How Antichrift caufeth

fire to come down

poralities. He hath overthrown the King of Naples, him of Sicily, and him of Germany to make them his vaffals. He hath overcome the third part of thofe Kingdomes that have fubmitted to him, because he hath ufurped more than a third part of their Riches, their Lands and their Iurifdiction.

XII. He is to caufe fire to come down from Heaven. It is enough to make fire come down from heaven, to huri Anathema's, and lightnings on the heads of men, to damn them if it were from Hea poffible for him to do it, and effectually to kill them. For thefe are the lightnings, tho painted ones, that have fet the Chriftian World on fire.

ven,

He is not

by arms.

XIII. He must conquer all the World by arms. to conquer How can this be true, feeing the H. Spirit faith exprefly, that the ten Kings, which you your felves confefs are co-temporary with Antichrift, his friends and fubjects, shall freely give their power to him? There will be no need therfore to conquer them by arms. Moreover, the Pope hath not been wanting to make use of carnal weapons to strengthen and encrease his Soveraignty.

Enoch and

not re

XIV. Enoch and Elias must come again in the Elias mult time of Antichrift, he must kill them, and they turn, nor must rife again. These are ridiculous vifions, be killed. Jewish fables, or tales made in imitation of them,

who always expect their Elias as well as their Meffiah. As for us, we keep close to what the Lord J. Chrift hath told us, that Elias hath already come, and that that Elias was Iohn Baptift, who had the power and Spirit of Elias. As for Enoch and his return, it is a vifion that hath not the leaft foundation in Hiftory or in Prophecy.

'Tis true, Enoch was tranflated into Heaven; but there is not one word whence we can hope for his return. These are fables upon fables. That Enoch and that Elias, thofe two witneffes that must appear again in the time of Antichrift, are hidden (as they fay) in a retired place, in the Earthly Paradife, that fubfifts to this very day, and which is invifible to all men.

Antichrif

felf the

XV. Antichrift is to ftyle himself God, and the only God. How abfurd is this? How doth this is not to agree with what you fay, that Antichrift muft ftyle himbe received by the fews as their Meffiah; that only God. he is to re-eftablish the law of Mofes, that he muft fet on foot again the Levitical worship? How would the Tews receive him for their Meffiah, if he were fo wicked a perfon, as not to believe there were a God? To what purpofe fhould he rebuild the Temple of Ierufalem, and why fhould he offer facrifices to God in it, if he made himself to be worthipped as the only God? Befides it is clear enough, that the Pope caufes himself to be adored like a God, tho he doth not call himself either the only God, or the great God.

Roman

that must

Kings un

XVI. He is not to come till the Roman Em- Germany pire be entirely deftroyed. We fhall afterwards take is not the an occafion to examin this. In the mean time, Empire, confider what abfurdities thefe men run them- be divided felves into. According to them the Roman amongten Empire doth yet fubfift, viz. in the branch of der AntiGermany. According to them, at the end of chrift. the World the Roman Empire fhall be divided among ten Kings, that fhall be the Friends, the co-temporaries, and the fupporters of Antichrift. That is to fay, the Empire of Germany fhall be divided into ten Kingdoms. Thofe will be notaI 3

ble

World.

ble Kingdoms, thofe ten Kingdoms on the other fide the Rheine, and do well deferve a place even ten times over in the Prophecies of Daniel and St. John. If Antichrift must not come till the Roman Empire be deftroyed, why did they confefs, that the little Horn in the 7th. Chapt. of Daniel, is Antichrift? This Horn, doth it not play the part of the fourth Beaft, i. e. of the Roman Empire? Why do thefe Gentlemen agree to this, that Antichrift is the feventh Head of the firft Beast in the 13th. of the Revelation, which they together with us acknowledg to be the Roman Empire? Why did Bellarmine grant, that Antichrift is to be the laft Roman Emperour? The Roman Empire, therfore fhall not be destroyed when Antichrift fhall come, because that Empire fhall continue under him.

'Antichrift XVII. He is not to come but just at the end of muft come before the the World. He is not to come till the last times. end of the But we fhall hereafter examin, whether the last times fignify the three last years before the day of judgment. And when we fhall have proved that the 1260 Days of Antichrifts reign are fo many Years, this point will be cleared up.

The Gof

been pre

ached

XVIII. Before he comes, the Gospel must have pel hath been preached throughout all the World. Indeed before the Antichriftian Empire did appear and was perceivable, the Gospel had been preached throughbut the in that which they called the whole World from YVorld. the time of the Apostles, in all the extent of

almoft

the Roman Empire, and beyond it, in all the then known World, in the countries which they knew were inhabited, and where they could enter without being hindred by the barbarity of those that dwelt there. But this univerfal preaching throughout all the Earth, without Ex

ception

ception, muft be confequent upon the fall of Antichrift, and not a fign of his coming. Further, this term of Univerfal preaching even then muft not be taken in the ftricteft fenfe. For it may be there will be fome Exceptions.

neceflary,

should be

XIX. Laftly; Antichrift must be a Magician. It is not And that, because he muft work great figns and that Aut miracles by the help of Magick "Tis fufficient chrift for the fulfilling of thefe Oracles, that he doth a Magihis figns by illufion and the enchantment of mens cian. fenfes, by cheating and deceit, and alfo by the help of the Devil; without his making any compact with the Devil either direct or indirect. The falfe miracles of Popery alfo are wrought by the cheats of the Priests, or purely by lies, or by the Devil, that makes himself fport with their miferable devotion. Seeing all thefe Characters of the Antichriftian Empire are all false, wemuft for the future examin and feek out what are the true Characters of it.

CHAP. XIII.

What are the true Characters of the Antichriftian Empire. They are three, Tyranny, Idolatry, and great corruption of manners.

That we must not look on Tyranny alone, as the fole Character of Antichrift.

The Anti

WE are feeking after the Characters of the Antichriftian Empire. I believe we may chriftian hope to find them in the names which the Holy Empize Spirit gives it. For affuredly names are given by names, that God to fignify the nature of things. I find that three Cha

I 4

hath three

note its

the rafters.

the Holy Spirit gives three names to that Empire. He calls it Egypt and Sodom, and laftly, Babylon. Egypt and Sodom in the eleventh of the Revelation, where fpeaking of the death of 11.8. the two witneffes, he faith, their dead bodies shall lie in the street of the great City, which is Spiri tually called Sodom and Egypt. Babylon, in as many places of the fame book as 'tis faid in, she is fallen, she is fallen, Babylon the great. Come out of Babylon, my people. These three names fignify the three Characters of that Babylonish Empire.

The name

Egypt is the embleme of Tyranny, Pride and of Egypt Cruelty. Of Tyranny, because there the Ifraelites the pride did groan under hard bondage in the chains of Tyranny Pharaoh, who tyrannifed over them; Of Cruelty of Anti-ry, becaufe that cruel Prince did vex them forely

and Cruel

chrift.

Sodom fignifies the

with hard labour, and the death of their children, whom he caufed to be drowned in the river Nile, Of Pride, because this proud Tyrant rebelled against God with an intolerable pride, faying, Who is the Lord, that I should obey his voyce?

Sodom fignifies the mighty corruption of mangreat corners, and the reafon of it may be eafily appreruption of hended. It was neither Tyranny nor Cruelty that the Anti deftroyed Sodom. We do not read, that the did Empire. afpire after the dominion. It was not Idolatry;

manners in

christian

Kr. 1.10.

at least, we have no reason to believe, that the was more notorious for it, than the other Ca• naanites round about. It was therefore only diffolutenefs, luxury and debauchery, cafe and abundance of bread, as the Prophets fpeak. Therefore when they would fet forth a mighty corruption of manners, they borrow an expreffion from hence, and use the names of Sodom nd Gomorrha. Hear the word of the Lord

ye