Christs Victory over Satans Tyranny, To the reader
THE EPISTLE VNTOUNTO THE RBADER.
EVen as the Reuelation and other places of Scriptures (good Reader) do… foretell Antichrist to come, so this Historie declareth the fulfilling of those prophecies in all points: all the Martyrs died in this faith, that the Pope is Antichrist. I could bethink my selfe of no instruction so profitable for the reading of this Booke, as to giuegive thee a few rules to manifest vntounto thee that the Popedome is that Antichrist; which I will endeuor to declare vntounto thee by these rules following: first, by his outward place of abode; secondly, by his inward and spirituall throne; thirdly, by his doctrine; fourthly, by his conditions; fiftly, by the height, breadth, length and ruine of his Kingdome. I will but open the way vntounto thee, this Booke shall proue by experience my sayings to be true.
Touching his outward seate, Reuel. 17. 18. it is the Citie that then did raigne ouer the Kings of the earth, which was Rome: the place is also described in the ninth verse, to be compassed about with seuen mountaines. This Booke shall proue that Rome hath seuen mountaines about it. In the same verse, this Citie hath had fiue kings that were then falne, another King did raign, which was the Emperour, when the Reuelation was made, and another was to come afterward. This book shall teach thee, that the seuen Kings signifie seuen maner of Gouernments in Rome, of which fiue was falne, the Emperour then raigned, and after the Pope should raigne there: so the Holy Ghost hath pointed out Rome, as plainly as can be, the place of Antichrists Kingdome.
Touching his inward or spirituall seat, S. Paule 2. Thess. 2. 24. saith, He sitteth as God in the Temple of God: Antichrist signifieth an aduersary of Christ; and if it had bin meant of the Turke, or any other aduersary that did not professe Christianitie, he might easily be seene without so many reuelations: but hee is, according to the description of a false Prophet, Mat. 7. 15. a most grieuous Wolfe to Christs Lambs, and yet so couered with a sheeps skin, that it is impossible to know him without the spirit of God. Outwardly he seemeth to be a good tree, but his fruit is nothing but thornes and thistles to destroy Gods children. Matth. 24. 24. Christ calleth them false Christs and false Prophets, prophecying, that they shall do such wonders, that if it were possible they should deceiue the elect; so thou seest the Antichrist which is prophecied of must be a professor of Christ, as the Pope is, which calleth himselfe the Catholique Church, but he is the onelyonly aduersary thereof, as this book will teach thee by experience.
Touching the third point, to know him by his doctrines, 1. Tim. 4. 1: They shall depart from the faith, and follow doctrines of diuels, and speake lies through hypocrisie: they shall hauehave their consciences seared with an hote iron forbidding to marrie and commaunding to abstain from meats: and they teach the same superstitious doctrins that S. Paule warneth vsus from Coloss. 2. 16. Let no man condemne you in meat and drinke, or in respect of an holy-day, or a new Moone, nor Sabboths, nor make you forsake Christ the head in worshipping Angels, neither let them burden you with traditions, as touch not, tast not, handle not, which things hauehave a shew of wisedome, in that the professors be voluntary religious, and humble their mindes, and spare not their bodies, nor hauehave their bodies in any estimation, but all is nothing but to fulfill a fleshly religion: and Iude in his twelfth verse compareth them to clouds which in a drieth seem to bring raine but doe not: for, though they make great promises of feeding of soules, yet there is no true hope of remission of sins, nor assurance of eternall happinesse in their doctrines. And in 2. Pet. 2. 17. he calleth them Wells, not with a little water, but quite without water: for although by name they professe the Trinity, yet their doctrins of eueryevery person of the Trinitie, and of al other points of religion, are contrary to wholsome doctrine, they maintaine their doctrines, though falsely, vnderunder the names of the Scriptures, the Catholique Church, and the auncient fathers▪ this is the golden cup that the Church of Antichrist holdeth in her hand, Reuel. 17. 4. but it is full of abominations and filthines of her fornications: so if thou marke this booke, it is easie to know Antichrist by the falsenesse and wickednesse of all his doctrines, yet coloured ouer with glorious shewes of truth and wholsomnesse, yea, although thou haddest no other meanes to discerne him by.
Touching the fourth point of the conditions of Antichrist, Iude in the eleuenth verse, saith, They follow the way of Caine: all the persecutions of Gods children before times were but types and prophecies of the Papists in killing their brethren, as Caine did, because they please God better then they. The abominable desolations of Nabuchadnezzar, and of Titus and Vespasian of the materiall Temples were but prophecies of the Papists abominable desolations of Gods Saints. For this cause Antichrist is called in the Reuelation a great redde Dragon, a Serpent, and a cruell Beast. S. Iohn Reuel. 17. 6. foresaw the Church of Antichrist, drunken with the bloud of the Saints and Martyrs of Iesus Christ. And although he had seen all the persecutions that were before or in his time, yet he wondred at the bloud that he foresaw that the Papists should shed with a great maruaile.
Iude in his 12. verse saith, They are cast away in the deceit of Baalams wages: for as Baalam, though he knew the Israelites to bee the blessed of God, yet he would hauehave cursed them for lucre sake if God would hauehave suffered him, so the Papists maintaine doctrines which they know to be false, and commit all their murders of Gods children, only to maintaine their Kitchin pleasures, honour, glorie, riches, and other worldly respects, as it shall plainly appear vntounto thee in this Booke.
In 2. Pet. 2. 14. Their eyes are full of adultery, and they cannot cease to sinne, beguiling vnstable soules. This Booke will shew thee how inspeakeably wicked they are, according to this prophecie: they are spiritually called Sodom, because in that case they exceede in wickednesse the Sodomites. These and many other wicked conditions of theirs, are plentifully prophecied of in the Scriptures; and thou shalt see the true performances of the prophecies in this book, wch wicked conditions shall plainly shew the Pope to be Antichrist.
Touching the height of Antichrists Kingdome, Reuel. 17. 3. the Church of Antichrist is said to sit vponupon a skarlet coloured beast, ful of names of blasphemy, which is the Pope, who is a bloudy beast to Gods children, & takes all Gods names blasphemously to himself: and vers. 4. he & his Church are arrayed with purple & skarlet, and deckt with gold, precious stones & pearls; and how gloriously the Pope and his Church hath bin set forth, & how rich they hauehave bin, according to this prophecy, this book wil shew thee. In 2. Thess. 2. 14 He sitteth as God in the Temple of God, and exalteth himself aboue all that is called God. C. Caesar Caligula the Emperor, which vsed to sit in the Temples of the Idols, to be honored as God, & caused his picture to be set vp to be worshipt in all Temples, and in the Temple of Ierusalem, yet was he not such an abominable Idol as the Pope maketh himselfe to be: he is the Gaoler of Purgatory, and thither comes (as he saith) all the soules of Christians, except som few, to whom for building some religious houses, and for being otherwise a speciall maintainer of his kingdome: hee giueth a speciall prerogatiue, immediatly to go to heauen: these soules his prisoners hee punisheth how, and as long as he list, and at his pleasure he throweth any of them into hell, or sendeth any of them into heauen. Of the reuenues of this Gaole hath all the Popes riches, honour, & superioritie aboue Emperors, and Kings proceeded: he hath taken from Christ the honor of pardoning sins to himselfe: God made man of clay, but the Pope and all his shauelings can daily make God of a piece of bread. In these, and many other respects (as this booke will teach thee) doth the Pope exalt himself as God, according to this prophecie; and he exalts himselfe aboue all kings, which are called Gods, and at his pleasure with excommunications can cast them out of heauen and out of their kingdoms, as himselfe saith: he hath trode vponupon Emperours, & made them kisse his feet, hold his stirrups, and leade his horse. He made the Emperor Hen. 4. his wife and his child to wait three daies and three nights bare-foot in winter at his gates, to sue to him for his fauor, and gaue away his Empire in the meane time. This prophecie of Antichrists exaltation aboue Princes, is verified in none but the Pope.
Touching the breadth of his kingdom, it is not said he shall exalt himselfe aboue one or two, but aboue all that are called God, wch are all Christian rulers, spiritual & temporal, to whom God vouchsafeth this name, because hee ruleth and instructeth by them, and dwelleth in them, if they be good: this declareth the large limits of his kingdome. And as he is said heere to exalt himselfe aboue all Kings, so Reu. 17. 3. he is said to hauehave ten horns; and in ver. 12. they are interpreted to be ten Kings, which shal giuegive their power and authority vntounto the beast, that is to say, the beastly Pope, and fight with the Lambe, that is, they shal be the Popes Butchers to destroy Gods children; and as the prophecies foretell such an Antichrist as shall raigne ouer all Christian Princes, so this storie shall shew thee the true fulfilling of this prophesie in the Pope.
Touching the length of his Kingdome, it is prophecied Antichrist shall raigne three yeares and a halfe; and in Reuel. 12. three times and a halfe: these times and these yeares are all one; so is the fortie two moneths, Reuel. 13. 5. for there be so many moneths in three years and a halfe: the same likewise is the 1260. dayes in Reuel. 12. 6. for there be iust so many daies in three yeares & a halfe, at 360. daies to the yeare, which was the number of the dayes of the Iewes yeare. And it is common with the prophets to set downe a day for a year; so by these prophecies Antichrist must raign 1260. yeares, which is iust so many yeares as Christ preached daies: and Gregory the first sheweth that Antichrist began when one Bishop exalted himselfe aboue all others. And though there were manie Popes before him which did exalt themselues aboue all other Bishops, yet he would not but hauehave himself called, Seruus seruorū Dei.
Wherefore Sabinianus which succeeded him in the popedom, was a malitious detractor of his works, as thou maist see in this book. Antichrist was not at his height vntill Hildebrand had gotten aboue the Emperor, for then he was aboue all that was called God; yet Antichrist began when the Bishop of Rome, being the least of all the foure Patriarchs, exalted himselfe aboue all other Bishops, which was about the yeare of Christ 400. for then began pride and superstition to creep into the Church, and Anno 666. according to the number of the name of the beast in Reu. 13. 18. Latin seruice was set vp in England and all other places, and mass…s, ceremonies, letanies, and other Romish ware, which was long before Hildebrands time. And if we account the aforesaid 1260. yeares of Antichrists raigne from thence, there remaineth but about 46. yeares to come, vntil God shal call together the kings of the earth to destroy Rome.
Touching the fall of his kingdom, Mat. 24. 22. If God should not shorten his kingdom, none of Gods children could be saued from his cruelty: but for the elects sake, Reu. 11. 13. God first destroyed the tenth part of his Kingdom: thou mayest note in this book when this prophecie was fulfilled; and Reu. 8. at the blowing of the foure first Trumpets, the third part of all his kingdom is destroyed: which prophecie we see fulfilled at this day, for the third part of his kingdom are wholly become Protestants, yet Reuel. 11. 22. the Church of Antichrist is not heerewith moued to repent of her murders, sorceries, fornications, and thefts, but Reu. 18. 7. glorieth her selfe that she is a Queene, and shall be no widdow, that is, shee shall neuer lose her Spouse the Pope, therfore shall her plagues come at one day, death, sorrow, and famine, and shee shall be burned with fire, for strong is the Lord God which will condemne her. The meanes of her destruction is set forth, Reu. 17. 16▪ the ten kingdomes that first tooke her part against Gods children shall hate the whore, and make her desolate and naked, and eate her flesh and burne her with fire, for God doth put into their hearts to fulfill his will. The manner of the destruction of Rome and the Popedome, is declared Reu. 19. 17. as fowles gather together to a dead carkasse, so God shall gather all Nations together to warre against Rome, and shall take her and the Pope, the false Prophet that worketh miracles, wherby he deceiued all that receiued his marke, and worshipped his Image: and they shall not only be destroyed in this world, but they shall bee cast aliue into a lake burning with fire and brimstone, to wit, into eternall damnation: and Reu. 18. 20. the Angells and all Gods children are exhorted to reioyce at her destruction, and vers. 21. Rome shall be destroyed with such violence as a Mill-stone falleth into the Sea, and there shall neuer any more Mill grinde any light corne, or anie be married in Rome, but it shall euer after be a desolate wildernesse, as Babylon was. They that cannot behold Antichrist in this Glasse, 2. Cor. 4. 3. it is a signe the Diuell, the God of this world, hath blinded their eyes: but as Salomon when hee dedicated the Temple, prayed God to heare eueryevery one that prayed therein, so I beseech God with his holy spirit to illuminate all that shall reade this book, that they may plainly see the pope to be Antichrist, and to flie from him lest they be partakers of his punishment in this world, and in the world to come.