doth bow down and submit to worship any idol, image, or form of worship that is false, it not being set up by command from God, he may be said to drink of the cup of spiritual fornication.

More might be said of this thing, but I shall have occasion to speak of it hereafter; only this is to be minded here, that the saints in all this time of the commission of the apostles, did not drink of the cup of fornication. That is, they were not polluted with worshiping of idols and images, or any false worship, but did cleave close to the faith and worship of Jesus.

I mean those that did truly believe the apostles doctrine, and those that were converted by it in the time of their commission, their worship differing in every thing from the worship of the Whore of Babylon; even as the worship of the Jews did differ from that great city, the Whore of that Babylon, as aforesaid.

This is the true interpretation of the great city, the spiritual Babylon, who made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication; as you may see in verse 9. And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship his image, and receive the mark in his forehead or in his hand, in verse 10, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, &c.

So that none of the saints after they truly believed, did worship the beast, nor his image, nor practice that manner of worship that was set up by the power of the beast; neither did they receive his mark, neither in their foreheads, nor right hands. That is, they

they did not submit to his worship, neither willingly nor unwillingly, so that the saints did not drink of the wine of her fornication at all; in that they did not worship any idols, images, or forms of false worship which were set up by this great city, the spiritual Whore of Babylon, whose torment is expressed in the verses following, both she, and all those that drank of her cup of fornication, and received the mark. But I shall pass by those verses which speaketh of that, there being more sayings hereafter that speak much of the torments of the Whore of Babylon, and those she committed whoredom with. Therefore I shall pass by that, and two verses more, there being little matter in them, but what is commonly known by all, so I shall proceed to the fourteenth verse.

CHAP. XLIV.

AND I looked, and behold a white cloud, and upon

the cloud one sat like unto the Son of Man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.

This Son of Man John saw sit upon the white cloud, I declare it was no other but Christ the only God, though said by John to be like unto the Son of Man. He may well be said to be like unto the Son of Man, because he is the Son of Man, for he called himself so. For saith he, when he was on earth, the Son of Man must be betrayed into the hands of sinners, meaning himself. And other places in scripture, where he calls himself the Son of Man. Now

Now to know why Christ called himself the Son of Man, he being the Son of God, nay God himself, it will be worth the unfolding of this mystery. To this I say, he calls himself the Son of Man, because he took upon him the nature of man, in the womb of Mary the Virgin. That is, he gained the Godhead nature, and manhood together, in the womb of Mary the Virgin, and there cloathed the Godhead nature with pure human flesh. So that when he was born into this world, was perfect God and man; according to that saying, Isaiah ix. To us a child is born, to us a son is given, he shall be called the mighty God, the everlasting Father, with other titles of the divine Godhead, yet a child, a perfect man child, born of a virgin.

And she conceived in her womb by the holy Ghost, that is, by the holy God, so the virgin she being the mother that bore Jesus, and brought him forth into this world as other children are brought forth into this world.

In this regard he did call himself, and is called by the spirit, the Son of Man. For he taking the nature of man upon him, and being born of a virgin, he may call himself the Son of Man. That is, he is the Son of Man, but by the mother's side, but not by the father's side. For by the father's side, he called himself the Son of God, and so he was, yea. he was God himself.

The parrallel is much like unto Cain and Abel, they were both brothers by the mother's side, but not by the father; for they had two several fathers; Adam was the father of righteous Abel, and the serpent-angel

serpent-angel was the father of cursed Cain, as the Scripture doth plainly prove, if understood by the reader; for it is not written any where in scripture, that Adam begot Cain. Yet notwithstanding Eve was the mother of them both, and so Cain and Abel were brothers by the mother's side, but not by the father's side.

So likewise Christ was the Son of God, nay God himself by the father's side, but by the mother's side he was the Son of Man. And in this sense he called himself the Son of Man, and this Son of Man is that Son of Man John looked and saw sit upon a white cloud, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle. This cloud he sat upon, it was that cloud the apostles speak of, Heb. xii. Wherefore seeing we also are encompassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses.

Now what this cloud is, it is expressed in the eleventh chapter, concerning the faith of the patriarchs, prophets, and saints, who had the righteousness of faith in them, beginning at righteous Abel, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Joseph, Moses, David, Samuel, and the prophets; with other saints who suffered wonderful strange deaths for their faith. These, and many more were that cloud the Son of Man sat upon, they all expecting, by faith God's coming in flesh, they being afar off. That is, their faith in them was satisfied that he would come, though it was many hundred years after they were dead; the apostles and saints afterwards were witnesses that the Son of Man was risen from the dead. So that their faith was a cloud of witnesses

also ;

also; and the faith.of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the prophets, apostles and saints, it was that cloud the Son of Man did sit upon.

It is called a white cloud by the spirit, because they were never defiled with the fornication of idols, but worshiped the true God according to the law of Moses, and according to the faith of Jesus, or the gospel, they not receiving the mark of the beast, neither in the forehead, nor in the hand. That is, they were not defiled with worshiping of any images, idols or false gods whatsoever, and in this regard they may be called a white cloud; and this is that white cloud the Son of Man, even Jesus the only God, doth sit upon; as the Whore in another case is said to sit upon many waters which I shall have an occasion to speak of when I come to it.

And as for that crown that was upon his head, I declare it was that honour and golden glory which the prophets, apostles and saints do attribute unto him, as he is a redeemer; the work of redemption being wrought by him as he was a man, he being in the form of a servant, so that all the redeemed ones who are sensible of their redemption, they do praise and magnify the man Jesus, the only God, for his great love towards them, in that they had faith to receive the benefit of his death. And this honour, glory, and praise which is attributed unto the man Jesus, by his prophets, apostles, and saints, is that golden crown upon his head, and in his hand a sharp sickle.

Now this sharp sickle in his hand, it signifies his great power, that when the end of the world shall be,

that