Selected quad for the lemma: doctrine_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
doctrine_n	apostolical_a	church_n	tradition_n	2,354	5	9.3436	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A67263	A discoverie of the beasts being an exposition of the XIII chapter of the Revelation of Jesus Christ : wherein all true Christians (yet in Babylon) are admonished to come out, and the anti-Christians fore-told what their plagues will be / by I.W.	I. W.	1641 (1641)	Wing W41; ESTC R6846	38,588	101

we are fallen and being enemies and opposers of Christ and his Kingdom it doth behoove us to know them to the end that wee may eschew them and their evill wayes and seek after the truth making strait steps unto the Kingdom of God Now that we our selves may make particular use hereof it is necessary for us to examine the Nationall Synod or Convocation consisting of the Prelacy and Clergie of the Land who whilst they remained under the yoke and bondage of the Church of Rome and whilst they exercised their power which was first given them by the Pope for and in the behalfe of that Church and Dominion they were the very Image of the first Beast before mentioned But being now separated from the Pope and Church of Rome they think as it should seem that their spirituall Pontificall power and authority which they exercise is lawfull and warrantable and to be submitted unto They being gathered together boast themselves to be the representative body of the Church of England and the true Church of Christ and that they have power to make Laws and Canons for Government thereof and for the worship of God which all men ought to yeeld obedience unto as appeareth by divers of their Bookes of Canons But we are not to take this upon their word but to make triall thereof by the Word of God whether it be true or false If the Word of God did give them such power and authority then indeed we were bound in conscience to yeeld already obedience to their Lawes and Canons But the most wise God and Disposer of all things who knoweth the vanity of mens mindes would not have his people to hold their faith in respect of mens persons and at their pleasure to alter and change the same and therefore did not give to any of his Ministers power to make Laws in matters of Religion and for the worship of God but gave them power onely to teach the Nations to observe the things which he had commanded them as in the 28. of Mathew the 19. and 20. verses And the Apostle Paul biddeth the Corinthians 1 Cor. 11.1 to be followers of him as he followed Christ And in the same Chapter he also saith That which he had received of the Lord he delivered unto them Acts 15. Also the Assembly of the apostles and Elders of the Church of Ierusalem they would not impose any yoke of bondage upon the Churches of Christ but held it to be a tempting of God so to do as before hath been shewed And this agreeth with that in Deut. 12.32 Whatsoever I command you take heed you do it Thou shalt put nothing thereto nor take ought therefrom By which Scriptures it is plain that the chiefest Ministers of the Gospell had no such power as these Prelates presume to have as we shall finde by examining their particular Canons and Constitutions of which for examples I will onely note some few of their late and best reformed Book made Anno 1603. in the first year of the Kings Majesties reign by which it will be apparant that they passe the bounds of the Subjects of Christ and that they have no power from him to make such Laws but by so doing they usurp the place of God to reign in mens consciences for unto him onely it doth belong to make Laws in matters of Religion and for the worship of God to which men are onely bound to yeeld obedience without adding or detracting and that for this their presumption they are liable to the curse of God being indeed the Image of the Beast here spoken of that is originally sprung from the Dragon and hath received power of Law-making from him Concerning the first and second Canons wherein they pretend their zeal for the abolishing of all forraign power repugnant to the jurisdiction of the Kings Majestie over the Ecclesiasticall estate he being the highest power under God to whom all men owe most loyall obedience and that his Majestie hath the like authority in Causes Ecclesiasticall as the godly Kings had amongst the Iews To these I do most willingly assent and agree And further do desire that as the Pope so the Prelacy with all their Antichristian Adherents which usurp spirituall power and superiority above the Majestie of Christ Iesus being a strange and forraigne generation brought in and established in this Land by the Pope of Rome may also be abolished and cast out after him for by them the Pope lives in hope hereafter to be served as he hath been heretofore to the great vexation of the Kings and Princes of this Land yea to the losse of their Crown and lives But to be short I will proceed to mention some few of their Canons whereby iniquity is established for a Law and their beastlinesse discovered In the third Canon it is enacted that whosoever shall affirme the Church of England by Law established not to be a true and Apostolicall Church teaching and maintaining the doctrine of the Apostles that person shall bee excommunicated ipso facto That there are some yea many doctrines of the Apostles maintained in the Church of England I do not deny so there are in the Church of Rome But that the Ecclesiasticall state or spirituall body politike which is called the Church of England which consisteth of Arch-bishops Diocesan Lord-bishops Suffragans Deanes Arch-deacons Prebends Canons Chancellours Commissaries with the rest of the Clergie as heads and guides of that body to go before and the whole multitude of the Layitie as they call it which is as the Tayle to follow those Heads that this politicall Body is the Spouse and Church of Christ as they affirme in their seventh eighth and ninth Canons that I do deny For first if it were true that they are the Ministers of Christ which is his Church we should finde warrant for them in his Testament wherein is set down the Ministers which he hath set in the Church namely Apostles Prophets Evangelists Pastors and Teachers and also their office and administration But in all the New Testament no Arch-bishops nor Lord-bishops no Deanes nor Arch-deacons Prebends Priests nor Canons no Chancellours nor Commissaries and other their Court-officers nor any such administration as they challenge and execute can there be found they are a strange generation that is risen up out of the earth for earthly-minded and vaine men have invented them and therefore the body which consisteth of them cannot of right bee acknowledged to bee the Body of Christ whose Ministers in respect that they are called according to the Commandement of Christ are from Heaven But it is indeed the Image of the first Beast whose mouth was as the mouth of a Lyon his body like a Leopard and his feet as the feet of a Beare an ugly compounded and deformed monster And as their names are strange and different from the Ministers of Christ so is their practise contrary they are not servants to the Flock and Church of Christ

suffered in any Kingdom or Common-wealth and so they blaspheme the Tabernacle of God in a high degree as if Gods people were a company of ungodly rebels and wicked conspiratours but the righteous Lord will in due time visit his people and rebuke his enemies And on the other side for Gods people now to deny the kingdom of the Beast that is as they call it the holy Catholike Church Militant to be the true Church of Christ To refuse to partake and communicate with them in their abominations delusions and unlawful works of darknes is adjudged disobedience schisme and contempt of the power and authorty of the Church To speak against their proceedings sedition disturbance of the peace of the Church heresie impiety and what not Thus they adorne the Harlot which corrupteth the earth with her fornications with the title of the Church and Spouse of Christ and Tabernacle of God and so blaspheme the Tabernecle of God as if it were not a communion of Saints by calling and profession but an habitation of Divels an hold of foule Spirits and a Cage of every unclean and hatefull Bird. Further it is said of the Beast that it did blaspheme those that dwelt in heaven that is the Saints departed this life Those that dwell in heaven are then blasphemed when it is said of them that they take it as an honour done unto them when we make them our Patrons build them Temples set up their Images offer and pray unto them and make them Mediatours between Christ and us for by this they are made not onely Idols but also favourers and chief maintainers of Idolatry They are also blasphemed when the doctrine which they taught and practised is condemned for heresie or when erronious doctrines vaine traditions superstitious rites ceremonies and customes are fathered upon them as received from them by Tradition as unwritten verities but the world hath been brought to believe that Saints in heaven might by these means be as it were bought and sould between Priest and people wherein they have been highly blasphemed Moreover it is said that it was given to the Beast to make warre with the Saints and to overcome them and power was given him over all Kindreds and Tongues and Nations Warre is made with the Saints when they are accused to Rulers and Governors to be Heretikes Schismaticks wicked and ungodly persons and they may then be said to be overcome whem their accusers are justified and they condemned according to this this Scripture hath been fulfilled and verified Great and of long continuance have been the warres which the Beast hath made with the Saints and many have been the victories of this kinde which the Beast hath had against them as the Histories and other records of the Nations do plentifully witnes It was given to the Beast to make warre with the Saints when Rulers and Governours gave way to the Beast to devise and make laws at their own pleasure concerning Religion and the worship of God and then to condemne for Delinquents and evill doers all that would not observe those Laws How free and forward Rulers and Governours have been to give such power unto the Beast they themselves have felt by long and wofull experience for much woe hath the Beast wrought not to the poore and meaner sort of the Saints onely but even to Emperours and Kings and all degrees of people and therefore it is said in the words following that power was given unto this Beast over every Kindred Tongue and Nation So that the exaltation thereof was such as to be a Father above all fathers to every Kindred a Lord above all Lords to every Tongue a King above all Kings to every Nation Thus was this Beast exalted and sate as a Queen triumphing over them having all of all degrees brought in bondage unto her Dominion which was a just recompence upon their heads that gave such power unto this Beast yet see how the world was herein deluded they were not captives against their wills but in blind devotion had this Beast in most high reverence as being a devine power ordained and given by God and not from the Dragon Thus did the Lord give them over to be deluded by this Beast as a just reward of their vngodlynes in that they receaued not the loue of the truth but tooke pleasure in vnrighteousnesse Further it is declared in the words following That all that dwell vpon the earth must worship him that is the Beast whose names are not written in the booke of the life of the Lamb slayne from the foundation of the World by those that dwell on the earth is ment those that have set their habitation there and choose rather to enioy the prosperitie of the world and plesures of sinne together with the Beast then to sufffer affliction for the truth and for witnessing against the Beast these are they that worship him that is receaue their precepts and rules for their doctrine and wholesome instuction and observe their ordinances and Lawes as perfect rules of eqitie and righteousnesse casting the word of God declared in the holy scriptures be hind their backes and treading his Ordinances vnder their feete making farre more conscience not to eate an Egge on Friday then to steale or to commit adulterie But of such it is said that their names are not written in the Booke of life of the Lamb which was slaine from the beginning of the world That is they are not of the number of Gods Elect and Choosen in Christ and given vnto him for his portion and heritage whose condition is to be hated despised persecuted and afflicted in the world for righteousnes sake in whom the Lamb Christ Jesus as in his members hath been slaine since the beginning of the world which condition those which cannot brook and endure but count it a pleasure to live deliciously for a season and take delight to enjoy the pleasures of sin may thereby be discribed not to have their names written in the Book of life Concerning these things it is added If any man have an eare let him heare As if it should be said few there be which have an eare to heare these things For who can indure to heare that Catholike Church which they account to be spirituall holy and heavenly to bee compared to a Beast ugly in forme and horrible and monstrous in nature Who can endure to heare that Power that Throne and that authority which they believe to be of God to be said and affirmed to be of the Dragon that old Serpent the Divell and Satan Who will believe that a righteous God would give way to his enemies the workers of iniquity so farre to prevaile and so long time as for many hundred years together to delude the Nations to bring them into bondage and to keepe them in slavery And that a few poore despised people of no reckoning in the world here one and there another should see more and be wiser then