Again, he fays,

John alludes to the Gnoftics both in his gofpel, and in his epistle, and describes "them by the name of Antichrift, and "thofe who were not in communion with "chriftians." The whole of these paf

eft unus Deus omnipotens, qui per verbum fuum omnia fecit, et vifibilia, et invifibilia; fignificans quoque, quoniam per verbum, per quod Deus perfecit conditionem, in hoc et falutem his qui in conditione funt, præftitit homini. bus, fic inchoavit in ea quæ eft fecundum evangelium doctrina. In principio erat verbum. Lib. 3. cap. 11. p. 218.

Secundum autem nullam fententiam hæreticorum, verbum Dei caro factum eft. Ibid. p. 219.

† Non ergo alterum filium hominis novit evangelium, nifi hunc qui ex Maria, qui et paffus eft: fed neque Chriftum avolantem ante paffionem ab Jefu; fed hunc qui natus eft, Jefum Chriftum novit Dei filium, et eundem hunc paffum refurrexiffe, quem admodum Johannes Domini difcipulus confirmat, dicens: Hæc autem fcripta funt, ut credatis quoniam Jefus eft Chriftus filius Dei, et ut credentes, vitam æternam habeatis in nomine ejus; providens has blafphemas regulas, quæ dividunt Dominum, quantum ex ipfis attinet, ex altera et altera fubftantia dicentes eum factum. Propter quod et in epiftola sua fic teftificatus eft nobis: Filioli, noviffima hora éft, et quemadmodum audiftis quoniam Antichriftus venit, nunc Antichrifti multi facti funt; unde cognofcimus quoniam noviffima

I

fages are well worth the reader's confidera

tion.

He had the fame idea with respect to the introduction to the gofpel of Matthew. noviffima hora eft. Ex nobis exierunt, fed non erant ex nobis; fi enim fuiffent ex nobis permanfiffent utique nobifcum: fed ut manifeftarentur quoniam non funt ex nobis. Cognofcite crgo quoniam omne mendacium extraneum est, et non eft de veritate. Quis eft mendax, nifi qui negat quoniam Jefus non eft Chriftus; hic eft Antichriftus. Sententia enim eorum homicidialis, Deos quidem plures confingens, et patres multos fimulans, comminuens autem et per multa dividens filium Dei: quos et Dominus nobis cavere prædixit, et difcipulus ejus Johannes in prædicta epiftola fugere eos præcepit, dicens: Multi feductores exierunt in hunc mundum, qui non confitentur Jefum Chriftum in carne veniffe. Hic est seductor et Antichriftus. Videte eos, ne perdatis quod operati eflis. Et rurfus in epiftola ait: Multi pfeudoprophetæ exierunt de feculo. In hoc cognofcite Spiritum Dei. Omnis fpiritus qui confitur Jefum Chriftum in carne veniffe ex Deo eft. Et omnius fpiritus qui folvit Jefum Chriftum, non eft ex Deo, fed ex Antichrifto eft. Hæc autem fimilia funt illi quod in evangelio dictum eft, quoniam verbum caro factum eft. Et habitavit in nobis. Propter quod rurfus in epiftola clamat. Omnis qui credit quia Jefus eft Chriftus, ex Deo natus eft ; unum et eundem fciens Jefum Chriftum cui apertæ funt portæ cœli propter carnalem ejus affumpfionem: qui etiam in eadem carne in quæ paffus eft, veniet, gloriam revelans Patris. Lib. 3. cap. 18. p. 241, 242.

For,

For, fpeaking of those who faid that Jefus who was born of Mary was not the Chrift, "The Holy Spirit foreseeing their perverseness, and guarding against their "artifice, faid by Matthew, the generation "of Chrift was in this wife*."

he fays,

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With respect to the apoftle John, Clemens Alexandrinus had the fame idea, when he faid, that " They are the antichrift, intended by John in his epiftle, who reject marriage, and the procreation of children, being guilty of impiety towards the omnipotent creator, the one God, that they may not be the authors of mifery, and fupply food for death +." Ecumenius alfo fays, that by antichrift John meant Cerinthus, and those who were like him ‡.

*Sed prævidens fpiritus fanctus depravatores, et præmuniens contra fraudulentiam eorum, per Matthæum ait: Chrifti autem generatio fic erat. Lib. 5. cap. 18. P. 239.

† Τοις δε ευφήμως δι' εγκρατειας ασεβεσιν, εις τε την κλισιν και τον αγιον δημίεργον τον παντοκράτορα μόνον θεόν, καὶ διδάσκεσι μη δειν παρα δέχεσθαι γάμον, καὶ παιδοποιιαν μηδε ανεισάγειν τω κόσμω δυσυχη σουλας έλερος, μηδε επιχορήγειν τω θανατω τροφήν. εκείνα λεκΐεον : πρωτον μεν, το τε Αποτολ8 Ιωανν8, και νυν Αντίχριτοι πολλοι γεγονασιν. Strom. lib. 3. p. 445.

* Ταύλο δε Σίμων ο ανόσιος εληρεί, άλλον είναι τον Ιησεν, και άλλον τον Χρισον. τον μεν Ιησεν, τον απο της αγίας Μαρίας, τον δε Χρίσου, τον

επει

He also says that, "Peter by those who follow the flesh, meant the accurfed Nicolaitans, as the Gnoftics, or Naafenes, "or Cerdonians, for the mischief goes by many names‡."

*r

This, I doubt not, was the truth of the cafe; and if this apoftle expreffed fo much indignation against the Gnostics, and the Gnoftics only (for no hint is given of there being more than one berefy that gave him any disturbance) it is plain that the unitarians, who were always confidered as directly oppofite to the Gnoftics, gave him none. And yet not only the nature of the thing shows, that there must have been unitarians in the church at that time, but it was expressly allowed by all the Fathers, that the church was full of them, most of them disbelieving even the miraculous conception. But this will be difcuffed more largely hereafter.

επει το Ιορδάνε καλαβανία απ' ερανε, ο τω ψεύδει εν περικρότεμενος φησι τελω ελος Αντιχριτος εσι. In 1 John 3. Opera, vol. 2.

P. 573.

* Λέγει δε περι των καθαραίων Νικολαίδων, ήτοι Γνωτικών, η Ναασηνων, η Κερδωνιανων . πολυώνυμος γαρ αύλων η κακια. In 2 Pe: Opera vol. 2. 542.

VOL. I.

SECTION II.

Of Herefy before Justin Martyr. IGNATIUS frequently mentions herefy and heretics, and, like John, with great indignation; but it is evident to every person who is at all acquainted with the history, learning, and language of those times, and of the fubfequent ones, that he had no perfons in his eye but the Gnoftics only. I defire no other evidence of this, than a careful infpection of the paffages. I fhall recite only one of them, from the epistle to the Smyrnæans, fect. 4, 5. in Wake's translation, p. 116. Speaking of his own sufferings, he fays," he who was made a perfect "man ftrengthening me. Whom fome, "not knowing, do deny, or rather have been "denied by him, being the advocates of

66

death, rather than of the truth; whom "neither the prophets, nor the law of "Mofes have perfuaded, nor the gofpel "itself, even to this day, nor the fufferings

" of ·