*

Head thereof, began to affert openly, that the Pope whas that Great Antichrift, or Man of Sin, concerning whom the Holy Spirit witneffed by the Mouths of his Ser vants the Prophets; which fome others understood not fo much of the Pope, as of the whole Roman Hierarchy. And amongst most of the Reformed Churches, Notwith- this has been the current and common Standing it Doctrine ever fince; and it must be conhas been feffed, that this Charge has been veSed by fome ry learnedly defended by many Eminent particular Proteftant Divines. See particularly DoWriters, as &tor Henry More's Mystery of Iniquity. To Grotius, obviate this, feveral of the Romanists, that mond, they might at the fame time defend and Thorn- fupport that abfurd Pofition of the Comdyke, &. mencement of the Millennial Glorious Vi

much oppo

Dr. Ham

fibility of the Church at the Reign of Conftantine the Great, afferted that Heathen Rome was the Seat of Antichrift, and that the Roman Emperors before Conftantine, or Nero in particular, was that very Son of Perdition who was to precede the Millennial Reign, but fure at a great diftance; whilst others, with no better Succefs, applied it to Julian the Apoftate. Now it must be own'd, that both these Emperors were very remarkable Types of him in fome refpects or other; but it is as plain, that neither of thefe were that very Perfon intended by that Appellation. However, thefe Opinions have been long defended by many of the Learned of the Roman Communion; whilft fome very few have fuck to the Old Primitive Doctrine..

The

The weakness of the two former Opinions has been very folidly exposed and baffled by the Learned Reformers; who, tho' they did not fet themselves profeffedly to oppose the latter Opinion, yet thought it muft of Neceffity fall to the Ground, if they could once prove their grand Pofition, viz. That the Pope was Antichrift, which upon the Grounds afore-mentioned most of them afferted.

troverfy

concerning

S2. I SHALL not here prefume to en- The State ter into a Detail of the feveral Arguments of the Conwherewith thefe Learned Writers have endeavoured to fupport their different Opi- a perfonal nions, but shall only fay, that whilft Men Antichrift. do not seek the Truth fincerely and impartially, it generally happens, that each Party finding what makes for her Turn, runs away with that, not regarding the reft; and thus not rightly dividing the Word of Truth, they make Diftinctions where there is no Difference; and fet those Truths in Oppofition to each other, which if rightly understood, would ferve mutually to explain, ftrengthen and fupport each other. This (I cannot but think) has been the Cafe between the Roman and Reformed Churches in this Controversy: The one finding that the Holy Scriptures, and the Doctrines of the purer Ages of the Church, feemed to understand by Antichrift, one particular Perfon that should arife in the latter Times, viz. in the End of the Roman Empire, juftified and defended this Doctrine in Oppofition to that Charge of Antichriftianifm which was just

ly

Natural

Lord.

ly caft upon them by the Reformers; fondly imagining, that if one were true, the other must be falfe; whilft on the other Hand, the Reformers, to make good their Charge, without regarding that Doctrine which they were forced to allow was Ancient, plied them only with those Arguments which were proper to the Cafe in Hand; without doubt believing, that fince they had proved the Pope to be Antichrift, they were to look no further. Whereas it appears to me, not at all difagreeable to that perfect Oppofition that fhall be between Antichrift and the Bleffed Jefus; that as our Lord Chrift has his Myftical, as well as his Natural Body, fo.Antichrift fhould have likewife.

of the My-3. THE Myftical Body of our Lord ftical and Chrift, is that Company of Believers Body of our throughout the World, united in the Bleffed Centre of Unity in the Spirit of Christ, who is the great Spring and Foundation of the Spiritual Life in them, and which does fo truly unite those who partake of its Fulness, as to make them one in themfelves, and one in God, even as the ever Bleffed Trinity are one themfelves, John 17. 21. and these are properly faid to be Members of Chrift, because he is their Head, and from his Fulness of Life and Strength, they all receive, in their feveral Meafures and Proportions; and from him the whole Body fitly joyned together, and compacted by that which every Joint Supplyeth, according to the effectual working in the Measure of every part, maketh encrease of the Body unto

the

the edifying of it felf in Love, Eph. 4. 16. The Members of this Myftical Body have been, in all Ages, labouring in the deep Refignation and Simplicity of Love, and in patient bearing of the Crofs, to fill up that which is yet behind of the Sufferings of Chrift (a segnala,* &c.) and to accom- *Col. 1.243 plish that measure of Sufferings, which fhall put a glorious Period to the suffering Oeconomy, by which we are wrought up to Perfection, Heb. 2. 10. Till we all come in the Unity of the Faith, and of the Knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect Man, unto the meafure of the ftature of the fullness of Christ, Eph.wi 4. 13. Which Perfection and Fullness, when it fhall be obtained by a felect Number, determined by God, in the fpiritual Kingdom of Mount-Sion; upon thefe, as the first Fruits of his Kingdom, fhall Chrift appear in his glorified Perfon, to fulfil the Joy of his Saints, and to confound his Op-~~ pofers; where he fhall reign as the visible Head of his Church: And fo his glorified Perfon, or natural Body (if I may fo exprefs it) fhall be as it were the head-co-" vering of his myftical Body which is the Church, Col. I. 18.

Antichrift

§4. Now I fee no abfurdity in fuppo- of the my fing, that the workings of Antichrift in the ftical and Powers and Centre of Darkness may be natural fomething analogous to this Oeconomy of Body of the Bleffed Lord Jefus, whofe Designs for the Reftitution of the lapfed Creation, he endeavours to counter-act and overthrow. The Devil, that grand Deceiver and Enemy of Mankind, has ever fince the Fall

of

of our first Parents, been plotting and contriving to plunge us deeper into Deftruction, and to make our Fall irrecoverable. In order to this, he has endeavoured to ape and imitate the Difpenfations of God, and to affimilate, as near as might be, the Spirit of Error to the Spirit of Truth. Thus without doubt he acted even in the Patriarchal Times: He had, we find, his Magicians in Egypt to oppofe the Finger of God in his Servants Mofes and Aaron; fo after the giving of the Law, as God had his confecrated Places for holy Worship, his Altars, Priefts, Feftivals, &c. fo had the Devil his likewife, as appears at large not only from Scriptures, but Heathen Antiquity. So in like manner this fame Spirit of Delusion, ever fince the Afcenfion of our Bleffed Lord into Heaven, fet himself to oppose and undermine that Spiritual Difpenfation, whereby God is preparing for himself a peculiar People, a royal Priefthood, a Church without fpot or wrinkle, or any fuch thing. Thus he ftirred up Simon Magus, under the Preaching of St. Philip at Samaria, to exalt himself, and give out, that he was fome great Perfon * yav. which the People explain, faying, This Man is the great Power of God, i. e. the Chrift; for by that Name he is called, 1 Cor. 1. 24. Upon which Account this may not improperly be called the Head or Beginning of that Oppofition; which, in regard of its being peculiarly intended against the Perfon and Offices of Chrift, is emphatically called Antichriftian. And St. John in his

*Tiva

firft