The Right Reckoning of Years and Ages of the World, Proposition 7
SEVENTH PROPOSITION.
Of the estate of this present 1600. yeare of Christ in particular: And that there is an appearant dangerous alteration, to fall out therein, and within few yeares thereafter.
THe estate of this present 1600, yeare of Christ in particular (which mooved me to write this Treatise) is now to be considered which (as was declared) is from the creation of the world the 5548. year, cōteining 792. weekes of years: & for od years, it conteineth also 113. Iubilees, & 11 single yeares. For before the 71. yeare of Christ, were passed 82. Iubilees: and from thence to our time, to wit, to 1589. year of Christ, 31. Iubilees. Signifyed by the Evangelist Iohn, in his Revelation, by the space of the blowing of the 7. trumpets, every trumpet conteining 245. years. So that this 1600. yeare, is the 60 yeare of the blast of the seaventh & last trumpet: for to the compleiting of this 7. & last blast & yeares thereof, there wil be from the creation of the world 117. Iubilees that is, 819. weeks of years, & 5733. single yeares, which wil extend to the year of Christ 1785. years, if the world shal continue so long. But the time by great probabilitie, & good arguments, is to be abbreviat, for the Elect sake. This 1600, yeare. then may justly be called a yeare of the decaying and fading age of the world for many reasons. First, because all things that approch neere an end, are saide to decaie and fayle, as it commeth to passe in this yeare, by the preceeding reckoning. For if the reckoning fall not,Apoc. … the prophetie in the Revelation, cannot fayle, where it is written, That the Angell that stood vppon the sea and earth, hauing the booke in his hande, sware by him that liueth for euer more, which created the heaven, earth, and sea, and all things conteined therein, that time shalbe no more. But in the dayes of the voyce of the seaventh Angell, when he is to blow, even the mystery of God shall be finished, as hee hath declared to his servants the Prophets. Now the seaventh Angel hath begunne alreadie to blow his trumpet by our reckoning, in the 1541. yeare of Christ by-gan, and now the voyce of that trumpet stil soundeth in our eares, willing vsus to prepare vsus for that great day of the Lordes judgement. Secondly, because the signes & tokens fore-told, aswel by our Saviour himselfe, as by the Prophets, and namely, by the Spirite of God in the Revelation, that were to proceed that great judgemente, are for the most parte already come to passe and accomplished. Concerning the which, when as the Apostles asked of our Maister Christ, hee fore-warneth them of seaven. For they demaunded him of three questions, to witt, when shall be the destruction of the Temple and cittie of Ierusalem? What should be the signe of his comming?Mat. … and of the ende of the Worlde? Mark. 13.He maketh his aunswere in two, resolving all these three questiones,Luke. 21. by the two-times of his comming in the Worlde: Whereof, the former was of his first comming in the flesh; & the other in his latter comming to judgement. For the signes, both of the one and the other, he declareth to be a like. Therefore (sayeth he) Verely I say vntounto you,Matth. …. this generation shall not passe til all these things be fulfilled: And againe, there be some here standing, that shall not taist of death, til all be done. For albeit, the signes that preceed the latter judgement by extraordinary, yet they were not to bee vnlike to them that were at his first comming in the flesh: as hee deduceth them by the particulars. First (sayeth hee) there shal come false Christs and false prophets: So was there in his first comming, Benchobab, alias Barchosha…, who feined himselfe to be Messias: And Iudas Galilaeus and The…das, …with other false Prophets: And in this laste comming likewise, The Romane Antichrist, vsurping Christ his authority▪ And the sect of the Iesuites, falsely taking their name from Iesus, but more worthie to take it from Iudas Ischariot, with the Anabaptistes, Libertines, and many other false Prophets. Secondly, where hee sayeth, There shall be battelles, and rumours of battelles, with pestilence, famine and earth-quakes, in divers places. So was it found especially at his first comming among the Iewes, rebelling against the Romanes, by whome they and their common-wealth, were finally vtterly over-throwen: And what famine was in the Cittie of Ierusalem, with pestilence and strange deathes: ye may reade in Iosephus de bello Iudaico. So in these latter daies, what warres hauehave bene, and yet continue: Nation rysing against Nation, and kingdome against kingdome, even amongst vsus Christians, the fearefull effects can declare, whereby we appeare to be made a pray to the Tyranny of the Turke▪ vnlesse God of his mercy bridle his furie. As to the Pestilence, Famine, and earthquaks & such thinges, were in the first comming of Christ, as namely,Act, …. the famine whereof Agabus the Prophet fore warned, as that terrible Earth-quake; that was in the time that Christ suffered, with other the like plagues: So we hauehave seene, & daylie see, many such feareful accidents, more grieuously vexing the World nor ever they did manie yeares of before. The third signe, is persecution of the servants of God, and especially, of those that foreshewe faithfully the Gospell of Christ, as it was in his first comming: So is it notour, what innocent blood hath bene shed, for renewing the true Preaching of the Gospell in our dayes: because these things are in recente memory, vppon the particulars, I need not to insist. The fourth signe, fore-tolde by our Maister Christ, is the abundance of iniquitie, that shuld accompany both his commings, which with the reste of the signes of his first comming, is properly to be applyed to the Nation of the Iewes, whose iniquities … to such exceeding measure, that to overcome all the rest, they regarded not to Crucifie the Sonne of God. And nowe in these latter dayes, vniversally amongst vsus Christians, what abundance of all impietie and wickednes, what vnkindly dealing, what vntruth? Yea, amongst the better sort, who is not either cold or carelesse? I neede not seeke examples, they are so ryfe. The first signe is, the Preaching of the Gospell vniversally, the which, maketh all the other signes to worke effectually. For these signs otherwise being natural, or after a maner common, being joyned with the Word, are made Sacraments; as was the Rayne-bow, in the dayes of Noah: signifying, that there should not be an other like floud to destroy the whole world: so in these latter times, such signes preceeding Christ his latter comming, and their significations, declared by his Gospell, prognosticate vndoubtedly his latter comming to judge the world by fyre. For as it was in the dayes of Noah, when a merveilous security was in the world; notwithstanding, the Preaching of Noah, and preparation of his arke: And as the Preaching of Christ and his Apostles was securely contemned by the Iewes: So now a dayes, the cleare light of the Gospell shining againe to the Worlde, and making all men without excuse worketh no more in the minds of the most parte, then … were raw flesh, which cannot digest vpō a lothsome stomack. And as to the sixt token of signes in the Sun, the Moone, & the stars; & concerning the shaking & mooving of the powers of the heaven; such thinges appeared in the first cōming of Christ, when that most famous star appeared, which declared to the Wise-men Christ his birth: & when that extraordinary darknes fel vponupon the land of Iudaea in time of his suffring, which albeit, I take it not to hauehave bin an Eclipse of the Sun, by interposition of the Moone, between it & the earth (which could not then be, without the whole motions of the heauen had bin changed) yet was it an evidente darknes, both in the Sun & in the aire, throughout all the Land of Iudaea. …od. 10.The like whereof, was in Aegypt vniuersally, except where the Children of Israel remayned, being the ninth plague wherewith the Lord smot that land. Now likewise hauehave we seen in our dayes, divers apparitions in the heaven, namely, that most notable star or comete, which appeared in the yeare of our Lord 1572. most cleare, without any spowting haires or beames from it, the which the most learned did take for a signe of the approching of the Lord to judgemente against the bloudy tyrants of the earth, & namely, that Herode of France. We hauehave also seene now lately, that great Eclipse of the Sunne, the 1598. yeare, whereof the effect yet continueth. And as to the commotion or shaking of the powers of the heaven, I shew of before, how the signes are changed from their former places: so that Aries is come to Taurus, and Taurus to Gemini for the most parte, and so foorth the reste: To speake of the Triganes, and great conjunctiones, I will not now enter: For I suppose the force thereof to be now greatlie debilitate, by reason of the alteration of the signes, and so leaue the discourse to others. The seaventh and last signe, is of the comming of the Sunne of man, Christ himselfe, who as hee appeared in his humanitie, taking vponupon him our nature, wherein he suffered for our sinnes: So is he to appeare in the cloudes, in his seconde comming, fearefull to the wicked, and comfortable to the Electe: The which seaventh signe resteth onelie to come: For other sixe i… a manner are come alreadie, albeit it may be, they appeare more evident hereafter. Alwaies, wee see howe the signes of the first and second comming of Christ do agree, so farre as wee hauehave yet seene. And as for this present yeare, and yeares shortlie to come hereafter, there appeares no lesse, but rather greater mutationes yet to follow, which may bee the thirde evidencie and argument, of the approching of the latter daie. For as to the signes of the heaven, so manie and so greate Eclipses, namelie, of the Sunne, hauehave not bene seene, these manie yeares by-gane, as shall be within sixe yeares to come: What other heavenlie tokens wilbe annexed thereto, the Lord knoweth. But this I see, that after or before the effecte of one Eclipse be ended, immediatlie falleth out an other, as this presente 1600. yeares, at the ende of the effecte working of that Eclipse, which was in the 1598. yeare: signifying, and bringing greate Windes and drought. In the ende of Iune, falleth out an other Eclipse of the Sunne, and so foorth in the rest. As to other particulars, that are to fall foorth this yeare, I will speake sparingly thereof: for I pretend not the Spirite of prophecy, neither do I depend much vponupon the conjectures of Astrologues, notwithstanding, I shall recite that which I finde in others, concerning the estate of this yeare, and certaine yeares following, & thereafter shortely declare mine owne opinion, following the grounds which I hauehave already laid. I reade in the Treatise, called, The seconde comming of Christe, whereof, Scheltco a Geueren is the author: his conjecture, that about this 1600. yeare, shall be the end of the periode of the Papisticall kingdome. But he taketh vp his periods by full 500. years, where as by our reckoning, the greater period, conteineth only 490. yeares. And againe, he counteth from the creation of the world, to this, 1600 yeare of Christ 5562. yeares, more then our former count, 14. yeares. So that there will be a difference betweene our reckonings of 44. yeares, but the matter & space is not great in substance. For doubtlesse, that Antichristian kingdome, as it hath begun already to fall, so shortly shall it come to vtter ruine. For Babylon muste needes fall, according to the Prophecie of the Revelation. In the which, we finde also, at the end of the 14. Chapter, this number of 1600. where it is said, That the Vine-presse of Gods wrath was troden without the Cittie, and blood come out of it, to the horse bridies, by the space of 1600. stades or furlungs. This number, some of the learned vnderstande to be meant of yeares, as though after the out-running of 1600. yeares, the end shalbe, when the wicked shalbe tormented in hell, after the similitude of a woundrous great bloud shed in the field. But in my judgement, that number is rather to be vnderstood, of a space of grounde, conteining so many Fur-longs or stades. For there being eight Furlongs in a myle of our reckoning, they come to 200. of our common myles, which was the longest reaching of the boundes of the Land of Israel. For by the citie, is signifyed Spirituall Ierusalem, the Church of God; within the which, the Elect and godly are conteined: And the tredding of the vine-presse without the Citie, is meante of them that are out of the true Church, which are in a far greter number, vponupon whom Gods wrath doth fal, as it wer, comprehending the whole space of the Land, without the citie: But to returne to that Treatise, of the second comming of Christ, the author insisteth very much vponupon the number of 5555. from the creation of the world, which after his reckoning, endeth in the year of Christ 1593. yeares; but after our count, the 1607. yeare: of the which number, he gathereth a great mysterie: Because it conteineth, both an Arithmeticall & Geometrical proportion of numbers, to wit, an Arithmeticall, in proceeding by Foure fiues, and a Geometrical, by reason the parts therof are made vp in progres, by multiplication of 10. As fiue-times ten, mak, 50. ten-times 50. mak 500. & ten times 500. make 5000. Or if ye like to proceed the cōtrary way, the tenth part of 5000. is 500 & the tenth part of 500. is 50. & the tenth part of 50. is 5. wherof he gathereth, that after the cōpleiting of 5555. years, frō the Worldes creation, there shall fall foorth a merveylous change of the estate of the World, as indeed there was not such a concurrence of numbers, since the yeare of Christ 496. Neither shall the like so long as the World lasteth. Now because of the perfection of the number of fiue, aboue other numbers, it comprehendeth in it, all vnities, of the which, all other numbers do consiste, be they eauen or odde: and because, distributiue justice standeth in Geometrical proportion, hee gathereth and supposeth, that the Lord God, maker and governour of all things, by this proportionable agreeing of numbers, would leade vsus to a certaine deepe consideration of a perfite expyring and ende of all thinges: So that hee trusteth, the comming of the Sonne of GOD to judgment shortly thereafter to insue. To the which, he addeth many other arguments and conjectures to the same purpose. As to me, albeit I like not to follow any Pythagorical superstition, in observation of numbers, yet in so far as we may hauehave any good ground out of holy Scriptures or evident reason. For such reckoning, I think it not altogether to be refused, having the concurrence of other good testimonies, to confirme the same. As indeed, there appeares to be some greate mysterie in the conjoyning of so manie fiues to-gether. For before it, or with it, the manifolde Eclipses that are to fall out, with their effects, and specially, that fearefull Eclipse of the 1605. yeare, wherein the Sun shall be allutterlie darkned at Noone-daie, whereof the effectes shal▪ continue certaine yeares thereafter; pretende great mutations and perturbationes to ensue in those few yeares following; As wartes, seditiones, pestilences, famine, with many other grievous calamities, and Tragicall eventes; such as treasons, conspiracies; so that few men may truste one another, wherewith the common societie of men, is like to be dissolved, and all licencious libertie to wickednesse to hauehave place. And shortlie, LoueLove to waxe colde, and selfe-louelove to waxe hote, with all other such enormities and corruptiones, as the Apostle PAVLE prophecieth to fall foorth in the latter dayes in his Epistles: And namely, in matters of Religion,…. Tim. 3. new sectes and heresies, shall aryse, with a merveilous defection from the faith, according to the wordes of our Maister Christ, When the Sonne of man shall come, beleeue yee, he shall finde faith in the earth? But the most evident testimonie of all, is the agreement of those said heavenly signes, with the prophecies of the Revelation of the sixt and seventh trumpets. For the end of the sixt trumpet and Vi…le, and the beginning of the seaventh (vnderunder which now we are) agree together, as they doe in all the reste. Nowe the summe of all those tokens and signes, is to declare, how when God sendeth his Worde, and Preachers of the Gospell in the worlde, men refusing the same, are tormented with wartes, and manie other calamities, and that by his juste judgement. This is meant first generally, by opening of the seaven seales of the closed booke. For at the first seale opening, the white horse,Apocal. 7. and the ryder, with his bow bent, signifyeth, the Preaching of the Evangel. At the second seale opening the red horse, with his rydar, betokeneth the sworde, blood, and battel, which God sendeth in the VVorld, being disobedient to the preaching of the Gospel. Like wise, the black-horse, with his ridar, and the ballance in his hande, at the opening of the thirde seale, signifyeth dearth & famin, sent for the same cause. And the fourth horse, being of pale colour, with his ridar Death, at the opening of the fourth seale, declareth the plague of pestilence, and other deadly diseases, punishing mens rebellion and disobedience to the Gospell. At the opening of the fift seale: The Saintes & Martyrs, for the testimonie of the trueth, craue revenge at God hand, for the innocent shedding of their bloud. At the sixt seale opening, the great earth-quake, with obscuratiō of the Sunne, and the reste of the signes therein specified, declare great troubles in general, corruption & darkning of the truth, with bloudy persecutiō, & throwing down of the Ministers of the Gospell, so that the Church did lurke in obscurity for a time, and many made defection from the Romane Empyre. But in the meane time, GOD had his servantes marked, as is specified in the seaventh chapter. Finally, at the seaventh seale opening the silence for halfe an hourse, signifyeth, a little rest by God, graunted to his Church, in the middest of these troubles: And there-with, is declared, howe GOD accepted the prayers of his Saintes, offered by Christ. All these thinges (I say) testifie in general the estate of the Church, and such troubles as hauehave f…llen foorth in all ages & periodes of time, the beginning of the Preaching of the Gospell, & yet continue in ou… daies. For the end is not yet come. And the estate of the Church is like to the selfe almost in all ages. But by the blowing of the seaven trumpets, alluding to the Iubil…es of the lewes, we vnderstand the particular estate of every periode of time, since the first Preaching of the Gospel, as partly was declared before. Of the which periodes, wee are now into the seventh and last, to wit, in the beginning thereof, which hath affinitie and similitude, with the ende of the former sixt periode and blast of Trumpet.Apoc. 8. Therefore, ceasing now to make discourse in particular of the first foure blasts of the Trumpet, wherin the first plague of haile & fyre mingled with bloud, doth signifie, a certaine vnmeete temperature of colde and heate of men, in receiving the Gospell, with mingled bloudy persecution of the tyrantes of the earth. And the seconde, of the burning mountaine, cast into the sea, may signifie, the greate persecutor, Diocletian being last of these emperors, with his fierie rage against the wavering multitude of christians, of whō, the third part were either destroyed, or yeelded to his tyrannie. The third trūpet likewise, making mention of a greate star falling from heaven, doth properly signifie Arius, who with his bitter heresie, against the divinity of the Son of God, infected the pure fountains of the word of God. And wher it is said, that at the blaste of the fourth trumpet, the third parte of the Sunne, the Moone, and Starres were smitten: Wee vnderstand, the light of the pure Gospel, with the Ministers therof to hauehave bin in a great part obscured in that foure periode of time. Of these things (I say) I wil not nowe intreate in particular, but come to the last three blastes of trumpet, conteining three woes, that is, three more fearefull plagues then the former.Apoe. …. So commeth the fift blast, and first woe, about the 1051. yeare of Christ, wherein a greate starre falleth from heaven, to whom was given the …eye of the bottomlesse-pit, out of the which, arose a great and dark smoke, and out of the smoke Locustes, which are described at length in the text. This starre I take vndoubtedly, to signifie the Pope, with his feyned keyes, whereby he pretendeth to hauehave power to hinde & louse, not only in the earth, but also to deliver mens soules out of Purgatorie, with the smoke of false doctraine: and the …ocustes, to signifie his corrupted Clergie, and swarmes of Cloysters, who are set foorth with their liuely colours & properties, that, no man can deny to agree wel vntounto them. This star may also signifie, Mahomet that false prophet, with his corrupted Alcoran and … of his secte. Alwaies, the remanent of this first …, …et troubleth the world, albeit this Antichristi… and Papisticall kingdome, in a parte hath gotten a great fal: Therefore we come to the sixt trumpet, which begouth to be blowen, about the year of Christ 1296. wherein the foure Angels were loused from the floud Euphrates, which is most conveniently interprete of the four great Mahometane nations, comming from the East, to witte, the Arabianes, Saracenes, Turkes, and Tartarianes, with the infinite number of their Horsemen, ay ready for battel, with a furious and fyrie rage; & namly, that bloudy Nation of the Turkes, who now hath the dominion over the rest, and over a great parte of the Earth. This is the second woe, whereof this day still we hauehave experience; IOHN therefore sayeth, hee saw these horses long before in a vision, with them that sate vponupon them, having fyerie habbergeons, and of Iacynth & brimstome, & that of the fyery smoke & brimstone, the third part of men were killed: which may wel signifie their goodnes & artillery; by the which devillish inventiō, a great part of men of the world, are daily murthered; shutt out at their mouthes & fyered at their tayles. This plague then being one of the last plagues, signifyed also in powring out of the sixt Viole vpō the great river Euphrates to dry it vp, that is, to take away all impediments, & to giuegive place in the wrath of God, to the kings of the East, to invade Europe; ceaseth not this day to continue, & is appearant to continue with great rage, this instant, 1600. yeare, & certain years hereafter, concurring with the threatning signes of the heavens, whereof I hauehave already spoken. And the cause thereof, is evidēt: Because (as it followeth in the text) The rest of men which are not already killed by these plagues, repented not of their workes of their hands, that they should not worship divels & Idoles of God and of silver, of brasse and stone, and of wood, which neither can see, neither heare, nor goe: expressely damning the Papistes, which yet remaine in their Idolatrie. As also these repenteth not of their murthering of the Saints of God, nor of their sorceries, neither their fornications nor of their thieft. In the which they, and other feyned Christians amongs vsus still are involved: For the which causes followeth the third & last woe▪ with the blast of the 7. trumpet, which begouth to blow about the 1541 year of Christ.Apoe 10. & 11. But before this last woe fal out: the Lord by the Angel of his covenant Iesus Christ, of his great goodnes, offreth to the world, the book of his new Testament, & willeth the same to be preached by his Ministers: & with that to our great cōfort, the true church is measured, & the elect ar marked, so that Satan & the tyrants of the world, cānot hinder their salvation. Thē finally commeth the last plague & woe, vponupon infidels & impenitent sinners, suddenly & vnlooked for, when they with then head, the divell shall passe with manie woes vntounto everlasting torment, but this shal not be till the second woe, be vtterly consumed & past, with the dependances therof, which a… signifyed in the seaventh blast, by a wounderfull great Earth-quake, with lighenings and voyces, and thundrings, with much haile. The like whereof is repeated, in powring of the seavent viole of Gods wrath, where it is said also, that the hail was great like talents that fell out of heauen vponupon men,Chap. 16. so that th…y blasphemed God, because of the plague of the haile, it was so great. By which figures, the Spirite of God will vtter vntounto vsus, the great destruction of his enemies, with such as hold stil the beasts mark, & hauehave no grace to repente in these last daies. For of before, the thundring of Gods word, called all men to repentance, and to obedience of the Gospell, with an amiable and loving voyce. But now finally, such as will not come out of Babylon, nor repent their wicked lines, by Gods just judgement, are threatned with an other kinde of thundring, to witte, with horible punishmēt, alluding by these similituds to the over throw of Sodome, & to the words of the Psalmist where he saieth,Psal. 1…. vponupon the wicked, God shal raine snares fyre & brimstone, and stormie tempests. It is more-over added, in powring out of the seaventh viole in the aire (wherby is signifyed a great perturbation of al the elements) that there was such an Earth-quake, that the like had never bene. These tempestes in the aire, may both be vnderstoode literallie and Spiritually. For literally, our Maister Christ fore-warneth vsus of the like, where he testifyeth, that before his latter comming, the powers of the heauen shalbe moved: & spiritually, the moving of the aire & the great earthquak signifie such a cō fusiō of al things in the world, that the lik hath not bin seene of before: And by the much and vehement great haile, is meant the great coldnes of louelove that now wee see in the world, as also it was fore told by our Saviour Christ: And by his Apostle PAVLE, speaking of selfe-louelove, and lack of zeale in Religion, which maketh men to dispise God and godlinesse, and to blaspheme against the Gospel, and Preachers thereof, which plague now (al…s) doth everie where increase. And it is added futher in the text of IOHN, that the great citie was divided into three parts. By this citie (no doubt) is meant the externall face of the visible Church, composed of true professors, Papistes, and Hypocrites so that we see there shall not be a full and perfite vnitie of religion, to the end of the World. But in the midde-time, we hauehave this soli…e comforte, that at the blast of the seaventh trumpet, the mysterie of God shall be fulfil…ed toward his Saintes, and great joye shal be among the Elect, because the Kingdomes of this world, are our Lords and his Christs, and he shal raigne for evermore. And with this shall come the end of this world, which albeit it be vncertaine, as touching the year, day and houre, when it shalbe, yet certainely it is not farre off, seeing al these tokens and others, specified in the Scriptures, are already fulfilled, and the great Angell hath sworne that there shall be time no more: The Lord make vsus readie for his comming, that wee may lift vp our heades from the vanities of this worlde, and waite for that day of our Redemption: Come Lord Iesus come.
FINIS.