ANTI-CHRIST Pointed and painted out in his true Colours OR The Pope of Rome proven to bee that Man of Sinne and Sonne of Perdition fore-prophesied in Scripture By the clear witnessing of Roman Catholicks themselues Who lived and died in the Communion of that Church For converting or convincing of anie Papist that is not wilfullie obdured DEUT. 32.31 Even our enemies themselves being Iudges By WILLIAM GUILD Doctor of Divinitie and Preacher of GODS WORD Printed in Aberdene by Iames Brown 1655. TO THE RIGHT HONORABLE AND RELIGIOVS ALEXANDER LORD FORBES OF PETSLEGO Right Honorable Noble Lord IN the tyme of so great defection froÌ„ the Trueth to Popery within this Kingdom and especiallie in these northern parts of late If ever there was a necessitie layd upon the Lords Servants To giue Warning from the Watch-tower as Ezekiell speaketh and to blow the Trumpet it is now And as the Apostle speaketh Earnestlie to contend for that Faith which was once delivered to the Saincts Seing as the Apostle Paull in his tyme did fore-warn the Elders of Ephesus There are greevous Wolves entred in amongst vs not sparing the flock as also of our own selves meÌ„ ar ariseÌ„n speaking perverse things to draw disciples after theÌ„ And more particularly seeing that man of sinne son of perdition of whoÌ„ he speaketh by his emissaries with all subtilitie and sedulitie is seeking to repare the breaches of that tottering Babell which is near to her fall by seeking with all deceaveablenesse of vnrighteousnesse as the Apostle speaketh in them that perish to seduce vnstable soules and such who have not receaved the love of the Trueth that they might bee saved that therâ—fore through strong delusion they should believe a lie Yet notwithstanding they shall not prevaile For howsoever that Beast spoken of in the Revelation whom all agree to bee that foretold Antichrist by his false resembling of the horns of the Lamb and pretending to bee CHRISTS Vicar hath before tymes deceaved the inhabitants of the earth and made them drunk with the wine of Whoorish FornicatioÌ„ as Hose speaketh The spirit of whoredoms causing them to erre Yet now his lying mouth speaking lyke the Dragon is so well known to all GODS People that are come out of Babell and follow the Lamb that as the Apostle speaketh concerning the Gospell if it was hid it was to them onlie that perish Even so it may bee sayd in lyke manner If in so clear a light of the Gospell this bee hid from anie blinded papist that poperie is Antichristianisme and the Pope that foretold Antichrist it is onlie to these who wilfullie continuing in their errour appearinglie GOD hath destinated to destruction and agaynst whom that sad threatning is denounced Rev. 14.10 that they shall drink of the wine of the wrath of GOD which is powred out without mixture into the Cup of His indignation c. Seeing therefore of al Contraversies between the Papists and Us this is the chieffest of such consequence That if we prove the Pope to bee Antichrist Then all Poperie is overthrown and all other Contraversies between them and us easilie decyded The Pope his infallibilie beeing the Diana of Ephesus ther Atlas and Idoll Dagon this Pillar of whose house being pulled down the whole Fabrick or Superstructure thereof falleth as it did in Sampsons tyme For then it will follow that all Papists are limmes of Antichrist and all Popish doctrines are Antichristian errors opposite to the Trueth of CHRIST and the Gospell Therefore for convincing the obstinate Papist and converting the tractable As also for establishing the wavering and confirming such as are rooted in the Trueth I have taken pains besyde clear Testimonies of Scripture adduced heretofore by manie worthie Servants of CHRIST to prove the Point in this short Treatise by taking another course to my knowledge not taken hitherto by anie That is to evidence by the witnessing of Roman catholicks themselves who lived and died in the Communion of that Church That the Pope is Antichrist and that man of sinne and sonne of perdition fore-prophesied by the Apostles 2. Thessal 2.3 And that Beast spoken of by Iohn Rev. 13.11 Whom the LORD shall consume with the Spirit of His Mouth abolish by the Brightnes of His Comming That so as is sayd Deut. 32.31 Even our enemies being judges and as it was sayd to the wicked servant Luke 19 22. Ex ore tuo c. Even so out of the mouths of Romanists themselves the Trueth hereby may bee established and themselves convinced Which pains that I have taken in this point I have dedicated to Your LORDSHIP besyde other Motives and Relation Because of Your LORDSHIPS Known Religious Disposition Love to the Trueth The want wherof is assigned by the Apostle to bee the cause of that delusion of manie now adayes and of their Apostasie from the Trueth And which I may say is one of the greatest Evidences of GODS Love to You and of the standing of Your Noble Familie while as manie others ar lyke Ionahs gourd fading and falling Because of the want of that Love to the Trueth and contempt of the Gospell That is lyke that worm which was at the root thereof In which Love of GOD His Trueth and in joyning a Gospel lyfe with a Gospell light as Your Lordship groweth in years that the LORD may lykewyse as the Prophet speaketh Bee lyke Dew to You and make You to grow in Grace as the Lillie And to spreade Your Roots in the stabilitie thereof lyke the Trees of Lebanon shall bee ever the heartie Wish and Prayer of Your Lordships humble Servant in CHRIST WILLIAM GUILD TO THE READER Christian courteous Reader MArvell not that after so manie Worthies in CHRISTS Church who have so largelie written of this Subject That I should need anie more to put Pen to Paper in this particular For that which hath moved mee is not onlie that these spoken of have written partlie in Latin not vnderstood by all obvious to few And others that have written in English have so copiouslie inlarged themselves by discourse therein and are lykewyse rare here and in the hands of few But lykewyse my speciall Motive hath bene the dayly increase of Poperie almost and the spreading it selfe everiewhere Partlie through these vnhappie differences in CHRISTS Church of late within the three Kingdoms And partlie through the sedulitie of the masked Iesuites and Seminarie Priests who numerouslie now swarm everywher upon the presumptioÌ„ of inpunitie and lyke the Pharesees of old do make Proselytes to themselves in all parts Which with griefe I am sure should zealouslie affect everie sound Professor But chieflie Pastors and such as have bene called to the holie Ministerie to give Warning from the Watch Tower And contend for the Faith once delyvered to the Saints Against such disguysed wolves comming in sheeps cloathing to devour CHRISTS Flock And in particular to discover that
while she was going in procession to the church of Lateran betweene the Theater called Colossum S. Clements Church which thereafter since that time Detestandi facinoris causa sayeth Platina never any Pope went and for preventing the like whereof in time comming that hole in the Chayre wherein the Pope elected is first set was devised that by the last Deacon his genetalls may be handled for declaring him to be of the Masculine sex as is reported by Platina Martinus Polonus Sigebert Fasciculus temporum and a cloud of many more popish historians Likewise may be added that incestous Monster Alexander the sixth with his owne daughter Lucretia Whose Epitaph was this Hoc jacet in tumulo Lucretia nomine sed re Thais Alexandri filia sponsa nurus Whose life as Guicciardin testifieth in his historie of Italie was nothing else But an acting of all monstrous uncleannesse immoderate ambition pestiferous perfidie unheard of avarice sayeth hee most horrible crueltie I could recite many more examples but these may suffice so that it is most true which the Iesuite Pererius speaketh of Antichrist that inwardlie and in secret Super omnes voluptuarius libidinosus erit externa vero conversatione castitate mentietur That is aboue all men hee shall be given to voluptuousnes lecherie but in outward conversion hee shall counterfite chastitie CHAP. XVII Of Antichrists or the Pope and his Clergie their fained Miracles lyeing wonders 2. Thess. 2.9 OF this the Apostle forewarneth speaking of Antichrist and saying 2. Thess. 2.9 Whose comming sayeth hee is after the working of Satan with all power and signes and lyeing wonders which he there calleth also The deceiveablenesse of unrighteousnes which 〈◊〉 called lyeing wonders as Augustin teacheth in his book of the Citie of God because they are either fained by men or the tricks of lying spirits for inducing men to believe lyes and so are eyther â— falso as their Authour or ad falsum in their end All which popish miracles I distinguish in three ranks the first is of these who are falslie reported but not done the second is of these that seeme to be done but are onlie counterfited the third is of these that are trulie done but by satan The first of which are bred of lyes and nourished by credulitie the second sort is bred of fraud and fed by superstition it being hard to tell whether Iuglers or priests like these of Baal haue beene greatest Cozeners The third is the working of Satan as the Apostle speaketh 2. Thess. 2.9 and his strong delusion of such who because they receive not the loue of the trueth therefore are given over to believe a lye so that all popish miracles are either falslie reported or falslie done or falslie ascribed to God saint or angel Whereof I may say with the learned noble RomaÌ„Laurentiê° Valla in his book de donatione Constantini Non desiderat sinceritas christiana patrociniuÌ„ falsitatis the sincerity of ChristiaÌ„ religion standeth not in need of the patrocinie of falshood It is sufficientlie defended sayeth hee by it self and by it owne light veritie without these counterfit and jugling tricks or fables that are most contumelious sayeth he both against God Christ and the Holy Ghost The first end of which lying wonders their owne Lyra showeth to be filthie gaine saying upon Daniel the eleventh and historie of the dragon The people were then deceived sayeth hee by their Priests who worshipped the Dragon for their temporall gaine and even so now in the Church there is sometimes great deceiving of the people by miracles fained by priests and their adherents sayeth he for their gaine inlikemanner Their own Cassander likewise showeth us that the fostering of errour in the mynds of the people is another end And that wicked men continuing in their wickednesse notwithstanding haue believed that by the intercession of saints only they would readilie be pardoned which pernicious errour sayeth hee so farre as can be hath beene confirmed by counterfit miracles Of which sort that book called the golden Legend and Speculum exemplorum is fraughted and full and which their own Melchior Canus Bishop of the Canaries ingenouslie with a sorrowfull heart as he professeth calleth both false and ridiculous To begin then with these fained miracles whereof their owne Lyra speaketh which are for gaine I will instance first That notable one practised by Pope Boniface the Eight as the Popeâ— owne Secretarie recordeth it not for a pettie gayne like inferiour priests but to attayne to a Popedome which was thus Boniface perceiving his predecessour Caelestin who had beene a Hereâ—ite and was against his will elected Pope to be a simple man to move him to resign over the Popedome to him suborned one in the night time to be in the house neare to his Chamber to counterfit himself to be an Angel sent froÌ„ God by speaking thorow a hollow reed to him to direct him to dimitt the Popedom to Boniface if he would be saved which the simple man took to be a miraculous advertisment and so dimitted the Popedome Another notable and later example in anno 1534. known to all FRANCE was this The provost of Orleans wife died and forebade her body to be buried with great solemnitie as use was whereby the gray Friers in whose Church she was buried being disapointed of the great gayne which they expected suborned a young Frier placed aboue the syling of the Church in the time of even-song to make a great noyse whereupon many resorting thither and conjuration of the spirit being used to declare who hee was Answered that it was the soule of the Provost of Orleans wife was damned for the Lutheran heresie tho shee died a Roman Catholick and she made that noyse that her bodie might be raysed out of the graue in that Church and laid in some other coÌ„mon unhallowed place which thing the Provost some both of his and her friends suspecting this to be a fraudulent trick of revenge because they had not gotten their expected gaine at her death and buriall they went to the King and desired the matter to be tryed which being done before the Parliament of PARIS it was at last found out and confessed and the young Frier with the first Devysers who were Colimannus and one Stephanus Atrebatensis with their associats were adjudged to be carryed to Orleans where the fact was committed and thereafter to bee brought foorth to the place where publick execution is used upon Malefactors and openlie there to confesse their fraud and to be accounted thence-foorth infamous for ever Wherefore is it likewise but for gain that the Pope ascribeth such wonders that his consecrated Aguus Dei's can work if any do weare â—hem about them as is comprehended in these verses following Fulgura doorsum depellit omne malignum PeccatuÌ„ frangit vt Christi sanguis angit Pregnans servatur simul
Duarenus telleth us was the way of the Popes arising from Episcopus unius urbis to be Episcopus totius Orbis or Universall Bishop of the whole Church 2. Hee is said to arise out of the earth to show that as things that arise out of the earth do rise and grow up unperceiveablie ita vt crevisse non crescere cernimus so should Antichrist arise piece and piece working in a mysterie and by deceiveablenes of unrighteousnes which beganne in the seeds thereof in the Apostles tymes as they declare and we may see COLOss. 2. And as the tares which the envyous man did sow in the night tyme whill the servants were asleepe did grow up to a good degree before they were espyed so did Antichrist before hee was revealed and thereafter opposed 3. This beast did arise out of the earth as being hatched out of earthlie avarice ambition as Gregorie speaketh of Antichrist calling him therefore The King of Pryde who by usurping the title of Vniversall Bishop would exalt Himself like Lucifer aboue all his fellow Angels and who ariseth out of the earth sayeth their own Carthusian that is sayeth hee Ex rerum terrenaruÌ„ opulentia out of the aboundance of earthlie riches wherewith that mysticall Whoore is so puft up that shee is described so glorious Revel. 17 4. and sayeth I sitt as a Queene and shall see no sorrow Next seing that it is said that this beast is horned like the Lamb but speaketh like the Dragon Let us 1. see what is meaned hereby in generall 2. What is to be â—nderstood by these hornes in particular First then in generall hereby is showne that Antichrist is not an open avowed but a covered and disguysed enemy like a Wolfe in sheeps cloathing oppunging CHRIST and His Trueth not by force but by fraud and all Deceiveablenes of unrighteousnes speaking lyes in hypocrisie Therfore Antichristianisme is called The mystery of iniquitie whereupon the ordinare glosse sayeth The impietie of Antichrist is mysticall that is cloaked under the name of godlienes so that hee is a prime hypocrit like Iudas after whom hee is called The sonn of perdition pretending himself to bee Dux foederis that is the prince of the Covenant as Ierom calleth him and consequentlie the Head of the Church whillas hee is the greatest opposer thereof Neither could it be sayeth Radulphus Flaviacensis that Antichrist should attayne unto Ecclesiasticall honours and as the Apostle testifieth sit in the Temple of GOD that 's the society of the Faithfull take the Chayre of honour unlesse having first pretended a kind of conformitie with the Faythfull hee should deceive these of whom hee is to bee received Next by the two bornes of the Lamb whereby simple and unsound Christians are deceived are understood sayeth their own Primasius with him the ordinare glosse the Two Tâ—staments to wit the Old and New which agree with the Lamb CHRIST and which the beast shall attempt to usurp as having authoritie over the Scriptures and counterfiting himself to be the Lamb sayeth he to wit in power as his Viccar upon earth that so hee may sayeth hee invade the Lamb to wit the more crafâ—ily The Iesuit Ribera also sayeth that by these two hornes is meaned The beasts simulat meeknes and holieres which the Pope also pretendeth being called his holines and the servant of Gods servants whill as hee is Lord of Lords As likewise he is horned like the Lamb sayeth their ordinare glosse because thereby hee will counterfit himself to haue innocencie of lyfe pretending chastitie and true doctrine pretending infallibilitie Others also understand by these two hornes the Royall Propheticall Offices of CHRIST Which as CHRISTS Viccar the Pope doeth claime as to be sole Monarch and the infallible DOCTOR of the Church and as Platina the Pops Secretarie reporteth in the life of Paull the second that he said that all Lawes were placed in the Cabinet of his breast so that what he determineth all flesh must yeeld unto But it is said that he is horned like the Lamb whereby hee deceiveth many simple soules yet he may be knowne by this that hee speaketh like the Dragon to wit by his erronious doctrine clearlie opposite to what CHRIST speaketh in his holie Scriptures as may be instanced almost in all the points of poperie likewise sayeth Ierom of Antichrist Quasi Deus loquetur vt qui Dei assumit potentiam that is hee shall speak as if hee were GOD as taking upon him divine authoritie or power to wit that he cannot erre and againe in the same place Religionem omnem suae subijcere potestati conabitur sayeth hee that is he shall attempt to subject al Religion to his power yea more augere tentabit sayeth hee Sacramenta Ecclesiae that is he shall augment the number of the sacraments of the Church to wit his fyve bastard sacraments all which that the Pope doth none can be so impudent as to deny For how he subjects al Religion to himself let Cardinall Cusanus declare who affirmeth that according to times and occasions hee may change the sense of Scripture and when His sense or the Churches is changed it is to be believetd that GOD changeth his Iudgement which if this bee not the Dragons mouth I know not what can bee it In like-manner in the Popes CannoÌ„ Law ther it is said that tho the Pope should leade in troups innumerable people after himself to hell Hujus culpas redarguere praesumat mortaliumnullus quia cunctos ipse judicaturus a nemine est judicaÌ„dus that is Let no mortall man notwithstanding presume to fynd fault with him because hee is to judge all men but is to be judged by none And if this againe be not the Dragons mouth let a Pope himself Gregorie the first declare who speaking of him who should usurpe the Antichristian tytle as hee calleth it of Universall Bishope Which the Pope now doeth sayeth Qui conabitur in culmen singularitatis erumpere vt nulli subesse solus omnibus praeesse videbitur That is who will strive to such a Hight of singularitie that he will be subject to none and yet hee alone will bee aboue all others Which Cardinall Cusan declareth to bee the right meaning of that tytle of Universall Bishope which the Pope now assumeth saying that It importeth one to bee so Principall as all others should be subject to him and hee to none which made Eberhardus Archbishope of Salisburg likewise in an imperiall dyat holden at Reinsburg in the yeare 1246. As Aventin reporteth avowedly speaking of the Pope to call him that Antichrist saying Perditus ille homo quem Antichristum vocare solent in cujus fronte blasphemiae nomen scriptum est Deus sum errare non possum in templo Dei sedet ac longe lateque dominatur c. That is that man of perdition whom they use to call