is in it; pretending that this means fome great perfon diftinguifht by his dignity as a King or an Emperour, or by his knowledg as a great Doctor. Therfore many by this ftar understand a great Prophet. But 'tis not fo. This must be explain'd with relation to the firft Trumpet, & we must know that this is but the fequel of the history of the deftruction of the Roman Empire by the Barbarians. The first part of this deftruction was but Hail mingled with Fire, a common ftorm, & fuch as often happens in fummer, wherin thunder & lightning in hot countries are always mingled with the hail. But afterwards this inundation of the Barbarians increased in fuch a manner, that it was no longer an ordinary ftorm. There fell not only Fire mingled with Water & Hail, this Storm becomes wholly pure fire, a fall of terrible Lightning, a true Mountain of Fire that fell on the Roman Empire, & over-whelm'd it. Afterwards the fire continued to fall on a third part, in truth no longer as a Mountain, but as a fire-brand, fuch as the stars are that appear to fall in the air. See therfore here three fires. The First is mingled with Hail. The fecond is meer fire, & great as a mountain. The third is as a great Lamp. The First afflicts the Trees of Europe or of the third part of the World. The fecond falls into the fea, & changes it into blood. The third falls on the rivers & fountains, & makes their waters bitter. This evidently fignifies the three first degrees of the Barbarians invafion. They come at First that falls fea is Alario that defolate & took Rome. like fire mingled with hail, which burns the trees, like a ftorm that fpoils the fruits of the Earth. They pillaged the Goods & the The moun. Riches of the Empire. 2ly. They come like tain of fire a meer fire that confumes & devours. They fell on the fea. By that I understand the people of Italy, the taking of Rome by Alaric. Italy made Italy was in refpect to the Roman Empire what the fea is in respect to the rivers. The fea is the center, & the rivers are all round about it. The fea is the gulf, & the rivers come from all parts to pay their tribute to this gulf. Rome & Italy was the midst of the Empire. Rome was the fea whither all the Provinces came to pay their tribute & their riches. Alaric & his Goths falls like a burning mountain on Italy, & the city of Rome, he takes it, and facks it. This fea becomes blood. Italy was filled with flaughter. After this the Barbarians fuffer'd themselves to be appeafed. Alaric after he had taken Rome, and made there a new Emperour named Attalus, with whom he went to befiege Honorius in Ravenna gave peace to Honorius, quitted Italy, retired among the Gaulls where with his Goths he eftablifht himself. The Vandals poffeffed Spain. The Burgundians ftaid on the Rhone. The Huns inhabited Pannonia. And then the Fountains & the Waters, i.e. the people that depended on Rome, felt the force of this fire of the judgment of God. But this fire did not turn the waters into Blood, because then the flaughter ceased; the oppofition ceafing, the Barbarians faw themselves Mafters. But they they turned the Rivers and the Fountains into Wormwood: i. e. They reduced the Roman Provinces into a bitter Servitude. And by reafon of this, the name of Worm wood is given this last Fire; that is to fay, this last Judgment and Punishment, lefs than the former, but yet fo great as to make the people live in Bitternels. For the Goths fpoiled them of their Lands & Goods. See the Myftery of the fecond and third Trumpet. I have no need to give notice, that the third part of the Sea, and the third part of the Rivers, fignifie the Sea, and the Rivers of the third part of the World; i.e. of Europe: For I have given notice already of that once for all. In truth, they were the People of Europe, that fuffered thefe Defolations. V.12. And the fourth Angel founded, and a third part of the Sun was fmitten, and the third part of the Moon, and the third part of the Stars, fo as the third part of them was darkened, and the Day shone not for a third part of it, and the Night likewife. man En "Tis ftill the fame Figure that rules, that is The Fall to fay, that the Sun of Europe, which is the of the R third part of the World, was darkened; in pire. like manner the Moon and Stars. We must remember, that in the Prophecies the Sun, Moon and Stars alwayes fignifie the Powers of a State. The Heaven of the politick World, is the fuperior Region of Dignities, that sheds kind or malignant Influences on the People. We fhall fee this conftantly obferved in this Book, in fuch manner, that in all places where the Sun, Moon and Eclypfes are fpoken of, 'tis unqueftionable that we muft understand the darkening and deftruction of the fovereign Powers in the State or Empire fpoken of. Now what Empire is it that is here spoken of? "Tis the Empire of Rome. For yet once more we must ftick to this Principle, as one of the principal Keys of the Revelation,viz.that it moves wholly on the Roman Empire, and that 'tis properly nothing but a Comment on what is faid of the fourth Beast in the 7th chap. of Daniel: The Roman Empire, and în part the Invasions of it by the Goths and other Barbarians being here treated of, there is no room for doubting, but that the Sun of the third part of the World which is fmitten, fignifies the Sovereign of Rome, the Roman Emperor; the Moon is the Imperial Dignity; the Stars are the Grandees of the Empire. And 'tis the Extinction of the Roman Empire of Italy that happen'd in the year 455. after the Death of Valentinian the 3d, when Genferic came frome Africa with his Vandals, took Rome, and fackt it fifteen days one after another; after which the Empire was torn among ten Kings, according as St. John foretold it in the fequel of this Book. CHAP. VII. CHAP. VII An Explication of the vifions of the fifth Tin the fourth Monarchy is a great affair. Therfore the H. Spirit ftays upon it, & makes G And the fifth Angel founded, & I saw a v. I. ftar fall from Heaven to the Earth, & to. him was given the Key of the Bottomless-pit. Ꮕ And he open'd the Bottomlefs-pit, & there .2 arose a Smoke out of the Pit, as the smoke of a great Furnace, & the Sun & the Air were Darkned by reafon of the Smoke of the Pit. v. 3. And there came out of the fmoke Locufts on the Earth. And the fequel of the hiftory, & the Characters of this Prophecy, perfwade me, that by the Locusts we must understand the Arabians and Saracens; for after the fall of the Imperial dignity in Italy, the greatest event that happen'd with reference to the fourth |