or an Apoſtacy,a receſſion,a departing,or a flanding off,as the word im- purts, ſo that Apoſtatic may be either good, when it is from evil to good ; or evil, when it is from good to evil, It is always uſed 11 this latter ſenſe in Scripture. Again it is either Civil or Spiritual : Ct- vil, as when people fall off from the Civil Goverment they were un- der, and ſo ſome would ſenſe the Text of the defe&tion trom the 89mar Empire, the Eaſt part from the Weſt,and the Ten Kingdoms that aroſe out of it, which was the Opinion of #ieron, Epiſt, ad Algaſiam z but the Apoſtle writing to the Church ſpeaks not of Civil Government,and the Atairs of State ; and ſpeaks of ſuch an Apoſtaſie which would give ric to the man of tin, and the Revelation of him. And this man of fin riſeth 7 in the Church, not in the Civil State ; and the conſequence of this Apoltacy is giving men up to ſtrong deluſions to believe alye,and then follows their Damnation ; and the cauſe of it is ſaid to be, , 79? receivivg the Truth in the Love of it ; ſo that it is not a Civil, but Spirt- tual Apoſtacy, as the word in Scripture is always (I ſuppoſe) ſo taken- An it is not of a particular perſon, or of a particular Church, but a general Apoſtacy of the Church, though not of every individual z that Church that is afterwards called the Temple of God, where the man of ſin iitteth, and is exalted above all that is called God, which cannot be in any particular Church,and would not the Apoſtle have ſpecified that particular Church ? ncither is it ſome lefſer Apoſtacy,which may befal the beſt Church; but ſuch as would be eminent, call'd » aTogzare, that Apoſrifie, greater than that of ſome believing Jews to Judaiſm, or of {ume Chriſtians to Nicolaitiſme, which ſome think is meant, much 1efcan it be Caizs Caxſar,as Grotius interprets,or any one perſon, for the Apoitle ſaith not Apoſtare, but 4poſtacy, elle a man of fin coald not 7ile out of it,and exalt himſelf above all that is called Gotd,and Wor- ſhipped, it is an Apoſtacy from ſound Doctrine, infticruted Worſhip, C hurch-Government, and true Holineſs of Life,as may be further con- ſi.1cred after wards z neither is the Apoſtacy all at once,but gradual ; tor out of it ariteth a man of fin, who grows up to this manhood by degrees, ani fin and wickedneſs are not compleated at firft as well as Holinels ; much le(s is 1his Apoſtacy a falling off from the Church of Romeas fume Papifts affirm, and make the Reformation to be the Apoſtacy, which wasa return from it ; doth the mu of fin riſe out of the Reformation ? Did any ofthe firftReformers oppoſe and exa!tthemlelves above all that is called God, or is Worſhipped? Or, as God fat in the Temple of God, &c. was any of their coming with all power, and ſigns, and lying wonders ? Or, did any of them forbid to Marry, and to abſtain tro Meats, Gc. which is the charater our Apofile gives of this Apoſtaſie, i Tim, 4,1, 2,7, neither is the Mahomztan Religion this Apoſtaſte, tor Mahomer fitteth not in theTemple of God neither is it the falling off of the converted Jews from the Jewiſh Church, to the Goſpel Church the Apoſtle would never call that an Apoſtacy. » The next Argument is from the revelation of the man of ſi : This is alſo to precede Chriſt's laſt coming ; it is an Zebrai/m, A Warlike man is ftileda Man of War ; a bloody man, a man of bloods ; a deceitful man, a man of deceit,V&c, ſoa man eminent in fin, is here called 4 man of ſin z not only perſonally lo, but who doth promote !in, propagate it, countenance it, command It, Vid. Platina, Sigebert, Blonetas, Beuno, Uſpregenſis, Mate. Pariſ, 1n ins of Omiſſion, forbidding what God requireth,in tins of Commiſſion, requiring, or allowing what God hath forbidden. In fins of the firſt 4 able, corrupting God's Worſhip by Superſtition and Idolatry, taking God's Name in vain by heartleſs Devotion, difſembling Piety, diſpen-| fing with Perjury and talſe Oaths, taking away the ſecond Command- ment,and the morality of the fourth Commandment,and making mens Faith and Obcdience to reft upon an humane Authority, &c, In fins of the ſecond Tablc,to diſpenſe with Duties belonging to Superiours and Inferiours ; with Murder, Adultery, Fornication, Inceſt, Robbery, Ly- ng, Equivocation, &c. And betides all theſe, promoting a falſe Reli- £10n, and deftroying the true by Fines, Impriſonments, Baniſhments,
I. THESSALONIANS.
pheus, Moulin, And becauſe the fin of the whole Corrmunity is chicfly <entred in him, and ſprings ont from him ; \ wan in whom is the Fountain of all Sins, Aterom ad Alpafizm s And tio Sin of this State is called a Myſtery of Imquity, ver, 7. and fo difteri:s from rhe fin io all other political States : and therefore may well be dged to bs the frme with the Whore fitting on many Waters, that hach M-Fery written
to be meant of a ſingle Woman, and the tru: Apoſtolick Church is repreſented by a Woman in [ravel, R-v, 12. 1. Why then thuald we take the Man of Sin to be a ſinzle Man, as the Papiſts do, Ui, a jew of the Trihe of Day, that ſhall erca his Sinzdom and [empie in F-rtte
ri:1tlem, ſeduce the Jews, continue three yours and an half, make great: havock of the Church, to be oppo! by E295 and Elizs, and is to come a little before the end of the Weoril, Ridiculous! Neither-can this Man of Sin be Simon Magr:s and his tollowers, for l:s was revealed