A Hundred Sermons on Revelation, Sermons · Sermon 4
¶ Of the Narration of this boke, where alſo is diſcourſed of the place and tyme, and of the authour of this Reuelation. The fourth Sermon.
I Iohn your brother and companiō in tribulation, and in the kingdō & patiēce which is in Ieſu Chriſt, was in the Ile of Pathmos for ye word of God, & teſtimony of Ieſ… Chriſte. I was in the ſpirite on the Sonday and heard behind me a great voice, as it ha… bene of a trompe, ſaying: I am Alpha and Omega, the firſt and the laſt. That thou ſee… wryte in a boke, and ſend it to the congregations whiche are in Aſia, vntounto Epheſus, an… vntounto Smyrna, and vntounto Pergamos, & Thyatire, and vntounto Sardis, and vntounto Philade… phia, and vntounto Laodicia.
NarrationThe laſt place of the firſt ſheweth vntounto vsus a brief narrati… wherin the Apoſtle S. Iohn declareth the tyme and place this Reuelation, and by whoſe commaundement he wrou… ſent the ſame to the ſeuen churches in Aſia.
And againe now ye third time is the name of Iohn rehea… ſed. He ſawe vndoubtedly, that there would be ſome which to the ende they might take away the vſe and fruite of th… boke, wold doubt of the authour: Againſt whom he repet… and reiterateth his name ſo oft, leeſt we ſhould doubt & lac… the great commoditie of ſo worthy a boke.
S. Iohn is the brother of the faithful.He addeth to his name certen thinges, whiche inſtruct… touching the ſtate of the Apoſtle, and certen profitable ma… ters. Firſt he calleth him ſelf a brother, namely of thoſe ſ… churches, and of al ours: As where I hauehave admoniſhed yo… that in the ſeuenth number are compriſed all churches of … times throughout the whole worlde. We are all, ſo many … beleue, the children of one heauenly father: And therfore all ſpiritual brethren in Chriſt, coinheriters with Chriſt, & heires of God. Which thing S. Paul taught after Chriſt.Rom. 8 Math. 23 And ſeing our dignitie is ſo great, let vsus ones be aſhamed of our miſdedes, leaſt our memory be put out of this moſte noble and celeſtiall familie. It is a ſhame the brother of Chriſt, of S. Iohn & all the Apoſtles ſhould degenerate. &c. But why hauehave not they ſo inſtantly vrged this brotherhood, as the Munkes hauehave beaten in their forged fraternities, the Roſaries of the virgin Mary and of Sainctes? Bycauſe that was fre, & coſt nothing: But the Monkes ſelle theirs dere. They be therfore diſceauers and ſeducers.
After he calleth him ſelfe partaker in affliction, or oppreſſion and perſecution, as he that was euen now banniſhed by the Emperour Domitian, and liued in exile. And he ioyneth together and not ſeparateth him ſelfe in the euill: That is cō mon to all the faithfull brethren.The perſecution of Iohn and of ye whole churche. And verely it is one and the ſame perſecution, that vexed the Apoſtles, and tourmenteth vsus at this day. Let vsus therfore reioyce, that we hauehave the Apoſtles and all the Martyrs of Chriſt fellowes of our trouble and affliction, that we be broken and bruiſed with the heauy burthen of euils. Let vsus therfore be paciēt and long ſuffring. For it is not enough to be afflicted, and vexed with all kinde of euils (for many without any fruicte or prayſe at all indure moſte greuous paines.) But it becometh vsus alſo to be patiēt in aduerſitie. Therfore S. Iohn at this preſent ioyneth with all, patince. For the Lorde ſayd in the Goſpell. In your patience ſhall you poſſeſſe your ſoules.
After he addeth vntounto tribulation & patience a kingdom, & that an heauenly not a terreſtrial kingdom.A kingdō prepared for the pacient. And he bringeth in the kingdom for the comfort of the patient people. For alſo the Apoſtle S. Paul ſaid, a certen and ſure ſaying. For if we die with Chriſt, we ſhall lyue alſo with hym: If we ſuffer, we ſhall reygne with hym. &c. Let vsus alwayes here with comfort our ſelues in aduerſitie. For we are thruſte downe, that we might ones be exalted againe .ii. Corinthians .iiii. And all theſe thinges are concluded in Chriſt Ieſus, by whō we be both the children & brethren of God, and ſuffer many thinges patiently, and are made partakers of his kingdom. For euen for theſe thinges muſt we thanke him, and his m… rites, and not our own deſerte.
The ſtate of humilitie of thapoſtle.Let vsus here note alſo, what and howe great hath bene the humilitie of the greateſt and worthie Apoſtle of God, wh… was his ſtate: Not pleſaunt, but harde, yet in the pacience … Chriſt ioyfull. But where be they nowe, that glory in th… name of Apoſtles: Who in the meane time ſwellyng wit… pride, are addicte to filthie pleaſures? Whiche I warne, th… we flee from them, as from Apoſtataes.
The place wherin the reuelation was ſhewed.And now he ſheweth the place, where this diuine reuelation was made him, where alſo he was cōmaunded of Go… to wryte the ſame. The place was the Ile of Patmos. Th… ſame is accompted amonges the Ilondes called Sporad… of Plinie in the fourth boke and .xii. cha. It lay ouer again… Aſia, and the citie of Epheſus, and was in thu ſight boeth … Europe and Affricke, ſo that it ſemed to be as it were a mi… dle ſeate, or holy chaire, out of the which Chriſt preached … Iohn from heauen to the whole worlde. And in dede the co… ſelles of God are wonderfull, and his goodnes is vnſpekeable, which reuealeth ſo great miſteries, as it were in th… Romiſh pryſon or Babilonicall captiuitie, to his faithfull.
Iohn perſecuted for ye Goſpel.Neyther hideth he the cauſe of his comming into the ſam… Iland, I was there, ſaieth he, for the worde of God, and th… teſtimony of Ieſu Chriſt. The word of God is the very ſo… of God, called of Iohn by a ſingular proprietie of ſpeache the worde or ſermon of God, as appeareth the firſt of Iohn and the teſtimony of Ieſu Chriſt is the Goſpell if ſelf, whic… Ieſus teſtified, and the whiche his diſciples hauehave teſtified o… Ieſu. Therfore for the confeſſion and preaching of Ieſ… Chriſt, and of his holſome Goſpell (for ſo he expoundet… alſo how he is made partaker of thafflictiō) Iohn was appr… hended in Aſia, & by ſoldiours led to Rome, yt he might plea… his cauſe before themperour Domitian, who of his cruel nature condēned the inuocēt. And he was put into a cawdrō o… hote boiling oyl. Out of ye whiche when he eſcaped withou… harme, he was caried into Patmos. He aunſwered no other matter before themperour, than Paul did .27. yeres paſt, before Nero. This was done in yt .xiiii. or .xv. yere of Domitiā And the .xxiiii. yeare after ye deſtructiō of the citie Hieruſalē and after the birth of our Lorde .lxvi. Domician who would ſeme and be called a God, being ſlaine of his own men, after many murthers & cruel actes, died himſelf a ſhameful death, the .xv. yeare of his reigne. The authours hereof are, Suetonius in ye life of Domitian, Tertullian in the heretic. preſcript. Euſebius in his chronicles, and in the third boke of the eccleſiaſtical hiſtory, in the .xvii. and .xviii. chapter. And hereto is added the common conſent of all writers.
Moreouer he noteth the tyme alſo,The time of the reuelation, and of the ſonday. in the whiche theſe miſteries began to be reuealed to him, foreign, in that ſolemne day of the Lord, namely the ſonday. For ſo hauehave the auncient fathers called one of the ſabbothes, that is to ſay the firſt day in the weke, wherin Chriſt roſe again frō the dead. Math. xxviii. and Mark .xvi. And this day hauehave ye churches choſen to them ſelues in ſtead of the Sabboth day, as holy in the remēbraūce of the Lordes reſurrectiō, wherin they might kepe their ſacred and ſolemne aſſemblees. For that this day was ſolemniſed and cōſecrated for aſſemblees in the congregation of Corinthe, appereth manifeſtly in the xvi. Chapter of the firſt Epiſtle to the Corintians, where the Apoſtle commaundeth to lay a part their collections in one of the ſabbothes: The ſame day alſo the faithful did celebrate their ſeruice with S. Paul, in the .xx. of ye Actes. Wher Sozomenus reporteth in the .viii. chapt. of the firſt booke of the ſtory tripertite, that great Conſtantine made certen holy daies, and euen the Lordes daie for one, whiche is called of the Heathen the ſonday, it is to be vnderſtande that he renewed rather the cuſtome of the Apoſtles & catholique church, than to hauehave newly inſtituted the ſame. And frely of their own accord hauehave the churches receiued that day: for we read not that it was any where commaunded. And the congregations ſawe how it was altogether neceſſary that there ſhuld be a certen tyme, in the whiche the ſainctes ſhould mete and come together. They choſe therfore the day of the reſurrection, nether did they maliciouſly contende among thēſelues for theſe thinges, as ye hiſtories teſtifie was done in ye churche afterward. And at this day verely, ye ſuperſticious holy days being abrogated, it is better to obſerue certain and moderat daies, and to kepe peace and quietnes in the churche.
But where this Apoſtle knewe, that the faithfull on the ſo… day ſerued God in all aſſemblees, where he could not be p… ſent in body,The Sonday ought to be kept. in ſpirit and contemplation he was with the… And as he was thus in the ſpirite and contemplation of m… ters diuine, and in holy prayers, he heard a voice, whereof … wyll ſpeake hereafter. But here we are preſently taugh… what is the religion of the ſonday, and how it is mete to o… ſerue it. Finally wordly men are reproued, whiche pollut… breake it with prophane workes and affaires. Dauid w… time he ſuffered perſecution of Saul, lamenteth chiefly, t… he might not come to the Lordes tabernacle. Our men a… compt it a great felicitie, neuer to enter into the felloſhip Sainctes. And to abuſe the ſonday, in gamenyng, drinkin… dauncing, and worldly buſineſſe.
By whoſe commaundement he wrote and ſent the Apocalipſe.Theſe thinges on this wyſe declared, he cometh at len… to the reuelation: ſetting forth before the expreſſe commau… dement of God, wherby he was commaunded both to w… the thinges …euealed, & alſo to ſend thē to the ſeuen church… of Aſia. To the maner and maieſtie of the reuelatiō that ſa… chiefly apperteineth, that he heard a voice, and that notab… as the ſound of a trompet. For ſo we reade it was done the law geuing at the mount Sinay. Now is declared who voyce it was, and who was the authour of the reuelation Verely the eternall God, which calleth hym ſelfe Alpha … Omega, that is the beginning and the ende: Or as it is ſa… in Eſay, firſt and laſt. Wherof els where.
Now followeth the commaundement whiche hath … partes. For firſt the Lord commaundeth S. Iohn to w… And to wryte ſuche thinges as he ſawe, that is to witte, … Apocalipſe. And that he ſhould wryte nother in the ſan… nor on the walle, but in a boke: Verely for the edifiyng… profit of the churche preſent, and of all poſteritie. After he… alſo commaunded to ſende thoſe writinges to ſeuen cong… gations, and verely to all the churches of the whole world… al times & ages. Therfore al theſe thinges belong to ye pro… of congregations, and that of al that be, hauehave bene or ſhal…
Thautoritie of the ScriptureHere of we learne, how great is the authoritie of the ſ… turs. It was not written nor cōpiled in bokes, but by Go… cōmaundment. There be notable teſtimonies of the bok… of Moyſes, in the .xxxiiii. of Exod. and .xxxi. of Deuter. And to ſay nothing of the reſidue of the Propetes, is not Ieremy commaunded to wryte his Sermons againe, whiche kyng Ioachim had cut in pieces and burnt?The ſcriptures are ours. Doubtes S. Peter beareth manifeſt witnes, that the Prophetes receiued the miſteries of God to none other ende, than thei ſhuld reueale them to vsus: Which in dede might only be done by the ſcriptures. Now is Iohn moſte apertly commaunded to wryte. What wyl we ſay, that he is alſo commaunded to ſende his wrytinges to the congregations? Wherof againe we gather that God willeth right well to the congregations, and euen to eueryevery one of vsus. Let vsus beware and take hede, that we put not from vsus vnworthely ſo great benefites of God, to whō be prayſe and glory.