For, as hail doth beat down corn, and deftroy the fruits of the earth; fire doth con. fume, and blood doth corrupt and putrify; fo falfe doctrine and herefy doth annoy, confume and corrupt the fouls of men. For, it is faid, that all these things mingled together, were cast upon the earth:' that is, the inhabitants of the earth, and the third part of the trees, that is, the numbers of men or a very great part of the world was corrupted. For trees, in fcripture fignify men; and all green grafs was burnt,' that is, the fresh fruits of grace did wither apace and dry up; for as error and herefy did prevail, fo truth and godlinefs did decay. All this hath relation to the herefies of Sabellius, Manicheus, Marcion, Fotinus, Paulus, Samofatenus, Neftorius, Novatus, Diodorus, Apolinaris, Pelagius, and many others, which about this time, being four hundred years after Chrift, began to fpring up and grow apace.

And the fecond angel blew the trumpet, and as it were a great mountain burning with fire was caft into the fea, and the third part of the fea became blood.'

Upon the blowing of the fecond trum. pet by the fecond angel, here appeareth a great mountain burning with fire, whereby is meant fome great and notable herefies,

as that of Arius, which troubled and wafted the church for the space of three hundred years, being greatly favoured of fundry emperors and other great potentates in the earth, by means whereof, it continued and overfpread fo long. Alfo this may be referred to other great and notable arch-herefies, as that of Donatus, Macedonius, Eutyches, Valentius, and fuch like: which all are here compared to a mountain for their hugenefs and greatnefs, and to a burning mountain, because the church was almost burnt up thereby. For this word mountain, is fometimes in the fcripture put for any let or hinderance to true religion, as is error and herefy, Zech. iv. 7. Luke

iii. 5.

Therefore it is faid, that it was caft in. to the fea,' that is, thefe great herefies are.caft upon the world in God's wrath and heavy indignation; for the fea is pus for the world; Rev. iv. 6.-xiii. 1.-xii.6. for as the fea is full of rocks, fands, firts, waves, ftorms, and tempefts: fo it fareth with this prefent evil world.

Moreover it is faid, the third part of the fea became blood,' that is, all Europe, or fome great part of the world was corrupted and infected with thefe great herefies. And he faith in the next verfe, that the third part of the fhips were deftroyed,' that is,

a great number of mariners and fhip-maf ters, as well as land-men were infected with these herefies, and died of them.

Then the third angel blew the trumpet, and there fell a great ftar from heaven, burning like a torch, and it fell into the 6 third part of the rivers, and into the fountains of waters,' Rev. viii. 10.

Stars in this book are put for the minifters of the gofpel, as we have heard out of the first chapter, and the reasons why. Then followeth, that the falling of this star from heaven, doth moft fitly fignify and fet forth the declining and fall of the paftors of the church, and their corrupting of the true doctrine, which is meant by the fresh rivers, and pure fountains into which it fell. This ftar hath his name of the elect, for it is called wormwood; because through the fall of it, the fweet waters into which it fell, were turned into bitterness, and men died of them, that is the doctrine was cor rupted, which turned to the destruction of

many.

And the fourth angel blew the trumpet, and the third part of the fun was fmitten, do and the third part of the moon, and the third part of the ftars, fo that the third part of them was darkened,' Rev. viii. 12. This darkning of the fun, moon, and ftars, doth fignify that great darkness which

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was brought upon the church by fuch teachers as did daily more and more dege

nerate.

Three things are generally to be obseryed in the blowing of thefe first four trumpets.

First, That the plagues here mentioned, are fpecially to be understood of spiritual plagues.

Secondly, That there is a progreffion from leffer to greater in these plagues.

Thirdly, That in every one there is mentioned but a third part deftroyed, which plainly fheweth, that although the church was greatly annoyed and peftered with thefe errors and herefies, yet it was not destroyed and brought to utter defolation; for the full fetting up of Antichrift was not yet come. All these errors and herefies which were caft upon the world, and did fpring and grow a-pace in all places, did, as it were, make way for Antichrift, and (as it were by ftirrups) hoist and help him up into his curfed chair.

By the ftories of the church, and courfe of times, it feemeth that the Holy Ghost pointeth at those manifold herefies which fprung up in the church after the first three hundred years, especially after the death of Conftantine the Great, who procured

peace to the church, deftroyed idolatry, and fet up true religion in his days.

Now after his reign, and the reign of Theodofius that good emperor, Conftantinus, Julianus, Arcadius, Honorius, and many other wicked emperors fucceeded; by whofe means all things in the church grew worfe and worfe; yet this one thing is to be obferved, that all true religion was not utterly extinct and put out, till the full loofing of Satan, which was a thousand years after Chrift, as we fhall plainly fee when we come to the twentieth chapter, concerning the binding of Satan for a thoufand years.

years. For fure it is, that the main principles and grounds of religion, continued in the church till this full loofing of Satan; which was about the time of Silvefter the fecond, that monfter, as afterward we fhall hear.

But now in the mean time, we fee what hereffes fprung up, what corruption grew and increased more and more, what darknefs began to over-fpread a third part of the world; and thefe things grew worse and worfe, even till by thefe means the great Antichrift came to be poffeffed of his curfed feat and fee of Rome, which was about fix-hundred years after Christ.

And I beheld, and heard one angel flying in the midst of heaven, faying with a