Saints No Smiters, Treatise · Section 10
§ 10. Quinto-Monarchians Doctrine tends to murder, and ruine of humane society.
HEnce also a seventh argument is deduced, that the smiting work, to which the Doctrine of Quinto-Monarchians incites, is wilful murder, yea the most horrible murder that ever was, except his, who was a murderer from the beginning, John 8. 44. or theirs, who crucified the Lord of glory; For it incites to a professed smiting, and spoyling of all the civil powers on earth, even those to whom they are bound to be subject by all Lawes of Religion, nature, country, and reason, and to act these things with all extremity, out of imagined zeal for Christ, which if it be not according to knowledge, is a fire of Hell, which will hardly be ever quenched, and in prosecution thereof to smite those who resist them, which must of necessity be all those who adhere to civil powers, who will be doubtless the most conscientious Saints on earth, and the greatest part of mankind, which must needs be wilful Murder and Robbery, if they have no warrant to do it. But they have none; neither, Revel. 18. 6. nor any other scripture, or Revelation of God, that we or they do know, nor Lawes of nature, or men do in the least warrant, or permit it, but all condemn it. And therefore if they should be permitted to act their design (which God forbid) there would be more destruction and wasting, than ever yet was made by men since the world began, and more truly they might be termed Babylon, in whom the blood of the Saints is found, than any civil powers yet extant; now murder-makes persons the Children of the Divil, there being no sin more resembling him, John 8. 44. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer; and ye know (saith St. John, 1 Epist. ch. 3. 15.) That no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him, therefore such are no Saints, but Antichristian, and the Doctrine moving to it is damnable and Antichristan.
To which I shall add an eighth argument taken from the direful effects, to which the Quinto-Monarchians Doctrine of overturning and smiting civil powers and Lawes tends, which are all the miseries which anarchy and confusion brings on the world, even to the destruction of the Church of Christ on earth, or rather according to the project they propound, humane society, if not the extirpation of mankind. For by taking away civil powers, safety of persons, and all comforts of life are either taken away or much endangered. When the Prophet Isaiah threatned calamity to the people of the Jewes, Isai. 3. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. He tels them, the Lord, the Lord of hosts doth take away the mighty man, and the man of War, the Judge, and the Prophet, and the prudent, and the ancient, the Captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the Counsellor, and the cunning Artificer, and the eloquent Orator, and I will give Children to be their Princes, and Babes shall rule over them, and the people shall be oppressed, every one by another, and every one by his neighbour: the child shall behave himself proudly against the ancient, and the base against the honourable. Whereby it may be perceived that God took it to be a curse next after the taking away the stay, and the staff, the whole stay of bread, and the whole stay of water to take from the Jewes their Rulers, Teachers, Nobles, Scholars, and therefore there cannot be a greater calamity to a people, after the destruction of the fruits of the earth, whereby famine comes than to smite time their civil powers, and eminent persons, who have been the Protectors, and Guides of the people. For then people become Murderers and Robbers one of another, and all places are filled with fears, dangers, cries, and miseries of all sorts. The evils we have felt in our own civil Wars, shew what misery it is to have Soldiers rule, and not Princes and Judges. And yet the evils we have seen are small, in comparison of what the Jewes felt by the factions there, when Jerusalem was besieged by Titus; But the evils, which would come on the world by the insurrection of the Quinto-Monarchians, if their project did take place, would far exceed them, their design being an universal destruction of them that oppose them in all the world, and when the conscience is perverted, there being no stay to mens furious zeal. If any say, that they would only smite oppressors of the Saints, I reply, by their own rules they are bound to, separate from those Churches which are select and more pure, as being seemingly refined, which are the gathered in pastoral way (reducing things to primitive practise) so far as they are corrupted and adulterated, and found opposers of the Kingly office of Jesus Christ, in and over the whole world, and more especial in the administration of this part or dispensation of that Kingdom, to wit, that of the Stone, or War against his enimies (for even in this generation there be a sort of people, and those we hope godly, that do acknowledge & wait in the expectation of the later, yea and hold forth the personal appearance of our Lord as King, yet nevertheless oppose, and deny, and quite leap over this Stone and its work, thereby endeavouring to render the Saints useless and uncapable of destroying Babylon) which must make way, and without which we cannot attain to the peaceable, and more glorious administration of this Kingdom, by removing those Mountains, Hills, and powers of darkness, which do oppose and hinder it. Banner displayed p. 75. There are no Churches, (or at leastwise very few) of the pastoral way in these Nations, or elsewhere, but have something of Antichrist in them, having forsaken and apostatized from the primitive and first love, and have, and do in many principle: and practises, strike hands with the interest of Antichrist, and mystery of iniquity, 2 Thes. 2. 3, 4. p. 79. We accompt it a duty for the Saints to separate from all the forms, practises, doctrines, and spirit of the Antichrist in the world, in their brethren, in the Churches, &c. And to be plain, we accompt him, and that spirit which either in act or deed wilfully and obstinately denies the smiting work of our Lords Kingdom Antichristian; inasmuch as that such would alwaies have Christ, his Saints, his cause, in, and on the earth a sufferer: but the scripture clearly manifests the contrary, p. 81, 82. now then, if men be they never so holy, as they hope a sort of people be who oppose, deny, and quite leap over the Stone and its smiting; (as they confess there are no Churches, or very few of the pastoral way in these Nations and elsewhere, but have opposed them) yet are Antichristian, they by their principles are to smite them, and so must oppress Saints as well as others. And if any Saints be civil powers, Ecclesiastical Rulers, Governors in Corporations, Graduates in Universities, Pastors in Churches, (as no doubt thousands are who love the Lord Jesus, and wait for his appearing and Kingdom) yet these must be smitten too. And who can secure in such confusions as would arise upon the Quinto-Monarchians smiting work, any man, yea of their own party, from violence, and slaughter, when there is nothing but rage in private persons, whose proceedings are in heat of mad zeal, without any distinction by legal trial and just judgment, or certain Rule? Sure no Tyrants have ever done more mischief than this way of the Fifth-Monarchy-Men would do, if it were prosecuted, nor is any doctrine more hellish, Antichristian and damnable than this, that tends to overthrow all the civil powers, Lawes, Doctrines, Forms, Degrees, Offices in Church and State, which these term the spirit of Antichrist in the world. And if it were supposed, that these furious zelots should accomplish their design, after the mixture of hypocrites, and the rabble of the worst, & most foolish men, who could hope there would be any peace, good order or justice in the world, or any remainder of sober men? The world would be an Acheldama, or field of blood (which they impute to the Nations of Europe, even the Protestant) and the prevailing persons (to use their own phrase) Blood-Monsters, and instead of a visible Kingdom of Christ in the earth a solitude, Chaos, tohu vebohu, as was afore the first creation, and the Kingdom of Antichrist, or the Devil would be set up under pretence of making Christs enemies his footstool. What Lawes, Order, or Rule, tending to further Religion, or Righteousness, can any expect from men of such cauterized consciences as not to discern the mischievousness of such doctrine and practises as these have vented, especially after they have inured themselves to shedding of blood and rapine with extremity?