Selected quad for the lemma: authority_n
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A35274
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The resurrection of the witnesses and Englands fall from (the mystical Babylon) Rome clearly demonstrated to be accomplished, whereby great encouragement is administred to all saints, but especially to the saints in England, in the handling of a part of the eleventh chapter of the Revelation / by M. Cary ...
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Cary, Mary.
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1648
(1648)
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Wing C737A; ESTC R33344
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91,608
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233
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feet were as the feet of a Bear and his mouth as the mouth of a Lion and the Dragon gave him his power and seat and great authority And I saw one of his heads as it were wounded to death and his deadly wound was healed and all the world wondered after the Beast and they worshipped the Dragon which gave power unto the Beast and they worshipped the Beast saying Who is like unto the Beast Who is able to make war with him And there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies and power was given unto him to continue fourty and two months And he opened his mouth in blasphemy against God to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle and them that dwelt in heaven And it was given unto him to make war with the Saints and to overcome them and power was given him over all kindreds and tongues and nations and all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world The third place where the enemies of the Temple and the holy City viz. The Saints are described is Rev. 17. 3 4 5 6. as it followeth And I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured Beast full of names of blasphemy having seven heads and ten horns and the woman was arraied in purple and scarlet colour and decked with gold and precious stone and pearls having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthinesse of her fornication and upon her forehead was a name written MYSTERY BABYLON THE GREAT THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH And I saw the woman drunken with the bloud of the Saints and with the bloud of the Martyrs of Jesus and when I saw her I wondred with great admiration Thus now the enemies of the Church the Temple or holy City which in the text in hand are only described by this word the Gentiles in these passages are more largely characterized But these expressions used in these descriptions of these enemies being for the most part very mysterious we have these mysteries opened and unveiled in the 17. Chap. from the 7 vers to the end of the Chapter as it followes And the Angel said unto me wherefore didst thou marvel I will tell thee the mystery of the woman and of the Beast that carrieth her which hath the seven heads and ten horns The Beast that thou sawest was and is not and shall ascend out of the bottomelesse pit and goe into perdition and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the World when they behold the Beast that was and is not and yet is And here is the minde which hath wisdome The seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman sitteth and there are seven Kings five are fallen and one is and the other is not yet come and when he commeth he must continue a short space And the Beast that was and is not even he is the eighth and is of the seven and goeth into perdition And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten Kings which have received no Kindome as yet but receive power as Kings one hour with the Beast These have one minde and shall give their power and strength unto the Beast These shall make warre with the Lamb and the Lamb shall overcome them for he is Lord of Lords and King of Kings and they that are with him are called and chosen and faithfull And he saith unto me the waters which thou sawest where the Whore sitteth are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues And the ten horns which thou sawest upon the Beast these shall hate the Whore and shall make her desolate and naked and shall eat her flesh and burn her with fire for God hath put in their hearts to fulfill his will and to agree and give their Kingdom unto the Beast untill the words of God shall be fulfilled And the woman which thou sawest is that great City which reigneth over the Kings of the Earth In these words we have the mysterie opened of what is delivered in the 12 13 and 17. Chapters concerning the Beast and the Woman and the Heads and the Horns and the many waters which are all mysterious expressions and hard to be understood as those were Dan. 7. from the 1 to the 9 ver untill the interpretation was given to Daniel at the 16 verse and so on but the Angel having in this 17 Chap. opened these mysteries now the meaning of them is more apparent So that First If it be queried What is the Beast We have it answered verse 8. in these words The Beast that thou sawest was and is not and shall ascend out of the bottomlesse pit and go into perdition Now by comparing this with some passages in the 12 and 13. Chapters we shall plainly see what the Beast is In the 11. Chap. at the 9 verse the Dragon there mentioned is said to be That old serpent called the Devill and Satan which deceiveth the whole world And in the 13. Chap. at the 1 and 2. verses it is said That a Beast did rise up out of the Sea having seven heads and ten horns and upon his horns ten Crowns and upon his heads the names of blasphemy and the Beast was like unto a Leopard and his feet were as the feet of a Bear and his mouth as the mouth of a Lion and the Dragon gave him his power and his seat and great authority So then The Beast that hath seven heads and ten horns and is like unto a Leopard c. is some wicked one in whom the devil raigns who hath power and a seat and great authority in the earth which power and seat and great authority was given unto him of the devil And though that wicked one that hath that devilish power and authority be distinct from the devil as he that receives is distinct from him that gives yet they are so one as the devill is said to be in the Beast for what the Beast is said to doe the devill is said to doe for in the 13. Chapter at the 7 vers it is the Beast that is said to make war with Saints but in the 12. Chapter at the 17 verse the devill is said to doe it And again they are so one as the Beast is said to be the devill and therefore when the Angel comes to declare what the Beast is in the fore-mentioned place saies he The Beast shall ascend out of the bottomlesse pit It is not said he shall receive his authority from him that ascends out of the bottomlesse pit though that be the meaning of it as before appears but He shall ascend out of the bottomlesse pit to shew the onenesse of the devil and the Beast Thus the mysterie of the Beast is unfolded and it appears that the Beast is a wicked one that hath
a devilish power and authority and is one with the devil This is he of whom it is said All the world wondered after the Beast and worshipped the Dragon that gave power unto the Beast and worshipped the Beast saying Who is like unto the Beast Who is able to make warre with him And of whom it was said That there was given unto him a mouth speaking great things and blasphemies and power was given unto him to continue fourty and two months c. As you have it pages 46 and 47. But secondly If it be queried What that Woman is that is said Chapter 17. 3. to sit upon this Beast We have an Answer to this in the 18 verse of this 17. Chapter in these words And the Woman which thou sawest is that great City which raigneth over the Kings of the earth Now what that great City was that did then raign over the Kings of the earth though it were not so apparent in severall other histories as it is yet the Scriptures could sufficiently inform us for it informs us that Tribute was paid to Caesar Matth. 22. 17. And that because Caesar was he that raigned over the kings of the earth the Jews said to Pilate If thou let this man go thou art not Caesars friend And that Paul appealed to Caesar as being the highest authority that then was as appears Acts 25. 10 11. Now the place where Caesars royall seat was then was the City of Rome as appears in that Paul was sent thither So that Rome was the City that then raigned over the Kings of the earth And therefore it was that it was accounted such a priviledge to be a Roman Acts 22. 25 26. Now since it is clear in Scripture and all histories do acknowledge it that Rome was the great City that raigned over the Kings of the earth Then it appears That Rome is that Woman that is said to sit upon the Beast Now this being apparent it doth appear the more clearly what the Beast is It was clear before That the Beast was a wicked one in whom the Devill raigned that had received power and a seat and great Authority from the Devil but it did not so clearly appear who that wicked one in particular is But here it appears that it is particularly he upon whom the City of Rome sitteth he that supports it Now it is apparent that it is that wicked one the Pope that is the support of the cursed City He it is that bears her up in her pompe and pride and filthy abominable Sodomiticall practises He is the Beast upon which that great Whore sitteth And the City of Rome hath been and to this day is such a fountain of filthinesse and whoredoms and all cursed abominations as this name appears so perspicuously in her forehead as he that runs may reade it MYSTERIE BABYLON THE GREAT THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH And it is apparent that She is drunken with the blood of Saints and the blood of the Martyrs of Jesus But thirdly If the Question be What the seven heads of the Beast are The Angel gives an answer to that at the 9 verse of the 17. Chapter The seven heads are seven mountains upon which the Woman sitteth The Woman being the City of Rome the seven heads of the Beast are said to be the seven mountains upon which that City was built And with this Historians agree 〈◊〉 say that the City of Rome was founded upon seven mountains Now these may as properly be said to be the seven heads of the Beast as the ten Kings may be said to be his ten horns as will appear by and by Fourthly If it should be enquired What the ten horns are mentioned Chap. 12. 3. and 13. 1. 17. 3 The Angel answers that in the 12 verse of the seventeen Chapter in these words And the ten horns which thou sawest are ten Kings which have received no Kingdome as yet but receive power as kings one hour with the Beast These have one minde and shall give their power and strength unto the Beast these shall make war with the Lamb c. In these words the Angel unveils this also and tels us that those which are mysteriously exprest by the ten horns of the Beast are the ten Kings which did give up their power and strength unto the Beast with one consent one mind and thus it came to passe for when the devil gave the Pope that power and authority whereby the Emperor of Rome was subjected to him then the ten Kingdomes that were under Rome did likewise willingly give up their power to him also and were subjected to the Beast and as he so they also made warre with the Lamb the Lord Jesus in his Saints and so became the ten horns of the Beast by which he became the more dreadfull and terrible for he had not been so dreadful if he had but only had the strength of his seven heads of that great City that is seated upon seven hils but having these ten horns also these ten Kingdoms he was become very terrible But fifthly If it should be queried What the many waters are upon which the Woman sitteth mentioned Chap. 17. 1. 13. 1 The Angel answers that also in the 15. verse of the 17. Chapter in these words The waters which thou sawest where the Whore sitteth are peoples and multitudes and nations and tongues So that this is not left in the mysterie neither but the Angel plainly declares That by the waters is meant the peoples and nations and multitudes and tongues And the Whore is said to sit upon them because they have willingly subjected themselves unto her to be as it were vassals to her Now by this time it appears from these 12 13 and 17. Chapters what those Gentiles mentioned in the text to whom the Temple and the holy City was given are in particular for it appears that as though the Church of old had many enemies yet they were particularly given to the Babylonians the Chaldeans So now the Church is particularly given to be trodden under foot of mysticall Babylon Rome and of that wicked one the Pope that hath received from the devil his power and his seat and great authority Now that these particular enemies did as the text declares Tread the holy City under foot appears also in these following passages Rev. 12. 13 14 15. The Dragon persecuted the Woman which brought forth a man-childe and to the Woman were given two wings of a great Eagle that she might flee into the wildernesse into her place where she is nourished for a time and times and half a time from the face of the serpent and the serpent cast out of his mouth water as a flood after the Woman that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood That by the Dragon here mentioned is meant the Pope who is one with him appears page 49. 50. Now he is here said to persecute