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1 And vvhan the thousande yeares are ex∣pyred. 2. Sathan shall be loosed out of prison, 3. and shall go out, 4. to diseeiue the people, 5. vvhich ar in the foure quarters of the earth. 6. Gog & Magog, 7. to gather them togither
to battle 8 vvhose number is as the sande of the sea, 9. And they vvent vpon the plaine of the earth, 10. and compassed the tentes of the sayntes about, 11. and the beloued Citie. 12. And fyre came dovvne from God out of heauen, 13. and deuoured them, 14. And the Diuell that deceyued them, 15. vvas cast into a lake of fyre and brymstone, 26. vvhere the beast and the false Prophet vvere 17. and shall be tormented daye and nighte for euermore.
1 After the plentnous description of the true church of Christe, which is vnknowen to the worlde (for the glo∣rious doughter of the eternall Kinge, is from within, sayth Dauid, now fo∣loweth in course the pernicious king∣dome of Antechrist, whan it was in ye hyghest pryde, so soone as the afore re∣hersed thousande yeares (sayth saynt Iohn) are fully accōplished or brought to an ende.
2 Sathan the common aduersarie of man shalbe loosed out of his darke pry∣son, and so shalbe set at large by the sufferance of God, mans wickednesse deseruing none other. A full libertie
shall he haue to do all myschiefe vpon earth, and strongely to delude the vn∣beleuers for their vnbeleues sake.
3 He shall go fourth with all deceyte∣full power wherof he is full, transfor∣ming himselfe into a resemblaunce of the Angell of lyght, to deceyue the v∣niuersall people of the world.
4 Through the operation of erroure he shall cause them to giue credence vnto lies and false myracles, that they myght be dampned for refusing ye truth and consentinge to such wyckednesse. Uery crafty shall he compasse thē with gynnes of hypocrisye too blinde theyr vnfaythfull myndes, leaste the lyghte of the gospell shoulde be open vnto thē. The abhomination of desolacion shall he set vp in the holy place, to the vtter destruction of theyr fayth.
5 Yea, he shall séeke out this people from each, iiii. quarters of the vniuer∣sall earth, to corrupt their consciences with all maner of supersticions.
6 Which people of him thus peruerted is called here in misteri, Gog & Magog which is as much to say as couered, & of reuered. For both ye graūd capitains,
and multitudes of thē depending doth these two words cōprehend, ye one co∣uering ye diuel wt many false religiōs & the other in his sorte folowing ye same wicked cōsent. S. Augustine in his .xx. ••ooke, de ciuitate dei, willeth by Gog to be signified ye glorious hipocrites of the world, & by Magog ye opē enimies of rightuousnesse pretēding ye contrary as testifieth Berrosus the Caldeane in ye first booke of his histories, & fyft chap. Gog was a mighty gouernour in the landes of Sabea and Arabia the ryche, vnder Nemroth ye great Kinge of Babilon and their ruled wyth Sa∣bus his father in the .xviii yere of hys reigne. In the .xxxviii. chapter of Eze∣chiels Prophecy is he called the chiefe prynce of Mosoche & Turball, whom some expositours take for Capadoce & Spayne. But after the opinion of saint Hierom and Isidorus whych was a Spanayrde, the Hebreues doth take this Thurball for Italye, whyche is muche more agreable to this purpose. Magog was ye second sonne of Iaphet, whyche was the third sonne vnto Noe. Thys Magoge (as wytnesseth
Iosephus in the first booke of his an∣tiquities the xj. Chapter) was the first beginner of the Magogytes, whome ye Grekes called the Scitheanes, & wée now the Tartareanes. And al ye chiefe wryters specyfieth the Turkes of thē to haue takē their first originall. Now marke thys wonderfull misterye, & consider therein both the tyme & story. So shall ye well perceiue ye holy ghost to meane none other hereby this Gog and Magoge, but the Romish Pope & Mahomete, with their blasphemous and wicked generations. Serche the Cronicles and ye shall finde that their beginninges were base, and their e∣state, simple before ye thousand yeares were finished. But after that they grewe vp so high by theyr fayned sim∣plicitie and simulate holynesse, yt they became the .ii. chefe Monarkes of the earth, and so in processe ruled the vni∣uersall world. These are the .ij. horns or beastly kingdomes of the great An∣tichrist or whole bodye of the Diuell, rysyng vp by the earthly studyes and diuelysh deuises of wicked men. By ye doctrine of Aristotle, Plato, Porphirie
Auicenne, Auerois, Auenzoar, and such other, became the Romish Pope Christes vycar, and head of the vni∣uersall churche. Petrus Lombardus created him a newe diuinitye, so dyd Gracianus monachus a newe Cannō law of decrées to establyshe the same besydes that was done thā by Petrus Conmestor the thirde brother. For all they thrée were the chyldrē of one ad∣uoutrous mother, as witnesseth An∣toninus, Hermannus Schedel, Ioan∣nes Textor, and diuerse other Chro∣nographers. By the crafti cōueyaunce of Sergius a false Monke of Constan∣tinople, and of one Mathew the Arch∣deacon of Antioche, was Mahomete taken for the Apostle of both testamē∣tes, for the great Prophet of God, and for Messias among the Tartareanes and Arabies, wtth other peoples of ye East. To establish this by a pretensed religyon, and to bring it to a myghty monarchy, by the aduisement of Phi∣nées, Abdias, Cabalchabar, Balteira, Merban, and Elgug, with other Iew∣es, Iacobynes, Nestorianes, and Ar∣lyanes, they made the blasphemous
lawe of their Alchorane, as testifyeth Iohn Cuspiniane in his boke de Tur∣carum origine and other auctors else. Thus for the wickednesse and sinnes of the people suffered the Lorde abho∣minable hypocrites to haue the domy∣nion ouer them. The two hornes are lyke the Lambes hornes at a blushe. For boeth they pretende holynesse in fastinges, in praiers, in almesse dedes, in washings, & in other holy rytes and ceremonies. That a mā seing thē (not hauing knoweledge of ye truth of god, which trieth all) wolde thinke nothing to be more pure, honest, godly, inno∣cēt, cleane, holy, & angleycke, than are their tradicions. Both they confesse one God. Both they commende christ. Both they allowe the scriptures of both lawes. Mahomete callerh Christ the worde of God, the spirite of God, and the soule of God, the most excellēt Prophet and the worthiest among cre∣aturs. But in no case wyll hée haue hym taken for the sonne of GOD, no more than the Pope wyll haue hym taken for a full sauyour wyth∣out hys masses and suffrages. And
lyke as the Pope hath rysen vp by the wilye practyses of Phylosophers, So∣physters, Sentencioners and Canony∣stes, so hath Mahomete commen vp by the Sobellianes, Manyches, Eunomy∣anes, Macedonianes, Nestoreanes, and Arryanes with other heretiques. Out of whose opinyons was contriued hys Alchorane as a meane lawe betwyxt Moyses and Christ, bicause ye one (saye they) was too ful of hardnesse, the other too full of libertie. And to call vpon him both Iewes & Christianes, he admyt∣teth after a sort both Circumcision and Baptyme graunting them lybertie to haue many wiues with other volup∣tuous pleasures.
7 Thus vnder simulate religion or pretence of Gods lawe & seruyce, these two tyrauntes, Gog and Magog, the Romysh Pope & Mahomete with their whole generatiōs of like spirite wyth thē, haue gathered thē selues together into one wicked consent against god & his christ. For vnder Gog & Magog are al they cōprehēded, whō sathā deceiued after yt he was set at larg, though these two haue not accorded in other things,
yet haue they boeth agréed in this one poynt by the Diuels entycement, to battayle agaynst the lambe. To with∣stande the veritie, and impugne the truth of ye Gospel, they haue bene rea∣dye euery where, in euery lande, in e∣uery cytie, and in euerye towne. Of one cruel purpose and study to do mis∣chyefe haue these two enymies bene in all places of the world, to persecute Christes poore congregation. This thing doth the daily practises of them both so manifestly declare, that all the worlde se it▪ well inough. These doeth Esay call that strong multitude, whose spoyle Christ shall deuyde, the smith that bloweth the colles in ye hote fyre, and the waster that destroyeth, Eze∣chiel doeth compare them to a raging tempest, Daniell to the King of the Northe, and Zachary to the Princes of the earth.
8 Whose excéeding number (saith saynct Iohn) is as the drye sande that hath bene bast vp wyth the sea, which can in no wyse be numbred. In thys full well maye it be ••onsidred what a small thynge Christes flocke was in
comparison of these souldiours of Gog and Magog, after sathans going forth, & for ye tyme of their battayle. Innu∣merable were the sectes of the Pope with those that they brought to that false fayth and obedience. And so were the Prophetes of Mahomete with ye peruerted mulytude. Theyr power was great for the tyme, and their ma∣lice vengeable, yet were they as sande drye and vnfruitefull.
9 They rose vp in pryde, ryches and ryalty, and alwaies went ouer where as they sée the earth made playne and smoth, and that in euery lande com∣passe. Their generall iourney was all the worlde ouer towardes them that were poore in spirite, or whose l••stes were mortified from the worlde•• Con∣sider them for an example, whom they haue cruelly burned and slaine where as they perceiued their croked custōes throwen doune, and the streight rule of Gods worde faythfullye receyued, there persecuted they moste ••ier••••sy, there we••ed they furious and mayde, sparing neyther swerde, fyre, gybbet, nor other torment.
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such heretykes as woulde not beleue as holy church commaunded. Thys hath bene theyr order for the tyme of Sathans lybertie. And this haue they taken for an hygh poynt of Christan religion. For thys is that houre that Christ prophecyed of, wherein men shold think to do vnto god gret good ser¦uice whā thei put one of his vnto deth.
11 Thus haue they wyth all prodigi∣ous tyranny compassed the derely be∣loued Citie of God, or the holy cōgre∣gaton for whom Christ dyed, vtterly to ouerthrowe it. By all maner of craftes and diuelyshe circumuentiōs haue they gone about at that tyme (as they woulde doe yet styll) to destroye that samll remnaunte or church of ye Lord, builded without materiall stone & morter, y• swéete spouse of his with out spot or wrincle. Not onely sought they in ye enterprise to bring to naught the particular cōgregatiōs, but for as much as lay in thē, ye vniuersal church of god, thā liuing. Blessed be our lorde god, though it hath ben since ye loosing of sathā but a pore wretched neglected thing, & of no reputatiō before ye world,
yet hath it bene alwayes before hym a beloued Cytie, and hath defended it so mightely, that nothing hath pery∣shed of it. No not one heire of theyr heades. What the Turke wyth Ma∣homets host hath done for hys parte in Egipt, Gréece, Palestyne, Hierusa∣lem, Bulgary, in ye borders of Italy & Spayne, at ye Rhodes, in ye kingdom of Hūgarye, Ludouirus ye king there ru∣fully slaine, & nowe last of all against ye citie of Uyē, I thinke it is knowē vnto all mē. We may se by yt is here writtē of these two enimies Gog & Magog, the daily experiments confirming the same, that they are farre aboue vs in number and power being as the sādes in the sea. Most vainely are we occupi∣ed, if we assertaine our selues to haue the victorye ouer them by any other way than the Lorde hath appoynted. Let vs pray therefore vnto the Lorde for grace and than amende our liues, and the plage shall cease. Onely hath he promysed to destroy them all wyth the breath of his mouth and wyth no bodely armoure nor strength of men, as here after foloweth. Let vs in the
meane tyme giue our selues vnto fer∣uent prayer, to compassion of our bre∣thern, to dedes of charytie & pitty, to abstinence from synne, and to the for∣saking of our owne desires. For sure we are, yt he shall shorten their dayes of mischiefe for his electes sake.
12 In the processe folowing must we take for the tyme past, ye tyme to come, for the clere declaration of the mistery considering euer more the vsage of ye scriptures for tymes. Whan these e∣nimies Gog and Magog, shalbe at the hyghest in their vengeable enterpri∣ses agaynst the elect Citie or peaceable congregation of Christ, a consumyng fyre (sayth Saint Iohn) which is the eternal worde of the Lorde shall come downe fréelye out of heauen from the mouth of the great omnipotent God.
13 As a fearefull lyghtninge shall it fall vpō thē, and as terrible fyre shall it deuoure them, lyke as the matery∣all fyre, did eate vp Sodome and Go∣morre, rebellions in ye desert, & the e∣nimyes yt sought Helias. The fyre yt is kindled in the wrath of God, shall burne vnto ye bottome of hel, & cōsume
vp those terrible termagauntes.
14 That worde of ye lordes indignati∣on shall with great violēce throwe the diuel that wi••y serpēt, which deceiued gog & Mogog with their innumerable souldyours, into a foule stynking lake or boyling pit of wylde fyre & brimstō.
15 Upon the wicked (saith Dauid) shall ye lorde rayne snars. Wyld fyre, brimstone, wt tirrible storme & tēpeste, shall they haue to rewarde, for theyr etarnall punishment. Herein are to be marked & considered, both ye intollera∣ble greuousnesse of ye paines, & also the euerlasting continuaunce of them.
16 In the same place of intollerable torment, were the beastly generatiōs of Antechrist & al their scholemaisters of hipocrites doctrine. Or eternallye of god were they therevnto appointed as the vngodly communaltie wyth theyr capitaine, and as the bodye and members with their wicked heade (for all readie is it done by his worde, but thā shall it folow in effect) wheras they shalbe as ye Lord hath appoynted, most sharpely afflicted wt vnspeakeable
tormentes both day and night with∣out pause or ceasing for euer and euer without ende.
17 Neuer shall their fyre be quenched (sayth Esaie) no•• yet theyr gnawinge worme be taken from them. For all maner of griefes wherwith God vex∣ed the wicked, may this fyre here be taken after the scriptures. For as wit∣nesseth saint Augustine in his xx. booke and xii. chapter De ciuitate Dei, not onely is this punishmēt to be referred to the latter iudgement, but alo to the extermination of Antichristes h••st by the worde of God the worlde ouer. Be the Gospell once purely taught amōg men, it will condemne all that they haue done vpon their owne presump∣tion without the grounde of Gods ve∣ritie, be it ceremony or Sacramente, priesthode or sacryfice, reseruinge the deceiuers to his most fearefull iudge∣ment.