¶ And I sawe in the right hande of him that sate in the trone, a boke wryten within and on the backe syde sealed with seuen seales. And I sawe a stronge aungell whiche preached with a loude voyce: Who is worthy to open the boke, and to lose the seales therof? And no man in heauen nor in erth nether vnder y• erth was able to open y• boke nether to loke theron And I wepte muche because no man was founde worthy to open & to reade y• boke, nether to loke theron. And one of the elders sayd vnto me: wepe not. Beholde a lyon of the trybe of Iuda, the rote of Dauid, hath optayned to open the boke, & to loce the seuen seales therof.
THis boke in the hande of god, is the holy scripture and doctrine of god, inspired by the holy goost, written thorowe the prophe∣tes, sealed vp and vnknowen vnto all men, whiche wyll enter∣pryse to reade and interprete it after their naturall reason, and after the capacyte of their owne suttyll wittes onely, whether it be after the spirituall sence, or after the very letter. For y• which cause fewe of the cyuyll and polytique learned men, geuen altogether vnto worldly wysedom, dyd euer but lytle medle with this booke, or beare any minde vnto it. And therfore Ezechiel and Daniel were commaunded to set a locke vp∣on it, notwithstandynge that this booke is the truth, necessarye and profytable for al the electe children of god, to beleue. But that man alone and none els, can open this booke at all tymes, whiche hath the spirite of Christ, neyther dyd any other euer open it from the begynnynge. For lyke as Christ was alwayes pre∣sent with the Patriarkes and Prophetes, in al suche thinges as concerned his honour, rulynge, & instructyng y• faythful churche thorow faythe: Euen so was the spirite of god present in all the electe plentyfullye, to directe them in al mat∣ters, concerning the necessitie of their saluacion, althoughe secretly & not many∣festly. Wherfore truly, this booke is shut vp vnto all worldly and natural rea∣son, not onely vnto the heathen, but also vnto the fleshely Iewes, with their stony hartes, as the most part of them were, and vnto all suche as without the spirite of Christe doe enterpryse to medle with the wrytinges of holy scripture. And therfore Iohn bewayleth the ignoraunce and blyndnes of the Iewyshe people, and that not without a cause. But yet this comforte hath he, that it wyll amende and be better: at suche tyme as the spirite of Christe thorowe the merytes of the death and passion of Christ, shall take awaye the blyndnes of all maner of errours, bothe of the heathen and of the Iewes. And then thorowe the spirite of god in the apostles, shall be opened the mysteries of the holy gospel,