A modest enquiry into the mystery of iniquity by H. More.

CHAP. XV.

1. That the rest of the Sacred Titles of Christ are referrible to the Prophe∣cies we have already treated of. 2. As likewise all the Oppositions to the Divine life in general, saving that of turning the Church into a City of Merchandises. 3. Which seems predicted in the Lamentation over the Ruines of Babylon, Apoc. 18. Ver. 11. The meaning of the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth verses. Ver. 14. Of the fourteenth, fifteenth and sixteenth. Ver. 17. Of the seventeenth, eighteenth, nineteenth and twentieth. Ver. 21. The Exposition continued from the twentieth to the end of the Chapter.

1. AS for those other Attributes of Christ's Person, as where he is called The everlasting Father, and styled God, Light, Truth, The Prince of Peace; the Oppositions to them are referrible to those Prophecies we have already treated of. The first to those that concern the first mem∣bers of Antichristianism. For there is no greater enemie against the Second Birth or Holy Regeneration then that rabble of Idolatrous and Su∣perstitious practices comprised in the two first members of Antichristia∣nism. Those Prophecies also of the Mauzzim or Daemons to be wor∣shipped are Prophecies of the Opposition against Christ's Divinity; and the Darkness of Aegypt, of that against the Light of the Gospel: The False-Prophet and makers of Lies, against the Truth; and the warring against the Saints a contradiction to the Prince of Peace. These hints may suffice for those remaining Attributes of Christ's Person. We shall now proceed to the Predictions of the Antichristian Oppositions to the Divine Life.

2. And the first were such as opposed the Divine Life in general▪ Which are indeed all those Oppositions hitherto, gross Idolatry, burthensome Su∣perstition, the Oppositions against Christ as King, Priest and Prophet. To which those particular Oppositions against the Divine Life in general which I noted are also referrible, and therefore treated of already.

There is onely one thing behind; which is the turning of the Church of God into a Mart or Fair by those religious Nundinations and Collations of Ecclesiastick Preferments for mere Secular Interest, the turning the exercise of Christian Offices into a mere Trade of gain for the Priests of what Dignity soever. This is known to be a gross miscarriage in the Church of Rome, and is in my mind most lively and graphically prefigured and de∣painted in that Lamentation upon the Ruine of Babylon, Apoc. 18. begin∣ning at the ninth verse.

3. Which I shall endeavour briefly to give some light to in my re∣hearsing the Prophecie.

9. And the Kings of the Earth, who have committed fornication and lived deliciously with her, shall bewail her and lament for her, when they shall see the smoke of her burning,

10. Standing afar off for the fear of her torment, saying, Alas, alas, that great City Babylon, that mighty City! for in one hour is thy judg∣ment come.

That this City Babylon is not a City of brick and stone, but a Polity, and particularly the Roman Hierarchy, I have evidently proved in my Joint-Exposition. And truly it seems improbable to me, that the Spirit of God should put the Apostle upon composing so long and copious a Threnodia upon her ruine and desolation, if it signifi'd no more then the burning of the City of Rome in a literal sense, and so slightly as did Toti∣las, and with so little design or effect. Wherefore in that sense which we have already given, and do not at all doubt but is true, let us hold on briefly to illustrate the Text.

In these two first verses comes in the Lamentation of the Kings of the Earth, such as committed fornication with her, that is to say, such as were of her Idolatrous profession, but, seeing how things went, durst not assist her for fear, but let her burn till the end. Which again shews that Babylon's fall is not at once, but by degrees, as I have already noted. For though her judgment be come in one hour, yet the execution of it may take up a con∣siderable time.

Ver. 11. And the Merchants of the Earth shall weep and mourn over her, for no man buieth her Merchandise any more.

12. The merchandise of gold, and silver, and precious stones, and of pearls, and fine linen, and purple, and silk, and scarlet, and all Thyine wood, and all manner of vessels of Ivory, and all manner of vessels of most precious stones, and of brass, and of iron, and of marble,

13. And cinnamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oil, and fine flower, and wheat, and beasts, and sheep, and horses, and chariots, and slaves, and the Souls of men.

The first sort of Mourners or Lamenters seem to be those of the Se∣cular Power; but by these 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 seem to be understood Eccle∣siastick persons, that traffick in the Church, where all is supposed to pass or be disposed of for Mony or Earthly Interest: and therefore in reproch they are called the Merchants of the Earth, though otherwise their Titles and Professions point to nothing but to Christ, and God, and Heaven; Divine, Holy, Sacred or Religious being the external badge of them all.

The varieties of the Commodities they deal in are so numerous, that it were too great a 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 to seek a Mystery in them all, when it may possibly be nothing else but an Hylasmus or dwelling upon Material Ob∣jects in a redundant manner for the adorning of the outward Cortex of the Prophecie. But the ground in general of the Lamentation of these Mer∣chants is, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 that the Fair is vio∣lently broke up, or else quite unfrequented; that there is no buying and selling of such Commodities in Babylon as was wont, sith Babylon her self

is unaccessible, as lying, burning and smoking in the wrath of God: no sale of gold, silver, precious stones, pearls, fine linen, purple, silk and scar∣let, the rich attire of those higher parts of the Whore, (as you may see in the foregoing Chapter) fit for Popes, Cardinals, and other great Personages of that Babylonish Body, and their Officers: no Thyine wood for the roof of their Temples, or for carved Idols to whom sacrifice is done; (for I suspect some such allusion in 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉) no Incense for burnt-offerings for their adored Images; no Images of Ivory, precious stone, brass, iron, or marble, nor any other sacred Utensils; for of this latitude of signi∣fication is 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, as the use of the word occurres in the Byzantine Hi∣story, where Images of silver and gold are called 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉. And Achmetes, Chap. 12. 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉.

But to proceed; No trafficking any longer in Aromatick odours, oyls, or ointments for sacred Unctions. No man will participate any longer of her Panis benedictus, nor tast of her idolized Wafer made of the finest flour, nor sip of the wine of her Chalice, though they would offer it to the Laiety. The tithe Calf and Lamb also with his consecrated wool shall fail; nor shall there be any more Redemption of Souls out of Purgatory by Masses hired for money. The Merchandise also of Horses, Chariots and Slaves shall cease in that day.

The Greek has it, 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 Which three words be∣ing in the Genitive Case alone amongst all the rest, nor yet in regimine, intimates that they must goe together, and make up one thing. Which I conceive to be the Equippage of some of those greater Dignities in this Mystical Babylon, and to be a Key to the meaning of the rest of these Commodities, that they are to be understood some such way as I have in∣terpreted them, and would interpret these, not Horses, Chariots and Slaves, but Horses, Coaches, and Lacquays to run by them in querpo; which is un∣couth to be set to sale thus joyntly, if it were literally meant. Wherefore the sense is, That the Merchandise of such Dignities in their Church, as whose Equippage is to goe with their Coach and Horses and Lacquays to run by them, that this Merchandise will fail also amongst the rest, in the ruine and desolation of Babylon.

Ver. 14. And the fruits that thy soul lusteth after are departed from thee; and all things that were dainty and goodly are departed from thee, and thou shalt finde them no more at all.

That is to say, Those great and opime Preferments and Dignities which thy ambitious and worldly minde so longingly hankers after. For these are the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, the Poma desiderii, as the Vulgar Latine has it, the 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, those fat and fair Objects that make their mouths run a-water so in this full Babylonish Market, where every thing is to be had for Money, and nothing without it.

15. The Merchants of these things, which were made rich by her, shall stand afar off, for the fear of her torment, weeping and wailing,

16. And saying, Alas, alas, that great City that was clothed in fine linen and purple and scarlet, and decked with gold and precious stones and

pearls! for in one hour so great riches are come to nought.

The sense is, As well the Buyers as Sellers of Spiritual Preferments, who had thriven on the trade, shall be very sorry to see the ruine of that Polity that sustained them, but not be able to help it; and shall magnify the great Pomp and Splendour of the Whore amidst their lamentations over their own losses. For it is observable, that this sixteenth verse is the very same in a manner with the fourth of the preceding Chapter, where the Rai∣ment of the Whore is described. Which is understood of the Pope, the Car∣dinals, and other Grandees of that Idolatrous Church.

Ver. 17. And every Ship-master, and all the company in Ships, and Sailers, and as many as trade by Sea, stood afar off,

18. And cried, when they saw the smoke of her burning, saying, What City is like unto this great City?

19. And they cast dust on their heads, and cried, weeping and wai∣ling, saying, Alas, alas, that great City, wherein were made rich all that had Ships in the Sea, by reason of her costliness! for in one hour is she made desolate.

If we consider what Sea signifies stylo prophetico, the multitudes of men upon Earth; Analogy will easily lead us to the understanding of what may be intimated by Ships, namely consecrated Houses disjoyned from the rest, as Ships are usually separate in the Sea. It seems therefore to give a glance at the Babylonish Churches abused to gainful Idolatries and Superstitions, where they sell the use, the sight or possession of several consecrated things, exchange Souls out of Purgatory for money, and do 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, turn the very Word of God into an adulterate piece of Ware or Mer∣chandise.

It might haply seem something too phanciful to imagine that these 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, these Naves Mercatoriae, have any allusion to that known term of Church-Architecture, the Nave of the Church; and yet Mr. Mede thought that in the Vision of the Goat, which stood for the Greek Empire, there is an Allusion to 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, from whence the Aegeadae, which are the Macedonians, are named. Nor is there any Improbability (to anticipate the Objections of those who deservedly have a great respect and reverence for places consecrate to Divine worship) that Christ, who complained that the Jews had made the Temple at Jerusalem a Den of thieves, should in this Vision, being as highly provoked, rebuke as severely, in saying these men of Babylon have turned his Churches, which stand for better uses, into so many Ships of deceitful and cunning Merchants. See the Prophetick Alphabet.

And they cast dust on their heads, &c. These three verses do plainly al∣lude to, and are in a manner a Transcript of, the Vision of the Destruction of Tyre in * 1.1 Ezekiel. And all that handle the ear, the Mariners and all the Pilots of the Sea, shall come down from their Ships, they shall stand upon the land; And shall cause their voice to be heard against thee, and shall try bitterly, and shall cast up dust upon their heads, they shall wall•…•… themselves in the ashes: And they shall make themselves utterly bald for thee, and gir•…•… themselves with s•…•…ck-cloth, and they shall weep for thee with bitterness of heart and bitter wailing. And in their wailing they shall take up a lamen∣tation

for thee, and lament over thee, saying, What City is like Tyrus, like the destroyed in the midst of the Sea? Which is like this concerning Ba∣bylon, Alas, alas, the great City, &c. What City is like to this great City? And so like passages there are both in this Vision of Ezekiel and in Esay Ch. 23. that I must confess I suspect these also to be Prophecies of the same thing, especially considering that the Whoredome of Tyrus is so much up∣braided to her in those Prophecies, as it is here to Babylon in this.

For in one hour is she made desolate; that is to say, Suddenly and un∣expectedly is she a-making desolate. For she may be a long while a-burning, and not set on fire on all places at once, as I have intimated above. But that these Sea-men should set up so piteous a note and lamentation, the cause is plain, their trade and livelihood is gone. For they were made rich by reason of her costliness; so the English Translation, and accommo∣dately enough to the literal sense. But 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉 may as well signifie out of that treasure of honours, dignities, preferments and offices, wherewith she was able to enrich these Merchants.

20. Rejoyce over her, thou Heaven, and ye holy Apostles and Prophets, for God hath avenged you on her.

That is to say, Rejoyce ye heavenly-minded over these Merchants of the Earth, and ye that are Teachers of the pure and Apostolick doctrine, and declare the naked truth of things unto the world, be ye glad that the Lord has avenged the bloud of your Predecessours upon her, the bloud of the Waldenses and Albigenses, and of those that suffered in Queen Ma∣ry's time, with the rest of the holy Martyrs of Jesus.

Ver. 21. And a mighty Angel took up a stone like a great Mil-stone, and cast it into the Sea, saying, Thus with violence shall that great City Baby∣lon be thrown down, and shall be found no more at all.

The sense is, That at last there will be an utter ruine and dissipation of this Idolatrous City or Polity, namely, at the pouring out of the seventh Vial. But in the mean time I cannot omit to note how unlikely a thing it is that this great Triumph and rejoycing, and that so perfect and final de∣struction figured out by the plunging of a Mil-stone by a mighty Angel to the bottom of the Sea, should signify nothing else but Totilas his sacking of Rome, (which presently recovered again) and the spirits of the Apostles and Prophets their looking down through the windows of Heaven, and ma∣king merry at that Spectacle, which could not but be very sad and Tragi∣cal to many a good Christian.

22. And the voice of Harpers and Musicians, and of Pipers and Trumpeters shall be heard no •…•…re at all in thee; and no Crafts-man, of whatsoever craft he be, shall be found any more in thee, and the sound of a Mil-stone shall be heard no more at all in thee.

23. And the light of a candle shall shine no more at all in thee, and the voice of the Bridegroom and the Bride shall be heard no more at all in thee: For thy Merchants were the great men of the Earth; for by thy Sor∣ceries were all Nations deceived.

24. And in her was found the bloud of Prophets and of Saints, and of all that were slain upon the Earth.

The twenty second and part of the twenty third verse comprise the sad silence and desolation of this City; the rest the reason of her destruction.

And the voice of Harpers and Musicians, &c. All this first part may be either nothing else but a Prophetick Hylasmus, setting out one single thing, the destruction, silence and vast solitude of this Idolatrous Hierarchy, by the privation or absence of such gross and palpable Objects as occur in a City inhabited, as the noise of Musicians, the hammering and knocking of Artificers, the grinding of Mills, the light of Candles in the night, and the singing and dancing at Weddings, and the like: Or else there may be a more particularly contrived Allegory in reference to this Mystical City here meant; As if we should understand rather the Musick at their Idolatrous worship, by these here specified, which were onely a Diorismus; & by these 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, such as do technas consuere sophisticas & politicas in Theology and Church-Administration, for the Interest of their Hierarchy, these Ar∣tifices Imperii in Imperio, and those also that work curious work in the Scholastick Divinity; by the sound of the Mil-stones, their fraudulent Pro∣fit, for 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, as you may see in Achmetes; by the light of a Candle, Honour and Prosperity, as you may reade in the same Author; and, lastly, by the Bridegroom and the Bride, not the spiritual Marriages betwixt Christ and a Nun, or the Virgin Mary and a Monk in the Monasteries, but the propagation of this Pseudo-Catholick Religion, that it shall be no longer propagated; for the end of Marriage is Propagation.

For thy Merchants were the great men, &c. Now follows the reason of this great Desolation, which is threefold. The first, The Riot and Lordliness of these Mystical Merchants; they were 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, that is to say, Great men of the world, and greatly worldly, ambitious, covetous and sensual, which is the very essence of an Earthly minde. Which how much it has been amongst the Popes, Cardinals, Abbots, and other 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, Primates or Maximates, if you will, of the Roman Church, History and the mouths of all men are full of it.

The second is, The debauching the world with Idolatry, accompanied and countenanced with the pretence of a power plainly Magical of changing the Elements in such a sort as all the Magicians of Pharaoh could never do, nor had the face to attempt the like, it being so beyond all credibility; besides other Magical feats of an inseriour Rank, and Necromantick Stories of the Apparitions of dead Saints. Whence Idolatry is indigitated here by 〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉, as also that Cup in the hand of the Whore is look'd upon as a Phil∣trum; and likewise their being said to be deceived by these Sorceries im∣plies their being seduced to Idolatry, to which they tend, as appears plainly from what is written of the Miracles of the Two-horned Beast, ch. 13. 13, 14.

The third and last Reason is, The bloudy Cruelty of this Roman Hier∣archy; In her was found the bloud of Prophets and of Saints, &c. namely, of such as out of conscience to the Law of God and Christ could not submit to their Idolatrous Profession and Practice, but witness against them. And not their bloud onely is laid to her charge, but the common bloudshed in Christendom by wars and tumults, which they, for the better rooting them∣selves in Countries and Kingdomes, ingage the world in, and abet and assist when begun by the Secular Powers; whenas if they were the true Succes∣sours of the Apostles, as they boast themselves to be, they would make it their business that Christians should not spill one anothers bloud, nor consci∣entious men lose their liberties or lives for being the faithful Professours of

the pure Apostolick doctrine, nor suffer the Turk to over-run Christen∣dome rather then they will forsake their Idols and Daemon-worship, or * 1.2 repent of their Prophet-murthering Fornications, Sorceries, and thievish Impostures.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Ch. 27. 29, &c.
• * 1.2

  Apoc. 9. 20, 21.