A Hundred Sermons on Revelation, Sermons · Sermon 77
¶ He ſheweth that Rome ſhall aſſuredly fall: and addeth the cauſes of her fall. The .lxxvij. Sermon.
The .18. chapter.AND after that, I ſawe an Angell come down from Heauen hauing greate power, and the Earth was lightned with his brightnes: and he cryed mightelye with a ſtronge voyce, ſayeng: ſhe is fallen, ſhe is fallen, euen great Babilon, and is become the habitation of Deuilles, and the holde of all vncleane ſpirites, & a cage of vncleane and hateful birds: for all nations hauehave dronken of the wyne of the wrath of her whoredome. And the kyngs of the earth hauehave cōmitted fornication with her, and her marchauntes are waxed rych of the aboundaunce of her pleaſures.
He pourſeweth through out al the .18. chap. the deſtructiō of olde and new Rome, alſo of Heithennes and Antichriſtianiſme, & that with a maruelouſe plentie & euidence of ſpeach, euen ſo that ye would thinke, that you ſawe al thing preſently. And he vſeth alſo a moſt godly order.The ſome of the .18. chapter. For firſt the Angell declareth the deſtruction of Rome with moſte apte wordes. Secondly coūſel is geuen to the godly, how to behaue themſelues in ſo great daungers. Than is added the maner of the deſolation, that like as Rome hath gredely and cruelly ſpoyled and deſtroyed other nations, euen ſo it ſhal chaunce vntounto her alſo. After this a lamentation is made, wherein the Princes and marchaūts do mourne for the ruine of Rome: where they alſo reſyte the richeſſe and pleaſures of Rome. Finally, the Apoſtles and Prophetes reioyce at the moſte iuſt iudgement of God. Agayne the Angell of the Lord, caſt a milſtone into the bottome of the ſea: that ſo the moſt certaine, vnrecouerable, and moſte weightie deſtruction of Rome mighte be ſignified. Wherunto agayne are anexed the cauſes of ſo great euilles, and the ſame finiſhed with the prayſe and gratulation of all the heauenly dwellers.
And moſt luckely doeth he imitate the holy Prophetes of God, wherof two in a maner after the ſame forte,S. Ihon imitateth ye prophetes. do deſcribe the deſtruction of old Babilon. Eſaye in the .13.14. & .21. chap. And Ieremy in the .50. and .51. And Ezechiell the ouerthrowe of Tirus, in the .26.27. and .28. chapt. For as the lot and end of all the vngodly is lyke, ſo doeth the canonicall Scripture in painting out their deſtruction, right well agree with it ſelfe. The Apoſtles moreouer,The maieſtye of the holy tung. although they ſpake and wrote to the gentyles in greke, yet altered they nothing of their naturall phraſe of ſpeakyng, and euen conſtrayned ſtraunge tungues to ſerue the holy, and not the Hebrew to ſerue vntounto heathen langages. For ſpeakyng greke, they obſerued the naturall phraſe of the Hebrew ſpeach, as firſt, diuine, and holy. And where they coulde ſpeake all langages, yet ded they neuer ſpeake and write any foreyne langage ſo, but that in the ſame the Hebrew phraſe might be perceyued.The curioſitie of the readers in the tranſlations of ye Bible. Let ſome therfore beware at this daie, that thei be not to deintie cared, and followe the puretie of the latine ſpeach ſo, that in expreſſing the ſame, they fal not in the meane whyle from the ſimplicitie of the holye tongue, and loſe not a fewe miſteries. They that be not froward, had rather frame themſelues to the holy langage, and learne the phraſes therof, than to ſubdue the ſame againſte the heare to ſtraunge tongues, and cōpell it to ſerue our delicate eares. Moreouer we hauehave already admoniſhed oftentimes, what is the end & vſe of this treatiſe, concerning the iudgemēts, or pūniſhments of God. For the veritie and iuſtice of God is cōfirmed, the afflicted receiue comfort, and the wicked, and all Gods enemies are made affrayde, &c.
The vngodly deride the oracles of godBut when S. Ihon publiſhed theſe thinges, and propheſied of the deſtruction of Babilon, which al men at that time (by reaſon of the late ſubuerſion of Ieruſalem and moſt greuouſe captiuitie of the Iewes, which had lately chaunced vnderunder Veſpaſian) ded clerely vnderſtand to ſignifie Rome: For right ſo had Babilon in times paſt, vexed the holy Citie, and natiō, as nowe had Veſpaſian the Romane. The godly in dede beleued thē to be true, & that they ſhulde vndoubtedly come to paſſe: The vngodly as dotages laughed them to ſcorne. The ſame had their elders done. For when the Prophetes alſo propheſied the ſubuerſion of Niniue, Babilon, and moſt mightie Monarchies, they ſemed to them to be mad. Notwithſtāding euen as they had ſaied, ſo came it to paſſe. Therfore the faithfull beleue the Oracles of God, howe long ſo euer they be differred, which are propheſied to come: how vnpoſſible ſo euer they appeare vntounto the worlde. For to God ſpeakyng and willing, nothing is harde.
The Authour of this oracle.And going about to ſhewe the ſubuerſion of Rome, he prepareth his hearers, and winneth credit to the propheſie, whileſte before all thinges he ſheweth the authour of the Oracle or propheſie, the very Angell of God. And verely he cōmendeth highly the ſame Angel to vsus, to the end we ſhuld doubt nothinge, of the veritie of thoſe thinges which he ſpeaketh. For he ſayeth, howe he came from Heauen. Wherupon we gather, thoſe things that he bringeth to be diuine and celeſtial, the ſame is ſaied to hauehave great power: leſt verely we ſhuld thinke thoſe thinges to be vnpoſſible, which he ſayeth ſhall come to paſſe. For yf the Angel Gods miniſter be of ſo great power: what may we thinke the Lorde to be, which ſente the Angel? One Angell before the walles of Hieruſalem killed an hondreth foureſcore and fiue thouſande menne of warre. One Aungell in a night ſlewe all the firſte borne of Aegipt. Therfore ſeyng the moſt mightie Angel prophecieth the deſtruction of olde & newe Rome, we nede not to doubte, but that it ſhall vtterly periſſhe. Moreouer the Earth was lightened with the glory, that is to ſaye with the brightenes or light of this Aungell. For this prophecie is nother darke, nother will it be hidde, but chiefly, and moſt clerely preachrd through out the world.
Wherefore the ſame Aungell crieth with all his force,We muſte preach frely & clerely agaynſte Antichriſt. and that with a greate voyce. For it behoueth theſe oracles of God, wherein is treated of the glory of God, and ſaluation of ſoules, be preached with lowde voyces, howe ſo euer the worlde prohibiteth and perſecuteth the ſame. And lette them obſerue thoſe thinges whiche thinke that menne maye be reſtreyned by proclamations, fire and ſworde, that they ſhall not with voyce moſte clere preache agaynſte Antichriſt. The fooles are diſceaued. They houe fought and contended herin theſe ſixe hondreth yeres and more, nother could any man though he raged neuer ſo fierſely, brynge this preachyng a ſlepe. It breaketh out many times, and pearſeth farre euen at this daye alſo through out the whole worlde: therefore the glory of this Angel is yet, & euer ſhal be ſhinyng and bright, and his voyce and preachyng moſt ſtrōg, though the Popes guttes burſte.
Now followeth the prophecie of thaungel,She is fallen, ſhe is fallen Babilon. the ſome wherof is: Rome ſhall periſhe, neyther ſhall any ſteppe of her be lefte. This vttereth he prophetically, as he did alſo in the .14. chapt. She is fallen, ſhe is fallen greate Babilon. She is fallen, he ſayde, for ſhal falle: puttyng the time paſte, for the certentie of the thing, for the time to come: whereunto the doublyng alſo apperteineth. Likewiſe ſpake the Prophetes. Macrobius marueleth at the wonderfull breuitie of Vergill. And emonges other things in the firſt chapt. of the .5. boke of Saturnalles, wilt thou heare Virgill, ſayeth he, ſpeakynge wyth ſo muche breuitie, that breuitie it ſelfe can be no more ſtraitely hampered and drawen together? And feldes where Troye was beholde howe in very fewe wordes he hathe ſupped offe a mightie greate Citie: And hath lefte no ruine at all. Hitherto Macrobius. Theſe thinges ſhal we more trewly and more rightly applie vntounto our Prophetes moſte eloquent in their tunge, & chiefly to S. Iohn. For what could be thought more briefe, than that which he ſayed, ſhe is fallen, ſhe is fallen great Babilon? For S. Iohn both expreſſed the greatnes and maieſtie of the citie, and ſwallowed it vp whole, no ruine at al lefte, for he ſignified that both olde and newe Rome, although it ſeme ſtoute, inuincible, and eternall, yet ſhal it fall: and ſo fall, that nothing thereof ſhal be lefte. Which ſhortely after he ſetteth before our eyes more expreſſely by a certen Chria, whileſt the Angel takyng vp a milſtone, and caſting it into the bottome of the Sea, addeth: thus or with ſuch a violence ſhal Babilon that great citie be ouerthrowen, & ſhal be founde no more. Therefore was there neuer any thing, is, or ſhal be in the worlde ſo mightie or vnpregnable, whiche the inuincible power of God can not bring to naught, when he will, and when the fatall howre is come. Olde Rome is loſte, and that mightie monarchie decayed: there is fallē alſo the ſuperſtition and Idolatrie of the heythen, that hath reigned many yeres: newe Rome ſhal periſh alſo with her Imaginarie Empire: the kingedome alſo of the Pope or Antichriſt which hath longe a ſotted and plagued the worlde ſhall falle, and fade with ſmoke.
Morouer by a figuratiue ſpeach taken out of the prophetes,And it is made ye habitatiō of deuilles. he ſheweth the maner of the deſtruction by conſequēces: and is become the habitation of Deuilles, &c. For ſo hereby he ſignifieth that it ſhall be deſtroyed, that the place whiche was before much frequented of men, ſhal be now the habitation of wilde beaſtes and deuelles, delighting in wildernes, as our lord alſo teſtifieth in the .12. of Matth. And he alluded to the wordes of the Prophetes. Eſaye in the .13. chapt. And Babilon the beaultie of realmes ſhal be ouerthrowen, as the Lord ſubuerted Sodome and Gomorrha: it ſhal not be inhabited, but beaſtes ſhal there take there reſt, and the ſatires or heerry ſhal there leape. The ſame thinges are repeted alſo in the .50. of Ieremie. And in the .51. he ſayeth: & babilō ſhalbe in heapes, & an habitation for Dragons, a wōder and a hiſſing, that no mā may dwel there. Not much vnlike things are red in the .26. of Ezech. of the ſubuerſion of Tyru…. And that olde Rome was deſtroyed, I ſhewed before: and for the ſpace of fourtie daies and more, inhabited of no man. And that we ſee it inhabited agayne, it letteth nothing the veritie of Chriſtes prophecie. For Fraunces Petrarche an Italian, and emonges the beſt learned Italians not hindermoſte, in a certen epiſtle to a frende, expoūding theſe wordes of the Apoſtle S. Iohn, emonges other thinges, ſayeth, thou art verely become ſuch already, for how much better is a wicked man, and of deſperate doynges, than a deuill? verely thou art become the habitation, or rather kingdome of Deuelles: which by their craftes, albeit in mās ſhape, raigne in thee, &c. Petrarche liued and wrote theſe thinges aboute two hondreth yeres ſin…. And in an other certen epiſtle, ſpeakyng of olde and newe Babilon: ſhe was, ſayeth he, worſte of al others, and at that time moſt filthie: and this nowe is no Citie, but an houſe of findes and ſpretes, and to be ſhorte, the ſinke of all ſinne and ſhame, and that helle of the liuyng, ſignified longe before by the mouth of Dauid, than it was founded or knowen. And the ſelfe ſame agayne: what ſo euer thou haſte red of Babilon in Aſſiria or Aegipte, what ſo euer thou haſtered of the foure Labyrinthes or Mazes, finally what ſo euer thou haſte red of the waye to hell, of the darke wordes there and laques of fire and brimſtone, compared to this hell, it is a fable: here is that prowde and terrible Nimroth: here is Semiramis with her quiuer: here is vnmercifull Minos: here is Rhadamante: here is Cerberus deuouryng al thinges: here is Paſiphae put to the bulle, amō grelle kinde, as Virgill ſayeth, a yonge of double ſhape, Minotaurus by name a monſtrouſe monymēt of vnlaweful luſt, Finally here mayeſt thou ſee what ſo euer is confuſed, what ſo euer is blacke, what ſo euer is or may be fayned horrible & hugly. &c. Theſe things hath he, & many other moe like theſe writtē in other epiſtles. But what thinke you wold he write nowe, yf he ſawe the courte of Rome at this daye? whiche is doubtles many wayes more corrupte, than it was than. Briefly S. Iohn ſignifieth after the ſentence of Chriſt kyng and iudge, that Rome both olde and newe, together with gē tiliſme and Antichriſtianiſme ſhall periſh vtterly, and neuer be reſtored agayne.
The cauſes before ones or twiſe reherſed, he repeteth and beateth in againe,The cauſes of the ruine of ye citie & empire. vngodlines, idolatrie & ſeducing of al people & nations, whom they hauehave cōmpelled by tourmentes to receiue impietie. Where crueltie, tirāny, and bloud alſo hath place. I ſpake of ye wine of whoredome before in the .14. cha. and elswhere, ſo that it nedeth not to repete the ſame againe with tediouſenes. And herunto is added an other new cauſe, and the marchauntes of the Earth foreign of the power or plētie of her pleaſures, were made rich. And he ſaied, of the power of pleaſure: for, of vnmeaſurable, mightie and vnſatiable luſte were made riche. For where as Rome abounded with ſpoiles, which it had gredely taken of al nations, and brought to Rome, they were geuē to al kinde of riot & wātones. Therfore the maiſters of voluptuouſnes, and diuiſers of delicate pleaſures, and marchauntes of moſt preciouſe wares reparyng thither, founde euermore thē that would bie, intertayne, and ſet by thē, and were ſo made riche of the voluptuouſe and riotouſe life of the Romanes. Therefore the Apoſtle noteth an incredible ſtudie of moſte ſumptuouſe riot, in meate, drinke, apparell, buildyng, in pampering and cheriſſhyng of the bodye. The Romiſhe alſo of our time ſtriken with the ſame rage both in Italy and without, ſpēde excedyng muche richeſſe in liuyng riotouſely. This is ſene chiefely in thoſe ſpiritual fathers, Biſſhoppes and Abbottes, and in the whole Romiſhe clergie. But God neuer ſuffered riot and tiranny longe vnpunniſhed in any nation. Therfore is Babilon fallen alſo, therfore ſhal the church of Rome falle too. Therefore let priuate men alſo louelove temperancie, and to abſteyne from riot and pride. To the lord be glory.