The Tenth and Eleventh Chapters

The seal-prophecy under the visions of these seals and trumpets, having run over the stories all times, concerning the ruin of the Roman empire, down even to us; (for the miseries of the sixth woe-trumpet will last till near the time of the seventh’s bringing in the kingdom of Christ, c. xi. 14, 15; whose sounding makes an end of this first seal-prophecy, and of all kingdoms and times;) The mighty angel of the covenant descends from heaven, 1st, To give the world and the church warning by an oath, that now time should be no longer than the expiration of the Turk’s dominion, under the second woe: see c. x. 1, 6, 7, with xi. 14, 15. 2dly, To give withal a new entire prophecy under a book open in his hand, (the seals on it in c. v. being now removed, and the visions of them past:) this book, containing another distinct prophecy, John is bid to eat, (as in Ezek. ii. 8, 9,) that he might receive and write the new prophecy, (as in c. x. 9, 11 1) beginning at c. xii. after Christ had discoursed a while of the state and face of his purest western churches in these last days, to which the seal-prophecy had brought John, not many years before the introduction of his kingdom by the blast of the seventh trumpet; and after he had also forewarned these churches of a great and sore conflict they were to have with Antichrist, towards the end of all; out of which they should rise again: and then comes the end of both the eastern and western Antichrist, the Turk and the Pope, c. xi. 1, 2, 7 — 14. Then begins the new book-prophecy c. xii. in new visions, containing the fates of the church in all ages from Christ’s time, as the seal-prophecy had done those of the empire.