Finall ruin but the time could not well begin from the time of Constantine or when the Ethnick gouernment was ouerthrowen or taken out of the way For by either of theese computations the time should haue beene out many yeares agoe when indeede diuers Kingdoms were fallen from the Pope and he had noe power to doe in them as in England Denmarke and others and soe indeede as his power began in som Kingdoms before in others soe accordingly God would that he should begin to loose it in some before in others But yet he hath had and still hath much power elswhere to doe great things Which hath made some thinke that the time he hath had since and shall yet haue is giuen him for the time of the wound when say they he had noe power to doe But questionlesse they are mistaken herein as the sequell of this worke will manifest And indeede they seeme to me to beginne the time to soone I meane not soe much before he was a Beast as before he had power to doe For the words are power was giuen him to doe fourtie and two monethes Soe Beza Aretius Piseator 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Pareus and others reade them potestas agendi And I can not finde that either he did much or had much power to doe before the time of Damasus a Spaniard who was chosen Pope aboute the yeare 366. others say 369. and sate till after the yeare 380. then indeede he had some power to doe as wee shall see by by or at the furthest in the time of Syricius neere the yeare 386. or thereabouts to which time of Damasus in the yeare 380. if you adde 1260. yeares which seemes to be the time giuen him in the 42. monethes they may ende before or aboute the yeare 1640. or at least within a few yeares after that is if he had not this time of doeing till the dayes of Syricius or Innocent But it may be a litle sooner because Damasus might haue power to doe some yeares before the yeare 380. And howsoeuer Rome may ende much sooner then the Beast because her destruction seemeth to many to be by the fifth viall Reu. 16. his by sixth or seauenth hers is first declared chap. 18. then his chap. 19. But while wee seeme to cast vp the time set foorth in the Reuelation this is to be vnderstood to fall out thereabouts First if the time of the Beasts doeing began in the time of Damasus or Syricius and not before or after which now wee will examin as needefull to be knowne in theese lamētable times wherein the beast rageth and preuaileth as if he were to raigne for euer when indeede it is because the Deuil in him hath but a short time And secondly if Baronius and others that I haue followed reckon the yeares right as for ought that I can perceiue they doe at least they goe neere the marke and soe therefore may wee As touching the first our Lord himselfe giueth vs light in two places of the Reuelation For while he saith of the Beast Reu. 13. power was giuen him to doe fourtie and two monethes he sheweth that there is a certaine time when they should beginne which time may now at the last be neerely pointed at by any that will take the paines to search the Histories to see whē he first had power to doe The second which is more plaine and doth indeede seeme to shew when theese monethes were begunne is set downe Reu. 17. Reu. 17.12 Where it is saide of thē who are hornes of the Beast theese haue receiued noe Kingdom as yet but receiue power as Kings one howre with the Beast which at the soonest they did not before the time of Damasus Ammian Marcel lib. 28. c. 12. lib. 30. c. 4. lib. 29. c. 10.11.12.13 lib. 31. c. 10. when indeede as Ammianus Marcelinus sheweth the Almanes had theire King Marcrianus of greate puissance the Burgundians theires the Africans theires Nubel and then Firmus the Franckes theire Kinge Melobaudes and other Nations likewise had theires Valens the Emperour of the East was slaine by the Gothes who also had theire Prince Or perhaps not so soone may some man say because after that Theodosius brought them againe into some subiection to the Roman Empire which yet rather hindred then ouerthrew theire growing if not erected Kingdoms and indeede because he was an Emperour of greate puissance and both greately feared and loued therefore it may perhaps be thought by some that theese Kingdoms were not yet erected till after the death of Theodosius in the time of Pope Innocent Spanish Hist French Hist who gouerned in the dayes of the Emperour Honorius In whose time at the farthest as all the best Historians shew Kingdomes were plainely erected in Spaine and Afrike by the Gothes Speede How Chron. Vandales Sueuians Alanes one in France vnder Pharamond who yet is saide to succeede Marcomir Sumo and Melobaudes In whose time also the Picts Scots and others preuailed in Britaine so that after the Britaine 's had elected diuers other Gouernours they were faine at last to choose Vortiger theire Kinge and to call in the Saxons who chased the Picts and Scots but succeeded them in power and crueltie Other Barbarous Nations of those times preuailed in Thracia Hungarie Austria Sclauonia Panonia Dalmatia and other countries Thus though the Beast might perhaps haue some litle power to doe a litle before the rising of theese Kings yet they who had noe Kingdom before while the Empire floorished doe now receiue power as Kinge one howre with the Beast that is to say whether he beganne to haue that more Kingly power to doe in the time of Pope Damasus or soone after in the time of Siricius or Innocent which truly is somwhat hard to determin yet it seemes to me to be in the time of Damas And the Reader may also giue a good guesse thereat when he shall see how power was first giuen to theese Popes more then to any other Patriarch or as a Kinde of head ouer all Which power yet was not giuen him by any plaine and lawfull act of a councell as both the sixth councell of Carthage aboute the yeare 420. and the councell of Chalcedon aboute the yeare 450. proued against him neither indeede did he get it of many yeares after nor by consequence iustly therefore the thinge is not to finde when he had it giuen him lawfully for that the Antichrist could not haue but when some things fell out which gaue it him as it were accidentally when first he tooke hold of such occasion and thenceforth openly vsed and maintained it Which at the soonest for ought I can finde was not before the time of Damasus but he indeede stroue to attaine it and to that ende laide hold of euery litle occasion and made vse of it For haueing damned the heresie of Apollinaris in a Councell held ad Rome Theod. lib. 5. cap. 9. aboute the yeare
Trent which was performed by Chemnitius Examen Concil Tridē Or at least by him and others that also writ against that Councell But the Sea out of which the Beast arose was not so corrupt in it selfe but only became soe in some part thereof into which the burning mountaine was cast which corrupted it Now if one should aske me whether the Sea out of which the Beast arose were the Councill of Nice or that of Sardica I thinke that if not out of both confounded and put together by thē then rather out of that of Nice I. Because that was a generall Councell and therefore more apt for his purpose and authority as the other was not which only restrained to the person of Iulius a priueleidge soone after reuoked 2. Because that of Nice gaue him prioritie of place and this priueleidge that a law should not be imposed on the Church without his aduise out of which as he tooke it he as ye saw made greate aduantage and indeede rose out of it this beeing the originall and ground of all the power he after got 3. Because he alwaies alleadged it for his authority which it seemes he the rather did because it was generall and the more auncient more reuerenced and indeede because that Canon of Sardica was soone reuoked yea he so much desired to rise out of the Nicene Councell that in alleadging as he pretended a Canon of Nice he vseth the very words of this Canon of Sardica See Mysterie of Iniquitie written by M. du Plesses only leaueing out the name Iulius and was therefore conuicted of forgerie by the sixt Councell of Carthage 4. Because the burning mountaine signified vnder the second trumpet must needes be cast into the Sea before the fall of Constantius vpon the riuers signified vnder the third and therefore in all likelihood before the Councell of Sardica which yet gaue him power or increased it as he tooke it But by reason that Liberius who presently succeeded was an Arrian and therefore could neither chalenge power by it nor by the Nicene Councell this power as I shewed was not excercised till the time of Damasus But indeede ye haue seene that from the time of Damasus or Siricius the Pope as he vsed the matter had power to doe in things that belonged to other mens iurisdictiōs yea as an ouerseer and confirmer of Councells as he tooke the matter and what more as a kinde of head and lawgiuer as ye saw in the Epistle of Siricius to Himerius Bishop of Aragon and the Beast must needes be then risen and in action because soone after he began to receiue wounds and at last his deadly wound by the incursions of the Gothes and Vandals Thus power was giuen him to doe and thus he had it but not so soone as some haue thought So that they who reckon his time of doeing from the time that Constantine came to the Empire or when the heathen Emperour was cast out or from the time of the Nicene Councell or from the time that Constantine left Rome or from the time of Pope Iulius may beginne to soone And if not then it must needes be vnderstood as others haue obserued power was giuen him to doe fourtie and two monethes but in the time of the wound by the Gothes and Vandals or at least while it was sore and deadly he had noe power to doe therefore those yeares of the vvound vvherein he could doe nothing must not be reckoned vnlesse you allovv others for them Which yet may be fevver by many than some haue thought because the Gothes and Vandals did not raigne so longe in Rome as they say and so the time of the vvound beeing lesse then they giue vvill bringe it to the same reckoning vvee make or very neere it But indeede there is noe cause to expound it so because it is cleare enough that the Beast vvas not risen or at least had not power to doe so soone as they thinke and withall that frō the time that the Gothes first tooke Rome to theire expulsion the Pope had for the most part power enough to doe which is verrie behoofull to manifest because men may thereby see that there is noe allowance to be giuen him for the time of the wound or if any yet but litle For Rome was more than once saued and rescued and though it were taken againe yet the Popes of those times had as much power to doe as euer theire predecessors had if not more Besides the Gothes became Christians many of them were indeede but Arrians yet Baronius sheweth that they gaue the Pope much power to doe and questionles theire Kingdom did rather further the mysterie of iniquitie then hinder it as wee shall see by and by Therefore out of doubt they are much mistaken who giue 140. yeares for the time of the Gothes Kingdom begining is when Alaricus first tooke Rome which they say was aboute the yeare 415. and ending it when Narses vanquished Totilas Whereas others better skilled in historie shew that theire Kingdom lasted but 72. yeares begining the time after the first comming of Theodoricus into Italie and ending it as the former when Totilas was vanquished And yet before that extirpation of Totilas Belisares the Emperours Leiftenant had entred Rome taken Vitiges Kinge of the Gothes and carried him captiue to Constantinople and after that when the Gothes haueing chosen Totilas for theire Kinge tooke Rome againe Belisares recouered it the second time But in his absence they got strength wonne it againe then Narses wholly expelled them out of Italie Now see theire errour who begin theire Kingdom so soone and reckon the time of the wound to be 140. yeares Begining them in that time of Honorius wherein Rome was first taken For themselues confesse that during the raigne of Honorius Rome was twise taken Alaricus and Ataulphus beeing the captaines and yet the Beast had not the deadly wound in the head seeing it was rather a shamefull then a harmefull ouerthrow as Pomponius Laetus sheweth in the life of Honorius that when Honorius began to rouse vp himselfe Sabell En. 8. lib. 1. the Gothes were expelled out of Italie and Attalus theire Kinge led in triumph to Rome and after his right hand was cut off he was carried captiue to Lipara that so longe as Honorius and Valentinian liued the Maiestie of the Empire was defended by theire Leiftenants Constantius and Aëtius though theire Maisters were slacke and lasie Yet Valentinian raigned many yeares after Honorius The truth is that before that Alaricus had taken Rome but he gaue life to such as fled to Christian Churches and then led his armie from Rome with purpose to saile into Afrike and setle his abode there but eare longe he died After his desease Ataulphus his Kinsman returned to Rome with the Gothes resoluing to ouerthrow all there to build another citie to change the name of it call it Gothia but his wife Placidia the sister of Honorius
that soe they may the better auoide them and not pertake of theire sinnes lest they receiue of theire plauges and that espetially when theire deliuerance and her ruin are at hand And as this care was necessarie in those ages when the * Reu. 12. Dragon reigned and the first trumpets sounded so more espetially in theese times of the beast whore wherein the euill they doe is a greate deale worse more dangerous to the Soules of men for as much as notwithstanding the light of the Gospell all the world would still wonder after him for that holines power and munificence which they would imagine to reside in him and euen many of Gods people would be so loth to flee out of Babylon that they should be in danger of pertaking of her sinnes and receiuing of her plauges and should haue neede to be daily called on to make them come out from her A duty which as it was euer needefull to be put in practise for the drawing of Soules from her bewitching delicacies and deceites so more espetially now when her greate abhominations are by the refulgent light of Gods Word manifested and her last and greatest plauges must needes be approching For if when Saint Iohn wrote it might be saide the time is at hand how much more in theese our times vpon whome the ends of the World are come and who may see if wee either will see or thinke it any such blessed thinge to see that the most of those things which concerne Antichrist and the verrie declining of his Kingdom are already fulfilled and thereby euery man warned to waite with a stedfast faith to see the rest accomplished and not to put farre away as his fauourers doe those euill dayes which shall befall him and his friends and as they doe who would faine make the World beleeue that he shall not be destroyed till the ende of the World and are so loth to see any thinge proued to the contrary that they doubt not to affirme that the time can not be so much as neerely guessed at To whome it may be answered that the Lord would neither haue saide of the beast Aeuel 13. He shall haue power to doe fourtie and two monethes and neither more nor lesse nor of the Kings his hornes They haue receiued noe Kingdom as yet Chap. 12.19 but receiue power as Kings one howre with the Beast but that he meant to shew vs some certaine time which when his ruin should approach might either be perfectly or at least verrie neerely found as in Daniels propheticall weekes wherein euery day stands for a yeare and so questionlesse in theese monethes which are also propheticall monethes which can not be literally vnderstood of three yeares and a halfe For it followes from the Angels exposition that Antichrist is the seauenth and eighth head of the seauen hilled citie that is a head of gouernment in a succession Reu. 17. as the Emperours were of whome he saide one is Fiue are fallen one is and the other is not yet come Fiue of the Roman heads or formes of gouernment were fallen before as Kings Consuls Dictatours Decemuiri Tribuni Militum The sixt was in the time of Saint Iohn which was the gouernment of the Emperours haueing theire seate in Rome This head so longe as it should abide there would let the comming of Antichrist who was to be the seauenth head of the same citie 2. Thes 2. Reu. 17.9 as Saint Paul compared with Saint Iohn sheweth saying only he who now letteth will let till he be taken out of the way he saith not till he be vtterly fallen or destroied but taken out of the way viz. remoued which came to passe when the seate of the Empire was remoued from Rome to Constantinople and not before for till then another domineering head could not rise to rule in Rome Therefore saint John saith of the seauenth He is not yet come and when he commeth he must continue a short space And the Beast that was and is not euen he is the eighth and is of the seaven This seauenth head which is the Roman gouernment by Bishops is saide to endure but for a short space because of the wound which it should soone receiue by the Gothes and Vandals which when it should be healed was not longe to endure as a seauenth head only but should also by reason of a new title and authority become an eighth head and more absolute that soe he might rule and raigne the rest of his longe time and doe all the greatest things ascribed to Antichrist This eighth head did accordingly beginne in Boniface III. when he obtained to be called vniuersall Bishop he then was the eighth and yet of the seauen viz. the seauenth because he seemed but to succeede the former Bishops in that gouernment which they had after the seate of the Empire was remoued from Rome and which they got by abusing the Canons of Nice and Sardica as wee shall see by and by Howsoeuer seeing Antichrist ye see is a head of gouernment in a succession as the Kings and after them the other heads were that had liued and ruled in Rome theese 42. monethes giuen to him can not possibly be vnderstood literally For indeede it is impossible that this seauenth head should rise be seated wounded healed then become an eighth head who should first be admired and worshipped by all nations and then make warre by himselfe and by his hornes ouercome the Saints yea the two witnesses cause an Image to be made and worshipped and a marke to be taken by all small and greate yea doe many other greate things mencioned in the Reuelation and after send to gather the Kings of the earth to Battaile and be taken and all this in three yeares and a halfe Therefore out of all doubt in theese monethes as in Daniels weekes euery day stands for a yeare as the Lord saide to the Israelites Num. 14.34 After the number of the dayes in which ye searched the land euen forty dayes each day for a yeare shall ye beare youre iniquities Ezech. 4.6 euen fourtie yeares also in Ezechiel Thou shalt beare the iniquitie of the howse of Iudah fourtie dayes I haue appointed thee each day for a yeare Soe it must needes be in theese monethes and soe they signifie 1260. yeares as some haue iudiciously collected from Reu. 12.6.14 further also that theese yeares must needes beginne whē first the Pope had power to doe as a head which some thinke beganne in the time of Constantine the greate when he left Rome when say they he that hindred was taken out of the way Some say sooner euen from the time that Constantine came to the Empire and the Ethnick gouernment was ouerthrowen or taken out of the way Indeede it is verry necessarie that the time should be searched out when theese 42. monethes began because that is the surest way to finde out the time of his ende and