Antichrist the pope of Rome: or, the pope of Rome is Antichrist Proued in two treatises. In the first treatise, 1. By a full and cleere definition of Antichrist ... In the second treatise, by a description 1. Of his person. 2. Of his kingdome. 3. Of his delusions. ... By Tho: Beard...

CHAP. 1. Touching the Image of the Beast.

FIrst, Apocalyps 13.14. it is written by S. Iohn, that the second beast should make an Image of the first, which had the wound by a Sword and did liue: and that hee should haue power to giue life vnto this Image, and cause it both to speake and to be worshipped. Which words may be vnderstood either li∣terally, or morally, or mystically: but in which sense soeuer we take them, yet euery way they sit the Pope, and demon∣strate him to be the true Antichrist, figured out by this se∣cond Beast whereof Saint Iohn speaketh.

2. For if wee vnderstand it as many of the Popish wri∣ters doe, literaly, that this must bee one of the miracles of Antichrist, that hee shall giue life and speech to a dead Image, which because no Pope euer did, therefore hee cannot bee Antichrist: I answere, that it is false, that neuer any did so: for else what meane those frequent motions, noddings, sweats, and weeping of Images, reported in their Legends, and Martyrologies? At that great contro∣uersie betwixt the Monkes and married Priests, at the Sy∣node at Winchester vnder Dustan, a Crucifix is said to haue thus spoken in fauour of the Monks, against the Priests, Non

fiet, non fiet, Iudicastis bene, mutaretis non bene; non bene s••••∣tiunt qui presbyteris fauent, that is, It shall not bee, it shall not bee, you haue iudged well, you shall not doe well to change; they thinke ill that fauour the Priests. It is written in the Romane Breuiary in the Feast of Saint Thomas, that when hee prayed very earnestly before a Crucifix at Naples, this voice was heard from the Crucifix: Bene scripsisti de me Thoma, qua•• ergo mercedem accipies? Thou hast written well of mee Tho∣mas, what reward therefore wilt thou receiue? Also in the life and acts of Hyacinthus, recorded by Seuerinus, we read that an Image of the Virgin Mary thus spake vnto Hyacin∣thus flying from the Tartars. O filt Hyacinthi, effugis man•••• Tartarorum, & me cum filio meo dissecandam & conculc••••∣dam relinquis? Accipe me igitur tecum: that is, O sonne Hy∣acinthus, doest thou flee from the hands of the Tartars, a••d leaue mee with my Sonne to be cut in peeces and trampled vp∣on by them? Take me therefore with thee: and when he an∣swered that her Image was so bigge that he could not carry it: it answered, Accipe, quia alleuiabit pondus filius meus, Take me, for my Sonne will helpe to beare thy burden. Wee finde also in Cesarius, another Image of the blessed Virgin, that in the behalfe of a Renegate that had denyed Christ, and humbled himselfe before her, crauing pardon for his sinne, spake thus vnto her Sonne in her armes; Dulc••ssime fili mi∣serere istius hominis: Sweet Sonne haue mercy of this w•••••• which when he turning away his face denyed to doe, she laide him vpon the Altar, and cast her selfe at his feet, saying, Ego te precor mi fili, vt propter amorem mei huic homini vel•• ignoscere, I pray thee O my Sonne, for the loue of mee, to take pitty of this man. Then the Sonne lifting vp his Mother, said, Nihil ego tibi possum denegare Mater mea, ecce ego om∣nia ei condono propter amorem tui. O my Mother, I can deny thee nothing, behold, I forgiue him all for thy sake. The like examples we finde of the Image of the blessed Virgin speak∣ing to the Porter of a Church, concerning Alexius; Fac i••∣troire hominem Dei. Let the man of God enter in: and to Saint Bridget, in the Church of Saint Paul in Rome; and to Pope

Celestine in the Church of Saint Mary the Empresse, with a number more. Now if these reports be true, as why may not the deuill that (according to their opinion) caused the dead body of Samuel to speake, cause also a dead Image to doe the like? or if they be false and counte••feit, deuised by superstitious Priests; yet howsoeuer, they make a good ar∣gument against them, that the Pope is Antichrist, who thus giueth life and speech to dead Images. I omit that they constraine all their Disciples to worship Images, and con∣demne and persecute all them for Heretikes that refuse this seruice. And albeit these Images cannot be said to be por∣traitures of the Beast, to wit, the Romane State, for this was to erect an ougly Image with seuen heads and ten hornes; yet they may truly be called his Images, both because they are made in fauour of him, and hee also possesseth and causeth them to be adored. As Laban Gen. 32. and Micah, Iud. 18. call the Images which Rahel and the Danites had stollen f om them, their Gods; because they made, worshipped, and possessed them.

3. Thus literally may this prophecy rightly bee applyed to the Pope: and as literally, so may it morally also. For as by the Beast is meant the Romane Empire, so the Image of that beast is nothing else but the representation of that Empire, and this is notably verified in the Westerne Empire erected by the Popes, first in France, and after in Germany. For as I∣m ges retaine the name, and a certaine outward similitude of the prototype, but are vtterly void of the Nature and essence thereof: so these new Emperors of the West, bore the name and title of the ancient Roman Emperors, and were adorned with Imperiall Ornaments and prerogatiues of honour, yet wanted the power and Maiesty of the ancient Empire, wherein its life consisted. For the ancient Emperors ruled ouer Rome, and the Prouinces subiect thereunto: but these neither haue dominion ouer Rome, nor ouer any ancient Prouince of the Empire: but are a bare title and name with∣out the thing. Now the Pope hath giuen a spirit vnto this Image, that is, an Imperiall dignity and speech, that is, po∣wer

to make Lawes and Decrees. So that seeing the Pope after the decay of the old Easterne Empire was the erection of this new in the West, creating the first Emperor, and in∣stituting a Colledge of Electors for the choise of new in their succession, and confirming the choise by his authority; we may deseruedly conclude, that he is the second Beast, that is Antichrist, which made an Image, and gaue life and speech to the first Beast.

4. And so it is also morally fit and true: but if we take it in a mysticall sense, then the Image of the Beast is the Pa∣pacy it selfe, especially since it vsurped both the Spiritual and Temporall Monarchy of the world. For the ancient Empe∣rors held an absolute and vniuersall power ouer the whole world; so doth the Pope challenge vnto himselfe the like power and authority ouer all Creatures, yea more then e∣uer any Emperor did; ouer the Angels in heauen, Soules i•• purgatory, and all men vpon earth: in regard of which in∣partite Dominion, they assume vnto themselues a Triple Crowne. Neither need it seeme strange that the Papacy is made and animated by the Pope as the Image of the first Beast, seeing he claimeth and vsurpeth to himselfe both the Swords, Spirituall, and Temporall, and is not onely the Spi∣rituall, but also the Temporall Lord of the world. In which regard, Apoc. 17. Antichrist is said to bee both the seuenth King, and the eight: in respect of his temporall power, the eight, and so the image of the sixt, which was the Empe∣ror: but the seuenth in respect of his Spirituall Monarchy, which giueth life vnto the Temporall, and maketh it 〈◊〉〈◊〉 speake, and without the which, all his temporall power we•••• but a mute and brute Image. This truth, that the Papacy is the liuely Image of the Romane Empire, is confessed by the most part of the popish Rabbies themselues. Steuchus i•• his booke De donatione Constantini, saith, As all Nation once obeyed the Emperors, so now they doe the Bishop of Rome. Blondus Rom. instanc. Lib. 3. nu. 86. calleth him 〈◊〉〈◊〉 perpetuall Dictator, the successor not of Caesar, but of the fisherman Peter, whom all the world adore and worship,

Henry Bullinger paralelleth them thus: As many of the Empe∣rors had fulnesse of power, and were worshipped as Gods, so is the Pope as an earthly God inuested with plenitude of power.

5. But all this will more clearely appeare, if wee shall a little compare the pride, power, and behauiour of Popes, with that of ancient Emperors. And to begin with Augustus Caesar: he besides the Imperiall dignity, vsurped the soue∣raignity in religion, and was therefore stiled Pontifex Maxi∣mus: the same name vsurpeth the Pope, and not onely so, but as Caligula proudly called himselfe, Caesar Optimus maxi∣mus: so he himselfe, Pontifex optimus maximus, the proper epithe••es of the Diety. Domitian would thus bee stiled, Do∣minus & Deus noster, Our Lord God; the same title is at∣tributed to the Pope, Dominus Deus noster Papa, Our Lord God the Pope. Cal••gula his voice to his Grandmother Anto∣nia was this, Memento mihi omnia li ere, Remember that all things are lawfull vnto me: and doth not the Pope challenge the same power? Whatsoeuer he listeth is lawfull, though in it selfe neuer so vnlawfull; his reason stands for Law, and his Decrees all without examination are bound to obey. Nero vaunted that the whole world was his, and that it was in him to giue and take away Kingdomes. And doth not the Pope brag, that the world is his Diocesse, and that hee hath power ouer Nations, to plant or pull vp Kingdomes at his pleasure? Caligula and Maximinus the yonger, caused their feet to be kissed of their Saluters, and to that purpose Dioclesian decked his shooes with Gold and Gems; the Pope in like pride or greater, causeth not onely the common people, but euen Kings and Emperors to kisse his feete. Claudius pardoned incestuous marriages, and allowed the Vnckle to marry with his Neece: and the Pope likewise dispenseth with incestuous Contracts condemned by the Law of God and man. The Emperors ascribed into the ti∣tle and society of Gods whom they listed; as Adrian com∣manded Antinous his Ganimede to bee worshipped as a God: And what doth the Pope else, when he taketh vpon him power to canonize dead Saints, and to insert them into

the Calender to be adored, together with their Images and Relicks? Caligula bragged, that nothing was law and equi∣ty, but that which came out of his mouth: and doth not the Pope say as much, when he affirmeth that his Decrees are vnquestionable, and that all Lawes are sealed vp in the closet of his brest? Ʋespasian in loue of filthy lucre raysed a tribute out of Ʋrine; and doth not the Pope the like out of the Stew••s? Nero, when he conferred an office vpon any man commanded him to wring out of mens purses, by the vertue of that office, all that they could to enrich his Coffers, saying Scis quid mihi opus sit, hoc agamus nequis quicquam habeat. The same minde and maner possesseth the Pope, hee would haue no man rich but himselfe, sucking in like hell, the reue∣nues of the world into his bottomlesse gulfe, from whence there is no redemption: whereupon Mathew Paris was bold thus to write, Romana Curia instar barathri potestatem habet & consuetudinem omnium reditus absorbendi. It was ordina∣ry with the heathen Emperors, to sell ciuill honours for mo∣ney: and as ordinary to the Pope, to set to sale the dignities of the Church. Simonia (saith the same Mathew Paris) perinde regnat in Romana Curia as si nullum peccatum esset. The Romane Emperors ascended often to the Imperiall throne by murder and bloodshed: and is not this the beaten path to the Papacy? Hildebrand (as testifieth Benno) poyso∣ned six or seuen Popes in order by the helpe of Brazutus his familiar friend, that hee might seate himselfe in the Papall Chaire. Nero and Ʋespasian caused those whom they saw to grow rich, either to be condemned to death vpon false crimes, or to be poysoned, or by some other violent course to be taken out of the way, that they might enioy their wealth. And thus dealt Alexander the sixt with many wealthy Priests and Cardinals, as witnesseth Onuphrius. In fine, Ca∣ligula being offended with the Romanes, wished them alto∣gether to haue but ••ne necke, that at one blow he might dis∣patch them: and Martin the second being angry with the Germaines, wished that al Germany was but one great poole, that they might all bee drowned at once. What should I

speake of the abhominable incests, adulteries, Sodomitries, and filthy luxuries, wherein the Beast and his Image the Pa∣pacy, do answer each other? Do not the Christian, or rather Antichristian, Ziscusses, Intiusses, Iohns, Bonifaces, and Paules, imitate the Heathen Neroes, T••beriusses, Caligulaes, and Heliogabalusses, in all their foule vices? It would be te∣dious to prosecute all: these for instances may suffice, to teach vs whither this image of the Beast is to be referred, and that the Pope is the great Antichrist, in whom all the li∣neaments of the old Romane Empire are liuely drawne, and the very face thereof expressed in liuely colours.

6. For the clearing of this point, it is further to be ob∣serued, that S. Iohn saith, that the second Beast should exer∣cise the power of the first in his presence, and cause the earth and them that dwell therein, to worship the first Beast, whose deadly wound was healed, Apoc. 13.12. Which pro∣phecy is so clearly accomplished in the Pope of Rome, that no man that hath but common reason can doubt thereof. For what is the power of the first Beast, but the Maiesty and Au∣thority of the Romane Empire, reduced into the hands of the Romane Bishop, with such subtilty and craft, that the Em∣perou s were perswaded by them, that they went about on∣ly to aduance their dignity, when in the meane while they wrought nothing but their destruction, leauing them a body without life, or rather a shadow in stead of a body? So that if we regard the thing it selfe, the Papacy and the Empire, is one and the same in effect. But if we consider the outward fashion and appearance, the Pope to blind mens eies, hath changed the name, and vnder pretence of his double power, vsurped a Soueraigne authority ouer the whole world. The power then of the first Beast, which Antichrist should exer∣cise, is onely this; that as the Romane Emperours challenged a Soueraignty ouer all the Prouinces and Kingdomes of the earth: So the Popes in like pride, vaunt of the like power o∣uer all Kingdomes to appertaine vnto them: which how fit∣ly it may be called the Image of the Beast, let all men iudge. For proofe of all this, let vs heare one of their owne Aduo∣cates,

Augustinus Stenchus, in his booke de donat. Constan∣tini. In one place whereof he saith, that the Maiesty of the Romane Empire, was reuiued in the Papacy, which though it was not attained to the same greatnesse, yet it retained a certaine forme (or if you will image) thereof: and this he would deriue from the donation of Constantine, who (as he affirmeth) quitting Rome, gaue it and all the West, to a grea∣ter Prince then himselfe, the Pope. For the Emperour of holy things, is greater then the Emperour of earthly. And in an∣other place, to shew that this second Beast the Papacy, cau∣sed the first to be worshipped and adored, he saith that by this donation of Constantine, the Empire was not impaired, but augmented and ennobled: for it reuiued the power and language thereof, which were quite both defaced, and gaue new life vnto it, when it was well-neere dead: yea whereas before it was onely a temporall dominion, now it inuested it with both swords, and so the Papacy supported the Empire, which was ready to fall, and made it againe famous through the whole world. And as touching the deadly wound of the first Beast, which S. Iohn saith was healed: some are of opinion, that this Prophecy was then fulfilled, when as the line of the Caesars was cut off by the death of Nero, and the Empire translated to another stocke, which healed the wound thereof, and made the estate more flourishing, then euer it had bene before. But I thinke rather by it to be meant, the banishing of the Emperours out of the West, which was the wound, and erecting a new Empire in stead thereof, which was as it were the healing of the wound: and all this brought to passe, by the power and meanes of the Pope, whose estate is the second Beast, and beareth the image of the first.

Notes

• Bullinger us Apoc. 13.
• Mat. Par••s in Henri•• c. 3.
• Onuphrius in Alexand. 6.