to ma ke them sure They be iiij coÌ„iectures for wherfor shuld I not tell them forthe by tale as treasure which nowe orderlye I will reherse 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 â—aichedrim in y â— 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 â—r endure Two thousande voyde of anye lawe written 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 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 seueÌ„th 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 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 coÌ„pelled by theyrowne sainges of Elias to graunt y â— Messias shuld raygne the hole laste two thousande yeares yet contrary to their sayng they still loke for him as thoughe he were not comeÌ„ 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 beÌ„ yet past in this last age of late but rather then whaÌ„ theyr bo ke of thalmude was publyshed euen about 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 theÌ„ that neyther for theyr sinnes must he haue had ben borne y e later nor yet for theyr good liuig haue comen the soner of y â— which thing more peradueÌ„ture shalbe spokeÌ„ 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 waÌ„te 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 froÌ„ 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 AbrahaÌ„ of which it is writteÌ„ 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 froÌ„ y e creacion nedes muste the rest of y e oracle also be true y â— froÌ„christ to the ende of the worlde there shalbe no more peraduenture much lesse then two thousande eueÌ„ 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 creacyoÌ„ he was crucifyed rose agayn froÌ„ 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 ouer-fight For they reken dariuÌ„ Hystaspis or Longimane vnder whom the teÌ„ple 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 wheÌ„ 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 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 AdaÌ„ Seth Enos Lainam Mahalaleel Iared dyed and the seuenth generacâ—on euen Henâ—ch hym selfe whom Iudas in hys Epistle meÌ„tioned 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 alyâ—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 AdaÌ„ lyued to Mathusalem Mathusalem to Sem Sem to Iacob Iacob to AmraÌ„ Amram to AhiaÌ„ the Silonite Ahias to Elias which was traÌ„slated These coÌ„iectures also vsed IoaÌ„ picus Meradulane in y e yere of our Lord â—â— ccc lxxxvi did put vp this one amoÌ„g hys disputable 90. conclusions sayng yf there be any humane coniecture of y â— 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
pene fyer and swerd conteÌ„d and enforce to heale theyr beastes deadly 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 enforcemeÌ„tes 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 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 tradicioÌ„s out of hys owne brayne lyke vnto hys awne Antichristen ymage Syth theÌ„ 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 coÌ„pyled 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 â— filthy deuely she decrees of Popes amoÌ„g 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 â— 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 esâ—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 autoritie not onlye is he thus preached taught but also accordynge to thesame hys lyfe must be estemed he iudged in iâ— gementes and stand in his kyngdoÌ„ And here it apereth wherfore he calleth thys beaste the doughâ—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 eueÌ„ so ferme faste and terryble that eueÌ„ 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 canoÌ„ 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 beâ— and pleasure as is tofore sayd Ioan. And he shall brynge it diligentlye into effecte that whosoeuer wyl not wor â—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 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 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 hiÌ„ 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 nouÌ„ber 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 â— name of the place called Haâ—ageddon For Sepher in Hebrew signifieth a boke 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
distributed into x. consularye empires y t the Monarchie of TheÌ„perours stode in it y t she more then ccc yeares most cruelly impugned the christen religion for y â— 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 signifyeth iij. yeares an half Nethe les not without a cause did the aungell separate theÌ„ For the Hebrues tell theyr 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 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 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 â— 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 coÌ„mon bokes but as we interprete it Thys is therfore the mynd of the Aungel That froÌ„ the third yere of Cyrus vnto the eude of all those meruellouse 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 vpoÌ„ ccc liiij dayes but of so many of oure comon yeres Certayn it is out of Ptolome fro the beginnyng of the reygne of Nebuchaâ—nezar 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 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 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 traÌ„slated fro Rome to CoÌ„ stantinople And yf Rome had thenceforth any Emperours west fro Constan tinople yet dyd theyr originall and auto rite depende of the Constantinople imperye Nowe was Rome then lyke no li uely body which shuld gouerne herfelf but as a deade kaâ—kas of whose corps burial other men had the gouernaunce cure After these about y â— yere of her buyl dyng m. c. lxiiij of y â— Gotes brought thether of Alaricho was she taken spoyled brent And afterward about the yere M. cc. viij of Gâ—nserycho was she taken agayn spuyled And at laste in the yeare of y â— 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 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 â— citie of Rome and of her former dominacyon as it was prophecyed of Daniell Da. And the iudgement was sette â—si That is so longe were they in this condempnacyon in the iudgement of God as were the holy sayntes oppressed and persecuted of this horne Da. That theyr power might betakeÌ„ away â—si That is the power of this fourth beast Da. And be all to broken and destroid to perish into the ende â—si That is vtterly without any helpe to perysh Da. But the king doÌ„ and power and the amplitude therof vuder al the heuen shalbe geuen to y â— peple of the most hyghe holy ons whose raygne is euerlasting and al â—ynges shal ser ue and obeye hym â—si These are declared afore Da. Hitherto is the ende of this matter â—si Hitherto is it treated spoken of the former dominion of Rome which after Daniell durâ—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 all one space Nowe let vs treate of the later dominacion of Rome out of the Apocal. of Pau. And as tofore wher nede is wil we vse lyke interlocucion And here christen reder I wold y u shuldest first coÌ„sider how 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 dominacioÌ„ of the Rom. citie was yet valeant in strength and armour this later dominacyon toke encreace began