On the whole, I leave it to be considered, whether, when the prophecies pronounce of Antichrist, that he should be, a power diverse from all others—that he should sit in the temple of God—and that he should have the horns of a lamb—I leave it, I say, to your consideration, whether it be not plain that this extraordinary power, a Roman power, and residing at Rome, was to be a Christian and Ecclesiastical, and not a Pagan and Civil power.
IV. Another obvious character of Antichrist, or rather, complication of characters, is that triple brand, impressed upon him, of a tyrannical, intolerant, and idolatrous, power.
The prophets hold him up to us, as reigning, or exercising an oppressive and supereminent dominion, over the kings of the earth, that is, of the Western empire206; as making war with the lamb, and the saints who receive not his mark in their foreheads207, that is, persecuting good and conscientious Christians, who refuse to wear the badge of Antichrist, and to serve under him; and, as another Babylon, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth208, that is, as polluted himself with the grossest idolatry, and as corrupting the nations with the same prophane worship.
But these marks, it will be said, have been found upon so many powers, which have appeared in the world, that they cannot be given as the distinctive marks of one, that is, of the Papal Power: Nay, the Bishop of Meaux goes further, and attempts to shew, by a very refined argument, that the very terms of whoredom and fornication, in which the last of these marks, I mean, IDOLATRY, is set forth by the prophet in the book of Revelations, make it impossible for us to apply that mark to Rome Christian.
Let us see, then, first, what force there is in the criticism of this learned Prelate.
That whoredom, or fornication, in the language of scripture, means idolatry, is agreed on all hands, and cannot be disputed: Whether the figurative use of this term arose from observing, how constantly that pollution attended idolatrous worship; or how fitly a communication with false gods may be compared with that unlawful commerce: Whatever be the ground of the analogy, it is clear to a demonstration that whoredom is but another name for idolatry, which, under this idea, is very frequently charged upon the Jews by the ancient prophets.
Sometimes, however, (without doubt, to aggravate the charge) the idolatry of the Jews is considered in the light of adultery, that is, of infidelity to the God of Israel; to whom, as to her proper Lord and Husband, the Jewish nation had, by express stipulation, and in the most solemn manner, contracted herself.
But, notwithstanding this promiscuous application of the terms, fornication, and adultery, to the idolatry of the Jews in the ancient prophecies, it hath been remarked by the Bishop of Meaux, “That Babylon, or Rome, in the Revelations, is constantly and uniformly spoken of, as a whore, and not as an adulteress: whence he concludes, that this charge is brought against Pagan Rome only, and not Christian Rome. For, why, he asks, is so much care taken not to impute adultery to idolatrous Rome, if it had been a Christian city? when its polluting itself with this crime, contrary to the most express engagements, which Christians take upon themselves, of fidelity to the only true God, might justly deserve, and, in propriety, may seem to require, this opprobrious charge, rather than that other lighter one of fornication; whereas, if Pagan Rome be here meant, its idolatry could only be set forth under the idea of fornication, and not of adultery209.”
Now, although, as I observed, the idolatrous Jews are frequently treated by their prophets, as fornicators, as well as adulterers, nay, are much more frequently210 represented under the former idea, than the latter; and although it be therefore true, that fornication is not necessarily, and exclusively, to be understood of Pagan idolatry, but may well be applied to Christian idolaters, as it was to the Jewish; yet the force of the learned objector’s argument will not be obviated by this observation only. For the stress of it lies in this, “That the idolatry of Rome in the Revelations is every where, that is, purposely, termed fornication (to insinuate to us, that the charge is directed against a Pagan City, and not a Christian Church), and no where, that is, purposely again, called adultery.”
The objection is extremely ingenious; and, so far as I know, hath been, hitherto, unanswered. Yet, if any good reason can be assigned why the prophet should thus studiously prefer the term, fornication, to that of adultery, in describing the idolatry of Christian Rome, notwithstanding those terms be used indifferently by the Jewish prophets, when they reprove the idolatry of their own countrymen, the Bishop of Meaux would himself acknowledge, that his objection falls to the ground.
Now such a reason offers itself to us in the EMBLEM, under which St. John chuses to represent his idolatrous society. This emblem is, Babylon; a Pagan idolatrous city; to which the idea of fornication may be colourably, and hath, in fact, been, applied211, in order to express the transgression of the law of nature, in its idolatrous worship: But to such a city, adultery, could in no proper sense, be applied; because, it had never entered into any close engagement, or marriage-contract, as it were, with the God of heaven.
This being admitted, we see the reason, why Rome Christian is taxed as a whore simply, and not as an adulteress. For what had been improperly said of the type, cannot, on the principles of decorum, be transferred to the anti-type. If Babylon be only a harlot, she is a harlot still, and nothing more, when she stands for Rome, whether Pagan, or Christian. The concinnity of the figure, and the just correspondence of the thing signified to the sign, demands the observance of this rule; which cannot be violated without manifest absurdity and confusion.
“But why then, it is asked, was such an emblem employed? Why was not Jerusalem, or Samaria (of which adultery might be predicated) rather chosen, than Babylon, for the type, or representation of idolatrous Christian Rome?”
The reason, again, is obvious. It was, because Babylon was the first of all idolatrous cities; and the fittest212 to emblematize the enormous guilt, or to set in full light the extensive influence, of idolatrous Rome. For each, in its turn, was the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth; the former corrupting the heathen world with her fornication, and the latter, the Christian.
When therefore for this, or the like reason, Babylon was made the emblem of Christian Rome, the prophet was obliged to retain the idea of fornication, only, and not to interpose that of adultery, through the whole tenour of his application.
It may, further, be worth observing, that pagan idolatry is, for the most part, exposed by the ancient prophets under the notion of LYES, or LYING VANITIES213; and very rarely, I think in no more than one or two short passages, under that of fornication. For vague lust was so generally practised in the heathen world, and the law of nature, condemning that vice, so little known, or respected by it, that the metaphor would not have conveyed to a Pagan idolater the atrocious nature of his crime. The Mosaic Law, on the other hand, interdicting fornication in the severest terms, and requiring that there should be no whore of the daughters of Israel214, the guilt of idolatry was very forcibly, as well as naturally, represented to a Jew, under that idea.
Accordingly, we find, that the prophets every where, and in whole pages, employ this figure, when they address themselves to Jewish idolaters. Whence it may seem, that, although there be sufficient authorities to justify the prophet St. John in considering his emblematic Babylon under the idea of a harlot, yet he would not have prosecuted even this inferior charge of fornication so far as he has done, and in so many parts of his prophecy, if his purpose had not been to apply it to a believing, and not a Pagan city. If the mystical Babylon be Christian Rome, we see the force and propriety of this representation; which had clearly been less apt, if Pagan Rome, according to the Bishop of Meaux, had been intended by the prophet.
We see then, in both ways, why Rome is not an adulteress in the Revelations; and why she is so emphatically, a harlot. The type employed forbad the former charge, though the anti-type be Rome Christian: The latter charge had not been so much laboured, if the anti-type had been Rome Pagan.
Thus, the edge of this acute objection is entirely taken off, and the execution, it was to make on the Protestant system, prevented.
To return, now, to the consideration of our three marks. These marks, it is said, agree to so many other powers, besides that of the Papacy, that they cannot be made the peculiar, distinctive characters of Christian Rome. And, without doubt, considered merely in themselves, they cannot. But, having already understood that the power, thus stigmatized, is a power seated in the seven-hilled city, and that too, an ecclesiastical power, one sees clearly that, if the prophecies have hitherto received their accomplishment in any degree, these marks can only be sought in Papal Rome, and must be the proper, exclusive characters of that power. I say, one sees this; but, it must be owned, not without amazement, That a species of government, calling itself Christian, and professing to model itself on the example of the Lamb, on the pure and simple principles of the Gospel, should yet be all over stained with those specific vices, which Christianity most abhors—the utmost pride of secular domination—the most relentless zeal against the rights of conscience—and, what is still more incredible, the most blasphemous idolatry. The accumulated infamy of these crimes struck the prophet, St. John, so forcibly, that, on the sight of this portentous monster, exhibited to him in the vision, he wondered, as himself expresses it, with great admiration215.
But, strange as this vision appeared to the sacred prophet, the Papal history is found to realize all the wonders of it: And, backward as we may be to interpret this vision of a church, professedly Christian, that church herself is so little scandalized at the imputation of these crimes, that she is ready to avow them all; the two first, directly and openly; and the last, when set in a certain light, and explained in her own manner. In short, she prides herself in the extent of her sway216, and the fire of her zeal217, and only quibbles with us about the meaning of the term, idolatry.
To cut the matter short, then, and to keep clear of those endless debates concerning the worship of Images, of the Cross, and of the Host in the celebration of the Mass; debates, which a dextrous sophist may find means to carry on with a shew of argument, and with some degree of plausibility; To set aside, I say, all these topics, let it be observed, at once, That idolatry, in the scriptural sense of the word, is of two sorts, and consists either, 1. in giving the honour due to the one true God, as maker and governor of the world, to any other supposed, though subordinate god; Or, 2, in giving the honour due to Christ, as the sole mediator between God and Man, to any other supposed, though subordinate, mediator. The former, is the idolatry forbidden by the Jewish law, and by the law of Nature: The latter, is Christian idolatry, properly so called, and is the abomination, prohibited and condemned, in so severe terms, by the law of the Gospel.
Now, whether the former species of idolatry be chargeable on the church of Rome or not; and whether the crime of that species, may not be incurred by honouring the true object of worship, through the medium of some sensible image: Whatever, I say, be determined on these two points (which, for the present, shall be set aside) the other species of idolatry is, without all doubt, chargeable on any Christian church that shall adopt or acknowledge, in its religious addresses, another mediator, besides Christ Jesus.
But the church of Rome (I do not say, in the private writings of her divines, but) in the solemn forms of her ritual, publicly professes, and, by her canons and councils, authoritatively enjoyns, the worship of saints and angels, under the idea of mediators and intercessors: not indeed in exclusion of Christ, as one, or, if you will, as chief mediator, but in manifest defiance of his claim to be, the sole mediator. This charge is truly and justly brought against that Church, as it now stands, and hath stood, for many ages; and cannot, by any subterfuge whatsoever, be evaded218. And therefore, to the other characters of Pride and Intolerance, which she takes to herself with much complacency, she must, now, be content (whether she will or no) to have that of DÆMON-WORSHIP, or ANTICHRISTIAN IDOLATRY, fastened upon her.
Nor let the followers of that communion think to elude this charge, by saying, That they only request the saints, as we commonly do any good man, to pray for them219. False and disingenuous! False; because their breviaries and litanies shew, that they supplicate the saints to befriend them by their own inherent power, or to intercede for them to the throne of God by virtue of their own personal merits220, in blasphemous derogation to the all-atoning and incommunicable intercession of Jesus. Disingenuous, too; because they know very well, that the question is concerning unseen and heavenly mediators only, not men like ourselves, such as we live and converse with on earth; whom we only admonish of their duty, and to whom we only do ours, when we call upon them to exert an act of piety and common charity in praying for their fellow-christians. Our meaning is but that which the Apostle well expresses, when he would have us consider one another, to provoke unto love and to good works221; and not at all to supplicate our Christian brethren as powerful intercessors, in whose meritorious virtues we confide, and to whom, as possessing a proper interest in the Almighty, by the worth of their own persons, we commit our dearest concerns, The forgiveness of our sins, and the salvation of our souls.
“But this, it will be said, is a very defective, and even unfair, account of the matter. We do more than admonish our brethren of their duty, when we sollicit their prayers for us. We invite them directly, and formally, to intercede for us to the throne of Grace. We are allowed, nay encouraged, to lay a stress on their intercession; and, what is more, we are given to understand that such intercession, especially if it be made by good men, will have weight and influence in Heaven. What else is the meaning of the Apostle, when he assures us, That the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. James v. 16.? And, if the prayer of a righteous man, much more the prayer of glorified saints and angels.”
I have put the argument, I think, in all its force, and (because the advocates of the papal cause affect to think it unanswerable) shall examine it, with care.
“We apply to good Christians, or to those we esteem such, to intercede for us by their prayers to Heaven.” We do so; and are encouraged in this application, by the example, and by the directions of the Apostles. For I shall not take advantage of what some have conceived to be the meaning of St. James, in the place alledged, where he attributes so much to the prayer of, a righteous man, That the prayer, there spoken of, is the prayer of faith, or a spiritual gift miraculously conferred on the first teachers of the Gospel, and confined to their ministry: I will not, I say, take advantage of this gloss; because, whatever foundation it may seem to have in the context of that epistle, I allow it to be clear from other places of the New Testament222, That the duty of Christians is to pray, that is, to intercede, for each other.
But then I desire it may be observed,
1. What difference there is between desiring good men to pray for us, in the Gospel sense of that duty; and desiring Saints and Angels to pray for us, in the sense of the papal rituals. We request those prayers, only as they shall be offered up in the name, and through the merits, of the great, and properly speaking, sole intercessor; and we look for no effect from them, but on that condition. The Church of Rome addresses herself to Saints and Angels, as intercessors, by, what we may call, their own right, by virtue of their own inherent sanctity: Or, rather, she applies to them directly, as to Saviours, for their proper and immediate help, and expects it from the supposed privilege of their rank, or merits, independently of their prayers, or, at least, of the manner in which those prayers shall be presented through the name of Jesus. The formal words of their Litanies shew, that such is their meaning.
But they will say, that this condition of interceding, or saving, through the merits of Christ, is implied, though not expressed. I reply then,
2. That, admitting it to be so, there is, yet, the widest difference between praying to Saints and Angels to pray for us, though in the Gospel forms of intercession; and merely requesting good men to pray for us, in those forms. The latter address is made in a way remote from all appearance of idolatry, and free from the suspicion of it: The former, is preferred in the place, at the time, with the posture, in the language, in short, with all the circumstances and formalities of divine worship.
3. I observe, that, when we ask the prayers of men, we know that they hear our address to them: We cannot even suppose thus much of Saints and Angels, without ascribing to them the incommunicable attributes of the Almighty.
Still, it may be insisted, That prayers, whether offered up to God by men, or glorified spirits, are however to be considered in the light of Intercessions; and that therefore, so far as we combat the practice of saint-worship on that ground, Protestants, as well as Papists, when they employ the prayers of others, are guilty of idolatry.
This, in truth, is the hinge, on which the question turns: And, to shew the difference of the two cases, palpably and clearly, I say,
Fourthly, and lastly, That the Gospel, in permitting, or rather in commanding us to ask the prayers of each other, justifies this sort of intercession, and absolves it from the blame and guilt of idolatry. It gives a sanction to this mode of mediating with God by his Saints, on earth; and does not regard it as a practice that interferes with the mediatorial office of Jesus, in Heaven.
The same Gospel, on the contrary, (I inquire not, for what reasons) says not a word, from which we can infer, that any such address is directed, or permitted, to be made to Angels or Spirits. It even condemns all addresses of this kind, under the opprobrious name of unauthorized, or Will-worship223. Though we be allowed, then, to have good men, in some sense, for our mediators or intercessors on earth, we are not allowed to have any mediator or intercessor in the tabernacle of heaven, but Jesus, the great high priest of Christians, only. This last sort of intercession, by Angels and glorified Saints, is against the spirit and letter of our religion. It is a practice, which, not being enjoined, is forbidden; which, being disallowed, is reprobated. In a word, It entrenches on the incommunicable honour and prerogatives of the great, the appointed, the sole Mediator in Heaven, seated at God’s right hand, who ever liveth to make intercession for us224. It sets up new mediators, without, and against his leave: It is, then, un-christian, and idolatrous.
Thus at length, I suppose, it appears indisputably, That we are neither unreasonable, nor uncharitable, in charging IDOLATRY, as well as the other two anti-christian vices of pride, and intolerance, to the account of papal Rome.
V. The last prophetic mark of Antichrist, which I shall have time to point out to you, and what perhaps you may esteem the most material of all, is, The TIME in which that power is said to make its appearance in the world.
It hath been already observed225, that the chronology of the prophecies is, for the most part, not defined with that exactness, which we expect in historical compositions. It is commonly expressed in terms that may be interpreted with some latitude; or, when the date is more precisely delivered, we are still at a loss, in some respect or other, before the event, in what manner to form our calculation. However, the expression is not so loose and vague, but that we may clearly apprehend about what time the predicted event will come to pass.
Thus, for instance, the season of Christ’s coming into the world was fixed by such circumstances as these—that it should be before the total dissolution of the Jewish state—or while the second temple was yet standing: And, when it was determinately foretold to be after the expiration of seventy weeks, from the going forth of the commandment to return and to build Jerusalem, still, besides the prophetic and somewhat obscure sense of the word weeks, we cannot beforehand calculate exactly when these weeks commence226, or in what term they are to be accomplished. Yet, notwithstanding these uncertainties, the Jews saw very clearly, and, from them, the rest of the world conceived an expectation, that the person predicted was to appear in that age, or about that time, in which he did appear, and which, from the tenour of the prophecies, they had computed would be the time of his appearance.
In like manner, the season of Antichrist’s appearance in the world is left to be collected from general intimations; and, when the duration of his tyranny is limited to twelve hundred and sixty days, besides that the expression, as before, is ænigmatical, we have no means of fixing the commencement of that period so precisely, but that some doubts may arise about it, till the accomplishment of the prophecy shall give light and certainty to the computation. Yet still, as in the former case, we have such data to proceed upon in calculating the reign of Antichrist, as may let us see about what time it was to be expected.
Thus much being premised, I have now only to remind you of what the prophets expressly declare concerning the rise of Antichrist. The eldest of these, the prophet Daniel, says it was to be in the time of the fourth kingdom, that is, of the Roman; which, for the convenience of the prophetic calculations, is considered as subsisting, though in a new form, under the ten kings, among whom it was to be divided. He further tells us, that Antichrist was to arise from among, and after, the ten kings; that is, we are to look for him then, (and not before) when the Roman empire has undergone that change of government227.
Next, St. Paul, it seems, had told the Thessalonians, what it was that, for a time, prevented the appearance of Antichrist: But that information hath not been transmitted to us. However, he says to them—Ye know WHAT with-holdeth that he might be revealed in his time: and further adds, HE, who now letteth, will let, until he be taken out of the way228.
Now, by putting these passages together, and by comparing them with the predictions of Daniel, not we of these later times only, before whom the man of sin is supposed to be evidently displayed, but the early fathers of the church, long before the events happened to which these prophetic notices could be applied, clearly saw, or at least generally conjectured, that the impediment, here mentioned, was the then subsisting power of the Cæsarean government; which, they said, was first to be taken away, and then Antichrist would be revealed229.
Lastly, the Apostle St. John not only confirms the prophecies of Daniel, that Antichrist should arise out of the ten kings, who were to have the western empire shared out among them, but adds this remarkable circumstance, That he should RIDE the ten kings230; which implies, that he should co-exist with them: And it further appears, that he was to receive his whole power from them, and was finally to be destroyed by them.
Now, turn to the history of the fourth kingdom, and see how it corresponds to these prophecies. Observe, when the western empire under its Cæsarean head, was taken away; how it was, afterwards, dismembered by the northern nations; by what degrees it fell at length, into ten, that is, many distinct, independent kingdoms; at what time this partition was made, or rather fully settled and completed. From this time, and not before, you are to look for Antichrist, now gradually rearing himself up among the ten kings; and at length, in a condition, by the power, which they gave to him, to ride, that is, to direct and govern them. From this time, again, compute the 1260 years, the predicted period of his government; and, keeping your eye all along on the ecclesiastical and civil state of our western world (the predicted theatre of all these transactions) see, if you can help concluding, I do not say at what precise time, but about what time, Antichrist appeared; see, if the commencement of his reign be not so far determined as that you may be certain of its being long since past; and see, if very much, at least, of that allotted period, through which his dominion was to continue, according to the prophecies, be not, by the evident attestation of history, now run out.
To DRAW, then, what hath been said on the several marks of Antichrist, to a point. Consider, within what part of the world, he was to appear; in what seat or throne, he was to be established; of what kind, his sovereignty was to be; with what attributes, he was to be invested; in what season, or about what time, and for how long a time, he was to reign and prosper: Consider these FIVE obvious characters of Antichrist, which the prophets have distinctly set forth, and which, from them, I have successively held up to you: And, then, compare them with the correspondent characters, which you find inscribed, by the pen of authentic history, on a certain power, sprung up in the West; seated in the city of Rome; calling himself the Vicar of Christ; yet full of names of blasphemy, that is, stigmatized with those crimes, which Christianity, as such, holds most opprobrious, the crimes of tyrannic dominion, of persecution, and even Idolatry; and lastly, now subsisting in the world, though with evident symptoms of decay, after a long reign, whose rise and progress can be traced, and whose duration, hitherto, is uncontradicted by any prophecy: Put, I say, all these correspondent marks together, and see if they do not furnish, if not an absolute demonstration, yet a high degree of probability, that apostate papal Rome is the very Antichrist foretold.
At least, you will admit that these correspondencies are signal enough to merit your attention, and even to justify your pains in looking further into so curious and interesting a subject. Ye will say to yourselves, That the prophecies concerning Antichrist deserve at least to be considered with care, since in so many striking particulars, they appear, on the face of them, to have been completed.
This conclusion, it is presumed, is a reasonable one: And the end of this discourse will be answered, if ye are, at length, prevailed upon to draw this conclusion.
Behold, I come quickly: Blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book.
Before we engage in a work of time and difficulty, we naturally ask, “Cui Bono, to what considerable end and purpose, are our labours to be referred?”
Although it may, then, be presumed, that enough hath been said on the prophecies to excite a reasonable desire of looking further into them, and even to produce a general persuasion, that they have been, or may be, understood; yet, it may quicken your attention to this argument, and support your industry in the prosecution of it, to set before you the USES, which may result from a full and final conviction (if such should be the issue of your inquiries), That these prophecies are not intelligible only, but have, in many instances, been rightly applied, and clearly fulfilled.
These USES are very many. I shall collect, only, two or three of the more important, for your consideration.
Though every period of prophecy be instructive, that which takes in the great events and revolutions, which have come to pass in the Christian Church, is, for obvious reasons, more especially interesting to us, who live in these latter ages of the world.
Of the numerous predictions, contained in either Testament, which, it is presumed, respect these events, the most considerable by far, because the most minute and circumstantial, are those of St. John in the Revelations; which treat professedly of such things as were to befall the servants of Jesus231, from the prophet’s own days, down to that awful period, when all the mysterious councils of God, in regard to the Christian dispensation, shall be finally shut up in the day of judgment. To these predictions, then, a more particular attention is due, the rather because they have been fulfilling from the time of their delivery—behold, I come quickly—and, above all, because a blessing is pronounced on those, who keep, that is, who observe, who study and contemplate, the sayings of this book.
Assuredly, then, this study will be rewarded with signal benefits. And one sees immediately:
I. In the first place, that no small benefit must arise to those, who admit the completion of these prophecies, so far, I mean, as the tenour of the book makes it probable that they have been completed, from the awful sense, which this conviction must needs give them of the Christian dispensation itself.
That this dispensation, ushered in by so long a train of prophecies, should still be attended by others, through all the stages and periods of it; that secular empires should rise and fall, unnoticed, as it were, by the Spirit of God, while the kingdom of his Son is so peculiarly distinguished, and its whole history, in a manner, anticipated, by the most express predictions: that Jesus should be, as he says of himself, the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end232, of all God’s religious dispensations to mankind: that his first coming, or personal appearance in the flesh, should be signified from the foundation of the world, and from time to time more explicitly declared in a variety of successive prophecies, till the great event, at length, fulfilled them all: and that, together with this event (the foundation of others, still more illustrious) his second coming, in the future and gradual manifestations of his power (for they were to be gradual) should be distinctly marked out, and duly accomplished, in the fortunes of the Christian church, or of that kingdom, which he came to erect in the world; while this subject, and no other, engaged the ultimate attention of all the prophets: There is, I say, in this scheme of things, something so astonishingly vast, something so much above and beyond the attention that was ever known to be paid to any other person or thing in the compass of universal history, as must strike an awe into the hearts of all men, who consider Christianity in this point of view; and must compel the most negligent to confess, or suspect at least, That such a dispensation is a matter of no light moment, but, indeed, the most important in the eyes of Providence, and the most interesting to mankind, that can be conceived, or expressed.
If, then, there be reason, to admit the completion of such prophecies, respecting such a subject, in any considerable number of instances, within that space of time which is already elapsed; and, therefore, to expect that the remaining prophecies will, in like manner, be fulfilled, The conclusion is, that the dispensation of God through Christ is of the last consequence to the inhabitants of this world: And the obvious use of this conclusion will be, that it further obliges all serious men who have thus far profited by a study of the sacred oracles, to put that salutary question to themselves—How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation233?
Connected with this use of prophecy,
II. A second is, That it sets before us, not the importance only, but the truth of Christianity, in the strongest light.
So many illustrious events falling in, one after another, just as the word of prophecy foretold they should, must afford the most convincing proof, That our Religion is, as it claims to be, of divine institution: a proof, the more convincing, because it is continually growing upon us; and, the farther we are removed from the source of our religion, the clearer is the evidence of its truth. Other proofs are supposed to be, and, in some degree, perhaps, are, weakened by a length of time. But this, from prophecy, as if to make amends for their defects, hath the peculiar privilege of strengthening by age itself: till hereafter, as we presume, the accumulated force of so much evidence shall overpower all the scruples of infidelity; and bring about, at length, that general conversion both of Jew and Gentile, which the sacred oracles have so expressly foretold.
In both these ways, then, by impressing on the mind the most affecting sense of Christianity; that is, by giving us, first, the most awful view of its pretensions, and then, by producing the firmest conviction of its truth, the word of prophecy hath an evident tendency, in proportion as we see its accomplishment, to promote the great ends, for which it was given, till the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, and all the inhabitants of the world shall learn righteousness234.
These uses are general, and concern all men: The
III. Next, I shall mention, is more especially addressed to thinking and inquisitive men.
When the view of things, exhibited under the two preceding articles, has raised our admiration, to the utmost, of the divine councils in contriving, preparing, and at length executing so vast a scheme, as that of Christianity, for the benefit of mankind; we are led to expect that the effect will correspond to the means employed, and that a striking change will, at length, be brought about in the condition of the moral world.
But, in surveying the history of this new religion, the theme of so many prophecies, and the great, the favourite object, if I may so speak, of divine Providence, “some are not a little scandalized to observe that nothing hath come to pass in any degree equivalent to such an expence of forethought and contrivance; that, for a season, indeed, virtue and piety seemed to triumph, in the exemplary lives of the first converts to this religion, and in the overthrow of Pagan idolatry; but that this golden age was soon over; and that, now, for more than fourteen hundred years, the passions of men have kept their usual train, or rather have expatiated with more licence and fury in the Christian world, than in the Pagan; that idolatry, in all its forms, has revived in the bosom of Christianity; and, as to private morals, that this Religion has even made men worse than it found them, or, at best, of corrupt sensualists, has only made them intolerant and vindictive bigots; that, in a word, the kingdom of heaven, as it is called, has, hitherto, neither served to the glory of God, nor to the good of mankind; at least, to neither of these ends, in the degree, that might have been expected from such high pretensions.”
The colouring of this picture, we will say, is too strong: but the outline, at least, is fairly given. The corruptions of the Christian world have been notorious and great; and though they are indeed the corruptions of men calling themselves Christians, and not the vices of Christianity, yet he who the most dispassionately contemplates so sad a scene, can hardly reconcile appearances to what must have been his natural expectations.
Here, then, the prophecies of this book, I mean, of the Apocalypse, come in to our relief. This book contains a detailed account of what would befall mankind under this last and so much magnified dispensation. It foretells all that history has recorded. It sets before us the corrupt state of the Christian world in almost as strong a light, as that in which our indignant speculatist himself has placed it. But it, likewise, opens better things to our view. It shews, that the end of this dispensation is to promote virtue and happiness; and that this end shall finally, but through many and long obstructions, be accomplished. It represents the cause of righteousness, as still maintaining itself in all the conflict, to which it is exposed; as gradually gaining ground, and prevailing, through the secret aid of divine Providence, over all opposition, till it obtains a firm and permanent establishment; till the Saints reign (not in a fanatical, but in the sober and evangelical sense of that word, reign) in the earth235; till the Lord God omnipotent reigneth236.
So far, then, as these prophecies appear to have been completed, they reconcile us to that disordered scene, which hath hitherto been presented to us; and give repose to the anxious mind, in the assured hope of better things to come. The worst, that has happened, was foreseen; and the best, that we conceive, will hereafter come to pass. Thus, the reasonable expectations of men are answered, and the honour of God’s government abundantly vindicated.
IV. The last use, I shall suggest to you, is that which immediately results from the study of the Apocalyptic prophecies concerning Antichrist; I mean, the support that is hereby given to Protestantism against all the cavils and pretensions of its adversaries.
For, if these prophecies are rightly applied to Papal Rome, and have, in part, been signally accomplished in the history of that church, it is beyond all doubt, that our communion with it is dangerous; nay, that our separation from it is a matter of strict duty. Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues237—are plain and decisive words, and, if allowed to be spoken of that church, bring the controversy between the Protestant and Papal Christians to a short issue.
I know, the advocates of Rome pretend, that, not a sense of duty, but a spirit of revenge operates in the minds of Protestants, when they affect to lay so great a stress on the Apocalyptic prophecies. “Reward her, even as she rewarded you238”—is, they say, another of their favourite texts, by which they take themselves to be as much obliged, as by that which they so commonly alledge for quitting her communion. It is not, therefore, to cover themselves from the imputation of schism, but to authorize the vengeance, they meditate against us, that we are stunned with the cry of Antichrist and Babylon239.”
To this charge, I can only reply, That, if any Protestant writers have put that sense on the words—reward her, as she rewarded you—they must answer for their own temerity and indiscretion. They, who understand themselves, and the language of prophecy, disclaim the odious imputation. They say, That they neither admit the lawfulness of persecution in any case, on the account of religion, nor have the least thought of instigating the Christian world to any sanguinary attempts against the Papacy. What the event may be in the councils of Providence, is another consideration: But they neither avow, nor approve those principles, which tend to produce it. They, further, insist, That the two passages under consideration, though, both of them, expressed in the imperative form, require a very different construction: That the language of prophecy seems very often to authorise what it only foretells; and to command that which it barely permits: that, therefore, the sense of such passages is to be determined by the circumstances of the case; that, where obedience is lawful, there the preceptive form may be admitted; but, where it is not, there nothing more is intended than the certainty of the event: That this distinction is to be made in the present case; for that Christianity doth not allow vindictive retaliations, or holy wars, for the sake of religion, and that offensive arms taken up in the cause of God (how confidently soever some have justified their zeal by the authority of the Jewish Law, ill-applied) are abominable and antichristian: Whence we rightly conclude, that—reward her, as she rewarded you—are words not to be taken injunctively; while those other words—come out of her, my people—expressing nothing but what it was previously our duty to do, are very clearly to be so taken.
Lastly, We say, that the context in the two places alledged, justifies this distinction. Come out of her, my people. Why? That ye be not partakers, of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues. The reason is just, and satisfactory. Reward her. Why? No reason is assigned, or could be assigned consistently with the spirit of the Christian religion: It only follows, as she has rewarded you—words, which express only the measure, and the equitable grounds of the allotted punishment, not the duty of Christians to inflict it.
I return, then, from the confutation of this cavil (the most plausible, however, as well as invidious, which the wit of Rome has started on this subject) to the conclusion, before laid down, That the completion of the Apocalyptic prophecies in the Papal apostasy, if seen and confessed, affords an unanswerable defence and vindication of the Protestant churches.
This conclusion, that the Pope is Antichrist, and that other, that the scripture is the sole rule of Christian faith, were the two great principles, on which the Reformation was originally founded. How the first of these principles came to be DISGRACED among ourselves, I have shewn in another discourse240. It may now be worth while to observe, in one word, through what fatal mismanagement the latter principle was even generally DISAVOWED and DESERTED.
When the Reformers had thrown off all respect for the Papal chair, and were for regulating the faith of Christians by the sacred scriptures, it still remained a question, On what grounds, those scriptures should be interpreted. The voice of the church, speaking by her schoolmen, and modern doctors, was universally, and without much ceremony, rejected. But the Fathers of the primitive church were still in great repute among Protestants themselves; who dreaded nothing so much as the imputation of novelty, which they saw would be fastened on their opinions, and who, besides, thought it too presuming to trust entirely to the dictates of what was called the private spirit. The church of Rome availed herself with dexterity, of this prejudice, and of the distress to which the Protestant party was reduced by it. The authority of these ancient and venerable interpreters was sounded high by the Catholic writers; and the clamour was so great and so popular, that the Protestants knew not how, consistently with their own principles, or even in mere decency, to decline the appeal which was thus confidently made to that tribunal. The Reformers, too, piqued themselves on their superior skill in ancient literature; and were ashamed to have it thought that their adversaries could have any advantage against them in a dispute, which was to be carried on in that quarter. Other considerations had, perhaps, their weight with particular churches: But, for these reasons, chiefly, all of them forwardly closed in with the proposal of trying their cause at the bar of the ancient church: And, thus, shifting their ground, maintained henceforth, not that the scriptures were the sole rule of faith, but the scriptures, as interpreted by the primitive fathers.
When the state of the question was thus changed, it was easy to see what would be the issue of so much indiscretion. The dispute was not only carried on in a dark and remote scene, into which the people could not follow their learned champions; but was rendered infinitely tedious, and, indeed, interminable. For those early writings, now to be considered as of the highest authority, were voluminous in themselves; and, what was worse, were composed in so loose, so declamatory, and often in so hyperbolical a strain, that no certain sense could be affixed to their doctrines, and any thing, or every thing, might, with some plausibility, be proved from them.
The inconvenience was sensibly felt by the Protestant world. And, after a prodigious waste of industry and erudition, a learned foreigner241, at length, shewed the inutility and the folly of pursuing the contest any further. In a well-considered discourse, On the use of the Fathers, he clearly evinced, that their authority was much less, than was generally supposed, in all points of religious controversy; and that their judgment was especially incompetent in those points, which were agitated by the two parties. He evinced this conclusion by a variety of unanswerable arguments; and chiefly by shewing that the matters in debate were, for the most part, such as had never entered into the heads of those old writers, being, indeed, of much later growth, and having first sprung up in the barbarous ages. They could not, therefore, decide on questions, which they had no occasion to consider, and had, in fact, never considered; however their careless or figurative expression might be made to look that way, by the dextrous management of the controversialists.
This discovery had great effects. It opened the eyes of the more candid and intelligent inquirers: And our incomparable Chillingworth, with some others242, took the advantage of it to set the controversy with the church of Rome, once more, on its proper foot; and to establish, for ever, the old principle, That the Bible, and that only, (interpreted by our best reason) is the Religion of Protestants.
Thus, ONE of the two pillars, on which the Protestant cause had been established, was happily restored. And, though Mr. Mede, about the same time, succeeded as well in his attempts to replace the OTHER, yet, through many concurring prejudices, the merit of that service hath not, hitherto, been so generally acknowledged. Whether the Pope be the Antichrist of the prophets, is still by some Protestants made a question. Yet, it seems as if it would not continue very long to be so: And it may not be too much to expect, that this institution will, hereafter, contribute to put an end to the dispute.
The Reformation will, then, be secured against the two invidious charges of Schism and Heresy (for neither of which is there any ground, if the Pope be Antichrist, and if the sole Rule of faith to a Christian be the canonical scriptures) and will, thus, stand immoveably on its ancient and proper foundations.
In saying this, I do not, however, mean to assert, that the Reformation has no support, but in this principle—that the Pope is Antichrist. There are various other considerations, which are decisive in the controversy between us and the Papists. So that, if the prophecies should, after all, be found to suit any other person or power, better than the Roman Pontif, we shall only have one argument the less to urge against his pretensions, and the Protestant cause, in the mean time, stands secure. But, on the supposition that the prophecies are rightly, and must be exclusively, applied to the church of Rome (of which every man will judge for himself, from the evidence hereafter to be laid before him) on this supposition, I say, it must be allowed that the shortest and best defence of the Protestant cause is that which is taken from the authority of those prophecies, because they expressly enjoin a separation from that society, to which they are applied.
Ye perceive, then, in all views, the utility of studying this prophecy of the Revelations, provided there be reason to admit the completion of it in the history of the Christian Church, and particularly in the history of Papal Rome. The importance and the truth of Christianity will be seen in their full light—The wisdom of the divine councils, in permitting the Apostacy to take place for a time, will be acknowledged—And the honour of our common Protestant profession will be effectually maintained.
This Lecture is now brought down to that point, from which, possibly, ye expected me to set out. But, in the entrance on an argument, new to many persons, and misunderstood by most, it seemed expedient to take a wide compass. The true scriptural idea of the subject, was to be opened, at large243; the general argument from prophecy, enforced244; the method of the prophetic system deduced, and further illustrated in a view of the prophecies more immediately respecting the Christian church245; Of these prophecies, those concerning Antichrist, or the apostasy of Papal Rome, were to be cleared of all prejudices and objections246; and the principles, on which the Apocalyptic prophecies, in particular, are to be explained, proposed and justified247: It was, further, necessary to bespeak your attention to the argument from the Apocalyptic prophecies, especially, concerning Antichrist, by shewing the several presumptions there are of its force248; and by setting before you the uses, to which this whole inquiry may be applied249.
This preliminary course, then, though it has been tedious, will not be thought improper, if it may serve, in any degree, to prepare and facilitate the execution of the main design, which is, To interpret and apply particular prophecies: A work, of labour indeed; but not unpleasant in itself; and (if carried on with that diligence and sobriety, which are, in reason, to be supposed) capable, I think, of affording to fair and attentive minds the fullest satisfaction.
The SEASON, I know, may be thought unfavourable to such an attempt. For the main stress must be laid on prophecies, about which Christians themselves are not agreed, at a time when the number of those persons is supposed to be very great, and increasing every day, who are not easily brought to acknowledge the reality of any prophecies.
This last would be an unwelcome consideration, if the fact were certain; I mean, if the present state of religion were altogether such as some, perhaps, wish, and as others too easily apprehend, it to be. But I hope, and believe, it is not; the truth of the case, so far as I am able to form a judgment of it, being no more than this. A few fashionable men make a noise in the world; and this clamour, being echoed on all sides from the shallow circles of their admirers, misleads the unwary into an opinion, that the irreligious spirit is universal and uncontroulable. Whereas, the good and wise, are modest and reserved: having no doubt themselves concerning the foundation of their faith, they pay but little regard to the cavils, which empty or corrupt men throw out against it. They either treat those cavils with a silent contempt; or, they lament in secret the libertinism of the age, without taking any vigorous measures to check and oppose it. Besides, they rarely come into what is called, free company; and they are too well employed, and at the same time too well informed, to hearken after every idle publication, on the side of irreligion.
For these, and the like reasons, the number of true believers is overlooked; or thought to be less considerable than, in fact, it is, and would presently be known to be, if a just estimate were taken of them.
Let me then, under this persuasion, express myself in the spirit, and almost in the words, of an ancient apologist250—“Let no man too hastily despair of the cause, we are now pleading. When we stand up in its defence, there are those who will lend an ear to us. For, whatever the vain, or the vicious may pretend, the prophetic writings are not fallen so low in the esteem of mankind, but that there are numberless persons of good sense and serious dispositions, who wish to see the truth of the Gospel confirmed by them; and are ready to embrace that truth, when fairly set before them, and supported by the clear evidence of historical testimony and well-interpreted scripture.”
Such is the language, which I am not afraid to hold to the desponding party among us. But should my confidence, or my candour, transport me too far, should even their apprehensions be ever so well founded, the zeal of those, who preach the Gospel, is not to abate, but to exert itself with new vigour under so discouraging a prospect. If there be a way left to strike conviction into the hearts of unbelievers, it must probably be, by pressing this great point of prophetic inspiration, and by turning their attention on a miracle, now wrought, or ready to be wrought before their eyes. Or, let the event be what it will, our duty is to illustrate the word of prophecy, and to enforce it; to withstand the torrent of infidelity with what success we may, and, if it should prevail over all our efforts, to make full proof, at least, of our sincerity and good will.
In the mean time, it becomes all others to retain and cultivate in themselves a respect for the prophetic writings; which either are, or, for any thing that has yet appeared, may be divine. To treat them, without the fullest conviction of their falshood, with neglect and scorn, is plainly indecent, and may be highly criminal and dangerous.
Josephus tells us, that, in the last dreadful ruin of his unhappy countrymen, it was familiar with them, to make a jest of divine things, and to deride, as so many senseless tales and juggling impostures, the sacred oracles of their prophets251; though they were then fulfilling before their eyes, and even upon themselves.
But the case, perhaps, is different; and we have no concern, in the prophecies concerning Papal Rome.
What! Have WE no concern in those prophecies (supposing, I mean, that they are prophecies, at all, and, that there is reason for applying them to the church of Papal Rome). We, who have but just been delivered from the more than Egyptian bondage, which they predict; and are, therefore, bound by every tye of interest, of gratitude, and of charity, to assert to ourselves, and to communicate to others, as far as we are able, the blessings of that liberty, wherewith Christ has made us free252. Have WE no concern in the several uses, mentioned in this discourse; and in many others, which I have not mentioned; it being well known, that all inspired scripture (of which prophecy is so eminent a part) is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness253?
Or, supposing that we had no direct concern in these prophecies, and supposing, farther, that the divine authority of them was even problematical; still it may deserve to be considered, I mean, by men the most libertine, who have not yet convinced themselves, by an exact and critical inquiry, of their utter falshood and insignificancy; I say, it merits the reflexion of all such, That the contempt of the prophecies, under these circumstances, has a natural tendency to corrupt the temper and harden the heart. And is there no room to question, whether this conduct, plainly an immoral conduct, be adviseable or safe?
Let us then, on a principle of self-love, if not of piety, keep the sayings of this book, concerning THE MAN OF SIN. From many appearances, the appointed time for the full completion of them may not be very remote. And it becomes our prudence to take heed that we be not found in the number of those, to whom that awful question is proposed—How is it, that ye do not discern the signs of this time?
Nay, there are prophecies, which, in that case, may concern us more nearly, than we think. St. Paul applied ONE of these, to the unbelieving Jews; of whose mockery, and of whose fate, ye have heared what their own historian witnesseth: And, if we equal their obdurate spirit, that prophecy may clearly be applied, and no man can say, that it was not intended to be applied, to ourselves.
Beware therefore (to sum up all in the tremendous
words of the Apostle254) Beware, lest
that come upon you, which is spoken by the
Prophets: Behold, ye despisers, and wonder
and perish; for I work a work in
your days, a work, which ye shall in no
wise understand, though a man declare
it unto you.