THe first coniecture is taken out of Elie the Prophete, which the Ie­wes recite as out of the mouth of God, spoken in diuerse places of theyr bokes called Thalmude. For they be writen in theyr boke called Abodazara in the i. Cha. & in theyr boke called [...]aichedrim in y ^• laste Cha. and also in other places on thys maner. The house or scole of E­lie hath affirmed, and left it thus writen. Elye hath sayd, that sixe thousande yea­res shal the world stand [...]r endure. Two thousande voyde of anye lawe written, [Page] two thousande vnder the lawe writen, & two thousande vnder the dayes of Mes­sias. Hytherto Elias, afterward the rab­bins added these wordes. But for our sin nes, which be great and many, the fyfte thousande and an halfe be thus past, and yet is not Messias comen. But yet is this An ora­cle is a sure sai­ynge as it were answe­red of God. doutles an oracle worthy to be beleued for many causes, although it be not ex­pressed in the scriptures. For fyrst to be­gyn therewith, this oracle is susteyned with the wordes of Moyses in the Psal. after the Hebrewe rekenynge. xc. to which Saynt Peter cleaueth in hys ij. Epistle. iij, Cap. saying. That a thousand yeares with the Lord be, but as one day. Also hereof it foloweth. That as god cre ated all thynges in vi. dayes, & rested in the. vij. Euen so shal he sixe thousand ye­ares gouerne the world subiect to gene­racyon and corruptyon, and in the seuēth thousand bryng in that euerlasting rest: of which Thapostle so plainely speketh. Hebre. iiij. that he semeth to shewe the selfe same misterye, as it were with hys fynger. ☞ Besides this it consenteth ryght well with all the other coniectures [Page] folowyng, and it is constantly celebrated and hyghly estemed of the Iewes as the assewered oracle of the Prophete, and yet it fighteth plainly agaynst them selues & theyr infidelitie, whiche may not be beter confounded then in y ^t they be cōpelled by theyrowne sainges of Elias to graunt y ^• Messias shuld raygne the hole laste two thousande yeares, & yet contrary to their sayng, they still loke for him, as thoughe he were not comē. For by this clause ad­ded, (That for theyr synnes God differ­reth Messias birthe) theyr selues confesse frely and plainly the time of christes bir­the not to hauehad bē yet past in this last age of late, but rather then, whā theyr bo ke of thalmude was publyshed, euen a­bout Symon iustus made their thalmu­de. 210. before Christe. y ^e yeare of our Lord. CCCC. xxxvi. Wherof it is manifelt that thei haue wai ted more then these eleuen hondred yeres for a nother messias then our Lord Christ and al in vayne. The cause whereof they falsely impute it to their own sinnes. For Christ was in so certain a prediffined ty­me promised to vs & thē, that neyther for theyr sinnes must he haue had ben borne y ^e later, nor yet for theyr good liuig haue [Page] comen the soner, of y ^• which thing, more peraduēture shalbe spokē in another pla ce. Although some of our religyon wold contend to drawe this litle clause of Chri stes birthe now paste vnto thend of the worlde, as thoughe for our synnes there shuld wāte muche of these sixe thousande yeares, so that they be not fulfylled. But thys sence, although it maketh well for our purpose, yet the Hebrew wordes re­ceyue it not. Wherfor this is the meanig of the oracle. That the world frō the time wherof Moses said. The earth was emp tye grosse and void, dured two thousand before the lawe of circumcision with her adpertinences was geuen to Abrahā, of which it is writtē Gen. 26 & 27. That al nacyons shalbe blessed in thy sead. And from the time of delyueraunce of circum cision to Abraham vnto Christes birthe there dured also, other two thousand yea res, which thyng syth it is proued many­festly so to haue come to passe (for Christ was born, & suffred about the four thou­sand yeares frō y ^e creacion) nedes muste the rest of y ^e oracle also be true, y ^• frōchrist to the ende of the worlde, there shalbe no [Page] more (peraduenture much lesse) then two thousande euē as Elias sayd. But in that as certain yeres of the laste two mylle­naryes be paste, and yet Christ be not co­me (as y ^e Iewes dreame because of their sinnes, as they wold seme to excuse theyr vnbeleue with another synne of vnbelief they be vtterly deceiued. For after this o­racle, Christ is verely comen, so y ^t about fower thousand yeares from the creacyō he was crucifyed & rose agayn frō death ascended to heauen, and in the ende of the world thence to come to iudge the quicke and deade. And where the Iewes fro the creacyon hither to, reken. CC. yeres lesse then we, the cause is, that emong manye of theyr errours, this is one great ouer­fight. For they reken dariū Hystaspis or Longimane vnder whom the tēple was redifyed, and Darium that was ouer co­men of greate Alexander bothe for one Kynge of the Medys and Persyans, & to haue reigned but vi. yeares, whē there canne betwixt them after Ptoleme. Cxcij yeares, which thyng we shal discusse di­ligently in our cronicle. This coniecture is also holpen by Henoch and Elie hym­selfe, [Page] which bothe were translated quick out of thys miserable lyfe to that blessed immortalitie, death neuer tasted. For as the sixe fyrst generacyons, that is to say, Adā, Seth, Enos, Lainam, Mahalaleel Iared, dyed, and the seuenth generac [...]on euen Hen [...]ch hym selfe (whom Iudas in hys Epistle mētioned not without a cau se to be the seuenth) is immortal. Euen so thorow these. vi. millenaries of the world shall death raygne, and in the seuenthe shal floresh that blessed immortalite. And as the fyrste. vi. ages of men from Adam to Elie were subiect to death, and the se­uenth which is Elie, obieyned immortali tie (For Elias was rapt vp aly [...]e in the charet of fyer) euen so thorow these vi­millenaryes shall the mortall lyfe dure, And in the beginnyng of the seuenth shal we be taken vp to mete Christ comynge downe to iudgement. Adā lyued to Ma­thusalem, Mathusalem to Sem, Sem to Iacob, Iacob to Amrā, Amram to Ahiā the Silonite, Ahias to Elias, which was trāslated. These cōiectures also vsed Ioā picus Meradulane in y ^e yere of our Lord [...]. ccc, lxxxvi. & did put vp this one amōg [Page] hys disputable. 90. conclusions sayng: yf there be any humane coniecture of y ^• last tyme, we may serche and fynde it by the muste secrete way of Cabbalist, the end of the world to come hense of 514. yeres. Netheles for right gret causes (as we ha­ue sayd to fore) we coniecture that the sixt millenarie shall not be fulfylled. For as in the lawe, the sixt daye was not hole graunted to worke therein to the full end as to the midnyght, but a good part the­rof was anticipated and cut of, added to the Sabboth daye, euen so shall not the sixt millenarie be all full hole geuen to the laborouse last mortal lyfe, but y ^t most gloryouse beutyfull parte therof aboute the euenyng sh [...]lbe anteuorted and pre­uented of that blessed and euerlastynge reste, as it shal appere clearlyer in the cō iectures followyng, and in the mysterye of the supper of oure Lorde preuented & celebrated in the euenyng and in the para bles of y ^t callinges to supper, after which refreshyng there followeth no more la­boure, but reste.

The secōd coniecture is takē of y ^• wordes of christ red. Matth. 24 & Mar. 13. thus. [Page] But the daye and hower nomā knoweth it, no not thaungels in heauē, nor yet the sone him selfe but onlye my father. But as were the dayes of Nohe so shalbe the coming of the sone of man. For as in the dayes of Nohe, before the floude, they were eating drynkyng and marying vn­to the daye in which Nohe entred into y ^• arke, and knewe not therof till the floude came ouer them taking all awaye, euen so shalbe the coming of the sone of man. For in these wordes, Christe semeth not to compare only the qualyte but also the quantite of the tyme. The qualitie of the tyme, I call the corrupt maners of that worlde and age, the quantitie is the nom­ber of the yeres. And as for the qualitie, ther is no doute therof, when Christ said playnly Luke. xvij. That as in the dayes of Nohe and Lot they ate and dronke, to­ke wyues and maried, bought and sold, planted and builded, euen so shall it be when the sone of man shalbe reueled. But as touchyng the quantyte or noum­ber of the yeris albe it the thing be hid & obscure, yet in some behalfe it shyueth & sheweth her selfe, wher Math. saith per­fectly. [Page] As were the dayes of Nohe, so shalbe the coming of the son of man. Na­mely when Paul Rom. v. affyrmeth Adā to haue had ben the forme and image of Chryst to come, as in y ^• i. Cor. xv. of christ he maketh an other Adam euen into the spirit that quickeneth. The fyrst Adam was erthey out of the earthe, but the se­conde man is the Lorde him self out of heuen. Nowe if Christ be the other Adā of whom the fyrst was the forme and si­milytude, and the comyng of Christe be as the dayes of Nohe aboute the floude, who wyll not beleue but that how much tyme passed from the earthey adam vnto the dayes of Nohe euen to the floude, so much tyme shall there passouer to the ce­lestiall Adam our Lorde Iesus vnto the [...]nde euen to that last fiery floude wherof Peter sayth. The daye of the Lord shall come lyke a thefe in the night at whose coming the heuens shal passouer lyke a storme and thelements shall melt awaye with heat, y ^• erthe & al y ^• workes theri shal be brūt vp. And the heuens shalbe consu­med whith fyer, and thelementes moltē, it is so manifest that from Adam to the [Page] floude there passed ouer. Mcccccclvi. ye­res. wherfor it is very like that in y ^• year of our Lorde. Mcccccclvi. the end of the world shalbe comen before our dores whiche now is not much more thē an. C. yeres hēce, except it be rekoned from y ^t re surreccion of Christ. And as Nohe knew and the [...] haue we cxli, & so shal it en de in the Mccccc­cc. yere frō christ not the day ne hower of the floude tyl the Lorde bode him go into the arke (but the year, he knewe it) when God told him before that he wold graunt him yet to the men. cxx. yeres space to repent, euen so we albeit the daye and howr we knowe not, yet the year maye we knowe or coniectu­re very nighe it.

☞ The thirde couiecture is taken frō the tyme of Christes birthe vnto his pas­sion and resurreccion, whych is. xxxiij. ye res and some dayes more, whose noum­ber we yet knowe not. For when he was baptized, he was full. xxx. yeres olde or very nyghe: so that he was full thyrtye, ere he toke the offyce of a leuite, as to preache and to teache openlye. Thus the sone of GOD whyche of euer­lasting [Page] was in the bosome of the father (manisshappe taken vp to him) is beco­come conuersant wyth vs lyke as one of xxx yeris olde. For as touching his god­heit he tolde the Iewes, sayng: Before Abraham was borne I had my being es­senciall name called Sum. And yet to cer tyfye vs the more in this thinge behold the Astronomer Ptolemeus, which in cal king the yere, expressed plainly in y ^e cour­se of y ^e. xxxiiij. yeres of Christ, to be euen such, an easter day or passouer day as we finde nowe described of theuāgelistes at y ^t passyon of Christ, which daye fyll then iustely vpō the fryday, as did then Christ vpon the same daye kepe it with hys Discyples. Albeit the Iewes then differ­red & trauslated it into the next sabboth, which was saterdaye, and then ate they theyr Passe lombe at euening, in y ^• which forenone was offred the very trwe pas­se lombe Christe, the ende of all the fygu­res therof, the Iewes not yet seing y ^e ve­rite but abiding still in their dead & blin­de The day begineth at. v. aclo ke in the eauenig▪ shadows. The iewes differred y ^e feste as they do yet, when it so falleth vpō the friday, lest two gret festes in which they [Page] may not do so much as make their owne fyer or cut their brede, shulde be conty­nued togither, whiche thing that Christe shuld eate his Passe lombe on the fryday and suffer also on the same day, makyng saterday the hole restyng daye, vpon son day erly to ryse, many hitherto haue not [...]speyd. But this mater, Paule Bisshop Paul bis­shop of Sēpron. of Sēpronie serched for, wyth gret study and could not fynde it out, only because he perceiued not, the Iewes not to tell y ^e fyrst day of the moneth from the coniun [...] cion of the sone and mone next before, but from the eauening euen at. v. of the cloke before the chāg in which the lerned astro mers did euidently shewe it, or els lawful witnes proued it to the elders or senators of Ierusalem, that the newe mone was sene or might haue had ben sene. But returne we to our purpose. Wherfore when our Lorde Christ born of the virgē concerning his fleshe was in this our mi­serable lif cōuersant with vs. xxxiij. yeres and some dayes more, it is very like him self also to be borne spirytually of the in corrupt vyrgyne the holy churche by the free confession and pure doctryne of the [Page] gospell euen so many yeares, but yei great yeres, and so to remayne and aby­de with vs styll in his spirytuall birth these. xxx. great yeres in this worlde. But here must ye knowe that there be two ma­ner of gret ye­res. two maner of grete yeres in holy seryp­tur. One is the Angels year, and the to­ther is Moses year. One Angels year cō teineth somany of our comon yeares, as we haue daies in our yeare, that is 354. cccliiij. [...]a [...]es in our luna re yere. of our yeares for so many daies be there in our lunare yere. For w ^t vs, which be cō cluded vnder y ^e heuens, y ^t course of y ^t sone frō east to west finissheth our day ī. xxiiij. howers. But with the Angels wich dwel aboue the circles & orbes of the Planets, their daye finissheth hyr course, whyles the sone moueth in hir zodiak, from the southe to the northe and agen from the north to the southe, which is fynisshed in one of our yeres, so that their day is one of our yearis and econtra. Soche days Christ vnderstandeth Luke. xiij. when he bode them tell Herode that foxe. That I cast oute deuyls this day and to morowe and the third daye I am at an ende. For I must to day and to morewe & t̄he next day walke. For the prophete may nowhe [Page] re els be put to death but in Ierusalem, which wordes can not be vnderstanden of our comon dayes, but of the. iij. hole yeres wherin he preached and miracled before his death. For .iij. of our yeres ar but .iij. Angels dayes, and euery Angels year is .cccliiij. of our lunare yeris, which Angels year is called of the Angels oft in Daniel both in hebrewe and caldey speche, a tyme. But Moses great yere is Moses great year. the space of .l. of our yeres that runneth from one Iubeley to another. For as in our year, the labor of the hole tilthe retur neth in a perpetual circle to where as it begone, that is from seadis tyme to the same agaeine, euen so in the iubeley year, all the Israelites returne in their owne former possessions agene of their fathers and the hole forme of their comon lyfe & state & liuing was newly restored and as it were borne ayen. But the Angels yere may not serue vs in this our third con­iecture. For if the churche shuld in this worlde dure. xxx. Angels yeares and a lytle more, the space shuld excede twelue thousand of oure yeares, when Elias ge ueth it not to stāde seuē thousand. Wher­for Moses great yere, which is y ^t Iubelei [Page] yere dothe iustely agre to our purpose, M. CC CCC. C For xxxiij. Iubeley yeres make. 1650. of our yeres, vnto the which adde those few yeres that be. vi. yeris for the porcion of y ^• dayes, in which Christe beyend. xxxiij. yeres lyued, and so ar we comen to the dayes of Nohe euen. 1656. yeris. But let M. CC CCC. [...]WI. vs see howe those great yeris, layd to the yearis of Christis lyfe (the tymes compa red to gither) shall agree whylis we try it out and examin it, by apt similytudes and comparysons of euery thinge done of Christ and of the course and state of the world folowing his death vnto this daye, fyrst. As our Lord Iesus being bor The cō ­parison betwixt his bode ly birth & spiritual birth, af [...]ir his re surrecciō ne of Mary the virgin, the gloriouse clere nes of Godillumined the herdmē taught from heuen Christ their sauior to be bor­ne. Luce. ij. whom they shuld fynde wrap ped in clutes in the kribbe, euē lo, Christ being borne spiritually after his resurrec cion thorrowe the preaching of y ^e gospell euen of the incorrupt virgin the churche of the Apostles, the glory of the Lord did shyne roundabout and illumined the ve­ry hardemen and true flokfeders y ^e Apo­stles, the holy ghost powredforth vpon [Page] them in fyery clouen tongues, which te­stifyed of Christ and gloryfyed him, tea­ching them althings that they might vn­derstande the scriptures, & behold Christ in them as it were wrapped and inuol­ued in his cloutes: Also as christ ones bor The. ii. cōparisō ne, Herode slewe the children, hoping to haue so s [...]ain Christe emonge them, euen so Christ ones preched after his resurrec cion, y ^e prince of this world slewe the sele yonge Christiās, euē y ^• newly regenered by faith into christ trusting therby (as he doth nowe) so to haue roted out and de­stroyd Christes gospell w ^t their destruc­cion and burning. But as then Herode fayled of his purpose euen so are nowe owre Herodes cruell enforcementes fru­strated. iij. Also as Christ borne, he dwelt vn der the Egipcions vntil the death of He­rode & raigne of Archelay, that is vnto the syxt yeare of his age almost complet, euen so Christ preached lurked and was hyd vnder the spyrituall Egypt, that is vnder the tweyfold double persecucyon both of the temperall tyrants and spyry­tuall her etiques vntill the sixt Iubiley of the churche, that is to the ende of Diocle­sian, [Page] the hebrwe worde which signifyeth egypt, is by interpretacion asmuch to say as blind persewers or double persecu­cions Egipt blind per sewers. in the dual nowmbyr. Also as Ma ry the vyrgen had almost lost Chryste being. xij. yeres olde in Ierusalem and sought hym in vain among his kinsfolk iiij. and acoyntance, but at last fownde him in the temple amonge y ^t doctores asking and answering them, euen so the virgen the church in the twelf Iubiley that was about the yere of our Lorde cccccc. being sore layd ayenst troubled and wexed w ^t dyuerse and many heresies cheifly of the Arrians Eunomians and Sabellians, out of whom anon aftyr Mahumete aud the pope be sprong vp, had almost lost Christ, yea she had lost him in dede, as now haue the Mahumetis and Papists had she not at last thē found him in y ^• tē ­ple of God, that is in the holy scripture among the doctors and teachers euen the Prophets, Euangclistes, and Apostles, (where the papistis neuer yet sought Christ) askinge and answerynge dyspu­tyng of our faith and religion she asking the Prophetes. For he nether did suffer, [Page] ne taught any thing which was not of y ^t Prophetes to fore sayd and testyfyed, he answered to the same in that he accom­plesshed althynges in dede that they pro­phecyed of hym. Also as Christe borne, h. many of the Israelites beleued the her­demen, Simeon and other testifying of Christe and with no small desier longed to see hym openly present teachyng them whyles all the other Israelytes (albeyt they onely then semed to be the peple of God) yet infect and seduete wyth the sec­tes of the pharisays & zaduces, knew not Christ, nothing regarding him vntyll Ioan bapt. begane to preache and testy­fye of him now. xxx. yeares olde: euen so Christe preached, many verely beleued the Apostles and Martyrs and souked out the pure knowleg of Chryst drawne forth into theyr posteryte, whilis other, (in name only Chrystians) although for an vtward shynyng she we of gliteryng ceremonies and wyll workes of theyr owne choyce, wold be sene only to be the church of God, ether for theyr zaduceicall epp [...]urisme & voluptuose liuing, for their [Page] pharisaical hipocrisy infect and seduct ha ue not knowne Christ ne any thing at all regarded him vntill the xxx. Iubyley of the church was comen, that is to say vn­tyll about the 1500. year of the Lorde, M LL LLL. which popish Iubeley yet dureth in ma­ny churches, albe it in some where the gospel taketh place, it is extinct. Further­more, vi. as aftir the. xij. yeares of Christ vn­tyl his. xxx. year, we read nothing of him but that he was vnder his parents sub­iect, as a layman and carpentor conuer­sant wyth the laye sorte, euen so aftyr the twelf Iubiley of the churche vnto the thirtey Iubeley, that is frome Phocas themprour which with publike proclama cion stablisshed the popysh primacie, the doctrine of Christ hath standen amonge the laytie almost vnto this our tym, whi­che laymen contented with their crede & the sacraments, ether vtterly knewe they not these idolatryes, sectes the iustifyca­cion by workes, merytis, and these po­pish pardons, or els they veryly neglec­ted and abhorred them, declaring cheifly this frute of theyr faith, that they simply and gladly obeyed theyr beter lerned el­ders, [Page] so farre as it might be done, with­out hurt or spotte of the trwe relygion & honor of God, when in the mean ceason, the popis Cardinals, Bisshops, Preistes Fryers, Monkes, enen the Pharyseis, Zaduceis scribes and lawyers all, not one skant clere (the doctrine of Christe neglected and lost) were, and yet be vtter ly drowned blinded and dampnably cap tined vnder the doctryne and tradicious of men, yea and of the diuill to, as Paule called them. Agene as aftir the. xxx. yeris vij. of Christes burthe Ioan Bap▪ preched re­pentance in the desert baptyzing them to prepar the peple for Christ, whō [...]ftsone after he shewedforth w ^t his finger, euē so after the. xxx. Iubiley of the churche, was the very sincere doctryne of the lawe, of the knowledg of orygynall sinne and of other vices, the trwe repentance the doc­tryne of the trwe iustificacion, and of the mortifycacion of the olde man whiche is the trwe and spiritual baptisme of repen­tance, restored to the churche, that the pe­ple might haue ben prepared and made apt to receiue the doctrine of the gospell, which the doctrine of the lawe did shewe [Page] to vs and pointed it forth befor vs as it were wyth fyngers, for the fulbrynging or perfeccion of the lawe, is Christe vnto Rom. x. saluaciō to iustifye all that beleue in him. Also as Christe anon aftir Ioan, began viij. his preaching of the gospell, euen so in thys our tyme, anon aftyr the ryght hol­som doctryne of the lawe, there hath fo­lowed the trwe and holsom doctryne of the gospell of the remissyon of sinnes on­ly onely for Christes sake, euen the rygh­tuousnes ix. of only saithe. Also as nether Ioan nor Christ taught openly admitted of the hyghe preistis to preache in the tē ­ple of Ierusalem, because the Bisshopes, scrybes, and Pharysais could not bere them, but taught ether in desertis or in ga lyle where the Prophane magistrates, and not the Bisshopes ruled, euen so in this our tyme, nether the doctryne of the lawe ne the gospell can haue place in the kingdoms of the Bisshops and Phary­seis where these blody beastis yet bere ru le, but ether in priuate places, as it were in the deserte, or els verely vnder some godly prince or ruler only is this pure & holsome doctrine herde. Item as Sathan x. [Page] in y ^• tim of Christ steredup diuerse tumul tes, first by Theuda, which toke tomich vpon him selfe, and then by Iudas the galylene which auerted the pople to ma­ke the doctryne of Christe, as it were by their vprores and tumults the more to be suspecte of sedicion: Euen so nowe in our tyme hath he stered vp the relygious and seculare papistes in Englond, and other where the muntzers, the Shappelers, the anabaptistes, the Dauids georgians, the popyshe sacramentaries as Steuen gar­diner Bisshop of Winchester Doctor smith, perin, and both the vniuersities in Englonde, with like other authors of se­dicion to make the doctrine of the Go­spel nowe happely in spryngynge vp ayen, to be odiouse and suspect, yea they wold make it heresie and sediciō, but yet all in vain, for siche sowers of sedicyon perish in them selues, and their disciples come anon to nought, the doctryne of y ^t gospel stauding salf & suer. Also as christ xi. anon about y ^• beginning of his preachīg y ^• is, in y ^t first pash tide threuforth y ^• biers & sellers out of y ^t tēple, euen so y ^• doctrine of y ^t gospel, now sprōgē vp aftir y ^e thirty Iubile of y ^• church, hath cast out of christs [Page] churche the byers and sellers of popysh pardons, merits, misses, lippe labors with all other like papistrye and dyrty dregges of the whore of Rome. And here myght I recyte many of hyr deuillysh doctrynes and dampnable heresies, rites ceremonies & supersticiōs, which for short nes I omyt, bothe because these be suffy­cient enough to proue that the Iubyleis of the churche agree iustely with the ye­ris of the lyfe and age of Christ, and also because the godly and trwly lerned in the scripturs by them selues may fynde out many mo thinges like. And to beireif, for this cause omit I them that I wold not ouer much prouoke the obstinat aduersa­ries of Christ karied away of y ^e infernall furies, to make them the more chary to beware, and with their serpentyne subtil­tye the more craftie to hurte and to cast forthe yea to spewe forthe all their veno­me at once. For they stomble & all to bre­ke Esay. xxviij. them selues aienst their stōbling stone Christ to fall therat, neuer to ryse ayen, for that they wetingly and wyllyngly of a sette malyre haue reiected him. Now therfore sith it is so clere and euident, the [Page] Iubileis of the churche so iustely to agre with the yeares of Christes lyfe: who can otherwyse thinke but that the church shal not in this worlde acomplesh the. xxxiiij. Iubilei? that is not to passe farreouer the Mccccccl. yeares after Christes resurrec cion, nonotherwyse then as Christ accom plesshed not his. xxxiiij. yeare of his age, but ere the half of the fowrth year was fi nisshed, he entred into his rest, ascended into heuen. Wherfor it is very lyke that aftir the. xxxiij. Iubeley year of y ^• church which shalbe shortly after the year from Christes birth or resurreccion. Mccccccl. the ende of the worlde shalbe at hande, which lytle space after the sayd nowm­ber, how short it shalbe no man can de­termin, excepte he knewe certainly y ^• ve­ry daye of Christes natiuitie & in what moneth he was borne, whether in marche or no. Fro whēre I think to reken y ^e more The con iectur of the trans latour. iustely. The noumber of. vij. is apointed of God to the perpetuall rest, wherfore men may coniecture that when y ^e noum­ber shall fall, as in the yeare from Chri­stes resurreccion. Mcccccclxxvij. or. M­cccccclvij. [Page] the ende shalbe.

☞ The fowrth coniecture, which is of all the most evident▪ is taken of the citie of rome. For the scripture testifyeth clerely, Two do minaci­ons of Rome, y ^• first was the ij. is. the citie of Rome, twyse to obtayne very greate highe dominacion and powr. And in ether of them bothe to endure a certain noumbir of yeres. Also when the citie of Rome shall be the second tyme extincte & destroyed, then doutles is the ende of the worlde at hande. The first dominacion, The du­ring of the fyrst domina­cion. was of the Romane citie. But the seconde is now of the Romane court. The fyrst dominacion the prophete Daniel descri­beth, which dured to Constantine y ^• great and a lytle more. The seconde descrybeth Paul. ij. thess. ij. and the Apocalipse. xiij. xvij. Whyche now shall not longe dure. Wherfor let vs hear them all thre seue­rally spekyng of bothe these dominions, and first daniel of the former, but so, that (if nede be) some what be spoken by in­terloquncion, bothe to interprete it y ^• clea­rer, and to admonish the the beter, and to stere the vp to hear the attentyuelyer, for such maner of interlocucion by the way of a dialoge conduceth very much bothe [Page] for breuitie and clearnes. After this ma­ner writeth Daniel. I sawe in my vysiō Daniel▪ in the mydnight, and lo, the. iiij. windes of heauen faught in a great sea, and. iiij. great beastis ascēded out of y ^e sea, diuerse and cōtrary among them selues. Osian­der. The Angell in the Apoca. saith vnto Ioan. The waters which y ^u sawest where cap. xvij▪ the whore sitteth, ar peple, folke, and ton­gues. Wherfore the great sea is the fowl canell or stinking donghill of all the pe­ple of the hole worlde, out of whom be sprongen vp the. iiij. Kingdoms in this worlde. Daniel. The fyrst is lyke a lie­ [...]es, and she had the winges of an egle. I behelde tyll hyr wynges were pluckt frō hyr but hyr hert was geuen her. Osian­der. This is the Babylonik Kingdom. Dani. And beholde ther was another beast like a bere stonding aparte hauing iij. peces in hys mouthe betwixt hys tethe to whō they said thus, arise & eatvp much flesh. Osi. This is the Kingdom of the Medis & Persis. Dani. Aftirwardis I lo ked about, & lo, there stode a notherlike a leopard hauīg. iiij. suift winges vpō him, [Page] and .iiij. headis were in the least & pow [...] was geuen him▪ Osi. This is the Grekis Kingdome. Da. aftir this, I behold and loked in my vision in the night, and lo, y ^• fowrth b [...]ast, terryble and meruellous & stronge excedingly. Osi. This is the Ro­mane monarchie. And here (Christen rea­der) consider dilygently, expende and ta­ke hede to the noumber of the name of this best. Da▪ he had tethe of yerne, and that very great eatinge and brekynge all to poulder. Osi. For it was clear & migh­ty in batayll. Da. The leauyngs he trode vnder his fete. Osi. For them whom she ouercome in batayll, she oppressed tyrā ­nosly. Da. But she was vnlyke the other beastis whych I sawe before hir, for she had .x. hornes. Osi. As in y ^• ▪ vin. of Dan▪ he sayth he sawe the myghty he gote ha­uing a meruelous great horne betwixt his eyes, whiche broken of, there sprang vp .iiij. hornes vnder it, signifying that af ter great Alexander. iiij. Kynges at one tyme shuld aryse and raygne eche one in his place, that is to say, Antygonus in Asia, Seleucus in Siria, Ptolomeus in [Page] Egipt and Antipater in grece: Euen so here by these. x. hornes, he signifyeth y ^• .x. prouinces ruled by the counsel of the em­pyre of Rome, euery prouince anoynted to hyr counseller being president ouer the same wyth the molt highe impery. And that the Romane impery was dyuyded into .x. prouinces, gouerned of so many counsellers, nether into mo nor lesse both the story wryters in sondry places, and Strabo in the end of his deserypeyon of the erthe clerely teltifyeth. Da. I conside red the hornes, and so, there sprang vp an other lytle horne out of the middys of The lit­le horne. them, and▪ iij. of his fyrst hornes were smyten of from his face. Osi. Thys sytle horne was. C. Iulius Cesar, which be­ing a counseller, and one of the .x. hornes, whilis he was in france setting althings prosperosly in order seruyng the comon weale, thought that the counsell at home in Rome shuld haue had a consideracion of hys necessary absence and so to haue done nothyng at home wythout his con­sent and counsell, whyche iuste request, hys ennemyes of enuy at home deuyed it hym and wyth stode his desier. Wher­fore [Page] (hys vocacyon in france, where he nowe was lefte) he made bataill ayenst his countrie of Rome and ouercame thē, and became a new horne but yet but alit­le one, whiche anone begane to were great, and grewe into their head hauing mouth and eyes as we shal declare hym hereaftir. And thus by that ciuil batayl among themselues. iij. hornes that is to weet. iij. great rulers in most high go­uernāce with their hoste [...]edforth ageinst Iulium Ce. that is to saye two of the coū sellers and Pompeius were smyten of from y ^• face of the Romane imperie that is were ouercomen, but not so that the. iij. hornes were vtterly roted out, and but vij. onely to remayne, but (as the Angel aftirwarde interpreteth it) they were hū ­bled and laid down. For there abode still x. hornes. Da. and lo, there were eyes lyke the eyes of a man in this horne and a mouth speking stought thinges. Osi. Thys is that I sayd, this lytle horne a­non to be made great and to be changed into an head. For by Iulius Cesar the [Page] monarchie of themprours was brought in, which monarchie was not one of the x. hornes, but one of the. vij. headis of whom we shall hear clerelier out of the apoca. I knowe certain men of great name (from whose iugement I dissent not gladly without a cause) to think this lytle horne to haue ben that wyked Ma­humete and pope, but because this Roma ne Kingdom wherof Da. here speketh, was vtterly destroid before Mahumete was borne and pope to bere grete rule. And because Mahumete ne pope was neuer member of the Romane empire, nether the Apoca. in hir .x. later hornes maketh mencion of Mahumete, I dout not their sentence (by their fauor I speke it) plainly to be refused. Da. I beheld tyll the iudgement seatis were sette and the olde aged sitten downe. Osi. The old aged is God the father and Christ which sitteth yet in iudgement and dampneth those. iiij. great Kingdoms because they wold not obay Christe but repelled his word, slaying hys Apostles & Christ also [Page] wyth many thousand martyrs. Thys hyd partyclare iudgement of GOD in Chryst, the worlde yet seeth not, the fa­ther saying to Chryst. Sitte one my right hand whyles I laye thyue enemyes vn­der thy fote. Da. hys vesture was as whyght as snowe and the heares of hys head lyke woll, hys trone lyke the flame of fyer, the whelys therof smyt forthe beames of fyer, a fyery floude rāne forth with vyolence proceding from hys face, thousand thousands ministred to hym and ten hondred thousand assysted hym, the iudgement was sette and the bokis o­pened. Osi. Not only God the father in Chryste sitteth in thys dayly iudgement but also be present the Angels and the spirytes of the faythtfull slayne for Chri stes sake. And the bokes in whyche were wryten the horryble crymes of these bea­stis or Kyngdomes for the whyche they ar and shalbe dampned and vtterly ro­ted out ar opened and red. Da. I loked for the voyce of hys stought wordys, whyche thys horne spake. Osi. Thys horne is the monarchie of themprours [Page] brought in thus fyrlte by Iulius Cesar whiche Monarchie blasphemed Christe and hys doctryne, did setforth publyke proclamacions ayenst the Chrystyans, slewe the Apostles and tormented most cruelly many thousand martyrs, com­mandynge deuils to be worshyped for God, and compellyng many to do sa­cryfyce to them. And who can nowmber all those great and horrible blasphemies ageinst the very God, whyche that wic­ked Antichrysten Rome then beyng druncken wyth the blode of the sainctes spewed forthe? Da. And I sawe that the beast was slayn and hys body destroid and casten out to be burned, and the powr of the other beastes taken awaye, and the tymes of theyr lyues were sette them vnto tyme and tyme. Osi. GOD the father hath nowe in tyme paste taken awaye the most high impery from all the. iiij. Kyngdomes of the worlde and dyd geue them to his only begotten sone Chryste by his heuenly proclamed de­cree, when he sayd. This is my welbe­loued sone, in whom I am pleased, hym [Page] hear ye. But not so that theraftyr there shuldbe no more Kyngdoms and impe­ries: For GOD wyll haue Kyngdoms and imperies styll to stande, gouerners to rule, comon weales to be serued, la­wes and iudgemēts to be executed, good men to be defended, euyll to be punisshed but so that they do not althynges as they liste, as dyd the. iiij. beastes whiche ne­ther fered ne regarged GOD ne man but he wyll rather they beleue in Christe hym to obaye, wyth hys words to be en­structe & theraftyr to gouerne theyr sub­iectis y ^t them selues myght knowe also, and to shewe them selues to haue a lorde in heuen. But wycked Rome contemneth thys heuenly decree of God the father, and Chryste rysen from dethe, to whom is geuen all powr in heuen and erthe she aknowlegeth not, the Apostles she bele­ueth not, to their myracles she geueth no place, w ^t the constancie of martires she is not moued, ne w ^t any crueltye of tormen­tyng y ^e Godly is she sated, but cōtinueth styll rebell and blasphemose. And ther­fore [Page] GOD the father the most highe iuge and monarke, in hys celestyall iud­gement seat, by hys diffinite sentence geuē, hath he iudged hyr to death. Which sentence once geuen, the maiestie of hir empyre, lyke the soul of the bodie of thys beast departeth, translated to Constanti­nople by Constantyne the great, her bo­die left sone aftir corrupt, contempt po­wered forth vpon hyr, is putrifyed con­sumed as karyon, all nacyons almoste rebelling agenst hir, and spoylyng Ita lye, vntyl at last, Rome by the Gothes wasted, was brent vp with fyer aftyr al­most. MCC. that she was built. And The fyr ste and se cond de­strucciōs of Rome this is lo, her ende. This was the buri­all of the former Romane Kingdom and ende of her fyrst dominacion in the yere of our Lorde. ccccxij. And hyr last destruc cion in the. cccccli. of Christ. In the yeare from the fyrst buylding of that citie. cccc­cccliij. was Chryste borne. Whose for­mer buryall (I saye) by the Gothes &ce. to remember diligētly (Christen reader) I monysh and monysh the yet ageyne. [Page] And the other beastes had then also lost theyr hyghe empyres, and skant retained they any myserable remembrance of their former maiestie whiche because they reiected Christe, they also loste their glorie. For in all the hole worlde was there not a corner in whiche the kingdo­mes and empyres at that tyme when Rome fyll, were not eyther vtterly ouer­throwe or sewerly meruerlously chan­ged. But let vs yet hear Daniel. Da. I loked then aboute in the vysion of the nyght, and beholde, with the cloudis of heuen came there one lyke the sonne of man, and he came to the olde aged, and they presented him vnto his presence, and he gaue him powr and honor and King­dome, that all the peple trybis and ton­gues shuld serue him. His power is euer lastyng whiche shall not be taken from him and hys Kyngdome incorruptible. I Daniel was afrayd in my selfe for these thynges and the visions of my head troubled me. Osi. This is the other par­te of this diuine and heuenly iudgement, wherin Chryste our Lorde (the domina­cion [Page] of the citie of Rome extynct) is sent in to the possessyon of his imperie, and the churche thenseforthe receiued Chri­sten Constan tim was in y ^e year of Christ ccc. or xii cccxix. & regned xxx. emprours as Constantyne the great and such lyke, whiche acknowledged Chryste to be the Kinge of all Kinges and Lord of all Lordes. Goodly descry­beth he Christe callyng him the sone of man whiche with the cloudes ascended from the erthe to heuen, and is comen to the olde aged commanded to sit down on his ryght hand whiles he maketh his enimies his fote stole. Which thing when it was by the gospell tented in vain for a time with and by these mighty men which wold nether beleue ne geue place then were they destroid and at last roted out. Chryste verely is offred vnto God y ^• father as he that only is worthye Apo. v. to rceyue powr and ryches, wysdome strength honor and glorie, euen as it is allowed in the iudgement of the father geuinge him effectually all powr. For the Romane dominacion extincte, the Gospell was propaled and preached forthe thorowt all nacions, and the old [Page] idolatrie was eueriwher quēched. Nether shuld it moue vs that many aftyrwarde rebelled ayen, and the Chrysten relygion forsaken, became Mahumetanes or pa­pystes, or fyll bake into other vngodly­nes. For this minyshed not the maiestie and empire of Christ, but made them mo re clear, when a lytle aftyr he shuld come with great glorye, and these rebellis pu­nishe with euerlastyng torments: Euen as hym selfe testified by this most apt si­militude. A certain noble man went in to a far countrie to receiue his Kingdō & to returne. And his cytezens (which may Luc. xix. not be vnderstandē but of them whiche some tyme before beleued) hated hym, and sent a message after hym, saynge. We wyll not haue thys man to reigne ouer vs &ee. But he returned at last, said, these myne enimies whiche wyll not haue me raigne ouer them brynge them hyther and slaye them before me. The Kyngdom of Chryst therfore which we praye dayly to come vnto vs euen hys worde wherin he raygneth by fayth, loue and innocency of lyuynge, and [Page] in this worlde obteineth, gouerning the beleuers monisshed wyth hys worde and spirit, and ether mendinge the vnbe­leuers monisshed with dyuerse plages, or thrustyng down the incorrigible vnto hell, is an eternall Kyngdom, whiche in the last iugement shalbe purged from al sclaunders and offendicles and so thence forth nether to be taken from hym ne corrupted. But beware lest any mā per­swade y ^e, Daniel in this place to speke of the laste iugement. For here it is iuged secretely and partyclarely of the .iiij. bea­stes. But in the last iugement it shalbe iuged openly and vniuersally, all the iu­gement geuen vnto Chryste bothe of the quik and deade. This iugement is dayly done in heuē, the worlde not seinge it, for the Father gaue Christ after his resur­reccion all power in heauen and earth, euē to iuge the quik and the dead, being the sonne of man, as ye reade Ioā .v. cha. The other & last shalbe done vpō the erth al the world Aungels and deuillis being present. The particlare iugement these .iiij. beastis was done, when Christ went and ascended to hys Father in the [Page] cloudis from the erthe, the laste shalbe done when Christe shall returne in the cloudis wyth grete maiestye into the erthe. And to be short, there is nothing in this place of Daniel that thou maist wreste vnto the last iugment, except thou woldest obscure and depraue the hole vi­sion. Da. I went to one of the bystan­ders asking him the trwthe of all these thinges, whiche interpreted to me these thinges saing. These. iiij. beastis, be iiij. Kyng domes whiche shall ryse out of the erth. Osi. That is to saye, The Babylo­nik, the persik, the greke, and the Roma­ne. Da. And the most hyghe faythfull of God, shall receyue and obtayne their Kingdome for euer and euer. Osi. That is the former Dominacyon of Rome ended, not only Christe, but his faythfull with hym shall reygne, for the godheyt of Christe once declared by the preachyng of the Gospell, and throwing downe of the olde Idolatry, there began Christen magistratis to rule, and thence forth all imperies were holden to obeye hym. Also sith Christ wolde raygne not [Page] by violence and weapē, but by hys word and holy ghoost, hym self then not spe­kynge presentely, but only by hys holye faythfull, it followeth these faythfull to raygne with Christe, because they teache and interprete the word and wyl of god, wherfor he sayd. Who so heare you, hea­reth me, and who so despyse you, despy­seth me. Wherfore whatsoeuer any one of the leaste of the very faythfull shall teache by Christes worde, & hys spirite, shall commaunde or forbydde, euen the same also ought not the hygh monarchi­es of the worlde more to contempne or transgresse, then yf Christ hym selfe pre­sently hath commaunded it them in hys owne persone. And except they obeye it, doutles they shall suffer therfore, other her, or to come. Note also that Daniel cal leth the holy faythfull, the most highe (for so is it in the hebrwe) as thoughe he wold saye, I speke not of euery called ho ly one, but of the very holy heuenly whiche be sanctifyed wyth the word and spyryte of Christe, for there be some ho­ly ons in a certayne externe chosen ho­lynes, because they be shauen, anointed, [Page] and oyled, of whome we haue called ma­nye the moost holye hyghest fathers in Christe, when they be the mooste pro­phane accursed execrable wretches and abominacyon before God. Da. After thys I wold haue lerned diligently con­cernynge the fowerth beaste, which was so muche vulyke all the other, and so hu­gly terryble, whose tethe & klawes were yerney, he eatyng and crasshyng the bo­nes and fleshe, and treadyng the rest vn­der hys fete. And of the .x hornes, whiche he had in his head, and of the tother that sprange vp, before whome the iij. hornes dyd fal, euen of the horne, that had eyes, and a mouth speakyng stought arrogant wordes, and was greater then the other, I beheld it, and lo, thys horne made bat­tayll agaynste the holye faythfull. Osi. I had behelde the beaste, ere he was iud­ged to death, &c. Da. And he preuayled agaynste them, tyll the olde aged came and gaue the iudgemente to the hyghe sayntes, and the tyme came, that these holye ons obteyned the kyngedome. And [Page] he sayd thus. Osi. That is to saye, The Aungell so sayde, whiche was one of the by standers. Da. The fourthe beaste Of the former domina cyon of Rome. shall be the fourth kyngedome vpon the earthe, greater then al the other kyngdo­mes, and shall deuoure the vniuersall earthe, and trede it downe to duste.

Also the tenne hornes shalbe tenne Kyn­ges. Osi. After the Hebrew maner, he calleth them the ten Proconsuls, gouer­nynge the Romane citye, and empy­re with the moost hyghe administracy­on. Da. And another shall aryse af­ter them. Osi. That was the Empe­roure Cesar, and Monark. Ye must by thys horne changed into the heade, vnderstande all the Romane Empe­roures reygnynge in contynuall suc­cessyon, as by euerye one of the tenne hornes, all the proconsuls one after ano­ther succedyng, gouernyng the same pro­uince. Da. And he shal be mightyer then the former. And the .iij. Kynges. Osi. They be the .iij. counsellers, beryng the mo [...]st hyghe imperye, that is, the two [Page] counsayllers of the citie, and Pompeius. Da. He shall brynge them ful law. Osi. Thou seyst here, that he shal not dissolue the dignitie and power of the x. but only the persons shall he ouercome, so y ^t they humbled and brought vnder, shal graūt hym the imperyall, or (as Cicero calleth it) the kyngly dominiō. Da. And he shall speke wordes agaynst the hyghe God, & breke downe the moste hyghe holymen, and shall thynke to maye change tymes and lawes. Osi. That is to oppresse, and extirpe the christen religion. For the He­brew hath times, and the maner of the re ligyon, that is, the name remayninge, brynge the religion of Christ into a dāp­nable supersticiouse abuse. To chāge the tymes, is of eatynge dayes to make fas­tynge, of merye and glad dayes to make sorrouful and sadde dayes, of work day­es to make ydle dayes. And so to alter Goddes determined tymes as to thynke to preuent with swerde and fyre and to dispoint God of hys immutable & infalli ble prouidence, which al yet do Thempe rours, Popes, & Kynges. Da. And they shalbe delyuered into his hand vnto a ty [Page] me, and tymes, and to half a tyme. That is. D. xxxij. yeares after Christes ascen­syon, & M. CC. Xl. yeares after the buyl­dyng of Rome, which is vnto thende of the firste dominacyon of Rome. For Ro­me stode fyest vpon Kynges, senatours, & counsayllers, and Emperours M. cc. xl. yeares, vntyll the yeare of Christ. ccccc li. and sence that time put to the first noū ­ber D. a ty­me. M. are ty­mes. cc. l. half a tyme. In the noūber there be xxij. yea­res more for y ^t Ro me had not her dominiō so sone after her bylding of D. xxxij. yeres, and so haue we frō Christ. c. lxxxiij. but from the beginninge of y ^e fyrst duminacyō we haue. M. ccccccc lxxij. but let vs heare theautor. Osi. This must be vnderstanden after the maner of the holye scripture, not that thys onelye horne hauing eyes and mouth shal dure so long. But the hole dominicacyō of the Romane citye from her, fyrst buyldyng vnto thende of her former dominicacion. As in the boke of the iuges the scripture sayth, Cap. iij. The children of Israel did euyll in the sight of God, & forgote theyr God, seruyng Balim, and ast aroth. And the Lorde bent hys anger agaynst Isra­ell, deliueryng them into the handes of Cusan Rasatham, Kynge of Mesopota­mye, whome they serued viij. yeres, And [Page] they cryed to the Lorde, which stered thē vp a sauioure and delyuered them, and the lond had reste xl. yeres. For this can not be vnderstanden, that after theyr de­lyueraūce they had peace xl. yeres cōtinu ally, but all this together, that they syn­ned, y ^t they forgote God, serued ydols, were delyuered vp to theyr enemies, cry­ed to y ^e Lord, were delyuered, & had pea­ce for a certain time, was done in xl. yea­res. Likewyse here of Rome, it may not be vnderstandē y ^t this one horne dured so long tormēting the holy mē, but this ho­ly tyme altogether, wherin the Romane impery sprang vp, grewe, so that it was distributed into x. consularye empires, y ^t the Monarchie of Thēperours stode in it, y ^t she more then. ccc. yeares most cruel­ly impugned the christen religion, & for y ^• was she dampned of God in the hea­nenly iudgement, & at last extincte. All thys (I saye) hole together was in doing and done by tyme, and tymes, & by halfe a tyme, Trew it is that this forme of spe­che That is by. ccccc. xxxij. ye­ares. signifyeth iij. yeares & an half. Nethe les not, without a cause did the aungell separate thē. For the Hebrues tell theyr [Page] yeares, not by the sunne, but by the mo­ne out of the. xij. monethes, that is, stan­dyng of. ccc. liiij. dayes, which dayes not withstandyng in Februarye, when the leap yeare cometh, in the thyrd or fourthe yeare, they restore to the sonne yeres, Al­so CCC. liiij. day es in the lunar yeare. nether one nor two yeares admit anye leap yere daye, wherfore he will them to be vnderstanden without the leape mo­neth, that is to saye, of m. cc. xxxix. dayes or there aboute, for so many dayes be in thre yeres and an half. But Da. in suche maner misteryes vseth not our common An Aun­gels day is one of our yea­res: & an aungels yere is ccc. lij. of oure yeares. dayes and yeres, but aungels dayes and yeares, as we haue shewed it at large in the iij. coniecture, wherof there is a verye euident profe in the ende of the xij. Chap. of Da. where one aungell asketh of ano­ther, how long shal it be to y ^• end of these meruelous thinges? which swering by y ^e eternall liuig God answereth: saiyng, vn to the time of times & an halfe. For in no wyse is it red in y ^t place time & times & an half as haue our cōmon bokes, but as we interprete it, Thys is therfore the mynd of the Aungel. That frō the third yere of Cyrus vnto the eude of all those meruel­louse [Page] thinges which were reueled to him in that visyon, euen vnto Christe, whiche anone after these meruelles were en­ded, shuld come, there shuld bepast ouer, the tyme of tymes and an halfe, that is, to say, the yeare of yeares, & an half, y ^t is an Aungels yere, and an half, which con teyneth of oure comon yeres. D. xxxn. yf we beholde the mone yeres, for it is the yeare of yeares, which standeth not vpō ccc. liiij. dayes, but of so many of oure co­mon yeres. Certayn it is out of Ptolome fro the beginnyng of the reygne of Ne­bucha [...]nezar, The Aū ­gels ye­re is cal led the yere of yeres cō teynyng ccc. liiij. of our yeres. whome he calleth Nabo­pollassar vnto the byrth of Christe to ha­ue had passed ouer. cccccc. xxv. almoste of oure yeares, out of which, yf thou taketh xix. before the destruccyon of Ierusalem, and the lxx. of the captiuitie, and the iij. fyrst yeres of Cyrus, there shalbe lefte D. xxxij. and a fewe monethes, whiche iustly make the tyme of tymes & the half tyme, that is an Aungels yeare and an halfe. For asmuch then, as it is playne, Daniell in suche misteryes to be expres­sed to vse Aungels dayes and yeares, & contrariwyse, when he meaneth our com [Page] mon yeares and tyme brought into day­es, he vseth to adde the mornyng and eue nyng, that we shuld not take them for the Aungels dayes nor tyme: there is no doubt, but that in thys place also it beho­ueth it to be vnderstanden of the Aun­gels yeares. Namely when out of the for so the saing of Rhomulus it was prono­stickt of Vectio, that noble forsoth sayer, that because the citie of Rome had passed euer prosperouslye her. cxx. yeares, she shulde come to M. cc. yeares. Wherfore it is the mynde of Daniell, that the citie of Rome vnder the monarchye of them­perours shuld persecute the churche of the lyuinge God, and to beare dominati on vntyll she had accomplyshed in. aun­gels yeris, and an halfe of her age, that iij. Aun­gels yea res and dyd. m. cc. xl is to saye, almost. M. cc. xl. of oure yeris, whiche thynge we see it in dede iustlye fulfylled. For about the yeare from the buyldinge of Rome. c. lxx. the imperiall Maiestie was trāslated fro Rome to Cō stantinople. And yf Rome had thence­forth any Emperours west fro Constan tinople, yet dyd theyr originall and auto rite depende of the Constantinople im­perye, [Page] Nowe was Rome, then lyke no li uely body, which shuld gouerne herfelf, but as a deade ka [...]kas, of whose corps & burial other men had the gouernaunce & cure. After these, about y ^• yere of her buyl The fall of y ^e for­mer do­minaciō of Rome dyng m. c. lxiiij. of y ^• Gotes brought the­ther of Alaricho, was she taken spoyled & brent. And afterward about the yere M. cc. viij. of G [...]nserycho was she taken a­gayn & spuyled. And at laste in the yeare of y ^• citie M. cc. xxix. the reste left in the myserable Rome citie were brought into so great calamitie and contempt, y ^t when Augustulus was then slayn, she was no [...]aryon fo. c. xlvi sayth in a [...]. chri. ccccc. li. was Ro me vtter ly de­stroyed in the ci­tye yere. m. ccc. iij more worthy to haue not so muche as a Lorde, that is any welte Emperour. For thus far of was she now to haue any do­minion Emperiall ouer other after her olde maner. And this was now her extre me and laste fatall destyned ende or ra­ther an vtter dissipacion or skateryng a­waye of her memoryall, and as it were the strewynge abroade of the ashes of y ^• citie of Rome, and of her former domina­cyon, as it was prophecyed of Daniell. Da. And the iudgement was sette. [...]si. That is, so longe were they in this con­dempnacyon [Page] in the iudgement of God, as were the holy sayntes oppressed and persecuted of this horne. Da. That theyr power might betakē away. [...]si. That is the power of this fourth beast. Da. And be all to broken and destroid to perish in­to the ende. [...]si. That is, vtterly without any helpe to perysh. Da. But the king dō and power and the amplitude therof vu­der al the heuen shalbe geuen to y ^• peple of the most hyghe holy ons whose rayg­ne is euerlasting, and al [...]ynges shal ser ue and obeye hym. [...]si. These are decla­red afore. Da. Hitherto is the ende of this matter. [...]si. Hitherto is it treated & spo­ken of the former dominion of Rome, which after Daniell dur [...]d iij. Aungels yeres, and an halfe, euen after theyr ow­ne prophecye of the same citie from her fyrste buyldyng. M. cc. which is almost M. CC. all one space.

Nowe let vs treate of the later domi­nacion of Rome out of the Apocal. & of The wy lines of Satan. Pau. And as tofore, wher nede is, wil we vse lyke interlocucion. And here (christen reder) I wold y ^u shuldest first cōsider how [Page] great and earnest was sathans subtyle crafty deceytfull wylynes, who when he perceyued this former dominacyon of Rome now to be vtterlye subuerted, he studyed diligently to paynt forth and to set vp long before whyles the tother yet endured, another dominacyon of the sa­me citie, yea and that farr worse then the former. And he dyd so garnysh it, that be fore thys formar was vtterly fallen and expyred, this later domiyacyon shuld be euen then almost rype in all wickednes by the Popis, and be waxen stronge e­nough in all Idolatry supersticion false religion and al mischief. For when that former dominaciō of the Rom. citie, was yet valeant in strength and armour, this later dominacyon toke encreace & began to arise and crepe vp vnder the cloke and name of the christen religyon, in supersti cion, chosen holynes, and false miracles and falser doctryne. In whiche false pre­text to be descrybed, y ^• autor of the Apoc. xvi. most ernest and diligent, setting be­fore vs thys one thynge, euen as it were the open marke to beholde that the domi nicacion of Rome, after it was once falsē [Page] and vtterlye extinct, she shuld crepe vp out of her graue, and put forth her heade agayne after a newe facyon in another v [...]sare. But Ioan wolde in no place open lye name her the citie of Rome in playne wordes, l [...]st she made more cruell & an­gry for her open name (for the wicked, the more she is monyshed by name & vtte red, the worse is she) shuld haue persecu­ted the churche, the greuous [...]yer and the sharplyer, whiche persecucyon was yet, euen then most bitter and tyrannouse. He therfore here treateth .ij. necessary thyn­ges. Fyrst he diligently describeth, what maner one was this later beast before y ^• former fall of the dominacion of Rome, whome he will not openly name, which also after that fall and vtter destruction, so swyftely wexed so stronge agayn, as though she had ben rysen from death to lyfe, so that all the circumstances diligēt ly expressed, only her name suppressed, he most certainly assewerth is, that he spe­keth of the citie of Rome.

Secondly he paynteth before vs most artificiously all the conditions of the la­ter dominaciō, in what thing she agreeth [Page] with the former, and in what she agreeth not, so that she once diligently knowne, we might auoyd and abhorre her as hell gates and the pitte of euerlasting d [...]mp­nacyon. Nether was he content with that so diligent picture, which he dyd sette be­fore our eyes in his xiij. Cha. but also did adioyne in his. xvij. Ca. the interpretaciō which he receyued of the Aungell lyke Daniels, which we for the more briefnes Apo. xiij shall (as it were) weaue it into our narra cion. Thus sayth Ioan. I sawe the beast apo. xvij arisyng out of the sea. Osi. This beaste That he uenly de cree was of Chri­st esenne myes, e­uen the Empe­rours & Popis not yet to be fully ma de hys fete stole in the xvij. Cha. He sawe agayn, the aun­gell interpretyng hyr sayng. The beaste whom I sawe, was, and is not, that is, she was euen suche one as Daniell deseri bed her, but she is not, for the imperye was then, but anon after taken away of God, as we haue heard it to fore. But be­cause that heauenly decre of God the Fa ther, concernynge Christe, was not yet put in execucyon, therfore the Aungell a litle after speketh it clerelyer sayng. She was and is not, For albeit, she then be­ynge in her flowers, yet was she then cer taynly appoynted and destined to her [Page] destruccyon, thoughe not yet vtterly ex­tirped. Apo. xiij and xvij Ioan. Hauing. vij. heades & x. hor nes. Osi. This the Aungell also interpre­ted thus, saiyng. And here it behoueth a mynde that hath wisdome. The .vij. hea­des are the vij. hilles, vpon which the wo man sitteth, and they be vij. Kinges. And a litle after in the ende of the xvij. Ca. he sayth. The woman whome thou sawest, apo. xvij in y ^• end. is the great citie, which hath the kyngdō and dominion ouer the Kynges of the earth. Wherfore the vij. heades haue a double interpretacyon. First they signify the .vij. hylles, or y ^• vij. hill toppes, which Rome cōteyneth within her walles buyl ded vpon the same, as Virgel descrybeth her situacyon, Rome to compasse aboute within her walles seuen litle hilles, ly­ke seuen Towres, which is one of the no­table tokens and sh [...]wes of the Citie of Rome, that she is builded vpon these vij. hilles, which thyng was neuer herd said of any citie els in all the worlde. Secōdly the vij. heades signify vij. Kinges. But be cause the x. hornes also signifye x. Kyn­ges, which thynge semeth to make confu siō, therfor y ^e apt differēce is to be sought [Page] consentyng with the veritie, which vere­lye is sone espyed in the interpretation of the aungell, which sayth of the. vij. Kyn­ges, v. to haue had ben fallen, and one is, Ap. xvij. and the last not yet to haue had ben co­men. Wherof it is playn, these vij. Kyn­ges to haue had reygned one after ano­ther. But of the x. Kynges thus he sayth. These shall receyue power in one hower Ap. xvij. that is, they all shall reygne at one tyme together one in hys place, as dyd the. x. proconsuls in the former dominacion of Rome. But here must ye knowe and dili­gently note it, that in suche maner miste­ries, A Kynge signifyeth not one singu­lar persone, but all the Kynges one succe dynge another in a continual lyue, so lōg as that maner of raigne be not changed as it is in Daniell. xi. Where the Kynge of the southe signifye all the Kynges of Egypte fr [...] Ptolomeo Lag [...] vnto Cleo­potram. And the Kynge of the Northe signifyeth all the Kynges of Syrie fro Seleuco Nicanore vnto Antiochum Epi­phanem. Wherfor euen her also muste they be so taken. Manifest it is, the citie of Rome in her former dominacyon to [Page] haue had vij. heades, that is vn. kyndes of kynges or rulers of the most hyghe impery successiuely. For first of all kyn ges dyd constitute hir first gouernance and dominacion. Then the counsellers the seconde. After that, the tenmen wyth the most highe autorite were created to write and make hir lawes which consti­tuted the thirde regiment. Then the Dic tatores the fourth. The Thremen after the death of Iuly did constitute the fift. And the Cesares the monarkes made the sixt. And at last, the externe or strāge emperours which were not of the house of the Cesars, constituted the seuenth head. Wherfore the angell speketh right ly and clerely when he sayeth: Fyue are fallen, that is to weit: The Kinges, the counsulers, the Tenmen, the Dictatores and y ^e Thremen were past & gone. The in y ^• y [...]a [...] of Christ lxxxvi. sixt was the monarchie of the Cesars, which then stode, whē Iohn wrote these wordes (for he wrote them vnder Cesar Domiciane) But the seuenth was not then comen. For then as yet was there no strāge or externe Emperour created▪ And the x. hornes, which be the x. kinges [Page] then yet for to reigne al at once in diuer­se The x. Kings in y ^• former domina­ciō & the x. Kings in the la­ter, places and not one aftir an other in a­ny one place were in the former domina cion the proconsulers. But in this later dominacion, they be the. x. Kingdoms, whiche reuerently yet confesse or haue confessed Rome to be the head▪ of all the churches, as Spaine, Portugale, France, Englond, Scotlond, Den­mark, Poole, Boheme, Hungarye, and euen he that yet huldeth now the King­dom in name only, or empir of Rome, & is not, that is to weit. Charlis. v. Let him hold fast the title. How be it there were other in other places, as when one fyll, [...]po. xiij. ther stert vp another, albeit they were euer about. x. in nowmber. Ioan. And vpō his hornes he had. x. diademes. Osi. For they were deckt & garnesshed with y ^• most highe imperie in their popish prela tes as cardinals & Bisshops exalted a­boue their Kinges. Ioan. And vpon his owne head the name of blasphemie Osi. That is blasphemouse names & titles. For when they had herd anon out of the prophetis and Sibils of the kingdom y ^t [Page] shuld be eternall to spring vp out of the erth which was Christ with his Kingdō and gospel, then applied they the same saluacion to their Romish churche and Bisshop of Rome and to his antichristen Kingdom. Wherof Iupiter in virgill sayth. I haue geuen the an empire with­out ende, and ayen, vnto it will I nether limites ne tyme put therto. A great blas­phemye veryly is it, arrogantly to vsur­pe the honor prayse and maiestie of the euerlasting imperie and Kingdom of Christ, dewe only to the sone of God, & to applie and adioine them to the vngod ly wiked tyranye of the Romishe citie & prophane courte of Rome, I might here speke other thigs of this blasphemy, but because it is certain non of these. vij. hea­dis to be sene in the later dominacion, but onely the aight head, whiche is the pope, as we shall hereaftir se, the blas­phemies of the later beast ought not to be applied to the former. Ioan. And the beast whom I sawe was lyke a leo­parde, and his fete like the fete of a bear and his mouthe like a lyons mouth, and [Page] the dragon gaue him his own strengthe & his owne seat, and also great power. Osi. For as the dragō is called of Christ the prince of this worlde, and reigneth all spiritually and inuisibly vnder heuē with his other wyked sprites the rulers of those derkenesses, euen so geueth he his strēgth, seate and powr to this beast the pope, that she by the moeions and instigacions of this dragon, aftir hys maner and will might reigne also bode­ly and visibly. Io. And I sawe one of hir headis as it were smitē to death, but that deadly wound was healed. Osi. This head was first y ^e Monarchie of y ^• Cesars, which sprāg vp in C. Iulio Ce­sare, which whē he was smyten w ^t. xxiii woundis, and slayne of the coniured agenst him, the monarchie semed vtterly to be subuerted and perished, which yet was not so, but it waxed strong ayen, & was stablisshed more mightely in Octa uio Augusto. Io. And all the erth with Apocal xiii. admiracion beheld the beast, and wor­shiped the dragon which gaue hir that power. And they fil downe before the beast, sayinge: Who is lyke this beast? [Page] and who may fight with hir? Osi. As I sayd tofore, the fame was spred ouer al the world, euen the same whiche had hir originall out of the prophetis and [...]ibil­lis, that there shuld arise in y ^e erth about that tyme an euerlasting kingdō, whi­che semed to the vngodly to be fulfilled in this Romane monarchie of Octauian Auguste, namely sith it was vnder him so happely stablysshed and all the hole world so prosperously set in peace, wher fore they thought it to be so done by the singulare coūsel of the most highe God. But the very God wold reserue this glo rye and maieltie of theternal imperie for his own sone and not to geue it to the trā sitorie imperie of Rom. Wherfor it was so, that when the vngodly in their hertis and thoughtis worshiped y ^t God which now stablesshed the Romane monarchie as they iuged, they worshipped not the very God, as they semed to thē selues. For the very God, in nowise had stablis shed the Romane imperie, which a lytle aftir he thought to destroie, as y ^t prophe tis foresaid it, and the finall fall therof proued it. But they worshiped satan and [Page] their own vain imaginacion which stre­wed and spred this monstrose opinion of the eternal empire of rome into y ^t world, which satan therfore had promoued the monarchie of the same and geuen hir his powr that by one Kyngdom he mought the soner and cruellier tame his tiran­nouse wodnes vpon the christians. For if the hyghest empyre had standen vpon the. xii. counsellers & Senators they had neuer haue had ben caried and concited of the deuill with so great wodnes and furye ayenst the christianes as eft sone were Nero, Domiciane and such lyke en censed agenst them. They also fil downe before the beast. For they had wendt y ^t the empyre had ben nowe constituted of God by oracles, and they made goddis of the Cesars, ether by the most fowle flatering of them, or by extreme blind­nes. For when they sayde. Oh, who is lyke the beast? It is asmich to say as this beast is God. For this can not be said but of God only. Who is like y ^t oh lord? And when they saye who may fight w ^t hir? they make hir inuict and constituted of God. And because he maketh men [Page] ciō of batail, he she wed, him self to haue had painted hitherto the citie of Rome by the markis of the former domina­cion. For the later flouresshed not by armour in batail but by colourable col­lusions and fayned pretences of holines So that Ioan hitherto said nothing els then that this citie builded vpon. vn. hil­lis, hauing. vii. kyndes of the most highe magistrates, euen the impery ouer the x. prouinces, as it were destributed into Kingdoms, which also by a blasphemou se presumpcion thought hir self perpetu­ally and euermore to raigne. In whiche most mightye monarchie of Cesars a­yenst the wyll of S. P. Q. K. it sprang vp with great admiracion of all men. And when she was deadly wounded in Iulio Cesare, yet, was she so restored and stablisshed in Octauio Augusto, that the thyng apered to the vnwyse and on­godly to be done of God. For that sa­me citie (I say) aftir she was vtterly Nowe [...] hir later domina­cion. set of from all her former dominacion and vtterly extynct, yet aftyr that deadly wounde and head destruccyon [Page] she did putvp hir head ayen. And whilis Satan made hir mighty, and armied hir into the persecucion and destruccion of bodys & soulis, but cheifly into the perse­cucion of the christians, aftir a new ma­ner came she agene to hir most highe do­minacion. Which thing he might ha­ue said in fewer and clearer wordis, if he wold haue openly and plainly named y ^• Rome citie. But that was not then expe­dient for the churche as we tolde you be­fore. Nowe therfore there remayneth, y ^• we hear what maner one this beast is, & howe she did put vp hir head agen which thing y ^e aungel y ^e interpretor of y ^e vision [...]po. xvij clerely teacheth vs saing. The beast whō thou sawest, was & is not, & shal ascende out of the depe derke pitte, and shall go in to his own destruccion, that is into e­uerlasting dampnacion, whose cause we shall hear afterward, and the inhabitors of the erth shall meruell therat, whose names be not writen in the boke of life: from the creation of the world, seing the beast that was and is not, that is, when she did put vp hir head ayen. For as the gentyles some tym merueled at the mo­narchie of the Cesars, so now meruell [Page] the supersticiouse and y ^e vngodly at this last dominaciō of Rome. But the aungel proceded saing. Here it behoueth vnder­standing w ^t wisedom. The .vij heads▪ ar the vij. hillis vpō which y ^e womā sitteth, and they be .vij Kings .v. be fallen, one is, and the tother is not yet comen. But when he shall come, he must tarie but a short tyme. And the beau (that is the for­mer empire) that was and is not, he is y ^• aight (that is to saye, the former impery or dominacion shall come and fall to the pope to be in like powr or grater thē we­re the Cesars.) But he is the aight, and The be­ast her is taken for the em­pires of Rom. of the seuenth, and gothe in to his owne destruccio that is, that beast which was and is not, euen the former empir of the Cesars, when she shall ryse vp and put vp hir head ayen in the popes domina­cion and last empire, she shall haue no­ne of those .vij. head is, that is to saye no­ther Kinges, consuls, Senatores ne Ce­sares but in name onely &ce. For they must all fyrst fall, and the former beast, that is the seculare impery be vtterly de stroyd, before the later dominacion of y ^• pope (Satan exciting it) be sprong vp. [Page] For in this last dominacion of Rome, shal there reigne nether kings ne counsel lers nor tenmen, nor dictatores, nor the thremē nor Cesars &c. as before, but the aight beast, euen the popes alone, which netheles is said to be one of the .vij. be­cause he is in many things as in seclare prophane buysines and batail & bloud­sheding like the strange former Cesars and emprours, whych wer the last head among the .vij. But in this onely doth he cheifly differre, that where they reigned in an open ciuilitie and impugned the worde of God onely with weapen, this beast, the popes, vnder the cloke and co­lour of religion reigneth, and vnder the pretext of the trwe interpretacion therof he corrupteth falsifyeth and peruerteth the doctryne of Christ, the sacraments he defyleth with his owne addicions, & abuses and the articles of our faythe he blotteth out of the byble with his owne false added articles. The doctrynes of y ^e deuil he stablissheth with menis auctori­tie, with swerde and pollicies of real­mes. And lyke the forlorne childe and so­ne of perdicion, with al his followers & confedered (oh terrible worde) he gothe [Page] on into euerlasting death & dampnaciō. But let vs hear Ioan ayen speking yet farther of his vision. Ioan. And there Apoca. xiij. was geuen him a mouth speaking great things & proude blasphemies. Osi. The­se wordis perteine no ferther to the mar kis of the former dominacion now past, but they paint vs forthe what maner a beast was then to come, aftir that Rome shuld yet agene put vp hir head into the popes dominaciō, & aryse, as it were out of the waters. For he saith not, she hath a mouth, but she hath a mouth geuen hir so speking. To speake great things, aftir the hebrewe phrase, is to speke arrogant ly & proudly bosting him self & to glorie Psalm: [...] xij. in his own mischeif, which verely do the popes, whilis they boste thē selues to be the vicares of Christ & to occupye gods stede, yea & to be a God him self whiles they compare them selues to the sonne & the emprours to the mone, wyth sich ly­ke infinite arrogāt exaltaciōs aboue god and man. Also he speketh blasphemies, whilis he dāpneth christ is gospel for he­re sie & also y ^e right vse of y ^e sacramentes, settig forth his own dāpnable doctrin & su persticiōs to be obserued & beleued aboue & aiē [...]t gods eternal word & instituciōs. [Page] And in this behalf, this beast abideth stil like hir self. For euen in the former do­minacion also there was a mouthe spe­king great and stought things. Ioan. And ther was powr geuē to hir to make bataill, or to do mischeif monethes. xlij. And here is the principall thing & head xlij. mo­neths cc­lx yeris. of this mater for the whiche we fr [...]ate all these places of Daniell and Ioan. For euen in this thinge is this later do­minacion. of the pope lyke the former, whiche dured a tyme tymes and half a tyme. For as there, it was necessarie to vnderstand aungelike tymes euen so he­re must we vnderstand Angels mone­thes of which. xlij. make. Mcclx. Angels dayes, that is, somany of our yearis, or that is all one. iij. Angels yeris and an Apoc. xij Mcclx. half, euen as it is cleare out of the. xij. ca. of the apoca. where the same time first of. Mcclx. dayes is determined, and af­tirward is called the tyme, tymes, and an half. But note it well, that Ioan be­holdeth not, ne hath respecte to the ieves yere but to the Romane monethe which containeth. xxx. dayes. For wher as. xxxi The Ro mane mo neth is xxx dai­es. The very mo neth hath but xxix. dayes & almost ā halfday. dayes be ascribed to some monethes in y ^t Romane Calendarie, it is done for the. v [Page] dayes to serue the leape yeris. Or els y ^t trew & iust moneth hath only but xxix. & almost an half daye. But let vs set these things a parte for a litle while. I can not but meruell excedinly & vehemently also howe it shuld happen, that men, I wyll not call them. lerned, but rude & vnlette­red, which shuld haue but only a crum of humane reason and witte, shuld be brought to beleue, that al these things, which Ioan here, & Paul to y ^e Thessa. ha ue prophecied of this beast might be fy­nisshed & done w ^t in the space of. iij. of our yeris and an half, sithe they be siche ma­ner things, that if they were now finis­shed & writē worde by worde, they shuld require an vnweary and a meruellouse swifte reader whiche might fully read them with in. iij. yeris. For impossyble is it that sich gestes & stories done shuld be deuulged & spred abrode ouer the hole christendom with a liuely voice in y ^e spa­ce of iij. yeres so far of is it y ^t they shuld be done all in. iij. or. iiij. yeres, yea al­though antichrist shuld haue a swif win­ged hoste. But the ingratitude of man­kinde hath deserued to be smiten w ^t this so great blindnes, because he hath not a­knowledged [Page] with thankes the benefyts of Christ. But of this mater we shall spe ke more heraftir whē we come to Paul. Now to our purpose. Ioan. And he ope­ned his mouth to speke forth blasphe­mies agēst God, to blaspheme his name and his tabernacle and them that dwell in heuen. Osi. There may noman blas­pheme the worde but the same blasphe­meth also the name of God. Many ma­ner wyse blasphemeth the pope y ^t word of God whilis he peruerteth y ^e wordis of the souper of y ^e Lord wrestmg thē violēt ly to his flesshly eatīg & blody drinking, damning as heresy the trew vse of both the breade & cuppe instituted of Christe. He blasphemeth Gods worde also whi­lis he forbiddeth priestis to marie, & for­biddeth certain meatis stablisshing ther­by the doctrine of diuilis. When Paul clerely saith. A Bisshop to be y ^e housbōd of one wife, and all things to be clene to the pure. The pope therfor blasphemeth the name of God. Also what it is to blas pheme the tabernacle of God & them y ^• dwell in heuen, it is plainly perceiued in the. ix. of Daniel where it is thus prophe cied of Antioche. Out of one of thē there went forth a litle horne & it was magni­fyed [Page] and extolled vp vnto the strengthe, tower, or tabernacle of heuē, & he threwe downe some of the starres treding them vnder his feete. For trwth it is, y ^t he vn­derstode therby the temple of God and the holy men in the peple of Israel. And euen so do y ^e pope blaspheme the church of God and his holy faithfull, callinge them heretiques, saing y ^t there is no ho­pe of saluacion except we holde vpō the pope & be vnder the court of Rome, obe dient to his deuilish lawes and doctrine, when it is here clerely said, non to haue the trewe hope of saluacion that abide in the popes doctrine. But ther be infinit lyke things which aske a nother treatise. Ioan. And it was geuen him to make ba taill with the holy faithfull and to ouer­come them. Osi. So great is the might & powr of the lyes, of the iuglings, of the false coulored doctrine, of the false mira­cles, and of the ipocrisye of the popedom that euen the very holy faithful mē shal seme to be ouercomen and taken for here tiques when y ^• pope so dampneth & decla reth thē. Which thing except we percei­ue & remember well, we can not abhorre and fear his blasphemies. But because [Page] he blasphemeth non euill men, as the self thing witnesseth it, but onely the good and the very trwe churche, euen Gods holy faithfull, we ought to ioye & reioy­se when we be thus blasphemed of him. For it happeneth to vs in to the testinio­nie that we haue nothing to do with y ^• abominable beast, but that we estiewe, apoc. xiij lothe and abhorre him. Ioan. And there was geuen him powr ouer al the trybes and peple & tongues & folke. Osi. This doth thaungel interprete where he saith. The. x. hornes whiche thou sawest ar. x. Kings, which yet haue not receiued their apo. xvij Kingdom, but with the beast shall they in one hower receiue powr as Kings. These haue one counsel and shall dely­uer vp their powr to the beast, that is to saye, As the first dominacion had. x. pro­uinees ruled by the counsellers, euen s [...] shall the second dominacion (when the beast is now waxen strong) haue hir. x. Kings, as I said to fore. For that as be­fore was but one Romane imperie, is now diuided into. x. kingdōs of which euery one hath hir king, which in Ioans time had not yet receiued kingdō. For y ^• beast hirself had not then put vp hir head [Page] and hornes but they were to receyue it at howr one w ^t the beaste, y ^t was at the same tyme, not so, y ^t one shuld raygne after a­nother, as dyd the vn▪ heades in the secla re imperye, but altogether and in the self tyme, as we see it in very dede. For these Kynges with one counsayll or sentence delyuer vp theyr power to the Pope, y ^t is with a styl secrete cōsent in theyr cour­se and lot, they humbly acknoweledge y ^• Pope to be theyr head, reuerencyng him for the vicar of Christ, submittynge them selues, and theyrs vnto hym, And thus dyd the beaste get hym power ouer eue­ry kynred trybe people tongue and folke as farre as was the Christendom wyde. Apo. xiij For when he wold gouerne and rule vn­der the holy pretence of religiō, so might not hys power extende to the infidels. Ian. And all that inhabite the earth shall worshyp the beast, whose names be not written in the boke of y ^• liuing lōbe, whi­che was slayne fro the beginnyng of the world. Osi. God which is ryche in mer­cye, for hys excedynge loue, wherewith he loued vs, when we were dead in syn­nes, he reuiued vs that truely beleued in [Page] Christ, and hath made vs to sitte in hea­uenly seatis, as wryteth Paul to the E­phes [...]. Wherfore when the Pope blasphe meth vs, he blasphemeth the dwellers in heauen. But they whose names be not written in the boke of lyfe, they dwell in the earthe, for they sauoure but earthely thynges, and therfor worshyp they the beaste. Ioan. Who so haue eares let him Apo. xiij heare, who so leadeth into captiuitie, him selfe goeth into captiuitie, he that slayeth with swerde, shall be with swerd slayne. And here is the pacience and the fayth of the sayntes. Osi. That is, yf any man by these thynges spoken, can not yet know, who is this beaste, let hym at least wyse yet vnderstand this one thing, yfhe now haue any eares to heare. That where the holy faythfull, for the faythes sake and trewe doctryne of Christe be led into bō ­dage of mennis tradiciōs, or smytē with swerde, or by any other meanis slayne, whiche is suffered without shame, & that openlye (for in thys oure tyme manye haue ben slayne, and manye presoned and persecuted onelye, because with a good conscience, they marye theyr law­full [Page] wyues, preache and professe the tru­the, wyll worshyppe non Idols, wyl re­ceyue bothe the partes of the souper and not the halfe) there is the kyngedome of thys beaste, whome God so hateth and detesteth that he wyll vtterlye remesure her with the same measure, wherewith Ap. xviij she measureth hys sayntes. For at her ty me, he shall saye. Render to her as she hath geuen to vs, geue her twyse double accordyng to her owne dedes. For the cup that she hathe mengled for you, fyll it to her twyse full, and howe muche she hath magnifyed herself, and sitten in her delicate ease and pleasures, so muche re­warde hir with tormentes and waylin­ges. Apo. iij. Ioan. And I saw another beast ary syng and ascendynge from out of y ^• erth. Osi. And this beast signifyeth as do al y ^• other, a certayne kyngdome, not of one man, but of a certayne greate confuse fil­thy swarme by a certayn conspirisie and sediciouse consent swarming together on heap, as though thei were one body. And who be this beast, Ioan himself interpre­teth Apo. xix▪ it cha. xix. callig hir y ^• false prophetis [Page] which make wondres and miracles befo re the beast. Thys beast therfor signify­eth The sata mke swarme of the false pre achers. the false flocke, the stinkyng donghil, the coniured couent and kyngdome of al the false teachers & preachers, euē y ^• Po­pes bocherly spiritualty in the hole pope dom. And thys beast is sayd to ascende & clyme out of the earth, to put difference fro the bealtis ascendynge out of the sea. For the water is a more thick and gros­ser element then the ayer, and therfore it bryngeth forth greater and grosser bea­stes. And as the water signifye muche pe ple in heapes makyng rumore and tumul te and folke of grosser witte, in who en­creaceth the loue of voluptuousnes & lust to raygne, euen so, to ryse fro the earthe, signifyeth men of more subtyle witte, for that not in the water, but in the ayer they be created, and therin to lyue. This beaste therfore is risen vp out of men ler ned wittye and ingeniouse, but yet vn­godlye. Of whome at Rome and her to there is the most mighty and mischeuou­se multitude. Ioan. And she had two hor nes lyke a lāb, but sue spake as did y ^e dra Apo. xiij gon, Dst, The lambe is Christe, whiche [Page] fyghteth not with any corporal swerde, but with hys spirituall hornes, that is, w ^t hys word, which is diuided into two hornes, that is, into the word of the law, which is the worde of wrathe, and death, and into the worde of the gospell, which Luke. i. is the horne of helth grace and lyfe. And euen so hathe thys beast or college of fal se Prophetes a double doctrine, of which one they call the doctryne of faythe, & the tother, the doctryne of good maners or morall, but they bothe be contamyned & corrupt with errours. But yet thus retei­ne they the color and gliteryng shew, as though they were Christen doctores tea­chyng Gods worde. For in this pretence theyr hornes be lyke the lombes hornes. But in very dede, they speke as dothe the dragon. The dragon or Satan, Christ to witnes, which stode not in the trouth, but is a lyer and the father therof, And whē he speketh lyes, he speketh them oute of hys owne head. And euen so, these false teachers stonde not in the pure doctryne of Christe, but speke forth, and teache vs theyr owne dreames and cogitacions out of theyr owne sence. Ioan. And he dothe [Page] all the power of the former beaste in the Apo. xiij. presence of hym. Osi. This beast blown together of the false teachers serueth, mi­nistreth, vpholdeth and defendeth the Po pis kyngdome, whyles hymself sittinge careles in all ease, exempt from all char­ges taketh hys delicate lustes and pleasu res, and (as say the Italyaus) triūpheth Apo. xiij. at home in all securitie. Ioan. And he ma­keth the earth and the dwellers therin to fall downe and worshyp the fyrst chiefe or heade beast. Osi. That is the beast, y ^• Lordely ruleth in the seat of Rome. For hys Byshops, Cardinals, Priestes, and preachers teache hym to haue that prima r [...]e and to be supreme head of the church, iure diuino, by Godis lawe, and they lye to. Ioan. Whose deadly wound was he­aled. The hea lyng of his dead ly woūd Osi. As the heythen had once in ad­miracion the inuicte stabilitie of the Ro­mane monarchye, as I sayd tofore, euen so had they it again whē Rome had now fallen from Emperours, and had by the popedom erected herselfe gloryouslye & proudly vp agayne. The supersticiouse & the vngodlye, whose names be not writ­ten in the boke of lyfe, began to won̄der [Page] and to haue in lyke admiracyon the in­uicte maiestie of the Popedom and prima cie of the proude Romyshe Bishop, thin­kyng God therfor to haue had stablished the Romane monarchie to this ende, y ^• at last it shuld growe vp into the Popedō. Ioan. And he doeth great wonders and miracles, so that he will make fyer fall downe from heauen into the earth in the syght of all men. Osi. S. Paul in hys ij. to the Thessalo. Chap. ij. calleth these wō ders signes & miracles, prodigiouse lyes, for partlye be they mere mistyeing gling castis, as whē they bore thorow ymages of tree, and water powrd in, they can ma ke them to wepe teares falling downe, & with oyle make them to sweat, or when they strewe kreuesses in churche pardes crepyng in the nyght with waxe can­dels eudes lyght and stoked vpon theyr bokes, as dyd the priestes of late in dor­drake to make the people beleue that the soules of the dead, cruciated inpurgatory so returned to seke theyr helpe by theyr wont misses and suffragies on all soules daye. And partely are they mere lyes, as when they tell vs suche weping images to speake, to moue themselues, & y ^• soulis [Page] returned fro purgatory, to tell vs y ^t they shall be delyuered by this many misses, which done, and the priestes paid, y ^t kre­uesses crepe there no more. But those & in finite mo lyinge signes & wounders ste red vp so great deuocyon in the fonde ig­norant people, that the fyer of the holye ghooste semed by these beastes false do­ctryne, and falser miracles written and preached with so great confidence to be slyden downe into the hertes of this ma­ner of supersticyouse folke. Ioan. And he seduceth the dwellers in the earthe wyth hys prodigyous tokens and wounders, whiche were geuen hym to make in the presence of the beaste, spekyng to, & bid­dynge the dwellers in the earth, that thei make the image of y ^e beast, which hath y ^e deadly wounde of the swerde, and yet li ueth. Osi. Of thys manifolde mencyon Thyn­ges com mon to both the beastes in theyr domina [...]yuns. and repeticion of hys deadly wounde, whiche netheles was yet healed, it plain­ly apereth, it to be also founde a lyke in bothe the dominacyons of bothe the bea­stes, as is the mouth spekyng so stought thynges, and the tenne hornes, and also Gog and Magog comon to them both. [Page] For they of whome Ezech. prophechied perteyn to the former dominacion, but they that be mencioned of Ioan, shalbe found at laste in thys later, as yet many other thynges moo. So that as the Mo­narchie of the Cesares in C. Iulio Cesar, semed vtterly to be extinct by the swerd, and yet was reuyued, euen so the monar­chye of the Pope was wounded to death by the swerde of the spiryte, which is the word of God, when Christe sayd to all hys Apostles and to theyr successours, yea and euen to Peter, that the Kynges of the heythen shal play the Lordes ouer theyr folke, but so do not you. And the A­fricane counsell decreed out of the same worde of God, that no Byshop, no not the Byshop of Rome, ought to be called the Prince of priestes, or chief head or ru ler, or ouermost of the churche, or the hy­ghest priest ouer all, or the vniuersall Bi­shop, so farre of is it that anye shulde be called, Papa, that is father of al fathers, Pope in Englysh distin. xcix. Ca. prim. This beast had neuer so deadly an heade wounde as the swerd of Goddes worde hath nowe geuen hym in these laste xxx. [Page] yeares, sence Erasmus. Mar. Luth. Zwi glius, Decolāpadius, Melanchtō, Pelli cane. Bullinger, Bibliander, Bucer, Cal uine with many gretilerned & godly mē mo haue begū to write, teach, & preache, and yet, the more strōgly & fiercely al his sworne sourgens and Popish Pharisees and Antichristen writers & teachers, as Cocleus, Einser, Alphons, Eccius, Pig­gi [...]s, Latomus, Bartholomeus Latom. Iohn fisher Bish. of Rochester, Syr Tho mas More chaunceller of Englād, Stā ­dysh, Steuen gardiner Bissop of Wyn­chester, doctor Smith peryn, with al their sworne swarme of fryers Cardinals & Byshops hauyng now the Emperoure Charles v. one theyr side hyered of y ^e Po pe & hys spiritualtie, confedered with An tichrist to fyght ayenst the lorde & his an­ointed, as he haue of late beginne vnhap­pelye M. D. xlvi. agaynst the Germanes, hauynge (I saye) on theyr syde manye yet blynde Kynges and Prynces of the earthe, the more fiercelye (I saye) these hys synfull supersticiouse sourgens secular and spi­rytual with pene fyer and swerd contēd and enforce to heale theyr beastes deadly [Page] wounde geuen hym with Gods worde, the more vncurably do hys wounde fei­ster, the deper it rotteth, the wyder it wexeth into hys present destruction and deathe, as ye see thys daye the almighty mercyfull power of God resisting theyr cursed cure, fyghtyng agaynst the enuy­ouse enforcemētes of the Emperour, Po pe, and all Kynges contendynge to heal the Popis wounde with theyr fryerlye Pharisaicall Phisicions. But who wold haue beleued this dominacyon fyrste of Christ, and then of the councell so openly and iustly condempned and so wounded to haue had any more lyued? And yet af­ter these deadly woundes she lyued and yet lyued to thys daye, but neuer so syke as now. And therfor hys false doctors, fo lysh sourgens, & falser Prophetes then fayned hym to haue holden hys domina cyon and primacie by the lawe and word of God, And perswaded men, as they yet with Wynchester labour the coun­trye, that the ymage of thys beaste be made and set vp. For as the ymage of God is the worde of God, so is the [Page] ymage of the popedom the worde doctri­ne and tradicions of the Pope. For he is set vp in the temple of God, boastyng & ostentyng hym self for God. And in this he countre fayteth God, that he be getteth his worde, doctryne, rytes, cere. and tra­diciōs out of hys owne brayne lyke vnto hys awne Antichristen ymage. Syth thē the doctryne of the Popedom, whiche these false defenders defende & these false teachers do teache, be double, that is to saye, of faythe and maners, necessarelye are theyr two bokes cōpyled, that is, the boke of theyr sentences, and theyr boke of decrees and decretals, which be euen the very selfe ymage of the popedom ly­uely expressyng al theyr facyon & forme, theyr faythe, theyr lyfe, religyon & mer­ciles maners. And thus it clerely apereth thys later beast to be blowen together of the lyinge doctors of the scolasticall diui­nitie turning and studiyng the master of theyr sentences, the holy Byble so negle­cted, that many of them neuer redde it, ne haue had it in their scoles: and of the doc­tors of theyr common lawe, treatynge y ^• filthy deuely she decrees of Popes, amōg [Page] the which doctors, the inquirers of their hereticall prauitie (as they cal them) wor thely obteyne the hyghest place, beynge in the stede of the heade to execute hys mercyles and tyrannouse offyce in bur­nynge. All these men enstructe & armed with hys demlly she double doctryne of the popedom as it were with theyr two mighty hornes, fyght for, and defende y ^• Popis kyngdom. Ioan. And it was ge­uen to hym, that he shulde geue spirite, & breath to the ymage of the beast, that the beastes ymage might speake. Osi. That is, thys latter beaste blown together of these falfeteachers, hath in effect brought it to passe, that the ymage or doctryne of the Pope, shuld take breathe boldenes & spyrite to lyue and speke. For by theyr counsels conspirisons, conuocacions and perswasyons haue they es [...]ectuonsly ma de it, that the popysh doctryne muste be taught in all scoles and vniuersities, and raygne, and rule in all preachynges and pulpyts sitte in all spirituall courtes, ses­syons, yea and euen in the consciences of men. For in very dede, this is it for hym to lyue and to speake, when with publike [Page] autoritie not onlye is he thus preached & taught, but also accordynge to thesame, hys lyfe must be estemed, he iudged in i [...] gementes and stand in his kyngdō. And here it apereth wherfore he calleth thys beaste the dough [...]ll of false teachers, that is to saye, to be a certayn filthye viciouse kyngdom. For it is playnly no little king dom that they obteyne in the church, euē so ferme faste and terryble that euē that same former Emperyall beaste, Empe­roure as he was and is, must be compel­led to feare them and to fall downe and kysse the clouen stinkyng fete of theyr heade the Pope. And therfor no man is created Doctor of diuinitie or of the canō lawe in the Popedom, excepte before a­monge all other thinges, he be also swor ne plainly into these wordes. I shalbe an helper to defeude to maintaine & to retey ne the Popedom of Rome agaynste all men. Whiche thynge whyles they do it, they verelye stablysh and confirme all thys latter beastes power before hir at her be [...] and pleasure, as is tofore sayd. [Page] Ioan. And he shall brynge it diligentlye into effecte, that whosoeuer wyl not wor [...]hyppe and fall downe before the image of this beast, he shalbe slayne. Osi. Who so beleue not this popysh doctryne to be egall, yea and aboue GODS worde, and so worshyppe hym, and it, he is iud­ged and condempned for an hereiyque of the inquisitors, and yf he recant not, he is burned. For the Pope dare saye, all hys constitucyons so hyghly to be taken as thoughe they shulde procede by the voyce of God, out of S. Peters mouthe. Charac­ter is the Popis bronde vnable tobeskra ped of but by disgrea­syng. Distin. xix. Cha. Sic. Ioan. And he ma­keth all bothe small and greate, rych and poore, free and bonde to take hys charac­tere, in theyr ryght haudes or in theyr fo­reheadis, and no man to may bye or sell, except he hathe his character or the name of the beaste, or the noumber of his na­me. And here is wysedom. He that hathe vnderstandynge, let hym reken and ac­compte the noumber of thys beast. For it is the tale and noumber of a man and hys noumber is. CCCCCC. lxvi. Osi­ander. To receyne the Character or [Page] marke of the beast, is a metaphoryk and translated speche, as much to saye, as a man outwardly in al facions & factis so to be haue and conforme and fashion hī selfe, that all may see and vnderstande, hym to perteyne to the beastes familie or churche, and to be subiecte and swor­ne to the beaste, as haue all these seruing men in courtes theyr Lordes or masters badge or coginzane in or vpon their co­tes. The character or marke of the beast, and her noumber, and her name be taken all for one thynge. And he commaundeth them that vnderstand the wordes hither to spoken to reken & accompt the noūber of the name of the beaste, so that yf they can fynd iustly in her name the noumber of CCCCCC. lxvi. then be they sewer to haue the very knowledge of this beast, and to see her in her own colours sitting lyke the whore of Babylon, euen in her seat at Rome. Ioan. Sheweth hymselfe to haue respecte to the Hebrewe and gre­ke tongue, as in other places in the name of the aungell called Abaddon, and in y ^• name of the place called Ha [...]ageddon. For Sepher in Hebrew signifieth a boke [Page] or scripture or a nowmber, wherfore he alludeth so diuersly in the worde, now calling it the name of the beast, now the nowmber of the beast, now the marke of the beast, and character of the beast, that is the scripture of y ^e beast. I admonished the (o Reader) before in Daniel to consi­der diligently the nowmber of the He­brew name of the fourth beast. For all y ^• letters of the Hebrewes designe certaine noumbers, as do our Latyn letters M. D. V. C. X. L. signifye our noumbers as M. a thousand C. an hundred &c. But with the Hebrewes euery wryting or scri pture, & euery worde is a certein noum­ber. Now sith this beast by hir comon name in the Hebrew tongue is called the Rhomane kingdom, & this name kingdō be comon to hir with other beastes, it is manifest the very true and proper name of this beast to be Rhomanum imperiū, where thou seest how diligent this autor was in his speche to hyde hir name vn­der these letters lest mē should then haue espied him to haue spokē of Rome or she had ben reueled by hir owne factis, no where openly naming Rome because he [Page] wold not at first exasperat hir, tyll nowe hi [...] wickednes be full rype, and she hath vttered herself declaring her last deadly wounde in resistyng Gods holye Gos­pell. He calleth thys name of the beaste y ^e noumber of a man, ether because it is a known name, whiche all men comonlye vse, or els because of a man (whiche was Rh [...]mulus) the citie had her fyrst name. The greke letters, wherewith this noū ­ber▪ cccccc. lxvi. is written, make also this worde, Latinos, which name also Virgil geueth to Rhome. But the Hebrewe let­ters make, Rhomah, whiche signisyeth a proude beast. The marke therfor of this name, they are sayde to receyue in theyr fore headis, which in all theyr vtwarde supersticiouse proude habits and gesture and anon in theyr firste fro [...]te (as they say) they shewe it, euen in their first pro­wd solempne countenaunce and hyghe lookis and crownes declare they them­selues to be sworne subiectes & seruaun­tes to the Romyshe beast, as do these hoo ded fryers and monkes, and shorne pol­led priestes and Bysshops. And in theyr ryght handes they bere his mark, which [Page] by some certayn Popysh workes of hys commaundementes, rytes, and instituci­ons testifie thēselues to be obedient to y ^e Pope, as in certayne dayes not to eate fleshe, to confesse in lent into the priestes eares, to misse and mōble vp a payer of matens not vnderstanden &c. For vnto suche an vtward kynd & shew of obedi ence are they conitrayned anon fro their yougthe. For they that haue not suche a mark, nor wil not receyue it, they be takē as haithē miscreants. But yf they contēp ne it, then be thei accursed and excluded out of all mens company. And yf the co­mon people wold not estiewe thē, then y ^• Pope interdicteth theyr churches, no di­uine seruice there to be sayd ne song. And so in dede myght thei nether bye nor sell which had not this Romith beastis bron de. Also that we maye somwhat vnder­stand of the last end & destruccyō of this abominable beast, I shal yet bryng forth a fewe mo wordis of the Aungell inter­preting this vision, saying. The x. horns which y ^u sawest are. x. Kynges, these shal fyght with the lōb, that is, they shal per­secute y ^• true doctrine, partly of ignorāce, [Page] seducte of the Pope, and partely for hys money and ayed to do hym pleasures, whome they couet greatly to please (as now of late doeth Themperour.) But y ^e lombe shal ouercome them. For he is the Lorde of Lordes, and Kyng of Kynges. And the called and chosen faythful, whi­che be with hym, shal fight agaynst this beast. For Christ shall not fyghte, but w ^t we now muste fyght w ^t the wea­pen of Gods worde. suche instrumentes, not with swerd figh tyng, but with the worde of God, and w ^t iuste argumentes taken out of the scrip­tures, especyally nowe in thys our tyme wherin after the .xxx. iubiley of the chur­che Christe beginneth agene to preache, as we sayd in the third cōiecture, And y ^e Kynges by litle and litle shalbe ouerco­men, as euen nowe be many rulers and Kynges ouercomen, and with the moost laude and prayse haue they geuen place to the trouth nowe knowne. So that the­re is very good hope the reste also to ge­ue place to the most euydent truth, yf we now strōgly fyght with prayers. Whe­rof at last it shall folow, that they shall hate thys whore euen the court of Rome for her abominacyons and seduccyons & Apo xvij [Page] shall make her desolate and naked & eate vp her fleshe, that is hyr ryches and rob­be her of all her possessions and substaū ­ce, and burne vp her citie as it was once before burned. For God (sayth the Aun­gell) hathe geuen it into their hartes so to do his pleasure, and to do the same wyll, that they shulde geue theyr kingedome to the beast tyll the wordes of god be en­ded. And here (oh reader) I wolde thou shuldest diligently waye the wordes of the Aungell, as they be most worthye to be noted. For where before he spake of y ^e tenne Kynges, then to haue one counsell and sentence, to delyuer theyr strength & apo. xvij power to the beaste, he sayth it not to be the counsell and sentence of God, but he­re where he sayth them to robbe y ^e whore and to burne hir vp with fyer, he saieth, that this thing god did geue it into their hertis to do the mynde & sentence of him. For in that thei in tymes past extolled y ^e pope, thei did it by their owne proper pri uate counsell & pleasure. But where thei a litle after, shall spoile and burne hir, y ^t shal thei do by the counsell and pleasure of God. Bothe of them yet notwithstan­ding, [Page] that is to weit, that thei in time past extolled hir, and that thei shal robbe hir, flowde forth of the hidde iudgemente of God. For the first, that is, that they exal ted reuerenced & magnifyed the Pope, & gaue hym their autoritie strēgth & powr, they did it verely by the priuate counsell of God, which yet tended to this ende, y ^t the wordes of God shulde be fulfylled, which the holy ghost spake before by the mouth of Paule the Apostle, euen thus. Because many shall not receyue the loue of the truthe, that thereby they myght be saued, therfor shall God send them men, teachyng errours and workyng false mi racles, that they beleue lyes and be con­dempned all that beleue not the truthe, but consent to wickednes. Also last of all that they shall robbe and spoyle the Po­pe and burn vp the citie. This shall they not do tyl God put it into theyr hertis by hys word and so illumine them, that they shall vnderstand and knowe themselues rightly and in dewe order to do it, and to fulfill the wyll of God in vtterly subuer tyng & ouerthrowyng y ^e popedō. Wher­for it is lyke, that the Turke shall not be the instrument to destroye the popedom, [Page] as some men thinke. For one deuill shall But yet did god­destroye y ^e ▪ wiked iewes w ^t other wi ked kīgs and em­prours not cast out an other, nether any that is not of the noūber of those x Kinges shal go agaynst the Pope, to destroy hym w ^t batayl. For it is geuen hym to ouercome the holy faythfull vntyll the wordes of God be fulfyllled, whiche be nowe thys day almost fulfilled all. But yet is there this one thynge, whiche principally per­teyneth to the shame, ignominie, misery, and confusyon of the abominable pope­dō. That euen by the same Emprours & Kynges, by whom it was stablyshed & in whome he moste trusted, & whome he most dignifyed & magnifyed w ^t hys fla­teryng & lying titles to be hys defēders of hys faythe, his first begotten sonnes, most catholyke Kynges, moost Christen Kynges, &c. By y ^t same Kinges shal he at last be plukt vp by the rotis, & that w ^t the most hygh ioy of al y ^e holy faithful sain­tes, which for y ^e same fal shall brekeforth into this laude & prayse before God, and Apo. xix. synge. Helthe, honor, glory, & power be to the Lorde our God, for true and iuste are his iudgementes done vpon the greate whore, whiche hathe corrupted and polluted the earth w ^t her vnshāfaced [Page] whoredome, and hathe auenged the blo­de of hys seruaūtes delyuered out of her handes. These wordes out of Ioan be suf Cap. ij. fycient. Now let vs also hear Paul writ­ting to the Thessalonians thus. Paul. we praye you (brethern, for y ^e coming of our Lord Iesu Christ, and of our gathering together into hym, that ye be not sone ca­ryed awaye of your owne opinion, ney­ther be ye troubled by spirit nor by pistle as it wēt forth by vs, as though y ^• day of Christe were now at hand, let noman de ceyue you in any wyse. For the Lorde shall not come to the laste iudgement, ex­cept there come before a departynge or a fallyng awaye. Osi. By whiche the pro­uynces shall fall awaye from the Roma ne imperye, and Romane kyngedom be fallen and destroyed. Paul. And the man of sinne and sonne of perdiciō be vttered & reueled. Osi. That is y ^e pope of Rome. Paul. Whiche is ayenst God & is extol­led & lifted vp aboue y ^e most highe God, & aboue whatsoeuer is worshipped as god, so that euē in the tēple of God. Osi. That is in the chirche (as it is said) the temple of God is holy whiche temple be [Page] you. Paul. he wil sitte. Osian. That is he will occupie y ^e chayer seat, pulpit, place or office to teache and rule al men. Paul. Ostēting himself and bosting him as he were God. Osi. For his doctors of his canon lawe affirme the pope not to be a pure man, but to be taken vp of God in­to the fulnes of powr. Paul. Remember ye not that when I was yet with you, I tolde ye these things? Osi. Euē the same that the Apoca. hath writen. Paul. And now what yet letteth ye to know it that he be not reueled tyl in his tyme? For euē now he worketh his secrete mistie mis­chief. Osian. For the bishops of Rhome with their carnal clerkis, bishops & car­dinals (for very fewe of thē were good) euē then fro the tyme of the Apostles as­pired priuely vnto the dominacion and lordeship whereby by succession of tyme thei haue oppressed the hole vniuersall chirche. Reade the Epistle of Zepherin and of Pontiane and suche lyke annexed to the bokis of the recognicions of Cle­ment, and thou shalt see howe erely and spedily by what craft and subtiltye thei begane to worke this their secrete mistie [Page] mysteryes. But yet then dyrst they not openly brekeforth, and in very dede cha­leng to themselues the dominacyō so lōg as the monarchy of the Cesars floryshed at Rome. Paul Onely so y ^t he that nowe holdeth, let hym holde fast, ty [...] he be takē out of the seat. Osi. The monarchie of y ^e Cesars and Emperours which rule ouer all (sayth he) let them stande & holde fast theyr kyngdome tyll the Empyre be trās lated fro Rome to Constantinople, or vn tyll the former dominacyon of the citye of Rome be deuolued into the Popis pri macie, which was, when they fayned thē selues to haue had suche a ryche gyfte of Peters patrimonie by the legacie of Cō ­stantyne Themperour. Paule. And then Which was a­bout the year of rom. M. ccvij. in the year of Christ cccclvi. shall that wicked Antichrist be disclosed. Osi. And euen then dyd the aight heade, the Pope, steke forthe hys hornes & put out hys head as it is to fore sayde in the Apocal. Paul. Whome the Lorde shall slay with the breath of hys mouth. Osi. That is with the power of hys worde, which after the xxx. iubilei of the church, openly ayen and with a mightye spirite shalbe preached▪ Paul. And he shall de­stroye hym with the brightnes of hys co [Page] myng. Osi. For as the gray morning co­meth before the sonne, euen so shal y ^• spri­rer preachyng of the pure Gospell come before the commyng of oure Lorde Iesu Christ the sunne of ryghtuousnes. For Math. xxiiij. Christ sayd. This Gospell of my kynge­dom (that Christ is our Kynge and not y ^t Pope) shalbe preached in the vniuersall worlde into a testimonye for al nacyons, and then shal the ende come. For this cle­are preachynge of the Gospell shall de­stroye the dominacyon of the Pope, as xxx. year agoo. it hathe now begune. So be it. For hys dominacyon shal not dure vnto Christes comyng, or els how shuld it be fulfilled, apo. xvij that at Ioan, sayth of the x. Kynges that they shall leaue this beast desolate & na­ked, her flesh eaten vp, and at last burne here vp, God so putting it into theyr her tis? Pau. Whose coming is w ^t the worke of Satan in great power with lying sig­nes and fayned myracles & with a migh ty deceyt with wyked stronge illusyons to thē y ^t be forlorne. Osi. This is y ^e most holy sanctitie, of our most holy prelate y ^• Pope, Pau. And for y ^t thei haue not recei ued the loue of the trouth therby to be sa­ued, therfor shal god send thē y ^e operaciō [Page] of errour to beleue lyes▪ that thei al be dampned y ^t haue not beleued the trowth but haue consented to wykednes. These things hath Paul prophecied of the last dominacion and fall of Rome and of hir popedom. Wherfore ye peple of Christ gete ye out spedily farre from hir, lest ye be partakers of hir wykednes & be pla­ged also with the beast and hir vnclene clergye, as the Aungel cryeth in the Apo­ca. vnto vs. And as for the Emprour of Ca▪ xviij Rome, albeit he be yet so called, yet posse deth he not Rome, nether dare he once loke thitherwarde without the popis con sent, which is so come to passe by the extreme wykednes and execrable subtil­tie of the serpent and his vicar the pope of Rome, for this same cause that if any man shuld be so bolde as to once opē his mouth to laye any of these oracles & pro­phecies ayenst the execrable wikednes & intolerable Romish dominaciō ouer our faith, he shuld apere to obiecte it ayenst the Emprours maiestie, because he be­reth [...]til the name of the dominacion of Rome, and is no lorde therof. But the thing it self declareth clerely the euident [Page] difference enoughe betwixt the Empe­rours dominacyon ouer Rome, and the Popis, albeit they be bothe sayd to be, y ^e one of Rome Emperour, & the tother of Rome the Pope. So that there is no pe­rell in callyng the Emperour or the Po­ne of Rome Antichrist, as theyr confede­ration and coniuracyon thys day ay [...]st the Lorde and hys worde declare them. But let vs at last returne to our coniectu re. Syth it is geuen to the beast, nowe a­gayn puttynge vp her heade to exercyse and execute her tyrannye. xlij. Romane moneths which stād vpon xxx. dayes, y ^t is to weit, dayes m. cc. lx. and the thynge compelleth vs to take them for Aungels In Da­niel M. cc. x [...]. dayes, that is, for m. cc. lx. of oure comon yeares, it can not be doubted but that, these yeares once fulfylled, the ende of the worlde is anone at hande. But the doubt is, where we shall begynne these yeares. Some there be that thynke them to begynne anone from the tyme of the Emperoure Constantyne the great, be­cause of the gyfte that is fayned to haue had ben geuen to Pope Syluester, and because of the translation of the seat Em­peryall [Page] to Constantinople, for that Paul Constan tines gift was Ro­me & half the em­pire. saith. He that holdeth must be takē away and then that man of sinne shalbe reue­led (& truely, fro that tyme wherin they fayne themselues to haue had that ryche gift of Constantyne, and they endoted & enryched w ^t the best part of the Empyre, euen with hole Rome, Italy and halfe y ^e Empyre (as they saye) there was a voice herde in the ayer. That now is the moste The wor ds of the transla­tor & his coniectu­re. pestilent poysone entred into the churche of Rhome) From that day (I say) yf the noumber be tolde (which I wold gladly it shulde there beginne) then is the Po­pedom at an ende within these xxxin. yea res, or after Daniel within lxiij. yeres. For then shuld the ende of the world fall about y ^e year of our Lord. m. ccccc. lxxvij. or after Daniel, m. cccccc. vij. as it apea­red dani. xij. to me by turnynge y ^e dayes into we­ [...]is whē I gathered my exposicion vpon Daniel, as ye may there read my cōiectu re. But by what fraud els soeuer, y ^e beast then gote her emperyal possessions & prī cely riches, it semeth not true to me (saith Osiander, y ^t Constantyne gaue it them) for euē y ^e style only of y ^e instrumēt made [Page] of the same deuocyon gift or legacie, pro­ueth it playnlye to be a stark lye, & of all lyes, y ^t euer were made vnder heuen, the most shameles, as the moost well lerned man Laurence Valla, and Nicholaus de Cusa, & also Ierome Gatlatanus, and other most graue writers, now & sence, haue mooste clerely shewed & proued it. Wherfor albeit Constantine made a be­ginnyng to take awaye the former domi nacyon, whiche letted y ^e mouing of y ^e ry­ches to y ^e popedom, yet because the beast had not then as yet, ben vtterly destroid, she myght not be sayd properly to putte forth hir hornes, or to lyfte vp her heade ayen, except she had first haue ben vtter ly subuerted & ouerwhelmed as it were w ^t waters. And therfor we shal iustly be­gīne to reken fro y ^e yere, in y ^• which after the translatiō of the empire, Rome was takē, spoyled, & brēt of y ^e Gothes brought thyther of theyr Capitain Alaricho. For this is y ^e very iust end of y ^e former domi­nacion after Daniel. And this was done in the yeare of the citie about m. c. lxiiij. & in y ^t yere of Christ about CCCC. xij. put nowe together the yeares of Christ. cccc. xij. and the yeres of the Pope. M. cc. lx. [Page] and thou hast the iuste noumber of M. CCCCCC. lxxij. And whē we shal wri­te and tell so many yeres from Christe, then is the fatale ende of the Pope & of When we shall write m. cccccc. & lxxij. then loke for an ende of all. the citye of Rome present at hande (yf it rather be not so) as I haue coniectured it aboute. xxx. yeares to come. And thys cō ­iecture maketh me, that I thynke the yea res fro the celestiall Adam vnto the fye­rve floude in the seconde coniecture, and the iubile yeares of the churche in the thirde coniecture must not be rekened fro the byrthe of our Lorde but from hys re surreccyon. For before that tyme he bore the forme of a seruaunte, as hymself said to not haue ben comen to be serued but to serue. From hys resurrection therfore he beganne iustely to possede hys kyng­dom, when he sayd. All power is geuen me in heauen and earthe. For so shall it come to passe, that the ende of bothe the Pope and of Rome, and of the worlde shall fall into the yeare of our Lorde, aboute m. cccccc. lxxxviij. Whiles the fall of the Pope is lyke to come in the yeare of Christ, about m. cccccc. lxxij. So that y ^e Popedom slayn & extinct, yet shal there [Page] remaine, as it were▪ xvi. yeris in whiche men (the aduersary of Christe and anti­christ Mcccccs lxxxviij. Mccccc. xlviij. taken away, and the gospell frely preched) they shal begin ayen to lyue in a wealy securytye and in almaner vo­luptuose lustis as they wer wont to do. And when they shall say, peace and secu C. xl. ritie, then shal the soden destructiō come Mcccccc lxxij. ouer them as the panges of a woman trauelling of childe, and they shall not auoid it. Wherfore let vs awake & wat­ch M. cccc [...] xliij. and be sober lest this daye take vs as a thefe in the night. These things haue I C. xxvn. xvi. setforth of the coniectures of the laste tymes and ende of the worlde. For ther be yet many other things which I will C. xi. not open nor communicate to the multi­tude. But as for these things what credit there ought to be geuen to them, I leaue it to be estemed of the spirituall & church of Christe which can iudge all thinges, them selues iudged of noman. Couiec­turs ar they, I knowleg and confe [...]e it, and no oracles. Not withstandinge yet, vnlesse I be begyled, they shal not litely begile ne deceiue any Christen reader.

Come down Lord Iesu vnto iuge­ment [Page] and deliuer they persecuted lytell sely flocke. So be it.

Another cōiectur added of y ^e translater.

When the citie of Rome was olde M xxxvij. abouth y ^e yere of Christ. cclxxxvij. when Dioclesane themprour begane to raigne: there were suche dissencious sec­tis heresies & false doctrine in the church of Rome, as of the Manicheis Pelagiās Arrius &c. as had not ben herd of before the popis then being Felix, or rather In felix. Euticianus an heretique, Caius, not good. By whose contencious scismes and sectis and their so gredy ambicion (for euen then begane they to begge and steall from the emprours parte of theyr most pleasant cities and richest posses­sions and londes, and to set themprours and Kings togither by the earis.) Dio­clesiane was so greuosly offended, that he abhorred them and their false religiō and persecuted it, whiche they called the christen religion (as they do now the po­pis faith) when it was nothing lyke Christe and his gospell, but rather Sa­thans Kingdom and worse then the hai­then. Here begane the popis of Rome to­declare [Page] them selues very antichristis, & the beast was reueled euē vnto the very haithen emprours. For here begane the Romane empire by the wikednes and fraudelent studie of the popis to be diui­ded, as the Frenche men from the Ale­mans. There was then suche tumult in­quietnes & bataill stered vp by the spiri­tualtie, that Dioclesiane was compelled to geue ouer the empyre and liued sole a priuate persone many yeris, and at last for sorowe slewe him self, such good go­stely fathers had themprours of the po­pis in those dayes. Here, I saye, was the reuelacion of that beast begune wherof Paul. ij. Thessa. ij. speketh. And the em­prowrs that then helde the empire bysuc cession had waruing long before to hold fast the empire. For euen then was the first dominacion in falling and in tran­slating to Constantinople. Fro this tyme therfore (I coniecture) If ye reken Danielis dayes whiche be. Mccxc. ye­ris, Dan. xij and the aungels dayes, so cometh the ende in y ^•. Mcccccxcvij. yere of Christ But and if ye rekē Ioans, xlij. monethes from thence in the aungels dais, we shal [Page] come but to the yere of our Lorde aftir Ioās rekening. Mccccclxxvij. or. Mccc­cclxvij, euen xxx yeres lesse. For Daniel appereth to haue xxx yeres mo thē Ioh. which may chaunce for that we reken in Daniell from Christes birthe & in Ioan, from his resurreccion. Wherfor me thinketh it shuld be at an ende within these. xxxvij. yeres or w ^t in. lxxvij. if we rekē fro the resurreccion of Christ, to whom be glory honor praise and thankes for euer. So be it.