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 firste Chapter.

The texte.

¶ The reuelacion of Iesus Christ, whiche god gaue vnto him, for to shewe vnto his ser∣uauntes, thinges which must shortiye come to passe. And whē he had sent, he shewed by his angel vnto his seruaunt Iohn, whiche bare recorde of the word of god, & of y^• restimonye of Iesus Christe and of all thinges that he sawe. Happye is he that readeth and they that heare the wordes of the prophesye, & kepe those thinges which are wrytten therin. For the tyme is at hande.

VNto our sauiour Iesus Christe / after his manhode, was geuen of god his father, not onely all suf∣ficiencie and fulnes of grace, but also the knowledge and reuelacion of all suche secret mysteries, as shoulde happen from tyme to tyme in Christendome, vntyll suche tyme as he shoulde come againe vnto the lattre iudgement: whiche secretes our sauiour Christ dyd reuele and open throughe his angels vnto his electe seruauntes, and specially vnto holy S. Iohn: I meane vnto that Iohn, whiche bare wytnes of the worde of god, and of Iesus Christ, and dyd recorde all suche matters and doctrine, as he himselfe had sene, and lerned. Whiche doctrine shall be very profytable vnto e∣uery one that shall reade & vnderstande this prophecye, so far as he shal endeuer himselfe to lyue therafter, preparinge & appointynge himselfe thorowe a true faith and a christen conuersacion to please the lorde in this lyfe, whiche is shorte and transitorye, and the ende therof, vncerten▪

The texte.

¶ Iohn, to the seuen congregacions in Asia. Grace be vnto you & peace, from him whiche is, and whiche was, and whiche is to come, and from the seuen spirites whiche are before his trone, and from Iesus Christ, whiche is a faythful witnes, and first begotten of the dead, and Lorde ouer the Kynges of the earth. Vnto him that loued vs, & wasshed vs from our synnes in his awne bloude, and made vs kynges and prestes, vnto god his father, be glorye and dominion for euermore. Amen.

In lytle Asia were notable churches and congregacions set vp & institute of the holy apostles, & speciallye of S. Paule vnto whiche also S. Peter wry∣teth, & confirmeth them in the faythe, and vnto the same dothe S. Iohn wryte specially, in consyderacion that this doctrine shoulde concerne all churches ge∣nerally whiche were at that tyme standynge, or shoulde afterwarde be institute thorowe out the whole world. And he wysheth vnto them all as muche good, as he can thincke or dyuyfe, from god whiche is onely the gyuer of all good thin∣ges, & is and remayneth for euer vnmutable & ruleth & gouerneth all thinges, wherunto he vseth the ministraciō & seruice of his angels, which are infynyte in nombre: whiche thing the nombre of seuen dothe sygnifye accordynge vnto the vse of holy scripture. And with this eternall father & holy spirite one god, reyg∣neth our lord Iesus Christ, which is appointed to be y^e ruler of al thīges in hea∣uen & earth, & of al sensyble creatures, both gostly (as y^e spirites are) & bodily. He in his mans nature, for very loue toward mankinde was sēt for y^e comforte and wealth of y^• whole world, & testifyed most faithfully vnto al y^e world, y^e wil of his father in the gospel, accordyng as it was before promysed in all the prophetes,

that he shoulde be the founder and performer of the newe testament, and should be offered vp and dye for the synnes of the whole world, and in the resurrectiō or vprisynge againe of the bodye and soule, he shoulde goe before all the resy∣due of the faythfull, and be their guyde vnto euerlastynge lyfe: whiche lyfe he onely hath meryted and purchaced thorowe his perfyte obedyence vpon the erosse, vnto death. And therefore is he exalted, as concernynge his manhode, aboue all creatures, and hath receyued the moost worthiest and hyghest name and tytle, that can be named, eyther in this world, or in the worlde to come. And he hath purchaced and deserued for all the holy elect children of god, the honour and glorye of the euerlastynge kyngdome, and also grace, to rule, and gouerne our selues vertuouslye, and to offre vp dayly and continually a pleasant sacry∣fyce of thanckes geuynge, in true faith in god, thorow Iesus Christ. Vnto hym therfore alone parteyneth all honour and glorye.

The texte.

¶ Beholde, he commeth with cloudes, and al eyes shal see him, and they also which pear∣sed him. And all kynreds of the earth shall wayle ouer him. Euen so, Amen.

Euen in despyte, and against the wyll and mynde of all them that crucifyed Christ, and woulde not take nor knowledge him for a kyng, yet he commeth in the hyghest maiestye, whiche excelleth all glorye and power of all otherkynges that euer were, and nowe sheweth hym selfe and appeareth thorowe fayth, vn∣to all his electe as the very messias and sauiour of the worlde, whiche was so long desyered and loked for. And whan he shal come at the latter daye, to iudge the quycke and the deade, than shall all the Iewes and vnfaythful, whiche des∣pysed him at his first commynge (whan he came with suche humblenes,) crucy∣fyeng and putting him to death, and woulde not receyue nor knowledge hym for a sauioure, and a messias, they shall than see him with feare and tremblyng and he shall appeare dreadfull vnto them.

The texte.

¶ I am Alpha and Omega, the begynnynge and the endynge, sayeth the Lorde almighty, whiche is, and whiche was, and whiche is to come. I Iohn your brother and companion in tribulacion, and in the kyngdome and pacience in Iesu Christe, was in the yle that is called Pathmos, for the word of god, and for the witnessynge of Iesus Christ.

This doth Christ speake to declare his godly maiestye, and his eternall substaunce, & his almyghtye power without ende or begynnynge. And he spea∣keth after the maner of the grecians, amonge the whiche Alpha is the first let∣ter & Omega the last. And after this, speaketh S. Iohn the Euangelist again, of his owne parson without any worldly boasting: reioysyng (as it becommeth a Christē man) not in any honour or ryches of y^e world, nor yet in any holynes y^e is in himselfe, but onely in y^e affliccions, persecuciōs, pacience, mysery, & party∣cypacion of y^e rightuousnes in Christ, wherof he is a witnes, & a partener in suf∣feryng for Christes sake: which thing hapned vnto him for the gospel, by y^e pro∣curement & commaundemēt of Domicianus the Emperour which would haue bene honoured for a God, where as Iohn taught, that the onely lyuynge god and none els ought to be honoured and called vpon. For y^• whiche cause, Iohn was banyshed & sent into Pathmos, where god dyd shewe this reuelacion vnto him, & bad him wryte it: & so by that meanes thorow his wryting, to set furth & to further y^e glorye of Christ in his banyshemēt, more thā euer he had bene able to haue done with his wordes or preachinge onely, yf he had styll remayned a∣monge his frendes in his countrey.

The texte.

I was in the spirite on a sondaye, and hearde be hynde me a great voyce as it had bene ^a trempe, saying: I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the sast. That thou seest: wryt in a booke, and sende it vnto the seuen congregacions whiche are in Asia, vnto Ephesus, and vnto Smyrna, and vnto Pergamos, and vnto Thiatira, and vnto Sardis, and vnto Phi∣ladelphia, and vnto Laodicia.

The lordes daye is the sondaye, whiche the holy Apostles, (thoroughe the ho∣ly goost which they receyued at whytsontyde) did institute to be sanctyfyed and kept holy of the Christen churche, in the steade of the Iewes Sabboth day, not without very necessarye laudable and expediente consyderacions. Eusebius wryteth that S. Iohn dyd rule the churche of Ephesus after S. Paules death and lyke wyse also, the other churches in Asia, and therfore was commaūded of Christ in this place, to sende this wrytynge vnto them, forasmuche as he know them best, so that in processe of tyme it myght be common vnto all churches for their edefyeng & instruccion, as it came also to passe. And vnto thē also he wrote his gospel (after that he was delyuered out of Pathmos,) against y^• heretykes, whiche began at that tyme to ryse.

The texte.

¶ And I turned backe to se the voyce that spake to me. And whan I was turned, I sawe seuen golden candelstyckes, and in the myddes of the candelstyckes, one lyke vnto y^• sonne of man, clothed with a lynnen garment downe to the fere, and gyrde aboute the pappes with a golden gyrdle. His heade and his heares were white, as whyte woll, & as snowe: and his eyes were as a flame of fyre: and his fere lyke vnto brasse, as thoughe they brent in a forna••••, and his voyce as the sounde of many warers. And he had in his ryght hande scuēst••rres. And out of his mouthe went a sharpe two edged swearde. And his face shone euen as the sunne in his strength.

What is sygnifyed by the seuen golden candelstyckes, and by the vii. starres, that shall Christ himselfe hereafter declare: whiche beyng very god, yet he was in euery condicion (synne excepte) lyke vnto vs all, after his mans nature: And with his spirite, ayde, and gouernynge he is present in all churches, and shall so remayne vntyll the worldes end. He is clothed with innocencye & holynes, by reason wherof he made oblacion, not for his owne but for our synnes. He is also gyrded with heauenly myght and power, alwayes redy and glad to helpe the faithfull. He is the heade, full of godly and heauenly wysedome, whiche kno∣weth all thinges from euerlastynge. He loketh with a fearfull face, and with a terryble and grim countenaunce, against al vnfaythfull, but a pleasant and lo∣uyng countenaunce she with he towarde the electe and faythfull beleuers. He is ready with his hote flamynge and burnyng fete to stampe in peces and to de∣stroye the wycked and vngodly. His voyce is the holy gospell, whiche neyther all the gates of hell, all the power vpon earth & in hell, nor all his enemyes can ouercome, all thoughe Paule at the begynnyng beyng blynde and ignorante, thought & hoped y^e cōtrary: The wicked Emperoure Nero lykewyse, & dyuerse other. But they all withall suche lyke, were alwayes stryken and ouercomme with the sworde of the almyghtye worde of god. And vnto the godly and fayth∣full, the ioyfull and comfortable syght of him is more pleasant and delectable than the bryghtnesse or clearnes of the sonne can be vnto any earthly creature.

The texte.

¶ And whan I sawe him, I fell at his fete, euē as dead. And he layde his right hande vp∣on me, sayinge: vnto me feare not, I am the first and the laste, and a•• alyue, and was dead. And beholde, I am alyue for euermore, and haue the keyes of hell and of death. Wryte therfore the thinges whiche thou hast sene, and the thinges whiche are, and the thinges whiche must be fulfylled her after: the mysterye of the seuen starres whiche thou sawest in my right hande, and the seuen golden candelstyckes. The seuēstarres are the messengers of the seuen congregacions. And the seuen candelstyckes whiche thousawest, are the seuen congregacions.

If this holy Apostle and Euangelyst, a dysciple whom Christ loued, were not able to suffre nor abyde the presence of Christes glorified manhode: Howe wyll the wicked enemyes of the truth and of all godlynes, abyde it, or what wyll they doe? Howe Christ is the firste and the laste, god and man, the very laluaci∣on it selfe, and yet crucified as a synner: and how he rose vp againe from death, ascended into heauen and receyued power ouer al creatures, it nedeth no further interpretaciō. And againe the holy congregacions or churches haue their pro∣pre & peculiar angels to leade them, to guyde them, to wayte vpō them, to serue them and after gods ordinaunce to defende and preserue them.