all the Saints This former Dominion was lost this imperiall State was dissolued but behold a second Beast of whome I haue spoken much before but you shall heare more fully of him anon entring by little and little into and vpon the place of the former with a pretense of greater authoritie carried with a new forme and vnder another colour and in this Papall State Rome hath sent and communicated her Idolatries vnto the World hauing a cup of gold in her hands full of abomination and filthinesse of her fornication Apoc. 18.4 which she doth not now receiue from others as in her Ethnicall condition but others receiue it from her by her Papall incantations and by the venditation of her sacred power Hence it is that Babylon hath such dominion in the World extensiuè by such a large dilatation and intensiué by so strong an operation thereof Therefore Apocal. 13.11 the second beast appeared like a Lambe as the Pope entred vpon this dominion with a faire pretense of a Catholike Pastor a Successour of Saint Peter a Vicar of Christ c. and hee had two hornes which word horne signifieth power very frequently in the Scripture so that his two hornes are indeed two powers which this second Beast with his humble stile of Seruus seruorum Dei doth pretend whence Babylon hath gained so great authoritie and veneration in the World The first power which he did originally pretend was onely Spirituall the power of the KEYES and therefore the Pope doth arrogate all this power in the whole Church vnto himselfe and saith that from him it is deriued vnto the inferiour Pastors there of as the power of Order and the power of Iurisdiction which all Bishops and others in the Cleargie hold immediately or mediately from his Apostolicall feate as the true proper and onely fountaine thereof From hence all Dispensations doe flow to it all Appellations doe tend she hath all fulnesse of power from Christ others haue a part of it from her nay if we may beleeue her principall Doctors her Peter gaue their Pastorall authoritie vnto the other Apostles else Rome could not be the mother-Mother-church in Bellarmines iudgement de Rom. Pont. l. 1. c. 23. and therefore as all Ecclesiasticall power was deduced onely from S. Peter at the first so now it is deduced onely from his personall Successours in this Apostolicall seate Now vnto this Spirituall power in the Church they subiect all temporall power in the State as I will presently declare as being of greater excellencie and vertue And it is true indeed that the spirituall power of the Church excelleth the temporall in the State but how ratione finis because the end of the Churches power is eternall life and ratione medij because the courses whereby shee worketh are spirituall meanes namely such as are contained in the Word of God conducing vnto this end But yet this her spirituall power excelleth not the temporall power of Princes in dominion command sublimitie and glorie which are properly appendant to their Crownes The second power which Babylon doth challenge by her second Beast is Temporall which her Popes haue affected with many insinuations and sometimes with open vendication thereof and her neerest friends aduance it with the best art which wit and learning can minister in this behalfe And certainly this is the opinion which daily increaseth in Babylon and which they will indeuour to support with might and mayne though some more moderate Babylonians doe not yet giue way vnto this highest Antichristian course For I finde three seuerall Opinions in the Church of Rome vpon this point 1. The first giueth all temporall dominion directly vnto the Pope as the principall Souereigne of the World from whom all Princes dependently hold their Crownes These are true Babylonians indeed but all such are actuall Traytors against the dignitie and supreame honour of the Crownes of Princes vnder whom they liue 2. The second giueth all spirituall power not temporall to the Pope but yet indirectly drawing on a temporall power ouer Princes in ordine ad spiritualia in ordine ad Deum c. viz. that the Pope may depose an hereticall or an irregular Prince from his Crowne as hauing authoritie ouer him in this case to depriue him of his estate All such Babylonians are habituall Traytors disposed and alwayes resolued in preparation of heart to execute any Papall sentence of deposition as far as they can against their owne naturall Lords and Souereigne Princes 3. The third opinion denying the second of these as the second denieth the first giueth a meere spirituall authoritie vnto the Pope to excommunicate a Prince for his correction and saluation and to bring him to a penitent submission vnto God and his Church but without any such temporall effect as the second opinion doth inforce And hence it is that the Oath of Alleageance in this Kingdome so wisely deuised and necessarily enacted though it subuert and contradict the first and second Opinions yet it leaueth this last and third Opinion vntouched neither affirming nor denying it because all moderate Papists that treate of the Popes power as namely Doctor Barkley and the more milde Babylonians in England denying it in the first and second degree doe yet constantly affirme it in the third But these men find least grace in Babylon which is more delighted with the second Opinion and chiefly with the first and therefore we see that as the first groweth daily more strong in Rome so the second hath lately gotten more aduantage in France in the minoritie of the King by the subtile Oration of Cardinall Peron which our most excellent Souereigne hath cleerly refuted by his diuine and learned Pen. To conclude now the third proofe of my assertion you may perceiue that the large Dominion of Babylon which the Iesuits truly find in Rome but falsely conceiue it to be there within a very little time onely before her ruine doth appertaine vnto the CHVRCH and not vnto the Citie but so far forth as it is the place wherein the Pope doth reigne so that in it his Successors must continue euen vntill the time of Antichrist when they shall be expelled out of the confines thereof and there they shall exercise their domination not onely with Saint Peters Keyes but also with his two Swords This is the power of Babylon which the Reuelation doth truly foretell and which these Iesuites could not discerne therein But as humane reason disapproueth their idle conceits and naked coniectures so certaine experience ioyned with diuine prediction doth confirme our assertion in this point And so I come vnto a fourth and a more important proofe thereof FOVRTHLY therefore I proue it out of the conformitie betwixt the prediction of Saint Paul and the Reuelation of Saint Iohn both contayning one sense of matter vnder different forme of words the point it selfe being one as proceeding from one Spirit First then it is the prediction of Saint Paul that Antichrist shall be reuealed
may particularly name our profoundly learned Souereigne in his iudicious and well composed Paraphrase vpon this mysticall booke who is described here by his excellency he had great power and by his operation the earth was lightned with his glory SECONDLY The manner of his proclamation He cried out mightily with a loude voice verse 2. with a voice more then Stentorian and no maruell for it was Verbum à Verbo a word from the Word a word powerfully spoken by the Word ineffably begotten THIRDLY The matter it selfe It is fallen it is fallen Babylon the place is considerable for it is Babylon by qualitie and name also a great Citie by amplitude of place and power The ruine of it is markable for it is a fall extreme and finall and it is fallen in the time past though it be yet to come by an enallage of the tense and againe it is fallen by an anadiplôsis the one and the other shewing an infallible certainty of euent Thus now my Text is like Rebeccaes wombe it hath twinnes in it Cecidit cecidit as if the ruine of Babylon were sounded forth by the two siluer trumpets Num. 10.2 It is a double voice of ruine fall vpon fall so that I may vse the words of the Psalme God hath spoken it once or twice Psal 62.11 And as my Text is double here by the ingemination of one word so it is double by the repetition of the same sentence elsewhere viz. Apoc. 14.8 Againe that which in both these places is spoken of mysticall Babylon Rome as an one you shall heare is foretold by prophecie and we haue seene it verified by experience of literall Babylon the renowned Citie of Chaldaea in the Praedictions of Esay 21.9 Babel is fallen it is fallen This consonancie is in the Scriptures this resemblance in sinne and ruine betwixt the old Babylon and the new For Babylon â—s the first Rome and Rome is the second Babylon I come to the words of my Text wherein there is a fatall coniunction of two things Culpa and Poena the Sinne of Rome implyed in her name Babylon and the punishment of Rome annexed or prefixed rather it is fallen it is fallen We may Logically therefore make this partition of my Text heere is the SVBIECT Babylon and heere is the PRAEDICATE it is fallen In order of the words as they stand herein my Text Babylon is last but in order of sense it is first For in Grammer the nominatiue case goeth before the Verbe In Logicke the Subiect goeth before the Praedicate and in Diuinitie the Sinne goeth before the Punishment Pride goeth before Destruction Pro. 16.18 Wherefore in the prosecution of my Text I will change the place of the words and as Iacob gaue the prioritie to Ephraim Gen. 48.14 in the aduised imposition of his hands so I will giue the precedency to Babylon the last word in my Text and then I will reflect duely vpon her fall expressed in the first place thereof The FIRST part concerning the Subiect and Sinne in the Text BABYLON THough I haue affirmed this Babylon to be Rome yet I require not your suddaine beliefe without a substantiall proofe So that to deduce this matter fairely and cleerely to your vnderstandings I must propose a double inquisition in pursuit whereof we shall come securely vnto the hauen of my desire and then arriue happily vpon the coast vnto which I direct my thoughts First What is this Babylon in my Text. Secondly Why this name is imposed vpon that place which is thereby signified vnto vs. These two points being sufficiently discussed for the true explication of my Text and illustration of this name I will conclude the first part of my Text with such obseruations as shall kindly and properly ensue vpon the same The FIRST Inquisition What is this Babylon in my Text. THis Babylon is not literally to be vnderstood neither for that ancient Citie in Chaldaea nor for that famous Citie in Egypt once called by the name of Memphis and now of Cair since the generall scope and purpose of this booke doth not intend any such sense and many circumstances therein doe sufficiently refute it and finally not any Author in former or later times no Father in the ancient Church no Doctor in succeeding ages did euer so conceiue of this place This Babylon therefore is mystically to be vnderstood according to the common and vsuall tenour of this booke That whole booke of the Reuelation of Saint Iohn is spiritually to be vnderstood by the iudgement of Saint Hierome Epist 148. And hence it is that Dionysius sometimes Bishop of Alexandria confesseth of this obscure and profound booke that it cannot be vnderstood according to the first and obuious sense thereof as Eusebius relateth Histor Eccles l. 7. c. 24. but that there are deepe and hidden mysteries in the same Deepe I confesse and hidden till that Time the mother of truth in the successe and euent of things was the midwife to helpe the Church of God which trauelled long in bringing forth the true and proper sense thereof For as Sampson was directed and guided by his seruant vnto the pillars vpon which the house did stand Iudic. 16.26 so the successe of things conspiring with the Oracles of this booke hath conueighed vs vnto a sound and euident knowledge of many mysteries therein vnknowne to former ages but reuealed in this in regard whereof this booke doth now more fully answere vnto its name for now it is a Reuelation indeed as it was before in title Since therefore this Babylon is heere so called by a Mysterie we will passe along by a gradation through foure seuerall interpretations thereof that so wee may discouer in this point how farre the ancient Church digressed from the marke then how neerely at the last the Romish Church is come vnto it and thereby to know her selfe and then finally how the Reformed Church hath directly hit the marke as the Beniamites could sling stones at an haire breadth and not fayle Iudic. 20.16 The FIRST Interpretation THe first interpretation is framed by S. Augustine whom many follow in this and sundry other points rather for the reason of his authoritie then for the authoritie of his reason and therefore are carried into errour by the venerable estimation of his name Hee confesseth that Rome is another Babylon de ciuit Dei l. 16. c. 17. and that shee is the daughter of Babylon l. 18. c. 22. but not in regard of her sinne and ruine as it is now in my Text which things that greatly learned Father neuer seemed to suspect and therefore teaching truly that there are two Cities in this world mixed together in outward things but seuered in their inward qualities and tending consequently vnto different ends he assumeth falsly that this Babylon out of which wee must flye Apoc. 18.4 is onely the generall Citie of the Deuill and his members whereas the other Citie is a Spirituall Ierusalem and the Citie of God Read S. Augustine
de Ciuit. Dei l. 18. c. 18. In Psal 26. enarrat 2. In Psal 61. and though the Homilies vpon the Reuelation passing vnder his name are not his genuine Workes yet they truely containe his opinion in this behalfe Homil. 11. and 16. This sinister and misconceiued interpretation of S. Augustine doth sometime qualifie the feare of Bellarmine who finding that Rome shall be destroyed neere the end of the world by deduction as hee affirmeth out of the Reuelat. cap. 17. Videtur saith he this may seeme so to bee but hee recollecteth himselfe immediately in this manner Augustine with many others doth conceiue that this Citie of Babylon is the generall Citie of the wicked and not the particular Citie of Rome De Rom. Pont. l. 4. c. 4. It is no maruaile that Bellarmine like a man readie to be drowned taketh hold of euery straw for his reliefe The maruaile is rather that Augustine a man so learned so ingenious so iudicious should not cleerely discerne by so many circumstances in the Text that this Babylon is a particular Citie and not a generall Societie and farther that this particular Citie is Rome and not any other place But the glorious lustre of the then present state of Rome in the Empire so potent and in the Church so religious might and certainly did breed an eclipse of this euident truth vnto S. Augustines eyes looking more earnestly vpon the condition of the time then deepely into the coherence of the Text. I conclude therfore the first interpretation and aduise men that conuerse in the Monuments of the ancient Fathers without which no man can be profound and exact in the knowledge of Diuinitie to draw their wine and to leaue their dregges and not to esteeme that currant in them which is not weighed in the ballance of holy Scripture For the Sunne of this sacred Booke hath natiue light of truth without any darkenesse of errour whereas the borrowed light of the Moone the best Fathers and most commended Interpreters doth shine with the spots of infirmitie which attendeth the nature of mankind The SECOND Interpretation THe second Interpretation is that which Saint Hierome doth follow who saw a part of the truth but not the whole as the blind man vpon the first and imperfect recouerie of his sight saw men but hee saw them walking like trees Mark 8.24 He confesseth then that Babylon is Rome that Babylon at the least wherof Saint Peter doth make mention Epist 1. cap. 5. v. 13. whose authoritie hee pretendeth to follow in this point de Scriptor Ecclesiastic in nomine MARCVS But in the time of Saint Peter if by that name of Babylon hee did vnderstand Rome it was Ethnicall Rome which the Romanists themselues doe willingly confesse and vsually pretend to haue beene stiled by that name which they suppose was not and cannot bee extended vnto the Christian or rather Antichristian Rome in succeeding ages But to vnderstand yet more punctually the resolution of Saint Hierome in this case let vs obserue that hee affirmeth Rome to haue beene Babylon in his owne time when there was a true and a glorious Church of Christ in Rome and therefore in the name of certaine religious Ladies Epist 17. he aduiseth Marcella to flie out of that Babylon and to repaire vnto Bethlehem A passage verie rhetoricall and full of insinuation rather then found and substantiall to breed in her tender heart an alienation from the Citie of Rome as being that Babylon whereof wee now intreate though elsewhere hee seemeth wholly to free and discharge Rome from the scandalous imputation of this title as belonging to ETHNICALL Rome in her former and past estate Vrbs potens vrbs orbis domina sayth he contra Iouinian l. 2. in fine scriptam in fronte blasphemiam Christi confessione deleâ—isti c. O potent Citie ô Lady of the world thou hast by the confession of Christ blotted out the blasphemie written in thy forehead Vpon which passage Marianus Victorius a learned Babylonian writeth to this effect Hierome imputeth this name of BABYLON vnto Rome as shee was ETHNICALL as shee persecuted the Christians and was drunken with the effusion of their bloud and therefore it cannot bee appropriated vnto Rome in these latter times as the Hereticks doe falsely surmise and maliciously pretend With him a multitude of Babylonians doth conspire in this behalfe and therefore Master Robert Parsons in his three Conuers of England part 2. c. 5. passeth his verdict in this manner The name of BABYLON is applyed to the state of the persecuting Emperours and afflicted Christians which state saith he hath beene abolished as we haue seene already fulfilled Thus as Agag the King of Amalek came pleasantly before Samuel 1. Sam. 15.32 perswading himselfe that the bitternesse of death was past which was yet to come and was then at hand so these miserable Babylonians by poore and weake euasions perswade themselues that the scandall and horrour of this name is past and that condition of Rome is expired and so Rome is safe whereas the imputation cleaueth fast vnto her and her future ruine doth certainly attend her present state as we shall see anon in the orderly pursuite of this point For as yet the question is not vpon what Rome Ethnicall or Christian this hatefull name and direfull calamitie doth fall whether vpon Rome in her estate past present or to come which particular shall afterwards ensue in the processe of my Discourse but simply and precisely whether this Babylon bee the particular Citie of Rome as Saint Hierome doth conceiue though he be variable and inconstant in the manner of his assertion or whether it bee the generall societie of the wicked as Saint Augustine doth in an Allegoricall sense somewhat wittily but very improbably diuine That this Babylon in my Text is the Citie of Rome it appeareth euidently by many and cleere circumstances in this Scripture but specially two FIRST in regard of her Dominion Shee fitteth vpon many waters Chap. 17. Verse 1. Which Waters the Angell doth interpret to be the multitude of Nations Verse 15. And therefore Verse 18. he saith that she reigned ouer the Kings of the Earth This was the condition of Rome in the time of Saint Iohn to whom this Reuelation was made and therefore the Commentarie vpon the Reuelations which beareth the name of Saint Ambrose saith expresly vpon this place hoc manifestum est c. This thing is manifest namely that the Angell speaketh this of Rome For we know saith the Author that in this time the Romanes did obtayne Souereigntie ouer the Princes of the Earth SECONDLY in regard of her third situation vpon seuen hills or Mountaynes for so the seuen heads in the third Verse are expounded by the Angels in the ninth which description agreeth fairely vnto Rome standing once wholly and now partly vpon seuen hils of markeable note whence the Grecians called her 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 the Latines in the same sense septicollis both
shee committed in the time of Iohn shee shall bee called Babylon againe marke this well good hearers for now the Iesuite draweth neere vnto the point as it was in the case of Ierusalem which of a faithful Citie once became afterwards a Whore So he But let vs heare the man tell out his tale hee hath yet more to say to acquit his Mother Church and Father-Pope and therefore num 38. hee affirmeth That this name of Babylon is neuer applyed vnto the CHVRCH of Rome but onely vnto the CITIE howbeit not as the Citie long hath beene vnder the Pope and now is vnder him nor indeed shall haue this name while the Pope is Lord and Gouernour thereof but as shee was Babylon in her Ethnicall state so she shall be hereafter againe vpon her defection from the Pope and from Christianitie neere the end of the world Now because Ribera feared another censure here hee maketh another preoccupation num 40. in this manner diuinare me dicet quispiam Some man perhaps will say that I take vpon me to be a Prophet and to foretell things to come but saith hee I would intreate that man to lay aside his preiudice to examine the whole matter with mature iudgement and to beleeue me no farther then reason and truth shall perswade him in this case Then hee addeth num 42. That for as much as Rome in her Ethnicall state was so idolatrous so wicked and so cruell against the Christians for that all the Martyrs throughout the Romane Empire were put to death by the authoritie of Rome and by the power of Romane Magistrates therefore it is iust and meet that she her selfe should once suffer for her impious courses which being not yet done according to the purport of this Scripture shall be done hereafter when she shall be no lesse wicked then she was in former times Then num 43. he proceedeth in a faire and ingenious manner of Theologicall discourse saying Whereas this extreame desolation shall fall vpon Rome neere the end of the world it is very iust and equall in good congruitie of reason Why Because the Citie is still the same which being once so defiled with sin must one day be purged with fire Besides saith he there are many Citizens in Rome at this day who by their name and stock boast of their descent from the ancient Romans who alwayes increased there in great number Then hee addeth further that as a Citie built out of the ruines of a former is reputed to be one and the same Citie with it so here in this case the latter Citizens of Rome when she shall be destroyed may be accounted the same Citizens with the former though they be not of their bloud and kindred because they ioyne themselues vnto the former and become as it were one body and one common-wealth with them but specially by their imitation of the facts and sins of their Predecessors This saith he Num. 44. is the cause therefore why the latter Romanes neere the end of the World following the impieties of the ancient shall be punished and the more grieuously also in that regard So that saith hee though her old sinnes committed in her Ethnicall state were forgotten by God in regard of her Christian profession which shee entertayned afterward yet now vpon her new and like Impieties neere the end of the World the old are remembred againe and therefore she shall be burned for them both together Excellently and diuinely spoken according to the true tenour of the Scriptures elsewhere and particularly of the Reuelation it selfe and therefore Ribera began to grow warme in the conclusion of this discourse protesting in this manner We know this truth so perspicuously by the words of this Reuelation VT NE STVLTISSIMVS QVIDEM NEGARE POSSIT so that the veriest foole in the world cannot deny the same Then hee addeth Since Babylon shall be the shop of all IDOLATRIE and of all impieties therefore it cannot be doubted but that this shall be the condition of Rome hereafter And thus hauing made his explication of the Text he propoundeth a very fit question in the end of his discourse Num. 51. namely By what meanes the Citie of Rome neere the end of the Vorld should attaine vnto so great a power and abundance of riches He answereth first that no man can certainly know the reason thereof and secondly that this may come to passe partly by reason of the tenne Kings who shall make a conquest of the whole World and diuide it amongst them and partly in regard of Antichrist who shall bee aduanced in this time by meanes whereof Rome shall shortly returne vnto her ancient power and shall haue these tenne Kings vnder her gouernment who a little after shall reigne in the whole World but finally these Kings shall destroy Rome Apoc. 17.17 Here the coniecture of Ribera founded vpon the vaine speculations of some ancient Fathers not vnderstanding the nature of this mysterie nor the sense of the Scriptures in this behalfe failed him very much as not knowing that Ecclesiasticall Rome is this Babylon and that the Pope is the second Beast therein by which meanes truly Rome hath beene eleuated in a new and second greatnesse in the World in some sort excelling the former in her Ethnicall estate as by due remonstrance it shall hereafter appeare Meane while good hearers excuse my tedious declaration taken out of the Commentarie of this learned Iesuite as contayning much varietie of matter of very markeable obseruation for my purpose My second Babylonian Authour is Viegas a Iesuite also and a Doctor of Diuinitie and Professor thereof first at Conimbrica then at Ebora two Vniuersities of Portugall who framed a more copious and elaborate Commentarie vpon this sacred Booke of the Reuelation insisting very often in the steppes of Ribera and especially in this point whereof we now intreat Therefore though it bee materiall to expresse the iudgement of Viegas also vpon the same yet I may contract his long Discourse into a few words This Viegas then in Apocal. 17. § 2. confesseth that the destruction of this Babylon foretold cap. 18. shall be in the last times before the end of the World Afterwards § 3. he saith that this Babylon is the Citie of Rome howbeit not as she is now vnder the Pope but as she was heretofore in her Ethnicall condition and as she shall be hereafter in the time of Antichrist vpon her defection from the Pope and from her Christian Faith and then he sheweth in many words the qualitie of her sinnes and manner of her ruine conformably with the iudgement of Ribera and that for old sinnes ioyned with the latter God shall execute his wrath vpon her by these ten Kings as hee doth more largely deduce also in cap. 18. § 6. Thus you haue heard the consonant exposition of these two learned persons the second treading in the steps of the first and both for the maine point now in question in the steps
of the holy Scripture Now therefore I should proceed to collect out of them both such obseruations as are sutable to our purpose but that I am a little stayed and hindred by the voluminous Commentarie of Ludouicus ab Alcasar a Iesuite of great esteeme in Spaine which hee published vpon the yeare 1612. many yeeres after that the two other Commentaries vpon the Reuelation neere extant for the latter of Viegas was commended to the Presse vpon the yeere 1599. and the former of Ribera certaine yeeres before that for Ribera died vpon the yeere 1591. in which Commentarie a man would therefore reasonably suppose that some more excellent matters should now come to light and especially after the diligent and painfull discussion of so many points by his learned Brethren preceding him in this kind But marke the euent in this our present issue how this learned ignorant man this wise foolish man this iudicious absurd man this acute obtuse man this Expounder of the Reuelation or rather this compounder of Fables doth heerein comport himselfe Two things then in this passage deserue your carefull attention shall I smile at his folly or laugh at his misery while I propose the same The first is this that this Babylon is Rome indeed but onely as she was in her Ethnicall state and not in any state ensuing hereafter The second is this that the fall of this Babylon was mysticall and spirituall namely from Ethnicall Idolatry to Christian Religion an happy fall from the superstition of Pagans vnto the profession of Christ which fall being past he saith that this was mystica vltio O mysticall or rather O miserable Foole a certaine mysticall reuenge of God against the old Idolatrous Babylon which vltion saith he is eternall for the Citie of Rome shall neuer returne vnto the vomit of IDOLATRY againe These particulars as they are worthy to be noted so they are vnworthy to be confuted in this profound Mercurialist who can extract such senses out of the Scripture against the sense of common reason and therefore I leaue him vnto the censure of Ribera who prouing the contrary assertions by the cleere euidence of the text giueth his verdict against this Ludouicus and the associates of his simple opinion that hee is worse then a very Foole as you heard before and therefore let him accompany Spalatensis who vpon his returne to Babylon is said for all his ambitious expectations of a Cardinals Hat to get nothing but a Fooles Cappe but I doubt with a Knaues heart as any man may well suppose that this Ludouicus doth beare in his brest seeking to obscure and to draw into question the true cleere inexpugnable confession according to the point whereof I now intreat which his more iudicious or more conscionable fellowes had formerly made in this behalfe Now therefore leauing this graue and tedious Iesuite with his profuse and foolish Booke I reflect vpon such obseruations as out of Ribera and Viegas are markable in the issue vpon which I now proceed For though they are not so Regular as that I dare follow them in all things yet I will first take such things as they grant vpon the euidence of the Text and then proue such things as they denie in their misprision of the same The points which I will collect out of them are sixe The first They confesse that Rome is or shall bee Babylon after her Ethnicall estate in a later condition The second They confesse that IDOLATRY and impietie shall abound in Rome in this her later condition The third They confesse that Rome in this condition shall persecute and oppresse the faithfull professours of Gods Truth The fourth They confesse that Rome in this condition shall haue great power authoritie and command in the World The fift They confesse that in this condition and latter estate of her IDOLATRY Antichrist shall possesse this Citie and so it shall bee a spirituall Babylon a sinke of sinne and shoppe of Idolatrie which shall bee deriued vnto the World vnder the gouernment of Rome in the latter dayes The sixt They confesse that Rome in this condition shall bee destroyed burnt with fire made desolate by tenne KINGS and so shall come vnto her extreame ruine by the iust iudgement of God for her former and for her latter sinnes All these points being inforced out of the plaine testimonie of the Scripture wee admit as true and such as either the veriest Foole cannot denie or at least the wisest can neuer impeach Now though Ribera Viegas and others that follow their interpretation lay this scandall vpon the Citie only and not vpon the Church of Rome and vpon the Citie also when shee falleth from her obedience to the Pope and not before yet I will demonstrate that this goodly Song is not tuneable to the Text but that it is a poore euasion vpon a miserable necessitie which shall bee no Citie of refuge for the protection of their CHVRCH howsoeuer being weather-beaten by the storme of the Text afflicting their hearts they are driuen vnto this Harbour of their inuention wherein the Conscience findeth small comfort and reason it selfe obseruing the euents of things and the occurrencies of times doth force them immediatly out of this silly creeke into a troublesome Sea Wherefore I come now vnto the fourth the last and the substantiall interpretation of my Text which layeth this name of BABYLON directly and cleerly vpon the CHVRCH of Rome as shee long hath beene and now is and though declining in her glorie as she shall continue vnto the fearefull time of her vnhappy fall and the whole Riuer of Tyber though it were all made Holy water by Popish incantation shall neuer wash away this scandall of her name which now truly doth and long hath done and shall for euer cleaue fast vnto her as the Leprosie vnto Gehezi and vnto his seed for euer The FOVRTH Interpretation FOurthly then and lastly for now wee are come vnto the mayne and principall issue I confidently proclaime and will cleerely proue that as this Babylon is Rome and Rome after her Ethnicall estate so it is Rome in regard of the Church and not onely of the Citie as both are vnder the Pope and this I will euidently deduce by fiue Reasons FIRST therfore I proue my assertion in regard of the very edifices in Rome the Churches the Chappels the Monasteries the Palaces of the Pope the houses of Cardinals and sundry Ecclesiasticall places which take vp a speciall part of Rome being now a Papall Rome the seate of the Spirituall Monarch the second Beast as you shal heare anon inuading the Imperiall Seat and dignitie of the first therein so that all motion in Rome is to the Centre of the Church there whose Circumference by dominion and power is so largely extended in the World all reference there is vnto Saint Peters Chaire in whose person they suppose that the actuall Souereigntie now exercised by the Pope did habitually dwell there the splendour
of the Church darkeneth all the glorie of the Citie which also now by a Popish Metaphor is translated into the Church for that the Citie and the Church are now coupled in vnion together both being in subiection to one head in regard whereof it is Ecclesiasticall Rome rather then Ciuill the Citie being swallowed vp of the Church as Pharaohs fat Kine were deuoured by the leane The name of Babylon then agreeing to Rome as wee shall more cleerely perceiue anon falleth eminently vpon the Church there rather then vpon the Citie hauing all the properties of Babylon which the Reuelation doth assigne as in the sequell of my Sermon you shall very sensibly discerne SECONDLY therefore I prooue my assertion by the reuiew of that Merchandtze in Rome which is spirituall and of the Church there not temporall and of the Citie as some doe poorely conceiue and weakly prooue And because this is a matter of especiall consequence I resolue to sound the depth of this mysterie and to lay it forth in liuely colours as it shall please God to guide and to direct my thoughts The 〈◊〉 Merchants of this Babylon are soule-merchants dealing in spirituall affaires vnder the great and terrible Monarch of the Church therein sitting as God in the Temple of God This is not mine inuention but the very testimonie of the Scripture it selfe Apocal. 18.13 For the Spirit of God making a large enumeration of the Wares and Merchandize of this Babylon a Spirituall Babylon and consequently spirituall Wares vnder a spirituall Prince concludeth it with the SOVLES of men as the proper and pretended subiect of their negotiations though vnder and by the pretense of spirituall things this Papall Monarch doth exercise a temporall and an earthly domination as the principall scope of his subtile practises and operations in the World And because this point is exellently deliuered by the learned pen of our gracious Souereigne I will expresse it in his owne words Babylon shall haue many that shall bee Merchants vnto her of the soules of men by selling for Money PARDONS giuen by that Monarch the second Beast which shall bee thought to haue power to saue redeeme and free mens soules namely out of Purgatorie Wherefore it was truly affirmed in a Booke composed by the Clergie of England in the Reigne of King Henry the eight vnto the which all the principall members of the Clergie did subscribe as by name Gardiner then Bishop of Winton and Boner then Archdeacon of Leicester c. that it was necessary that such abuses bee cleerely put away which vnder the name of Purgatorie haue beene aduanced as to make men beleeue that through the pardons of the Bishop of Rome SOVLES might be cleerely deliuered out of PVRGATORIE and all the paines thereof But since I shall haue occasion anone to touch this ware and other merchandizes of Babylon more neerely to the quick let vs obserue here by the way what the learned paire of Iesuites doth conceiue of this traffick whether it may be taken in a Litteral or in a Spirituall sense whether it may appertaine vnto the Church or vnto the Citie of Rome RIBERA commeth first in order who treating of these Merchants in Apoc. 18.3 speaketh of their repaire vnto Babylon to fill her with all varietie of things and afterwards in v. 11. hee saith that the Merchants shall weepe and lament for the destruction of Rome where they had so great negotiation because they can haue no more traffick in that great and opulent Citie VIEGAS followeth speaketh more copiously vpon this point in Apoc. 18.3 For he saith that Merchants shal flow together to Rome being Babylon neere the end of the world out of al parts of the earth shal lament the fall of Rome because their traffick with her shal be intercluded for euer Afterward nu 6. he saith that it is manifestly gathered by so much such precious merchandise as is expressed here in this Chapter that Rome shal attain vnto very great power and abundance of riches and that her Empire which shal be most flourishing shal be largely propagated in all the world And again he affirmeth immediately thereupon that in the last times Rome shal be a most flourishing Citie her Empire very large that she shal liue in great pleasure in great abundance of al things that she shall then serue IDOLATRIE and that thus being Babylon she shal come vnto a fatal woful end Thus they hunt counter in the literal sense of temporal merchandise other Babylonians also with them or rather before them run in the fame course as by name our country-man D. Bristow to whom D. Worthington from whō I receiued this notice did attribute very much for his sober graue and deep iudgement who long before the commentary of Viegas came forth as I suppose before the commentary also of Ribera euer saw the light was cōfident in his opinion that this should be the condition and estate of Rome in the latter daies which I haue now related out of their works O fooles and slow of heart to beleeue that which is so cleerely reuealed in the Scriptures if you compare their prediction with the euent of things For first these Merchants are called the Merchants of Soules as I noted before vpon the point of Indulgences of which I shall speake more anone With which spirituall merchandise we may ioyne many other matters of their traffique by dispensations absolutions appellations faculties inuestitures and many pretended interests of the Church of Rome in a word by their courts Legantine by the discursations of Legates and Apostolicall officers in Temporall and Ecclesiasticall estates to the singular aduantage of Babylon and the negotiators of that Apostaticall See Secondly it is extreamely improbable that Rome should become such a Tyrus such a Mart of the Nations Esay 23.3 as these men pretend a place of such traffique and negotiation it being by situation and want of conueniences incapable of so great employments as neither shee enioyed in the highest pride of her Paganicall estate nor any Citie if the Text be are purely a litterall sense in so many verses 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 23 amplifying her merchandize with rare varietie of phrase of most commodious situation indued with all benefits of Art and Nature did perhaps euer enioy the like Thirdly it is morally impossible that Rome in this future imagined estate should increase to such an immoderate and vast power as is described in this place Apoc. 18.3 ALL NATIONS haue drunke of the wine of the wrath of her fornication and THE KINGS OF THE EARTH euen they that chap. 17.3 gaue their power and authoritie vnto the Second Beast haue committed fornication with her and THE MERCHANTS OF THE EARTH are waxen rich with the abundance of her pleasures This rare and portentuous euent in Rome after her Ethnicall estate after her entertainment of Christian Religion as the Iesuites confesse doth require no small extent of
Councells by Fathers by Reasons framed out of the grounds of Scripture and Religion but in a new obscure intricate course of Positions Suppositions Conclusions vaine Opinions of darke and obscure Schoolemen c. which made the learned Doctor Raynolds say that till hee saw this Treatise of Indulgences hee tooke Bellarmine to be a man of some conscience and that hee wrote out of his perswasion but now hee conceiued of him otherwise But I proceed and hasten vnto a conclusion of this point This Babylonian ware of Indulgences is that traffique of the Church of Rome whereby shee keepeth her intimate correspondencie and participation with all her members tying thereby their consciences by a secret and strong obligation vnto the Pontificiall Seate it being also of singular vse in the manner of her proceedings For as this Merchandize is the daughter of many false doctrines Supererogations Merits euen the hatefull and dangerous merit of Condignitie of an Ecclesiasticall treasure arising out of the merits of Christ and also of the Saints the same being more then they were bound vnto and therefore being not rewarded vnto them in heauen may bee communicated to the poore soules in Purgatorie and the dispensation of this mysticall treasure is committed vnto the Pope by vertue of his keyes c. so it is the mother of many wicked practises for the aduantage of their Church as being the very bellowes which blow the fire of treason against the Persons and States of Princes This is the ware wherby Babylon bewitcheth not onely priuate men but great Kings for her Merchants are the great men of the earth Apocal. 18.3 Therefore infinite store of this Babylonian trumperie was transported vnto the poore Indians for the pretended benefit of their soules but for the intended benefit of a Princes worldly estate This is the ware which Leo the tenth so freely and bountifully dispensed for the redemption of soules out of the Purgatorian fire which keepeth warme the kitchin of his Holy-ship in the compassion of his charitable heart and fulnesse of his Papall power Said I freely Forgiue mee this wrong it was for the commoditie and reliefe of his sister Magdalen as Guicciardine a Popish Historian doth relate lib. 13. who had her Factors to distract and vent this Babylonish ware whence Magdalen the sister had the gaine but Leo the brother had the losse for vpon this occasion no lesse iust before God then acceptable to the Christian world Martin Luther began that course which hath succeeded so happily to the further discouery of Babylon and scandall of her wares for since that time her brocage hath suffered a great decay Finally this is that ware whereby this merchandizing Babylon doth principally subsist in honour authoritie riches and applause of the world inebriated with such incantations of her whorish cup and deluded with the vaine hope of these miserable helpes What should I speake of the Pedlery of Meddalls Beades Graines Holy Water Images certayne peculiar Churches Chappels and other places of blind deuotion vnto which sundry Pardons are appendant as being the meanes and instuments of Papall benignitie thereby to dispense and communicate Indulgences vnto poore seduced soules euen as certaine Fryers receiuing temporall reliefe from their deuoted followers pretend to communicate the merits of all the Saints of their owne order vnto them for their helpe and some Lay-men by wearing a Franciscans Girdle and vsing certaine Ceremonies according to the Rites of the Papall Church are made partakers of the merits of Saint Francis and of all the brethren of that religious Order All which and many more Wares come originally out of the Store-house of Rome To conclude then vnto these Indulgences some of them being for an hundred thousand yeeres so liberall is the holy Father I may adde other spirituall ware of Babylon as of Agnus Dei which is a ware of speciall vertue and force but chiefly of Dispensations which are sometimes the dissipations of diuine and humane right of naturall and morall bands as full of great presumption against the Lawes of God and Nature to tye some Princes in vnlawfull Mariages and to vntye many subiects from lawfull obedience as of singular art thereby to intangle Souereignes and subiects in the obedience of that predominant See and to keepe them vnder the captiuitie of the Triple Crowne Therefore the Pope doth greatly applaud his owne felicitie when Princes insnared with the loue or terrified with the greatnesse or oppressed by the power of this Apostaticall Seat will humbly sue vnto him for Dispensations or accept such gracious fauours kindly at his hands whereby hee gaineth ground vpon them still to keepe them more securely within the obedience of the Church which they shall not dare to offend without the perill of their liues and states And now since this Romish ware is Spirituall and of the Church and for soules not temporall not of the Citie and for this life I conclude the second proofe of my assertion namely that this Babylon in my Text is the Church of Rome or Papall Rome or Ecclesiasticall Rome wherein the greatest Monarch doth reigne next vnder the King of Heauen aboue all the Kings of the Earth as we know by their owne pretenses challenges doctrines and vsurpations in this behalfe And so I proceed vnto a new and the third proofe of my said assertion THIRDLY therefore I proue my assertion to be true because the whole World as the Iesuites say perhaps they meane the Romane World according to the phrase of Scripture Luc. 2.1 and the sense of the ancient Fathers or some great part thereof and specially in Europe shall bee vnder the gouernment of Rome and so she shall make a generall communication of her Idolatry vnto the same Now in this great dependencie of the World vpon Babylon and in this vniuersall reference of Nations vnto her how can this be verified of the Citie How should the Citie arriue vnto such a large Dominion in the World and specially in so little a time as the Babylonians doe prescribe You haue heard the difficultie proposed lately by Ribera himselfe and how hee resolueth it by a poore coniecture But the truth is cleere and easily seene where God doth open the eye namely that Rome had this generall Dominion once in and by her Imperiall State not onely vnder the Emperours succeeding Iulius Caesar but while the dignitie of Rome remayned in the Senate and the authoritie in the people During this Imperiall State Rome receiued Idolatry from all Nations as Leo sometimes Bishop of Rome doth speake Serm. 1. in Natal Petri Pauli and the ciuill Stories of Liuie Plutarch and others doe sufficiently declare how ambitious rather then zealous or how senselesse rather then religious the old Ethnicall Rome was in bringing forreine Gods and extraneous Idolatrie into her bosome for the publike honour and safetie of that blinded Citie Therefore Rome had once her Pantheon a Temple of all the Gods conuerted since into a Church of
this deepe point an egregious disputation was held in Scotland it is related immediately after the martyrdome of Adam Wallace in the Acts and Monuments of the Church published by Master Foxe where some profound Doctors of Babylon did substantially resolue that primariò formaliter principaliter vltimatè capiendo strictè this prayer may be said onely vnto God but secundariò materialiter minùs principaliter non vltimatè capiendo largè it may be said vnto Saints What is so absurd and impious which by distinctions may not be defended in the Church of Rome And why may not that prayer be directed by them vnto the Saints since Dominus being changed into Domina our Lord into our Lady the Psalmes of Dauid whereby hee comforted himselfe in the Lord his God are turned by the Papists into an inuocation of our Ladie And why may not both bee done by them who find such an exact conformitie betwixt our Sauiour Iesus Christ and their S. Francis that hee may also bee truely stiled Iesus Nazarenus Rex Iudaeorum Iesus of Nazareth King of the Iewes But since there is no end in the prosecution of their blasphemous absurdities in this kind I will conclude this last point of Romish Idolatry in their inuocation of Saints and finally obserue that it is an idolatrie also in them thus to transferre the peculiar sufficient and glorious Office of Christ his Mediatourship vnto any Saint he or she though his owne Mother towards whom though he bare a filiall respect according to humane nature yet you shall neuer finde in his acts or words any one passage or inclination which might seeme to intitle her vnto such exorbitant honour as the Babylonians assigne vnto her by a boundlesse and groundlesse superstition and specially since as necessitie did not compell them so no good reason could perswade them vnto this seruice Why because all and more is to be found in Christ then in any or in all the Saints in this behalfe For what doe wee or can wee desire in any intercessor Power with him of whom hee doth intreate any thing Affection to them for whom hee doth intreate and a sufficient Capacitie of hearing and receiuing their requests First then for Power with God haue all the Saints so much as he with the Father who testifieth of him This is my beloued Sonne in whom I am well pleased Matth. 3.17 Secondly for Affection vnto vs is any Saint more kind more louing more facill and gracious No none is like vnto him Why First because he tooke our whole nature not the person of one man and espoused it to his owne person it being truly indued with all naturall affections and sanctified with grace without any measure of the Spirit Therefore in this regard he is as neere vnto mee as any man nay neerer then all men And secondly because in this nature hee suffered for me with passions of bodie and soule hee died for me he satisfied Gods wrath for me and so bought mee for his owne therefore in this regard I am more deare vnto him then vnto his blessed Mother or vnto all the Saints that reigne with him in glorie Hence it is that He sendeth vs not vnto them but calleth vs vnto himselfe Come vnto me c. Matth. 11.28 Thirdly as for his Capacitie of hearing vs who can denie it to be infinite in him who being God is infinite in euery thing And as for his humane nature who can sufficiently iudge of the capacitie of it also in this behalf which by the grace of personal vnion with God and so by the glorie of extraordinarie vision in him hath such a Sea of knowledge as we are not able to comprehend in the litle shels of our vnderstanding Therefore as Saint Peter said to whom shall wee goe c. so I say to whom shall we rather goe then to him in whom all these things so happily concurre Why shall I giue his honour away vnto another and thereby take away my comfort from my selfe So shal I be an iniurious Idolater against his excellencie and my owne saluation as they are generally in the Babylonian Church where the most sweet inuitations and comfortable assurances of Christ vnto vs are applied vnto his Mother as Come you all vnto mee and suffer little children to come vnto me with other of like nature which diuine sentences I haue seene for my euidence is from mine owne vnhappie eies appendant in papers vpon Tapistrie or vpon the walls of their Chappels and ascribed vnto her vpon a Festiuall day solemnely dedicated vnto her seruice with this Motto Intrate per me enter in by mee words peculiar and meerely proper vnto Christ himselfe fairely written in capitall Letters and placed ouer the doore to instruct all men thereby that came into the Chappell that they must enter into the Church by the inuocation of her name and into Heauen by the mediation of her Praier Let them now distinguish againe with strictè and largè primariò and secundariò c. yet their consciences cannot escape the crime of Idolatry in this course which they esteeme to be verie deuout but we know it to be verie prophane And thus much concerning the first generall point of comparison which is in the matter of Idolatrie betwixt the old and the new Babylon I proceed therefore vnto the second The SECOND Comparison betwixt Literall Babylon and Papall Rome THe second point wherein this comparison doth stand is PRIDE a sinne of speciall note in the first Babylon the Ladie of Kingdomes Esay 47.5 but what is her end Desolation and ruine How and for what cause I will make the arrogancie of the proud to cease and I will cast downe the pride of Tyrants faith the Lord Esay 13.11 But heere the second Babylon exceedeth the first the daughter comming after the mother in the order of time goeth before her in the degree of pride Wee haue heard of the pride of Moab he is exceeding proud saith the Prophet Ieremie 48.29 So I may say of this Babylonian Beast his pride his arrogancie his fastuous carriage of himselfe toward the whole ciuill State and toward the whole Church is such as may argue him to be the successor of Tarquinius Superbus in whom the Regall authoritie of ancient Rome did expire rather then of Saint Peter whose succession and Apostolicall power he doth pretend but without conformitie to his Apostolicall doctrine in these things who teacheth all men to bee subiect vnto the King 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 as to him that excelleth or that is the chiefe or as the very word doth beare that ouer-haueth hauing indeed all others vnder him 1. Pet. 2.13 Did not Saint Peter include himselfe in this precept Then he was not syncere Or not his successors Then he was defectiue in this point But the truth is he was truly an humble person though of a feruent spirit and prescribeth that doctrine which hee followed and his successors embraced acknowledging their due
reuenues of their subiects issuing forth of their Kingdomes to the supportation of Babylon partly to permit their Clericall subiects to be exempted from their Regall authoritie and many other courses whereby the proud vsurping Beast doth either closely like a Fox insinuate into their Crownes or violently like a Lion insult vpon the same by their owne folly tendernesse and ignorance in the beginning that so Gods Word might be fulfilled herein I say I cannot neglect the obseruation of this point that now these Kings not the same in person but in succession should beginne to bee wise to vnderstand his tyrannie to see their owne miserie and to reuenge these wrongs with fire and with sword without compassion and without remorse Leo a Bishop of Rome but in more happy times yet one that in some things prepared a way for the aduancement of this second Beast which from a Pygmie became an Hercules and by seuerall augmentations grew vp more and more from small beginnings vnto the full proportion of his greatnesse wherein he stood long but now beginneth to fall thou O blessed Leo by the venerable authoritie of thy graue and gracious person by thy perswasiue Eloquence and gentle intreates diddest once diuert the hostile inuasion of Attila King of the Hunnes from Rome not then Babylon and thou wast a Sauiour vnto her as many of the Iudges in ancient Israel were called not by a Sword but by thy word full of power and efficacie in thy religious mouth But now this Spirit this excellencie shall not bee in thy successours when the fatall houre of her last desolation and fall is come for the wrath of these Kings shall bee specially incensed against this Beast a Lyon indeed not in heroicall fortitude and Christian magnanimitie but in crueltie oppression insultation stirring vp these Kings vnto this furie which no perswasion no eloquence no policie can appease And now to conclude this point I find two obseruations that attend this last passage of my discourse The FIRST concerneth a dogmaticall errour and false opinion preuailing very much in the Synagogue of Rome to wit that Antichrist shall destroy Rome which false opinion by misinterpretation arose out of the true doctrine of S. Paul viz. That Antichrist shall not be disclosed vntill the Romane Emperor were taken out of the way which then withheld and so kept downe all other power that Antichrist could not exalt himselfe Hence the ancient Fathers as namely S. Hierome epist 151. quaest 11. and long before him Tertull. in apologetic cap. 32. whose iudgement also S. Augustine doth follow de Ciuit. Dei l. 20. c. 23. but vpon another ground taken and mistaken out of the Prophet Daniel doe very truly deduce and inferre that the Romane Empire shall not bee destroyed vntill the comming of Antichrist and therefore they seemed reasonably to suppose also that it shall bee destroyed by him and so consequently that Rome it selfe shall suffer her finall ruine by his power and by his meanes Which erroneous deduction seemeth to haue had a generall applause in the ancient times of the Church as wee may see by the testimonie of Lactantius who liued in the time of Constantine the Great vpon the yeere 320. Thus therefore hee writeth Institut diuin l. 7. c. 25. That the end of the world will not come till the destruction of Rome and that the abominable Tyrant Antichrist shall performe that worke But as Lactantius with many other Christians was infected with sundry false appehensions as in this very Chapter That the world should stand but two hundred yeres after their time and else where That Christ should reigne a thousand yeeres on the earth c. so in this particular conceit he and others digressed apparantly from the truth as wanting the cleere euidence of times and the successe of things to helpe them in the right interpretation of the Scriptures in this propheticall kind It is then a very certaine and pregnant truth which Tertullian Augustine Hierome Chrysostome and others did conceiue that the Romane Empire should stand till the reuelation of Antichrist according to the prediction of S. Paul And againe it is true in a great part that Antichrist hath destroyed it for the Popes were a speciall meanes to exclude the Emperour out of Italy and Rome which they haue inuaded and erecting a new Empire in the Kings of France and after in Germanie they finally made this Nominall Emperour of Rome a Reall slaue of Babylon though sometimes with great reluctation and opposition of the Emperours as he was able to resist whom therefore the Popes did gladly suffer to bee depriued of their rights in Italy the same being a Countrie specially accommodated for the aduantage and securitie of his greatnesse because there are sundry formes of gouernments and many particular states therein In regard whereof as one hath a diligent eye to obserue and hinder the increase and inlargement of another so if any of them oppose his Holinesse hee is readie with his thunderbolts to shake that State in pieces and to raise vp other Princes there to make an execution of his sentence And because he doth pretend some particular interest in the goodly and rich Kingdome of Naples he therefore installed the Kings thereof with this caution and reseruation That they should neuer take the Empire vpon them fearing thereupon the potencie of so neere a neighbour as being preiudiciall vnto his triple Crowne This was a matter of speciall exception taken against Charles the fifth in his election vnto the Imperiall State though not pursued because there was no remedie against so mightie a Prince who as hee seemed to accept the Empire against the ancient prouision of the Popes so he seemed vnmannerly to resigne the same vnto Ferdinand his brother and to establish him therein without the notice and approbation of the holy Father Thus farre then we agree with the iudgement of antiquitie touching the Romane Emperour and Antichrist because it agreeth very well with the prediction of Saint Paul But the predictions of Saint Iohn doe sufficiently refute the last opinion which seemeth to be inferred out of the former by an emptie and barren speculation to wit that the Citie of Rome shall bee destroyed by Antichrist and his associats as Lactantius lib. 7. c. 16. doth erroniously conceiue For the Second Beast in Rome is Antichrist himselfe to whom the ten Kings gaue their power and Babylon shall be destroyed not by this Second Beast but for this Second Beast the ten Kings not being now his helpers and assistants in this subuersion of Babylon but his enemies assailants to ruinate Babylon wherin he reigneth because of his abominable comportment therein as the context of the Scripture it selfe doth infallibly demonstrate and conclude And therefore as in many other points concerning Babylon and Antichrist the ancient Christians were much deceiued so particularly in this namely to imagine that he should destroy Rome who is the Man or rather the Beast that