II. THESS. II. "Let no man deceive you by any means; for the Lord shall not come, except there come a departing first, and that that sinful man be opened, the son of perdition, which is an adversary, and is exalted above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he doth sit in the temple of God, boasting himself to be God." "That wicked shall be uttered, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the appearance of his coming; even him whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all lying power, signs, and wonders, and with all deceivableness of unrighteousness, among them that perish, because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And therefore God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe lies, that all they might be damned which believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." I. JOHN II. "Little children, it is the last time; and, as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many begun to be antichrists already; whereby we know that it is the last time. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for, if they had been of us, they would no doubt have remained with us." JOHN EPIST. II. "Many deceivers are entered into the world, which confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist." TO THE RIGHT REVEREND FATHER IN GOD, AND HIS VERY GOOD Lord, THOMAS BECON WISHETH LONG LIFE, CONTINUAL HEALTH, IF we diligently consider the admonitions, either of Moses or of the prophets, either of Christ or of his apostles, we shall easily perceive that they were in nothing more diligent than in admonishing us to beware of false prophets, false preachers, false Christs, or antichrists. For they, being plentifully endued with the Spirit of God and with the knowledge of his holy mysteries, did afore-see what plagues, what pestilences, what wickednesses, what abominations, what infections, what diseases, should come to the flock of God through their fleshly persuasions and antichristian doctrines. They were not ignorant of the subtilties of Satan, neither was it unknown unto them that the ministers of Satan commonly use to transfigure and change themselves into angels of light, 2 Cor. xi. that they may the more easily deceive the simple poor Christians, which are not so prudent, wise, and afore-casting in their profession, as the children of this world are Luke xvi. in their generation. They know also right well how these grievous and ravening Matt. vii. wolves are accustomed to clothe themselves in sheep's apparel, feigning themselves to Acts xx. be that they are not, that by this means they may with the less difficulty creep into the consciences of men, and breathe into their hearts the pestilent odours of their most pestilent doctrines. For as they came in their own, that is to say, wolvish apparel, openly defying God, manifestly denying Christ, and that salvation which cometh by faith alone in his passion and death, and deriding or laughing to scorn the mysteries of the christian religion; so could they never be received, but rather rejected as extreme enemies of God and of all godliness. No man would accompany them, but abhor them. No man would hear them, but flee from them, yea, and hate them worse, according to the common proverb, than the dog and snake. [The family from which bishop Barlow was descended enjoyed for several generations equestrian rank at Barlow in the county of Lancaster. John Barlow, the father of the bishop, was committed to the Tower in the reign of Henry VII. for harbouring Sir Robert Clifford and his own brother-in-law the night before their departure for the court of Margaret duchess of Burgundy, and narrowly escaped the penalties of high treason. He left, by his wife Christian, daughter of Edward Barley of Barley, Hertfordshire, four sons and a daughter in a destitute condition, his estate being in his troubles wrested from him. William Barlow was educated at Oxford, and became fellow of Magdalene College there. He was afterwards prior of Haverfordwest, and of Bisham, and at length (27 Henry VIII.) bishop of St Asaph, from which see he was, in about two months, translated to St David's. Here he incurred much odium for stripping the episcopal palace of St David's and castle of Llewhaden of their leaden roofs. The ground on which he defended these proceedings was, that he wished Caermarthen to be the principal residence of the see. In 1547 Barlow was translated to Bath and Wells, but on the accession of queen Mary he was deprived or made to resign, and fled to the continent. On the death of Mary he re But like crafty, subtile, and deceitful turned, and was placed in the see of Chichester, Hic Agatha Tumulus; Barloi præsulis, inde So long she lived, so well her children sped, Bishop Barlow died in 1568, and was interred in his [2 Folio, couldeth.] workmen, craftily, subtilly, and deceitfully they handle the matter, clothing and covering themselves with sheep's apparel, outwardly pretending to be the same in word and work, in profession and conversation, that the true Christians are. What a goodly sheep's coat is this, with the true and faithful Christians to confess the same God, gospel, faith, law, doctrine, &c., and to receive and use the same sacraments, &c.! All these things do the false prophets and the antichrists. With us they confess one God, one Lord, one faith, one gospel, &c. With us they receive and use the same sacraments. Who will not now knowledge them to be sheep, that is to say, true and perfect Christians, join hands with them, and receive them into their fellowship? when, notwithstanding, they are grievous and ravening wolves, seeing they deny the virtue and power of all things aforesaid. As for an ensample: they confess, with the true Christians, that there is but one God, and that this one God ought to be honoured of all creatures; but they add that the saints in heaven are also to be worshipped, honoured, and called upon. They grant that Christ is our Mediator, Advocate, and Intercessor; but they teach that saints in heaven are also our mediators, advocates, and intercessors, and that by them, and in their name, we must offer up our prayers to God, if we will be heard. They confess the holy scripture to be the word of God; notwithstanding, they make antichrist's decrees and laws to be of equal authority with it, and shame not to say also, that we owe as much faith to unwritten verities as to the holy word of God, and that they are as necessarily to be believed, observed, and kept, as matters manifestly expressed in the sacred scriptures. They grant that Christ is our Saviour: they teach, notwithstanding, that salvation is to be found in their own works, in the merits of religious persons, in the intercessions of saints, in cowls, in caps, in hoods, in masses, in pardons, &c. They affirm that we are purged and cleansed from our sins by the blood of Christ: they hold plainly, notwithstanding, that there is a purgatory after this life; a place of most grievous pains and torments, where the silly souls, that be departed without due satisfaction, shall be most painfully pained, till they themselves have satisfied by suffering those pains, or else amends be made by other that live in this world. They affirm one baptism with us; yet do they mingle with the same their own leaven, as exorcisms or conjurations, salt, spittle, cream, oil, candle-light, hallowed water, &c. They grant the Lord's supper, which they commonly call the sacrament of the altar; but how miserably they abuse it who knoweth not? Of a memorial of Christ's body they make it the natural body of Christ, and compel the people to honour it as God, or else they most cruelly burn them and put them to death. Of a remembrance of Christ's sacrifice they make it the self-same sacrifice which Christ offered in his own person on the altar of the cross for the sins of the world, making the one of as great virtue as the other. Again, whereas Christ commanded that the bread should be broken in the remembrance of his body-breaking, and the wine drunken in the remembrance of his blood-shedding, they hold it up above their heads, as a spectacle; they hang it up with a rope till it be moulded and eaten with worms; they carry it about in public processions; and otherwise greatly abuse it, unto the great dishonour of God, and unto the high profanation of the holy mystery. They grant that Christ is the head of the church: notwithstanding they make an idol of their own appointment here in earth Christ's vicar, Peter's successor, and supreme head of the universal church of Christ throughout the world. They say also, that the secular powers are to be obeyed and reverenced; yet will they acknowledge no obedience to be due to the temporal rulers any further than the bishop of Rome shall permit and appoint them. If any thing be attempted of the civil magistrates contrary to the Romish bishop's decrees, then will they not only not obey, but also resist the higher powers, yea, and move battle and war against them, pronouncing the war to be godly and holy, the warriors to be God's knights; insomuch that, if any die in that conflict, they be precious martyrs in the sight of God, and their souls placed in heaven before their blood be cold. Thus see we by these few things aforesaid (as I may pass over many other matters, yea, and those innumerable) what grievous wolves these false prophets and mere antichrists are; so that it is not without a cause that Moses and the prophets, Christ and his apostles, do so earnestly and diligently exhort us to beware of false prophets. |