that overcometh saith Christ I will give him to sit with me in my Throne even as I have overcome and sate with my Father in his Throne Here is mention we see of two Thrones of which my Throne that is Christ's Throne is the condition of a glorified man in this Throne his Saints shall sit with him But my Father's Throne is the Power of Divine Majesty wherein none may sit but God and the God-Man Iesus Christ. These grounds laid I say That the Honour of being prayed to in Heaven and before the Throne of presence is a Prerogative of Dextra Dei and to receive our devotions there a Flower of Christ's sitting at the Right hand of God as S. Paul Rom. 8. 34. conjoyns them saying Who is he that condemneth It is Christ that died yea rather that is risen again who is at the Right hand of God and who makes intercession for us For by right of this his Exaltation and Majesty he comes to be a Priest after the order of Melchisedech as appears Psalm 110. 1. The Lord said unto my Lord Sit thou on my Right hand till I make thine enemies thy footstool then follow the effects thereof ver 4. The Lord hath sworn and will not repent Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchisedech And by the same right also he becomes the Only and Eternal Priest which hath to do in the most Holy place the Heavens For as the High Priest only entred the most Holy place beyond the veil in the earthly Tabernacle so Christ Iesus our only High Priest through his Body as the first Tabernacle by his own bloud entred into the second Tabernacle or Holy place not made with hands as was the figure but into Heaven it self 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 there to appear in the presence of God for us All this you have in the same words at large Heb. 9. 7 11 12 24. Now in the Tabernacle of this world as was in the first Tabernacle we may haply find many Priests whom to imploy as Agents for us with God But in the second Tabernacle which is Heaven there is but one Agent to be imployed but one who hath Royal commission to deal between God and men that Angel of the presence as Isaiah calls him ch 63. 9. and one only Mediator Iesus Christ the Lord of glory who in this prerogative is above Saints and Angels For to which of the Saints or Angels said God at any time Sit on my Right hand till I make thine enemies thy footstool Heb. 1. 4 9 13. Neither will this Demonstration admit that vulgar Exception to be of any force namely That Expiatory mediation or Meritorious intercession in heaven should indeed appertain to Christ alone but Favourable intercession to pray for us not so and therefore for this we may without derogation to Christ solicite either Saints or Angels I could say that this ragge is too-too narrow and short to cover their nakedness who lay hold of it in whose Supplications to Saints and to God too in their names nothing is more usual than the express mention of their Merits Bloud and Sufferings as Motives to God to hear them But we shall not need this Answer For we have demonstrated that as in the Law none but the High Priest alone was to do office in the Holiest place so Christ Iesus now is the only Agent for whatsoever is to be done for us in the holiest Tabernacle of Heaven Besides we read that none but the High Priest alone was to offer Incense or to incense the most Holy place when he entred into it But Incense is the Prayers of the Saints sent thither from this outward Temple of the militant Church as in the Law was fetched from without the veil This therefore none in Heaven but Christ alone must receive from us to offer for us And this is that Angel with the golden Censer Rev. 8. 3. who there offers the Incense of the prayers of the Saints there given him to offer upon the golden Altar before the Throne alluding expresly to the golden Altar before the Testimony For the fuller understanding and farther confirmation of what hath been spoken take this also That notwithstanding the man Christ Iesus in regard of his Person being God as well as Man◠was from his first incarnation capable of this Royalty and Glory not only for the incomparable sufficiency of his Person which by reason of his twofold Nature is alwaies and in all places present both with God and men and so at one instant able and ready at every need to present to the one what he should receive from the other but chiefly and most of all for that by being very God himself his Father's jealousie which could never have brooked the communication of this Glory to any other which should not have been the self-same with himself was by this condition of his Person prevented and secured Nevertheless and notwithstanding all this capability of his Person it was the will of his Father in the dispensation of the Mystery of our redemption not to confer it upon him but as purchased and attained by suffering and undergoing of that Death which no creature in heaven or in earth was able to undergo but himself being a suffering of a Death whereby Death it self was overcome and vanquished to the end that none by death save Iesus Christ alone might be ever thought or deemed capable of the like Glory and Sublimity but that it might appear for ever to be a peculiar right to him And this I think is not only agreeable to the tenour of Scripture but express Scripture it self Heb. 2. 9 10. But we see Iesus who was made a little lower than the Angels by the suffering of death crowned with glory and honour For it became him for whom are all things and by whom are all things in bringing many sons to glory to make the Captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings Phil. 2. 8. And being found in fashion as a man he humbled himself and became obedient unto death even the death of the Cross and v. 9 10. Wherefore God hath also highly exalted him and given him a name above every name That at the name of Iesus every knee should bow Heb. 10. 12. But this man after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever sate down on the Right hand of God Rom. 14. 9. For to this end Christ both died rose and revived that he might be Lord both of the dead and living See besides Acts 5. 30 31. Rom. 8. 34. Ephes. 1. 20. 1 Pet. 1. 11. Lastly for that particular parcel of this Glory of Christ viz. To be that only Name in which we are to ask at the hands of God whatsoever we have to ask is not this also ascribed and annexed to his triumph over death Iohn 14. 12 13. I go unto my Father viz. through death And whatsoever ye ask in my name that will I do Iohn
to his Notion and Description thereof upon his study of the Apocalyps Dies Iudicii non breve aliquot horarum spatiolum designat sed pro more Hebraeorum Diem pro tempore usurpantium continuatum multorum annorum intervallum These are the Addenda and Corrigenda as they are set down in that Paper but not a word about 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as if any thing therein were to be alter'd and yet some and they not over-captious nor prejudiced persons have been apt to demur somewhat upon his explication of those words The intendment of this Preface is not to write Notes upon any of the Author's Works yet for the sake of the Ingenuous it may not be impertinent here to observe these few things 1. That 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or as some Copies read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may properly enough be rendred Doctrines of that is concerning Daemons the Genitive case here as elsewhere in Scripture in the like Forms of speech being to be taken Passively as the Author hath made it clear in Chap. 1. of this Treatise 2. That 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Daemons are to be taken in Scripture sometimes in a better and indifferent sense according to the sense of the Gentile Philosophers for the Souls of men deceased and need not be taken always in the worst sense for Devils or Evil Spirits he hath endeavour'd in Chap. 6. to make it appear from several places of Scripture and from an observable passage in Epiphanius where he also shews That the worship of these Daemons or Souls of the deceased was in reality the Worship of Devils those Evil Spirits counterfeiting sometimes the Souls of men deceased and none but Devils being willing to admit that Honour which does certainly derogate from the Honour of the only true God 3. That whatsoever the importance of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Doctrines of Daemons be in this place yet what is taught and practis'd by an Idolatrous sort of Christians as to the worshipping of Angels and Saints adoring of Reliques Image-worship c. is a lively and express resemblance of the Doctrine and Practices of the Gentiles concerning their 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Daemons as he hath proved at large 4. That there are only three Chapters in this Treatise viz. Chap. 3 4 5. which treat of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the use of the word and the Gentiles Theology concerning the Nature the Office the Original of Daemons the manner and way of worshipping them but all the rest of this large Treatise is as valid and concluding as if all in those three Chapters had been omitted nor does the strength thereof depend upon that Hypothesis pursued in those Chapters viz. That 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Daemons are to be taken here for the Souls of men deceased 5. That the truth of the former Assertion may be confirmed from a view of these severals 1. His Arguments in Chap. 7 8 9. to prove Saint-worship and Image-worship to be Idolatry have no dependence upon his foregoing explication of the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but prove what they are brought for be the sense of the word that or any other 2. His Discourse of the Churche's Visibility clouded in the prevailing Apostasie under the Reign of Antichrist is not concerned in his peculiar Notion of the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 3. And as little concerned therein is all that large and considerable part of this Treatise which discourses of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or the Times of the great Apostasie as likewise that which is grounded upon that famous and express Prophecy in Dan. 11. 36 c. of the Churche's lapsing into Idolatry and the worshipping of Mahuzzims the proper meaning of which word not easie for every one to have discovered as also the fitness of this Title to be applied to the worshiped Angels and Saints with their Images and their Reliques are there explain'd and confirm'd by him both by comparing several Places of Scripture and by pertinent Proofs out of Ancient and Modern Authors 4. All the Second Part of this Treatise is unconcern'd in the foremention'd Notion of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 I mean that Part which relates to verse 2 3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. and makes it evident by several Proofs collected with great industry and equal judgment out of Ecclesiastical Antiquities That Invocation of Saints and Image-worship were advanced by Hypocritical Lying Lies of Miracles Fabulous Legends c. wherein the Professors of Monkery had the Chiefhand 3. There is one thing more to be added concerning the Authors Writings and it is fit to be advertis'd as being a Right due to his Name and Memory That whereas in the former Editions the Discourses being published at several times and by several persons could not be so fitly ranked and set in order as otherwise they might have been had they been published all at once but the New and Old were mingled together without any intimating which were composed by him in his younger days and which in his elder In this Edition care is taken to dispose them otherwise Know therefore that those Diatribae or Discourses are set first that were composed and deliver'd by him within the last Ten years of his life viz. from the year 1628 to 1638 and the First XXVI Discourses are such XXI of which were published by the Authors Executor but for the Order wherein they were set except those two which treat upon the Lords Prayer and were therefore fitly placed first he seems to have been indifferent otherwise if he had thought it expedient he could have placed them according to the time when they were delivered in publick either in the Colledge-Chappel as most of them were being Common-places and short Diatribae on several Texts of Scripture or before the University at S. Mary's as the larger Discourses were For as it appears by the Authors Papers Discourse the 7th was delivered Anno 1637. Disc. 9. An. 1633. and in the same year Disc. 14 21. Discourse 13 An. 1632. Discourse 19 An. 1635. The Nine following Discourses viz. from Disc 26. to Disc. 35. as also 37. were preached all of them except Discourse 30 of which I am not so certain between the years 1624 and 1628 as I gather from some Memorials in the Manuscripts The Twelve next Discourses were between the years 1615 and 1624. some of which are more Notional than others as Discourse 36. upon Ier. 10. 11. and Disc. 35. upon Urim and Thummim and those upon Genes 3. 13 14 15. But if these and Disc. 47. be not every way so accurate and exact as those Diatribae that stand in the first rank whereof it may be said to use Paterculus his expression In illis Scriptis plus limae est it was sit that the Reader should be advertis'd about the distant times wherein these and the other Discourses were composed by him The Six last
of them by the breath of his mouth◠Psal. 33. 6. So doth Christ vanquish his enemies and enable his Ministers to vanquish them Verbo Spiritu oris by his Word and the Spirit of his mouth according to that Hos. 6. 5. I have hewed them by my Prophets and slain them by the words of my mouth I come now to the Second thing I propounded namely to shew that our Saviour in the Gospel when he cited this place alledged it for and according to this and no other meaning The Evangelist relates it thus When the chief Priests and Scribes saw the wonderful things that Iesus did and the children in the Temple crying and saying Hosanna to the Son of David they were sore displeased and said unto him Hearest thou what these say how they ascribe the power of salvation which is God's peculiar to thee who art a Son of man Is that solemn acclamation of Save now wherewith we are wont to glorifie God fit to be given to thee Our Saviour answers Yes For have ye not read saith he Out of the mouth of Babes and Sucklings thou hast ordained strength Consider what that means You will wonder perhaps that a thing so plain could be taken in a differing meaning for it is commonly supposed to be alledged only to prove that children should glorifie Christ whilest the great ones of the world despised him And there are two things which have occasioned this mistake and drawn the sense awry The first is because the Seventy according to which the Evangelist reads this place in stead of strength translate here 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 praise Out of the mouth of Babes and Sucklings thou hast ordained praise Secondly because those that made this acclamation are said to have been 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Children When they saw the wonderful things which Iesus did 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the Children crying in the Temple To the first I answer Our Saviour alledged not the words of the Psalm in Greek but in Hebrew where it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ◠Strength which is the constant signification thereof through the whole Bible and never Praise nor do the Seventy themselves ever translate it otherwise save as it seems in this place But whatsoever the use of the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be otherwise it must be here regulated by the Hebrew verity according to which our Saviour alledged it and must signifie not simply Praise but Robur praedicandum or Robur laude dignum Robur celebrandum Strength worthy to be celebrated or praised or the like To the second That they are called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Children who made this acclamation of Hosanna to our Saviour I answer Be it so yet I am sure they were no Babes and Sucklings but of reasonable years How then would our Saviour's quotation have in such a sense been pertinent Besides Young children are not properly called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Again the Pharisees found no fault with the speakers but with the thing spoken which they thought too much for a man and therefore our Saviour when he alledged this Scripture answered to that and intended not to apologize for the speakers Fourthly In all reason those who cried here Hosanna in the Temple were the same company that brought him crying Hosanna all the way thither But these saith S. Mark were of the multitude which followed him as S. Luke of the multitude of the Disciples who also tells us that the Pharisees who were offended thereat bad him rebuke his Disciples 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 therefore here signifies either Christ's Disciples or the retinue which followed him and brought him up thither as a King Take which you will you shall not fasten upon 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 any notion other than usual I shall not need to tell you that the Disciples of the Prophets are called the Sons of the Prophets that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or that Herod's Courtiers Matth. 14. 2. are termed his 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He said 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 This is Iohn the Baptist c. DISCOURSE X. ZACHARIAH 4. 10. These Seven are the eyes of the Lord which run to and fro through the whole earth IT is hard to keep a mean which as it appears in many things else so in the Doctrine and Speculation of Angels whereunto men were heretofore so much addicted as they pursued it not only to vain and ungrounded Theories but even to Idolatry and Superstition There were in the Apostles times who intruded into things they had not seen There were then who beguiled men with a voluntary humility in worshipping of Angels Col. 2. 18. What after-times brought forth I shall not need speak That ancient and high-soaring though counterfeit Dionysius describes the Hierarchy of Angels as exactly as if he had dwelt amongst them delivering unto us nine Orders of them out of nine words found partly in the Old partly in the New Testament Seraphims Cherubims and Thrones Powers Hosts and Dominions Principalities Arch-angels and Angels and tells us the several natures distinctions and properties of them all Whereas it cannot be shewn out of Scripture either that some of these names concur not as Angels not to be a common name to all the rest especially to comprehend Arch-angels or that these are denominations of the natures of Angels and not of their offices and charges only yet have these nine Orders passed for current through so many Ages of the Church But we who together with divers Superstitions have justly rejected also these vain and ungrounded curiosities are fallen into the other extreme having buried the Doctrine of Angels in silence making little or no enquiry at all what God in his Word hath revealed concerning them which yet would make not a little for the understanding of Scripture wherein are so many passages having reference to them and therefore questionless something revealed concerning them I shall not therefore do amiss if I chuse for my Discourse at this time a particular of that kind which Dionysius in all his Speculations hath not a word of and yet seems to have strong footing in Scripture It is this The Iews have an ancient Tradition that there are Seven principal Angels which minister before the Throne of God and are therefore called Arch-angels some of whose names we have in Scripture as Michael Gabriel Raphael and in the second Book of Esdras mention is made of Ieremiel the Arch-angel This Tradition we shall find recorded in the Book of Tobit whose antiquity is before the Birth of our Saviour For there the Angel who in the shape of Azariah had accompained his son into Media when he discovers himself speaks in this manner I am Raphael one of the Seven Angels which stand and minister before the Holy Blessed One that is God The Greek hath 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. which present the Prayers of the Saints and go in
speculation but a Faith in motion and able to walk and go unto Christ Iesus whom it believeth which if cherished will in time gather such further strength as will fill the Soul with a full and stedfast confidence But if thou sayest Thou believest that Christ is and that he is the Easer and Saviour of those which seek him and yet thy Soul is not on wing nor any motion in thy Heart advancing to him I say then either thy Sorrow for thy sin is not true and therefore thou yet feelest no need of him or thy Belief is deficient Whatsoever thou sayest and thinkest of thy self thou believest not yet throughly and indeed that Christ Iesus is a Redeemer and Saviour of those that come unto him For as I told you before that he believed not the Law throughly and indeed that could hear it without remorse of Conscience and contrition of Soul so he believes not the Gospel throughly and firmly who being laden and grieved for his sins yet is not able to flie and betake himself unto Christ for mercy For if you saw a man condemned to die and in great affliction for the same who hearing of a Pardon proclaimed for all in his case who would demand it should nevertheless sit still and never go about to seek it who would think but that either he misdoubted the report or gave but little credence to the word of the King Such is the case here There is certainly some defect in believing And this must be cured after the same manner as that in believing the Law namely by a sober and frequent meditation reading hearing and thinking of that great mysterie revealed of Redemption in Iesus Christ and of the gracious Promises of the Gospel in and through him This is Faith's whetstone which if it be blunt will make it keen This is the only means to establish thy Belief if it be deficient or unsetled if there be any metal in it this will give it an edge if there be any sparkles this will blow them into a flame Thus you have heard what Coming to Christ is that is what a Saving Faith is namely so firmly and effectually to believe that Christ is a Saviour of those that seek him as doth incline thy Heart to go unto him to sue out a Pardon and rely upon him for mercy and Redemption NOW follows the Benefit Ease and Rest to thy Soul I will ease you or give you rest that is I will free you of your burthen I will ease you of your sin I will acquit you And this is that we call Iustification of a sinner which is an Absolution or remission of sins by the only merits and satisfaction of Christ accepted for us and imputed to us An acquitting and cancelling of all bonds and obligations of transgression for Christ's sake through the only merit of his death passion and shedding of his bloud For he that hath right to Christ hath right in Christ to be partaker of his righteousness and of whatsoever satisfaction he hath undergone for the sins of mankind whereby he is justified that is acquit before God of the guilt of sin and of the punishment according to the Law due for the same For God saith S. Paul 2 Cor. 5. 21. made him to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him Rom. 5. 19. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners so by the obedience of one many are made righteous This is the Ease this is the Rest here mentioned the unlading and unburthening of a sinner where Christ dischargeth him of his loading and beareth him upon his own back For he saith Esay chap. 53. 4 5 6. hath born our griefs and carried our sorrows He was wounded for our transgressions he was bruised for our iniquities the chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes we are healed The Lord laid upon him the iniquity of us all Thus he eased Peter when his heart was ready to break for denying him Thus he eased Mary Magdalen a woman laden with sins when she bathed his feet with tears Luke 7. 48. Thus he refreshed trembling Saul the persecutor Acts 9. 6. And still he casteth the eyes of his mercy upon every one that is poor and of a contrite spirit and trembleth at his word Esa. 66. 2. See therefore here to whom alone a troubled soul is to have recourse for Ease Neither to Angels nor Archangels For those who do so hold not the head Col. 2. 19. Neither to Saints nor Martyrs to Peter nor Paul no not to the blessed Virgin her self For Abraham is ignorant of us and Israel knows us not Esa. 63. 16. and Cursed is he that trusteth in man and maketh flesh his arm and whose heart departeth from the Lord Ier. 17. 5. Nor to the Law given by Moses For the Law worketh not ease but wrath Rom. 4. 15. Nor will our merits and good works pilgrimages fastings or alms-deeds purchase this Ease For although we could do all we ought to do yet must we say we are unprofitable servants and that we have done but that which was our duty to do Luke 17. 10. It is Christ Iesus and only Christ Iesus who can give Rest to a troubled soul that Lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world AND thus you have in part had a view of the Three points considerable in this Invitation 1. The Persons who 2. The Invitation or Thing invited to what and 3. The Benefit to be attained But I must call you to the Second point again there being one part thereof not yet spoken of For I told you The thing here invited unto was double Christ himself and His yoke The first concerning Christ himself I have spoken of in those words Come unto me Now it remains to speak of the second Take my yoke upon you Those who come unto Christ must also take his yoke upon them But what is this yoke even the yoke of obedience which should have been ours but Christ for our sakes took it upon him and made it his Yet not that we should draw our necks out of the collar but still do our endeavours by denying ungodliness and worldly lusts to live soberly righteously and godly in this present world looking for that blessed hope to come As therefore in coming unto Christ you had Faith in the Ease by him Acquitting or Iustification so in the taking his yoke ye have Sanctification or Holiness of life All which are so linked together that neither must they nor can they be put asunder No man comes to Christ by Faith but shall be eased but no man can ever truly and seriously come unto him to be eased by him but he must take his yoke upon him No man puts on Christ to be justified but he takes on his yoke also to be sanctified That which God hath joyned together let no man put asunder True it
fulfilled amongst us Christians the new people of God There were false Prophets among the people of Israel even so saith my Text were there to be false Teachers among Christians who should bring in damnable Heresies Which that you may the better do Know first that the Israelites did at no time altogether renounce the true and living God not in their worst times but in their conceit and profession they acknowledged him still and were called his people and he their God though they worshipped others besides him So Christians in their Apostasie neither did nor were to make an absolute Apostasie from God the Father and Christ their Redeemer but in outward profession still to acknowledge him and to be called Christians Secondly There are two main Apostasies of Israel recorded in Scripture The First is styled The sin of Ieroboam the son of Nebat as a principal establisher thereof And this was to worship the true God himself under an Image For he set up Calves at Dan and Bethel and consecrated them in this manner Behold Israel the Gods which brought thee out of the land of Egypt For those are Calves indeed which here think he took the Calves themselves to be Gods The truth was Because he would not have the people go to the Temple of Ierusalem where the Ark the pledge of God's presence was therefore he made these Calves in stead thereof supposing as the Gentiles did of their Gods that the true God would have yielded his presence to an Image made in honour of him And therefore they used when they came to make vows or oaths at the Calf to swear Iehovah liveth as Hosea 4. 15. When therefore our Papists worship God the Creator under an Image and Christ their Redeemer in a Cross Crucifix or in a piece of Bread this is the very same Apostasie with that of Ieroboam the son of Nebat who made Israel to sin And as false Prophets taught Israel that so have false Teachers brought into Christendom the very same as you see was prophesied The Second main Apostasie of Israel is called The way of Ahab not because he was the first bringer in but the chief establisher thereof And this was not only to worship the true God idolatrously in an Image as Ieroboam did but to worship other Gods besides him namely Baal-gods or Baalim supposing either by these to have easier access unto the Lord of Hosts the Soveraign God or that these he might resort unto at all times and for all matters as being nearer at hand and not of so high a Dignity whereas the Soveraign God Iehovah the God of Israel either managed not smaller and ordinary matters or might not be troubled with them For such as I told you was the conceit of the Heathen as that the Souls of some great ones after death had the honour to be as Agents betwixt the Soveraign and Superior Gods and men as being of a middle nature between them which in Greek are called Daemons in the Scriptures Baalim When therefore those who are called Christians and have given their faith to Christ Iesus to be their only Mediator and royal Agent between them and his Father when these do worship and invocate Saints or Angels whether with Images or without to be as under-Mediators with God for them or of themselves to bestow some favour upon them those who do this as you know who do are fallen into the Apostasie of Ahab and are worshippers of Baalim For the Idolatry of Saints is altogether the same with that of Baalim HAVING therefore thus seen the verity of S. Peter's Prophecy for the first mark to know of what kind of Heresie should be the Christian Apostasie even like unto that of Israel now let me tell you what use to make of S. Peter's comparison and thus coupling the one by the other First That wheresoever you read in Scripture of the Idolatry of Ieroboam's Calves and of Ahab's Baalim you think of what I have told you and know that whatsoever God speaks against those things there the same he speaks of the Apostate Christians under Rome whose case is in all respects the same If therefore other points be hard and such as you cannot understand yet this of Idolatry is an easie mark for you to know the true Church from the false by and almost every leaf in the Scripture will help you Bless the Lord therefore and never cease to bless him who hath delivered us from those woful abominations and Idolatries wherewith the Church was so long overwhelmed and hath restored unto us the sincerity of his Gospel Secondly Seeing the Holy Ghost hath taught us here to compare the Christian's Apostasie with that of Israel we may hereby learn also what was the state and condition of true Christian Believers under the Apostasie of Antichrist namely the same with the true Israelites under the Apostasie of Israel Where was the true Church in Ahab's time was it not covered so under the Apostate Israelites that Elias himself who was one of it could scarce find it 1 Kings 19. 10. Where was the company of true worshippers in Manasses time the worst time of all or had the Lord no Church at all Yes he had a Church even then even hidden in the body of that Idolatrous Nation yea a strong party though not seen as appeared presently upon Manasses death when Iosiab came to reign who at eight years of age a very child yet was able to reform all again When therefore the Papists shall ask us where our Church was before Luther let us answer She was as the true Israelites were then buried under the Apostate body of Christendom she was even there whence God in his good time called her out viz. she was in the Spiritual Babylon If Rome now be Babylon and your Mother-Church that ancient Spouse of Christ which hath been so long an abominable Strumpet committing Fornication with strange Gods as we are sure she is we cannot chuse but know where ours was in the mean time until it pleased God to call her thence even amongst you she was then and where she is now you know and shall one day feel until you bite your tongues for pain But how could the faithful company of Christ live in the midst of Idolaters and have means of Salvation I answer Even as the true Israelites lived in the midst of the Apostasie of Israel But you may ask further When the face of the Church and the whole visible worship therein was so universally stained with abominable Idolatries how and whereby should a man gather that there were any such sincerer company amongst them who had not defiled their garments I might tell you that Histories though written by our enemies do mention many such discovered at several times But I will give you another sign to know it namely The light of God's word and some other Divine Truths still remaining For it was not so much
did consist in no other thing but in the ministerial retinue of his Angels Which if true where should his Angels encamp rather than in the Assemblies of his Saints in midst of whom he hath promised he would be So will the speech of S. Paul have an evident meaning That we ought to attire and demean our selves with comeliness because of the Angels because of the presence of God in the ministry of his holy Angels Who can consider of this so great a presence with so glorious a retinue and not be strucken with a religious fear with an holy reverence as often as he is to appear before it Let us then learn to say with Iacob Gen. 28. 16. Surely the Lord is in this place and be afraid as he was and say v. 17. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 How dreadful is this place this is no other but the house of God and the gate or Court of Heaven AND now I come to the second thing The persons who were to appear at these solemn Feasts Every Male All thy Males shall appear And here we are to enquire the reasons Why the Females or Women had an exemption from this solemn duty which to omit that of a Type of the Messiah which some bring I take to be these three 1. The weakness and infirmity of that sex not able without much danger and trouble to endure so long a journey 2. The danger of their chastity in such a concourse of people as was an Assembly of the whole Nation in one place 3. The care of their tender infants and young children and other house-affairs which would have been wholly abandoned if they as well as the Males should have been at the same time so far away and so long absent neither can it otherwise be imagined how their houses could be looked unto unless the one were to stay at home in the absence of the other Again it may be questioned whether all Males without respect were to appear for it is not likely that young children should or decrepit old men could appear I answer therefore That it is to be understood of all Males who were within the age and years of service namely between twenty and fifty for at fifty it is apparent that all were emeriti discharged from that duty even the Priests and Levites served not after that age but at what years they came to be capable of service there is difference The Priests might not serve in the Priests office afore thirty Numb 4. 3. nor the Levites in their office afore twenty five Numb 8. 24. but the Laity were capable of imployment and serviceable at twenty as appeareth out of the â— of Numb 2 3. where God commands Moses to take the summe of all the children of Israel from twenty years old and upward all that are able to go forth to War so implying that from twenty years of age they were able for that service These things thus explained and supposed we may observe That the indulgence of God admits the case of infirmity unavoidable inconvenience and requisite imployment as allowable reasons of absence from holy Assemblies For these we have seen to be the reasons of the exemption of Women from the annual and solemn Feasts And no question but if the like cases might happen even for their ordinary and Sabbath-Assemblies God would in like manner dispense For weakness of body we have no reason to doubt and for the other cases mention'd the equity being the same with that which here dispensed with Women for the solemn Assemblies it is not to be doubted but the indulgence of God should be the same as well for other times as those and as well for the other sex as for Women And if in the time of that Law God was thus indulgent when all these things were so severely and strictly exacted much more in the liberty of the Gospel Christ himself here loosing the strictness even of the Sabbath's rest allâ—dging that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath For of the two duties required in the observation of an Holy day the calling of an holy Assembly and bodily rest from corporal labour the Law seemed to exact this latter of rest more severely than the other in regard it was a figure of things to come which the other was not If then that which was most strict be released much more is the other which was less as free now as in former time I speak not this against a Religious diligence for that is required of all who have no just impediment and such a one as God himself shall allow and therefore let no man deceive himself for God as the Apostle saith is not mocked But I speak against that more than Iudaical scrupulosity of some who think it not lawful upon the Lord's day to leave any at home to keep house or be imployed in such businesses as conveniency cannot dispense with The second thing I observe here is That to obey God in what he commandeth is as it were a protection or a warrant of security from those dangers which humane reason would otherwise think unavoidable or Obedience unto God in what he commandeth is a greater security than all the cautions and preventions that humane wisdom can procure us For who would think when all the able and serviceable men of the whole land of Israel should thrice every year be gathered together at Ierusalem but the whole land should be in great danger of invasion from their enemies whom such an advantage could not but allure and all their borders thus unfurnished could not well prevent such a mischief Nevertheless we find not in the whole Scripture that ever any such evil befell them upon this occasion So good a protection was Obedience But we find an express Promise to the contrary made by God himself lest you might think this was but a surmised danger For Exod. 34. 24. where this commandment is also mentioned God saith I will cast out the nations before thee and enlarge thy borders neither shall any man desire thy land when thou shalt go up to appear before the Lord thy God thrice in the year But for all this we know their last woful destruction by the Romans was at the time of the Passover one of these solemn times and no marvel for when God meant to cast them off from being any more his people he ordered even this perhaps to be a token that they were no longer under his wonted protection When God commanded Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac though he knew not in reason how God could then make his Promise good unto him To make his Seed by Isaac in number as the sand on the sea shore yet he was obedient to the word of God and beyond all hope secure of God's Promise as placing his greatest security in his Obedience as for the rest 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith he Deus providebit God will provide Gen.
interpreted pag. 593 CHAP. VIII Mr. Mede's Answer to six Enquiries about some difficult passages in the Apocalyps pag. 594 CHAP. IX Five Reasons demonstrating That the Antichristian Times are more than Three single years and an half pag. 598 CHAP. X. A Discourse of the Beginning and Ending of the 42 Months or 1260 Days Rev. 11. 2 3. wherein Alstedius his Four Epocha's are examined pag. 600 CHAP. XI Of the 1000 years mentioned in Apocal. 20. with some Reflexions upon Eusebius and S. Hierom. pag. 602 CHAP. XII A Censure by way of Correction returned to a Friend concerning a somewhat exorbitant Exposition of his of Apocal 20. pag. 603 V. A Paraphrase and Exposition of the Prophecy of S. Peter 2 Ep. Chap. 3. pag. 609 VI. The Apostasie of the Latter Times PART I. CHAP. I. The dependence of the Text in 1 Timothy Chap. 4. verse 1 2. upon the last verse in chap. 3. Why in the Description of the Mystery of Godliness those words Assumed into Glory are set last A view of the several parts of the Text containing the Method and Order of the ensuing Discourse The Author 's three Reasons for his rendring the Text differently from the common Translation pag. 623 CHAP. II. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Scripture imports Revolt or Rebellion That Idolatry is such proved from Scripture By Spirits in the Text are meant Doctrines 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 are to be taken Passively for Doctrines concerning Daemons Several instances of the like form of Speech in Scripture pag. 625 CHAP. III. Daemons according to the Gentiles Theologie were 1. for their Nature and degree a middle sort of Divine Powers between the Sovereign Gods and Men. 2. For their Office they were supposed to be Mediators between the Gods and Men. This proved out of several Authors The Distinction of Sovereign Gods and Daemons proved out of the Old Testament and elegantly alluded to in the New 1 Cor. 8. pag. 626 CHAP. IV. Daemons were for their Original the Souls of men Deified or Canonized after death This proved out of sundry Authors Baal or Bel or Belus the first Deified King Hence Daemons are called Baalim Another kind of Daemons such as never dwelt in Bodies These answer to Angels as the other to Saints pag. 629 CHAP. V. The manner of worshipping Daemons and retaining their presence viz. by consecrated Images and Pillars The worshipping of Images and Columns a piece of Daemon-doctrine as was also the worshipping of Daemons in their Reliques Shrines and Sepulchers pag. 632 CHAP. VI. A Summary of the Doctrines of Daemons How these are revived and resembled in the Apostate Church That the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is sometime used in Scripture according to the Theologie of the Gentiles That it is so used in the Text was the judgment of Epiphanius an observable passage quoted out of him to this purpose pag. 634 CHAP. VII Why those words in the description of the Mystery of Godliness Received into Glory are set last That praying to Saints as Mediators and Agents for us with God is Idolatry To be prayed to in Heaven and to deal as an Agent between us and God is a Prerogative and Royalty appropriate to Christ. How this was figured under the Law by the High-priest's alone having to do in the most Holy place That Christ purchased this Royalty by suffering an unimitable Death That Saint-worship is a denial of Christ's Prerogative How it crept into the Church pag. 637 CHAP. VIII That Idolatry is the main Character of the Churche's Apostasie proved by Three Arguments pag. 643 CHAP. IX That Pagan-Idolatry is not here meant nor can the Saracen or Turk be the Antichrist meant in Scripture An Answer to an Exception viz. That Antichristianism cannot be charged upon those that acknowledge the true God and Christ. That Antichrist is a Counter-Christ and his Coming a Counter-resemblance of the Coming of Christ shewed in several particulars pag. 644 CHAP. X. The Great Apostasie was to be a General one That the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Some does not in the Text and several other places imply a Few or a Small number Wherein we and the Papists differ about the Churche's Visibility In what respects our Church was Visible and in what Invisible under the Reign of Antichrist pag. 648 CHAP. XI That the Last Times in Scripture signifie either a Continuation of Time or an End of Time That the Last Times simply and in general are the Times of Christianity the Last Times in special and comparatively or the Latter Times of the Last Times are the Times of the Apostasie under Antichrist pag. 652 CHAP. XII A more particular account of the Last Times in general and of the Latter Times of the Last Times That Daniel's Four Kingdoms are the Great Kalendar of Times That the Times of the Fourth or Last Kingdom viz. the Roman are the Last Times meant in Scripture That the Latter Times of the Last Times are the Latter Times of the Fourth Kingdom wherein the Great Apostasie should prevail pag. 654 CHAP. XIII The Duration and Length of the Latter Times viz. 42 months or 1260 days That hereby cannot be meant three single years and an half That the Latter Times take their beginning from the ruine of the Roman Empire That the ancient Fathers by the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 2 Thessal 2. understand the Roman Empire and by the little Horn Dan. 7. Antichrist or the Man of sin pag. 655 CHAP. IV. Three main Degrees of the Roman Empire's ruine The Empire divided into 10 Kingdoms Who are those Three Kings whom the little Horn or Antichrist is said Dan. 7. to have deprest to advance himself pag. 658 CHAP. XV. That Daniel's 70 Weeks are a lesser Kalendar of Times That these Phrases in the Epistles to the converted Iews viz. The Last Hour or Time The End of all things The Day approaching c. are meant of the End of the Iewish State and Service at the expiring of the 70 Weeks That the Apostles were not so mistaken as to believe the End of the World should be in their days proved against Baronius and others p. 663. CHAP. XVI That the Spirit foretold the Great Apostasy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Dan. 11. vers 36 37 38 39. These Verses exactly translated and explained That by Mahoz and Mahuzzim are meant Fortresses Bulwarks Protectors Guardians c. How fitly this Title is appliable to Angels and Sain's pag. 666. CHAP. XVII A Paraphrase and Observations upon Dan. 11. v. 36 37 38 39. That at the beginning of Saint-worship in the Church Saints and their Reliques were called Bulwarks Fortresses Walls Towers Guardians c. according to the prime sense of the word Mahuzzim pag. 670. PART II. CHAP. I. The Author's Reasons for his translating the Text differently from the Common Versions That the Preposition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the Text signifies Through or By. The like it signifies in other places of Scripture pag. 675.
ignem quem praeparavit illi Deus Angelis ejus priùs inputeum abyssi relegatus cùm◠Revelatio filiorum Dei redemerit conditionem id est creaturam à malo utique vanitati subjectam cùm restitutâ innocentiâ integritate conditionis pecora condixerint bestiis parvuli de serpentibus luserint cùm Pater filio posuerit inimicos sub pedes utique operarios mali Origenes contra Celsum lib. 3. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Interpres hîc non bonâ fide egit Idem in Ierem. Hom. 13. Siquis servaverit lavacrum Spiritûs Sancti i.e. ut paulò antè innuerat qui sanctus est neque post fidem magisterium Dei rursum ad scelera conversus est qui mortale peccaetum non commiserit iste in Resurrectionis Primae parte communicat Siquis verò in secunda Resurrectione servatur iste peccator est qui ignis indiget baptismo c. alludit ad illud Mat. 3. 11. Quamobrem cùm talia post mortem nobis residere videamus Scripturas diligenter simul recitantes reponamus eas in cordibus nostris juxta earum vivere praecepta nitamur ut ante excessionis diem si sieri potest peccatorum sordibus sic vocat leviora peccata seu passiones animae ut paulò antè emundati cum sanctis valeamus assumi in Christo Iesu annon respicit 1 Thes. 4. 16 17 cui est gloria imperium in secula seculorum Amen Quamvis non dubito quin Hieronymus qui in Prol. ad Orig. homil in Ezech. fatetur se vertisse 14 Origenis homilias in Ierem. hîc Origenis sententiam nonnihil immutando emolliverit tamen satìs adhuc remanet quo Origenes cum Millenariis sensisse arguatur Methodius Olympi Lyciae deinde Tyri Episcopus in Libro de Resurrectione contra Originem apud Epiphanium Haeres 74. interloquente Procl Et verò 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. I. M. THE APOSTASY OF THE LATTER TIMES OR THE GENTILES THEOLOGY OF DAEMONS Revived in the LATTER TIMES amongst Christians in Worshipping of Angels Deifying and Invocating of Saints Adoring of Reliques Bowing down to Images and Crosses c. All Which Together with the Original and Progress of this Grand Apostasy Are Represented In several Elaborate DISCOURSES upon 1 Tim. 4. 1 2 c. Howbeit the Spirit speaketh expressely That in the Latter times some shall revolt from the Faith attending to erroneous Spirits and Doctrines of Daemons Through the hypocrisie of Liars having seared consciences Forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from meats By The Pious and Profoundly-Learned IOSEPH MEDE B. D. sometime Fellow of Christ's College in Cambridge The Fifth Edition enlarged and corrected in sundry places according to the Authors own Manuscript THE APOSTASY OF THE LATTER TIMES A Treatise on 1 Timothy Chap. 4. Verse 1 2 c. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Which I conceive may be thus Translated Howbeit the Spirit speaketh expresly That in the latter times some shall revolt from the Faith attending to erroneous Spirits and Doctrines of Daemons Through the hypocrisie of Liars having seared consciences Forbidding to marry and commanding to abstain from meats c. CHAP. I. The dependance of the Text upon the last verse in the foregoing Chapter Why in the Description of the Mystery of Godliness those words Assumed into Glory are set last A view of the several parts of the Text containing the Method and Order of the insuing Discourse The Author 's 3 Reasons for his rendring the Text differently from the Common Translation THE WORDS I have read are a Prophecie of a Revolt of Christians from the Great Mystery of Christian Worship described in the last verse of the former Chapter which according to the division of the Ancients should be the first of this For that last Verse together with the first six Verses of this and half the seventh verse make the seventh Title or main Section of this Epistle expressed in the Edition of Robert Stephen and so are supposed from the grounds of that division to belong all to one argument The Words therefore of my Text depend upon the last of the former Chapter as the second part of a Discrete proposition That howsoever the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Mystery of Christian Religion which is God manifested in the Flesh justified in the Spirit seen of Angels and assumed into Glory though this Mystery was a great one and at that time preached and believed in the world Nevertheless the Spirit 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 speaketh expresly That in the latter times there shall be a revolt or departing from this Faith though not in all parts of it yet from a main and fundamental part thereof namely The assumption of this God and Man to the Throne of Glory and incommunicable Majesty in Heaven whereby he hath a Name given him above every Name and whereof no creature in Heaven or in Earth can be capable Which connexion is the reason why the Apostle putteth this Assumption into Glory in the last place of his description which should else in the true order have followed the words justified in the Spirit and been before preached unto the Gentiles and believed on in the world But it is the method of the Scripture sometimes to translate the proper order and to mention that in the last place whereunto it is to joyn and from whence it is to infer the next words that follow after And unless this reason be allowed here there will hardly be found any other reason of this misplacing But more of this shall be both spoken and made better to appear hereafter I come now more near to my Text the words whereof I divide into two parts First A Description of this solemn Apostasie in the first verse Secondly The Manner or Means whereby it was to come to pass in the following verses viz. Through the hypocrisie of Liars who had seared consciences forbade to marry and bade to abstain from meats For the Description of the Apostasie it self we shall find it first Generally and Indefinitely expressed both in the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 they shall Apostatize or revolt and in the next 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 shall attend to erroneous Doctrines or Doctrines of errour Then Particularly 1. What these erroneous Doctrines should be for the kind or quality namely new Doctrines of Daemons or a new Idolatry 2. The Persons who should thus apostatize not all but TINE 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 SOME 3. The Time when it should be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 In the latter times 4. The Proof or warrant of this Prophesie it is that which the Spirit hath else-where long agoe foretold 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in the written word verbatim totidem verbis or in express words For the second part viz. The Means Consider 1. The Manner or Method used viz. By lying hypocrisie or hypocritical lying 2. The quality and description of the
saith Though there be that are called Gods whether in heaven or in earth as there be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 God 's many that is Dii Coelestes Sovereign Deities 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Lords many that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Daemons Presidents of earthly things Yet to us Christians there is but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 one Sovereign God the Father of whom are all things and we to him that is to whom as Supream we are to direct all our services and but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 one Lord Iesus Christ in stead of their many Mediators and Daemons 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 by whom are all things which come from the Father to us and through whom alone we find access unto him The allusion methinks is passing elegant and such as I think cannot be well understood without this distinction of Superior and Inferior Deities in the Theology of the Gentiles they having a plurality in both sorts and we Christians but one in each as our Apostle affirmeth There wants but only the name of Daemons in stead of which the Apostle puts Lords and that for the honour of Christ of whom he was to infer 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 one Lord the Name of Christ being not to be polluted with the appellation of an Idol for his Apodosis must have been otherwise 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 one Daemon Or it may be he alludes unto the Hebrew name Baalim which signifies Lords and those Lords as I told you were nothing else but Daemons For thus would S. Paul speak in the Hebrew tongue There are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 many Gods and many Lords CHAP. IV. The Gentiles Doctrine concerning the Original of Daemons viz. That they were the Souls of men Deified or Canonized after death This proved out of Hesiod Plato Trismegist Philo Byblius the translator of Sanchuniathon Plutarch Tully Baal or Bel or Belus the first Deified King Hence Daemons are called in Scripture Baalim Daemons and Heroes how they differ Daemons called by the Romans Penates Lares as also Dii Animales Soul-Gods Another and an higher kind of Daemons such as never dwelt in Bodies These answer to Angels as the other viz. the Soul-Daemons answer to Saints AND thus have I shewed you though but briefly in regard of the abundance the argument would afford the Nature and Office of these Daemons according to the Doctrine of the Gentiles I come now unto another part of this Doctrine which concerns the Original of Daemons whom you shall find to be the Deified Souls of men after death For the Canonizing of the Souls of deceased Worthies is not now first devised among Christians but was an Idolatrous trick even from the days of the elder world so that the Devil when he brought in this Apostatical doctrine amongst Christians swerved but little from his ancient method of seducing mankind Let Hesiod speak in the first place as being of the most known the most ancient He tells us that when those happy men of the First and Golden age of the world were departed this life great Iupiter promoted them to be Daemons that is Keepers and Protectors or Patrons of earthly mortals and Overseers of their good and evil works Givers of riches c. and this saith he is the Kingly Royalty given them But hear his own words 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And hence it is that Oenomaus quoted by Eusebius calleth these Daemon-gods 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Hesiod's gods The next shall be Plato who in his Cratylus says That Hesiod and a great number of the rest of the Poets speak excellently when they affirm that good men when they die attain great honour and dignity and become 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which is saith he as much to say as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Wise ones for Wise ones saith he are only Good ones and all Good ones are of Hesiod's Golden generation The same Plato Lib. 5. de Repub. would have all those who die valiantly in the field to be accounted of the Golden kind and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 effici to be made Daemons and the Oracle to be consulted how they should be buried and honoured and accordingly ever afterwards 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. their Sepulchres to be served and adored as the Sepulchres of Daemons In like manner should be done unto all who in their life-time excelled in vertue whether they died through age or otherwise This place Eusebius quotes Lib. 13. Praep. Evang. to parallel with it the then harmless practice of Christians in honouring the memory of Martyrs by holding their assemblies at their Sepulchres to the end that he might shew the Gentiles that Christians also honoured their Worthies in the worthiest fashion But it had been well if in the next Ages after this custom of Christians then but resembling had not proved the very same Doctrine of Daemons which the Gentiles practised But I go on and my next Author shall be Hermes Trismegistus whose antiquity is said to be very near the time of Moses I will translate you his words out of his Asclepius which Apuleius made Latine There having named AEsculapius Osiris and his Grandfather Hermes who were as he saith worshipped for Daemons in his own time he adds further That the AEgyptians call them namely the Daemons Sancta animalia and that amongst them namely the AEgyptians per singulas Civitates coli eorum animas quorum sunt consecratae virtutes Through every city their Souls are worshipped whose Vertues are deified And here note by the way that some are of opinion that the AEgyptian Serapis whose Idol had a bushel upon his head was Ioseph whose Soul the AEgyptians had canonized for a Daemon after his death Philo Byblius the translator of Sanchuniathon that ancient Phoenician Historian who lived before the times of Troy and wrote the Acts of Moses and the Iews saith Eusebius very agreeably to the Scripture and saith he learned his Story of Ierom-baal a Priest of the God IEVO Philo Byblius I say in a Preface to his Translation of this Author setteth down what he had observed and learned out of the same Story and might serve to help their understanding who should read it namely That all the Barbarians chiefly the Phoenicians and AEgyptians of whom the rest had it accounted of those for Dii Maximi who had found out any thing profitable for the life of men or had deserved well of any Nation and that they worshipped these as Gods erecting Statues Images and Temples unto them And more especially they gave the Names of their Kings as to the Elements of the world so also to these their reputed Gods for they esteemed the natural Deities of the Sun Moon and Planets and those which are in these to be only and properly Gods so that
they had two sorts of Gods some were Immortals and others were as we may term them Mortallists Thus saith Philo Byblius out of the Phoenician History From which Testimony we may borrow some more light concerning those Baalims in Scripture For Baal or Belus whose worship Iezabel the daughter of Ithobaal King of Tyre brought into Israel was a deified Phoenician King of that name as Virgil will tell us in that verse concerning the Phoenician Queen Dido ImplevÃtque mero pateram quam Belus omnes A Belo soliti Nay Baal or in the Chaldee Dialect Bel for all is one was the first King of Babel after Nimrod and the first as is written that ever was deified and reputed a God after death whence afterward they called all other Daemons Baalim even as because the first Roman Emperor was called Caesar thence were all the Emperors after him styled Caesares And it may be this is part of that which Philo Byblius out of Sanchuniathon would tell us That the Barbarians especially the Phoenicians c. gave names from their Kings to such as were canonized after death For so we see here that the Babylonians and the neighbouring Countries which spake the Hebrew tongue or some Dialect thereof called all Daemons Baalim of the first Daemon or deified King in the world Baal or Belus For at that time when Belus reigned in Babel was Phoenicia with the neighbour people under the Kingdom of Babel Whence may seem also to have come their community of language and ceremonies And here note a wonderful mystery That old Babel the first Pattern in the world of ambitious Dominion was also the Foundress of Idols and the Mother of the fornication and abominations of the earth And because we have fallen upon the naming of Daemons let us observe another mystery of names out of Plutarch De defect Orac. which may help us out of or prevent some difficulties namely That Daemons are sometimes called by the names of those Celestial Gods whose Ministers and Proctors they are and from whom they receive their power and Divinity as Apollo's Daemon Apollo Iupiter's Daemon Iupiter and so the rest 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 â— Like as here among us men one is called Iovius from Iupiter another Athenaeus from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. Minerva another Dionysius from 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. Bacchus c. Thus Plutarch which Cleombrotus there saith he learned of a wonderful and profound AEgyptian Eremite who lived about the red Sea c. To which is agreeable what Eusebius Praepar Evang. lib. 3. cap. 3. quotes out of Diodorus viz. That the AEgyptians affirmed such as had been great Benefactors where they lived to be Deified after their death and some of them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to be called by the very names of the Celestial Gods The same Plutarch in the same place doth acquaint us with this pretty conceit which being to the purpose I will not omit namely That the Souls of men took degrees after death First they commenced Heroes who were as Probationers to a Daemonship then after a time sufficient Daemons and after that if they deserved well to a more sublime degree Howsoever it be Daemons and Heroes differed but in more and less antiquity the more ancient Heroes being called Daemons and the younger Daemons Heroes But that we may return again more close to the matter in hand This order of Daemons or Soul-gods as I may call them found place in the Religion of the elder Romans who called them Penates Lares and Manti Dii and when once they began to Canonize their deceased Emperors which was from the time of Augustus they called them Divi which word before that time was more general Tully in his second Book De Legibus shall be my witness that his countrey-men acknowledged this distinction of Sovereign Gods and Soul-deified powers for there you shall find this Law Divos eos qui Coelestes semper habiti colunto ollos quos in coelum merita vocaverint Let them worship the Gods both those who were ever accounted Celestial and those whom their own merits have advanced to heaven And again Deorum Manium jura sancta sunto Hos letho datos Divos habento Let the Rights of separate Souls be kept unviolable and let them account the deceased Worthies as Gods Would God the present Christian Romans had not renewed this Law Yea so strongly was this Doctrine embraced amongst the Gentiles that some of their latter Theologists thought That even the Souls of wicked men and Tyrants had a power after death and that of these came mali Daemones which hurt men and yet to these they ordained Temples and Sacrifices to keep them from hurting them as well as to the good Daemons for helping them But the Ancients gave this honour to the Souls of vertuous men only Thus have you heard the Original of Daemons according to the ancient and general opinion of the Gentiles But besides these Daemons whose Original you have heard I mean besides Soul-Daemons and Canonized mortals their Theologists bring in another kind of Daemons more high and sublime which never had been the Souls of men nor ever were linkt to a mortal body but were from the beginning or without beginning always the same So Apuleius tells us in his De Deo Socratis Est superius aliud augustiúsque Daemonum genus qui semper à corporis compedibus nexibus liberi certis potestatibus procurentur Ex hac sublimiori Daemonum copia autumat Plato singulis hominibus in vita agenda testes custodes singulos additos This sort of Daemons doth fitly answer and parallel that sort of spiritual Powers which we call Angels as the former of Soul-Daemons doth those which with us are called Saints CHAP. V. The manner and way of worshipping the Daemons and retaining their presence viz. by consecrated Images and Pillars That Images were as Bodies for Daemons to animate and dwell in The worshipping of Images and Columns a piece of the Doctrine of Daemons This proved out of Trismegist Porphyry Arnobius Minutius Felix c. The worshipping of Daemons in their Reliques Shrines and Sepulchres another piece of Daemon-doctrine That the Gentiles Temples were nothing but the Sepulchres of dead men The gross Idolatry of the AEgyptians BUT lest I might seem to have no measure in raking up this Ethnical dunghil I will now leave the Theology of the Original of Daemons and shew you yet another piece of that Doctrine namely Concerning the manner how Daemons were to be worshipped and as it were brought to the lure of men when they had occasion of devotion with them And this was done by sacring of Images This you shall hear from an ancient Author and passing skilful in the mysteries even Hermes Trismegistus who in his Asclepius speaketh in English thus It is a wonder saith he beyond all wonders and he saith truly that man should
hence it is that the Primitive Fathers which write against the Gentiles do so often upbraid them That their Temples were nothing else but the Sepulchres of dead men 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 saith Clem. in his Protreptie 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 They were indeed called by the specious and plausible name of Temples but were in truth nothing but Sepulchres that is the very Sepulchres of dead men were called Temples He goeth on speaking to the Gentiles 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Be ye therefore at length perswaded to forget and relinquish your Daemon-worship and be ashamed to worship the Sepulchres of dead men To the like purpose Arnobius l. 6. advers Gent. Quid quòd multa ex his Templa quae tholis sunt aureis sublimibus elata fastigiis autorum conscriptionibus comprobatur contegere cineres at que ossa functorum esse corporum sepulturas Nonne patet promptum est aut pro Diis immortalibus mortuos vos colere aut inexpiabilem fieri Numinibus contumeliam quorum Delubra Templa mortuorum superlata sunt bustis Where he tells them that many of their Temples famous for their high and golden roofs were nothing but the Sepulchres of the deceased covering dead bones and ashes and that it was very evident that for the immortal Gods they worship'd men that were dead or that they were guilty of doing an horrible dishonour to the Gods whose Temples were built over the burying-places of dead men I might further add to these Oecumenical doctrines of Daemons that monstrous one of the AEgyptians for which their fellow-Gentiles derided them who worshipped living brute Beasts yea Onions and Garlick and Water it self with Divine worship as supposing some Daemon or other to dwell in them Such were their Cow-god Apis and their Bull-god Mnevis and their Water-god Nilus which it shall be enough to have only named to make the former compleat and that from it and the rest of that kind of abominations we may gather this Conclusion once for all That since the Sovereign and Celestial Gods as you heard before might not be approached nor polluted by these earthly and material things but kept always immovably without change of place or presence their heavenly stations therefore the adoring or worshipping of any visible or material thing for any supposed presence or other relation of a divine power therewith is to be accounted amongst the Doctrines of Daemons CHAP. VI. A Recapitulation or Summary of the Doctrines of Daemons How the Severals thereof are revived and resembled in the Apostate Christian Church That the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is sometime in Scripture taken according to the Theology of the Gentiles and not always for an Evil Spirit That it is so to be taken in the Text was the judgment of Epiphanius an observable passage quoted out of him to this purpose AND thus have you seen the Theology of Daemons 1. For their Nature and degree to have been supposed by the Gentiles an inferiour and middle sort of Divine Powers between the Sovereign and Heavenly Gods and mortal men 2. Their Office to be as Mediators and Agents between these Sovereign Gods and men 3. Their Original to be the Deified Souls of worthy men after death and some of an higher degree which had no beginning nor ever were imprisoned in mortal bodies 4. The way to worship them to find and receive benefits from them namely by consecrated Images and Pillars wherein to have and retain their presence at devotions to be given them 5. To adore their Reliques and to Temple them Now therefore judge impartially whether S. Paul's Prophecy be not fulfilled already amongst Christians who foretold that the time should come that they should Apostatize and revive again 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Doctrines of Daemons whether the deifying and worshipping of Saints and Angles whether the bowing down to Images whether of men or other things visible breaden Idols and Crosses like new Daemon-Pillars whether the adoring or templing of Reliques whether these make not as lively an image of the Gentiles Theologie of Daemons 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as possibly could be expressed and whether these two words comprehend not the whole pith and marrow of Christian Apostasie which was to consist in Spiritual fornication or Idolatry as appears by that name and denomination thereof given by S. Iohn in his Revelation The Whore of Babylon Is not she rightly termed the Babylonish whore which hath revived and replanted the Doctrines of Daemons first founded in the ancient Babel And is not this now fulfilled which S. Iohn foretells us Apoc. 11. That the second and outmost Court of the Temple which is the second state of the Christian Church together with the holy City should be trodden down and overtrampled by the Gentiles that is overwhelmed with the Gentiles Idolatry forty two months But perhaps I am yet too forward in my Application some things in our way must first be cleared For howsoever the resemblance indeed be evident yet First the Text seems not to intend or mean it because the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is in the Scripture never taken in the better or indifferent sense howsoever prophane Authors do so use it but always in an evil sense for the Devil or an Evil Spirit Now the signification of words in Scripture is to be esteemed and taken only according to the Scripture's use though other Writers use them otherwise Secondly For the charge of Idolatry though much of that wherein we have instanced may be granted to be justly suspected for such indeed yet nevertheless that whereupon this Application mainly relieth namely The praying to Saints glorified as Mediators and Agents for us with God should not seem to deserve so foul a name For suppose it were a needless yea and a fruitless Ceremony yet what reason can be given why this should be more tainted with Idolatry than is the like honour given to Saints and holy men whilst they live on earth whom then to desire to mediate and pray to God for us was never accounted so much as an unlawful matter When these two Scruples are answered I will return to continue my former Application To the First therefore for the use of the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in Scripture I say That because those which the Gentiles took for Daemons and for Deified Souls of their Worthies were indeed no other than Evil Spirits counterfeiting the Souls of men deceased and masking themselves under the names of such supposed Daemons under that colour to seduce mankind therefore the Scripture useth the name Daemons for that they were indeed and not for what they seemed to be For no blessed Soul or good Angel would admit any honour which did derogate from the honour of the only true God who made them neither do the glorified Saints in heaven or the blessed Angels though Apostate Christians now invocate and worship them accept of this honour hear their prayers or condescend
16. 16 and 23. A little while and ye shall not see me and again a little while and ye shall see me because I go to my Father And in that day when I am gone to my Father ye shall ask me nothing Verily verily I say unto you whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name he will give it you Verse 24. Hitherto ye have asked nothing in my name ask and ye shall receive Heb. 7. 25 26. Wherefore he is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them For such an High Priest became us who is made higher than the heavens How is it then that some extenuate that kind of Saint-worship wherein Prayers are not made unto them directly but God is prayed to in their names and for their mediation sake to grant our requests Is it not a denial of Christ's Prerogative to ascribe unto any other for any respect of glory or nearness to God after death or otherwise that whereof he alone is infeoffed by his unimitable Death triumphant Resurrection and glorious Ascension Certainly that which he holds by incommunicable title is it self also incommunicable To conclude therefore with the words of S. Paul 1 Tim. 2. 5. There is but one God and one Mediator between God and men the man Christ Iesus As God is one so is the Mediator one for it is a God-like Royalty and therefore can belong but to one There is but one God in Heaven without any other Gods subordinate to him therefore but one Mediator there without any other Mediators besides him As for the Angels and blessed Saints they have indeed a light of Glory too but they are but as lesser Lights in that heaven of heavens And therefore as where the Sun shines the lesser Stars of heaven though Stars give not their light to us So where this glorious Sun Christ Iesus continually shineth by his presence sitting at the Right hand of God there the Glory of the Saints and Angels is not sufficient to make them capable of any Flower of that Divine honour which is God-like and so appropriate to Christ by right of his heavenly exaltation in the Throne of Majesty Whatsoever Spirit saith otherwise 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 holds not the head but is a Christ-apostate-spirit which denies the Faith of Christ's Assumption into Glory and revives the Doctrines of Daemons The way being now cleared I may I hope safely resume my Application which I have already given some taste of That this Doctrine of Daemons comprehends in most most express manner the whole Idolatry of the Mystery of iniquity the Deifying and invocating of Saints and Angels the bowing down to Images the worshipping of Crosses as new-Idol columnes the adoring and templing of Reliques the worshipping of any other Visible thing upon supposal of any Divinity therein What copy was ever so like the sample as all this to the Doctrines of Daemons And for the Idolatry of the Eucharist or Bread-worship though it may be reduced to Image-worship as being the adoration of a Sign or Symbole yet let it be considered whether for the quality thereof it may not be taken rather for an Idolatry of Reliques the Body and Bloud of Christ in the Sacrament being the Mystical Reliques which he left us as Monuments of his death till he come Whichsoever it be I must confess it hath a strain above the Abominations of the Gentiles who though they supposed some presence of their Daemons in their Images and Reliques yet were they never so blockish as to think their Images and Reliques to be transubstantiated into Daemons But to come to the main again I will confess for my self that I cannot think of this Daemon-resemblance without admiration nor do I believe that you will hear without some astonishment that which I am now to add further That the advancers of Saint-worship in the beginning did not only see it but even gloried sed gloriatione non bonâ that they had a thing in Christian practice so like the Doctrines of Daemons We heard before that Plato in his Respub would have the Souls of such as died valiantly in battel to be accounted for Daemons after death and their Sepulchres and Coffins to be served and adored as the Sepulchres of Daemons Eusebius lib. 13. Praepar Evangel cap. 11. quoting this place adds with it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 These things do befit at or after the decease of the Favourites of God whom if thou shalt affirm to be taken for the Champions of the true Religion thou shalt not say amiss 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 whence it is our cusâ—ome to go unto their Tombs and to make our prayers at them and to honour their blessed Souls The purpose of Eusebius here was to shew as a preparation to draw men to Christianity how well the present use of Christians in honouring the memories of their Martyrs by keeping their assemblies at their Sepulchres did agree with that of the Gentiles so much commended by Plato in honouring their champions and worthies for Daemons after death But alas in the next Age after it proved too-too like it indeed For these ear-rings which the Christians had borrowed or stolen from the Gentiles at their coming out of AEgypt presently became a golden calf as soon as the woman the Church came into the wilderness yea and Aaron the Priest had a foul part in it too Read the eighth Book of Theodoret De curandis Graecorum affectionibus whose Title is De Martyribus or in the mean time take these few passages thereof Thus he speaks having quoted that passage of Hesiod for Daemons commended by Plato If then the Poet Hesiod calls good men after their decease the Guardians and Preservers or Deliverers of mortal men from all evill and accordingly the best of Philosophers in confirmation of the Poet 's saying would have their sepulchres to be served and honoured I beseech you Sirs he speaks to the Greeks why do you find such fault with what we do For such as were eminent for Piety and Religion and for the sake thereof suffered death we also call Preservers and Physicians in no wise do we term them Daemons God forbid we should ever fall into such a desperate madness but the hearty friends and servants of God That the Souls of holy men even when they are out of the Body are in a capacity of taking care of mens affairs Plato affirms in the eleventh Book of his Laws The Philosopher you see bids men believe even the vulgar reports that is the relations and stories which are commonly talk'd of concerning the care which deceased Souls have of men But you do not only disbelieve us and are utterly unwilling to hearken to the loud voice of the Events or Effects themselves The Martyrs Temples are frequently to be seen famous for their beauty and greatness They that are in health pray for the
be the more happy in that day of vengeance and wrath upon our Nation Neither need we wonder that this Desolation should be called the End for our Saviour himself taught them so to speak in his Prophecy concerning it as may appear if we consider that Antithesis in S. Luke chap. 21. 9. Ye shall hear of wars and commotions but the End is not by and by Ver. 20. But when ye shall see Ierusalem encompassed with armies then know that the Desolation thereof is nigh AND thus much I thought to add to my former discourse of Latter Times lest through ignorance thereof we might incline to that little better than blasphemous conceit which Baronius by name and some other of Rome's followers have taken up viz. That the Apostles in such like passages as we have noted were mistaken as believing the End of the World should have been in their own time God of purpose so ordering it to cause in them a greater measure of zeal and contempt of worldly things An opinion I think not well beseeming a Christian. 1. For first whatsoever we imagine the Apostles might here conceive in their private opinions as men yet we must know that the Holy Ghost by whose instinct they wrote the Scriptures is the Spirit of truth and therefore what is there affirmed must be true yea though the Pen-man himself understood it not 2. It was not possible the Apostles should expect the End of the World to be in their own time when they knew so many things were to come to pass before it as could not be fulfilled in a short time As 1. The desolation of Ierusalem and that not till the seventy weeks were expired 2. The Iews to be carried captives over all Nations and Ierusalem to be troden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles should be fulfilled 3. That in the mean time the Roman Empire must be ruined and that which hindered taken out of the way 4. That after that was done the Man of sin should be revealed and domineer his time in the Temple and Church of God 5. After all this viz. when the fulness of the Gentiles should come in that Israel should be received again to mercy 6. That Christ should reign in his Church on earth so long till he had put down all rule all authority and power and subjected all his enemies under his feet before he should subdue the last enemy which is death and surrender his kingdom into the hands of his Father 7. That the time should be so long that in the last days should come Scoffers saying Where is the promise of his coming How is it possible they should imagine the Day of Doom to be so near when all these things must first come to pass and not one of them was yet fulfilled And how could the expectation of this Day be made a ground of exhortation and a motive to watchfulness and prayer as though it could suddenly and unawares surprize them which had so many wonderful alterations to forego it and none of them yet come to pass I have spoken hitherto of what was revealed to all the Apostles in general But if we take S. Iohn apart from the rest and consider what was afterward revealed to him in Patmos we shall find in his Apocalyptical Visions besides other times more obscurely intimated an express prophecy of no less than a thousand years which whatever it mean cannot be a small time and must be fulfilled in this world and not in the world to come Notwithstanding all this I make no question but even in the Apostles times many of the believing Gentiles mistaking the Apostles admonitions to the Iews of the End of their State approaching thought the End of whole world and the Day of the Lord had been also near whom therefore S. Paul 2 Thess. 2. beseeches to be better informed because that Day should not come until the Apostasie came first and the Man of sin were revealed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Expresly or In express words CHAP. XVI The Fourth Particular viz. The Warrant or Proof of this Prophecy When the Spirit speaks 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and when 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That the Spirit foretold the Great Apostasy 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 expresly in Dan 11. vers 36 37 38 39. A View of these Verses in the Hebraw Text with an exact Translation of them both in Latin and English The chief Difficulties in these Verses explained and incidentally other places of Scripture The different opinions of Iunius and Graserus about Vers. 38. The Author's Translation free from the inconveniences of both A particular Explication of Mahoz and Mahuzim That hereby are meant Fortresses Bulwarks as also Protectors Guardians Defenders c. How fitly this Title is appliable to Angels and Saints accounted to be such by those that worshipt them NOW I come to the Fourth particular of this Prophecy The Warrant or Proof thereof The Spirit hath foretold it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or in express words in some place or other of Divine Writ The Spirit told Peter Acts 10. 19. Behold three men seek thee The Spirit said Separate Barnabas and Saul Acts 13. 2. The Spirit forbade S. Paul to preach in Asia The Spirit said that the Iews should bind S. Paul at Ierusalem Acts 21. 11. But in all these the Spirit spake not 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for these things were nowhere written and therefore what it spake it spake 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 only by secret Instinct or Inspiration But that which the Spirit speaks in the Written word that it speaks 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 verbatim expresly If therefore concerning this Apostasie of Christian believers to be in the Latter times the Spirit speaketh 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 then is it to be found somewhere in the Old Testament for there alone the Spirit could be said to speak 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or verbatim in the Apostles time Having therefore so good a hint given us let us see if we can find where the Spirit speaketh of this matter so expresly There are three main things in this our Apostle's Prediction whereof I find the Spirit to have spoken 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or in express words and that in the Prophecy of Daniel 1. Of these Last or Letter times 2. Of the new worship of Daemons in them 3. Of a Prohibition of marriage to accompany them As for the first of these the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Latter times Daniel as you have heard before expresly names them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A time times and half a time being those Last times of the Last Kingdom wherein the Hornish Tyrant should make war with the Saints and prevail against them For the second A worship of new-Daemons or Demi-gods with the profession of the name of Christ you will perhaps think it strange if I should shew it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 But if I do it was
construction of the verb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 be irregular Iunius himself having admitted it in the next member of the verse and to suppose it to be a mystical Solecism the Spirit intending by the Anomaly and incongruity of the Syntax to signifie an Anomaly and incongruity of Religion But these inconveniences on both sides as far as I can see are wholly avoided by that Translation we have given whereof let the Reader judge I come now to unfold the signification of the word Mahuzzim a word which the most Translations retain the Septuagint calling it 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 S. Ierome or the Vulgar Latin Maozim the Geneva and others Maüzim This 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mahuzzim I say is in the Plural number the singular is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mahoz which in the abstract signifies sometimes Strength sometimes a Fortress or Bulwark of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Robustus fuit But the Hebrews use Abstracts for Concretes Examples are many in the Old Testament as Iustitia pro Iustis Captivity for Captives c. In the New Testament Principalities Powers and Dominions for Princes Potentates and Dominators So Mahoz Strength or a Fortress for him that strengthens or fortifies that is a Protector Defender Guardian Helper Wherefore the Septuagint five times in the Psalms render the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mahoz 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and the Vulgar Latine as often Protector the places are these Psal. 27. 1. The Lord is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Protector of my life of whom should I be afraid Psal. 28. 8. The Lord is their strength and he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 MahoZ Ieshuoth the Mahoz of Salvations of his anointed where the Septuagint hath 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Vulgar Protector salvationum Psal. 31. 3. Bow down thine ear to me deliver me speedily be thou unto me 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for a Rock Mahoz Septuagint 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Vulg. in Deum Protectorem Again vers 5. Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 ki atta Mahuzzi for thou art my Protector the Septuagint 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Vulgar Protector Psal. 37. 39. The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord he is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mahuzam their Mahoz in the time of trouble and the Lord shall help them and deliver them from the wicked c. where the Septuagint and the Vulgar render as before 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and Protector How think you now Are not Saints and Angels worshipped as Mahuzzims True Christians have with David in the Psalms before quoted one Mahoz Iehovah Mahoz that is Christ but Apostate Christians have their many Mahuzzims O would they worshipped only 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that Mahoz of salvations as you heard David even now call him Psal. 28. You may if you please compare with these places of the Psalms that in the first verse of this eleventh of Daniel where the Angel saith he stood in the first year of Darius the Mede to confirm and be a Mahoz to him 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which we translate to strengthen him By which we may see how fitly this name may be applied to Angels and so to Saints supposed in helping protecting and assisting to be like them Thus you see the concrete sense of Mahoz for an Helper Protector and Defender is not new But what if we take the word passively Force and Strength for Forts and Strong ones Will not then the valiant Martyrs and Champions of the Faith well bear the name of Mahuzzims And these are they whom at the first Christians worshipped only in this sort as an honour peculiarly due uto their sufferings Moreover that you may not think this word and the notion thereof improper to be given unto a Deity observe that the true God is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Rock seven times Deut. 32. which the Vulgar turns as often Deus yea in the same place False gods are called also 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or Rocks ver 31. Their Rock that is the Gentiles Rock is not as our Rock even our enemies them selves being Iudges and ver 37. Where are their Gods that is Baalim their Rock in whom they trusted which did eat the fat of their sacrifices c. The like you shall find in Hannah's Song and other places of Scripture See now the parity The True God is called a Rock Baalim and False Gods are also Rocks The True God or Christ himself is often by David call'd Mahoz why may not then False Gods or Plurality of Christs be called Mahuzzim Rock and Fortress are not words of so great difference Thus having cleared the chiefest difficulties in the Text and made the way smooth let us read over the words again and apply the Interpretation unto them CHAP. XVII A particular explication by way of Paraphrase of the forementioned Prophecy in Dan. 11. This further illustrated by several Observations wherein the Events are represented as exactly sutable and appliable to Daniel's Prophecy That at the beginning of Saint-worship in the Church Saints and their Reliques were called Bulwarks Fortresses Walls Towers Guardians Protectors c. according to the native signification of the word used by Daniel Mahuzzim A brief explication of the following verses in Dan. 11. viz. vers 40 41 42 43. Dan. 11. Vers. 36. THen a King shall do according to his will and shall exalt or magnifie himself above every God 36. THat is Toward the end of the Reign of Antiochus Epiphanes the Roman shall prevail and set up the Fourth Kingdom making himself Master of the Kingdom of Macedon and advancing himself from this time forward by continual conquests shall Lord it over every King and Nation Yea against the God of Gods shall he speak marvellous things and shall prosper until the Indignation be accomplished For the determined time shall be fulfilled Yea Christ the God of Gods and King of the Kings of the earth who in those times should appear in the world the Roman shall mock blaspheme and crucifie and by most bloudy Edicts shall persecute and massacre his servants the Christians and yet shall prosper in his Empire until these outragious times be ended that is until the daies of Constantine For the time God hath appointed must be fulfilled Verse 37. Then he shall not regard the Gods of his Ancestors nor shall he regard the Desire of Women no nor any God but he shall magnifie himself above all 37. When that appointed time for the date of his prosperity comes to its period and the time of the ruin and change of his Dominion draws near than this Roman State shall cashier and forsake the Idols and False Gods whom their Fathers worshipped and shall acknowledge Christ a God whom their Fathers knew not At that time the Desire of Women and married life shall be discountenanced and shall not be of that account and regard it
chastity and virginity to be for this cause in a worst condition he accounted it a folly for men to go about to encrease their kind with such carefulness and diligence whenas Nature according to Divine moderation continually receives as well diminution as increase Therefore he published a Law to the people That both those who lived a single life and those who had no children should enjoy the like priviledges with others yea he enacted that those who lived in chastity and virginity should be priviledged above them enabling both sexes though under years to make Testaments contrary to the accustomed politic of the Romans This alteration of the Roman Law by Constantine Eusebius also witnesseth lib. 4. cap. 26. de vita Constantini and again cap. 28. where he saith That above all he honoured most those that had consecrated their lives to divine Philosophy he means a monastical life and therefore he almost adored the most holy company of perpetual Virgins That which the Father had thus enacted the Sons also seconded and some of the following Emperors by new Edicts till there was no relique left of those ancient privileges wherewith married men had been respected which Procopius saith how rightly I examine not was the cause of the ruine of that Empire which was so much enfeebled and weakned through the new procreation of children that it wat not able to match the numerous armies of the barbarous nations This was the first step of the disregard of marriage and the Desire of wiving which was not an absolute prohibition but a discouragement But no sooner had the Roman Bishop and his Clergy got the power into their hands but it grew to an absolute prohibition not for Monks only but for the whole Clergy which was the highest disrespect that could be to that which God had made honourable among all men 4. Lastly It is a thing not to be passed by without admiration That the Fathers and others even at the beginning of Saint-worship by I know not what fatal instinct used to call Saints and their Reliques Towers Walls Bulwarks Fortresses that is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mahuzzim in the prime and native signification Basil in his Oration upon the Fourty Martyrs whose Reliques were dispersed over all the Countries thereabouts speaks in this manner These are are those who having taken possession of our Countrey as certain conjoyned TOWERS 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 secure it from the incursions of Enemies The same Basil concludes his Oration upon Mamas the Martyr in this manner That God who hath gathered us together in this place and disposes of what is to come keep us safe from hurt and secure us from the ravenous Wolf and preserve stedfast this Church of Caesarea being guarded with the mighty TOWERS of Martyrs 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chrysostome in his 32. Homily upon the Epistle to the Romans speaking of the Reliques of Peter and Paul This Corps saith he meaning of Paul fortifies this City of Rome more strongly than any TOWER or than ten thousand RAMPIRES as also doth the Corps of Peter 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. Are not these strong Mahuzzims The like whereunto is that of Venantius Fortunatus a Christian Poet not much above an age younger than Chrysostome A facie hostili duo PROPUGNACULA praesunt Quos Fidei TURRES Urbs caput Orbis habet The Faith 's two TOWR'S in Lady Rome do lie Two BULWARKS strong against the Enemy At the same thing aims Gregory lib. 7. Ep. 23. ad Rusticianam Patriciam entreating her to come to Rome Sigladios Italiae bella formidetis c. If you fear the swords saith he and wars of Italy you ought attentively to consider how great the PROTECTION of Blessed Peter the Prince of the Apostles is in this City wherein without any great number of people without the aid of souldiers we have been so many years in the midst of swords by God's providence safely preserved from all hurt But to return again to S. Chryscstome who in his Homily upon the Egyptian Martyrs Hom. 70. ad populum Antiochenum speaks after this manner Those Saints bodies saith he 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 FORTIFT our City more strongly than an IMPREGNABLE WALL OF ADAMANT and as certain high ROCKS hanging on every side repel not only the assaults of those Enemies which are sensible and seen with the eye but also overthrow and defeat the ambuscadoes of Invisible Fiends and all the Stratagems of the Devil Here you see are Mahuzzims â—oo So long before in the days of Constantine Iames Bishop of Nisibus renowned for Holiness was according to order given by Constantine in his life-time saith Gennadius buried within the walls of that City being a Frontier of the Empire ob custodiam viz Civitatis Gennad de Vir. illustr cap. 6. Evagrius lib. 1. c. 13. tells us That the Antiochians offered up a supplication to the Emperour Leo the first about the year 460 for the keeping of the Corps of holy Simeon surnamed Stylita or the Pillarist in this form Because our City hath no wall for it had been demolished in a fury therefore we brought hither this most holy Body that it might be to us 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 A WALL and A FORTRESSE which would be in Hebrew 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Leshur vlemahoz S. Hilary also will tell us That neither the GUARDS of Saints nor Angelorum munitiones the BULWARKS of Angels are wanting to those who are willing to stand Here Angels are Mahuzzim as Saints were in the former The Greeks at this day in their Preces Horariae thus in vocate the Blessed Virgin O thou Virgin mother of God thou impregnable WALL thou FORTRESSE of Salvation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Psal. 28. we call upon thee that thou wouldest frustrate the purposes of our Enemies and be a FENCE to this City thus they go on calling her The Hope Safeguard and Sanctuary of Christians Here is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Mahoz Mahuzzim a strong Mahoz indeed To conclude The Titles of Protectors Guardians and Defenders which is the signification of Mahuzzim when a Person is meant as they are more frequent so are they no less ancient Greg. Nyssen in his third Oration upon the fourty Martyrs calls them 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Guarders and Protectors Eucherius his S. Gervase the perpetual Propugnator Protector of the faithful Theodoret. lib. 8. de curandis Craecorum affectionibus calls the holy Martyrs Guardians of Cities Lieutenants of places Captains of men Princes Champions and Guardians by whom disasters are turned from us and those which come from Devils debarred and driven away I might here add something also concerning Images whose worship is another part of the Doctrine of Daemons and shew how well the name Mahuzzim would befit them which the Iconomachical Council of Constantinople calls so unluckily 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Fortresses or Mahuzzim of the Devil And perhaps the nine and thirtieth verse in the fore-alledged Prophecy
Daniel's Vision of Four Beasts omits the first which was to be while the Fourth Beast yet lived and designs the last only when that ruffling Horn's time being finished and the Beast destroyed The Ancient of daies gives the Son of man a Kingdom wherein all nations tongues and people should serve and obey him Dan. 7. 13. The Reason Nebuchadnezzar a Gentile was a Type of the Gentiles who were to have their part in both estates of Christ's Kingdom wherefore both are shewn him Daniel a Iew was a Type of the Iews whoâ—e nation should have no share in the first but only in the last and therefore the last is only shewn him This Vniversal Kingdom of the Son of man revealed in the clouds of heaven which Daniel here saw and which the Angel expounds to be the Kingdom of the Saints of the most High is the same with that voiced in the Apocalyps upon the sound of the seventh Trumpet All the Kingdoms of the World are become the Kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ. Compare them Whence it will follow That those finishing times of the Fourth Beast called A Time Times and half a Time during which that wicked Horn should domineer and ruffle it among his ten Kings are the self-same Time which the Angel in S. Iohn forewarn thâ— should be no longer as soon as the seventh Angel began to sound Chap. 10. 6. The self-same Times whose finishing the same Angel swears unto Daniel in the same form and gesture he doth to S. Iohn should be the period of those wondrous afflictions of the Church and of the scattering of the power of the holy people Dan. 12. 7. And consequently those very Times of the Gentiles whereof our Saviour speaks Luke 21. 24. that the treading down of Ierusalem and dispersion of the Iews should last until the Times of the Gentiles were finished even the same Times whereof Tobit harped Chap. ult That notwithstanding Iudah should again after a while return and build a second Temple yet should not the Vniversal restitution be nor Israel return from all places of their Captivity 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Lastly the same Times with S. Iohn's Apocalyptical Times of the renewed Beast's blasphemous reign and profanation of the Temple and City of God forty two months or 1260 days Forasmuch as the same Kingdom of our Lord Christ is the immediate and common consequent to them all Compare them When Daniel's times are done the Son of man comes in the clouds of heaven to receive the Empire of all the Kingdoms of the world Dan. 7. 14. When S. Lukes times of the Gentiles are finished then shall be Signs in the Sun and Moon the Son of man comes also in the clouds of heaven ver 27. the redemption of Israel ver 28. and the Kingdom of God is at hand ver 31. When S. Iohn's Apocalyptical Beasts forty two months reign with the Witnesses 1260 days mourning determine the Ark of the Covenant is seen in heaven and all the Kingdoms of the world become the Kingdoms of our Lord and his Christ Apocal. 11. 15. ad finem An APPENDIX The First coming of Christ was to be while the Fourth Kingdom was yet in being his Second when it should end The hewing of the Stone out of the mountain which is the rearing of the Kingdom of Christ was before it smote the Image upon the feet and upon the destruction thereof became so great a Mountain as filled the whole earth Therefore the hewing out of this Stone was while this Image was yet in being Daniel himself interprets the Stone to be the Kingdom of Christ not Christ himself and saies that the God of heaven should set it up in the days of those Kings or Kingdoms that is adhuc currente horum Regum periodo vel diebus Tetrarchiae hujus nondum expletis whilest the daies of those Kingdoms of the Gentiles yet lasted or before they expired namely whilst the last of those Kingdoms was still current and in being He that shall here expound in the daies to mean after the days shall give me leave not to believe him unless also he can perswade me that the Stone which smote the Image was hewed out of the mountain after the Image was dashed in pieces and vanished The Iews in our Saviour's time expected the Messiah's coming before the times of the Fourth Kingdom expired For they looked it should be destroyed by him after he was come and then the Kingdom restored to Israel According to that of Dan. 7. when the Beast should be slain and his body destroyed the Kingdom should be given to the people of the Saints of the most High Only they thought not the distance between the first coming of Christ and his destruction of the Fourth Beast to be so long Whence was that question of the Apostles to our Saviour at his Ascension Wilt thou now restore the Kingdom to Israel But I am gone much further than ever I intended and therefore will here make an end I make question whether you can read my scribling If you can I hope you will excuse my hast And so I commend you to the divine protection and am Your loving Friend Ioseph Mede Christ's Colledge Iuly 22. EPISTLE IX Mr. Hayn's Third Letter to Mr. Mede about several passages in Daniel and the Revelation SIR I Confess that conference by writing multiplies words by giving more scope to deliberation and may justly make you backward to Collations in this kind But the disquisition and finding of truth countervails all than which I seek nothing more by this my pains To that part of your answer received Iuly 22. I have inclosed a Reply and expect the rest of your Answer formerly intended when you should return to Cambridge And now to this present Reply as your occasions will permit Such Writings as I have seen of yours testifie to me both your plentiful reading and diligent observation of matters most remarkable therein as also I am perswaded in this Argument Yet cannot all that yet you have said drive me from my hold I reverence the Learned on both sides and will ever give them all duerespect and will not be found to stand single in any opinion But the persons of men shall not sway me against the native light of the Sacred Text which I know makes for me If Alsted and some others have lest their Masters in some of these points I think we shall find others as Glassius of equal judgment to Alsted to run this way But 't is to be considered herein not so much Qui dicunt pro auâ— contra as Quid dicunt And therefore I will not put into the scales mens Authority but their Reasons And hope that after your perusal of this present Reply you will be more inclinable to a different judgment from some of your former Tenets And thus leaving you to the protection and direction of the God of Truth I rest Your very loving Friend Tho. Hayne
and the Latin call it Imperium orbis terrarum 13. Daniel himself interpreteth the Stone to be a Kingdom which the God of heaven should set up in the days of those Kingdoms and therefore it cannot be the Kingdom of Christ as God coeternal with his Father but the Kingdom of Christ as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which began not before he was incarnate In the days of these Kingdoms saith he that is whilst some of them were yet in being the God of heaven shall set up a Kingdom which should never be destroyed nor left as the former should to another people but should break in pieces and consume all those Kingdoms and it self should sâ—and for ever Forasmuch saith he as thou sawest a Stone was cut out of a mountain without hands and that it brake in pieces the iron the brass the clay the silver and the gold Here make the full point for these words belong not to that which follows as our mis-distinction in the verses seems to refer them but to that which went before of their interpretation See the same reference of Forasmuch in the 40 and 41 verses 14. I will not now dispute of the Prepositionâ—â— though I had enough to say against you but I say that the words In the daies of those Kings are much more likely to be construed by Ellipsis particulae partitivae usual in the Hebrew and Chaldee quâ—si In the daies of some one of those Kings viz. the last of them So Iephtah is said to have been buried in the cities of Gilead that is in some one of them c. There be some other passages not so principal though I dissent from you in them which I omit as I desire to do this whole Disputation That I had reserved to have answered in your former Reply was to that of the Ruffling Horn which by the express words of the Angel was to last until the time came the Saints should possess the Kingdom that is until the Son of man came in the clouds of heaven to take a Kingdom for this is the Angel's exposition of that part of the Vision and therefore it could not be Antiochus Epiphanes Your Answer to this seemed very unsufficient I desire you to weigh it better and I make an end Yours I. M. October 13. EPISTLE IX Mr. Hayn's Fourth Letter to Mr. Mede about several passages in Daniel and the Revelation 1. SCaliger's or Iunius his Opinion prevail not so much as should their Reasons God had told the Iews plainly the year and by types the time of the year when Messias should work their redemption So that it was not enough to know in what age it should be 2. The coming of the Son of man is to his Kingdom on earth on which the Scripture runs abundantly Dan. 2. 7. Apoc. 1. 7. Luke 17. 20. and was to be before that generation passed Matth. 24. 34. And within that space of time he came on Ierusalem as the Floud on the old world There shall be a Second coming of Christ namely to Iudgment And then he shall give up his Kingdom here to the Father Yet shall this Kingdom here and that in Heaven be one and the same consist of the same men or subjects and have the same bent to the honour of God 3. The Greeks Rule after Antiochus Epiphanes was sufficient to express the clayie legs that is enough for me and the clayie legs are part of the Fourth Monarchy The Romans more the Iews friends full many scores of years after Epiphanes his time Their war against God's people is that for which God paints them out as Beasts And though the Romans conquered Macedon long before Christ's coming yet both Iulius Caesar and Antonie let Cleopatra hold her due of what Rule she had and were but sticklers not opposites at first 4. If Christ's Kingdom took place at his first coming the same is one and but one and that everlasting 5. The seven Trumpets seven Vials two Witnesses c. shew a new matter not particulars of the Fourth Kingdom particularized before in Daniel 6. The late Iews God enlighten them shift abundantly and the ancient both before and after their desertion did but groap in darkness 7. Yet both the late and old Iews and Porphyrie too saw some truth who can deny it 8. The Text saith In the days of those Kingdoms say you as if it were in all of them and the Stone confounds all Why should we allow 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 typi 9. You deny the duration of the Fourth Kingdom to hold proportion with the parts of the Image I affirm it my reason is If the Three former do then the Fourth also 10. I know there is a Second coming of Christ that at the day of Iudgment But the Kingdom once begun is one for it is everlasting If there were two Kingdoms the one must end the other begin Though there be degrees in the progress of Christ's Kingdom in regard of the world's indisposition to submit to it yet de jure all is Christ's at his Ascension 11. The Mystery which now you speak of I acknowledge and bless God for it namely of the calling of the Gentiles The Iews Rejection also is plain in the time of the Gospel yet was a remnant of their Nation saved And what more were the elect out of other Nations â— few to the many 12. Though de facto the Gospel was not preached to all the world then yet see mentem Legislatoris the mind of the Law-giver Go preach to all Nations 13. Christ is the Stone what is said of him in many things is and may be said of them of his Kingdom He bruises with a rod of von Ps. 2. so do his servants Rev. 2. 27. He the Stone and his kingdom and people here do the same thing 14. For â— the Proposition the authority I brought was sound and good That about Iephtah is though I use not to be sudden in this kind ill translated I wish time would have given me leave to have conferred with Books and men about it I pray you think of it Were it not better Gideon was buried by the cities of Gilead namely the men of them all much honouring him joyned in solemnizing his burial 15. Not the ruffling Horn as you call it but the body of the Beast Dan. 7. 11. continued till the Son of man came Now the Body of the Beast hornless may express the same or be correspondent to the clayie legs and thus the answer is home in this particular also Much more I could have said but must here make an end and leave you to God whom I pray to keep us in his truth Octob. 16. 1629. EPISTLE XII Mr. Mede's Answer to Mr. Hayn's Fourth Letter about several passages in Daniel and the Revelation NOW I have obtained a Release that you might not think I shook off this Collation out of Pride or Contempt but to avoid too great a diversion from other
rejected it as groundless then and I know your Tenet cannot admit it now Quisque abundet suo sensu therefore I 'le contend no more about it 2. But let the Kingdom of the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven whereof Daniel speaks be as you would have it That Kingdom of his first coming whether beginning at his Ascension or manifesting it self at the Destruction of Ierusalem for one of them it must be but let it be which it will I say for all this there is yet sufficient left to overthrow your Tenet of the Fourth Kingdom For that Kingdom at the Son of mans coming in the clouds of heaven shewn to Daniel is expounded by Daniel in his repetition to be the Kingdom of the Saints of the most High If this be not evident by the context I utterly despair ever to understand prophecy by any light of the letter I must take it therefore for granted whether you grant it me or not That that Kingdom at the Son of mans coming in the clouds of heaven in the Vision is that which Daniel in his repetition and the Angel calls the Kingdom of the Saints of the most High in his interpretation and therefore being the same must begin at the same time which you say was at our Saviour's first coming namely from the time of his Ascension This therefore forelaid I argue thus The ruffling Horn persecutes the Saints until the time came that the Saints possessed the Kingdom Chap. 7. v. 22. But Antiochus Epiphanes persecuted not until the Saints possessed the Kingdom which was at the Son of mans coming in the clouds of heaven Ergo. For if he persecuted till then he with his Time Times and half a Time must continue till Christ's Ascension at the nearest but he was dead two hundred years before It will not serve your turn here to fly to the Kingdom of Christ as he is God for the Kingdom here spoken of is the Kingdom of the Son of man and a Kingdom which begins in time Nor mattereth it how the Greek Kingdom after Antiochus may seem to befit the Clayie legs unless you make the little Horn to be those Clayie legs But you must shew how the little Horn if it be Epiphanes lived and persecuted until the time came that the Saints possessed the kingdom Will you expound until the time came until some two hundred years before the time came I know not how you can evade here unless as Porphyrie did you will make the Kingdom of the Saints here mentioned to be the Kingdom of the Maccabees and so the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven whereof it is an exposition to be Iudas Maccabaeus or Ioannes Hircanus or some other of those Hasmoneans If you answer thus you must not think it strange if I am loth to be perswaded to your opinion who reading that Prophecy cannot be perswaded but the little Horn is the last limme of the Fourth Beast whose part once acted the Beast's glass is run and his time of destruction come Or who can believe but he is to be destroyed at that time of Iudgment when the Son of man shall appear in the clouds of heaven Though you say you see no evidence for it yet I cannot be perswaded but this Scripture was it out of which S. Paul learned to consute the Thessalonians causeless fear of the day of Christ's coming to Iudgment to be near at hand when he tells them that that day should not come until the man of sin were first revealed and had acted his part forasmuch as Christ was to abolish him by the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of his coming For so Daniel had taught him that the wicked Horn's reign should conclude the Fourth Kingdom and the Son of man should abolish him at his coming in the clouds of heaven and therefore could not that coming of his be until the wicked Horn should be revealed and reign the time appointed him This I am sure that this Prophecy of Daniel was the Womb whence the Iewish Doctors derived that Term of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Dies judicii 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 magnus dies judicii because that coming of Messiah is thrice so described in this place of Daniel verse 10 22 26. whence even at this day they look not for Messiah until Magnus dies judicii the great day of Iudgment Our Saviour and his Apostles received this term of Dies Iudicii from them and approve it by using it But it is far more frequent in the Chaldee Paraphrase and other writings of theirs than in the New Testament Nor can I believe but our Saviour and his Apostles using this phrase meant to approve the ground of Scripture whence they deduced it Especially our Saviour so often expressing his Second coming by these words of Daniel coming in the clouds of heaven which the Elders and Priests hearing our Saviour apply to himself when they arraigned him they rent their cloaths as at Blasphemy whence it appears they took it for no small and ordinary Character of power not appliable to Iudas Maccabaeus or his successors I know the same Phrases may be used to express like matters of diverse and sundry times but here is not only Identity of phrases but together with the same phrases the same frame of things with their circumstances and those such as are not appliable to many times And though I am not of the same mind with Theocritus Iustus his name is Daniel Lawenus to draw all the Apocalyps to the Iews upon no other ground but communion of phrases yet I know nevertheless that to compare Scripture with Scripture is none of the least helps to understand Scripture 3. I have dwelt all this while upon the Second Vision of Kingdoms I come now 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 to say somewhat of the First Dan. 2. v. 44. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And in the days of these Kings or Kingdoms that is say I during the days of those Kingdoms while the days of this Dominion of the Gentiles yet lasted before these days of their dominion ended I lay the Emphasis upon days But here you stumble and make inference as if I had said or the Prophet either In or during all the days of those Kingdoms or during the days of all those Kingdoms Babylonian Persian and Greek as well as Roman I cannot but marvel to see you make so strange of an expression not only frequent in Scripture but common and usual in every language If I should say such or such a thing was done in the days of the Saxon or in the days of the British Kings would you infer or understand me as if I meant in all the days of those Kings or in the days of all those Kings or some of them only If I should say such a thing was done in the days of Popery must I needs mean all the days of Popery or some part of them only and so no more but while
after so many hundred years And if your self in this difference follow Mr. Broughton's way you may as soon perswade me there is no Sun in heaven as make me believe it And though it mattereth not much what I think or think not yet in this I dare say that all the Learned men of note in Christendom are of my mind And for my part I cannot but think it a prodigium that any man should think otherwise and I suppose your self are so far of my judgment 4. If you make the Fourth Beast hornless before his destruction you will make Daniel both at odds with himself and the Angel his interpreter If the Horn continue until the Ancient of days comes to give Iudgment to the Saints of the most High and until the time came that the Saints possessed the Kingdom verse 22. or if he continue until the Iudgment sit and they take away his dominion and the Kingdom be given to the people of the Saints of the most High verse 26 27. how was he Hornless when the Ancient of days sat in Iudgment to destroy him and give his body to the burning flame This I should have taken notice of in another place but I then forgat it yet I said there that which was sufficient to overthrow it I would not have such an Evasion in my Opinion 5. Though all the Four Kingdoms have respect to the Iews as those who were all that time to be in bondage under them yet it doth not follow that the beginning of each Kingdom should be counted from the time they were first possessed of Palaestine but from the time the Caput regni should be given unto the people which were next to succeed Nor is that Observation solid That those Kingdoms were called Beasts for the beastly usage of God's people the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Heb. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies naturally Animal And you will not I know say so of the quatuor Animalia in the Apocalyps though we translate them also four Beasts The congregation of Israel as we translate it Ps. 68. 10. is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 And if 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies Coetus Caterva that notion may be applied to Kingdoms and States also So the type is so much the more concise by reason of the ambiguity of the word in those languages But whether it be this or that I affirm nothing nor is it much to the purpose either way And thus I think I have not left any thing of moment unanswered I had no other end in all this but to let you see I have sufficient grounds to be perswaded of my Tenet and to be averse from yours Whether others can be perswaded by them or not that I know not nor do I arrogate so much ability to my self as to perswade others what I am perswaded of my self There is more goes to perswasion than Reasons or Demonstrations and that is not in my power I desire not you should make any Reply but the contrary for I am now resolved to answer no more whatsoever you should send You know as much of my Opinion and my grounds for the same as I would desire of any mans and I think I perfectly understand yours and where your chief strength lies Why should then either of us both spend our time any further to no purpose Thus desiring the Father of lights to guide us in the way of Truth and to open our eyes to see where we see not I rest and remain still Your very loving Friend Ioseph Mede Christ's Colledge Octob. 21. EPISTLE XIII Dr. Twisse's First Letter to Mr. Mede Good Mr. Mede AMongst many fruits of my acquaintance with Dr. Meddus this hath been one of the chiefest that he hath brought me acquainted with your self though not de facie yet de meditationibus and that in the opening of Mysteries I was so happy as to light upon two Copies of your Clavis Apocalyptica thereby to gratifie both my self and my friend I was beholden to Dr. Meddus for the one and to Mr. Briggs for the other Since that I have seen divers Manuscriptpieces of yours whereof I make precious accompt Your distinction of Fata Imperii Fata Ecclesiae the one contained in the Seals the other in 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 doth exceedingly affect me as a Key of great use for the opening of these Mysteries Your interpretation of the Seals proceeds in my judgment with great evidence of illustration And in the last place your Exposition of the Trumpets hath taken me quite off from the Vulgar opinion that formerly hath been so common For all which I most heartily thank you And did it become me to profess so much who am nothing worth I should be apt to say you are as dear in my affection as to any friend you have I beseech you go on to perfect the good work you have begun in the Revelation and in other mysterious passages for the clearing whereof I well perceive by the blessing of God you have attained to a very singular faculty I seem to discern a providence of God in causing the opinion of a Thousand years Regnum Sanctorum to be blasted as an Error by the censure passed upon the Chiliasts to take men off from fixing their thoughts too much on that in those days when the accomplishment was so far removed but with purpose to revive it in a more seasonable time when Antichrist's kingdom should draw near to an end Concerning which I have something to propose in searching after more particular satisfaction But I know not whether yet I may be so bold with you and besides I fear to divert you from your so weighty and so profitable studies yet they are such as withall I have thought with my self of accommodating an Answer But though my heart serve me not to communicate them to you at this time yet surely I shall make them known to Doctor Meddus A friend of mine also hath this day given into my hands certain Disputations upon divers mysterious points in Daniel and the Revelation In one of them he disputes of this Thousand years Regnum Sanctorum with variety of Reasons pro con but inclining rather to the contrary A very ingenuous man he is and a great student in Mr. Brightman If I may have liberty to communicate these things unto you and that it might be without offence to your more weighty studies I would so use this liberty as not to nourish my self in idleness but withal to imploy my self in answering what soever I find therein to the contrary At this time give me leave to propose to your consideration Whether that fear of a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 almost of our Protestant profession may not be avoided and the three days and an half Rev. 11. not signify a space of time succeeding the continuance of those Witnesses but intermixed with it My Reason is this The two Witnesses signifie all the Witnesses giving
more quiet meditations Nihil affirmo sed propono I had thought when I began to propound something to your further meditations out of the seventh of Daniel But you see I am grown past a Letter and can scarce any longer make my Characters legible and therefore here with my best respect to your self I end desiring God to enlighten us daily more and more in the knowledge of his Truth and so I remain Yours to be commanded in all the duties of Friendship Ioseph Mede Christ's Colledge Nov. 11. 1629. EPISTLE XV. Mr. Mede's Answer to Dr. Meddus touching the Day of Iudgment Worthy Sir I Have now found some little time to make some kind of Answer to your Letter of the last week save one You desire me to point out the particulars wherein I differ from that Lutheran But this I cannot do without making a censure of the whole Discourse which would ask me some labour and besides I have not now the Book by me But by the way the Stationer which told me he had six of them was deceived Indeed he had six Books which he thought to be the same but four of them were Discourses of Law by some error sorted together with them You secondly desire me to point out the places of the Old and New Testament appliable to my Tenet of the Day of Iudgment Where I understand not well whether you mean of the Regnum to be then or of the acception of the word Day for a long space of time even of a thousand years But I suppose you mean the former to which therefore I will say something the rather because I know you will communicate it to Doctor Twisse to whom I had intended some such thing in my Letter I sent by you to him but time would not suffer me to write it then having spent both it and my paper in other discourses before I was aware That which I have to say is this The Description of the Great Day of Iudgment Dan. 7. THE Mother-Text of Scripture whence the Church of the Iews grounded the name and expectation of the Great Day of Iudgment with the circumstances thereto belonging and whereunto almost all the descriptions and expressions thereof in the New Testament have reference is that Vision in the seventh of Daniel of a Session of Iudgment when the Fourth Beast came to be destroyed Where this great Assises is represented after the manner of the great Synedrion or Consistory of Israel wherein the Pater Iudicii had his Assessores sitting upon Seats placed Semicircle-wise before him from his right hand to his left I beheld saith Daniel verse 9. till the Thrones or Seats were pitched down namely for the Senators to sit upon not thrown down as we of late have it and the Ancient of days Pater consistorii did sit c. And subaudi I beheld till the Iudgment was set that is the whole Sanhedrim and the books were opened c. Here we see both the form of Iudgment delineated and the name of Iudgment expressed which is afterwards yet twice more repeated First in the amplification of the tyranny of the wicked Horn verse 21 22. which is said continued till the Ancient of days came and IVDGMENT was given to the Saints of the most High i. Potestas judicandi ipsis facta And the third time in the Angel's interpretation verse 26. But the IVDGMENT shall sit and they shall take away his dominion to consume and destroy it to the end Where observe also that cases of Dominion of Blasphemy and Apostasie and the like belonged to the jurisdiction of the great Sanhedrim From this description it came that the Iews gave it the name of 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The Day of Iudgment and the Day of the Great Iudgment whence in the Epistle of S. Iude verse 6. it is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Iudgment of the Great Day From the same description they learned that the destruction then to be should be by fire because it is said verse 9. His throne was a fiery flame and his wheels burning fire A fiery stream issued and came forth before him and verse 11. The Beast was slain and his body destroyed and given to the burning flame From the same fountain are derived those expressions in the Gospel where this Day is intimated or described The Son of man shall come in the clouds of heaven The Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his holy Angels Forasmuch as it is said here Thousand thousands ministred unto him c. and that Daniel saw One like the Son of man coming with the clouds of Heaven and he came to the Ancient of days and they brought him or placed him near him c. Hence S. Paul learned that the Saints should judge the world because it is said that many Thrones were set and verse 22. by way of Exposition that Iudgment was given to the Saints of the most High Hence the same Apostle learned to confute the false fear of the Thessalonians that the day of Christs second coming was then at hand Because that day could not be till the Man of Sin were first come and should have reigned his time appointed Forasmuch as Daniel had foretold it should be so and that his destruction should be at the Son of mans appearing in the clouds whose appearing therefore was not to be till then This is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in S. Paul whom the Lord saith he shall destroy at the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of his coming Daniel's wicked Horn or Beast acting in the wicked Horn is S. Paul's Man of Sin as the Church from her Infancâ—e interpreted it But to go on While this Iudgment sits and when it had destroyed the Fourth Beast the Son of man which comes in the clouds receives dominion and glory and a Kingdom that all people nations and languages should serve and obey him verse 14. which Kingdom is thrice explained afterwards to be the Kingdom of the Saints of the most High verse 18. These four Beasts saith the Angel are four Kingdoms which shall arise But viz. when they have finished their course the Saints of the most High shall take the Kingdom c. Again verse 22. The wicked Horn prevailed until the time came that the Saints possessed the Kingdom Again verse 27. When the fourth Beast reigning in the wicked Horn was destroyed the Kingdom and dominion and the greatness of the Kingdom under the whole heaven is given to the people of the Saints of the most High c. These Grounds being laid I argue as followeth The Kingdom of the Son of man and of the Saints of the most High in Daniel begins when the Great Iudgment sits The Kingdom in the Apocalyps wherein the Saints reign with Christ a thousand years is the same with the Kingdom of the Son of man and Saints of the most High in Daniel Ergo It also
aeternitatis There came forth that year I conceived my Specimina of that Millennium a Discourse by a Lutheran with this Title Vero-similia historico-Prophetica de Rebus in novissimo die eventuris pio studio cujusdam 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 He conceals his name it is a little but elaborate Discourse He hath the same notion of Dies novissimus which I had of Dies Iudicii I found with no little admiration a great part of my private Speculations of this matter in that Tractate Spying it in the Catalogue and guessing what it meant by the Title I laid for it at London There came but two I got them both one for a friend another for my self I have used means for more Copies but they cannot say the Merchants be heard of Mine is now lent away when I can recover it I will send it you Thus I take my leave lest I seal too late God keep us Dalham-Hall Aug. 18. Yours Ioseph Mede Post-script Now I have done I repent me of so tumultuary and confused a Discourse of so great a Mysterie wherein so much is wanting to give it light and evidence I must desire you therefore to keep it to your self and to pardon the fault you have been an occasion of in putting me upon it EPISTLE XXI Dr. Meddus his Letter to Mr. Mede touching Dr. Twisse's Answers to nine Quaere's about Regnum Sanctorum Worthy Sir and my dear Friend THis hath been unto me no pleasant time being much weakened by this months bleeding and a pain in my right arm I have done with the Lutheran though doing all with my own hand I have been longer about it than Dr. Twisse was having the help of divers hands I now send it back with many thanks You may remember in the beginning of November I sent you a Letter from Dr. Twisse when I wrote he had besides some Quaere's to have proposed unto you concerning the thousand years Regnum Sanctorum but he durst not be so bold yet left it free unto me to do as I thought good But then propounding other things and being loth especially to hinder you in the going forward as with another part of the Revelation so with the clearing of 2 Pet. c. 3. And besides your inhibition was then a command unto me to make no more demands till after these late Holy-days But now in hope of your favourable bearing with me I shall adventure to make his Quaere's and Answers known unto you yet with this caution that neither they nor your judgment or censure of the Lutheran Book which I once desired may retard your other meditations nor to give answer thereunto but at your best leisure and conveniency Now to the Quaere's and Answers Quaere 1. As concerning the persons to be raised which are expressed Rev. 20. 4. to be only Martyrs and Piscator will have it proceed only of such Now this is very strange considering that undoubtedly some never suffering Martyrdom have been as great in the favour of God as any Martyrs as Abraham Isaac Iacob and the Virgin Mary Answ. This may be helped two waies First by such an interpretation of Martyrdom as may be extended much further then to the suffering of death for the testimony of Christ Secondly by comparing this of Rev. 20. 4. with other places as namely with Rev. 5. 10. 11. 18. where the same grace is extended to them that fear God's Name to small and great Object But then here followeth a contrary inconvenience that so it shall be extended unto all Answ. Yet is it not said To all that fear God's Name Quaere 2. Concerning the Communion between the Saints raised from their graves and the people then living and remaining on the earth called the nations that are saved that is from the fire whereby the earth and the works thereof shall be burned 2 Pet. 3. 10. Alstedius will have the Saints raised to be Doctors of the Church taking no notice of any distinction of male and female though of both Sexes there have been both Saints and Martyrs Rev. 21. 24. it is said that the nations shall walk in the light of New Ierusalem and if the Saints shall reign over the Nations there must be a Communion such as is between Governors and persons governed And this Government shall be undoubtedly in reference to the Worship of God Now consider 1. What Communion can such Bodies as ours have with glorified bodies considering that when Moses came down from the Mount his countenance did so shine that the Israelites could not endure to look him in the face Answ. First this glorious lustre may be qualified so far as to be without offence Secondly The world being restored why may not the mortal Bodies of men be something altered also Surely God can proportion it 2. Whether shall the Bodies of the Saints raised be covered or naked It seems very incongruous they should be naked neither can we devise in any congruity a glorified Body should be covered What raiment were any fit covering for such Neither is it congruous their glory should be covered as Moses's face was with a Veil Answ. As Angels appeared their faces shining like lightning and their raiment whitè as snow which aspect terrible at the first by familiar conversation might prove not terrible so Light may be as a garment to the Saints raised 3. Whether Christ and the Saints raised shall eat and drink One Mr. a Minister in Lincolnshire maintains they shall as I have heard from a noble person and for his opinion alledgeth that of our Saviour I will not from henceforth drink of the fruit of the vine until that day that I drink it new in the kingdom of God Mar. 14. 25. Add to this Luk. 14. 15. One sitting at table with Christ said Blessed is he that eateth bread in the Kingdom of God This he meant as did all the Iews of the Kingdom of the Messias on earth which opinion our Saviour doth no where correct Otherwise what use will they have of the Restauration of the world Yet this is very hard to concoct 1. That Christ and his Saints all glorified should come from Heaven to eat and drink on earth which comes near to the vile opinion of Cerinthus that for a 1000 years God's Saints should live on earth in carnal pleasures 2. In this case it seems their Bodies should be exposed to excrements which is not to be endured in Bodies glorified Answ. 1. No more than our Saviour's was after his Resurrection or Angels who sometimes did eat with the Patriarchs Answ. 2. If so yet not for necessity much less for satisfaction to the flesh but for other reasons as Christ did eat with his Apostles after his Resurrection Quaere 3. Then there will be no place for such desires as to be dissolved and to be with Christ Philip. 1. 23. and to be removed out of the body and to dwell with the Lord 2 Cor. 5. 8. For then to be dissolved will