CHAP.

vo!.

sory, i p. 398.

15. But however imperceptible in the beginning, he was certainly known and distinguished among the ten kings, and possessed a degree of power, in his very rising up, by which he might, with as great propriety be said to reign, as any of the other kings.

16. When a prince or governor can pursue his own measures, without any real obstruction, he may properly be said to reign. What then remained, after the death of Marcianus, that was any obstruction to the growing influence and dignity of Leo the Great?

17. Before this period, the bishops were continually rivalling each other; different systems and parties clashing, and emperors and ecclesiasties standing in each others way, rendered it doubtful which or who should be raised to the highest degree of promotion. But after the rise of LEO, all the strife and contention that abounded, only contributed the more to augment his power, and raise to higher degrees of respect, his growing authority.

18. The fact is, that no object or pursuit was, at this time, of so public and influential a nature as that in which the priesthood were engaged; and no revolution, either in civil or ecclesiastical affairs, was considered of any great importance, further than as it related to the affairs of that church, in which the bishop of Rome filled the highest seat. And this is doubtless sufficient to establish his supremacy, at this period; how much soever inferior incidents may be magnified by the ingenuity of designing men, and urged as arguments to the contrary.

19. We shall now consider the nature of this dominion of Antichrist, in its first beginning; and if every thing begets its own likeness, it can present nothing to view essentially different from the spirit and works of Constantine.

20. The doctrine of Three persons in one God, Beel. His "which, (says Mosheim,) in the three preceding centuries, had happily escaped the vain curiosity of hu" man researches," was introduced as the fundamental faith and gospel of the Catholic church under CoNSTANTINE the GREAT. And something as mysterious remained to be introduced as the Catholic gospel, by LEO the GREAT, namely, Two distinct natures in

L

one Christ. And this catholic doctrine, (as observed CHAP. in the preceding chapter,) was established in the council of Chalcedon, assembled by the emperor MARCIANUS, upon LEO's demand.

21. And when this great fundamental doctrine was established, could there be any thing too mysterious to make a test of orthodoxy, or too contradictory to reconcile? Well might the Lion and the Lamb be united, Pagan and Christian, saint and sinner, yea, heaven and hell be blended together without change, mixture or confusion.

24.

22. Therefore it was well said of the little horn, or Dan. last king, of fierce countenance, that he should understand dark sentences, and practise and prosper, and destroy the mighty and the holy people. So far his power could extend, as to abuse and pervert what had been published abroad by the apostles, and thus tread the sanctuary or holy place under foot.

23. It is further observable, that although this king was mighty, yet it was not by his own power; but through the supine indolence of the emperors, the transgressions of the patriarchs and people which had come to the full, and the favour of the Barbarian kings, that he was exalted.

or, the people of ones. See

the hoty

Mar. Bi

10, 11.

24. And by such means, without any hostile exer- Dan. vii, tions of his own power, he waxed great, even against the host of heaven; and cast down some of the host and of the stars to the ground; [such as had the brightest reflections of the true light,] and magnified himself against the prince of the host.

25. He even magnified himself in the character and stead of Christ, and from him the daily sacrifice was taken away, and the place of his sanctuary was cast down. Every occasion, either of sacrificing sin, or sacrificing for sin, was removed, as soon as the two distinct natures could be united without any change; and the very place of the sanctuary, or order of distinction between the holy and profane, was cast down, to be trodden under foot of the Gentiles forty-two months.

26. Therefore an host [or time] was given him against the daily sacrifice, by reason of the proneness of the people to transgress; every rank of church

CHAP.

1.

Rev. xii.

2.

officers, and civil rulers, reposed their power and confidence in him, that by his ghostly authority, they might be furnished with power to crush and debase their inferiors to the lowest degree of wretchedness. And thus, by making peace with the great, and receiving them under his Catholic authority, he encouraged them to destroy many.

27. The Roman empire, the bloody dragon, now grown old in wickedness, bloodshed and cruelty, and under a mortal declension, overrun with Barbarians, and no further life to be derived from supine and indolent emperors, gave up the antient seat of Pagan power to the ghostly bishop of that city, together with as great authority as emperors had ever posses- t sed.

28. And under his sanctimonious influence, the same beastly superstitions were pushed on, under the name of religion, with numberless additions, and with Ecel. His increasing authority. Mosheim says, " To enumerate the rites and institutions that were added, in this century, would require a volume of a consid'erable size."

tory, vol. ii. p. 53.

29. Among the most noted of which, was a change in the manner of confessing sins, introduced by a ibid. permission from LEO the Great. "By this change, (says the historian,) one of the greatest restraints upon licentiousness, and the only remaining barrier of chastity, was entirely removed."

D. 55.

30. Then if the reign of Antichrist began with a gospel and government, under which licentiousness had no restraint, and chastity no barrier of protection, how disagreeable must be the task to pursue such a beastly dominion through all its progress? And what historian could unfold all the branches of wickedness, perpetrated therein, through a reign of one thousand two hundred and sixty years?

31. From the variety of matter which historians have selected out of the infinite mass, we shall only present a few of the outlines of this growing hierarchy; that by its most manifest fruit, it may be distinguished from the righteous and peaceful dominion of the Lamb.

CHAPTER II.

The Catholic Gospel propagated under the Reign of

M

Antichrist.

UCH has been said, by modern writers, about the benign religion of Jesus, and about the salutary rays of the gospel's enlightening the barbarous nations, even through the doleful ages of the Papal hierarchy; as if the reason of man must be forever insulted with the influence of names and sounds.

2. When we hear of the religion of Jesus, the Christian doctrine, the light of the gospel, the lamp of celestial truth, and of thousands being converted, and embracing the gospel of Christ; what ideas are we to affix to such words? Must we take it for granted that they are always used in their original sense?

3. Or, shall we not rather examine the naked objects, to which these dignified names are given, and denominate them according to what, in reality, they are? And what is this victorious gospel, this celestial light, and benign religion, but at best a vain philosophy, and a motley spectacle of superstition?

4. Long have the mere inventions of carnal and wicked men been imposed upon the ignorant for the light of truth-Long have mankind been deceived with their senseless jargon about God, and Christ; the origin of the world; the destiny of human souls ; the resurrection of the body ;-about death, and demons, and divine decrees, and grace, and purgatory, and penance ;-about the virtue of priestly prayers, and pilgrimages, and oil from the lamps which burned over the tombs of the martyrs of a wooden cross, of cream and spittle, and salt and holy water, of vows, and relicks, and monastic rules; and whatever else might excite the blind reverence, and stupid awe of their deluded followers.

5. These inventions have served no higher purpose than to furnish a wicked priesthood with sufficient authority to tyrannize over the common people, and live in luxury, lust and idleness, upon their property. This, in reality, was their benign gospel, which will

CHAP.

IL

CHAP. appear from the manner in which it was propaga

11.

Eccl.His

I p. 5.

ted.

6. A gospel can never be established or propagated among mankind, unless it brings with it sufficient authority to render it acceptable. The true gospel of Christ Jesus was intended to save mankind from their sins, by leading them into the practice of piety and virtue.

7. Therefore, when Christ and his followers set the example, the native excellence of their piety and virtue had the greatest authority that ever the gospel claimed over mankind, and was the principal and most salutary means by which it was propagated.

8. But far different was the case of Antichrist. Instead of a virtuous, upright and pious example, the civil sword was the salutary means which he employed to recommend his celestial light, and which tended only to increase unto more ungodliness, those barbarous works, which Christ Jesus came to destroy.

9. Great numbers of the Vandals, Sueves, Goths, and Burgundians, are said to have embraced christianity, of their own accord, in the fifth century. But from what follows, it is not difficult to judge what it was that they embraced.

10. Mosheim says, "All these fierce and warlike ory, vol. nations judged a religion excellent, in proportion to 'the success which crowned the arms of those that 'professed it, and esteemed, consequently, that doctrine the best, whose professors had gained the greatest ' number of victories. When therefore, they saw the 'Romans possessed of an empire much more exten'sive than that of any other people, they concluded that Christ, [or rather Antichrist] their God, was of all others the most worthy of religious homage."

11. CLOVIS, king of the Franks, was at this period, the most famous trophy of their Catholic grace. bid. p. 6. "His conversion to the Christian religion, is dated 'from the battle he fought with the Alemans, in the ' year 496-in which, when the Franks began to give ground, and their affairs seemed desperate, he im'plored the assistance of Christ, and solemnly enga'ged himself, by a vow, to worship him as his God, if he rendered him victorious over his enemies."