something that was to come to pass afterwards as the Angel said Rev. 4.2 I will shew the things which must be hereafter To shew John a Church under the similitude of a Woman so far to go a Whoring from Christ after her own inventions that she did not spare his most precious Servants nor any that adhered to them but shed their Blood in abundance for the sake of her inventions and innovations and yet professed her self to be the Spouse yea the only Spouse and Church of Christ I say to see one so highly professing Christ and yet acting so highly contrary to hisnature and destroying his Servants this might indeed make John greatly to wonder with great admiration But the tyranny of those present times that John lived in under the persecuting heathen Emperors could be no such admiration to him For it s no great admiration to see a known Enemy shed the blood of those he is against But to profess the highest Loyalty to Christ and commit the greatest Cruelty against his Children and People this might put one to astonishment O Rome Rome O backsliding Rome Who could make John astonished but thee Who once was a pure Church but to see thee profess the same Jesus or Saviour as formerly and be so cruelly hard-hearted as to devour the tender Lambs of Jesus who will rather dye than betray his Doctrine and also to devour them so abundantly who would not be astonished at such a degeneracy O repent repent before misery come upon thee Another Character of the great Whore followeth Rev. 17.7 and 18. verses And the Angel said unto me wherefore didst thou marvel I will tell the Mystery of the Woman and of the beast that carrieth her ver 18. The Woman which thou sawest is that great City which Reigneth over the Kings of the Earth Or nearer the Greek words thus which hath a Kingdom above the Kings of the Earth for the words of the Greek are these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 These words being the interpretation of the Mystery of the Woman make it plain that by Woman is understood That great City which hath a Kingdom above the Kings of the Earth Now where shall we find such a City besides Rome that hath in it such a Dominion in which all these Characters of the great Whore are found Rome hath a Kingdom above the Kings of the Earth And the Mystery of iniquity may say the same she hath one in it exalted above all called God above all Magistrates So that you may clearly see That this great Whore and the Mystery of iniquity fall in one with the other find the one and you may find the other This great Whore this Woman this great City is terrible to the Kings of the Earth having a Kingdom above them For She can strike them with her thunder bolts at her pleasure and unthrone them by moving the Waves of the Sea against them against which there is no withstanding To speak plainer She can make them an execration with her Anathema and then raise the Waves of the people against them which they cannot withstand and then Surrogate others to take their Throne Is not this to have a Kingdom above them Yea so great a Dominion she hath over them that she can make them buckle to her pleasure and wait at her gates to humble themselves at her Feet as not worthy to kiss her hands This is to bring them lower then a King brings his Subjects For he admits his Subjects to kiss his hand But the distance between this great Whore and Emperors is so great that its enough for them to kiss her Feet Such power hath this great Whore had as to cause the Son to rise against his Father to turn him out of his Throne Henry the fifth the Son of Henry the fourth when his Father was struck with the Thunderbolt of Excommunication by Pope Paschalis 2. and ejected from being Emperor he rose up against his Father and put him in Prison where with grief of mind he died And this Henry the fifth his Son declared that he did not thus persecute his Father out of a desire to Reign but Studio obedientia erga sedem Apostolicam out of a zealous obedience to the Apostolick Seat for such titles the great Whore hath arrogated to her self This was done about the beginning of the 12th Century And in the 13th Century Pope Innocent the third Othonem Anathemate ferit Imperium ei abrogat omnesque ab ejus obedientia fide absolvit He Anathematized Otho deprived him of the Empire and absolved all persons from their obedience and fidelity to him And in Century 14. History tells us of Boniface 8. that he writ se effe Dominum in temporalibus Spiritualibus in univer so mundo that is that he was Lord both in Temporals and Spirituals in the whole World. And after his Death it was said of him Hoc modo sc moe rore animi mortuus est Bonifacius ille qui Imperatoribus Regibus Principibus Nationibus Populis terrorem potius quam religionem injicere conabatur quique dare regna auferre pellere homines ac reducere pro arbitrio animi conabatur Platin. Thus that is with grief of mind dyed that Boniface who made it his business to imprint terror upon the hearts of Emperors and Kings c. Rather than Religion and who endeavoured to give and take away Kingdoms to banish and call home at his pleasure But the height and Dominion of this great Whore or Popedom is so notorious that I need not insist further upon it Thus you see what a one the great Whore is and how like to her the Popedom is sitting upon many Waters i.e. Peoples Multitudes Tongues Nations drawing Kings of the Earth to commit Fornication with her prostrating themselves to her Innovations or Whoredoms making also the Inhabiters of the earth Drunk with the pleasantness of her Inventions or Innovations born up with great power living in great pomp carrying the filthiness of her Fornication in her hand in a golden Cup very taking to the carnal mind and bearing upon her Forehead Mystery that 's her name in part shewing her affinity with the Mystery of Iniquity one also that makes her self drunk with the plenty of blood of innocent people and one that hath a Kingdom above the Kings of the Earth These are enough to know her by But the Angel still goes further to make her more fully known by other things appertaining to the Beast that carries her which is described by his seven Heads and ten Horns His Heads were seven Hills and also seven Kings or Governments His Horns were ten Kings I shall only take notice of that here which is easie for any ordinary Capacity to understand and add that to the foregoing marks of the great Whore. And by this we may understand the very place where she is chiefly to be found The seven Heads said the Angel are seven Mountains on which the Woman sitteth
and People To give Kingdoms and take them away at his pleasure Now here take notice that as the Popes Exaltation of himself was foreshewed 2 Thess 3 4. So this Power and Dominion of the Popedom over Kings and Princes was foreshewed Rev. 17. ult under the representation of a Woman there expounded to be a great City reigning over the Kings of the Earth And the Woman which thou sawest is that great City which reigneth over the Kings of the Earth Or nearer the Greek thus Which hath a Kingdom above the Kings of the Earth Which Kingdom if it be not the Popedom reigning over the Kings of the Earth deposing them at pleasure and Surrogating others in their stead then I confess I know not what it is But if other Circumstances in that Chapter be considered with this I think it will put this out of doubt which here I cannot stand upon without too great a diversion and interruption but in its proper place following where the Hierarchy of Rome comes to be spoken of by Gods assistance I shall demonstrate Another innovation is The Exercising Dominion over mens Faith. It may be something of this kind might begin before the Popes were so named But however it s upheld and practised by the Popes and was not owned by the Apostles Doctrine but is an Innovation contrary to the simplicity and purity of the Gospel wheresoever it is found That it is a piece of Popery and upheld by them is manifest by their punishing and cruel handling of those that in Conscience towards God and faithfulness to his Truth cannot submit to those their humane Innovations which they see to be so But the Popes who have arrogated to themselves Power and Dominion over the Persons and Thrones of Kings and Princes are not satisfied without the like dominion also over the Throne of God the Conscience and except they model mens Faith and cast them all into one Mould which thing the Apostles durst not do The Apostle Paul disclaims this Dominion over mens Faith 2 Cor. 1.24 And he durst not judge the Faith or Conscience of the different believing Romans when some of them kept a Day and others kept it not and when some of them did Eat Herbs and others did Eat Flesh and both to the Lord as he judged and therefore he defends them both one against the other and judged nothing but their judging of one another in so doing Rom. 14.4 5 6. And then he puts them in mind of Christ's Prerogative in this case ver 10. Saying But why dost thou judge thy Brother Or why dost thou set at nought thy Brother We shall all stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ But the Popes are not of Pauls mind they will have men believe as they believe or else Burn them alive if this be not to exercise Dominion over mens Faith and Conscience what is And if this be not an innovation contrary to the simplicity purity mercy and meekness of the Gospel nothing is which saith In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves 2 Tim. 2.25 not burning them as is done under the Tyrannical Popedom 7. But to back this their cruel Dominion over the Faith and Consciences of men and to palliate it and make it take place and go down with their people they put the Name Heretick upon those who cannot conform to their Innovations that they may incense people against them And this is another Innovation And so they heap Innovation upon Innovation Whereas indeed and in truth nothing is Heresie but that which opposes the Truth of the Gospel delivered by Christ and his Holy Apostles To oppose false Doctrine and innovations of men is no Heresie But to bring in Innovations contrary to the Truth of the Gospel and to require subjection thereto this is certainly Heresie Therefore let them that call or count men Hereticks look to it that they be not found the greatest Hereticks devouring innocent Lambs of Christ under that false notion And indeed here is a notable Stratagem of Satan whereby to make them that fear God and abhor mens inventions as Sheep fit for the Slaughter even to fix opprobtious Terms upon them For this begets an Odium in the minds of Blindfolded people against them and makes them through hatred ready for Butchers and to execute Massacres and all manner of mischief against the Faithful Servants of Christ under that notion of being Hereticks It must be under some such disguise that the Great Whore makes her self drunk with the Blood of Saints and with the Blood of the Martyrs of Jesus such as bear witness to him and his Truth against the Innovations of men 8. And so that 's another Innovation namely To rid men out of the Earth whom they call Hereticks It 's no sin to destroy them say they Yea further they have made it a Law to Burn them And this hath not been a dead Law or like a Sword kept in a Scabbard but hath been cruelly executed where the power of the Popedom hath prevailed I am sure this cruelty is an Innovation for there is no such Doctrin from Christ or any of his Apostles but positive Doctrin against it Therefore that Law and such other destructive Laws and the execution of them must needs be Innovations of men Christ Jesus our Lord said He came not to destroy mens lives but to save them Luke 9.54 55 56. But this Spirit that hath got into the Popedom comes to destroy mens lives therefore is a Spirit contrary to the Spirit of Christ It 's another Spirit crept in under the profession of the Gospel not his Christ Jesus our Lord said also concerning the Tares which his Servants would have been plucking up Let them alone How long were they to let them alone Even till the end of the World. And then the Angels must do that work Mat. 13.29 39. Men are not infallible they may mistake Therefore the Lord said to his own Servants Let them alone lest ye pluck up Wheat with Tares He will not have them do that rooting Work but he will set those to do that work that can more certainly distinguish between Tares and Wheat even the Angels they shall not do it neither till his appointed time even the end of the World. This therefore must needs be an Innovation contrary to the command and will of Christ to be doing this work under any pretence namely to be rooting out Tares if they really be so out of the Field of the World before Christ's appointed time Again it 's against that Golden Rule of Christ As ye would that men should do to you so do ye to them Mat. 7.12 Now would any man have others to burn him because he cannot believe as they believe Would those burning Popes have any of the Reformed Churches to burn them or their People because they believe not as those Reformed Churches believe I think not And yet it were but Lex talionis like for like if they did so
This is one interpretation of the seven Heads She sits upon seven Hills Now it 's well known that Rome is scituated on seven Hills or Mountains And therefore was known by the name Vrbs septicollis and Septiceps and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which words signifiâ— seven Hills or seven Heads That 's one Interpretation or unfolding of the seven Heads of the Beast that carries the great Whore. The Angel also gives another interpretation of those seven Heads that both meeting together they might make the more certain discovery of her That second interpretation was not then at that time wholly fulfilled when the Angel gave it And that still adds more clearness and certainty to the applying of it to Rome The interpretaton is this And there are seven Kings five are fallen and one is and the other is not yet come 〈◊〉 and when he cometh he must continue a while These seven Kings are rightly taken by prudent understanding men to be the seven Governments that Rome hath had viz. First Kings secondly Consuls thirdly Dictators fourthly Decemviri fifthly Tribunes Which five were fallen in John's time then One is said the Angel to John and that was the Emperors which made the Sixth and was standing in John's time But the other the Seventh which was the Popes is not yet come said he And when he is come he must continue a while How aptly do these things fit Rome even as a garment fitted to ones back So that finding all these Characters of the great Whore so apparently in Rome how can she clear her self from being that very great Whore Only this I would have the Reader to mind that by Rome here I do not understand every individual person in her but the Ruling Hierarchical power of Rome which makes the carnal and earthly people drunk with the Wine of her Fornication and holds the People of God in Captivity under her As Jerusalem and Israel was charged with Whoredom in like case of following their own inventions whenas all in it were not guilty but God had a precious people in it who were grieved therewith So it may be with Rome And so by Pope I do not so much understand every individual Pope as the Mystery and the power of the Popedom in which they stand I now pass on from the Hierarchy of Rome to the Inhabiters of the Earth who are a People set on mischief by the Whoredomes oâ— the great Whore. These are a People so intoxicated with the Wine of her Fornication that is with the Innovations of the great Whore that like drunken men they are full of quarrel heady bold out-facers of Truth haters of all that stands in the way of their Innovations and ready with eager minds to embrew their hands in the blood of righteous people if their Masters do but call them Hereticks and set them on altho they have no other provocation or reason to do it but only because they are against their Innovations These are very numerous so that the great Whore wants not hands to execute her fury upon the innocent Servants of Christ when she sees a fit time to employ them And this they are ready to do in loyalty to her Usurped Authority And therefore altho they are not guiltless yet she is chiefly charged with being drunk with the blood of the Servants of Jesus As David was charged with the blood of Vriah because it proceeded from him So the great Whore standsguilty of all the blood shed in obedience and loyalty to her Innovations But in a dangerous thing to be 〈…〉 in the hand of there that sight against God and against'd â— simplicity and pusity of his wares and innocency and fidelity of his Servants It may go easier with those that are drunk with the Wine of the great Whores Fornication than which her that is drunk with blood but I think none that understands the danger would be in Sodoms use because it shall be more toletable for them than for some other Cities at the day of Judgment There is a third sort of People under the Dominion of the great Whore whom my Soul longs after whose Spirits are drawn after the Lord and who truly fear him altho their understandings may be captivated under many of her Innovations These when they come to see their liberty in the Lord may say with the Israelites O Lord our God other Lords besides thee have had dominion over us but by thee only will we made mention of thy name Isa 26 〈◊〉 Other Lord have had dominion over ye to cause 〈◊〉 to make mention of thy Name in their superstations waies but by thee only even by thy self and thy direction and assistance will we now henceforth make mention of thy Name They that have been in bondage under enforced Worship when they are made rightly sensible of it will see the dominion that other Lords have had over them will not satisfie but there will be a cry in their hearts that â—he Lord alone may rule over their Conscienceâ— and that all their profession of him or making mention of his name may proceed from himself and so shall they worship him in Spirit and in truth These may say also with Israel of old By the Rivers of Babylon there we sat down yea we wept when we remembred Zion Psal 137.1 I know whose case that hath been under lesser Innovations The heart that truly fears the Lord and pants after him longs after the purity of his ways and when it gets a glimpse thereof sits down weeping under all other bondages of humane traditions and Innovations finding it self as it were in a Captivity or banishment from its own Land which it longs to be at and that is the enjoyment of the prefence of the Lord in the purity and simplicity of his ways Now my Soul and Spirit simpathizes with such as these breathing to the Lord for their deliverance wheresoever they are having had a fellow-feeling of their Bondage and I hope deliverance draws nigh to many For what is their Captivity but their Thraldom and Bondage under the Innovations of men And what shall be their deliverance but the falling of those Innovations which hold them Captive and their being set in the liberty of the Spirit Though men have built a Tower of their own Inventions whose top may reach to Heaven and upon the top of which they pretend to set men into Heaven yet down again this must tumble This Babel this Great Whore this Mystery of Iniquity this Mother of Harlots must have a fall and then that Voice will call to them from Heaven Come out of her my People that ye be not pertakers of her Sins and that ye receive not of her Plagues Rev. 18.4 Now what shall be this great fall of Babylon I answer if we consider what was the fall of the Jews we may partly understand thereby what shall be the fall of Babylon The Jews fall was their continuing in that which God by
thus exalted among men yet hereby he received the greater fall in the Kingdom of Christ where he that humbleth himself as a little Child is greatest But he that exalts himself shall be abased Matth. 18.4 Ch. 23.12 So that his Exaltation is his fall his earthly Exaltation was his fall in heavenly things here he fell from the humble and heavenly Station in which Christ stated his Church And therefore it s not unworthy the Consideration whether that exaltation of his was not that falling of a Star from Heaven to the Earth spoken of Rev. 9. Especially if we consider the Concomitants or Consequences of the fall The Pope now having none to control him but being thus exalted above all he had power to bring in what innovations he would As the Star fallen from Heaven to the Earth had power given him to open the bottomless Pit which comes all to one For what is that Pit We cannot imagine it to be a Pit in the Earth that had a Lock and Key upon it but mans Heart is as a deep Pit without a Bottom or Foundation and the imaginations thereof is as a Smoke issuing out of that Pit. Innovations are the imaginations of mans Heart and like Smoke they darken the Sunshine of the Gospel and fill the Air that spiritual Air that mens Spirits should breath in with darkness and unwholesome Mists And this the Pope had power to do when he was exalted and the Star had power to do when he was fallen And therefore this his Exaltation was his fall And if he was a Star as the Angels of the Churches were called this his exaltation seems plainly to be the falling of that Star. Now therefore if the Church of Rome would reform it self from its Innovations it must begin here and bring down its Bishop to his first Station and divest him of that power to bring in or uphold any Innovations contrary to the primitive simplicity of the Gospel For while he stands in this exaltation they can never reform themselves farther than he pleases And especially while they look upon him as Infallible For who can pretend to rectify any thing that proceeds from Infallibility 2. Therefore another Innovation is The Popes Infallibility This is a device which backs and supports his Exaltation and subjects the Thoughts and Spirits of men under him without contradiction For who dare mutter against an infallible Judge But it might suffice one would think to overturn the Infallibility of Popes to see one Pope Excommunicating another as Alexander Tertius and Victor Quartus did who were both chosen Popes by the Cardinals at the same time and had both the same Authority given them This was in the Year of our Lord 1159. saith Buchol And again in the Year 1439. Pope Eugenius was deposed by the Council of Basil and Amadeus created Pope in his stead and hence great Seditions arose Now if you will have the Council here to be Infallible then the Pope was Fallible Or if you will have the Pope to be infallible then the Council was Fallible So chuse here whose Infallibility you will subvert whether the Popes or the Councils Take notice also of the acts of one Pope more for I would not ennumerate many Pope Alexander VI. for the enriching of his Son Borgias prepared a splendid Banquet to which he invited certain principal great men of which number Cardinal Adrian his familiar Friend was one He ordered his Servants to set before them Wine that was poisoned and to set before him and his Son pure Wine But Providence so ordered it that the Wine that was poisoned was set before himself and his Son so they drank the poisoned Wine and the Guests drank pure Wine Here was a great want of the Apostolick priviledge whom no deadly drink should hurt and so also of the Spirit of Infallibility as to the preservation of himself and his Son. But that 's not all I aim at This wicked Murtherer had a little afore that poisoned another a Cardinal of Rome John Michael Now shall we say that so wicked a wretch was endowed with the Spirit of God which only is the Spirit of Infallibility Doth that teach such Treachery and Wickedness Surely every sober man will abhor to think so But I need not stand upon such particular instances to shew the Fallibility of Popes this will more generally appear as we go along discovering other Innovations For their Innovations contradicting and clashing against the Doctrine of Christ and his Holy Apostles plainly manifest the fallibility and erring Spirit of the Popes 3. Another Innovation is the Selling of Pardons and Indulgences And this is another device helping to support the Popes in their greatness for it brings in much treasure into the Popes Coffers And here I shall take notice of these three things 1. That Pardons are Sold. 2. That they are a great support to the Popes Exaltation 3. That this Innovation absolutely destroys the Popes Infallibility and transplants him out of Peter into Simon Magus 1. I shall prove that Pardons and Indulgences are Sold by the Popes for some will deny any thing though never so manifestly known although the modester sort of men under the Popes will not deny it I shall pass by their annual and more frequent selling of Pardons and manifest their greater Fairs for the sale of them For they have invented certain great Fairs or Marts when men are to flock to Rome to buy them And these Fairs they call their Jubilees They put the name Jubilee upon them but they are plainly Faits for Pardons and Indulgences In the Jubilees Men went out free without Money but here they are to pay their Money therefore it is a Fair not a Jubilee The first that invented these was Boniface VIII in the year of our Lord 1300. And he ordained this great Fair or mercenary Jubilee to be kept every hundred year After him but not next Clemens VI. impatient of so long a stay for a Fair because his Life was not likely to reach to it he reduced this their pecuniary Jubilee to every fiftieth year So in the year 1350. he kept his great Fair. Then in the year 1400. Boniface IX kept his great Fair. Another was kept in the year 1450. But now they began to think fifty years was too long between Fair and Fair so Xystus contracted them to twenty five years distance and he kept his great Fair Anno 1475. Chronologers have punctually expressed the years which puts the sale of Pardons out of doubt if any should question it 2. Take notice that these are a great support to the Popes Exaltation such multitudes of men flocking from all parts to Rome to buy their Pardons that they could scarce walk one for another in that great City In one of their Jubilees about two hundred men it s said were kill'd by the great Croud at the Bridge Sancti Angeli as they hasted for Pardons some trod under foot and some pressed