to one person / syth that he wolde that by Antichriste shuld be meanyde the hole bodye multitude of wycked meÌ„ with all their succession and imperye / for so in the .viij. of Daniel a ramme dothe signifye the kingdome of the Perses And a gote the kingdome of the Grecyans Danie vliâ— Where as he sayth that after the ende of foure kingdomes of the which the laste is the Romayns myghtye with swerde this kynge shall ryse / trewly he towchyth that / that the tyrannye of the Pope dyd begynne after that the imperye of Rome began to decay / yee of the imperye of Rome and in the imperye it is spronge And is succedyd and entered / in the stede of the imperye / as it is evydent by all storyes / and this present experience doth also shew it vs / which also the apostle dyd prophecye before in the .ij. of the seconde pistle to the Tessalonyans saynge Onlye he the holdeth let hym now hold / â— Thess ii vntyll it be taken out of the way / and then shall that wicked be vtteryd and so furthe The name of the imperye of Rome was translated to the Germanes / when there was no imperye in dede / how be it this was an occasion by the which this man was elevatyd and set vp / above all kynges / above all Busshopes / above heven and erthe / and so fixed and stablisshed his kingdome in his awne hande and power / cownterfeytinge to stablisshe this lye a bull both false and folyssh which was of the gyfte of Constantine Danie viij ¶ TraÌ„gression sinne invadinge comiÌ„ge apoÌ„ theÌ„ / that is as Sanct HieroÌ„ did say whan iniquyte and vice do encrease / teachinge manyfestly that this is a kingdome of the furye of God / and shall come for sinne And Paule for the same cawse bringith in the sonne of perdition / saynge they have not receavid the love of the trueth / that they might have bene saved ij Tess ij â–ª And therfore God shall send them stronge delusion that they shuld beleve lyes that all they myght be damned / which beleved not the trueth but had pleasure in vnrightuousnes / the apostle doth sufficiently expresse in these wordes what maner of vnrightewesnes and offenses they are / which also Daniel in the hebrew doth call peschaim / Danie viij which worde hath a notable propertye and secret signification / for it doth signifye a brekinge of the commaundement / an offence / a departinge from the fayth / iiij Reg. i as in the .j. of the fourth boke of kinges Moab departyde from the fayth of Israel Esaie j. And in the firste of Esai I have norysshid vp and exalted children / aÌ„d they have transgressed my commaundemeÌ„t As it is also sayd in the .v. Psalme Psalm v Accordinge to te multitude of their vngodlinesse / and vices / expell them x. Thess ii And Paule in this place copiously doth saye that they will not receave the love of trueth / and also that they will not beleve the trueth / but beleve lyes Ever meaninge the vice of doctrines / opinions / and departinge from the fayth / as he sayd before / except there come a departinge first j. Timoth. iiij And in the .iiij. to Timothe The sprete speakyth evidently that in the latter tymys / some shall departe from the fayth / aÌ„d shall gyve hede to spretes of erroure / and agayne They shall turne theyr hearinge from the trueth The trueth in this place according vnto his maner he callyth the fayth of Christ which also the hebrew tounge doth / devydinge the trueth by contradiction from hypocrisy faynid godlinesse / Ephesi iiij as in the .iiij. to the Ephesians let vs folow the trueth in love and in all thinges growe in him And agayne / put on that newe man which after a goodly wyse is shapen in rightewesnes and true holynes reprovinge the rightewesnes of vanyte and glorious superstition Danie viij Daniel therfore callyth not this word / â—eschaim any maner of sinne / but those speciall and cheff sinnes which resist / aÌ„d fight agaynst the trueth and the fayth / as are the trustyng in workes / superstitiousnes / ceremonyse by the which we decay from the fayth / which alone doth truely iustifye make holye / as Paule doth warne before in the .iij. to the Collossians / aÌ„d in many other places Collos iij And sheweth that he prophesid before that they wold not receave the love of trueth that is to say / ii Thess ij they shall not love the trueth which is in fayth / Exodi xvi Psalm cvâ— but with the children of Israel they shall abhorre this light meate / and desire flessh / that is to say / they shall be tournyd to fables and mennes traditions / wherfore we can applye these iniquites to none of the olde heretikes But only to the traditions of men / and wicked iustice for the old heretikes did contend and strive in the holye scripture But this kynge shall regne with out scripture by his awne traditions aÌ„d doctrines Danie viij Therfore Daniel sayth that transgressions shall darken them And all the hole scripture / chefly Paule / dothe impute this blindnes / darknes / and ignorancye / to nothinge els but to the vngodly and wicked presumption of oure awne iustice and workes as it is evident to them which reade his epistles Ioannis iii. And Christ for that cawse callyth him silf the light that the faith in him doth lighten and iustifie all men Therfore it is clere that this kinge shuld be after christ was preachid / ageynst the lighteniÌ„g of the gospell / with the which the world was illuminate / for where he sayth that they shuld be darkened with trangressions / it is to be supposid that thy shuld be lightenyd before which can not be verefied in those kingdomes that were before Christ / for they coulde not be darkenid which were never lightened / nother coulde they decline from the ryght way which never walked in it But it is meanid of those tymes in the which Christe also did prophesye abomination to come / in a maner with the same wordes / saynge Dâ—â— / xxiiii Be cawse iniquite shall have the vpper hand / the love of many shall abate ij Cess ij And Paul sayth / that all they might be damned which beleved not the trueth / But had pleasure in vnrightewesnes ij Petre ii And Petre in the .ij. of his seconde pistle doth reprove with most sharpe wordes the returninge agayn of them to theyr vomet which shall be in the last tymes And almost he only of all the other dothe expounde and declare what iniquite it is that shall abounde / and with which men shall be darkenyd sayng There were false prophetes amonge the people even as there shal be false teachers amonge you which prevely shall bringe in
of whom to seake / find and obtaine / helpe and conforte to do and leve vndone But no maÌ„ is compelled Every maÌ„ is suffered other to perissh or to be saved but accordinhe to their awne will Therfore in the .xviij. Math. xviij of Mathew he theacheth that a rebellion shuld not be kilde / but avoided and put out of cumpanye / like a gentill So he hath not delivered vs from the lawe / but from the power and violence of the lawe / which is the very true losinge / gevinge all men libertye at their awne perill to do other good or evill But for all that he hath not taken a waye from the powers and officers their righte / swerd / and authorite to punisshe the evill / for soch pertaine not to his kingdome vntyll they are made spirituall / and then frely and with a glade harte serve god And sith these thinges are so in the preceptes of god moch more they are of value in the ceremonies / which are clene vanisshed away so that we can not offend against them / let vs thanke our father which hath plucked this yoke from our neckes And desyre faith of him / which faith onlye is most sufficient vn to our iustification / but sith this kinge of faces the Pope doth nothing but commaund and compell in all his decrees / and that in the sted name of God / it is evident ynough how that he is the adversarye of Christe / and the corruptor of the new testament / yee and the Enimye of the Christen lybertye Compellinge meÌ„ against their willes to do the workes which he commaundeth them / thorow the which tyrannye he is the author of so many synnes be cause the workes are done of no glad minde / for while they thinke that they are bouÌ„d to his commaundemeÌ„tes / they have a blotte in their scrupelous consciences if they omitte any thinge / and yet be cause they do it with an evyll will truely they offend in their hartes / where as they shuld not have offended / thorow their resistinge and hatiÌ„ge will of the lawe / if he had commaunded nothinge / but only exhorted and desyred And contrary wisse to them that obey him / he is the author of false fayned rightuousnes / for while they beleve that they have done well / and repute their obedience for iustice / they are brought to this blindnes that they thinke they are good / not thorow the faith of Christ / but by these lawes and workes And thus truely doth he corrupte the faithe aÌ„d trueth / both multiplye and encreasse evyll consciences / and make fayned good coÌ„scieeÌ„es And sith he doth so thorow all the world / it is evident what a corrupter and dispoylare he is / for even so many he corrupteth / as he hath subdewed and ledde vnder his lawes and imperye And who is be in the world that is not subiect vnder him Excepte they be infantes or paraventure some simple persons / which are reserved by the inscrutable councell and provision of god O thow maÌ„ of synne O thou sonne of perdition O thow abomination O thow corrupter O thow author of evill consciences O thow false master of good consciences O thow ennimye of faith aÌ„d christen libertye / who is able for to reherse / yee or containe in his minde the infinite waves of this monstruous kinges evilles How be it the end of these mischevous evils are not yet come Yf he had ordened these his lawes / in those workes of vertues that are commaunded in the .x. preceptes / or els in soch as the philosophers and naturall reason did describe / as are iustice / strength temperaÌ„ce / Chastite / mildnes / trueth / goodnes / and soch other Paraventure they shuld only have made a Sinagoge / or els have ordened in the world a certaine civile iustice / for thorow these also faith shuld have bene corrupted / as it was amoÌ„g the Iewes / how be it now he kepeth not him silf with in these bondes / but rvnneth ryâ—ot more at large raysinge infinite tempestes of mischeffe yet are we compelled to saye he dothe no hurte for he entyseth and driveth vs to cerimonyes aÌ„d his awne fayned traditions / as to places persons / clothinge / meattes and dayes / aÌ„d bindeth vs like asses / and ignorant foles / â—ee and stockes vn to them with an indissoluble bond enduringe our hole lives / so that it maketh me sorye and ashamâ— of this pernitious abomination / and maketh me vtterly abhorre it vn to death / for Christ as I have saide takinge awaye all lawes to make vs fre aÌ„d at libertye / did most of all suppresse aÌ„d disanulle the ceremonyes which did consist in places / persones / garmeÌ„tes / meattes dayes and soch other / so that their vse shuld be to all men most fre and indifferent / nether addressinge the conscience to synne / nor yet to iustice which is obtayned thorow only faith in Christ How be it the Pope not content / at the lest with those places / meates / clothinges / and dayes / which were prescribed in the lawe of moses Doth werye corrupte / and destroy / the christeÌ„ coÌ„gregation with new observations / other invented by his awne pregnant witte / or â—ls by the sotle imagination of his adherentes / which also he doth encreasse daylye and coÌ„maunde after his awne lust / that yow may perceave this the more evidently / we will vse certaine examples after the maner of an induction to rote and stablissh it in yow Christ takinge away the difference of all places will be worshupped in every place Nether is ther in his kingdoÌ„ one place holye / an other prophane with out holines But in everye place all thinges are indifferent Nether canst thou more hartely better / beleve trust / and love god in the temple qwire / altare / and chirch yerd / then in thy barne / vineard / kichen / and bed And to be shorte the martyrs of Christ have honoured him in darke dongeons and presons And sancte agnes In the sâ—ues for gat not her redemer But the Pope doth consecrat Churches gevinge greate pardon and privileges vn to the halowinge Makinge straite lawes to condemne their consciences / the other in sporte or els in ernest do violate the house that they have halowed / which shuld nothing offend if they had hurte their awne houses or any other mannes Be sides that if thou obey the Popes commaundmentes / thow arte made a religious man / and an obedient and faithfull sonne of the chirche / thow hast found a conscience of a good aÌ„d rightuous weake Now compare Christ and the Pope to gedder Christ sayeth There is no synne coÌ„mitted thorow the vsinge of any place except it be to the hurte of thy neghbour The Pope sayeth It is sinne if thow do any bodelye worke in the chirch Or els if thow counte it not
he shal be burned / be it in case he were the verye adversary of Christ but I know none of them that will go to the fyre shuld they then burne him and Christ saye naye Yee forsoth / for they can sett Christ to scole / aÌ„d say this is better / ywes Paule had never bene good corne / yf he had bene destroyed when he was wedes and the adversarye of Christ Let them beware lest they be ordered as Saul was / ij Regum xv which was commaunded to destroye the kinge of Amelech aÌ„d all his goodes / how be it he spared the kinges liffe and the fayrest goodes catelles makinge sacrifice with them vnto God / which if bely wisdoÌ„ were any thinge worth shuld seame a mervelous good deade / how be it / it did displease God so sore that he saide vnto Samuel / he repented that he had made Saul kinge because Saul had forsakeÌ„ him and had not in dede fulfilled his wordes And therfore he was depryved of his kingdom and ranne far in to the indignation of God Even so I feare me these Antichristes which presume to contrary Christes wordes will lese the kingdome of glorye which was prepared for the faithfull before the foundations of the world were caste Ephesi i. Now let vs prove the minor for of these .ij. partes foloweth the conclusion of necessyte ¶ The minor is / that all Popes / Cardinalles / Busshopes aÌ„d their adherentes do per sequute Minor Nedeth this any probation I thinke some of you have proved it I ensuere you they are as mercyfull as the wolf is on his praye they were ordened to blisse men ii Corinth x i. Corin. xiij But they curse as the devill were in them Paule sayeth that he hath power in to edifyinge and not in to destruction But I wot not of whom these bloudy bestes have their authorite which do so moch reioyse in cursinge / and destruction i. Corin. v We read how Paule did excommunicate the CorinthiaÌ„ and treuly for a greate transgression to th entent that he might be ashamed of his iniquite And desyred agayne the CorinthiaÌ„s / to receave him with all cherite / ij Corin. ii but that the Apostles did curse eny man truly we can not read in scripture / for Christe commaunded them to blisse those that cursed them / and to pray for those that persequuted them / sainge vnto them In this world you shall have affliction / and in me you shall have peace Ioan. xvj But the Popes / Cardinalles / with all their ragmaÌ„s roolle have none affliction Therfore other they are none of Christes flocke / or els Christ him silf is a lyar â—i Timo. iij Sancte Paule sayeth that all which will godly lyve in christ shall suffre persequution / but the Pope with his adherentes suffre not / but rather persequute Therfore they lyve not godly in christ or els Paule thou arte a lyar for thou exceptest none I thinke oure minor be sufficiently proved / how be it thou maist not saye so / for truly they will seperate you from their sinagoges yee to this furyous madnes are they come the if they kille you as christ prophesied they will thinke them selves / Ioan. xvj to do honoure and pleasure to god / and this shall they do vnto you because they have not knowen my father nother me / Math. x how be it let vs not feare them that kille the bodye and have no farther power / but rather him that after he hath fild the bodye hath power to cast the soule in to everlastinge fyre And to him let vs praye with one accord that he will shorten â—hese parylous times / â— Timo. iiij and all though we be synners / worthely abiecte / and clene vnworthy this godly deliverance / Danie ix for we have synned and committed iniquite / and have departed / lord / from thy coÌ„maundmentes Yet consider good father thy holy testament aÌ„d promise for thou arte rightuous be we never so weked and must nedes fulfill thy promise for thy trueth sake Psalm lxxiij Arise good lord and avenge thyne awne cawse forgete not these abhominable blasphemes which this folisshe and bestly people clene ignoraÌ„t of thy iustice / and sekinge their awne rightuousnes / do cast vpon the continually / they are thy enymyes And speake odyous weked wordes against thy glorious sonne Iesus christ whom thou hast geven vs / and whom thou haste made oure satisfaction / iustificacion / redemption vaynly presuminge vpon their awne workes and merites Extend thy haÌ„d oh lord against their presumptuous miÌ„des How greatly have they prevayled against thy holye sonne How longe shall thine enimye prouoke the Shall he continew resistinge thy name perpetuallye Remembre the holy congregation whom thou hast chosen from the beginninge ii Timo. â—â— Suffer them not to be brought in to this stroÌ„ge illusion which for aboundence of synne thou hast sent in to the world / that they might be coÌ„dempned / which have not beleved the truthe but had pleasure in iniquite Selyver the soules of thy chosen from these bestes / that thou maist be knowen to be verye god / and that thy name may be glorified thorow all the world / that they which by thy sufferance and lenite have not be brought vnto repentance / Roma ij may feall thy scourge and be compelled as Pharao was to dimitte thy chosen children / Exodi xvi and to knowledge thy power omnipotencye And that we may serve the with a pure hert knowleginge that thou and thy sonne Iesus Christ be but only one God / Ioan. xvij whose grace be with all that love the lord Iesu Christ vnfayned lye / which is very God / and everlastinge liffe to whom be all glorye / now and eternally AMEN ¶ Danielis viij ANd after their kingdoms TransgressioÌ„ and synne invadinge and cominge vpoÌ„ theÌ„ / there shall stoÌ„d a kinge mightye in faces / and vnderstondinge rydles and his power shal be strengthed and not in his awne power and might And he shall corrupte mervelous thinges And he shall prospere and do / and shall corrupte stroÌ„ge thinges / aÌ„d the people which are holy And he shal be after his awne opinion And deceate shal be directed and prosper in his haÌ„d And he shal be exalted in his awne herte And in his prosperite he shall corrupte many / and he shall resiste the prince of all princes And shal be consumed with out hande FIrst they are not to be alowed that vnderstand this and soche other places of the prophetes / and wold have them only verefied vpon one person For they are clene ignorante of the prophetes maner / which are wonte by one person to signifye the hole bodye of a realme And therfore evyll they do applye this Antichriste whoÌ„ Paule do the calle the maÌ„ of sinne / iâ— Thess ij the sonne of perdition
it were possible / even the chosen shuld be brought in to erroure And here doth he monissh vs that the elect shall not be brought in to erroure all though they be deceaved that is to saye that errour shall not vtterly subdew them / and hold them perpeally / but that at the lest in death they shal be redemed Like as in the pater noster it is not the will of god that we shuld not be tempted with diverse temptations / but that we-shall not be brought in to temptations / that is to saye that we shuld not be overcome / and holden perpetually vnder temptation / for the righteous man falleth .vij. tymes / how be it he lyeth not still / but ryseth as often againe Even so I doute not but that sanct Barnarde / Francisce / Dominike and many other holy men and women have erred as concerning the Pope not perceaving his kingdome of faces / and so approvinge many of his actes / or els they wold have resisted them with the worde of God / how be it his tyme was not then come In this numbre I couÌ„te also BonaveÌ„ture which passeth all other with out coÌ„parison in the vehemeÌ„cye of sprete which have bene reserved of all vniversites Among these may be numbred saint Thomas aquinas / if he be a saÌ„cte / for truly I doute of it greatly / because he savoreth nothiÌ„ge of the sprete of god I say all these holye men have ben deceaved / folowinge the abominatioÌ„ of the pope / how be it / it was with out pertinacite stubbornesse / and were delivered froÌ„ it / at the lest in death Therfore if he deceave corrupte the chosen / all though he can not retaine theÌ„ in his pernicyous illusion / what shall we thiÌ„ke is done of the other which are not only deceaved / but also stobbornlye defend their errour for godlines O what a weake argument is this which the papistes do gether of the dedes and workes of holy meÌ„ Sotinge after their old maner / syth that Daniell doth prophesye that he shall corrupte stronge men / and the people which are holye / he speaketh not of fained sainctes / for Christ expoundinge him calleth theÌ„ the chosen Therfore we must put confidence in no man vsinge an example of the holye meÌ„ / but only sticke to the suer testimony of scripture / and vn to the trueth / he hath destroyed Ioan husse / and Hierome / and I can not tell what other / but I know not whether I may refarre that vnto this place / be cause he destroyed only their bodyes aÌ„d not theyr soules / for I thinke he speaketh here of spirituall corruption And how shuld not painted visars / clokes faces / other deceatfull illusions as Paule sayeth hypocrisye of his awne traditioÌ„s / rather prospere in his haÌ„de then the trueth of the gospell / sith he corruptinge the streÌ„gth of the scripture / of all the good authores of it / is only stablisshed by the example of a fewe sanctes stoÌ„dinge on his side what may not he prosperously bringe to passe / sith that now not only his faces rydles / the is to saye his deceates / but also they whom thou knowledgest to be sanctes make for his purposse who dare here once qwinch / against him / sith that his lyeinge cloke is holpe with the trueth / his hypocrisye with holines / his deceat with simplicite / And his iniquite with godlines O this parilous times / most worthye for the last dayes / wher as to the reprobate parsons all thinges are turned in to evill / yee though they seame never so good As coÌ„trarye to the chosen all thinges worke for the best / though they seame never so evill / and this is done thorow the sprete of god / even as the first is done thorow the spret of Sathan as the apostle prophesyed Let him now go that dare aÌ„d live with out eny regard trustinge in the sainges and deades of his forfathers / No doute / here Daniell meaneth SathaÌ„ / when he sayeth that deceate shall prospere in this kinges hand / for he is not mighty in his awne power / Nether shall his awne hand order and directe his deceate / but Sathan shall led his hande and so shall deceate be directed in his hand How could he better have described the kingdome aÌ„d workes of the pope which is nothinge but very deceate and yet prevaileth so prosperously / that even with open lyes and tryfels he blindeth and deceaveth the folissh worlde / as it is evident ynough though it wer but only in the pardons / for what so ever the Pope dare take vpon him / be it never so abominable a lye / it prospereth effectuously Therfor the deceate which is in his haÌ„d doth chefly pertayne vnto the corruptinge of the scripture / for here he hath cast doune the sterres of heven / and trode them vnder his feate / and in his deceate how fortune hath favored him / experience doth playnly bere wittnes For what so ever he wold have / that spake he in expoundinge scripture And what so ever he sayd in his exposition / that was counted for an oracle of god / and so is reputed vnto this day In so moch that it is not lawfull nether with reasons / nether with scriptures / nother yet with manifest experiences to affirme eny thinge agaynst it / on till it have taken awaye the comen sense of mannes nature from all men / hath attemted soch thinges / which if the gentils in the old time shuld ever have done / meÌ„ wold have sayd that they had bene starke mad Now after that all these thinges did prosper luckely with him / so that nether faith / nether the sprete / nether yet the authorite of the scripture might resist him theÌ„ what remayned but that which foloweth â—anie viij And in his awne harte he shal be exalted ¶ For there is no man but now the pope preferreth him silf above him / There is no maÌ„ but he dare be bold to commaund him all thinges / he will subdewe all thiÌ„ges vnderneth him silf ScaÌ„t admittiÌ„ge hyghe emperours and kinges to the kysse of his blessed feate Nether is there eny maÌ„ whom he will have equal with him in the erthe be he never so holye aÌ„d well learned Finally he beinge no apostle but a very bisshoppe if he be that fare vnder the dignite of the apostles / maketh him silf equal with sanct Peter The prince of all men The emperour in all spirituall as they call them and temporall thinges The lord of the world For in Peter he will that he hath receaved the right authorite / of the erthly and hevenly emperye And that do his .iij. crownes / pride / aÌ„d waÌ„tonnesse / testifye which passe all the vayne presumptions in the world Thus doth the vicare of poore Christ / and successor of Peter / present their parsons and