The Accomplishment of the Prophecies, Chapter 5
THE PROPHECIE CONTAIned in the 14. Chap. of the Apocalyps. CHAP. 5.
1 Then I looked, & lo, a Lamb stood on mount Sion, and with him an hundreth, fortie, and foure thousand, having his fathers name written in their foreheads.
2 And I heard a voice from heaven as the sound of many waters, and as the sound of a great thunder: and I heard the voice of harpers, harping with their harps.
3 And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the 4. beastes, and the elders: & no man could learne that song, but the hundreth fortie and fowre thousand, which were bought from the earth.
4 These are they which are not defiled with women: for they are Virgins: these follow the Lambe wheresoever he goeth: these are bought from men being the first fruits vntounto God and vntounto the Lambe.
5 And in their mouthes was founde no guile: for they are without spot before the throne of God.
6 Then I saw another Angell flie in the midst of heaven, having an everlasting Gospell to preach vntounto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people.
7 Saying with a lowd voice, feare God, and giuegive glorie to him; for the howre of his Iudgement is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountaines of waters.
8 And there followed an other Angell saying Babylon that great cittie is fallen, it is fallen: for shee made all nations to drinke of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.
9 And the third Angell followed thē saying with a lowd voice, If any man worship the beast, and his image, & receiue his mark in his forehead, or on his hands;
10 The same shall drinke of the wine of the wrath of God yea of the pure wine, which is powred into the cup of his wrath, and hee shall bee tormented in fire and brimstone before the holy Angels, and before the Lambe.
11 And the smoake of their torment shall ascend ever more: and they shall hauehave no rest day nor night, which worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the print of his name.
12 Here is the patience of Saints: here are they that keepe the commaundements of God, and the faith of Iesus.
13 Then I heard a voice from heaven saying vntounto me, write, The dead which die in the Lord are fully blessed. Even so saith the spirit: For they rest from their labours & their workes follow them.
14 And I looked, and beholde a white clowde, and vponupon the clowde one sitting like to the sonne of man, having on his head a golden crown, and in his hand a sharp sickle.
15 And an other Angell came out of the Temple, crying with a lowd voice to him that sate on the clowde, Thrust in thy sickle and reape: for the time is come to reape; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
16 And he that sate on the clowd, thrust in his sickle on the earth, and the earth was reaped.
17 Then an other Angell came out of the the temple, which is in heaven, having also a sharpe sickle.
18 And another Angell came out from the altar, which had power over fire, & cried with a lowde crie to him that had the sharpe sickle, and said, Thrust in thy sharpe sickle, & gather the clusters of the vineyard of the earth: for her grapes are ripe.
19 And the Angel thrust in his sharpe sickle on the earth and cut downe the vines of the vineyard of the earth, and cast them in to that great wine presse of the wrath of God
20 And the wine presse was troden without the citty, and bloud came out of the wine presse vntounto the horse bridles, by the space of a thousande and sixe hundreth furlongs.
The Exposition.
1 After that God had made me to see the dominion of the Bishop of Rome figured by the second beast, hee shewed Iesus Christ vntounto me having the governement of his Church: and with him a great multitude of the faithfull of every tribe, and people, which had the marke of the people of God, which is the true profession of the faith, and Christianitie.
2 And I heard a voice from heaven as the sound of many waters, and like a clash of thunder, and to mixe pleasantnes with this maiesty, after this voice, I heard a melodious cōfort, as it were of harpers playing vponupon harps, and a heavenly harmony.
3 And they sang a new thanksgiving containing the redemption manifested by the new covenant, in the presence of God and his Angels, and the Patriarches, and Apostles. And no man can conceaue what this thanksgiving was, and howe God ought to be praised for this redemption, but only the truely faithfull, chosen out of every tribe, and nation; which were saued, and redeemed by Iesus Christ, out of the whole Masse of mankind, that was lost & corrupted.
4 These faithfull did abstaine from al fleshly fornication, & from spirituall too, which is Idolatrie; for they are chast. They follow the commandment of Iesus Christ, and suffer themselues to be led whither it shall seeme good to him. They were redeemed out of the whole stocke of mankind for to be consecrated vntounto God, and to Iesus Christ, as the first fruites of his creatures.
5 And there was no guile found in their mouthes, nor no dissembling words, for they did appeare pure and innocent before the throne of God.
6 After that I saw a faithfull Minister of the Gospell rise out of the corruption of this papall kingdome, and passing through the midst of the church to preach conformitie to the everlasting Gospel; & God raised him vp to preach vntounto the mē that dwell vponupon the earth, and to every nation.
7 And he cried out saying, Feare God & giuegive him the glory, for the houre of the last iudgement is at hand; worship no creatures any more, nor the reliques of Saints nor their images, nor the Pope, nor the Host, nor any other creature; but worship him which hath made heauen and earth, and the bottomelesse deepe, whence the rivers arise.
8 And another faithfull minister of the Gospell came after him saying, for certaine Rome is fallen, because she made all nations drunke with her furious Idolatry.
9 And a third minister came after these two saying stoutly, if any one worship the Pope, or yeeld himselfe subiect to the Empire, which he hath formed anew, according to the image of the ancient Roman Empire, professing himselfe to be a Roman, or of the Latin Church, or giuegive him a hand of fealtie, and obedience;
10 This man shall also drinke of the wine of the wrath of God, yea of the pure wine, powred into the cup of his wrath, that is to say, he shall tast of Gods displeasure to the end, and shall bee cast into hell in the presence of Iesus Christ, and the Angels there to bee burnt everlastingly.
11 And the smoake of their torment shall ascend evermore. And they shall enioy no rest, which doe worship the Pope, and the Empire which hee hath formed anew according to the image of the Romā Empire, & whosoever doth professe himselfe to bee a Roman, or of the Latine Church.
12 Here is the patience of the faithful to be seen, in this it is that they appeare which keep the commandements of God, and the faith of Iesus.
13 Then I heard a voice from heaven saying, happy are they which die in the faith of our Lord Iesus. From that time, of a truth (saith the spirit) they rest from their labours, and they shall receaue the reward of their good workes.
14 Afterward I looked, and behold, a white cloud appeared vntounto me, and vpō this cloude there sate an Angel, like to a man: which had a crowne of gold vpō his head, as who had the dignitie of an Arch-Angel, and power over many spirits, & in his hand a sharpe sickle, for to execute the iudgements of God.
15 And another Angell came out of the assembly, and Church of the Saints, which speaking vntounto the Angel that was vponupon the cloude, gaue him commandement from God saying: Exercise iustice now vponupon the earth; for the houre of displaying Gods iudgements is come, because the causes which drawe the iudgements of God downe (to wit the sinnes of men) are come to their full measure.
16 Then the Angell that sate vpō the cloude, threw downe the chastisements ordained of God vponupon the earth, & a multitude of men were destroyed, and many of the wicked cut of, as eares of corne which is reaped.
17 And after this Angell God sent out another from amongst the company of his Saints, and of his heavenly Church, having also a sharpe sickle for to doe the like execution, and to exercise the iudgements of God vponupon the earth.
18 And after this second Angel, there went a third Angel out from before the presence of Iesus Christ (whose crosse is the only altar) to whome God did vse to commi… the executions of his iudgements by fire. This Angell cried with a lowd voice to him which had the sharpe sickle, saying vntounto him, reveale the iudgements of God forthwith, and punish the sinnes of men; for their sinnes are growne to maturitie.
19 Then the Angel did that which was commanded him, and did exercise iudgement vponupon the earth, and slewe the nations of the earth, and …rod vponupon them as we vse to tread grapes in a wine presse.
20 And this iudgement of God was executed without the Church of God, which is the holy Ierusalem: which was exempted from this Iudgement. And the blood of this slaughter was so great, that there ran a river of blood from the place for the space of twentie leagues, & so deep that the horses stood vp in it even to the bridles.
The proofe and cle…ring of this Exposition.
THis Chapter is an admonition of the evils and afflictions represented in the 13. Chap. and a consolation to temper the hardnesse of the Churches servitude vnderunder the Papall kingdome, vnderunder which although the Church lye hid, yet the holy Ghost saith in the first verse of this chapter, that God had an hundreth, fortie, and foure thousand faithfull remaining still amidst this corruption; according as when Elias in the kingdome of Israel thought that hee only had beene left, …9.God told him that hee had 7000 men more which never bowed the knee to Baal. Now the number of a hundreth fortie & foure thousand is not without a mysterie. For besides that this number is a cubicall number cō sisting of twelue times twelue, (God therby intending to signifie that the number of his elect is perfect, and prescribed with great wisdome, and which may not be diminished) there is yet more in it, to wit, that God doth hereby shewe that this nū ber shall bee taken indifferently out of all people and nations: like as in the 7. chapt. this very number is taken equally out of the twelue tribes of Israel. For that by the 144000. all the Church of the Elect is here vnderstood, it appeares by that in the third verse, where it is said, that these were bought from the earth.
The foure beasts, which are mentioned by the way in the 3. verse, are described exactly in the 4. Chapter of this booke. And this vision is taken out of the first of Ezekiel, which makes mee to vnderstand these 4 beasts in the same sense as they are vnderstood by Ezekiel, to wit, for the Angelicall vertues standing before the thron of God: Wherefore Ezekiel giues them wings also which signifie their readinesse to ob…y. And they hauehave diverse faces for to shew the diversitie of their vertues. The one hath the face of a Lyon▪ for to shewe their courage, the other of an oxe, for to shew their strength, the other the face of a man, for to shew their wisdome, the other resembleth and eagle, which witnesseth their speech, and readinesse.
The 24 beasts are the twelue Patriarks of the old Testament, and the twelue of the newe, which are the 12 Apostles, by whom we are to vnderstand al the church of the glorified Saints. Which we may easily knowe by the 9 verse of the fift chapt. where these 24 Elders do praise the Lamb because he redeemed them vntounto God by his blood, out of every kindred, & people and tongue, and nation. Now if the 24 Elders doe represent the whole Church of the glorified Saints, and speake in their name, by the like reason is it also agreeable, that these 4 beastes should represent the whole companie of Angelicall spirits.
The praises wherewith they did extoll God for revealing the mysteries of our redemption, cannot be vnderstood by fleshly and sensuall men, to whome the Gospell seemeth folly, as our Saviour saith to Peter. Mat. 16. Flesh and blood hath not revealed this vntounto thee, but my father which is in heaven. Of these 144000. which represent the whole company of the faithfull, S. Iohn saith that they are not defiled with women, for they are virgins. Doubtles a continent, and chast virginitie both of body & mind is a great perfectiō: it keeps out all wicked thoughts from entrance; it frees the soule from care, and giues much libertie to the service of God. Yet for all this I cannot bee perswaded that S. Iohn doth here speake of bodily virginity, or of continuing in a single state of life: For thē we should exclude the Prophets, and the Apostles out of the number of the faithfull which follow the Lambe, and which were redeemed from amongst the inhabitants of the earth. This makes mee thinke that as Idolatrie is infinite times called fornication, & adulterie in holy scripture, so this chastitie and virginitie here spokē of is nothing else but an abstaining from the service of Idols, which are as it were the Concubines with whome Idolatours doe commit fornication, and breake the spirituall bond with which they had tied themselues vntounto Christ.
They which are thus chaste and continent, are by the iudgement of the spirit of God in the fift verse pronounced to bee without spot; I confesse that in the most holy whilst they are in this flesh there is ever some infirmity remaining, and the remainders of sin abiding. David acknowledgeth himselfe to be a sinner, Psa. 51. & 130. & 143. and his life confirmes it. The Apostle S. Paul confesseth that sinne dwelleth in him, and that he doth the evill which he would not do. Rom. 7. We all of vsus faile in most things as S, Iames saith. Neverthelesse the faithfull are said to bee iust, and without spot, because the bloud of Iesus Christ doth wash them from all their sins, 1. Ioh. 1. and because the righteousnesse of Iesus Christ is ours, wherefore he is also called the Lord our righteousnes, Ier. 23. ver. 6. & 1. Cor. 1. v. 30. & 2. Cor. 5. ver. 21. Hee is also saide to bee without deceipt, whose repentance is serious, and his heart without hypocrisie, as Nathanael in the 1. chap. of S. Ioh. v. 47. And they whose charity and faith is without counterfaiting, Rom. 12.9. & 1. Tim. ver. 5. albeit their charity and faith bee weake and imperfect.
In the 6.8. and 9. verses the Angels sent for to preach the gospel, are Ministers & Pastours of the Church. For God sendeth not his Angels to preach in the church but his Ministers, which are often called Angels, in the second and third Chapters of this very booke. Which is also vsuall in the old Testament; especially in the 5. of Ecclesiastes, v. 6. And the Prophet Malachie seemes to hauehave taken his name from this. For Malachie signifies The Angell of the Lord.
From the 6. verse, to the end of the cha. the spirit of God doth reveale an admirable history, and discovers many secrets vntounto vsus, for hee describeth at large what the condition of the poore Church shall be vnderunder the government of Poperie, till the time that the day of iudgment shal be at hand. From the 6. verse to the 13. he tels of 3. Angels that went before, which one after another at diverse times did preach the gospell, seeking to turne men from Idolatrie, and to make them cast of the Romish bondage. The rest of the chapter is spent in describing the punishmēts which God inflicteth vpō men because they did not obey their preaching, and because they did conspire against God: and therefore as he doth produce 3. Angels which at diverse times did preach the gospell in the midst of Papistry, so doth he send 3. Angels to execute Gods iudgementes, which at severall times doe punish the rebellion of men. And as the third Angell that preached the gospell, did preach it with more perspicuitie, and greater fervē cie then the two former, so the third Angell sent to revenge the hardnesse of mēs harts, doth exercise more dreadful iudgements, and doth mow down men as eares of corne, and tread on them like grapes in the wine presse.
Whosoever will open his eies, and dispell the clowd of hatred, & passion, which dazels the iudgement, shall finde (by that which hath fallen out within these few ages, and by that which we see at this day) the accōplishment of this admirable prophecie: that is to say, 3 severall publications of the gospell amidst the darknesse of Papistrie, and these publications backt by exemplarie iudgements, men stil persevering in their obstinacie.
The 1 AngelIn the yeare of our Lord, 1039. Idolatrie being much encreased, and the Papall Empire greatly exalted, God raised vp Berenger Archdeacon of Angers, for to oppose himselfe against the abuse of the Papacie, especially against the errour of Transubstantiation, & the Popes Supremacy: who taught so powerfully that Fraūce, Spaine, Italie, and Germanie, were full of men holding the same confessiō with Berenger: as Gulielmus Neobrige…sis witnesseth in the 2. book & 13. chap. of his English In the yeare of our Lord. 1063.history, where he saith that their number was as the sand of the sea. And this Berenger, was a holy man, and of great learning. The Archbishop Antoni… in the 2. part of his Chronicle & 16. book doth commend him for his honestie, and humility, and for distributing his goods amongst the poore. Which is confirmed by Platina in the life of Iohn the 15. It appeares (saith he) that at that time there was Oder Abbot of Clunie, and Berenger of Tours, in estimatiō noted men both for their learning and religion. A little after he saith that after he had given all his goods to the poore, hee got his owne living by the labour of his hands. It is true indeed that appearing at Rome in a councel there assembled, hee was constrained for feare of loosing his life, to subscribe to that which the Pope would hauehave him. But being returned into Fraunce he protested that he did this by compulsion, and perseuered in maintenance of his former doctrine even to his dying day: vponupon whom the Bishop of Ments named Hildebert, made an Epitaph, wherein he bewailes him as a great light that was extinguished, and as a man of incomparable zeale, and learning. The Popes to suppresse this truth, did spare for no subtletie nor crueltie, and did stirre vp kings to persecute these poore religious men. Whereat God also being enraged, sent out great plagues, and did execute rigorous iudgements vponupon the people of the Church of Rome. For in the year 1076 duplicate page duplicate page duplicate page duplicate page (which is about the time of Berenger's death) there arose a quarrell betweene the Emperour Henry the fourth, and Pope Gregory the 7 surnamed Hildebrand, who brought many divisions into the Roman Church, and Empire, during which there were more then 40. bloudy battels fought insomuch that every place did streame with blood, to speake nothing of the pestilence, inroads, & pillages, that did wast Christendome. Behold here the first preaching of the Gospell, which God did raise vp even in the midst of Poperie, and after this preaching the Angel throwing down the sickle of Gods iudgements vponupon men.
The 2. AngelBut this darknesse still thickning more and more, and the truth being opprest as it were by force: Behold about the yeare 1130 God made this truth to grow vp a fresh againe, by the industrie of certaine servants of his which were the Disciples of Berenger, amongst which was Peter de Bruis, & Henry de Thoulouse, & a little after thē, Iohannes de Waldo of Lyons, which began to shew himselfe in the yeare 1158 and translated the holy Scripture into the vulgar tongue, whose life was an example of sanctitie. In hatred of whom they begā to call the truly faithful the Waldenses. These faithful spok iust as this 2. Angel doth in the eight verse of this chapter calling the Church of Rome Babylon, and exhorting every one to goe out of her. Against whom Pope Innocent the 3. caused the Croisadoe to be preached, and within a fewe moneths made aboue 200000 of them to be slaine in Provence, Languedoe, & Guyenna; as it is reported in the history of Iohn Chassanion translated out of the Albigean tongue; & all the Authors both of that time, and of after ages sticke not to affirme asmuch. So God for to punish the rebellion of men threwe downe his sickle the second time; and did execute more grievous punishments vponupon them then the former. For then the quarrels betweene the Empire, and the Papacie (which had slept for a long time) began afresh, vnderunder Frederick Barbarossa that generous Emperour, and patterne of vertue: who was constrained to keepe many armies afoot, to defend himselfe against the enimies which the Pope had incensed against him. What man is able to expresse the horrible slaughters, the sackings of townes, the pight battels, greater & more in number then those vnderunder the Henries, till the yeare 1177. When Pope Alexander the third, trod vponupon this Emperours neck on the steps of S. Markes Church in Venice? and in the meane space the Moors and the Sarrasins wasted Spaine, massacring all the Christians thereabout, & the Saladin destroyed the Kingdome of Ierusalem, that had cost vsus more then twelue hundreth thousand men to conquere: which was brought to ruine in the yeare 1187, not without an vnvtterable desolation; for the repairing whereof all the nobilitie, and men of courage that were in France, Germanie, Flaunders, England, & Italie, tooke the Crosse vponupon them in the time of Philip Augustus, and Lewis the 9. But of all this innumerable multitude, there came not the tenth part back again, so that in Fraunce, and all the neighbouring Countries, there was nothing as it were to be seene, but widows & orphans. Amidst these confusions, and this generall disaster, the Church of God did subsist miraculously, and notwithstanding all the Popes persecutions against it, did, and still doth continue to this day, and in the year 1508. the Churches wrongfully called the Waldenses wrote their confession, & sent it to Ladislaus king of Hungarie, which confession is like vntounto ours: & when God in this last age did readvance the standard of his truth, these Churches ioined themselues with ours, and suffered persecutions together with vsus for the faith of Iesus Christ. So behold the second Angel preaching the Gospell in the midst of Poperie, and at the same time the destroying Angel sent, for …o punish the rebellion of men the second time, which did obstinatly withstand the word of God.
Last of all the third preaching Angel is come in our daies,The 3. Angel opposing himselfe against the Papall Empire. That is to saie, that God for this third time hath raised vp certaine faithfull preachers of the gospell, for to withstand the Papacie. This hath hapned in our time, wherein God hath raised vp certaine faithful Ministers, which hauehave lighted the taper of truth againe, and drawne this candle from vnderunder a bushell: Hence come the great breaches that we hauehave seene to be made in Papistrie, & the gaping creuises in the temple of the Idole thorough which a man may discerne Idolatrie frō without. Hēce come so many churches to bee planted in Germanie, England, Scotland, Fraunce, Flaunders, Denmarke, Switzerland, Poland, & Hungarie, with which when God shall hauehave bin sufficiently served by their giuing testimony to his truth, and that the malice of the contradicting shall begin to oppresse the truth, then shal the third Angell throw downe his sickle, to reape and …ut downe the enimies of God, and to execute the last effects of his wrath, which are here represented by a river of bloud▪ an hundred leagues large, and so deepe▪ that the horses of the enimies ranged in battell against God shall hath themselues in the bloud of their Mast…rs, and stand in it vp to their bridles; for as this third preaching Angell spake more cleerely, & boldly, then the two former did, so the obstinacie of men against this so great a light, shal be punished with a more feareful punishment. They hauehave persecuted vsus by massacrings and burnings: They hauehave disgraced vsus with odious titles, calling vsus Huguenots, Zuinglians, Lutherans, & Calvinists, although our relligion be the auncient Christian religion, and the religiō of the Apostles▪ & that we are vrgēt, that the people might hauehave the sight of the scripture, & that the fashion of saying the commō service in a strange tonge might be abolished: complaining of this that we cā not hauehave a free councell, where we might be heard, & where our adversaries might not be our iudges: In steed of the Councell of Trent, where the Pope condemned vsus without euer hearing vsus speake for our selues: and whether wee could not hauehave gone safely, by reason of that rule mainetained in the church of Rome, that mē are not to stand to those promises, though ratified by oaths, which they plight to Heretickes; a rule practised vponupon Iohn Hus & Hierome of Prague, which were burnt notwithstanding the faithfull promise that they had of a safe conduct. For these, and such like causes we doubt not (& wee speake it with feare, not desiring the ruine but the conversiō of our adversaries) that the third destroying Angell shall ere long throw downe his fickle vponupon the earth, & display the iudgmentes of God vponupon the Church of Rome, for the third time.
Hereby it appeares that the prophecie of this chapt. is accomplished as touching the 3 Angels that were sent to preach the Gospell, but as for the 3 destroying Angels which were sent to execute the iudgments of God, that the two former of the is already come, and that the third is not yet come, but is neere at hand.
That which hath beene saide alreadie may suffice for the exposition of this prophecie. But vponupon the 6. verse where there is mention made of an Angel holding the everlasting Gospell, I cannot omit that which Matthew Paris relateth in the year 1256. and Platinae in the life of Alexander the 4. Matthew Paris reporteth that William de S. Amore with other choice men of the Vniversitie of Paris were cited to Rome for complaining of a booke that was made by the Iacobin preaching Friars the which was intituled the Everlasting Gospell. And Platinae in the life of Alexander the fourth saith that this booke did teach, that the state of grace did proceede, non à lege Evangelis, sed à lege spiritus, not from the law of the Gospell but from the law of the spirit, for so did they call their dreams & revelations. The mark at which this booke did aime, was to suppresse the Gospel of Christ. A sinne so hainous, as might deservedly hauehave made their whole order to hauehave beene rooted out,Precepit Papa vt novus ille liber quē Evangelium aeternū nominant secreto & si possit fieri sine fratrum scandalo combureretur., neverthelesse Matthew Paris telleth vsus that Pope Alevander did content himselfe with only commanding the book to be secretly burnt, & (if it might be) without offending the fraternity. And not long after he made it manifest that he condemned thē by cōstraint, & because it was a shame for him to do otherwise, for hee droue away the said William de S. Amore, and made him to be banished, who hath written a book of this matter for the iustification of himselfe.
The thirde verse is read diversly in the Greeke text. For there bee some copies which hauehave the point before the word foreign, others put it after. The translation of the Church of Rome turnes it as if the point were before, trāslating it thus, Beat…mort… qui in domino moriuntur. A modo iam dicit spiritus vt requiescant a laboribus suis, which seemes more smooth to me and more suitable to the Greeke phrase, then if the point were put after the worde A modo. Beda expounds this place thus, As hee saide that the wicked shoulde never hauehave any rest: so on the contrary he teacheth that the faithfull being assisted by their good workes, doe rest from hence forth, that is to say, from the time of their death. For this word foreign doth not only signifie hereafter, but also from henceforth, as in the 13. chapt. of S. Iohn, v. 19. and in the 14. chap. v. 7. Howsoever it be, & in whether sense of the two you take this worde, or vnderstand this verse, it doth vtterly extinguish the imaginarie fire of Purgatorie.
In the 14. verse hee which sitteth vponupon the cloude hauing the shape of a man, cā not be Iesus Christ seeing that in the verses following the Angels command him, and declare the will of God vntounto him.
In the 16. verse and those which follow the iudgements of God are compared to an harvest, and a vintage. A fashion of speech vsuall in Scripture; as in the 13. of S. Matthew, the harvest is the ende of the world, and the reapers are the Angels. And in the 76. Psalme, it is said that God doth vintage, or cut of the spirits of Princes, & that hee is torrible to the Kinges of the earth.