of justice and judgment while he is dealing with this enemy:  he has not passions to carry him beyond rules of judgment, nor weakness to cause him to fall short of doing justice; therefore he has his judgments for her by weight, and his indignation by measure.  But yet this weight and measure are not suited to her constitution, not with an intent to purge or refine her; but it is disposed according to the measure and nature of her iniquity, and comes to sweep her as with the besom of destruction, until she is swept off from the face of all the earth.

Now since she is dying, let us ring her passing-bell; for when she is dead, we that live to see it intend to ring out.

Present state of antichrist.

Now I saw in my dream, that at the end of this valley lay blood, bones, ashes, and mangled bodies of men, even of pilgrims that had gone this way formerly; and while I was musing what should be the reason, I spied a little before me a cave, where two giants, Pope and Pagan, dwelt in old time; by whose power and tyranny the men whose bones, blood, and ashes lay there, were cruelly put to death.  But by this place Christian went without much danger, whereat I somewhat wondered; but I have learnt since, that Pagan has been dead many a day; and, as for the other, though he be still alive, he is, by reason of age, and also of the many shrewd brushes that he met with in his younger days, grown so crazy and stiff in his joints, that he now can do little more than sit in his cave’s mouth, grinning at pilgrims as they go by, and biting his nails because he cannot come at them.

Slaying of the witnesses.

Thus, as to sense and reason, all shall be hush, all shall be quiet and still, Rev. 11:7-15:  the followers of the Lamb shall be down; the followers of the beast shall be up, shall cry, Peace and safety, and be as secure as a hard heart, false peace, and a deceitful devil can make. them.  But behold, while they thus sing in the window, death is striding over the threshold!  While they are crying peace and safety, sudden destruction cometh.  By that they have well settled themselves at their table with Adonijah, 1 Kings, 1, they shall hear it proclaimed with sound of trumpet, The witnesses are risen again.

Now the Christians’ pipes will go again, and surely the earth will be rent with the sound of their shouts and acclamations, while they cry with joyful sound, “The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever.”

Reasons for antichrist’s destruction.

Antichrist must be destroyed, for that he has usurped the name and attributes of God upon himself.  He hath said, I am God.  For that antichrist has thus taken the place of God, prescribed and imposed a worship as a God, got the world to worship and wonder after him as after a God; therefore he shall die the death of the uncircumcised, both in the soul, spirit, body, or flesh of antichrist.  Therefore will God enlighten and gather and set the kings and nations against him, that both he and his may be buried, and have their dolesome withdrawing-rooms from the world in the sides of the pit’s mouth.