can we apply the taking away of the daily Sacrifice to the times of Iulian and how can we make the accompt by the Abomination of Desolation set up by Iulian when our Saviour doth speak so plainly of the desâ—…ruction of Ierusalem by the Romans He speaketh in this wise These be the dayes of Vengeance that all things that are written may be fulfilled And there shall be great distress upon this People and they shall fall by the edge of the Sword and shall be led away Captive into all Nations and Ierusalem shall be troden down of the Gentiles till the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled Luk. 21. 22 23 c. Here observe First our Saviour speaketh of the destruction of Ierusalem and of the scattering of the Jewes and of the time of their dispersion He doth speak of these things as they were foretold in the writings of the old Prophets That all that is written might be fulfilled Now where may we conceive these things are written but in the Prophecie of Daniel more briefly chap. 9 and more largely chap. 12. St. Matthew therefore when he speaketh of the destruction of Ierusalem by the Romans doth plainly shew that this is but the fulfilling of that which was formerly mentioned in the Prophecie of Daniel Mat. 24. vers 14 15. If this be so why then should we look after the setting up of the Abomination of Desolation in the times of the Emperor Iulian when in the Evangelist it is so strictly limited to the destruction of Ierusalem But let us come to the things themselves and here in the first place concerning the wrath that shall be upon the people of the Jewes it is expresly said That they shall fall by the edge of the Sword and that they shall be carried Captive into all Nations This is the scope of our Saviours words as we may see in the Story Now then doth not Daniel speak of the same things of a time of trouble for the Children of his People such as never was since it was a Nation vers 1. And doth he not speak of the scattering of the Holy People and of the continuance of their dispersion to the time of the end Secondly for the time how long the dispersion shall continue our Saviour saith That the Jewes shall be carried Captive into all Nations and Ierusalem shall be troden under foot till the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled It is plain then That the dispersion of the Jews and the conculcation of the literal Ierusalem shall last to the fulfilling of the times of the Gentiles Now then If we apply this to the Prophecie of Daniel doth he not speak of the destruction of Ierusalem and the dispersion of the Holy People and of the time of the dispersion how long shall it be to the end of these things vers 6. Thirdly The Evangelist doth begin the time of the dispersion from the destruction of Ierusalem as from the Epocha and term thereof And doth not Daniel do the same Doth he not Number 1290 dayes the time of the dispersion from the destruction of Ierusalem Fourthly The Evangelist saith That Ierusalem shall be troden under foot till the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled In which words he doth secretly imply That after the compleating of those times there shall be a glorious Restoring of that Church and Nation The words of St. Paul are much to the same effect When the Fulness of the Gentiles shall come in all Israel shall be saved Rom. 11. 25. He speaketh of the Church of the Jewes that shall be in the latter times And for the particular time he doth restrain it in this wise When the Fulness of the Gentiles shall come in that is When the Fulness of the Nations shall be brought in to own Christ the Head of the Church then the Nation of the Jews shall be Called And so Jewes and Gentiles shall make one People under Christ their Head in the latter dayes And are not the words of Daniel much to the same purpose Doth he not say Blessed is he that waiteth and cometh to the 1335 dayes to the glorious Restauration of that Church and Nation But yet for a further amplification let us consider what is spoken Dan. 9. 27. And here we shall find that this doth parallel the two former Scriptures and that all three together do speak of the destruction of Ierusalem by the Romans and the continuance of the dispersion of that People after the destruction These are the words He shall cause the Sacrifice and the Oblation to cease and for the overspreading of Abomination or as it is in the Margine with Abominable Armies he shall make it desolate even until the consummation and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate In these words Note First the Agent who it is that shall make desolate The People of Rome or the Prince of that People who shall come Secondly The Action it self he shall cause the Sacrifice and the Oblation to cease and shall bring in the Abomination that maketh Desolate Thirdly The time when this Action shall begin to wit After the cutting off of the Messiah Then the People of the Prince that shall come shall destroy the City and the Sanctuary And so they did as appeareth by the event â—…ourthly For the time of the continuance of the Desolation it is said He shall make it desolate even until the consummation and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate He doth not speak of the desolation of Ierusalem only at that 〈◊〉 â—…nstant but of the continuance thereof as the Lord had determined and Decreed it upon that City and People Iâ—… is said to be determined because 〈◊〉 is precisely cut out deâ—…ned limited and circumscribed as was the period of the 70 weeks vers 24. Further The Prophet Isaiah 〈◊〉 of the casting away of the Jewes useth the same expression as is herâ—… used in the text of Daniel For saith he though thy Peoâ—…le of Israel be as the sand of the Sea yet a 〈◊〉 of 〈◊〉 shall return For 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the consumption 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the pâ—…ecise consummation shall overflow 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 chap. 10. vers 22 23. This is spoken of the 〈◊〉 fataâ—…â—…cattering of the Jewish Nation and the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of that dispersion as the Apostle himâ—…elf 〈◊〉 exâ—…ound Rom. 9. 27 28. So then the text doth not only speak of the destruction of Ierusalem by the Romans but of a certain determinated time of the desolation of that People how long it shall continue Now let us apply all these things to the controverted place Dan. 12. 11 From tâ—…e tâ—…me that the daily Sacrifice shall be taken away and the Abâ—…nation that maketh Desâ—…late be set up there shall be 1290 〈◊〉 What is more natural and consonant to the text anâ—… 〈◊〉 is more congruous to other Scriptures than to take the 〈◊〉 up of the Abomination of Desolation for the destruction of Ierusalem by the Romans And that the
between this way of writing to the understanding both ways do come but to one sense if you go to the sum of the matter For if you would speak of a thing to be done in one of the years of the Lord as in thiâ—… present year for instance Is not 1654 in figures all one with One thousand 〈◊〉 hundred fifty and four in letters written at length Do not we decypher the years of the Lord in our common way of writing by figures in brief as well as by words in their full delinearion If none can deny this we may conceive the like of the meaning of the Spirit when he saith that the Number of the 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is as much as to say the 666th year is the Number of time when this Government shall begin to be 〈◊〉 up But â—…eeing there have been in former Ages and now there are that are doâ—…ing ripe upon the Numeral Letters I do here seriously put it to them to 〈◊〉 me their opinion concerning the two Letters of the Greek Alphabet α and ω. The question is proper to the purpose in hand for they may well observe as the Lamb standeth in direct opposition to the Beast the Name and Soveraignty of the Lamb to the Soveraignty of the Beast so the Number of the Name or Dominion of the Lamb if oppositio be in eodem must necessarily be opposed to the Number of the Name or Dominion of the Beast But for the Letters 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 there is none that ever went about to find out the Anagram of the Name of the Lamb in the Elements of the Greek Alphabet These Characters do not set forth any literal Name nor the Numeral Letters of any Grammatical word but they do denote and set forth the infinity and eternity of his Kingdom For when he is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 this is all one with that expression 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The first and the last which is which was and which is to come the Almighty Chap. 1. v. 8 11. So in immediate opposition to those Characters of the Kingdom of the Lamb the Number of the Name or Headship of the Beast is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 666 according to the Calculation of the times in Daniels Image For as the Characters 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 if we take them severally in themselves they may be ascribed to any kinde of Infinity in the Lambs Kingdom he may be said to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in reference to Place Power and time But in the Book of the Revelation it is necessary that these Characters should be restrained onely to the Number of time So in the like case the Number 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 may many ways be applied to the Beasts Kingdom but in the natural and genuine sense of the Prophecy this doth onely denote such a Number of time to the setting up of his Kingdom Now for the further confirmation of this truth let us call to minde what is written in the Prophecy of Daniel concerning the Ancient of Days I beheld till the Thrones were cast down or more properly I beheld till the Thrones were set and the Ancient of Days did sit whose garment is as white as snow and the hair of his head like the pure wooll Ch. 7. v. 5. In these words why is God the Father called The Ancient of days why is the hair of his head compared to the pure wooll This doth note the eternity of his Kingdom in immediate opposition to the four great Periods of time set forth by the Tyranny of the four great Empires of the World So the same is â—…aid concerning the Dominion of the Son of Man that his Dominion is an everlasting Dominion that shall not pass away and his Kingdom that which shall not be destroyed ver 14 Here then if we demand Why the Kingdom of the Son of Man is called An everlasting Kingdome This is in immediate opposition to the several and respective times of the four Beasts their Kingdoms had an end and they were destroyed but the Kingdom of the Son of Man is an everlasting Kingdome that never shall be destroyed According to this Analogie do we conform the Exposition of the Number 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Number of the Kingdome of the Lamb we do oppose it to 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Number of the Name of the Beast And so Iohn in the Revelation and Daniel in his Prophecy do agree in the Numbers and in the same method and way of account For when the Son is said to be 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 and 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the First and the Last in the order of time is not this all one with that passage in Daniel His Dominion is an everlasting Dominion But because many stand upon the Letters we will cite the famous Canon of Ptolomy where the Kings of Babylon of Persia of Greece and Rome are set forth by the Characters of the Greek Alphabet It is useful to illustrate many passages in this Book and therefore it followeth as hereunder written De Epochâ Nabonassareâ Ex Manuscripto libro Graeco Claudii Ptolomaei continente Hypothesâ—…s 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 14 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 16 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 21 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 26 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 38 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 43 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 45 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 48 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 54 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 55 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 59 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 67 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 80 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 100 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 122 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 143 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 186 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 188 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉
They who refuse the offer of Christ for the injoyment of any worldly thing it is just with Christ to refuse them The second kinde of guests were the blinde the lame the poor the maimed who did lie in the streets and lanes of the City These out of the sense of their own misery did come to the feast and there needed no compulsion So then the force of the whole Parable is this That the ruder sort of people which are under the care and custody of the Magistrate are in a special manner to be compelsed to Worship God and to wait upon the means of their Salvation But lest any should think that this Parabolical Divinity is not of such force as to conclude the Point we have many other places to prove That those that are in Authority have a power to compel those that are under them to worship God and to call upon the Name of the Lord. What else should be the meaning of those words in the fourth Commandment In it thou shalt not do any work thou nor thy son nor thy daughter thy man servant nor thy maid servant thy cattel nor thy stranger which is within thy gates Exod. 20. 10. Here we may demand the reason why these words are extended to Children and Servants What have Parents and Masters to do with their sanctifying of the Sabbath All Expositors upon the place do give this reason That the Parent or the Master do not rightly worship God themselves unless they take care that they also do worship him who are under their Authority and Jurisdiction The command that concerns the duty of Servants is given to Masters That is therefore a most excellent speech of Augustine Tom. 2. Ep. 50. where speaking of the duty of Kings out of the second Psalm he hath these words Therefore saith he how do Kings serve the Lord in fear and trembling No other way but by prohibiting and punishing those things which are done against the commands of God He doth serve God after one manner as he is a man and after another manner as he is a King As he is a man he serveth him by living religiously as he is a King he serveth him by establâ—…shing such kinde of Laws with convenient rigour as do command things that are just and forbid things unjust Even as Hezekias served the Lord by destroying the Groves and the Temples of Idols and the High-places which were built against the Commandments of God As Josiah served the Lord by doing the same things which Hezekiah did As the King of the Ninevites served the Lord by compelling the whole City to humble themselves and intreat the face of God And going on in passages of the like nature he concludes with this Epiphonema In hoc ergo serviunt domino Reges in quantum sunt reges cum ea faciunt ad serviendum illi quae non possunt facere nisi Reges In this therefore Kings do serve the Lord so far forth as they are Kings when they do those things for his service which otherwise they cannot do but in relation as they are Kings This passage worthy to be written in letters of Gold is cited by Zanchy in his Work concerning the Attributes of God in the Preface to Casimire Palatine of the Rhyne There he sheweth That it is the duty of a Christian Prince principally to take care in his Dominion that Religion be taught out of the pure Word of God according to the first Principles of the Faith which others call The Analogie of Faith And the pure Word of God being established he saith also That it concerneth the Prince or the Ruler to take care that the people wait upon the means of their Salvation And this is that which we have so largely stood upon when we have spoken of the Reign of Christ upon the Earth in sundry parts of this Treatise we have not followed the Conceit of them who are for a personal Reign This noteth onely the coming in of the States Governments and Dominions of the Earth to own the Gospel and to set it up as a Regent-Law To my understanding then this matter is plainly expressed Ier. 3. 17. At that time shall they call Ierusalem the Throne of the Lord and all the Nations shall be gathered unto it to the Name of the Lord to Ierusalem Neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart In these words he doth speak of the glorious state of the Church in the latter times It cannot be meant of the Jewish Church before the coming of Christ nor of that literal kinde of worship as it appeareth ver 16. They shall say no more The Ark of the Covenant of the Lord neither shall it come to minde neither shall they remember it neither shall they visit it neither shall that be done any more It is manifest then that these things are spoken concerning the happy estate of the Church in the times of the New Testament But in what part of the times of the New Testament must these things be fulfilled It is clear from the Context That he speaketh of the call of the Jews In those days the house of Iudah shall walk with the house of Israel ver 18. This is meant of the glory of the Church in the latter days But what are the means that the Lord hath sanctified to the introducing of this glory They are expressed in these words I will give them Pastors after mine own heart He doth speak of the Civil Pastor in the Common-wealth as well as the Spiritual Pastor in the Church David was a Pastor after the heart of Christ himself when he chose him to feed and govern the People of Israel Such Pastors there shall be in the latter times and by such the Lord will bring in the glory of the Church The like passage is in the Prophecy of Isaiah when he speaketh of the Churches glory that shall be I will make all thy officers peace and thy exactors righteousness Isa. 60. 17. The word in the Original is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 all thy visitation peace It noteth the visitation of the Prince as a Nursing Father that hath care of the Church And further it is added Thine exactors righteousness the word in the Original is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a Taskmaster one that driveth on the work which implieth as there shall be Magistrates so there shall be use of a Coercive Power in those glorious times And therefore this passage is immediately added Violence shall be no more heard in thee The Magistrates shall themselves be so holy and righteous that they shall not oppress and tyrannize and they shall also be so impartial and sincere in the use of the Sword that they shall keep down and suppress all exorbitant and lawless courses I have the more carefully noted this Point because many in the times that we now live are of opinion That all Coercion and Compulsion in matters of Religion is absolutely
the great Sin of the Christian world for many Ages hath been in worshipping the Image and receiving the Mark. Thirdly The grievous Judgements of God denounced against men for these things Fourthly The Cause of the Martyrs Sufferings because they would not worship the Beast nor receive his Mark. Fifthly The object of the Vials they are poured out upon a People distinguished by these Characters Sixthly The deceiving of the Nations in the matter of the Mark of the Beast and the worship of his Image Seventhly The Reign of Christ upon the Earth which will be the more demonstratively understood by the right Stating of the Reign of the Beast â—…ver those that worship the Image and receive the Mark All these Considerations laid together plainly shew the Use and Profitableness of the Discovery Now let us proceed to the second Point to the Possibility thereof CHAP. II. Concerning the Possibility of the Discovery and how that there are certain Demonstrative Principles to bring the Truth to light THere are now living in these times many who think that there is no medling with this Prophecie especially in the matter of the Beast and the Number of his Name But I would entreat all such seriously to ponder in their own hearts Whether by this Opinion of theirs they do not secretly accuse the Lord Christ either for want of Truth or want of Wisdom For what man of Truth will call that a Revelation which is no Revelation at all And what man of Wisdom will say Blessed is he that readeth and keepeth the words of the Prophecie when there is no possibility to reade it so as to understand And particularly Shall the Lord Jesus give serious warning to his Church and People shall he shew them so long before-hand the great sin of the world which shall consist in the worship of the Beast and in receiving of his Mark and when all comes to all shall it be presumption to shew what is the meaning of Christ in these things To what end were they Revealed if there be no use of the Revelation at all and there is no use if it be so difficult that it cannot possibly be understood It was a special part of Love in Christ to send and signifie to his Servants things that must come shortly to pass But what part of Love is it to signifie it in that manner that they cannot possibly understand what he meaneth You will say It was revealed to some Select ones I grant that some of the Servants of Christ have a peculiar Gift to understand the Typical Expressions in this Prophecie as every Member in the Church hath his peculiar Gift dispensed to the edification of the whole Body and therefore they are bound to lay out their Talent this way for the common good But what shall we say of them that account it curiosity in any whosoever to meddle with these studies and are absolutely for the concealing of these things from the People But if it be alledged That Experience sheweth how they have been deceived who have bestowed their pains in this kind of study I Answer The same Experience plainly sheweth That they who have come with a sincere mind to finde out the Truth to study the whole Body of the Prophecie to compare Time with Time Vision with Vision and the Prophecies with the Stories have had a good return of their Labours I may say without prejudice to those that went before That Bullinger in his time Brightman in his time Grasserus in his time Mede in his time each of these have made their several and respective Additions to the clearing of the Prophecie If we endeavour to carry on the Work where they left it at least with the same Industry and Fidelity we may by the blessing of God be the instruments of bringing those Mysteries to light that were not discerned in former Ages And for my part I do firmly believe That God will not cease to raise up such in the times following as shall clear the things that have layen dark in the Prophecies and do yet remain hid to us But for the present because many think that the Name of the Beast and the Number of the Name are unsearchable Mysteries let me lay down some Reasons to prove the Possibility and the Evidence of the Discovery First The Name of the Beast and the Number of his Name are the Essential Characters of a State or Government obvious to the view of men It is said of the Writings of S. Paul that there are many things in them hard to be understood 2 Pet. 3. 16. There may be good Reason given for this to wit The sublimity and the spiritualness of the matter for a Natural man that hath no Experience in his own heart how can he judge of the meaning of the Apostle when he speaketh of the Life of the Spirit of the leading of the Spirit of the Comfort of the Spirit of the putting off of the Old man and the putting on of the New When a man hath no experience how can he understand these things that are so largely spoken of in the Epistle to the Romans Now it is not so with the Name of the Beast and his Mark these are the Badges of a Government obvious to the Senses of all men If there be any difficulty it lieth only in the typical and figurative way of expression Secondly The Name of the Beast and the Number of the Name are the essential Characters of a State or Government which the Church hath had long experience of for many Ages For the Monarchical Kingdom of Christ that shall be over Jews and Gentiles in the latter times though there are many things spoken in the Scriptures concerning this Dominion yet there are sundry passages hard to be determined because the event hath not yet shewed the meaning of the Prophecie Now there is nothing wanting so far as it concerneth the event to make known to the Church what is meant by the Name of the Beast and the Number of the Name Thirdly The Name of the Beast and the Number of the Name are such Characters that the Church in Being hath the present Experience of Many things are dark in the Old Prophets because the Stories of those times are lost to us The Jews could better understand the meaning of some Prophecies than we can And I believe the greatest Knot in Expounding the 70 weeks of Daniel lieth principally in this To shew precisely and determinately where that Number of Time doth begin There is an excellent agreement between the Greek Historians about the respective times of the Kings of Persia But the Knot lyeth in this Rightly to determine who that Darius was in whose times the Temple was built and the City repaired This thing was better known to the ancient Jews than it is to us But now for the Name of the Beast the Mark and the Number of the Name there is not the like Reason of darkness in these because they
Blasphemy against God And so the matter is expounded Rev. 13. He opened his mouth in Blasphemies against God to Blaspheme his Name his Tabernacle and them that dwell in Heaven These and the like places laid together do plainly shew that the scope of the text must circumscribe and limit the signification of the phrase so often used in this Prophecie Now if it be so according to this tenor we may say That the Name of the Beast must be expounded according to the Analogie of the text His Name then can be no other but his Universal Headship as a Counter-Christ emulous of the Dignity of Christ. But to go to further Instances we do reade that the deluded Kings were all gathered together into a place called in the Hebrew Harmageddon Rev. 16. 16. Much ado is made by Expositors about the meaning of the word Some take it for the Mountain of Delights Some for the Hill of the Gospel Some think there is an Allusion to the slaughter of Iosiah in the valley of Megiddo And there is a great Difference among them But for my part I do believe there can be no other meaning but this to wit The destruction of a Troope or Company and my Reasons are these First It is expresly said That the Name of the place in the Hebrew is called Harmageddon that is The destruction of a Troope and this Exposition is given by Grasserus and others Secondly That which moveth me so to think is the subject matter of the text For the unclean Spirits like Frogs did gather the deluded Kings to Battel and they brought them into a place called Harmageddon which in the event proved the place of their destruction It is well known That it is the manner of the Hebrews to give Names to several places in testimony of some famous Actions that have been done in them And it is as evident that the Spirit in this Prophecie doth perpetually follow the Hebrew stile As in the times of the fifth Trumpet when the Locusts came out of the bottomless pit they had a King over them whose Name in the Hebrew tongue is Abaddon and in the Greek is Apollyon chap. 9. Now this Trumper Mr Brightman and Mr Mede do rightly apply to the times of the Sarazens And because they did in great multitudes everywhere overspread the Territories of the Church they are therefore compared to Locusts Now for the Name of their King in the Greek or Hebrew tongues we are not here so much to look to Letters and syllables as to the sense of the figurative expression Mr Mede then in his Commentary upon the Revelation doth seem to me to be too Cabalistical when he doth descant upon the Names of some Kings formerly amongst the Arabians We are not to trouble our selves with Letters and syllables Mahomet is the Head or King of these Locusts or rather the Devil acting in and by him And too sad experience doth shew that his Name is called in the Hebrew Abaddon and in the Greek Apollyox For what is Mahometism but the waster and destroyer of the Christian Faith The Name doth answer the nature In the times of the third Trumpet we reade That a great star fell into the third part of the Rivers and the Name of the star is called Wormwood Interpreters upon the place do not look so much to a literal star but it is so called Effectivè from the Effect or Operation By these and many other places it is evident when the Spirit speaketh of a Name Thing Person or State he doth not aim so much at the bare formality of Letters and syllables as at the scope of the text Upon these grounds if the Beast be a King or Potentate his Name is not a Grammatical Name but according to the scope of the place it must necessarily denote his Kingly Power and Headship Let us come to a place mentioned in the Old Testament which hath been greatly mistaken by the Jewish Rabbins and by some others the words are these The Lord said to Moses I appeared to Abraham Isaac and Iacob by the Name of God Almighty but by the Name Iehovah I was not known unto them Exod. 6. 3. Here great ado is made by the Rabbins aforementioned they speak much of nomen Tetragrammatum of the word of four Letters of the difficulty to pronounce that Name and of bables more than too many And what is the reason of all this they look superficially upon the outward Letter and neglect the main sense and scope of the place The main sense is this That God appeared to Moses by the Name Iehovah by and through which he did give Existence and Being to his Promises And yet we are not to take it absolutely as though the Lord did no way appear to Abraham Isaac and Iacob by that Name This cannot be We are therefore to take the words in a restrictive meaning in respect to that particular Promise that he would give the Land of Canaan to Abraham and his seed for a Possession Gâ—…n 15. 13 14. Now in this particular sense God did not appear to Abraham Isaac and Iacob by the Name Iehovah they never lived so long to see the performance of this promise They did not see the end of the 400 years Bondage not the Deliverance out of Egypt as Moses did The Lord only did appear to them by the Name of God Alsufficient they might believe that he was able to perform what he promised In special relation then to this particular Promise the Lord saith to Moses By my Name Iehovah was I not made known to them If this be so what a wild race have they run who have looked only after a Name consisting of Letters and syllables and have not observed the Truth of God in the performance of his Word What is this but to make a Fable of the most important and comfortable Promises that be to neglect the substance and to catch at a shadow And the ground of all this is chiefly from hence they look to the out-side and shell of a figurative expression and neglect the natural sense of the text which in this case should principally rule In like manner they who are for the word Lateinos or for any such like Name must needs digress as much from the Truth For it is not to be imagined that the Name of the Beast is meerly a Name consisting of Letters and syllables neither can the Mark of the Beast be the Mark of such a Name according to the sense of the text and the Analogie of the Prophecie The Name of the Beast therefore must be his Universal Power and Headship and the Mark of the Name must be the publick Profession of subjection allegeance and devotion to that Name or Headship And this is clear from the several Instances fore-alledged where the Name of a person of a state of a thing is alwayes taken with correspondence to the text But if it be alledged That it may be so taken
Appellation that consisteth only of Letters and syllables how will this redound to the benefit or perfection of the Beasts Kingdom if men of all Degrees and Orders shall receive a Name meerly consisting of Numeral Letters and such-like trifles But if you take the Name for the sovereign Power and Headship there is nothing more rational and common than for the Kingdoms of this world to make Laws that all should live in subjection to their Power and Authority And Experience plainly sheweth That in all the Kingdoms of the Christian world stricter Laws have been made for the Preservation of the Dignity of the Catholick Apostolick Roman See as they call it and for the maintenance of the Decrees made by that Authority than there have been for the support and Defence of their own Communities Among many take this one Instance of the Statute Ex Officio made here in England in the times of Hen. 4. In which Statute it was provided That all they should be Burned publickly in the sight of the People that did maintain teach inform openly or in secret any thing contrary to the Catholick Faith and the determination of the Holy Church And so in the times following by vertue of this Law the faithful Martyrs under the Title of Lollards have been publickly burned for speaking preaching writing and declaring against the Decrees and Superstitions established by the Authority of the Church of Rome And it is as plain That neither the Scripture nor any Article of the Creed nor any other Point of the Christian Faith is received among them but that which is warranted by this Authority From whence we may easily collect what is meant by the Law and Injunction of the Beast That none might buy nor sell but such only that had the Mark and the Number of the Name We are not to take the Name Alphabetically For to what end should he command men to receive such a Name as this But if you take the Name for the Universal Headship and the Mark for the publick owning of subjection to this Headship there is great Reason given for the making of such a Statute and it is fully proved by the event The Seventh Argument is taken from the Essence of the great Antichrist as he is set forth 2 Thess. 2. For the Pith and Marrow of the Apostle in this description is to express the great sublimity of Power that the man of sin should assume to himself in and over the Church of God These are the words of the Text He as God sitteth in the Temple of God shewing himself that he is God vers 4. From these words we may gather the Essence of the Antichristian Kingdom lieth in the affectation of a kind of godlike Dominion and Headship in and over the Church of God Now then as the â—…on of God hath merited of his Father to be only Head and only Lord So must our subjection be rendered to him without communicability of such a prerogative to any other For though there be gods many and lords many there is but one Universal Head on whom the whole Body of the Church doth depend In this sense as the Son hath merited of the Father to be the Supreme Lord and Head there is none de jure can be but himself only Now then when Paul in the Thessalonians doth describe the Essence of the Beast's Kingdom he doth shew that it doth chiefly confist in the Headship and Dominion over the Church And this is that which Iohn in the Revelation calls the Name of the Beast And so far we have gone in the Discovery of the Subject of the Number We have shewed by many Reasons That the Name is The Headship of the Beast Now we shall in the next Chapter endeavour to Calculate and Compute the Number CHAP. IV. Concerning the Number of the Name of the Beast where it is shewed That the Name or Universal Headship began publickly to be Established under the Emperor Phocas 666 years from the beginning of the Roman as the Fâ—…th Metal Kingdome FOr the carrying on of this Complicate Proposition we are to make Two things clear First That the Name or Sovereign Dominion of the Beast began precisely at that time of the Universal Headship under the Emperor Phocas Secondly That there is a Câ—…in of 666 years from the begining of the Roman as the Fourth Metal Kingdom to the Name or Universal Headship afcreâ—…aid First Concerning the Eâ—…sion of the two-horned Beast out of the Earth I find a great consent in the Commentaries Controversies and Stories of the Church That the Two-Horned Beast began in the Universal Headship under the Emperor Phocas Crackanâ—…orp in his Treatise against Spalaâ—… calleth it the Câ—… one of the Building And in very deed though many Authors do stiffly maintain That the Name is the word Lateinos and that the Number is made out of the Numeral Letters of that Name yet if you put them upon it to state the Original of the Beast's Kingdom they do generally in a manner pitch upon the year aforesaid But we will not depend upon Authority Therefore to the right computing of â—…he true Apocalyptical time we will Observe these ensuing Principles Principle 1. There must be some particular instant of time when the Antichristian state Typed by the Beast with Two Horns had its first visible rising out of the Earth This is proved from the words of the Text And I beheld another Beast coming out of the Earth and he had Two Horns like the Lamb and he spake as the Dragon Rev. 13. 11. And therefore as there was a certain and determinate time when the Babylonian Lyon and the Persian Bear came up out of the Sea that is As there was a certain time when the Babylolonian and Persian Monarchies began so there must be a particular and certain term of time when the Antichristian Monarchy must come up out of the Earth also If this be well observed it will cut off a multitude of superâ—…luous Diâ—…putes concerning the Infancy Childhood Middle age and other degrees of the Antichristian state In these points every man may abound in his own Fancy but sure I am according to the true Apocalyptical process there is mention made but of one visible and remarkable beginning of the Two-Horned Beast And this is at the time of his rising ouâ—… of the Earth Princ. 2. Secondly The time of the rising of this Beast must be after the dissipation of the old Empire and the beginning of the Ten Kings Typed and Figured by the rising of the Ten-Horned Beast out of the Sea There are Two Branches in this Principle The First is this That the time of the beginning of the Two-Horned Beast must needs be placed after the Fall of the Empire This is clearly proved from the Scope of the 13 and 17 Chapters of the Revelation Both these Scriptures do pitch upon this that there must be a taking away of the Imperial Majesty and a kinde of Chasm
of the Old Empire behind and so going forward apply the rising of the Two-Horned Beast to what times we please No There is some particular instant of time when the Beast rose up out of the Earth when his Name or Universal Headship began And thiâ—… must needs be at the Decree under the Emperor Phocas when it was determined That the Bishop of Rome should be Head over all Churches So then if we lay these Three Principles together First That the Beast had a determinate Beginning of his Kingdom Secondly That this determinate Beginning was after the Fall of the Empire Thirdly That it was after the Fall of the Empire in such times when the Name or Universal Headship of the Bishop of Rome began first publickly and solemnly to be established If we put all these Three together we shall inevitably piâ—…ch upon that time when the Decree went forth That the Bishop of Rome should be the Head over all Churches For if we look to the Stories we shall find that presently after the Fall of the Empire the Bishop of Constantinople was to have equal Priviledges with the Bishop of Rome by the Decree of the Council of Calcedon Nay further The Bishop of Constantinople was in a fairer possibility for the Universal Headship than was he of Rome Only then in the time under the Emperor Phocas the Decree was Enacted That the Bishop of Rome should be the Head of all Churches And from that time downward this hath been a Priviledge perpetually annexed to that Chair And so then we have the true beginning of the rising of the Two-Horned Beast out of the Earth And it is rightly and Apocalyptically applied â—…o the times by the Position of the Three Principles aforenamed But here Bellarmine and Baronius deny That the Universal Headship began in the time of the Emperor Phocas For saith Bellarmine Phocas did not Ordain this by way of a new Institution but only by way of Declaration of a thing ever before Acknowledged in the Church In Answer to this Mornay in his History of the Papacie telleth us That all Historians down from that time as Paulus Diaconus Freculphus Rhegino Anastasius Sabelliâ—…us Blondus Pomponius Laetus and others agree in this beginning Progress 22. pag. 118. And for Baronius he saith An. 606. Therefore what did Phocas bestow upon the Roman Church Nothing truly Only he did Declare by his Sentence That the Name of the Oecumenical Bishop was unlawfully Usurped by the Bishop of Constantinople when it was due Romanae tantum Ecclesiae only to the Roman Church I cannot but admire at the boldness of this great Annalist that he should go so palpably against the Stories of the Church and against some chief Records of their own For if we look a little before in the times of Gregory the Great we shall finde that there was a sharp contest betwixt him and the Bishop of Constantinople about the Primacy For Iohn the Fourth sirnamed the Easter Bishop of Constantinople did begin to assume the Title of Universal Bishop about the year of the Lord 580 26 years before the matter was determined for the Bishop of Rome He was the more imboldened to do this because he saw the Seat of the Empire established at Constantinople and the City of Rome besieged by the Lombards And consequently the Bishop of that City brought to a low ebb Now these attempts of the Bishops of Constantinople they of Rome did most strongly oppose but none more than Gregory the Great as may appear by sundry passages in his Epistles at this very day In them we find every-where that he doth strongly Dispute against the Name and Title of Universal Bishop and doth say in effect That it is the Name of the Beast He doth again and again inculcate That the Title is new prophane contrary to the scope of the Gospel and the Use of the Church And whereas Bellarmine and Baronius have this creep-hole that he did only inveigh against the encroachments of the Bishop of Constantinople he doth again and again repeat That none of his Predecessours did ever use such a prophane Title Nullus decessorum meorum hoc tam profano vocabulo uti consuevit lib. 4. Epist. 80. But that which is most to our purpoâ—…e he doth everywhere place the formality of Antichristianism in the Universal Headship And they that affect so to be called he doth expresly term them the praecursors and fore-runners of Antichrist To let pass all others we will recite those words of his as they are in his sixth Book and thirtieth Epistle to the Emperor Mauritius Consider saith he that when Antichrist shall call himself God the matter it self is but small and frivolous yet most pernitious If you look to the quality of the word it consisteth only of two Syllables but if you regard the weight of iniquity the matter is very great For I may boldly say That whosoever calleth himself or desireth to be called by others The Universal Priest or Bishop is in his elation of minde the forerunner of Antichrist In elatione suâ Antichristum praecurrit Because in like pride he preferreth himself before others And in his Fourth Book Epist. 34. he writeth to Constantia the Empress Be it far saith he that your times should thus be defiled with the Exaltation of one man and then addeth In hâc ejus superbiâ quid aliud nisi propinqua jaâ—… Antichristi esse tempora designatur By this Arrogancy what else is portended but that the time of Antichrist is now at hand And more fully to Iohn himself he useth these words lib. 4. Epist. 38. Tu quid Christo Universalis scilicet Ecclesiae capiti in extremi judicii dicturus es examine qui cuncta ejus membra tibimet conaris Universalis appellatione supponere What wilt thou answer to Christ the Head of the Universal Church in the tryal of the Day of Iudgement seeing that by this Name Universal thou seekest to inthral the Members of his Bodie to thy self And that which maketh more to our purpose he telleth him That the times concerning the coming of Antichrist begin to be fulfilled and that there is â—…ow a performance of the Prophecies Omnia enim quae praedicta sunt fiunt Rex superbiae prope est quod dici nefas est sacerdotum est praeparatus exercitus All Prophecies begin now to be fulfilled and that which I dread to speak the King of Pride is at hand and an Army of Priests do attend him Now for these and such-like passages between Gregory and Iohn of Constantinople I cannot think otherwise of them but that they did happen by the singular Providence of God to excite the world to look after the Revelation of the man of sin For as when our Lord Christ was born at Bethlehem there was a hurly-burly in Iudaea the star appeared the wise men came to Ierusalem and the whole City was troubled What was the end of God in all this but to stir them
to be the Monarchical people This being laid as a ground we may say in the particuâ—…ar case alledged by Piscator That though the Kingdom of Alexander was plucked up by the Roots and the Kingdoms of his Successors were set up upon his ruines yet for all this there was no change of Dominion from People to People There was only a change from Alexander to his Successors still one Graecian People had the Empire over the Earth And to put all out of questiâ—…n That the Spirit doth principally point to the Flux and Passage of the Sovereignty from one People to another and thaâ—… in this case he doth not distinguish the Kingdom of Alexander from that of his Successors the ground which we have to buiâ—…d upon iâ—… The resemblance of the He-goat chap. 8. Now under this similitude the whole Graecian Empire both of Alexander and of his four Successors they are all comprehended together as they were formerly set forth under the Type of the Third Beast with four Heads Now whereas 〈◊〉 alledgeth That the He-goat is different from the Third Beast and that the Prophecie chap. 8. Habet rationem diversam a different way of Interpretation I Answer The He goat and the Third Beast are all one so farforth as both are Types of the same Empire under one and the same People And for the Partition of the Greek Kingdom between Alexander and his Successors this doth no more hinder the Type of that Kingdom by one Third Beast then it doth hinder the delineation by one He-goat But now to produce some Reasons that Alexander divided from his Successors cannot be the Third Kingdom Typed by the Brass-Metal or the Third Beast First All the Kingdoms were persecuting States such that did afflict the People of God But Alexander if you divide him from his Successors did not afflict the Church of the Jews neither were they Persecuted in all the times of his Empire Secondly The Metal-Kingdoms are so constituted that the latter are of a more hard and Tyrannical disposition against the Saints Now take Alexander in sensu diviso take him several from his Successors how was his Kingdom of more hard disposition against the Saints than was either Babylon or Persia going before His Monarchy was but for a few years and there was no Persecution of the People of the Jews in all his time Thirdly The Beast that came up our of the Sea after the Persian Bear is expresly said to have four Heads vers 6. Now take Alexander severally from his Successors what four Heads or what four Divisions were there in his Kingdom For in his time the Beast was so far from having four Heads that it had no Heads or Divisions at all Therefore we must necessarily conclude That the Third Beast doth represent and figâ—…re the Graecian Kingdom which in a famous revolution of State became divided into four Parts Now whereas the learned Interpreter doth distinguish the Kingdom of Alexander from the Dominion of his Successors I do yield this to be true For Alexander being broken off four Kingdoms did stand up out of that Nation But this is nothing to the purpose For these several Fractions and Divisions do not hinder the Unity of the Greek Monarchy If it had been the plot of the Spirit to make a Third Monarchy of Alexander and a Fourth of his Successors why doth he use the similitude of one He-goat for the representation of two Monarchies Why are two Empires set forth under one figure And whereas he strongly bindeth upon this That all Four Successors are expresly called One Kingdom vers 23. Saving the great Worth and Learning of the Author he is deceived in this Point For when it is said In the latter end of their Kingdom when transgressors are come to the full a King of fierce countenance shall stand up Now in these words In the latter end of their Kingdom this is not only meant of the Kingdom of the Four Successors contradistinct to the Kingdom of Alexander but the expression is concerning the whole Kingdom of the Greeks opposed to that of the Persians In the description of the He-goat Four Kingdoms are said to rise up out of that Nation and in the latter end of their Kingdom meaning the Greeks when that People shall have the Sovereignty over the Earth a King of fierce countenance shall arise Therefore we conclude That Alexander and his Successors together make but one Greek Empire under the similitude of one He-goat Now let us proceed Piscator By the Fourth Kingdom which was prefigured by the Ironthighs of the Image we must understand the Kingdom of the Successors of Alexander the Great This I have already cleared by comparing it with the Fourth Beast chap. 7. To which I now adde another evident collation of chap. 2. vers 43. with chap. 11. vers 6. concerning the Feet of the Image which pertain to the Fourth Kingdom Daniel speaking to Nebuchadnezzar thus saith Whereas thou sâ—…west the Iron mixed with miry Clay they shall mingle themselves with the seed of men but they shall not cleave one to the other even as Iron is not mixed with Clay Now this very same thing the Angel Gabriel doth declare concerning the Successors of Alexander to wit The Seleucidae and the Lagidae chap. 11. And in the end of the years they shall joyn themselves together for the King's Daughter of the South shall come to the King of the North to make an Agreement but she shall not retain the power of the Arm neither shall he stand nor his Arm. From hence it is manifest by the Fourth Kingdom Represented by the Feet of the Image this cannot be understood of the Roman Empire seeing it was diverse from that of the Graecians Answer The Character of the mixture of Marriages drawn from that collation between chap. 2. vers 43. and chap. 11. vers 6. This of all others seemeth to be the grand Argument But to say the truth and that upon tryal I here find that Interpreters do usually build upon Three notable False Principles First They take the Fourth Kingdom as divided in all time and therefore they look after the interchangable marriages of the Seleucidae and Lagidae to make up the Union But in this they erre For the Fourth Kingdom as long as it is in the Iron-Legs it is not diâ—…ided at all It is one intire Dominion and therefore needeth no Uniting by mixture of marriages The Division beginneth not till you come to the Feet part of Iron and part of Clay But let us hear the words themselves Aâ—…d the Fourth Kingdom shall be strong as Iron forasmuch as Iron breaketâ—… in pâ—…eces and subdueth all things and as Iron that breaketh all these shall it break in pieces and bruise So then the Fourth Kingdom so long as it is in the Iron-Legs is more strong than any going before There arose first a Kingdom of Gold in all fulness of powerâ—… anâ—… then afterwords a Kingdom of Silver and
the Jewish Church True indeed in the Hebrew Visions there is some mention made of the People of God but then commonly you shall see some circumstances in the text to decypher the People of the Jews only As for ensample You shall read somthing spoken of the Tsebi or the pleasant Land of the daily Sacrifice of the Sanctuary of Daniel's People and the like But in the Chaldee Visions there is no such thing mentioned which maketh me to think That the Saints there mentioned are of a more general Nature and concern the People of God both Jews and Gentiles Indeed it is often spoken concerning the Saints of the most High That the little Horn did wear them out and consume them and that at the time appointed they shall take the Kingdom But yet it is not specified in Daniel what these Saints are Whether they be the Saints of the Jews or the Gentiles or both Dr Willet seemeth to me to give a good Reason why they should be called The Saints of the most High scil in reference to their most High Prince the Lord Christ. The words of the text are fair for this Interpretation And the Kingdom and Dominion under the whole Heaven shall be given to the People of the Saints And then in the words immediately following His Kingdom 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is an everlasting Kingdom and all Dominions shall obey him vers 27. The Kingdom is given to the Son of man as to the Head and by him it is communicated to his People and Subjects after their Sufferings By all that hath been spoken we may conclude That the Subjects of the Kingdom of Christ the Members of his Mystical Body are the Objects of the Tyranny of the Fourth Beast Thirdly The great Power and Cruelty of this Beast is not only against the Saints but against all the former Metal-Kingdoms for as Iron it shall break them all in pieces vers 40. Therefore this Kingdom is said to be more Mighty than any going before in respect of the exercise and imployment of strength upon the former Kingdoms and not only in respect of the particular exercise of cruelty against the People of the Jews If this be so we cannot say That the Seleucian was such but to the Roman all things agree Fourthly I do yield also that this Expression is used specially for that part of the earth about the Confines of the Church of the Jews yet it is not the whole meaning of the text When the Lord gave Nebuchadnezzar the Head of the Image a Kingdom Power Strength and Glory And wheresoever the Children of men dwelt he gave them all into his hands we cannot say That he made him Ruler over all in Iudea only but he made him Ruler over all the Eastern Countries far and near round about the Confines of that Church and Nation In like manner when the Fourth Kingdom arose and brought the Earth into a more absolute subjection we must not only confine this to the Countries of Iudea but we must also expound the whole Earth by some Analogie to the former Metal-Kingdoms According to this sense when the Fourth Kingdom cometh to the times of its Monarchical Dominion it will be the most potent Kingdom that ever was about the Confines of the Church and it will bring the former Kingdoms into the greatest subjection If you apply this to the Kingdom of the Seleucidae there will be no correspondence at all but to the Roman all things do agree For that Kingdom was absolutely the most mighty and the most powerful that ever was about the Church of the Jews And as the People of Rome had Iudea under their Obedience so they had the greatest Empire about Iudea from East to West that ever was All these Reasons laid together shew plainly That the Fourth Beast is the Roman Kingdom and so consequently the Ten-Horned Beast in Daniel and the Revelation is all one It is not only one and the same in Analogie and similitude of Expression but it is Literally and Historically one and the same The Roman Kingdom is described in both Prophecies by the same Emblems and similitudes And thus much concerning the Queries of the Fourth Beast in the more general Nature thereof We will now descend more particularly to the Ten Horns And here we will shew that they cannot be the Ten Kings lineally succeeding in the Seleucian race but they are so many inferiour Realms of the Roman Empire Querie 1. If the Ten Horns be Ten Seleucian Kings there will be Eleven Horns in all and how can Ten Horns be the Character of the Beast If in the whole succession the Number of Kings be Eleven in all the Beast is more properly called Undeâ—…em Cornupeta the Beast with Eleven Horns The words are plain The ten Horns are ten Kings that shall arise and another shall arise up after them that shall be diverse from the first vers 24. Therefore if in the whole succession there be Eleven Kings first Ten and then another that came up after them why is the Beast set forth by the special Character of Ten Horns The little Horn must needs be the more cruel and more eminent according to the text And yet by this rule that which is more principal shall be excluded from the denomination But Doctor Willet hath this evasion to wit That the little Horn did not come up after the ten but it came up as the last of them And so Piscator rendreth the words Et Cornua decem ex illo Regno nempe decem Reges exsurgent postremus resurget post illos is diversus erit à prioribus And in his Scholia upon the 8 verse he thus speaketh Vox Chaldaica 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 quae versu sexto septimo significat alium hic valet ultimum seu postremum Nam Antiochus Epiphanes qui per Cornu illud figurabatur fuit ultimus inter decem illos Reges qui hîc per decem Cornua figurantur But let it be supposed that the Chaldee word may indefinitely be taken yet it is to our purpose to consider what the scope of the text will admit In the former verses when the description of the Babylonian-Lyon was ended it is there mentioned I beheld 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 another Beast like a Bear not a latter Beast that came up out of the Sea For the scope of the Spirit is to shew the rising of Four several Monarchies each one diverse from other So in the present case after the description of the Ten Horns the little Horn is said to be another that came up after them to shew the notable diversity between it and the Horns that came up before And so this is the meaning of the text That another Horn much differing from the former Ten in Nature and Condition came up after them in order of time Secondly Suppose we should let this Translation pass Postremum exsurget post illa a latter shall arise after them Here I
Monarchies must come to bear Rule over those Countries where the Kings of the Line of David had the power before And therefore it is mentioned That a Rod shall come out of the stock of Iesse and a Branch shall come out of his Roots Isa. 11. 1 2. A Lapide upon the place speaketh very well Christo enim nascente regia Davidis familia ad pauperes redacta When Christ was born the Kingly Family of David was brought very low To this accordeth the Prophet Daniel In the dayes of these Kingdoms shall the God of Heaven raise up a Kingdom that shall never be destroyed chap. 2. vers 44. In these words he doth insinuate That when the Kingdom of Christ beginneth it shall be as it were a new-erected Kingdom raised up out of the rubbish To me therefore Baronius in his Apparatus seemeth to deliver a strange Exposition of this Prophecie For he speaketh to this effect That the Kingdom was specially foretold to the Tribe of Iudah above any other To which when that tribe had once attained in David by a long race of Kings it held out to the Captivity of Babylon And after the Captivity of Babylon where there was some intermission for a time the Empire recovered again in Zorobabel And then from him being derived it held in his Posterity without any absolute interruption to the second year of the 184 Olympiad when Calvin and Pollio were Consuls Then Herod an Idumaean a Gentile at the first and after that a Proselyte by the courtesie of the Romans took the Kingdom in Iudea and so the Government was translated from the Natives to a Forreigner This is the sum of that which is more largely delivered Where Three Errors are to be noted First That he maketh the Davidical-Kingdom to last to the times of Herod Which cannot be For the Kingdom was taken from the Kings of the Line of David by the Babylonians And by them it was transmitted to the Persians and Graecians And so last of all it came to the Romans in whose time Christ was Born Neither did Herod a Forreigner Reign any more by the courtesie and favour of the Romans than did Hyrcanus his immediate Predecessor A Second is this That he maketh the Scepter to continue in the time of Zorobabel which is not so For they that plead for an inferiour way of Rule in the High Priests the men of the Great Sanhedrâ—…m do not affirm That all these came of Zorobabel no nor of David neither Thirdly He erreth in this That he maketh the Scepter to depart from Iudah in the times of Herod for the Jews had some form of Government some Laws of their own which did continue to the destruction of Ierusalem When the Lord Christ had provided him a People amongst the Gentiles then Ierusalem was destroyed and the Jews were cast away according to the Prophecies Object You will say then What is the true meaning of Jacob's Prophecie Sol. This is the meaning thereof That there should be a Succession of Kings in the Line of David till the Captivity of Babylon And though the other Ten Tribes should be cast away yet that Tribe should remain And after the Captivity though the supreme Power should be taken away from them yet still among that People there should be a continuation of some Laws and forms of Government under the Persians Graecians and Romans till the coming of the Messiah When the Messiah shall be born he shall raise up the Tabernacle of David which hath fallen down he shall set up that Kingdom that never shall be destroyed And at the end he shall destroy all the Metal-Kingdoms and fill the Earth And so by consequence the Kingdom of David shall continue for ever This is the full sense and the meaning of Iacob's Prophecie Piscator in his Scholia upon this text doth confirm what we speak Gubernatio plena cujus princeps pars est potestas judiciorum capitalium adempta fuit Posteris Iudae per Pompeium qui Iudaeam in formam Provinciae redegit imperioque Romanorum subjecit Post quam gubernationis ademptionem paulò post natus est Christus sub Augusto Quod autem potestas illa Iudaeis per Romanos fuerit adempta fatentur ipsi Joh. 18. 31. Gubernatio vero imminuta ademptâ scilicet potestate Iudiciorum capitalium relictâ Potestate Iudiciorum civilium Religionis duravit usque ad tempus illud quo natus est Christus immo etiam quo patefactus est in orbo terrarum per praedicationem Apostolorum Quippe Iudaeos adhuc tempore passionis Christi habuisse potestatem aliquam judiciorum patet ex verbis Pilati ad illos In which words of his there is a plain distinction betwixt the Sovereign and Supreme Power and that which is subordinate For the Sovereign and Supreme power in Capital Crimes he faith this was taken away from the Jews by the means of Pompey the Great who first brought that Nation in subjection and made it Tributary to the Romans And so that speech of the Jews is to be expounded It is not in our power to put any man to death Joh. 18. 31. For the subordinate Power which he calls gubernationem imminutam a regulated or limited power in Civil Causes and in matters of Religion this saith he did continue to the destruction of Ierusalem And so those words are to be expounded Ye have a Law and judge ye him according to your Law Joh. 18. 31. By this then we may understand how Iudea may be made subject to the Romans before the coming of Christ and yet some form of Policy might continue among that People to make good the Prophecie of Iacob But if we must needs stand upon the words That the Scepter was taken away by the means of Pompey the Great this hath excellent ground in the Stories and it doth make exceedingly for our purpose For the ground in the Stories we shall finde That the Jews that were in Bondage first to the Babylonians secondly to the Persians thirdly to the Graecians that after the death of Antiochus Epiphanes they did assert their Liberty against the Graecians of the Seleucian Line And some Kings did Reign in Iudea of the stock of the Macchabees But after such time as Pompey the Great brought Iudea under the power of the Romans they never recovered their Liberty again Now then I leave it to any to judge Whether here is not the beginning of the Fourth Metal-Kingdom in Daniel's Image This we have confirmed by Reasons and have Answered such Objections as might be alledged to the contrary Now let us go to the second Point to shew the Order of the times that there is the space of 666 years from the beginning of the Roman as the Fourth Metal-Kingdom to the setting up of the Name or Universal Headship of the Bishop of Rome under the Emperor Phocas And for the time we cannot easily be deceived because the words of Iosephus are so plain That this
doth intend them in such or such a particular Scripture Now that this may appear to be a right Interpretation we will compare it with every Circumstance in the Text. These are the words that follow And he causeth all both small and great rich and poor free and bond to Receive a Mark in their right hand and in their forehead and that no man might buy or sell save he that had the Mark or the Name of the Beast or the Number of the Name Here is Wisdom Let him that hath Understanding â—…ount the Number of the Beast for it is the Number of a Man and his Number is six hundred threescore and six In these words we are to Note Four Particulars 1. The matter of the Law which the Beast doth impose he causeth all men to receive a Mark in their right Hand and in their Forehead and that they have the Name of the Beast and the Number of it 2. The maker of the Law soil The Beast with Two Horns He causeth men to receive the Mark by his coercive power 3. The Persons on whom he doth impose the Law He causeth all both small and great bond and free rich and poor to receive a Mark. For though there is great difference in civil Relations between poor-men and rich bondmen and free yet in this matter none are exempted All must receive the Mark one as well as the other there is no difference of Condition 4. The Penalty inflicted on him that will not submit to the Law He must have no civil Commerce with men he must not buy nor sell that hath not these Three Things First The Mark Secondly The Name Thirdly The Number of the Name Now that men might rightly conceive what is meant by these things the same Spirit doth exhort them to Calculate the Number the Point that we are now upon For the Calculation of the Number these Four Particulars also ought to be Observed First The Person exhorted who it is that must make the Discovery And this is every such one as hath a mind given him of God more accurately to search into the meaning of the Prophecies The matter is not easio to be understood at the first sight there must be some Wisdom used to the Discovery thereof Secondly The manner It must be by the way of Reckoning or Numbering Let him that hath Wisdom reckon the Number of the Beast Thirdly The Rule and Method of Account There is some way of Reckoning called The Number of a Man by and through which the Calculation is to be made Fourthly The particular Number it self and in this Method or way of Account it is 666. These are the Natural distributions of the words of the text Now according to this Pattern or Platform let us proceed to shew the truth of our Interpretation and what apt coherence it hath with the Circumstances and with the Natural scope of the text To begin therefore with the matter of the Law It is expresly said That the Beast did cause all to receive a Mark to have the Name and the Number of the Name For the Mark we are not to take it for a material Character but it is the publick Profession of the Faith of a Roman Catholick by and through which he doth publickly acknowledg his subjection and Allegeance to the Universal Headship of the Bishop of Rome For as in the words immediately following when Iohn saw the Lamb stand upon Mount Sion and with him 144000 having their Father's Name written in their Forehead We do not take the Name of the Father written in the Forehead for a literal Character but for the visibility of their Profession that yield subjection to the Commands of God the Father as their Sovereign Lord So on the other side The followers of the Beast the Mark in their Forehead and in their right hand is not a visible brand or print-mark consisting of Letters and syllables but it sheweth the visibility of their Profession that do own the Bishop of Rome's Universal Headship over all Churches and that they are in Conscience bound to be subject to his Laws as to another Christ. Paraeus upon the place speaketh to the same effect Unde secundò liquet cum Bestia Antichristiana sit Papa Romanus exuviis Romani Imperii tunicâ Christi indutus Characterem Bestiae esse Professionem Papistici cultus sicut supra Character Christi non fuit nota materialis sed professio Christiani cultus But that in this matter we may not altogether depend upon Authority we will prove by many Arguments that the publick Profession of the Catholicism or Universal Headship of the Bishop of Rome is the Mark in the Forehead and in the right Hand First This agreeth omni to every Subject in the Beast's Kingdom He causeth all both small and great rich and poor free and bond to receive a Mark. And such a Mark is the Profession of the Faith of a Roman Catholick And though all are not Cardinals all are not Archbishops all are not Bishops yet all are Roman Catholicks all agree in this To profess the Universal Headship of the Bishop of Rome This is Nota maximè communis Secondly The Mark agreeth Soli only to such a one as is a Subject of the Beast's Kingdom For as Princes have Marks and Cognizances to distinguish their Servants and Subjects So the Beast hath a peculiar Character to discern between those that are his and those that are none of his Now if you apply this to the Profession of a Roman Catholick all that whole Society and Body of men as they are one among themselves in their publick Profession So in this they are distinguished from all other kinds of men in the whole world Here is nota maximè propria Thirdly The Mark agreeth to the Subjects of the Beast's Kingdom at all times For not only at the first beginning of the spiritual Monarchy he caused every man to receive a Mark but in all the times of his Kingdom he did impose this Law upon his Subjects And therefore we reade in the latter end of his Dominion That the first Vial was poured out upon them that had the Mark of the Beast and worshipped his Image chap. 16. vers 2. And those Souls that lived again to Reign with Christ 1000 years were such as were beheaded in all the times of the Beast's Kingdom because they had not worshipped the Image nor received the Mark. The receiving of the Mark in the Forehead it must be semper in all the times of the Beast's Kingdom Now such a Mark is the Profession of a Roman Catholick This hath been received in all times There are some things received by that Society of men which are not much more ancient than the Council of Trent which were not established de fide till that time And though in the dayes of Queen Mary the Critical Question was What say you to the Sacrament of the Altar Yet it is well known That Transubstantiation
discovery of this will guide us in the clearing of other things For if we do rightly conceive what is meant by the Mark of the Name we may come to demonstrate the Name it self what it is And when the Name it self is truly and Apocalyptically defined we may be the better prepared for the discovery of the Number All these do mutually depend each upon other And therefore for the subject-matter of the Law of the Beast in the several branches thereof we do thus determine in these three Particulars First The Mark that he causeth all to receive in their forehead and in their right hand is nothing else but the visibility of their Profession that do acknowledge him as Head of the Church And this he compelleth men of all sorts to submit and to yeeld obedience unto Secondly For the Name of the Beast which is also a part of that Law which he did impose upon his Subjects That none might buy nor sell but they that have the Name of the Beast This Name I have formerly proved in the third Chapter of this Treatise That it is not the word Lateinos nor any other Grammatical Name but the Name is the Universal Headship it self The matter cometh to this Issue That none must buy nor sell nor have civil commerce within the Dominions of the Beast but those onely who will acknowledge his Name or Headship Thirdly For the Number of the Name the third part or branch of the Law imposed upon the Subjects of that Kingdom that none must buy nor sell but they that had the Number of the Name I have shewed in part and I shall more fully declare afterward That the Number is not made out of the Numeral letters of the name Lateinos or out of any other Grammatical Name whatsoever but it is the Number of time when that Name or Headship had its first visible and remarkable Institution and therefore it is called The Number of the Name The matter then must come to this Issue That none must buy nor sell but he that doth own the Universal Headship as it was established and set up in the first Foundation and Institution of that spiritual Monarchy Object You perhaps will alleadge That the words are plain That none must buy nor sell but he that hath the Number of the Name Therefore if the Number of the Name be the Number of time when this Name or Universal Headship began according to this Exposition he must not buy nor sell who hath not the Number of time when this Universal Headship began Sol. We must not take the words further then they naturally intend And therefore this is the meaning of the Text That he must not buy nor sell who doth not receive the Catholicism or Universal Headship of the Bishop of Rome as it was Enacted in the first Institution of that Spiritual Monarchy And if we look attentively to the words we shall finde that there is some difference to be made betwixt the Mark of the Name and the Number For when the Spirit speaketh of the Mark in the forehead and in the right hand and of the Name in relation to the Mark he speaketh of such a thing as is apparent to the sight of every man The Beast's Subjects in their usual buying and selling may discern who have the Mark in the forehead and who have not But now for the Number of the Name and for the Name in reference to the Number it is nowhere said that this is in the forehead or in the right hand for it is of a more secret and occult nature Let him that hath wisdom count the Number of the Beast This sheweth plainly that the Number is to be found out by some subtilty of observation and it is not to be discerned in the ordinary use of buying and selling Object You will say Why are all these joyned together that none must buy nor sell but he that hath the Mark of the Beast the Name and the Number of the Nâ—…me Sol. They are all joyned together by reason of their affinity or relation that the one hath to the other and therefore a man cannot well take upon him the Profession of a Romane Catholick which is the Mark of the Name but he must also profess the Name or Soveraign power it self And he cannot profess the Name or Universal Headship but he must relate also to the first Foundation and Institution thereof in the time when it first began visibly to appear And therefore when the Romane Catholicks do at this day own the Universal Headship of the Bishop of Rome they do not mean it onely personally of the Pope now living but of the Succession that hath continued many hundred years There must then be some particular instant of time where this Institution did begin In many great Kingdoms at this day it is not safe for a man to live among them unless he will acknowledge the Universal Headship of the Bishop of Rome Now I say then there must be some particular term and instant of time where this Universal Headship had its first institution where we must set the date thereof And here I say it must be in the time of the Emperor Phocas 666 years from the beginning of the Roman as the fourth Metal-Kingdom Thus I have distinctly shewed the matter of the Law which the Beast imposeth upon his Subjects in the three branches thereof And though I have departed in some particulars from the ordinary stream of Interpreters yet I do agree with many Protestant Writers in the main sense and substance of the Interpretation Since the preaching of Luther Bullinger was one of the first that did historically and with Principles expound the Book of Revelation And so Paraeus speaking of Expositors of the last times hath these words Quibus omnibus meo judicio facem praetulit Henricus Bullingerus quam ferè secuti sunt alii Prooeâ—… in Apocal. Cap. 4. Now this Interpreter doth pitch upon the same sense as we do as it is manifest in his Commentary upon the Revelation And so do some other Interpreters as Danaeus de Antichristo c. If therefore a Reason be demanded Why the latter Interpreters have not gone on in this ancient and true way of Exposition There are two Reasons which are usually given as we may see in the Commentary of Paraeus upon the Revelation and of Downham in his Tract de Antichristo and of Dr. Mayer in his Expositions upon the Revelation First they alledge That the Number of the Beast is numerus nominis the Number of his Name and not the Number of the time of his rising Sol. If these Interpreters will consider the truth of that which we have largely disputed to wit that the Name of the Beast is no other but his Universal Headship and Power by the discovery of this they will finde that there is no difference between the Number of the Name and the Number of the time of the rising of the Beast
Number of years this will agree with the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for in the known and most familiar use that art which teacheth us to number Periods Cycles and greater Revolutions of years is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the art of Computation But if all this will not give satisfaction if any shall still say That this may be the sense yet it doth not prove that it must be so For the further clearing of the matter we will go to the third Circumstance to the Method or the Rule which we must number by And here we shall finde That we have not onely typical proof but true Apocalyptical and demonstrative grounds to build upon if we compare the words of Scripture with our own experience Thirdly the method by which we are to account is by the Numbers of the four Metal-Kingdoms in Daniels Image So then if we account from the beginning of the Roman as the fourth Metal-Kingdom there will be an exact line of 666 years to the setting up of the Name or Universal Headship of the Bishop of Rome under the Emperor Phocas And here the best Expositors do set the rising of the two-horned Beast out of the earth And this is the reason that 666 is called the Number of the Name of the Beast and experience also sheweth That the account is to be made by the periods of time in Daniels Image And so we have not onely probabiliâ—…y but also apodeictical proof for the Exposition of the Number But now to come to clear the point we will shew the Reasons why the account by Daniels method is called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Number of a Man and that this is the meaning of the Spirit First it may fitly be called a Number because as Mr. Mede rightly saith It is the Sacred Kalendar or Prophetical Chronologie appointed by God himself to measure the times We may therefore fitly call it a Number or as they speak in the Schools numerus numerans because it comprehendeth the four Periods of time appointed by God himself to number the special occurrences of the Church Secondly in a more special sense it is called the Number of a Man because it pleaseth the Holy Ghost by the four Regions Parts and Divisions of the Body of Man to number the four great Empires of the world and the four notable and remarkable Revolutions of Time The Image in the parts and in the divisions of it doth not as Interpreters well observe naturally signifie these things but meerly by positive and divine Institution It pleaseth the Lord by the four parts of the Humane Image to decypher so many periods of time And this is the true reason wherefore the Spirit in the figure calls this form method and way of account 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Number of a Man because it is the Number of the Humane Image Thirdly this way of expression doth agree with the manner of the Spirit in other places As for example Thou art this Head of Gold that is Thou art signified by this Head of Gold The seven kine are seven years that is the seven kine do represent seven years And The seven Heads are seven Mountains that is the seven Heads do type and set forth seven Mountains And so in the present case The Number of the Beast is the Number of a Man and that Number is 666. The plain meaning whereof is this That 666 signifieth so many years specified and declared in the accounts of Daniels Image called The Number of a Man It is so styled because the Number is such in that Calculation and it is so to be made out in that method and way of account Fourthly this method of account will agree with the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Here will be an excellent subject for a man that hath dexterity in the Calculations of the Times to imploy the art and skill of a good Accomptant For to what end did the Lord reveal this Prophetical Chronologie under the figure and similitude of the four Regions and Parts of the Body of Man but that it might be a certain and a standing rule to all Posterities to number those times and changes of times that should befall in and about the affairs of the Church Fifthly the Number of time by the account of Daniels Image is the most fit to decypher the rising of a Tyrannical State such as the Kingdome of the Beast is whereof we speak Now what is the Image of Daniel It is no other but a Systeme or body of the four great persecuting Empires which should rise up one after another in the same succession notably to afflict the Church of God Now fith the Beast with two Horns in the Revelation is such a Dominion or State that shall notably afflict the Saints in the latter days where can it be more properly or fitly placed then in the Image of Tyrannical Empires All these are of the same lineage and kindred And therefore seeing it is the plot of the Spirit to delineate these four Successions by so many Parts of the Body of Man we may well conclude That this way of Computation is the Number of a Man meant in the Text seeing it doth so notably agree with the event Sixthly the Number of Time by the account of Daniels Image in the days of Iohn and in the times immediately following was most apt to finde out the events that should befal the Church For this is to be observed That though the Beast his Name Mark and Image were not extant in the times of Iohn yet the number by and through which these were to be computed must then be not onely extant but it must be also of remarkable use As for example The Anti-Christian Church had no beeing in the days of Iohn nor in the ages immediately following yet nevertheless the Spirit in the Revelation doth decypher the place of this Church by such a Character as was famously known in the days of Iohn The seven Heads are seven Mountains where the woman sitteth Now this did more properly appertain to those first times in which S. Iohn lived That Rome was seated upon seven Mountains For the people then living though they should never see the Antichristian times yet Iohn did foreshew the place where that Church should have her beeing in the time appointed and limited by the Lord. In like manner though the Name Image and Mark of the Name had none of them existence in the days of Iohn yet the Number by which all these must be accounted must needs then be in some tolerable use For how shall a man that hath wisdome by the Number finde out the Name if the Number were no way discoverable in those times Mr. Brightman upon the place doth fully agree with us His words are these Though the Mark and the Name were not extant the Beast being not as yet Nevertheless the Number of the Name might be manifest to that age wherein John lived and not onely
fitly applied to Rome Antichristian which is truly and properly called the Whore of Babylon in the figure But now a little to draw nearer to the Point When was it that the Whore did begin to ride the Beast and where shall we set the date of her Dominion For so the Angel doth expound the words The Waters where the Whore sitteth are Kindreds and People and Multitudes and Nations and Languages ver 17. Her sitting upon the Beast and upon many Waters doth not onely imply an ordinary sitting but a sitting in the way of Lordship Dominion and Supreme Command Such a kinde of sitting we must look after if we will truly know the time when the Whore began to ride the Beast And here I say at that time when the Bishop of Rome did begin to be the second Beast or Universal Head under the Emperor Phocas then at the same time did the Roman Church begin to be the Mother of all Churches or rather the Great Whore that rideth the Beast the Mother of all the Fornications and the Idolatries of the Earth Let us therefore more distinctly consider the times as the Angel doth give the true delineation of them And therefore speaking of the Ten Kings that should carry the Whore that should be wholly at her devotion he doth expresly speak of them They have no Kingdome as yet but receive a Kingdome as Kings one hour with the Beast ver 12. Therefore the fall of the Empire and the rising of the Kings must needs anticipate or go before the Jurisdiction and Dominion of the Great Whore And lest there should be any mistake in the time the Angel doth plainly shew That there must be eight Revolutions of State in the City of Rome and that seven of them must fall before the time cometh that the Whore shall ride the Beast These are his words There are seven Kings five are fallen one is and the other is not yet come and when he cometh he must continue a short space And the Beast that was and is not he is the eighth and is of the seventh and goeth into Perdition ver 10 11. From whence it is manifest That the Ten Kings must arise and seven Forms of Government must fall in the City of Rome before the times of the Great Whore can begin But here is a hard question to be decided by the way How can the Beast be said to be the eighth King and yet one of the seven Heads I will the more willingly take it into Consideration because I have been heretofore much puzled with the question And I finde also that the very best and most approved Interpreters do not give a certain sound To let pass how far Brightman and Paraeus have gone aside in the matter Mr. Forbes makes the Kings and Heads of the Beast to be co incident terms but in this he is greatly mistaken For the Beast in the order of Kings is expreslâ—… said to be the eighth King and in the order of Heads he is onely one of the seventh Therefore we may certainly conclude That these are not equivalent terms but that necessarily some distinction must be made betwixt the Heads and the Kings Mr. Mede therefore keeps himself in doubtful terms for speaking of the seventh Change of State to wit The Christian Caesars he saith That this Potentate because he should be of short continuance shall seem to be Dynastes alius another Ruler sed revera non alius in deed and in truth not another So likewise concerning the Beast in which State he should carry the Whore This Beast saith he in respect of the Change of the Caesars seemeth to be the eighth but revera non nisi septimus in deed and in truth no other but the seventh In which words of his so far as I apprehend there are two passages which seem to me to differ from the scope of the Text For when he speaketh of the Change of the Caesareate from the Pagan to the Christian Caesars how can he call that of the Christian Caesars Dynasten quasi alium revera tamen non alium The words of the Text are plain Five are fallen one is to wit that of the Pagan Caesars when Iohn wrote the Revelation and the other 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that of the Christian Caesars is not yet come It is clear then that the Governments of the City of Rome are eight in all and not eight in appearance onely and the Dynasty of the Christian Caesars is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 another in reality and truth and not another in shew onely as Mr. Mede will have it So likewise for the Beast it is strange that he should affirm him to be quasi octavum Dynasten as it were the eighth Potentate sed revera non nisi septimum but in deed and in truth no other but the seventh The words of the Text are express The Beast that was and is not he is octavus the eighth in reality and in truth and not the eighth in appearance only Therefore the Exposition of Mr. Mede doth contradict the words of the Text and the knot remains Upon much debate I finde that we must go another way to work and here we must distinguish the Roman Governments as they are simply so called from the Roman Governments as they are Heads of the Beast If you look upon the Roman Governments as so many Policies and Forms of Dominion then it is clear That there are eight Forms of Regency to wit The Kings the Consuls the Decemvirs the Dictators the Tribunes the Pagan Caesars the Christian Caesars and after all these seven cometh the Beast as octavus Dynastes the eighth Potentate Now on the other side if you reckon the Heads of the Beast there can be but seven Heads and therefore the Beast must needs be the particular seventh seeing the Christian Caesars from Constantine to Augustus cannot be called an Head of the Beast at all unless we will go against the scope of Scripture For it is not the manner of the Scripture to call Christian Governments by the Title of a Beast or the Head of a Beast This Character doth properly appertain to the Kingdomes and States of this World that persecute the Church and are contrary to the Laws of the Kingdom of Christ. Upon this account the Christian Caesars do indeed make a distinct Dynasty or Policy and yet are no part or Head of the Beast The words of the Text are clear for when the Spirit speaketh of the other that should come to wit the Dynasty of the Christian Caesars he doth not say 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 another Head but 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 another King which sheweth plainly That the Christian Casars are a distinct Form of Government but no Head of the Beast So likewise the Beast of the last edition is not termed 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the eighth Head but he is simply called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the eighth King Touching the Kings it is spoken
Roman Obedience or that all had the Mark of the Beast who were Subjects under that Jurisdiction To speak properly they sin onely against the Kingly Power of Christ and his Regal Office as Mediator that submit to the Roman or rather to the Antichristian Dominion in these last times Princ. 12. The Mark of the Beast ought so in special to be expounded that the whole Company which câ—…rrieth the Mark may be set in direct opposition to the 144000 who had their Fathers Name written in their Forehead This is clearly proved from the collation of two Scriptures Chap. 13. ver 16 17 18. with Chap. 14. ver 2 3 4 5. In the former Scripture we have a description of those that worshipped the Image and received the Mark and immediaiely after them there is the description of those that were with the Lamb upon Mount Sion and had their Fathers Name written in their Forehead It is plain then That there is an immediate Antithesis or Contraposition betwixt the Lamb and the Beast the Name of the Lamb and the Name of the Beast the Followers of the Lamb and the Followers of the Beast There is then a perfect contrariety betwixt these two as may be seen in the whole Body of the Prophecy They therefore who will rightly expound the Book of the Revelation must diligently observe the Contraposition and by the one expound the meaning of the other contrary But withall this Rule ought to be remembred That oppositio must be in eodem circa idem the opposition must be in the same and about the same matter And therefore to apply the matter to particulars I cannot see how Mr. Potter doth proceed by this Rule in that Contraposition of his between the Number of the Beast and the Numbers of the New Ierusalem First whereas he opposeth the Number 144 to the Number 666 he should have proceeded in eodem and made the opposition in the same matter If therefore 144000 be the Characteristical Number of the Subjects of the Lambs Kingdome then 666000 should be the Number of the Subjects of the Beast and so Subject will be opposed to Subject and Number to Number Secondly Mr. Potter opposeth the Number of the Beast to the Numbers of the New Ierusalem which cannot properly be said to be oppositio in eodem an opposition in and about the same matter For in the true Apocalyptical method the Beast is not so much opposed to the New Ierusalem as to the Lamb his Riâ—…al in Kingly Power If we will speak plainly the New Ierusalem is opposed to the Whore of Babylon the Gospel-Church to the Roman Idolatrous Church For after that the Saints had sung their Halelujahs at the destruction of the Great Whore these words are immediately added Let us be glad and rejoyce for the Marriage of the Lamb is come and his wife hath made her self ready Chap. 19. ver 1 2 3 4 c. Therefore the contrariety standeth more immediately betwixt the Lamb and the Beast the New Ierusalem and the Whore of Babylon Therefore the Number of the Beast is not so immediately opposed to the Dimensions of the New Ierusalem And yet further in the opposition between the Lamb and the Beast between the Whore of Babylon and the New Ierusalem we must go so far onely as may be well warranted by Scripture or by necessary deduction from Scripture And therefore whereas Mr. Potter layeth down this Maxime The description of the New Jerusalem is not for this reason onely set down in Scripture that by it the knowledge of the true Church of Christ might be described but that the false Church of Antichrist by way of Antithesis might by the same description mutatis mutandis be also manifestly revealed pag. 122. This Position of that learned Author I do in part receive but yet I do not think that we are to extend it to every particular without any restriction We reade in the description of the New Ierusalem of 12 Gates 12 Apostles 12 Angels 12 Foundations and yet I do not think that we have warrant to look after such a set Number of Gates of Angels of Apostles of Foundations in the City of Rome And yet further if we could finde such certain Numbers in the City aforesaid it were not to the purpose in hand For in the true sense of the Prophecy not Rome within such Walls or Gates but the Romish Church in such a largeness and compass of Territories is immediately opposed to the New Ierusalem or the Gospel-Church that shall be in the latter times at the end and destruction of the Beasts Kingdome We reade in the slaughter of the Witnesses that they did lie slain in the streets of the great City spiritually called Sodom and Egypt and where our Lord was Crucified Chap. 11. ver 8. Now there is none that will say that they did lie slain in the streets of Rome literally so called but within the verge and precincts of the Romish Church This properly is the Great City that is opposed to the New Ierusalem to the Holy City to the Lambs Wife that comes from God out of Heaven Princ. 13. The Number ought so in special to be expounded that it may appear to be 666 in that method and way of account which is called the Number of a Man For so it is expresly said Let him that hath wisdome count the Number of the Beast for it is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Number of a Man They therefore who will have Lateinos or some such Grammatical word to be the Number of the Name how do they make it appear That this is the Number of a Man or that it is the manner of men to calculate States and Governments by Anagams or Numeral Letters of any Grammatical Name whatsoever Princ. 14. The Number ought so in special to be counted not according to the subtilties of humane invention but according to the nature of the subject matter and the manner of the Holy Spirit in such-like descriptions For the nature of the subject matter the great sin of the world is in receiving the Name and the Mark of the Name And shall we think when the Lord Christ speaketh to his Churches concerning these things that only they who have skill in the subtilties and mysteries of Art shall have ability to understand his meaning Surely though the Number it self may be more mysterious yet the Matter Numbred must be in more open view Secondly for the manner and use of the Spirit in such-like descriptions his use is to speak Parabolically and Typically and yet we finde no one instance of the discovery of a Government by the extraction of the square-root Very often we finde when he speaketh of the rising of a Government or the destruction of a State he doth usually Number such a Chain or Line of years to each such remarkable occurrence and he doth refer us either to the Chronologie of the Bible or to the Stories of the Church These
Dead and the taking up of those that should remain to meet the Lord in the air Hereupon certain among the Thessalonians mistaking the meaning of the Apostle did conclude That the Day of Judgement and the general Assembly of the Saints was then at hand Now to diminish this opinion the Apostle doth exhort them in these words I beseech you Brethren 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for the cause of the coming of Christ to Iudgement 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 for the matter or cause of our gathering together unto him that ye be not soon shaken in minde nor be troubled either by Spirit by word or by letter as from us as that the day of Christ is at hand This sheweth plainly That they did mistake the Apostle in his former Epistle and did understand his words as though Christ should come presently to Judgement Now for their better information he proceedeth Vers. 3. Let no man deceive you by any means for that day shall not come except there come a falling away first and the Man of Sin be revealed the Son of Perdition He plainly sheweth what things should precede the coming of Christ to wit A general defection from the Faith and the revelation of the Man of Sin And this I take it doth fully open the meaning of our Saviours words in the Gospel concerning the woful state of the Church in the latter times He speaketh plainly that many false Christs shall arise and shall deceive if it were possible the very Elect Matth. 24. 5 23 24. Now to what times can we better refer this then to the times of Antichrist to the times of the Apostacy in which men shall depart from the Faith and shall give heed to the Doctrine of Devils 1 Tim. 4. 1. Now whereas the Apostle saith That there shall come a falling away first Some of the Ancients as Hierom did understand this of the defection from the Roman Empire Though this be a truth yet it is not the meaning of the Text For the falling away here meant is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 a falling away from the true Faith or from the pure Worship of God So the word is used commonly in the New Testament and the sense of the Text doth plainly shew That God gave men up to delusions to believe lies because they did not receive the love of the truth that they might be saved The words then do not intend a Civil but a Spiritual apostacy or falling away Further whereas it is said And the Man of Sin shall be revealed the Son of Perdition Here is a great question Whether the times of the Apostacy and the Revelation of the Man of Sin do begin all at one instant Some will have this to be a Figure which the Rhetoricians call Hendyadys But they are deceived for the words are plain that a falling away from the Faith should be by degrees and when this Apostacy should come to some ripeness and maturity then the Man of Sin should be revealed For how is it possible that the Christian Church should degenerate so far from Christ to take Antichrist for her Head but she must be moulded prepared and wrought by degrees for such a rebellion And for that expression The Man of Sin whereas the Romish Interpreters and Hugo Grotius in his Tract de Antichristo do take this for one individual Man herein they are monstrous absurd For if he be one Man as they suppose then the Apostle tells us That he was secretly conceived in those first times the Mystery of Iniquity did then begin to work And he further addeth that he shall continue till the last times whom the Lord shall consume with the word of his mouth and shall abolish with the brightness of his coming Upon these grounds if the Man of Sin be one individual Man he must needs be very long-lived he must live in a manner from the first to the second coming of Christ. But leaving them to make good their own conceits to speak positively The Man of Sin meant in the Text is A State or a Succession of Men in a State or Government for Iohn in the Revlation doth call this Tyrannical Empire by the Title of a Beast which all do know in the sense of the Prophets doth intend an Idolatrous or a persecuting Empire He is called The Man of Sin by a singular Emphasis as being exceeding sinful and the cause of sin to others for so it is said in the Scriptures Ieroboam the son of Nebat that made Israel to sin And if he be the Man of Sin it is no hard matter to render a reason why he should be called The childe of Perdition This Title was sometimes given to Iudas While I was with them in the world I kept them in thy Name those that thou gavest me have I kept and none of them is lost save the Son of Perdition Joh. 17. 12. In the next words the Apostle doth describe him according to his nature Ver. 4. Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God or is worshipped So that he as God sitteth in the Temple of God shewing himself that he is God For his opposing himself this is spoken in relation to Christ as he is King Priest and Prophet So the Beast in the Revelat. is set in immediate opposition against the Lamb as if he were another Christ the Rival of his Kingly Power and Dignity And whereas he doth exalt himself above all that is called God Interpreters do ordinarily take this for Magistrates whether Inferior or Superior above all which Antichrist must advance himself The expression above all that is called God is a style too diminuent to express the true God by There be maâ—…y that be called Gods yet to us there is but one God 1 Cor. 8. 5. This is spoken of Magistrates that they are called Gods and above all these Antichrist as he doth pretend himself Universal Head of the Church shall exalt himself Further whereas it is said that he sits in the Temple of God this is meant of the Church of God where God is worshipped in the time of the New Testament as he was in the Temple of Ierusalem of old Now that the Church is called The Temple of God is clear from that of the Apostle Know ye not that ye are the Temple of God and The Temple of God is holy which ye are 1 Cor. 3. 16. The result of the whole speech is this That Antichrist shall sit in the Universal Church as in his Episcopal See for so the word in the Original doth signifie Cathedraticâ potestate praesidere By these words it is plain That the formality of Antichristianism lies in the Universal Headship For when the Apostle doth describe the Great Antichrist by his nature he saith That he sitteth in the Church of God as the supreme Lord and Ruler Therefore if that be true which I have so largely dispured in the Body of the Treatise That the Name of the
of holiness that very godly men themselves might be deceived by it For the clearing of this let us consider That the Universal Headship of the Bishop of Rome is built upon the Primacy of Peter over the rest of the Apostles and for the Primacy of Peter there were some beginnings thereof in the very Apostles days His Authority was so great that it seemed to be a Law Paul chargeth him that he did compel the Gentiles to be circumcised Gal. 2. 13 14. I demand then How did he compel them Not by Precept or Command not by any coercive Power but by his Example His Authority was so great in the Consciences of the People of those times that is seemed to be a Law And Barnabas himself also was drawn away with their dissimulation S. Paul also an eminent Apostle seemed to be nothing in comparison of Peter for so he expresseth himself Iames and Iohn and Cephus which seemed to be Pillars Gal. 2. 9. Such credit had Peter with the Faithful in those first times And truly after his death it was not diminished for the ancient Fathers of the Church conceiving him to be Bishop of Rome did ascribe more then too much to his Successors and to that Succession for his sake At least the Bishops of Rome themselves did take too much upon them under that consideration And this did go on and increase so by degrees that it did never leave till it came at that pitch at last that the Bishop of Rome was declared Universal Head of the Church And this Universal Headship we call the Name of the Beast and the time of the Institution and remarkable appearance thereof the Number of the Name And look as the ancient Church having a Promise of the coming of Christ were held in expectation about the time of his coming So the Christian Church being forewarned of the coming of Antichrist were also buâ—…ied about the times of his coming Now for the means to understand the time when it should be First they were to look to the Revolution of Empires Secondly to the Number of years to the setting up of that State or Government For the Revolution of Empires the Apostle saith He that letteth will let till he be taken out of the way All the Ancients did understand this of the fall of the Empire and when the Empire should be removed then they did believe that the Man of Sin should be revealed in his time Again we have further proved That the time of his coming is not onely discoverable by the Changes and Revolutions of Empire but by the Number of years For if you reckon 666 years from the beginning of the Roman as the fourth Metal-Kingdome you will come punctually precâ—…ely and determinately to the Universal Headship of the Bishop of Rome under the Emperor Phocas And this is that which the Apostle dâ—… mainly treat of in this Chapter That when Aâ—… 〈◊〉 â—…e shall sit as God in the Temple of God that is he 〈◊〉 sit in the Church as in his Epâ—…opal â—…ee From the â—…ope of the whole it is clear That the formality of 〈◊〉 dâ—…h lie in the Universal Headship And for the time of the revelation thereof the Apostle saith It must be after the removal of the old Empire and then the Man of Sin shall be revealed in his time Now this time can be no other but in the decree of the Universal Headship under the Emperor Pâ—…ocas 666 years from the beginning of the Roman as the fourth Metal-Kingdome And so Iohn in the Revelation and Paul in the Thessalonians do agree in one and the same sense and both Scriptures do facere paria Now then to gather up all into one sum Seeing the truth of our Interpretation is verified in all the particulars of the Text Rev. 13. Seeing also it is confirmed by the whole sense of the Chapter Rev. 17. Seeing also it agreeth with all the Principles and Grounds throughout the whole Prophecy And last of all seeing it doth fully conâ—…ent with the scope of the Apostle in the Epistle to the Thâ—…ssalonians We may safely conclude That we have given a right Exposition of the meaning of the Spirit and have truly shewed what is meant by the Beast his Name Image Mark and the Number of his Name Now we will come to the practical part to the use of the Point CHAP. XII The Application of the whole 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is made first of those things tâ—…at are 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 HEre if we apply our selves to the Times we shall finde That the term â—…ntichristian is used by sundry sorts of men for sundry kindes of Intereâ—… â—…ome do use it aright and others do dangerouslâ—… and schismatically traduce by the misapplication thereof For seeing the great sin of the world hath consisted in this In subjecting themselves to an Anti-Christian Authority and to the Laws maâ—…e by that Power And seeing iâ—… is the duty of all true Christians to separate and depart from such an Authority as being so diametrally contrarâ—… to the Crown and Dignity of Christ their Soveraign Lord In this point it is not to be doubted but the Protestant Churches have rightly rejected the Beast his Name Mark Image and the Number of his Name as they have cast away the Authority of the Bishop of Rome and the Laws as they stand by that Power and Headship In all the passages of the â—…atise afâ—…regoing we have largely proved That the Universal Headship of the Bishop of Rome is the Name directâ—… opposed to the Name Pâ—…wer and Headship of the Lamâ—… And therefore the Protestant Churches as formerly so now â—…ave just Reason to depart from the Church of Rome as she haâ—…h departed from Christ. Now the Friends and the Followers of the Separation do endeavor in these times to go in tâ—…e same method for by this they think to free themselves from Schism When they are put upon it to give a Reason Why they depart from the Ministery from the Ordinances and the Publick Worship they tell us The Ministery is Antichristian they have not renounced their Calling by the Bishops In a word they call all that Antichristian which hath been used in Antichristian times and hath a conveyance and transmission down to us by the means of Antichristian men Which Position of theirs as it is most erroneous and false so it doth draw many dangerous consequences along with it Therefore to prevent such cunning Tricks of Legerdemain we will lay down the truth distinctly First we will shew the things that are directly Antichristian Secondly the things that are Anti-Christian by Analogie and Reduction Thirdly the things that are Antichristian by the Position of some Circumstances as they are truly Christian by the Position of others Fourthly the things that are Antichristian falsly so called For that which is â—…ruly Antichristian all such are said to have the Mark of the Beast in their Forehead and Right-hand For the Mark in the Greek it is said He caused all to
Nation Yet if we seriously consider the times we shall finde That the light began to break out and the day began to dawn at the taking of Constantinople in the year 1453. For the Greek Empire being destroyed and that Eye of the Christian world being put out it pleased the Lord by this means to cast many learned Grecians into this Western World This gave occasion to the reviving of the Languages and the reviving of the Languages brought in the study of the Scriptures and other ancient Authors and things began to be cast into another mould By this means the more learned sort were brought off from the Doctrine of the School-men and the more zealous ones from Visions Dreams and Revelations and so the world was prepared to receive another kinde of light Not to mention the troubles which Reuchlin Pagnin and Arias Montanus did meet withall it is manifest by the Epistles of Erasmus how much the Monks and Friars were inraged at him He tells us how in England France Spain Italy and every-where in a manner they did both publickly and privately inveigh against him And it went for a received Maxime among many That Erasmus did more hurt then Luther How could that be He revived the Tongues he was an instrument to bring men to the study of the Scriptures and ancient Authors and by those amoeniores literae which he so often speaks of he did bring the world from Monkish darkness and foolish Revelations Campanella therefore calls the War betwixt the Protestants and the Papists Grammaticale Bellum a Grammarian War because by the study of the Languages by the Greek and the Hebrew Tongues the Reformation of the Church was introduced And it is the sentence of Melancthon Non aliam ad veterem barbariem reducendam magis compendiariam esse viam quam si studia linguarum interirent There is no more compendious way to reduce the ancient barbarism then if the studies of Languages should peresh Orat. tom 4. pag. 465. As light then as men make of Humane Learning in these times it was one chief mean under God to bring the world out of Antichristian darkness And it is the judgement of so id men that if it should be totally abolished it would occasion the return of that darkness once again Now let us come to consider the Stories and the time of the immersion how the Church came first under this darkness It is clear from the process of the aforementioned Discourse that about the time of the Emperor Phocas the Universal Headship of the Bishop of Rome was publickly proclaimed the Scriptures began to be slighted and the Traditions of the Church immoderately extol'd Now here is a great demand How is it possible that the Church could apostatize and degenerate so far in one or two Centuries seeing in the age of the Christian Caesars when Chrysostome Hierom Augustine and others lived there was so much light The answer is clear The Goths Hunnes and Vandals and other barbarous Nations came out of the North overturned Churches burned Libraries overthrew Schools of Learning and by this means the world was organized and fashioned to receive the Kingdome of Antichrist and all that whole body of false Doctrine that should be set up in the Consciences of ignorant people by Visions Dreams and Revelations From all which I do conclude If there should be a total abrogation of Book-learning it would be a compendious way means to bring the Church into its former darkness For as experience sheweth That the taking away of that Learning was one chief meâ—…n to introduce Antichristian darkness So the restoring and renewing of it again was one principal mean of the recovery of the former light Thirdly they do symbolize and come in the nearest similitude to the true formality of Antichristianism who do build their Corsciences upon men and do make men the Lords of their Faith In this sense we are to take the words of our Saviour when he saith Mat. 23. 9. Call no man your Father upon the earth for one is your Father which is in heaven Neither be ye called Masters for one is your Master even Christ. Some are so void of understanding as to take these words according to the letter as though the practise of Christianity should extinguish civil relations and distinctions betwixt man and man But these are idle conceits we are to look to the scope of our Saviours meaning The Jews in his time were divided into divers Factions into the Sects of the Pharisees Sadduces Herodians Gaulonites and the like Now it was the ambition of those times for every man to have his Rabbi and each Rabbi to have his Scholars depend upon him as the Lord of their Faith In this sense our Saviour speaks that they should call no man Rabbi Rabbi and gives this reason One is your Master even Christ and all ye are Brethren In these words he doth especially point at the formality of Antichristianism that should be in the Popes Kingdome For though there is much ado made betwixt the Criticks in the Greek Hebrew and Syriack Tongues about the true Origination of the word Papa yet I finde That all do agree in the signification that it is as much in sense as Spiritual Father Now then if we look to the practise of the Romish Church we shall finde it apparent That the Body of the People do depend upon their Teachers as their Spiritual Fathers and all the Spiritual Fathers of the lower degree do depend upon the Bishop of Rome as the Father of all And herein that Hierarchy doth directly oppose the true Church of Christ as it is described Eph. 4. ver 4. 5 6. There is one Body and one Spirit even as you are called into one hope of your calling one Lord one Faith one Baptism one God and Father of all The Apostle further speaketh how the Mystery of Iniquity did begin to work in the Church of Corinth Every one of you saith I am of Paul and I of Apollo and I of Cephas and I of Christ Is Christ divided was Paul crucified for you or were ye baptized in the Name of Paul 1 Cor. 1. 12 13. It appears by this That the Unity of that Church was broken by many divisions several Believers had their several Rabbies on whom they did depend and though Paul and Cephas would not take so much upon them to be the Lords of peoples Faith and the Heads of Parties yet the false Apostles did wonderfully affect such a kinde of Title and too many carnal Christians in those days were too forward to pin their Faith upon other mens sleeves and to come in the nearest formasity to the Antichristian practise in these last times The world is too apt to fall into Divisions and to say I am of Paul I am of Apollo and I am of Cephas And in this men must needs symbolize with them who make the Bishop of Rome the Lord of their Faith and do profess themselves
the Name of Parson is vain and frâ—…valous but if we speak of the Office and Ministery as it is exercised by the godly learned and painful Ministers of the Church of England for the substance thereof it is instituted of Christ acknowledged by all true Churches in the world ever since the first Plantation of the Christian Church known by all Reformed Churches at this day and so maintained by the Nonconformists Against the Name some it may be have taken exception and against the pride idleness and covetousness of others much hath been written but that the Office it self of Parson or Vicar as they preach the Gospel of Iesus Christ and administer the Sacraments according to the institution of Christ and wâ—…tch over the flock committed to their charge that this Office I say shâ—…uld be condemned as Antichristian by the Non-conformists is notoriously fâ—…lse and the contrary is apparently known to your self In many passages of that learned Treatise this point is solidly disputed and the Reader may there finde That many things are termed Antichristian which are not but are falsly so called by the Separation But touching the Ordination by the Bishop there is a greater accusation The Pulpit-guard Routed hath these words You your selves have concluded the Bishops Antichristian in their Calling and is yours Christian You had your outward Calling from them aâ—…d can they give you that they never had themselves If the Bishops were true Ministers and did rightly ordain why then did you preach them down as Antichristian This being the principal Objection it hath an Answer already in sundry Treatises so that my pains may be spared in the point Onely because the present Discourse is concerning this subject what is Antichristian and what is not we will propound these Quaeres to them that differ First in case the Ministers as ordained by Bishops are Antichristian yet a great part of the Ministery in being did never partake of such an Ordination they were made Ministers when the Bishops were not Secondly though the Diocesan Bishop was not put down as Antichristian yet none can say That the formality of Antichristianism was or is primarily and immediately seated in him For as I have shewed in all the passages of the Treatise aforegoing the formality of Antichristianism dâ—…th stand in the Universal Headship and this began to be set up many hundred years after the times of the Diocesan Bishop All that can be said he is Antichristian so far as he doth symbolize with the Great Antichrist in Lordliness and Tyranny over the Church and People of God and how much better are they that drive the trade of I am of Paul I am of Apollo I am of Cephas Surely in respect of their pride singularity and affectation to make rents and schisms in the Church they also may be termed Antichristian by Analogie and Reduction Thirdly it is absolutely false that the Ordination of Ministers did formerly depend onely upon the Bishop For by the Laws and Usages of this Church he could not Ordain without the assistance of other Ministers and the execution of his Office as to this point was not so much as Lord Bishop but as Minister and Elder in the Church Fourthly let it be supposed that the power to Ordain had been wholly seated in the Diocesan the error and corruption in the instrument doth not disannul the institution of Christ. Ordination of Ministers is from Christ alone though the mean to transmit and convey it is from Men. Fifthly if any should go so far to cast away their Ordination because they have received it by the means of the Bishop must not they by the analogie and force of the same rule be driven upon this rock To renounce the Sacraments and all other Ordinances of Christ when they conceive that they are applied by the hand of evil Ministers And what is this but plain Popery to make the Ordinance of Christ wholly â—…o depend upon the personal worthiness or unworthiness of the administrator For the maintenance of the Ministers by the Tythes they are most frivolous to affirm That this is an Antichristian provision For what if this way of allowance hath been used in Antichristian times and hath been conveyed to us by the means of Antichristian men shall we therefore abdicate and cast it away as Antichristian By the same rule we must renounce the Articles of our Creed the Ten Commandments the Lords Prayer our Priviledges that we hold by Magna Charta our Lands that we possess in Capite and Socage and what not for these have been used in the times of Antichrist and have passed down to us by the means of Antichristian men By all that hath been said it is clear That many things are called Antichristian which are not so but are falsly so termed by the Seperation Yet nevertheless if Ministers or others have in any kinde acknowledged an Authority which is directly or indirectly mediately or immediately Antichristian so far as they have more or less acknowledged it so far they ought to mourn or repent Antichristianism is a sin more directly and immediately against the Kingly Office of Christ for which cause he hath denounced such heavy Judgements against it as we have formerly shewed So far forth then as a man doth submit to an Authority and to the Laws made by an Authority that is contrary to Christ so far forth he doth sin against Christ for this in effect is to put him out of place and to entertain his enemy in his room Now this no pious man can or will do but he will easily apprehend it to be a piercing and wounding of Christ and for this he will go forth into the porch and weep bitterly Thus I have divided the matter between two Extremes Though Ministers and others are not to leave their stations yet as they have in any kinde sinned against the Authority of the true Head and King of the Church they have so far forth cause to judge themselves that they may not be judged FINIS POSTSCRIPT Courteous READER ALthough about two years since at the request of a Friend I lately reviewed it yet this Treatise of mine was finished certain years ago Since that it hath met with many hindrances and now I believe had not another occasion brought me up to the City it had neither at this time come into publick view All things considered the whole series and continual succession of impediments of years past and now onely the opportunity offered By this I am induced to believe the publishing of these things is not so much by Humane Counsel as by Divine Providence Perhaps Gods Work is now set on foot for the deliverance of his poor afflicted People and it may be in this juncture of time some passages in this Treatise may be subservient to such ends The Wise-man saith Words spoken in due season are like Apples of Gold in pictures of Silver By the things that I have written thou mayest understand how