the midst of heauen or betwene heauen earth bringing w him an euer lasting Gospel preaching that all men should feare God geue glory to his name for that time of his iudgement was at hand and that they should worship him that made heauen earth and althings that ar in them A very angelical sermon in déede an euerlastâ—ng Gospel is that howsoeuer the enemies charge it with noueltie that teacheth to feare God to geue glory to his name to worship him onely that is the creator of heauen earth And a consequent of that Gospel is this sermon of the Angel Shâ— is fallen she is fallen euen BabyloÌ„ that great 〈◊〉 For whersoeuer men are taught to fear◠〈◊〉 a right to geue all glory to him alone to worship none other but him that made heauen and earth althings in them contayned ther must néedes follow a great fal ouerthrow of Babylon Babilonical religion which teacheth the contrary Wherfore if we loue the peace of Ierusalem to the ouerthrow of this her great aduersary let vs embrace this euerlasting Gospel that we feare God glorify God and worship God alone Againe if we hate Babylon with a perfect hatred as we ought to do and therefore would séeke her vtter ruyne and decay let vâ— procure that this Gospel may be preached that men may learne to feare honor and serue God onely and then vndoubtedly Babylon shall fall she shall fal I say she can stand no longer Let this suffice therfore for a Preface Now haue we to consider what Babilon is I haue vndertaken to prooue that Babylon here spoken of is Rome But first I must admonish you how I vnderstand Rome And that is not onely for a certaine place in Italy compassed about with walles furnished with buildinges us other Cities are but for that aucthority gouernment preheminence which is challenged by meanes of that city or for the Romane Empire which is claimed by prerogatiue of the same City And so is Babylon taken in the scripture and namely in thys prophecye For in the. 11. chapter of this Reuelation the same great City is called also Sodoma and Aegiptus wher our Lord was crucified Sodoma for the great abomination and filthines therin maintayned and Aegiptus because it kéepeth the people of God in miserable bondage slauery as Aegipt vnder Pharao did of old Wherby it is manifest that the great City is to be taken for that tyranny gouernment preheminence as I sayd which is châ—llenged in the right of that great City and so is the regiment gouernance of the Romane Antichrist depending vpon the prerogatiue of his See which is Rome Now if any wil contend that Babilon must be taken in the proper sence for a City in Chaldea onely as though we should looke for the Sée of Antichrist out of the East As the Papistes for xxx or xl yeres ago deuised a fable that was renued also in Quéene Maries daies of a monstrous childe which should be borne at Babylon which they would haue men suppose to be Antichrist Hée may be flatly coÌ„uicted of great ignorance when the Angel in the. 17. chap. of this prophecy testifieth that her name is Babilon in a mystery as in the. 11. chap. that she is spiritually called Sodoma Egiptus not in respect of situation of the place but in similitude likenes of conditions Wherfore it remayneth that according to my promise I proue Babilon here mencioned to be Rome The greatest controuersy the thys day troubleth the world is where the true church of God shuld be the Papists making great brags that it is on their side we affirming that it is on our side This controuersy will soone be cut of brought to an end if it may be shewed that BabiloÌ„ is Rome For then cannot Rome be the church of Christ but the church of Antichrist therfore it standeth ure vpon to bring very good and substantial proues to maintain this my assertion the Babylon is Rome But what proues may be counted sufficient Is not the autority of holy scriptures the testimony of auncient Doctors of the church good substantiall proues Therfore if autority of scriptures be a good and substantial proofe ye shal haue scriptures if coÌ„sent of auncient writers in the same sentence be of any value you shall haue plenty And first beginning with scriptures I will not alledge such places as be hard darke to vnderstand but such as be plaine euident manifest and can receiue no other interpretacion to satisfy the iudgement of any reasonable man I omit therfore so many figures as in this Reuelation do not very obscurely signify but euen directly poynt paint out the Antichristian church For although they do so aptly fitly agrée therto as a man might easely iudge they wer made euen for the same purpose yet because they might be wrested to som other meaning if manifest places did not withstand I will leaue all aduauntage that I might take of them hold me onely at this time to those playne euident demonstrations which with no equity nor conscience can admit any other interpretacioÌ„ Onely I wil here note the forasmuch as all figures types and coulors contayned in this booke may so conueniently be applied to Rome as though they had bene properly appoynted to describe her as they wer in deede it is a great preiudice agaynst Rome although no playner prooues might be brought But when so playne arguments ar brought forth that without to much impudency cannot be auoided al other figures dark speches agrée accordingly it is a manifest coÌ„uiction the Rome is none other but this BabiloÌ„ But to begin with these plaine places as I haue promised the first shal be out of the. 11. chapter of this Reuelation that place before alledged wher it is declared the God in al times yea in the greatest persecution would maintain his Church reserue at the least two witnesses which shuld testify of his truth in spight of Antichrist hys adherents Which although the moÌ„strous beast that ariseth out of the bottomles pit shuld murther slay yet God should restore them to lyfe again continually stirring vp a sufficient number to beare witnes of his name doctrine In that chapter I say is contained that when the beast had murdered them he should enuy them the honor of burial so their bodies should lye in the stréete or market place of that great city which is spiritually called Sodoma Aegyptus wher our Lord was crucified Declaring therby that as Rome had slain crucified the head so should Rome persecute the members and in the same city wher their Lord was murthered the seruaunts also should be persecuted But here a man would thinke that I were impudent to affirme that our sauiour Christ was crucified at Rome whom al the world knoweth to haue suffered death at Ierusalem But you must call to remembrance
y at the first I gaue warning that I did not vnderstand Rome for the topography of Rome that is so much ground onely as is compassed within the walles of that city but for the regimeÌ„t gouernance prerogatiue that is claymed by reason of that city or that monarchie wherof Rome is the head and then I shall easely proue that Christ was crucified at Rome For by whom was he condemned Was it not by Pilate the Deputy or Liefetenant of the Romane Empire For what cause or crime was he adiudged to dye Was it not for treason pretended to be coÌ„mitted against the Romane Empyre With what kinde of Execution was he put to death Was it not such as was vsuall by the lawes of the Romanes for such haynous offences as were vniustly layd to hys charge Finally was not the place wherein he suffered within the circute of the Romane Empyre May I not then iustly affirme the he was crucified at Rome when by the Romane Iudge he was condemned for a crime against the Romane state and executed by a kinde of death appointed by the Romane lawes in a place of the Romane dominion As for the Iewes they had at that time no autority to put any man to death as they confesse them selues when Pilate had them take him and iudge him according to their owne lawe meaning they should decrée some light punishment against him they aunswered It is not lawfull for vs to put any man to death he hath deserued to dye As touching the cause although they accused him of blasphemy in that he made himselfe the sonne of God yet could he not be condemned for that because Pilate would admit no accusation but such as contayned a crime agaynst the Romane lawes And as for the death of the crosse it is manifest to be proper to the Romanes for the Iewes would haue stoned him if they might haue condemned him for blasphemy according to the law of Moses And that the Angel in the place by no meanes can vnderstaÌ„d Ierusalem it is manifest by these reasons First that he calleth it that great city which term could neuer be spokeÌ„ of Ierusalem also he calleth it Sodoma and Aegiptus which was the sea of the monstrous beast Antichrist which in other places is often called Babylon wheras no man euer did imagine that Ierusalem should be called Sodoma Aegipt or BabiloÌ„ Adde hereunto that Ierusalem the place where Christ suffred was vtterly destroied in S. Iohns time whereby it is euident that by thys great City spiritually called Babilon Sodoma and Aegiptus is ment none other but the Romane Empyre which crucified the head and should also bring forth the monstrous beast Antichrist which should torment and afflict the members which began with murther of the Lorde and should continue till it were destroyed in murthering of the seruantes And by thys playne text which caÌ„not be wrested to any other sence this great City Babilon where Christ was crucified is proued to be Rome and the aucthority rule and power of the Romane City The second plaine and euident proofe which I will vse at thys tyme shall be taken out of the 13. chapter of this Reuelation where that euil shapen beast is described which is the head of the persecuting malignant church hauing vij heads ten hornes and is the same which afterwarde in the. 17. chapter beareth the great whore Babilon the mother of all abominations of the earth Who so therfore that wil compare these things that are written in this booke concerning the disposition of that monstrous beast wyth those thinges that the Prophet Daniel in the. 7. chapter of his prophecy describeth of the â—4 beastes and specially of the fourth which all men confesse to be the Romane Empire except â—e be to much blynded with frowardnes perâ—ers affection he must neede acknowledge that â—his beast which Iohn painteth out is the same â—hat Daniel setteth out which contayning in it â—he cruelty of the Leoparde the Beare and the Lyon which were the former Monarchies is vnlyke to them all therfore is the fourth Empire which all the world acknowledgeth to be the Monarchy of Rome What should I speake of the nuÌ„ber of the hornes equal in both generally of all other partes of their discription which is set forth so like almost with the same words both of the one of the other that it were mere madnes to imagine that this beast which Iohn describeth should be any other then that Daniell had so long before portraited Then if the Beast in Daniels discription doth signifye the fourth kingdome as the Angell expoundeth it which no man will deny to be the Romane Monarchie The same monstrous Beast beyng here painted out in this Reuelation wyth the same shape coulors and conditions must néeds signify the Romane Empire and so Babylon by this reason also is proued to be Rome The third argument or proofe is taken out of the. 17. chapter of this Reuelation the. 9. verse Wher the Angell expounding to S. Iohn the mistery of the beast with seuen heads declareth in very plaine words that the seuen heades doo signify seuen hyls wheron the woman sitteth Now seing it is euident that the woman signifieth a great City we must see where we can finde a great City builded vpon seuen hyls and that by the interpretacion of the Angell is Babylon the See of Antichrist And if we séeke throughout the whole world wher shal we finde a great City builded vpon seuen hyls but that great City in Italy Which al writers Poets Historiers Cosmographers with one coÌ„sent do confesse to be Rome which is builded vpon vij hils whose names are these Palatinus Capitolinus AueÌ„tinus Exquilinus Viminalis Quirinalis and Caelius This is so plain a notacion of Rome to be Babylon builded on seuen hyls that the Angel could not more plainly haue expressed Rome though he had named her Nay this is a more euident and certaine description of Rome to be the See of Antichrist then if in plain words he had said Babylon is Rome For it might be that some other City then that here was ment might haue the name of Rome but no other Citye could haue this notacion to bée builded on seuen hyls For Constantinopolis was afterward called new Rome but ConstaÌ„tinopolis was not builded vpon seuen hyls like vnto old Rome Therfore this is a plain manifest circumlocution of Rome which with no reason can receiue any other exposition For what Boy going to the GraÌ„mer schoole and reading in Virgils Georgikees thys verse Septem quae vna sibi muro circundedit arces That City saith Virgil which hath compassed seuen hyls within her wall what Boy I say in the Grammer schoole doth not vnderstand this to be ment of the City of Rome although the Poet in that place doth not once name Rome With what face therfore wyll any man deny that the Angel here meaneth any other City by this Periphrasis
circumlocution then Rome For it any man wyll be so froward to except that the word of hyls is not taken in the proper sence but figuratiuely and Metaphorically for some other thing as some would seme to interprete seuen hils in this place for vij kingdoms he shall plainly be conuinced by these reasons First it wer absurd that the Angell should repeate one thing twise for in the next clause hée sheweth that the seuen heads doo signify kyngdoms also But specially we must remember that this is an interpretacioÌ„ of the Angel which must either be plaine easy to be vnderstood or els it deserueth not the name of an interpretacioÌ„ Therfore if the Angel offering to expound the mystery of the seuen heads geueth this exposition that they signify seuen hyls if hyls be not taken in their proper sence to what purpose serueth this exposition For if the name of hyls hath nede of an other exposition he had bene as good to haue left the name of heades vnexpounded And as for the interpretacioÌ„ of hyls to signify Kings is more obscure dark far fet then that heads shuld represent Kings for it is more apt by Metaphore to call a King an head then to call him an hyl Therfore except we wil say that the interpretacion of the Angel is in vain yea more darke then the thing that is expounded by him we must needes confes that hyls ar taken in their proper sence for hyls and then the Citye builded vpon seuen hyls without all controuersy is the City of Rome The fourth last proofe that I wyll take out of the holy scripture is the last verse of the same 17. chapter which is yet a more plain descriptioÌ„ of Rome if any thing can be more plaine then that hath bene already spoken of For ther the Angel in plaine woords expoundeth that the woman which S. Iohn saw which was the great whore Babylon is that great City which hath doâ—inion ouer the Kings of the earth What brasen face is so impudent to deny that Rome was that great city which had dominion ouer the Kings of the earth at that time when this was spoken Or what other city had dominion ouer the Kings of the earth in s. Iohns time but Rome Who is therfore so froward and vntoward the he will not acknowledge Babylon here to be plainly called Rome If I should name the chiefe City of England who would not vnderstand London If I should speake of the cheif city of Eraunce who would not conceiue Paris And when the Angel named the chiefe citie of the world who could be ignoraunt liuing in that time or knowing the history of that time that he vnderstood it of the city of Rome which was the Sée of the Empyre and from whence wee should looke that Antichrist should come according to the former prophecies For it is a shame in this place to slée vnto Allegories and further expositions of this Angelicall interpretacion which as I said before if it be not cleare playn and easy to be vnderstood deserueth not that name of an exposition as when one knowen thing is expouÌ„ded by another as much or more vnknowen it is vayne superfluous and ridiculous Wherfore whom any bandes of reason wyll hold in they must be satisfied with the expositioÌ„ of the Angel that Babylon is Rome For seing it was necessary for the church of God to know as well the place wher Antichrist should sit as to be instructed of his craft and cruelty our sauiour Christ the Author of thys Reuelation would not suffer his congregation to be ignoraÌ„t therof but sent his Angel playnly to interprete and expound the vision of the great whore that the Church being throughly admonished of her wickednes instructed perfectly to know her might more easely take heede of her flée from her and abhorre her So that according to my promise I haue sufficiently proued by autority of holy Scripture this first proposition which I tooke in hand that Babylon is Rome But because some ar of such obstinate wilful frowardnes that nothing will satisfy them but they wyl styl grudge and repine â—arpe and obiect against my interpretacions of the holy scriptures for the text they caÌ„not deny I wish them that are such if they like not these expositions which I haue brought to the defacing of Antichrist his religion then that they admit and reuerence those expositions which their own Authors bring for the maintenance of the Popes authority his religion Of which sort are these God saith Moses in Genesis made two great lights the Sunne to rule the day and the Moone to gouern the night That is saith the famous Interpreter God ordained the Pope and the Emperour to rule the world By the Sunne is ment the Pope by the Moone the Emperour And looke how much greater and more glorious the Sunne is then the Moone so much greater and more glorious is the Pope then the Emperor And not content with this he couÌ„teth by Arithmatike how much greater the Sunne is in quantity then the Moone by proportion that it hath to the earth so by many parts be coÌ„cludeth that the Pope is greater then the Emperor But here a maÌ„ might help him what by Geometry what by Arithmatike for wher as the Sunne is 166 times greater then the earth the earth 39. times greater then the Moone as is proued by Mathematical demonstration the Pope shoulde bée 6474. times greater then the Emperor This is one noble exposition that is set forth to aduaunce the dignity of the Pope and his kingdome Another like to this is vpon the words of the Apostels which answered vnto our Sauiour Christ when he commaunded him that had no sword to sell his coate bye one signifiyng the great daunger the was at hand Lord say they here are two swordes These words sayth the Glosar are the Ciuill Ecclesiasticall power which remâ—ined in Peter therfore his successor the Pope hath preheminence of both No doubt a worthy interpretacion that agréeeth wel w the text doth the Pope great worship Againe S. Paule saith to the Corinthians 1. Cor 2. The spiritual man iudgeth althings and he himselfe is iudged of none This spirituall man saith the Interpreter is the Pope which is Iudge of all the world may not be controlled of any man no though he draw with him innumerable soules into hel fier ther to be tormented with the Deuil him for euer more yet no man must be so bold as to finde fault with him or to say Domine quid ita facis Lord why do you so Is not this an handsome exposition Yes I promis you euen like vnto this other Statuimus vt Clerici nec ceruam nutriant nec barbam radant We decrée sayth the Canon of an auncient Counsel that the Clergy shall neither weare loÌ„g héere nor shaue their beards The Glosar finding this Canon to be so cleane contrary
vnto the custome of the popish Clergy who vse to weare long héere and to shaue their beardes thought he would draw it at the least if it would not come by faire meanes to maintaine the lawdable custome of the popishe Clergy and by exposition of one word he maketh the whole Canon to serue his turne Therfore Statuimus saith he which is we decrée is to be expounded for Abrogamus which is we disanul or abrogate and so the sence afterward falleth out very plaine for the popish Priestes thus We disanul that Priests should go with out long héere or vnshauen beards A right cuÌ„ning interpretation and proper for the place such in effect are all those that serue for the maintenance of the Popes authority the religion of popery Therfore he that is of so sharpe iudgement that he wil mislyke refuse those playne expositions which I haue brought of the places before alledged except against them as enforâ—ed constrained and far fetched let hym lyke of prayse magnify and admire these interpretations which are sought out to vphold establish the Popes throne his religion as rightly faithfully truly collected Atque idem iungat Vulpes mulgeat Hircos and by as good reason let him ioyne for hys plough not Oxes but Foxes and mylke for his payle not shée Goates but hée Goates as the Poet saith Now that I haue proued Babylon to be Rome by autorite of scripture it foloweth that I must shew for the same the consent of auncient Doctors And as in my former probatioÌ„ I touched onely such places as did plainly directly manifestly set forth my purpose so in this behalfe I wil deale with the Doctors Not such as they are woont to alledge against vs names in déede of great and reuerent antiquity but workes of mere falsehood and forgery bewraying theyr Authors not to be such as they are fathered vpon but such as out of the body of blindnes and superstition of much latter time haue begotten them Such are the decretal Epistels of the old Bishops of Rome Linus ClemeÌ„s Anacletus c Of which Clemens writing to s. Iames forsooth in his second Epistle chargeth him very earnestly that the Pixe be cleanly kept so that ther appere no Myse doong or any other filthynes among the fragments of the body of Christ with many other apostolical coÌ„maundements The impudence of whose Authors appeareth notably in this that wheras they were ignorant Buzards that could not write true latin they would ascribe their couÌ„terfet Epistles to so learned fathers as though at that time when womeÌ„ and children spake latin naturally as their mother tong the bishops were so vnlearned that they did write so barbarously and were not able to vtter their minde in true latin But leauyng those delicates for such as long after them I wyl vse no authority for this purpose but such as they cannot refuse but that it is auncient catholike authentical I wil begyn therefore with Irenaeus one of the most auncient and authentical writers that the Church hath Who in the fift booke of his treatise agaynst all heresies speaking of the Sée of Antichrist vpon the last verse vpon the 13. chapter of this Reuelation where it is sayde that the number of the Beastes name is sixe hundred sixtye and sixe sheweth that the opinion of many in hys time was that seing this name 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is in English The Latineman or Romane in the numerall Greeke letters containeth thys number that Antichrist must be sought at Rome His woordes are these Sed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 no men sexcentorum sexaginta sex numerorum c. et valde veresimile est quoniam verissimam regnum hoc habet vocabulum Latini enim sunt qui nunc regnant Also sayth he thys name Latemos contayning the number of 666 is thought to be the name of Antichrist and it is very like so to be for that which most vndoubtedly is a kingdome hath that name for they be Latines which now doo raigne You sée by this testimony of Iraeneus that this prophecy of old time was vnderstood of Rome and therefore it is no new interpretacioÌ„ that Babylon is Rome and that the number of the Beasts name is to be found in one that beareth rule at Rome If this exposition or explication of that Beasts name had bene deuised by Luther Zwynglius or Caluine it might haue bene suspected as a thyng imagined of spight and enuy against the church of Rome but wheÌ„ it is brought forth by so auncient a Doctor which liued not many yeres after this Reuelation was geuen as he himselfe saith it was but a litle before his tyme vnder Domitiane the Emperor which died 13. hundred yeres before Luther was borne we must néedes iudge it both to be very auncient voyd of all partiallity Wherfore I wyll passe ouer diuers other applications of that number to other names whych neuertheles hyt Babylon home because they haue bene sought out of late by such as beare yll wyll vnto Rome For I think this is sufficient with all reasonable men of equal iudgemeÌ„t to proue that this is no new opinion to séeke the See of Antichrist at Rome They them selues to prooue their doctrine catholike alledge autority of a 11. or 12. hundred yeres antiquity behold this opinion is 13. or 14 hundred yeres old that Antichrist should be a Romane that the See of his tyraÌ„ny is at Rome The second witnes of this assertion that Babylon is Rome is Tertullianus a very auncient writer also Who in plaine woords affirmeth that Babylon signifieth Rome in that third booke against Martion which denyed that Christ had a true body Wherfore Tertulliane vseth this reasoÌ„ against him That thing which hath a figure of it must be a thing of truth so discoursing of many things figured the figures of them coÌ„meth to these words Sie et Babylon apud Iohannem nostrum Romanae vrbis figuram portat perinde magnae regno superbae sanctorum debellatricis That is to say Euen so doth Babylon in the Apocalips of our s. Iohn beare the figure of the city of Rome which is altogether as great and as proud in raigne as great a persecuter of the Sayntes as Babilon was You see therfore most clearly and plainly that Tertulliane w al his learning could not interprete these things that be written in this Reuelation concerning Babylon to be applied to any other city then Rome And he is also a witnes voyd of al partiallity or affection to either part of them that striue in our dayes For he departed nere about xiij hundred yeres before our tyme why should we not then bée credited in this case Well next vnto hym I wyll ioyne Chrysostome in his CoÌ„mentary vpon the second Epistle to the Thessalonians the second chapter in his fourth Homely Where as s. Paule speaking of the manifestation of Antichrist sayth they knew what
but that this persuasion was so déepely grauen in hys minde that Babylon is Rome that neither in earnest noriest he could forget it but is alwaies harping vpon it as though he thought scorne to call Rome by any other name then that he had learned in the scriptures to be Babylon the purple Harlot For in lyke maner writing to Marcella a vertuous Gentlewoman of Rome whom he allured to forsake Rome to dwell nere vnto him in Bethlehem one especial reasoÌ„ that he vseth to persuade her is this That as BethleheÌ„ whether he wold haue her to repaire is situate in the holy land the place coÌ„secrated to the birth of Christ So Rome where shee desired to remaine was the Babylonical harlot according to the Reuelation of s. Iohn appointed for the birth of Antichrist which ther shuld arise exercise tyranny from thence should deceiue that whole world with his wicked wyles But who so wil reade the workes of Ierome may finde yet more places in which he is bold to cal Rome Babylon that very Sée of Antichrist Whereby it is apparant that it is no new or straunge matter to séeke Antichrist at Rome when such old Doctors of the church so coÌ„monly in Commentaries Epistles and other writings do teach vs that Rome is Babylon the scripture affirmeth that Babylon is the Sée of Antichrist But let vs leaue s. Ierome and sée what other say of the same matter Saint Ambrose writing a CoÌ„mentary vpon the Reuelation of s. Iohn is of the same iudgement Of the authority of the woorke I wyll moue no question at this time seing it is commended to vs by Cuthbert Tonstal late bishop of Duresme who found it in an old Library first set it in print vnder the name of that great s. Ambrose and is willing that men should so thinke of it It is good authority I say against the Papists being commended by so Catholike a Prelate because they are woont to receiue whatsoeuer commeth vnder the name of an old Doctor though it be neuer so vnlyke his writing and cry out vpon vs for reiecting at our pleasure the workes of auncient Doctors that make against our doctrine as though we reiected any without cause or they refused none for any cause wheras Pighius their great Patron blusheth not to reiect the report of two general Counsels the fift sixt of CoÌ„stantinople which are coÌ„mended to vs by publike faith of that church of Constantinople because in the one Pope Honorius is condemned accursed for an heretike in neither of both the Popes Legats could haue the highest place according to that request of their ambicious Maister But as for this Ambrose if he wer not Ambrose of Millain yet is it apparant by the style that he was some auncient writer of the Latin church he throughout this prophecy interpreteth Babylon to be Rome Antichrist to be sought no where but at Rome Primasius also a very auncient writer who likewise coÌ„menteth vpon the Apocalips expouÌ„deth these prophecies of Antichrist to be fulfilled in that Romane empire of the city of Rome S. Augustine in his worke De Ciuitate Dei not once or twise but oftentimes is bold to cal Rome Babylon Babylon Rome as in his 16. booke and 17. chapter he calleth Rome an other Babylon in the West And in his 18. booke 2. chapter he calleth Babylon of Chaldea the first Rome Rome of Italy the second Babylon willing men to consider that in the beginning of the city of God which was the church in Abrahams time the first Rome that was Easterne Babylon her enemy was builded in Chaldea and about the same time that the first Babylon was destroyed least the city of God should lack her enemy the second Babylon which is Rome in Italy was erected It is a straunge matter that the same city which is that professed enemy of the city of God should be the mother of al religion the very city of God it selfs O Augustin thou wast not wel aduised to make the city of Rome enemy to the city of God that Rome should be the same to the church of God that Babilon of old was at Ierusalem The same Augustine in the 22. chap. of the 18. booke calleth Rome an other Babilon daughter of the first Babilon And in the 27. chap. he calleth Rome Western Babylon By these other testimonies of oldâ— writers that might be brought but for tediousnes I suppose it is sufficiently proued that Babylon in this my text spoken of is Rome and that we should not seeke Antichrist to proceede from any other place then from Rome But what neede I trouble my selfe to seeke further testimonial for coÌ„firmation of this matter that Babylon is Rome then of the Papistes them selues For it is the common catholike opinion of all Papists that s. Peter in his Epistle where he sendeth salutacions froÌ„ the Church gathered in Babilon by Babilon vnderstandeth Rome And they learne it of Ieronime which in the life of s. Marke doth so expound it So gréedy they are to finde a place in Scripture where Peter should be said to haue bene at Rome that they are content to acknowledge Babylon in the scripture to be vnderstood of Rome And thus I haue performed I trust sufficiently that which I tooke in hand to proue both by the autority of holy scripture in plaine manifest textes by consent of many auncient writers yea by the confession of the Papists them selues that Babylon in the scripture is taken for Rome And thus much for the first part in which because I haue bene ouer long I wyl be shorter in that which remayneth In the second part I promised to declare how Babilon which is Rome is fallen according to the prophecy of this Angell She is fallen saith the Angel she is fallen He repeateth y woord of falling for two causes First to declare the certainty of her decay that howsoeuer she seemed to floorish and triumph as though she should neuer haue falleÌ„ or come to ruine yet God for her wickednes most righteously for the comfort of his church most mercifully had decréeed vndoubtedly that she should fall when that time was once come which in his most wise well ordered councel was appointed for her destruction Secondly he repeateth twise that she is fallen to shew that she should haue an vnrecouerable fall she should not fall as other cities which haue risen again but she should fal without al hope of recouery neuer to be restored again Therfore in the 18. chap. a mighty Angel taketh vp a great mylstone throweth it into the sea saying VVith such violence sâ—al Babilon that great city be throwne downe neuer be sene any more So that as it is impossible for a great milstone throwne with great forcâ— by a mighty Angel into the bottom of the sea to rise vp againe swym aboue the water so impossible is it that