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 .xv. Chapter.

The texte.

¶ And I sawe another sygne in heauen great and maruellous, seuen angels hauynge the seuen last plages, for in them is fulfylled the wrathe of god. And I saw as it were a glassy see, myngled with fyre and them that had gotten victorye of the beaste, and of his ymage, and of his marke, and of the nomber of his name stande on the glassye sea, hauynge the harpes of God, and they songe the song of Moses the seruaunt of God, and the songe of the lambe, sayinge: Greate and maruellous are thy workes Lorde God almightye, iuste and true are thy wayes, thou kyng of sainctes. Who shall not feare, O Lorde, and glorifie thy name? For thou onely art holy, and al Gentiles shal come, and worship before thee, for thy iudgementes are made manifest.

THis is a nother prophecye of the holy apostle S. Iohn reueled and opened vnto him of god, that against all the wyt and rea∣son of man, against al worldly power, against the diuises, yma∣ginacions and hinderances of all enemyes and of all the wic∣ked, the gospell shall ryse vp in the dominion of the Romaynes thorowe the dysciples of Christ, thorow the holy goost and tho∣rowe the wonderfull and meruelous power of God. And also many heuy pla∣ges shall come vpon those wicked and vngodlye people and vpon the myghtie rulers of this worlde whiche studye and go about to hynder the procedynge of the gospell. All these plages are rekened one after a nother thorowe the .vii. angels and the .vii. vyalles. This sea of glasse myxed with fyre, sygnifieth the wickednes of this worlde and al wicked enemyes and aduersaries of the trueth and doctrine of the gospell, and of all Christen and innocent conuersacion, and of all godlye liuynge. Against whiche enemyes at all tymes in this worlde and specially at the first beginnynge and springynge vp of the gospell and christen religion, the holy electe were fayne to lye in felde and to warre: Against the Ie∣wes with miracles: against the heathen with holy scripture: against the suttell Philosophers and worldlye wyse men, with the faythe that the gospel teacheth, and with an innocent and a godly lyfe: against the tyrannes, and the violence of the Romaines, with pacience: Against ydolatrye & false seruice of God, with stedfast constantnes euen vnto death, cleauynge vnto the vnderstandynge and sentence of the trueth. And thus thorowe the power of Christ and thorowe the spirite of Helias, they haue gone thorowe them and gotten the victorye against the olde dragon and his wicked spirites and against all vnfaythfull in y^• whole worlde and in al nacions. And the laude, honoure and triumphe of this victorie they ascribed to no creature but onely to Christ whiche alone can ouercome the wickednes of the worlde, all lyes and falsehede, the deuyll with all infidels in spyte of all their tyrannye. And therfore as Moyses dyd synge a song of prayse and thankes geuynge after the destruccion of Pharao & after the ioyfull vic∣torye of the children of Israell, euen so also dyd they synge vnto him the song of the lambe whiche belongeth and is dewe vnto him onely, sayinge: It is gods worcke and not ours, whiche the almightye hathe wonderfullye and graciously

wrought for vs, for his owne glorious sake, whiche is rightuous in his iudge∣mentes and true in his promyses, whose wayes are iudgement & grace, rightu∣ousnes and trueth, whiche onely preserueth the faithfull electe, as a puyssaunt and mighty lorde, and as a faithfull and louynge father, whome all men ought to feare with suche reuerence as godly childrē geue vnto their fathers, and with all hartye obedience: other wyse than the wicked, whiche lyke vnfaithfull & con∣temptuous children doe despyse and contemne their omnipotent and almightye God and father, and rightuous Lorde and iudge whiche knoweth all thinges. And therfore he is to be praysed and most highly exalted in the congregacion of the faithfull, as he is euerlastingly hated and cursed of the wicked and damned sort to their vtter and eternal damnacion. And no man can hynder or auoyde it, howe strong and mightye so euer the Emperour of Rome is, as Domicianus, Nero and other, but that al nacions shal heare, beleue and receyue the holy gos∣pel, whan the tyme is ones come, and shall honour and worship the onely eter∣nall almightie God, and his Messias promysed vnto them, the sauiour of the whole worlde, and the redemer of all faithfull electe.

The texte.

¶ And after that, I loked, and beholde the temple of the tabernacle of testimony was opē in heauen, and the seuen angels came out of the temple whiche had the seuen plages, clo∣thed in pure and bright lynnen, and hauynge their brestes girded with golden girdels. And one of the foure beastes gaue vnto the seuen angels seuen golden vyalles full of the wrath of God, whiche lyueth for euermore. And the temple was full of the smoke of the glorye of God and of his power, and no man was able to enter into the temple, til y^• seuen plages of the seuen angels were fulfylled.

Nowe as the gospell is come abrode in to the worlde thorowe Christ and his Apostles, to the synguler profite of the faithfull and elect, and to the saluacion of their soules, euen so is it a stomblynge stone, offence, cōdemnacion & an hurte or losse vnto the wicked, and speciallye vnto the kyngdome and dominion of Rome for a long space, whiche hath resisted it with force, with dyuerse assaultes of body, goodes and possessions against the true faith, and with cruel tyranny, whiche the almightye and rightuous god at his tyme, hath alwayes taken in hande to punyshe most greuouslye, and hath brought it also to passe. The ope∣nynge of the tabernacle of testimonye, is the manifest fulfillynge in the newe testament, of those mysteries and secretes, whiche were hydden and sygnified in the olde testament vnder diuerse ceremonies. The seuen angels whiche came out of the temple, are the multitude of ministers and preachers of the gospell: which serueth vnto the wicked for the increase and augmentaciō of their dam∣nacion. For the whiche cause they maye be called plages (as Christ was called of Simeon, a fall) but to the comforte of saluacion vnto the electe. These an∣gels and euangelical preachers must be pure in al their conuersacion, and must haue their breastes girded about with faith and loue with all the harte, soule and mynde, garnysshed with all godly vertues. To one of the angels dothe Christ geue (thorowe the .iiii. beastes as is also sygnified in the .iiii. Chapter) power to bringe furthe and to publyshe abrode the gospell, whiche maye be sig∣nified by the vyals full of the wrathe of God against the wicked and vnfaith∣full. But full of grace and mercye vnto the faithfull whiche abyde and suffer bothe payne and ioye, welth and woe. And thus is the temple of God the Chri∣sten churche, fylled with swete smellinge smoke of the prayse, honour and good∣nes of God, truly confessing and knowledginge the power and might of God.

And the churche of Christ coulde not be at rest, nor coulde not quietly prosper, vntyl these .vii. plages came forthe, of the which plages the gospel, beyng prea∣ched by the ministers of God, wherof there were a great multitude sent of god, was the occasion.