صور الصفحة
PDF
النشر الإلكتروني

heaven spake unto me again, and said, Go and take the little book which is open in the hand of the angel which standeth upon the sea and 9 upon the earth. And I went unto the angel, and said unto him, Give me the little book. And he said unto me, Take it, and eat it up; and it shall make thy belly bitter, but it shall be 10 in thy mouth sweet as honey. And I took the little book out of the angel's hand, and ate it up; and it was in my mouth sweet as honey and as 11 soon as I had eaten it, my belly was bitter. And he said unto me, Thou must prophesy again before many peoples, and nations, and tongues, and kings. XI. 1. And there was given me a reed like unto a rod, saying, Rise and measure the temple of God, and the altar, and them that worship therein. 2 But the court which is without the temple leave

out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the Gentiles and the holy city shall they tread forty 3 and two months. And I will give power unto

my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, 4 clothed in sackcloth. These are the two olive

trees, and the two candlesticks standing before 5 the God of the earth. And if any man will hurt them, fire proceedeth out of their mouth, and devoureth their enemies and if any man will hurt them, he must, in this manner be killed. 6 These have power to shut heaven, that it rain not

in the days of their prophecy and have power

over waters to turn them to blood, and to smite the earth with all plagues, as often as they will. 7. And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless

[ocr errors]

pit, shall make war against them, and shall over8 come them, and kill them. And their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also 9 our Lord was crucified. And they of the people, and kindreds, and tongues, and nations, shall see their dead bodies three days and an half, and shall not suffer their dead bodies to be put in 10 graves. And they that dwell upon the earth shall rejoice over them, and make merry, and shall send gifts one to another; because these two prophets tormented them that dwelt on the 11 earth. And after three days and an half the spirit of life from God entered into them, and they stood upon their feet; and great fear fell 12 upon them which saw them. And they heard a great voice from heaven saying unto them, Come up hither. And they ascended up to heaven in 13 a cloud; and their enemies beheld them. And the same hour was there a great earthquake, and the tenth part of the city fell, and in the earthquake were slain of men seven thousand: and the remnant were affrighted, and gave glory to the God of heaven.

14

[ocr errors]

The second woe is past, and behold, the third woe cometh quickly.

CONTINUATION OF PART III.

SECTION X.

Seventh Stage of the Public Sounding of the Mystery.

The scattering of the power of the holy people being accomplished at the battle of Armageddon, the kingdoms of this world become our Lord's and his Christ's. The time is come for the judgment, and for the saints to be rewarded. All civil and religious despotism is abolished; the Roman Empire is possibly parcelled out into small independent societies, unable by their diminutiveness to oppress each other, and able on the same account of regulating their own political economy without corruption, or tyranny: every thing that partakes of the character of the beast, as extent of dominion, being exploded as presumptuous, and hostile to civil and religious liberty. In these states there may be no distinct order of men set apart for the performance of religious duties, each man being his own priest. But the Northern power makes his descent upon the church of Christ brought back from the sword of Antichrist; and our blessed Lord, the true ark of our rest, appears.

15 And the seventh angel sounded, and there were great voices in heaven, saying, the kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever 16 and ever. And the four and twenty elders, which sat before God on their seats, fell upon their 17 faces, and worshipped God, saying, We give thee thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou hast taken 18 to thee thy great power and hast reigned. And

the nations were angry, and thy wrath is come, and the time of the dead that they should be judged, and that thou shouldest give reward unto thy servants the prophets, and to the saints, and them that fear thy name, small and great; and shouldest destroy them which destroy the earth. 19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven,

and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

THE THIRD VISION

OF

ST. JOHN.

THE WOMAN AND DRAGON; THE TWO WILD BEASTS AND THE IMAGE; HARVEST AND VINTAGE.

PART I.

THE RISE, STRUGGLE, AND VICTORY OF THE CHURCH, AND

ITS SUBSEQUENT FALL UNDER THE CIVIL POWER OF THE ROMAN AND HOLY ROMAN OR GERMAN EMPIRES, AND UNDER THE DOMINION OF POPERY.

SECTION I.

The Rise and Fall of the Church.

The church crowned with the apostles, having Judaism for its basis, and supported by the Sun of Righteousness, undergoes nine persecutions in the Roman Empire, in the attempt to bring forth Christ in it. And having brought him forth by the unexampled toleration and prosperity, which his religion experienced, the first eighteen years of the reign of Diocletian, A.D. 284-302.

« السابقةمتابعة »