The seconde tome or volume of the Paraphrase of Erasmus vpon the Newe Testament conteynyng the epistles of S. Paul, and other the Apostles : wherunto is added a paraphrase vpon the reuelacion of S. John.

¶ The .x. Chapter.

The texte.

¶ And I sawe another mightie Aungell come doune from heauen clothed with a cloude, and the raynebowe vpon his hed. And his face as it were y^• Sunne, and his fe••e as it were pyllers of fyre, and he had in his hande a lytle boke open, and he put his right fote vpon the sea, and his lefte fote on the yearth. And cried with a loude voyce, as when a Lion ro∣reth. And when he had cried, vii. thonders spake their voyces. And when the seuen thon∣ders had spoken their voyces: I was about to write. And I hearde a voyce from heauen, saying vnto me: Seale vp those thinges which the. vii. thonders spake, and write thē not.

THis strong angel, can sygnifye none other thing, but our saui∣our Iesus Christ, whiche reueled suche a vision vnto S. Iohn, for the profyte and comfort of the faithfull churche and congre∣gacion, and for a warnyng vnto the synfull world. For he it is, whiche in suche an euil tyme, and in suche great perplexyte and dangerous warrefare of the christen churche vpon earth, com∣meth downe from heauen to ayde and succour it according vnto his promes. And he appeareth vnto S. Iohn, euen as thoughe he were commynge downe from heauen, clothed with a very manyfest and visible cloude, whiche signify∣eth his holy manhode, euen as he went vp also vnto heauen, and dwelleth with* 1.1 vs, with his grace, ayde, and prouydence. The raynebowe, sygnifieth his hea∣uenly imperious crowne, and his gracious gouernaūce ouer his faithful electe, for the whiche he is carefull and sorowfull with mercye and daylye ayde, in all thinges necessarye and expedient for them. His face and countenaunce is bryght, pleasant and full of mercye, euen lyke vnto the sonne. For he himselfe is the sonne of the worlde, that is to saye, the comfort, delyght ioye and felicitie of all faithful. And againe, mighty stronge and rightuous in all his iudgementes towardes y^• godlesse and wicked, whiche he stampeth in peces and burneth them with fire, that can neuer be quenched. This same Iesus Christ our Lorde and sauiour, is come againe from heauen, with his lytle, meke, euangelycall booke, namely with the newe testament, in the whiche the olde is also comprehended. This booke is contemptuous and of no estimacion, vnto the sage wyse philo∣sophers, highe lerned doctors, and pompous proude prelates, in so muche that it was cleane lost out of the tempelles, for a great space, (euen as it was in y^• tyme of Ieremye the prophete,) beyng songe yearely in their monasteries & colleges, as their vowes and rules, wherunto they were sworne, required, but without all maner of vnderstandynge or feruentnes of the spirite, whiche should be sought and necessarilie required in holy scripture. This boke dothe Christ bring▪ being garnisshed not outwardly with golde, siluer and precious stones, for a face and a shewe onely so that no man can reade in it, as thoughe it were sufficient onely to kysse it, but he shal bring it open, that euery man maye reade and vnderstāde it, in their owne mother tong, and also in all scholes, where children are taught. He it is that is come into this worlde, and hath set his feete vpon al the earth, and also in the Iles of the sea, whiche were before vnknowen▪ euen

lyke as the true faithe also was, which was readyly & ioyfully receyued of them, whiche before knewe nothing at all, and were more ignorant and vnlearned, than they that came from the grecians and Romaynes. Whiche thing maye be vnderstanden, by the left and the right foote. And what maye better be vnder∣standen by the loude voyce, than the great noyse, which the holy Byble maketh, at suche tyme as it is spred abrode in all speches and tonges, ouer hundrethes and thousandes of people in so short tyme, to the great wonder and meruell of all faithfull, and to the hyghe furtheraunce and edyfieng of the christen doctrine and of the knowledge of God, and to the vtter confusion and feare of the whole diuilyshe and hellyshe flocke and congregacion, euen as a Lyon of the stocke of Iuda. And immediately therupon came. vii. thonders, that is to saye, the moost* 1.2 godly and christen interpreters of holy scripture, were famous throughout the whole worlde, as were these Ambrose, Austen, Ierom, Gregory, Cypriane, Hy∣larie, and diuerse other, whiche in our tyme haue written and taught as excellēt∣ly and profytablye in the churche and congregacion of Christ, as euer they dyd. These haue taught and brought into lyght, the worde of God very purely and sincerely, notwithstandyng whatsoeuer the schole writers and sophysters, the pompous byshops and monkyshe mumry haue many yeres decreed & dyuised, to the contrary, with their vncerten and vnstable doctrine, fayned ceremonyes, fonde tradicions, & newe strange articles of the faythe, whiche haue no grounde in gods worde, and cleane contrarye bothe to the vsage, and also to the doctrine of the holy auncient fathers in the prymatiue churche. And where it is nowe ad∣ded, that it shoulde not be written what these thonders spake, let other vnder∣stande it as they wyll, I thinke and coniecture that it is a prophecye of the no∣ble and excellent gyfte of God, y^• science of Prynting, geuen first vnto the Ger∣maynes, whiche were estemed the moost rude and barbarous people. By and thorowe whome, not onely the newe testament hath bene renewed, interpreted & translated euen out of the very naturall fountaine & tong wherin it was wryt∣ten, but also the whole olde testament out of y^• holy Hebrew tong. Besydes this, all these before named & many other teachers and wryters of the holy churche, went first out into the worlde, and bothe with worde and deede, noysed abrode the power of the gospell, so that the renewynge therof can not be ascribed vnto those onely, whiche preache and teache in our tyme, but vnto the holy bysshops of the primatyue churche, whiche preached and taught first of all, throughout the whole christendome, where as now, all our bysshops for the moost parte, are domme and blynde in all godly doctrine, & vtterly drowned in worldly pompe, lustes, pleasures and in all wicked dyssolutenes.

The texte.

¶ And the Angell whiche I sawe stande vpon the sea, & vpon the earth, lyfte vp his hande to heauen, and sware by him that lyueth for euer more, whiche created heauen, & the thin∣ges that therin are, and the sea, and the thinges whiche therin are: that there should be no lenger tyme, but in the dayes of the voyce of the seuenth Angell, when he shall begynne to blowe: euen the mysterye of God shalbe fynished, as he preached by his seruauntes the prophetes.

Christe taketh anothe, and sweareth by God his heauenly father, euen with great earnest feruencye and holynes, that the tyme of his glorious laste com∣minge to iudge all the worlde bothe quicke and dead, is nowe alreadye nighe and at hande. And whan the victorye that was prophecyed to be

fulfylled of Antichrist (which victorye the seuenth angel, Christ him selfe or his spirite, that was yet to come in Helyas before the last daye, must blowe forth ac∣cordinge vnto his office) were once past, than shoulde all together be fulfylled, that all prophetes dyd euer prophecye of the kyngdome of Messias the sauiour of the whole worlde, whiche is the hyghest misterye. Of the whiche thinges all patriarkes and prophetes, yea and the apostles also, and Christ him selfe, dyd speake, namely, of the tyme of the kyngdome of heauen, that was commyng, and of the commynge of Christ in his highest honour and glorye, whiche shalbe ma∣nifest and knowen vnto all men and vnto the whole world.

The texte.

¶ And the voyce whiche I hearde from heauen, spake vnto me againe, and sayde: go and take the lytle boke whiche is open in the hande of the angell which standeth vpon the sea, and vpon the earth. And I went vnto the angell, and sayde to him: geue me the lytle boke, and he sayd vnto me: take it and eate it vp, & it shal make thy belly bytter, but it shalbe in thy mouthe as swete as hony. And I toke the lytle boke out of his hande, and eate it vp, and it was in my mouthe as swete as ••on••: and assone as I hade eaten it, my bellye was bytter. And he sayde vnto me: thou must prophecye againe amonge the people, and naci∣ons, and tongues, and to many kynges.

At this place, myght the begynnyng of the .xi. muche more conueniently haue bene appoincted, but it is no matter. Iohn in the person of all faithfull christi∣ans, and specially in the person of them, whiche should be teachers in y^e churche of god (as the holy bysshops and other apostolicall men) heareth the voyce of God, speakinge thus vnto him: If thou wylt doe and performe thy office and vocacion truly and iustly, than goe thy waye, and appointe thy selfe therunto withall thy might and power, and take in thy hande the holy, open and mooste cleare cronicle booke of the holy gospell and worde of God, receyue the same, and the holy vnderstandinge therof, from the holy goost thorow feruent praier. And reade therin with faythe, loue, and moost earnest zeale, of Christ hym selfe. But he telleth him before, that he shoulde not onely reade or synge it, wryte or endyte it, but that he shoulde with a moost gredy desyre, euen deuoure it vp as a foode from God and as the heauenly breade of all faythfull beleuers, and that ••e dygest it in to his bowels as a moost cleane and holsome foode. Whiche thing can not come to passe with out bytternes of repentaunce and of sorowe, and heuynes of the hearte, and conscience. And specially vnto him that knoweth so muche of the wyll of God, and feleth that his spirite is so weake and frayle and his fleshe so wylde and dysobedient and his mynde so stubbourne and ob∣stinate against the spirite of god. Or els it may be thus vnderstandē, that whan a man vnderstandeth the worde of god, and knoweth that it ought to be spred furth vnto other, that is to saye, to the whole churche of God, and that the truth ought to be spoken vnto the blynde worlde, and that it can not yet be done with out great perell & danger of bodye and lyfe, than is it doutles bytter vnto him. But yet not withstandinge it is swete in the mouthe, thorowe the comforte and ioye of the truth, and thorowe the ioyful promes of the gospell of rightuousnes and holynes, thorow Christ the sauiour of the whole world in al tymes. Al this did Iohn in a vision, and toke also further instruccion thereof, as foloweth.

Notes

• * 1.1

  The rayne¦bowe.
• * 1.2

  vii. thon∣ders.