A Revelation of the Holy Apocalypse, Author to the reader
THE AVTOVR TO THE READER.
IN all controuerſies men ſhould know what both ſides graunt: & what they hold differing. So where I turne all the Apocalyps againſt Rome: and did ſo twelue yeres agoe againſt the Popes champion, D. Iohannes Pistorius, ſent to moue warres in Zwitzerland: reaſon would for facility of ending controuerſie, I ſhew how much they graunted me: and knew they muſt: that if any of mine owne nation, come ſhort: and that with Satanean malice: they be dealt with, as endeuoring to make our Church a ſynagogue of Satan. The matter ſhalbe briefly told.
Doctor Iohn Pistorius holden a father of the Ieſuites, dwelling in Friburge of Briſcouia, diſtant twēty Engliſh miles from Baſil, was ſtird of the Pope to chalenge all our Cantons for diſputation: that they ought to yeeld to the Pope, as the ſeauen did: And vponupon diſputation refuſed, hee would by war chalenge his ſupremacy. This then was thought no pley. VponUpon this Syllogiſme the mayn ſtood.
If the ſcripture bee corrupted, another judge muſt be had: that is the Pope: who onelyonly doth chalenge that.
But the ſcripture is moſt corrupted: as Geneva graunteth in Rob. St. praef. to the N. T. for Ebrew double readings (848. as Elias reckoneth them) and Arias Montanus hath written an whole work in apparatu, of the old Teſtament, corrupted in Babylon, in 52. yeares, in ſo many places: and Beza checketh and vnchecketh the new, that none knoweth what to ſtand to: and the enemies graunt, is ſtill ſtrong againſt himſelf.
Therefore the Pope will require by warres that ye make him judge.
A Rhoetian, brought vp at Berne, named Caſpar Clauſe-chriſti, at Leyden ſaw my ſcripture Concent: where I defend the old Teſtament to bee pure to eueryevery letter by the Maſſorites, and ſay the Apocrypha bee all lying workes or Ironies: mackages of fooles. I taught him ſo much Engliſh: and expounded the matter at large to him: and for reconciling the Creed with the Goſpell. D. Fr. Iunius had told him hee was euer of my mind: and one M. Baudertius ſhewed my Theſeis to the Vniuerſity, and the Vniuerſity allowed them. By this he ſaw the Pope was berest of hope to giuegive a charge to vsus, where he hoped of victorie: or by Gehennean torment: as Athean a dream as his that wrote, our Lord had gone into the ſecond death, when God raiſed him vp, foreign. Diuinitie may not be handled with reſpect of perſons: But if Quirites yeeld to me, ſo far I will defend Rome and Mentz: and if Lacus Lemanus make the fiſh dead: and Wintonia hauehave but a ſack full of wind, which Aeolus gaue to Vliſſes, when his fellowes thought it full of a great treaſure, and forced him to open it, and ſo by tempeſt drowned themſelues: that cheſter wil I leaue to the wind, to bee ſhut vp in Vliſſes ſack: and leaue Lemanus to the ſnow water of the wild Alpes.
The Rhoetian ſaw all the Popes hope gone, by the ſcripture proued true in text: and the Apocrypha to be workes of men that knew not Chriſt, and all in ſadnes to be fooliſh, and the going of the ſoule to Paradiſe to bee ſpoken in the Creed, and he told me with great aſſeueration, that if I went to Zwitzerland, I ſhould remoue war. I went preſently to Baſil: and Zurick and Berne heard: and vſed me with all kindnes. Mine hoſt of Baſil, a D. of Law, D. Iacobus Henric-petri, had occaſion to goe to Friburge to D. Piſtorius: and on a thurſday at Supper ſpake much of me to him. Then D. Piſtorius ſayd: The ſcholers of England be learned in the tongues: but it were better they knew the Fathers better. On Fryday my Doctor telleth me what he ſayd: On Saterday I gaue a Greek reply to the Poſt: as Pistorius triumphed in Greek: to this ſumme.
The Greek Fathers were in eloquence vnmatchable: and in handling of the Trinity, and Incarnation of Chriſt, and Iuſtification by faith, and of holy ſoules paſſage hence to heauen, and of wicked to Gehenna, they all agreed: and none euer of 1400. yeares thought of Purgatory: as their oration in the Synode of Baſil ſhewed: 160. yeares ago: which D. Iacobus Zwinger yet hath. And ſo much learning as their age could vſe againſt eloquent heathen, God gaue them. But they had no occaſion to deale much for text of ſcripture with ſuch: and therefore leſſe ſtudied it: But for the Lords Supper, This was their common opinion: that the Bread and Wine were Icones and Symbola, Images and Tokens of the body and blood of Chriſt: As Origen ſpake the conſent of his age: and Euſebius from his great Librarie, the recorder of common graunts: And eloquent Nazianzen and others by Typi and Antitypa, and as the moſt ſage Theodorite in ſad diſputation to clear other matters, bringeth the ſame as a graunted common matter, to proue douted: ſo Macarius Monachus ſheweth his dayes opinion, calling the bread Symbolon of the body. And none wiſe could doubt: marking vponupon what prophecy the Lordes Supper ſtood. The Angell Gabriel told holy Daniel that after 490. yeeres, Chriſt the King by his death would end ſacrifice and offrings. And the Iewes dated all dayes in common Epistles and conueyances, the yeares ſince the returne from Babel: as wee the yeres of our Lord: in whoſe last yeare, they, By Daniel, looked, the Kingdome of heauen ſhould appeare, Luc. 19. though they knewe not in what manner. Nowe when ſacrifice was to end at the Supper of the Lambe: our Lord, to ſeale the end of ſacrificing, gaue, for beasts fleſh and blood, which figured his body and blood, bread and wine, to bee in couenant ſpeach his Body and Blood. All Graecians knewe proper ſpeach and civill: that hee ſhould bee bad, that knew not the place of both. In proper ſpeach a Father begetteth his Son: in ciuill ſpeach Romulus was anceſter to Iulian Apoſtata, Baaſa to Achab, Iechonias Salomontiades to Salathiel Nathanides. So the token of a Kings ſeale, is called his ſeale. This all the Greeke Fathers knewe: and tottering Theophylact, your onelyonly, turneth to this. And the taking of the Lords Supper, is our oth that wee beleeue hee died in due tyme, to bury Moſes by his buriall: and that by grace his ſpirit is with vsus to ſure ſaluation: as mighty as by his word it made the world. More is needleſſe and cannot bee, but is wickedly forged. So farr the Fathers were rare: not alwayes in commenting vponupon the Byble: But extremely deceiued almoſt all in honouring the Apocrypha: which Iewes kept to play for Ioſephus againſt Appiones that denyed all the Iewes ſtory. Therefore not to plead with them from the Law full of paradoxes, they object failes and humane workes to buſy them for all: And they meant litle further great matter in them. The Greeke Fathers ſawe not this much: though Euſebius told the true law had but 22. bookes. Nazianzen agreeth for the number: but miſſeth in regarding one Apocryphon, for holy: Iudith, as I remember: and Athanaſius, caſteth out holy Heſter. So we like of the fathers for learning controverted in their age: not aey for comment. And theſe groundes ye ſhall graunt me or combat: The Hebrew text is kept by the Maſſorites, ſo that nothing can be corrupted to alter one wordes ſignification. The Iewes knew their owne tongue: and teach vsus the native of it. In honour of the two tables of 613. letters, they bring all ſpeches of lawes bidding or forbidding, into 613. And hold that all which faith or life may think of is in them: And the New Testament never goeth further: And no one ſyllable helpeth Rome: but Italy is expreſly curſed by your owne tranſlation as by all Iewes expoſition, Numb. 24. vponupon which all the Apocalyps maketh a reuelation. This England holdeth: and will not give place to Rome, but will diſpute with D. Piſtorius Protonotary of the Pope at Baſil, one day in Hebrew, an other in Greek: with penners of every ſyllable of our ſpeach. Protonotarius is ſtout in theſe tongues: as he hath written de arte Cabaliſtica: though he hath miſsed altogether: and ſayth all Rabbins ſay Melchiſedek ſacrificed bread & wine: where none ever thought ſo: but all hold it offred to Abrahams ſouldiers to eat and drink, as he was a King: and bleſſed Abraham as a ſacrificer. And for Greek Protonotarius and Pope are yet to learne how to defend the purity of the New Teſtament, and to ſee Antique, Septuagint Thalmudique and Apostolique dialects. And no Papist ever could ſpeak or write Ebrew & Greek as coūtrey ſpeach. Thou knowest if thou dare diſpute I may overthrow the Pope: Therefore tell thine own hart, and write to him: that an Engliſh man wrote to thee, that the chalenger will give over his chalenge: or hee bee counted a ſhameleſſe lier.
To this effect I wrote to him a Greek oration: and ſent R. Rubens Chananean epiſtle, which honoured England above all nations: that he might ſee he had not to deale with a Thraſo. Three dayes after he wrote to Zurick great commēdations of my poor ſtudies, ſpecially of Greek eloquēce, as native Attique: And at three monethes end, after much combat in all Greek he writeth thus: I will not diſpute nor have our old Religion to be called into question. Then both ſides Cantones ſhowted, that the feare of war was gone, ſeing the Popes chalenger putteth vp this: that the Pope hath not one ſyllable in the Bible for his defence: But is vnvinciblie accuſed: and hath none that dare diſpute in the holy tongues for his defence. Now he dareth not for ſtark ſhame require ſupremacie, being ſo broken.
After this what Baſil ſpake to Engliſh of me, how for one all England ſhould heare better while Baſil ſtood, one Mr Brand of Londen and M. Ward of Cornewall they told me, and belike at home: How they told Netherlanders that this combat ended warres, and ſware ſo: they will never deny it, & noble Danes know, and doubtleſſe told their K. how they ſtaying for me at a ferry neare Leopoldus buriall, which they had ſeen, and I would ſee, a Zurick hearing my name, ſayd: wee were in great feare of war, till the Englander brake Piſtorius: I would gladly ſee his countenance: which argueth the mind: that in quiet words calmed boysterous preparation of warres: But my hast cannot ſuffer ſtay.
And ſo ſayd many ſtrangers at Baſil: and French were earneſt to bring me to their King. And what will to my rare honour, the ſtate of Baſil, Zurick, and Berne meant, I will let them write.
Now for Ieſuites humanity. D. Pistorius himſelf four yeares agoe asked M. Hakewill of Oxford, at Friburge of me, whether I was alive. He ſaid, he left me at Francfurt: then ſaid he, I am hartily glad, and gave high good words. Now he is dead, and I am ſory, for I hoped to turn him. Now two Cardinalls of Rome, Caeſar Baronius, as the Ieſuites of Mentz told me, and an other whoſe letters were intercepted at Heidelberge (of him I heard no more) obteyned of Pope Clement a principall Cardinalſhip for me: and dealt with Mentz Ieſuites to perſwade me: who when they could not, Archb. Ioh. Adami would have had me of his court, and obteyned that in Chapter: ſaying that he reioyced more for my honouring of him with dedication of my Greeke tranſlation of the Prophetes, then for his late election to be Prince of the Empire. And he ſhould by order have part of his court Proteſtantes: and he ſpake of me, as not miſliking my religion. But then Q. E. died, and I returned, and he died ſoone after. None but ſhameleſſe will denie this. Now this is paſt all deniall, that Mentz gaue me leave to print in Greeke my owne Religion. That brake the neck of Purgatorie: beſides other Papiſtique great poincts. Of this the beſt of Paris wrote to Franckfurt to the Kings agent: that of nine hundred yeeres ſo much was never obteyned of the Pope, as that booke obteyned: Rome muſt allow what Mentz alloweth. And if Haides have but two places, as they graunt, Heaven and hell, Purgatory muſt give back all the land that it wan.
Furthermore when my book of Concent came in Latin, Pater Baltaſar Ezelius in the hearing of his felowes in their college at Mentz, ſpake as by common conſent: We allow all that that book hath: This I have printed in Latin, and I am ſure he will not deny it: and when we are both dead, none may: ſeing in my life time it is not denyed. So this much is graunted me of Rome: to aſſure the ſimpleſt ſo far, how far the city is ſunk: And badnes or madnes geveth Nabal for name, & Nabala for fame to him that will not ſee how vponupon this Rome graunt, the comment vponupon the Apocalyps is paſt reply.
I have turned the Apocalyps into Hebrew: and ſo I would expound it: if the Turky merchants would pay the charges. If they refuſe, I will leaue them to try, whether ſtrange ſhipwrack ſhall revenge them. Their agent L. Ed. Barton gave the beginning: writing thus: If Mr. Br. may be brought to Const. that may turne to the common good of Chriſtendome. This he ſent to Mr. Stapers. Seing our age fleeth, wee ſhould ſell all to buy the Pearle of heaven.
Let the juſt be juſt ſtill.