¶ And I sawe an Angell come downe from heauen, hauynge the kaye of the bottomlesse pit, and a great chayne in his hande. And he toke the dragon that olde serpent, whiche is the deuil and Satanas, & he bounde him a thousande yeares: & cast him into y• bottomlesse pit, & he bounde him, and set a seale on him, that he shoulde deceaue the people nomore, tyl the thousande yeares were fulfylled. And after that he must be loced for a lytell season.
THis chapter maye be taken, as it wer, for a rehersal of the visi∣ons & reuelacions that were before mencioned. And by the waie it describeth againe y• honour and maiestie of Christ, of gods worde, and the power of the holy gospell, and the benefites of Christ, & addeth therunto the last iudgemēt of the deade whiche shall dye .ii. deathes. This angel that commeth from heauen is Christ whiche shoulde come in to this worlde as was promised vnto the firste man in the beginnynge of the worlde that he shoulde treade the old serpent vp∣on the heade. Whiche is nothing els, but that he shoulde take his power from him whiche the iust and rightuous God hath suffered him to exercise againste man for the synne of the first dysobedience and transgression. Whiche power Sathan hath alwayes exercised and practised with all wicked disceyte and dy∣uerse errours, and specially with ydolatrye, after the whiche doe folow blindnes and all maner of synnes. This power hath Christ mightily and with force ta∣ken from Sathan the deuyll, thorowe his rightuousnes and humblenes euen vntyll the crosse, satisfieng for all the pryde, transgression, disobedience and vn∣faithfulnes of Adam and Eue. And thus he hath bounde him with the chayne of his well deserued power, that is to say, hath hindered him of his proude ty∣rannye & shameful wicked power against the faithful electe of god. This band should indure a thousande yeares y• is to say, a long tyme, namely euen y• tyme of the right Christen faith, which after y• saying of y• olde fathers should indure for .ii. thousande yeares, but it is vncerten from what tyme, men should begin to teken these yeares, & that the faith in this tyme, should be sore assaulted, whiche hath alwayes bene at this point euen in the tyme of y• Iewes in y• olde testamēt and amōg gods owne people hath sometime increased and somtime fallen & de∣decaied. And according therunto might Sathā exercise his power at some tyme more thā at a nother. And thus thorow Christ, Sathan is alwaies bonde vnto