true religion, was the beast that came up out of the CHAP. sea? 43. This the protestants have not only asserted, but abundantly proved; and no less evidently do the marks of the second beast, and the number of his name, apply to Lutherism and Calvinism, which more or less extend their influence to every dissen-` ting party. II. 44. The second beast was to cause an image of the Rev. xiii. first to be made; to give life to the image, and cause 15. 16. 17. that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed: This did LUTHER and CALVIN and their followers by the energy of the sword, of which their Form of Concord, their creeds and history of the extirpation of heretics, are an evidence to this day. of 45. The second beast was to do great wondersand to deceive them that dwell on the earth by reason of the wonders which he had power to do. And what was the reformation, from the time that Lu- Hist. THER burnt the laws of his sovereign, but a scene Charles V of wonders? a late Protestant writer says, in rela- vol. iii. p、 tion to their defending their cause by the sword, 331. they determined not to renounce those truths, to the knowledge of which they had attained by means so wonderful," i. e. full of wonders. 46. And he was moreover, to cause all, both small Common and great, rich and poor, free and bond to receive a prayer & mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads. ConfesAnd that no man might buy or sell, save he that had sions. the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 47. By sprinkling a little water and making a sign of a cross on the forehead, whole Protestant states' and kingdoms were christianized; and by taking a solemn oath with their right hand lifted up the oath or Sacrament [sacramentum] they were sealed to full membership in the national covenant; and without these distinguishing marks, it is evident from all their writings, that no one was entitled to any religious privilege. 48. The Anabaptists for renouncing the mark on W. Conf. the forehead were rooted out of the Protestant F. Acts of dominions. Moreover the civil and ecclesiastical Ass. Sess. powers ordain and command, their said confession of 23-1639. faith, &c. to be subscribed by all his majesty's subjects of what rank and quality soever, under all civil pains. They caused all to receive the oath, K k 2 ' all CHAP. II. Rer. xiii. 18. 'all masters of universities, colleges and schools, all scholars at the passing of their degrees-and finally all members of the kirk and kingdom.' Thus comprehending under their mark, both small and great rich and poor, free and bond. 49. The Protestant mark [xxaux] or character of a Christian was always an outward ceremony, oath, or profession; so they caused all both small and great to receive that Christian character or mark. That all masters, and scholars, and ministers and such as made merchandize of their gospel, as well as merchants in burg, and all who paid rent to the kirk, must have the true Christian character, the sealing ordinance, the only mark of God's true religion administred and received. 50. And however formed or reformed, these outward marks, so long as the dispositions and actions of man are beastly, his assuming a Christian character and claiming a relation to Christ, only distinguishes him, as a wolf in sheeps clothing is distinguished from other beasts. 51. Protestants never would admit that man in the present life, could rise to any thing higher than his own fallen nature, or be so united to Christ as to become one with him, he must continue to be fallen man, mere man, a daily transgressor of the commands of God, and to this they must all covenant and swear, and the seal of this character is their distinguishing point of communion. 52. Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: and this is easily done, for it is the number of man [gr. av6pcπ8, anthropou, common gender, male and female] not one particular man, which in Greek is o amp, o aner. Then if the number of the beast is the number of man, so the character of the beast is the character of man, even beastly man in his natural human depravity, which he established, supported and applauded, under a profession of the name of Christ; and the number of him under this profession in his common gender, is simply in the original Greek x¿s. 53. This first character 2, is sounded ch. in number 600. The second E or ¿, is sounded xi. in number 60. The third is a double letter s sounded st. in number 6. Then put ch, xi and st together and it makes CHXIST. Such has a long deceived world taken for the true CHRIST. Gen. vi. 7. 54. Thus fallen man in his most reformed state is found II. found wanting. When God saw the wickedness of CHAP. man that it was great-It repented him that he had made man-and he said I will destroy man. His eyes in a former beastly appearance are said to have Dan. vii. 8. been like the eyes of man. And last of all, the num.- See 2 Pet. ber of man is almost like Christ, but it is not Christ, ii. 12. 14. and however near the resemblance, justice forbids that he should be heir to the promise of everlasting life. 55. This beast begins with a great number, and ends with a small; so the Protestants began with christening whole nations at once, causing all both small and great to receive a mark, and a name, to the letters of which they added nought. Their Judges xii kirk it is true had some appearance of Christ, but 6. like the Ephraimites and their Sibboleth, for Shibboleth, they never could frame to pronounce it right. 56. While they and their kings and nobles, and ministers of the gospel professed to bear the cross of Christ (at least the mark of it in the forehead) they unhappily betrayed their attachment and likeness to the rebellious children of Israel, who had their distinguishing mark only in the flesh of the foreskin; but the Protestant mark on the skin of the forehead was neither so deep nor so dangerous to the beast. 57. The Protestants and their descendants like the uncircumcised Israelites, glory much in their outward marks, but more in their number; but though the number of these children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, it is only the number of the beast, the number of fallen man, such as Christ called serpents a generation of vipers. 58. Again, as the Jews confined the favour of God to their mark and their number so did the Protestants, and so do all the Christian world, therefore the character and doom of both are well described by the Isai. lxv. prophets,-But ye are they that forsake the Lord, 11. 12. 15. that forget my holy mountain, that prepare a table for that troop and that furnish the drink offering unto that number. Therefore will I number you to the sword, and ye shall all bow down to the slaugh ter for the Lord God shall slay thee and call his servants by another name. 59. To sum up the whole matter, the Christian world in its present state is so universally corrupt, that every orthodox Christian has to be marked with a significant mark or sign of human depravity, and bound by every obligation that ever was given to restrain vice, 60. The CHAP. Rev. xiv. 9. 10. 60. The sexes cannot live together in any order, without a ceremonial covenant ratified and solemnized by a consecrated priest; they cannot be governed without the compulsive energy of arms and human laws; they cannot be credited without the sanction of a solemn oath-nor agree among themselves without the interference of the civil magistrate to keep them in order; none of which pertains to the true kingdom of Christ; and therefore after the appearance of the Lamb on mount Zion, the Angel so justly proclaims with a loud voice: 61. If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation, and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb. CHAP. II CHAP. III. Remarks on the present State of the Witnesses of III. THE natural state of man being a state of proba- CHAP. tion, it became necessary that he should be brought into judgment, and render an account of all the deeds done in the body: and as wickedness cannot go unpunished, so it cannot be condemned without witnesses: for this cause, therefore, hath God selected from amongst mankind, men of like passions with the rest; and endowed them with the light and gifts of his spirit, to stand as witnesses against the general corruptions and abounding wickedness of the world: and no age has been without such, from the beginning to the present day. εν 2. Even Enoch the seventh from Adam prophesied against the wicked, saying, Behold, the Lord Jude 14 cometh [Gr. en] in ten thousand of his saints, to 15. execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against them. 3. Noah was a true witness against the Antideluvian world, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and Samuel, all bore a swift testimony against sin. The prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, with the lesser prophets, and thousands who received the same spirit, were witnesses for God, against the growing corruptions of human nature. 4. So also John the Baptist, and Jesus the true and faithful witness, his disciples, apostles, and true followers, thousands of whom by the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, knew what was in man, and testified against his depravity, to the suffering all kinds of hardships and torture, even to the laying down of their lives. 5. We have seen moreover, from the most approved records, that through the darkest ages of Antichristian apostacy, God had a people who bore witness to the truth, a people who taught the principles of virtue, and practised what they taught, who took no oaths, bore no arms, and held the reins of spiritual |