the Bishop or Rome hath made his Market by the ruine of the Empire let him read Signonius his History of the Kingdom of Italy In the beginning of his third Book he shews how Pope Gregory the Second because the Emperor opposed his setting up of Images in the Church forbad the People to pay Tribute to him and not so much as once to name him in their Publick Service Du Moulin p. 157. This then being out of question to wit That the Roman Empire whereof St. Paul speaks is already ruined and that the Bishop of Rome thereupon rose to that height of pride and Blasphemy it must needs follow that the Son of Perdition is revealed and that this is he The Third Mark AT first from mean estate 1 this Beast arose Came from the Earth and did at length oppose The former Beast the Roman Empire he By help of Lombards chac'd from Italy Usâ—rpt his Seat appropriates his Power And doth the Saints as bad as he devour Popes Tragicks are the second part of his As if that Soul by Metempseuchosis 2 Surviv'd and were translated into this Now let all judge if Antichrist become That sees these Marks upon the Beast or Râ—me 1 This Beast saith Du Moulin rose from a small beginning and mean estate signified by a Little Horn in Daniels Prophecy and in the Revelations of St. John by his rising out of the Earth according as the Latines call such as get up from a little Terrae Filios as Mushromes or Toad-stools pag. 259. Now who is there but knows how mean and poor the Bishops of Rome were before they came to be Earthly Monarchs then when they had not one foot of ground that the Emperour caused them to be whipt imprisoned banished c. but by degrees to what a mighty height did he rise He exercised the Power of the First Beast by little and little he took the Empire upon him 2 sat down in his very Seat assumed his Habit and Shoes of Scarlet and counterfeited the actions and rights of the Roman Empire casting off his Crosier-Staff he takes to hisself a Crown and is cloth'd in Scarlet which was proper to the Emperor the Emperor had a Senate â—lad in Scarlet and he hath a Senate of Cardinals clad in cloth of the same colour and in many other things he seem'd to represent the First Beast The Fourth Mark 1. HE doth exalt himself above all those Call'd Gods on earth does by his 2 Bulls oppose All Regal Edicts that receive not their Obliging Sanction from his papal Chair He like a Peerless Potentate does now Make Sov'raign Thrones and Crowned Monarchs bow 1. This is notorious to the World though the brevity of Notes admit not room for many Examples 2. Pius the Fifth sent a Bull to depose Qu. Elizabeth See Jewel's View of Sedition and Cambden's Eliz 1570. Tom. 1. Gregory the 13 labour'd secretly to rnine her Id. ibid. Anno 1378. Tom. 1. Sixtus 5. gave her Kingdom to the king of Spain Anno 1588. ibid. Clement 8. Strictly commands that none should inherit the English Crown how good soever his Title be unless they be sworn and resolved Papists he words are thus Nisi ejusmodi esset qui fidem Catholicam non modo toleraret sed omni opp studio promoveret studio promoveret more majorum jurejurando se id praestiturum susceperet Camb. Ann. 1600. Tom. alter 3. Some hold his Stirrup 4. some are made to wait Three Frosty Nights bare-footed at his Gate 5. Imperial Heads lye prostrate at his Beck And to his trampling feet submit their Neck 3. Pope Adrian 4. made the Emperour Frederick 1. to hold his Stirrup and chid him for holding the wrong one Balaeus in Act. Rom. Pont. in Vit. Adrian 4. 4. Gregory 7. made the Emperour Henry 4. his Empress and Child to wait 3 days and 3 night in a Frosty Season bare-footed and bare-legged before his Gates before they could get Audience Id. In vit Gregor 7. 5 Alexander 3. Made the Emperour fall upon the ground in the Temple of St. Mark at Venice the whole People being present and puts his Foot upon his Neck uttering the Psalmists words Psal 91. 13. Thou shalt tread upon the Lion and the Adder the young Lion and Dragon shalt thou trample under feet Id. in vit Alex. 3. see 40 Examples of this in the Learned Dr. White 's Way of the Church p. 18 19 20 21. The Fifth Mark ANother Mark He in Gods Temple sits Boasting himself a God and counterfeits True Holiness when he assum'd the Throne There was a Temple * of the Holy One In Rome and did continue so till they Displaced Christ †and flung his Truth away 'T is expresly latd down by the Apostle as an undoubted Mark of the Man of Sin viz. That he should sit in the Temple of God Chrysost is very express Hom. 3. 2. Thes 8. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is not in Jerusalem but in the Church so Oecumenus de Rom lib. 3. cap. 13. and Theoph. Theodor. Ambros Primus Anselm Severian apud imsum Besides it was to be in a Câ—with 7 Hills and where 7 kings of supream Magistrates were or had been which agrees to no City ty but Rome as is demonstrated by peter du Moulin and others if it be objected That the Church of Rome at the time of Antichrists Rise could not be the Temple of God because upon the Great Apostacy that denomination ceases it is answered It might be called the Church and Temple of God then though the Presence of God and the true Religion and Power of Godliness was gone it might retain the Name as Royal Palaces keep their names when ruined ' its said I sa I. 2 I. How is the Faithful City become an Harlot Could she be a faithfull City and a Harlot too The meaning is she was so but now thus so Matth. II. 5. Mark 7. ult 't is said The blind see the deaf hear the dumb speak the lame walk c. that is they were so but now otherwise a Woman keeps her Husbands Name though divorced for Whoredom so Rome * was Gods Temple Christs Church but when she espoused another Head and cast off her first Husband †and the true Faith she became an Harlot and Synagogue of Satan though bearing still the name of Church and Christian also See an excellent Treatise Intituled The Man of Sin Printed 1677. pag. 40. c. The Sixth Mark. THis is the Beast upon whose Back the great Inticing Strumpet rides in Pompous State * By him she was supported all along By his Imposture she was rendred strong * So he carried me away in the Spirit into the Wilderness and I saw a Woman set upon a Scarlet colourd Beast full of Names of Blasphemy having seven Heads and ten Horns Rev. 17. 4. I will shew the Mystery of the Woman and the Beast that carrys her vers 7. This Mark that †Notion throws quite out of Door
Causes of dissent Evert not Truth and shake the Fundament Of True Religion why such angry brawling Such Odious Nick-names and such vile miscalling Who dares intrude into the Judgment-Seat Of God Almighty who is only Great And only Judgment gives to him belongs To pass the Sentence and to punish wrongs Why cannot Christians with each other bear Among Apostles some dissentions were But did they therefore persecute each other These Mortal Conflicts Brother against Brother Destroys our safety for they set a GAP Open for Rome that would us all intrap In Fatal Snares their Maxim is we know Divide and Rule Distract and Overthrow Their Crafty Agents to creep in among Our heedless Parties and divide the Throng That with more Ease they may us all devour Destroy our Nation and subvert our power Why therefore do not Protestants agree As One against the Common Enemy Who waits with bloudy hand t' involve 'em all In one Destruction Epidemical Sion's Children AH Mother who can remedy your grief For this Disease admits of no relief Sion OF no relief O then my Heart must break Unless my Sons their Mothers Counsel take Which will those fatal flaming heats allay Obstruct their Growth and take 'em clear away O can a Mothers Tears and woful Crys Be dis-regarded in her Childrens Eyes Can English Protestants who do profess To serve one God in Truth and Holiness Slight all my Wishes and Requests despise O! Hearken to my Counsel and be Wise Let Wrathful Pride and foolish Self-conceit Let Quibbles and Sophistical deceit Be quite exploded let a cool Debate All Fundamentals of Religion state In such you all will certainly agree O happy Model of sweet Vnity Let none that to those Principles do stick Be branded with the name of Heretick It glads my heart to hear 'em call each other By thaâ— sweet Title of a Christian Brother Next if you would not Charity explode Abuse the guiltless and affront your God Judge not your Brethren at a distance neither Give easie Credit to the Tales of either Hot-headed Scriblers or licentious tongues That often load the innocent with Wrongs So Hellish Monks did serve Waldensian Saints With horrid clamour and unjust complaints So Popish Impudence spews out its Gall To make us odious and bespatter all The Reformation sure that cause is bad Whose chief support from Railing must be had If giddy rumour or uncertain fame Should raise a Slander on your Brothers Name Repair to him and in Converse you 'll see Whether he guilty or not guilty be If he be faulty tell him of his sin Be mild and secret and you may him win Admonish gently let your whole discourse Be full of savour love and Scripture-force This is the way to bring him to a sence And Gods prescribed Method to convince But if you fail then leave him to his God Who can reform or punish with a Rod. Your Work is done you have discharg'd the part Of Friend of Brother of a Christian heart Before Belief examine what is vented Good Men by Malice may be represented In Monstrous Shapes Some that to God are dear Hatred will paint like a mishapen Bear Believe not therefore distant imputation No Censure 's Just before Examination In all Debates be sure to lay aside All prejudice and let the Scriptures guide Your calm sedate Disputes let Truth be scann'd With cool Resolves O! let that great Command Of Love take place for that should moderate All Eager Sallies in a warm Debate Who loses Error truly gains the Field And he is Victor that to Truth does yield Where e're you find it though in mean array Subscribe and win the Glory of the Day O! what 's the World but Shackles to the Mind What 's Reputation but a fleeting Wind Why should those Bawbles which the Lord abhors Become the Sacred Truths Competitors Away with all such Rubs let Truth take place And then the Springs of Everlasting Grace Will drop down Blessings Vnity Increase Among my Children as the fruits of Peace Sion's Children OVr Common Danger and the Real Sence Which we have got by dear Experience Of those Advantages our cruel Foe Gets by our Factions will unite us so As that our Enemys shall ne're prevail To break our League or make our Courage fail But tell Dear Mother has some new affright So dis-compos'd you that you fear our Light Is near Extinction tell your Sons we pray What are the Symptoms of th' expiring Day Why do you judge that England's Day of Grace Draws to an Evening and declines apace Shew some Prognosticks of that dismal Night That threatens to succeed our Gospel-Light Sion WHen Sol once touches our Meridian Line It straight descends does by degrees decline Its heat grows less its dis-appearing Light Yields to the Sable of approaching Night Just so the Gospel in its Altitude Once shot such Beams that in this Isle ensu'd So great Conversion that those former Days Did feel its blest and universal Rays A General Heat did warm this Happy Nation From its benign and pow'rful Operation But now it falls and from our Horizon It s vig'rous influence is almost gone Thousands of Sermons lately have been preacht But very few if any sinners reacht How ineffectual is the quick'ning word It shines but warms not it s but like a Sword That 's fair to sight but has no Edge at all Few prick'd at heart and scarce do any fall At Jesus feet or have a sence of Sin Confessing how rebellious they have bin It is a dismal and apparent Sign That Night comes on when Phoebus does decline When Heat and Fervour fail our Hemisphere Will quickly see its glory disappear The Ev'ning of the Nat'ral Day is come When Harvest-Work-men are repairing home So when quick Summons of Omnipotence Removes the Dressers of his Vineyard hence We may conclude the Gospel-Morning past Because Gods Servants disappear so fast Can I when Gap-defenders fall asleep But like old Isr'el for my Prophets weep How can the naked and unguarded Flock Sustain the Brunt of an invading Shock When of its Shepherds it is thus bereft When scarce a Moses or a Joshua's left How many active Guides most dearly lov'd By Me have been in little time remov'd Scarce can I dry mine Eies for loss of one But News arrive of many others gone If that my Head were Waters and each Eie A Well of Tears I could distil 'em dry Bright Lamps extinguish't and no other Lights Appear to chace the horrour of our Nights Shook by concussions of my Foes I stand Whilst few are rais'd to hold my trembling hand If thus my Horsemen and Commanders dye What will become of the poor Infantry Who can support the burden of the Day When such brave Hero's daily drop away Is Summer past or is the Harvest done That such presages of a Storm come on Sure God as Monarchs do intendeth Wars When he recalls his choice Embassadors Ah too licentious World come look about Before the
year 604. or 606. when the Traytor Phocas by the help â—f Boniface the 3d. murdered the Emperour Mauritius in requital of which the Vsurper Phocas gave the said Boniface that blasphemous Title and decreed that the Roman Church should be head of all Churches Which Platina a Papist and a Writer of the Popes Lives agrees to as Beda de 6 Aetat Mundi Paul Diacon rer Rom. 18. Histor Longob lib. 4. 11. Anast Bibl. Vit. Bon. 3. Ado. Aetat 6. Reg. Chron. l. 1. Aimon de gest Franc. lib. 4. c. 4. Yet the same Du Moulin seems positively to affirm that the Persecution of the Church under the Pope shall have an end in or about the Year 1689. See his Book entituled The Accomplishment of the Prophecies Pag. 4. 12. Thus Term once expired saith he the Truth that was apprest shall lift up her head afresh and the Witnesses shall be seen to stand up again who shall astonish the Church of Rome c. b 2 Thes. 2. 3. Man of Sin 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is an Hebraism and imports a person given up to Impiety and Wickedness as Pro. 24. 5. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vir scientiae a Man of knowledge that is Very Knowing 2 Sam. 16. 8. 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 vir sanguinum A Man of Bloud that is one arrived at a non ultra of impiety This introducer of blind Superstition Is stil'd in Holy Writ c Son of Perdition From Hells Abyss at first he did procâ—ed As in the Revelations d you may read 'T is he whom Daniel calls e the little Horn By whom three more up by the Roots were torn c 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Son of Perdition is also an Hebraism and denotes One designed for destruction as a hopeless and graceless wretch Chrysost on 2 Thes. Hom. 3. tells us he is called so because he shall be destroyed Piscator and Erasmus think it may be expounded one desperate and past all hope of Honesty the perfect Copy of his Original Judas who is called the Son of Perdition John 17. 12. for he seemed an Angel yet was a Devil he was no Heathen quitted Judaism followed Christ was an Apostle seemed to pity the Poor pretended great affection to his Master yet betrays him with a Kiss lov'd the Bag hatcht a Villany able to rend the Rocks and make the Earth quake In which let all impartial men consider whether the Romish Antichrist does not exactly Parallel him d Rev. 11. 7. The Beast that a ascendeth out of that Bottomless Pit c. e Du Moulin p. 379. amply demonstrates that the portion of the Roman Empire which the Pope hath under him hath such proportion in respect of the whole Extent of the Roman Empire as there is of â— to 10 that is little less than the third Part agreeable to Dan. 7. 8. THe Marks of the Beast First Mark. The Spirit aptly does Characterize This Mushroms growth f declares he shall arise Not till a day of great Apostacy Corrupts true Faith and Gospel Purity Just so it happened at that very time When Romes proud Prelate did attempt to climb To that Prodigious Grandeur which devours Both Regal Princely and Imperial Powers That such a Fall as then Predicted was Did e're his rising truly come to pass Some Learned Writers of their own confess With detestation of their wickedness f This is one way whereby we may know who the Man of Sin is viz. He shall not be revealed until there come a falling away first as 2 Thess 2. 3. The Revelation of Antichrist was then to be when there should appear some eminent Defection in the Church Now Antiquity clearly makes out when that Apostacy was it began an very early It is affirmed by some The Church did not continue a pure Virgin nor retained her Primitive Purity longer then one hundred years But however all approved Historians agree that about the beginning of the Fourth Century the Apostacy of which the Apostle speaketh was visible and fully manifested Joan. Wolfius out of Jerom saith That about the year 390. the Law perished from the Priest and the Vision from the Prophet Avarice and Corruption crept into the Church they condemned Meats and Marriage and yet gave themselves up to luxurious Banquets and Uncleanness In the year 326 it was endeavoured in the Council of Nice to cause Bishops and Elders to refrain from their Wives See Alsted in Chronologia testium Veritatis Also the said Wolfius alledgeth a Saying out of Augustine applying it to the year 399. who speaketh thus That Religion about that time was corrupted with Traditions land Humane Rites that the condition of the Jews under the Law was easier then that of Christians under the Gospel Dionysius in an Epistle hinteth that they were burdened with Ceremonies and Traditions that were obtruded and laid upon Christians and that the Sacraments both of Baptism and the Lords Supper suffered great mutation and was grievously corrupted Also we find Chrysostom declaiming against the Bishop of Rome concerning Purgarory which thing is applied to the Year 410. or there abouts Besides we find mention made of worshipping of Images which is reprehended by one Amphilocus Bishop of Iconium as also by Epiphanius whom we find speaking thus Whence is this Image-Worship and Design of the Devil And a little after he saith Be mindful my beloved Children that ye bring not Images into the Church but bear about God in your hearts The Second Mark. WHen Romes great Empire to its Period came The Papal Hierarchy h usurpt the same By hellish Craft he makes that Seat his own And forms Regalia's to a Tripple-Crown This Man of Sin in * Gospel-Times we know VVas but a hatching and in Embrio And e'er he could come to maturity The †Roman Empire must dissolved be Upon whose Ruines he hath built his Nest An rais'd his Rampant Domineering Crest h The second thing that was to precede the coming of Antichrist was the taking away of the Sixth Head viz. The Heathen Empire which in the Apostles time * did let or hinder his Rise He that now letteth will let until he be taken out of the way and then shall that wicked one be revealed c. The Empire saith du Moulin which did bear rule must be abolished and out of the Ruins thereof the Son of Perdition is made manifest and exalts himself the Emperors hindred him but the Empire being decayed in the West and diminished in the East by the Saracens the Pope found means to seiz upon the chief City of the Empire together with great part of Italy and to devour the Neighbouring Churches and Realms at his pleasure Du Moulin ubi supra p. 119. That this was the general Opinion of Antiquity may be seen in Tertullian lib. de Resurrect cap. 24. Chrysost 4 Sermon on 2 Thes The Greek Scholiast in loc August de civitat Dei lib. 20. cap. 19. Iren. 11. quest to Algasia Lipsius c. He that would see more particularly how