The Image of Both Churches in Revelation 2, Chapter 11

The Image of Both Churches in Revelation 2 · Chapter 11

p. 4The .xi. Chaptre.

UNto Iohan was delyuered after that he had thus deuowred the boke / a rede / not vnlyke to the metewande of .vi. cubites longe and a spāne / whych was geuen vntounto Ezechiel / nor verye farre different from the measurynge lyne in Zacharie. And what ys this els? but that the administracion of Gods heauēlye verite is secretlye of him committed vntounto them whych hath afore receyued yt / and in faithe digested it / that they shuld ther with ryghtlye measure / discerne / ād iudge all thinges. Nō other is yt to prophecye ageyne in this sixt age / but thus to mete the temple / the aulter / and the worshippers therin / and to proue them in length / bredeth / heyth / and depeth.

¶ The text. 1

ANd than was geuen me a reede. 2. lyke vntounto a rodde. 3. and yt was sayd vntounto me. Aryse. 4. and meete the temple of God. 5. and the aulter. 6. and them that worshippe therin. 7. And the quere / which is within the temple / cast out. 8. & meete it not. 9. for it is geuē vntounto the gētiles. 10: And the holye cyte shal they treade vndre fote xlij. monethes

p. 51 And there was geuen me (sayth saynt Iohan) a rede. Both receyued I the wysdome of God and also a mouthe to vtter yt. So that my tonge became the penne of a redye writer. For so moche as I abhorred iniquite / the lord anoynted me in wardlye with the oyle of gladnesse / and gaue me stomake to vtter hys worde.

2 The rede which God delyuered me / was lyke vntounto a rodde. For hys worde ys the rodde of right order / And the scepture of hys kingedome. With this rodde spredde he oute the heauens / and layde forth the fyrst foūdacyon of the earthe. This rodde of his power hath the lorde now graciouslye sent us out of Syon by menne hauinge his speciall grace as by Iohan / …o hauehave dominyō here in the middest of his enemies.

3 For vntounto Iohan yt was sayd for this age. Aryse / frō vayne stodye / from cares of the bodye / from consideracion of earthlye causes.

4 And mete the holye temple of God / which is his congregacion or churche: Proue all beleues whether they be right or no. Examyne their workes / whether they springe of Gods commaūdemēts or of mennes tradicions. And in so doynge trye by the scripturs the …orne from the chaffe Marke out the peple of God from the synagoge of sathan / and delaye not to norryshe them with the swete frutes of the sprete.

5 Measure the aulter also / which is Iesus Christ / vpō whō the full sacrefice of redemptyon was offred. For manye false cristes are a brode in the worlde / to seduce the peple. The pope boasteth hym self for gods owne vicar / Mahomete calleth him self the grete prophete of the lorde. And both they to subdewe the gospell hath sett vp newe lawes. The pope hys detestable decrees / and Mahomete his abhominable alchorane. Both thei hauehave wrought soche wōders and soche signes in superstycion / as myght deduce into erroure (yf God were not mercyfull) the verie elect persons. The mōkes sayth that Christ ys in the desert / the prestes sayth he is in the boxe / but admonishe my peple / that in no case they beleue yt. The chanons sayth he is here / the fryres sayth he is there / but coūsell my flocke that they go not forth. For God dwelleth in nothinge that is made with hāde. In the faythfull hart is Christ onlye foū de. There remaineth he. That is his dwellynge place.

6 Therfor now last of all / measure them also that worshipp in the temple. Considre them onlye to be his peple / which seke hym in sprete and in veryte / and that worship not in outwarde shaddowes / p. 6nor in the elementes of this worlde / nor yet with obseruacyō of dayes & tymes. They are not his sonnes / that for the …euen of the Pharisees which ys the doctrine of hypocrites / forsaketh the bread of children which is his lyuinge worde. They are not his lābes but vyle gottes / that rather attēdeth to the voyce of straū gers / thā to the trewe sheparde Christ.

7 And therfor the quere which ys wythin the tēple / cast out. The prelates / prestes / and religiouse / which are not of the common sort / seclude from Christ / from his churche / and from the companye of true worshippers. Throwe forth the bonde woman ād her sonne / the Rome churche with her children / and Mahomete with hys rable. For the bonde shall not inherete with the fre.

8 Measure not out that chaunsell of charmers / that college of Galaās bretherne / those marked Madianytes and cursed Ismaelytes. Allowe them not by the scripturs / cōmende not theyr coūterfet ryghtousnesse. Admyt thē not for the mēbres of Christ / but iudge them to be the sinagoge of Sathā. And speare thē out of the kingedome of God / with the keye of Dauid. For they are those swine that tread perles vnderunder their fete & those cruell dogges that turne agayne to deuowre mē ne. Medle not with that quere / hauehave not to do with that wycked generacion.

9 For it is geuē vntounto the gētiles. Whollie are those Antichristes addict to the supersticiouse rytes of the heythē in their sacrifices / their ceremonies / their obseruatiōs / their holy dayes / theyr vygils / fastinges … praynges / knelinges / & all other vsages / cōtrary to the admonyshement of Christ. That they shuld in no wyse entre into the wayes of the gētiles. Wherfor God hath detested thē with his owne mouthe / & cleane geuē thē ouer vntounto theyr owne fylthye lustes. Now reygne they al in their owne wisdome / thinkynge euermore their owne fleshlye fantasies best: wholly they are become Gētiles.

10▪ And the holye cyte (of whom gloryouse thynges are spoken) they shall treade vndre fote the space of .xlij. monethes. Not the earthlye Hierusalem ys thys cyte / buylded of menne / and made holye by the out warde obseruacions and ceremonies of the iewes as manye expositours hath fātasyed. For of that (like as Christ prophecied) ys not left one stone standinge vponupon an other. But thys cyte ys the sure buyldinge of God / grounded vponupon the stronge foūdacion of the Apostles ād Prophetes / euen vponupon the harde rocke stone Iesus Christ. This is the plesaunt possessiō / the wholsom howsholde / the sure holde / and the dylectable vyneyarde p. 7of the lorde of hostes. This ys the liuynge generacyon of them which feareth / loueth / and seketh their lorde God in faith sprete and veryte / and not in outwarde shaddowes. These are the childrē of promes / the true of springe of Abraham / the chosen howse of Israel / and the kyngedome of the holie ghost. Pure / cleane / ād holye hath Christ made this cyte / by nō other thinge but the onlye shedinge of his preciouse blood.

11 Thys cyte treade they vnderunder fote / that kepeth downe the treuthe of the gospel / that persecuteth & sleeth goddes people for it / that defeateth his worde for their owne tradicyons / that bryngeth in the Iewishe ceremonies / the gentyles supersticyons / paganes customes ād heythen vsages / yokynge menne with importable burdenes of false worshyppinges for theyr owne fylthye lucre and auauntage. Not withstādynge thus must they do styll by the sufferaunce of God / tyll the .xlij. monethes be finyshed / which ys not els but the tyme / the tymes / and the half tyme / or the thowsande / two hō dreth / & lx. dayes / in that God shall shorten the tyme for hys chosens sake. Thus after saint …an…e also before the lords cō mynge / ther must be a departynge. The quere or chaunsel must be cast out / tha… the manne of synne / the sonne of perdicyon / and the aduersarye exaltynge hym self aboue God / maye be knowne in hys owne colours. It maye not be mottē / or allowed by Gods worde / but reiected as that plante whych the heauenlye father hath not planted / that the mysterye of inyquite maye be vttered and perceyued of thē which shal be saued. It must be geuen to the gentiles / or addict to their supersticyons / with all lyenge powre / sygnes / and wonders / in all deceyuable doctrine / by the subtile workinge of Sathā. They must also be permitted to do all mischef in vnryghtousnesse / vpō the cytezeus of God / tyl he vtterlye consume thē with the mighty breathe of his mouthe.

The text.

1 And I wyll geue power / 2. vntounto my two wytnesses. 3. and they shall prophecye a thousande / two hondred and threscore dayes. 4. clothed in sacke clothe 5 These are two olyue tr…es 6. and two candelstyckes. 7. stā dynge before the God of the earthe.

¶The Paraphrase.

p. 81 And I wyll geue powre sayth the lorde vntounto my two faithfull witnesses / & they shall prophecie a thousande two hōdreth and .lx. dayes / ageynst those enemyes to the confort of my peple. So that though my cyte by troden downe by their cruell lawes of persecutiō to deathe / yet shall yt not be forsakē. And though my peple be ouerloaded with their heythen superstycyons and blasphemouse worshippinges / yet shal they not be lost nor left all wythout socoure.

2 They shal hauehave my .ii. wytnesses with them to solace thē in theyr trobles / and to confort thē in ther cares. Both Moyses and Christ / both the lawe and the gospell / both the prophetes & the apostles shall stande vponupon their syde ād be vponupon ther part: yea / for so moche tyme as ther enemies shall vexe thē / ād for so moche space as ther aduersaries shal troble thē Euen a thowsande two hondred and .lx. dayes / whych maketh thre yeare and an half / and is more then the .xlii. monethes by foure score dayes ād foure. Which signifieth that the enemies shal not euer more kepe downe his worde / but their dayes shall be shortened for his electes sake. The scole doctours with their sophistrie hath fantasied the sayd two wytnesses to be Enoch ād Helias / and that they shuld come then from paradyse terrestre for the same puprose / because that Enoch was takē awaye of God / & Helias was carried hence in a fyery charet / neyther vnderstandinge what paradyse is / nor yet knowynge what yt is to be taken frō hēce. Paradyse is the swete rest of God appoynted vntounto thē that depart hence in faythe. The peculiar trāslatiōs of Enoch and Helias were not onlye for a confirmacyon or strengthenynge of the fayth of the fathers for their tymes / but also that they shuld be figurs of Cristes ascencion. And what godlye wyse man can geue more to the figure than to the veryte: More were not they preuileged frō deathe thā was Christ / though God wolde not then hauehave yt so openly knowne / to declare hys wonderful powre. Unlyke is it that God shuld cal wytnesses from the dead not promisinge yt by his worde / hauinge powre also from stones to rayse vp Abrahams children / and to geue the sprete of Helias to whome he pleaseth / lyke as he ded to Iohan Baptist / and as he doth now to manye other more in our age / as all the worlde maye se and heare. These wytnesses are two / for so moche as the trewthe of the lorde in the mowthe of two or thre godlye persones ought to stande.

3 These two wytnesses or faythful procestours of the afore seyd two testamentes p. 9/ hath continewed with the peple of God sens the death of Steuē / for the more part secretlye and vnknowne to the worlde. But now they are come a brode by the appoyntment of God to the vtter confusion of the great aduersarye and manne of synne as Paule doth call hym. And vntounto them in thys sixt age of the churche the lord hath geuen the greate powre of hys lyuynge worde / or the sprete of his inuincyble veryte in moche more ample wyse then afore tyme / for the abatement of the seyd enemies or synagoge of perdycyon.

4 Clothed they shall be in sack clothe (sayth the lorde) No pompe shall apere in their aparell / no glorye of the worlde in their behauer. Neyther shal they be accompanyed with a garde of ruffelinge rutters. Neyther shal they with Annas and Caiphas syt vponupon life and deathe. Neyther shal they blesse in the strete with myter / crosse / and cope. Neyther clayme the hyger seates in syde gownes shauen crownes / and typpettes. Neyther shal their be sacke fryres nor franciscanes / monkes / chanons / nor hipocrites. They shal not disfigure them selues to seme religiouse / nor saye longe prayers to apere holye / but in a sober conuersacion auoydynge superstuite / they shal cō stātlye witnesse the truthe of God to the vniuersall worlde / to his glorye and their edification. For sack clothe in the scripturs is a signe of sobryete / sadnesse / ād temperaū ce / as in helias and Iohan Baptist.

5 These wytnesses are two swete olyue trees / shedynge forth the fatnesse of the scripturs / ād dulcet sauer of the sprete. God hath so blessed them / that their lippes are full of grace. He hath anoynted thē with the oyle of gladnesse aboue their fellawes / of myrre / bawme / & aloes they dilectably smelle. Non other thynges vtter they but hys infallible veritees.

6 They are also two shynynge candelstickes / settynge forth the lyght / or clerelye openynge the hyddē misteries of the scripturs / to the confort of the gētyles & glory of the Israelites. They are not the lyght it self but onlye instrumētes ordayned to bere witnesse of the light. For there is but one light for al. Onelye a…e they the vessels of eleccion (as was paule / to carrye that lyght the worlde ouer.

They stande in the presence of the God of the earthe / or the lorde of all / as menne of most hygh acceptacyon before hym / rebye to do hys wyll and to fulfyll hys conmandemēt and pleasure / hauynge the oyle of hys sprete and the lyght of hys eternall veryte.

The text.

p. 101 And if anye manne wyll hurte them. 2. Fyre shall procede out of their mouthes. 3. and consume their enemyes. 4. And if anye man wyll hurte them / thys wyse must he be kylled. 5. These hauehave power to shut heauen. 6. that it rayne not in the dayes of their prophecyenge. 7. and hauehave power ouer waters to turne them to bloude. 8. and to smyte the earthe. 9. with all maner plages / as often as they wyll.

¶The Paraphrase.

i Yf anye manne wyll attempte to do them s…athe / or presumptuouslye seketh by craf…ye colou…s / subtle reasons / and deceytfull argumentes / vponupon daungers / doubtes / doctor… / olde customes / and auctoryte of fathers to hyndre their office / blemyshe their message / and darken their lyght… suche fyre shal procede out of their mouthes as shall consume theyr enemyes.

2 The eternall worde of the lord that they shall declare (which ys the consuminge fyre) shall vtterlye destroye thē. So that nothynge shall be seane of that they were afore. Neyther cut showe nor corde / coule nor graye cote / bote nor blacke whode / rother nor scaplar / myter nor croser / sandale nor frocke / shauen crowne nor anoynting. For all these are theyr enemies.

3 Cōsumed are they to ther saluaciō that with Matthew become of Publycanes trewe Apostles / and with Paule of ferce persecuters charitable teachers. Contrarye wyse are they consumed to theyr damnacyon / whych beynge ouercomen by the manifest veryte / wylfullye persist in their deuyllyshe errours with Antiochus and Pharao / with the Scribes and Pharisees.

4 For yt foloweth. And yf anye manne wyll hurte them / thys wyse must he be kylled. Eyther must he be mortified frō the olde Adam / and changed into a newe man in Christ / or els by the seyd worde must he both be iudged and condemned for the vtter aduersarye of God / with sathan hys auncient captayne. So must he be kylled. And no deathe will be founde lyke vntounto that deathe come they ones to the felynge of yt / though they account yt now verye lyght.

p. 115 For these wytnesses hauehave powre a… had Helias / to shutt vp heauen / that yt rayne not in the dayes of their prophecienge / but yet non other wyse thā by the afore seyd worde. For the worde of God ys the verye keye of Dauid / which openeth the kyngedome of God to thē that faythfullye beleueth / ād that speareth yt vp also from thē which dwelleth in vnfaithfulnesse. For it is sayd / in the dayes of their prophecyenge. This powre therfor is of the worde / and not of the menne. The worde speareth and openeth / losoneth and byndeth / saueth ād dāpneth. He that beleueth (sayth Crist) shall be saued / he that beleueth not is iudged alredye. No moyster of grace nor godly wysdome can lyght where sturdye frowardenesse is roted. The dayes of their prophecyenge in figure is non other than the aforesayd tyme / tymes / and halfe tyme / or the thre years and .vi. monethes of Helyas.

6 In those dayes shall it not rayne vpō the wycked / they shall hauehave no grace to receyue the veryte. In parables and figurs shall that be hydden from thē / that shall be euident ynowe vntounto the faythfull. With eares shall they heare ād not vnderstande / with eyes shall they se and not discerue. So blynde wyll their hartes be. For soche spake the prophetes in fygurs / Christ in parables / ād the Apostles in misteries. The open truthe of this reuelacion shall not the wycked perceyue / tyll they tast the plages therof. Soche is the nature of Gods wisdom / that thowgh it be not in gloriouse wordes / fyne paputed termes / nor in perswasible reasons of mānes wytte / but in playne symple speakynge / yet can it not be knowne of the worldly wise. The swete dewe therof will not be receyued of thē / in the aforesayd dayes of prophecie / but he that is blynde shall be blynde styll.

7 These wytnesses hauehave also powre ouer waters / to turne them into bloude. Whan they interprete and syncerely declare the pure berites of God / which are those wholsome waters that restrayneth the dāpnable drynesse of the sowle / that refresheth the conscyence / and clenseth the harte of the synner / they can not chose but ernestlye condempne the peruerse iudgementes / the couetouse lawes / and hypocritishe workes of the vngodlye. And then is all vncleane vntounto them / thē is all bloodye. The gospell which was a stomblynge stone to the Iewes / ād mad folyshenesse vntounto the gentyles / is also now vntounto them nowrye newe lerninge / sediciouse doctrine / ād abhominable he resye. Yea / and they iudge them worthye to be burned that doth teache it. Thus p. 12is it abhorred of them that shall perishe and neuerthelesse to thē that beleue / it is the powre of God vntounto saluacyon.

8 Fynallye they hauehave powre to smyte the earthe with al maner of plages / as ofte as they wyll. Uerye ca…the are they that regarde not Gods truthe / as the lorde sayd vntounto Adā after hys offence. Earth thu art / and vntounto earthe shalt thu returne. Nothinge they esteme / but that whych ys earthlye. Nothinge they desyre / but that is carnall. The frowarde creature wyll in no case knowe that is of the sprete. The lyght ys hatefull vntounto sore eyes Uerr peynefull is brede to the mouthe that ys not whole. A great mote was Crist to the Iewes / as hys true preachers are vntounto the blynde worlde yet to thys daye. For they smyte the earthe.

9 They towche their lyuynge / they rebuke their falshede / they condēpne theyr wyckednesse. They reproue them of synne / of ryghtousnesse and of iudgement. They force not to tell thē of ther vnfaithfulnesse / frawde / and hypocrisye / of their philosophers / prelates / and relygyouse. No greatter …lage ys yt to the vngodlye than to heare of theyr euyll doynges. No greater peyne / nor yet greatter ponnyshmēt / than to hauehave their fawtes opened / and their clonynge colours condemned. That fretteth thē at the very harte. Deathe must be sought out for soche preachers. No wonder is yt though thys be here writtē for thys age of the churche. For neuer were more ernest wytnesses then are now / and more are lyke here after to folowe / tyll the māne of synne be fullye knowne / and his kyngedome clerelye ouerthrowne.

The Text.

1 And whan they hauehave fynished theyr testimonie. 2. the beast hat came out of the bottom lesse pytte. 3. shall make warre agaynst them. 4. and shall ouer come them. 5. And theyr bodyes shall lye in the stretes of the great cyte. 7. whych spirytuallye is called Sodome and Egypte. 8. where our lorde is crucyfyed.

¶The Paraphrase.

1 And whan they hauehave ones fynyshed theyr testimonye (sayth the lorde) the beast that came out of the bottomlesse pytte p. 13/ shal make warre ageynst them. No soner shal the witnesses of Gods veryte in allages be taken from the worlde / than he hath prefixed. After nō other sort shall they be sent hence / than he hath appoynted by hys eternall decre. Iohā baptist was not enprysoned nor beheaded / tyll he had done hys offyce. Christ was not taken / condemned / and crucyfyed tyl hys howre was come. Paule was not putt vntounto deathe / tyl he had fulfilled his course.

2 The beast of the bottomlesse pytte ys the cruell / craftye / ād cursed generacion of Antychrist / the pope with hys byshoppes / prelates / prestes / and relygyouse in Europa / Mahomete with hys dettynge dowsepers in Affrica / and so forth in Asia and India / all beastlye / carnall / and wycked in their doynges.

3 These maketh warre ageynst Gods wytnesses / whan they hate them / curse them / blaspheme them / and persecute thē. Whan they withstande them with their craftes / impugne them with their lyes / and vexe them wyth their deuyllyshnesse / as necessarye it is they shuld do. For yf they hauehave trobled the head / they must be…e also the members. If the howsholder be called Beelzebub / the howsholde must suffre the same. No better is the seruaūt than his lorde / nor the massenger than he that sent hym.

4 They shall also ouercome them / not with the scripturs / but with their beggerlye customes / constitucions / lawes / decrees & tradicyons. They shall scourge them or dysgrade them in their synagoges. They shall delyuer them vp to iustyces / debitees / and rewlers / makynge them their bothers ād slaues / so washinge their owne holye handes frō the shedynge of innocentes bloode.

5 They shall kylle thē also by their coū sell / to fulfyll the measure of their fathers / that all ryghtuouse bloude maye lyght vponupon them which hath bene shedde vponupon earthe. Yet shall they not hurte their sowles / but through faythe they shall hauehave victorye bothe ouer them and the deuyll.

6 And their bodyes shall lye in the stretes of the great cyte. In this worlde shall their carkases remayne / where as they hauehave rewle and domynyon. Here shall they be iudged and condempned. At their pleasure shall it be to hāge thē / heade them / or burne them. And thowgh they laye no handes vponupon them for soylynge their cōsecrate fyngars / yet must it be done by their ghostlye cownsel / ād ordred also after their spyrituall appoyntment. Non other is it to lye in the stretes of their greate cyte / than after p. 14…oche lawes as they hauehave practysed toke brought vntounto deathe.

7 For spiritually is their cyte called. A gloryouse name vsurpe they as though they were nō of the world. They wyll be called the holy churche / good ghostlye fathers / godly dyuines / & spirituall mēne / not cōsiderynge of what sprete they are spiritual. They are those into whō the vncleane sprete hath entred with .vij. other spretes worse than hym self. With the sprete of falshede / the sprete of fylthynesse / the sprete of lyes / the sprete of wytchecrafte / the sprete of erroure / the sprete of blindenesse / ād the sprete of cruelte. And of these onlye with soche lyke are they spyrituall / and of no godlye sprete as their frutes declareth. And therfor the sprete of god doth iudge here this great cyte not to be called Hierusalē / but stinkinge Sodome / & most myserable Egypte / the prophecyes and other scripturs agreynge to the same. For loke what fylthynesse and abhomynacion was in Sodome / what Idolatrye and deuylyshnesse was in Egipt / the same is now reygnynge in this paynted spyritualte / and is accounted there great holynesse.

8 Amonge this consecrate multytude / or smered sort is Christ yet crucyfied / as he was amonge the Iewes whych knewe hym not / & yet boasted thē selues outwardlye for the peculiar chosen peple of God. Not onlye ys Christ amonge thē persecuted / scourged / ponnyshed / ād put vntounto deathe in hys membres / but also he ys proued of them an vnsufficyent Sauer without their dayly doynges. Their masses must be satysfactory sacrifices / profytinge both the quicke and the dead. And that must menne beleue vnderunder peyne of deathe and dampnacyon. Thus crucyfye they Christ ageyne / and make a mocke of hym as wytnessed Paule / and yet do they call hym their lorde / not vnlyke to the tormentours / whych crowned hym with thorne / and saluted hym with Aue rex Iudeorum.

The Text.

1 And some of the peple / and kynredes / and tunges / and of the nacions. 2. shall se theyr bodyes thre dayes and an halfe. 3. and hall not suffre theyr bodyes to be putte in graues. 4. And they that dwell vponupon the earthe 5. shal reioyce ouer them and be gladde. 6. and shall sende gyftes p. 15one to an other. 7. for these two prophetes vexed thē that dwelte on the earthe.

¶The Paraphrase.

1 And as they lye thus dead in the stretes / or are contempned as heretykes / ād despysed as wycked doars / some of the peple peruerted by these enemies / some of the kynredes or sectes of dyuysion / some of the tonges or blasphemouse bablers / ād some of the nacyons of al wycked workers shall beholde their bodyes iij. dayes and an half.

2 They shall for all ages abhorre them / hate thē / reuyle them / and spyghtfullye report them. In ther cronycles shal they wryte them for seducers of the peple / & in their storyes regestre them for dampnable heretykes: For the .iij. dayes & an half dyuided into .vij. halues betokeneth the .vii. ages of the churche wherin they hauehave and shal styll both persecute and blaspheme.

3 And these wycked sortes of peple / kynredes tonges / and nacyons / or of false iustyces / prestes / lawers / and relygyouse shall not suffre their bodyes to be putte in graues. But be these wytnesses ones iudged heretykes by the clergye / ād so condempned by the layte / eyther shall their bodyes be resolued in to ashes by fyre / or els consumed by the fowles of the ayre. Seldome shal ye se a knowne heretyke buryed amonge them / but most commonlye burned. Examples of thys hath bene …a…elye seane here in Englande by Thomas hyttoon / Thomas bylueye Iohan frith / George baynham / Williā tindale / Iohan lambert / Robert barnes / Wylliam Hyerome / Thomas garade / Rycharde spenser / and in Partrick hamilton of Scotlande / with manye other more. And longe afore our tyme in sir Iohan olde castell the lorde Cobhā, sir Roger ac…on knyght / sir Reynolde pecock byshop of chychester Master Iohā Ayshton / sir Willyam thorpe / sir Willyam …awtre / sir Richarde with / sir Iohan balle / sir Willyam tayloure / and sir willyam whyght prestes / with dyuerse other. The body of Formosus was first taken vpp by Steuen the .vi. Bishopp of Rome and disgraded. After was yt beheaded / mangled / and throwne into the flood of Tyber by Sergius the thyrde. Saynt Herman after .xx. years from hys buryall was taken vpp and burned at Ferraria in Italie by Boneface the ryhht. The bones of Master Iohan wycclef were taken vpp and burned also the .xl: yeare after hys death / as waldene wytnesseth to hys boke de Sacramentalibus ti .ix. p. 16Capi .lxxxix. So was of late yeares in worcestre dyocese the bodye of master Williā Tracye esquire / & in Londō the bodye of Rycharde honne merchande taylour. Moreouer Iohan colet deane of Paules in londō also / was not farre frō the same for readynge of Paules Epistles by hys lyfe / had not other wayghtye matters bene in the waye. Soche heretykes shall not rest in their cyte / they shall not be buryed amonge them. They shall not be shryued / canonysed / nor allowed for Sayntes / for they buylded no monasteries / they sett vpp no chaūteryes / they subdewed no Princes / nor yet dyed for the lybertees of holye churche. They s…ode not in defence that prestes doynge Idolatrye / thefte / murther / wytche crafte / whoredome / buggerye / with other abhominacyons shuld remayne vnponnyshed. But rather to the contrarye & that they shuld worshypp but one God / lyue by their labours / take w…es of their owne / & teache nothynge but Gods lawes.

4 And they that dw…ll vponupon the earthe (sayth the lorde (or hauehave their felycite herewith the ryche glotton / shall reioyce ouer them and be gladde.

5 They shall clappe their handes whā these godlye wytnesses be brought out of the waye They shall common / ryote / and bancket / hauynge amonge themselues Ioye without measure that the heretykes be gone / so hatefull ys the lyght to theyr eyes / ād the veryte to theyr wycked hartes.

6 And they shall sende gyftes or presentes one to an other for gladnesse / as for example. My lorde byshoppe hath had a summe of manye of the prestes for doynge hys part so well. My lorde abbote ād master doctor hauehave had phesondes / plouers & partriches pigges / gese / & capōs / for dysparynge / theyr matters so va…eauntlye▪ Master persone hath bene cō mended for scoldynge / and ser saunde… smelle smocke our perryshe preste for bearynge false witnesse. Master fryre hath had a treu…all and father limit oure a bushell of ma… or a che… for playnge the knaues also. And hardelye my lorde chefe iustyce hath not bene without his rewarde / no… yet master Chaūcelloure / neyther master Scrybe. What made Thomas More for his tyme with so prodigiouse …y…an…e to persecute the truthe ād seus / Godfathe of Norwiche / whartō of Gongaye … & Baker of k̄te / with soche other lyke… but auri sacra fames / as … both call it. Thus do they … triūphe whā they hauehave wrought my … and moche it deliteth thē whā they bene … vngodlye thi…ges.

7 For … prophetes (sayth the lorde) p. 17vexed them that dwell on the earthe▪ A great troble it is to thē to hauehave their faw…es seane / a sore vexacion to hauehave their craftes knowne / and an excedynge displeasure to be put from their plesaunt Euphrates by the preachynge of soche busye heretikes. Moche was Herode offended with Iohan / the byshoppes with cri…t / the prelates & religiouse with Paule / and a sore grefe it was to their hartes / whan they rebuked their vyces.

The Text.

1. And after thre dayes and an halfe 2▪ the sprete of lyfe from God / entred in to them. 3. And they stode vp vponupon theyr fete. 4. and great feare came vponupon thē which sawe them. 5 And they herde a great voyce from heauen / saynge vntounto them. Come vp hyther. 6 And they ascended vp into heauen in a cloude. 7. and theyr enemyes sawe thē. 8. And thesame houre was the… a great earthquake. 9. and the tēth part of the cyte fell. 10. And in the earthquake were slayne names of men / seuē thousande. 11. And the rennaunt were feared. 12. and gaue glory to God of heauen. 13. The seconde wo is past. 14. And beholde the thyrd wo wyll come anone.

¶The Paraphrase.

1 And after thre dayes & an halfe (sayth Saynt Iohan / ded the sprete of lyfe by the powre of God entre in to them. In the myddes of their Ioye and triumphe whan they thynke them selues well quyeted / the heretykes thus taken a waye / an other storme falleth vponupon thē moche worse than the other. Manye more aryseth out of their ashes to their confusion and to the chosens confort. And the same wytnesses they are agayne / geuynge the same testymonye / though they be not the same persones.

2 The same lyuynge sprete hauehave they / confessinge the same veryte / that had the other. No longe tyme can Christes congregacion be without faythfull testes / he promysinge to be with them to the ende of the worlde.

p. 183 These witnesses stode vp / vponupon their fete. In the tyme full past ys this spoken for the certēte of the thynge / though moche of it be to come. For so certē is it / as it were all fynyshed. An ernest stomake shall they hauehave / and with moche boldenesse shall they speake. The ryghtouse shall stande vp (sayth the boke of wysdome) in great feruentnesse of sprete / agaynst them that hath extremelye handled them / and taken awaye theyr labours / persecuted them / and blemyshed theyr doctryne.

4. And great feare came vponupon thē which sawe them. Whan the Antichrystes se they can not preuayle / moche are they inwardlye anguyshed / vexed / and tormented. Then doubt they their falle / thā feare they their vtter destruccion. They trymble and quake whā they se their lawes wyll no longar stande / nor their insurreccions no longar helpe them / lokinge for a terrible daye. With horryble feare shall they wonder (sayth the aforesayd boke of wisdome▪ at the comynge of the sodayne helthe / gronynge for sorowe / and mournynge for verye anguyshe of mynde / and saynge within them selues. These be they whom we somtyme had in deuysion. Vnwisely / we thought their lyues to be madnesse / & their endes to be without honour. And now they are duplicate page p. 15duplicate page duplicate page p. 16duplicate page duplicate page p. 17duplicate page duplicate page p. 18duplicate page rekened amonge the chyldren of God / & their porcion is amonge the Sayntes. Therfor hauehave we erred frō the waye of truthe / & the lyght of ryghtousnesse hath not shyned vntounto vsus. We hauehave weryed owr selues / in the pathes of wickednesse but the waye of the lyuinge lorde hauehave we not knowne.

5 And they harde a great voyce from heauen / saynge vntounto them. Come vp hyther. The Antichristes shall heare thys noyse / they shal knowe thē to be in the fauer of God / & greate heuynesse it shall be vntounto thē. For this voyce is the fre eleccyon of God accordynge vntounto grace ād not after manes deseruynge. And it conmeth frō heauen as doth all other good gyftes / frō the father of lyght. It calleth vp them that afore walked sumwhat after the fleshe / ād durst not for feare of pō nyshmēt wytnesse the veryte. It commā deth them to aryse vntounto God / to be more perfyght / more spyrytuall / more godlye / and to hauehave their conuersacion in heauē. They attēde vntounto the voyce / they obeye yt / and do after yt. For yt foloweth.

6 And they ascended vp into heauen in a clowde. By the powre of God they are taken vp. From worldlye affectes are they changed to the pure louelove of God / ād from carnall prudence to the wysdome of the sprete. In a cloude are they rapte. p. 19Compassed are they with thys fleshe / the yll desyres taken from them. Euerye where resemble they Christ / and are daylye better and better. They cease not of theyr progresse / no peyne cā separate thē from the louelove of Christ / tyl they perfyghtly come to the syght of the God of Goddes in the supercelestiall Syon.

7 And their enemies saue them. The Antichristes knoweth that they are gods seruauntes / the hypocrites perse…ueth they hauehave heauenlye knowlege Yea, manye tymes they so report them both in their wordes and writinges. In manye of them Chronycles they …f…rme / t…at Bererga…ius / Ioannes scotus the elder / Iohan wycleff / Iohan husse / Hierome of Prage / Thomas thedonensis a whyght fryre of Bryttayne burned in Rome / Hieronimus sauonarola a blacke fryre burned in florence / & diuerse other more were menne of most excellēt wyttes / of most hygh lernynge / of most godlye conuersacyō / of a most perfight lyfe / feruēt / constaūt / & vnmoueable in in the tyme of their deathes. Bylney / Baynhā Befeld / frithe / Tindale / Barnes & other / are yet reported (yea of somewhich to this hewe hateth their opiniōs) to hauehave dyed charetably ād godly. Yet beleue they neuer the better / they come neuer the senner to God. Their malyce hath so blynded thē / and the clowde of ignoraunce so darkened their knowlege / that styll they blaspheme and most cruellye persecute.

8 And in the same howre (sayth saynt Iohan) there happened a greate earthquake A terrible cōtradiccion aryseth euer from the carnall Sinagoge / & frō amonge the earthlye mynded hipocrites / whā the verite is …awght / as it was afore tyme in Christ / & in his Apostles / specyallye in Paule / and now of late dayes in manye other poore preachers. Whā newe witnesses aryse / then waxe they more madde / fearce / and felle / then they were afore. Then empreson they / then ponnyshe they / then make they actes and cō maunde in peyne of deathe nomore to speake in that name. Yet do they rather loose than wynne / falle than ryse / dysprofyght that profyght.

9 For the tenth part of theyr cyte felle to the grownde. Their buyldinge vponupon sande wyll in no case endure. That God hath not planted must vp by the rootes. Their holye whoryshe churche / whych is here called Sodome and Egypte) is ruynouslye decayed. Their monasteries of monkes / their howses of fryres / their colleges of Idle prestes / with their nonnes / chanons / and chanteryes in manye places are downe. Tythes are not as they hauehave bene / nor trentals / nor other p. 20deuocions. Images are not sought / nor pardons in confession. The people inclineth to newe lernynge / and goeth from their olde beleue of holye churche. They that were monkes / prestes / and fryres are now become gospell teachers. Soche as afore were dead / standeth vpp now agaynst them boldelye This fallen part is here the tenth / for it is the lordes by the lawe. It is the same shepe that afore was lost / & now is brought to Christes folde. These were called awaye from thens by the wytnesses / the other stande yet styll / ād are eueryevery daye worse and worse.

10 In the earthquake were slayne names of menne to the nombre of seuen thowsande. An innumerable multytude hath bene sent out of the waye by these Antichrystes in theyr furye / but yet nothynge hauehave they slayne but their names. Onelye hauehave they hurte theyr bodyes / vponupon their sowles hauehave they had no powre / nomore than had Sathā vponupon the sowle of Iob. Yet hauehave not their names peryshed before God / for of hym are they wrytten in the boke of lyfe. In no case are the wycked of the godlye here putt vntounto deathe / thowgh some do so vnderstande it / but rather of the wycked the godlye. For they neuer retayle their wronges / but rather praye for their enemyes.

11 And the remnaunt or resydewe were feared / sayth saynt Iohan and gaue glorye to God of heauen. Of soche as were left in their earthquakes or terryble persecucions / some remayned in presone / Some were beggered / some were eryled / some fledde / some lost their estimacion and fryndes / and yet gaue prayse vntounto God.

12 In all their aduersitees they gloryfyed the name of their heauenlye father and Lorde. Thus hauehave we here what is done alredye / and what is yet to come vnderunder thys sixt trompet blowynge (where vnderunder we are now) whych all / be longeth to the seconde woo.

13 And these thynges ones accomplyshed the seconde woo wyll be past. And then loke bye & bye for the thirde woo / for it wyll folowe anone after without fayle / yea / so sone as thys seconde woo is done.

14. In the latter age of all shall thys thyrde woo reygne / soche tyme as Gog and Magog most extremelye shall rage. And the vniuersall iudgement shall fynyshe that woo / as here after more euydentlye wyll opere. But consyder that these woes are to the infydels. The faythfull feareth them not / but receyuynge the worde in a pure hart they p. 21brynge forth frute in pacyent sufferaunce.