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heaven_n	day_n	earth_n	light_n	7,461	5	6.5502	4	true

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ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A06143	The stratagems of Ierusalem vvith the martiall lavves and militarie discipline, as well of the Iewes, as of the Gentiles. By Lodowick LLoyd Esquier, one of her Maiesties serieants at armes.	Lloyd, Lodowick, fl. 1573-1610.	1602 (1602)	STC 16630; ESTC S108778	229,105	378

Nero sought the destruction of the Christians within all the Empire of Rome Achab was not so greedie to haue his wrath and anger satisfied vpon the Prophet Micheas nor Iezabel vpon the Prophet Elias as Nero was to haue Paul the Apostle and Peter slaine in Rome who fild all the streets of Rome with the blood of Christians as Manasses king of Iuda filled all the streets of Ierusalem with innocent blood so that Nero could not be satisfied vntill he had ended his tragedie killing his mother his wiues his sisters and after himself as Mithridates king of Pontus had done before him The second message of Moses was to command Pharao to let the Hebrues depart out of Egipt which being refused denied the Lord vsed a stratagem began to vexe them with a second plague with an vgly armie of Frogges which assaulted Pharao and his country so fiercely that all the Riuers and all the land of Egipt were couered ouer with loathsome Frogges Pharaos Court his priuie chamber his victuals vpon euery man these Frogges scrawled climbed vpon Pharao his Peeres his States and vpon all his people without respect of persons they spared none that all the force strength of Egipt could not resist the force violence of these simple creatures but were constrained to forsake their houses their beds and to seeke to escape these filthy Frogs who left no secret place vnsought but the Hebrews in the land of Gosen were free from these plagues Pharao being dismaied and fearefull to see such vgly sights terrible stratagems was forced to yeeld himselfe to Moses the Captaine and leader of this armie at what time Moses had his second tryumph in the midst of Egipt This was the second victorie and tryumph which the Hebrewes had in Egipt by an armie of Frogs weake souldiers of themselues but there is nothing so weak that the Lord cannot cause to ouercome the greatest power of man Yet Pharaos heart was so hardned that hee answered Moses message from the Lord Quis est dominus Who is the Lord saith Pharao most blasphemously much like to the blasphemy of Nicanor who doubted of the Lord being in heauen and demaunded of Iudas Machabaeus Is there a Lord in heauen that can commaund you to keepe the Sabboth day But I haue power on earth to execute the kings commaundement Nabuchodonozer besides him there is no Lord in heauen nor in earth that can defend you out of Nabuchodonozers hand but that tongue which blasphemed the Lord was cut off and cast to the sowles of the aire to be eaten the head and the hand that fought against the Lord were cut off he being slain in the battell by Iudas Machabeus and hangd vpon the Temple in Ierusalem This secōd plague may be well resembled to the second persecution vnder Domitianus the Emperor who with no lesse crueltie persecuted the Christians in Rome then Pharao did the Hebrewes in Egipt or as Nero his predecessor did in Italy but as in Egipt all men fled from their houses their beddes their tables to seeke some rest from the Frogges so in Rome and in Italy the poore Christians fled euery where frō place to place to hide themselues in secret caues and dennes to escape the cruell sword of this swelling toade Domitianus who excelled Pharao in tyrannie Pharao saide Quis est dominus Who is the Lord I know not the Lord. But Domitianus named himselfe Lord and god Domitianus and by a decree commanded so to be named of all mē in Rome and throughout the Empire of Rome and therwithall caused his Image to be set vp in the Temple at Ierusalem This cruell and blasphemous Emperour Domitianus so persecuted the Christians and so vexed the whole Empire that not only the Citizens of Rome but also all Italy sought other places in other countries as banished men to seeke to auoyd the sword of this bloodie Emperor who passed Pharao in blasphemy and Nero in tyrannie but his end was no better then Neroes for as Nero slue himself with his own hand so was Domitianus in his owne house murthered slain by his owne seruants for he that killeth many must of some be kild and so Domitianus was for blood is reuenged with blood and is one of those foure sinnes that crieth vp to heauen for vengeance but Rome was euer full of blood betweene their forrein warres abroad and their ciuill warres at home CHAP. IIII. Of the third and fourth plagues of the Egiptians compared with the third and fourth persecutions of the Christians MOyses againe after two denialls marcheth with his armie against Pharao to his third battell which was with more simple and weake souldiers then the second battell was for the Lord commaunded Moses to smite the dust of the earth with his rod that all the dust of the earth became Lice throughout all the land of Egipt and these were the armies of the Lord the which crept vpon euery man and vpon euery beast and went as in battell raie and well instructed souldiers vpon Pharao his Lords and his Courtiers and ouer all the land of Egipt this armie spared no place feared no man but the land of Gosen and the Hebrewes there dwelling To this were Iamnes and Iambres and all Soothsayers and Charmers of Egipt publikely forced to say that it was digitus dei the finger of God and Pharao after them was as afore twise now the third time constraited to yeeld to Moses but still without grace or repentance Thus euery victorie had his triumph and euerie triumph was solemnized without either a stroak giuen or a sword drawne but with a white rod in Moses hand so that it seemed rather a combat betweeene Moses and Pharao then a set battell betweene the Hebrewes and the Egiptians The third persecution vnder Traiane in Rome in all points is to be likened to the third plague vnder Pharao in Egipt for the bloud of the Christians in Rome and the plague of the Hebrewes in Egipt crie for equal vengeance and iustice vpon wicked Tyrants and murtherers vnto heauen Though Traiane was wrote vnto by Pliny the second to admonish him to mittigate the vehement persecutidus of the Christians certifying Traiane that the Christians liued soberly and quietly not offending the Romane lawes but by professing their religigion and the name of Christ. Notwithstanding Pliny could do litle good with his Letters to Traiane the Emperour in the behalfe of the Christians at Rome no more then Philo could do with his perswasions to Nero for the Iewes in Alexandria though Philo himselfe being learned and graue and of great authoritie with the Iewes spake in person to Nero and yet Appian the Egiptian being but a schoolemaister in Alexandria a man of no reputation had audience of Nero which was denied to Philo so much Rome hated the Christians Egipt the Hebrews that their plagues

this bloudie Emperour Valerianus left no place vnsought to persecute the remnant of the Christians which his predecessors could not find with sword and fire vntil he himself was taken his army ouerthrown by Sapor King of Persia who tooke him and kept him in prison all his life time in bondage and slauery vsing him as a blocke to mount on horsebacke things hard and straunge to the Romanes to haue their Emperour in such slauish seruice to become a vassal and a blocke for Sapor King of Persia to lay his foote vpon his necke to goe on horse And was not the great Turke Pazaites ouerthrown and his Army slaine at Mount Stella by Tamberlane a rude and barbarous Scithian and himselfe taken and kept in a cage vnder his table and carried him in that cage in all his warres during Tamberlanes life so that the great Emperour of Rome died as a blocke for King Sapor in Persia and Pazaites the great Turke died in Tamberlanes cage as a captiue in Scythia So Pharao in diuers battels was ouerthrowne by Moses and vsed as a blocke and at last drawne as it were by a corde like a dogge by Moses from Egipt into the redde sea and there to dye as you shall read in the two next plagues that followe CHAP. Of the ninth and tenth plagues of the Egiptians compared with the ninth and tenth persecutions of the Christians MOses is sent from the Lord to Pharao and commanded to hold out his hand vnto heauen that there was darknesse vpon all the land of Egipt such palpable darknesse that neither fire candle torch or any light might giue thē light it was such palpable darknesse that the Egiptians might feele it and this darknesse continued three daies long that one might not see an other Yet Pharaos heart was so hardned that now in his furie and rage he commaunds Moses and Aaron to goe out of his sight threatning them with death if they came any more before him though in the last plague he requested Moses and Aaron to pray for him and to forgiue him his sinnes but then were his words full of dissimulation and his repentance full of hypocrisie hee could say I haue sinned but he could not say I haue repented and beforie for his sinnes The ninth persecution vnder Aurelianus in Rome may throughly bee likened to the ninth plague vnder Pharao in Egipt The like threatnings of speech and the like words that Pharao vsed to Moses and Aaron in Egipt the like vsed Aurelianus against the Christians in Rome but it contiued not long for he was slaine as others his predecessors were And as for the great palpable darknesse in Egipt so was it in Rome when their minde was more darke then darknesse it selfe The Egiptians hated not the Hebrews so much as the Romanes hated the Christians For Pilate the Romane presidēt in Ierusalem which gaue sentence on Christ to die and sawe many myracles done by him sent Letters to his maister Tiberius the Emperor and to the Senators recyting the myracles that Christ had done before he died saying hee was worthy to bee canonized placed among the Romane goddes which all the Senators with one consent denied though Caesar requested them first and threatned them after yet Christ was not allowed to be a Romane God Tiberius without effect of his good motion died so did that wicked Emperor Aurelianus in the midst of his cruel persecutions After whō succeeded a good valiant Emperor Flam. Claudius so valiāt that he vanquished the Gothes the Illyrians and Macedonians whereby in Rome he was so honoured that the Senators sent to him a goldē Target which afterward was set vp in the shew-place and a golden statue to stand in the Capitoll but he died too timely of a sicknesse at Sirmium After him succeeded his brother Aurel. Quintilius a good moderate Emperour equall or rather to be preferred before his brother but he was slaine within 18. daies after hee was elected Emperour by the souldiers These good Emperors onely I name for that persecutions were euer executed by cruel Kings and Emperors But these cruell Emperours as they cruelly destroyed others so cruelly were they destroyed after as some of them were killed by theyr owne handes as Nero some murthered by their owne seruants as Domitianus some suddenly slaine riding by the high way as Decius some banished died in straunge Countreys as Seuerus others died captiues in bondage and slauerie as Valerianus did in Persia others eaten with cankers wormes as Maximinius others murthered one after an other as Aurel. Tacit. and Florianus Thus were those Emperours slaine and murthered that cruelly persecuted the Christians The Lorde beeing determined now to finish his plague in Egipt and to bring his people away willed euery man and euery woman to borrow of their neighbours Iewels of gold and siluer for Moses was verie great in the land of Egipt with Pharao and with the people for before this Pharao had appointed Moses Generall of the Egiptians against the king of Aethiopia which I wrote in the Historie of Moses Yet said the Lord I will bring one plague more vpon Pharao and vpon Egipt and after that he will let you goe hence for all the first borne of the land of Egipt shall die euen from the first borne of Pharao that sitteth on his seate vntill the first borne of the maide seruant that sitteth in the mill The Lord knew at that time how to saue the Hebrewes in Gosen from all the plagues in Egipt and to saue Noah from the geneall deluge in the Arke to saue Lot from fire and brimstone in Zodome and to saue the Christians from the destruction of Ierusalem in Pella As this tenth plague was the greatest and the heauiest so the tenth persecution was the greatest and the longest vnder Dioclesian in the East parts and vnder Maximianus in the West either of them persecuting and afflicting with such slaughters of martyred Christians that for the space of tenne yeares for so long continued the tenth persecution there was nothing but the wonted bloudie persecution sword and fire by the commaundements of both these Emperours with most extremitie to bee executed and as vnder Nero the first persecution began so vnder Dioclesian it ended For the Church of God so flourished the Christians so encreased and the godly martyrs so multiplyed that these tyrants were wearie to persecute them any longer At that very time when persecution ended vnder Dioclesian then heresie began to spring vnder Sathan for when one stratagem of Sathan faileth he practiseth an other Now Arius marcheth with his Antitrinitary crew and set themselues in battell against the Lord with horrible and blasphemous weapons and as the Poets faine the Gyants set themselues in battell against the Sun the Moone and the Stars so this crew of heretikes set themselues to fight against God the Father the Sonne and the holy