A Revelation of the Apocalypse, Chapter 17 · Commentary · Refutation · Chapter 14
Chapt. 14. Of Antichrists doctrine.
THE doctrine of Antichriſt, we togither with the holy Ghoſt, doe teach from the ſcriptures, to be ful of hypocriſie, fraud, trecherie, which may deceiv even the moſt prudent, whom the Spirit inlightneth not with his truth. For one had need of ſingular prudēcy to know this Beaſt, which hath two horns like the Lamb, and is a falſe Prophet ſeducing the earth. Contrariweiſe the Papiſts wil have this ſame doctrine to be ſo openlie impious and blaſphemous, that none is ſo blockish, but he may perceive it forthwith, and deteſt it.
Which that you Bellarmine may make playn, you reduce this all unto four heads. Firſt that he ſhal deny Jeſus to be the Chriſt, and therupon ſhal oppugn al our Saviours ordinances, as Baptiſm, Confirmation &c. and ſhal teach that Circū ciſion, the Sabbath, and other ceremonies of the old law, ar not yet ceaſed. Secondly, he ſhal affirme himſelfe to be the true Chriſt, promiſed in the Law and Prophets. Thirdly he ſhal affirme himſelfe to be God, and wil be honoured as God. Laſtly he ſhal ſay that himſelfe is the onelyonly God, and ſhal oppugn al other Gods, that is, both the true God, and alſo falſe Gods and Idols. And from hence you take four arguments, that the Pope is not Antichriſt; becauſe he denyeth not Ieſus to be the Chriſt, neither bringeth he in Circumciſion; or the Sabbath: neither dooth he make himſelfe Chriſt, nor God, and leaſt of al the onelyonly God: but honoureth even Images and dead Saincts. Which what force they have for this thing, we shal afterwards ſee in the confirmation which you bring. The firſt point therfor you confirm by this, that Antichriſt by nation and religion ſhalbe a Jew, & be received of the Iewes for the Meſſias: wherupon he shal openly oppugn our Chriſt. I anſwer, this foolish opinion of Antichriſts ſtock, we have ſufficiently refuted before, chap. 12. and 13. for he shal ſit in the temple of God, and not in Ieruſalems Temple, (which Chriſt foretold should be demolished, and never built again,) but in Chriſtian aſſemblies, as is declared at large: and therfore that he shal not be by religion a Iew, neither shal reſtore the ceremonies of the old Law, which were tyed to the Temple, and had no place out of it. And how dooth it agree that Antichriſt the general plague of the whole earth, should be ſent into the world for the ſyn of one natiō of the Iewes in not receiving the truth, as ye would have it? Surely it were meet that he which should come for the wickednes of one natiō, should be reſtreyned within the limits of that one nation: but ther is no need of new arguments for this matter.
Secondly, you ſay, it is proved from 1 John 2.22. Who is a lyar, but he that denyeth Ieſus to be the Chriſt? From whence you gather, that Antichriſt ſhall ſurpaſſe al Heretiks, and therfore he shal deny Chriſt al manner of wayes: which is confirmed, you ſay, becauſe by Heretiks, the Divil is ſaid to work the Myſterie of iniquitie: becauſe they privilie doo deny Chriſt. But Antichriſts coming is caled a Revelation, becauſe he ſhal openly deny Chriſt. I anſwer, as touching that of Iohn, I have shewed before, that this denyal which he ſpeaketh of, is not open, but ſecret and trecherous; to weet, by men named Chriſtians, which had privily crept in, and of whom the faithfull had need to be warned, being otherweiſe in danger to be ſurpriſed by them unwares. And though Antichriſt ſurpaſſe al Heretiks, yet is it not therfore neceſſarie that he should deal more openly than the reſt; ſeing the cheif reward of wickednes is not to be given to the outward work, but to the power of doing hurt. For otherweiſe men should ſurmount the Divil himſelfe; who are ſo foolish in reſpect of him, as they doo that in the light, which he dooth moſt covertly. Moreover Antichriſts coming is a Revelation, but to the elect onelyonly: the others which beleev not the truth, he shal beguile by his crafty shewes, 2 Theſ. 2.11.12. The Angel requireth no common wiſdome to know the Beaſt, and the whores name is myſtical, as before wee have been taught.
Thirdly you prove it by the ſentences of certain Fathers: but no equal judge wil not confeſſe, that they are rather to be heard anie where ells, than in the matter of Antichriſt. Our Lord should conſume him with the Spirit of his mouth, and by his bright coming: wherupon the neerer the Lord should approch, the more was this man of ſyn to be diſcovered. I proceed therfore ūto the ceaſing of publik offices and divine ſacrifices (as you ſpeak,) which you ſay ſhalbe in Antichriſts time, for vehemencie of the perſecution, and that therfore he ſhal not deprave Chriſts doctrine, under the name of Chriſtianiſme, but openly shal oppugn Chriſts name and Sacraments, and bring in Jewish ceremonies, as you have shewed in chap. 7. I anſwer, at the ſame chapter I have proved that all theſe are moſt falſe: and that you hav not brought forth any thing, which hath ſo much as any likelihood of truth. And therfore that no other ceaſing of publik religion is to be looked for, thā ſuch as hath been theſe manie ages, to weet from Conſtantine the Great, unto this day: in al which time Antichriſt hath reigned. Whiles the woman lived in the wildernes, and the Saincts lay hid in the temple, ther was in deed a lamētable fewnes of true worshipers: and ſo great darknes and obſcuritie poſſeſſed al things, more ſtore of ſmoke burſting forth daily out of the bottōleſſ pit, that the truth commōly could not be ſeen. Yet in the mean time Antichriſt dominered in the holy citie, and in the utmoſt court: wherupon by counterfeit religion he deceived egregiouſly, whiles al mē almoſt thought, becauſe of his neernes unto the Temple, that he did ſit in the true Temple.
The ſecond chief point of doctrine, you ſay, is, that he shal openly and by name cal himſelfe the Chriſt, not his Miniſter and Vicar: as appeareth by thoſe words of our Lord, Jf an other shal come in his own name, him ye wil receive. And thoſe words in his owne name, you wittily warne to have been purpoſely added againſt the Lutherans and Calviniſts, which would ſay that Antichriſt should not come in his owne name, but in the name of our Chriſt, as if he were his Vicar. I anſwer, you underſtand Chriſts words verie perverſely. For name in this place, is not an appellation as you would have it, but a miſſion and authoritie as we hav shewed in the 2. chapter touching Antichriſts ſingular perſon. By which it may appear, that his own name, and the Vicar of Chriſt, doo not ſo contrary one an other, but the Bishop of Rome may boaſt himſelfe to be this vicar, and doo it alſo in his own name, to weet his own authoritie, having no ſuch right given him of God. Moreover if name be an appellation, & Antichriſt shal come in his own name, and his appellation properly is not Chriſt: how, I pray you, dooth he openly & by name cal himſelfe Chriſt? See you not, that you ſpeak contraries? Can any come in his own name, & openly cal himſelfe an other, whoſe name he beareth not? Beſides, wee have often anſwered, that this place perteins nothing to Antichriſt properly ſo caled, but to thoſe whom the Iewes should ſubmitt themſelves unto: who what manner of perſons ſo ever they were, they doo not in al points expreſſe the great Antichriſt.
The third chief point of doctrine is, that he shal affirme himſelf to be God. and wil be worshiped for God, as it is written, ſo that he ſitteth in the Temple of God shewing himſelf as if he were God, 2. Theſ. 2.4. not onelyonly, ſay you, by uſurping ſome of Gods authoritie, but the very name of God. And here becauſe your vulgar authentik Latin text, is too weak to defend the Pope, you flee to the Greek, not foreign as God, ſay you, but foreign, that he is God. The Argument is this, Antichriſt shal in words acknowledge himſelfe to be God; the Pope of Rome dooth not acknowledge himſelfe to be God: therfore he is not Antichriſt. Let Oecumenius make anſwer to the propoſition, who thus interpreteth that word of the Apoſtle foreign, he ſaith not ſaying but shewing, that is, by works, ſignes, and miracles endevouring to shew that he is God. According to his interpretation therfore, a manifeſt publishing is not neceſſarie. Yea let the Holy Ghoſt expound himſelfe, who by a like manner of ſpeech in Ezek. 28.2. teacheth how this is to be taken. Thus he ſaith of the King of Tyrus, Becauſe thy hart is lifted up, ſo that thou ſayeſt, J am God. No man I trow, requireth that this Tyriā should pronoūce the ſelf ſame verie words. Falſe therfore it is, that Antichriſt should in word profeſſe himſelfe to be God. Notwithſtanding becauſe your Pope had liefer abound with tokēs, than barely and ſlenderly to be furnished with ſuch as are neceſſarie onelyonly: we forgive you the propoſition, and pray you to think with your ſelfe, whither the verie thing proclaimeth not quite cōtrarie to that which you deny in the aſſumption. For what, I pray you, did P. Sixtus acknowledg himſelfe and the other Popes of Rome to be, when he ſaid; Whoſoever accuſeth the Pope, it shal never be forgiven him: becauſe he that ſinneth againſt the holy Ghoſt, it shal not be forgiven him neither in this life, nor in that which is to come. Concil. Tom. 1. in Purgat. Sixti. What did Boniface the 8 when he ſaid, We declare, define, and pronounce that it is abſolutely neceſſarie to ſalvation, for everie creature to be ſubiect to the Bishop of Rome. Extrav. de Major. & Obed. unam ſanctam. I forbear to cite more witneſſes; I appeal to your ſelfe; why doo you diſſemble? Doo not ſuch ſpeeches often ſound in your ears? But ſay you, he dooth not acknowledge himſelfe God, becauſe he acknowledgeth himſelf his ſervant. I am ashamed of your proofs; as if out of the ſame mouth ther could not come bleſsing and curſing, horrible blaſphemie, and counterfeit obedience. You know that in words, he is ſometime ſervant of ſervāts: but again when he liſt, he is King of Kings,
The fourth point is, that he ſhal extol himſelf above al that is caled God, or that is worshipped, 2 Theſ. 2.4. that is. ſay you, he ſhal not ſuffer anie God, neither true nor falſe, nor anie Jdols. To this argument we have anſwered in part before, in handling Antichriſts name; wher we shewed that the Apoſtle meaneth not the heavenly God, but the earthly, that is, the civil Magiſtrates, which are venerable: as alſo that in Daniel 11.37. And he shal not eſteeme the God of his Fathers, nor care for anie God, becauſe he ſhall riſe up againſt all. Ierom interpreteth this ſacrilegious pride, to be a kind of immoderate power over al religion; for thus he ſaith: And Antichriſt ſhal warre againſt the Saincts, and overcome them, and shal be pufft up with ſo great pride, as he shall attempt to change Gods lawes and ceremonies, ſubiecting al religion to his owne power, Com. in Dan. cap. 7. In which words he finely painteth out Antichriſt & the Pope of Rome, although he was farr from this your comment. For, ſhal a falſe Prophet lift up himſelf above everie God? A Prophet is always the Prophet of ſome God: needs therfore muſt he profeſſe himſelf ſubiect to ſome God, whom the Scriptures note out by the name of a Falſe Prophet. Again, when he shal ſit in the temple of God: whither shal this be in the tēple of an other God, or in his own? If of an other, then he acknowledgeth a ſuperiour: but if in his owne, then the Apoſtle ſpeaks unproperly, and should not have ſaid, ſo that he ſitteth in the tēple of God as God; but rather, ſo that he ſitteth in his owne temple as God. But by this mā ner of ſpeaking, what fruit had redounded to the Saincts? For what manner of ſign had this been of this Monſter; when it was no where known what manner of Temple he should have, or where? But thus ar they wōt to erre from the right, which reverence their luſts for truth.
As touching the Idols, which you ſay Antichriſt shal deſpiſe, hereby perhaps you might shew that the Pope is worſe than Antichriſt; but it is alſo falſe, that Antichriſt shal deſpiſe Idols. Whoredome in the Scriptures is Jdolatrie: and the Citie of Rome the ſeat of Antichriſt, is that Queen Iezabel, the chief whore, the great Babylon, the mother of al the whordoms and abominations of the earth. Shal Idolatrie have dominion in his throne, and yet himſelfe not be an Idolater? By whoſe authoritie dooth the whore worship Idols, but by his on whoſe shoulders she ſitteth, and by the maieſtie of whoſe name she is ſuſteyned? Shal not Achab folow the Gods of his Iezabel? They which are killed by the four Angels looſed at Euphrates, doo ſuffer thoſe evils becauſe of Idolatrie, Apoc. 9.20.21. But the Angel of the bottomleſſe pit, King Abaddon with his ſubiects ſuffreth that ſlaughter by the Euphratean Angels, whom he hath faſt behind him, Apoc 9.11.12. &c. And therfore the Angel of the bottomleſſe pit, is an Idolater, who is al one with this Beaſt, as Apoc. 11.7. & 17.8. But moſt plainlie, wher Antichriſt biddeth an Jmage to be made, and compelleth al the inhabitans of the earth to worship it, Apoc. 13.14.15. Doo you think this mā wilbe a breaker down of Images? You are ſo farr from defending your Pope by this argument, as this is one of the chiefeſt ſignes, that he is the verie Antichriſt. Theſe therfore be trifles and guegawes, even as the other things which you have diſputed of Antichriſt. If you would have more certainty of his doctrine, remember the things which wee have often mentioned out of this Apocalypſe. Here firſt you shall ſee, that Antichriſt is Balaam, and his ſeat Jezabel. chap. 2.14.20. And he, how crafty a knave was he? She, how Idolatrous a whore, and Propheteſſe; not defacing al religious worship, but onelyonly promoting and ſtablishing falſe worship? Then, you may perceive that the Gentils occupying the utter court and holy city, (while the Saincts in the meane time lye hidd in the temple,) are Antichriſt himſelfe and his ſubiects; chap. 11 1.2. And therfore that Antichriſt is moſt neerly joynd in outward shew, to Chriſt: ſo as by his neernes he shal deceiv many. Beſides, the great Antichriſt hath two horns lik the Lambe, chap. 13.11. Wherfore he shal not everie way be contrarie, but shal put on his Image, & ſit as his Vicar: wheras he would reioice doubtleſſe to be moſt unlike him, if he should shew manifeſt hoſtilitie. Finally, ſeing he is alſo a falſe Prophet, he wil not boaſt himſelf to be the onelyonly God but shal doo more harm by lying, than by force; and not shew himſelf to be ſuch as in deed he is. Theſe few things (to keep me within the limits of the Apocalypſe,) may teach you the true nature of Antichriſt; unleſſe you have leifer willingly to be ignorant, that you may the more confidentlie ſerve him.