Commentary on the Epistles and Revelation of John, Commentary 22 · Chapter 13
CHAP. XIII. Verſe 1. And I ſtood]
VVHere I might beſt ſee the beaſt that came out of the ſea.
I ſaw a beast] The Church, flying into the wildernes from the Dragon, fals upon this Beaſt, which is nothing better then the Dragon under a better ſhape, Sic alind ex alio malum. This beaſt is that Antichriſt of Rome.
Riſe up] Not all at once, but by degrees.
Out of the ſea] Out of the bottomleſſe pit, Chap. 11.7. 2 Theſſ. 2.9.
Having ſeven heads] To plot.
And ten horns] To puſh. Craft and cruelty go alwaies together in the Churches enemies. The Aſp never wanders alone; and thoſe birds of prey go …ot without their mates, Iſa. 34.16.
And upon his horns] The Kings that are the popes vaſſals. See Rev. 17.11. Theſe are the props of his power.
The name of blasphemy] This is his true name: his pretenſed name is myſtery.
Verſe 2. Like unto a leopard] Which is the female among the panthers the property wherof is, as Pliny telleth us, with her ſweet ſmell to allure the beaſts unto her, hiding her terrible head till ſhe hath them within her reach, and then teareth them in pieces, Juſt ſo dealeth Rome with her unhappy proſelytes. The Papacy is an alluring, tempting, bewitching Religion. No ſin paſt, but the Pope can pardon it: none to come, but he can diſpenſe with it, Etiamſi per impoſſibile, matrem Dei quis vitiaſſet, ſaid Tecelius.
As the feet of a Bear] Which ſtands firm on her hinder feet, and fights with her fore-feet: ſo doth the Papacy with its Canons, Decrees, traditions, &c.
As the mouth of a lion] Wide, ravenous, roaring, and …ſatiable.
And the Dragon gave him his power] This bargain was offered to Chriſt, Mat. 4. but he would none of it. The bramble in Jothams parable thought it a goodly thing to raign: So did not the vine and fig-tree.
Verſe 3. One of his heads as it were wounded] Either by the invaſion of the Gothes; or by that fatall ſchiſme in the Church of Rome, anno 1378. when there ſat three Popes at once,Lib 3 de Papa Rom. cap. 11. for fourty years together: or by the falling away of Proteſtants from the Popedome, from the daies of Wicliffe, John Huſſe, the Waldenſes, Luther, to this preſent. Bellarmine bewails the buſineſſe, that ever ſince we began to count and call the Pope Antichriſt, his kingdome hath greatly decreaſed. And Cotton the Jeſuite confeſſes, that the authority of the Pope is incomparably leſſe then it was; and that now the Chriſtian Church is but a diminitive.
And his deadly wound was healed] By that falſe Prophet, ver. 11. that is by the Sorboniſts, Jeſuites, Trent-fathers, and other Popiſh Chyrurgeons. The Jeſuites give out, That the devil ſent out Luther, and God raiſed up them to reſiſt him: but great is the truth, and will prevail, when all falſhood ſhall fall to the ground. It is but a palliate cure we here reade of.
And all the world] ſc. Of Roman-Catholikes.
Wondered] Or had wondered, till the beaſt was wounded.
Verſe 4. And they worſhipped] Admiration bred adoration. Idolatrous Papiſts are worſhippers of the devil; whom though in word they defie, yet in deed they deifie.
Who is like unto the beaſt?] Papa poteſt omnia, qu… Chriſtus potest, ſaith Hoſtienſis. The Pope can do whatſoever Chriſt can doe: yea and more too, it ſhould ſeem by theſe wiſe wonderers:Cap. quarto. for who is like unto the beaſt? ſay they. Papa eſt plus quam Deus, ſaith Francis Zabarell, The Pope is more then a God.De Pap. Rom. lib. 4. And why? for of wrong he can make right, of vice vertue, of nothing ſomething, ſaith Bellarmine. Moſconius cannot be content to derive Papa from Papae the Interjection of admiring,De mojeſtat. militant eccleſ: l. 1 c. 1. becauſe he is ſtupor mundi, the worlds wonderment (that ye may know him to be the beaſt here mentioned) but he muſt ſtile him King of Kings and Lord of Lords: having ruledome over all rationall creatures, Duliâ ador andus, &c.
Verſe 5. And there was given unto him] As once was to Antiochus that little Antichriſt, Dan. 7.25. What cracks the Pope makes of his illimited power and prerogatives, who knows not? What blaſphemies he belcheth out of the fable of Chriſt, of eating his pork, Al despito di Dio, in deſpite of God; of ſuffering himſels to be ſtiled the lamb of God that taketh away the ſins of the world, as Pope Martin the fourth did, of drinking an health to the devil, as another of them did, who hath not heard? Baronius at the year 964 reckoning up certain of the Popes, calleth them monſters, an abomination of deſolation in Gods Temple, &c. Cardinall Benno ſaith of Pope Hildebrand, That he was a blaſphemer, a murderer, a whoremaſter, a necromancer, an heretike, and all that's nought. The Church of Rome (ſaith another of their own Writers) hath deſerved now for a long time no better of God, then to be ruled by reprobates. Marcellius the ſecond, Pope of Rome, Jac. Revius, p 175.ſaid, That he could not ſee how any Pope could be ſaved.
Fourty and two moneths] Here Mr Brightman calculates and pitches the ruine of Antichriſt upon the year 1686. or thereabouts.
Verſe 6. In blaſphemy against God] As when Pope Leo the firſt, and (after him) Nicolas the third affirmed, that Peter their predeceſſour was taken into fellowſhip with the bleſſed Trinity, as one with them. See verſ. 5.
And his tabernacle] Chriſts humanity (Joh. 1.14. and 2.19. this he blaſphemeth, by tranſubſtantiating a cruſt into Chriſt. Or, the Church of Chriſt, which he counteth and calleth the Synagogue of Satan.
And them that dwelt in heaven] The glorified Saints, whom either he deſpiteth with obtruded honours, ſuch as they acknowledge not: or elſe barks and rails at unceſſantly as Arch-devils, deteſtable heretikes, common peſts, &c. as Luther, Melancthon, Calvin, Ʋbicun que inve nitur nomen Calvini, delea, tur. Ind. expu….whoſe very name he hath commanded to be razed out of all books, whereſoever any man meets with it.
Verſe 7. To make warre with the Saints] As he did with the Albigenſes, publiſhing his Croyſades againſt them, as if they had been Saracens, and deſtroying ten hundred thouſand of them in France only, if Perionius may be believed. Not to ſpeak of the many thouſands ſince ſlain in battle by the Popes Champions in Germany, France, Ireland, and now alſo in England: beſides thoſe many more that have died for Religion by the bloudy inquiſition, by the hands of the hang man, 3600 in the Low-countreys by the command of the Duke of Alva, 800 here in Qu. Maries daies, &c. The Beaſt hath even made himſelf drunk with the bloud of the Saints.
And to overcome them] So it ſeemed, but ſo it was not. See Revel. 12.11. The Saints never more prevail and triumph, then when it ſeems otherwiſe. Of them the enemies may ſay, as the Perſians did once of the Athenians at the field of Marathon.
foreignSto…aeus.
We fell them, yet they fall not, thrust them through;
They feel no miſchief, but are well enough.
Over all kindreds and tongues] Here the holy Ghoſt points to the Popiſh Catholiciſme. The Jeſuites will ſtill needly have the Roman Church to be the Catholike Church, though ſo many kindreds, tongues and Nations have utterly diſclaimed it. Herein they are like that mad fellow Thraſilaus in Horace, who laid claim to all the ſhips that came into the harbour at Athens, though he had no right to the leaſt boat there.
Verſe 8. Whoſe names are not written] He then that lives and dies a Papiſt cannot be ſaved.
Slain from the foundation] ſc. 1, In Gods purpoſe. 2. In his promiſe. 3. In the faith of his people. 4. In the ſacrifices. 5. In the Martyrs: the firſt that ever died, died for Religion.
Verſe 9. If any man have an ear] q. d. Let all that have ſouls to ſave, beware of this beaſt: for is it nothing to looſe an immortall ſoul? To purchaſe an ever-living death? Purus putus Papiſta non potest ſervari. Confer Revel. 19.21. Its confeſſed of all, that a learned Engliſh apoſtate Papiſt cannot be ſaved.
Verſe 10. He that leadeth into captivity] q. d. Be of good chear: Antichriſt ſhall one day meet with his match, drink as he brewed, be paid in his own coin, filled with his own waies, have bloud again to drink, for he is worthy. See Iſa. 33.1. and 2 Theſſ. 1.6.
Here is the patience] q. d Here is matter for the triall, exerciſe and encreaſe of the Saints graces. Hard weather tries what health. The walnut tree is moſt fruitfull, when moſt beaten. Or, here is ſupport for the Saints, and that which may well make them to hold out faith and patience.
Verſe 11. And I beheld another beaſt] Another in ſhape, but the ſame in ſubſtance with the former. For here Chriſt appears not as an Emperour, but as an Impoſtour. That theſe two are both one, ſee Rev. 17.11. & 19.20,
Coming up out of the earth] Set up by earthly men and earthly means:Ioh. 8.23. of baſe beginning; Gigas quaſi foreign Ego ſupernas, v…s infernates eſtis, ſaith our Saviour to the Jews. I am from above, ye are from beneath: ye are earth-ſprung, as ſo many muſhromes.
And he had two horns] Two horns in his mitre, two keys in his hand, two ſwords borne before him, a two-fold pretended power, ſecular and ſacred, as King and Prieſt, in the Lambs ſtead, whoſe Ape he is.
Spake as a dragon] That is, ſaith one, he uſed an abſolute command over conſciences,Dioda…. raiſed himſelf through devilliſh pride and execrable boaſting, Rev. 18.7.
Verſe 12. And he exerciſeth] The power of ſpeaking blaſphemies, of waging wars, of ruling over kindreds, tongues and Nations, &c. notwithſtanding his wounded head, which is after a ſort cured by the ſedulity and ſubtilty of the Jeſuites, and other the Popes emiſſaries.Forbes. The firſt beaſt (ſaith an Interpreter) is the Kingdom of Rome under the Pontificality: the ſecond beaſt is the Pontificality wonderfully quickning the wounded beaſt to that eſtate: both are one and the ſame except in conſideration, as I have ſaid.
Verſe 13. And he doth great wonders] By his are of jugling: for true miracles he can do none, nor his maſter the Dragon to help him. Hence they are called lying wonders, 2 Theſſ. 2.9, 10 ſorceries, Rev. 18.23. and impoſtures here, ver. 14.
So that he maketh fire] As another Elias. This the Pope doth daily by his excommunications, caſting fire-brands, as it were, from on high at thoſe that ſlight him: and moreover he relleth us of ſome,Aventin. An…al. that for with-ſtanding his edicts, were thunder-ſtruck to death.
Verſe 14. That they ſhould make an image] An Emperour, ſaith Aretius, an image of him at leaſt, choſen indeed by the ſeven Electours of Germany, but confirmed by the Pope; who therefore is ſaid to give life to the image of the beaſt, whereby he both ſpeaketh and acteth, ver. 15. For if the Pope confirm not the new elect, he is no Emperour.
Verſe 15. Should be killed] What ſlaughters Charls the fifth made at Magdeburg and elſwhere by the Popes appointment; and what bloudy work hath been done in Germany, now for this eight and twenty years, or thereabouts by the now-Emperour and his Father, againſt the Proteſtant party, I need not here to relate.
Verſe 16. All both ſmall and great] Emperour and elſe. The Pope having by his nephew perſwaded the King of Bohemia Maximilian (afterwards Emperour) to be a good Catholike, with many promiſes of honours and profits, intimating the ſucceſſion of the Empire, which elſe he ſhould hardly obtain,Hiſt of the Coun. of Trent 418. was anſwered by the King, that he thanked his Holineſſe, but that his ſouls health was more dear to him then all the things in the world. Which anſwer they ſaid in Rome was a Lutheran form of ſpeech, and ſignified an alienation from that Sea; and they began to diſcourſe what would happen after the old Emperours death.
To receive a mark] The Popiſh Clergy ſay, that in their Ordination they receive an indeleble character. They may chuſe whether they will have it in their fore-heads (where it cannot be hid) or in their right hands, where they may either hide it, or ſhew it, as they think good. See the Note on Revel. 7.3. The mark common to all the Popiſh rabble is, S. Peters Keys branching out it ſelf in every Antichriſtian doctrine and idolatrous practice. I can never ſufficiently admire (ſaith one) the ſpeech of bleſſed Luther, M. Heyricks Serm…p 108.who though he was very earneſt to have the Communion adminiſtred in both kindes, contrary to the Doctrine and cuſtome of Rome, yet he profeſſeth, If the Pope, as Pope, commanded him to receive in both kindes, he would but receive in one kinde. Its a generall rule among the beſt, that what the Pope commands, as Pope, though it be good or indifferent, as to pray, reade, lift up an eye, hand, to wear black or white, &c. it is a receiving of the mark of the Beaſt, &c.
Verſe 17. Might buy or ſell] As at Rome, oaths, laws,Ro… omnia vaen…l…a. vows are ſoluble, and all things elſe are ſaleable.
Vendit Alexander cruces, altaria, Christum:
Vendere jure potest, emerat ille priùs.
The Pope ſels croſſes, altars, Chriſt, and all:
Well he may ſell, for he bought them at the ſtall.
Alſo its well known, that the Pope flatly forbids trade and traffique with all whom he hath excommunicated, as he did with the Albigenſes in the Lateran Councel: And as he did with one Tooly in Qu.Act and Mon. Maries daies; who being hanged for felony, and defying the Pope, was (after his death) ſuſpended and excommunicated, that no man ſhould eat or drink, buy or ſell with him, bid him good morrow, &c.
Or the name of the beaſt] To be called a Roman-Catholike, which is better eſteemed among Papiſts then the name of a Chriſtian. It is notoriouſly known (ſaith Dr Fulk) that the moſt honourable name of Chriſtian is in Italy, and at Rome a name of reproach;Ann…. in Acts 11. ſect. 4. and uſually abuſed to ſignifie a fool or a dolt.
Or the number of his name] That keep ſomewhat more aloof, and yet privily comply with Papiſts, and drive the ſame deſigne with them; though more ſlily and covertly, and top themſelves perhaps unperceivedly. What's the reaſon the Pope will not diſpenſe in Spain or Italy, if a Papiſt marry a Proteſtant, yet here he will: but becauſe ſuch Proteſtants receive the number of his name, and will ſoon be drawn to him?
Verſe 18. Here is wiſdome] That is, Work for wiſdome: as ver. 10. Here is the patience and faith of Saints.
It is the number of a man] Such as a man, by ſearch, may finde out, if he have his wits about him, as we ſay. Others ſenſe it thus: the whole number of the Beaſt, whatſoever is numbred to belong unto him, is but the number of a man; humane in ventions and will-wiſdome.M▪ Cotton, Men will have it ſo, and this is the ſumme of all Popiſh Religion.
Six hundred threeſcore and ſix] Amongſt the many conjectures, that of foreign, ſeems to me moſt probable, as moſt ancicent and authentike. The year of Romes tuine is by ſome held to be 1606.Bernard…s oſſ… verat Antichr… ſtum ſuturum meridianum demonem: … a meridie erit, & ibi ſedebit. In Cant. ſer. 33. Tis plain, ſaith one, Satan ſhall be tied up 1000 years: 666 is the number of the beaſt, Antichriſt ſhall ſo long raign: theſe two together make the juſt number.