of the 24. and 25. of Matthewe the first and the 17. of the Actes the 17. and the 21. of Luke the 2. Thessal 1 and the Epistle of Saint Iude. In al which places mention is made of the vtter destruction of the worlde and of the seconde comming of our Sauiour vnto the general iudgement and proue as wel that the daie of iudgement is come as that text where it is said Beholde I sende mine Angel or messenger which shal prepare the waie or make plaine the path before Me set afore most of their Bookes doth proue that H. N. is the messenger of Christ. Thus much against the Familie of Loue and this one opinion of theirs as wicked as it is strange and vnheard-of vntil these late yeares CHAP. 7. Against the fauorers of Hymeneus and Philetus who saide that the resurrection is alredie past AS had S. Paul in his time Hymeneus and Philetus so haue we in our time such as fauor Hymeneus and Philetus namelie the Familie of Loue who denie the iudgement to come and saie the resurrection is past Yet so I woulde not write of them did not both Christopher Vitel and also H. N. himselfe auouch the same For saith Vitel The Lord hath accomplished according to his promises through the spirite of Christ in him namely H.N. al that he hath spoken through the mouth of his seruants the Prophets And in this daie are al Prophecies fulfilled saith H.N. himselfe In which two places although expresse mention bee not made either of the iudgement or comming of Christ yet in that they saie Al Prophecies are fulfilled and that the Lord hath accomplished al that he hath spoken through the mouth of his seruants the Prophets they do comprehend the iudgement and comming of Christ so wel as anie thing els For the Prophets haue foretolde thereof As the Prophet Isaiah the Prophet Ezekiel the Prophet Daniel and others If therefore whatsoeuer the Lorde hath spoken by his seruantes the Prophets be fulfilled and the Lord hath fore-tolde by his seruants y e Prophets of à general resurrection iudgement and seconde comming of Christ Then is the resurrection iudgement and seconde comming of Christe come and past already euen by the verie words of the arch-pillers of the Familie Yet would I not thinke that so wretchedlie theie do erre had I not read that one of the Familie gaue-out that Christe was already come For one of the Familie being asked before manie witnesses touching Christ his comming vnto iudgement did answere plainlie that he was alreadie come Neither yet should I so conceiue of thē did I not finde that not onelie H.N. himselfe was but also the Lords deade are alreadie raised-againe Which opinion theie woulde neuer stand-in or defend if theie did thinke anie other resurrection to be than onelie à rising from sinne à casting-of of the olde man and à putting-on of the newe But as Hymeneus and Philetus were deceaued for y t theie deuided not the word of God aright so the Familie of Loue do so perilouslie erre because theie vnder stand not the worde of God aright For did theie so theie would confesse and beleeue not à single but à double not à spiritual onelie but à corporal resurrection also wherof the one which is spiritual must go before the other that is corporal Wherefore to auoide the error of the aboue mentioned we are to beare in minde y t there is à twofold resurrection of the dead one spiritual of the mind the other corporal of the bodie When I saie there is à spiritual resurrection I meane not that the Soule or Spirite can die and be raised vp-againe For the soule is immortal But the spiritual resurrection is when à man who was dead in sinne through the preaching of the Gospel is reclamed frō the death of vngodlines vnto life that is vnto faith and knowledge of Christ wherebie he is made à new creature According as Irenaeus doth saie Agnitio Dei renouat hominem that is the knowledge of God maketh à new-man For as there is à double death to wit à spiritual and à corporal so is there á double resurrection He is spiritualie dead though he seeme healthful in bodie who is à blasphemer à traitor an adulterer an vserer à murtherer c. For he is as à dead man in the sight of God Euen as we count him who either hath done some horrible fact worthie death against the lawes of man or else is condemned to die but for à dead man because he standeth at y e mercie of the magistrate either to be saued or cast-awaie as our phrase is He therefore who by the preaching of the Gospel is sorie for his sinnes and beleeueth that through the bloode of Christ al his offences are washed and wypt-awaie and through the virtue of his faith doth so fight against his wicked affections that he is become à newe man that is of à blasphemer à continual praiser of God of rebellions obedient of incontinent pure and chast of an vserer à free lender yea à liberal giuer of à murtherer à careful preseruer of mē c. this man I saie through the power of the holie Ghost is raised from the death of sinne and risen with Christ. Which spiritual resurrection as euennowe I saide must goe-before the corporal resurrection For vnlesse we arise spiritualie by Faith vnto newnes of life let vs not looke to rise-againe corporalie vnto eternal life For our Sauior doth doth saie Theie shal come-foorth that haue done good vnto the resurrection of life but theie that haue done euil vnto the resurrection of condemnation So then if anie man desire to liue eternaly in the sight of God and to be à partaker of the felicitie to come let him first arise from sinne beleeue that his offences are pardoned through the death of Christ and spende the time he hath in this worlde godlie righteouslie and soberlie and assuredlie he shalbe raised at the second resurrection vnto eternal life The corporal death is when as the soule doth forsake the bodie and the bodie returneth vnto duste where out it was taken Which bodie we Christians doe beleeue shal rise-againe at the daie of iudgement But the fauorers of Hymeneus Philetus wil not be so perswaded to thinke And therefore because theie vnderstande not the Scriptures aright theie holde that there is onelie à spiritual resurrection But the Scripture doth so wel speake of à corporal as of à spiritual For as it is written ye which were dead in sinnes and in the vncircumcision of your flesh hath he quickened-together with him which is the spiritual so is it wtitten The dead shalbe raised-vp incoruptible and we shalbe changed For this corruptible must put on incorruption this mortal must put on immortalitie which is
purest writers of our time another For the Pharisees they thought that the soules of the good had no certaine abiding place but passed from one bodie vnto another vntil the day of the generall resurrection The Dormitans they thought the soules haue à certaine place where it is either in heauen or hel theie shew not where theie sleep vntil y e day of iudgement The Papists saie before the death of Christ there were foure places for y e soules to wit Hel Lymbus puerorum Purgatorie and Lymbus Patrum Hel as saith Iauel is the lowest place there such as are damned for actual and mortal sins are in torments Next aboue that is Lymbus puerorum which is à place for infants that died either vncircumcised before the comming of Christ or vnbaptized after his resurrection Next aboue that is Purgatorie à place where such are to be purged as haue not sufficientlie repented in this life Next aboue that Lymbus patrum where the souls of such as died godli abode in peace c. Which Lymbus Patrum as testifieth Dionysius Carthusianus out of Bonauenture was also called Abrahams bosome Hel. It was called Hel both because it was inferior and also for that after à sort it was à place of miserie It was called Lymbus because the punishment of lacking was there And it was called Abrahams bosome for that there was an expectation of glorie And of this opinion is Petrus de Tharantasia Richardus de media Villa and Thomas de Herfordia So Dionysius Carthus Which foure places saith Iauel doe continue yet and haue their situation albeit the fourth which is the hiest is quite emptie hel is so ful by like thorough Papistical delusions And with this felow agree those vnholie fathers of the late general Councel holden at Trent in al points sauing that theie make no mention of Lymbus puerorum at al espieng perhaps that alreadie theie haue set moe places beside than theie can by anie good reason or Scripture defend Furthermore the fathers theie haue had their opinions As Irenaeus who seemeth to thinke as in the ende of his 5. Booke appeareth that the soules so soone as theie leaue their bodies goe not presentlie either vnot ioie or paine but are kept in à secrete place against the daie of iudgemeÌ„t agreeing therin verie much with the Dormitans aboue mentioned In this error also was Pope Iohn 20. But one of these which was Irenaeus seemeth not to be throghly resolued in this point For in another place of the foresaid Booke he hath these wordes Wherfore the Priests who are the disciples of the Apostles theie say that such as are translated are translated thither For Paradise is prepared for the iust and spiritual men whereinto when Paul was carried he heard words that cannot be vttered as touching vs at this present where they which are translated do abide euen vntil the consummation beholding incorruption And the other to wit Pope Iohn the 20. of that name was enforced by K. Philip of France surnamed the Faire at the sute of the diuines of Paris to recant his error in à solemne and publique audience as witnesseth Gerson Other fathers as Chrysostome and Augustine according to the diuersitie of times haue conceaued diuerslie of this matter For touching the soules of good men for I saie nothing of the soules of the wicked because generalie al men the Dormitans and Atheistes onelie excepted do holde that theie are in hel in respect of the time froÌ„ the creation vntil the death of Christ theie think theie were in one place namelie in the lower partes and in respect of the time from his death vntil his second comming in glorie theie iudge theie are in another euen in heauen One opinion whereof is of al good men to be abhorred the other no Christian but wil defend For touching the former did theie al I meane the Patriarches and Prophets our forefathers eate the same spiritual meate and drinke the same spiritual drinke which we doe were theie saued by the same hope iustified by the same Christ redeemed with the same blood sanctified by the same spirite y t we are yea were theie as doubtlesse theie were as good as zelous as holie as righteous in al respects as we yet shal we thinke that God wold be lesse fauourable to them than to vs receaue vs forthwith into his euerlasting kingdome and let them remane either thousandes or manie yeeres or anie time at al either in dead bodies miserablie as the Pharisees thought or in a dead sleepe vnsensiblie as the DormitaÌ„s taught or in Lymbo vncomfortablie or piteouslie in Pâ—â—â—torie as y e Papists would persuade or iâ— an out-corner not happily as some or in y e lower partes wretchedlie as other fathers gaue out No rather think we that as now the faithful doe so then y e godlie did presentlie and directlie and without anie stopping staieng ascend vnto their masters ioie And their other opinioÌ„ is to be beleeued defended as y t which al the godlie and best learned of this age haue embraced as consonant agreeing to the holie Scripture of which I wil aleage the testimonies of one or two For saith M. Bullinger Where be the soules of theÌ„ that are slain for the word of God shewed vnto vs vnder the altar The altar is afterward in the 8. chap. set in heauen before the throne of God Therfore the soules of al saints are in heaueÌ„ before the throne of God which was also signified before in the type of the 24. elders The Lord hath said also where I am there shal my seruant be likewise But the Lord is in heauen therefore the soules of the faithful whose bodies haue bine slaine or buried without slaughter be no where els but in heauen And afterwarde within three or foure sentences he saith For like as the bosome of Abraham is called the receptacle hauen of saluation into the which the soules of them be receaued which had the faith of AbrahaÌ„ so do we vnderstaÌ„d the altar to be à place of blessednes in heaueÌ„ wherin they rest which with true faith haue acknowledged Christ the altar propitiation sanctification satisfaction c. Vnder this altar was gathered the faithful martyr Abel vnder this altar are gathered as manie as haue died since that time for religions sake and vnder this altar shal al be gathered hereafter as manie as enter into glorie with Christ throgh sundry tribulations in bearing of the crosse Hitherto Bullinger And D. Chytraeus This is the rest of the holie soules which are dissolued froÌ„ the baÌ„d of their bodies It is not an idle rest or à certain dead sleep as manie do fain the souls of the dead together with their bodies to sleep vntil the last iudgmeÌ„t but it is à tranquillitie à ioie and à peace of that conscience which hath finished the
manner Tho. Hil Read the litle treatise intituled A viewe of examples if thou haue the French tongue reade also the Booke intituled Des grands redoutables iugemens punitions de dieu aduenus au monde c. and there thou shalt see that punishments haue bine executed vpon some one or other for the violating of euerie commandement of the Lord. The which and such like examples God he sendeth daie by daie that men should know consider how that maie happen vnto euerie forsworne blasphemous wicked person which happeneth to anie Finalie God as he iudgeth particularlie some for some special sinnes so he iudgeth vniuersalie al men when he taketh them out of this worlde by death For the wages of sinne is death Of which sith euerie man is guiltie no man escapeth the punishment of sinne which is death For it is the condition of al times Thou shalt die the death And it is appointed vnto men that theie shal once die For so much as al men haue sinned But the law of the spirite of life which is in Christ Iesus hath freed vs from the lawe of sinne and of death whie therfore doe we die and are not forth-with clothed with immortalitie I aunswere with Bernard It is that the trueth of God maie be fulfilled For seeing God loueth mercie and trueth man is to die because he prophecied that he should yet shal rise-againe least God seeme to forget his mercie So therfore death although it beare not dominion alwaie yet notwithstanding it abideth for the trueth of Gods sake or for à time in vs euen as sinne although it nowe raigneth not in our mortal bodies yet are wee not without the same The thirde manner of God his iudgements is both by himself by man too As when he not onelie suffreth y e Magistrate to punish the bodies but also himselfe tormenteth y e minds of malefactors by himselfe Exāples of which his iustice I wil recite two one shalbe of à murtherer executed at Vienna named Paul the other of Muntzer the traitor put to death in Germanie For Paul hauing not onelie robbed his owne master of that monie which with great paines and toile he had gathered for the reliefe of him and his in necessitie but also murthered to make his waie sure first his felowe workman then à maide seruant then his master next his mistres and last of al à poore young infant à maiden childe and being miraculouslie by God himselfe apprehended at Ratisbone à citie distant from Vienna 50 Germane miles deliuered into the hands of the magistrate by them conueied to the place where that horrible fact was perpetrated and there according to the lawes of that countrie adiudged vnto à most bitter death amid his paines which were most greeuous to fleshe and blood he openlie confessed y t al his bodilie torments did not so much afflict his flesh as the last wordes of the poore infant and innocent whome among the rest he had murthered did torment his minde For when he came with bloodie hands to kil her y e sweet babe entreated him earnestlie to saue her promising y e best thinges which she had for a recompence of his mercie in these words O Paul good Paul do not thou kil me and thou shalt haue al my poppets whensoeuer thou wilt Those words from the time hee had murthered her were as corosies at his heart and at his death as the paines of hel to his soule so testifieth à good and à godlie wtiter Muntzer also being readie to be put vnto death for raising the poore Countrie-men in Germanie against their leige Lordes and gouernours was so vexed in minde that such as stoode by him when he was to be executed might sensiblie heare his heart to pant shake and beate-againe so did God for his part shewe his iudgement vpon him for his wickednes as witnesseth D. George Maior CHAP. 12. Whether al the wicked are punished in this worlde and whie theie are suffered in the opinion of man to florish IF God then so fauour iustice some wil saie he should iudge and punish al the wicked in this world He should in deede and he doth For there is not à wicked man vpō the earth whome God in his iustice one waie or oother either by his Magistrates or by himselfe either by his secrete or by his open iudgements either by an accusing conscience or by casting him of into à reprobate minde either by sickenes or by pouertie by aduersitie or by prosperitie doth not punish But it maie be obiected to haue à guiltie conscience is an heauie crosse and to be vtterlie forsaken of the Lorde and possessed of Satan is of al the sorest plague which can fal-vpon man in this world aduersitie also is à grieuous punishment but that prosperitie can be à crosse that is a Paradoxe in the opinion of the world I grant it is so For so theie haue alwaies thought Therefore the Romans with Cicero the enimies of Iob the aduersaries of Paul in their owne eies were the Turks as theie thinke themselues are happie And why The Romans had al the world as it were in subiection Iob his enimies liued at their heartes ease Paul his aduersaries were not touched with aduersitie as theie thought y e Turks doe florish Wheras contrariwise y e Iewes with Cicero Iob euen of his friendes Paul of the barbarous people Christians of the Turkes are iudged accurssed But whie The nation of the Iewes are vanquished are carried from their natiue countrie are deteined in captiuitie said Cicero Iob was in miserie And who euer perished being an innocent or when were the godlie destroied saide the fained friends of Iob Paul had a viper vpon his hande Therefore he is à murtherer and though hee haue escaped the sea yet vengance wil not suffer him to liue saide barbarous people Christians are but fewe for number and for power nothing so mightie as they haue bene theie endure much affliction and trobles in respect of others therefore they are not the sonnes of God saith Mahomet These are the rash and sinister opinions of the world When god sendeth prosperitie hee loueth but when aduersitie doth come hee hateth But the godlie are of an other minde For albeit when such as feare God enioie prosperitie they thinke it an argument of his fauor yet when the wicked haue the same in their iudgemēt it is a token of his displeasure Therefore Augustine in à certaine place doth saie The men of this world are vnhappilie happie that is in their wealth theie are poore in their health sicke and in their felicity they are accurssed For when the Lord seemeth not to be angrie at al with the wicked he is most displeased So Bernard when God is not angrie as mē thinke he is most angrie And this may appeare to be true both in the Romans in respect of the
Iewes in Iob his friends as they were called in respect of Iob in the barbarous people in respect of Paul and in the Turkes at this day in respect of Christians For who were out of God his fauour more than the Romans than Iobs friends than Paul his aduersaries and who more miserable in deede than the Turkes notwithstanding their prosperitie And such is the state of the wicked at al times Then whie doth the Lorde suffer the wicked in the sight of men to florish and whie doth hee not in iustice confounde them speedilie and vtterlie Sundrie reasons may be giuen hereof For either of his wisedome he thinketh it no due time as yet to punish them or of his mercie he spareth them because they shoulde repent or in his iustice hee hath quite forsaken them In his wisedome he spared Sodome vntil the sinnes therof were exceeding ripe and cried-up to heauē for vengeance in his mercie he spared y e old world an hundred twenty yeeres that theie might amende g in his iustice oftentimes he spareth the wicked in this present world because he hath giuen them ouer into reprobate minds and reserued thē for euer-during torments in the life to come So doe good Physicions suffer such to haue their wils with-out gaine-saying them who are past recouerie But as they who are so desperatelie sicke in bodie are nigh vnto death so they whom God for saketh and leaueth to their owne hists are nigh vnto damnation And as calues the fatter they be the nigher they are to be killed and as trees the bigger there are the more vnfruitful the nighter to bee hewen-downe so the prosperitie of the vngodlie is an vndoubted argument of their destruction at hande Which punishment of their shal thē by so much be the more grieuous intolerable by howe much the time was great before the Lord executed his iudgment Phatao is a notable example hereof For hee was long spared but at the length ouerwhelmed in the red sea So is Balthasar who in the middes of his iolitie came to destruction But they which are best knowen and most of al to be noted are Sodom and the old world the one whereof was vtterlie consumed with fire the other drowned with water both special examples of the sudden and vtter damnation of the vngodlie CAP. 13. Causes whie the godlie doe endure such miserie and troubles in this worlde FVrthermore it maie bee demanded Whie such as feare God of al others most zelouslie and fauour religion best suffer such miserie and affliction in this present world as they do I answere one cause is in them-selues through their zeale of godlinesse they chuse it another in Satan their enimie through his malice against them hee seeketh it à third in God who partlie of his wisedome and of his iustice partlie doth send it For to speake seueralie of these causes somewhat doubtles the godlie endure affliction oftentimes when wold they but assēt vnto sin or consēt vnto the wicked they migh florish in al outwarde happines and worldly as they cal it felicitie But for that they haue the feare of God alway before their eies and thinke-upon the valor-both of religion virtue they chuse rather to be afflicted for righteousnes sake then either for wickednes to be aduanced or that the glorie of their profession should be blemished Herebie manie endure displeasure which might haue fauor manie suffer pouertie which might be rich manie be obscure which might be of countenance and manie are in great aduersitie that might doe wel in the worlde So Michaiah for speaking the truth faithfullie without flatterie Daniel for seruing the true God zelously with out hypocrisie olde Eleazer for obseruing the holie Lawes of his God religiouslie Ioseph for his loialtie to his master ward and such like both were punished and are daily afflicted Of which their inuincible courages manifold commodities do arise For first in so doing albeit they lacke outwarde comfort of the world yet they haue the inward ioie of a good conseience which as Salomon saith is a continual feast Secondlie they giue testimonie vnto the worlde how they fauor Christianitie religiō not of hypocrisie or in worldlie respectes but of pure zeale and that theie regarde those wordes of our Sauior Whosoeuer shal confesse me before men him wil I confesse also before my Father which is in heauen But whosoeuer shal denie me before men him wil I also denie before my father which is in heauen Againe He that loueth father and mother more than mee is not worthie of me And he that loueth sonne or daughter more than me is not worthie of me And he that taketh not his crosse and followeth mee is not worthie of me He that wil saue his life shal lose it and he that loseth it for my sake shal saue it Thirdlie manie-times therebie theie winne such as are without make them to glorifie God to forsake either their naughtie life if theie haue beene sinners or their idols and errors if theie haue beene superstitious And last of al theie both encourage the weake and confirme the strong in good motions by their examples Again considering how it is impossible to please God and in the world to florish too and that such thinges as delight the bodie are extreme enimies to the soule theie voluntarilie abandon al occasions that maie with-drawe them from God or quench the zeale of virtue within thē Whereof it is that theie doe yea it cannot be but theie must suffer manie troubles as Lactantius noteth For it is verie hard to be holie in this worlde and happie too Therefore theie doe chuse and willinglie for welth pouertie for pleasure paine for à florishing state affliction and though theie doe neither with Democritus pluck-out their eies nor with Spurina deface their faces nor with the Monches liue by them-selues nor with the superstitious Iesuites whip their owne corpses yet with Saint Paul theie beate downe their bodies that their flesh preuaile not ouer the spirite Furthermore insomuch as the diuel is for power mightie in that hee is à Prince and his hatred is deadlie because there is enimitie betweene his seede and the godlie and his crueltie vnsatiable being à dracon and his subtleties manifolde because he is a serpent maruel it is not though the saincts of God in this worlde wherein theie are but strangers enioie neither such ease nor such honor nor such prosperitie as the wicked doe Notwithstanding whatsoeuer the diuel doth against them it is because God doth either sende him or suffer him And therefore although his hatred be mortal his crueltie extreeme and his subtleties past finding-out yet can he doe nothing to hurt the godlie without God permit So that his wil is nought but his power is good For his wicked wil is of himselfe but he