The Accomplishment of the Prophecies, Chapter 7
THE PROPHECIE CONTAIned in the 18. Chap. of the Apocalyps. CHAP. 7.
1 And after these things I sawe another Angel come downe from heavē, hauing great power, so that the earth was lightned with his glorie.
2 And hee cried out mightily with a lowd voice, saying, it is fallen it is fallen, Babylon that great citie, & is become the habitation of divels, and the hold of foule spirits, & a cage of every vncleane, & hatefull bird.
3 For all nations hauehave drunken of the wine of the wrath af her fornication, and the kings of the earth hauehave committed fornication with her, & the marchants of the earth are waxed rich of the abūdance of her pleasures.
4 And I heard an other voice from heaven saying goe out of her my people, that yee be not partakers of her sinnes: and that yee receaue not of her plagues.
5 For her sinnes are come vp into heaven, and God hath remembred her iniquities.
6 Reward her even as shee hath rewarded you, and giuegive her double according to her workes: and in the cup that shee hath filled to you, fill her the double.
7 In as much as she glorified her selfe, and liued in pleasure, so much giuegive yee to her torment and sorrow: for she saith in her heart I sit being a queene, and am no widowe, and shall see no mourning.
8 Therefore shall her plagues come at one day, death, and sorrow, and famine, shee shall be burnt with fire: for that God which condemneth her, is a strong Lord.
9 And the kings of the earth shall bewaile her, and lament for her, which hauehave committed fornication and lived in pleasure with her, when they shall see that smoake of that her burning.
10 And shall stand a farre of for feare of her torment, saying, Alas, alas that great citie Babylon, that mightie citie, for in one houre is thy iudgement come.
11 And the marchants of the earth shall weepe, and waile over her: for no man buyeth their ware any more.
12 The ware of gold, and siluer, and of pretious stones, and of pearles, and of fine linnen, and of purple, and of silke, and of skarlet▪ and of all manner of sweet wood, & of all vessels of yvorie, and of all vessels of most pretious wood, & of brasse, and of iron, & of marble.
13 And of cinamon, and odours, and ointments, and frankincense, and wine, and oyle, and fine flowre, and wheate, and beasts, & sheep, and horses, & chariots, & seruants and soules of men.
14 And the apples that thy soule lusted after are departed from thee, and all things which were fat and excellent are departed from thee, and thou shalt find them no more.
15 The merchants of these things which were waxed rich, shall stand a farre of from her, for feare of her torment, weeping & wailing.
16 And saying alas, alas, that great citie, that was clothed in fine linnen, & purple, and skarlet, and gilded with gold, and pretious stones, and pearles. How could so great riches come to desolation in one houre?
17 And every shipmaster, and all the people that occupie ships, and ship men, and whosoever trafficke on the sea shall stand a farre off,
18 And crie, when they see that smoke of that her burning, saying, what citie was like vntounto this great citie?
19 And they shall cast dust on their heads, and crie, weeping and wailing, & say, Alas, alas, that great citie, wherein were made rich all that had ships on the sea by her costlinesse: for in one houre she is made desolate.
20 O heaven reioice of her, and the holy Apostles, and Prophets: for God hath punnished her, to bee revenged on her for your sakes.
21 Then a mightie Angel tooke vp a stone like a great milstone, and cast it into the sea, saying, with such violence shall that great citie Babylon be cast, and shall be found no more.
22 And the voice of harpers, and musitians, and of pipers, and trumpeters shall be heard no more in thee, and no crafts-man of what craft soever he be, shall bee found any more in thee: and the sound of a milstone shal be heard no more in thee.
23 And the light of a candle shall shine no more in thee: and the voice of the bridegroome, and of the bride shall bee heard no more in thee: for thy merchants were the great men of the earth: and with thine inchantments were all nations deceaved.
24 And in her was found the bloud of the Prophets, and of the Saints, and of all that were slaine vponupon the earth.
The Explication.
1 Afterward I sawe another Angell come downe from heauen, to wit, the son of God, being armed with soveraigne power.
2 Who cried out with a lowd voice, saying, she is fallen, she is fallen, that great citie of Rome, because she is become the habitation of divels, and the hold of deceitfull spirits, and of all sortes of orders distinguisht by their habits, as of strange birds.
3 For all nations hauehave beene made drunke with the intoxicating wine of her Idolatrie, and the kings of the earth did cleaue vntounto her Idolatrie: and the merchandize of benefices, pardons, annates, taxes, dispensations, indulgences, and absolutions, did enrich an infinite number of persons that did liue by her trafficke.
4 Afterward I heard the voice of God from heauen saying, yee my people go out from the Church of Rome, and from Poperie; for feare least yee bee defiled in her superstition, and perish together with her.
5 For her sinnes being linckt together in a long chaine hauehave raught vp to the heauenly throne of God, there to bee iudged of him, and God is resolued to pū nish her iniquities.
6 Yee people and kings whome shee hath tyrannized over, and held captiues, reuenge your selues vponupon her, & giuegive her double: and serue her as shee hath serued you, euen to the double.
7 GiueGive her asmuch affliction as shee hath had glory, that shee may weepe as much as shee hath ioyed in her delicious sportes and dissolutenesse. For shee said in her heart. I rule, and am queene, and mother of all churches, which cānot be iudged of any. I am the spowse of Christ, and shall neuer fall. For I cannot erre in the faith, nor euer be cast of, nor left by Christ.
8 For these causes shall these plagues come vponupon her at once, to wit, death, and sorrow, and famin, and she shall bee burnt with fire, for God is able to doe her iustice.
9 And there shall bee aTo wit, the Kings that will not ioin themselues with others which shall conspire against her.kings of the earth, which hauing committed Idolatry with her, and hauing had a part in her dissolutenesse, shall lament & take on, seeing her consumed by fire.
10 And they shall stand a farre of, without lending her any succour, saying, Alas; Rome, thou great and mightie citie, how is thy destruction come vponupon thee so suddainely?
11 Likewise the Prelates, great penitentiaries, bullists, dataries, notaries, & protonotaries Apostolicall, Factours, and Banckers, which helpe men to the remission of their sinnes by letters of exchange, all these shall bewaile the destruction of Rome, and not they only but all sorts of merchants too shall take on, because no man thencefoorth shall buy any more of their wares.
12 Because no man shall buy any more gold, nor siluer, for to make crucifixes, chalices, covers for cups, candlesticks, and other moueables of the Church: Nor pretious stones, to set them in the Popes triple crowne, and in Bishops rings, & for an ornament of the caskets that containe reliques; Nor pearles to hang about the Popes mantle, and to adorn… the Roman Courtizans: Nor silke, nor skarlet, nor any kind of rich stuffe, for to cloath their images, and their Cardinals, and to make Copes for priests, and Banners for processions: Nor other pretious thinges, for to embellish the palaces of Cardinals, and other Prelats, and officers of the Pope, as marble and pretious wood; Nor brasse, nor yuorie, to make deskes, boxes, &.
13 Nor odours and perfumes, to perfume the Church, or for the priuate delights of Prelats, & officers of the Ecclesiasticall court. Nor wines & choice fruits for their tables. Nor riding horses, nor coach horses, for the Popes traine and his Cardinals. Nor captiues and servile consciences, nor mens soules, which were bought and sold, but this traffick shall be abolisht, by the destruction of Rome.
14 (For ô wretched citie, al this worldly prosperitie, all this riot of luxurie shall be taken away from thee, and thou shalt enioy them no longer)
15 All such therefore as shall bee enricht by this trafficke, and which hauehave preyed vponupon the people vnderunder the shewe of Religion, shall forsake her in her neede, fearing to be wrapt in the same ruine, and shall bewaile her with great lamentation.
16 Saying, alas Rome, thou so mighty and stately a citie! whose gouernours were cloathed in silke, and purple, & skarlet, and crowned with gold, and pretious stones, how couldst thou fall from al these riches in so short a space?
17 The Pilots themselues, and the marriners, which did serue to carry the foresaid marchandize, shall withdrawe themselues without lending her any aide.
18 And seeing the smoake of her burning shall cry out saying, what city was like vntounto the city of Rome?
19 And shall cast dust vponupon their heads, and shall crie out weeping, and lamenting, and say, alas, alas! that great city in which all those that did trafficke were made rich by her wealth, howe shee is become desolate in an instant!
20 O yee heavenly spirits, which doe reioyce at the conuersion of one only sinner, reioyce at her ruine; yee holy Apostles also and Prophets: For it is for your sakes that God hath taken vengeance of her.
21 Then I saw a mightie Angell take vp a great stone like a milstone, and cast it into the sea, saying. So shall Rome be cast into the deepe, and abolisht euerlastingly and shall apeare no more then a milstone cast into the sea, which neuer riseth vp againe to the top of the water.
22 23 And all sorts of delights, and pleasures, of ornaments, commodities, & recreations, are past from thee. Whereas before the factours of Rome did liue like Princes, and the people and nations were page missing duplicate page duplicate page duplicate page duplicate page duplicate page duplicate page the Latin Church is nothing else but a shop, with a table of mony changers standing in the midst of it, which Christ shall overturne the second time, when the prophecie contained in this chapter shall bee accomplished.