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when St. John is commanded from heaven to write (Rev. XIV. 13.) Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord, that they may reft from their labors, and their works do follow them-that we must worship images, and the relics of the faints; when our Saviour teacheth us, (Matt. IV. 10.) that we must worship the Lord God, and him only we must ferve-that we must invocate and adore faints and angels; when the apostle chargeth us (Col. II. 18.) to let no man beguile us of our reward in a voluntary humility and worshipping of angels-that we must pray to the virgin Mary and all faints to intercede for us; when St. Paul affirms, (1 Tim. II. 5.) that as there is only one God, fo there is only one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus-that it is lawful to fill the world with rebellions and treasons, with perfecutions and maffacres, for the fake of religion and the church: when St. James affures us, (I. 20.) that the wrath of man worketh not, the righteousness of God; and when Christ maketh univerfal love and charity the diftinguishing mark and badge of his difciples, (John XIII. 35.) By this fhall all men know that ye are my difciples, if ye have love one to another— I fay should any man affert these things fo directly contrary to reafon and to the word of God, and vouch ever so many miracles in confirma

tion of them, yet we fhould make no fcruple to reject and renounce them all. Nay we are obliged to denounce anathema against the teacher of fuch doctrins, tho' he were an apoftle, tho' he were an angel from heaven: and for this we have the warrant and authority of St. Paul, and to fhow that he laid peculiar ftrefs upon it, he repeats it twice with it twice with great vehemence, (Gal. I. 8, 9.) Tho' we or an angel from heaven preach any other gofpel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accurfed. As we faid before, fo fay I now again, If any one preach any other gofpel unto you, than that ye bave received, let him be accurfed. Indeed the miracles alleged in fupport of these doctrins are fuch ridiculous incredible things that a man must have faith, I do not fay to remove mountains, but to fwallow mountains, who can receive for truth the legends of the church of Rome. But admitting that any of the Romish miracles were undeniable matters of fact, and were attested by the best and most authentic records of time, yet I know not what the Bishop of Rome would gain by it, but a better title to be thought Antichrift. For we know that the coming of Antichrift, as St. Paul declares, (2 Theff. II. 9, 10.) is after the working of Satan with all power and figns, and lying wonders, and with all deceivable

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nefs of unrighteoufnefs: and he doeth great wonders in the fight of men, according to the prophecy of St. John, (Rev. XIII. 13, 14.) and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he hath power to do. Nor indeed is any thing more, congruous and reasonable, than that God (2 Theff. II. 10, 11.) should fend men ftrong delufion, that they should believe a lie, because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be faved.

But to return from this digreffion, though I hope neither an improper nor unedifying digreffion, to our main fubject.

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E are now come to the laft act of this

W difinal tragedy, the deftruction of Jeru

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falem and the final diffolution of the Jewish polity in church and ftate, which our Saviour, for feveral reasons might not think fit to declare nakedly and plainly, and therefore choofeth to clothe his discourse in figurative language. (ver. 29 and so on.) He might poffibly do it, as (1) Dr. Jortin conceives, to perplex the unbelieving perfecuting Jews, if his difcourfes "fhould ever fall into their hands, that they "might not learn to avoid the impending evil.” Immediately after the tribulation of those days, fhall the fun be darkened, and the moon fhall not give her light, and the fars fhall fall from heaven, and the powers of the heaven fhall be fhaken. Commentators generally understand this and what follows of the end of the world and of Chrift's

coming

(1) Dr. Jortin's Remarks on Ecclefiaft. Hiftory, Vol. 1. p. 75. (z) War

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coming to judgment: but the words immediately after the tribulation of those days show evidently that he is not speaking of any diftant event, but of fomething immediately confequent upon the tribulation before mentioned, and that must be the deftruction of Jerufalem. It is true, his figures are very strong, but no stronger than are used by the ancient prophets upon fimilar occafions. The prophet Isaiah speaketh in the fame manner of Babylon, (XIII. 9, 10.) Behold the day of the Lord cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land defolate; and he shall deftroy the finners thereof out of it. For the ftars of heaven and the constellations thereof shall not give their light; the fun shall be darkened in his going forth, and the moon shall not cause her light to fine. The prophet Ezekiel speaketh in the fame manner of Egypt, (XXXII. 7, 8.) And when I hall put thee out, I will cover the heaven, and make the ftars thereof dark; I will cover the fun with a cloud, and the moon shall not give her light. All the bright lights of heaven will I make dark over thee, and fet darkness upon thy land, faith the Lord God. The prophet Daniel speaketh in the fame manner of the flaughter of the Jews by the little horn, whether by the little horn be underftood Antiochus Epiphanes or the power of the Romans; (VIII. 10.) And it waxed great, even

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