CAP.1z. touching'AntichriíL 709 ferfakenhis 6tf love,Rev.2.4,Thercforcwe concludeiitoftltrongly againft you out of thefe words, that the Apoftle fpeaketh of thofe who acknowledgingandprofelling the Trinity, did not imbrace it with the love,,that was due unto it ; whichagreeth to theGentiles on- ly,not to the IeWes, who rejeFting the whole truth,are charged with the want of love toir,feeing that which is a lighter fault is not wont to be objetied, when that that is more grievous is notonce fpoken of. Secondly, you fay, that the Apoj?le Bothnot fay theyJhall not re- ccive,in thefuture Tenfé;bur they havenot received,in thepreterperfei Tenfe, Which agreeth to the Jewes, Who Wouldnot believe When C'hrift andhis Apoftles preached,Whereao the Gentiles did in the mean time re- ceive the Gofpel mofl gladly. I anfwer,that theApoftle fpeaketh in re- fpeft of the time of Anrichrif, of whom hee intreats; God will fend Antichrift. Becaufe, before Aruichrifl fhould come, men did not bend their mindesto know and to obey the truth with that zeal which it was worthy ofNeither could he fpeak otherwife,unleffe he should have inflicted the punifhmenr,before the fault was commit- ted. For if he ihouldhave faid,becaufe they Will not receive the Truth, it ihouldTeem that Anrichrift ihould invadethe Church becaufe ofan obftinate difobeying of the truth that fhould be after his coming. Thefe are yourcollections, which you fay do proclaime, that the A- poftle fpeaketh of the7eWcs ; but ifIouwill attend diligently,you will confeffe that he doth not fo much as whifper in the leaft manner, in refpea ofthat loud outcry which you imaginehim tomake orì the other fide. For heare what the Apollle faith in the beginningof the Chapter,that rrnlcfre the Apoftafiefhall comefirjl, and that mane-Sin ball be revealed, &c.verf.3. in whichwords he teachetlt,thatthe Ape- itafieShall go beforeAntichrift; and that the revealingofAntichrifl Shall gobefore the coming of the Lord : But whofe revolting 1hall r its be? not at all of the leWs, for they have not received the truthat all, but the revoltingand goingback from a thing which a man hath cleaved unto before. Befides,tt could not be the revolt of theremen, who did refill the truth,at the firfl preaching ofthe Gofpel.Therfore it fhou ld be the revolt ofthe Gentiles, and that not paft, but to come. For if it had been paft, theThefalonians should havefeen Antichrift, whowas not as yet come forth as being reftrained by a certain impe= dimenriof which the Apoftle fpeaketh after. But you will fav,thar tkis revolt Was from the Roman Empire. But I prayyou Puffer the Apoftle to interpret himfelf, who expounds that afterwards,in other words he-calleth Apoftafie here, and faith, that they dill not receive the lot e X x x x
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