holding lands by ferving in the wars, are the ftrength of the government; and thefe, as Heylin affirms, are in all accounted between feven and eight hundred thousand fighting men; fome say that they are a million; and befides thefe, there are Spahi's and other horsemen in the emperor's pay.

·

In the vifion that is in appearance, and not in reality, they had breaft-plates of fire, and of jacinct' or hyacinth, and brimstone.' The colour of fire is red, of byacinth blue and of brimflone yellow and this, as Mr Daubuz 2 obferves, "hath a literal accomplishment; for the Othmans, from the first time of their appearance, have affected to wear fuch warlike apparel of scarlet, blue, and yellow." Of the Spahi's particularly fome have red, and fome have yellow standards, and others red or yellow, mixt with other colours. In appearance too the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions,' to denote their ftrength, courage, and fiercenefs; and out of their mouths iffued fire, and smoke, and brimstone.' nifeft allufion to great guns and gun-powder, which were invented under this trumpet, and were of fuch fignal service to the Othmans in their wars. For by these three was the third part of men killed,' by these the Othmans made fuch havoc and deftruction in the Greek or eaftern empire. Amurath the fecond a broke into Peloponefus, and took several strong places by the means of his artillery. But his fon Mohammed at the fiege of Conftantinople employed fuch great guns, as were never made before. One

A ma

y Heylin's Cofm. B. 3. p. 729. Edit. 1703. Sandy's Travel's B. 1. p. 38. 7th Edit.

z Daubuz. p. 444. See too Rycaut's Prefent Sate of the Othman Empire. B. 3. Chap. 3. Tournefort's Voyage. Vol. 2. Lett. 1. p. 36. &c.

a Chalcocond. ibid. Lib. 7.

Ο τηλεβολες ποιεμενον μέγιστες· κ. τ. λ. Bombardas feri curavit maximas, quantas novimus ea tempeftate nunquam extitine--Tanta hujus bombardæ magnitudo extitit, ut a feptuaginta jugis boum et a viris bis mille trahenda fuerit.-Bombardae, quas rex habebat, duae maximae, emittebant lapidem qui appendebat talenta duo.--Hae emittebant lapidem, cujus pondus erat dimidium talentum---Bombarda maxima torquebat globum cujus pondus continebat tria circiter talenta ---Bombardae hujus tonitru tantum effe traditum eft ut finitima regio ufque ad quadraginta ftadia concuteretur.---Jam quadraginta diebus murus bombardis fortiter quaffatus erat, &c. Chalcocond. ibid. Lib. 8. p. 203, 204. Edit. Paris. p. 158, 159. Edit. Venet.

6

One is defcribed to have been of fuch a monstrous fize, that it was drawn by feventy yoke of oxen and by two thousand men. There were two more, each of which discharged a stone of the weight of two talents. Others emitted a ftone of the weight of half a talent. But the greatest of all discharged a ball of the weight of three talents, or about three hundred pounds; and the report of this cannon is faid to have been fo great, that all the country round about was shaken to the distance of forty furlongs. For forty days the wall was battered by thefe guns, and fo many breaches were made, that the city was taken by affault, and an end put to the Grecian empire. Moreover they had power to do hurt by their tails,' as well as by their mouths, their tails being like unto ferpents, and having heads. In this refpect they very much resemble the locufts;' only the different tails are accommodated to the different creatures, the tails of fcorpions to locufts; the tails of ferpents with an head at each end to horfes.' By this figure it is meant, that the Turks draw after them the fame poisonous trains as the Saracens; they profefs and propagate the fame impofture; they do hurt not only by their conquefts, but alfo by fpreading their falfe doctrine; and wherever they establish their dominion, there too they establifh their religion. Many indeed of the Greek church remained, and are still remaining among them; but they are made to pay dearly for the exercise of their religion;, are fubjected to a capitation-tax, which is rigoroufly exacted upon all above fourteen years of age; are burdened befides with the most heavy and arbitrary impofitions upon every occafion; are compelled to the loweft and most fervile drudgery; are abused in their perfons, and robbed of their property; have not only the mortification of feeing fome of their friends and kindred daily apoftatize to the ruling religion, but had even their chil dren taken from them to be educated therein, of whom the more robuft and hardy were trained up to the foldiery, the more weakly and tender were caftrated for the feraglio: but notwithstanding thele perfecutions and op preffions fome remains of the Greek church are still preferved

See Smith's and Rycaut's accounts of the Greek church.

ferved among them, as we may reafonably conclude, to ferve fome great and myfterious ends of providence.

But though the Greek church was thus ruined and oppreffed, 'the rest of men,' ver. 20, 21. who were not killed by these plagues,' the Latin church which pretty well escaped thefe calamities, yet repented not of the works of their hands,' that they fhould not worship devils, To demons or fecond mediatory Gods, as it hath largely been shown before, faints and angels, and idols of gold and filver and brafs and ftone and wood.' From hence it is evident, that these calamities were infiicted upon the Chriftians for their idolatry. As the eastern churches were first in the crime, fo they were firft likewife in the punishment. At first they were vifited by the plague of the Saracens, but this working no change or reformation, they were again chaftifed by the ftill great. er plague of the Othmans; were partly overthrown by the former, and were entirely ruined by the latter. What churches were then remaining, which were guilty of the like idolatry, but the western, or those in the communion with Rome? And the western were not at all reclaimed by the ruin of the eastern, but perfifted fill in the wor fhip of faints, and (what is worfe) the worthip of inlages, which neither can fee, nor hear, nor walk:' and the world is witnefs to the completion of this prophecy to this day. Neither repented they of their murders,' their perfecutions and inquifitions, nor of their forceries,' their pretended miracles and revelations, nor of their fornication,' their public ftews and uncleannefs, nor of their thefts,' their exactions and impofitions on mankind: and they are as notorious for their licentioufhefs and wickednefs, as for their fuperftition and idolatry. As they therefore refused to take warning by the two former woes, the third woe, as we fhall fee, will fall with vengeanceup

on them.

1

Α

CHA P. X.

faw another

6

ed with a cloud, and a rain

A mighty angel come bow was upon his head, and

down from heaven, cloath- his face was as it were the

VOL. II.

Τ

Si fun,

St John, in the conclufion of the laft chapter, having touched upon the corruption of the western church, proceeds now to deliver fome prophecies relating to this lamentable event. But before he enters upon the fubject, he (and the church in him) is prepared for it by an auguft and confolatory vifion. Another mighty angel came down from heaven,' ver. 1. described fomewhat like the

angel in the three laft chapters of Daniel, and in the first chapter of the Revelation. He had in his hand,' ver, 2. a little book,' igidio a little book,' or codicil different from the pic or book mentioned before; and it was open, that all men might freely read and confider it. It was indeed a codicil to the larger book, and properly cometh under the fixth trumpet, to defcribe the state of the western church after the defcription of the state of the eaftern: and this is with good reafon made a feparate and diftinct prophecy; on account of the importance of the matter, as well as for engaging the greater attention. 'He fet his right foot upon the fea, and his left foot on the earth,' to how the extent of his power and commiffion: and when he had cried aloud,' ver. 3. ' feven thunders uttered their voices,' St John would have written down, ver. 4. thofe things which the feven thunders uttered,' but was forbidden to do it. As we know not the fubjects of the feven thunders, 'fo neither can we know the reasons for fuppreffing them: but it may be conceived, that fomething might be proper to be revealed to the apostle, and yet not to be communicated to the church. By thefe feven thunders,' d Vitringa understands the seven great croifades or expeditions of the western Christians for the conqueft of the holy land, and Daubuz the feven kingdoms, which received and established the protestant reformation by law. But doth it not favour rather of vanity and prefumption than of wifdom and knowledge, to pretend to conjecture what they are, when the Holy Spirit hath purposely concealed them? Then the angel, ver. 5, 6, 7, lifted up his hand to heaven,' like the angel in Daniel, xii. 7. and fware by him that liveth for ever and ever,' the great creator of all things, in xeno; ex esai sti, that the time fhall not be yet,' but it fhall be in the days of the feventh trumpet, that the mystery of God fhall be finished,' and the glorious ftate of his church be perfected, agreeable to the good things which he hath promifed, lysur, to his fervants the prophets,' This is faid for the confolation of Chriftians, that though the little book,' defcribes the calamities of the western church, yet they fhall all have a happy period under the feventh trumpet. St John is then ordered, ver. 8, 9, 10. T 2

d Vitring. in locum. p. 431. Daubuz. p. 469.

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