Selected quad for the lemma: enemy_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
enemy_n	sleep_v	sow_v	tare_n	1,022	5	12.2153	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A44854	Hē apostasīa, ho antichristos, or, A scriptural discourse of the apostasie and the Antichrist, by way of comment, upon the twelve first verses of 2 Thess. 2 under which are opened many of the dark prophecies of the Old Testament, which relate to the calling of the Jews, and the glorious things to be affected at the seventh trumpet through the world : together with a discourse of slaying the witnesses, and the immediate effects thereof : written for the consolation of the Catholike Church, especially the churches of England, Scotland, and Ireland / by E.H.	Hall, Edmund, 1619 or 20-1687.	1653 (1653)	Wing H325; ESTC R11943	203,833	222

exceedingly prone to be Heretical This therefore I say and intend to follow it That it is a safe way to interpret Scripture by Scripture and to make the Interpretation conformable to the rules of Interpreters with this resolution I return again to the Text where we shall indeavour to clear those premised Scruples concerning the Apostasie and the Antichrist CHAP. III 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Apostasie 'T is concluded on all hands that it is a general Apostasie both of the Easterne and Western Churches By the Eastern Churches I mean the Greek and Asian Churches which must necessarily be included in this Apostasie for it was prophesied amongst them over and over and therefore of them as well as other Churches if so then the Apostasie must not cannot be until after Constantine for not till after his Reign began the general Apostasie of the Eastern and Western Churches It is not denyed but that there were great Hereticks in the Church before as 1 Cor. 15. those that denyed the Resurrection and the Nicolaitan Doctrine Apoc. 2. of which read Clem. Alex. Strom. 3. Act. 6. And Eusebius tels us lib. 3. cap. 27. of the Ebionites and Martionites lib. 4. cap. 14. But these and many others though they spotted the Church and infested it yet they drew no●… the Church into a general Apostasie which Paul and Iohn foretel Two Texts Rev. 7. 1. and Rev. 13. 1 seem to point out the heads of this Apostasie the Texts seem to run parallel with each other The opening of the sixth Seal Rev. 6. 12. to 17. is that which immediately precedes Revel 7. 1. Now the sixth Seals opening say the soundest and best that ever writ is the overthrow of the Heathen Empire by Constantine The Pagan Emperors were the grand enemies before the Apostasie for I take Iohns Prophesies to be put under four periods of time the first under the Roman Heathen Emperors until Constantine the next under the grand Apostasie under the four Angels and the Beast of the Sea the third under the Antichrist and the fourth under the general restauration of Jewes and Gentiles under the Government of Jesus Christ by the Witnesses to each of which the Holy Ghost prefixeth a time a certain time The third viz. that of the Apostasie may be included in the second Two of these periods fall within my compass at this time to discourse of viz. that of the Apostasie and that of the Antichrist now this Apostasie being acknowledged by all or the most Protestants to be 1. An Apostasie of Gospel Churches from the faith 2. and this Apostasie to be a general Apostasie these two things must follow 1. That one person cannot well be the head or ringleader of this general Apostasie I know what may be said against this yet the utmost of it maketh not my consequence invalid 2. It will follow That the Ring-leader●… of this Apostasie must be men that profess Christianity as well as those that they lead into Apostasie for as for the Turks prophesied of Rev. 9. 15 16 17 they were rather the punishers of the apostate Churches then the Ring-leaders of the Churches in 〈◊〉 East into Apostasie this all men that know any thing in Church-Historie know espcially they that read wisely the Revelations for as the four Angels Revel 7. 1. had by their Apostasie which is gradually set forth Revel 8. destroyed a third part of the trees and a third part of the Sea of the creatures therein and the Ships thereupon and the third part of the Rivers and a third part of the Sun and of the Moon and of the Stars which are said to be smitten all these expressions setting forth the gradations of the Apostasie both in corrupting of the Doctrine of Religion and also the Falling away of all sorts and degrees of Professors unto those corrupt Doctrines and all this effected by the four Angels Revel 7. 1. standing on the four corners of the earth for no other end but this then to hold the four winds of the earth that they should not blow on the earth nor on the sea nor on any tree even so the four Angels that were bound in the great River Euphrates Revel 9. 14 15. are now loosed to slay the third part of men that is to subdue and punish and inslave and utterly ruine those Apostates The Turks were raised up as a scourge to the apostate Christian world hundreds of years after the Apostasie began and therefore their Mahomet cannot properly be said to be the head of the Apostasie he being no professor of Christianity The great question then will be Who are those four Angels who are accounted the heads of the Apostasie If I knew how I would here baulk this question for the avoiding of Novelty and contention but if I am mistaken it is but a weak mans opinion and so amongst many others it may harmelesly pass By these four Angels I conceive are meant the four Patriarchies of Rome Constantinople Alexandria and Ierusalem these were designed for the four quarters of the Christian earth indeed they were designed for the propagating of the Gospel but we very wel know that at last those very Patriarchs by turning from the truth corrupted the Church and turned the whole world after Arianism as one of the Fathers complains Nothing in History runs parallel with this Text like this of the Patriarchs who being eminent Professors made an eminent Apostasie from the Truth and led infinite numbers of people after them every Author even the Romish Historians that have writ latest give us plentiful examples of this Apostasie Object But where is your Scripture to prove these four Angels the four Patriarchs you make fair promises of holding forth nothing as credible but what you bring Scripture for Answ. I confess it is a hard task to prove this positively by any Text only in a word as near as I can thus From their denomination as they are called Angels the Holy Ghost calls the Bishops of the several Churches where this Defection afterward was made Angels Revel 2. To the Angel of the Church of Ephesus and to the Angel of the Church of Smyrna and to the Angel of the Church in Pergamus that is to the Bishop of Ephesus Smyrna and Pergamus So that we see the Holy Ghost stiles the heads of the Church who have the Pastoral charge of it Angels upon this account therefore are these four heads of the Church called Angels because they were the designed heads of the Church in their several Divisions and therefore on the four corners of the earth because they divided the Christian world amongst them The grand Apostasie began in the heads of the several Churches they grew proud and covetous and idle and whiles they thus slept the enemy sowed the tares of Heresie in their hearts Profaneness in a Church-man is the high Road to Heresie and Apostasie Such was their prophaneness saith Nazianzen that those that took upon them Pastoral