The ruin of Rome, or, An exposition upon the whole Revelation wherein is plainly…The ruine of Rome, or, An exposition upon the whole Revelation wherein is plainly…

And all this is to be understood of the state of the Church under the ten great persecutions, raised up against it by the persecuting Emperors, Domitian, Trajanus, Nero, Antonius, Decius, Diocletian, Maxentius, Licinius, and other cruel tyrants, even until the time of Constantine the Great. Stories do report, that these cruel persecutors did in a most savage and horrible manner, torture, torment, and shed the blood of innumerable multitudes of Gods people. So that as the first estate of the Church, under the preaching of the Gospel, was joyful and peaceable: So this second estate of the Church, under such outrageous persecutions, was troublesome and tragical; and yet for all that, in the middest of all these swords, blood and flames of persecution, the Church did still prevail and increase. For the blood of the Martyrs is the seed of the Gospel. And the Church often times being sown in blood, yet springeth up, and groweth in blood. And as for the ⟨p. 86⟩cruel and blood-sucking Emperors, which could not endure the light of the Gospel, but strove by tyranny to suppress it; the just God which taketh vengeance of all iniquity, and especially of the persecution of his children, was even with them well enough: for he gave them over, some to be slain in the wars, some to be tortured with horrible diseases, some to be poisoned, some to be murdered, and some to murder themselves. Thus did God the avenger show himself from Heaven, as the Stories report, and pay home to the full these blood-suckers of his Church, making them examples of his Wrath, and spectacles of his vengeance to all Nations.

And all this is to be understood of the state of the Church under the tenne great persecutions, raised up against it by the persecuting Emperours, Domitian, Trajanus, Nero, Antonius, Decius, Dioclesian, Maxentius, Licinius, and other cruell tyrants, even untill the time of Constantine the Great. Stories doe report, that these cruell persecutors did in a most savage and horrible manner, torture, torment, and shed the bloud of innumerable multitudes of Gods people. So that as the first estate of the Church, under the preaching of the Gospell, was joyfull and peaceable: So this second estate of the Church, under such outragious persecutions, was troublesome and tragicall; and yet for all that, in the middest of all these swords, bloud and flames of persecution, the Church did still prevail and encrease. For the bloud of the Martyrs is the seede of the Gospell. And the Church often times being sowne in bloud, yet springeth up, and groweth in bloud. And as for the