fast in righteousnesse and feare and prepare thy soule to temptation And in the Prouerbes My sonne refuse not the chastening of the Lorde neither be grieued with his correction For the Lord correcteth him whom he loueth euen as the Father the childe in whome he delighteth As manie as I loue I rebuke and chasten sayth Christ. Therefore the Apostle telleth the Hebrewes If you be without correction whereof al are partakers then are ye bastardes and not sonnes In the tenth of Mathew our sauiour warneth his Disciples hereof Beholde I sende you as sheepe in the middest of Wolues Thus God schooleth and nourtereth his people that so through many tribulations they may enter to their rest Frankencense wheÌ„ it is put in the fire giueth the greater perfume spice if it be punned smelleth the swéeter the earth when it is torne vp with the plough becommeth more fruitful the séede in the ground after frost and snowe and winter storme springeth the rancker the nigher the vine is pruned to the stocke the greater grape it yéeldeth the grape when it is most pressed and beaten maketh the swéetest wine fine golde is the better when it is cast in the fire rough stones with hewing are squared and made fit for building cloth is rent and cut that it may bee made a garment linnen is buckt and washt and wrung and beaten and is the fairer These are familiar examples to shewe the benefite and commoditie which the children of God receiue by persecution By it God wâ—…sheth and scoureth his congregation We reioyce sayth Saint Paul in tribulations knowing that tribulation bringeth foorth patience and patience experience and experience hope and hope maketh not ashamed The power of God is made perfect in weakenesse And al things turne vnto good to them that feare the Lorde V. 5. Euen for this cause when I could no longer forbeare I sent him that I might knowe of your faith least the tempter had tempted you in any sort and that our labour had beene in vaine 6 But nowe lately when Timotheus came from you vnto vs brought vs good tydings of your faith and loue and that yee haue good remembraunce of vs alwayes desiring to see vs as we also doe you 7 Therefore brethren wee had consolation in you in al our affliction and necessitie thorough your faith 8 For nowe are we aliue if ye stande fast in the Lorde 9 For what thankes can wee recompense to GOD againe for you for al the ioy wherewith wee reioyce for your sakes before our God 10 Night and daye praying exceedinglie that wee might see your face and might accomplish that which is lacâ—…g in your faith The Apostle continueth in declaring his earnest affection towards them and how greatly he reioyted to heare of their constaâ—…ie in the faith and of their loue and agréement together For he feared it might haue happened to them as it had doone to others He preached to the Galathians but they gaue care to faile Apostles and went backe from that hee had taught them I am in feare of you sayeth he least I haue bestowed on you labour in vaine And ye did runnewel who did let you that you did not obey the trueth it is not of the persuasion of him that calleth you The Diuel hath bewitched you and beguiled your eyes Such is the sutfeltie and the power of Satan in the children of disobedience Iudas was an Apostle equal with Peter and the other Apostles The Diuell entred into his heart and bewitched him and then he became the childe of destruction Iulian the Apostata was a Christian and a reader in the Church but became an enemie of Christ and when he was stricken in the fielde by myracle from Heauen hée threwe vp his bloude in defiaunce of Christ so had the Diuel bewitched him and changed his heart to wickednesse It might haue béene that their weakenesse should in like sort haue béene overcome when the tempter tempted them And so the gold which hée had left with them might haue béene turned into drosse the light into darkenes and the kingdome of God taken away from them For then had his labour béene in vaine and they had receiued the worde to their owne damnation For it had béene better for them not to haue knowen the way of righteousnesse than after they haue knowen it to turne from the holy commaundement giuen vnto them The Diuel is the tempter His strength and practise is not alwaies by force of armes but by suttle persuasions other sleights He reasoneth w t Eue why she would not tast of y e apple which was swéete pleasant delicate Telleth y e poore woman god did nothing but mocke hir For God knewe what day they shoulde eatâ—… thereof their eies should be opened and they should knowe as much as God Hee came to Christ and sayd Commaund that these stones be made breade and cast thy selfe downe if thou be the sonne of God then thou shalt be worshipped and taken for a great Prophet He tempted Dauid after this sort why wilt thou serue God he hath aduaunced thine enemies and hath forsaken thée and left thée in miserie I fretted sayth Dauid at the foolish These are the wicked yet prosper they alway and encrease in riches Certainely I haue clensed my heart in vaine and washed my handes in innocencie for dayly haue I beene punished and chastened euerie morning Mine heart was vexed so foolish was I and ignoraunt I was a beast before thee He tempted Iob the faithful seruaunt of God and tolde him that he was righteous and holy and gaue almes in vaine that God had no regard to his prayers and would not heare This tempter waiteth al occasions to drawe vs from our faith and stedfastnesse in the Lorde Yet is he neuer so busie as when anie persecution is raised against the trueth Then is he in his ruffe Then playeth hee his part and leaueth nothing vndoone whereby he may moue vs to forsake the trueth Wilt thou saieth he be so foolish to loose their life and knowest not wherefore art thou wiser than thy forefathers Why shouldest not thou be contented to doe as thy father and mother and friendes and kinsfolkes thinkest thou they haue not as good care of their soules as thou hast of thine wilt thou make them Pagans and Infidels dost thou thinke they are damned be wise and cast not thy selfe awaie Flesh is fraile life is swéete death is dreadfull but to die in the fire to be burned aliue to see thy armes and thy legges quite burnt from thy bodie and that yet thou canst not die this is most terrible thou canst neuer abide it Beholde so manie Kings and Princes Noble men Cardinals Bishoppes Doctors and learned men and whole kingdomes and countries of the contrarie opinion Be not wilfull Thinke not thy selfe wiser than al the world What were it for thée to come to the Church and to shew thy selfe obedient and
shall set themselues against his holie will be they neuer so manie they shal be damned Let such marke wel what Ignatius who liued in the time of the Apostles hath saide Audivi quosdam dicentes si non invenero Evangelium in antiquis non credam Talibus autem ego dico quia mihi antiquit as Iesus Christus est cui non obeaire manifestus irremissibilis interitus est Ignaty epist. 5. ad Philadel I haue heard some which saie vnlesse I find the Gospell in them of olde time I wil not beleeue it But vnto such I saie that Iesus Christ is vnto me antiquitie Whome to disobey is manifest and vnpardonable destruction Let no man saie I hope I doe well my meaning is good I haue a desire to please GOD I beléeue well I doe my conscience If I doe aâ—…isse God will regard my simplicitie Let no man so saie Saint Augustine saith It is certain that a foolish faith not onelie doeth no good but also hurteth If thou beléeue not the truth thou dwellest in lying thou art the child of the Diuel which is a liar and the father thereof The mouth which speaketh lies slaieth the soule Thy faith is no faith it is but a wilful opinion it is but an errour for it is not according to the truth it is not built vppon the rocke it is not grounded on the word of God Change thine errour Faith is by hearing and hearing by the worde of GOD receiue the truth beléeue the truth and loue the truth Otherwise if thou refuse the breade of life and féede on poison if thou forsake the water of life and digge vnto thy selfe a Cesterne that wil holde no water thou shalt leade thy daies in wilfulnesse and shalt die in sinne thy bloud shall be vpon thine owne head Thou shalt not sâ—…e the glorie of God death and damnation shall be thy méede bycause thau hadst pleasure in wickednesse and diddest not giue thy heart to receiue and loue and beléeue the truth Nowe it remaineth that wée heare howe Antichrist shall be euerthrowen Wée haue séene his pompe and pride his might and power that hée ouerlooketh all the worlde bindeth all Kings and Princes and nations to kéepe his lawes and is himselfe exempted from all lawes of GOD or man So mightie and so maruailous is his power Who can declare it Hée is called of his owne side Stupor mundi The gaze stocke or wonder of the world Something lesse than God something more than man But being in all this estate in the middest of his Pontificalibus so fast mortized so high built vppe to the skies so surely shoared so strongly beset on euerie side hée shall be sodainely shaken downe and become the shame of the world How maie this be done being so mortized so built so shoared and so beset who shal shake him downe What power shall consume him shall it be the great power of Kings or of Emperours They shall giue their power and auctoritie to the beast and fight with the lamb that is against Christ. Shal it be the auctoritie of Bishoppes and Cardinalles and great Clearkes al they are lincked and ioined to him Shall it be by the wisedome and drift of Counsailours and men of lawe They be the féede men and sworne to him Shal it be the violence and conspiracie of the people They shall knéele downe to him and honour him and reuerence him as an Angell of God If neither the power of Doctours nor of Bishops nor Archbishops if not the power of Counsailors and men at lawe if not the power of the Kings and Princes of the worlde if not the power and commotion of the people if al these shal not abolishe him what power then is it wherewith he shall be consumed it shal be the power of God which shal be reuealed from aboue The Lorde shall consume him with the spirite of his mouth These wordes are diuersly taken Some â—…und them thus GOD shal appoint the great Angel Michael to set vppon Antichrist and he shal destroy him Others take these wordes to be spoken of the daie of iudgement and then this shal be fulfilled when Christ shall saie Departe from mee yee cursed into euerlasting fire that this is the spirit of the Lordes mouth wherewith hée shall be consumed But the Apostle speaketh of the preaâ—…hing of the gospel That God by his word which is mightie to doe al that whereunto hée appointeth it shal make his doings manifest and let al the world sée that he was not sent of God that he did neuer set foorth the glorie of God that hée hath not sought the saluation of the people that in matters of faith and in al his life he is aduersarie to Christ this is that breath that shal descrie his errours and vanities this is that spirite which shal consume the kingdome of Antichrist This ouerthrowe is alreadie begun as our eyes may beholde this day In like sort speaketh Esay the prophet He shal smite the earth with the rod of his mouth and with the breath of his lippes shal he slaie the wicked Princes make their conquests by power and strength by fire and sworde and engines of warre but God shal beate downe his aduâ—…rsarie with the râ—…d of his mouth By the true preaching of his worde His worde is mightie it is his sword it is his mace it is the rod of his mouth it is the breath of his lippes It is of great force no strength shal withstand it it shal finite the earth it shal â—…ea the wicked S. Paule sayth We doe not warre after the flesh for the weapons of our warfare are mightie through God to cast downe holdes This sword hath hewne downe in many places the crueltie tyrannie simonie insatiable gréedinesse the errours ignoraunce darkenesse vanities hipocrisie superstition and idolatry which haue bin brought into the church and vsed by Antichrist These were the pillars and strength and glorie of his kingdome And here marke the Apostles spéech Hée saith not God shal coÌ„uert Antichrist or change his heart that he may be saued But he sayth Whom the Lord shal consume Gods word is almightie By his word he can do whatsoeuer pleaseth him He can make the deafe to heare the blind to sée He was able to cal the théefe vpon the crosse vnto repentance He was able to raise vp Lazarus out of his graue He is able of stones to raise vp children to Abraham He can throw downe euery high thing that is exalted against the glorie of GOD and wil bring kinges and Princes and the rulers of the earth to the obedience of Christ. But of Antichrist it is sayd The Lorde shal consume him Such is the hardnesse blindnesse of his heart he wil not receiue the loue of the truth he wil not beléeue the trueth of God that he might be saued Therefore destruction shal come vpon him Hereby we are taught what to thinke or hope of
concerning them which are asleepe that yee sorrowe not euen as other which haue no hope 14 For if wee beleeue that Iesus is dead and is risen euen so them that sleepe with Iesus wil God bring with him Herein standeth the comfort of Christian religion Were it not for the hope of the seconde life the godly in this worlde were in worse case than the dumbe and brute beastes When Christ appointed his Disciples to goe and preach hée sayde I sende you as sheepe in the middest of wolues They will scourge you you shall bée hated of al men As the Gospel encreased in any place these words were fulfilled The godly were put to death for the name of Christ. The father did sée his sonne staine before his face and the sonne his father cruelly tormented Hence grewe great mourning heauinesse Oh saide they he was a reuerende sage father oh he was a wise young man learned zealous and a great stay in the Church Why would God take him before his time there is not nowe any one left whom we may beholde or heare or followe We are left comfortlesse and without hope After this sort it is likely the Thessalonians mourned when they behelde the persecution of the Church of God among them Herein they grewe towardes mistrust and to be like the heathen which had no hope Saint Paule thought good to refourme this errour And because this abuse grewe of ignorance for that they knewe not the happie estate of such which die in the Lorde hée sayeth I would not haue you ignoraunt what is become of them and what GOD hath doone for them He hath tryed them as golde and hath made them woorthie for himselfe Therefore you ought rather to reioyce there is no cause at al of mourning When Christ sawe his disciples heauie and sad because of his departure hée sayde If yee loued mee yee woulde verily reioyce because I sayde I goe to the father for my father is greater than I. I shal sit at the right hande of my father in glorie then shal euerie knée bowe vnto mée and enerie tongue shal confesse my greatnesse Therefore if ye loued me you would reioyce in my behalfe It is ignoraunce that maketh you heauie because you knowe not whither I goe When Ioseph was solde into Egypt good father Iacob thought he was dead and therefore mourned day and night Nothing could comfort him Alas sayeth he that I haue liued to sée this day O Ioseph my sonne my sonne Ioseph oh that I might giue my life to redéeme thée Nowe shal my hoarie head goe downe to the graue in heauinesse But when he hearde that Ioseph liued and did sée him with his eyes when he did sée that he was a Prince next in place to the King and had al the Countrey at commaundement then hée knewe he had mourned without a cause Then his heart leapt within him his eyes gusht out with water he wept for ioy Ignoraunce as we sée made him heauie knowledge of the truth as it was reioyced his halt and made him glad There is great errour and darkenesse and ignoraunce in mans life Wee reioyce when wee haue cause to mourne and mourne manie times when wee haue cause to reioyce Therefore he sayeth I would not haue you ignorant Be not deceiued God hath giuen you eyes to sée the right ways God hath giuen you eares to heare counsel and a heart to knowe reason and to vnderstande and iudge God hath giuen you the Scriptures and by them the knowledge of his wil. He hath giuen you a face to looke vp to heauen and the spirit of life hath he poured into you that you should not by anie meanes be deceiued That ye sorrowe not as other that haue no hope He doth not forbidde natural affection Our parentes and our children are deare vn to vs. They are our fleshe and bloude and the chiefe and principal partes of our bodie Anie part of our bodie can not be cut off but wée shal féele it The father if he féele not the death of his sonne or the sonne if he féele not the death of his Father and haue not a déepe féeling of it he is vnnaturall Dauid mourned for Ionathan The whole lande mourned for Iosias Paul sayth God haue mercie vppon Epaphroditus he was sicke verie néere vnto death and not on him onely but on me also least I shoulde haue sorrowe vpon sorrowe If God had taken Epaphroditus out of life no doubt Paul would haue sorrowed What néede more examples Christ mourned for Lazarus and shed teares for him Then saide the Iewes behold he loued him Wée are not therefore forbidden to mourne ouer the dead but to mourne in such sorte as the heathen did we are forbidden They as they did neither beléeue in God nor in Christ so had they no hope of y e life to come When a father saw his sonne dead he thought he had beene dead for euer He became heauie changed his garment delighted in no companie forsooke his meate famished him selfe rent his bodie cursed his fortune cried out of his Gods Oh my deare sonne saith he how beautifull how learned and wise and vertuous wast thou why shouldst thou die so vntimely why haue I offered sacrifice and done seruice to my Gods they haue made me a good recompence I wil trust them no more I wil no more call vpon them Thus they fel into dispaire and spake blasphemies Therefore saith Paul you may mourne as did the holie men of GOD but in such sorte as the vnfaithfull sorrowe for their dead you maie not mourne You are the sonnes of the holie fathers fashion not your selues therefore like to the heathens do not as they did neither in feastes nor in marriages nor in your attire nor in your mourning nor in your pastimes But behaue your selues as becommeth the children of the most highest But why may not Christians mourne and continue in heauinesse because it is no newe thing for a man to die because he goeth the waie of al flesh Againe they that departe this life are not dead they are not gone for euer as the heathen imagined They are laid down to take rest quietly for a time The deth of a godlie man is nothing else but a sléepe So saith our sauiour of Lazarus Our friend Lazarus sleepeth howbeit Iesus spake of his death So it is saide of Steuen And they stoned Steuen who called on God and saide Lord Iesus receiue my spirite And hee kneeled downe and cried with a loud voice Lord laie not this sinne to their charge and when he had thus spoken he slept Whosoeuer dieth in the peace of conscience he may saie I will lie downe and take my rest Thus doeth the man of God repose himselfe For Christ is vnto him both in life and in death aduantage He saith with the Apostle Whether we liue wee liue vnto the Lord or whether wee die we die vnto the Lord whether wee liue
vnto the resurrection of life but they that haue doone euill vnto the resurrection of condemnation And againe I am the resurrection and the life hee that beleeueth in mee though hee were dead shal liue and whosoeuer liueth and beleeueth in me shall neuer die For if wee beleeue that Iesus is dead and is risen that he was deliuered to death for our sinnes and is risen againe for our iustification if we beléeue that he is ascended vp into heauen and sitteth at the right hand of GOD his father he will also raise vp our mortall bodies and bring vs with him Nowe Christ is risen from the dead and was made the firste fruites of them that sleepe He is our head wée are his bodie Wee are flesh of his flesh and bone of his bone Hée hath giuen vs his Spirite to dwell in vs. But if anie man hath not the Spirite of Christ the same is not his Christ our head liueth His bodie then can not he dead Where I am sayeth he there shall also my seruaunt be Wherefore if we be dead with Christ we beleeue that wee shal liue also with him What then shal become of the infidelles which haue no faith which haue not the spirit of God Shal not they rise againe Yes verily They shal rise but not with Christ. They shal not rise the resurrection of the iust Some shal rise vnto life some vnto death some to saluation others to damnation some to glory others to shame Wee must al appeare before the iudgement seate of Christ that euerie man may receiue the thinges which are doone in his bodie according to that he hath doone whether it be good or euil The wicked shal rise vp again with their bodies and their portion shal be with the Diuel and his Angels they shal come foorth of their graues to the resurrection of condemnation their bodie and soule shal be cast into hel fire Their worme shal neuer die their fire shal not be quenched It had béen better for them they had neuer béene borne V. 15. For this say we vnto you by the word of the Lord that we which liue and are remaining in the comming of the Lorde shal not preuent them that sleepe 16. For the Lorde himselfe shal descende from heauen with a shout and with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God and the dead in Christ shal rise first This that we declare vnto you is not of our selues It is the truth of God it shal stand good be found true for euer God wil raise our bodies out of the graue 〈◊〉 restore theÌ„ from death to life You may not reason howe or in what order this shal be doone or who shal be the first or the seconde or the third that shal rise vp in the resurrection Such questions are unfit and not to be moued We shal al be chaunged in a moment in the twinckling of an eye At that houre some shalve aliue and some shal be dead For he shal come to iudge both the quicke and the dead We that are remaining in the comming of the Lorde shal not preuent them that sleepe Neither is their part better in the resurrection that shal then be founde aliue nor their part worse that haue béene dead manis yeares before For they which were dead shal as soone be partakers of the glory of the sonnes of God as the other Touching the state of men that shal liue in the end of the world Christ sayth As the daies of Noe so likewise shal the comming of the sonne of man be I doubt not but you remeÌ„ber the storie what dreadful plague of rain tempest fel when al the world was drowned and destroyd with water Vice and vngodlines encreased and al flesh had corrupt his way vpon earth They had no shame there was no feare of God before their eyes Gods wrath was kindled against them He sent Noah a preacher of righteousnes to reforme them to tel them of the destructioÌ„ at hand that they might repent and be saued But they regarded it not They laught Noah to scorne grewe desperate and continued in sinne Sodenly al the fountaines of the great déepe were broken vp the windowes of heauen were opened As they were eating drinking buying selling building purchasing stirring and trauailing as they were in the middest of their ioyes trauailes and pleasures the raine came vpon them and the flouds grewe so great that it destroyed the whole worlde except Noah and a fewe of his companie Their landes their goods Cities Castles nor any other their pleasure or wealth could saue them so shal it be in the comming of Christ. As it was in the daies of Lot and as it betel to Sodome and Gomortha they liued and increased in filthinesse Their heartes were blind and regarded no counsel Their bodies were filthie their soules their liues their houses cities were ful of filthinesse The Angel of God departed from them Loth went out from among them and fire came downe from heauen and consumed them to ashes and caried them downe quick into hel There was no father left to lament his child no child left to lament his father So shal it be at the comming of Christ. He shal come as a théefe sodenly when no man looketh for his comming he shal come at such season when mens harts wil be asléepe and thinke not of him S. Peter sayeth There shal come in the last dayes mockers which will walke after their lustes and say where is the promise of his comming for since the fathers dyed al things continue alike from the beginning of the creation They skorne the threatninges of Gods indgement When shal the world come to an ende We haue winter and sommer raine snow day and night as before The sonne kéepeth his course the fioudes runne the frâ—… beare fruit al things are as they haue béene O sayth Peter know this that god hath made the heauen and earth and al the furniture in them They are his creatures he doth holde theÌ„ vp and preserue them by the power of his word When God shal withdrawe his word they shal decay and haue an ende As for our Lorde he shal come and not tarie at his comming heauen shal depart away as a scrol that is rold the element shal melt with heat and the earth with the works that are therin shal be burnt vp and consumed before his face Deceiue not your selues with lying wordes For when you say peace peace and al thinges are safe then shal sodaine destruction come vpon you Then two men shal be in the fieldes the one shal bee receiued and the other refused Two women shal be grinding at the mil the one shall be receiued and the other refused So shal also the comming of the sonne of man â—…ée The number of the faithful that shal remain at his comming shal not be many So sayth Christ When the sonne
passe The man of sinne is reuealed What a kingdome made he of purgatorie he shut out thence whom he listed and released such as were there at his pleasure He claimed power ouer the quick dead he sold the yeres the daiâ—…s and the monethes by rounde reckoning a hundred fiue hundred and a thousand and thousand thousands yeares of pardon Of which follie his owne Canonistes were ashamed One of them saith NaÌ„ quod dicitur Petro tibi dabâ—… claues c. Touching that Christ sayde vnto Peter Vnto thee wil I wiue the keies c. We must vnderstande this authority with a corne of salt other â—…ise it may be vnsauerie Therefore certaine of the Popes pardons that promise twentie thousand yeres are foolish and superstitious This was not giuen for nothing but solde for money Who had ought to giue had spéedy dispatch but poore soules that had nothing or no friendes to pay for them should lie still This was a wealthie kingdome But nowe where is purgatorie who regardeth it Who careth for it children scorne it in their stréets and knowe it is a â—…able Howe commeth this so to passe the wicked or lawelesse man is reuealed He was able to rule the whole world with a becke His word stood as the worde of God no Prince nor Emperour durst withstand it It was thought impossible that hee should â—…rre But nowe the worlde séeth his woâ—… deceiueable and vaine he erreth and hath liued in great errour Now fewe men wil beléeue him no Prince wil trust his word howsoeuer they whose eyes God hath not yet opened to sée the truth trust him in religion in worldly matters they wil not trust him How commeth this so to passe the man of sinne is reuealed What shall I saie more behold round about the worlde all places and euen Rome it selfe The poore massing Priest standeth a colde and can get no hire the Popes Palles lie a rotting his Bulles goe a begging his wares stand vpon his hand no wise man will buy them Why howe commeth this so to passe The man of sinne is reuealed all his deceit and treacherie is reuealed The Pope stirreth and striueth at this day al that he can He excommunicateth and curseth he sendeth out his bulles he bloweth vp seditions he bréeoeth treasons he raiseth subiects against their Princes he setteth Princes vpon their subiects he imprisoneth and murdereth the Saints of God he shaketh and enflameth the whole world in his quarrels But al in vaine Why so howe commeth this to passe there is no counsaile no wisedome no fire no sworde that shall preuaile against the Lorde The man of sinne and his errours are reuealed Men sée and know and detest the blindnesse wherein they were lead the people forsake him ouer and ouer the world Whom the Lord shall consume with the spirite of his mouth and shall abolish with the brightnesse of his comming 9 Euen him whose comming is by the effectual working of Satan with all power and signes and lying wonders 10 And in al deceiueablenesse of vnrighteousnesse among them that perish because that they receiued not the word of the trueth that they may be saued By the order of the Apostles wordes I shoulde nowe speake of the ouerthrow of Antichrist how and by what power he shall be confounded But because the two verses next following speake yet of the state of Antichrist by whose meanes he shal come and of what countenaunce he shall be and with whome he shall preuaile it shal be good we consider these things first and then shew how â—…e shall be destroyed When Christ came into the worlde hée came in the name of his father to saue the lost shéepe of the house of Israel and to gather the flocke that was scattered Antichrist shall come in the name of the Diuel to scatter and disperse and consume the stocke of Gods shéepe His comming shall be by the effectuall working of Sathan And what or who is Sathan he hath béene a murderer from the beginning through his enuie came death into the worlde hee is the Prince of this world the Prince of darkenesse the father of lies the spirite of pride which hath saide I will ascend aboue the height of the cloudes and I will be like the most high He shal worke and inflame the heart of Antichrist and fil it with his spirite and wickednesse and shall make him the man of sinne and the sonne of perdition full of vanitie and of pride and of vngodlinesse that he maie mocke the world and blind the hearts of the people His comming shall be by the working of Sathan yet he shall make shew as if he came in the name of Christ. He shall come with fatherly lóokes with holie countenance and shal set himselfe in the holy place but his whole indeuour shalbe to deface the kingdom of Christ which he shall practise to doe not by the leading of anie Angel or Archangel or by the power of God but by the effectuall working of Satan He shall alleage the Doctours and Fathers he shall alleage Peter and Paul the holy Apostles of Christ he shall alleage Christ and God himself as though his doings were warranted by them he shall saie I am the buttresse and pillar of the Church my word is the word of God he shal set vp masses and sacrifices of his owne he shall take awaie the word of God he shal teach the people to giue diuine honour to a weake creature But S. Paul in this place discloseth him and his doings and laieth them open to the eies of the faithfull He worketh not the worke of an Euangelist as did Peter or other the Apostles he taketh not power and auâ—…oritie either of God or of Christ but his comming is by the operation of Satan Therefore hee foresheweth Antichrist shal commaund to abstaine from meates He shall saie touch not taste not He shal also forbid to marrie He shal saie marriage is vnholie and vnlawful not conuenient nor méete for holie profession Who would not thinke it a holie thing to abstaine from meats and to chastise the bodie who would not think it a holie thing to abstaine from mariage and to thinke of those things which belong to God séeing holinesse and deuotion are a pleasaunt sacrifice to God but yet it is not al so Some shall speake lies through hipocrisie forbidding to marrie and commaunding to abstaine from meates They shal depart from the faith and giue heede to the spirites of errour and doctrines of Diuels He saith it is the Diuels gospel They are canons and rules of Antichrist Satan shal instruct him Satan shall bee the author and sounder of that religion With al power and signes and lying wonders and in al deceiueablenesse of vnrighteousnesse He shal néede to be of great power and force that shall incounter with God Therefore the Apostle saith he shal come with myracles and deuises of Satan Christ forefold that false Christs shall rise and false Prophets