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A34679 An exposition upon the thirteenth chapter of the Revelation by that reverend and eminent servant of the Lord, Mr. John Cotton ... ; taken from his mouth in short-writing, and some part of it corrected by himself soon after the preaching thereof ; and all of it since viewed over by a friend to him ... wherein some mistakes were amended, but nothing of the sense altered. Cotton, John, 1584-1652.; Allen, Thomas. 1656 (1656) Wing C6432; ESTC R6199 216,496 285

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heart we are not returned from Babell but every new occasion puts us to a new plantation and when we are there we cannot rest And therefore I feare because we have not judged our selves for our inordinate walking in polluted Churches but have rather sought for our own peace then purity from these pollutions which there have defiled us or do not see any great need of judging our selves in that kinde thence it is that to this day the Lord hath much ado to quiet our hearts in his peace and purity and in power but still we are much destitute of inward purity and power of godlinesse and therefore dead heartednesse hangs about us to this day And therefore as we desire the power and purity and peace of Ordinances stamped upon our hearts so we are to bewaile the contagions we have had in this Image of the beast with Officers or people that so the Lord may give a reviving according to the desire of our hearts Lastly let it be of much praise and thanksgiving to God that hath delivered us and ours from these Contagions and pollutions in which you see all that dwell on the earth have been intangled and polluted in time past That he hath delivered us from the power of this Beast the Roman Catholick Church that he hath freed us from making an Image to that Beast we own none of his Ordinances and that God hath removed us from the marke of this Beast that we desire not to be accounted Catholicks nor Hirarchies nor stand members of a Diocesan or Provinciall or Cathedrall or Nationall Church but beare witnesse against them all And also that he hath freed us in some measure from the number of his name that many things that are of number and account with them are not of any number with us if there be any thing of the Beast in it And therefore it is matter of great praise to God You shall read of the hundred and forty foure thousand that God had gotten victory over the Image and mark of the Beast and over his name and the number of his name or had not left them in any bondage they sung as it were a new song before the Throne It is great matter of praise that here we may enjoy no head but the Lord Jesus Saul indeed was head of the Tribes of Israel but not of the Church 1 Sam. 15. 17. That the Lord hath given us to enjoy Churches and Congregational Assemblies by his Covenant to worship him in all his holy Ordinances that he 〈◊〉 given us to look for no Laws but his word no rules nor forms of worship but such as he hath set downe in his word no platforms of Doctrine but such as are held forth in the word of the Prophets and Apostles It is such a priviledge that for 1260. years the Christian world knew not the meaning of it unlesse it were here and there a few whom God had sealed this was the priviledg of a few sealed ones but this the Lord vouchsafeth to us this day above all Nations that have power of the civill sword It is true there is a great deale of these things in sundry other Churches but yet there is a tang of the image of the Beast that a company of Elders and Ministers they shall have power to impose Officers upon Churches and to excommunicate Officers and Members It is too much the image of the first Beast and too much of the power of both Beasts and therefore it is to be lamented but that the Lord should give us such liberty that all our Churches are not subordinate one to another and none arrogate nor plead Supremacy but are preserved and kept from all contagion of the first and second beast this calls us to abundant thankfulnesse and wee are to desire that the Lord would keep us at such a distance that we may never return to the image of either of the beasts Rev. 13. the last vers Here is wisdome Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast for it is the number of a man and his number is six hundred threescore and sixe THese words are some part of the description of the second Beast which arose after the former continued from the 11 th verse of this Chap. unto the end of it The former beast as you have often heard is the Roman-Catholick visible Church described at large from the first verse to the end of the 10 th The latter Beast is the head of the Catholique Church the Bishop or Antichrist of Rome and he is here described 1. By his Originall He came out of the earth 2. By his resemblance which is three-fold To the Lamb in his hornes To the Dragon in his tongue and speech and to the first beast in his power He exerciseth all the power of the first beast 3. As he is described thus by his Originall and by his resemblance so he is described by his great power and his power exerciseth it selfe in divers acts First He exerciseth all the power of the first beast Now the first beast being the Roman Catholique Church he exerciseth all the power of the Roman Catholique Church that look what the Roman Catholick Church can do the Pope can do with them or without them He can call Councels and make their Canons authenticall He can make Lawes to bind Conscience he can make Lawes to bind whole Churches as well as the Aecumenicall power of the whole Councell He can forbid any other doctrine or worship or government but what himselfe establisheth He can adde to the Scriptures the Ap●crypha and he hath infallible power to judge Controversies Hee can binde and loose Conscience he can depose Kings and dispose of their Kingdoms and he can absolve Subjects from the oath of Fidelity He hath power to pardon sinne and to sell out pardons to them that buy them All that the first beast can do he will do and more but yet he doth it as the Text sayes in the sight of the first beast that is in the face and countenance of the first b●ast He is so modest that he will not take all that honour to the head but the whole body and derives all that honour expresly to himself The second act of his power He causeth all that dwell on the earth to worship the first beast The third act of his power He doth great wonders even to call downe fire from Heaven in the sight of men Not the fire of Acceptance which Eliah brought to consume the Sacrifice but the fire of Vengeance upon the Rebellious as the Prophet called for fire upon the Captains that came to attach him 4. He doth by his miracles deceive all that dwell upon the earth 5. He causeth them all to make an Image like unto the first beast The first beast as you heard was the Roman visible Catholicke Church then the image of the beast are all such like models and forms of Churches as are Diocesan
sure he never fetched any acceptance from Heaven But you read of another fire fetched from Heaven by Eliah and that was to destroy those that mocked him 2 Kings 1. 10. 12. Which practise when James and John would have followed in Luke 9. 54 55 56. You shall read that they being offended with the Samaritans because they would not receive them Master say they shall we call for fire from Heaven to consume them as Eliah did Our Saviour utterly rejects that You know not saith he of what spirit ye are Now minde you that fetching fire from Heaven which is to destroy mens lives and not save them that James and John are taught to refus● as being incompatible to the Gospel But that which they refuse the Successour of Peter as they call him takes up if any Scribe or Pharisee or Samaritan refuse him then fire comes down from Heaven consuming fire and vengance and wrath and blood-shed and extreamity of outraged evils he causeth to come down upon them and in pretence from Heaven to destroy the Church and people of God that I take to be the cheif par● of the meaning of that But if any man will urge the letters of the Text which you need not in mystical Scriptures yet it is not without truth therein Gregory the seventh he declares this that he had strange power when he had much people about him he would have shaked the sleeve of his gound and caused fire to come down Now it is evident it might be for he was a Conjurer and 22. Popes together as their own storyes do record they were wi●ches and gave their soules to the Devil that they might obtaine the Popedome but they were but lying wonders for miracles require divine power but the Devil cannot go beyond the power of nature so that you may take it in the proper meaning their own men do much magnifie it and make it one of the markes of their Churche whereas Protestants that want miracles are not Churches So that those censures by which they thundred against christian Emperors they did follow with such success that they made all wonder that none could stand against them not Henery the fourth nor Henery the fifth not Leo the Emperour nor the King of Fraunce none of them all were able to take up armes against him they did all admire him Who is able to stand against him end to make Warre with him And that gave such free passage to his Laws that all christian States presently took up what injunctions he put upon them Fourthly by these miracles and the mighty successe of them he had power to cause them that dwell on the earth to make an Image to the Beast that had the deadly wound and was healed that is the Roman Catholick visible Church What is this Image of the Beast he causeth all the earth that is all earthly States to receive it he will suffer none to be without it what is this Image an Image not of their own making they must make an Image by his appointment It is an Image of the first beast not of the second directly and consequently the officers of that Beast must represent this second Beast but be an Image of the first if the first Beast was the Roman Catholick visible Church then if he causeth all the Earth to make an Image to that Beast then he causeth all Churches and Common-wealths to frame their State and platforme according to the Image of the Roman Catholick visible Church and therefore he causeth all Christian Princes to erect all their Churches in a Roman Catholick way what is that Metropolitan National Provnciall Diocesan Cathedral and Provincial Churches These are all lively characters of the Roman Catholick Church reserving stil pre-emenency to their mother Catholick Church of Rome but otherwise they are the lively Image of such a Church even as daughters are of their mothers and being overcome with the power of his miracles and deceits and delusions as you heard by the Policy of Canonists by carnall Policy and by their Votaries and by working miracles signes and lying wonders it is a wonder to see what power he had that all the power of the Popedome and of the Catholick Church was in a model and representation drawn in all Churches in Christendome during the time of 42. moneths which is 1260. years and then a great part of his Image was marred in a great part of Christendome but yet he still continues so then there is a lively Image of the Roman Catholick Church though it may be some are drawn from subjection thereunto and yet though they be drawn off from subjection to it yet still the Image and representation is written in the very foreheads of such Churches that is a fourth thing Fiftly He had power to give life to the Image of the Beast what life that it should both speak and cause That as many as would not worship the Image of the Beast should be killed How doth he put this life into the Image of this Beast to speak It is to speak with authorty as in verse 5. A mouth speaking great things He would speak and speak with authority that now these Diocesan Metropolitan and Provinciall Churches they can speak with authority as the Roman Catholick Church doth and their words must take place and he puts that life into it by his own canons and laws which they take up the canons and laws made by the Church of Rome do so animate Provincial and Diocesan Churches that they speak the same language not altogether so corrupt but with like authority and require like subjection of all persons and by your leave they grow to it for very conscience sake that those things which were indifferent before yet being laws of the Church now they must binde conscience this is to speak great things Now they have power likewise to cause as many as will not worship the Image of the Beast they shall be killed a signe none of them took that power like the beast but yet though they have not power to kill them yet to deliver them to the Secular power and they must kill them ● whatever the Diocesan Church doth agree on against her Hereticks that will not obey the Government or doctrine of the Church what then The deliver him to the Secular power then they cause him to be put to death and they deliver him to fire and faggot so you see the mighty power of this Beast There is one thing remaining of his power and that is the sixth and last effect He causeth all both small and great rich and poor free and bond to receive a mark in their right hand or in their foreheads Kings and Princes Ministers and Clergy men as they call them high and low whatever they be he causeth them all to receive a character or marke either in their right hand or in their foreheads A marke in the hand that character themselves call an indelible character and