Treatise on Revelation
That the Papists for some years past haue had & stil continue in a firm persuasion that they shall ere long suppresse all parties disagreeing from them, is commonly obserued by those who converse much with them; why they should doe so at this time more then formerly, since they pretend not to any prohecy for it, must be from the knowledg they haue of the present posture of affairs in Europe and some account they haue that the present Powers governing therin are more then formerly favourable to their party.
Many who are not of their Religion think them not mistaken in the present posture of affaires, which must be acknowledged to look very favourably on the design & hopes of the Papist in general, in order to this haue been all the troubles which of late haue afflicted Germany, fflanders, Holland, England & other parts. But that the design, if it prevail for a time, will not long continue, is the opinion of many, who yet differ very much in the reasons on which they ground the same.
It may therfore be worth enquiry what advantages Popery may yet obtain, & on what grounds any expectation may be built of its not continuing long in case for a time it should further prevail then now at present it doth.
In order hereunto it ought to be considered that although God hath promised that the gates of Hell shall not prevail against his Church, yet the Christians had very early notice that there should happen an Apostacy from the true end & design of Christianity, that should long prevail in the world. This appears from the 2 Epist. to the Thess: cap 2. where the Church is admonished not to look for the day of Christ as at hand, for that day shal not come except there come a falling away first & that man of Sin be revealed, the Son of perdition, whom the Lord shall consume with the Spirit of his mouth & shall destroy with the brightnesse of his coming. vers 2. 3. 8.
It is further in the same place declared that although the mistery of iniquity did then already work yet he was then letted & should be so untill the lett was taken out of the way, And then shall that wicked one be revealed &c. and its further observable that the Apostle tells the Thessalonians, yee know what withholdeth, that he might be revealed in his time.
ffrom all this it appears that the persecutions of the Church whilst in her wildernesse condition was to be under the Mystery of iniquity, that man of Sin who opposeth & exalteth himselfe under Heathen Rome or others whilst the Roman Empire continued in its glory, because besides this the Roman Empire had no lett, nor could be called Apostate, neither it nor any other Pouuer any erroneous opinion at that time hath continued untill this day, wheras the Apostacy under the mystery of iniquity was to continue till very near at least Christs second coming, the Son of Perdition being to be consumed by the Spirit of his mouth and destroyed with the brightnesse of his comeing.
What this Mystery of iniquity is, what was its working already in the Apostles times who that man of Sin & Son of perdition is shall be presently examined, but at present let it be considered that what euer the Mystery be or whoeuer the Person, it is now in being it is yet to continue & it hath been working euer since Saint Pauls time – soe saith the Scripture. The mystery of iniquity doth already worke, when the lett which did withhold his being revealed shall be taken out of the way then he should be revealed whom the Lord shall consume &c.
So long as the allotted time for the raign of this Man of Sin is unfullfilled no pre{va}lency of his ought to be strange but wee ought rather to admire the great mercy of God who under this great Apostacy hath encouraged his Church by so considerable Reformations as he hath made in many places, howeuer for the unworthy carriage of his Church in s{ome} places he may suffer him euen there again to prevail, that being no more then w{hat} the Church hath before hand been appointed to expect.
And therefore why England & other reformed countryes may not again come under {the} government of that man of Sin as well as other countryes haue done, who formerly w{ere} reformed, or why the protestants here and elswhere, may not be reduced to great Straites as well as those in ffrance & Hungary & elswhere so long as the time allotted for the working of the mystery of iniquity is unfulfilled, is altogether unaccountable.
And this is sufficient in general to shew that Popery if it be the mystery of iniquity, may yet prevail in the world, the time allotted for its destruction not being yet come: for although the Reformation may be termed the Spirit of Christs mouth being regulated according to his word & it be evidente that he hath in part consumed the man of Sin, yet he still continues & hath of late considerably prevailed against the Reformation in many places & may go further on untill the brightnesse of the Lords comming by which he is to be destroyed.
If it be questioned what this comming of the Lord is, Its answered that it is the second comming of Christ, the same as is mentioned luk. 21. v. 27. they shall see the Son of man comming in a cloud with power & great Glory euen then when the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled, v. 24. when the Redemption of Israel draweth nigh ver: 28 & when the kingdom of God is nigh at hand v. 31.
The same is Math: 24.30. They shall see the Son of man comming in the clouds of heaven with power & great glory the same Math: 24.64. Mark 13.26. & Chap: 14.62. The same was seen by Daniel Cha: 7. v. 13 – one like the son of man came with the clouds of Heaven to whom was given Dominion & power & a Kingdom which should not be destroyed. the same foretold Rev: 1.7.
Thus far is then clear that this son of Perdition shall be destroyed by the brightnesse of the Lords comming & consequently till then he may prevail.
When this shall be is hinted above in Luke when the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled & when the redemption of Israel draweth nigh & the Kingdom of God is nigh at hand, the same time as was revealed to Daniel. 12.7. whose finishing should be the period of those wondrous afflictions of the Church & of the scattering the power of the holy people the same time with Saint Iohns Apocalyptical Times of the renewed Beasts blasphemy, reign & prophanation of the Temple & city of God 42. months or 1260 dayes forasmuch as the same Kingdom of our Lord Christ is the immediate & common consequent to them all. Compare then.
When Daniels times are done the son of man comes in the clouds of heaven to receive the Empire of all the Kingdoms of the world Dan: 7.14.
When Saint Lukes times of the Gentiles are finished, then shall be signs in the Sun & Moon; the Son of Man comes also in the clouds of heaven.
When Saint Iohns Apocalyptical Beasts 42 Months raign with the witnesses 1260 dayes prouuing, determine the Ark of the Covenant is seen in heaven & all the Kingdoms of the world become the Kingdoms of the Lord & his Christ Rev: 11.15.
Here then is a further confirmation of what is already said, The man of Sin shall not be destroyed till the brightness of Christs coming & that shall not be till the 42 months or 1260 dayes or the time times & dividing of a time mentioned in Saint Iohn & Daniel is expired: so that till that can be shewn to be accomplished the Man of Sin may prevail –
It will not be needfull to stay here to prove that the 1260 dayes are to be understood of so many years & that they cannot be taken in this place indefinitly that being abundantly cleared by Mr Mede; none can deny but that prophetick dayes are usually so many years, nor can any proue such uneven numbers as 42 or 1260 were euer taken otherwise then definitely, & besides the various wayes used for expressing the same space of time in Daniel & the Revelations as 42 months, 1260 dayes, a time times & dividing of a time & time times & halfe a time not otherwayes agreeing then in making all to mean a definite number of 1260 years.
One thing more is worth consideration on this point which is the 3 years & halfe allotted for the viewing of the dead bodies of the witnesses slain, seems to be added unto the 1260 years & consequently that must run out before Gods judgments are to be expected on this Son of perdition, this Man of Sin.
Many are of opinion that is already passed, but that opinion seems not agreable to the prophecy nor well to haue digested the difference between the killing of them in general which in some sence may be applyed to all the time of their wildernesse-condition, the whole space of 1260 years & that slaughter upon which their dead bodies shall be exposed to view 3 years & halfe, which by all the Circumstances accompanying the same seems not applicable to any other time then the three years & halfe.
1. After the account given of the witnesses prophecying 1260 dayes in sackcloth it {illeg} finished their Testimony the beast shal make war against them & ouercome them & {kill them.} Their Testimony was finishing in the time of their wildernesse-condition, the whole space of 1260 years, but the slaughter is to be afterwards that is just on the Expiration of the 1260 years.
2. Its said after 3 dayes & a halfe they shall rise & the same hour there {was} an earthquake & the 10th part of the City fell &c. if by the 10th part of the City is meant Rome, that not being fallen, the slaying of the witnesses can not {be} over.
3. This by all the circvmstances shovld be a general slavghter at the same time, {&} it is to be in the street (that is the jvrisdiction) of the great City (that is Rome & the peoples, Kingdomes, Tongves, nations are to rejoyce over them by sending guifts one to another for that they are freed from these who tormented them, therefore the slaughter in one country, as ffrance, or Spain, or Hungary tho it may be called the killing of the witnesses (for there is no time set how long they shall be killing) comes not up to the full of this prophecy, which speakes of an Universall death of all the Witnesses at the same time euery where in the street of the great City over which all the nations at the same time within that street are to rejoyce for 3 years & halfe & {noe} longer, because they are free from them who tormented them that is by their Reform{s} the greatest Torment could befall the man of sin during his raign & the time allotted him for his Government.
To conclude this point if the brightnesse of Christs second comming is yet to appear, if either the 1260 dayes of the Witnesses prophecying in sackcloth or the 3 dayes & halfe of their lying dead & exposed to view be not yet expired, then the time of the Raigne of the Man of Sin doth yet continue & will continue till the accomplishment of those things & consequently Popery may yet prevail, nay it seems necessary it should further prevail in order to the accomplishment thereof.
But after all it may be asked what is all this discourse to popery that is not yet proved to be the Mistery of iniquity, nor the Pope the man of Sin or son of perdition.
To which its replyed that they who haue a mind to know what the Mistery of iniquity is & who the Man of sin need look no further then the second of the Thessal: & he will find nothing in the world can be the Mistery of inquity {but} Popery, nor none that Man of Sin there spoken of but the Pope and therefore let that be again considered to this purpose.
1. as hath been said, its evident the mistery of inquity was somthing which did already work in Saint Pauls time.
2. that this working at that time was not so open & discernable by everyone as afterwards it should be, somthing did then withhold its Revelation which was to be taken out of the way & then the man of sin the son of perdition sh{ould} be revealed.
That which was then working & which after the present lett removed should be revealed was to continue in being till the brightnesse of Christs second coming {by} which twas to be destroyed.
So that if it can be shewed that the Spirit of Popery began to work in Saint Pauls {time} & hath continued untill this day in credit & esteem & autority in the world euer since it came to set up & barface to be revealed it will highly concerne the Papists to shew what the Mistery of iniquity was & is to which all those Characters agree & it will be very hard for them to pitch on any thing but Popery it selfe.
All errors & heresies which were in Saint Pauls time how long since haue they {illeg} & although some of them may haue revived at sundry times since yet which {illeg} pitch on which hath wrought what the son of perdition the Man of Sin is {illeg} foretold to doe.
All civil powers & States & also Ecclesiastical amongst the Heathen {since Saint} Pauls times how long since haue they left the world to others, & which of them Iew, Saracen, Turk; Mahomet or any of the Ballances of Europe or any parts of {Reformation} can be pretended to be working in Saint Pauls time. which yet the Mistery of so neither any thing that shall yet arise no man can think any new State, Power & Religion yet to come either was working when the Epistle to the Thessalonians was written or hath been hitherto hindered by a lett which was euen then in being since that lett whateuer it was hath been long agoe removed as all the
To come a little closer: if wee find out what was the lett wee may the better know what was the thing letted; it would be strange if wee should not know what the lett was, for Saint Paul knew it & as is before observed the Thessalonians knew it, & is it probable a thing of such concern & so generally known in Saint Pauls time should be buried with that age & there should be no retreiving of it, no doubt they did deliver this over to posterity & accordingly, wee find the Primitive Christians made noe question in the businesse, but take it as certain that the Roman Empire was the lett & the thing letted was Antichristianisme & accordingly they continually prayed for the prosperity of the Roman Empire lest Antichrist should come who they looked for when the Roman Empire should decline: & he that will seriously consider it will not find it possible to assign any other lett.
That this was the lett will more evidently appear, if wee can learn what was the thing letted & when wee haue turned our thoughts euery way what can wee pitch upon but aiming at power, greatnesse, superiority & Government by Church men.
There can be no doubt that the Clergy so early as Saint Pauls time had an itching this way, wee find euen the Disciples of our Saviour contesting who should be the greatest, & no small stir afterwards who was the cheifest of the Apostles & no marvail this Spirit did soe early appear amongst them who could not but foresee the Change the Religion of our Saviour was to make in the world, nor could be lesse sensible of the great honour the high Priests both of Iew & Gentile had conferred on him, on whose vanishing, by the prevalency of the Christian Religion, they thought somthing like thereunto must fall to their Share.
Neither our Saviours check of his disciples, nor Saint Pauls boasting of himselfe, nor the after persecutions of the Church, could stop this humour; but besides the quarrell amongst the Governors of the Church & all other perticular evidences of their Pride, wee find one of the first things to be setled in the first councils was who should haue the first, who the second Seat therin. & so on
It needed not any great spirit of prophecy to foretel what this spirit of Pride so early discovering it selfe euen under the severest persecutions would come to when those persecutions should cease: nothing but prosperity attend them & all Civil power which might curb this humour be removed.
To what else could the Roman Empire be a lett, imagine all the Evills that could possibly be in the Church (for the mystery of iniquity was to be a falling away from the true Church) how did the Roman Empire lett its prevalency. The Errors & heresies were rather promoted then letted by the Roman Empire; they sprang from them who being convinced of the Rule of Christianity would (possibly hoping thereby to avoid persecution) mix the same either with the Philosophy or Theology or both then in vogue in the world. And the more divided the Christians were the lesse cause had the Roman Emperours to fear them, & the lesse concern the high Preists to put the Civil power on to persecution.
Besides since it is certain as before is shewn that the Roman Empire was the lett, what in the Roman Empire could be the lett but the intirenesse of its Civil power & consequently the thing letted must be the ambition of Gouernment
As the Roman Empire was heathen it was a lett to the Mystery of godlinesse but not to the mistery of iniquity, for as to all other corruptions but that wee are speaking of there was no lett, but if God had not preuented by his grace notwithstanding any {external} {illeg}
When the Empire turned Christian, the wicked one was revealed, as its said he should be when the lett was removed & consequently must then haue been if heathen Rome was the lett, indeed the mystery of iniquity which before was working & therby make a further progresse by complying with the old heathen custome & licking up the old Idolatry into new shapes but yet it came not up to that forme, capacity & policy that any one could point out who was the man of sin, who the son of perdition.
Moreover the custome of the primitive Christians, to pray for the preservation of the Roman Empire least Antichrist should come plainly showes that the Roman Empire was a lett not as heathen nor as Christian but as an Empire as it had the sole civil power in its selfe during the continuance wherof it is certain it must be a lett to those things which the man of sin was foretold by Saint Paul to doe, from whence it followes as evidently that the mystery of iniquity then working must be the great pride amongst the Churchmen, which Saint Paul considering together with the fall of the Roman Empire which its evident he foreknew did easily discern the same Spirit would be restlesse untill it exalted it selfe above all that is called God that is aboue all civil power & magistracy: And now let the Papists judge whether Popery be not the mystery of iniquity & the Pope that man of sin & son of perdition, if they will not grant it, they must shew to what the Roman Empire was a lett besides that Spirit of Government which was then working & hath since prevailed.
It is now high time to consider the other part of our enquiry to wit on what grounds any expectation may be built of Popery's not continuing long in case for a time it should further preuail then now at present it doth –
Here all the former perticulars might be repeated, for the same reasons which proue Antichrist is yet to continue & prevail do also prove his destruction to be drawing nigh. Is he to continue because the brightnesse of Christs second coming hath not yet appeared. because the 1260 years & the three years & halfe are not expired he shall not continue long because Christs second coming hastens because 1260 years are near expiring & consequently the beginning of the 3 years & halfe
But because what may be said concerning the approach of Christs second comming may not be so convincing to euery one, & that the other two points are not only sufficient to prove the approach of Antichrists's destruction but of Christ's coming, let us consider when the 1260 years began & that will shew us when wee may expect the end of them & the accomplishment of other things –
If what is already said be true wee can not be at any great losse in this matter for Saint Paul tels us the man of sin should be revealed when the lett was taken out of the way & not before, that is when the Civil power then lodged in the Roman Empire was soe Changed that way was thereby made for some churchmen, that is, the Bishop of Rome to exalt himselfe aboue all magistracy. Not that he must come to that height before the account of the 1260 years did begin, no, that was a work of longer time but when the lett that was in Saint Pauls time viz: the civil power of the Roman Empire was so taken out of the way that it was no longer a lett to his attempting the same, then he was revealed, that is, then it began plainly to appear what the Pope drove at & consequently then the account began.
And when should this be but then when that Civil power which before was entirely lodged with the Roman Emperours was scattered & divided amongst no lesse then ten Kings or Kingdoms, this made way for the Pope to advance himselfe according to all the pride of his heart.
He was now no longer under a subordinate power, but sets up with others on the Spoil of the Roman Empire for an original jurisdiction and the advantages he had ouer them by being first on the spot, by their quarrelling amongst them selves, by their custom of dividing what they got amongst their Children, but aoue all by his pretence to Religion, made the way plain for him to come to the height of his ambition.
<3v>More plainly the inundation of the Barbarous Nations & nothing else was the taking the lett out of the way. They by a swift motion, by unknown wayes & in a most prodigious manner within the space of 50 years overran the greatest Empire the world euer had, som of whom were before as much unknown to the Romans as the Romans to them, they came from seueral parts of the world, & without any foreagreement concurred at the same time in seueral places to assault that renowned Empire: their successe was noe lesse wonderfull, indeed the whole History of their coming in, prevalency & settlement into seueral Kingdoms, together with the consideration how things were ordered a little before in the Roman Empire as it were on purpose to make room for them; these things bring along with them convincing evidence that all was ordered by the overruling disposal of Almighty God & doe so fully point out to us the time we are enquiring after that it is wonderfull it should not be more observed by us, especially when [1] Saint Ierome & others haue so long agoe pointed them out to us as the time in which the lett was taken away & consequently in which Antichrist was revealed.
That the Roman Empire had afterwards a considerable duration in the East & some lingring time of death, after the coming of the Goths & Vandalls in the West, is not of any consideration to this point; for the seat of the man of Sin was to be in the West, it is there the pride of the first Governors of the Church hath shapen it selfe into a Dominion which hath made a glorious show for a long time, but there hath not been any such thing in the East; & it makes no matter how long the power of the Roman Empire in the West was dying, since it was removed from being a lett when the Civil power of those Countryes where Antichrist was to raign was setled in other hands, such as according to what was foretold of them should give their power to the beast, till God should put it into their hearts to hate the Whore &c.
This then brings us to a certainty where to begin the 1260 years with a latitude. It was about the time of the invasion of the Barbarous nations & their erecting seuerall Kingdoms in the Roman Empire, & had wee nothing more then this it were sufficient to ground an expectation that the prevalency yet to come of Popery cannot continue long, it being certain that aboue 1200 of the 1260 years are run out already
Herewith most men who are well enough persuaded of those things satisfye themselues without looking further, & though the time must begin from some thing eminent that happened within 50 years, are loth to trouble themselues to look so far back as to consider all things within that space, certainly a great negligence for howeuer wee may not be able to find out the exact time yet ought wee to search wherin if wee attain not to what wee look for, yet wee may therin see such changes & alterations wrought by God in that time as may as well as any deserve our serious consideration & may very well recompence all our labour herein.
Circa anno Christi 425 Celestinus Bishop of Rome passing the bounds of his preistly order presumed to challenge to himselfe secular power & autority. Socrates lib. 7. Ch: 11.
Pharamond the first K. of france was crowned Anno 420.
[1] qui tenebat de medio fit & non intelligimus Antichristum appropinquant. Saint Ierom: on Alaricus the Goths taking Rome Anno 410.
