Antichrist the Pope of Rome, Part 2 · Chapter 1
CHAP. 1. Touching the Image of the Beast.
FIrſt, Apocalyps 13.14. it is written by S. Iohn, that the ſecond beaſt ſhould make an Image of the firſt, which had the wound by a Sword and did liue: and that hee ſhould hauehave power to giuegive life vntounto this Image, and cauſe it both to ſpeake and to be worſhipped. Which words may be vnderſtood either literally, or morally, or myſtically: but in which ſenſe ſoeuer we take them, yet eueryevery way they ſit the Pope, and demonſtrate him to be the true Antichriſt, figured out by this ſecond Beaſt whereof Saint Iohn ſpeaketh.
2. For if wee vnderſtand it as many of the Popiſh writers doe, literaly, that this muſt bee one of the miracles of Antichriſt, that hee ſhall giuegive life and ſpeech to a dead Image, which becauſe no Pope euer did, therefore hee cannot bee Antichriſt: I anſwere, that it is falſe, that neuer any did ſo: for elſe what meane thoſe frequent motions, noddings, ſweats, and weeping of Images, reported in their Legends, and Martyrologies? At that great controuerſie betwixt the Monkes and married Prieſts, at the Synode at Wincheſter vnderunder Duſtan, a Crucifix is ſaid to hauehave thus ſpoken in fauour of the Monks, againſt the Prieſts, Non fiet, non fiet, Iudicaſtis bene, mutaretis non bene; non bene ſ… tiunt qui presbyteris fauent, that is, It ſhall not bee, it ſhall not bee, you hauehave iudged well, you ſhall not doe well to change; they thinke ill that fauour the Prieſts. It is written in the Romane Breuiary in the Feaſt of Saint Thomas, that when hee prayed very earneſtly before a Crucifix at Naples, this voice was heard from the Crucifix: Bene ſcripſiſti de me Thoma, qua… ergo mercedem accipies? Thou haſt written well of mee Thomas, what reward therefore wilt thou receiue? Alſo in the life and acts of Hyacinthus, recorded by Seuerinus, we read that an Image of the Virgin Mary thus ſpake vntounto Hyacinthus flying from the Tartars. O filt Hyacinthi, effugis man… Tartarorum, & me cum filio meo diſſecandam & conculc… dam relinquis? Accipe me igitur tecum: that is, O ſonne Hyacinthus, doeſt thou flee from the hands of the Tartars, a…d leaue mee with my Sonne to be cut in peeces and trampled vponupon by them? Take me therefore with thee: and when he anſwered that her Image was ſo bigge that he could not carry it: it anſwered, Accipe, quia alleuiabit pondus filius meus, Take me, for my Sonne will helpe to beare thy burden. Wee finde alſo in Ceſarius, another Image of the bleſſed Virgin, that in the behalfe of a Renegate that had denyed Chriſt, and humbled himſelfe before her, crauing pardon for his ſinne, ſpake thus vntounto her Sonne in her armes; Dulc…ſſime fili miſerere iſtius hominis: Sweet Sonne hauehave mercy of this w… which when he turning away his face denyed to doe, ſhe laide him vponupon the Altar, and caſt her ſelfe at his feet, ſaying, Ego te precor mi fili, vt propter amorem mei huic homini vel… ignoſcere, I pray thee O my Sonne, for the louelove of mee, to take pitty of this man. Then the Sonne lifting vp his Mother, ſaid, Nihil ego tibi poſſum denegare Mater mea, ecce ego omnia ei condono propter amorem tui. O my Mother, I can deny thee nothing, behold, I forgiue him all for thy ſake. The like examples we finde of the Image of the bleſſed Virgin ſpeaking to the Porter of a Church, concerning Alexius; Fac i… troire hominem Dei. Let the man of God enter in: and to Saint Bridget, in the Church of Saint Paul in Rome; and to Pope Celeſtine in the Church of Saint Mary the Empreſſe, with a number more. Now if theſe reports be true, as why may not the deuill that (according to their opinion) cauſed the dead body of Samuel to ſpeake, cauſe alſo a dead Image to doe the like? or if they be falſe and counte…feit, deuiſed by ſuperſtitious Prieſts; yet howſoeuer, they make a good argument againſt them, that the Pope is Antichriſt, who thus giueth life and ſpeech to dead Images. I omit that they conſtraine all their Diſciples to worſhip Images, and condemne and perſecute all them for Heretikes that refuſe this ſeruice. And albeit theſe Images cannot be ſaid to be portraitures of the Beaſt, to wit, the Romane State, for this was to erect an ougly Image with ſeuen heads and ten hornes; yet they may truly be called his Images, both becauſe they are made in fauour of him, and hee alſo poſſeſſeth and cauſeth them to be adored. As Laban Gen. 32. and Micah, Iud. 18. call the Images which Rahel and the Danites had ſtollen f om them, their Gods; becauſe they made, worſhipped, and poſſeſſed them.
3. Thus literally may this prophecy rightly bee applyed to the Pope: and as literally, ſo may it morally alſo. For as by the Beaſt is meant the Romane Empire, ſo the Image of that beaſt is nothing elſe but the repreſentation of that Empire, and this is notably verified in the Weſterne Empire erected by the Popes, firſt in France, and after in Germany. For as Im ges retaine the name, and a certaine outward ſimilitude of the prototype, but are vtterly void of the Nature and eſſence thereof: ſo theſe new Emperors of the Weſt, bore the name and title of the ancient Roman Emperors, and were adorned with Imperiall Ornaments and prerogatiues of honour, yet wanted the power and Maieſty of the ancient Empire, wherein its life conſiſted. For the ancient Emperors ruled ouer Rome, and the Prouinces ſubiect thereunto: but theſe neither hauehave dominion ouer Rome, nor ouer any ancient Prouince of the Empire: but are a bare title and name without the thing. Now the Pope hath giuen a ſpirit vntounto this Image, that is, an Imperiall dignity and ſpeech, that is, power to make Lawes and Decrees. So that ſeeing the Pope after the decay of the old Eaſterne Empire was the erection of this new in the Weſt, creating the firſt Emperor, and inſtituting a Colledge of Electors for the choiſe of new in their ſucceſſion, and confirming the choiſe by his authority; we may deſeruedly conclude, that he is the ſecond Beaſt, that is Antichriſt, which made an Image, and gaue life and ſpeech to the firſt Beaſt.
4. And ſo it is alſo morally fit and true: but if we take it in a myſticall ſenſe, then the Image of the Beaſt is the Papacy it ſelfe, eſpecially ſince it vſurped both the Spiritual and Temporall Monarchy of the world. For the ancient Emperors held an abſolute and vniuerſall power ouer the whole world; ſo doth the Pope challenge vntounto himſelfe the like power and authority ouer all Creatures, yea more then euer any Emperor did; ouer the Angels in heauen, Soules i… purgatory, and all men vponupon earth: in regard of which inpartite Dominion, they aſſume vntounto themſelues a Triple Crowne. Neither need it ſeeme ſtrange that the Papacy is made and animated by the Pope as the Image of the firſt Beaſt, ſeeing he claimeth and vſurpeth to himſelfe both the Swords, Spirituall, and Temporall, and is not onelyonly the Spirituall, but alſo the Temporall Lord of the world. In which regard, Apoc. 17. Antichriſt is ſaid to bee both the ſeuenth King, and the eight: in reſpect of his temporall power, the eight, and ſo the image of the ſixt, which was the Emperor: but the ſeuenth in reſpect of his Spirituall Monarchy, which giueth life vntounto the Temporall, and maketh it … ſpeake, and without the which, all his temporall power we… but a mute and brute Image. This truth, that the Papacy is the liuely Image of the Romane Empire, is confeſſed by the moſt part of the popiſh Rabbies themſelues. Steuchus i… his booke De donatione Conſtantini, ſaith, As all Nation once obeyed the Emperors, ſo now they doe the Biſhop of Rome. Blondus Rom. inſtanc. Lib. 3. nu. 86. calleth him … perpetuall Dictator, the ſucceſſor not of Caeſar, but of the fiſherman Peter, whom all the world adore and worſhip, Henry Bullinger paralelleth them thus:Bullinger us Apoc. 13. As many of the Emperors had fulneſſe of power, and were worſhipped as Gods, ſo is the Pope as an earthly God inueſted with plenitude of power.
5. But all this will more clearely appeare, if wee ſhall a little compare the pride, power, and behauiour of Popes, with that of ancient Emperors. And to begin with Auguſtus Caeſar: he beſides the Imperiall dignity, vſurped the ſoueraignity in religion, and was therefore ſtiled Pontifex Maximus: the ſame name vſurpeth the Pope, and not onelyonly ſo, but as Caligula proudly called himſelfe, Caeſar Optimus maximus: ſo he himſelfe, Pontifex optimus maximus, the proper epithe…es of the Diety. Domitian would thus bee ſtiled, Dominus & Deus noſter, Our Lord God; the ſame title is attributed to the Pope, Dominus Deus noſter Papa, Our Lord God the Pope. Cal…gula his voice to his Grandmother Antonia was this, Memento mihi omnia li ere, Remember that all things are lawfull vntounto me: and doth not the Pope challenge the ſame power? Whatſoeuer he liſteth is lawfull, though in it ſelfe neuer ſo vnlawfull; his reaſon ſtands for Law, and his Decrees all without examination are bound to obey. Nero vaunted that the whole world was his, and that it was in him to giuegive and take away Kingdomes. And doth not the Pope brag, that the world is his Dioceſſe, and that hee hath power ouer Nations, to plant or pull vp Kingdomes at his pleaſure? Caligula and Maximinus the yonger, cauſed their feet to be kiſſed of their Saluters, and to that purpoſe Diocleſian decked his ſhooes with Gold and Gems; the Pope in like pride or greater, cauſeth not onelyonly the common people, but euen Kings and Emperors to kiſſe his feete. Claudius pardoned inceſtuous marriages, and allowed the Vnckle to marry with his Neece: and the Pope likewiſe diſpenſeth with inceſtuous Contracts condemned by the Law of God and man. The Emperors aſcribed into the title and ſociety of Gods whom they liſted; as Adrian commanded Antinous his Ganimede to bee worſhipped as a God: And what doth the Pope elſe, when he taketh vponupon him power to canonize dead Saints, and to inſert them into the Calender to be adored, together with their Images and Relicks? Caligula bragged, that nothing was law and equity, but that which came out of his mouth: and doth not the Pope ſay as much, when he affirmeth that his Decrees are vnqueſtionable, and that all Lawes are ſealed vp in the cloſet of his breſt? Ʋeſpaſian in louelove of filthy lucre rayſed a tribute out of Ʋrine; and doth not the Pope the like out of the Stew…s? Nero, when he conferred an office vponupon any man commanded him to wring out of mens purſes, by the vertue of that office, all that they could to enrich his Coffers, ſaying Scis quid mihi opus ſit, hoc agamus nequis quicquam habeat. The ſame minde and maner poſſeſſeth the Pope, hee would hauehave no man rich but himſelfe, ſucking in like hell, the reuenues of the world into his bottomleſſe gulfe, from whence there is no redemption:Mat. Par…s in Henri… c. 3. whereupon Mathew Paris was bold thus to write, Romana Curia inſtar barathri poteſtatem habet & conſuetudinem omnium reditus abſorbendi. It was ordinary with the heathen Emperors, to ſell ciuill honours for money: and as ordinary to the Pope, to ſet to ſale the dignities of the Church. Simonia (ſaith the ſame Mathew Paris) perinde regnat in Romana Curia as ſi nullum peccatum eſſet. The Romane Emperors aſcended often to the Imperiall throne by murder and bloodſhed: and is not this the beaten path to the Papacy? Hildebrand (as teſtifieth Benno) poyſoned ſix or ſeuen Popes in order by the helpe of Brazutus his familiar friend, that hee might ſeate himſelfe in the Papall Chaire. Nero and Ʋespaſian cauſed thoſe whom they ſaw to grow rich, either to be condemned to death vponupon falſe crimes, or to be poyſoned, or by ſome other violent courſe to be taken out of the way, that they might enioy their wealth. And thus dealt Alexander the ſixt with many wealthy Prieſts and Cardinals, as witneſſeth Onuphrius. In fine, Caligula being offended with the Romanes, Onuphrius in Alexand. 6.wiſhed them altogether to hauehave but …ne necke, that at one blow he might diſpatch them: and Martin the ſecond being angry with the Germaines, wiſhed that al Germany was but one great poole, that they might all bee drowned at once. What ſhould I ſpeake of the abhominable inceſts, adulteries, Sodomitries, and filthy luxuries, wherein the Beaſt and his Image the Papacy, do anſwer each other? Do not the Chriſtian, or rather Antichriſtian, Ziſcuſſes, Intiuſſes, Iohns, Bonifaces, and Paules, imitate the Heathen Neroes, T…beriuſſes, Caligulaes, and Heliogabaluſſes, in all their foule vices? It would be tedious to proſecute all: theſe for inſtances may ſuffice, to teach vsus whither this image of the Beaſt is to be referred, and that the Pope is the great Antichriſt, in whom all the lineaments of the old Romane Empire are liuely drawne, and the very face thereof expreſſed in liuely colours.
6. For the clearing of this point, it is further to be obſerued, that S. Iohn ſaith, that the ſecond Beaſt ſhould exerciſe the power of the firſt in his preſence, and cauſe the earth and them that dwell therein, to worſhip the firſt Beaſt, whoſe deadly wound was healed, Apoc. 13.12. Which prophecy is ſo clearly accompliſhed in the Pope of Rome, that no man that hath but common reaſon can doubt thereof. For what is the power of the firſt Beaſt, but the Maieſty and Authority of the Romane Empire, reduced into the hands of the Romane Biſhop, with ſuch ſubtilty and craft, that the Emperou s were perſwaded by them, that they went about only to aduance their dignity, when in the meane while they wrought nothing but their deſtruction, leauing them a body without life, or rather a ſhadow in ſtead of a body? So that if we regard the thing it ſelfe, the Papacy and the Empire, is one and the ſame in effect. But if we conſider the outward faſhion and appearance, the Pope to blind mens eies, hath changed the name, and vnderunder pretence of his double power, vſurped a Soueraigne authority ouer the whole world. The power then of the firſt Beaſt, which Antichriſt ſhould exerciſe, is onelyonly this; that as the Romane Emperours challenged a Soueraignty ouer all the Prouinces and Kingdomes of the earth: So the Popes in like pride, vaunt of the like power ouer all Kingdomes to appertaine vntounto them: which how fitly it may be called the Image of the Beaſt, let all men iudge. For proofe of all this, let vsus heare one of their owne Aduocates, Auguſtinus Stenchus, in his booke de donat. Conſtantini. In one place whereof he ſaith, that the Maieſty of the Romane Empire, was reuiued in the Papacy, which though it was not attained to the ſame greatneſſe, yet it retained a certaine forme (or if you will image) thereof: and this he would deriue from the donation of Conſtantine, who (as he affirmeth) quitting Rome, gaue it and all the Weſt, to a greater Prince then himſelfe, the Pope. For the Emperour of holy things, is greater then the Emperour of earthly. And in another place, to ſhew that this ſecond Beaſt the Papacy, cauſed the firſt to be worſhipped and adored, he ſaith that by this donation of Conſtantine, the Empire was not impaired, but augmented and ennobled: for it reuiued the power and language thereof, which were quite both defaced, and gaue new life vntounto it, when it was well-neere dead: yea whereas before it was onelyonly a temporall dominion, now it inueſted it with both ſwords, and ſo the Papacy ſupported the Empire, which was ready to fall, and made it againe famous through the whole world. And as touching the deadly wound of the firſt Beaſt, which S. Iohn ſaith was healed: ſome are of opinion, that this Prophecy was then fulfilled, when as the line of the Caeſars was cut off by the death of Nero, and the Empire tranſlated to another ſtocke, which healed the wound thereof, and made the eſtate more flouriſhing, then euer it had bene before. But I thinke rather by it to be meant, the baniſhing of the Emperours out of the Weſt, which was the wound, and erecting a new Empire in ſtead thereof, which was as it were the healing of the wound: and all this brought to paſſe, by the power and meanes of the Pope, whoſe eſtate is the ſecond Beaſt, and beareth the image of the firſt.