Selected quad for the lemma: head_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
head_n	beast_n	dragon_n	horn_n	3,264	5	10.5839	5	false

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A89056	A further discovery of the mystery of the last times; as an addition to a little book, called Some discoveries of the mystery of the last times, bordering upon the coming of the Lord Jesus. Set forth for the good of all men; but especially of those who in these dissenting times (wherein Ephraim envieth Juda, and Juda vexeth Ephraim) know not where to settle themselves, or to what society of Christians to joyn themselves: wherein is (as simply and plainly, as the author was able to open those mysterious scriptures quoted in this following treatise) shewed the cause of all our divisions and contentions about matters pertaining to form and order in the church of Jesus Christ; and wherein is moderately proved from those scriptures these particulars. 1. The flourishing and building condition of the church of Jesus Christ in the time of the gospel. ... 7. Lastly, that the Lord Jesus will by himself destroy all those enemies, and deliver his people, when the restoration of all things shall be.	Mercer, Richard, fl. 1649-1651.; Mercer, Richard, fl. 1649-1651. Some discoveries of the mystery of the last times, bordering upon the coming of the Lord Jesus].	1651 (1651)	Wing M1732; Thomason E637_16; ESTC R206616	80,538	60

failing by his open violence of persecution he now out of that afflicted estate of the Church wherein persecution followed upon persecution like the waves of the sea I say out of this sea of persecution and troubles of the Church raises a beast for no sooner did the Roman Empire become Christian under Constantine but immediately the Church fals asleep and loseth her integrity and by ease and riches pleasure and profit she in time becomes of a sufferer a persecuter and what the divels could not attain one way he now tryeth another way and prevailes and whereas Sathan acted by the Roman Empire heathen by open violence and could do no good now by the Roman Empire becoming Christian he gaines his desire and the Roman Empire or beast Christian in conclusion under the name of Christ persecutes as much as did the Roman Empire being heathen But this being a matter of great consequence needs much proofe which I shall endeavour to prove as the Lord shall direct me As for proofes from history of time I have but little being a man unlearned therefore my proofe must be from Scripture therefore pray mind you have the dragon in the 12. of the Revelation and 3. verse set forth by those marks viz. A great red dragon having seven heads and ten horns and seven Crownes upon his heads which I conceive was the severall Emperours which were Enemies to the people of God and did persecute them signified by the number of seaven and the Crowns were upon these heads that is the government rested upon them he had also ten hornes which signified the severall nations which were a strength to the Roman Empire and were under the subjection of the Roman Monarch now pray mind in the beginning of the 13. chapter it is said And I stood upon the sand of the sea and saw a beast rise out of the sea having seven heads and ten hornes and upon his horns ten crownes and upon his heads the names of blasphemy and the beast which I saw was like a leopard and his feet were as the feet of a beare and his mouth as the mouth of a lyon and the dragon gave him his power and his seat and great Authority Now pray mark that whereas the dragon or Roman Empire heathen had his crowns upon his heads that is the government remained among the Emperours touching the administration of the common wealth and had the ten hornes or ten nations as a strength to the Empire subject unto them so the beast which did rise out of the sea or the Empire Christian had his crownes upon his horns that is upon the nations which were a strength unto the Empire Christian and had authority in all civill things so far as to do the commandments of the Roman bishops and whereas the heads of the beast had upon them the name of blasphemic this I take to be the Popes of Rome being the heads did arrogate the name of supreme bishop and did begin to sit in the temple of God shewing himself as if he were God forgiving sins and doing what he listed in the Church of God which without a sufficient warrant from Scripture rule for him to do so was no better then blasphemy this beast also was like unto a leopard that is all spotted with sin and uncleanness as his doings in future times makes it appeare his feet as the feet of a beare scraping together the goods of the nations unto himself as is witnessed in Acts and Monuments of the Church of England the first volume in many places and his mouth as the mouth of a lion speaking cruell things and commanding all men by his Excommunications and cursing them to hell if they did not obey all his commandments and the dragon gave him his power and his seat and great authority and this the experience of things testifieth for the Emperours by degrees did give unto the Popes great power insomuch as in time the Popes began to depose Emperours and set up others in their stead and left them in time wholly their seat which was Rome Now I am perswaded to beleeve that the beast which did arise out the sea to be the Empire Christian under the Pope by these ensuing reasons first because this beast which did arise out of the sea is as it were a compound of the three beasts which did arise out of the sea Daniel the 7. having his body like unto a leopard imitating the Macedonian Monarch and his feet as the feet of a bear like unto the Persian Monarch and his mouth as the mouth of a lion speaking with such a commanding voyce as did the Babylonian Monarch now these put together will make the fourth beast which was dreadfull and terrible Now what people or government hath been in the world that hath had and exercised the like cruelty as hath the Roman Empire Christian under the Pope especially upon his own subjects for when I consider what blood hath been spilt by that Romish beast upon such as any way differed from him in Religion being put to death with all the rigour that could be imagined wherof burning is the highest and all to uphold that blasphemous title of Head of the Church and also when I diligently ponder that infinite blood which hath been spilt among Christian Princes stirred up thereto by the Pope somtime for the patrymony of the Church as they call it fighting for the temporall possessions of the Church somtime raised to destroy Hereticks as he called them which were protected by their Princes against his fury somtime by means of schism which happened between the Popes there being somtimes two and somtimes three at one time which amounts to such a summ as I think cannot be paralelld in the world for infiniteness no not among the most barbarous nations And which is to be much more lamented it being among such men and such people as acknowledge themselves to be subjects to the Lord Jesus which is King of peace which how well it hath agreed to their profession I leave it to themselves to judge so that I conceive that the description of the fourth beast cannot in all likelyhood be applied to any other then the Roman Empire heathen but more especially to the Roman Empire Christian Daniel 7. 7. A second reason moving me to beleeve that the beasts which did arise out of the sea to be the Empire Christian under the Pope is from the dragon giving him his power and his seat and great authority for how can we expound the dragon to be any other then the Roman Empire heathen and did not the Empire as soon as it turned Christian almost come into the Popes hands by degrees at the least spiritually So also was not Rome the seat of the Emperor but it quickly became the feat of the Pope so likewise how quickly had the Bishop of Rome such Authority as he made Emperours and again deposed them A third reason I ground from these prophesies as

mystically commanded to fly to the mountains Matthew the 24. when speedily followed the waking of the servants in which they did desire to deliver themselves and began to see the grosse and wicked idolatry which was committed and began to fly and avoid it and did hope to gather thetares from the good seed or at least to separate them and to draw themselves out from amongst them but alas too late for antichrist had goten possession then immediately followed persecution in such a measure as I think there was more bloud shed for cause of conscience then there was in any time of the persecution of the Empire heathen as it is yet fresh in memory and may be abundantly seen in the Acts and Monuments of the Church of England Now sixthly as the servants began to wake and to look about them and to increase in knowledg and the time of the prosperity of the beast began to be at the height and should decay Martin Luther steps forth and fulfils that prophesie Revelation the 13. 3 for he gives a wound unto the beast for whereas the doctrine of merits by works was one of the principal heads of the beast and the greatest of all his power this Martin Luther did oppose with great might and with much successe insomuch as he gave a deadly wound unto the beast but we have sinc eseen by experience this deadly wound healed and all the world wondreth after the beast in a manner for they see order in the Church of Rome though by a wrong power but amongst us nothing but disorder and this we may speak with grief of heart and there is reason for it which I have abundantly proved already and may further God assisting me cleer it hereafter besides the loosnesse of Protestants at large as I may term them and our divisions and loosnesse in our practices makes him get heart and to hope to gaine all againe of what he hath lost or at least to hold that which he hath and this St. John seems to intimate unto us in Revelation the 17. 8. where he saith When they beheld the beast that was and is not and yet is shewing as I conceive that at the change of the beast he should so lose his power as he should as it were seem not to be and yet after he should recover strength againe and have a being untill the Lord destroy him with the spirit of his mouth and with the brightnesse of his coming Isaiah the 11. 42 Thes. 2. 8. which can in reason be expounded to be no other but Rome under the Pope as I have proved by ten reasons Now forasmuch as there is one principal text Matthew 24. 15. upon which text dependeth almost all the following part of the chapter as an exhortation of the Lord Jesus unto his disciples how they should carry themselves when once the abomination which makes desolate is set up and therefore I shall shew what I take this abornination to be and therefore pray mind I take this abomination not to be the destruction of Jerusalem which did follow within 40. years after the passion of Christ as I have already proved But I take this abomination of desolation to be that Idol of the bread which in the Church of Rome is transubstantiated into the reall body of Christ as the Papists teach or in short the real presence of the sleshly body of Christ in the Sacrament of the Altar as they call it which Idolatry I take to be the grossest Idolatry that ever was committed by any civill or religious nation or nations and about which there hath so much bloud of the Saints of Jesus Christ been spilt in the kingdome of the Pope as the like hath not been seen in any age for one thing But because this is a matter of much consequence I shall produce severall reasons for the proofe thereof Wherefore my first reason shall be from the text it self where it is said When you shall see the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the Prophet standing in the holy place that is something that standeth in the holy place which drives the presence of Gods spirit out of that place that was once holy A second reason I take from that text Daniel the 11. 31. which is the place of the prophet as I conceive which our Saviour meant where it is said speaking of Antiochus And armies shall stand on his part and they shall pollute the Sanctuary of strength and they shall take away the daily sacrifice and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate Which text was fulfilled the first of Maccabees the first chapter 54. ver which was a type of that abomination which our Saviour speaketh of meaning as I conceive that of Daniel the 11. 31. now as Antiochus by his power did pollute the temple of the Lord by commanding the daily sacrifice to cease and did set up the Idol of abomination upon the Altar of God where by the spirit of God departed from that worship even so in the mystery the Pope hath changed the communion into the sacrifice of the Masse and real presence in the Sacrament and caused the people to worship it so that by reason of that idolatry the spirit of God is departed from that administration Thirdly that whereas the Lord Jesus having instituted his last supper to be practised in Remembrance of his death till he come and made no mention of worshipping it the Pope contrarily maketh it a sacrifice and commandeth the people to worship it thereby forcing the spirit of God from that worship Luke 22. 19. 1 Corinthians 11. 24. Fourthly That whereas the Lord hath commanded Exodus the 20. that his people should make no graven image nor the likenesse of any thing in any place thereby to worship it the Pope contrary to his command maketh the reall presence in the Sacrament daily under the form of bread and commandeth the people to worship it without any warrant from the word for their practice thereby forcing the people to commit Idolatry and so driveth the spirit of God from that dispensation Fifthly That as the Jews in time of the standing of the Temple by their Idolatry and by their setting up the image of jealousie in the temple did cause the spirit of God to depart from that worship Ezekiel the 8. 5 6. even so the Pope and his clergy in the mystery hath set up the image of jealousie in the Church in turning the communion of the Lords supper from its first Institution into the real presence of Christs fleshly body in forme of bread in the Sacrament and commanded the people to worship it thereby grieving the Spirit of God and causing it to depart from that worship Sixthly that as the pastours or shepherds of the Jewes in the time of the standing of the Temple did eat up the good pasture and drank the deep waters which I conceive was the ordinances of the Temple with the sacrifices and did tread