXVIII.

VE ERSE 19. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies gathered together, to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.

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This nineteenth verse signifies the same things as the eighteenth vsrse doth, only John saw the beast and those kings muster up their army together, to fight with him upon the horse, and against his army; but he that sate upon the horse was Christ, and his army that followed him were the saints, and his horse was a white horse, and all his army sate upon white horses also, as I shewed before. But he that sate upon the horse was too hard for the beast and the kings of the earth, so that the beast was taken, as in verse 20.

And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet, that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshiped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. This beast and false prophet signify the civil power, and the ecclesiastical, or spiritual power; for the beast signifies the temporal power, and the false prophet signifies the spiritual power, for these two always committed fornication together, and in all ages they joined together to persecute the prophets, apostles, saints, and Christ himself, and so they will do to the end of time. And John seeing by the eye of faith and revelation, the end of the world, he saw also the beast and the false prophet taken; that is, he saw the whole temporal power of this world, and the whole spiritual power of this world, who joined together in false worship, and in persecuting the saints, John saw them both taken, and they were both cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. So that this spirit of the beast shall remain

in its seed to the end of the world, and the spirit of the false prophet shall remain in its seed to the end of the world; so that they may both be cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone, with all those that received the mark of the beast, and that did worship his image.

Verse 21. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth; and all the fowls were filled with their flesh. The remnant that were slain, signifies all those that were of the beast's and false prophet's mind, yet did not gather themselves together to the beast's army, but they were as it were a remnant left behind as a reserve, as it is a custom for generals of armies to leave a remnant behind as a reserve; but if the general's army be beaten, and he taken, the remnant will quickly be destroyed by him that overcometh. So it is with Christ, when he hath taken the beast and false prophet, and cast them alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone, and when he had spoiled the kings of the earth, and the captains, and the mighty men of war, and all the common soldiers, who had received the mark of the beast in the forehead, or in the right hand, it was an easy matter for him that sat upon the horse to slay the remnant with the sword that goeth out of his mouth. In fine, the slaying of the remnant with the sword it was to cast the remnant, and the kings, and captains, and mighty. men, and all, both great and small, into a lake of fire burning with brimstone, with the beast, and the false prophet. So that all the saints, which are

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called by the spirit, the fowls of heaven, they were all filled with the r flesh, so that the saints shall never hunger or thirst more, but shall be fully satis-, fied in their damnation, who always made the saints to hunger and thirst after peace and quietness; and to reign with God their king and redeemer, in that eternal felicity, joy and glory, where is all satisfaction that can be had, where there will be no hunger nor thirst, but a continual increase of new joys for evermore. So much for the interpretation of this nineteenth chapter.

CHAP. LXXIX.

WHEN I had gone through this book of the Revelation of St. John, I found many things in it exceeding mysterious, even as a sealed book, as it were impossible for any one to interpret, yet through the assistance of the revelation of the spirit of faith, I having the knowledge of those two foundations the scriptures standeth upon before, to wit, the knowledge of the true God, and the right devil; so that from these two foundations all the chief and great mysteries, and hard saying in that book have been opened unto me, and I have given the interpretation of all the chief matters of concernment in that book, first and last, yet but very short, considering the va riety of mystical sayings in that book of John's Revelation.

But when I had seriously considered, and understood the height and depth of these heavenly sayings of John concernning the true God, the Alpha and Omega,

Omega, the first and the last, that was dead, and is alive, and behold he liveth for evermore; with many other heavenly mysteries which were in my heart, which I understood, but I had not words in myself to set it forth, and to declare it to others, that they might understand these mysteries also; yet nevertheless I thought it was better to express these heavenly secrets as well as I could, rather than to bury them with myself alone. So that whoever doth read this treatise of the Interpretation of this book of the Revelation of St. John, I say they must take it as it is, and let them remember that God seldom chose learned men to declare the mysteries of his kingdom; but let that pass. When I had weighed and pondered in my mind this great mystery of God, that God became flesh, I was moved in my mind to express myself thus unto God:

Oh Lord God of truth, thou that wert from eternity, and hadst thy being of thyself, a spiritual body in form like a man; thou who knowest no beginning of thyself, neither dost thou know any ending of thyself, yet thou by thy own wisdom and power, became very man, cloathing thy spiritual body with pure human flesh, only the life of that body was no other but the God-head life, so that thou madest thyself a little lower than the angels; also thou madest thyself capable to suffer the pains of death by thy own creatures, and so thy vesture was made red, it being dipt in thine own blood for the redemption of thine own seed, the seed of Adam. It is thee, O Lord, that wert the first revealer of heavenly secrets unto mankind, some thou hast revealed thy mind unto by voice of words; some

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