Answer to Book by Romish Priests, Doctrine 13
XIII. That Antichriſt ſhall not be a particular Man; and that the Pope is Antichriſt.
Anſwer.
THIS Propoſition hath two Parts; neither of which are the ſetled Doctrine of our Church, or of any other Proteſtants; but the Common Opinion of all, ſome few excepted. Eſpecially the firſt Part, That Antichriſt ſhall not be a particular Man, but a Succeſſion of Men; which may be evidently proved from the Confeſſion of the ableſt Men in the Roman Church. For it is the Opinion of almoſt all their Interpreters, that the laſt Head mentioned by St. John. XVII Rev. 11. and called after a ſignal manner by the Name of THE BEAST, is no other than Antichriſt. Now all the forgoing Heads do not ſignify ſo many ſingle Perſons only; but all Expoſitors, ſaith their Ribera *In XVII. Revel., have underſtood that in every one of thoſe Heads, there are a great many comprehended. And never hath any man, but Victorinus taken them only for Seven ſingle Perſons, whoſe Opinion ALL do deſervedly gainſay. To the very ſame purpoſe, alſo Alcaſar, another famous Roman Expoſitor, writes upon the ſame place. And let this man, or any one elſe tell me, if they can, why the laſt Head, i. e. Antichriſt, as he is commonly called, ſhould not comprehend a Succeſſion of ſingle Perſons of the ſame ſort, as it is is manifeſt the Beaſts in Daniel ſignify. The Ram, for inſtance doth not ſignify Darius only, but the Ruling Power of Perſia, during that Kingdom. And the He-goat, not Alexander alone, but him and his Succeſſors, VIII. Daniel 4, 5.
Now from this ground, it may be plainly proved, (which is the Second thing) that the Ruling Power at this time in the Roman Church is The Beaſt, that is, Antichriſt. For the Beaſt and Babylon are all one in this Viſion; and by Babylon is certainly meant Rome (as their great Cardinal Bellarmine and Baronius, the beſt of their Authors, not only confeſs but contend). And not Rome Pagan, but Rome Chriſtian, becauſe ſhe is called the Great Whore, XVII. Rev. 1. which always ſignifies, a People apoſtatized from true Religion to Idolatry; and becauſe it is the ſame Babylon, which St. John ſaith, muſt be burnt with fire, Ver. 16. XVIII. 18. From whence Malvenda, another of their Authors, confeſſes it probable, that Rome Chriſtian will be an Idolatrous Harlot, in the time of Antichriſt; becauſe it is to be laid deſolate, it is manifeſt, for ſome Crime againſt the Church of Chriſt.
Now that this Antichriſtian Power ruling in that Church, is not to be adjourned to the end of the World, as they would fain have it, but is at this preſent; appears from hence, that the Sixth HEAD being that Power which reigned when St. John ſaw this Viſion (XVII. Rev. 10.) there was but one Ruling Power more, and that to continue but a ſhort ſpace, to come between the end of the Sixth HEAD, and this laſt HEAD or Power, called in an eminent ſenſe, THE BEAST, v. 11. Now that Imperial Power which reigned at Rome in time of St. John, it is evident ended at the fall of the Weſtern Empire with Auguſtulus; when another ſetled Authority was received by the City of Rome it ſelf, inſtead of that former Imperial Government. Which new Authority laſting but a ſhort ſpace, as the Viſion tells us, it is plain, THE BEAST, that is, Antichriſt, is long ago in the Throne of the Roman Church. Let this Man, and all his Friends, try if they can anſwer this Argument, and ſee how they will free the Papacy, from being that Antichriſtian Power, which St. John foretold ſhould ariſe, and make it ſelf drunk with the Blood of the Saints. I am ſure this is a ſtronger and clearer Explication of that Scripture, than any he hath attempted.
And now let us examine whether there be any thing in our Bible contrary to this. The firſt place he produces, 2 Theſſ. II. 3,2 Theſſ. II. 3. &c. moſt evidently overthrows both parts of his Propoſition; as I ſhall demonſtrate. For the Man of Sin, and the Son of Perdition, v. 3. is no more to be reſtrained to a ſingle Perſon, than he who now letteth, v. 7. is to be reſtrained to a ſingle Emperor. Now St. Chryſoſtome in plain terms ſaith, that the Apoſtle by the foreign, v. 5. that which withholdeth this Man of Sin from appearing, was the Roman Empire: And the foreign, v. 7, he who now letteth, the very ſame Roman Power, that is the Roman Emperors; not one particular Emperor, but the whole Succeſſion of them, who as long as they laſted would keep back the Man of Sin. And this is not only his Senſe (in his Comment upon the place) but the general Senſe of the Ancient Fathers (Tertullian, Lactantius, Cyril of Jeruſalem, St. Ambroſe, St. Hierom, and St. Auſtin, and a great number of School-men in the Roman Church) that upon the fall of the Roman Empire, Antichriſt ſhall come. Which may ſatisfy any unprejudiced Man, both that Antichriſt is come, and that he is not a particular Man, but a Succeſſion of Men, who altogether make up one Perſon, called the Man of Sin, who can be none elſe but the Papacy. For what particular Man is there, to whom this can be applied, after the fall of the Empire?
His next place of Scripture, as he quotes it, is neither out of our Bible,XIII. Rev 18. nor out of theirs (ſo little is his honeſty). For thus the words run in both, Let him that hath underſtanding count the number (not of a Man, as he falſly tranſlates it, but) of the Beaſt, for it is the number of a Man. Now I have proved the Beaſt doth not ſignify a particular Man; and therefore this Number, whatſoever it is, ought not to be ſought only in one Man's name. Which is not the meaning of the Number of a Man, as this Man would have it; but ſignifies, as a better Interpreter than he (viz. Arethas out of Andreas Caeſarienſis) A number, or counting, uſual and well known to Men. And if we will believe Irenaeus, (who in all probability was not the Inventor of it, but had it from the foregoing Doctors of the Church) it is to be found in the word foreign, i. e.L. V. cap. 30. Latin, for ſaith he, They are Latins who now Reign; but we will not Glory in this. For it being the Common Opinion of the Church, the Latin, i. e. Roman Empire was that which hindred the appearance of Antichriſt; Irenaeus might thence conclude, that Antichriſt ſhould reign in the Seat of that Latine Empire, when it was faln. And Antichriſt not being, as I have proved, a particular Man, this Number muſt be common unto all that make up that Antichriſtian Rule in the Roman Church. In which the Popes are all Latins; and they are diſtinguiſhed from the Greeks by the Name of the Latin Church, and they have their Service ſtill in the Latin Tongue; as if they affected to make good this Obſervation, that in them is found this number of the Beaſt. But I lay no great weight upon this Opinion of Irenaeus, tho it will be very hard for them to confute it.
1 John II. 22.As to the 1 John II. 22. we do not ſay the Pope is the Antichriſt there meant; and yet for all that, he may be the Great Antichriſt. For it is to be obſerved, That St. John ſaith there, v. 18. that there were many Antichriſts in his time; and this Antichriſt who denied Jeſus Chriſt to be come in the Fleſh, or that Jeſus was the Chriſt, was one of them; yet not a ſingle Perſon, but a Body of Men; there being ſeveral Sects of them, under Simon Magus, Cerinthus, and the reſt who belonged to this Antichriſt. All which Hereticks their own Church acknowledges, were the foreruners of the Great Antichriſt, whom we are ſeeking after, and can find no where but in the Papacy.
From hence he runs back again to the 2 Theſſ. II. 4. where thoſe very Characters,2 Theſſ. II. 4, &c. which he ſaith do not agree to the Pope, are thoſe whereby we are led to take him for the Man of Sin. He being manifeſtly, foreign. That wicked One; we tranſlate it, who will be ſubject to no Laws; and ſits in, or upon the Temple of God, that is, the Chriſtian Church; where he exalts himſelf over all that is called God, that is, all Power on Earth; whom he makes ſubject to his decrees, which he would have received as the Oracles of God, and that by a blind Obedience againſt Mens reaſon; which is more than God himſelf requires of us. The Original of his Greatneſs was out of the Ruins of the Roman Empire. His coming was with lying Wonders; and (whatſoever this Man fancies) our Lord Jeſus Chriſt, tho not yet come, will come and certainly deſtroy him: When the kingdoms of the world ſhall become the Kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Chriſt, and he ſhall reign for ever, XI. Rev. 15.
The laſt place upon which he adventures to diſcourſe, is V. John 43.V. John 43. where we have only his word for it, that when our Saviour ſaith, If another ſhall come in his own Name, he means, eſpecially the wicked Antichriſt. Why him eſpecially? Or him at all? And not rather any one, who ſhould pretend to be the Chriſt? As ſeveral did (according to our Saviours Prediction, XXIV. Matth. 5.) ſuch as Theudas, Barchozba, mentioned by Joſephus, and another of the ſame Name in the time of the Emperor Adrian. And indeed there are ſuch clear Demonſtrations (which I have not room to mention) that this word another ought not to be reſtrained to one Single Perſon (ſuch as they make the Great Antichriſt) but ſignifies any body indifferently, who pretended to be the Chriſt; that we may well conclude thoſe to be blinded, who make Chriſt have reſpect to the Great Antichriſt, and from thence conclude the Pope not to be that Antichriſt, becauſe the Jews do not follow him. Alas! they ſee as little concerning Antichriſt, as the Jews do of Chriſt (as was truly obſerved by an Eminent Divine of our own long ago). For as the Jews ſtill expect the Meſſiah, who is already come, and was Crucified by their Fore-fathers; ſo they of the Roman Church look for an Antichriſt, who hath been a long time revealed, and is reverenced by them as a God upon Earth. Thus Dr. Jackſon *Book III. On the Creed, Ch. 8., who ventures to ſay further, That he who will not acknowledge the Papacy to be the Kingdom of Antichriſt, hath great reaſon to ſuſpect his heart, that if he had lived with our Saviour, he would ſcarce have taken him for his Meſſias *Ib. Chap. XXII. p. 452..
They that have a mind to ſee more of this Man's folly, may look into the other Scriptures, he barely mentions, where they will ſoon diſcover, how much they make againſt him.
What the Fathers ſay about this matter, I have already acquainted the Reader; which is ſo poſitive and unanimous, that it is ſufficient to overthrow what ſome of them ſay conjecturally. Particularly, upon the place laſt mentioned, V. John 43. concerning which they ſpeak with no certainty, as they do of the riſe of Antichriſt after the Roman Empire was removed out of the way, which gave the greateſt advantage to the Biſhop of Rome to advance himſelf unto that unlimited Power, which he hath uſurped over the Church of God. In ſhort, this Man hath ſtoln all his Authorities about this matter, out of Feuardentius's Notes upon Irenaeus *Lib. V. C. 25., where he makes this alius, another, to be Antichriſt; becauſe he is alienus à Domino; an alien from the Lord; which is not the right Character of Antichriſt, whom St. Paul makes to be no leſs than foreign, an Adverſary, who oppoſeth our bleſſed Saviour. And to ſhew that this is a meer Accommodation, he adds in the next words, that he is the unjuſt Judge, whom Chriſt ſpeaks of, that feared not God, nor regarded Man. It any one can think the Fathers intended to expound the Scripture, and to give us the expreſs ſenſe of it in ſuch Speeches as theſe, he hath a very ſtrange underſtanding.