touching the place they would wrangle about the time But by this so exact description he taketh away all halting frō them Therfore as touching the Whore her so expresse nothing out by Babylon seven hills seven Kings flourishing power and at length destruction the rest of the world being safe finally by the name of the city used in stead of an interpretation doo most strongly prove that the universall City of the Divill is not meant but some special city and namely Rome and so much the more because this whore is the Throne of the Beast And we know that the Throne of the Divill was attributed to a certain City to weet Pergamus before in the second chapter and thirteenth verse Therfore worthily Bellarmine that opinion being rejected sayth It is better in his iudgement that Rome be understood by the whore as Tertullian expoundeth in his booke against the Iewes and in his third booke against Marcion And Hierome in his 17. Epistle to Marcella and Quaest 11. to Algasia Bellarmine touching the Romane Pope in his third booke and in the thirteenth chapter Here then wee have our adversary confessing What therfore letteth that they should not agree with us about the Antichrist They have invented a double crafty shift for themselves one of the place an other of the time of the place that albeit Rome be the Whore yet is it not the seate of Antichrist but Hierusalem Of the time that Rome was the VVhore when the Heathen Emperours ruled but now shee is not since she became Christian and therfore that shee is not the seate of Antichrist seeing he shall not come but a little before the last iudgement But the Papists are holden with their owne snares for granting Rome to be the whore they must also needs grant the rest First of all that not Hierusalem but shee is the seate of Antichrist For is not this Beast the very Antichrist This also Bellarmine yeeldeth and though he had not yeelded it the truth wil force him to cōfesse it as we shal see But he affirmeth that Antichrist shal hate Rome from v. 16. after wel acknowledging that the Beast is Antichrist but how truly he spoke of hatred wee shal examine at that place From his cōfessiō we have that both the whore is Rome the Beast Antichrist Frō which it is of necessity that Antichrist shal have his denne at Rome seeing he is the very Beast on which the whore is caried Doth not the Spirit shew a very great coniunction nigh familiarity of both of the whore in setting upō of the Beast in bearing Ther is none but he wil say that a man is neerly joyned to the horse on whō he sitteth Certēly if Antichrist was to raigne at Hierusalē Rome being set so farr frō her saddle should walke on foot humble base who had so little aide frō the Emperours after they removed to Byzantiū wher they were not farr Secodly as touching the time how absurd is this distinction that the whore should be Heathenish Rome the first 300 yeeres after Christ but that Antich the Beast should not come ūtil about 3. yeeres an halfe before the last day Shal shee sit on the Beast not yet borne yea not conceived a very long time after For shal the Beast whē he cometh beare the whore being dead so many ages before For the whore shal cease to be 1300. yeeres how much more we know not before Antich shal come These ar dreames wholly mōsters of bearing sitting upō The Spirit hath takē frō you al such subterfuge coupling these 2. things by so ūseparable a band wherby he forbiddeth both to seeke Antichr els wher then at Rome also to think her to be this whore at any other time then when Antichrist should have his seate there Needs ar these two things to be ioyned togither both in place time But when shall this time beginne for this yet hath some doubt Surely when wee shall see the whore to have ben caried on this Beast by his helpe and authority placed in dignity and lifted up on high VVhich though I holde my peace Leo will confesse to have ben done in the 1. sermon of the Nativity of the Apostles when the preheminence came to the Popes and Rome began to excell through the opinion of her religion Rome sayth he being made the head of the world by the sacred Chaire of S. Peter hath more ample authority through divine religion then earthly dominion For although being inlarged by many victories thou hast extended the fraunches of thyne Empire by lād and by sea yet notwithstanding it is lesse that which warrelike labour hath put under thee then that which Christian peace hath subdued Likewise Prosper in his booke de ingratis Rome is of Peter the Seat which in honour Pastoral Is made of the world head what by the right Martial Shee doth not possesse yet shee by religion hold free Therfore this one common type ministreth a necessary argument both of the seat and Kingdome of Antichrist which alone might be sufficient to take away all controversie were it not that men loved themselves more then the truth and would not cesse to barke against it till that their mouthes be altogither stopped VVherfore the Spirit stayeth not here but goeth on yet to clearer things that for whom the morning light is not sufficient they may have the Noone Sunne an helper if peradventure they wil then see The sitting being in such wise declared peculiarly afterward he descendeth to both and first to the Beast which is described by the colour names of blasphemy heads and hornes The colour is of skarlet made readde by the little worme Coccus VVherfore this Beast is honourable shining with the same colour with Kings and no lesse wicked and bloody For this same colour is attibuted to most grievous sines Yf your sinns were as skarlet sayth Isaiah chap. 1.18 Not onely because it is a deep colour which cannot be washed of but cheifly for the cruelty of shedding blood which wickednes among the rest seemeth most horrible VVo seeth not that this Beast is at Rome where the Pope sitteth whose feete Kings doe kisse and who doth most cruelly murder Christians not acknowledging his divine power both in the city and also through all the Dominion But that colour hath not pleased chiefly the Romish Court at all adventures which hath come to passe by the providence of God that the Fathers might set before the world a visible shew of this skarlet coloured Beast Touching which thing see a most fine Epigrame of Theod. Beza Secondly this Beast is full of names of Blasphemy How fruitful an increase of a naughty thing Long agoe the heads did beare the names of blasphemy chap. 13.1 now the whole body is full of the same And first of all the Primacy was chiefely a blasphemy and therfore it was well carried on the head but the time added dayly others the heape whereof
Prosper witnesseth in his booke de Ingratis in these wordes Rome is the Seate of Peter which is become the Head of Pastorall power to the world whatsoever shee holdeth not by force of armes shee holdeth it by religion And againe in his second booke of the calling of the Gentils chap. 6. Rome by the soveraigntie of Priesthood is more increased by the tower of religion then by the Throne of power Vnto which is added Ammian Marcellin in his 27. booke as he is cited by Bellarmine that he marvaileth not though men contend with so great desire for the Romane Popedome seing the riches and maiestie of it are so great But that the Dragon gave him this power appeareth from hence that the name of Rome was honourable to all men because of the auncient Empire of which once it was the Seate and therefore that they easily yeelded to any promotion of hers but of this more largely at the 6. verse 3 And I sawe one of his heads as it were deadly wounded Montanus Plantines Edition doeth omit I saw as though the Dragon togither with the throne power had given also one of the heads wounded which is contrary both to the faithfulnesse of the other Copies for Aretas the Common translation read I saw all other also to the truth of the history For the Beast had not a wounded head at his first beginning For first he was afterward he is not in chap. 17.8 as at that place wee shall shewe more fully In these wordes he commeth to the second condition of the BEAST The dammage consisteth in the wounding of one of his heads which now once or twice wee have advertised to be seveÌ„ hills and Kings from chap. 17.9.10 VVhether then of these kindes should suffer this calamity Surely if the wounde inflicted be to come into the power of the enemy scarce can one of the hilles receive a wound but all wil be wounded togither VVherfore more properly it beloÌ„geth to the Kings any one of which being afflicted with this wounde the rest abide whole from the same Although this hurt cannot be so proper to a King that it should not also be common to the Hills And these Kings are seven Governements or Principalities by which the City of Rome hath ben governed to wit those celebrated by all Kings Consuls Decemviri Dictatours Tribunes Emperours Popes as wee will make plaine at the 17. chap. If now it be demaunded to which of all these this calamity should happen the place which even now wee spake of declareth it evidently to the seaven head namely the Popes For so speaketh the Angell and another that is the seventh is not yet come and when he shall come he must continue a short space being hurt with a wound as it were quite killed with the same for Iohn saith as it were wounded to death as Aretas well puts us in minde for he should not be altogither destroyed by this blow But now after that it is manifest touching the Heads this wound was inflicted when Rome forsaken now a good while of the Emperours abiding partly in the East at Byzantium partly in the West at Ravenna beginning againe to flourish under a newe GovernemeÌ„t of Popes was smitten with an exceeding great storme by the Gothes Vandals Hunnes and the rest of the Northern people Which vexed most miserably the whole VVest part In this common calamity that late Empresse of the nations Queene of the whole world escaped not scotfree but sufferred a greater destruction then almost any City besides oftener taken by assault sacked wasted for an hundred two and thirtie yeeres at the lust of the Barbarians First Alaricus about the yeere 415 besieged and tooke it Of which thing Hierome speaking but after he saith the most famous light of all countries is cleane put out yea the head of the Romane Empire cut off and to speake more truly the whole world is destroyed in one Citie c. In his Proheme of Ezech. But in more wordes eloquently in an Epistle to Principia a Virgin The Citie is taken which tooke the whole world c. In what lamentable manner would he have bewailed if it had befell him to heare of the ofteÌ„ conquerings and spoiling thereof which followed For Rome now was consumed not once but was taken a second time by Adaulphus who gave her such a deadly wound that she was minded to change her name and to be called afterward Gothia The third time Gensericus the Vandal tooke it The fourth time Odoacer Rugianus reigning there fourteene yeeres Theodoricus the King of the Gothes slewe him whom at length Totilas followeth by a cerâ—en order of succession He the fift time overthrew and rased it bringing it to that wildernesse that neither any man nor woman could be found in it by the space of fourty dayes according to that of the Sibyll Rome shal be a perpetuall ruine and shee that hath ben seen shall not be discerned Albeit I thinke not that shee hath yet endured that calamity which Sibyll speaketh of although that now past may be a notable proofe of that which is to come Who in those times would not have thought that the seven hilled Citie had utterly perished VVho would not have supposed that the dignitie of the Popes to wit the seventh head had bin past remedy Therefore the Constantinopolitane Bishop and he of Ravennas the authority of Rome being as it were utterly gone laboured greatly as the next heires to drawe the same to their Churches But they were both much deceaved The head was not wounded unto death but as it were unto death Therefore the wound waxing more fierce Zozimus Bonifacius Celestinus about the yeere 420. having supposed a Nicene Councill chalenged the Primacy and they did moove so much as was sufficient to shewe that some life was left but they had a shameful repulse because this was the time of the wound on every side Pelagius also not long after before the skarre had closed altogither wrested the scriptures to the same ende but his endevour comming to no proofe declared that both the head remained alive and also that it was of no power For the raigne of the Gothes darkened the light of the Popes dignity neither could now any acknowledg her the chiefe who at home being the basest and servant of the Barbarous people scarce had a place where to abide For at once the Emperours dwelling at Rome at what time the Apostles were in authority restreined Antichrist that he could not come forth to be seen abroad so the new erected Kingdome of the Gothes in Italie was an other thing with holding which did repell his put out hornes for a time compelled him againe to hide him selfe in his shell Rightly therefore now the head did seeme to be wounded which was not able to shake off the yoke neither by any strength of his owne neither by any hope that he had from the East seing the Emperour
had graunted of his owne accord Italy to the Gothes which he had no hope to be able to retaine VVhat could he expect from the VVest every country wanting helpe so farre off were they from being able to succour others Therefore O Pope thy wouÌ„d was deadly whereof no remedie appeared from any place ¶ But this deadly wound was healed The third condition of the Beast coÌ„sisting in his dignity recovered by the healing of the head VVhich began at the yeere 555 when Iustinian being Emperour the Gothes were destroyed in Italy bâ— the valiantnesse of 〈◊〉 Nâ—râ—â—â—â—â— The Emperour played the Physitian maniâ—estly for first he tooke away the noxious humours by â—â—pressing yea rather utterly abolishing the Barbarians afterward he powred in wine oyle That Decree of Iustinians new constitution 131 wâ—s a most pleasant ointemeÌ„t Wee ordaine that according to the Decrees of the holy Counâ—â—lls the most holy Bâ—shop of auncient Rome shall be the chiefe of all Priests Hâ—â— much was the wound amended hereby But Phocas the Parricide afte◠〈◊〉 yeeres more or lesse that is in the yeere sixe hundreth and sixe finiâ—hâ—â— the cure bound up the wound healed it up into a skarre Hee did gâ—aunt unto Bonifâ—ce the third that the Romane Bishop should be counted Vniversâ—ll not onely that he should goe before the rest in order honour as Iustâ—nian decreed limitting the Primacy with the bounds of holy Concills bâ—t who should have the whole world for his Diocesse the Bishop of CoÌ„stantinople strove afterward in vaine from whom the Primacy was given by the sentence of the Emperour Now he perceived that the wound was healed and that therefore it was superfluous to pleade any more for this matter And certenly not very long after the Pope Leo second shewed that he had recovered health when about the yeere 680. by the warres of the Emperour he compelled Felix the Bishop of Ravenna to acknowledge the Bishop of Rome for his Lord and that the Bishop of Ravenna should not rise up any more it is ordained by the authority of the Pope That afterward the election of the Clergie of Raâ—enna should not be of force unlesse the consent of the Romane Pope were added to it Sabellic Ennead 8. book 7. Thus was the wounded head cured which being healed did more hurt the Christian world then before he received the wounde ¶ And all the world wondred followed the Beast Now he declareth how great the recovered dignity should be first by the honour which the worshippers of the Beast should give to him this honour is in admiring in this verse also in worshipping both the Dragon the Beast in the following And he speaketh significaÌ„tly after the Hebrewes manner to wonder after the Beast which is as much as in wondring to follow the Beast that is to give up theÌ„selves wholly to be ruled by his Empire as the Israelites going a whoring after their Idols forsooke the true God coÌ„secrated theÌ„selves to the worship of them They who so admired the Beast are the earth that is men savouring the earth altogither straÌ„gers froÌ„ the heaveÌ„ly city But how many is the nuÌ„ber of them All without exception For he saith the whole earth Therefore it should come to passe that the Beast after the head was healed should rule with farre larger boundes then before Prosper said that Rome was more ample at the first receiving of this dignity by the tower of religion then by the throne of power Which seemeth to be understood rather of the consent of the trueth then of the dominion of the Citie of Rome although then it was doubtlesse large The trueth was propagated further then the Romane Empire But Britanny had not yet acknowledged the authoritie of Rome in the matter of religion till under the Pontificate of Gregory the fift that is after some hope that the wound should be cured Augustine the Romish Munke forced our countriemen to take upon them the yoke neither did France Friseland Denmarke Germanie Sclavonia depend much of Rome before Bonifacius or Venefride an Inglishman about the yeere 720. brought these countries or the chiefe parts thereof unto the obedience of the Pope of Rome Now therefore was the time when the whole earth should admire the Beast when besides these and other Princes of Europe countries also most remote Ireland Scotland Norway Gothia Sueveland Luten and other nations of Sarmatia honoured the same as some God Let therefore the Pope glory in his universality by how much he hath the greater multitude by so much a surer argument is he that Beast But as touching the admiration it was indeede great some ages before and that of the most famous lights of the Church who carryed away with the too much honour of the Beast and not regarding sufficiently to what mischiefe at length the matter would growe did exalte too proudly the preheminence of the Apostolike Chaire Yet did they not wonder after the Beast so as they thought they must embrace all whatsoever he should ordaine but they had one rule of godlinesse and duty to it the sacred trueth Neither were the commendations of those times any thing to that admiration which followed the healing of the wounde Heare Bernard Thou saith he speaking to the Pope art the great Priest the chiefe Pope thou art the Prince of Bishops thou art the heire or the Apostles thou art in Primacy Abel in governing Noe in Patriarchat Abraham in order Melchisedec in dignity Aaron in authority Moses in iudgement Samuel Peter in power Christ in an-annointing c. in the 2. booke of Considerat Verily o Bernard thou hast played the foole through admiratioÌ„ Yet neverthelesse I dare not put thee among those who wonder after the Beast considering that I heare thee else where reprooving boldly and sharply the wickednesse of the Popes Cardinals Bishops and other Clergie men The times deceaved thee but there was in thee I thinke somewhat borne of God which at leÌ„gth did overcome the world But of what sorte was the wouÌ„dring of other men who were more blinded lesse fearing God Heare what the Ambass of the Emp. of Sicilia being prostrated on the grouÌ„d cry which takest away the sinnes of the world hav mercy on us which takest away the sinnes of the world give us peace P. Ae. b. 7. VVhat also Simo Begnius Bishop of Modrusium speaking to the Pope Leon in the Councill of Lateran sess 6. Beholde here cometh the Lion of the tribe of Iuda the roote of David thee o most blessed Leo wee have expected for Saviour Adde unto these Cornelius the Bishop of Biponte who shewed his astonishmeÌ„t in the CouÌ„cill of TreÌ„t in these words The Pope being the light is come into the world and men have loved darknes more then the light for every one that doth evill hateth the light and commeth not to the light O Blasphemous Fooles is it not enough for you to adorne the Man of Sinne with the praises of the Saincts
unlesse yee load him also with the spoiles of Christ himselfe But learne from these that did speake by publike authority in their Generall Councills what was the voice of the whole world In the same route of wonderers are the Iesuites at this day all the Papists Neither can it be otherwise but that they must thinke that he is to be followed in all things and worship him as God whom they judge for a surety to be free from errour hath not the Englis man written justly in his Poetrie that the Pope is the astonishment of the world Especially if one set before his eies the Emperour leading his horse by the bridle and holding the stirrop while the Beast mounteth on horseback 4 And they worshipped the DragoÌ„ That is men acknowledged the power of the Beast to be by right the chiefe because of the auncient majesty of Rome which the Heathen Emperours who are those Dragons procured unto it For was not this to adore and worship the Dragon for his sake to give the supreme dignitie to his successour But this was the first foundatioÌ„ of the Romane Primacy because this Citie was a fore time the head city of the Empire From hence every where in Eusebius and other Ecclesiasticall writers it is called the raigning Citie But most clearly doth the Councill of Chalcedon shew this in the 16. Act. For the Fathers in order gave privilegies to the Seate of olde Rome because of the Empire of that Citie An hundred and fifty Bishops most loving to God and of equall Seate moved with the same intention gave privilegies to the newe Rome iudging according to reason that the Citie adorned with the Empire and Senate should enioy the like privilegies of the auncient Rome and in Ecclefiasticall affaires to have authority as shee and to be the next after her c. Therefore the Empire and Senate did bring forth the Primacy to the elder Rome which being graunted unto her by those first Fathers because of the Heathen Emperours who raigned there afore time the Successours afterward did for the same cause amplify the dignity graunted and prostrate themselves all shamefully before the Dragon worshipping him as the authour of this honour By the same argument the Bishop of Constantinople would have obtained the like dignity But the Dragon sufferred it not who had made the Bishop of Rome his heire of the whole Wherefore the Legates of the Romane Bishop withstood that Decree Neither would Pope Gelasius who in other things approved the Concill of Chalcedon confirme this one Canon concerning the privilege of the Church of CoÌ„stantinople Therefore that Decree was of noe force especially when the same Gelasius to whom the Dragon had committed his power had ordained wisely before and warily that no Act of any Councill whatsoever should be of any force unlesse it were confirmed the Bishop of Rome ¶ And they worshipped the Beast saying who is like to the Beast who can warre with him Such was the worshipping of the Dragon now followed of the Beast which consisteth in the extolling of his power above all that wee may not thinke that adoration is in the gesture onely And was there not iust cause of boasting so highly of the Beasts power Leo Isaurus the Emperour of Constantinople fought unfortunately with Gregory the second excommunicated by the same and put from all the Empire of the West Childericke the King of France was too weake for to encounter with the Pope Zachary wherefore forced by his authority he gave over his Kingdome to Pipine The Longobards not using the Beast well when he was sicke of his wounde at length wheÌ„ he began to be recovered and to waxe well were cast into the jawes of this Leopard by the helpe of Pipine and Charles the Great Neither lost Charles his cost being made Emperour for his labour Great indeede was thy power ô Beast who wert able at thy pleasure to take away and to give againe that which is the highest in meÌ„s affaires Lamentable is the History of Henry the fourth who in the heart of a terrible winter bare foote and fasting from morning to night for the space of three dayes waited for sentence craving pardon before the gates of the Canusine Castell of the Romane Bishop who yet prevayled nothing eyther by his owne or others teares or by the intercession of any Sanct save onely of a certen whore whom the Holy Pope had made his darling The Emperour was deceived who thought that the Pope could be pacifyed by prayers and fasting this God required an other kinde of sacrifices But that is horrible that the Pope drove rhe Sonne of Henry to that wickednesse that he should assault his Father with warre spoiled him of all dignity and at length constrained him to ende his life in extreame miseries Frederike Barbarossa a man of an heroicall disposition hath set foorth greatly the triumph of the Beast being troden upon with his feete while he in the meane time did sing this verse of triumphe Thou shalt walke upon the Aspe and Bisiliske and tread upon the Lion and Dragon What should I rehearse Frederike the second Lodovike of Bavaria contemning indeed at the first the Popes but at length having tried their strength prooving all meanes to winne their favour againe Our England hath affoarded us a sorrowfull exemple of King Iohn From all which may be perceived how unequall a conflict any Prince on earth had with this Beast Therefore Rudulphâ—s Halsbergensis the Emperour when the Princes desired earnestly that he would goe visit Italy not dissembling that he did wholly abhorre this voyage answereth wisely that he was made afraide by all men footsteppâ—s tâ—nding toward it and none backeward from it What was this else but Who shall be able to warre with him 5 And there was a mouth given unto him speaking great things Hitherto the honour of the Beast now followed his power of blaspheming and doing Of which both the power given is first recited afterward the execution of blâ—sphâ—ming in the sixt verse of doing in the seventh verse It is profitable for uâ— to understand that those horrible impietyes doe enter into the world not by any blinâ—e force of fortune but by the most just judgemeÌ„t of God Who doth so puniâ—h naughty acts and especially mens despising of his trueth The power of blaspheming is the freedome from errour which the Romane Pope chalengeth to himselfe and his Seate and that men of a blinde and perverse minde doe willingly graunt unto him What blasphemies may not he proffer to the world every one of whose Decrees are held for Oracles The power of doing is that exempt and most free ability to doe all what one will without rendring a reason to any man Wherein notable is the power of the Romane Pope above all other For such Decrees doe they ordaine No man shall iudge the first Seate desiring to moderate iustice for the Iudge shall be iudged neither of the Emperour neither of all the
chapter against your third Demonstration But because it skilleth nothing for the force of this argument what the names of these Prophets be we let that passe for the present and doo say that that which you tell us how they are to be killed in Jerusalem is false For the Spirit designeth not Ierusalem by name but onely by this circumlocution where our Lord was crucified which agreeth as wel unto Rome seing Christ was crucified by the sentēce of Pilate the Romā Deputie By which fact he made his Citie guilty of this bloud which was shed by this cities authoritie as we have shewed on chap. 11.8 This argument therfore is worthlesse and weak assuming that which cannot be proved yea the contrary wherof is plainly evident by the Scriptures Neither was ther anie cause why either Chytraeus should purposely passe by these words as you feyn where the Lord also was crucified or why you should so trouble your selfe to prove against Ierom that Ierusalem may be caled Sodome which we acknowledge to be so caled otherwhere Although in the Apocalypse your Rome onely is Sodom you should rather have streyned your sinewes to acquitt your selves of this than have spent your strength in a matter for which ther is no fight The second place is Apoc. 17. where Iohn saith that the ten Kings which shal divide the Roman Empire to themselves and in the time of whose reign Antichrist should come shal hate the purpled whore that is Rome and make her desolate and burn her cke with fire How then say you shall it be Antichrists seat if at the self same time it must be overthrown and burnt I answer the Apocalypse easily taketh from you this scruple You ask how Antichrists seate can be burnt he being alive and seing it The Apocalypse telleth that the fift vial shal be powred out on the Beasts throne and his kingdome shal be made dark so that they shal gnaw their tongues for so row chap. 16.10.11 which vial verily is no other thing than this burning wherby the ten Kings shal consume the whore to ashes For you see that this citie which is to be consumed with fire is Queen of the nations which agreeth not to Ierusalem that hath been laid even with the groūd now manie ages since And if you doubt how the ten Kings should be inflamed with such hatred who so dearly loved the whore before hear how the Angel saith that for a time they would yeild themselves wholly to the Beast but should at length be stirred up of God to destroy her whom they most honoured before ver 16.17 This hatred therfore wil afford your Rome no comfort The other things which you heap up to exaggerate this argument are of no weight at all For that Antichrist the Iewe we have chased away in the former disputation and those things that are mentioned of the Kingdome of Asia are some smal peeces of truth shining clearly in the fabulous heap of confuse earth Certayn it is that the Empire shal return thither again but which Antichrist shal not constitute but Christ himselfe shal build taking pitie on his people and declaring himselfe in his Church to be King of al nations The third place is in those words so that he sitteth in the Temple of God 2. Thess 2.4 wher you bring four expositions of the Temple The first is theirs that by the Temple understand the minds of the faithfull The second is Augustines who interpreteth the Temple to be Antichrist himselfe with his whole people which wil have himselfe and his to be thought the true spiritual Temple of God The third is Chrysostoms that takes the Temple for Christian Churches The fourth is theirs that understand it of Salomons Temple Of these four expositiōs you chose this last worst and furthest from the truth even as women when they ar troubled with the green sicknes doo long for coles lether more then for wholsome meats The Temple in this place must needs be that peoples whose the apostasie is for which Antichrist is sent and this we have shewed to be the Gentiles onely which came in deede unto Christ but served him not with such affection as was meet and that it can not by anie means agree to the Iewes who never would be writtē citizens of this Kingdome Moreover neither did Antichrist come while the old Temple stood neither shal he sit therin afterwards seing it was overthrown long since never to be reedified more as the Angel teacheth And the desolatiō shal continue even to the consummation and end Dan. 9.27 Besides how could the Apostle cal that Gods temple which God would detest and which shal not be founded by anie authoritie of his but by Antichrists commandement alone as you wil have it vaūting himselfe for the onely God These and many other things doo teach that it is least of al to be understood of Salomons Temple Yet you say this opinion is the more common probable and learned But by what reason I pray you Beeause say you in the Scripture of the New Testament by the Temple of God is never meant the Christian Churches but alwayes the temple of Jerusalem VVhich short sentence conteineth two notable falshoods The first is that you say by the temple of God is never meant in the Apostles writings the Christian Churches For Paul in Ephes 2.21.22 speaketh thus of the Christian Church Jn whom al the building fitly coupled togither groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord in whom ye also are built togither to be the habitation of God by the Spirit And what other thing dooth the Apocalypse mean by that so often name of the temple but the holy Christian assemblies Arise and measure the temple of God chap. 11.1 Then was the temple of God opened chap. 11.9 And they came out of the temple neither could any enter into temple chap. 15.6.8 The temple of Ierusalem was destroyed before this Revelation was made least perhaps yow should think that that is meant by these words This is the first falshood The second is wher you say the temple of God evermore signifieth the temple of Jerusalem in the new testament For what Are ther so manie Ierusalem temples as ther are faithful persons Vnto the Corinthians Paul speaketh in words commō to everie Christian Know you not that ye are the temple of God And if anie destroy the temple of God c. 1 Cor. 3.16.17 Know you not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost 1 Cor. 6.19 To let passe the things I mentioned a litle before You certes are a more speedy builder than Salomon which can build so manie temples in so short a space but what cā not you doo which make a Christ everie day of Bread But this is a smal matter you say that the Scriptures doo so speak Therfore you bring some greater thing namely that the ancient Fathers Latin and Greek for manie ages never caled the Churches of Christians temples but Oratories