IV. CHAP. God hath blinded the eyes of the unbelievers of this 'world? 60. "To us of the present day, (says Lardner,) 'this sense appears very harsh, and is one instance, 6 among many others, how far the heat of controversy 'will carry men."-But harsh as it is, this cominent of these orthodox Fathers has been retained as a *SeePbn. Catholic doctrine down to the present day—that it is Confes, the office of God, as a righteous judge, to blind and Faith, Ch. v. Sec. vi. harden the wicked.* 61. And yet, after all they have said concerning the Heretics' rejecting the scriptures, the whole of the charge, even according to their own account, is, that they perverted them. As an evidence of this, Lardner produces what was said by one of the bishLardner, ops of the council of Carthage. "I am of opinion "that blasphemous and wicked Heretics, who per"vert the sacred and adorable words of the scriptures, "ought to be accursed." vol. iii. p. 176. Eecl. Re senches. p. 90. 62. That they did not, in every point of view, reject the scriptures, is manifest from the accounts of their enemies. The truth is, they rejected the catholic sense of them. What was said of those early Heretics, was probably the same, in substance, that was said of other Heretics after them. 63. This general charge against ancient Heretics, of rejecting the scriptures, is judiciously stated by Robinson in the following words, which relate to Heretics of a later period. "The fact is, they knew the Old Testament economy was dissolved and abolish Among the many evidences, which Lardner produces, to prove that the heretics did not reject the scriptures, we notice the following. Augustin often blames the bereties for perverting the scripture in favour of their errors; not that they rejected or despised the scriptures, but that they misunderstood them, and put wrong interpretations upon them. All heretics, he says, endeavour to defend their faise opinions by the authority of the divine scriptures—In file manner St. Jerom says-that heretics strive to support their doctrines by que*tations of scripture-that they corrupt the truth of the gospel, by wrong interpretations. Tertullian speaks much to the same purpose.- Ambresipour's de ⚫scription of heretics is, that they are men who endeavour to support their opi ions by scripture, attempting to defend their errors by the authority of the *cred writings. Vicentius Lirinensis testifies the same thing, informing us that some in his days, who were called heretics, made great use of scripture, and continually answered their adversaries and calumniators by quotations from the sacred writings. He indeed says, “ It is the devil who puts these arguments into their mouths and speaks by the in." From which probably some will con*clude, [and perhaps very justly 100,] that many of their arguments from stripture, were such as thei: adversaries could not answer,—It would be endless to enter into particulars; suffice it to mention one instance: They argued against the resurrection of the body from St. Paul's words: 1 Cor. xv. 50. Lerdner, vol. ix. p152, 153, 164. 6 V. ed, and therefore they rejected, not as history, but CHAP. as a rule of faith and practice to Christians, all the books of the Old Testament down to Job.-They 'saw that people, who did not make this distinction, • confounded christianity with Judaism." 64.The schools under pretence of expounding Genesis, filled the church with vain disputes about ⚫ matter and spirit, the origin and duration of the 'world. They saw the priests set up Exodus, Num'bers, Leviticus and Deuteronomy, as the rules of an * hierarchy, never intended to take place among Christians. They heard them employ kings to kill and slay for Jesus, on the ground of the book of Samuel, Kings and Chronicles: and they discovered their 'wisdom by renouncing all such sophisms, and the 'consequences deduced from them." searches. 91. 65. "They placed religion in what it really con- Eeel. Re 'sists, piety and virtue. They had neither sophistry in their doctrine, nor tyranny in their government. They are said to have been bad expositors of scripture, and to have abounded in allegory: but assuredly, the vilest of all expositors is he, who finds in the gospel of peace a divine commission to spill the blood of his fellow creatures." 66. Thus far for the first distinction between Catholics and Heretics. It now remains to pursue those progressive steps by which the power of Antichrist was finally established. CHAPTER V. Antichrist established by Roman Emperors. HE design of Antichrist from the beginning, THE thority of Christ, and convert that light and revela- 2. The enemy of God and man, had been always Y. CHAP. ready to pervert and corrupt whatever had been revealed from heaven, by getting it into the hands of proud and wicked priests, who could accommodate it to their own carnal ends, for the purpose of promoting still higher degrees of wickedness, until it was made manifest, that such doctrines and institutions, whatever they were at first, could not, in their corrupted state, be of God. 1 Cor. i. 19, 25. 3. The Jewish and Pagan religions, at the time of Christ's first appearing, were quite sunk, as to any spiritual authority, and the priests were so notoriously wicked, that they had quite lost their credit with the people, as ministers of God; nor could they raise sufficient evidence, upon their corrupted forms and superstitions, to regain their influence over the people. 4. Under the ministry of Jesus and his followers, the wisdom of these impostors was turned into foolishness, and their strength became weakness. Their violent opposition against those harmless characters, which their own prophets and poets had described as the people of God, made it manifest, that in all their religious zeal, they were actuated by no higher motive than a regard to their own honour and interest. 5. And therefore, when all men were likely to desert them, and withdraw from them, not only their ill-gained salaries, but that religious reverence which they had deceitfully gained by their splendid superstitions, there remained no possible way for them to regain their credit and influence, but by hypocritically embracing that religion, which was confirmed to the people by the power of God. 6. By this means they could change their ground to advantage, and rise in wealth and honor, above their former standing, in proportion as this new revelation was superior to any that was past. This was to be the last time for their aggrandizement. God had sent his Son into the world, who was exalted above all principality and power; and what could be greater, than for them to become the sons of God?~ 7. Honest souls set out for this prize by taking up their cross, and following Christ. They entered by the door of self-denial; but these thieves and robbers V. sought means to climb up some other way. SIMON CHAP. MAGUS was the first; he stood ready to embrace the gospel in the very start, and even to purchase with money, that power which would raise him, in the es- Acts vii. teem of the people, to a level with the apostles. 8. DIOTREPHES gained the pre-eminence, and many followed his pernicious ways. The Alexandrian school furnished a new race of apostles, whose labours, through a great part of the second and third centuries, consisted in forming a new church, wholly different, even in its outward appearance, from the Primitive Church of Christ. 9. And this was effected by holding councils, appointing.offices, and assuming titles, condemning heretics, and disputing among themselves about their self-invented doctrines. Thus, from one thing to another, they altered, expunged, and added, until their Christian religion, so called, demanded the most honsurable seat in the Roman Empire, and its promoters became exalted to the utmost pitch of pride, luxury, and temporal dominion; by which the nations of the earth have been deceived, even to the present day. 18. 10. The followers of the Orthodox Fathers, have generally agreed, that the establishment of the Christian religion, so called, by the Roman emperors, was an introduction to the reign of Christ upon earth. They have generally agreed, that CONSTANTINE THE GREAT, was the man-child, spoken of in Revelations, Rev. vñ. who was to rule the nations: and, that the church which brought him forth, was the true church of Christ, which, at the expiration of twelve hundred and sixty years, would appear in her latter-dayglory; when all heresies, or false doctrines, (which are to be considered as the flood of the dragon,) should be swallowed up, and taken out of the way of Catholic Truth. 11. It is well known that this is the general faith of Protestants, as well as that of their Mother Church, and that all parties in the great Catholic division, consider CONSTANTINE the GREAT, as the most eminent father, and founder of their religion and government. The following remarks of President Edwards, are CHAP. conformable to the general opinion of protestant wri- ! ters on this subject. V. Flist. Re, Rev. vi. 15, 16, 17. 12. In his History of Redemption, he says, "I come now in the fourth place, to the great revolution that was in the world in the days of Constantine, "which was, in many respects, like Christ's appearing in the clouds of heaven, to save his people, and judge "the world." 13. "The people of Rome, being weary of the gov 'ernment of those tyrants to whom they had lately 'been subject, sent to Constantine, who was then in 'the city of York in England, to come and take the throne. And he being encouraged, as is said, by a 'vision of a pillar of light in the heavens, in the form of a cross, in the sight of his whole army, with this inscription, By this conquer; and the night following, by Christ's appearing to him in a dream with the same cross in his hand, who directed him to 'make a cross like that to be his royal standard, that his army might fight under that banner, and assured him that he should overcome." 14. "Accordingly he did, and overcame his ene'mies, took possession of the imperial throne, embraced the Christian religion, and was the first Christian emperor that ever reigned. He came to the throne about 320 years after Christ. There are several things which I would take notice of, which 'attended or immediately followed Constantine's coming to the throne." 15. First. The Christian church was thereby wholly delivered from persecution.-Christians had no persecutions now to fear. Their persecutors now were all put down, and their rulers were some of them Christians like themselves. Second. God now appeared to execute terrible judgments on their 'enemies-So that what now came to pass, might very fitly be compared to their hiding themselves in the dens and rocks of the mountains." 16. "Third. Heathenisin now was in a great meas C ure abolished throughout the Roman empire. Ima ges were now destroyed, and heathen temples pulled down. Images of gold and silver were melted 'down, and coined into money.-The heathen priests were dispersed and banished.” |