A Hundred Sermons on Revelation, Title page – Poem 1
A HVNDRED Sermons vpō the Apocalips of Ieſu Chriſte, reueiled in dede by Thangell of the Lorde: but ſeen or receyued and written by thapoſtle and Euāgeliſt. S. Iohn: Compiled by the famous and godly learned man, Henry Bullinger, chief Paſtor of the Congregation of Zuryk.
¶ Newly ſet forth and allowed, according to the order appoynted in the Quenes maieſties, Iniuntions.
¶ Thargument, wurthines, commoditie, and vſe of this worke, thou ſhalt fynd in the Preface: After which thou haſt a moſt exact Table to leade thee into all the princypall matters conteyned therin.
Math. 17. ☞ This is my welbeloued ſun in whom I take pleaſure, heare hym.
Anno. 1561
TO THE RIGHT HOnorable Syr Thomas Wentworth knight Lorde VVentworth Lorde Lifetenaunt of the Quenes Maieſties Countie of Suffolk. &c. Hys ſingular good Lorde and Maſter. Iohn Daus his obedient Seruaunt wiſſheth health and peace in the Lorde with thincreaſe of honor and dignitye.
IF we waigh and conſider aſwell this preſent pece of Scripture intitled the Reuelatiō, as alſo the whole body of the ſame (Ryghte honorable and my ſingular Lorde) we ſhall fynde that the trewe Churche of Chryſt hath ben euer from the firſt creation of the world, is now, and ſtill ſhall be to the conſumation therof, ſubiecte to greate aduerſities, perſecutions, and troubles, out of the which notwithſtanding the Lord when he ſeeth it good deliuereth and preſerueth the ſame, and ſuffereth her not to peryſh. Wherupon the Romiſh hauehave a trew ſaying, that Peters ſhip may with billowes and waues of tempeſtuous ſtormes be ouer whelmed, but can neuer be drowned, which ſaying is doubtleſſe moſt true, although thei thē ſelues ſayle not therein, but rather ſeke to dround the ſame by ouerfraighting her with the heauy burthen of mens traditions. For certē ly the Shippe of Peter whiche is the figure of Chryſtes Churche is in dede ofte toſſed and tourmoyled with outragious ſtormes and tempeſtes, but can neuer be drenched or ſwallowed vp of the ſame. For Chriſt bothe Maſter and owner therof, can and wyll, for his mercy & truthes ſake appeace all rages at his pleaſure. Herin both the Papiſtes and Goſpellers do agree. But whether of them are the trewe Church… thys matter is yet in controuerſie & hangeth before the Iudg, which this preſent worke ſhall diſcerne and put out of all doubt. And to enter a little into the matter as it were with a certen preamble, the true Churche of Chryſte is not called the ſtony temple wherin we aſſemble to heare Gods worde, receyue the Sacramentes, and to praye in, for ſuche are builded with handes, and with handes are deſtroyed a…, nether yet is it called the congregation of certen Byſhops of al nations aſſembled in a generall Counſell, for they all though in the firſte lawfull and godly counſelles, were many good men and excellent mēbers of Chriſtes Church, yet were they not the whole church which could not erre, and the which had authoritie to make new Articles of the faith, but the Church is called the whole ſocietie of people that acknowledge the Goſpell of Chriſte and beleue in him. And this Churche not to be of one time only but of all tymes & ages, as Adam with Eue hys wife, his ſun Abel & his familie was the church, Noah with his familie was the churche. Melchizedec with his familie was the Churche, Abraham alſo with his familie. Likewyſe Iſaac, Iacob, Dauid, the Prophetes and Apoſtles with theyr Auditours that beleued in the Goſpell of Chriſt were the churche, and where ſoeuer at this daye the Goſpel of Chriſt is receyued and beleued there is alſo the church of Chriſt which by a figuratiue ſpeache may be aptly called the Ship of Peter or Arcke of Noe. Now let vsus conſider the ſtate of the churche vnderunder Adam, wherof the chiefeſt member was righteous Abel, but him doth his brother Cain perſecute for Religion and ſlayeth hym And this was the beginning of the tempeſt that aroſe aagainſt the Ship of Peter, the beginning I meane, of the perſecution of the church which ſhal laſt to the worldes ende. Lykewyſe dyd the churche vnderunder Abraham ſuffer perſecution by Iſmaell, vnderunder Iſaac by Eſau, vnderunder Moſes of Pharao, vnderunder Eli the high Prieſt the Arke of the Lorde was taken by the Philiſtines, and then it was thought that the church ſhulde hauehave quyte periſhed vnderunder Achab and wicked Iezabel, the Churche was not onlye afflicted and ſore oppreſſed, but alſo in a maner extinguiſhed where the Prophet Helias complayned that he was lefte alone. VnderUnder Ieremie, the Citie of Ieruſalem was deſtroyed of the Babylonians, and the churche was not lyke then to periſh, but rather vtterly loſt already, when Chriſt the head of the Churche, was crutified, it was iudged that the churche had then ben cleane deſtroied. We had thought (ſay they) that he ſhoulde hauehave redemed Iſraell, what tyme king Pharao with his hoſt had incloſed the Iſraelites, that is to witte, the churche betwene the mountaines and the Red Sea, it was lyke that the churche ſhulde hauehave periſhed, but Moſes prayed & the Lorde miraculouſly deliuered them: Againe, the churche ſemed to be in extreme daunger when Sennacherib ſpoyled the kyngdome of Iuda, and ment to deſtroy Ieruſalem, but througe the prayer of Ezechias the Kyng, God ſent his Angell and diſtroyed the hoſt of the Aſſyrians. The church ſemed to tende vntounto ruine, when Herod had killed Iames with the ſweard, and minded alſo Peter, but the congregation contynewyng in prayer, the Lorde ſent his Angel to deliuer Peter. And to be ſhort in thoſe ten greuous perſecutions which followed immediatly after the Apoſtles time the church many times ſemed brought vntounto vtter decay, but alwayes when God ſaw it good it was reuiued, and as it were refreſhed agayne. What ſhuld I recite the perſecutions of the churche in the time of Athanaſius wherin the Arrian Biſhoppes ſo preuayled that the Emperour and his whole Armye ſo perſecuted Athanaſius, that the good Biſhop was fayne to lye hyd in an holle, where he ſaw no ſunne by the ſpace of ſixe yeares. And who wold then hauehave thought that euer the trew churche of Chriſt ſhulde hauehave flouriſhed agayne? I nede not here to reherſe the cruell perſecutions of the church vnderunder the Romiſh antichriſt which neuertheleſſe hauehave ben and be yet ſtyll moſt tyranicall and blouddye. For that the ſame ſhall in this preſent worke more clerely appere, then that I nede to make any diſcourſe therof, only I wolde ſhewe, briefely as dothe my Author, at large, that Chriſtes trewe churche, is alwayes ſubiect to perſecutions. To thintent therfore to paſſe ouer many thynges vntouched, and to come nerer our fathers memorye, in the tyme of the Emperoure Sigiſmunde, there was holden a counſell at Conſtaunce, wherein, the Biſhops ſo conſpired, to extinguiſh Chriſtes veritie, that contrary to thauncient libertie of a free and general Counſel, and cō trary to the Emperours ſaufconduit, they not only burned there Iohn Huſſe and Hierome of Prage, profeſſours of Chryſtes Goſpell, but decreed alſo, that the bones of Iohn Wickleffe, ſumtime Perſon of Lutterworth, here in Englande: ſhuld be taken vp and brent. whoſe beſtiall crueltie, of raging againſt dead men, our popiſhe prelacie of late dayes, rightly Imitatynge, as the children of one father, that was a murtherer frō the beginning, practyſed lyke tyranny with the bones of Martin Bucer and Paulus Fagius at Cambridge. Such raging ſurges of late dayes did beate againſt the Ship of Peter. Bleſſed be the Lorde Ieſus, that hath ſent vsus a goodly caulme, accordyng to the ſaying of the Prophet Dauid. The Iuſte ſhall ſuffer muche tribulotion, but the Lorde delyuereth them out of all. And this is verely the argument & ſum of this boke, that Chryſtes churche ſhall ſuffer greuous perſecution, but ſhall neuer be left deſtitute. For where the dragon fighteth on the ſand, the Lambe Chryſt like a conquerour, ſtandeth on Mount Sion, right hable to ſuccour all his, to the great comfort and conſolation of his choſen, whiche of neceſſitie, muſte ſuffer with Chryſt, yf with him, we will be glorifyed: And as Chriſt him ſelfe, when he was rayled vponupon, gaue no euil words again. So is the true church of Chriſt knowen in this, that it ſuffereth perſecution, and doeth not perſecute agayne. Wherfore lyke as wiſe kinge Salomon iudged her, to be the true mother of the childe, which had ſuche compaſſion on it, that ſhe had rather forgo the whole, then hauehave it diuided and diſmembred, & the other to be the harlot, that had ouerlayne her childe whiche had alſo conſented to the death of thother: Right ſo maye we diſcerne euidently the whoriſh churche of Antichriſt by her bluddy perſecutions from the true churche and ſpouſe of Chryſt, the one with ſweard and fyre ſeketh alwayes to quenche the treuth, the other through the ſperite of lenitie, to winne men to the ſame, the one by compulſion and violent oppreſſion, thother by perſwaſion: and meke interceſſiō, the one by the ſworde, the other by the worde, the one goeth aboute to peruert and depraue, the other ſeketh all meanes, to conuerte and ſaue. But leſt I ſhulde excede here the iuſte meaſure of an Epiſtle, and through prolexitie, be to your honour tediouſe, which cā (as the prouerbe ſayeth) diſcerne a Lion by his clawes. I will breake of the thred of my diſcourſe, notwithſtāding, that the matter is ſo ample & large, that it wold require an other worke, wherin it is harder to fynde an ende, then it was a beginning, contented by theſe fewe examples of ſondry tymes, to hauehave ſignified not to your Lordſhip, which knowe them much better then I: And hauehave red this preſent work in Latin as you do all others right diligently. But through your ientil patience, to the plaine Engliſh Reader, that the true church of Chryſt hath ben in all ages perſecuted, and that this preſent worke, written vponupon the Reuelation of S. Iohn, & into an hundred Sermons digeſted, declareth no leſſe; and is as it were an Eccleſiaſtical Hiſtory of the troubles and perſecutions of the Churche, eſpecially from the Apoſtles tyme, vntill the laſt day, wherin Chryſt, the head of the ſame ſhall come a righteous Iudge, to condemn Antichriſt, and all Antichriſtian hipocrites & bluddy perſecutours: But to receyue his electe people and to crowne them with glory: And ſhall deliuer vp his kingdome, to his Father, & God ſhall be all in all. Which worke vnderſtanding right well, that it ſhuld to your honour be acceptable. I dedicate and conſecrate to your name, as you beſt hauehave deſerued. Which in this and other like enterpriſes, hauehave ben to me, a golden ſpurre, that by you all others may receyue commoditie therof, to the glory of God and ſaluation of theyr owne ſoules. The Lorde Ieſus with his principall ſpirite, ſtrengthen and confirme youre good Lordeſhyp in all youre Godly deſires.
From Ipſewich the kalendes of March. Anno. Do 1561.
A Sixain touching the contentes of thys booke.
WHo liſt to moue his lippes,
and hereon loke and rede:
In thys Apocalyppes,
theſe thynge ſhall fynde in dede.
What Antichriſt firſt is,
who, and where he doth dwell:
And that his comming is:
from the depe pitte of hell.
Then what is tholde Serpent,
the Dragon and the reſt:
And alſo what is ment,
by the Image of the beeſt.
That Roome is Babylon,
the beaſtes with her heades all:
The whore ſitting theron,
is Pope that downe ſhall fall.
The three foule ſprets like frogs,
are Legates of the ſyde:
And ſhal hauehave parte with dogges,
though now Prelates of pride.
The Locuſtes to declare,
as flies in Summer ryfe:
The Popiſh clergie are,
a people full of ſtryfe.
Theyr ſonge is nothing els,
but alwayes coaxe, coaxe:
Holy church holi maſſe, holi bells,
holy bread, holy oyle, holy waxe.
By the marke of the Beeſt,
they may both by and ſell:
And as they ſaye at leaſt,
redeme ſoules out of hell.
Theyr wayres yet ſhall decaye,
and periſhe in an houre:
All ſhall be take away,
their oyle, wyne and fyne floure.
And Rome ſhall downe be caſt,
and drowned in the depe:
… marchaunts then at laſt,
…ll wayle and wepe,
The Dragon and the beaſt,
Sathan that Serpent olde:
Antichriſt and the reſt,
in paynes ſhal aye ben holde.
All ye that Godly be,
from Rome quickly depart:
or els with her you ſee,
of plages ye muſt hauehave parte.
Thys booke ſhall eke declare,
of Sunne, Mone and of ſtarres:
Candelſtickes, what they are,
of battell and of warres.
Whiche Antichryſt ſhall meue,
againſt Chriſtes church to fight:
And thoſe that will beleue,
in Chriſt, to death will dight.
But Chryſt on Sion Mounte,
the Lamb ſhall aye preuayle:
Of his maketh accompte,
and will them neuer fayle.
The ſealed are the elect,
whom God hath choſen free:
All others are reiect,
and condemned ſhall be.
The Raynebow and white cloude
and maruels many one:
Thaungels crie aloude,
bleſſed be God in trone.
Thangels and ſpretes holy,
thelders and Beaſtes foure:
Prayſe God continually,
ſo ſhuld we euermore.
The elect with good intent,
praye come Lorde Ieſu comes
vntounto the laſt Iudgement,
to iudge both all and ſumme.
They that dye in the Lorde,
ſtreyght waye do paſſe to blyſſes
This ſcripture doth recorde,
where ioye and glory is.
The troumps that Angels ſound
and vialles of Gods ire:
Declare God to confounde,
that withſtande his deſire.
The Harueſt and vintage,
do playnely ſignifye:
That ſinne is ripe of age
and ought of right to die.
The woman clad with ſunne,
with ſtarres eke crowned bryght:
The church is, and her ſunne,
our Sauiour Chriſt a ryght.
The newe Ieruſalem,
of Chryſt the ſpouſe ſo pure:
The churche of faithfull men,
in ioye ſhall ſtyll indure.
In it no temple is,
no Sunne no mone at all:
for Chryſte her glory is,
and God is all in all.
Then Reader by thys boke,
thou ſhalt thee not repent:
yf thou wilt heron loke,
nor mony better ſpent.
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