Actes and monuments of matters most speciall and memorable, happenyng in the Church. [vol. 1] with an vniuersall history of the same, wherein is set forth at large the whole race and course of the Church, from the primitiue age to these latter tymes of ours, with the bloudy times, horrible troubles, and great persecutions agaynst the true martyrs of Christ, sought and wrought as well by heathen emperours, as nowe lately practised by Romish prelates, especially in this realme of England and Scotland. Newly reuised and recognised, partly also augmented, and now the fourth time agayne published and recommended to the studious reader, by the author (through the helpe of Christ our Lord) Iohn Foxe, which desireth thee good reader to helpe him with thy prayer.

¶ The Prophesies of Methodius, Hildegardis and other, concerning the reygne and ruyne of the Turkes.

VNto these testimonies aboue excerped out of the holy Scriptures,* 1.1 let vs adde also the propheticall reuelati∣ous of Methodius, Hildegardis, Sybilla, and others. This Methodius is thought of some to be the same Me∣thodius, of whome Hierome, and Suidas make menti∣on: which was Bishop first of Olympus in Lycia, then of Tyrus, and suffred martyrdome in the last persecution of the primitiue Church, vnder Diocletian. Unto whome also Trithemius attributeth the booke intituled:* 1.2 De Qua∣tuor nouissimis temporibus. But that can not be, forasmuch as the said Methodius doth cite and alleadge the Maister of Sentence, namely, in his second booke, and sixe distinc. Which Maister of Sentence, followed more then a thou∣sand yeare after Christ: besides certaine other fabulous matter conteined in the same booke. Albeit, because he spea∣keth there of many things cōcerning the state of y^e Church vnder Antichrist, and the reformation of Religion, as sec∣meth rightly to come to passe, and more is like to follow, I thought not to defraude the Reader thereof, leauing the credite of the Authour to his arbitrement, to esteeme and iudge of him as he seeth cause. Among diuers other places of Methodius, prophesieng of the latter time, these words do follow: After that the children of Ismaell haue had multiplied in their generations to an infinite and innumerable multitude, in the desert aforesayd,* 1.3 they came out of the wildernesse of Arabie, and entred into the habitable land, and fought with the Kings of the Gentiles, which were in the land of promise, and the ••••••d was filled with them. And after 70. weekes, and halfe of their power, wherewith they haue subdued all the kingdome of the Gentiles, their hart was exalted, seeing themselues so to haue preuailed, and to haue conquered all things, &c. And afterward it follo∣weth of the same matter in this sort.

It shall come to passe that the sayde seede of Ismaell, shall issue out and obteine the whole world, with the regions thereof, in the entring of peace, from the land of Aegypt, vnto Ethiopia: & from the floud Euphrates, vnto India: and from the riuer Tigris, to the entring of Nabaot, the kingdome of Ionithus, the sonne of Noe: and from the North, vnto Rome and Illyricum, Aegypt, and Thes∣salonica, and Albania,* 1.4 and so foorth to the sea Ponticum, whych deuideth the sayd kingdomes from Germanie and Fraunce: and their yoke shall be double vpon the neckes of all nations, and Gentiles: neither shall there be nation or kingdome vnder hea∣uen, which shall be able to stand against them in battaile, vntill the number of eyght weekes of yeares, &c.

Briefly, as in a grosse somme, this shall suffice, to admo∣nish the reader, touching y^e meaning and methode of Me∣thodius Prophesies, which Methodius first describing the long and tedious afflictions of Christes Church, ma∣keth mention of the seede of Ismaell, which comming out of the partes and deserts of Arabie,* 1.5 shall destroy (saith he) and vanquish the whole earth, So that the Christians shall be giuē of God, to the hands of the filthy Barbarians, to be slain, pol∣luted, and captiued: Persia, Armenia, Capadocia, Cilicia, Syria, Aegypt, the East partes, Asia, Spaine, all Grecia, Fraunce, Germa∣nia, Agathonia, Sicilia, The Romanes also shall be slaine and put to flight: also the Ilands of the Seas shall be brought to desolati∣on, and to captiuitie,* 1.6 and put to the sword. The which tribulation of the Christians shall be without mercy or measure: the raun∣some of gold and siluer and other exactions, intolerable, but es∣pecially the dwellers of Aegypt and Syria shall be most in the af∣fliction of those times: And Hierusalem shall be filled with mul∣titudes of people brought thether in captiuitie, from the foure windes which are vnder heauen. So that beastes also, and foules, and fish in the water, and the waters of the Sea shall be to them o∣bedient. Cities and Townes, which were before full of people, shall be layde waste. Women with child shall be ript: their chil∣dren sticked: infantes taken from the mothers, and cast in the streates, and none shall burie them. The rulers and sage of the peo∣ple shall be slaine, and throwne out to the beastes. Churches shall be spoiled: the Priests destroyed: virgines defloured, and men cō∣pelled to sell their children, and the comming of them shall bee chastisement without mercy, and with them shall go these foure plagues: captiuitie, destruction, perdition, and desolation, wyth much more, which for breuitie I ouerpasse. And this afflic∣tion, sayeth hee, shall last eight weekes, or Sabbates of yeares, which I take to signifie eight hundreth yeares, &c.

Secondly,* 1.7 after these terrible plagues thus described by Methodius vpon the Christians, which he sayth shall fall vpon them for their wicked abhominations recited in the first and second chapter of S. Paule to the Romaines: the saide Methodius afterwarde, in this great distresse of the Christians, being out of all hope and comfort of reliefe, de∣clareth and speaketh of a certaine King of the Greekes or

Romains which shall restore peace againe to y^e Christiās.* 1.8 In which peace they shal reedify their cities & mansions a∣gaine: the Priests shalbe deliuered from their greuances, & men at that time shall rest from their tribulations, and then shall the King of the Romaines dwell in the Citie of Hierusalem a weeke or sabbate, and a halfe of times. &c.

Thirdly, during y^e time of this peace, the said Methodi∣us saith, y^e men shal fal into licentious securitie, & carelesse life:* 1.9 and then according to the word of the Apostle, saying: Whē they shal say, peace, peace, sodeine destruction shal fall vpon them: then (sayth he) shalbe opened the gates of the North, & the beastly people shal breake in, which King Alexander the great, did close vp within 2. mountaines, making his prayer vnto the Lorde God, that he would bind vp that bestial & execrable people, least with their filthy & detestable pollutions, they shuld come out and pollute the holy land. Whose intercession being heard the Lord cōmanded them to be inclosed within 2. mountains in the North parts, to the depenes of 12. cubits (which signifieth peraduen∣ture 12. C. yeres) so that neither by witchcraft,* 1.10 nor by any means they could get out, or any might come vnto them, vntill the time of the Lord apointed, which are (saith he) the latter times: & then, according to the prophecie of Ezechiel in the latter time of the cōsummation of the world, Gog & Magog out frō the north, shal come forth into the land of Israel, & shal work al this mischiefe a∣gainst the christiās, aboue recited. And then (saith Method. pro∣ceding in his Prophesies), shall the K. of Romanes, after he hath reigned in Ierusalē a sabbate of times, & a half, that is, saith Mer. x. yeres & a halfe, take the crown frō his hed and yeld it vp to the Crosse in Golgotha where Christ was crucified,* 1.11 and shall die. And the Crosse with the crowne shalbe taken into heauen, which shal not appeare againe before the comming of the Lord.

Fourthly, it foloweth then moreouer in the Prophesies of Method. Whych declareth, that when the weeke or sab∣bate & half weke of times shal end, and whē the K. of Ro∣manes shall geue vp his crowne in Ierusalem, & die. Then immediatly shal Antichrist the son of perdition begin to appeare, & be borne in Iewry, of the tribe of Dan, wherof also came Iudas Iscarioth, & he shalbe borne (saith Methodius) in Chorosaim, & shalbe bred in Bethsaida, & shal raign in Capernaū: to y^e which 3. cities, Christ the Lord gaue his 3. Vae. And whē great tribu∣latiō shal increase & multiply in the daies of this Antichrist, & al lordship & dominion shalbe destroied, the Lord shall sende his 2. faithful & deare seruants, Enoch and Hely, to reproue and detect the false seducing, & lying forgeries of this Antichrist, openly be∣fore all mē: so that the people seing thēselues falsly beguiled, & se∣duced by this son of perditiō, cōming out of the tēple disēbling¦ly, to the destructiō of many, shal leaue & flie frō him, & ioyn thē selues to the said 2. holy prophets. Which son of perdition & An∣tichrist seing his procedings so to be reproued, & brought into cō¦tēpt, in his fury & anger shal kil the 2. Prophets of God And then shal appeare (saith Methodius) the signe of the comming of the sonne of man, and he shall come in the clouds of heauenly glory, and shall destroy the enemie with the spirite of his mouth. &c.

Notes

• * 1.1

  Methodius prophesies.
• * 1.2

  The booke of Metho∣dius mista∣ken.
• * 1.3

  The pro∣phesies of Methodius, concerning the turkes.
• * 1.4

  Viij. weekes of yeares, counting e∣uery weeke for a Sab∣bate of yeres, that is, euery day for a yeare, com∣meth to 56. yeares.
• * 1.5

  The first state or al∣teration of tymes con∣cerning the comming of the Saracens
• * 1.6

  Christians plagued by the Saraces.
• * 1.7

  The seconde state or al∣teration of the Christi∣ans relieued of theyr plagues and tribulations
• * 1.8

  Christians abusing Gods bene∣fites.
• * 1.9

  The third alteratiō by the cōming of the turks.
• * 1.10

  The reigne of Christian kinges in Hierusalem lasted 88. yeares 'an. 1187.
• * 1.11

  By this re∣signing vp the crowne to the cruci∣fixe in Gol∣gotha, is sig¦nified, the ceasing of the reigne of the christiās in Hierusaiē tyll the cō∣ming of Christ. By this tribe of Dā, and the citie Chorosaim, Bethsaida, & Capernaū is signified Gods great malediction vpon Anti∣christ.