the fins and trefpaffes brought there by a total abolition, in the mystery by a glorious tranfmutation into his fire, or fiery image. Now as dogs eat up Jezebel caft forth on the dung hill, it tells us, that all our blood is unclean, and from one finful fource. It is in this view, that we are to understand Ifaiah chap. lxiv. 6. We are all as an unclean thing, all our juftifications are as a garment of rejections, Gniddim, and is the fame as the Davah Ze, the fickness or menftruous cloth, chap. xxx. 22. And both contain the fame teftimony of the law, that our blood, and flesh, its fruit, was the wages of Adam's fin, and the cause of the death we fuffer in these filthy garments. Let priests, if they will have the name, call the proud and haughty fons and daughters of men, to look at this teftimony, and learn humility by knowing themselves naked and in shame, unless the blood of the peace-maker was working to cover them with the houfe from heaven, from his cun loins, which will bear the fire and rejoice for ever, when the houfes of duft and death are no more, and their inhabitants have no name, or memorial left on earth. Now Jezebel is introduced by John, as calling herself a prophetefs in the church of Thyatira, not as Hulfius fuppoles, to represent the Jewish church, but the bringing in of falfe prophefying to fave their corrupt lusts and pasfions, and to feduce God's fervants to commit fornication, and to eat of things facrificed to idols. For

the

the great frength and inchantment of idolatry confifted chiefly in the indulgence of the fenfual paffions; in feafts and banquets, and in the grand artifice of all, the free use of women; into which, the love-feafts foon degenerated under the gospel, and were juftly forbid to be celebrated. Jezebel is the painted whore, deceiving the people and feeding the false numerous prophets of Baal in the king's houfe, while Elijah, the true * prophet and folitary voice is in the wilderness. In the fpiritual fenfe, Jezebel is our flesh of the blood of the mixture of good and evil; and the works of it are defcribed in a black catalogue verified by daily experience. Gal. v. 19-21. The apostle fays alfo, in me, (that is in my flesh by Adam, dwelleth no good thing) but we all know it to be the houfe of fin and death. And Paul's flesh was as good as that of any fon of the old, earthly Adam. Rom. vii.

We behold the beloved difciple introducing in his revelation the most eminent types in perfons of the law, for a greater and ultimate accomplishment under the gospel. Elijah fhut the heavens, that it rained not for three years and fix months; fo the two witneffes in fackcloth, the teftimony of the law or figure, and that of the gospel or fpirit, but the heaven for 1260 days, generally underftood for fo many years, that it rained not in the days of the prophesy. A long time this feems to withhold the pouring forth of the water of life; but when it flows, it will be like that in the days of Ahab, (the brother a father,) an inundation, though beginning from a cloud as little as a man's hand, at the end of their teftimony drawing near,

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17, 18. This is the fome woman arrayed in purple and fcarlet, which means the blood of our fall, who rides the scarlet coloured beaft, another expreffion for the flesh, and its evil works: fhe is again the great whore fitting over many waters, interpreted peoples, and multitudes, and nations and tongues. Rev. xvii. 3, 4, 15. As we are all born of corruptible feed, the water of flesh and death; water therefore is to be explained of feed, as Vitringa, (who had a more spiritual eye than moft commentators) obferves on Ifa. xlviii. 1. according to the more understanding part of the Hebrew writers. Obf. S. L. 1. p. 165. Expounders of facred writ would rather find Babylon, antichrift, the whore and the beaft at Rome, or any where, but in themselves, in their own body of the fin, of death, and our humiliation, by which three names the apostle calls our flesh and blood; when he looks to the everlaft ing fire of the wrath under Mofes at the altar, where the lamb fat in righteous judgment condemn, ing it, in the bulls, rams, and goats to eternal abolition in duft and afhes under his feet. On the FOREHEAD of the whore is written mystery, BABYLON the GREAT, the mother of harlots, and of all the abominations of the earth. Myftery means a fecret from the world, or peoples, which never loved the truth, but are given up to believe a lie, that they may be condemned to a juft judgment for their willingness to retain the

!

truth

truth in unrighteoufnefs: 2 Theff. ii. 11. That this Strong delufion is more evident and grofs in the Popish church by the cunning of priests and their long train of ecclefiaftical litors, to execute their bloody decrees against the friends and children of light, love and truth: yet Draco with his laws written in blood, is not confined to that abominable church, but is found in every fecular establishment from the council of Nice to that of Trent, of Dort, and of the Weminfter-divines. Now the blood which produces the flesh to die, is unclean by the law; by the mark of the circumcifing knife; by the woman's feparation: all which look back to Adam by his will revolting from his head and Lord, Baal, hufhand and mafter, clothed with a coat of fkins, the mystical veil for the properties of the animal world, which his eating of the tree of good and evil brought upon him: which God in the feed of the woman promised to take away, and give him the covering of glory, which he had at firft. This clothing of pure gold, with the eternal fire in the lamb's blood, the ftrong male in his generation, was openly revealed at Pentecofte, and promised by Joel, the mouth of the Lord God, to be poured out on all flesh; which then will be the white rayment to cover our nakednefs and fhame: ftrange expreffions, if this flesh be originally from God, and not from the tranfgreffion. All teachers and mafters in Ifrael have caft away the teftimony of the law,

because

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because neither they, or proud men and women love not to view their own picture of degradation, and cannot find a religion for gentlemen and ladies, nor for kings and high-priests, but a religion for a finner, a loft child, a prodigal wandring from his father's house, naked, poor, blind and miserable, reclaimed to be established in life and happiness, by the compaffions of the father of fpirits manifefted in the blood and fufferings of a beloved son, the propitiation for the fins of the whole world. 1 John ii. 1, 2. 1 Tim. iv. 10. John xii. 32. The blind leaders of the blind suppose, that the law fpeaks only to the Jews; it fpeaks to all fallen beings, and is the golden tongue of the riches of God's mercy in Christ. These ignorant writers imagine too, that Babylon is confined to the antichristianity of the church of Rome, when it may be even questioned, whether it be even infinuated in this comprehenfive prophecy, except as a member of the false prophet who accompanies the beast. And this prophet fignifies every representation of the gofpel, which flatters and feeds the corrupt paffions of the old Adam devoted to deftruction, while the new, inner and fpiritual man is renewed daily, as the other outer man perisheth daily, that is, continually. 1 Cor. iv. 20. The manner of this destruction, and of the renovation of the finner has been explained at large by the miniftration at the two altars of brafs and gold fpiritualized in the