The Conjectures of the End of the World, Chapter 3
Cap …ij▪☞ The thirde couiecture is taken frō the tyme of Christes birthe vntounto his passion and resurreccion, whych is. xxxiij. ye res and some dayes more, whose noumber we yet knowe not. For when he was baptized, he was full. xxx. yeres olde or very nyghe: so that he was full thyrtye, ere he toke the offyce of a leuite, as to preache and to teache openlye. Thus the sone of GOD whyche of euerlasting was in the bosome of the father (manisshappe taken vp to him) is becocome conuersant wyth vsus lyke as one of xxx yeris olde. For as touching his godheit he tolde the Iewes, sayng: Before Abraham was borne I had my being essenciall name called Sum. And yet to cer tyfye vsus the more in this thinge behold the Astronomer Ptolemeus, which in cal king the yere, expressed plainly in ye course of ye. xxxiiij. yeres of Christ, to be euen such, an easter day or passouer day as we finde nowe described of theuāgelistes at yt passyon of Christ, which daye fyll then iustely vpō the fryday, as did then Christ vponupon the same daye kepe it with hys Discyples. Albeit the Iewes then differred & trauslated it into the next sabboth, which was saterdaye, and then ate they theyr Passe lombe at euening, in y• which forenone was offred the very trwe passe lombe Christe, the ende of all the fygures therof, the Iewes not yet seing ye verite but abiding still in their dead & blindeThe day begineth at. v. aclo ke in the eauenig▪ shadows. The iewes differred ye feste as they do yet, when it so falleth vpō the friday, lest two gret festes in which they may not do so much as make their owne fyer or cut their brede, shulde be contynued togither, whiche thing that Christe shuld eate his Passe lombe on the fryday and suffer also on the same day, makyng saterday the hole restyng daye, vponupon son day erly to ryse, many hitherto hauehave not …speyd. But this mater, Paule BisshopPaul bisshop of Sēpron. of Sēpronie serched for, wyth gret study and could not fynde it out, only because he perceiued not, the Iewes not to tell ye fyrst day of the monethmonth from the coniun… cion of the sone and mone next before, but from the eauening euen at. v. of the cloke before the chāg in which the lerned astro mers did euidently shewe it, or els lawful witnes proued it to the elders or senators of Ierusalem, that the newe mone was sene or might hauehave had ben sene. But returne we to our purpose. Wherfore when our Lorde Christ born of the virgē concerning his fleshe was in this our miserable lif cōuersant with vsus. xxxiij. yeres and some dayes more, it is very like him self also to be borne spirytually of the in corrupt vyrgyne the holy churche by the free confession and pure doctryne of the gospell euen so many yeares, but yei great yeres, and so to remayne and abyde with vsus styll in his spirytuall birth these. xxx. great yeres in this worlde. But here must ye knowe that there betwo maner of gret yeres. two maner of grete yeres in holy seryptur. One is the Angels year, and the tother is Moses year. One Angels year cō teineth somany of our comon yeares, as we hauehave daies in our yeare, that is 354.cccliiij. …a…es in our luna re yere. of our yeares for so many daies be there in our lunare yere. For wt vsus, which be cō cluded vnderunder ye heuens, yt course of yt sone frō east to west finissheth our day ī. xxiiij. howers. But with the Angels wich dwel aboue the circles & orbes of the Planets, their daye finissheth hyr course, whyles the sone moueth in hir zodiak, from the southe to the northe and agen from the north to the southe, which is fynisshed in one of our yeres, so that their day is one of our yearis and econtra. Soche days Christ vnderstandeth Luke. xiij. when he bode them tell Herode that foxe. That I cast oute deuyls this day and to morowe and the third daye I am at an ende. For I must to day and to morewe & t̄he next day walke. For the prophete may nowhe re els be put to death but in Ierusalem, which wordes can not be vnderstanden of our comon dayes, but of the. iij. hole yeres wherin he preached and miracled before his death. For .iij. of our yeres ar but .iij. Angels dayes, and eueryevery Angels year is .cccliiij. of our lunare yeris, which Angels year is called of the Angels oft in Daniel both in hebrewe and caldey speche, a tyme. But Moses great yere isMoses great year. the space of .l. of our yeres that runneth from one Iubeley to another. For as in our year, the labor of the hole tilthe retur neth in a perpetual circle to where as it begone, that is from seadis tyme to the same agaeine, euen so in the iubeley year, all the Israelites returne in their owne former possessions agene of their fathers and the hole forme of their comon lyfe & state & liuing was newly restored and as it were borne ayen. But the Angels yere may not serue vsus in this our third coniecture. For if the churche shuld in this worlde dure. xxx. Angels yeares and a lytle more, the space shuld excede twelue thousand of oure yeares, when Elias ge ueth it not to stāde seuē thousand. Wherfor Moses great yere, which is yt Iubelei yere dothe iustely agre to our purpose,M. CC CCC. C For xxxiij. Iubeley yeres make. 1650. of our yeres, vntounto the which adde those few yeres that be. vi. yeris for the porcion of y• dayes, in which Christe beyend. xxxiij. yeres lyued, and so ar we comen to the dayes of Nohe euen. 1656. yeris. But letM. CC CCC. …WI. vsus see howe those great yeris, layd to the yearis of Christis lyfe (the tymes compa red to gither) shall agree whylis we try it out and examin it, by apt similytudes and comparysons of eueryevery thinge done of Christ and of the course and state of the world folowing his death vntounto this daye, fyrst. As our Lord Iesus being borThe cō parison betwixt his bode ly birth & spiritual birth, af …ir his re surrecciō ne of Mary the virgin, the gloriouse clere nes of Godillumined the herdmē taught from heuen Christ their sauior to be borne. Luce. ij. whom they shuld fynde wrap ped in clutes in the kribbe, euē lo, Christ being borne spiritually after his resurrec cion thorrowe the preaching of ye gospell euen of the incorrupt virgin the churche of the Apostles, the glory of the Lord did shyne roundabout and illumined the very hardemen and true flokfeders ye Apostles, the holy ghost powredforth vponupon them in fyery clouen tongues, which testifyed of Christ and gloryfyed him, teaching them althings that they might vnderstande the scriptures, & behold Christ in them as it were wrapped and inuolued in his cloutes: Also as christ ones borThe. ii. cōparisō ne, Herode slewe the children, hoping to hauehave so s…ain Christe emonge them, euen so Christ ones preched after his resurrec cion, ye prince of this world slewe the sele yonge Christiās, euē y• newly regenered by faith into christ trusting therby (as he doth nowe) so to hauehave roted out and destroyd Christes gospell wt their destruccion and burning. But as then Herode fayled of his purpose euen so are nowe owre Herodes cruell enforcementes frustrated.iij. Also as Christ borne, he dwelt vn der the Egipcions vntil the death of Herode & raigne of Archelay, that is vntounto the syxt yeare of his age almost complet, euen so Christ preached lurked and was hyd vnderunder the spyrituall Egypt, that is vnderunder the tweyfold double persecucyon both of the temperall tyrants and spyrytuall her etiques vntill the sixt Iubiley of the churche, that is to the ende of Dioclesian, the hebrwe worde which signifyeth egypt, is by interpretacion asmuch to say as blind persewers or double persecucionsEgipt blind per sewers. in the dual nowmbyr. Also as Ma ry the vyrgen had almost lost Chryste being. xij. yeres olde in Ierusalem and sought hym in vain among his kinsfolkiiij. and acoyntance, but at last fownde him in the temple amonge yt doctores asking and answering them, euen so the virgen the church in the twelf Iubiley that was about the yere of our Lorde cccccc. being sore layd ayenst troubled and wexed wt dyuerse and many heresies cheifly of the Arrians Eunomians and Sabellians, out of whom anon aftyr Mahumete aud the pope be sprong vp, had almost lost Christ, yea she had lost him in dede, as now hauehave the Mahumetis and Papists had she not at last thē found him in y• tē ple of God, that is in the holy scripture among the doctors and teachers euen the Prophets, Euangclistes, and Apostles, (where the papistis neuer yet sought Christ) askinge and answerynge dysputyng of our faith and religion she asking the Prophetes. For he nether did suffer, ne taught any thing which was not of yt Prophetes to fore sayd and testyfyed, he answered to the same in that he accomplesshed althynges in dede that they prophecyed of hym. Also as Christe borne,h. many of the Israelites beleued the herdemen, Simeon and other testifying of Christe and with no small desier longed to see hym openly present teachyng them whyles all the other Israelytes (albeyt they onelyonly then semed to be the peple of God) yet infect and seduete wyth the sectes of the pharisays & zaduces, knew not Christ, nothing regarding him vntyll Ioan bapt. begane to preache and testyfye of him now. xxx. yeares olde: euen so Christe preached, many verely beleued the Apostles and Martyrs and souked out the pure knowleg of Chryst drawne forth into theyr posteryte, whilis other, (in name only Chrystians) although for an vtward shynyng she we of gliteryng ceremonies and wyll workes of theyr owne choyce, wold be sene only to be the church of God, ether for theyr zaduceicall epp…urisme & voluptuose liuing, for their pharisaical hipocrisy infect and seduct ha ue not knowne Christ ne any thing at all regarded him vntill the xxx. Iubyley of the church was comen, that is to say vntyll about the 1500. year of the Lorde,M LL LLL. which popish Iubeley yet dureth in many churches, albe it in some where the gospel taketh place, it is extinct. Furthermore,vi. as aftir the. xij. yeares of Christ vntyl his. xxx. year, we read nothing of him but that he was vnderunder his parents subiect, as a layman and carpentor conuersant wyth the laye sorte, euen so aftyr the twelf Iubiley of the churche vntounto the thirtey Iubeley, that is frome Phocas themprour which with publike proclama cion stablisshed the popysh primacie, the doctrine of Christ hath standen amonge the laytie almost vntounto this our tym, whiche laymen contented with their crede & the sacraments, ether vtterly knewe they not these idolatryes, sectes the iustifycacion by workes, merytis, and these popish pardons, or els they veryly neglected and abhorred them, declaring cheifly this frute of theyr faith, that they simply and gladly obeyed theyr beter lerned elders, so farre as it might be done, without hurt or spotte of the trwe relygion & honor of God, when in the mean ceason, the popis Cardinals, Bisshops, Preistes Fryers, Monkes, enen the Pharyseis, Zaduceis scribes and lawyers all, not one skant clere (the doctrine of Christe neglected and lost) were, and yet be vtter ly drowned blinded and dampnably cap tined vnderunder the doctryne and tradicious of men, yea and of the diuill to, as Paule called them. Agene as aftir the. xxx. yerisvij. of Christes burthe Ioan Bap▪ preched repentance in the desert baptyzing them to prepar the peple for Christ, whō …ftsone after he shewedforth wt his finger, euē so after the. xxx. Iubiley of the churche, was the very sincere doctryne of the lawe, of the knowledg of orygynall sinne and of other vices, the trwe repentance the doctryne of the trwe iustificacion, and of the mortifycacion of the olde man whiche is the trwe and spiritual baptisme of repentance, restored to the churche, that the peple might hauehave ben prepared and made apt to receiue the doctrine of the gospell, which the doctrine of the lawe did shewe to vsus and pointed it forth befor vsus as it were wyth fyngers, for the fulbrynging or perfeccion of the lawe, is Christe vntountoRom. x. saluaciō to iustifye all that beleue in him. Also as Christe anon aftir Ioan, beganviij. his preaching of the gospell, euen so in thys our tyme, anon aftyr the ryght holsom doctryne of the lawe, there hath folowed the trwe and holsom doctryne of the gospell of the remissyon of sinnes only onelyonly for Christes sake, euen the ryghtuousnesix. of only saithe. Also as nether Ioan nor Christ taught openly admitted of the hyghe preistis to preache in the tē ple of Ierusalem, because the Bisshopes, scrybes, and Pharysais could not bere them, but taught ether in desertis or in ga lyle where the Prophane magistrates, and not the Bisshopes ruled, euen so in this our tyme, nether the doctryne of the lawe ne the gospell can hauehave place in the kingdoms of the Bisshops and Pharyseis where these blody beastis yet bere ru le, but ether in priuate places, as it were in the deserte, or els verely vnderunder some godly prince or ruler only is this pure & holsome doctrine herde. Item as Sathanx. in y• tim of Christ steredup diuerse tumul tes, first by Theuda, which toke tomich vponupon him selfe, and then by Iudas the galylene which auerted the pople to make the doctryne of Christe, as it were by their vprores and tumults the more to be suspecte of sedicion: Euen so nowe in our tyme hath he stered vp the relygious and seculare papistes in Englond, and other where the muntzers, the Shappelers, the anabaptistes, the Dauids georgians, the popyshe sacramentaries as Steuen gardiner Bisshop of Winchester Doctor smith, perin, and both the vniuersities in Englonde, with like other authors of sedicion to make the doctrine of the Gospel nowe happely in spryngynge vp ayen, to be odiouse and suspect, yea they wold make it heresie and sediciō, but yet all in vain, for siche sowers of sedicyon perish in them selues, and their disciples come anon to nought, the doctryne of yt gospel stauding salf & suer. Also as christxi. anon about y• beginning of his preachīg y• is, in yt first pash tide threuforth y• biers & sellers out of yt tēple, euen so y• doctrine of yt gospel, now sprōgē vp aftir ye thirty Iubile of y• church, hath cast out of christs churche the byers and sellers of popysh pardons, merits, misses, lippe labors with all other like papistrye and dyrty dregges of the whore of Rome. And here myght I recyte many of hyr deuillysh doctrynes and dampnable heresies, rites ceremonies & supersticiōs, which for short nes I omyt, bothe because these be suffycient enough to proue that the Iubyleis of the churche agree iustely with the yeris of the lyfe and age of Christ, and also because the godly and trwly lerned in the scripturs by them selues may fynde out many mo thinges like. And to beireif, for this cause omit I them that I wold not ouer much prouoke the obstinat aduersaries of Christ karied away of ye infernall furies, to make them the more chary to beware, and with their serpentyne subtiltye the more craftie to hurte and to cast forthe yea to spewe forthe all their venome at once. For they stomble & all to brekeEsay. xxviij. them selues aienst their stōbling stone Christ to fall therat, neuer to ryse ayen, for that they wetingly and wyllyngly of a sette malyre hauehave reiected him. Now therfore sith it is so clere and euident, the Iubileis of the churche so iustely to agre with the yeares of Christes lyfe: who can otherwyse thinke but that the church shal not in this worlde acomplesh the. xxxiiij. Iubilei? that is not to passe farreouer the Mccccccl. yeares after Christes resurrec cion, nonotherwyse then as Christ accom plesshed not his. xxxiiij. yeare of his age, but ere the half of the fowrth year was fi nisshed, he entred into his rest, ascended into heuen. Wherfor it is very lyke that aftir the. xxxiij. Iubeley year of y• church which shalbe shortly after the year from Christes birth or resurreccion. Mccccccl. the ende of the worlde shalbe at hande, which lytle space after the sayd nowmber, how short it shalbe no man can determin, excepte he knewe certainly y• very daye of Christes natiuitie & in what monethmonth he was borne, whether in marche or no. Fro whēre I think to reken ye moreThe con iectur of the trans latour. iustely. The noumber of. vij. is apointed of God to the perpetuall rest, wherfore men may coniecture that when ye noumber shall fall, as in the yeare from Christes resurreccion. Mcccccclxxvij. or. Mcccccclvij. the ende shalbe.