A Plain and Easie CALCULATION Of the NAME MARK and NUMBER of the Name Of the BEAST Wherein these three Points are declared First The Name in the Apocalyptical style is no other but the Universal Headship of the Beast opposed to the Name Power and Headship of the Lamb. Secondly The Number in the same style is the Number of Years to the setting up of this Name or Headship in which respect it is called The Number of the Name Thirdly The Truth of the Exposition is cleared by agreement of all Particulars both in the Text and in the whole Prophecy and by the Event of things a sure Interpreter of Prophecy Humbly Presented To the studious Observers of Scripture-Prophecies GOD'S Works and the Times By NATHANIEL STEPHENS Minister of Penny-Drayton in Leicestershire Whereunto is prefixed A Commendatory EPISTLE written by Mr. Edm. Calamy LONDON Printed by Ia. Cottrel for Matth Keynton at the Fountain Nath Heathcoat at the gilded Acorn and Hen Fletcher at the three gilt Cups in S. Pauls Church-yard 1656. To the Reader THat which one faith of the Book of Leviticus may be also truly said of the Book of the Revelation That it contains as many Mysteries as Words and as many Sacraments as Syllables Hence it was that Calvin P. Martyr Bucer Melancthon and Luther profess That they durst not adventure upon the Interpretation of it because of the difficulty they found in it Hence it is also that so many by adventuring into this Sea have made Shipwrack not onely of their own Credit but also of the Truth and have rather revealed their own weakness then the meaning of the Revelation And yet notwithstanding I dare not but much commend and incourage those that soberly humbly diligently and devoutly endeavor to finde out the meaning of this Book especially when I consider that saying of the holy Ghost Blessed is he that readeth and they that hear the words of this Prophâ—…y and keep those things which are written therein Onely I crave leave to suggest That whosoever will undertake to unfold these heavenly Mysteries must carefully avoid three Rocks 1. He must take heed of indulging too much to Fancy For Fancy is not a sure Foundation to build Divine Interpretations upon Many men have deceived themselves and others by trusting too much unto the Luxuriancy of their Fancy There is a learned man that makes Eight Chapters from the 4th to the 12th to be Predictions of the Destruction of Jerusalem by Titus c. And he pleaseth his Fancy making the Seals and the Trumpets to agree to this Conceit of his But if those Visions were presented to Saint John in Domitians time when he was Banished into Patmos which was after the Destruction of Jerusalem then surely this Fancy of his will prove a meer Dream and Delusion Now that John was banished in Domitians time and that he then had these Apocalyptical Visions made known to him is the Opinion of Irenaeus Tertullian Eusebius Hierome and divers others Indeed Epiphanius saith twice That he was banished in the time of Claudius the Emperour But Petavius that Comments upon him saith That he was herein greatly mistaken Paraeus saith It was 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Epiphanii in putting down Claudius for Domitianus Now to build such Noâ—…el Interpretations upon a Mistake of Epiphanius must needs it self be a great Mistake 2. He must take heed that he doth not appropriate what is spoken in general concerning the Churches of Christ in the world unto that particular Church and Nation in which he liveth This hath been a common Error of many Interpreters Hence it is that a learned man makes one of the Angels that poured out the Vials to be Queen Elizabeth another The Lord Cecil Lord Treasurer of England Hence it is also that we have been so much deceived in Expounding of the meaning of the two Witnesses and of their eminent slaughter at the end of their prophesying in Sack-cloth Every Nation according to the several Persecutions which it hath been under labouring to make the eminent slaughter of the Witnesses to Syncronize with its sad condition Some say It is past Others say It is yet to come And if I may be so bold as to interpose my judgement I should conceive That the latter of these two Opinions is the truest For if what this Author not onely saith but solidly proves be true That the Roman Antichrist did not arise till 606 years after Christ And if Antichrist must reign 1260 years and if this eminent slaughter must not be till toward the end of the Prophecy of the Witnesses then it will necessarily follow That it must be many years before this eminent slaughter will happen 3. He must take heed that he be not too peremptory in determining of Times and Seasons especially of such times which are yet to be fulfilled Our Saviour Christ saith It is not for you to know the Times or the Seasons which the Father hath put in his own power And we finde by sad Experience That they that have been most confident in defining the time when the Jews shall be converted and when Antichrist shall be destroyed have been wofully deceived One learned man makes the Conversion of the Jews to be in the year 1650 But we have lived to see this bold Assertion confuted Another will have it to happen 1655 but this also we now know to be false Another upon very weak grounds concludes That it will be in the year 1656. Another in the year 1665. Such peremptory Assertions and Conclusions argue great confidence but are built upon such weak Foundations that in the issue it will appear That they have deceived both themselves and others The Reverend and Learned Author of this ensuing Tractate hath undertaken a great and difficult task that is To unriddle not onely the Name and Mark of the Beast but also the Number of his Name which he hath performed with so much Modesty Humility Industry and Exquisite Care that I am much assured That whosoever will vouchsafe to read what he hath written though it may be he will not accord with him in all that he saith yet he will much commend his pains and learning and bless God for the good he receiveth by it It cost the Author no doubt a great deal of time to compose it And it is pity that so much pains and study should not be exposed to Publick view If Renowned and Learned Mr. VINES to whom this Author was well known and who had the perusal of this Work were now alive it should have had his publick Approbation But he is now with God And therefore give me leave in his stead Christian Reader to commend it to thy diligent perusal and to accompany it with my Prayers to God That that Holy Spirit which at first made known the Revelation unto Saint John would reveal the meaning of it to thee and me Your Servant in the Work of the LORD Edm Calamy TO
by the Persians and Daniel mourned for it full three weeks together the Angel to comfort him telleth him plainly Dan. 10. 20. I will return to fight with the Prince of Persia and then the King of Graecia shall come in The meaning of which words is this That the power of the Empire of the Persians should be overthrown by the Graecians and then he cometh to particulars to speak of the expedition of Xerxes into Greece how that the Fourth King of the Persians should raise up great multitudes of People against the Graecians These are the words of the text for speaking of Darius the Mede he saith In the first year of Darius the Mede I stood up to strengthen him chap. 11. vers 1. And then he addeth I will shew thee the truth behold there shall stand up three Kings in Persia to wit Cyrus Cambyses Darius And the Fourth meaning Xerxes shall be richer than they all and by his strength through his riches he shall stir up all against the Realm of Graecia vers 2 3. If we will go to the true Reason wherefore the Graecians were so couragious at the Straits of Thermopylae and wherefore they did prevail against the Persians the true cause doth lie in these words I will fight against the Prince of Persia and then the Kingdom of Graecia shall come in It was the secret and invisible hand of the Lord that was the cause of the declining of the Power of the Persians in the East and the rising of the Graecian in the West It is true That the He-goat passed from West to East upon the face of the whole Earth and yet it is as true That the Ram of Persia did push to the three several Coasts Westward Northward and Southward chap. 8. vers 4. By these words it is plain If the Victories of the Graecians did pass from West to East then è converso it is as true That the Victories of the Persians did pass from East to West Let us hear the words of the Prophet Isaiah to put all out of question for speaking of Cyrus thus he saith I have called a ravenous Bird out of the East the man of my Counsel from a far Country chap. 46. 11. From hence it is plain When God will Conquerors shall come out of the East And in Allusion to this Story those Kings that shall deliver the Mystical Israel out of the Captivity of Western Babylon are called the Kings of the East in a Figure Rev. 16. 12. It is not in the Climate in the Hemisphere in the temper of the Heavens in the better exercise of Military Discipline in the experience of old Souldiers in the success of fortunate Generals or any other inferiour cause but in the immediate Dispensation of God Therefore to adde the words of the Psalmist as an Epiphonema Lift not up your Horn on high speak not with a stiff neck for promotion cometh not from the East not from the West but God is judge he putteth down one and setteth up another Psal. 75. 5 6 7. I have staid the longer upon this digression because I set that States-men Souldiers and others of deepest wisdom look to these subtilties Hereupon they trust in an Arm of Flesh oppose the Gospel perfecute the Saints bear themselves more high over those that are made subject to them Make no Conscience of Honesty Truth or Religion when they have the Law in their own hands They should as well look to the invisible and spiritual causes of the Changes of Empire to the Providence of God to the Revelations in the Word to the Angels fighting against the Kingdoms of this world to the power of the Saints Prayers that are offered upon the golden Altar There is nothing more divine nothing more spiritual and nothing more apt to carry up the Soul into an high contemplation of the manifold wisdom power truth and Fidelity of God then to behold in the Prophecie of Daniel and in the Book of the Revelation as in a Map the several Empires of the world where the Church should be seated their times their changes and their causes of the change and this many hundred years before these Empires come to be set up They that read the VVord together with the Stories of the times may see the Fidelity of God and may by this come to know him by the Name Iehovah But so much by the way touching the sudden growth of the Graecian Empire from VVest to East Now we come to the Romans and in the times of their Dominion they must also have the strength of Iron to subdue the whole Earth and break it in pieces And though great Nations and mighty Princes should rise against him as Pyrrhus Hannibal Perseus Iugurtha Sertorius Methridates Tigranes c. yet in their times the Romans must be too hard for them all and break them all in pieces And therefore when Dionysius Halicarnassaeus Cicero and others boast of the Roman Greatness it may be said to them as somtimes it was to Cyrus I have girded thee with strength though thou knowest not me Isa. 45. 1 2. This was the true though the invisible cause why the Romans grew so Great and their Dominion reached to the ends of the Earth But now it is high time to return from whence we have made a digression to shew when the Roman began as the Fourth Metal-Kingdom Some think it was when that Nation was the most prevailing Nation upon the Earth But this cannot be For in the times of Antiochus the Great but more specially in the times of Antiochus Epiphanes they were the more prevailing People yet they did not begin in those times as the Fourth Metal-Kingdom in Daniel's Image You will say then VVhere shall we set the beginning of the Fourth Kingdom I Answer In this case we must distinguish between the Latitude of the Roman Dominion more absolutely considered and the Latitude of the Dominion in and about the Borders of the Church If you speak of the Latitude of Dominion in a more absolute consideration then the Roman began as the more prevailing Dominion when it became more mighty than any other Empire of the world But if you speak in a more strict sense it began then to be the Fourth Metal-Kingdom in Daniel's Image when it did begin to take in the greatest Amplitude and largeness of Rule in and about the Confines of the Church And this is to our purpose Object 3. Others perhaps may Alledge That we cannot begin the Roman as the Fourth Metal-Kingdom when the Iewish Church came under the Dominion of that People For say they it is foretoll in the Prophecie of Jacob The Scepter shall not depart from Iudah nor a Law-giver from between his feet until Shiloh come Gen. 49. 10. Sol. I Answer We must so expound the meaning of one that it may not dash against the main sense of another Scripture Now it is the manifest scope of other Scriptures to shew That the Four
hath it Consideravi in libris Iunius Fui considerans ex libris All cometh to one sense That whether he did consider these times in books or by books or out of books he laid the times together to wit the times in the Prophecy of Ieremy and the times that had past in the Churches experience and accordingly did argue the approach of the deliverance that should come This act of his was by wisdome or understanding for so the word doth signifie the inward contriving or plotting of any thing in the minde as Artificers do cast the frame of a building Thus Kirkerus doth render the meaning of the word in his Concordance Iunius upon the place doth very significantly express the meaning of the word Fuit intelligens ex libris Prophetiarum Hieromiae quibus annorum numerus fuit praefinitus tum Historiis temporum quae à deportationis initio effluxerant In Danielâ—…hen â—…hen we have an example of computing the times and of his wisedome in numbring the seventy years of Ieremy before the event And this Daniel did do not by extraordinary revelation but as an ordinary believer might do by search Let us now go to another Instance When the Disciples came privately to our Saviour upon Mount Olivet they asked him concerning the time of the destruction of Ierusalem and in order to their question he made them this answer When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation stand in the holy place let him that readeth understand Mat. 24. 15. Here I demand What is meant by him that readeth Secondly what is meant by the book that he must reade By him that readeth is meant any one to whom God hath given a minde to search and to look into the meaning of the Scripture And for the Book that must needs be the Prophecy of Daniel concerning the seventy weeks Dan. 9. And whereas it is said Let him that readeth understand the words must go in this tenor Let him that readeth know and understand how many years the 70 weeks of Daniel must contain and where they must begin And from the knowledge of these two if he reckon well he shall come to that time where they shall make an end and that will be the time of the destruction of Ierusalem And so we have an answer to the Disciples question But yet further concerning the time when the period of the seventy weeks are to be studied and that is when you see the abomination of desolation standing in the holy place In that particular instant it is said Then let him that readeth understand As for the standing of the abomination of desolation in the most holy place our Saviour doth expound his meaning more plainly in another Evangelist When ye shall see Ierusalem compassed about with Armies then know that the desolation thereof is nigh Luke 21. 20. Here some man may object It is not always a necessary truth that when a City is compassed with Armies therefore it shall be taken and when it is taken it is not infallible that it shall be brought to utter desolation What doth our Saviour then mean by this speech His meaning is not that from such weak principles men should draw a Conclusion of that weight but this is the drift of his speech When ye shall see Ierusalem compassed about with Armies then let him that readeth fall upon the calculation of the times in the Prophecy of Daniel Let him consider where they begin how long they shall continue and where they make an end and then by the joynt consideration of all these together they shall finde they be not far from the destruction of Ierusalem and that the years of the patience of God are run out And yet further our Saviour would not have men calculate the times to satisfie their curiosity but meerly for use and practise and better information He saith Let him that readeth understand But to what end These words are immediately added ver 16. Then let them which are in Iudea flee to the Mountains c. Now the understanding of the Prophetical times is no common matter but there must be much study and meditation used to finde out the meaning of the Spirit The words of the Text are most emphatical 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let him that readeth ponder and consider the times by some subtilty of observation Now then to apply all this to the present Text and so we have many examples out of Scripture to warrant us That the Number 666 may be such a Number of years to the setting up of the Name or Universal Headship of the Bishop of Rome And for the computation of these years before the event this in the Scripture-language is called by the name of Wisedome Having then such a multitude of Examples out of the Old Testament where pious men have calculated the Prophetical years before the accomplishment why by the like reason may we not conceive That Iohn spake to the people in his own times to the ages immediately following but most specially to those who should live upon the borders of Antichrists rising that they should calculate 666 years to the beginning of his Kingdom The coming of Christ in the flesh and the glory that should follow was revealed to the ancient Prophets though under dark and figurative expressions Now mark what the Apostle S. Peter speaketh of the practise of those wonderful men Of which salvation the Prophets have inquired and searched diligently searching into what manner of time the Spirit did point to when he spake of the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow 1 Pet. 1. 10 11 12. The times of the ancient Church were divided into many periods Now it was shewed them though darkly in what period of time Christ should come And accordingly they who had his Spirit in them made no spare to search when that time should be In like manner the times of the New Testament are divided into many regions or parts and it was revealed to the Apostles in mystical terms how Antichrist should come in what particular period of time he should come and what should be the signs of his coming Now seeing these things are revealed in the Prophecies of the New Testament as I think none can well deny was it not the duty of men immediately after the Apostles time and so downward to calculate the Times And for the actual rising of the Kingdom of Anti-Christ there is no one place doth speak more of his pedigree and genealogie then the Text we now are upon If this be so it will quickly appear of what nature the Number 666 is seeing it is put in the close of the Chapter There is then the greatest probability as can be supposed that this must be the Number of years to the first Institution and Foundation of that Spiritual Monarchy and the person who hath wisedome is to make up the account Further if we take 666 for the Number of time and particularly for the
of the Old Empire behind and so going forward apply the rising of the Two-Horned Beast to what times we please No There is some particular instant of time when the Beast rose up out of the Earth when his Name or Universal Headship began And thiâ—… must needs be at the Decree under the Emperor Phocas when it was determined That the Bishop of Rome should be Head over all Churches So then if we lay these Three Principles together First That the Beast had a determinate Beginning of his Kingdom Secondly That this determinate Beginning was after the Fall of the Empire Thirdly That it was after the Fall of the Empire in such times when the Name or Universal Headship of the Bishop of Rome began first publickly and solemnly to be established If we put all these Three together we shall inevitably piâ—…ch upon that time when the Decree went forth That the Bishop of Rome should be the Head over all Churches For if we look to the Stories we shall find that presently after the Fall of the Empire the Bishop of Constantinople was to have equal Priviledges with the Bishop of Rome by the Decree of the Council of Calcedon Nay further The Bishop of Constantinople was in a fairer possibility for the Universal Headship than was he of Rome Only then in the time under the Emperor Phocas the Decree was Enacted That the Bishop of Rome should be the Head of all Churches And from that time downward this hath been a Priviledge perpetually annexed to that Chair And so then we have the true beginning of the rising of the Two-Horned Beast out of the Earth And it is rightly and Apocalyptically applied â—…o the times by the Position of the Three Principles aforenamed But here Bellarmine and Baronius deny That the Universal Headship began in the time of the Emperor Phocas For saith Bellarmine Phocas did not Ordain this by way of a new Institution but only by way of Declaration of a thing ever before Acknowledged in the Church In Answer to this Mornay in his History of the Papacie telleth us That all Historians down from that time as Paulus Diaconus Freculphus Rhegino Anastasius Sabelliâ—…us Blondus Pomponius Laetus and others agree in this beginning Progress 22. pag. 118. And for Baronius he saith An. 606. Therefore what did Phocas bestow upon the Roman Church Nothing truly Only he did Declare by his Sentence That the Name of the Oecumenical Bishop was unlawfully Usurped by the Bishop of Constantinople when it was due Romanae tantum Ecclesiae only to the Roman Church I cannot but admire at the boldness of this great Annalist that he should go so palpably against the Stories of the Church and against some chief Records of their own For if we look a little before in the times of Gregory the Great we shall finde that there was a sharp contest betwixt him and the Bishop of Constantinople about the Primacy For Iohn the Fourth sirnamed the Easter Bishop of Constantinople did begin to assume the Title of Universal Bishop about the year of the Lord 580 26 years before the matter was determined for the Bishop of Rome He was the more imboldened to do this because he saw the Seat of the Empire established at Constantinople and the City of Rome besieged by the Lombards And consequently the Bishop of that City brought to a low ebb Now these attempts of the Bishops of Constantinople they of Rome did most strongly oppose but none more than Gregory the Great as may appear by sundry passages in his Epistles at this very day In them we find every-where that he doth strongly Dispute against the Name and Title of Universal Bishop and doth say in effect That it is the Name of the Beast He doth again and again inculcate That the Title is new prophane contrary to the scope of the Gospel and the Use of the Church And whereas Bellarmine and Baronius have this creep-hole that he did only inveigh against the encroachments of the Bishop of Constantinople he doth again and again repeat That none of his Predecessours did ever use such a prophane Title Nullus decessorum meorum hoc tam profano vocabulo uti consuevit lib. 4. Epist. 80. But that which is most to our purpoâ—…e he doth everywhere place the formality of Antichristianism in the Universal Headship And they that affect so to be called he doth expresly term them the praecursors and fore-runners of Antichrist To let pass all others we will recite those words of his as they are in his sixth Book and thirtieth Epistle to the Emperor Mauritius Consider saith he that when Antichrist shall call himself God the matter it self is but small and frivolous yet most pernitious If you look to the quality of the word it consisteth only of two Syllables but if you regard the weight of iniquity the matter is very great For I may boldly say That whosoever calleth himself or desireth to be called by others The Universal Priest or Bishop is in his elation of minde the forerunner of Antichrist In elatione suâ Antichristum praecurrit Because in like pride he preferreth himself before others And in his Fourth Book Epist. 34. he writeth to Constantia the Empress Be it far saith he that your times should thus be defiled with the Exaltation of one man and then addeth In hâc ejus superbiâ quid aliud nisi propinqua jaâ—… Antichristi esse tempora designatur By this Arrogancy what else is portended but that the time of Antichrist is now at hand And more fully to Iohn himself he useth these words lib. 4. Epist. 38. Tu quid Christo Universalis scilicet Ecclesiae capiti in extremi judicii dicturus es examine qui cuncta ejus membra tibimet conaris Universalis appellatione supponere What wilt thou answer to Christ the Head of the Universal Church in the tryal of the Day of Iudgement seeing that by this Name Universal thou seekest to inthral the Members of his Bodie to thy self And that which maketh more to our purpose he telleth him That the times concerning the coming of Antichrist begin to be fulfilled and that there is â—…ow a performance of the Prophecies Omnia enim quae praedicta sunt fiunt Rex superbiae prope est quod dici nefas est sacerdotum est praeparatus exercitus All Prophecies begin now to be fulfilled and that which I dread to speak the King of Pride is at hand and an Army of Priests do attend him Now for these and such-like passages between Gregory and Iohn of Constantinople I cannot think otherwise of them but that they did happen by the singular Providence of God to excite the world to look after the Revelation of the man of sin For as when our Lord Christ was born at Bethlehem there was a hurly-burly in Iudaea the star appeared the wise men came to Ierusalem and the whole City was troubled What was the end of God in all this but to stir them
up to attention to look after the Messiah of whom so much was sooken in the Prophecies So in the like case many things being foretold in the writings of the Apostles concerning the coming of Antichrist when that time should begin to draw near the Lord was pleased to suffer such a dust to be raised between Constantinople and Rome to rouze up the spirits of men to examine those things which were foretold in the Scriptures In the Book of the Revelation there is much spoken concerning the Name of the Beast and the Mark of the Name Now when this Name or Headship was come to the beginning thereof Gregory did plainly declare That the formality of Antichristianism did consist in this Title and that the Man of sin was then at the doors And I wish one day his sayings do not strongly witness against all his Successors who with one joynt consent down from the year of our Lord 606 have appropriated this Title to themselves to the great dishonour of Christ the true Head of the Church But if they alledge That the Bishop of Rome is only a Ministerial head as Christ's Vicar To this I Answer However they may evade by subtilty of words indeed and in truth they have taken for many Ages together the Dignity of Christ and have made him only the titular Head of the Church For is it not clear by the Stories That all doth depend upon the Authority of the Romane See The credit of Scripture the interpretation of Scripture the making of Laws the abrogation of divine Laws and all things in a manner have depended upon the Authority of the Roman Bishop What he would he hath set up what he would he hath plucked down And when all this is done is he only a titular Head Indeed and in â—…uth the Headship of Christ hath been made but a cypher and the words of Gregory have been found too true in the event But for the passages out of him two things are briefly to be observed First If we go to the 600 years immediately after the birth of Christ there was then no Oecumenical Bishop For though the Man of sin had gone very far and had made many progressions in the Mysterie of Iniquity yet the Authority it self was not publickly established in all that time If it were so we may believe that Gregory would not have inveighed against that Headship as he did Secondly In the year of the Lord 606 the Decree was Enacted That the Bishop of Rome should be Head over all Churches which Dignity the whole Succession have enjoyed now above this 1000 years And that which Gregory did call Antichristian in others that all his followers have assumed to this very day Therefore Thuanus in his 67 Book doth speak very pithily Phocas Bonifacio tertio insignes Episcopi Universalis titulos quos nuper Gregorius in Iohanne Constantinopolitano improbaverat prolixè attribuit Phocas did largely ascribe to Boniface the third those eminent titles of Universal Bishop which Gregory did lately inveigh against in Iohn of Constantinople Now then to gather all into one sum we may see how the Prophecies and the Stories of the Church do agree First That the two-horned Beast had a determinate time when he rose up out of the Earth Secondly That this time is after the rising of the ten-horned Beast or the ten Kings out of the ruines of the Empire Thirdly It is to be applied to such a time only when the Name and the Universal Headship of the Bishop of Rome began publickly to be set up All these three laid together do necessarily bring us to the Decree of the Headship under the Emperor Phocas And so we do Conclude that this is the Number of the Name of the Beast as it is mentioned in the Prophecie Now by what Accompt the Number is 666 we will shew in the Two Chapters following CHAP. V. That the Roman is the Fourth and Last Metal-Kingdom in Daniels Image and the truth of this is proved against the Positions of Junius Broughton Piscator Dr. Willet and others FOr the carrying on of our matter we need not imbark in that great Question Whether the Roman be the Fourth Metal-Kingdom Or Whether the Opinion of Junius and his followers be received We are sure both wayes to make the Accompt good That the Name or Universal Headship of the Bishop of Rome is 666. The matter is so firmly grounded upon the event Let us then proceed according to Iunius his Method let us say that the Babylonian is the first Metal-Kingdom that the Mede-Persian is the second that the Macedonian in Alexander is the third that the Seleucian is the fourth Here according to this Analogie there must be an end of all the four Metal-Kingdoms at the destruction of the Seleucian when Syria Iudaea and all that Oriental tract came under the Obedience of the People of Rome Now then if you reckon from the final Conclusion of all the four persecuting Empires and from the beginning of the Roman as that Nation did succeed in the Rule over the Church there will be an exact period of 666 years to the setting up of the Name or Universal Headship of the Bishop of Rome And so we do concord with the Principles of Iunius But we do not say That there was a dissolution of all four Metal-Kingdoms but only a dissolution of the third and a beginning of the fourth Now from the beginning of the Roman or the fourth Kingdom we make the accompt And for the clearer manifestation of the truth we will Debate this Point more fully for it is a ruled case in Daniel and the Revelation That one and the same thing is variously repeated for clearer explication As for ensample The Antichristian Kingdom is more obscurely delivered Revel 11. Now if we compare it with the description chap. 13 and chap. 17. all three Scriptures will exceedingly illustrate one and the same truth And so in the present case if it can be solidly proved that the fourth Beast in Daniel is the Roman Kingdom we may safely conclude that the same matter is repeated more largely in the Book of the Revelation Mr Medâ—… speaketh to very good purpose concerning the description of the ten-horn'd Beast Rev. 13. These are his words Toâ—…a autem haec descriptio petita est ex Propheâ—…iâ Danielis cap. 7. ubi de eâdem agitur quâ hic Bestiâ Romanâ status novissimi sed quae ibi Danieli ab Angelo succinctius narrantur ea hîc Iohanni interjectâ quasi explicatione fusius deducuntur Comment Apocal. pag. 190. From which words of his it is clear that one and the same Roman Dominion in the last and Antichristian State thereof is the subject matter of both Scriptures And so we have a certain and a demonstrative Principle to build upon For not only the Book of the Revelation it self will be cleared by comparing one part with another that which is more dark with that which is more
hath been introduced in the latter times But now it is not so with the Universal Headship of the Bishop of Rome this hath been in hatching in all Ages almost down from the times of the Apostles till in the 666th year from the beginning of the Roman as the Fourth Metal-Kingdom it began publickly to be established under the Emperor Phocas And here was the true beginning of the Name or Universal Headship of the Beast and of the Mark of the Name Fourthly The Mark in the Forehead and in the right Hand is a convertible and reciprocal Note to distinguish the Subjects of the Beast's Kingdom from other men and such a convertible Note is the publick Profession of a Roman Catholick And therefore many of their chief Writers do lay down Three Notes to prove a true Church by Verae fidei Professione by the Profession of the true Faith Sacramentorum Communione by participating of the Sacraments Pontifici Romano tanquam legitimo Pastori subjectione by subjection to the Bishop of Rome as to their lawful Pastor Fifthly The Mark in the Forehead and the right Hand must be such a thing as is in open view and in common use for so do these figurative Expressions import It is not said That he causeth all to receive a Mark in their Arm or Breast or Foot or Leg or any other Member of the Body but in the Forehead which is in open view and in the right Hand as being that part of the Body which is of most common use Now what is there among that Society of men which is of more common use and publick view than the Profession of a Roman Catholick Experience doth plainly shew That none can buy nor sell nor hold Land and Possessions but such a one as doth acknowledge this Universal Headship Sixthly The Mark in the Forehead and in the right Hand is in express and significant terms called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Mark of his Name They have no rest day nor night that worship the Beast and his Image and receive the Mark of his Name chap. 14. vers 11. Now if you apply this to the Profession of a Roman Catholick all things will agree For what is a Roman Catholick but such a one as doth make it the chief and main Article of his Faith to acknowledge the Universal Headship of the Bishop of Rome and to subject his Conscience to the Laws made by that Authority And this we have already proved in the Third Chapter of this Treatise to be no other but the Name of the Beast For if there were no such thing as the Universal Headship Sovereign Power and Supreme Dominion of the Bishop of Rome what would become of the Faith and Profession of a Roman Catholick The Name or Universal Headship is that which giveth foundation to the Mark or Profession à priori and the Mark or Profession is that which declareth the Name or Universal Headship à posteriori And therefore in significant terms it is called the Mark of the Name Seventhly The Mark in the Forehead and in the right Hand is that which the Subjects of the Beast's Kingdom do assume to themselves as a matter of the greatest Honour and Dignity It is not a brand or nick-Name put upon them by their Enemies but that which themselves do voluntarily profess as may be seen in the whole Book of the Revelation Now such a Name is the Profession of a Roman Catholick The Roman Church comprehendeth all those Nations Languages and People that agree in the same Unity of the Faith under the Pope the Head And every Member of this Church of what sort soever maketh this as the principal Badge of his Profession to adhere to the Bishop of Rome as to the visible Head of the Church Eighthly The Mark in the right Hand and in the Forehead must be so expounded That in receiving of this men must be guilty of great sin against Christ and so consequently lyable to most grievous Judgements except they repent And therefore it is expressed That such shall be tormented day and night that worship the Beast and receive his Mark. Surely then that act of receiving the Mark of the Beast must needs be a grievous sin because the Lord Christ doth threaten it with so heavie a Judgement Now if you take the Profession of the Faith of a Roman Catholick as he professeth his subjection to the Bishop of Rome this is the greatest derogation that can be to Christ to supplant him in his Universal Headship For it is his peculiar and incommunicable Priviledge to be the only Head of the Church his Mystical Body Therefore whosoever he is that doth ascribe this to himself or to any other doth sin against the Kingly Office of Christ and doth what in him lies to dethrone and put Christ from his sovereign Dignity A Wife may be guilty of many Offences against her Husband but that is one of the most capital when she doth take another in his room for that is in a sense To break the bond and to cast him off from being her Husband when she doth give her self to another man A Roman Catholick then when he doth profess his Allegiance to the Bishop of Rome as to the visible Head of the Church this publick Profession of his is Rebellion and high Treason against the Lord Christ the true Head of the Church this doth supplant him of his Kingly Power and Dignity and therefore he doth threaten this sin with such grievous Judgements Those words therefore that are added as an Epiphonema in the end of the Revelation Whosoever shall adde to the words of this Book God will adde to him the Plagues that are written in this Book And if any man shall take away from the words of the Book of this Prophecie God will take away his part out of the Book of Life and out of the Holy City and from the things which are written in this Book chap. 22. vers 18. 19. Interpreters do usually apply this place to those that bring in Traditions but I think that here is a more special sense intended sutable to the nature of the Book for the principal scope of the Book of the Revelation is to speak of the Kingly Office of Christ and therefore they that set up another Head of the Church they do adde to the words of the Prophecie of this Book and God will adde to them the Plagues that are written in the Book So they that take away from the Kingly Office of Christ they do in a more special sense take away from the words of the Prophecie of this Book And therefore God will take away their part out of the New Ierusalem and from the things that are contained in the Book If these things are so I cannot but admire at Hugo Grotius a man of great Learning in these last times who in his Tract de Antichristo doth speak very favourably of the Universal Headship of the Bishop of Rome
discovery of this will guide us in the clearing of other things For if we do rightly conceive what is meant by the Mark of the Name we may come to demonstrate the Name it self what it is And when the Name it self is truly and Apocalyptically defined we may be the better prepared for the discovery of the Number All these do mutually depend each upon other And therefore for the subject-matter of the Law of the Beast in the several branches thereof we do thus determine in these three Particulars First The Mark that he causeth all to receive in their forehead and in their right hand is nothing else but the visibility of their Profession that do acknowledge him as Head of the Church And this he compelleth men of all sorts to submit and to yeeld obedience unto Secondly For the Name of the Beast which is also a part of that Law which he did impose upon his Subjects That none might buy nor sell but they that have the Name of the Beast This Name I have formerly proved in the third Chapter of this Treatise That it is not the word Lateinos nor any other Grammatical Name but the Name is the Universal Headship it self The matter cometh to this Issue That none must buy nor sell nor have civil commerce within the Dominions of the Beast but those onely who will acknowledge his Name or Headship Thirdly For the Number of the Name the third part or branch of the Law imposed upon the Subjects of that Kingdom that none must buy nor sell but they that had the Number of the Name I have shewed in part and I shall more fully declare afterward That the Number is not made out of the Numeral letters of the name Lateinos or out of any other Grammatical Name whatsoever but it is the Number of time when that Name or Headship had its first visible and remarkable Institution and therefore it is called The Number of the Name The matter then must come to this Issue That none must buy nor sell but he that doth own the Universal Headship as it was established and set up in the first Foundation and Institution of that spiritual Monarchy Object You perhaps will alleadge That the words are plain That none must buy nor sell but he that hath the Number of the Name Therefore if the Number of the Name be the Number of time when this Name or Universal Headship began according to this Exposition he must not buy nor sell who hath not the Number of time when this Universal Headship began Sol. We must not take the words further then they naturally intend And therefore this is the meaning of the Text That he must not buy nor sell who doth not receive the Catholicism or Universal Headship of the Bishop of Rome as it was Enacted in the first Institution of that Spiritual Monarchy And if we look attentively to the words we shall finde that there is some difference to be made betwixt the Mark of the Name and the Number For when the Spirit speaketh of the Mark in the forehead and in the right hand and of the Name in relation to the Mark he speaketh of such a thing as is apparent to the sight of every man The Beast's Subjects in their usual buying and selling may discern who have the Mark in the forehead and who have not But now for the Number of the Name and for the Name in reference to the Number it is nowhere said that this is in the forehead or in the right hand for it is of a more secret and occult nature Let him that hath wisdom count the Number of the Beast This sheweth plainly that the Number is to be found out by some subtilty of observation and it is not to be discerned in the ordinary use of buying and selling Object You will say Why are all these joyned together that none must buy nor sell but he that hath the Mark of the Beast the Name and the Number of the Nâ—…me Sol. They are all joyned together by reason of their affinity or relation that the one hath to the other and therefore a man cannot well take upon him the Profession of a Romane Catholick which is the Mark of the Name but he must also profess the Name or Soveraign power it self And he cannot profess the Name or Universal Headship but he must relate also to the first Foundation and Institution thereof in the time when it first began visibly to appear And therefore when the Romane Catholicks do at this day own the Universal Headship of the Bishop of Rome they do not mean it onely personally of the Pope now living but of the Succession that hath continued many hundred years There must then be some particular instant of time where this Institution did begin In many great Kingdoms at this day it is not safe for a man to live among them unless he will acknowledge the Universal Headship of the Bishop of Rome Now I say then there must be some particular term and instant of time where this Universal Headship had its first institution where we must set the date thereof And here I say it must be in the time of the Emperor Phocas 666 years from the beginning of the Roman as the fourth Metal-Kingdom Thus I have distinctly shewed the matter of the Law which the Beast imposeth upon his Subjects in the three branches thereof And though I have departed in some particulars from the ordinary stream of Interpreters yet I do agree with many Protestant Writers in the main sense and substance of the Interpretation Since the preaching of Luther Bullinger was one of the first that did historically and with Principles expound the Book of Revelation And so Paraeus speaking of Expositors of the last times hath these words Quibus omnibus meo judicio facem praetulit Henricus Bullingerus quam ferè secuti sunt alii Prooeâ—… in Apocal. Cap. 4. Now this Interpreter doth pitch upon the same sense as we do as it is manifest in his Commentary upon the Revelation And so do some other Interpreters as Danaeus de Antichristo c. If therefore a Reason be demanded Why the latter Interpreters have not gone on in this ancient and true way of Exposition There are two Reasons which are usually given as we may see in the Commentary of Paraeus upon the Revelation and of Downham in his Tract de Antichristo and of Dr. Mayer in his Expositions upon the Revelation First they alledge That the Number of the Beast is numerus nominis the Number of his Name and not the Number of the time of his rising Sol. If these Interpreters will consider the truth of that which we have largely disputed to wit that the Name of the Beast is no other but his Universal Headship and Power by the discovery of this they will finde that there is no difference between the Number of the Name and the Number of the time of the rising of the Beast
when that Name or Universal Headship began We reade when our Saviour was born at Bethleem that certain wise-men came from the East to Ierusalem saying Where is born the King of the Iews 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for we have seen his Star in the East Matth. 2. 1 2 3. Here I demand Why is this Star called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 his Star The reason is plain Because it did denote and set forth the time of his birth So in the like case the Number of the Beast may be called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Number of his Name because it doth characterize decypher and set forth the time when that Name or Universal Headship began Secondly whereas they alledge That there are onely 606 years to the setting up of the Name or Universal Headship of the Bishop of Rome under the Emperor Phocas I confess this is true if we make our account by the years of our Lord. But what warrant have we to proceed in this method For though the Christians do generally use this way of computation yet the general use hath not been so to reckon For as Martinius an acuâ—…e Grammarian speaketh of the reading of the Hebrew so we also may say the same concerning the computation of the times in the Book of the Revelation We are not in this to follow the modern but the ancient use These are his words We ought not to think the custome of our age to be the rule and direction of speaking Hebrew but so far onely as it doth agree with the custome of the ancient people Further he addeth In every Nation there are skilful and learned men in that language yet they do not all reade after the same manner The Germans pronounce their words one way the French another the Spaniards and Italians another and each of them say they have their proper and peculiar custome But such a custome is not to be accounted a lawful argument Let us hold this therefore for a sound foundation both in reading writing and â—…ronouncing Hebrew Veterem Haebraeorum usum sequendum esse The ancient use of the Hebrews is to be followed Technol p. 45. So I may say in the present case They that take the Name of the Beast for the Universal Headship they that stand upon the beginning of the Universal Headship for so Paraeus Downham and our best Interpreters do at the Emperor Phocas they must not count the Number of time by the year of the Lord or by any such like modern style but they must have recourse ad veterem Prophetarum Apostolorum usum to the ancient use of the Prophets and the Apostles in the days of Iohn And here they may finde that the Name of the Beast which is onely 606 in the years of the Lord will be 666 in Daniels Chronologie And that which may be for a confirmation of this truth let us but remember what hath been formerly proved to wit that Iohn in the Revolation doth largely repeat shat which hath been more briefly mentioned by Daniel concerning the Roman or the fourth Metal-Kingdom Further we reade That when the seventh Angel began to sound it is expresly said That time shall be no more but the mystery of God shall be finished as he hath spoke to his servants the Prophots Rev. 10. 6 7. Here two questions are to be demanded First what did he mean when he saith That time shall be no more Secondly To what Prophets doth he refer us when he saith As he hath spoken to his servants the Prophets By Time we are to take it onely with a restriction for the time of the sufferings of the Church under the Tyrannical Governments of this world as it is set forth in the type of the four Metal-Kingdoms But more specially in the last and Antichristian state of the fourth Kingdom Secondly for the servants the Prophets Mr. Mede Grasserus and others do understand this of the times in the Prophecy of Daniel which do reach to the dissolution and destruction of the Antichristian Kingdom If we put all this together we shall finde that the times of the Beasts Kingdom ought not to be computed by the years of the Lord but by the ancient and Prophetical Chronologie in the Visions of Daniel These two Arguments being answered Paraeus Downham and other Protestant Writers are wholly ours For they altogether in a manner in their Treatises and Commentaries do teach that the formality of Antichristianism doth lye in the Universal Headship and that a thing is Antichristian so far as it doth contribute to the Universal Headship of the Bishop of Rome to put him in the place of Christ who is the onely undoubted unquestionable Head of the Church and there is none besides And so much concerning the matter of the Law that the Beast causeth these three things to be received The Mark the Name and the Number of the Name Onely here is one hard question to be dissolved in which I finde that Interpreters are greatly divided and that is this Whether the Mark Name and Number are so many expressions of one and the same matter or whether are they three distinct several matters Some are of opinion as Alcasar that all these three ought to be coupled together exegeticè by way of explanation Seeing that which in this and the former verse is absolutely called the Mark is afterward expresly called the Mark of the Beast Chap. 15. ver 2. and the Mark of the Name of the Beast Chap. 14. ver 11. Others are of a different judgement as Ribera for they hold that these things ought to be distinguished for they that stand on the glassie Sea are said in express terms to overcome the Beast his Image Mark Name and the Number of his Name Chap. 15. ver 1 2. Now our answer to this question is this First we say That the Mark Name and the Number of the Name cannot be affirmed to signifie one and the same thing seeing they are in many places of the Prophecy delivered with distinction and the reason of the distinction is laid down in sundry Texts To the second also we answer That these are not three several matters as Ribera Paraeus Abbot and others will have it as though some of the Beasts Subjects should have the Mark others the Name and a third sort the Number of the Name There is no reason that we should put those things asunder which in the Prophecy are always joyned together Therefore to determine the question we will take a middle way between these two extremes We affirm then That in the general these three do agree in one matter for the substance though it be distinguished by three Apocalyptical considerations Let us come to that particular place where Iohn saw the Number of them that stood upon the glassie Sea mingled with fire who had overcome the Beast his Image Mark Name and the Number of his Name Chap. 15. ver 2. All these several expressions set forth one sort
the Spirit saith to the Churches There are many excellent things that he speaketh to the Churches in the way of Reproof in the way of Advice and in the way of Comfort yet onely he that hath an ear to hear will understand the meaning of his words And so in the present case when it is said Here is wisdome let him that hath understanding count the Number of the Beast This implieth That this matter must be found out by some subtilty of observation The person that doth inquire must be such a one as hath wisdome Secondly For the manner of discovery it must be by calculation of the Number and therefore it is said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Let him count the Number of the Beast The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth such a kinde of Numbring as is by Counters or Stones of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lapillus Calculus But in the ordinary and common use it doth promiscuously note any kinde of reckoning And therefore it is said concerning the man that went about to build a Tower 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 he counteth or reckoneth the cost Luke 14. 28. And so in the present case there is a computation or way of account to finde out the mystery of the Number But here is the difference betwixt Interpreters some go to the extraction of the root some to the numeral Letters of the name Lateinos But of these we have spoken in part already and we shall further shew the vanity of this way in the process of the Discourse We will therefore come positively and plainly to set down the meaning of the Spirit And we shall finde That there is nothing more familiar in the Predictions of Prophetical Scriptures then for the Spirit to foretel remarkable occurrences by a definite number of years to every such occurrence Of many Examples that may be given take these few When the Lord would give Noah warning concerning the Flood he told him That such a Number of years should fulfil their course and then the Flood should come My Spirit shall not alway strâ—…ve with man yet his dayes shall be an hundred and twenty years Gen. 6. 3. So when he made a Promise to Abraham that he would give to his Posterity the Land of Canaan for an Inheritance he told him That 400 years should run compleat to the performance of the Promise Thy seed shall be a stranger in a land that is not theirs and shall serve them and they shall afflict them four hundred years and afterwards they shall come out with great substance Gen. 15. 13 14 15. Further when the people of the Jews were carried captive into Babylon in the times of Ieâ—…kims Captivity to these the Prophet Ieremy did send a Consolatory Letter in which he did declare two things of eminent note Their remarkable deliverance and the overthrow of the Babylonian Empire Yet withall â—…e did declare That seventy years must first be fulfilled and accomplished at Babylon before their deliverance wiâ—… come And these Nations shall serve the King of Babylon seventy years and when seventy years are accomplished then will I visit the King of Babylon Jer. 25. ver 11 12. And again Thus saith the Lord After seventy years be accomplished at Babylon I will visit you and perform my good word towards you in causing you to return unto this place Jer. 29. 10 11. Last of all when Daniel himself was mâ—…sing on the truth of the Promise of God and gave himself to understand the Times and to pray in faith for the accomplishment of the Promises he had a further discovery of the seventy weeks that should lead him to the times of the Messiah to his Passion to the Preaching of the Gospel among all Nations and to the destruction of Ierusalem Now to the performance of these things it was shewed to him That there must be seventy Sevens or seventy weeks of years or 490 years in all to begin and commence from the building of the second Temple which line of years if he followed it would bring him to that time when all these things should be fulfilled By these Examples it is manifest That it is a frequent thing in Prophetical Scriptures to foretell future occurrences and to shew the Number of years that shall pass before the event If this be so we have a rational ground to build upon when we make 666 the Number of years to the setting up of the Name or Universal Headship of the Bishop of Rome But for the further clearing of the truth That the study and the calculation of the Prophetical years is said to be wisdome we can make this appear by some special Examples out of Scripture We reade in the the Prophecy of Daniel In the first year of Darius the son of Ahashuerosh of the seed of the Medes which was made King over the Realm of the Caldeans in the first year of his reign I Daniel understood by books the Number of the years whereof the word of the Lord came to Ieremiah the Prophet that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Ierusalem Dan. 9. 1 2 3. Concerning Darius the Mede there is a great Controversie among Chronologers whether he came to the Kingdome of the Caldeans by Conquest or by free Election But let that point be what it will be all do agree in it That Darius the Mede raigned immediately before Cyrus the Persian And it is as clear also by the stories of the times That the first year of Darius the Mede was upon the very dawning of the Churches deliverance In this year then Daniel gave himself to study by books the Number of years that the Lord would accomplish in the Churches desolations In him then by the way let us note That they who have the greatest fulness of Spirit are chiefly imployed in the meditation of the Scriptures And they who are conversant in the Prophetical Scriptures are many times helped out in the knowledge of these things by the Sacred and the Civil Stories But now let us take notice of the process and order of his meditations First he did lay it as a general ground That seventy years must be expired before deliverance will come But now saith he the seventy years of the desolations of Ierusalem begin almost to be fulfilled Therefore in these times we are almost come to the promised deliverance And thereupon he did pray with great faith in the Promises of God as appeareth by the scope of the Chapter Here now in this Syllogism Daniel did 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by two known Numbers he did finde out a third unknown His major Proposition was the Prophecy of Ieremy his Assumption was his own experience and the Chaldee Registers of the Time and his Conclusion was the approach of the delivery of the Church And the whole operation in computing the times was by wisdome For these are the words of the Text I Daniel 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 understood by books Piscator
in pieces like a Potters vessel The scope of the Text is chiefly concerning the exorbitancy and exaltation of Earthly Powers against Christ. And these we say do more nearly and immediately symbolize with the Great Antichrist Secondly they come also in the nearest resemblance to Antichrist and to that which is truly Antichristian who forsake the Scriptures to hang meerly upon Dreams and Revelations For as the true Believers who take Christ for the Head of the Church have the Word of the Gospel applied to their hearts and sealed to their Consciences by the inward working of the Spirit So on the contrary they who mis-believe and take Antichrist for the Head of the Church have his Superstitions Laws and Decrees rooted and grounded in them by Visions Dreams and Apocryphal Revelations This is clear from the scope of the Scripture And here is the esâ—…igies and lively pourtraicture of Antichrists Kingdome But before I come to the point it is necessary that I should premise one Caution in the beginning And here let it be noted That I do not speak of Revelations absolutely and in their full extent but of Revelations restrictively and in a sense onely If we take Revelations in the first sense I do easily agree That not onely in the first 2000 years from Adam to Abraham but also in the last dispensation since the coming of Christ God hath wonderfully revealed himself to his People as it is clear by the Scriptures and by the Stories of the Church And in my own experience I can avouch it to be true as I have had occasion to converse in several places so I have met with some good Christianâ—… whom it hath pleased the Lord to bring home by an admirable way of Conversion And some select persons also I know whom it hath pleased the Lord to chuse out for himself to bear witness to his Truth both in dark and troublesome times I have found that they have spoken great things concerning the last troubles and divers events thereof which experience hath confirmed to be true But concerning this kinde of people that a distinction may be made between true and Apocryphal Revelations I have ever noted three things in them First they have diligently waited upon the publick Ordinances of God and have broke through all difficulties through perswasions of Friends through oppositions of Enemies through threatnings of Tyrannical Courts that they might enjoy the means of their Salvation Secondly I have observed that they have always adhered to the written Word and have spent very much time in the meditation of the Promises Commands and other Passages desiring nothing more in all the world then that they might know the minde of God that they might save their own the Souls of other people Thirdly I have observed this in them That though they have been under extraordinary teachings yet they have had great darknesses in which they have always begged of the Lord that he would not leave them so and that he would carry them on further Now in praying waiting and using the means they have first or last had assured help from the Lord by the immediate supply of his Spirit There is much spoken by the School-men concerning the harmony betwixt the Grace of God and Endeavor of Man Suarez hath his way Alvarez bath his Penottus seemeth to draw a threed betwixt both and Cajetan saith In hoc ego non possum quietare intellectum meum In this I cannot satisfie my understanding But for my part I never found better grounds of resolution any-where then from the experiences of some Christians whom it hath pleased the Lord a long time to exercise in the Schoole of Temptation As they have had sundry changes of trouble and fear so they have had interchangable supply of Spirit and of auxiliary Grace to direct help and comfort them in all their fears There hath been a sweet parallel betwixt Gods grace and their endeavor as they did work under the grace and by the help of grace received By their experiences I do finde That it is the manner of God in dealing with a Soul to break it all to pieces and then wholly to make it up by the continual help of his Spirit Now this doth not any way drown the endeavor of man but doth onely put him upon the work of his Salvation with fear and trembling and upon an humble dependance upon the Lord for the supply of his grace This I have found from the experiences of such as have lived by Faith in the Promises and have prayed much by Faith in the Promises With some of these the Lord hath dealt by peculiar Revelations But these are particular priviledges which he doth vouchsafe to certain persons extraordinarily whom he doth set apart for special services either to himself or to his Church I do acknowledge That some Believers in this last dispensation may be partakers of such extraordinary workings of the Spirit therefore I will not absolutely and peremptorily conclude against all Dreams Visions and Revelations in these last Times And I think it very expedient that men should be moderate in their censure But yet for the ordinary course of Visions and Revelations which men do make boast of in these days it is very much to be suspected that they do proceed from no good Spirit Especially when they are carried so high as to live above Ordinances and to slight the Scriptures which God hath appointed as the way and means to Salvation Nay when they shall go further and maintain things apparently contrary to Scripture and the analogie of Faith and rest wholly upon the proof of extraordinary Revelation there is great cause why we should have this way in deep suspition that the power and working of Satan is here And they who call every thing Antichristian in the Ministery in the Ordinances in the Worship in the literal expressions of Scripture if they would be pleased to examine themselves and lay their hands upon their own hearts they would finde That by their slighting of the Scripture by their hanging upon extraordinary Revelations in matters contrary to Scripture they themselves are the most Antichristian men and do come in the nearest resemblance to the Great Antichrist as he is described by the Apostle in the Epistle to the Thessalonians and by Iohn in the Book of the Revelation But let us come to particulars these are the words of the Apostle Even him whose coming is after the working of Satan with miracles signs and lying wonders and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish because they did not receive the truth in the love of it that they might be saved Chap. 2. ver 9 10. In which words the Apostle doth plainly shew and foretell That not onely at the coming of Antichrist but also in all the time of his Kingdome the Devil shall have power given him to do great things to deceive the world that they may believe the lies of Antichrist