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‘K

DISSERTATION   

   T H E S S.   """"" I22
. In which ’tis Ihewnlthat the V
B2/hop of R o M E

ah1sTHE

-t".‘*"""?-

t at «of SI N.

s-Q"'o3;' l

   
That the .P7"0p£?ﬂ',_ in that Chapter, is 
- app1icaib;l::::}{1g;a:“;;~"Ie~;.i;_vr1e and his Adhcrents, and 4 
to them: aféheg   “ 
Nor can we,‘ tatethls Day, defcribe the A120/Zafy of
the Cbureb of Rome, in a more concife and lively
Manner, than the APOSTLE has done in that fhort
and remarkable Prophefy.

.-

By the A U T H O R of a PARAPHRASE
and NoT1=.s on the Epiftles of St..~ P A U L to
Philemon, Iﬂ: Tbeﬂaloniam, 2d fl"/aeﬂalozzians,

fl, lit Timothy, ‘I'z'tus, gd El"z'mot/nay. Attempted in

 Imkation of Mr. Locke's Manner.

‘x... '' _\-1

The S E C 0 ND E D I 71 0 N. T      J
, L o N D o N: A 
Einted for  Noon. at the White-Hart in C/reap/irle; T. Cox. ’ "7:

at the Lamb under the Royal-Ex:/Jdrzgei R. FOR-D, am}
R.Ha’n, in the Poultry. [Price Six-pence.]%

 > \
.'= ~».\
'-1
0 . ' 
\._ _ 5
fi ~ .
H

 
ADVERTISEMENT

Concerning this

SECOND EDITION.

    S tbi: Dzﬂertation has
i ‘  been printed in Quarto,
and is not to be had
without buying thefPampbmfes
and Note:, on ﬂxof St. PAUL’3
Epzﬂlex, in Imitation of Mr.
Locke’: Manner ;--- the ﬂuthor
has been prevailed upon, by
the Requeﬂ: of fome of his
A 2 Friends,

   
: _ _,~...-9-O-a—.a.p 4-.,auo-r" - T " "' “»“" 

 
Friends, to print this   Edition,
feparate ; for the Ufe of fuch
as may chufe to have this fmall

; Piece by it felf.   ﬂ

 
4-.» ~. __ _,.,.._‘1:—<‘.._';an-_ ‘

 
DISSERTATION
Man of SIN, E9-°c.
2. THESS. Ii; I---'--12.

Now we ée/eecb you, éretlrren, 5y 1.
tlve coming of our Lord Jefus Chriﬂ,
and éy our gatbering tegezber zmto
Mm, téaz‘ ye ﬁe 7202‘ /0071 /bake” 2.
in mind, or ﬁe trouéleaﬂ neitber éy

jjbirit, nor éy warez’, nor éy letter, I
as from us, as tlsat tbe day of ’
Chriﬂ is at band.

Let‘ 'no man deceive you 5y any 3.

means: for that day {hall not come,

except

_g__ «..«:V

 
4|

’ and tbat man 0

ﬁn of perditiorz : Wba oppafetb, and

E 2 “J    
except tbere come a falling away
ﬂee be revealed, tbe

exaltetb above all tbaz‘ is cal-
lea' God, or tbat is worjbippea’ ; /5
tbat be as God ﬁttetb in tbe temple

qf God, ewin bim/elf tbat be is
God. /b g   V

5. Remember ye 7102‘, tbat wben I was

6.

'7.
I

10.

.A A;-A'§'vA..§‘.n-_--And!,_ ‘ ‘-

yet witb yea, I told you tbﬁ
tbing: .9 .4726! now‘ _ye know wbat
witbboldetb, tbaz‘ be migbt bere-
vealed in bi: time. For tbe myﬂery
of z'72z'qai2_‘y elotb alreacly war/E : only
be wbo new lettetb, will let, zmtil be
be taben out of tbe ‘way; And. tben
all tbat wielea’ one be revealecl,
(wbem z‘beLord'/ballcoeg/ame witb tbe
_/pirit of bi: moatb, arzdﬁall a’e_/lroy
witb tbe brigbmg/} of bi: coming :
Even him) wbefe coming is after tbe
working (f Satan, witb all power,
amlﬂgm, and lying weeeeleri} and
witb all deceivableneﬁ of uI2rz'gbte-
011/7215/}, in tbem tbat pert,’//2; becazg/e
tbey received not Ibe lave oftbe trutb,
Ibat

 
[ 3 3
tbat tlvqy miglvt ée _/Zwezl. ﬂndfor I I-
  mi; caufe God /ball fend t/,)em
  't_/Yrong delujion, t/mt tlrey /laould 5e-
4 lieve a lie : Tlvaz‘ 2/My all mig/Jttz.
5e damned, wlm éeiieved not tlze
zrutb, éut baa’ plea;/are in un-

<,, tiﬂglrteozt/‘ngﬂ.

 O~_P.E R2’; however artfully
 "-°’/72:91.‘ digniﬁed in Pratt:/iant Coun-
' J tries, énd where there is Li-
: berty for free Inquiry, con-
tinues {till to be a moﬂ: €01‘-
“  3 ru t and tyrannical Religion,
-r . - in laces where ’~tis eﬂzablifhed
and -prone&2ed by the Swordof. the At/Iagzﬂrate.
;; Aseche-°A1>o‘sTt.Es had the prop/aetic Spirit
in the higheﬁ Degree, and Paper)» is fuch a
notorious Corruption of C!2rz'/Zianiry, a Cor-
ruption which has fpread fo far and wide,
and continued (0 longin the World; one
would naxurzgltly cxpeék to ﬁnd ‘Prediétions,
in their Writings, concerning this gmrza’ (4-
paﬂzgfy, to prevent the true C/Jrzﬂiarzs of later
‘Ages from  .-(hooked at the Appearance
of To diiirgsiebabie a State of Things. Such
a Propbyy, as Iapprehend, -is contained in
athis Chapter, V. »I,—-—- 12.

St; PAUL phmted the .Cbr%z'arz Cburcb at
‘T/Jgﬂ'a1o2zz°m. After he had left that Place,
the C/arzﬂiam fell into a Miﬁake, concern-
ing the Coming of tine day of t/2e LoRD,in_1a-

gimng

   
[4]

gining that St. PAUL thought it to be“ juft at
Hand. To reélify that Mifliake (Which he
fufpeéted had been occaﬁoned; either by his
Difcourfes, when he was among them,-‘ eorby
a Letter, which he had wrote ﬁncee;-5-. to
reétify that Miftake, Ipfay) he fent. this
ﬂzeand Epi/Zle, in which he‘ acquaints them
that that Day could not be fonear; becaufe
a great and remarkable Ape/ta/y was ﬁrﬂz. to
happen in the Chri/liar: "Church.

That the day’ of CHRIST, $7. 2. dOth’fII‘:O§
refer to our LoRD’s coming to; deflroy fetu-
./alem and the _‘)‘e=wz']h Nation‘, will plainly ap-'
pear, if We   look into’ the Rik and Progreﬁ
of . this Miftake. In the ﬂrrizerf Epi/tie,‘ Chap.
iv. 13, Ge. the APOSTLE diffuaded the The[a-
Ionian: from an exceﬁive Sorrow, upon the
Death of their Friends; fuch as the Hea-
then: were commonly guilty of ; putting
them in mind of the Chrz/iian Promife of a
glorious Refurreétion to eternal~.Life. When
that Refurreétion and compleat Happinefs will
commence, he there informs them, viz. at
the Coming of the LORD, when the Chri/i’i-
am, who {hall be then found alive upon the
«Earth, {hall be transformed; as well -as the
Dead be raifed, and the Righteous all made
happy. Having mentioned that Coming qf the
LORD, or of the Day of the Loan, ~ he, in
the Beginning of the 5”‘ Chapter, goes on
with his Difcourfe about that day ; alfuring
them that it would come fuddenly and fur»-
prizingly, and that (as the particular Time

W33" ‘

 
[5]

was unknown) Men lhould always be pre-
pared; but he laid nothing there, how nigh,
or how diftant, he apprehended it to be ;
and (very probably) from that his Silence a-

,rofc the Miflake of the Cart’/lz'am at ‘172eﬂa-

 
lanica.

As foon as the-APos'rLE underflood that
they had miftaken his Meaning, he wrote
to ’em this fecond Letter ; the principal De-
ﬁgn of which was to fet them right about

this Point. And he feems to have been very-

follicitous to let them right in this Particu-
lar; lei’: they fhou’d have been tempted to
have thrown oﬁ‘ Cbrj/lianity it /29"; when
they lhould find that the Event did not happen,
according to their Expectations When he
was among them, he had told them that a
grand ﬂpo/fa/y was to happen; and therefore
the Day qf the LORD was at fome Diltance.
That Propbcfy he now repeats, and intimates
to them that it was a plain Proof of the
Diﬂzance of tbat great Day. If therefore tbe
Day, or coming qf tlae LORD, I Theﬂ”. iv. 15,
€9°c. and v. 1, C56. ought to be underﬂood of
the Day qf judgment, when CHRIST {hall
defcend, the Dead {hall be raifed, and the
Generation then living transformed ; as it cer-
tainly ought to be: I think it evident, that
it ought ‘ fo to be underﬁood in this Place
alfo; for of the fame Day, and the fame com-
iag qf the LORD, he appears to be {peaking

'} St. 1114/}. de Civit. Dei, L. xx. c. :9.
B in

 
[ 6 J

in both the Epiﬂles. And, what may further
conﬁrm this, is, that by that day ‘, or the
coming of tbe LORD, is generally meant his
coming to judge the World. As, therefore,
this is the ufual Meaning of the Phrafe,
in “ other Places of the New Tcjfament, and
the moft evident Meaning of it in thefe two
Epi/ile: to the Tbcﬂalonians; we have no
Occaﬁon (upon that Account) to look for
the Man cf Sin, and the grand Apylaﬁ, bee
fore the Deftruétion of _‘)'erufalem; as they
are obliged to do, who underltand tbis com-
ing of 2‘/ye LORD to refer to the Deftruétion
of that City. as '  

None of the {even following Interpre-
tations of this Propbeﬁ appear to me to be
well grounde

(1.) Grotius would perfuade us that Caius
Caligula was the Man of Sin, here propbgﬁed
of. Whereas, according to the Account of
all the latelt and belt Cbrarzalogers, this E-
pi/ile was written about twelve Years after
the Death of that Emperor. It could not,
therefore, furely be a Prophefy of the Wicke
ednefs and Cruelty of Caligula.

(2.) Dr. Hammond would have Simon Ma—

gas and the Gmyiics to be here deﬁgn’d; but-

 Magus had already {how’d himfelf an Ene-g

3 See Matt. xxv. 3:. Aft: xvii. 37. I Cor. i. 8. and  I3.‘
and v. 5. and xv. 23. 2 Cor. i. 14.. Eph. iv. omnmparedwitly
Rom. viii. 23. Philip. i. 6; lo. and ii. 16. I hef. ii. 19. and
iii. 13. and v. 23. 2 Thef. i..1o. 2 Tim. i. I2; t8._ and iv. 8.
2 Pet. 3. 19. and ii. 9. and iii. 4,-—to; 12. 1 john iv. 17. Jud.
Vet. 14. and many other Places. where Phrafes of the lime Import

are made ufe of, as 1 Pet. i. 7; I3. €s’:.

my

_~........n-...._.; amt.

 
. V‘
' . ‘gr  ' A V’ ‘-
 .... ....4,_ » ..' 4.,.-  ‘ "

[7]

my to Cbrgi/Iiaﬂif)’ at Samaria; and thcrcforg
was not yff 10 be revealed. And as to his
Conﬂiét with St. PETER at Rome, and many
of the Do€tor’s Stories about the Gmﬂics,
they feem to be built upon too Iandy a Foun-
dation, to deferve any great Regard. Dr.
Wbitby and Mr. _Le-Clerc have abundantly
confuted that Interpretation.

Grotiufs introducing Simon Magus, Ver.
8, 9. is as groundlefs, for the APOSTLE doth
there evidently continue to {peak of the fame
Perfon, I that he had began with, Ver. 3, 4..
and if Gratius law that the ‘whale Prop/ae/_y‘
could not agree either to Caligula, or to Si-
mon Magus and his deluded Followers, I
think he ought, in his Interpretation, to
have have referred no Part of it to either of
them.   I

(3.)*‘”Others would have the zu2z5elz'eruz'ng
jaws, who perfeeuted the C/Jrzftiam before
the Deftruétion of jerzfzzlem, and made
many of them apoﬂatize to _7zzdaz'/in, to be
the Man of Sin, 85¢. But this Interpretation
appears to me to be not well grounded. For
the uzzaelieving jaws, tho’ they did, indeed,
perfecute the Clari/Ziam; yet they were not
united under any one eminent Head, or
Leader. They were never able to exalt
themfelves above all, that is called a God,
or an Emperor, i. e. above all the Kings and
Potentates upon Earth. Not bad they, after

' See Mr. La-Rorbfs new Memoir: of Literature, for Sept-
!7z6. _
B 2 this

 
[3]

this Time, any one Perfon among them,
Who /ate in the Temple :3,’ Gov, Ihewing and
manifefting himfelf to be a God, or to be
pofTeﬂ'cd of the Power of a King, or tem-
poral Monarch.

Nor doth St. PAUL appear to me to be by
any Means he that letted, Ver. 6. 7. for the
unhelzeving _“fews perfecuted the Chrﬂians
after his Converﬁon, as well as before it;
nor could he prevent the Ape/la/5' of the
jewifh Chri/lians by labouring (as he gene-
rally did) among the Gentile Churches.

Beﬁdes, in the Prophe/5! of St. PAUL, the
Apoﬂafy was (in a great Degree, at leaﬁ,) to
precede the Revelation qf the Man qf Sin;
whereas, the perfecuting antichrzﬂian Spirit
of the unhelie-ving _‘j‘ews was revealed, or
manifeﬁed, before the Ape/la/j’ of the 
Chriﬂians.

And, ﬁnally, ’tis a grand Objeétion with
me againft that Interpretation, that by the
Man qf Sin’: appearing, and heing revealed,
is underfiood his Perzfhing and Deﬂruélion.
In as much as St. PAUL hath clearly diﬂin-
guifhed his Coming, and the Continuance of
his Power, from the Punilhment and Per-
dition which would be, at Iaft, inﬂiéted on
him by the LORD.

(4.) “ Others, again, would have the unhe-
" lierving jaws, who revolted from the Romans,
“ together with the Converts, who apqfl
“ tatized from the Chri/lians to the  Re-
" ligion, to be the Perfons here propheﬂed of."

Whereas,

[9]

Whereas, what the APOSTLE is here fpeak.
ing of, was an Apoﬂafy from the true Reli-v
gion. For fo the Word 3 avrasama ﬁgniﬁeth in
other Places of the New Teﬂament: And what
will lead us to underﬁand it fo, in this Place,
is, that it was to be carried on by “ {ham Mi-
“ racles, and all the Deceivablenefs of Un-
“ righteoufnefs; and {hould prevail only among
“ vicious Perfons, who had an Enmity to
“ Truth, and loved Lies and Wickednefs." But
the unoelieving yew: could not apojlatize
fromthe Cbri/lion Religion; becaufe they had 
never embraced it; and the  Clariﬂinns, , 
who did apo/iotize, had no eminent Head or
Leader, that deferved the Name of the Man
of Sin, 8:0. Dr. Wbitby, who is the moﬂ: ;
conﬁderable Advocate for this Interpretation, 
plays between the two; and brings in the un- ‘
believing yew: revolting from the Romans,
or the jewi//3 C/arzﬂianr falling away from
Cbrijlianity; jufl as may belt help him out in
his Iﬂpotbeﬂr. But the Propbcﬂ itfelf is uni-
form, and defcribes one Sort of Apoﬂa./fr,
quite throughout.
(5.) As Mobomet himfelf did never profefs
the Cbri/Zion Religion, he could not be called
.072 z_1/ioﬂate. However, as he made many
C/Jrz/lznns to npo/Zatize, and built bis Religion
partly. upon the Ruin and Corruption of
C}-_”’ﬂ14771'l‘)’:_ he might (in fome Senfe) be
{and to ﬁt in we Temple ofGoD. He like- 4
wife (tho’ he pretended to be an extraordi_,
" A35 Xxio 21- I Tim. iv l.~ Heb. iii. 12.

nary

 
.-w¢v~ vgvu 7"-wyy:r""'vv‘(‘-'31
, i i ‘ ‘.ﬁY1'*-zv.——“’f"‘.,,..~

E?
F.

 
[ I 0 ]
nary Prophet) fhewed himfelf to be in Rea-

lity no Prophet, but a temporal Prince; and
he arofe after the Downfal of the Roman

Empire. Which I take to have been the
(1-9 xtflsxov) that wbieb hindered the Appear-
ance of tire Man of Sin. All this may be

{aid in Favour of them who underfland this

as a Propbefy of Mobomet. But then (1.)
Suppofe that St. Joan and St. PAUL pro-
pheﬁed of the fame Thing (as ‘I think they
did) ’tis evident that Rome muft be the Seat
of the grand Im/Jo/for. For Rev. xvii. 9, 18.
the City, which flood upon feven Hills,

and then reigned over the Kings of the

Earth, was to be the Seat of this tyrannical
Power. (2.) ’Tis a fufﬁcient Argument 3..
gainft applying tbis Proplaefy to Mabomet,
that this wicked one was to come after the
Working of Satan, with all Power and Signs
and lying Wonders, 1‘. e. with great Preten-'
ﬁons to Illiracles. Whereas Ma/comet did not
pretend to eftablifh himfelf and his Impq/{are
by Miracles. For, tho’ feveral Miracle: are
afcribed to him, by the fabulous and legen-
dary Writers among the Malzometam ; yet
their learned Men renounce them all. ‘ Nor
doth Mabomet himfelf, in the Koran, lay any
Claim to them.

(6.) Tho’ Rome Heathen oppofed C/2rz'/Zz'a-
nity very much, and the Emperor: exalted
themfelves above all the Kings and Princes

‘ See Dr. Prz'a7eaux’s Life of Mabomet, p. 31. and Mr. Sale’:
Tranflation of .4! Karen, p. 203. 236, 473.
UPOD

 
[II]

upon the Eartll; yet this their Exaltation.
was not a Thing then to be revealed. Nci.
ther did they a q/latize from Cbrg/iianity,
norﬁt in the sample of Gon, nor pretend
to eftablilh their power by Miracles. _
(7.) The Papzﬂs, in their Annotation: on
the Rbzmi/lr New Tgﬂamerzt, interpret this
Apoﬂzyfy to be “ the falling away of the
“ Prouﬂant: from the Church (f Rome.”
And fo (by a ﬁrange Legerdemain) we are to
be the Man qf .Sz'n, or his Forerunners at
leaﬂ. Whereas, it doth not certainly appear

that there was any Cbrijlian Cburcb at Rome,

when St. PAuL wrote this fecond Epi/ile to
the Tbeﬂézlonians. Nor are we united under
any one common Head upon Earth; nor do
we pretend to eﬁablifh our Doctrine by Illi-
rdcles. Thefe and many other Things plain-.
ly (how, that ’tis ridiculous to apply this

Propbcyjv to the Reformation from Popery.
As we have rejeéted thefe Mz]interpretati-
am, the next Thing is to point out the
APosTLE’s Meaning. And, however diﬂi—
cult it may appear, upon a tranﬁcnt Read-
ing, to fix the Senfe of {o {hort and general
a Propbcfy as this"; I will venture to fay,
that no Propbcyy could have been more ex-
aétly accomplifhed, than this hath been, in
the Bijlvop qf Rome, and his Adherents. And
therefore, as it agrces to them, and the
Whole of it (0 them only; there is the
greateﬂ Reafon to think, that it was deﬁgn-
ﬁd for thﬁms Cfpecially as it is a fingular
Event,

 
[I2]

Event, the like to which never happened
before, and (molt probably) never will hap-
pen again. ’

But let us go over the feveral Parts of the
Propbe/y. ~ I

Ver. 3. “ Before the Coming of the Day
“ of the Lord there was to happen 4 Falling
“ away, or an Apq/Zaﬁr.” And, accordingly,
what an Apo/la/5' from the true C/Jri/iiaa
Worﬂuip, Doétrine, "and Praétice, hath hap-
pened ; and is {upported by -the Church of
Rome? Inftead of worfhiping Gov with
Simplicity, and in Spirit and Truth, they
have introduced external Pomp and nume-
rous Ceremonies, which {trike upon the Senfes
and ingage the Atttention without mending
the Heart.

Inﬂéad of worfhiping G01) through Jesus
Cmusr (the only Mediator between GOD
and Men) they have fubftituted the Doétrine
of Daemom, i. e. the Spirits of Men depart-
ed out of this Life, Who (as they pretend)
intercede ‘ with G01) for us; and they in-
voke the I/z'rgz'n Mary more frequently than
Gon himfelf. They have not only fucceded
Rome Heathen, in the Seat of Empire} but
have alfo apoﬂatized into their Imagery and
Idolatry 5. Though they have, indeed, dif-

' See the late Popilh Catcchifm, Chap. 8. Concil. Trident;
Sefs. xxv. “See the Account given by Dr. Middleton.
who was himfelf at Rome. and had thereby an Opportunity to
obferve the Similitudc between the Religion of antient and pre-
fent Ram. See alfo Sir 1/44: Newton’: late Book on the Proph-
ﬂﬂa &c. p. 204.. _

guxfed

 
  r   E is J
guifed it with new Names and different Pre-
tenﬁons;

Inftead of the Cbrgﬂiarz _Doé7rine, they have ‘

apo/1’atz'-zed from the Faith, and in many Couna
tries” taken from the common People the Li-
berty of reading the Scriptures in their Mother
Tongue; that they might, with the more Eafe,
propagate their own Deluﬁons. .
For, having in a forcible and violent Man-
ner, reﬂrained the Liberty of private Judgment,
they have. with lefs Diﬂiculty fnbﬁituted, in-
ﬂead of the moﬂ excellent ' Doifrine of the
Ggﬁbel, their own Articles of Faith, and the
forged Traditions and lying Legends of their
Clmrc/J. And not content barely to propagate Ig=-
norance, they have dared molt impudently to
commend it, and called it tlze Mot/yer of De=uat'z'a7z.
Their incouraging the Apoﬂa/5: in Praéfice,
will be taken Notice of in the Sentences that
immediately follow. ,
THIS" GRAND APOSTASY was to proceed
gradually to its Height; But when it came to
fucha Pitch ; then was to be revealed one,
who lhould defervedly be called, t/3e Man of
Sin, and Son qf Perditiofz. '
That this Phrafe may denote a Succeﬂion of
Perfons one after another, tho’ but one at a
Time, may appear from Data‘. xvii. '14.----20.

_where that Phrafe, the King cf Ifrael, mL;ﬂ' be

underftood, not of one King only, but of a.
Succeﬂion of Kings; and from ‘ feveral Texts,
where the  High-Prig/I is fpoken of as
one Perfon,tho’ any one in that Succeﬂion of High-
Prieﬂs is thereby intended. And to whom can

fl-ev. xxi. to. Numb. xxxv. 25, 28. Jolh. xx. 6. Heb. ix. 7.
. C the

i.
v 3,.  .-,cs’.v--n-:..v...« ---
.’ Q’: «I " . '1 1 ,_. ’. “ ' .
*-' e.:' ,fv~  .

 
[I4]

the Title of the Man of Sin {'0 properly belong,
as to the.Succeﬂion of the Bz_'/bop: of Rome, for
many paﬂ Centuries? There have been among
them, not only fome of the vileﬂ of Mankind,
notorious for their Cruelty, Inﬁdelity, Debauch-
ery, Simony, and all Manner of Wickednefs.
But by their "Indulgences, Pardons, and Difpenfa-
tions, ‘ which they claim a Power from CHRIST
of granting; and which they have {old in lo
infamous " a Manner, they have incouraged all
Manner of vile and wicked Praﬂices. Inftead
of Ihewing Men the Neceﬂity of ﬁncere Re-

pentance, unfeigned Faith, and an holy Life
and Converfation ; they have contrived number-

lefs Methods to render an holy Life entirely
needlefs; to indulge Men in the greateft
and moi’: abominable Vices, and yet aﬂ'ure them
of Heaven; even without a thorough Re-
pentance, provided they will fuﬂiciently pay

them for their Admiﬂion. -
The Form of Indulgences, 5 a little before
the Reformation, was fo ample, that rich Men

W€l'6

 
‘ See the late Popilh Catechifm, c. x. " Mr. Bayle (in his
Diftiormry, under the Article Band, Laurence) hath given us the
Hillary of a remarkable Book, called, Tb: ‘Taxes qf tln Ramzﬁ
Cbarmry: In which there is a very particular Account how much
Money was to be paid into the Apcyiolir, or Papfs Chamber, for
almolt all Sorts of Vices. Ex. gr. “ He who had been guilty of
“ Inceit with his Mother. _Sitter, or other Relation, either in Can-
“ fanguinity, or Aﬂinity, is taxed at V. Gror. The Abfolution of
“ him who has deﬂoured a Virgin; VI. Gm. ’ The Abfolution
“ of him who has murdered his Father, Mother, Sitter, Wife,----—
“ V. or VII. Grar.

“ The Abfolution and Pardon of all A513 of Famimtiaa com-
“ rnitted by an of the Clgrgy, in what Manner foever, whether it
N be with a Niin, within or without the Limits of the Nunneryr
“ or with his Relations in Confanguinity, or Aﬂinity, or with his
_" God-Daughter, or with any other Woman whatfoeverz and

3: whether

 
[15]

were unconcerned, what Sins they committed.
as knowing that they could, living or, dead,
purchafe a Pardon, For fuppofe they neglected
it in their Life-Time, it was but leaving fo much
Money by Will, at their Death, foriMaﬂ'e.s and

C 2 Indul-

“ whether alfo the {aid Abfolution be given in the Name only of
“ the Clergjman himfelf, or of him jointly with his Whores, with a
“ Difpenfation to inable him to take and hold his. Orders and eccle-
“ ﬁaftical Beneﬁces, and with a Claufe alfo of Inhibition, colts
“ 36 Taarnoix. and 9. ‘or 3 Damn.

" And if, beﬁdes the above, he receives Abfolution from Sodo-
“ my, or Beﬂiality, with the Difpenfationand Claufe of Inhibi.
“ tion, as before, he mutt pay 90 ‘Tozzmaix, 12 Dawn, and 5
“ Carlim.

“ But if he only receives Abfolution from Sodomy, or Beﬂiality,
“ with the Difpenfation, or Claufe of Inhibition, he pays only
“ 36 ‘fozmzoir, and 9 Dumb. A Nzm, i having committed Fornica-
“ tion feveral Times, within and without the Bounds of the Nun‘-
" nery, {hall be abfolved, and inabled to hold all the Dignities of
“ her Order, even that of 4155/}, by paying'36 Toamair, and 9
“ Dzzratr.

“ The Abfolution of him who keeps a Concubine, with Dif-
“ penfation to take and hold his Orders, and Eccleﬁallical Beneﬁ-
“ ces, colts 21 ‘I'azm;az':, 5 Dawn, and 6 Carlim.”

This is a Tranﬂation of the very Words of the Book itfelf. On.
1 y the lirlt Articles to the * are wanting in one Edition. However,
even thefe Articles alfo, are in the molt perfeét and correéi. Editions;

This Book has been feveral Times printed both in Popi/b and
Praia;/Ian: Countries; and the Proteylmzt Prince: inferred it among
the Caufes of their rejefling the Council of Trent. When the Pa-
piﬂ: {aw what Ufe the Proteﬂant: made of it, they put it into the
Li}? a_fproln'&ited Beaks. But then they condemned it only upon
the Suppoﬁtion of its having been rorrupted by (the Prote/farm, or)
Heretics.

But let them fuppofe as much as they pleafe, that it has been
corrupted by Heretics; the Editions of it which have been publifhcd
in Popz:/It Countries, and which the Papi/1‘: can't difown, as that
of Rome, 1514,. That of Cologn, 15: 5. Thofe of Part’: I520: #545,
and 1625- And more 0‘ Venice, one in the vim Vol. of the Oceanus
.7’*”""v Publmwd ‘$33. the other in the XVth Vol. of the fame
Colleftion, reprinted I 584. -—..__._ Tb;/iv Editiam, I fay, are more
than fuﬂicient to jullify the Rep;-caches of the Proteﬂants, and to
cover the Cburrb qf Rome with Confuﬁon.

The Pop:/I2 Controvertz’/7:. who have not a Word to fay againtt
the A_u;hority of the Edition of Ram, or that of Pan}, &c. are

us or

 
[16]

indulgences, and they were aﬂilred that all
would. be forgiven them. Can fuch notorious
Wickednefs always efcape without an eminent
Perdition ?

How juftly may preyém‘ Rome, for her«Per-
fecution, Idolatry, and notorious Wickednefs,
be deemed 3 my/iz'calBao_y1o7z, and be (fpiritually,
or ﬁguratively) called 3 Sodom and Egypt (where
Wickednefs hath rifen to an amazing Height,
and the People of Gov have been under a long
and cruel Bondage) and the Mother 3 of Form-
catiozzs and of tbe ﬂéominations of tbe Earth?

V. 4. If rightly tranﬂated would (I think)
have run thus, “ Who oppofes himfelf, 2'. e.
“ to CHRIST, and exalts himfelf above ever
“ one that is called a God, or (even) the Impe-
“ rial Dignity, fo that he, as a God, ﬁts " [in-

under great Perplexity. However, ﬁnce the Protey}-arm have made
Io great an Handle of this Boole, the Papi/$4 pretend, that (tho’
fame of the Pope: have been guilty of fuch infamous Praélices, and
fuffered fuch Books to appear; yet) the C/Jurrb of Rome in
general abhors them.

But {he has never ihewn, by the Suppreﬁion of thefe ‘Taxes, that
{he has had them in Abhorrence. They have been printed (as has
been already obferv’d) thrice at Paris, twice at C o/ogrz, and twice
at Vmire. And fame of there Edition: have been publillfd ﬁnce
Clazzale a"E/fence, a Popz:/72 Dr. exclaimed publickly agzinﬁ the Enoxj-
mitiesof tbi: Book. _

The Inqmﬁtion of Spain, and that of Rome have condemned tlog
Book, only as they fuppofe it to have been corrupted by Heretin.

[mull add, in the fecond Place, that the Suppreﬂion of fuch a
Work is not a‘ {ure Sign or difapproving the Rules it con-
tains. This may only ﬁgnify that they repented of the
Publication of it, as it gave fo fair an Handle‘ for the Here-
tic: to reproach the Court of Range, and to wound the Cbartb of
Ram, thro’ the Sides of the Pope. ‘ ' '

Thefe ought to be eﬂ€¢m¢d M_yﬂerz'e.t of State, Arcana Imperiz’,
notﬁt to be tivulged. ’R¢V- Xi-' 8. and xvii. 5, ' " K194-
cau. fo the Word ﬁgniﬂes, Rev. xvii. 1;. and xviii. 7. anfwering
to 3W‘_Pfalm ix_. 4. and Jul}! 10. and ex. 1. Ezek. xxviii 2‘.
Zach. V]. 13, ‘ ‘ ' ‘ ‘ " ' '

 
_‘_‘ thronbedl ‘

[I7]

“ throned] in the Temple of Goo, fhewing
“ himfelf (0 be a GOCl.”.  opp?/es 
felfj that is, to CHRIsT,and true Cbri/iimzs,

‘ And who have done this more than the Cburcb
of Rome? Witnefs their infamous Crazfadoer,
and the cruel Maﬁacres of the Albigeryes and
Waldenﬁvs, of whom they are laid to have ﬂain
above 3 900,000.

In " about 30 Years from the ﬁrft foundin
of the Order of _‘7e/nits, above 800,000 of the
Prate/lants were put to Death, by the Hand of
the Executioner only. Beﬁdes great Numbers
who perifhed feveral other Ways, of whom we
have now no particular Account remaining.
The 5 Duke of Alva boafted of his having,
in a few Years, cut of? 36,000 Proteftants in
the N et/Jerlands.

The ° horrible and infernal Court of Inqui/i.-
tion is laid, in about 30 Years, to have ed con-
fumed 150,000, by various Kinds of Torments,
-and ftillremains in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and
other Places; on Purpofe to hinder all free In-
quiry, and to keep Mankind in the greatcft
Ignorance of the true Religion, and in a moft
ﬂavifh Subjeétion to an Hierarchy of ambitious,
lazy, and debauched Pricyfs.
~ The cruel Imprifonment, fcourging, and
burning of the Martyrs here in England, and
the horrid and prodigious Maﬂaeres in France
and Ireland can never furely beforgot. No

3 See Mede’s Works, p. 503, ‘’Ibid. p. 504.. Cwho.
ever would fee a faithful and authentic Account of the Rife, Pm-
grefs, and Laws of the Inqmﬂtiarz; and of the inhumane Treat-
ment that fuch as differ from the C/Mn}: qf Rome there mect with,

-——— let them read Limbarelfi Hi/lor_y\ of tire Inqzzz:/itian, tranﬂatcd
by the Rev. Mr. Cbaad/er.p _dSce Mm’e’s Works, p. 504.

neve-

 
5. is, ‘yr-yr-1 _‘i_‘ _ .

[I8]

benevolent Perfon can read the Accounts, at
this Diﬁance of Time, without Weeping Eyes
and a bleeding Heart.

Perfecution is a diﬂinguifhing Charaéter of
this ﬂpoﬂate. If to wear 3 out the faint: of the
mo/2 high, and to ﬂay fuch as are witmﬂés " for
Truth, Virtue, and Liberty, and that bear their
Teﬁimony againﬂ Impoﬁtions, Violence and
Perfecution; ‘if to “ make war with the faiats,
and frequently to prevail agairyl, and overcome
them; and even to he 6 drunk with the hlood of
the faints, and of the martyrs of JESUS.---3
If thefe Things, I fay, can poﬂibly be accom-.,
plifhed, they have been, and ﬁlll are accom-
pliihedby the cruel and tyrannical Church of
Rome. “

By every one that is called a God, muff be
undetﬁood earthly Magi/lrates, or teazporal
Princes; for 8e©»,, without the Article, doth
often ﬁgnify a God; and here ’tis evidently op—
pofecl to o ®e_©', 1731-: Gov, or the one true GQD,
in whole Temple this Man of Sin was to ﬁt,
So Pfalm Ixxxii. 6, 7. “ I have {aid ye are gods,
“ and all of you are children of the moﬂ high;
“ but ye {hall die like men, and fall like one
“ of the princes.” And Verfe I. of that Pfalm,
“ G01) Ptandeth in the congregation of the
“ miglhﬁ’, 116 judges among the gods” °.

But as Es€ao'pa feems plainly to be an All'uﬁ-
on to IeCas@ the Greek Name of the Cafart,
or Roman Emperors; ’tis poﬂible that, the
APosTLE might, in both the Phrafes, refer to thc

 
’ Dam \j_ii; :5. " Rev. xi 7. 8. °Ibid. xiii 4. 7.
* Ibid. xvn. 6._._ ° See alfo Ezek. xxviii. 2, 6, 9.. John 1:. 34,.

35. 1 Cor. viii, 5. R
.0”7ﬂ73.~

 
E 19 J  

Roman Emperors; who, after their Deaths, were
(mail: of them) inroll’d among the Gods. Nay,
Caius, before his Death, laid Claim to Divini-
ty, and would needs be acknowledged and_vvor«
fhiped as a God.

That by the Temple of Gon, where this Im-
po/lor was to fix his Seat, may be underﬁood
the Clzrzjiian Cbureb, will appear, if it be con-
ﬁdered that the C/ari/liem Church, is, in the New
Te/lament, often called tbe Temple qf GOD, “ or
compared to tbe   Temple. And in tbis Temple
’tis propheﬁed, that rise Man of Sin Would exalt
himfelf above all temporal Mezgzﬂreztes, Kings,
and Emperors. And ’t.is very eafy to point out
the Accomplilhment of this Part of. the Pre-
pbefv 3 for how proudly bath the Bi/bop of Rame
thus exalted himfelf, and been ﬁlled, by his

Flatterers. and vile Dependants-, a "God, Who-

ought not to be called to an Account; the fu-
preme Deity on Earth, King of Kings, and
Lord of Lords, by whom Princes reign, and
upon whom the Right of Kings depends?
Nay, the Gloﬂator upon the Canon Law hath

given him the high and blafphemous Title, qf

our Lord God we Pope. And tbe Popes have
aéted accordingly, abfolving Subjects from their
Allegiance to their lawful Princes, fomenting
and raiﬁng Rebellions, depoﬁng or murdering
rightful Princes, and fctting up others in their
Stead. With what Pride and Haughtinefs have
they called Emperors their Vaﬂ'als? and even
obliged fame of them to hold the Bridle till

' I Cor. iii. 16, I7:_ 2Cor. vi. 16. Eph. ii, 30, 2:, 22.

I. Tim. iii. I5. Heb. in. 6._ 1. Pet. ii. ,5, 6, 7. Rev. iii. 12.
"Vid. Canon. Diﬂinét. 96. c. fati: evidentia.
3 #2:

 
[ 20 3

the Pope has mounted his Horfez Or to bear up
his Train after him, when /oi: Holimft has been
pleafed towallt in a pompous Proceﬂion? Nay,
with what amazing Infolence have the Romiﬂo
Prieﬂs whipt Kings and fovereign Princes, and
the Pope has even fer his Foot upon an Emperor’s
Neck? He has claimed the fole Right of no-
minating, invefting, or conﬁrming the Princes
and Rulers of the Earth. ,

If this be not * to exalt /Jimﬁlf aoove all float‘
is called a God, or an Emperor; there can be no
Event, to anfwer this, or any Proplacﬁ what-
foever. .

I think Ss€a.a'p.a was deﬁgned to refer to the
Roman Emperor. But if we underﬁand it (as
fome do) of Objects of, or Things pertaining
to Religious I/Vor/loip : -——--The Prop/Bcﬂ is {till

accompliihed. For doth not the Bi/loop of g

-Rome claim the {ole Power of ordaining Sacra-
ments, confecrating Altars and Images, cano-
nizing Saints, and appointing What Sort of re-
ligious War/hip {hall be paid; as well as to
whom? Otherwife, how comes it to pafs, that
the Virgin Mary. is more frequently invoked
than the GOD and Father of OUR Loan Jesus-
CHRIST? Is not this, moi’: evidently, a religi-
gious ‘ljrramzy founded in, and Ptill fupported by
the Pretence of Religion? Other Potmtates have
fometimes called in Religion for a Pretence,-
and laid aﬁde that Pretence, when their Pur-
pofe has been ferved; but no Tyranny, beﬁdes
this, hath been intirely founded in, and all
along carried on, merely by a Pretence to Re-

” In this Exprellion there fecms to be an evident Allulion to
Dan. xi. 36.

ligion.

 
I: 2 r ]

Izgtioa.’ And how exaétly has THE A15os'r‘LE

1-ophefyed of this? when he foretold, that he
would ﬁt 2'72 2‘/oe Temple cf GOD (not a God, or
temporal Potentate; but) as a God, i. e. under
another, a religious Pretence ’, he would lay
Claim to the Power of a temporal Morzarc/9,
(in ordine ad fpiritualia) under the Pretence of
being tlze Head of the Catholic/z Clrurcb, and
having all /]>z'rz'tual Power, he would thus exalt
himfelf. And, I need not fay, that under this
Colour, the Bi/lisp of Rome has claimed ainoﬂ:
exorbitant Power, and that herein Ibis /air King-
dom is diverfe from all Kirzgdoms. For other
Princes rule in their own Dominions, by their
temporal Power. But, under the Notion of
fpiritual Power, the Pope claims Obedience in
Kingdoms and Countries, where a foreign
temporal Prince could have no Claim. so that
tho’ he does not direétly pretend to be a God,
or a temporal Prince; yet he {hows himfelf to

‘ be one; and bath often been, in Reality, poi?-

feffed of equal, or greater Power. ’

From our faying, that “ by the Temple. of
“ GOD, in this Prop/defy, is meant the C/Jrz/t’z'a7z
“ Clazzrolo," Bellarmirze would infer, “ that then
“ the C/aural; of Rome, muff be the Clmrcb qfGOD;
“ For there the Pope fltteth upon his Throne."
But his Argument is vain and frivolous. And
not more will hence follow, than that the

Church of Rome may be called “ tbe Claurcb of

“ Gob,” in the fame Senfe that an "adulterous
Woman may be called a W'z_'fe; or, as the great-
Cﬂ Corruptions may retain the Names, which

‘ Laétant. l.vii.§.7.Rex ille teterrirnus, fed-Mendaciorum“'prophet'a,
3; feipfum confiituct, 8: VOC.lblt Dcum, Ur. _"Rcv. xvu. 1,2,{s’e.
WCYB

 
[22]

were given in the Times of the greateﬂ Sim-
plicity and Purity.

V. 6. “ Aiid ye know what now hinders, that
“ he may be revealedin his own proper Ieafon.”
From St. PAUL’s cautious and 3 covert Man-
ner of fpeaking, leﬂ: he fhould offend the high-
er Powers, as well as from other Arguments,
’tis highly probable that the Roman Emperor:
werevthe obftruéting Power. And ’tis remark-
able, that, upon that very Account, the 3 pri-
mitive C/ari/Ziam ufed to pray for the Continu-
ance of the Roman Empire, viz’. “ to hinder
the Appearance of Antic/.2r_i/3.”

“ ‘Tertullian (who ﬂouriihed toward the Con-
cluﬁon of the fecond Century) faith, “ Now
“ the Myﬁcry of Iniquity worketh, only he
“ who letteth, will lett, ’till he be taken out
“ of the -Way. What is this (fays be) but the
“ ‘ Roman Empire.”

And '3 St. _‘7erome, when he heard that Rome
was taken by Alaricus the Got/9, fhewed plain-
ly, that he expected the Appearance of ﬂitti-
Clvri/Z, upon the Removal of the Roman Em-
pire, and wondered that it was not more fpeedy.
“ For (fays he) he that hindered, is "taken out
“ of the Way, and yet we do not underﬁand
“ that Anti-Cbriﬂ approaches.”

V. 7. “ For the Myftery of Iniquity already
“ works; only there is one that obftruéts, till
“ he be taken out of the Way.”

‘ 3 Vld. St. Auﬂ. dc Civitate Dei, l. xx, c, 19, 5 Dc 'R¢fur.' -
Carnis. c. 24. ‘ See alfo Laﬁant. 1. vii. §. 16, 17. and
,‘7t’f0"!6’ 011 Daﬁill, who fay: it was a general Opinion, that towards
the End of the World lo.Kings fhould {hare the Roman Empire:
and that Arm‘-C/mﬂ lhould be the 11"‘, and ovcrcornethcm all.
‘ Ad Grrmt. dc Manogarrl.

3 Tie

» ‘:4’-~ ,
~~...1-.. , -  4.-41.! '

UI

 
[23]

’Tis impoﬂible for us to know more of the
Tendency towards t/22': grand .4po/Znfy in the
APOSTLES Days, than the APOSTLES or pri-
mitive C/.2rz'/Zions have mentioned in their Wrz°t-
ings. Hymwneus and Alexander fubverted the
C/arﬂians, by teaching falfe Doctrines. Diotre-

pbes afpired after the Preeminence. Demo:
over-loved this prefent World. Others are
char ed with making a Gain of Godlinefs.
Some by a falfe Humility fell into the Wor-
fhip of Angels; others placed Religion in a
Diﬁinétion between Meats and Drinks, forbid-
ing to marry, and injoining Abftinence from
fuch Things as Gon allows; and ﬁnally, many
others placed their Religion in Feltivals, and
New-Moons, in a Diﬂinftion between Days
and Weeks, Months and Years: Not confider,-»
ing that “ t/oe Kingdom of Gov conﬁfted in
“ Righteoufnefs and Peace, and Joy in the
“ holy Spz'rz'z‘.” From fuch Corruptions of
C/oriﬂznnity it was, that St. JOHN faid “ There
“ were then many zlnti-C/Jrzﬂs.” As we know
what the Apﬂzyj is, at its Height, we may
juflly conclude, that every Corruption in Wor-
fhip, Faith, or Practice, was 2. making Way
for tbis A/Jo/irfv; fomewhat of the Spirit of
the Man of Sin, or the Ill)/lery of Iniguity tben
°wor.éz°ng. And (aqcording to this Part of the
Pro/26;’/y) ’tis well known, that they have not
arriv’d to their grand Corruption of Cbrz:/lianity,
but Step by Step; and at the ﬁrft by flow and
almoftinfenﬁble Degrees. «

V. 8. “ And then {hall be revealed that
‘‘ wicked one, or lawlefs perfon," and ’tis no-
toriouﬂy evident, that the Removal of the

D 2 Roman

  
. _ . "Vii . I <_‘ _’_ - . 1‘. _V  . _ 1 ,_.
“- - 0'» «»—-.,.A-Iv--—t—-«- __
040* *lU‘\’_$f."..eo-—— ,-
, 5.... ,-.7 ~ .. .. __ .‘
  rv _,,""__ _ ’

    
' ‘ ~ » .-.
.« r« ‘- ' 3. -— -..__V V ‘
, .

[24]

Roman Emperor: did aétually open the Way ‘for
the Advancement of the Bi/bop of Rome to his
Power and Grandeur. Then was tbattwic/ted
one ﬁgnallyi revealed. 6 tzvo(J.@’, that lawleis
Per M; how proper_ a Title for him, who
hat‘ been declared to be fubjeét to no Law,
but that’ he can, by the Plenitude of his Power,
make Right Wrong, and Wrong Right, Virtue
Vice, and Vice Virtue; that he can difpenfe
with all Laws, humane and divine, And that
he may do all Things above Law, againft
Law, and without Law?

V. 8. (“ Whom the LORD will confume by
“ the breath of his mouth, and -will utterly
‘F abolifh ‘by .-.the; brightnefs of - his coming:”)
Thefe Words mutt be yconﬁdered, as thrown in
by Way of Parentbg/is. Or elfe his Def’tru€ti-
on, mentioned in this Verfe, will be placed
before his Coming and exalting himfelf to fuch
Power, by the molt wicked and deceitful Me-
thods, mentioned in the next Verfe. And. I
fu pofe that it was thrown in to comfort the
Cdpriﬂiczm, under fuch a Profpeét, by the;af-
fured Hopes of this Tyrmznfs coming to an End.

As the laﬁ Sentence was inferted by Way of

Parentbtjis, we may go on with the principal

Subjeét, as.if it had not been there; V. 9, I0,
11, 12. When the obﬂruéting Power is re-
moved. “ Then {hall that wicked one be re-
“ vealed, whole coming is after the working
“ of Satan, with all power, and ﬁgns, and
“ lying wonders ;” and with the rnoﬂ fraudu-
lent and unrighteous Cheats; tho’ none need to

he deluded thereby, if they are Loversof Truth
and Virtue.   . - .

The I

 
E 25 ]

The many Pretences to Zlliracle: in the
C/Jzzrcb of Rome have abundantly fulﬁlled this.
They have aﬂerted that Churches have been
taken up in one Place, and carried thro’ the
Air into diflant Countries. That Images have
nodded, fmiled, frowned, or fpoken upon Oc-‘
caﬁon. That the Blood of a Saint. hath been
annually liqueﬁed on a certain Day of the Year".
That the ‘ ﬁrf’c Convert St. Gaul made in Ger-
many was a Bear. That St. Antony of Padua
preach’d to a vall: Aﬂembly-of"Fi{hes, whom
he had miraculouﬂy called together, and who
devoutly heard him preach tbe Ward of the
LORD. That St. Francis preached with great
Succefs to Birds and Beaﬁs, which he thought
oun LORD had commanded, Mar/2 xvi. 15.
When he bade the APOSTLES to “ Go into all.
“ the World, and to preach thegofpel to every‘
‘ ‘ creaflzre.” .

Numberlefs have been the ﬁétitious Appari-«
tions of the Souls of dead Men, in order to
prove fuch a State as Purgatory. Nay, to
prove this, what have they not pretended to?
Voices from Heaven or Hell; Cures at ‘the

Shrines of their Saints, or by their Bones and-

Reliques; to which they have fometimes all

crib’d the Power to raife Perfons from the

Dead! _all the Legends and lying Wonders which
the moll diabolical Invention could contrive,
have been made ufe of, to found and fupporr
this notorious Apoﬂa/y. .

For my own Part I queilion the Reality of
all their Miracles 5. But fuppofe any of them

‘Aa’Jzfo72’s Travels, p 284. ibid. p. 4.7, (9%. bvjd, st_
Au/fin." dc Civit. Dci, l. xx.__c. 19. However, that they lay Claim
‘0 Miracles, fee the late Popxlh Catcchifm, Appendix, §. 13.

-3 ' S to

 
[26]

to be real, a Miracle only iheweth that {ome
Being interpofes, who is fuperior in Power to
Man. And, as we muff judge by the Doctrine
and Practice they would promote, Whether
Miracles are worked by a good or a bad Spirit;
’tis evident that (if they work any real Mim-
cles) they are aﬁifted by a malevolent and wiched
Spirit; becaufe they would thereby promote
Ignorance and Fallhood, Idolatry and Wicked-
nefs.  

They have, likewife, by the moft unrighte—-
ous Deceit, appeared as profefs’d Friends to
C/2rz]iz'am°z‘y 3, tho’ really its greateﬁ Ene-
mies. F

They have canonized Men for Saints, who
have been the moft ﬂagitious Sinners. And
have confecrated Murders, Treafons, Maf-
facres, and Rebellions, by promiﬁng their Vo-
taries, that they fhould not pafs thro’ the Fire
of Purgatory, but fhould have immediate En-
trance into Heaven; fuppofe they {hould be
cut oﬁ‘ in perpetrating {uch black and horrid
Crimes.

It were endlefs to mention their pious Frauds,
and fpecious aﬁonilhing Methods to encreafe
their Number; to draw in the worf’t of Men,
and to difcourage the beﬂ ; in order to gratify
their own exorbitant Lufi of Power and Am-
bition.

And muft not Men have caﬂ of? tbe Love of

3 Laftant. 1. vii. § 19. Hie eﬂ autem, qui appellatur Anticbri/Izu;
-fed fc ipfe Chriﬁum xnentietur; & contra verum dimicabit. How
remarkably applicable is this to the Bzjbop of Rome, who lays Claim
to the Title " of tbe Surtcjﬂiar ofS:. PET!-1R., and CHRIST’: Vicar upon
“ Eartlv; and confequently, the Father and Pallor of all the Faith-
" fu! ?“‘ See the late Popifh Catechifm, c. nit.

‘Trut/J,

 
[27]

‘Truth, who can delight in their fabulous Tra-
ditions, and rnonﬁrous lying Legends, and

tamely give up tbe Scriptures, or {peak of them «

with Contempt. ‘

Thus have I brieﬂy gone thro’ the feveral
Parts of this Prop/aw’, and fhewn (I think)
that no Proplvcﬂ can be more exactly accom-
plifhed.‘ i i 

COROLLARIES.

(1.) “ From whathath been faid ’tis eafy to
“ judge concerning Popery and the«Reformatz'on.”
’Tis not the Largenefs of a Cburcb, nor her ex-
ternal Pomp and 3 Splendour, which makes her
the true Cburc/.7. Nor are they always the
Sc/Jifmutitks, who are the feweﬁ in Number.
No, fuppofe all the Nations of the Earth
{hould generally agree together, in maintaining
abfurd Doétrines, immoral and unreafonable
Practices, Uncharitablenefs and Impoﬁtions.
They are properly the Heretics and Sc/22' mu-
tics; and let the Number who feparate from
them, in Defence of Truth, Virtue, Liberty,
and Charity, be never fo few, they are in Re-

 
ality the true Cbureb. And the other is only

zz grand Scbifm, or worldly Faftion: Even tho’
thﬁfif Party be as numerous, as that with the
Soles of their Feet they could, dry up Ri-

vers.

He/ding the Truth in Love is a Mark of tbe
true Cburc/3. And fuch 3-S forfake this am
dpcylates. Such is the Se/yifm, Faétion, and
ﬂpq/law of the pre/eut C/Jurc/3 qf Rome; that

?See the Appendix to the late Popilh Catechifm. 5. 2.
Motber

  
['23]

-Mother of Idolatries, and of the Aéominafions 

t/)6 Ear!/J. And Reformation is‘ a molt glorious
Thing, when " founded upon’ its right Baﬂs of
Reafon and Scripture, Liberty and Charity.

(2.) “ How Ptrong an Argument may, what
“ hath been faid, afford us for the Truth of
“ the Cbrgi/Zian ‘Religion ?” Here was a rnoﬂ;
ﬁgnal Event foretold, and that many Ages be-
fore it came to pafs; An Event, the
like to which had never happened ﬁnce the
Creation of the World, (and, molt probably, there
never will happen fuch another 5) it was, there.-
fore, an Event, which was out of the Reach
of all humane Conjefture, or Forefight. And
yet Experience hath fhewn that the Predic-
tion was exact.

Neither Enz‘/Jzﬂzz/ls, nor Impoﬂor: could,
poﬂibly, have gueﬂed Io agreeably to fo
uncommon an Event. Nor can we, who
have lived to feefo much of the Accompli{h—
ment, defcrihe tbis Apaﬂafy in a more juﬁ, or
lively Mannner, than St. PAUL has here done,
in a few Verfes, ' and St. ]oHN, more largely,
in the Retvelafian. '

~ They, therefore, muﬁ have been true
Prophet: and divinely 2'2;/pz'r’d: Or elfe they
never could have uttered fuch remxkable
Predakfiions, which Time and F aft have {'0
amazingly veriﬁed. - .

Some other Arguments for the Truth of
the C/an:/lian Religion, tho’ jufl: and conclu-
ﬁve, «may be of a more fubtle and diﬂicult
Nature: But the Rife and Progrefs of this
Apoﬂqfy is a Faét, a plain, notorious, well
known Faét: An Argument’ ‘which cannot
x eaﬁly

 
E 29 J

eaﬁly be evaded; but muff {trike the Virtu-
ous and Attentivel

All Cburcb Hi/lory, for feveral pal’: Cen-
turies, is full of it ; and we need only
open our Eyes, and we may behold too
much of it. For Z‘./J6’ Man of Sin is even
now upon bis Tbrarze, exalting himfelf, as
much as he can, above all the Kings of the
Earth; and with fuch Ptrong Deluﬁons fe-
ducing the Nations, as to make many of
them believe a Lye. They may pretend,
among us, that Popery is alter’d, and become
a me:/E arzdlrarmle/.6 Religion; and, that they
have thrown off that peijécutirzg Spirit,
which they have formerly difcovered. But
how lately have we heard of the difmal Ef-
fects of their cruel and tyrannical Temper?
and,,the ’ poor banilhed Saltzéurgbers (whom

«'65 the Glory of this Pratt:/iant Nation fo

generouﬂy to have relieved) are too frefh an
Inftance and Proof of the per/écuting Spirit
of Popery, to fuffer it to be believed among
us, that the Church of Rome, tho’ dreffed up
in Sheep’s Cloathing, is any other than a
ravenous Wolf.

OUR ANCESTORS felt the dreadful Ef-
f_€é’ts of their perfﬁcuting Spirit, and expe-
rienced their tender Mercies to be cruel.
Nay, we ourfelves were in imminent Dan-
ger: But by a remarkable Interpoﬁtion of
the divine Providence, the Snare was bro-
ken, and we have efcaped. Yet all pious
and benevolent Perfons are daily mourn-

mg

 
r r .

L 30 ]
ing over this anti-cl.2rzﬂian Corruption and
Tyranny; and ready to fay, “ How long,
“ O Lord, holy, juﬁ, and true; wilt not
“ thou deliver thine Eleél, that -cry unto
“ thee Day and Night!”

CHRISTIANITY is 3. Religion reafonable
in itfelf, promotes the pureft Virtue, was
at ﬁrfl: planted by Miracles and great Plenty
of fpiritual Gifts. And here is a remark-
able P2-opboﬁr, which (after fo many hun-
dred Years) is exactly veriﬁed, by a notori-
ous Event. What Evidences would be
fufﬁcient, where all thefe are rejeéted?

 “ We ought not to be {hacked at
“ the prefent State of the Cbri/Zian Cburclo.
“ Becaufe fuch, did the APOSTLES of OUR
‘” LORD proplaq/5', that it would be.” Tho’
the bell: of Things are liable to Corrup-
tion; yet one would hardly have thought
it poﬂible, that fo great, {'0 notorious
a Corruption, could (by any Pretence)
have fprung out of the Cbriﬂian Religion.
Look into the New To/lament, which con-
tains the Religion of Jesus, and look into
the Polity and Conflitution of the Cburcl)

oof Rome; and you may eaﬁly perceive that

Light and Darknefs are not more unlike.
The Gofpel every where requires the great-
efl Virtue and Purity, and this wicked
church (which fchifmatically calls her.-
felf the 3 Catbolick and only true Cbnrclaj has
invented fo many Arts, to make Men very
‘I See the Appendix to the late Popiﬂt Catechifm, 5- 3-, .
 religion:

 
[are]

religious, without any
at all; that (wherever ’tis eﬂablilhed and

revails) it incourages almoft all Manner of
Wickednefs and Abominations.

DANIEL 3 propligﬂed that the GOD of
Heaven would erect (1 Kingdom, which
fhould be {ubjeét to t/ye Son of Man; and
we lay, that t/Jis Kingdom of Rzgbteon/nefs
was actually ereéted by oun LORD Jesus
CHRIST. Now, upon looking abroad. into
a great Part of Cbri/Zendom, ’tis natural
to inquire, “ Is this the Kingdom prophea‘
“ ﬁed of?” y. ‘

' No, to prevent the Anxiety, which might

earife in the Minds of true C/.2rz'/i‘z'nnsifrom

fuch a Difficulty, it was alfo prop/no/ied,
that out of tbis [oiritual Kingdom (hould
arife one of the greateﬁ Apo/t’a/its and
Corruption: that ever appeared in the
World. Though true C/Jrﬂiianity (as con-

tained in the Scriptures) have all along.

been invariably the fame.

(4.) “ How ought we to rejoice that
“ t/oi: tyrannical and unrig/oteous power‘
“(hall come to an end? and think our»-t
“ {elves obliged (from a fenfe of our duty
“ to G01), and out of Bent?-vo/tnt'e to Man-
“ kind) to do every Thing, in our Pow-
“ er, towards bringing about 1'0 happy an
“ Event?”

BLESSED BE G01) that we are deliver-—
ed from this Worfe than Egyptian D;1_r2€’--

’ Dm ii. 44. and vii. 13,- 14..

E 2 n.-ff

Virtue or Goodnefs .

 
Ev]

nejfc and Slavery. Particularly, let us re-
ﬂeét, with Gratitude, upon our narrow
Efcape under the aufpicious Conduct of
tlae glorious Prince of Orange, K. H/illiam
of immortal Memory, who ‘(by the Fa-
vour of a kind Providence) laid the Foun-
dation for a later Efcape, when, by Means
of a perfecuting and bigotted Faction, a
Poff/l.» Pretender was ready to afcend the
Throne. Then it was that King Willi-
am’s noble Legacy took Place, by the
Coming in of t/ye illuﬂrious Houﬂ qf Han-
over. A Family, who were amongfi the
ﬁr]? Prateﬂers ezgairg/2’ Popery, and who
have ever ﬁnce continued Prote/lanes. And
(which hath been, in a diftinguilhing
Manner, the Glory of that illuﬂrious
Houfe; and attended with the greateft
and molt diﬁ‘°uﬁve Bleﬂings; they
have, upon many Occaﬁons, been) ﬁre-
nuous Aﬂerters of Liberty, both civil and
religious.

BLESSED BE GoD for fuch a royal Fez-
mily, and let all the People fay AMEN.
May they and their Defcendants continue
Friends to Mankind, throughout all coming
Generations! and experience the Joys and
ample Bleﬂings which attend the ﬁncere
Love of Truth, Virtue, Religion, and Li-
berty! 

’Tis {aid that this corrupt and perfe-
cuting Relzgion gains Ground in this free
and Proteftant Nation; and even in this
' ‘' Day

 
[ 3 3 3
Day of Light and Liberty.—--i-But what
Madnefs muft poﬂ'e£s fuch as would bring
us back again into this jpiritzml Egypt ?
When all wife Men would avoid her, for
Fear of, at laﬁ, partaking in her Plagues?

’Tis the Duty of all Prateﬂant: to give up
whatever ahjizrd Doﬁrines, or impoﬁng Prin-
ciples, they may have hitherto mixed with
what is t_ruly reafonable and Chrzﬂian.
’Till then, it mutt be expeéted that—Poper_y
will always get Footing among us.

TH ANKS BE To GOD, that we have the Scrip-
tures {o common, and in our own Language;
that we are allowed the Liberty of private
ffudgment; and bleﬂied with fo many, and
fuch excellent Helps to underftand our Bi-
hle! That fuch a Spirit of Liberty and free
Inquiry hath, in this laft Age, gone out
into the Land! May Heaven diﬂixfe this
happy Spirit, and grant it the longeft Con-
tinuance!

’Tis not 300 Years ago, ﬁnce our ﬂrzce/1
tors were required to believe the groﬁeft ﬂh-
furdities, and to praétife the moﬁ ﬂagrant
Idolatry, and that upon Pain of forfeitin
all that was dear to them in this World,
and of being fentenced to eternal Damnation
in the next.

Tho’ the ﬁrlt Reformers made a glorious
Stand, and went great Lengths, in a little
Time; yet they could not lhake off one of

the worfi Parts of Popery, viz. the Spirit qf
‘IIy“a//ihilitiy and Per:/ecutiorz. And a Race of

tyran-

 
[34]

tyrannical Kings, fupported by eavetous and
ambitious Pricﬂs, continued to praétife upon
Proteyiants, that Cruelty, which all Prolif-
2‘ants_ had fo much and fo juﬂly exclaimed
againﬁ, when praétifed by the Papi/Z: upon
themfelves. By this Meansit has come to
afs, that true Liberty, and ﬂee Inquiry are
but of Yeﬂerday. ————A Bleﬂing referved

by Providence for us! p  
The molt acceptable Way of teﬁi-t
fying our Gratitude to ALMIGHTY Gov,
for to great, fo unfpealtable a Blefﬁng,
is to Ptudy the Scriptures with Care,
and to form our Temper and Practice
accordingly. To allow others that Li-
berty of private _‘7ud ment, which we our-
felves fo ardently deligre. Toavoid Uncha-
ritablenefs towards fuch as differ from us,
and to {how our Good-Will to the Perfons
of the Papi/is; whilft we fo much and fo
juﬂly abhor their Religion. Let us ever take
Care to watch againﬂ a perfeeuting Spirit,
in all the Branches and Degrees of it; and
to lay the great Strefs of Religion, where the
Scriptures of t/ye New Tcﬂament have laid it
(not in abﬁrufe Notions, and unintelligible
Subtleties: Not in Forms and Ceremonies,
not in an empty Profefﬁon of the purefl: and
belt Religion; but) upon the ﬁncere Love
of GOD and one another; upon as due go-
verning our Paﬂions and fenfual Appetites,
and the habitual Practice of univerfal Holi-
nefs. For what ﬁgniﬁethiit w/942‘ Cburci/J
any

 
[35]

any Man belongs to, what Profeﬂion of
Religion he makes, or what Advantages he

 
injoys 5 if he doth not love G01) and

keep his Commandments? If he abufes his

Liberty to Licentioufneis; and in the Midﬂ:

of fuch marvellous Light, {hows that he
s loves Darknefs, by leading a fcandalous and

wicked Life; Which, of all others, is the

bloc/leg/Z Hen:/y, and the mail ﬂagrant and
.- moi’; notorious Corruption and Apojiafy?

 
- Kannada‘...  %4  ..L__._’_',“ .-..la¢gt.‘..s . ._.‘......n‘_

‘: I-.30‘

  V ETR T-I S=)ﬁ'TMEWN,T'{i    ‘
    mar, or':hg:5:aiP1a¢:;ng'i%e *

5

‘*'e ‘._  i  Rel2;giaIr.;.ir1 two.Vo1s; 410. :;
By GEORGE BENSON.  

In this Hzﬂory there  be a continued
Parapbra/? Qf the A5}: of the «A130/lies, with
fome critica ;;N9tes  the "Margin. The
 and imii:HiPcory, ii-“hick affeéted the
Cbrijiiam within this Period, will be inter-
mixed, fomewhat after the Manner of Dr.
Prideaux’: Comzefiion, 85¢. St. PAUL’s Epf/1
tles will be abridg’d, and inferred in their
Chronological Order. .  

And an Appendix added to prove that St.
LUKE wrote the Aéis, and to point out the
Evidences which they aﬂbrd of the Truth
of Cbrijlianity. ’  

N. B. Serberal Sheets are .p7-izzted, qfﬁ and 2‘/ac
Fir/I Vol. will be ready to be’ deliver’d to 112.2
Subfcribcrs about Midfummer.

RARE
BX
1766
.P4
17002

Universnt of Missouri — Columbia
i f: ? ‘ ‘ T:
: ; ~ A ? ~*
01 — 1076 5

O 10 18