Pag. 251 CHAP. XXIV The thirteenth and last Character of Antichristianism that is found in the Papacy viz. a long Peace Abundance and Prosperity Pag. 261 CHAP. XXV The Conclusion In all Ages it hath been foreseen or known that Rome and her Bishop are the Seat and Empire of Antichrist Pag. 267 A Confirmation of the Exposition of the sixteenth Chapter of the Revelation concerning the pouring out of the Vials ADVERTISEMENT There is newly Printed this Year 1688. A New Systeme of the Apocalypse or Plain Methodical Illustrations of all the Visions in the Revelation of St. John. Written by a French Minister in the year 1685. and finisht but two days before the Dragoons plundred him of all except this Treatise To which is added this Authors Defence of his Illustrations concerning the Non-Effusion of the Vials in Answer to Mr. Jurieu's Confirmation of his Exposition of the 16. Chapter of the Revelation for the Pouring out of the Vials all faithfully Englished In 12. A CONTINUATION Of the ACCOMPLISHMENT Of the SCRIPTURE PROPHECIES Or a Large Deduction of HISTORICAL Evidences Proving that the PAPACY Is the Real ANTICHRISTIAN KINGDOM CHAPTER I. The First Character of the Antichristian Kingdom which is found in the Papacy viz. a Temporal Dominion hid under the Appearance of a Spiritual One. WE have found Antichrist and the Antichristian Kingdom in the Scripture-Prophecies at present we must find them in History and prove somewhat exactly and largely that what was foretold by the Prophets concerning Antichristianism is by History found to be exactly accomplished in the Papacy We will reduce these Evidences unto some general Characters and will begin with that which is in the Title of this Chapter A singular character of the Papacy a mixâ—ure of the civil state and of Religion The Kingdom of Antichrist hath a very peculiar character upon this account that in it Religion the Church and the State are mingled and jumbled together and hid one under another This I say is nowhere else to be found neither in Mahumâ—tanism nor in Paganism nor in Judaism nor in true Christianity As for Judaism the Empire or Civil State and Religion were so widely different that the Kings durst not perform any Sacerdotal act Because Vzziah attempted to burn Incense he was stricken with a Leprosy 'T is true during the Government of the Asmoneans or Maccabees the Priesthood and Kingly Power were united but this was by a mere Accident and the Jewish Religion did not require it Mahometism is a Religion they who establisht it in the World likewise establisht Empires or civil States but these are not the same thing with that Religion the Mufâ—i and the Grand Seignior at Constantinople are two very different persons Paganism had both a Religion and a Civil State The Roman Emperors were High-priests but they did not exercise the Kingly Power under a pretence of Religion and the obedience which they challenged as Emperors was not accounted any piece of that Worship which was due to the Gods. Nay in substance this Name of High-priest was nothing but an empty Title yea so insignificant that the Christian Emperors did bear it untill Gratian who refused it Lastly nothing is so contrary to the genius of true Christianity as this Union of the Civil state and Religion Jesus Christ saith expresly My Kingdom is not of this world Joh. 18.36 if my Kingdom were of this world then would my servants fight c. The Kings of the Gentiles exercise Lordship over them but ye shall not be so St. Peter said Luc. 22.25 26. Feed the flock of God which is among you not as being Lords over Gods Heritage Jesus Christ when on earth refused to perform any office of a Prince a Judge or a King. Who said he made me a Judge or a Divider betwixt you He styles the acts of his Ministers Feeding Guiding Exhorting Entreating but never Reigning Appointing Commanding And if Christ is called a King and his Ministers the Embassadors and Agents of this great King 't is a Kingdom wholly spiritual a Goverment that hath nothing Temporal in it But that which is nowhere else to be found is found in Antichristianism It is an Empire and a Religion a State and a Church atemporal Kingdom hid under the name of a Church a Tyranny raging under the appearance and comely name of Religion Let us see how this was noted in Scripture Prophecies and afterward we will see it verisyed in History Evidences that Antichristianism must be a Religion First we find this in that famous Oracle of Prediction in the second Chapter of the second Epistle of St. Paul to the Thessalonians Antichristianism is there called a Mystery for the Mystery of iniquity doth already work Now Mysteries do belong to a Religion Every body hath heard of the Mysteries of Ceres of Bacchus and a hundred others which made up the Pagan Religion In the same place Antichristianism is styled a falling away or an Apostacy that day shall not come except there come a falling away first and the Man of Sin be revealed Now all Apostacy in sacred matters does import a Religion a false Religion And the same Apostle in the fourth chapter of the first Epistle to Timothy saith more expresly that this Apostacy must be a Religion in which shall be taught Doctrines of Demons and in which the Teachers shall recommend themselves by their Abstinences and unmarried state In the latter times 1 Tim. 4.1 2 3. some shall depart from the faith giving heed to seducing spirits doctrines of Devils or Demons * V. Medes Apostacy of the latter times speaking lyes in hypocrisie having their Conscience seared with a hot iron Forbidding to Marry and commanding to Abstain from Meats There is no Controversie about this that Antichristianism must be a Religion That it must be a Civil State according to the Prophecies And 't is not less evident by the Predictions in scripture that it must be a Civil state for 't is said that Antichrist exalts himself above all that is call'd God or that is worshipped so that he as God sitteth in the Temple or throne of God Which signifies that he must exalt himself above all other Principalities and challenge divine Honours as if he were a God upon earth In the Prophetick Visions Beast signifies a Monarchy or State as all do agree Now Antichristianism is thus represented V. 1. And I saw a Beast rise up out of the sea having seven Heads and ten horns c. V. 11. And I beheld another Beast coming out of the Earth and he had two horns like a Lamb c. V. 12. And he exerciseth all the power of the first Beast before him c. V. 14. Saying to them that dwell on the Earth that they should make an Image to the Beast which had the wound by a Sword and yet did live This plainly signifies that Antichristianism must exercise a Temporal Power resembling that of
Feudatories If we believe the Pope and Court of Rome almost all the Princes of Christendom are Vassals of the Church of Rome Vassals of the Antichristian Monarchy A bout the tenth Century there was forged at Rome a shameless Instrument call'd the Donation of Constantine in which 't is sayd That that Emperor gives to the Popes the East and West the North and South Thrace Grece Jewry Asia Africa Italy c. By virtue of this donation all the Kings of Europe are the Popes Vassals and hold their Kingdoms only as his Feudatories But the Court of Rome is since that time grown more cunning Baron in ann 324. and 1192. sect 52. Baronius asserts that this Piece is forged because Constantine was farr from giving away the Empire to Pope Silvester and his Successors And Silvester was farr from accepting it under that notion For the Empire belongs to the Pope not by virtue of any human Donation but by that of Jesus Christ In Sermone de Sto. Sylâ—cstro S. Sylvester saith Vincent of Ferrara pleaded his own Cause so well that he gained a sentence importing that all the Possessions of the World which had been in the hands of Tyrants who call themselves Emperors and Kings should be restored to their Lawful Administrators viz. the Pope and the Prelates But besides this General Title there is not a Kingdom in Christendom which the Popes do not or have not claimed upon some particular Rights as the Vicars and Lieutenants of Christ Gregory VII declares that the Kingdoms of Spain belong to the Church Baron ad ann 1073. §. 34. and 1077. §. 63. From the very beginning saith he the Kingdom of Spain is the Territory of St. Peter and the Right of it is in no Mortal The same Pope makes the like declaration to the Lords and Bishops of Corsica concerning that Island That it belongs to none but to the holy Church of Rome and that those who have possessed it without paying homage to her are guilty of Sacriledge Steuchus Bishop of Eugubium proves that the Kings of Arragon Portugal and Sardinia depend and ought to depend upon the Church of Rome as proper Feudatories England for a long space of time was reckon'd the Popes feudatorie Innocent III. forced King John to make over himself and his Kingdom to the Church of Rome And if we believe Polydore Virgil Lib. 4. Hist Angl. long before that time Ina King of that Isle made himself a Tributary of Rome laying the Tax of a penny Sterling upon every fire-hearth The same Polydore Virgil reports Lib. 3. that Pope Boneface VIII wrote to Edward I. King of England that he could not make war against Scotland because that Kingdom belonged to the Pope who alone had power to bestow and take it away If any Heathen Kingdom was Converted to Jesus Christ and the Christian Religion upon this account it hath been challenged as a Territory of the Church of Rome Upon this ground Baron ad ann 1074. Gregory VII wrote to Solomon King of Hungary that King Stephen and the Emperor Henry had given that Kingdom to the Church and that since that time it had depended upon his Apostolick Majesty The Kingdom of Poland was converted in the year 966. and was made Tributary to the Pope as soon as it was subjected to Jesus Christ And things were brought to that pass that not only were the Polonians obliged to pay Poll money without exempting the Gentry but to make their slavery visible to the whole World Benedict IX appointed them to go dressed almost like Monks Baron 1013. §. 2 3. to have their heads shaven their ears bare to wear on great Festivals a linnen garment like a Surplice Gregory VII procured a surrender of the great Empire of Muscovy by Demetrius to whom he gave it back again to hold it in Feè of the Pope The Popes have had the same pretensions to the Kingdoms of Sweden Denmark Norway and Bohemia Above all they have counted the Empire of Germany as their proper Demesnes and have done their utmost to have the same Jurisdiction over France For Boniface VIII had the insolence to write to Philip the Fair We will have thee know That thou art subject to Vs both in Spirituals and in Temporals I know nothing that this Monarchy wants to make it like those other Monarchies which are represented in the Prophecies under the Emblems of Ravenous Beasts Lyons Leopards and Bears It hath a Metropolis a Monarch a Senate a Council Senators Emhassadors Allyances Leagues Governours of Provinces Courts Judges Vassals Subjects Feudatories It receives Hommages Oathes of Allegeance Tributes in First-fruits Provisions of Benefices Tythes and a hundred other wayes It hath further its Canon Law its Laws its Codex exactly as Emperors have their Pandects their Novelles and their Civil Law. The Papists boast that their Church is a Civil state But what need so much proving of a thing which is not denyed yea is boasted of Read but Steuchus Bishop of Eugubium about the Donation of Constantine Blondus in his Roma restaurata Thomas Aquinas on the 2 Chap. of the 2 Epistle to the Thessalonians Lipsius in the Preface of his Book de Magnitudine Romana They all confess take a pride in saying that the Majesty of the Roman Empire is restored in the Papal power that this new Monarchy is made up of a Religion and an Imperial Power that by means of the Church of Rome is accomplisht the Oracle which was given to old Rome Imperium sine fine dedi That the Pope is a perpetual Dictator that the old Senate is found in the Colledge of Cardinals c. That Rome still to this day receives Tributes from the whole World. Is it possible that the eyes of men should not be open'd at last to discern this How is it that God will suffer such a vail to remain on the minds of men Will men never discern that the Papacy is the head that was wounded to death which is healed again Apoc. 13.3 Will not men perceive that it is the Image of the former Beast or of the old Empire and that speaks acts commands and performs all the Actions of the old Empire What have men seen in Christ and his Apostles what have they read in the Gospel that gives any pretext to imagine that the Kingdom of Jesus Christ ought to be a Temporal one and have a Monarch a Metropolis Governours Officers about secular things Tributes Subjects and Vassals How is it possible that men should not see a Mystery of such shameful Iniquity which under the appearance and names of a Spiritual Kingdom and Ecclesiastical Power excercises a Carnal Worldly Earthly Dominion that is pompous vain and devilish and directly opposite to the Genius of Christianity Our French men with their Liberties of the Gallican Church do miserably blind themselves with the vain distinctions of the Holy See and of the Court of
Rome of the Spiritual Kingdom and the Temporal Kingdom These Distinctions are abhorred at Rome 't is a Heresy that deserves the Fire to maintain them Now we ought to judge of Rome and her Empire not by that which others say of her but by that which she saith of herself Besides the Spiritual Empire in the sense of the Gallican Church is a real Temporal Monarchy For the Church of France will have Cardinals Primates Archbishops Bishops Officials Ecclesiastical Courts Prisons Penalties Excommunications Tythes Taxes and all depending on the Pope who is a very Monarch residing in his Royal City All this is merely secular and Worldly and contrary to the Kingdom of Jesus Christ CHAPTER II. The second Character of the Antichristian Kingdom purely Human Politicks 't is palpable that they bear sway in the Papacy WHen I read at the beginning of a chapter in the book call'd Legal Exceptions against the Calvinists that a spirit of purely human Policy appears in their Controversies with the Lutherans and that the Author draws from thence an Exception against them I wonder at the imprudence of these Gentlemen Methinks they ought studiously to avoid the expressions and terms which cannot but raise in our minds such Idea's as must be disadvantagious to them such an one is the term of Human Policy Certainly they ought to speak nothing which may cause us to remember how the Papacy is constituted and govern'd Never was such a profound Policy seen Never was any Empire built upon such foundations therefore I wonder not at its long Continuance We cannot meet with a more subtile Policy than that which prevails in this Empire but 't is too great an honour to call it A merely Human Policy for it is really Diabolical And in this I find the second Character of Antichristianism agreeable to the Predictions Acording to the Predictions Antichristianism must have a deep Policy First S. Paul calls it a Mystery of Iniquity so it is with respect to its Religion and with respect to its Policy for this whole Religion is nothing else but Mystery and Policy It is mysterious cunning secret and dextrous but iniquity runs through it is the soul and source of it Secondly S. John describing this Monarchy under the Emblem of a Beast tells us that he had two Horns like a Lamb. We will presently shew Apoc. 13.11 that this is one of the tricks of this Policy always to lurk under the Name of Jesus Christ his horns and power He addeth that he doth great Wonders and deceiveth them that dwell on the Earth Which lets us know that he was not to reign by force of Arms but by Deceit and a cunning Policy He commands that they should make an Image to the Beast He doth not order the direct restauration of the Roman Monarchy but by an ingenious Policy only requests that they should make an Image to the Beast which was to be worshipt and obeyd but which was only a mere Image of the Imperial Power of the old Romans Apoc. 14.17 and 18. she makes all nations drunk with the wine of her fornication That is she bewitches them with her Charms and Persuasions and her persuasive Power depends on this Policy by which she insinuates and gets into the Hearts and Spirits of men 1 Tim. 4. These false Teachers have a fair out-side of Chastity in their Unmarryed Life and of Temperance in their distinction of Meats and this Policy serves to erect their Kingdom Without doubt this is one Character of Antichristianism For the Gospel seeks no Tricks borroweth no fictions It marcheth in a straight line It flatters no body nay it makes use of harsh and discouraging terms in those places where much soster might have been used It biddeth us to pluck out our Eyes and cut off our Hands it requires us to bear our Crosses and follow Jesus Christ it speaks of nothing but of Death and Mortification Whereas Antichrist marcheth under ground and carrieth on his design by Wiles which men are not aware of Let us now see how exactly History agreeth with the Prediction in this particular as well as in the foregoing The first Policy to cover the Temporal Dominion under the appearance of the spirituality The first human Policy consists in concealing this Secular Dominion which we have been speaking of under an appearance of spirituality This they call the Kingdom of Jesus Christ and every where bring in the names of S. Peter and of holy Church The Countreys which are under Rome are call'd the lands of the Church S. Peters patrimony The paying homage to the Pope and kissing of his Feet is styl'd a lying down at the feet of the Apostles A going on pilgrimage to Rome to get indulgences there is visitare limina Petri frequentare limina Apostolorum to visit the house of S. Peter and of the Apostles When a Vassal of the Pope is spoken of 't is said that he depends on holy Church that he is a Vassal of S. Peter The Popes Bulls their Decrees their Censures are styl'd Apostolical Letters Bulls Censures and Ordinances You may see V. to Tome Conâ—il Par. p. 380. how the Cursed Gregory VII places S. Peters name at the beginning of bis discourses when he was about to act some notable Villany which all must abhorr Who seeth not that this wicked manner of expression is infinitely crafty and a piece of hellish Policy If the Devil had attempted without disguise to erect a Secular Kingdom at Rome under the name of the Church where is that King who would have been guilty of the Baseness and Cowardise to make himself the Slave of a Priest But who had the boldness to oppose such great Names when once Religion hath taken deep rooting in men When any man can once perswade himself that he acts and speaks in the Name of God and by Commission from him there is nothing which such a man cannot effect The fear of Hell makes strong impressions upon the minds of men When Ignorant people heard that there was a Temporal Monarch at Rome who had the Keys of Heaven in his keeping they made their backs ready to bear whatever was layd upon them Perhaps if Kings had been their own Masters they had preserved themselves both from Delusion and Slavery But the People who are naturally weak ignorant and superstitious drew them along This is the Mystery of this Policy which hath produced such strange effects so that the Popes by two or three pages of barbarous Latin usher'd in with a servus servorum Domini have made whole Nations revolt have put all Europe into a Commotion have brought under the mightiest Monarchs have set States on fire and put Chains upon Soveraigns A 2d Policy worldly grandeur joyn'd with Ecclesiastical Power If this Authority and these spiritual Weapons had not been accompanyed with a worldly Grandeur without doubt the force of this Charm had been quickly broken Every Pope hath not
others calls her at every foot Diva i. e. Goddesse My Goddesse the Iesuite Iames du Iardin The Iesuite Rapin who is now living famous for his Writings in prose and verse saith of her Diva quam rebus trepidis benignam Lipsius calls our Lady of Hall Dea Hallensis the Goddesse of Hall. These are Poets you 'le say therefore that none may lay the blame of such language on the license of Poesy we must know that Philip Berâ—ald Ambrose Catharini Cardinal Bembo in their prose call her by the same Name of Goddess Bernardin de Bustis Antonin Archbishop of Florence would have her styl'd Dea dearum the Goddess of Goddesses Now these Goddesses over whom the Virgin presides are all the Saints of Heaven And thus we have as many female deities as there are Canonized Women in the Calender They do not only style the Virgin a Goddess but prove her to be so and take their Arguments from this That there is an infinite difference Between Her and Her Servants even as there is an infinite difference between God and his Worshippers and from this Viridarium Viepas Alanus de Rupe Alexis de Salo. That we may measure the divine Greatness by the Greatness of the Virgin and from this That she is the most noble chamber of the most H. Trinity and from this that God sayd to Her Thou shalt be changed into me and again from this that besides a being of Glory and Grace she hath esse dei the Being of God and lastly from this that God is not only in Her by his Grace but in the way of identity i. e. is become one with her Viridarium Pelbatt Binet Alexis de Salo. If the Virgin be a Goddess and all the other Shee-saints be inferior Goddesses and consequently all the Men-saints be inferior Gods it must not be doubted that all our good things come from them both At this rate these devout Gentlemen speak Bernardin Stellarium No favour comes down from God to us but thro the hands of the B. Virgin. The Virgin is the Queen-regent of Paradise the Country of Grace and Mercy The Treasures of the H. Spirit were given her as her dowry and Paradise as her Portion Therefore all the Gates of Heaven are at her devotion 'T is thro her hands that all the Happiness which Heaven lets Fall into our soules doth pass She is the Lady-Treasurer of Heaven the dispenser of all the Gifts of God She is the Neck thro which Iesus Christ sends down all spirituall sense and motion unto his Church Methodius Ozotius Albett Biblia Mariae She ruleth over Earth Heaven and Hell. She is the high and mighty Princess of the heavenly Potentates She is universal Queen A Queen seven ways for she hath seven Kingdoms The most important Affairs of the Trinity pass thro her hands Alanus de Rupe so that all the Citizens of Heaven the inhabitants of Earth the Souls in purgatory nay in Hell Antonin Biel. do acknowledge her as their Mistress and humbly bow the Knee before Her. J. Gerson The Angels are the souldiers of the Virgin. Missels She saith to one Go and to another Come Hymns She turns about the Heavens giveth light to the Sun Methode and governs the World. Her dominion is vast Admirable for she not only commands the Creatures but even God himself as being his Mother She hath a power over her Son Bonaventure founded upon a better right than that of other Mothers Lvo Carnet For our Saviour hath a greater Obligation to the Virgin Mary Salmeron than other Children have to their Mothers She hath requited God for all that she received of him Conformities She hath discharged herself by way of retribution yea she hath requited God for all that we receive from him Carolus 'T is true Scribanius we are Debtors to God but as for the Virgin God is a Debtor to her for the Virgin hath done more or as much for God as God hath done for mankind Iesus Christ by imitating the Virtues of Mary discharged his Office of Saviour The Virgin together with her Son is the cause of the Creation of the World 't is for her and for him that God created the whole universe All believers are elected and predestinated thro the Virgin. She is the Book of Life She merited to be the mother of God and to be the Mother of all Mankind Every thing that is spiritual flowes from Iesus as the Father and from Mary as the Mother of it She is more merciful to Sinners that Iesus Christ 'T is not possible that those should be saved from whom Mary turns away the eyes of her Mercy and 't is absolutely necessary that those should be justifyed toward whom she turns her Eyes 'T is against her alone that we sin If a man finds himself prosecuted by the justice of God he may appeal to the Virgin. The Mothers Mercy hath often saved thâ—se whom the Son hath a mind to damn one condemned by the Son is saved by the Mother If a man were in Hell the Virgin is able to fetch him out Every body hath heard of the Red Ladder and the White Ladder the Red is that of J. Christ the White is that of the Virgin. All those who had a mind to go up by the Ladder of J. Christ were tumbled down from the top to the bottom and all those who went up by the Ladder of the Virgin got into Paradise 'T is the Virgin that gave her Son to men and sacrificed him for them She offerd him by agreement with the Father and by conformity to the Son and thus offering him for all she hath procur'd the salvation of all The Clients of the Virgin represent themselves as in suspence between the Son and the Mother between the Milk and the Blood not knowing which way to turn 'T is easy to conclude what kind of worship ought to be given to one that is and doth so many things Therefore they say that the Invocation of the Virgin Salazar Binet Coster Alexis Vasques is of absolute necessity and that those who pray not to her are as bad as those who blaspheme her They beg of her in express terms whatever is desir'd from God Heaven Pardon of Sin Grace Repentance Victory over the Devil F. Sufften Viridarium Crasser 'T is not enough to pray to the Virgin you must adore her every knee must bow to her adoring her as soveraign Queen of Men and Angels And this Adoration is not to be a meerly external Adoration but internal The Angels themselves adore the Virgin and have adored her ever since she was born On the account of her own Holiness men owe Dulia to her on the account of her maternal relation they owe her Hyperdulia and because she toucht our Saviour the adoration of Latria is due to her Those who well perform these services tho never
A CONTINUATION OF THE ACCOMPLISHMENT OF THE Scripture-Prophesies OR A Large Deduction of Historical Evidences Proving that the PAPACY Is the Real Antichristian Kingdom To which is added A CONFIRMATION of the Exposition of the sixteenth Chapter of the Revelation concerning the pouring out of the VIALS Written in French by PETER JURIEU Professor of Divinity one of the present Ministers of the French Church at Rotterdam Faithfully Englished LONDON Printed in the Year 1688. THE TRANSLATOR'S ADVERTISEMENT THE learned Author hath given the world an account of the Occasion and Original of his Legal Exceptions or Lawful Prejudices against Popery in the Preface to that Book of which this is an abridgment 'T is evident that in both he principally designed the advantage of his Country-men among whom the greatest wits have been employd to cover the deformity and paint over the foulness of Popery and consequently some Citations and passages will seem obscute to an ordinary English Reader But the present circumstances of our Nation abundantly justify the Translating and publishing a work of this design For tho the learned writers of the Church of England have sufficiently discovered the falsehood and danger of the Popish Doctrines yet the threatning Infection of our Age calleth for a stronger Antidote 'T is found by experience that the clearest Notions about these things are too weak to preserve from Apostacy in a time of Tryal Nothing can do this but deep Impressions on the Conscience which can produce an invincible Antipathy against Popery And I know nothing so effectual to work this as a due Consideration of the Characters of Antichrist that are to be found in the Roman Church If once a man is satisfied of this and withal hath a due concern for his own salvation tho he wants learning to plead against Popery yet he will be able chearfully to lay down his life in the Combat against it It hath been on this Principle that such numbers of antient and modern Witnesses have with admirable constancy suffered in the defence of the Gospel against the Tyranny of Rome 'T is therefore much to be lamented that our Author is somewhat mistaken in his charitable sentiments concerning the modern English divines whom in the conclusion of the Book he supposeth all to tread in the steps of their Predessors Whereas 't is manifest that the Example and Influence of a late Prelate A. B. Laâ—â— hath made many to for-bear the terms of Babylon and Antichrist in their Controversies with the Church of Rome So that of late these have past for rayling Expressions not fit to be used by Genteel Writers I heartily wish that such a Complaisance had not been attended with very pernitious effects Sure 't is no time now to manage and compliment such a declared Enemy of Christ and the Souls of men The Church doth therefore owe much to the Courage and Zeal of our Author who hath entred the lists against her with the Spirit and Weapons of a true Combatant and hath so effectually discovered the nakedness and deformity of the Apocalyptick Harlot that it must be madness for any either to fall in love with her or have any kind thoughts for her The Reader will find many passages of this Book to have an air of pleasantness and diversion as indeed 't is a hard matter to forbear laughter when the Objects are extravagantly ridiculous but I earnestly request this from him that he would take heed of jesting in so serious a matter 't is by no means enough to laugh and tell stories against Popery 't is alwayes to be remembred with what design these ridiculous passages are related which is not to make the Reader merry but to convince the Conscience that the Roman Church is the Babylon the Apostate Society which hath establicht herself by the most abominable Lyes and Fables as well as by the most barbarous Cruelty The Reader is entreared to make this Application of the whole otherwise the Labour of writing and Translating the Book will be lost The Lord grant it may not THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE A short Description of the Papacy TO divert and entertain Monsr Arnaud I shall once more act the part of a Mountebank as he is pleas'd to term it he shall have the Satisfaction to see a second Preservative of my writing and this may afford him a new Subject of raillery to imploy his wit as he formerly did in his Reflections upon the first Preservative which I publisht against the Catholick Exposition of the Bishop of Meaux But withal it will displease and vex him to review sometimes the passages quotedout of Father Crasset and the sorry scribbles of such Jesuites as he who are not at all to his liking and he would be glad never to see or hear any thing of ' em In this piece we give the true picture and representation of the Papacy as genuine and faithful as that is false and flattering which is of late made to the new Converts by the Gentlemen imployed in the famous Conversions in France It is composed of these thirteen lineaments which compleat the picture or so many Characters which describe Popery considering it in it self as distinct from the Common Christianity that doth yet remain in the Roman Church Let us then see what it is I. First 't is a Kingdom altogether Earthly and after the Spirit of the World. This Beast is as other Beasts which in the stile of Prophetick Scripture signifies Kingdoms and Empires It hath its Capital City its Monarch Provinces Governours Arms Cittadels Tributes c. and in one thing doth go beyond all other Tyrants that whereas their power reaches only to the Bodies of men the Papacy usurps an Authority over the Conscience and the Souls of men II. 'T is the effect of the most subile and yet the most detestable Poâ—icy by which any Worldly Empire was ever erected or preserved Their Temporal Tyranny is vailed under the appearance of Spirituality and at the same time 't is assisted and supported by it As Magicians to make up their Charms bring in the names of God and sometimes of Baptism and the Eucharist so doth the Roman Church make use of the words Religion Sacraments Church Censures Confession of sins the several degrees of the Ministry c. as the Means to establish a Kingdom and Government that is meerly Humane and Worldly and to exercise a power over the Bodies the estates the lives and Consciences of men III. 'T is a Proud Tyrant who is seated on a magnifick Throne and from thence cries aloud to the whole Earth that he is the Prophet of the Living God the mouth which Speaks Oracles Saying I am Queen and shall see no sorrow I am seated in the Eternal City Rome I am Infallible and of my Dominion there shall be no end It belongs to me to bestow the crowns of Paradise and I am the Soveraign Minister of the Living God upon Earth as to Temporals I am the only
orders and comply with them no farther than they think good If after this we should examin the whole conduct of the Papacy it will appear altogether conformable to that spirit of humane policy whereby the whole body is compounded and all its parts united When any difference in Religion comes to be determin'd provided that the persons whose different Opinions are under examination are favorable to the Court of Rome all their Heresies are but trivial Mistakes but if they are less bigotted for the Pope all their Opinions deserve an Anathema Grace by it self efficacious is sound doctrine in the Jacopins but down-right Heresy in the Jansenists the plain reason is because these latter are enemies to the Pelagianism of the Church of Rome as well as to its Tyranny Because the Protestants are Adversaries to the Pope they must be Hereticks in the Article concerning the Trinity and that of the Incarnation of Christ They must err mortally when they say that Concupiscence is a sin notwithstanding Baptism and the marriage bond is dissolved by Adultery Let us look into the Popish Councils and we shall evidently discover this Spirit of Human Policy there we may see all the Arts and Tricks and Devices that are in use in the World for men to gain what they desire and reach the ends they aim at All the world hath observ'd this in the Council of Trent 't is every where complain'd of and all men consent to the truth of what was said by the Marquis of Lansac the French Ambassador that the Holy-Ghost who was invok't at the opening of that Council came every week from Rome in a Cloak-bag with the post letters It hath often been observ'd that the conduct of that Councill was altogether by the spirit of Worldly Bolicy and had nothing at all of the Character of a Divine spirit and yet those Canons which were forg'd by the Tricks of Humane Policy must be obtruded on us as Divine Decisions from the Spirit of God. In a word if we would see the Politiques of the Roman Church in the source and fountain and upon the Threne we need but go to Rome All the Courts in the World how refined and subtle soever are but meer Blockishness and Stupidity in comparison of that of the Pope Cardinal Pallavicin mentions this to the honour of his Religion pretending that Policy is the Principal of all moral vertues and that the Church ought to be govern'd according to the Politicks of Aristotle and after the Maxims of the Pagan Common-wealths CHAPTER III. The Pretence of Infallibility and eternal Duration The third Character of the Antichristian Kingdom HEre is an Example that will teach us how much we ought to be on our guard with respect to fair Pretences and Appearances that we be not surpriz'd and deceiv'd by ' em Doubtless if there be any strength in any thing of the Papacy it must be in their pretence of Infallibility For nothing can be more specious and glittering than their Arguments about the Necessity of an Infallible Judge upon Earth They have had recourse to this Article as their last refuge for twenty five or thirty years last part There is good reason they should make it an Idol because 't is their Tutelar God and if men could once be brought off from this Chimaera of the Infallibility of the Roman Church she were utterly lost 'T is her only Foundation by the removal whereof she tumbles to the ground But this Principle which appears so comely so useful so necessary is the most Pernicious the most false and the most absurd that was ever alledg'd This makes me say that we ought to stand upon our guard with respect to the fairest Appearances Rome the Eternal and Infallible is the name of Blasphemy of the Beast The first fault I find with this Principle is that it is one of the Characters of the Antichristian Kingdom according to the Prophets When S. John describes it under the image of a Beast he saith that on his heads was writ a name of Blasphemy All the Ancients and moderns ever since S. Jerom hold it for certain that the name of Blasphemy there is that of Rome the Eternal and I cannot question it The City of Rome hath alaways pretended to an endless Duration Virgil makes Eternity to be one part of her Destiny and makes Jupiter say Imperium sine fine dedi Now this is blasphemy because unchangeableness is one of the divine Perfections incommunicable to a Creature All things under the Sun are subject to change Modern Rome is much more guilty of Blaspheray than Rome Pagan was of old Not only doth she say that her Monarchy shall never cease shall not be destroyed untill three years and an half before the end of the world but declares that her faith can never be changed that the Gates of Hell cannot prevail against it So that now more than ever doth Rome carry the name of Blasphemy on its fore-head Rome the Eternal This is that which is afterwards exprest by those words of S. John And there was given him a Mouth Rev. c. 13. v. 5. speaking great things and Blasphemies For those great things can be nothing else than the great Encomiums and glorious Titles she gives her self of being the Queen of all other Churches the seat of Infallibility the Eternal Temple of the H. Ghost the Fountain of Oracles the Infallible Interpreter of the H. Scripture the Judge of the Prophets and Apostles the soveraign Decider of all Controversies who makes and discovers the Authority of the sacred Writings without whom they deserve no credit All these great things which she speaks of herself what are they but so many Blasphemies against God for none can ascribe that to themselves which belongs only to God without Blasphemy Rev. c. 18. v. 7. But this Character of Antichristianism doth most plainly appear in those words of the Apostle She hath glorified herself and lived deliciously she saith in her heart I sit as a Queen and am no Widow and shall see no sorrow 'T is Babylon who speaks thus or the H. Ghost who introduceth Babylon thus boasting of her self She hath glorified her self This the Church of Rome doth by assuming to her self the most glorious Titles that can be given to a Society she hath said in her heart I am Queen the Mistress of the world the Chair of the Vniverse the Metropolis of the Catholick Church God hath establisht me to be an Head unto all Christians He hath intrusted his own Power in my Hands the happiness or misery the good or evill Destiny of Mankind is at my dispose I shall never be a Widow the Holy spirit whose spouse I am will never abandon me he will love me forever and continually guide me in the Way of Truth and be with me to the end of the world I shall never see Sorrow or Mourning I shall never fall into Error or know what it is to dye I shall allways
of the Text Gen. 3.15 where God saith and it shall bruise thy heel which the Vulgar Latine renders and she shall bruise thy heel which the Papists apply to the Virgin in order to make her the Redeemer of mankind and the object of adoration S. Paul in the 11. Ch. of the Epistle to the Hebrews saith that Jacob worshipt leaning upon the top of his staff i.e. he lean'd upon his staff to bear him up whiles he worshipt the Vulgar Latin hath corrupted this passage by translating adoravit fastigium virgae he worshipt the top of his staff a mistake as palpable as 't is gross and yet the Papists receive and defend it as very proper to justify the worship of Images For you need only suppose that his staff had an Image on its head How the Canonists abuse the Scriptures If we would see these Abuses and ridiculous applications of Scripture in their deformity we must read the Canonists Authors who have a great yea a soveraign Authority at Rome You will find these men proving the twofold power of the Pope from the two Swords which the Apostles had when Christ was seized by Judas Jesus sayd It is enough he did not say 'T is too much therefore the spiritual and temporal power belong to the Pope Moses relating the History of the Creation saith In the beginning God created c. in principio and not in principiis in the beginnings therefore the Pope is the only Prince the only Soveraign of the Universal Church you are a Manichee if you understand it otherwise Christ saith to Peter Feed my sheep in general and not such and such sheep in particular therefore the Pope is the Vniversal Pastor of the Church S. Paul saith the powers are ordained of God i. e. that all Kings are the Popes vassals Moses tells us that God made two great Lights the Sun and the Moon the Church is the Moon therefore the Pope is the Sun the Guide and Light of the Church Christ saith to Peter put up thy sword into its sheath therefore the Pope is to manage the sword and take away Crowns from Kings as he pleaseth God saith to the Prophet I have set thee over the Kingdoms to root out and to plant this is another express text to prove that the Pope may dethrone Monarchs and make new Soveraigns S. Paul writes to the Corinthians he that is spiritual judgeth all things yet he himself is judged of no man therefore the Pope may condemn and judge whom he pleaseth but as for him tho he is a Sorcerer Sodomite a Pagan he ought to be let alone and lest to the judgment of God. Christ said concerning himself all power is given me in heaven and earth therefore the Pope may challenge this as Christs Vicar * All the Kings of the earth shall worship him We did honestly believe that this passage respected Christ and none besides but thanks to the Canonists we now unsterstand that the Pope must be worship'd and that all Kings must kiss his Pantofle this Text saith so He hath put all things under his feet The Kings of Tarsis shall bring him presents i. e. the whole world ought to pay homage to the Pope Scriptures abused by the Mystical Authors Their Mysticall Authors who have written whole books for this very end to explain the mystical significations of the Ceremonies of the Church and of the habits of the Priests come not behind the Canonists in impertinent applications of Scripture The Priest puts a hood on his Head which is call'd the Amict the reason given is because S. Paul said take The Helmet of Salvation He wears a linnen Surplice which is call'd an Albe the reason is because 't is written let thy Garments be White This Surplice must be embroider'd about the edges because 't is written the Queen shall be brought in raiment of Needle-work They who are pleased with such stuff may find many other Instances in our Exceptions I will add no more of this kind because they are meerly triffling But will proceed to their Blasphemies Thus we ought to call those impious and profane applications which the cursed votaries of the Roman Church make unto the Saints of that which belongs only to God and his Eternal son Blasphemous applications of the Scriptures Beside those blasphemous and cursed Applications which are every where scatter'd in their Writings the lying Spirit hath taken care to compile a whole body of them in two Books the one is call'd The Ladies Psalter composed by Bonaventure the other the Bible of Mary by Albertus Magnus In these two Books you will find all the great and glorious things which the Scriptures speak to the Creators Glory applyed to the Glory of the Creature 'T is not the glory of God which the Heavens declare 't is that of the Virgin The Heavens declare your Glory O Virgin. The 27 Psal celebrates God as the Light of Believers but 't is no longer He the Virgin hath his room O our Lady say they to her my Illumination comes from your face The 31 Psal maketh God the object of the Soul's Confidence but they address those excellent words unto the Virgin and say to her Mother of God I have trusted in you I shall not be confounded forever take my Soul into your Favour and Mercy I commit my Soul into your hands O incomparable Virgin. Nothing is more peculiar to God than the exercise of Mercy which the Psalmist implores in the 51 Ps Have mercy upon me O God c. The Papists pull God out of the Throne of grace and teach their Penitents to say Have mercy upon me O our Lady who art call'd the Mother of Mercy and according to the bowels of your Compassions purge me from mine Iniquities pour out your Grace upon me and take not your ordinary Clemency away from me For I will confess my Sins before you I will accuse my self of my own faults The Psalms of David are peculiarly consecrated to the Glory of God this is the reason why the Psalmist every where sings the praises of God and celebrates his Greatness but all this is applyed to Mary For instance that excellent 103 Psalm which begins Bless the Lord O my Soul is thus changed My soul bless the Mother of Jesus Christ and all that is within me glorify her Holy Name Forget not Her Benefits Her Favours and Her Consolations by Her Grace sins are forgiven by Her Mercy Diseases are healed There is the same strain from the beginning to the end of the Psalter The Bible of Mary is written on the very same design Whereas the true disciples of J. Christ find him every where in the Old Testament not only in the Predictions and Types but even in such passages where few would have sought him This Bible of Mary finds the B. Virgin every where in the Old Testament agreeably to its design which is as the Author tells us to apply unto the
most Holy Virgin Mary the Mother of God almost every thing which is in the H. Bible In prosecuting this design the Virgin Mary must be found in the first word of the Bible By the Heavens which God created in the beginning we must understand the Empyreal Heaven i. e. the Lady of the World the V. Mary When God said Let there be Light the meaning is Let Mary be begotten and born Every thing that is Great and Singular in the Antient History is Mary She is the Altar which Noah built to God after the Deluge the Holocaust in which God will smell a sweet savour is the Prayers of the same Virgin the Virgin is the Bow in the heavens of which 't is said when I bring a cloud over the Earth the bow shall be seen She is the mystical Ladder which Jacob saw in a Dream for by her the Son of God descends to us and by her we ascend to him she is the Gate thro which we enter into the Kingdom of God 't was of the Virgin that Jacob spoke when he said how dreadful is this place 't is the House of God the Gate of Heaven The Jewish Tabernacle and all its parts did respect the Virgin. She is the Ark of the Covenant that is gone into Heaven before us to prepare us a place there She is the Mercy-seat of pure Gold because she was sanctifyed above others in her Mothers womb She is also the Altar of Burnt-offerings because she is the Reconciler and hath taken this Office at her going into Heaven We may judge of the whole piece by these small shreds A thousand and a thousand Copies have been taken from these two famous Originals the antient Preachers of the Roman Church adorned their discourses with these excellent flowers For example in Solomons Song they found a large field for these profane applications There the H. Spirit in a mysterious manner sets forth the Wonders of the Union between J. Christ and his Church by the Emblems of a Bridegoom and a Spouse These profane wretches apply all this to the Virgin as if the Mysteries of our Redemption and Union with J. Christ were verifyed and fulfill'd in her And to give greater authority to all these shameless applications they were brought even into the Hymnes of the Roman Church In them they say to the Virgin Tu quoe furentem Leviathan serpentem tortuosumque c. Thou bruisest under thy feet the furious Leviathan and the crooked Serpent an Elogy which the Oracle in Genesis gives to the Blessed Seed i. e. to J. Christ Another hymn speaks thus to her Scala Jacob ora pro nobis Jacobs Ladder pray for us Nor is less done to the other Saints every one of 'em hath his proper Votaries especially the modern Saints are much more feasted and caressed than the old The book of the Conformities between S. Francis and J. Christ is full of these Abominations That Author will have that God had his eye on S. Francis when he Created the first man. For to him those words ought to be applyed Let us make man in our Image after our Likeness and let them have dominion over the Fish of the Sea and over the Fowl c. There are none who have been so extravagant in abusing the H. Scripture as the Preachers of the Papacy For they have adopted all these profanations and over and above have peculiar ones of their own 'T was their profession to make the Scripture ridiculous and absurd by impertinent Expositions by expressions fit for the Stage and by the language of a Farce which they still used in all their discourses If any should dare to deny this we have at this day enough to convince the incredulous in the Sermons of Menot of Maillard of Barelette V. Exceptions from which we have made considerable citations and the consulting them will be useful to let us see the Character of Popery Tho their Preachers are not so sottishly extravagant in this age yet 't is certain that the same Character is to be discern'd in those who are newly come out of the Convent and have not convers'd with the world The Writers of Controversy Scripture abused by Controversial writers ought to be much more exact and circumspect in the using of the H. Scripture Preachers and those who write Books of Devotion have some Priviledge in this matter and may take some liberty in their Applications of Scripture provided that these applications are sutable to bring the soul unto God. But when we alledge Scripture as an evidence to decide a Controversy we must keep close to the true Intent of the H. Spirit Nevertheless one would pity and blush for the Controversial writers of the Church of Rome who boldly abuse and wrest the Scripture to prove their Doctrines We have ground already to say that all the proofs she brings from Scripture are real Abuses of it And what we have discoursed above to prove that the Papacy is not in the least sollicitous to have a conformity to the Rule of Christians might be repeated here But besides those abuses which the Papists are forced to employ otherwise they must in plain terms grant that the Scripture is not their Friend besides those I say we may find others which they could have spared Are not the words of Christ to S. Peter Thrust out a little from the land Panigarola and Launch out into the deep an excellent proof that S. Peter was first to erect his Episcopal Seat at Antioch and afterward to erect the Popes See and the Soveraign Tribunal of the Church in the City of Rome Psal 110.2 The Lord shall send the Rod of thy strength out of Zion rule thou in the midst of thy enemies Behold an express Text to prove the same thing viz. that Rome is to be the Metropolis of the Church the Queen of the world Christ saith to Peter Bozius Follow thou me i. e. Go and place thy Seat and that of my Kingdom at Rome Behold I lay in Ston for a foundation a tryed stone a pretious Corner stone i. e. I will establish the Pope to be the Lieutenant of God and the Vicar of Jesus Christ on earth Bellarmin There is one Lord i. e. The Pope is the only Soveraign of the world Where two or three are gatherd together in my name Panigarola there I will be in the midst of them i. e. The Pope alone hath Authority to call general Councils Bellarmin Let a man so account of us as stewards of the mysteries of God i. e. There is a Treasure of Indulgences in the Popes keeping which he may dispense as he pleaseth Verily I say unto you Eckius this generation shal not pass away till all these things be fulfilld This signifieth that there shall be a constant succession of Bishops in the Roman Church Loose him and let him go did Christ say concerning Lazarus And this denotes that
That is in short they declare the Pope to be Antichrist for is not this the Character of Antichrist to assume to himself falsly and injustly the Rights of Jesus Christ to have power as our Lord to bestow Kingdoms and take away Crowns to open Heaven and Hell infallibly to determine all Controversies to pluck up and to plant to build and to destroy to have two swords the one spiritual th' other temporal and to be the only center and fountain of all the authority in the world Is it not the part of Antichrist to maintain an usurp't authority by the slaughter of so many thousand Christians as the Popes have done who have often made Germany and Italy to swim in blood to get the possession of this power to dispose of the Imperial Crown according to their pleasure for my part I expect a direct Answer to this and in the mean time I maintain that the Pope is a Monster of Pride and the Antichrist according to the last definitions of the Clergy of France and the Kings Declarations pursuant to ' em Can any thing be more ridiculous than what the New Converts alledge there is nothing they say more tolerable than the Power of the Pope as it is now explained in France But I would fain know whether the opinion of France and the decision of her Clergy be that which constitutes the Pope to be what he is and what he ought to be Let the assembly of the french Clergy at Paris say what they please is it ever the less true that the Pope doth ascribe to himself all that tyrannick Power we have been speaking of Is it the less true that he hath exerciz'd this power on an hundred occasions and that he will still exert it whenever he can Is it the less true that the Gallican Church on this very account is censur'd at Rome as guilty of Heresy and Scism Is it the less true that the whole body of the Roman Church looks upon the decision of Paris as a Crime If I should discourse in France of the Kings attempts upon his Neighbours as men discourse of them at Vienna and Madrid that nothing can be more unjust would this make any alteration in the Kings Right if he have any would he not still have reason on his side if it be true that he is in the right what hurt can it do to a Potentate that his Rights are limited and contracted by another Potentate in words and writing if the former continues still in possession of that which he pretends doth of right belong to him Let not those therfore be deceived who have suffer'd themselves to be abus'd by the modifications and abatements that have been made of the Popes power in France This doth not touch the Pope who continues still to be that in himself which he pretends to be and therfore once more I assert that this serves to no other end but to prove to the Gallican Church that the Pope is a Monster of Pride and by consequence that in this respect at least he bears the true Character of Antichrist CHAPTER XI The seventh Character of the Antichristian Kingdom which agrees to the Papacy a Spirit of Covetousness and Simony and its extraordinary Riches Babylon is to be a City of Merchants 'T Is manifest by the 18th Chapter of the Revelations that Babylon the Great was to be a City of great Commerce and Trade and of great Riches and consequently of Rapine and Avarice because these are the ordinary methods by which men acquire more than ordinary Riches Babylon is a City of Merchants V. 11. The Merchants of the Earth shall lament and mourn over her for no man buyeth her Merchandise any more V. 12. The Merchandise of Gold and Silver and precious Stones and of Pearls and Fine Linnen and Purple and Silk and Scarlet and all sweet Wood and all manner of Vessels of Ivory and of precious Wood and Brass and Iron and Marble V. 13. And Cinamon and Odors and Oyntments and Frankincense and Wine and Oyl and fine Flower and Wheat and Beasts and Sheep and Horses and Chariots and Bodies and Souls of Men. The Papacy framed by Covetousness That is to say that Spiritual Babylon is Rich and Powerful that her Goods are immense that every thing there is to be sold and bought Let us see whether this be not exactly verified in the Papacy First as to its Doctrines is it not Rich to the greatest abundance and do they not make sale of every thing First 't is plain that Covetousness dishonest gain and that wretched Passion which never saith 't is enough are the very soul and spirit of Popery Their Doctrines are framed to get Money The fable of Purgatory was forg'd by the spirit of Covetousness as well as Lying to drain Wealth and Treasure from the Houses of the simple People into those of the Priests and Monks 'T is this hath made so many foundations of Convents with good Revenues and Great houses setled by that which they call works of Piety The Sacrifice of the Mass the most august of all the Mysteries of Popery is made the source of a shameful and filthy Gain 'T is a Lucky hit for the Clergy that someway hath been found to persuade the people that this Sacrifice is good for every thing good for the Living and as good for the Dead good for Sickness and good for Health excellent to Find out what a man hath Lost and as admirable to Preserve that which he hath in possession good for Success in any undertaking by Sea or Land so that there is no Merchandise in the world that on this account hath so good a vent Innumerable persons are maintain'd by it and live by nothing else They have increased the number of the Sacraments because they are as so many Mines from whence money may be had Why are humane Satisfactions made to signifie so much but because you must pay dear to redeem them Why have they contriv'd a Treasure for the over-plus of the Righteousness of the Saints but to exhaust the treasure of the Ignorant of the Superstitious and of Libertins who buy Indulgences for money and do Penance by Proxy paying well for it 'T is well known that those Indulgences have made a filthy trade in the Papacy the traffick of 'em hath been so shameful that Papists themselves have complain'd of it By what spirit were Images brought into the Church and the Invocation of Saints not only is a spirit of superstition and Idolatry concern'd but of Covetousness too for Customhouses are establisht with reference to these called the shrines of Saints and consecrated Chappels where the Reliques and Images of our Lady work Miracles Multitudes of People flock thither and bring costly Presents and load the Altars with their Offerings to the great Gain and Profit of the Priests The proud Divinity of the Merit of Good Works serves only to advance that which they call Works
Character of Antichristianism which is found in the Papacy Idolatry in its height confess'd by the Papists themselves Antichrist must e an Idolater according to Prophecies Dan. 11. IT cannot be doubted that the Religion of Antichrist must be an Idolatrous Religion First we read that he should worship Mauzzim Dan. 11.38 But in his estate he shall honour the God of force Hebr. Mauzzim and a God whom his Fathers knew not shall he honour with Gold and Silver and with pretious Stones and with pleasant things He shall worship Idols of silver and gold And S. John saith concerning the subjects of the Antichristian Monarchy Revel 9. V. 20. And therest of the men which were not kill'd by those plagues yet repented not of the works of their hands that they should not worship Devils and Idols of Gold and Silver and Brass and Stone and of Wood which can neither see nor hear nor walk The whole thirteenth chapter sets forth the Antichristian Monarchy as an Idolatrous State. Ver. 4. Its subjects worship'd the Dragon which gave power unto the Beast They worship the Beast itself V. 8. And all that dwell upon the Earth shall worship him whose names are not written in the Book of Life of the Lamb. The second Beast with two horns exerciseth the power of the first Beast in his presence V. 12. And causeth the Earth and them that dwell therein to worship the first Beast whose deadly wound was healed Altho these Adorations principally refer to the slavish Obedience that the Subjects of the Antichristian Kingdom do yield to the Head of this Kingdom 't is nevertheless certain that this Obedience is here set forth as an Idolatry and that it is really so Lastly this Babylonian Empire is described to us by the emblem of a notorious Harlot which was to commit abominable fornications with the Kings of the Earth and make all men drunk with the Wine of her Fornications V. 1. Come hither Chap. 1â— I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great Whore that sisteth upon many waters V. 2. With whom the Kings of the Earth have committed Fornication and the Inhabitants of the Earth have been made drunk with the Wine of her Fornication Now every body knoweth that when the Scripture speaks of a Body a Society a Church the Fornications and adulteries which are charged on them signify Idolatries Therefore 't is certain that Idolatry must be one of the Characters of the Antichristian Kingdom Several ways by which the Papacy is guilty of Idolatry Let us see if this Character be found in the Papacy It is Idolatrous 1. In the Adoration of the Pope in giving divine Honours divine Attributes to him viz. a divine Power and an Universal Authority which are put in his hands 2. The Papacy is guilty of Idolatry in the Adoration of the Sacrament of the Altar which is nothing but Bread and yet all divine Honours are given it 3. It is Idolatrous in the account of the Invocation of Saints for the worship which is given to the Virgin to Angels and Saints makes them second-rate Gods to whom Honour of the same kind are orderd to be given that are given to the Great God. 4. Lastly The Papacy is Idolatrous because it obligeth men to fall down before Images of Wood of Stone of Gold and Silver The Idolatry of the Church of Rome may be consider'd either in their Worship itself or in the excesses of this Worship For instance in the Invocation of Saints either as it is generally owned by all the Members of the Roman Church or as it is explain'd by the bygotted Monks and Priests who are excessive in every thing and keep no bounds Thus the Idolatry as to Images may be considered either as layd down in the Decrees of their Councills or in the modern softning explication by which 't is palliated or in the Practice and downright Divinity of true Papists I will not here undertake to prove the charge of Idolatry upon the Roman Church on the account of the Services which she Authoriseth by her Canons and the unanimous Consent of her Doctors This would necessarily lead us into Controversy where we should be obliged to wash off the false colours which the modern Papists make use of to prove themselves no Idolaters neither in adoring the Sacrament or in the Invocation of Saints or in worshipping of Images In a word we should be engaged in a long debate whereas in this Treatise I design to take my arguments only from indisputable matters of fact and which are not debated After this Method I have proved all my preceeding characters of Antichristianism from History and Testimonies taken from the Books of our adversaries which themselves cannot gain-say And thus I will here prove the Idolatry of the Papacy by those Excesses which are own'd for such by all those of the Roman Church who pretend to any honesty and purity Mr. Arnaud and the Papists of his strain do in manner plainly confess that the disciples of F. Crasset and such like are Idolaters by their own Method of explaining and practising the Invocation of Saints and Worship of Images I shall assist those Gentlemen by setting down our Arguments Palpable Idolatry in the Books that direct the Devotion of the people We cannot I suppose be blamed if in discovering the nature of the Popish Worship we make use of the Authors who have wrote Books to guide the Devotion of the People Now if their Directions be not Idolatrous and lead not directly to Idolatry we are content to be counted Lyars First these Books and these Teachers ascribe without any scruple a Divinity unto creatures They call the V. Mary a Deity and Goddess One of these Authors thus speaks to her Damian serm 7. in natif Virg. O Virgin have you forgotten your Humanity because you have been Deifyed 'T is a Cardinal of the Church of Rome who spoke at this rate in the eleventh Century which lets us see that these Idolatrous Excesses are not new Binet Marq. de Predest A much later Writer saith of the Virgin that She is advanced to a kind of equality to God. Another that Her bosom is the Ocean of the Deity O Holy Lady saith another to her I know that nothing is hid from you and that by your Deity you exactly understand all my faults Bonaventare The Lord hath said to our Lady Sit thou at my right hand untill I make thy Enemies thy footstool I suppose that to sit at the right hand of God is the same as to obtain divine Honour at least we take it so when we explain the Article of Christs Ascension The Iesuite Delrio giveth the Virgin the Titles of optima maxima i. e. most good and most great We know that the Romans gave these to none but the supreme of their Gods and that Christians have bestowed them on the Infinitely Perfect Being The Iesuite Tursellin with innumerable
Babylon do insultingly ask us Where were those who denyed to adore the Eucharist or pray to Saints and that we should name those hidden Believers We take our turn to ask them shew us those honest people who did not partake in these Monkish superstitions as you call them Shew us those true Catholicks who worshipped God in all purity and who prayed to Saints only to place them in the number of those who pray to God. In the publick Hymns compos'd by Popes we find instances of Idolatry But behold two or three Evidences sufficient to stop the mouthes of these Gentlemen the Advocates of Popery whose deformities they conceal with so much cunning The First is That in their publick Hymns authorised by the Church publickly sung printed in their Missials and Hours we find these same Superstitions which they own to be Excesses and we call Blasphemies and Idolatries Have they not sung in one of the Hymns of the Roman Church monstra te esse matrem shew yourself to be his mother i.e. command your Son with the Authority of a Mother Did ever any private Author say anything more horrid than this that a Creature should in a way of Authority command its Creator Are there not these words in an antient Hymn positus in medio quo me vertam nescio which are spoken by a Devotionist plac'd between Jesus Christ and the Virgin and knoweth not which of them to prefer They were not therefore meer private persons who were guilty of these Excesses Our second Evidence is this that these Blasphemies have come out of the Mouthes of the Popes themselves of Popes I say who are the Mouth of Jesus Christ and who cannot err as 't was universally supposed in those times Was it not Pope Innocent III. who composed that Hymn in which these words are found Precor te Regina Coeli habeas me excusatum nam peccavi tibi soli i. e. I beseech Thee O Queen of Heaven to forgive me for 't is against Thee only I have sinn'd Is not this to put the Virgin in the place of God the great Lawgiver and soveraign Our third Proof is this that the Authors of this extravagant Devotion whose worship is full of Blasphemy have yet been canoniz'd One of these Saints is Cardinal Bonaventure another is Antonine Arch-Bishop of Florence There are others as St. Bernardin St. Anselme c. Did the Church at that time look upon these men with the same eye as Mr. Arnaud now doth would he increase the number of Saints by the names of those whom he stiles Wretched Authors and Pittiful Fellows such as Father Crasset and other sorry Iesuites A fourth Argument we may fetch from their Expurgatory Indexes If these Monkish Superstitions have been lookt upon as extravagant and excessive ever since the Council of Trent why are they not condemn'd why are they not raz'd out of their Writings why are not the Books forbidden wherefore do we not find them in some Index of forbidden Books and there have been many such printed at Rome and in Spain within an hundred and fifty years On the Contrary These Authors have been in vogue and as much esteem'd as formerly these Idolatrous Saints have kept their place in the Calender and their Statues been continued in Churches their Worship in the Roman service and their Festivals in the days of the year After this they must be very impudent to tell us that these excessive and extravagant Devotions were not the general Religion of the Roman Church for seven or eight hundred years This Extravagant Devotion which thus borders upon Idolatry doth yet continue As to that which these Gentlemen tell us that this is a thing past and gone and ought not to be jmputed to the present Roman Church because they are not now guilty but have reformed and brought back the Invocation of Saints to what it ought to be To this I say divers things may be answered First that granting the truth of this it would nevertheless be true that the Church of Rome hath been Idolatrous for seven or eight hundred years and this were enough to justifie our Charge of Idolatry against her and to prove the Character of the Kingdom of Antichrist belongs to the Papacy But I say further that this Assertion implies a much greater Impudence than the former Excuse for the darkness we are under as to former times might serve for a pretence in the denial of a matter of Fact concerning those times but all shame must be lost in those that will contest a present Truth and affirm that which our senses will evidence to be false whereof we may every day see the contrary What ought we then to judge of our modern Converters who so confidently assure their now Converts that all that was excessive in the Worship of Saints is now corrected and amended Is there any one thing abated of what we Charge them with do they not every day sing in their Churches those blasphemous Hymns against God and against the B. Virgin that we accuse 'em of wherin they call her The Tree of Life the Well of Living Water the Ocean of Graces the Light of the Church the Light of Hearts the Buckler of Mankind the Refuge of Mortals the Queen of Angells the Princess of Seraphims the Ark of the Covenant the Holy Altar the Repairer of all that Adam spoil'd the Judge of Quick and Dead Was there any thing worse than this ever said by the Bonaventure's Albertus's Antonine's Biel's c If the Virgin be the Light of the Living and of the Dead who inlightens every man that comes into the world if she be the Altar of our Propitiation the Asylom to which all men must have recourse if she hath restor'd all that Adam lost what remains for Jesus Christ to do and what could be said more of himself Is this past and gone doth it not still continue Is it not dayly sung in the Hymns and Letanies of the Virgin what Authority reduc'd the Church to the Truth in the point of the Invocation and Worship of Saints It may be the Council of Trent but have not the greatest part of these extravagant Authors we have quoted liv'd since the Council of Trent The Author of the signs of Predestination the Stellarium Binnet Salmeron Salazar Costerus Vasquez Father Suffren Carolus Scribanius and an hundred others who have liv'd in our age have they abated any thing on the contrary have they not out-done their Predecessors so far is the Idolatrous worship of the Virgin diminisht that within an hundred years it is very much augmented The opinion of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin was once a Probleme a disputable point but in our times the Monks have almost made it an Article of Faith. No man durst preach or write against it and since that time the votaries of the Virgin have kept no measures Kingdoms are put under her Protection and every Individual takes her for his Patroness
that such a bright Light should shine forth in so dark a night to shame those of after-ages who should Idolize this Antichristian Power 'T is a great reproach to the Princes of our days that they see not that which was so plainly seen by their predecessors in an age of ignorance and of superstition After this Passage I shall mention no other because I can produce none so good That light was not extinguisht but continued and increast till it broke forth with a more than ordinary lustre in the beginning of the last Century This famous passage of Eberard is as the Text to which every thing ought to be referred that hath since or then been said by others for instance the remarkable passage of Honorius of Autun who in the same age passing thro all the orders and degrees of people in the Church Princes Judges Ecclesiasticks Priests Men Women c. discovers the marks of Babylon every where even in his time In the same Age William de St. Amour a Parisian Doctor disputing against the Mendicant Friars the creatures of the Pope and the Court of Rome makes no scruple to say and prove that they are the Ministers of Antichrist and serve the Beast which hath seven heads and ten horns In the fourteenth Century Marsilius of Padua who vindicated the Emperor Lowis of Bavaria against the Court of Rome and the famous Petrarque whose reputation is to this day so considerable in the Roman Church have plainly proved by the very same predictions which we make use of in our time and Eberard the Bishop of Saltsbourg did in his that the Court of Rome is the Kingdom of Antichrist An Historian of that age tells us that a certain Carmelite had the courage to paint the Court of Rome and its Cardinals with all the colours of the Beast and of the Whore in the Apocalypse it was written to the Pope himself and affixt on the most publick places of Rome and Avignon You may see these Testimonies cited in our Legall Exceptions with those of S. Brigit of Nicholas of Clemangis Gregory of Heymbourg and many others So that we may say this light hath from age to age been diffused in all places men have allways either foreseen or seen it that Rome is the seat of Antichrist and that the Bishop of Rome who calls himself the Prince of Priests is the Man of Sin and the Apocalyptical Beast I here conclude what I intended to say to prove the Papacy to be Antichristianism and I repeat what I have said in other places that they who endeavour to darken this Truth are criminal against Christianity it self and they who see it not are prodigiously blind and stupid No wonder if Grotius and such as he be of that number these Gentlemen seem to design to overturn the Holy Scriptures and the Christian Religion Ought we to think it strange that those men who can find the Prophet Jeremy instead of Jesus Christ in the 53 Chapter of Isaiah cannot find the Pope in the book of the Revelations or in the Prophesies of Daniel I have said it elsewhere and I say it again that they who cannot discern the Pope in the Prophesies of the New Testament will never be able to find our Messiah in the predictions of the Old. Experience confirms this for the same men who exclude the Papacy from being intended in the Apocalypse do exclude Jesus Christ from almost all the Prophesies and Types of the Old Testament I would fain know how any man can make it out to a Jew that Jesus is the Messiah if he yeilds to him that all that which is spoken of the Passion of Christ in the 53. Isaiah may be applied to the Persecutions and sufferings which the Prophet Jeremy endur'd Where are there any Prophecies that may not as easily be turned to another sense as those If it be granted that he saith nothing for our opinion in this point shall any wonder that we are offended at so learned a man Who can with any justice complain of it since we have so much reason to complain of him who hath as much as he could by his Commentaries taken from us the strongest Arguments we had to confute both the Jews and Socinians He is the Patriarch and the Master of those Literal Interpreters of our days who undervalue all the Mysteries of the Bible and destroy the very Spirit and Spirituality of the Holy Scriptures Because they have taken some pains to discover some parts of Jewish or Pagan learning that their labors may not be lost all the Sacred Texts of the Old or New Testament must be understood with a relation to some Pagan rites or some Customs of the Synagogue and have nothing in 'em of spirit Mystery or depth Every one of these Gentlemen hath his own Idol one of 'em finds that the Gnosticks began to discover themselves in the time of the Apostles and for that reason we must meet with the Gnosticks in all the Apostolical Writings Another hath studied the Egyptian Antiquities and to prove that his time was well imploy'd we must find some of the Egyptian Rites in all the Mosaick Institutions Another believes he hath good Skill in the Traditions of the Jews and therefore the most spiritual part of the New Testament must be interpreted with respect to some of the Dreams and Fancies of the modern Jews We know very well that this sort of Learning Jewish and Pagan is not unuseful for the understanding of some part of Scripture but 't is in such places where some Heathenish Customs are treated of or in Historical matters But by going too far this way much mischief is done to Religion we shall soon abolish all the Types and destroy the Spirituality of the Law and make nothing to be contained in it but a bare Superficies We nevertheless respect and honour the learning and merit of the men we speak of but it were to be wish't that they had better imployed their parts and learning and we hope that they themselves will at length be sensible of it and perceive that their writings are not at all to edification However far be it from us to impute the particular Errors and Fancies of some few to any of the Protestant Churches to which they join themselves we know of no Christian Church in the West except the Church of Rome that doth not discern the Papacy to be the Antichristianism that is Prophetically described in the New Testament Therefore let it not be said that such or such a Church is not of this opinion for the sentiments of a few particular men here and there are not the Sentiments of the Church in which they live We must seek for those in their Confessions of Faith and the Annotations of the Bible authoriz'd by the Laws Now among all the Reformed Churches there is none we are so much obliged to for the discovery of the Mystery of Iniquity as to that 〈◊〉 England The most
Roman Empire reviving under a new Form and under the name of the Roman Church it being still future and yet to begin he was to give us the History of its growth as well as of its decay which as we shall see he hath also done 5. The Prophet then considering the whole continuance of the Roman Empire as well with respect to that which remained of it as Pagan as in reference to that which was to rise and subsist under the Name of the Roman Church to the time of the arrival of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ he doth divide it first into Seven Seals And under the six first Seals he predicts all that should befal it under the Heathen Emperors till the time of Constantin's overthrowing Paganism and his advancing the Christian Religion to the Throne 6. Now this Revolution having made a great change on the stage of the World the Holy Spirit therefore makes a stop here and suffers the Roman Empire now become Christian to enjoy a little Rest while the Successors to Constantine should finish the subversion of Paganism And then the seventh Seal is opened which being subdivided into seven Trumpets these Trumpets run along with and divide the whole remaining duration of the Roman Empire as well Civil as Ecclesiastical Whereof the six first Trumpets reach unto the tenth Age and bring forth six Plagues that afflict overthrow and totally destroy the Worldly or Civil Roman Empire These Plagues are 1 The Inundation of the Empire by the Barbarous Nations under Theodosius the younger 2. The taking and desolating of Rome and Italy and almost all the Western Provinces under Honorius and Alaricus 3. The Invasion of the Provinces by the Goths Huns and Vandals and their erecting several Kingdoms in Spain Africk upon the Rhosne and in Panonia 4. The fourth Plague was the total destruction of the Western Roman Empire under Valentinian by Gensericus King of the Vandals in Africk 5. The fifth Plague is the Rise of the Sarrasin Empire which destroyed the Roman Empire in the East 6. Lastly the sixth of the first Plagues is the Empire of the Turks which wholly subverted and overthrew the Oriental Roman Empire 7. Now while the providence of God was destroying the Grecian Empire under the fifth and sixth Trumpets the Roman Empire revived in the West under the Name of the Roman Church The Beast with two Horns exerciseth all the power of the first Beast he makes an Image resembling the first Empire he makes it to be worshipped he worketh Signs and Wonders causeth Fire to come down from Heaven and deceiveth the Inhabitants of the Earth He giveth life to this Image of the Beast causeth it to speak and maketh this Image of the Roman Empire which he re-established under the name of the Roman Church to act with power and efficacy So that he causeth all those to be killed that will not yield a homage to this Image of the Empire And he will have all the Inhabitants of the Earth to bear his Name and his Mark and his Number and that they call themselves Members of the Roman Latine Church And this contains the History both of the Birth and of the Progress of this new Empire under the fifth Trumpet and under the beginning of the sixth 8. The sixth Trumpet having brought the Worldly Roman Empire to its final Ruin there remains nothing more for it to do with respect to that and therefore it is that it comes to be subdivided into 7. Vials which are designed for the ruining of the Roman Empire as Ecclesiastical And these Vials do precisely begin at the sounding and at the beginning of the 6th Trumpet Which Trumpet runs paralel with and reacheth unto the last and universal destruction of the Ecclesiastical Roman Empire until the manifestation of the Kingdom of J. Christ having under it the seven Vials Now the seven Trumpets and the seven Vials do signify seven Periods of Time according as the seven Seals of the Book do The Seals denote Periods of Time by vertu of an Allusion to Tables and to Chronological and Historical Books wherein Times are marked The Trumpets intimate Periods of Time by an Allusion to Iubiles which by the Law of Moses were to be opened and proclaimed by the sound of a Trumpet And from thence Iubile comes being derived from Iovel which signifieth a Hunters Horn or Trumpet These Iubiles falling out every fiftieth year and these Periods of Time being published by the sound of a Trumpet it becometh thence a very natural figure for the pen of a Iew such as St. Iohn was to express Periods of Time by Trumpets Finally the Vials which are poured forth signify Hour-glasses seeing at the season when S. Iohn wrote Hour-glasses were nothing but Vials full of Water having a narrow and strait mouth which was turned downward So that this Figure is also clear and intelligible And the reason why the Holy Spirit useth these three different Images of Seals Trumpets and Vials for the designation of Times is that he may thereby avoid confusion It being evident that if he had all along used only one of these Figures there would have been much more obscurity and less distinction in the Intimation which he gives of Times Carrying then the remembrance of this with us the first Seal beginneth at the Time of S. Iohn and the seventh Seal openeth and commenceth after the death of Theodosius the Great and comprehendeth thirteen Plagues which are contained under the sounding of six Trumpets and under the Effusion of seven Vials â—â—x Plagues under six Trumpets which destroy the Roman Empire as worldly and purely Temporal The sixth Trumpet is subdivided into seven Vials as the seventh Seal was into seven Trumpets And these seven Vials are the seven last Plagues which bring the second Period of the Roman Empire that is to say the Empire of the Church to its end as the six Trumpets had brought the worldly Roman Empire to its end I would now after this think that no man should find any difficulty in the objections of these Gentlemen and that every one should easily comprehend why the Vials and the plagues which continue near eight hundred years come to be called the last They are thus stiled 1 because they serve to distress and ruin the second and last period of the Roman Empire which carries the name of the Roman Church whereas the six first plagues were employed for the ruining of the first Period of the Roman worldly Empire and which still retains the name of the Roman Empire 2 Because these seven Plagues did really in the order of Time follow the six first and all successively fell the six first as well as the seven last upon one and the same Empire upon one and the same Beast in their two Periods So that by reason of the relation of the one to the other they ought to be stiled the first and the last Finally they are called the last plagues because