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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A03335	Mystical babylon, or Papall Rome A treatise vpon those words, Apocal. 18.2. It is fallen, it is fallen Babylon, &c. In which the wicked, and miserable condition of Rome, as shee now is in her present Babylonian estate, and as she shall be in her future ineuitable ruine, is fully discouered: and sundry controuersiall points of religion, betwixt the Protestants, and the Papists, are briefly discussed. By Theophilus Higgons, rector of the parochiall Church of Hunton, neere Maidstone in Kent.	Higgons, Theophilus, 1578?-1659.	1624 (1624)	STC 13455; ESTC S118140	129,351	289

beareth rule therein as in the very Seate and Center of his Dominion The SECOND obseruation which from thence I frame and tender vnto your religious hearts is a Morall truth namely that God doth often punish our sinnes by such meanes and instruments as were seruiceable vnto vs therein to the accomplishment of our desires So wee read Ezek. 16.37.39 c. that whereas the Iewes committed spirituall fornication with the Idols of Aegypt and Assyria and reapposed more in the helpe of the Aegyptians and Assyrians sometimes then in the protection of God therefore he threatneth to giue them into their hands who being instruments of their sinnes against him should bee also instruments of his iudgements against them Sundry are the examples in this kind which I cannot now produce but leauing the ponderation of this point vnto your owne hearts I aduise you in the tender feare of God so to please him in all your wayes that not onely all men but all his creatures may bee disposed and inclined by him to our incolunitie and preseruation So saith the Wiseman When the wayes of a man please the Lord hee will also make his enemies at peace with him Prou. 16.7 To this purpose spake Eliphaz in Iob. 5.23 The stones of the field shall bee in league with thee and the beasts of the field shall be at peace with thee But if wee sinne impenitently against him euery creature in heauen and earth is readie prest by his instinct and motion to reuenge the iniurie done vnto him who is the Creator of heauen and earth And so much concerning the first question I come therefore vnto the second The SECOND Question SECONDLY if you require of me what are the causes for which these ten Kings shall take vp their Armes against Babylon I answere partly out of the euidence of the Scripture and partly out of the demonstration of reason that three principall causes concurre in this behalfe The FIRST is a meritorious cause by congruitie and condignitie as they vse to speake of the merit of their workes in regard of her sinnes which I haue touched heretofore in the comparisons betwixt the Misticall and the Literall Babylon which being a burthen vnto the earth cry for vengeance vnto heauen And now here is a collection of her sinnes the old and the new come into one reckoning and account They were past in act but remained in guilt wherefore it is said Apoc. 18.5 Her sins are come vp vnto heauen and God hath remembred her iniquities for though hee alwayes remembred them in his prouidence and knowledge yet now hee declareth his remembrance by the execution of his Iustice Thus we perceiue that God hath a time to permit sinnes and a time to punish sinnes the former and the latter sinnes together of any state or of any person when our repentance bindeth not vp the hands of his iustice but our continuance addition and renouation of sinne draw the sword out of the scabbard and compell him vnto the manifestation of his wrath as it is here in the fall of Babylon whose sins are bound vp together in this great and fearefull iudgement But since she will make no benefit of this instruction as being obdurate in the course of her sinnes and prepared for destruction let vs obserue it brethren for our owne vse since wee know the iust seueritie of God which leadeth vs vnto speedie repentance least he arraigne vs at the barre of his Iustice for our ancient for our latter sins This obseruation pertaineth first vnto a Kingdome and State hee doth not forger her sins though he remember them not presently in iudgement After many hundred yeeres he called Amalek vnto an account I remember saith he vnto Saul what Amalek did vnto Israel how they laid wait for them in the way as they came vp out of Egypt therefore he sent Saul vpon an expedition against the Amalekites to destroy them from the face of the earth O that my natiue Countrey would take notice of this at the heart and not adde sin vnto sin new vnto the old prouoking God vnto great indignation against her But two things comfort me here the one that God will spare the Land because hee hath many faithfull seruants therein that mourne for the sins of England and that as Eliphaz speaketh in Iob 22.30 the innocent shall deliuer the Iland For it is not the Sea that can defend vs from inuasion it is not any Castle that can saue vs from the enemy and sin within the Land is of greater force to destroy it then any foe without but some righteous men are in the Iland and God doth spare it for their sake The other is that according to Dauids option and choyce wee shall rather fall into the hands of the Lord then of men for the punishment and castigation of this Land This obseruation pertaineth secondly vnto the Church which falling in her inward puritie cannot stand long as Gregorie noted in her outward glory If wee haue not a place in the conscience of men by our effectuall doctrine and our exemplarie life that wee haue a mansion in their very hearts then the Law our Gouernment our Temporalties all outward prouision for the Ministers of the Church shall make them but a weake consistencie and a feeble station in the world Let not our sins preuaile against vs to prouoke God and we shall not feare the complotments of any mortall man whose breath is in his nostrills This obseruation pertaineth thirdly vnto euery particular person of whatsoeuer qualitie or condition rich or poore high or low For for if thou addest the sins of thy age vnto the sins of thy youth for which Dauid intreateth pardon of God Psalm 25.7 and makest an accumulation of thine iniquities of latter vnto former without remorse of thy conscience and feare of Gods displeasure saying I shall haue peace although I walke according to the stubbornenesse of mine owne heart thus adding drunkennesse to thirst know then that the Lord will not be mercifull vnto thee but then the wrath of the Lord and his iealousie shall smoake against thee and euery curse that is written in his booke shall light vpon thee and the Lord shall put out thy name from vnder heauen Deut. 29.19 20. yea out of heauen also that is hee shall declare that thy name was neuer written there according to that in the Psalme Let them be put out of the booke of life Psa 69.28 And so much concerning the first cause why these ten Kings assemble against Babylon to worke her fall The SECOND is an efficient cause and that is God by his iustice his iustice being prouoked by her sins according to that of the Prophet Esay 42.24 Who gaue Iacob to the spoile and Israel to the robbers Did not the Lord because wee haue sinned against him Thus we haue a connexion of the first and second cause in this one sentence which meete in Babylons case For first wee heare of the

hereafter This consequence Ludonicus ab Alcasar either well perceiuing or vehemently suspecting it to ensue vpon the said confession of his brethren hath therefore cast a new myst vpon the matter drawne a vayle before our eyes contradicted their exposition wrested the sacred Text vnto his foolish and ridiculous fancie as if the state of this Babylon and her fall were past that so wee might not discerne the true Babylon which is now present nor her certaine fall which is yet to come But let mee here speake a word or two for I am to passe vnto other matters touching this learned grando Ludouicus ab Alcasar If this Babylon be Rome onely in her Ethnicall estate and if Rome haue not any other fall but only a mysticall fall viz. by falling vnto Christian Religion from that estate which estate hath now beene extinct neere vpon the space of one thousand three hundred yeres and yet it appeareth in the frame and tenour of the sacred Booke of the Reuelation that no speciall and notable matter of propheticall prediction therein doth interuene or come betwixt the ruine of Babylon which is described historically Chapter 18. there being a prolepsis only or briefe anticipation thereof Chapter 14.8 and the consummation of the world for after the fall of Babylon Chapter 18. S. Iohn proceedeth Chapter 19. to an applause of the Saints for her destruction then Chapter 20. to a recapitulation of things past with a declaration of the generall Iudgement being then shortly to come then finally Chapter 21. and 22. to a description of the heauenly Ierusalem and the happy condition of the Saints therein c. it must necessarily follow that this voluminous Iesuite of Alcasar this man of the Land of Nod in the tohu and bohu the vanitie and inanitie of his large and copious Commentarie vpon this diuine Booke hath left open so wide a gap of one thousand three hundred yeres or neere vpon that space alreadie past besides that time which is yet to come in the state of the Church and of the world without any sufficient matter of Historicall prediction to fill vp the same And yet who doth not perceiue by the beginning and the ending of this Booke that it doth in the passages thereof generally containe a perpetuall and a continued Historie of the Church in her whole decourse euen from the time of Saint Iohn vnto the end of the world Farewell then gentle Ludouicus ab Alcasar with your little wit and lesse honestie and so I returne my benigne and courteous Auditors vnto you againe Reioyce you therefore in this inestimable Booke embrace it with gratitude conuerse in it with diligence admire what you vnderstand and what you vnderstand not admire it the more search it with industrie enter into it with praier despise not the opinion of others presume not vpon your owne let not the obscuritie of some things yet vnknowne make you neglect the vtilitie of so many things and particularly this mysterie of Babylon alreadie knowne therein Read it reuerence it repute it as it is the sacred Oracle of God committed vnto his Church to sustaine her patience and to confirme her faith SECONDLY wee haue great cause to commend Gods goodnesse and to applaud our owne happinesse in the certaine and cleere discouerie of Babylon in this diuine and mysticall Booke For as the Starre did lead the Wise-men to find out Bethlehem where Christ was borne so this Scripture doth guide and conduct vs vnto the knowledge of Babylon wherein Antichrist doth reigne Rome shall not therefore infatuate vs with her glorious title of the Mother-Church for now wee know her to bee the Mother of Fornications shee shall not insult with the faire priuiledge of the Apostolicall Seate for now wee know her to be an Apostaticall Synagogue shee shall not beare vs downe with the supremacie of a Papall Head-ship for now wee know who is the Second Beast intruding vpon the Seate and Dominion of the former with a larger challenge of power extensiuè in place and intensiuè in degree now we know who hee is that aduanceth himselfe ouer Kings and Emperours ouer States and Crownes ouer Church and Common-wealth by his false Keyes and pretensed Swords THIRDLY whereas this Romish Babylon cryeth out vpon our separation from her Societie wee are warranted nay wee are commanded thereunto by the voyce of God himselfe Goe out of her my people and the reason is not there taken only from her sinnes in that shee is Babylon but from her punishment also in that shee shall fall for so it followeth that you bee not partakers in her sinnes and that you receiue not of her plagues of which I am to treate when I come vnto the predicate of my Text. Meane while you may obserue that this Exodus this departure out of Babylon is Corporall and not spirituall onely unto sch as haue Locall communion with her and dwell within her walls but it is Spirituall onely and not corporall vnto such as dwelling in England France c. haue doctrinall communion with her and are members depending vpon her head so that this word her goe out of her importeth not onely her site and place but her societie and errours Goe then specially out of these ô you his people whether within or without her walls whether you bee in Rome where God hath some people euen by the testimony of the Text or whether in any other part of the world And since shee casteth you out of her societie desire it not for it is vnto your owne danger shee doth that for you which God requireth you to doe for your selues And now let mee in a few words addresse my speech vnto rhetoricall Campian insulting vpon the Protestants with his termes of derision and contempt Audito nomine Ecclesiae hostis expalluit saith hee our aduersarie waxed pale when hee heard the very name of the Church as if the Protestant could produce no Catalogue of names for any visible existencie and lawfull succession of his Church which Rome onely hath and the Protestant hath not How shallow weake malicious and vnlearned a pretence this is either against vs or for themselues it is now no conuenient time nor proper occasion to dispute I will attend both as it shall please God in his prouidence to direct mee in this behalfe But vnto Campian I returne my answere truely fairely and pertinently by the verdict of my Text. Audito nomine Babylonis hostis expalluit our aduersarie waxed pale vpon the very name of Babylon it troubled his wit it vexed his heart it is a terrour vnto his soule for hee liueth in that from which hee ought to flye if hee haue any part in Gods people Now as the cause of our separation from Rome is necessarie in many respects and is grounded here vpon such a principle as cannot bee denied so wee need not depart from Rome but because she is Babylon and as she is Babylon as she is departed

Antichrist therein Why because their hearts are hardned their vnderstandings are forestalled with preiudice the veile is ouer their eyes they walke in darknesse and will not see the light For such I will pray that God would open their hearts that they may entertaine his sauing Truth But for my selfe and others who haue bin in the like condition with mee whose eyes were blinded with the glorie of Babylon for as Zebul said vnto Gaal Iudic 9.36 the shadow of the Mountaynes seeme men vnto thee so the shadow of many things seemed a substance of verity vnto vs I will thanke God for that he hath opened our eyes to see this mysterie and misery of Babylon that she is fallen that she is gone into perdition that God hath destroyed her for euer Credo Domine O Lord I beleeue thy Word not my owne reason which I captiuate into the obedience of faith and therefore I pray with thine Apostles O Lord increase our faith Luke 17.5 that we may beleeue thy Word And thus much bee spoken concerning the first cause why the Fall of Babylon which is yet to come is expressed by a time alreadie past SECONDLY by this forme and tenour of speech God doth euidently declare vnto his Church the truth and certaintie of his promise in the destruction of Babylon that we may repose securely in this expectation of her ruine his dixit is a fecit it is spoken and it is done in regard of his infallible Word and constant promise And that wee may more cleerely vnderstand this point we must obserue a double kinde of Prophesie in the holy Scriptures The FIRST is a Prophesie of Commination as God did threaten the fall of Niniueh within fortie dayes but hee threatned her fall that she might not fall for the effect of such a Prophesie dependeth vpon our comportment and carriage thereupon toward God by Repentance and therefore it hath a condition implyed here though not expressed as sometimes it is Ieremie 18.7 8. vpon which the execution doth stay or go forth according as we performe or neglect the same So that this Prophesie is conditionall and not absolute it contayneth Gods sentence and not his Decree and therefore it is expressed in the future tense Nineueh shall fall In this case the Prophesie is changeable if we be changed and therefore God calleth vs to Repentance that we may escape his iudgements And though this kind of Prophesie be not now particularly directed against thy Countrey nor thy person as in the holy Scriptures it is often so directed against such a Nation such a Citie and such a man yet as the generall comminations of God against sinners doe include vs and will take hold vpon vs if wee returne not vnto God with the teares of true repentance so the particular examples of his comminations denounced and executed against some Cities and some persons doe by equall reason and a like cause appertaine vnto vs according to the rule and obseruation of our blessed Sauiour Except you amend your liues you shall likewise perish Luk. 13.3 5. When Nineueh is threatned by Ionah England is threatned when her ruine is declared by Nahum how can England be secure Pares culpâ cur impares poena why is she vnlike to Nineueh in punishment who is so like to her in sinne wee feare the destruction and not the sinne the effect and not the cause But it is the Lords Mercies that wee are not consumed The SECOND is a Prophesie of Predestination as I may call it depending indeed vpon our sinne but yet resolued by God as well as declared in which respect it is absolute and not conditionall once decreed and neuer reuoked concluded in Gods immutable counsell foreseene in his infallible prescience and it is rather pronounced then denounced by him Therefore it is expressed either in the time past as heere in my Text and Esay 21.9 or in the time present though the effect doe not yet appeare For wee may obserue that in the Prophesie of Ionah there being a commination against her at that time it is deliuered in the future tense Nineueh shall fall but in the Prophesie of Nahum there being now a resolution of God declared concerning her subuersion it is deliuered in the present tense the Horseman lifteth vp the bright Sword a multitude is slaine they stumble vpon their corpses Chap. 3.3 and then in the seuenth Verse Nineueh is destroyed So that in this kind of Prophesie these two tenses to wit the present and the preterperfect haue a coincident sense and purpose concerning an infallibilitie of the euent Whence it is that the Prophet Esay ioyneth them both together in the Passion of Christ and Mysterie of our Redemption saying of him that he is despised he is a man full of sorrowes he is brought as a sheepe vnto the slaughter Esay 53.3.7 as well as hee was oppressed he was afflicted c. Thus wee see by the conference of Scriptures that the fall of Babylon here certified vnto vs in the time past it is fallen doth truly import an ineuitable euent a sentence neuer to bee recalled proceeding from a decree neuer to bee changed because God hereby doth insinuate vnto our knowledge that shee would not bee renewed by repentance and that hee would not conferre that grace vpon her but leaue her to perish in the course of her owne sinnes And this truth is farther assured and amplified by al the circumstances preceding her ruine accompanying her ruine following her ruine in three seueral chapters 17.18.19 in such large and ample termes that the very Image of Babylon in all these things is effectually and liuely exhibited thereby vnto our eyes as a matter of present action rather then future accomplishment rather to be seene then to be beleeued Wherefore the promise of God being thus verified vnto vs in this forme and manner of speech let vs by the way make a little reflection vpon this point for our vse and obseruation as being of so great consequence for the benefit of Gods children and aduancement of his truth First then the fidelitie of Gods promise herein doth exclude and confute their errour who suppose that this is a prophecie of Commination onely and not of Resolution against Romish Babylon as though shee might turne from her sinnes and consequently God might turne from his wrath In which opinion S. Hierome himselfe was involued as it appeareth in his darke vncertaine and perplexed discourse touching Babylon and her ruine in the conclusion of his second book against Iovinian whose errors did then begin to possesse many in Rome and to intangle them in his snare composed artificially out of sundry passages of the Scripture Wherevpon S. Hierome maketh a patheticall Apostrophe vnto Rome in this manner I will speake vnto thee O Rome which by the confession of Christ hast blotted out of thy forehead the blasphemy written therein There the name Babylon is laid vpon Ethnicall Rome as if Rome were afterward to bee discharged