And he opened the bottomless pit, and there arofe a fmoke out of the pit as the smoke of ȧ great furnace; and the fun and the air were darkened by reafon of the smoke of the pit. And there came out of the fmoke locufts upon the earth; and unto them was given power, as the Scorpions of the earth have power. And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grafs of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only thofe men which have not the feal of God in their foreheads. And to them it was given that they should not kill them, but that they should be tormented five months; and their torment was as the torment of a fcorpion when he striketh a man. And in thofe days fhall men feek death, and shall not find it ; and fhall defire to die, and death fhall flee from them. And the shapes of the locufts were like unto borfes prepared unto battle; and on their heads were as it were crowns like gold, and their faces were as the faces of men. And they had hair as the hair of women, and their teeth were as the teeth of lions. And they had breastplates as it were breaft-plates of iron; and the found of their wings icas as the found of chariots of many horfes running to battle. And they had tails like unto fcorpions, and there were ftings in their tails: and their power was to hurt men five months. And they had a king

over them, which is the angel of the bottomlefs pit, whofe name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon, but in the Greek tongue he hath his name Apollyon. One who is past; and behold, there come two woes more hereafter. And the fixth angel founded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God, faying to the fixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates. And the four angels were loofed, which were prepared for an hour, and a day, and a month, and a year, for to play the third part of men. And the number

;

of the army of the horsemen were two hundred thousand thousand: and I heard the number of them. And thus I faw the horses in the vision, and them that fat on them, having breaft-plates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimfione: and the beads of the horses were as the heads of lions and out of their mouths iffued fire, and smoke, and brimftone. By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths. For their power is in their mouth, and in their tails: for their tails were like unto ferpents, and had heads, and with them they do burt. And the rest of the men which were not killed by these plagues, yet repented not of the works of their hands, that they should not wor

fhip devils, and idols of gold and filver, and brafs, and ftone, and of wood, which neither can fee, nor hear, nor walk. Neither repented they of their murders, nor of their forceries, nor of their fornication, nor of their thefts".

St. Peter and St. Jude exprefsly fpeak of a great apoftafy from the Chriftian faith, when false teachers should tempt Chriftians to the greatest diffoluteness of conduct, and poison their minds with Infidelity.

But there were false prophets alfo among the people, even as there fhall be falfe teachers among you, who privily fhall bring in damnable herefies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves fwift deftruction. And many fhall follow their pernicious ways, by reafon of whom the way of truth fhall be evil Spoken of. And through covetousness fhall they with feigned words make merchandize of you: whofe judgment now of a long time lingereth not, and their damnation flumbereth not. For if God Spared not the angels that finned, but caft them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be referved unto judgment; and fpared not the old world, but faved Noah,

Rev, ix. 1-21.

the

the eighth perfon, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly; and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into afbes, condemning them with an overthrow, making them an enfample unto thofe that after should live ungodly; and delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy converfation of the wicked: (for that righteous man dwelling among them, in feeing and hearing, vexed his righteous foul from day to day with their unlawful deeds). The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to referve the unjuft unto the day of judgment to be punifhed: but chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the luft of uncleanness, and defpife government. Prefumptuous are they, felf-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities: whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accufation against them before the Lord. But thefe, as natural brute beasts made to be taken and destroyed, Speak evil of the things that they understand not, and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; and shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they that count it pleasure to riot in the day-time. Spots they are and blemishes, Sporting themselves with their own deceivings while they feast with you; having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot ceafe from fin; beguiling unftable fouls;

VOL. I.

U

an

an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; curfed children: which have forfaken the right way, and are gone aftray, following the way of Balaam the fon of Bofor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; but was rebuked for his iniquity. The dumb afs Speaking with man's voice, forbad the madness of the prophet. These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempeft; to whom the mist of darkness is referved for ever. For when they speak great fwelling words of vanity, they allure through the lufts of the flesh, through much wantonness, thofe that were clean efcaped from them who live in error. While they promise them liberty, they themselves are the fervants of corruption; for of whom a man is overcome, of the fame is he brought in bondage. For if after they have efcaped the pollations of the world, through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worfe with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteoufnefs, than after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the fow that was washed, to her wallowing in the mire. This fecond Epifle,

be