Anti-Christ pointed and painted out in his true colours, or, The popes of Rome proven to bee that man of sinne and sonne of perdition fore-prophesied in Scripture by the clear witnessing of Roman Catholicks themselves, who lived and died in the communion of that church / by William Guild.

CHAP. XVIII. Of the finall destruction of Antichrist and ruine of the papall sea. 2. Thess. 2.8. (Book 18)

IT being alreadie showne concerning Antichrist, who he is, and where he is, when he came, & whence he came, and what are his marks also whereby hee may bee knowne, followeth now at last that wee see, what shall be his end, or whether he goeth, and this shall be according to his name given to him by Paull, & common with Iudas, that is, he is called the son of perdition, & accordingly to perdition he shal go. And as he is called Abbadon Apo∣lyon a Destroyer, so shall destruction bee his later end. The manner whereof the Apostle setteth downe 2. Thess. 2.8. That first that wicked man shall be re∣vealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the breath of his mouth, and at last shall destroy him with the brightnesse of

his comming. Which Cardinall Cajetan so expoundeth, By the breath of his mouth that is (sayeth he) by the spirituall vertue of the word of the Gospell piece and piece shal he turne away men from following of Anti∣christ, and leade them to embrace the trueth. Which indeed is that victorie of the Lamb spoken of Revel. 17.14. And the effect of that glorious worke of Re∣formation begunne before our dayes, & which shall hold on in magre of the op∣position of all the enemies thereof, till it come to the finishing cubit, and Dagon utterlie fall before the Ark of God, so that it may justly then be said, Babylon is fallen, is fallen, & that these loftie towres of hers are utterlie and for ever laid in the dust.* 1.1

Of which her finall destruction long ago did her owne Nicolaus Clemangis Archdeane of Bajon and Parisian doctor of Theologie forewarne her in his book,* 1.2 De corrupto Ecclesiae statu, saying. If there∣fore according to Ezekiels parable of the two sisters Ahola and Aholiha, their elder sister (meaning Rome) hath done the like, yea, in a mad humor hath exceeded them in wic∣kednesse and fornication, How shall she think

upon impunitie? Therefore awake (sayeth hee) at last out of thy long sleepe (O unhapy Sister to that Synagogue) I say awake at last, and put an end (as I may say) to thy sleeping out of thy drunkenesse wherein so long thou hast continued. And see reade and understand that Prophet, and others, if by the testimonie of that prophet, thy ebrietie hath not besotted thy heart, If therefore there be any spark left unto thee of a sound minde, diligentlie (sayeth he) consider the Pro∣phets speeches and thy owne estate, and that thy confusion is not sleeping, but it is at hand, and thou shall see what end abydeth thee, al∣tho wickedlie and dangerouslie thou hast lyen so long in thy filthienesse; And if thou will not hear the Prophets, nor believe that they speak of thee, when they threaten so heavie judgements, thou trulie deceiveth thy self and by too dangerous an errour beguyleth thy self: For it is of thee that they speak, and thou should acknowledge, that these things which they threaten shall fall upon thee except thou repent. But giving and not granting that their prophecyes concerneth others than thee. What thinketh thou (sayeth hee) of that prophecy that meerlie concerneth thee, to wit, that of Iohn in th e Revelation? at least dost

thou not think in some part that belongeth to thee? Or hast thou lost so all shame and sense tha•• thou can deny that? Behold therefore that prophecie, and reade the damnation of the great Whoore that sitteth on many waters (sayeth he) and there behold thy wicked deeds, & thy fusure fall. A good progres•• whereof to Gods glory and his saints re∣joycing is alreadie seene, and as Euphra∣tes was diverted by Cyrus frō the eastern Babylon before her overthrow, so by the diverting and drying up of these waters in a great part, whereupon the Whoore sitteth, by Gods people deserting this westerne Babylon & their comming ou•• of her upon Gods call (as Lot did out of Sodom, Gods people out of Egypt, & th•• Christians out of Ierusalem to Pella be∣fore the destruction thereof) her over∣throw and finall destruction likewise is shortly to follow, & as the Prophet spea∣keth Ier. 51.33. As the tim of Babel's thre∣shing is come, yet a little whyle, & the time of her harvest shall come, & tho she sit as a Queene and in her security sayeth, Shee is 〈◊〉〈◊〉 Widdow, & shall see no sorrow, yet her destruction & plagues shall come upon her in a day when she looketh not for it, the rea∣son

whe••eof is rendered to be this, in o••∣position to her strength and all her adhe∣rents, For strong is the Lord that judgeth her▪ and loud is the cry of that blood, shed by her. Rev. 18.24. In which work (as was said of Esterne Babylon before) so happie shall they be whether princes, pastours, or people,* 1.3 according to their severall sta∣tions, that shall be found most instrumen∣tall; The full performance whereof the Lord hasten to His glory and his saints rejoycing. AMEN.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Revel 18.
• * 1.2

  P. 64.
• * 1.3

  Psael. 137.9.