power of God sends forth a testimony, the multitudes of people always oppose it, because it opposes their inventions; and their opposition is like wet combustibles opposing the clear burning of fire which always sends up much smoke; this, of course, makes it difficult to understand the testimony, as it is written Isaiah Xxviii, 19, "And it shall be a vexation only to understand the report." This is the smoke from the glory of God, and from his power, because it is the burning of the glory and power of God which causes this smoke of opposition to rise," and it fills the temple," or hearts of unbelievers, so that they cannot enter into that spiritual state from whence the testimony came, until they submit to the testimony, and then the seven plagues are fulfilled in them, and the^ enter into the temple;

Note. As the four beasts have repeatedly been mentioned, which are, without doubt, the same which are mentioned in the visions of the Prophets, Isaiah and Ezekiel, and are called seraphims, see Isaiah Vi, 2; Ezek. I, 5, on to 14. It may be doubted whether these living creatures, which are always described as being very pure, and near the throne if God, are representatives of fallen polluted creatures; it needs only to be remembered, that Christ, by once offering himself without spot to God for all men, presented them holy before God while they were yet in their sins, as it is written, Rom. V, 10, "For if, when we were enemies. we were reconciled to God by the death of his son: much more being reconciled we shall be saved by his life."

Let it now be observed, that as the gospel was preached by the Apostles, as signified by the sounding of seven trampets, which reached to Christ's spiritual coming. And in its process destroyed one third part of the strength of the pow ers of darkness: as turning one third part of the sea, and rivers, and fountains of waters, to blood, darkening one third of the sun, moon and stars, &c. And we have seen that afterward the power of darkness gained its full strength under the reign of the beast of false religion; so we shall now see that God raised up the testimony again since the fourteenth century, about at which time I apprehend it rose again in these latter days, for the destruction of those things which oppose the gospel, represented by the figures of seyen angels with seven vials.

CHAPTER XVI.

Verse 1, 66 And I heard a great voice out of the temple, saying to the seven angels, go your ways, and pour out your vials," &c. Signified the word of God in the hearts of the faithful, sends forth the testimony.

Verse 2, "And the first went and poured out his vial upon the earth," signified, on the minds of the people; "And there fell a noisome and grievous sore upon the men which had the mark of the beast, and them which worshipped his image." Signified that they being convinced by the testimony, that they were wrong, and yet, being determined not to submit to the truth, their conviction became like a corrupting, stinking sore in their minds.

Verse 3," And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea," signified the multitudes of vain thoughts; and it became as the blood of a dead," signified that the thoughts of the people, in consequence of still rebelling against the truth, became loathsome, and frightful to themselves, as a sea of blood would be to sail in; "and every living soul died in the sea," signified that many were honest and sincere in their false worship before; but now, being convinced and still holding on to their false notions, every living movement of honesty and sincerity in their thoughts died.

Verse 4," And the third angel poured out his vial upon the rivers and fountains of waters, and they be came blood." Signified those risings up, and runnings of the wordly spirit in the minds of the people, which, like rivers and fountains of waters, become the drink of the people; and, whereas, turning the waters to blood, was one of the plagues of Egypt, so, causing that wicked spirit of which the people drink, to become loathsome to them like blood to drink, is one of the plagues upon mystery Babylon.

Verses 5, 6, " And I heard the angels of the wa

ters say, Thou art righteous, O Lord, &c. because thou hast judged thus. For they have shed the blood of Saints and Prophets, and thou hast given them blood to drink, for they are worthy." Signified that it was altogether right, to turn that spirit which persecuted the Saints, to become tormenting to those who were in it.

vial

VERSE 8, "And the fourth angel poured out his the upon sun," signified the principal luminary of false religion, which is the wisdom of this world; "and power was given unto him to scorch men with fire, and men were scorched with great heat, and blasphemed God, &c. and repented not to give him. glory." Signified that while the testimony shows hypocrites, and unbelieving professors of religion, that their worship is supported by the wisdom of this world only; they are so mad at the discovery, (while they cannot show to the contrary,) that they are tormented and uneasy, like a person whose flesh is scorched with fire; and they blaspheme God, by declaring the testimony to be of the devil, and so do not repent of their false notions, and give glory to God by confessing that his testimony is true.

Note. I would observe here, that whereas the pouring out of these rials represents the preaching of the witnesses from the first reformation from false religion, in, or about the fourteenth century, until after these days in which we now live. It is obvious to me that the degree of testimony which is at this time uttered in Christendom, was prophesied, or represented by the pouring out of the third vial, because I see, as the testimony of faithful witnesses has gradually grown more spiritual from one generation to another, the testimony at this time is principally levelled against those things represented by rivers, and fountains of waters. I am satisfied furthermore that the third is almost past, and that the fourth has already begun. For I have repeatedly seen, in a few years past, the same uneasiness in professors of Religion, and the same speaking against the testimony, and the stubbornness which is represented as the consequences of pouring out the fourth vial. I now return.

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VERSE 10, "And the fifth angel poured out h

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vial upon the seat of the beast," which signifies selfishness in the hearts of the people, which is always the seat of false religion. This is, therefore, a testimony which searches out that selfishness in the hearts of the people where this false worship is established; and his kingdom was full of darkness, and they gnawed their tongues for pain," signifies, as their false light was detected, and as it is pow shown that their religion is all a piece of deception, as the very seat of it is detected, the whole reign, or kingdom, of it looks very dark, and yet, they being determined not to submit to the truth, are tormented, and act like one gnawing his tongue for pain.

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VERSE, 11 And blasphemed the God of heaven because of their pains, and their sores, and repented not of their deeds." That is, they still speak against the testimony of God which exposes their works, and causes them such uneasiness.

Verse 12, "And the sixth angel poured out his dial upon the great river Euphrates," explained before, see Key to chap, ix, and verse 14; "and the waters thereof were dried up, that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared." The kings of Media and Persia turned the course of the Euphrates, and dried up its waters from ancient Bab ylon, and by that means prepared their way to march their army under the wall which had been arched across the river, and so entered, and took Babylon, and destroyed its government. This fact is alluded to in this part of the vision, and. used as a similitude of the overthrow of mystery Babylon the great. It is signified that the sixth degree of the testimony will show the people that that wicked spirit which has so long supported the inventions of men for religion, is nothing but a phantom, or deception, and so will dry it up, And this will, of course, prepare the way for the testimony to overthrow those inventions of false religion (called mystery Babylon) which had been

supported by this false spirit, (called the great river Euphrates,) the same as the kings of the east overthrew Babylon, which was a figure of these

inventions.

Verse 13, "And I saw three unclean spirits like frogs, out of the mouth of the dragon, and out of the -mouth of the beast, and out of the mouth of the false prophet." Signified a rising of fanaticism, or the transformation of satan; as you cannot trace the steps of a frog, because he hops in such varying directions, so it is with those who have these spirits of the dragon, or enmity, of the beast or false religion, of the false prophet or teaching of lies, they pretend that they have great revelations from God, while their works show that they are exercised altogether with selfishness; and at the same time they will appear so much like sanctity, that they are as hard to find out as the tracks of a frog, and we may depend that when false religion in its present shapes is detected, fanaticism will make one monstrous effort.

Verse 14, "For they are the spirits of devils working miracles," that is, miraculous deceptions; "which go forth unto the kings of the earth," which signifies the ruling and leading motives of action in the minds of men ; "to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty," "that great day of God Almighty," signifies a time of the clear shining of gospel light and truth; and "the battle of that day which those spirits of devils will gather the kings of the earth unto," signifies the fighting of the leading motives to action in men, against the light and truth of the gospel; which fighting will be set on, by those spirits of enmity, of false worship, and teaching of lies.

Verse 16, "And he gathered them together into a place, called in the Hebrew tongue Armageddon." Signifies that while the powers of darkness are manoeuvreing, God overrules their movements, so as to bring them to utter destruction, for the word