A34679:189
An exposition upon the thirteenth chapter of the Revelation by that reverend and eminent…
An exposition upon the thirteenth chapter of the Revelation by that reverend and eminent servant of the Lord, Mr. John Cotton ... ; taken from his mouth in short-writing, and some part of it corrected by himself soon after the preaching thereof ; and all of it since viewed over by a friend to him ... wherein some mistakes were amended, but nothing of the sense altered.
London: printed for Tim. Smart, 1656
Title page typeset from the transcription.
AN EXPOSITION Upon the thirteenth Chapter of the REVELATION. › Part
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
Secondly,1 we may see the danger of this admiration, and adoration, the deadly and desperate danger of adoring the Catholic visible Church and the Dragon. It is the cunning of these Priests and Jesuits to draw men by all means to be at least devoted to the Catholic Church, and to submit their power thereunto; for they say there is no union with ⟨p. 58⟩Christ the head, unless you be united to the visible head on Earth; this is their usual plea: Now mark what the holy Ghost speaks in this Text; he doth say, that all the worship of this mother Church is but the worship of the Dragon. Men are devoutly addicted to give up their souls to the Devil, when they give up themselves to the Catholic visible Church, the Lord professeth he is not honoured by them; they profess honour to he-Saints and she-Saints, and dead Saints, and to all relics and remnants of them; the honour of them is given unto the Devil, and not to God. That look what Paul saith of heathen Rome, John speaks of christian Rome; This I say, saith the Apostle, 1 Cor. 10. 20. That the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to Devils, and not to God; and I would not that ye should have fellowship with Devils; And so this saith John the holy Apostle (equal to the Apostle Paul, or next him, but here guided equally with Paul in the Authentical word of God) he saith, They that worship God according to the prescript of the Church of Rome, they worship the Devils, and not God; they worship the Dragon, the old Serpent. So that it is not so light a matter as Gallants at Court, and great Kings apprehend, they will be reconciled to their mother Church, they will go a Pilgrimage that is devised by the Pope, and perform duties as their ghostly Father directs them, and have their bead-prayers; In all this what do they do? This is a worship to the great beast, but this is the issue, and substance of it, they do indeed worship the Dragon; It is not the Lord Jesus, nor God the Father, nor the blessed spirit that is thus worshipped, but this is indeed the worship of the Devil.
Secondly,1 we may see the danger of this admiration, and adoration, the deadly and desperate danger of adoring the Catholick visible Church and the Dragon. It is the cunning of these Priests and Jesuites to draw men by all means to be at least devoted to the Catholick Church, and to submit their power thereunto; for they say there is no union with