19 CHAPTER VI. First seal broken: The apostacy soon after St John's death. The apostles alone conferred gifts. - Titus and Timothy ordinary ministers. When miracles ceased. The apostles governed the Church. — Knew when the Bible was complete, and miracles were withdrawn. - An ordinary ministry began in their days. Human productions over-estimated. --- - - New Testament collected by St. John. - Bible complete in itself. The Seven Epistles describe the Catholic Church at that time. The apostles planted the gospel in the Roman world. Peculiar character of the inspired ministry. Commencement of the present evidences. Early collection of the scriptures. — Ignorance of the design of miracles. -Tertullian with heretics. -Wordly pomp in the Church. General attention drawn to the gospel. White horse. Character of the early Christians. Loss of a pointed and aggressive ministry. - Innovatious. - Unmeaning ceremonies; milk, honey, cross, anointing oil, &c. - Precepts, councils. — Mortifications. · Deceit allowed. Allegorical commenForged miracles. Forms substituted for knowledge. Private judgment allowed under the law and the gospel. Mortifications instead of the Saviour's grace. · Ministry of the Baptist and of the apostles. The Bible our only rule. Errors early in the Church. Ancient worship. Tradition leant taries. upon. The fathers only witnesses to a fact, namely their possession of our scriptures. Miracles not now necessary. Tradition fallible.. - First Christians poor. Great influence of their clergy. - Synods increased it. -The crown denotes the absolute power of the bishops. Second seal:- Red colour.- Persecution, mutual slaughter. The sword, power to enforce the gospel. — Contentions in the Church. - Empire divided into dioceses. Arbitrary conduct of the bishops. Union of the Church and State. - Persecution of idolaters. jury to religion. some. . In Third seal Spiritual darkness. - Forms now burden- Imitations of Judaism.. Character of that dispensation. Ignorance of it, and of the gospel. Persuasion of the truth renovates our nature.— - First and second justification. - Christ alone atones for sin. Mortifications unsatisfactory. They preclude joy. — The yoke then voluntary.. Penances not imposed by the gospel. Protestant missionaries reject them. Those of the early Church. Their hurtful nature. Indulgences. Fourth seal:- Spiritual character of the Christian. Veneration of relics and tombs. - Injurious effects of forms.-The Christian enjoys the same privileges as the prophets and apostles. The tombs, infernal regions, purgatory. The civil power or idolatry favoured these errors. Their extent. England's privileges. Fifth seal: Intelligent Christians in vain bewail the prevailing degeneracy. - Longed for the Saviour's advent. - But saw not the Man of Sin in the growing corruptions. The souls of the martyrs denote the use of their mediation instead of Christ's, which will continue 1260 years. Sixth seal: Civil and ecclesiastical heaven. Fall of paganism. Degeneracy of the Church. Verse 1. And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals. What is meant in prophetic language by breaking a seal? The disclosure of something hitherto unknown. Here then, if our definition be correct, commences the revelation of St. John, or the downward course of the Church, the dawn of the apostacy, and the motions of the Man of Sin. This seal describes the first radical change introduced into the Church after the death of the inspired ministers, who may not have lived beyond A. D. 96; in other words, St. John probably survived them all. The following facts may be gathered from the New Testament. The twelve apostles, on the day of Pentecost, were endued with miraculous gifts, and the power of conferring them on others for the benefit of the church. These were at first profusely poured out; Acts, ii. 4-8. 18. a hence many of the church at Corinth had a revelation, a tongue, an interpretation; and this marvellous course was continued till the gospel had been preached in every land, or was very generally established. Ministers were then appointed over the converts; if by the apostles, as they perhaps always were at first, they would be endued with miraculous gifts; but if by others, as Timothy or Titus, they would be ordinary ministers, whom St. Paul, in describing the officers of the Church, calls pastors and teachers." When the gospel had been preached in every land when churches were formed where a permanent footing was made-and when the whole of the New Testament had been revealed, miracles had accomplished their office-which is to certify and authenticate a communication from Heaven-and were consequently withdrawn or not repeated. a 1 Cor. xiv. 26. с b Eph. iv. 11. Bishop Kaye's Justin Martyr, ch. vi.; also his Tertullian, ch. ii., and Appèndix, extracted from Dr. R. Hey's Lectures. This probably took place a earlier than is supposed, or before the apostles, or at least St. John, the last of them, died. But while they lived the whole Church was under their direction, as we find in the case of Philip, on whose converts St. Peter conferred miraculous gifts; and as St. Paul in like manner sent to and fro Timothy, Titus, Luke, and Silas; but on the death of the inspired ministry, the government of the Church devolved on the inferior orders, the pastors and teachers.b When St. Paul says, "if a Col. i. 6. 23. Bishop Kaye's Justin Martyr, ch. vi. ; see also his Tertullian, ch. ii. b 1 Cor. xiv. 37. Mosheim, cent. 1. part 2. ch. 4. sect. 6. The following extract is taken from the late Rev. H. J. Rose's Lecture on Church History, delivered at the University of Durham : — "Let any one take up Mosheim, and I mention his name without any disrespect, for he has done whatever could be done in his way, by actually wedging and driving in one fact after another into his pages till they bristle with facts, and see, when one has read his careful and laborious, and, as I believe, accurate conglomeration of facts, &c. - Mosheim's History, indeed, will always be valuable as a book of reference, because he is accurate in his facts. |