Moreover, Saint John seeth here with the Lamb an hundred forty and four thousand: that is, the particular members of the Church, putting a certain number for an uncertain, and specially alluding to the sealing of the twelve tribes of Israel, as before hath been showed. For it might be demanded, where the Church was when all the world wondered, and followed the first beast? And also when all,1 both small and great, rich and poor received the mark of the second beast? Saint John answereth, that even then, in the midst of the heat of persecutions, ⟨p. 266⟩God had his hid and invisible Church, whom Jesus Christ did protect and preserve even in the very flames of persecutions, being always present with them, and amongst them, as he said to his disciples, a little before his bodily departure from them: Lo, I am with you even unto the end of the world. And here he is said to stand upon mount Zion with his hundred forty and four thousand. And it is added, that this number of Gods faithful elect children had his Fathers name written in their foreheads: that is, they did profess and practise the doctrine and religion of God their Father only, utterly renouncing and abhorring the worship & religion of the beast. For the Fathers name in this place is set opposite to the mark of the beast; to signify, that as the worshippers of Antichrist received his mark; so the true worshippers of God received his brand, which is his Spirit, and the fruits thereof, whereby they were perfectly discerned from those which had the beasts mark. So then, it clearly appeareth from this place, that God preserved many thousands of his true worshippers, even in the days of the great Antichrist, when there seemed to be very few or none remaining upon the earth, as it was in the days of ⟨p. 267⟩Elijah. In vain therefore do the Papists ask us where our Church was before Luther's time, sith the holy Apostle here stoppeth their mouth, and telleth us plainly, that Christ had his little flock in the wilderness, even then, when it was in greatest straits, and as we say, driven to the walls. And therefore visibility is no sound note of the Church, as the Papists do most ignorantly dispute. For it is a fond and absurd kind of reasoning, to say there is no Church at all, because it doth not visibly appear:
Moreover, Saint John seeth here with the Lamb an hundred fourty and foure thousand: that is, the particular members of the Church, putting a certain number for an uncertain, and specially alluding to the sealing of the twelve tribes of Israel, as before hath been shewed. For it might be demanded, where the Church was when all the world wondred, and followed the first beast? And also when all,1 both small and great, rich and poor received the mark of the second beast? Saint John answereth, that even then, in the midst of the heat of persecutions, ⟨p. 266⟩God had his hid and invisible Church, whom Jesus Christ did protect and preserve even in the very flames of persecutions, being alwaies present with them, and amongst them, as he said to his disciples, a little before his bodily departure from them: Loe, I am with you even unto the end of the world. And here he is said to stand upon mount Sion with his hundred fourty and four thousand. And it is added, that this number of Gods faithfull elect children had his Fathers name written in their foreheads: that is, they did professe and practise the doctrine and religion of God their Father only, utterly renouncing and abhorring the worship & religion of the beast. For the Fathers name in this place is set opposite to the mark of the beast; to signifie, that as the worshippers of Antichrist received his mark; so the true worshippers of God received his brand, which is his Spirit, and the fruits therof, whereby they were perfectly discerned from those which had the beasts mark. So then, it cleerly appeareth from this place, that God preserved many thousands of his true worshippers, even in the daies of the great Antichrist, when there seemed to be very few or none remaining upon the earth, as it was in the dayes of ⟨p. 267⟩Elias. In vain therefore do the Papists ask us where our Church was before Luthers time, sith the holy Apostle here stoppeth their mouth, and telleth us plainly, that Christ had his little flock in the wildernesse, even then, when it was in greatest streights, and as we say, driven to the walls. And therefore visibility is no sound note of the Church, as the Papists do most ignorantly dispute. For it is a fond and absurd kind of reasoning, to say there is no Church at all, because it doth not visibly appear:
- 1Chap. 7, 4.
